Another Arrives

"Hey, where did that brat go?" Priscilla approaches the maid standing besides the stairs. Despite Priscilla's demanding tone, the maid politely greeted her with a smile. The maid then blocks the way to staircase with her left arm. "I'm afraid you're not allowed to enter this area." she spoke.

"Huh? Are you fucking with me right now?" Priscilla glared at the maid, obviously irritated.

"I'd have to ask you to leave, Triumvirate Fiend." The maid still insisted.

"You little..." Annoyed, Priscilla ended up turning away from her. "Fine!" she says as she walks out.

Watching the fiend strut away unscathed, the maid loses her smile. She lowers her arm regrettably. If only she could have at least scratched the fiend's face with the knife she held on her right hand, hiding behind her.

Priscilla tries the front door. She approaches the two guards stationed on each sides of the entrance. However, none of them seemed friendly and look hostile as she stood before them. They crossed their arms, cautiously staring at the fiend. They were not in the mood to smile or be polite towards her at all.

"Get out of my way." Priscilla commanded.

The guard on the left responded to her with a disgusted look on his face. "You're not allowed to get out of the safehouse." He said raucously. 

Priscilla's face started to get twistedly indignant. "Excuse me? What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"You should be on your best behavior, Triumvirate Fiend. You're in the leader's territory." The other guard on the right scolded the fiend.

"Wha- You- Do you really think you could threaten me?" Priscilla lividly pointed her finger at the guard. "I'm the Triumvirate Fiend, bitch, I can kill you if I want to! You better not get on my nerves!"

"Might I remind you of where you stand, fiend?" The left guard boiled with rage, yet held back his anger. He stared at Priscilla with vexation and spoke sternly. "You are rendered powerless in the Superior Leader's grounds. If you do not wish to be contained, I'll advise you to stay put. Your ability to wield has been sealed away by the leader and if you were to cause us troubles, we are allowed to dispose of you. So please, take your seat and behave."

Priscilla heard this clearly. She clenched her fists and gritted her teeth, unable to fight back against their words. Indeed, with her being powerless, even if she fought only with her hands, she'd immediately lose. And so, she turned away defeated, walking back to the couch she was seated on earlier and crossing her arms to sulk.

A few moments passed, an air of distress filled the large room. Coming towards Envy was a different pair of guards with a blindfolded woman in between them, cuffed and seemingly beaten up. Priscilla was startled, holding on to the chair's arms. They stopped a few steps away from Priscilla. The guards then removed the woman's cuffs and the blindfold, leaving her behind with her ally. "Ruby?!" Priscilla shrieked as she realized it was the Asperity of Envy. 

"Priscilla?" Ruby was surprised to see her as well.

Priscilla went closer to her, trying to understand what was happening. "Wait, what the hell- How did-"

"Why are you here?! I thought..."

"Look, it doesn't matter, how did they capture you?"

"...tch... That bastard..." Seeing the exhaustion on Ruby's face, Priscilla held her arms and led her to couch. "They let their disciples run after me. I was supposed to return to the Red Courtyard. Fortunately, they didn't follow me to the gates." Ruby continued as she took a seat to rest her tired body. Listening carefully, Priscilla faced Ruby while sitting on the glass table. "I can't wield my powers anymore. It's sealed."

Unable to stand Priscilla's silence, Ruby questioned her. "You. Who brought you here?"

"I... It was Carlos, he took me in." She responded and crossed her arms confidently.

"The prince? Where is he?!"

"He's upstairs."

"Let me see him!"

"No, we can't. Those pricks won't even let me."

"The prince... is he safe?" says Ruby, weakening her once strict voice.

Priscilla was chafed by her sudden change in tone. "Huh?" she fussed.

"Is he not hurt by the Superior Leader?" Ruby continues to ask.

"Tsk. He's fine." Priscilla says, turning her face to the side to hide her dissatisfaction after knowing her own ally completely forgot to ask about her current wellbeing. 

"Good. That's all that matters." Ruby's words slapped her in the face.

Maddened, Priscilla turned back to Ruby and grumped at her. "Okay, do you not even intend to try to find a way out of here?"

But when she faced Ruby, the injured ally was reflecting. Her finger propped her chin and her eyes were looking downwards, completely ignoring Priscilla. Annoyed again, Priscilla raised her voice to awaken Ruby. "Say something!" she yelled.

Ruby lifted her head to react. "Priscilla, let me think! Alright? I'm still figuring things out." she explains.

"Well, hurry up!" 

"The Asperity Palace is being destroyed inside out by the Superior Leader. The Queen's questionable plan was to let the members loose all over the kingdom. And now, we're losing allies. I need to think of a way to get us out of this situation."

"The... Queen returned?" Priscilla's brattiness somehow disappeared for a moment.

"No, Lucius received a message from her. But she still isn't back."

"...oh."

Ruby sighed. "Everything will be fine, as long the Red Courtyard is still hidden from the Cardinal Manors, rising back up is still possible."

Priscilla begged to differ. "They already know about the Red Courtyard, in fact, I'm helping them find it." A grin then appeared on her face shamelessly.

"Are you out of your mind?!" Ruby violently hollered.

"Yeah, what about it?"

"You traitor!"

Priscilla slightly backed away and raised both her hands. "Woah, relax, I'm not in the mood to argue." As her hands were up beside her shoulders, the scar on her left wrist glowed red. Ruby noticed this, realizing that Priscilla was trying to tell her something. "...what did you do?" Ruby interrogates while hiding her smirk.

"I'm trying to get on the good side of the manors, you know, so I won't get killed." Priscilla replies. She then lowers her arms and rests her hands on her knee.

"...you've gone mad." Ruby's sneer eventually escaped.

"I guess you could say that." Priscilla flicks her hair with a mischievous look on her face.

"Tell me about it."

Without hesitating, Priscilla spills everything. "I got the prince to take me here. I met two of the five leaders, the Assassin and the Pugilist. I told them I knew where the Red Courtyard is so they asked for help. So, they'll be coming with me and the prince to the secluded gate here in Iyesgarth. Just the four of us, and no one else." 

"When?"

"In three days."

"Hmm."

"You coming with us?"

"I'll give it a shot." Ruby stared at Priscilla, hinting at something.