Crooked Hearts

Episode 13

CHRISTIAN

I ascend the bifurcated stairs, adorned with balusters shaped like songbirds, and pass by the portraits of her family. Pausing at her mother's portrait, the late Lady Lavellan, I notice the shared eyes and smile. I approach her bedroom door, contemplating whether it was my fault, how did it come to this?

Closing the door behind me, I find the room filled with a variety of flowers expressing well-wishes. Yet, I come here daily for her. While comforting words are simple, I am a man who lets actions speak. Placing my flower on her bedside table, I settle into a chair. "Have you recovered?" She doesn't turn to look at me.

"There's been a mistake; they arrested the wrong individuals."

"Fear has gripped the populace. The council deems it necessary to maintain a sense of security even if through false arrests." I explain. She rolls over to face me, her expression a mix of anger and frustration, her hair disheveled, eyes ablaze. "Rest assured, the pursuit for this Butcher and Strangler Ben persists in the shadows. They will face reckoning in due course."

"My friends are dead, all four of them." Her frustration and disbelief evident in her rising voice. "The entire force should be on the streets, searching! Why aren't they out there?" She inhales deeply, attempting to calm her emotions.

Now, what's the reason? The answer is obvious, but she's unwilling to admit it. "They are nothing but commoners. The whole city would burn if they were nobility." Her eyes widen in disbelief. I chuckle. "That is the bitter truth, and these criminals understand well how the council thinks. Hence your survival."

"Is that the reason I'm still alive?" She places a hand over her head, seemingly recalling a memory. "I thought I was hallucinating, but perhaps I did hear them say it." She scoffs, seemingly at a loss for words, then she meets my gaze once more. "As a council member, can't you do something?" Her question carries a hint of hope and frustration.

"I cannot triumph where your father lies defeated." She turns her face away in frustration. If even a Lavellan couldn't sway the council, there is very little I could do. I rise swiftly, reaching for her as she pushes herself up, helping her sit on the edge of the bed. She places a palm to the wound on her stomach. "Where do you intend to go?"

"I must locate them."

"Locate them?" Surprise escapes my voice, considering how the close encounter with death affected her. I figured she'd have a change of heart, that the nonsense in her head would cease, but she remains stubborn. And she would not like me getting in the way. A few more days of recovery; you must regain your strength."

"I am bringing my rifle."

"Still, you would be alone." She turns her face away, her confident expression faltering, realizing she'd have only two shots before a mob catches up to her. A full rifle squad would bring a mob down, but a single rifle? She'd be torn to pieces.

"Then lend me your assistance." Assist her? Piracy and robbery are rampant following the fifty-year war. Former soldiers and mercenaries turned bandits, growing numbers of rebels inciting riots, and most importantly, Northern Kingdom soldiers disguised as merchants infiltrating the city. Illumia is in chaos, and soon the City of Lumia will fall to it as well. "You would stand among those who turn a blind eye?"

I stare intently into her eyes. There are many things she's not aware of, things she's better off not knowing. I return to sit on the chair, resting my back against it, one leg over the other, arms crossed, and a chuckle escapes me. Stand among them? The fools on the council? I will stand where I've always stood, myself.

They are scared old men who think to safeguard themselves and their wealth. I am more than that—more than she could imagine. From this chaos, I will rise to my highest height. Catching criminals is nothing compared to what I seek to achieve. "We each play our role in the grand theater of Lumia."