So You Might be Soulless

24|| Indoctrinated

Diya thought she would be done with spineless idiots if she stopped going to training.

Sadly, that was not the case.

They seemed to follow her around like an infection, whispering foul words that crawled through the darkest depths of her mind. The servants of the castle were caught between malevolent disgust and unfiltered fear, their gazes bore holes into the side of her head. Diya ignored all of these as she continued her lonely walk to the training grounds.

A hand clamped around her arm and she was pulled into an abandoned room. They tried to shove her down, but Diya refused to go on her knees and whirled around to face her kidnappers, arms raised for a fight.

Instead, she came face-to-face with a dark-skinned grinning demon. Her hair tumbled down in long, purple curls with red streaks and she crossed her arms, the bag by her side clinked as glass bottles hit each other.

"Eirian!" Diya exclaimed, throwing her arms around the demon and causing them to stumble back a few steps. "Mou desiderbat vos kiya."

Eirian laughed and rested her hands on Diya's back. "Yes, my melantha, I've missed you too."

Dark flower. Diya hated that nickname when she was growing up, but now it filled her with warmth after two years of not hearing it.

Diya pulled away, a spark reigniting in her eyes. "First Kyler, now you. Is Azrael here too?"

"Yep that's why I'm here. We've all decided to meet in the Capital."

"But... why?" Diya's eyebrows furrowed, then she raised her palms. "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you're here! But didn't we- didn't we agree that we'd meet after the war?"

Eirian nodded, her amethyst eyes glittered with unshed emotions. "We did, but too much has changed now. You've been indoctrinated into the Imperial Family–"

"I wasn't indoctrinated. I came of my own free will."

"–and I was sent here to help break the brainwashing spell." Eirian opened her brown satchel and pulled out several tubes filled with colourful liquid and powders. She popped open one and shoved it under Diya's nose. "Drink this!"

Diya leaned back, gagging at the stench of rotten eggs. "Woah, Rian! What is this?"

"It's my new remedy to break any brainwashing curses. Drink it!"

"Ah, ha." Diya chuckled and pushed her away, dizziness sweeping through her body. "Have you tested this on anyone?"

"Of course I have!" Eirian placed a hand on her chest. "Who do you take me for?"

"Azrael doesn't count. He's immune to nearly all poisons."

"Well it's not like you were there to test it out," Eirian grumbled, shoving the bung back on with more force than needed.

"Hey," Diya said. "You know we had no choice."

Eirian paused, then her shoulders dropped and a sigh pushed past her lips. "I know. I know it's not your fault. But I can't help but feel angry. But don't worry, once we get you out of here, everything will be okay."

"I know everything will be okay, but please reassure the others that I'm not being held here against my will."

"Then why are you here?"

"I have a chance to break the contract."

Eirian tensed and squeezed her eyes shut. "Oh."

"Yeah." Diya took another step back and gripped her arms tightly, forming an almost protective barrier around herself. "The Imperial Family are investigating the Elshers. The servants will tell them what's going on and, once I'm free, I'll go back home."