|A couple hours later|
Dez ran up to Ri-is and Diana. "A messenger just returned with a letter from your uncle." She handed the neatly decorated envelope to Ri-is who opened it with haste.
"What does it say?" Asked Diana.
"To expect help soon," said Ri-is with a breath of relief.
"That's good news and all but there's something else."
The relief that washed over them became a frosty dread once more as they anticipated Dez's next words.
"It looks like those nobles that came through the village front were just a distraction."
"What? Where are the others?"
"rumours are being spread that the Empress had the Eclipse order executed for treason."
Ri-is paled. "WHAT?"
Dez sighed solemnly. "They're saying that the other members of the Eclipse Order ignored her summons to war and it angered Illya to the point that she had them killed."
Diana kissed her teeth. "This is a bloody joke. Did you find the cretins responsible for spreading the rumours?"
"No. Apparently, they fled as soon as they were able to rile up the villagers."
"You can't be serious! People are actually believing this crap?"
"You know what her reputation is like. She doesn't exactly have the best record when it comes to being merciful." reasoned Dez.
"Even so..." Diana trailed off in frustration.
"YOUR HIGHNESS!"
Luke's frantic voice rang out through the street.
"YOUR HIGHNESS COME QUICKLY!"
Ri-is rushed over to where he was, followed by Dez and Diana. Past the cloud of dark mist and just beyond the village borders was a gruesome scene. The villagers being evacuated had been escorted through the mist barrier only to be met with several stakes skewering the decapitated heads of the deceased members of the Eclipse Order. Horrified whimpers sounded from the crowd of villagers as the soldiers worked quickly to take them down.
"This was waiting for us when we left the village. People have been saying that the Empress had them placed there as a warning to whoever else might try to escape or rebel," said Luke.
Clenching his fists, Ri-is turned to look at the villagers. Children who had once regarded the Eclipse Order members as heroes were now crying into their mother's arms asking why the Empress had killed her people, begging their parents to make sure they wouldn't be the next ones to fall to the Empress' wrath.
"Continue as planned...and have someone summon the Ashen Eyes," he commanded.
•~•~•~•~•~•~•
Back at the palace, Seibel was swamped with work. As soon as injured soldiers started coming in he and Yukimi were swept right off their feet. Bellany had left Hecate under Tobi's care while she went to help out wherever she could.
Hecate was the youngest in the family, next to Isabelle of course, but given her unique disposition to shi, she had grown up quite differently. Her rare attempts at communication were of concern but nothing anyone did seem to help her improve. Bellany had concluded that her shi was being repressed due to her unusual birth, which stunted its development. The guilt Illya felt made her extra attentive towards Hecate and as such, she was the first to notice that Hecate often "saw" things that others couldn't.
Despite being blind, Illya would often catch her playing with "no one." It wasn't until much later that she realized that Hecate was seeing the dead. Not their spirits but what was left of their shi. It was an ability that very few people possessed. So much so that the only other known person who could have been able to speak directly to the deceased's shi was Salem. Even without knowing the extent of Hecate's power, it was clear that her affinity for the shi already exceeded her own and thus Illya deemed it safer to keep any word of her abilities a secret, lest the wrong people find out and seek to exploit her.
The only other people who knew of Hecate's ability were Callisto and Bellany. Before leaving Bellany had given Tobi instructions on what to do if Hecate started acting strangely. So when Tobi glanced up at her to see her eyes rolled back and her walking perfectly without a guide, he sprung out of his seat. Following her carefully, he watched as she tugged on his pants and gestured towards the desk. He picked her up and leaned over the desk so she could reach whatever she wanted.
A look of confusion washed over his face when Hecate picked up a quill and with extremely neat writing, write out the words "High Council" and "Rebellion" before signing the paper as "Araht of the Eclipse Order."
As soon as the last letter was scrawled across the paper, Hecate fell limp before quickly coming to, her eyes now clear and back to normal. Tobi picked up the paper with urgency and carried both the paper and Hecate to Illya's study."
•~•~•~•~•~•~•
They arrived at the study to find a group of women making their way inside. Tobi was momentarily distracted by Hecate unexpectedly grasping the collar of his jacket.
"What's the matter?" He asked quietly, not really expecting her to answer anyway.
Her eyes were wide in awe as she stared in the direction of the women walking into the study. The shi radiating off of them clouded them in a strong aura that only Hecate was privy to. The woman at the front stopped to look back at her once she felt Hecate's eyes on them. Despite being covered with a veil, Tobi could tell that she had smiled at them and while Hecate couldn't, she had seen the shi around the woman shine with warmth, causing her to timidly bury her face into Tobi's shoulder.
Hecate flinched again once she heard the woman's voice.
"Do you have to speak to the Prince as well?"
It was smooth and low. Hecate found comfort in it the way a child would find comfort in their mother singing to them to sleep.
"Ah, yes. I've come to deliver something to him," replied Tobi.
The woman gestured towards the door. "After you then."
Tobi gave her a nod of thanks and scurried inside. As soon as Ri-is saw the look on Tobi's face he stood to go over to him.
"What's wrong?"
Tobi explained what had happened to Hecate and gave him the paper. Ri-is seemed to stare at the paper for ages. As far as he knew, no significant power had manifested in Hecate as yet, but he did remember that when he was young something similar had happened to him when he discovered his illusion ability. Assuming that, that was the case for Hecate he felt there was no reason to doubt what had been written down.
"It seems the ones behind the rumours are the High Council and not the nobles..."
The veiled woman stood calmly in front of the other ladies and spoke up. "So what is it that you would have us do for you, your highness?"91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMZd6VD1JrV
