Lea's Liberation

Contradictions in Beliefs

Contradictions in Beliefs

The last time Emilien had been in Gwenael, he had been limited by guards at every turn. He wasn't allowed anywhere without at least two men to watch him. He hadn't ever begrudged the extra security and had made sure that he was always careful never to cause them anxiety or make them work any harder than necessary.

But now, with the king's announcement having been given out to the people about his new role, he was free to do what he wanted. When he wanted. Without oversight. Without constraint. When he left his room the next morning to begin his job, not a single servant looked at him askance. He wasn't stopped or questioned when he walked through the halls.

It was rather strange to be given such freedom. Unrestricted. Unmolested. Like this was his home now as well.

Emilien was more uncomfortable with his own presence than anyone else seemed to be.

To distract himself from his own disquiet, he chose to focus first on the task the king had assigned him as his atonement. He would dearly like to spend some time with Lea, forgetting about everything and enjoying her company, but she was going to be busy for a while with her own duties and he couldn't put himself between them and her.

He had received a message last night from Gael, the Master of the Sacellum and the current overseer of the two assassins. It basically said that he had been informed of Emilien's new duties and that he would be waiting for him at the Sacellum so that the two could talk before Emilien was introduced to the men in question.

Gael hadn't given him a time to be there, or even a day. He had written the letter as though Emilien had all the time in the world to fulfill his obligation. There was no indication that Emilien needed to hurry or should report by the next morning.

Still, he was eager to get to work. It wasn't like he had anything else to do. He didn't really need to rest from the long journey here.

Instead of walking directly to the Quicksilver District, where the Sacellum was located, he instead walked through the courtyard surrounding the palace. He had heard about a memorial to the fallen Gold District and he wanted to pay his respects. He wasn't sure if it could be seen as an insult for him to go there, considering the role he had played in the district's destruction, but he couldn't resist the need to, at the very least, offer his prayers.

He was surprised, when he followed the path around to where he had been told the memorial was located, to find that Lea was already there. She was standing in front of a stone altar which rested beneath the shade of a massive tree. Wind played with her hair, tossing the new haircut around gently as he approached.

At the sound of his footsteps on the stone path, she lifted her eyes from the altar. A large gray stone had been engraved with the names of all those that had died after Gold fell. The stone itself was set onto a plinth that was carved with the shape of Gold before it had fallen. It included all the buildings, the courtyards, and the paths from an aerial view.

Lea smiled, taking a step to the side so he could join her.

"Morning," she greeted warmly. "Come to pay your respects?"

"Is that wrong?"

"I don't think so."

Emilien stopped before the stone, eyes moving down the three, even lists of unfamiliar names. Each one had been expertly carved into the slate gray stone. The stone itself had been shined, but the names had been left matte allowing them to stand out further.

The two of them stood together in silence for a long, serene minute. This area of the garden was slightly out of the way, and was near none of the entrances or docks, making it probably the quietest part of the entire Royal Complex. The tree and its stone were surrounded in a nearly complete circle by covered seating areas and there were an abundance of shrubs and flowers that had been planted but had yet to bloom.