The Fated Three

Sacrificial Lambs

Rose Pov

    Rose clung to her bow as she made her way down the right path. "Exactly three paths to be taken by three people, that's not a coincidence at all" Rose assessed. She journeyed further down the dirt halls. The walls were covered from top to bottom of loculi and trench graves that were lit up by a few torches. Ancient skeletons rested inside them covered in cobwebs and spiders. "Eugh" she groaned. Rose's nose scrunched up in disgust at the sight of the eight-legged creatures. Above the graves were engraved tombstones. 'Here lies those honored who gave their lives to the goddess of death for the greater good. May your sacrifice live on in these walls' it read. Rose clenched her jaws at the sight of the hundreds of trench graves in just this one hallway. "Damn religious puppeteers. These poor people were led to be sacrificed for what?" she scoffed. Rose continued down the path. As it narrowed, she could make out dried dark splatters on the wall, then dried dark pools on the ground, and what appeared to be a dark streak of dried blood stretching across the floor as if created by the dragging of a body. The strip of blood dragged all the way to a statue. There in front of the statue, laid a pool of dried blood "or sacrificed, to who?" She added. Rose analyzed the statue. It was of a woman. "I mean she's pretty, but is she really worth dying over?" Rose questioned. There was an old, dust-filled engraving at the bottom of the woman's statue. Rose blew the dust away and ran her fingers over the old writing. 'Lamia, dea mortis' it read. "Hmm" Rose exclaimed.

     She continued down the long hallway. As Rose came to an intersected opening she slowed down. Before deciding on which way to go, she hears quiet footsteps coming in her direction. Suppressing against the wall, Rose readied her bow. The footsteps grew closer, but Rose had the advantage. Just as the unknown opponent was just on Rose, she jumped from the shadows and released her arrow straight for the assailant's head but they anticipated Rose's attack. In a swift motion, they dodged her arrow and pulled out their dagger. Rose blocked it with her own dagger before jumping back to assess any possible weaknesses her opponent had. Finally able to look at who it was, Rose's eyes widened. "...Freya?" Rose asked the assailant. Freya cocked her head to the side. "Rose?'' she responded. The two chuckled and lowered their weapons.

      Freya spoke first "damn girl, you just attacked me out of nowhere" she snickered. Rose shook her head. "My bad, it's dark as shit" Rose replied. The two relaxed. "Yea no kidding, this place is like a maze" Freya agreed, after a pause, Freya closed her eyes and tilted her head as if listening for something. "This way" was all she said before the two took off down the catacombs.

      Rose ran alongside Freya. "Is Sylvie talking to you again?" Rose questioned. "No..not necessarily it's just a feeling'' Freya said warily. The two slowed down "I know it sounds crazy and I shouldn't be so trusting, but what else do I have to lose" Freya added looking ahead of them. Rose could see the numbness in Freya's eyes and could understand her determination. "I trust you," Rose said confidently. As they continued walking, Freya looked at Rose curiously. "So... the traveler at the tavern was cute.. right?" Freya said teasingly. Rose felt her cheeks instantly warm up. "Damn I gotta get better control of my powers" Rose mumbled before clearing her throat to answer Freya. "w-what?" Rose said heedfully. "oh you know, Grimm... mmm, lord that man" Freya smirked. "I could look at him all day" Freya chuckled. Rose's mouth went dry and her cheeks flushed. She shook her head in disagreement. "I... I dunno. What I do know is that he has nothing to do with our mission right now" Rose retorted trying to compose herself. After a moment of silence, Freya speaks once more. "You know it's not every day you get to meet your knight and shining armor" She teased. "More like a creep and arrogant asshole" Rose mumbles. With a grunt, Rose added, "He is not my shining armor. He is not my anything." crossing her arms, she continued. "Besides, the chances of our crossing paths again.." Rose shook her head. "Not likely... and even if he did" Rose tensed as she remembered the way she reacted to his presence. Her chest tightened again. "No good can come of it" she added quietly.

     Noticing Rose's discomfort, Freya changes the subject "There's something I've been meaning to ask you" Freya said curiously. "I'm all ears" Rose chuckled, not knowing what else to say. "When we first met....I saw the fear in Delgan's eyes when ya'll saw what I was capable of, but when I looked to you, there was no fear. It's like you weren't even scared" Freya said softly before looking to the ground. "So whats your question" Rose asked flatly. Freya rolled her eyes. "Why not?" she finally asked. Rose snickered. "Everyone has their own story Freya. We all have something that we love, something that drives us to keep going, something that can make us go over the edge of control, and something that can bring us back...all these things can be found within the pages of our stories, our history... But not everyone cares to read past the cover. Delgan didn't look past your cover. He saw a possible opponent, that was very powerful and probably had to be put down." Rose simply said. They kept walking in silence for a moment before Freya spoke again. "And you? What did you see?" she whispered her question. Rose sighed, "I saw myself... I saw a girl, who would do what she had to do to get what she needed to get. I saw your strength, your cockiness.." Rose smirked, "and your confidence... and I respected the hell out of that..." Rose added. Freya chuckled. "Hehe, so that's why you didn't try to kill me when you had the chance" she teased again. Rose couldn't hold in her chuckle. With a groan she said "aand suddenly I regret my decision, next time I get the chance" Rose leaned in with a smirk and whispered "your dead". With another chuckle, Rose sat up straight and kept walking. Freya shook her head amused. "On that note, where the hell is Delgan?"