Oath of Steel

19 |Drinking Hangman|

Grey led Rosalynde outside the Imperial Citadel, not before telling her to change into something that would have not drawn attention while taking a stroll down District Street. A problem however had aroused at his request.

Rosalynde did not possess clothes that fitted the category he'd asked her to wear.

"We'll have to pose a remedy to that," was all he said. Snapping his fingers to catch the attention of a coachman resting alongside his horse beside a fountain.

They got on the carriage while it still hadn't come to a full stop, with Grey closing the door right after Rosalynde jumped inside the carriage.

"Where to?" Grey then knocked twice over his head, telling the coachman to drop them in front of the Masiner Atelier. Atelier which coincidentally stood on the opposite side of the road from the Bank of Lun.

They exchange a handful of words along the way, but lots of side glances were shot from both sides. The carriage rattled as the stallion's hooves hit the stoned road, making them lose their still forms to the bumps created.

Rosalynde didn't really know what to think. If they needed a change of clothes the possibilities could have been endless. Had he found something worth investigating? Maybe a contact? Or an essential clue on Verity?

But he said absolutely nothing until they arrived. Stepping out of the carriage first before extending his hand for her to use as support.

Then he paid the horseman a few extra dimes, instructing him to go back to the Imperial Citadel but taking another road.

"I like to be careful." Was all he said after helping her feet touch the ground. Eyeing her gown before a cracked laughter filled the air.

Rosalynde raised an inquisitive brow at him, patting her right leg to remind him of the weapon she still had at arm-length. She however didn't bother telling him that she'd left the gun empty, with the actual bullets safely kept inside an internal pocket sewn on the other side of her dress.

Raising his hands in surrender, Grey led her to the secondary entrance to the Bank. Ushering her inside before switching the electrical lights on.

However, little did Rosalynde know that there was someone waiting for them inside the main atrium.

A young man in the prime of his youth, with long dark-blonde bangs of hair kept from falling in front of his face, was lying on one of the many coaches. With what looked like a brand-new oil lamp on the oak wood table beside him.

The man rubbed his eyes before focalizing their still standing figures, his dark eyes widening at Grey's sight.

He stood up, straightening the ends of his tailcoat before combing his hair back. Taking large strides towards the new entries.

"I've been waiting two hours, Grey. Not funny." A yawn escaped his lips without him even realizing. Too late to cover it with his hands.

"Last time I checked it did not matter as long as I paid you fairly, Nathaniel," Gey replied with a chilling tone,his gray eyes now cold and demanding.

The man sighed loudly, his gaze turning to take a better look at Rosalynde. Eyes lighting up in what Rosalynde could sense being newfound interest.

"The lady-in-waiting of princess Pharah?" Nathaniel had recognized her within mere seconds. That reaction from him made her narrow her eyes, the ends of her lips curling up even more than before.

A signature smile of hers. A stunning harbinger of death.

Nathaniel's Adam apple blobbed once at her greeting signature. If it was terror or reverence displayed in his eyes, she still didn't know.