The girl sat with her knees folded, feet tucked undereath her body. The silver armor that she wore made it rather difficult, but the steel against her body provided a sense of security nonetheless. A piece of dark fabric was drawn over her shoulders and head, knotted at her chest so that it concealed the armor. By her left knee lay her rapier sword, and the air pistol was holstered by her right hip. On both sides of her sat more cloaked figures, and in the row directly in front of them sat more. These were the White Guardians of the Capital Zoltan, awaiting the Prince for a meeting.
Belzebel entered the dim lit room. He had been relatively tall, with bleached hair swept to a side of his pale face. He wore a red and white longcoat that matched his crimson eyes, decorated by the elaborative folds and markings finished off with a golden dragon emblem at the back.
Behind him followed two more cloaked figures that walked in a triangular formation, the dragon emblem of silver thread visible at the back of their fabrics. An eerie atmosphere filled the room, and there was absolute quietness. The Prince snapped his fingers upon reaching the center of the back, and the dozen armored guardians drew their swords in canon before getting back down on one knee. The figures behind him stepped forwards, coming in line with the prince.
“Crystal Constantino,” the Prince gestured for the figure to his right, then to his left, “Damian Yenin, the two of you have served me well throughout the past year. I hereby grant you the position as deputy leaders once the New World Order is complete. The rest of you shall continue to serve me as guardians, and I promise your rewards will come in due time.”
His voice was rich, having a soft quality to it as well as a firm one. The figure to his left stepped forward yet again, getting on a knee before the prince and laying down his weapon.
“Your majesty, I humbly decline the offer. I believe it is time for me to withdraw from the organization, and I wish you well on the rest of your journey.”
The Prince's catlike gaze flickered across the room. He snapped his fingers once more at the for behind him, and at once a man in what looked like a lab coat appeared with a small box in his hands.
“Very well then, Damian.” He took the box into his hands, holding it out to the cloaked figure. “Here is a gift to remember us by. May the rest of your life be lived in peace. You may now be dismissed.”
Gingerly, Damian took the box into his hands, bowing as he stood up before retreating through the doorway. The Prince turned back to the gathering of guardians, speaking once more.
“Now then. Whoever brings me Irei Katumi will be generously gifted. That is all and you may all be dismissed to your usual patrols.”
The girl at the second row stood up, her movement synchronized with that of others as the Prince turned back through the doorway with Crystal right behind him. She followed the others out of the back entrance, flooding into the hallway of the consulate's basement. Once they neared the flight of stairs she ducked into the flight that led downwards, taking two steps of a time so that she was out of sight a moment later when she turned down the next flight. She eventually came to reach the lowermost level of the consulate, finding the air vent she that had been looking for. Prying open the metal piece and climbing through, the girl tucked her sword closer to her body so that it wouldn't make a sound against the metal tubes, and crawled.
She continued forwards, aware of the pipes that ran alongside the air vent, carrying water and who knows what else. The vent eventually opened up to a wider space where the girl could finally stand up, a place that seemed to have been deliberately built in by mankind. She glanced around the tunnel of dirt and stone, aware of the red glow of the omniscient camera that loomed above.
It glowered down at her like an actual eye, a shiver ran down her spine. Letting out a huff of air, she hit the ground running, guided by the dim lights that lined the edges of the tunnel's roof. These were the little-known paths that ran directly beneath the Capital, joining itself with the five Areas and allowing the white guardians to ensure that orderly peace remained within the areas. Many of the ubiquitous tunnels were tapped for sound, so any underground activity of rebel groups would be quickly found out.
A rustling sounded as she ran. On guard, the girl turned and searched the gloomy tunnels, spotting the floating orb that emitted a bright blue glow.
“Oh, Konan,” she allowed a smile. “What are you doing here?” She reached out with her gauntlet clad hands, ladling the object in her palms. It purred, eager to free itself from the girl's hold.
The blue slits flashed red for a moment, and the machine was in the air again. Sailing through the tunnels, it led the girl through a series of twists and turns, approaching a part less developed with unpaved roads of stone.
“Hey, Anveria,” Katumi's voice was a bit more than a whisper as he eyed the dark eyed girl. “Just had a meeting, I suppose?”
She nodded, not making a sound.
“It's alright. Konan disabled all the nearby systems, you can talk.” The older male assured her, taking the sphere into his hands. A hologram formed above it, displaying a filmy picture that looked something like a map.”We're at the boarder between the Capital and Area 5 right now, in case you're wondering.”
A pause.
“Belzebel plans to kick start the NWO scheme in the imminent future, and one of the Black Guardians backed out.” She pondered on her words, wondering how much detail she should include. “The Prince seemed fine with it though, and he said he'd make Cyrstal his second in command after everything is completed.”
Katumi clicked his tongue coldly. “A tempting job offer; I wonder if she'll still be on our side? Oh well, guess I'll have to ask. It would be a pity if we lost our ace, though.”
Anveria swallowed.
“Oh, and the other guy... Belzebel gave him a parting gift-”
“I'm sure it's not a gold watch or medal of honor, a boxful of hornets sounds more like the Prince to me,” Katumi chuckled. “I can't imagine that bloody prince letting someone off the hook so easily, Ann. You know you're screwed the moment you become a guardian. Bel can be blatantly honest one moment and a master of deception the next, shady as heck.”
“It's the only thing that puts you closer to the truth,” she protested with a flinch. “Are we still recruiting though, Kat?”
“Uhh not sure,” He confessed. “At this stage where the Prince might well know about the Revelation group, he'd probably try to send in spies or something. Your choice?”
The raven haired girl sighed. “Alright then. Take care, I'll be off now.”
YOU ARE READING
Evanescent (NaNo 2013)
Mystery / ThrillerWhat if everything you've been told was a lie, and everything you thought you knew... Was not as it seemed? What if you had one day woken up, only to find that your own life in and on itself, had been a mystery hidden away from you? What if the worl...
