Renovatio

Part 2

The coldness of the room was distinct. It gnawed through the skin, settling itself inside. Unmoving. Tulip sat behind Cobalt's desk. It felt warmer there. Well, partially, she still needed to keep a blanket covered over her knees. Blitz like noises stemmed from the room adjacent to her. Cobalt was busy in there since she arrived. It was a long morning, filled with meetings and checks up. Things needed to be finalised. Considering Kai was able to move the meeting forward with princess Jisoo meant their own plans needed to go accordingly.

If all went well, then their current project would coincide nicely with princess Jisoo's ascension to the throne. Crashing sounded from the adjacent room. Her hands gripped the blanket tightly. The others rode out some hours earlier, leaving her and Nina to deal with this task. Her eyes drifted to the broken grandfather clock in the far corner. 12:21pm.

She watched it tick away. Nina and a few of her apprentices were gone for just over a week. Finding, first-descendant carriers was not easy. They already exhausted the last 2 prisoners they caught by testing out Cobalt's mechanism. It failed both times. Much like previous testing. It went on like this since that god-awful day. She sank back into the chair eyes closing. The aftermath of what that child did on that day was something she would never forget. The rest of them hardly believed her when she returned. Only the absolute evidence of the destruction of the entire 300 staffed battalion clarified that the tale General Tulip told may hold truth.

Not long after her return to the Midlands, the sole survivor of their ambush on the village that held King Eon's youngest daughter, did news quickly spread of what the child had done. Not only that, but there were also witnessing of horrifying beasts, roaming the lands of the Deep South. An area very few people travel to. Only because one never knew if you would return. The child had gone missing, they said. Search teams were on the role every day at the behest of her older brother. The way they found her...

The front door burst open. Seven of Nina's apprentice passed by, struggling with a body-sized bag. When they opened the adjacent room door, she saw some movements from the bag. Nina entered, black cloak floating along with her. She made her way towards Tulip with a broad smile.

"I didn't think you would be here?" she stood some steps away from the desk.

Tulip stood up, "I-" screams emanated from the adjacent room along with hints of white-yellow rays. Nina noticed her gaze and flicked her fingers. The adjacent room door shut instantly.

"You were saying?"

Tulips eyes were still on the door, muffled sounds the only thing she could hear. Her eyes returned to Nina, "I've been coming here every day since you left," Nina's eyebrows rose, "I-uhm..." Tulip shifted on her feet, "I knew you would come here first and I wanted to be here to see you."

Nina smiled shyly eyes glazing as she stared at the other woman. Blood rushing at the constant eye-contact, Tulip shifted on her feet a little more, "Well I mean, we are in this together," she pointed at the door.

"Right," Nina's smile did not leave her. They only kissed once. Continuing with unspoken feelings. Tulip didn't even know what to do. The other woman flustered her. Besides, the project kept them so very busy.

"Let's go," said Nina, hand stretched.

"But..." Tulip turned to the closed door.

"They'll be fine, he'll most likely test it out on him tonight," said Nina.

"What kind is he?"

"Ina/Ana."

Tulip sighed, "Another one?"