by Candy Crum
Amelia watched as his face turned from disgusted confusion in the beginning of her statement to donning realization at the end of it.
He knew who she was.
"Christopher and Elayne," was all he said.
Amelia's eyes narrowed as she looked at him. That was the first bit of information she'd ever been able to get out of him. Slowly, she nodded her head. "Yes. Christopher and Elayne."
Elon sighed as he sat down on his bed. Staring at the floor, he began to wring his hands as he shook his head.
Amelia shifted her weight from one foot to the other, debating on taking a step closer to the cell. "If I didn't know any better, I'd almost think you were feeling something other than disdain. It almost looks like guilt or sadness."
Elon looked up then, his eyes suddenly glassy as though he might start crying at any moment. "Arryn is alive? She's here?"
Amelia cleared her throat, realizing that not only had she discovered the perfect person for Arryn to talk to, he also knew much more than she had expected. The tone in his voice when asking about Arryn had sounded almost concerned. Worried.
"Yes, she is. She came back because she wanted answers. In reality, she wanted to come back and destroy Adrien, but that had already been done."
Elon had laughed, but it wasn't amused. It seemed to hold more disbelief than humor. He leaned back against the wall, his eyes staring at the ceiling as his hands clasped over his torso. "You know, if it had been her instead of the Boulevard girl, I would've helped. I would have destroyed everything."
That was news.
Amelia couldn't help the shock that crossed her face. "What? Are you serious? I know that you and I aren't exactly the best of friends, but I'm gonna need you to tell me what the hell happened. Why would you betray Adrien for Arryn but not for Hannah? What happened to turn you from hating him to worshipping him?"
Elon took a deep breath before releasing it in a heavy sigh. "Christopher was my best friend. In fact, Arryn and Gregory use to play together often, though I doubt she would remember. She was too young back then. Christopher was one of those rare men who would lay down his life for anyone he called friend, and his wife wasn't any different. Hell, I actually saw Arryn punch a kid straight in the face when he stole one of Gregory's toys and made him cry. I knew right then that Arryn was gonna be just like them."
There was a pause as he stared into nothing. Finally, he looked at Amelia and asked, "Is she? Is she like them?"
Amelia swallowed, shocked at what she was hearing. "Y-yes," she stammered, clearing her throat once again. "Yes, she is. Like I said, she spent ten years in the Dark Forest training for the day she could come back to the city, destroy Adrien, and reclaim everyone's freedom in her parents’ name. I'd say from the description you just gave me, she's a hell of a lot like them."
A slow smile spread across his face as a single tear rolled down his cheek. He quickly wiped it away and looked back at the ceiling before continuing with the story.
"I don't know where, because Adrien never trusted me much. Even when I was building that damn ship for him, he still didn't trust me. So, I don't know where the warning came from, but somehow or another he found out there was a group of people trying to dethrone him. Traitors to the city, he called them. Of course, I was concerned. While I saw the issues rising in our city, I wholeheartedly believed everything Adrien told me, just like the majority of us did. Just like you did."
Amelia grabbed a chair and pulled it up next to the bars to sit. Somehow, even though Elon had done all that he had, at that moment she could feel his grief, and it didn't seem right to stand over him.
Elon continued, "Christopher came to me and told me that he needed my help. It was at that moment I realized my best friend was one of the people trying to take Adrien out. Back then Adrien wasn't quite so crazy. He was just a dick. I thought if I talked to him, he might be able to neutralize the situation by talking to Chris, trying to make him see what he did, what he made me see."
"And what was that?" Amelia asked. "What was it that you saw?"
Elon shrugged. "I guess the same thing that you did. I saw a man who was trying to keep the city safe. The Boulevard people were supposed to lack magical promise. If they tried to use it, they could hurt themselves and hurt others. I saw our fearless leader trying to keep our people safe. But I also saw my best friend not seeing that future, so I thought Adrien might be able to help him. I never in a million years thought that Adrien would do what he did."
A knock at Amelia’s door startled her, bringing her out of her memories and back to her office, her desk, and that box sitting in front of her. She took a deep breath, hand over her chest as though it would help slow her jumpy heart.
"Yes! Come in!" Amelia shouted.
Marie walked in, her smile fading as she saw Amelia’s expression. "You okay? I'm sorry if I interrupted something."
Amelia shook her head, pushing her chair back from her desk and standing. "No, no, you're fine. I need to go through this box again. It seems that I'm looking for something a little bit more specific now, but it can wait. What brings you in here?"
Marie took a step forward and smiled again. "It's the factory. It appears that the few men working inside have finished. They wanted you to come down and do a walk-through. The factory is now ready to be opened to the public for work as soon as you sign off on it."
Amelia took one last look at the box, realizing that she needed to have a long talk with Arryn about Elon and the things she had found out. It had been weighing on her since the day Cathillian had been injured, but she knew talking to Arryn while things were so hectic at home wouldn't be the best idea.
She sighed. Don't wait too long, Amelia, she thought to herself. You don't want her to hate you for keeping it from her.
"Okay, let's do this. Let's get our city back on track," Amelia told Marie as she followed her out of the room.
***
It took Talia a full day to get to the Madlands while teleporting Scarlett along with her. It required quite a bit of energy to make any kind of jump alone, but carrying someone else made it much worse.
She had to stop mid-way for rest, and then again at the border. She wanted to be fully restored before she attempted to confront the remnant. If she showed even an ounce of weakness, she would be killed and everything would be wasted.
Talia and Scarlett stood at the edge of the mountains looking down into what was known as the Madlands, the desolate wasteland that was home to the destructive and murderous remnant.
They didn't build anything, though they were more than happy to set up camp in whatever was already there.
All they were good at was destroying, which was why their homes were dug into the sides of the mountains or in the ruins of old buildings that had fallen and crumbled away since before the Age of Madness.
Talia would need to locate the leader and get his attention without being killed in the process.
If she pulled this off, nothing could stand in her way.
Talia and Scarlett began making their way down the mountain into the remnant territory. Talia had no idea how her companion felt, but Talia was rather sure of herself.
She was nothing if not confident. Sometimes a little too confident, but it hadn't bitten her in the ass yet, so she didn't see any reason to let it start that day.
Once they neared the bottom, however, Talia began to feel slightly apprehensive.
"Don't you find it strange that we haven't been confronted yet?" Talia asked.
"What do you mean?" Scarlett asked. "Did you expect a welcoming party?"
Talia laughed. "Actually, yes, I did. Remnant are extremely territorial. If they sense even a footstep too close to their borders, they go into a frenzy. We not only made it to the border, we crossed it. We are inside the Madlands, and still no remnant. Either they’re completely clueless that we’re here, or more likely, they know and are strategizing."
Scarlett was about to say something, but was interrupted when Talia threw
her hands out in front of her, a barrier exploding around both of them to deflect a battle axe just before it would have cleaved one of them in two.
"What the fuck?" Scarlett asked, clearly startled by the change of events.
Talia lowered her hands, though her barrier stayed in place. She turned with a dark smile on her face and gazed back at where they had just been. There, toward the top of a large hill in the mountainside, stood a couple dozen or more remnant looking down at them.
"That's one hell of a way to welcome a lady!" Talia shouted.
One by one, the remnant jumped from the edge of the hill, landing the twenty or so feet below. They rolled as they landed, quickly coming back to a standing position, and descended the side of the mountain with death on their faces as they approached the two women standing on their land.
Talia couldn't help but admire how agile and coordinated they were given that they were known to be stupid, mindless beasts.
There was one remnant larger than the rest standing at the front as they approached. He walked straight up to the edge of Talia’s barrier and smiled, his red eyes staring directly into hers as his jagged, broken teeth showed through his dangerous grin.
"It ain't very often that dinner comes to me," he commented, his voice guttural and terrifying to a normal person—though Talia found it rather exciting.
It was an adrenaline rush for her to stand there in remnant territory, staring one of them down. It was like facing death head-on with only a thin barrier separating them.
Talia laughed, the darkness of it catching even the remnant off-guard. "Oh, I assure you that dinner hasn't delivered itself today either. I came to speak to you, woman to beast. Now, are you the one in charge around here, or do I need to take your head to the one who is?"
There was a pause as the remnant studied her before he threw his head back and gave a loud laugh. The other remnant behind him followed suit, chortling right along with their leader.
He reached out and touched the barrier with the tip of his finger, the power of it burning his skin. Talia could smell the charred flesh and see the smoke rolling off it as his cold eyes stared into hers. He didn't flinch as he allowed himself to burn for a moment before finally pulling away.
"You're a little stronger than I gave you credit for. I bet that means you taste better, too," he told her, licking his lips.
The beast made her sick, but not because she was afraid of him. She knew that she would never physically stand a chance against him, but she knew without a doubt that she was much stronger in other ways. She felt offended that he would think she would so easily be taken as prey.
Keeping her focus on her barrier, she took a step forward. "Promises, promises. All the boys say that, but they always seem to let me down. Which is why I'm not going to give you the chance. Now, if you're done flirting, we can get down to business."
Talia could almost feel Scarlett's apprehension as the woman shifted her weight back and forth before stepping right behind her. Talia didn't care. She could handle herself; her companion was only there for backup if needed.
"Those are strong words coming from a scared little girl in a shield," he sneered. "Why don't you drop it and let me flirt with you out here?"
Talia smiled, cocking her head to the side a little as she maintained constant eye contact. "Oh, sweetheart. You think I'm afraid of you. That's cute."
Talia reached behind her with both hands, placing them on Scarlett's hips as she took a few steps back to guide her companion to take a few steps back as well. Once there were several feet between them and the remnant, Talia removed her hands and stepped just outside of the barrier.
The remnant crossed his large arms over his chest as he watched Talia. She slowly took one step, and then another, each movement controlled and confident as she strolled up to the beast.
She stopped when there was no more than a foot or so between them. "Is this better? Can you hear me now?" she asked.
The remnant shook his head. "I ain't sure if you're brave, or if you're fuckin' stupid."
"I believe the one that you're looking for is confident. I'm very confident."
The remnant was fast, but Talia's reflexes were faster. As his arms unfolded and darted for her, she threw her own hands out, sending him flying several feet back onto the ground. Without wasting a single moment, she arced her hands over her chest, conjuring two large fireballs before throwing them next to him on the ground.
She controlled the flames, encircling him as the dead brush around him caught fire.
The other remnant quickly ran forward, and Talia was equally fast to react. She pulled two daggers from sheaths on her lower back and threw them, each one hitting a different remnant in the chest and dropping them.
Three more came at her, and she turned, throwing her hands out in front of her and letting a burst of energy blow forward, sending them back into another approaching remnant.
She quickly extended her hands to her sides, flexing her entire body as she pulled downward, extracting what little water there was in the air around her to create ice shards.
"Stop!" the remnant leader shouted.
A few listened, but most continued charging for Talia. With the flick of her wrist, shards of ice cut through the air, impaling several in the chest and face, ending them before a single extra step had been taken.
The leader was fast to intervene, snatching another of his men by the arm before he could advance farther. He threw him to the ground, standing on his throat.
“I said STOP!” he yelled, his voice booming out over everything.
The rest of the men and women immediately halted, some even taking a few steps back. Talia's eyes locked on the leader’s as he stood inside the thick flames. Talia didn't stir, and she didn't drop the remaining ice she had created.
She stood there, watching his every move as he took a step forward, briefly standing in the flames before walking the rest of the way across.
She realized at that moment that her fire had done nothing to him; he'd allowed her to hold him there. His skin burned, but he didn’t care. He was clearly curious about what she could do.
He took several steps forward, slowly approaching her. There was a dark smile on his face, telling her that he was clearly amused by her.
"Impressive," the remnant told her. "I think that you might have actually taken every one of them by yourself had I not intervened."
Talia smiled. "Good boy. I was starting to think I was gonna have to kill everyone before I got you to listen to reason. And people say you guys have no brains!" She laughed. "Certainly, smart enough not to let me kill all your men. Now, that business I mentioned?"
He nodded and pointed to the ice shards in her hands. "You can drop those now. You'll have no need for them. I promise to be a good boy... For now."
Slowly Talia dropped her hands and allowed the ice to fall to the ground. It almost immediately melted, the dry earth soaking it up.
"What the hell are you doing?" Scarlett whispered from behind her. Scarlett had stepped out of the barrier and came to stand behind her once again. "You’ll get yourself killed."
Talia scoffed. "This was partly your idea, remember? I'm so glad I brought back-up. You were almost completely useless. Now, shut up and let me work. You've proven yourself to be no better than a damn ornament. Piss me off again and I'll feed you to them as a peace offering."
Scarlett glared at Talia, but wisely didn't say anything. Talia turned her focus back to the remnant in front of her. His eyes were narrowed as he smiled down at her, the very image of it horrifying to the normal person. She was undeterred.
"So, what did you have in mind?" he inquired.
"I'm glad you asked," Talia replied, smiling. "I have one hell of a deal to make with you, the prize at the finish line being Arcadia."
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Leaving Cathillian that morning had been rather difficult. Arryn hadn't been sure he was feeling more like himself, though he certainly acted that way.
/> Days ago, Arryn had made a promise to Amelia that she would have a one-on-one discussion with Talia. It wasn't something she was looking forward to, but given the idea that Jenna could be snooping around and getting ready to cause trouble, she needed to know sooner rather than later if Talia was the one they were looking for.
Arryn hated herself for being so obsessed, but with Doyle's warning and her terrible gut feeling, she couldn't just let it go. At the very least, Amelia understood that, even if she didn't quite believe that Talia was the one.
As Arryn approached the hallway leading upstairs to Talia's office, she saw Jackson making his way down it. He looked up and jumped as he saw her, but quickly regained his composure.
"Arryn!" he exclaimed. "What are you doing?"
Arryn laughed. "I'm the teacher, I should be asking you that. But I assume you were just leaving from talking to Talia, right?"
Jackson looked back down the hallway, then returned his focus to Arryn. "Uh, no. She's gone. She had to leave for a couple of days because her mom is sick. I had to drop something off."
Sick mom, Arryn thought. Likely story.
"Ah, I see. Well, that ruins my plans. I was actually planning to go talk to her," Arryn told him.
Jackson nodded, nervously looking around. Arryn thought he was acting very strangely, but she knew he'd recently had a run-in with some Boulevard boys, so she wasn't exactly surprised by his fidgety behavior. Still, she couldn't just let it go, either.
"Yeah, I guess we both wasted our time. Anyway, it's nice to see you again." He waved before walking away.
Arryn paused, staring down the hallway that led to Talia's office. She heard the footsteps stop, but she still debated moving forward.
"Arryn?" Jackson called, catching her attention. When she turned to face him, he was looking at her with a curious expression. He nodded toward the opposite end of the hallway. "Shouldn't you be heading back to class, too?"
Arryn clearly heard the warning in his suggestion. He may have thought he came off as smooth, but it was obvious to Arryn that his tone, combined with the question and his earlier nervous behavior, conveyed apprehension at her being anywhere near Talia's office while she was gone.