Sorrowful Twilight: Chapter 2.

Chapter 2
The boy opened his eyes, listened and heard footsteps from the corridor outside his room. In a single motion he sat up in the large comfortable bed, removed the quilt from his body while he felt his body brush against the thin smooth textile of his nightshirt then looked at his pale, featureless legs and twitched his toes. "Margett?" The boy said with his voice in a high pitch. From somewhere in the room came a voice, the young heir himself could not a first determine from where it came and looked around the room until he noticed the outline of a woman by the window hidden in the sunlight. "Have I overslept?" The boy asked as she looked at him.
         "No." The reply was short and hard and made the boy stay on edge. "Many hours remain. You should sleep some more." The outline of the woman moved as if it made a calming gesture.
         The boy shook his head, sat up on the bedside where he brought his fingers through his blond hair and managed to smile despite the worry that boiled inside him. "I have slept enough, now I need something to do or I will be devoured by my anxiety." The outline did not move, the boy looked at it as if he had expected it too. "Have something happened?"
         "Yes." The voice said and the outline blurred for a moment before it stabilized. "The opposition will act against your father before the coronation, they will try and stop it." The Guardian now turned and looked at the boy. "As expected."
         The boy nodded. "Yes Margett." The heir walked towards the closet followed by invisible eyes. "I should visit my father." He continued and opened the two wooden doors and revealed his elaborate costumes in many colours and shapes ranging from the Remna Kami fashion to the Orhotox Gôrbu attire.
         "I will call for a maid." The voice said but her master raised a hand, the boy had authority in his gesture but not enough. "I do not care for you wishes." The voice continued stronger then before and took a step towards the heir and out of the sunshine and the woman became visible, she was covered by layers and layers of deep blue cloth and her face and hands were kept hidden.
         A moment later the door was opened by a girls soft hand and the maid attached a false smile to her lips, adjusted her white plain dress with a frilly collar. Her black her rested in a pony tail over her right shoulder and on her feet she wore sandals tied to her ankles with thin leather straps. She closed the door behind her then with aware blue eyes she looked at the young heir and bowed. "Allow me."
         The young heir shook his head. "I will dress myself." He said and then saw the maid look at the guardian who nodded, the maid nodded in return and began to make the bed.
         The heir took a wide Cai Shaluf from the wardrobe, felt the fabric with his fingers then decided. He had always liked the clothes that he had gotten from his late uncle, most of the textiles from the savage lands where smooth and still durable and made clothes suited for both battle and court. But he was not a fighter so the textile had been made into a Shaluf with the long sleeves embroidered with branches, the hood folded twice similar to that of a Chazé and the wide bottom part would hide his childlike features.
         He dressed himself watched by his Guardian and the maid and each time he seemed to get stuck in the elaborate clothes the maid took a step forward and each time he had to gesture her away. He would always be a child in the eyes of most the maids, they had been with him since he was young, it was with them he had played, with them he had learned the games of court and the behaviour of a heir.
         “Assemble the guards." The Guardian said her tone sharp and the maid hurried and left.
         The boy regarded himself in the tall mirror then covered his face with the hood and turned towards his Guardian, unfolded his palm and absorbed the woman into himself leaving nothing where she had been standing.



The chamber was lit by eight torches placed equally apart on the black walls, the ceiling above was a painting in bright copper colours from the Chakal mountain depicting the events of the Sundering where the Dawn Messiah defeated the Great Demon King and ripped the world in two. At the edges of the painting where eight bright halos each surrounding a goddesses who poured her power into the Dawn Messiah.
         Below the painting there was a desk of dark oak and beside it sat a tall man wearing a bright cardinal robe with wide sleeves and a high collar rising up and surrounding his head. His face aged and covered with deep wrinkles around his eyes and lips with the baggy cheeks moving as he breathed and the nostrils widened but not enough to allow air through. He swallowed as his distant eyes regarded the men before him, all where they priests and had been speaking to him some time but he had not listened. He was tired, felt weak and wished that this day would pass so his son, Larch, could become the new High Priest.
         Then suddenly his boys name where mentioned and his eyes became wide awake and tried their best to focus on the one he assumed had been speaking. "My son." He wheezed. "What about my son?"
         "Your son is on his way here." One of the priests said then made a deep honorary bow joined by his brothers but the gesture did not seem to impress the High Priest who rose from the chair with legs suffering from the weight of his own body.
         "We will go meet him." The High Priest said and slowly he began to walk towards the door while his subordinates came to aid him. As he walked shielded by the other priests his mind graced the thought that this would be the most glorious day in Orhotox Empire, a new Hight Priest would be crowned, the Orhotox Queen would outlawed the use of occult magic and crush the opposition who clings to the believing that maidens where somehow connected to the goddesses. Soon only the image of the Dawn Messiah would remain and his son would be the general of this crusade. A smile came to the old man's lips as he left the room, all his political games had reached result and in just two hours his son would resume his lives work.



The heir walked down the golden corridor surrounded by his escort. In the front where two standard bearers with a lieutenant walking between them garbed in a silver harness and a thick white robe carrying a tall slender sword engraved with holy letters. In the middle walked the heir surrounded by eight knights armed with tall broad tipped spears and heavy iron armour and at the end walked the twelve maids. Each maid had long dark hair gathered in to a ponytail that rested over their right shoulders, wore plain white dresses with frilly collars and on the feet they wore sandals tied to their ankles with thin leather straps.
         The first and oldest of the Maids where Ichigatsu, she was in charge of learning the heir to eat properly and familiarise him with table side chatting. She was the only maid who had been with him since he was born, had been his wet nurse for some time while the High Priest changed wife's and was after that tasked with assembling eleven more maids to aid the heir in his daily life. A task that she gladly accepted and earned her the title of High Maid.
         Second was Nigatsu, a few years younger then Ichigatsu and her younger sister. Nigatsu was in charge of the heirs hygiene and made sure that the boy received a bath each week and that each morning and eve her received a through wash and those times when her sister was away she acted as her replacement. Nigatsu was also the only maid who was engaged and she had received the heirs blessing to get married.
         Sangatsu was the third maid and in charge of the heirs health and watch over him each night praying at his bedside and blessing everything he intended to eat or drink. She had been raised at a convent by a distant relative of her diseased mother. The year she turned five the High Priest came to visit the convent and he was the one who noticed her spiritual power and brought her back to the Capital.
         Shigatsu, the fourth maids father had been a lieutenant in the royal army and her older sister was a royal guard. Shigatsu had at a young age began practising swordplay with her sister and father and received Ichigatsu attention in the royal courtyard one afternoon. That same night she was introduced to the heir and accepted as a maid.
         Gogatsu had been found at the doorstep of the castle three years before the heir was born. She was raised by a stable man and his spouse and learned at a young age to ride and care for horses and was picked by Ichigatsu to serve as the heirs teacher in riding and later horseback combat.
         The sixth maid Rokugatsu was in charge of the heirs food, she cooked many of his meals herself and those dishes she had not herself prepared she tasted to make sure no poison had been added to them. Her mother had served many ears as the High Priests chef and she had decided to do the same for the son.
         Shichigatsu was the heirs teacher, she had learned him all there was to learn about the world both in the realm of politics as well as religion and the occult. She was the descendant of Gharmal the wise and had in her possession the Codex of Reim.
         The eighth maid Hachigatsu had just celebrated her seventeenth birthday and passed the Rite of Age. She had been taken as a slave at young age and via several suspicious trades had reached the Capital and had become the possession of the dungeon keeper before Ichigatsu liberated her. Now she is charge of dressing the heir and keeping his wardrobe up to date.
         Kugatsu had been charged with keeping the heirs surroundings neat and tidy, twice a day she cleaned his room and office and also was in charge of the western halls cleaning staff. Both her parents worked at the castle and her older sister worked at a manor at the outskirts of the Meÿnére forest. She was the second to join the maids and is one of Ichigatsu's most trusted friends.
         Jūgatsu, Jūichigatsu and Jūnigatsu where triplets born in the same year as the heir and he had played with them in his youth and would court them as he grew older. All three girls awaited the day when he would come of age, already then knew what grip they would have on him, what great fortune carrying his child would bring. Hungrily they waited for him to ripe while their words soften his mind.



Those who saw the procession bowed their heads deeply and murmured a prayer. The heir of the High Priest was the saviour of their belief, he would remove the occult taint from the land and deliver them a time of prosperity and peace. Many feared the opposition, many feared the weak rule of the Orhotox Queen and in the shroud of all this fear the High Priest had been a pillar of light just like the maidens where to those living in the lands of famine. But he had decided to crush all other beliefs except the true one, he had decided to make his soon the Dawn Messiah and forever prove the maidens wrong in their pagan worship of the goddesses.



The High Priest moved slowly down the emerald stairs followed by his priests who walked in a circle around him with their head sunk into warding prayers. The High Priest himself did not pray, he only mumbled his sons name shaping the words with his aged and used lips. His dear Manrik was the only one who kept him alive, the reason his aged body had endured the torment of life this long and today Manrik would become the seventh High Priest and he would preach and praise the name and image of the Dawn Messiah just like his father had done.
         With a great hum from the priests they entered the golden corridor and continued towards the heirs chamber. Could hear the noise of a crowd ahead and a slim smile came to the High Priest's lips but it faded after only a moment and once more he began to murmur his sons name. "Manrik." He repeated over and over as if it was the only word he knew and each time he said it a spark came to his eyes. He brought his hands together and rubbed the bony fingers so hard the frail skin almost bruised.
         Then at the distance he saw his sons procession and feasted upon the image of his son and heir. The prayers of the priests around him became louder and he too now joined in them. "Bless the Dawn Messiah, bless the blade of Justice and truth and cut the veil of lies from the face of humanity." His voice was now stronger with each step he came closer to his son. "Bless he who defeated the Great Demon King and carved their kind from the surface of the world." Now he could hear that his own son joined in the chorus and he could feel his heart beat and when he inhaled he did so with vigour and youth. "Bless those who follows the radiant trail of the Dawn Messiah and carry the banner of peace."



The soft fingers closed themselves harder around the slim wooden handle of the knife and the colour of the skin turned deathly white. Her weapon was now revealed and she only had a moment to act, exhaled as she dashed forward into the circle of eight knights and trusted her knife into the heirs body, felt blood soak her hand as the child's terrible scream pierced through the prayer and everyone turned and watched as the heir was stabbed once more and now the blood squirted over the maids dress and onto her face was a deep and devilish grin.
         "Margett." The boy said as once more the knife was plunged into his back and onto his face came a canvas of pain and from his mouth trickled blood. The Guardian released herself from within him, stood before him shrouded beneath layers of cloth and he could only see the faint movement of her face inside the hood. The fourth time the knife entered his body it punctured the right ventricle and instantly he died.



Her skin was pale and flowed to and fro like a veil on her face, the thin black threads of her eyebrows sunk deep on her forehead as she closed her grey eyes. The wind tore the raven black hair from her frail shoulders and her lips slipped apart and carefully she captured a breath. Listened to the waves that greeted the large ship as it rested in the harbour.
         She rested her fingerless gloved hands against the railing and her body made a sharp contour against the moonlit sky above. He torso was hidden below a robust dark leather vest with a thin woollen shirt beneath and from her bellybutton down to the beginnings of her thighs she was covered by a pair of short leather trousers with a tight fit to her skin and below on each leg hung two daggers attached to her skin with magical chains and last along her legs extended a pair of rough boots made from the durable hide of a Merkhan larva.
         A exhaled left her nose and rushed past her mouth as she opened it and looked out over the city before her where lights where alive in every window to keep the everlasting darkness at bay. "So this is where you have been hiding." She said and with a crack she snapped the wooden railing in two then smiled.



The other eleven maidens screamed as the knights spears dug deep into Hachigatsu's body but as the girl danced down towards the floor she was still alive breathing rapidly as blood began to fill up in her mouth. Her hands was still gripping the knife with whom she had taken the heirs life and in her ears rang the loud curses and cries that sounded from the High Priest. When one of the guards raised his spear to finish her off Jūgatsu, Jūichigatsu and Jūnigatsu combined their power to push him away while tears streamed down their cheeks and Ichigatsu charged forward bellowing at the knights to lower their weapons.
         "Kill every maiden." The Hight Priest ordered his face red with hate and his lips trembling. "I order you to kill them all!" He shouted with bared teeth and spit trickling down his chin. His still had some distance to cover until he could take his child in his arm and through the anger he could feel the pain that tortured his legs, feel how his diaphragm forced itself up to allow air into his lungs. "Kill them I said!" He waved his arms and wondered why his knights did not obey. "Slaughter the maids like the occult fiends they are!" He cursed then saw how the knight where crushed by their own armours while the lieutenant was cut down by his own sword and the two standard bearers where impaled by the poles to which the bright standard of the Dawn Messiah was attached.
         The Guardian Margett unfolded her hands and removed her magic from all those dead around her and without turning to look at the maidens she spoke. "Leave her here." She said with a hard edge to her voice. "Escape." The eyes inside the hood focused on the mad High Priest that came towards her, heard behind her as Ichigatsu and two of the elder maids grabbed the triplets who now cried louder and the noise followed the maids as they ran back through the corridor with the chocked crowd looking at them as if they where demons.
         "Cursed Guardian." The High Priest shouted as he raised his arms and unleashed a wisp of holy power that the shrouded betrayer only swatted away and from inside the cloth came a laughter, the Guardian raised a sleeve against the ceiling and revealed her dark scarred hand and a moment later both she and the wounded maid was enveloped by a red aura then faded as if they had been sucked up into the air.
         The High Priest fell to his knees beside his son, took the dead head in his lap and stroked the blond hair while he began to weep and looked into the dead eyes as he cursed the Guardian, cursed the maids and cursed the world. "Humanity needs to be cleansed." He said loudly and his priests looked at him. "Judgement needs to shine and rip the evil it two." He licked his lips. "Summon the high council, we have business to attend to." His lips shaped a wicked smile. "Put my boy to rest in my chamber, I will attend to him later."