Regius (10 page)

Manhandling was needed, as
I couldn't feel my limbs anymore, they were still partly asleep. It
felt like millions of ants were crawling under my skin. Being high,
I couldn't stop the giggle from escaping me when the assassin
forced me to walk on tickling feet.

Digitalis spoke. "You are
the worst kidnapped victim in history." If it weren't for Acacia's
murder and the consequences that followed, I would have said his
voice sounded nice. It was soft and surprisingly gentle. "Why are
you laughing?"

"My feet are asleep." I
told him honestly.

"Keep walking."

"Alright." I agreed, not
wanting to oppose him. "But you're the one that drugged me." I
reminded him in a slur. Was my tongue bigger than usual?

"I shall stop speaking
now." Ignoring him as he was me, I tried my very best to keep in
mind that this situation may be the last I would
ever
find myself in. But
whatever substance he'd used to keep me docile was also affecting
my attention span and whatever it was inside of me that normally
made me able to fear something. The drug had muted my very keen
sense of danger I’d often wanted to get rid of, and the very small
part in my brain that could understand I was being guided into the
Regius base and that I
should
be scared, was missing that sense
terribly.

Digitalis' hand closed
firmly around my shoulder, keeping me up while pushing me forward.
As my head was still covered, I had no idea where I was
going.

"I'd appreciate it if you
made sure-" I paused, trying to remember the words. Being
intelligent was so hard right now. "That I don't walk into a wall."
I finished uncertainly, not sure what I'd wanted to ask
anymore.

"You are really in no
position to make demands."

"Why am I not afraid of you
like I normally am?"

"It is because of the
tranquilizer I gave you." Or maybe it was because now that he'd
spoken to me and I'd heard his voice, he just wasn't as terrifying
as he'd appeared in my mind. "If you are trying to humanize me in
your thoughts, I suggest you stop. Just because I do not sound like
a murderer and am polite, doesn't mean I’m not one." He guided me
to some place specific, I could tell because he turned me at some
point, ordering me to stay where I was before slipping his hands
off my shoulders.

Stretching my hands
outwards to feel if anything was close by, he spoke again. "And now
we are going to wake you up." A surprised shriek escaped me as cold
hard water hit me straight in the stomach, making me fall backwards
onto tiled ground.

Screaming out in pain, I
clenched my hands into fists as the water soaked me to the bone.
The harsh spray was definitely not that of a shower; this was the
kind you used on cars. Once Digitalis deemed me awake and clean, he
stopped the water. I sighed in relief, letting myself drop down
flat on my back as I tried to breathe properly. My muscles were
numb now because of the cold water, but I was indeed wide
awake.

He pulled the sack off my
face roughly, the back of my head connecting painfully onto the
tiles beneath me. I winced, but didn't make a sound.

"Get up." His voice was
less gentle now. Managing somewhat unstably with shallow breathing
due to the previous pressure on my sternum, I blinked my eyes as I
tried to get used to the harsh white light coming from the many
ceiling lamps, standing on shaky legs. Digitalis was nut a few
steps away from me, his eyes curiously scanning me while I took in
my surroundings.

It looked medical. The room
was clean with very white lights but no windows. There were six
shiny tables. They were lined up next to one another on my right; a
big large double door in front of me appeared to be made out of
plastic and an exact replica of those were also behind me. On my
left, there was another long metal table with instruments on them.
They weren't medical instruments, but weapons: many, many knives of
all sizes, shackles, burners, wrenches, hammers, and possibly
gardening tools.

"If you listen to what I
say, we might not need to use those on you." The dozing state I'd
been in earlier had played tricks on my mind. He hadn't seemed that
dangerous, or felt scary. Now though...

He had a dark blue
transparent veil covering the lower part of his face and his
sapphire hair was tied back in a tight ponytail. His eyes were a
different kind of blue from Galax’s. All of his blue tones were
different; Galax's were soothing while Digitalis' were sharp and
cold. His clothing was strange. The mixture of the short tight vest
above the long loose shirt, it was almost like a dress, but too
short to be one. The pants underneath made the outfit more
masculine, but because of his knee high boots, it made it so that
if nobody told you Digitalis was a man, you wouldn’t be able to
guess at first glance. His clothes, haircut and the veil made it
harder to identify him. But when you stood close by, you’d notice
the square and strong jawline, the broad shoulders that weren't
fake underneath the metal pads sticking out from the vest. He had a
very lean waist, practically no hips, making him triangular
shaped.

"What do you want with me?"
I couldn't help but ask. "I have nothing to give you. If you wanted
me dead, you could have just done so back in Lithium Village or in
Cobalt City." The disgust in my tone was not hidden.

"I am following orders.
Kidnapping is not in my job description." He murmured. "You may try
and ask the Steward that question, but I wouldn't recommend it. He
is not known for his kindness, even among the Regius." A shiver ran
down my spine. I was to meet Xania Reinhardt?

Feeling the need to pretend
I wasn't scared, I said. "Because you are?"

He looked confused by this.
"No, I am not." It's as though he thought me silly for even
suggesting that. "But you mean nothing to me. I don't care one way
or another. Acacia Jacoby on the other hand..." He closed his eyes,
an intimate smile playing on his lips that I truly just wanted to
rip off. "She's another story altogether, but we know the end to
that one, so let’s not retell." My body tensed when he unhooked the
short sword from the belt hanging low on his hips, letting the hilt
nestle in his palm as he showed it to me. While the blade was a
simple metal, the hilt had intricate detailing, steel shaped into
thin and delicate strings and swirls encasing the hand of the
person who wielded it.

“I named it Aster.”
Digitalis said, the shock I felt not hidden from him, as there was
no way I could keep it smothered. “Your mother is the only victim
who managed to wound me back.” He turned the weapon over carefully
in his hand. “She was a good warrior. Impressive and ruthless.”
Pushing the blade back into the belt loop, he then proceeded in
unbuttoning the top two buttons of his vest, revealing some skin to
me, and with that, a large scar.

“With the weapon that
belonged to her; its name was
Alia
, Pallium for 'other'. I didn’t
understand how true that was until this very blade scarred me.” He
closed his vest then, his dark azure eyes fixing on me. “Your
mother was like no other. After I took her life, I kept the weapon
and named it to honor her.”

While I’d initially felt
fright and sadness wash over me as he’d begun to talk about my
mother, I only felt anger and rage now, trying to keep it down and
controlled, hoping it wouldn’t burst free as I was smart enough to
know I couldn't take him on.

“You look like her.” I
detected a hint of discomfort in his tone, my appearance obviously
unsettling him. "But you have your father's eyes."

He turned around then,
walking out of the same doors we'd entered through. At least, from
what my orientation told me where we had come from. As soon as the
doors closed, the double doors behind me opened, not leaving me any
time to recover from my meeting with Zinc’s most feared assassin. I
spun around to see who was coming in but slipped, as the floor was
still wet beneath my feet. Being dizzy and still trying to kick off
some remnants of the tranquilizer probably didn't help.

I fell painfully on my back
and opened my eyes carefully as I shook my head, hoping the black
spots in my vision would fade. Once it did, I managed to focus on
the face of a woman looking down at me curiously. Her long blue
hair spilled over her shoulders like a curtain.

"Hello." Her voice was like
crystal. Her slitted eyes were blue, of course, and her skin
naturally pale as a Regius. She was clothed with layers of soft
sapphire silk wrapping around her like a loose dress, a thin golden
cord tied around her waist to show off her hip line. A similar gold
cord was tied around her forehead with a single blue bead centered
between her brows. She looked to be in her early thirties. "My name
is Maya Meek."

"Solenum Everhart." My
voice sounded rough as the previous hardships done to my body were
settling in, leaving me battered. She pursed her lips, offering me
a delicate looking hand with long nails painted blue to help me up
on my feet.

"You're still dosed. You
wouldn't be this polite if you weren't."

I raised an eyebrow at
that. "Would you rather I scream in fear? Show my frustration with
the situation? Perhaps get angry at everyone and everything that
comes close to me?" I huffed. "I'm not an idiot. I get that I'm
fucked and I know one of you will hurt me if I don't cooperate. Not
that I'm going to cooperate when it comes to telling any secrets."
I gave a stubborn look. "But I'm definitely not going to get
manhandled with tranquilizers every second of the day." Her
monotone expression formed into a grimace before she nodded and
turned on her heel.

"Follow me." She said
simply and I did as asked, because again I realized, what else
could I do?

She led me through the
double doors, revealing a long and fancy hallway. I'd thought I'd
been in a medical facility, or a hospital of sorts in the previous
room, but this looked like a castle worthy of royalty. We were
walking on a long blue carpet, chandeliers hanging from the ceiling
with burning candles in them. Metal armor was lining the walls on
either side and as they weren't moving, I assumed they were empty.
They were polished brightly; my reflection appearing every time I
walked past one.

"Are we underground?" I
asked Maya. Her long hair was swaying back and forth as she walked
at a relaxed pace through the endless hallway. There was the
occasional gap in the lined up armory, giving space for a door here
and there, probably leading to rooms. Rooms I'd never see the
inside off, I was sure.

"Partly." She answered
softly, never turning her head to look at me. "I am bringing you to
the conservatory."

"I thought I was to meet
Xania." I bumped into her when she suddenly stopped walking. She
wasn't as fragile as she looked, as she didn't even so much as lose
her balance.

Turning around, she fixed
her blue gaze on my yellow one. "You need to meet someone else
before." She lowered her voice to a whisper. "But you must keep it
a secret. If he finds out I disobeyed his orders, I will pay a
harsh price."

Before she could start
walking again, I grabbed her elbow, making her raise an eyebrow in
surprise. "Who are you?"

"Maya Meek." She
answered.

"Yes, you said that
already." Looking around, I let my Altor vision pop on and checked
to see if I could spot any other blue hearts. "Why are you risking
something for me?"

"Who says that I am? Maybe
this person is worse than Xania."

I pursed my lips at her
sudden defensive reaction. "From the look on your face, I'm rather
sure Xania is your worst nightmare."

Her eyes closed and I saw
her gulp. "Please. I was asked a favor and I am complying. Don't
make it harder than it already is.
You
may ask her questions, not I."
She shrugged her elbow out of my hold and started to walk again,
taking a right to open a door and beckon me to follow her
in.

As we walked up the stairs
that was revealed, the atmosphere turned warmer and it became less
dark, the candles no longer needed once we reached the top. Coming
to stand beside Maya, I stared at the wooden door that was carved
into a tree.

"The conservatory?" I
guessed.

Maya nodded, knocking
before she nudged the door open. "I cannot enter. I never have
before and I will not start today."

"Then how are you doing
them a favor if they didn't ask to begin with?"

The Regius woman gestured
for me to step inside. "She had Robinia deliver the message to me.
He is the only one besides Xania that may enter wherever he wishes
to go." She pushed me inside when she realized I wasn't going to go
in on my own. "I'll wait here for you." I heard her say as she
closed the door behind me once I stumbled in.

I blinked at the sight. It
was a square room, with a partial second floor. The partial second
floor was a wooden railing that hugged the center of the large
windows the space was shaped out of. I'd stepped through a door in
a tree, which was so tall, the top of it went through the glass
roof. As did the other two trees present in this place. I could see
many stacks of books and flowers of all types surrounded me. They
were larger than I had ever seen flowers be before.