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In all her years with the organization, Teresa had never witnessed anything as shocking as she had with Maddy. At least with the organization, there was some dignity given to its warriors, even assigning them a rank, some freedom and coin, but life as a slave in the Capitol was something else, a fate that sought to crush the human soul. Most of Maddy's slaves were hybrids; claymores with silver eyes but a few with others. All appeared heavily drugged and droopy, some with funny expressions on their faces. The silvers were more prevalent for a reason, Teresa thought. They did appear to be more powerful on average. All the claymores wore collars and held their heads down low to the carpet. Some worked on house chores, while others stood seemingly at standby, waiting to be ordered. One of them even asked for permission to leave for the bathroom.
Teresa saw it clearly. Maddy enjoyed seeing inflicting suffering and laying witness to the humiliation of others. The woman did not see what she did as wrong. It was evident in the way she strutted proudly and took her time with everything that she did. She patted a few of them on the head like animals as she passed by them. The night came and went, but she did not sleep. Maddy slept and she watched the whole time, waiting patiently for that which she planned.
The next day, Maddy woke early and resumed her day. It involved mostly paperwork and the occasional punishing of a slave, whether by striking them with a cane or with another instrument. Maddy would spend an hour with a slave then take a short break for some food and tea. After a long day's work, Teresa followed the woman up the stairs and down a high ceilinged corridor until arriving at Maddy's room. Teresa looked about and was not surprised to see a richly decorated room with an oversized bed covered with silky red sheets.
Maddy sat down on a small chair in front of a mirror. She grabbed a brush and began brushing at her hair. Teresa watched her at the door with her arms crossed.
"Staring at me ominously will not make anything miraculous happen." Maddy said.
"This is taking too long." Teresa said. "I'm getting bored...and when I get bored, I get upset."
"The auction is not for another hour," Maddy said, tilting her head as she straightening one side. "There is nothing I can do to make that come faster. Why don't you occupy yourself with one of my male slaves? I've seen you eying them."
"I'd rather have my eyes on you instead, thanks." Teresa said.
"Then don't complain about being bored...mmm just like Miria. Always expecting things to go her way, like a child going through life thinking they are the center of everything. A child with enormous power. All hybrids are dangerous, wielding a power that is not deserved."
"Really? I'm the danger and not people like you?"
"Can I level an entire city with my own strength? Can I singlehandedly cause the extinction of the human race If I so wished it? Hybrid powers are near unlimited. We ordinary humans are powerless to stop you."
"Luckily, i'm not into that."
"Luck should not determine the fate of humanity. Such a power that flows within cannot be trusted to the likes of a single undisciplined mind. Discipline must be instilled."
"Tell me something, Marion," Teresa said.
"Its Maddison," Maddy corrected.
"Whatever. If you were to somehow have an advantage over me, would you attempt to instill me with this discipline?"
Maddy looked as though she thought twice about her answer, but then resumed to brush her hair. "I would administer it in the highest level." She said with a calm yet sharp voice.
Teresa moved up to Maddy and put her hands on Maddy's shoulders and squeezed a little too hard for comfort, eliciting a painful gasp from the woman. "Oh? And how exactly would you break me? I'm interested to know how torturing me would get me to do what you want. Please, talk freely."
"I am not a torturer," Maddy said, a tinge of irritation in her. "I do not inflict pain for the sake of it. I have a more delicate method. It matters not who, everyone has a breaking point. All it takes is an eye for the details and a bit of patience. I would soon have you begging to lick my boot."
The arrogance of it was impressive at least. Teresa withdrew her grip on the woman's shoulders and Maddy shuddered with relief, but soon resumed brushing her hair with perfectly calm strokes. "Teresa of the faint smile, you are living proof that I am right to believe what I do."
Teresa did not say anything further. She sat down across Maddy's bed and a moment of silence drew between the two women. Maddy continued to brush her hair. Teresa lay back against the bed and looked at the intricate patterns atop the ceiling, thinking. After a while, Maddy turned around in her seat.
"Are you sure you wish to enter this auction?" Maddy said.
"I'm not sure about anything right now, but I'm sure about that."
"It will be a frenzy. Everyone will be eager to buy. The one who acquires you will likely be the wealthiest of the lot. I see where you're going with this, it is a logical plan, but there is a problem."
"Oh yeah? And what's that?"
" The wealthiest does not necessarily mean the most important. It does not necessarily mean you will be getting closer to the master."
"It doesn't matter who the buyer will be," Teresa said. "Everyone important will be gathered in one place at the same time. If this master is truly a dragon, I'll be able to sense him."
"Perhaps, and what if the rumors aren't true? What if he is no dragon?"
"If that's the case, then all this is a waste of time now isn't it?" Teresa said, giving Maddy an ominous look.
When Maddy finished in front of the mirror, she moved over to an open dressing area in the corner that was filled with racks of leather bodysuits of all colors which were attached to mannequins. Two male slaves appeared seemingly out of nowhere and helped Maddy with the process of removing her current red suit, the leather peeling off like another layer of skin. Teresa turned away when the woman was in the nude and went for a bath in a nearby basin. She returned a moment later to be re-dressed by the same slaves in an all-white bodysuit that fit her every bit as perfect as the last.
Teresa then followed the instructress as she headed back to the living room where Evelina had woken and had been bound by rope with her arms tied to her back and hanging above the floor. She was being violated by lines of men who eagerly awaited their turn. Teresa in a way despised Maddy for daring to go there, but she did not necessarily feel it enough to stop it, though she could not look. Maddy, though, sat across one of her sofas and served a glass of wine and fruit by slaves. Teresa approached the sofa, eyeing Maddy strongly. The instructress dismissed her slaves, and Teresa sat down on the sofa next to her.
"Careful, I didn't give you permission to do that." Maddy said.
Teresa glanced over at Evelina's plight. The woman was being ravaged. Muffled moans came out of her gagged mouth. "Not that I really care, but why don't you just kill her?"
Maddy's smile was small but pronounced, and it curved just a little too much up at the edges. "Because I hate her. I want to see her suffer."
"So when Miria was under your care, did you hate her enough to see her suffer as well?"
Maddy put down her drink and stared at Teresa firmly "I attempted to instill discipline in Miria, not humiliate her. I am a professional in my professional time, but I do enjoy seeing my enemies and rivals humiliated. There is no greater pleasure in this world."
A man in a dog mask covering the top half of his face entered the room from the end chamber, and when Maddy saw him she raised herself off the couch and approached him. She moved carefully as if she were not necessarily above him. Maddy made brief conversation with him in a suspiciously low tone. Teresa could not hear what they were saying, but she watched the man's lips as they moved.
Maddy let out a sigh and seemed disappointed, annoyed. She had heard news she did not like. When the man left, Teresa approached Maddy with a question or two in mind. But she didn't even ask them. Maddy turned around to face her.
"It would seem I have a job." Maddy said.
"A job? I thought you worked for yourself." Teresa said.
"I have certain contracts I must adhere to."
"I don't care. We're going to the auction."
Maddy placed a hand against her hip and gave Teresa a long stare. "There is no point in going early, so I'm going to the job first. This is non negotiable"
Irritated, Teresa walked up to the woman just a bit too close for comfort and pushed her face close. "is it?"
"I have never missed an appointment. My reputation is dependent on my perfect record. Stay here. I will be back shortly. "
"No way, i'm not leaving you alone." Teresa said.
"Your kind is outlawed within the Capitol. If you are seen in the streets, even I will be arrested."
"Riches unable to bail you out?" Teresa said.
Teresa did not really allow it but Maddy went off anyway, which confused and annoyed her. But she let It slide and followed, and not knowing exactly why. She grudgingly agreed to put a sack over her head to keep her anonymous so nobody could see her silver eyes. A line of servants followed them as they left.
Maddy's job ended up being within a house a few blocks away. It was ever nicer than Maddy's own residence though somehow less sleek. The inhabitants that answered the door looked cowardly at Maddy as if she were a figure of utter terror. Maddy did not even say a word and Teresa followed her inside where up a set of stairs and in a room, was a naked man who hung from the ceiling from chains. The man was older and with not much muscle. He hung loosely from his manacles, his wrists frail.
"Mr Pinkerson, how long has it been? Too long if you ask me. It would seem disobedience has crept its way back into you."
The man started to shiver with fear. Maddy glanced at Teresa for a moment before turning back and closing the door to the room. A servant handed her over a long nasty cane that even made Teresa shudder; she had never been hit by one in her life but from talking to Miria she heard it was pain on another level.
Maddy approached the man and placed the cane under his chin and used it to raise his face to meet hers. She smiled at him with a deceptive warmness. "There will be a vote tomorrow, You will vote no. Is this understood?"
The man said nothing. Maddy continued to stare at him for a moment too long. The man had begun to shudder as if he had regretted his decision to defy her.
A slave approached with a cup of water and handed it to the instructress. Teresa watched uncomfortably as Maddy put the cup to the man's lips and forced him to drink the clear contents. She then stepped back and waited a while until the man became delirious in a drug-induced haze, and then proceeded to strike the man with the cane. Over and over again u til he screamed. When she removed him from the chains, she beat him further with her own hands and feet and knees, reminding him over and over what it was she wanted from him. She would stop and continue as if carefully calculated. Despite the vicious beating, he still managed to stand when she ordered it. Maddy was careful with her strikes. Never hurting him beyond repair. Teresa felt sad when he fell to his knees and groveled before her, drooling and a man utterly broken. It didn't take long. Maddy caressed his cheek with a look of utter boredom. The man then said exactly what she wanted. He had been defeated but Maddy did not seem to take pleasure in it, It was clear to Teresa the woman did, in fact, see this as work.
Afterward, a group of slaves briefly administered the man with what Teresa thought to be medicine and then they all left the house and went back on the streets.
"I thought the drug only works on our kind," Teresa said
"The human variation has similar effects. Though, of course, it is nowhere near as powerful."
"And you need this drug to conduct your...business? Is pure talent just not enough?"
Maddy smirked. "The drug only speeds up the process. It leaves the mind in a vulnerable state that is easily susceptible to influence. It could be done without the drug, though the process would be longer and far more brutal. Since I don't have time to waste, this is the way it is done for efficiency sake."
"Who exactly is your employer?" Teresa said.
"The master, of course."
"So you do whatever he wishes?"
They stopped in the middle of the street. It was getting dark and there were not many others around. Teresa was in the open and seeable by anyone, but this time Maddy did not seem to care as much. She was showed signs of being annoyed at the question.
"The master pays well," Maddy said. "As long as the money flows, my services are available. Better to be working for him than...not to be."
"And I imagine the master uses instructresses to crush his opposition," Teresa said spitefully. "I suppose there is no moral code to the job then?"
"I have as much of a moral code as you. I read your file. Despite showing some signs of rebellion you were mostly loyal to the organization which you served. In that aspect, we are not so different."
Teresa had no answer for that one. The woman had a point there. When they returned back to Maddy's place, there was a guest in the living room. Teresa identified him as her past caretaker, Orsay. She put and kept her head down low on the carpet as she followed Maddy.
"Mr. Orsay..." Maddy said, sounding irritated. "What, may I ask, are you doing in my home?"
Orsay heard the woman but his eyes were firmly on Teresa for far too long. Maddy tilted her head a little, a sign of growing irritation. But then he gave the instructress her due.
"Forgive the intrusion, instructress, but I've heard the most interesting rumor and I came to see if it was true."
Maddy glanced over at Teresa, and they both now stared at her. "Yes, it is true. I have her under my care."
Orsay approached Teresa slowly. Teresa was curious to see how her former trainer would react to her predicament, whether he would rub salt in her wounds or feel completely indifferent. Teresa thought to raise her face to look him eye for eye. His stare went down to the collar around her neck.
"I would have never thought Teresa of the faint smile to be controllable. Like a cat with a leash, the two never seemed to work well together."
Teresa smiled back faintly. "You managed it the best you could."
Orsay smiled back too, except it was sad. "I did no such thing. You were never controllable, at least not by a man. It saddens me to see this, though perhaps it is for the best. It is safer this way for everyone, yourself included."
"Oh I agree," Teresa said, "Being in service to Maddy is exactly what I needed. Thinking for one's self is overrated. I am not a strong independent woman at all."
Orsay said nothing back. The look on his face made it uncertain whether he interpreted that as sarcasm or if it was what his former claymore really thought.
"I'm curious, Mr. Orsay, What did you tell my servants for them to let you in?" Maddy said.
"I said I was an associate," Orsay said.
"An associate? Is that all?"
"That is all."
"Did they at least ask for identification?"
"No."
Maddy glared at her many slaves around, most of which cowered at direct eye contact. Her calm, glass-like face turned into annoyance.
"You came and saw what you wanted. Now you may leave, Mr. Orsay."
"Forgive me for asking, instructress," Orsay said. "but will you be taking Teresa to the upcoming auction?"
"As a matter of fact, I will. Do you have any other questions for me, Mr. Orsay? I could book an appointment in my office at a later date?"
Orsay bowed respectfully, "that will be unnecessary, instructress. My apologies for offending you."
The man in black took one last glance at Teresa and then left. Maddy sighed in frustration. She adjusted the leather on her arm by tightening some straps. When done, she looked around at the slaves again.
"Alright. Which one of you let that man in?" Maddy said.
An intense awkward silence ensued. The slaves were all looking at each other anxiously until one of the males with silver eyes stood forward and got to his knees, his voice cracking as he spoke. "I'm...sorry, instructress. It was me. Forgive me."
"What did I tell you about the security protocols of this house, Jon?"
Jon remained mute and had his head down low, ashamedly. Maddy continued to stare at him. She seemed disappointed.
"Naughty boy. I don't really have time to discipline you right now, but perhaps I'll allow Bella to do it in my stead?"
Maddy looked over to another side where a female slave also with silver eyes stood smirking. When the male looked at her, panic swept through him. "No, please instructress. Not her. I won't do it again."
"Won't do what again, Jon?"
"Allow an intruder inside. I failed to follow security protocols."
"Perhaps all that muscle comes at the expense of brains. You put my life at risk you fool. I give you the right to have a name and this is how you repay me? unacceptable. Come see me later tonight. Is this understood?"
"Yes, instructress."
Teresa felt odd being a bystander in that confrontation. Nobody looked to her for help and she wasn't willing to give it. She was a collared slave like everyone else. The man's fear did not decline in the slightest. He seemed even more distraught that before. Clearly the thought of seeing Maddy later was a horrifying concept.
Maddy went upstairs and Teresa followed her, keeping her attention on the woman the whole time. As they passed by the hall, Teresa's eyes lingered upon a group of human male slaves that cleaned the hallway. All of them were tall and with a good amount of muscle. Her gaze naturally went to their naked bodies and she had to force herself not to. All of them were naked and very much impressive.
Maddy noticed her staring and smirked, then spoke in a sly, suggestive voice. "They have been trained to give pleasure and comfort. You can have whichever one your heart desires, or more than one if you think you can handle it. Treat yourself. I will come find you when I am ready to leave."
Teresa threw her an unamused look. The woman's utter arrogance was laudable if not overly cocky. Teresa could certainly respect it on some level. Maddy smirked victoriously as if she had won something and continued to stroll towards her room, leaving Teresa alone with the men. All of them slowly approached were looking at her. A few even dared a smile. She tried to keep her thoughts straight, did the best she could, but it was becoming harder and harder to do so. Her mind wondered on its own, even more so than usual. She liked one in particular but they were all gorgeous.
Teresa patted her hair nervously. "So then...do you all have names...?"
Miria organized a council within the academy where all the major parties came together to discuss their response to the incoming dragonkin threat.
"Teresa's gone? How did you lose her?" Galatea asked.
Clare shrugged. "You say that as if I owned her to begin with. She willingly gave herself up. I don't know why and I don't know where she is at the moment."
Galatea looked over to the side, towards the direction of the wall, and beyond it as if she saw the city behind. "I... could tell you."
"What?" Clare said, surprised. "You can sense her?"
"Yes. She is alive and well. Stress levels at a minimum. Currently speaking with someone in a black suit."
"Where?"
"Near the cities' center. By all accounts, she appears to be handling things well on her own. I cannot read minds but I do get the general sentiment that she wants to be left alone."
"Going to her might not be the best idea," Miria said.
Clare knew Galatea was right, but something inside her protested. Galatea stared at her, in a way that almost seemed invading. She could feel as if the woman was probing through her mind.
"Your wings...may I see them?" Galatea asked.
Clare flushed at the thought. For some reason, she didn't like showing her wings, but she did it when asked. She grew them out of her back, each wing sliding out through slits in her suit. Everyone stared in wonder, even Miria was struck every time by them.
"A deity in the flesh," Isley said, staring like everyone else. "Those wings are not due to any awakening. Other strange powers are at play here...powers that are not from this world."
"With those, your power rivals that of Arrylys," Galatea said. "This is most definitely a good thing."
Clare withdrew her wings. "I don't think I can beat her, not by myself. Teresa though, could, I believe. She is stronger than I am."
"Tell me, Clare, How confident are you in fighting multiple opponents at once?" Galatea said.
"Why?"
"The dragonkin sent a dozen walkers ahead of their main army to help clear the way. If you can slow them down, or even take them out, that would really be beneficial to us."
"And by doing so, hopefully, weaken the enemy's morale," Isley said.
"What's a walker?" Clare asked.
Walkers, they called them. They had met one shortly after first arriving on this mainland. Clare remembered Teresa trying to take one down but failing, but that was when she was not quite at her full power, not like now. Of course, Teresa was off doing her own thing and now here she was attempting something stupid by herself.
Her wings gave her supersonic speed that took her to her opponents in rapid time. She saw them in the distance; a dozen or so creatures that stomped over the land, each step thunderous and upsetting the earth beneath it. Huge growths of trees and other fauna sprung from their backs, so large they likely housed their own habitats. The walkers moved slowly but each step crossed entire valleys.
But she saw something else that caught her attention; a horse and rider ahead of the giants that heading towards the Capitol. Clare landed down and in front of the horse to stop it. The rider was Marcus, and his gruff face was full of worry when he saw her.
"...Are you headed for the Capitol?" Clare asked.
"I am..." he said, then turning his neck around at the distant approaching walkers, "and I presume you're here to try and stop them?"
"I'm supposed to try. Not sure if I can do anything myself."
"Where is Teresa?"
The mention of Teresa for some reason annoyed her. She looked away from him as if to make that clear. "She's...busy...What do you want in the Capitol?"
"There's been a development. The dragonkin are not our only problem." Marcus said.
"What development?"
"I will explain once everyone is gathered. Where can I find Miria? At the academy?"
"Yes, she and the others should be there..."
"Alright. I will meet you there Good luck, Clare."
She nodded and then he rode off, the horse galloping at top speed out of fear from what was behind it. Each step of the approaching walkers grew ever louder and intense. Clare took to the air and zoomed straight for the line of walkers..
She slowed her descent atop the front most one, who's massive head focused on her like a human does to an insect. Its outer skin was harder than rock and some parts even thicker than the length of her sword. She landed atop its neck and attempted to stab her sword in a place where she thought the hide was the thinnest. The sword went deep but there was no indication of damage. A giant arm came her way as the walker tried to swat her away as if she were a fly. She leaped away just in time to avoid being pulverized.
After some time she discovered their legs were their weak points. She would slam into a leg midway up and knock it off course. It only took a few attempts for the first walker to fall due to this. The mountain-sized creature crashed with an earthquake and wasn't coming back up, flattening the land beneath it.
She went for another, but the massive creature seemed to have learned her strategy and was more careful with its steps. No matter how many times she tried to trip it, the technique no longer worked. She ended up hurting her shoulder every time she slammed into its armor-plated legs and knees. And yet, she continued to try. She gave it everything, and after dozens of attempts, she managed to make another fall. The earth rumbled and dust clouds enveloped the surrounding area, and yet, the others simply continued on as if nothing happened.
She tried to take down yet another but fatigue set in and she could not do so, at least not alone. The walkers tried to swat her away with increasing frequency and they came closer each time. Her wings moved her at breakneck speed and yet speed did not help against foes who had millions of times her mass.
The moment she was about to give up, Clare sensed a powerful, familiar presence. She soared high up so the walkers couldn't swat her and saw a figure approaching in the sky. A purple figure with wings, and a horn. It was Priscilla, and when they came face to face in the sky, Clare honestly wasn't sure how to react or what to do. Priscilla seemed thinner than usual, but the strength was still there if not somewhat suppressed. Priscilla glared at her wings with an intense interest, yellow eyeballs flicking to and from each white feather.
"Oh, so you have wings now...may I ask how?..." Priscilla said.
"It's a long story," Clare said, looking at Priscilla up and down. the awakened appeared tired, her face somewhat gaunt. "Why are you so...thin?"
Priscilla glanced over at the walkers. None of them even seemed to notice or care for her arrival. She sighed "like you're one to ask that...but perhaps we can answer each other's questions once we work together to stop these things. I'm sure you can agree to that?"
Clare nodded. "Let's just do this."
Galatea guided her even though she wasn't even nearby, as if a gentle force tugged her in the right direction. The former eye explained it as a form of soft telepathy, but Miria saw it as near omnipotence. It was unsettling just how powerful Galatea's senses had become, and it wasn't only due to her half awakening.
When she discovered a house she knew to be Maddy's, Miria leaped atop the roof and got herself inside by forcing open a locked window. Inside, everything was exactly how she imagined Maddy's house to be. Well furnished and cleaned, oozing of aristocratic high-class arrogance. She moved slowly down the hallway, watching her steps so as not to take anyone.
She passed by a set of stairs that led down to the living room where she saw a woman tied up and hanging loosely from the roof by ropes that left her suspended above the ground. It was Evelina, and the former Goddess didn't look good at all, glistening with sweat and bruises. Her once beautiful hair was wet and sprawled all over her body. Dried mascara filled tears lined her face, signs of previous misery.
Though she felt bad for Evelina, this was not the reason she came. So she moved on. At the far end was a large and open double-sided door. Something told her that was Maddy's room, and that was where she went. She peeked inside the room and saw the instructress herself in an all-white bodysuit sitting down behind her table and writing something with quill and ink. Miria felt a chill run through her at the sight of the woman who had her head down and focused and unwary. She peeped around the room but saw nobody else. There was no sign of Teresa. She thought about confronting Maddy but ultimately chose against it and sought to back away, but before she could, a chillingly calm voice called out to her.
"I don't remember inviting you to my home," Maddy said, her face now raised up off the table. "Everyone has lost their manners nowadays. Tell me, have you come to see me, or Teresa? Perhaps both?"
Miria drew in a large breath and stepped into the room. Maddy continued to watch her with an arrogant smirk.
"Where is Teresa?"
Maddy folded the paper she had been writing and slipped it neatly to the side. "Teresa is well accommodated, there is no need to worry."
"Take me to her now."
Maddy took her time with it, but she eventually rose from her table and strode towards her. "Very well then, if you so insist, Miria. I will take you to her, but first, I have a gift. For you. I was planning to send this to you at a later time, but now that you're here..."
Maddy got off her chair and moved to a cupboard and opened a draw. She pulled out a small pink vial, played with it in her hands as if it were a toy, then strode towards her.
"What is it?" Miria asked.
"As I said, a gift. Take it."
"I don't want any gifts from you."
Maddy held the vial out anyway. "It isn't a cure, but it will slow down the progression and help with the pain. An expensive substance, most difficult to acquire but I know the right people and pulled a few strings. So here it is."
Skepticism boiled over Miria. It was too good to be true, and far too convenient. Maddy's face was mostly unreadable, and especially her eyes.
"How do I know it's not poison?" Miria asked.
"Because you know where I live. So would I sign my own death sentence?"
"What's your angle?"
"I have no ulterior motives. I suppose this is my way to apologize to you."
"Apologize? for which crime exactly? Keeping me as your prisoner? Beating me up? Drugging me?"
"A crude way to describe the process...and no. I am not apologizing for those. I am, however apologizing for the fact that you escaped my custody prematurely. It is not healthy for your mental state. You would have been a lot happier with the process completed until its end."
"You're a psycho," Miria said.
"When someone gives you something of use, Miria, the correct response is to thank them and show gratitude, not insult them. I'll dismiss your behavior as an emotional burst."
Miria remained silent. She was somewhere between confused and furious. Maddy continued to patiently hold out the vial, barely even blinking.
"Remember, it is not a cure, it only takes care of the symptoms. Slows down the progression. With due time, perhaps a cure could be made."
Logic told her not to grab the vial but something far more powerful gave her no choice. She took the vial and hid it away in a pocket. Maddy did not gloat, but turned over and proceeded to stride down the hall. Miria followed, and they turned a corner and on the right side was another door. This one was a single-sided door and closed. Maddy turned the nob and pushed it open. The room seemed like a guest room. There was a large bed in the center where she saw Teresa sitting on it and against the headboard as if she had expected to see them. Teresa stared at Miria not looking as surprised as she should have been.
"Miria...How did you find this place?" Teresa asked.
"Galatea's back."
"Is she? Oh, well, that explains it."
Maddy entered the room and gazed around as if she were looking for something, then settled back on Teresa inquisitively. "Enjoying my guest room?"
"I am most indeed," Teresa said.
"...What have you done to my male slaves? I don't see them."
Teresa leaned back further against the headboard, her hands at the back of her head, a look of satisfaction across her. "...You know this bed is really quite comfortable. It would take only a moment for me to fall asleep on this. That is, if I had time for such a thing. Too bad we're supposed to be going out soon."
"...Where are my slaves, Teresa?"
"Oh, right. The slaves...I told them to leave this place and promise never to come back."
Maddy's brow twitched. She was annoyed. Her usual calm demeanor evaporated in the presence of Teresa. For Miria, it was the greatest sight ever. "How dare you. They were my property not yours!"
Teresa wasn't in the mood to argue. She gave a stony look to Maddy. "Get out. I'd like to talk to Miria alone. Close the door behind you."
Maddy didn't even bother to argue back. The instructress grudgingly left the room and closed the door behind her. Miria stared at Teresa staring at her. She came up to the woman who didn't even bother to get up from the bed she lay against. Too comfortable, as she had said. The former number one looked well, and her confidence was high given her mannerisms. She was radiant, even her hair shined with a healthy vibrant shine as if it had been well washed.
"So, I have to ask, why is Clare not with you?" Teresa said.
"The first wave of dragonkin forces are expected to arrive earlier than anticipated. Clare headed out to intercept them."
"How large is the wave?" Teresa asked.
"About a dozen walkers, or so they're apparently called."
"Walkers?"
"That is what Karter and Galatea calls them," Miria said. "We met one shortly after arriving on this mainland. Giant lizard as you had called it."
Concern crossed Teresa's face. "And you sent Clare out all by herself to fight them alone?"
"We don't expect her to fight them at all. Reconnaissance is her primary objective. We need at least one of you out there so we can win this war."
Teresa smiled, a real one. It showed in the top part of her face as well. She got up and walked towards Miria, stopping an appropriate distance in front of her. Her smile vanished and her face turned neutral again, neither threatening nor particularly welcoming either.
"Nothing personal, Miria. But If anything happens to her, I will blame you for it."
"She makes her own decisions, Teresa, we all do."
"You certainly made one earlier. Tell me, why did you tell Clare something that was sacred between us?"
"Sacred was it?" Miria said. "The truth is, I trust her more than I do you. So if you do ever act up, Clare is our only hope."
Teresa's face remained neutral. "That only makes sense. Though it does hurt a little to hear it. I really thought we were friends."
"We are. You've done a lot of questionable things, Teresa. Don't think I don't know about half of them."
Teresa froze like someone terrified of the truth coming out. Her face turned slightly paler. Miria did not back down, and neither did Teresa.
"...Are you upset I swapped out Rubel's antidote?" Teresa said.
"At first I couldn't understand the logic," Miria admitted, "but I get it. This is the best way to get to the master or find out if he exists at all. My goal has always been to take down this cruel and unjust organization. It doesn't matter who in the end actually does the deed, as long as it is done. But I must ask, can you really trust Maddy?"
Teresa threw her a judgmental look, "How can you ask me that when you just accepted a 'gift' from her?"
Startled, Miria replied"...How do you know about that? Unless..."
"Tell me what you're thinking," Teresa said.
"Unless...you made Maddy acquire it...to give to me...but how did you know I would find you?"
"I didn't really. I was planning on giving it to you myself if you wouldn't have come. I thought you might, someway, somehow."
"But why?"
Teresa smiled again, and it was real. "Because I care about you, and I know you care about her. Maddy said it's not a true cure, but it will help."
Miria was stunned. She still wasn't sure if this was really happening. How did Teresa know Maddy even had a cure? Did she torture Maddy for the information? Did Maddy manipulate Teresa into doing this? Was Teresa really as honest as she presented herself?
"Return to the others, Miria," Teresa said with a faint smile. "I have this under control..."
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