The Lordly Ones

-Crooked Grin

JunJun: Hi guys! Hope you enjoyed my last chapter of The Lordly Ones, I kinda want to see which guy you all think is the best.

Remember to check out Spineglass for me! The two stories are much more interlinked than you may think :D

Okay then? I'm starting off with a new minor character who is going to be pretty major in Spineglass...actually, who knows, she may become major in this.

I know, I know! There are so many characters, I can practically hearing you crying "Have mercy!"

I hear you!... Kinda. The comments are empty ;(

Musica ----------> 

(Will add when I get home) 

For now listen to.....silence. It's pretty loud right?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

The fire crackled. It ate the logs noisily, spitting every so often out onto the rug where the sparks dwindled into darkness, leaving dark stains of ash. There was no noise inside the house, aside from the greedy fire and contented squawks from the very heart of the inner room. And she sat there, deep inside the house. One skeletal hand laced over the thick book on her lap. The other was raised in thought...or emptiness, the teacup in her hand hovered in the air, the red liquid inside hardly moving. She sat there like a model for a portrait. Her brightly coloured birds sat around her in silent wonder, their vivid feathers a stark contrast to her pasty complexion. Their feet nestled in her lush expensive armchair. Slowly, one fluttered to land on her arm while two large parrots played with the huge red feathers in her dark hat.

"Oh Nadira, you are so clever!" one squawked, repeating what seemed to have been the most common phrase of the past few months. Especially from the power hungry women who had followed her to Kanafete. It was hard enough to shake them off without having to listen to their bland small talk.

Nadira turned her head to face Achai on her arm, placing her tea down, so that she could pull the short strands of her bob out of her tall neck ruff. Her small plait was coming loose. She reached her hand up to pat it gently, as if she worried whether it was still there or not, before she told him,

"It's about your time now, right?"

But just as the bird opened its cold grey eyes a bell sounded above the mantelpiece. It spread like a chill in the air, as eerie as church bells across a graveyard. Almost immediately, she froze in the chair. The sound hung in the air, only the absolute silence allowed it to leak into the room. It wasn't until she heard the secret emergencypattern of rings that she dared move again. She drifted to the button as fast as she could, restricted by her tight long skirt and train, birds clinging to her arms. Once pressed, a series of clicks crawled from the ceiling, like clockwork, through the walls, through the room and into the corridor. It grew faster and faster. The clicks creating the illusion of a someone running desperately to the front door. 

Once the front door was unlocked a small child with crooked teeth fell inside the dark corridor. Almost all his hair was shaved but a big clump that was spiked up towards the sky remained, as if it was the solitary survivor of the massacre that had been unleashed on his head. When he recovered himself, he gave a wonky grin before launching himself down the corridors, stumbling into an explanation that echoed towards her, through the weak door, "A few of the guys have said that people are asking after you! Three men. A red-head, blue-eyed guy and another. All outcasts. I told them that it couldn't be tr-"

"Thank you Jaxon."

Used to being interrupted by now, Jax gave another cheeky grin revealing his wonky teeth. He was only young. He knew nothing of the hardship of the world. Once Nadira turned away he should have left. Then again, Jaxon was always one to push things too far, much futher than any boundry. So instead, the boy stayed, his hands thrust shyly into his pockets as he hovered awkwardly in the middle of the room before unleashing a heavy whisper, as if he was asking something very important, "Can I watch again?"