Caesar

CHAPTER TWO •MIRROR OF MISFORTUNE

Danbury lurks behind her father, he moves fast leaving her behind then shouts when he's almost inside the palace.
"Danbury, be a filial child and do not move an inch! My meeting with the Emperor would be finished soon "

She snorts at her father's obvious lie. With her eyes blinking, they observe the mirror in her hands. As she stands waiting, Eyes of hers wander round glancing at the red ixora rolls which are fully in bloom. Her feet leads her towards them but they come to a halt when she hears a whisper; " look to the left!"

Her mind distresses 'where is that whisper coming from?' But her eyes turn in obedience to the whisperer's commands and there she sees him walking unaccompanied. His hair is packed up with a few strands loose, his chest wide and broad, his jacket is black and gold as usual with huge golden Buttons and a thick belt is tied round his tiny waist. The sun had changed positions only to shine on him. "The Hwansu!" A goofy smile appears on her face observing the glowing god walking close to her. Before she knows it, her legs hurry after him and her lips shout out persistently;" Hwansu!"

His long legs takes a halt as he waits for her to catch up with him. His morose face questions rudely without his mouth saying"What business do you have with me? His black brows are raised and his face strictly looks at her questioning what right she had to shout out his name like that of a mere peasant.

"I...i...the weather...I swear...i think...no i know i have definitely seen you somewhere before... your face is...!" She stammers looking up to the towering shamelessly handsome man. Her hands rub her neck as she searches for words to say.

"Everyone has...now lady Danbury, summarise whatever you intend to say...I am very busy...i have no time for... !" His voice is hasty and his eyes disregards her rudely as they hover over her from her head to her toes.
"This!" His lips part imprudently revealing his perfectly white teeth as he utters that word slowly and scornfully.

"Yyyo...yo...you know my name?" Her voice is jumpy as her eyes widen with happiness like that of a cartoon and her cheeks reddens like the buttocks of a baboon. Her hands hold her blonde hair curling it round her fingers.

Caesar takes one more look of scorn disregarding and then looking down on her. He walks out leaving her behind.

"Hwansu, my father loves tea, perhaps...!" Her voice dies down when she realises he is gone, with the last sight of him being a disappearing little figure, she completes her meaningless sentence; "...you could have tea with him!"

The little image of his stands close to the main castles' entrance while her father comes out of it. They greet each other exchanging friendly smiles then they disperse heading towards both their destinations.

A smile reappears on her face. Standing in her yellow gown and playing with The Hwansu's golden button she had stolen off his jacket, those feet of hers walks towards her father as she voices out;
"Finally, useless old daddy has a use!"

The mirror glows red in her hands but she is too engulfed in her recent scheme to notice its radiant glow.

**************

Verbena's hands touches the relics slightly advancing forward with her elegant steps. The darkness of the large room feels home to her with the noisy whispering from various cursed objects. These were the very walls she ran through as a child scared and frightened by morose demands of the relics but now and over the years, she had become accustomed to them.

Her feet stops, her eyes still like the lake as they stare at a relic. Its pointy golden arrow like head and its shaft body lays in a glass container. A stone carved writing in front of it identifies it as the; "Anguished!"

"This used to be your favourite as a girl!" A voice sounds from the extreme end of the room towards the entrance.

Her eyes constantly stares at it without moving to look at the person who speaks.
"I was always a lover of relics with peculiar stories, tragic per say."

"This is an invented object for pure revenge based on mortal desires!" He finally stands by her side looking down at the relic.

"You call it an act of revenge, i call one of necessity!" Her eyes still on the shaft like arrow headed relic viewing it through her dark long lashes.

"The anguished is an object based off on human justification, Havier tried to utter the fate of the chosen one...!"

"You call being a sacrificial lamb a fate?"

"I call his actions stupid and unnecessary. Going against the gods for a mere sacrifice, he..."

"Father, would you sacrifice me based on some stupid religious belief?"

"You call religion stupid? You are to be the High Priestess, a Saintess, Purifier of Yunchi...according to the prophecies, you will be the first Priestess after a hundred years, one to...!"

"WOULD YOU SACRIFICE YOUR ONLY DAUGHTER AND SOLE HEIR OUT OF NECESSITY?"

"Yes i would...before i became your father, i was High Priest!"

Verbena finally looks up, her eery eyes colder than ever with death visible in them. "Father, i would also sacrifice you!"

With one more look at her father, she walks out. Walking past a mirror relic which shakes aggressively in its transparent glass. Its reflective glass portrays mass destruction. Broken bricks lay on a cracking ground, among the broken destroyed items, a wooden signboard is beneath a huge brick with bold writing on it "Welcome to Mountaingroin."

A low rank mage called the Keeper walks out from behind the shelves containing relics.
"High Priest, you are being too harsh on her!"

The high priest finally looks at him after a long overbearing silence. His voice stern and face serious.
"I have to, the cold war is fast approaching...by the time it draws close, Yunchi would need a High Priestess not a child!"

The mage looks at him. Finally relaying a chest burdening message;
"High Priest, the second Mirror of Misfortunes was discovered to be missing for...quite a while now!"

"The Mirror comes as a pair and functions as one...FIND IT!"

********

Various buns of embroidery and knitting threads are scattered on the ground. Danbury lies on her bed fast asleep. Beneath her pillow, a bright red light glows and tortured screams sound loudly as the mirror frame glows shaking aggressively beneath her pillow.