TO BE FOUND IS TO BE BOUND, TO YOUR GOD | Mother Miranda X Fem!Knight Reader

༉‧₊˚. TWO FEATHERS, ONE OATH

In her palm, Eugen held two black feathers. It was a reminder of the day she was bound to her god, she kept these two feathers close ever since. Her thumb ran over the barb of the feather, the feeling tickling her ever so slightly.

"Eugen," The priestess called, her tone firm. The acolyte quickly stuffed the two feathers down the pocket of her trousers, quickly turning to the winged woman who gave her a menacing stare. "Another vessel is needed."

Oh, She hated hunting for vessels.

When she was saved, Eugen had been sent out frequently for hunting down any villager or lycan left in the village and force them to be used in whatever experiment Miranda wanted to test. She never got to watch, only capture. But either way, she would always simply sigh and bow her head to Miranda. She'd shove a dagger in it's sheath, along with a long sharp sword.

The air was bitingly cold, making Eugen shiver and chatter her teeth. Every house in sight, she'd barge inside and observe the area. It was always easier to find lycans, finding villagers was once in a blue moon. She'd always try to specifically search for villagers because Mother Miranda had always enjoyed testing on them more.

Another house in sight, Eugen has already been out here for an hour and she is beginning to see a crow soar the sky, a sign to return to Mother's domain. She'll be quick, she swore.

Shoulder first, she barged into the house, watching the door's wooden planks crack and break on the floor. Heavy and slow footsteps land on the ground, like a titan coursing the town. She unsheathes her sword with a sharp ring, it wasn't really for murder, only intimidation. The lycans did need to return as dead for her although, but sometimes they'd be tested on with a muzzle while wriggling. Their roars gave Eugen a chill down her spine.

She hears whimpering, sobbing. Her ears perk up like a wolf's as she slowly approaches the sound, like a predator stalking her prey.

With inhabitable brute force, her fingers curl on the table's surface and grip tightly. The table is sent flying to the other side of the room, the frail wood breaking in an instant and scattering dramatically. Underneath the table, there were two young girls. Their eyes were wide with fear, their bodies trembling and their teeth chattering. They crouched down next to each other, huddled together for warmth. They looked like sisters.

Eugen could handle seeing a lot, she could handle slitting a lycan's throat and watching the blood flow out like a waterfall. She could handle slicing a human open from the sternum to anus, smelling the putrid odor of a corpse.

She just can't handle seeing sisters.

Eugen looks down at the two girls, the handle of the sword gripped tightly in her fist. Her other hand reached down from her impending height, gripping around the woman's wrist. Her calloused hands contrasting with the other's softness.

Without a word, Eugen drags the woman out. Her steps heavy as her boots crunched snow beneath her feet. The woman's sister yells profanities, all while Eugen walks away with zero remorse. She was sure this was for her own good, she was sure this would get her sister back.

"Curse you!" She yells, tears streaming down her cheeks. Her nose was red from the coldness of the snow, snot forming down her lips. "You are a monster!"

Eugen would laugh in her face. She wasn't a monster, she was a provider. A promiser. An oath keeper. This was for her own good, this would get her sister back. Why would people be mad at that?

Returning to the lab, the woman's futile attempts to escape and her screams dying down. It was only her whimpering and twitching. Her skin was pale, almost blue from the snow she was dragged through.

Her wrist was dropped, her frail body dropping to the floor. She writhed on the cold stone floor, looking up at who she used to worship.

Wings fluttered at Eugen's presence, its like they sensed her. The priestess turns to the two, her face hidden by the mask she wore, though her pale blue eyes still glow beneath it.

The crow takes careful steps, slow and at an agonizing pace. Her talons clasp around the young girls face, digging into her skin and nearly shedding blood. It created crescents on her cheeks as she removed her hand.

"This one will do nicely," The priestess looked up at Eugen and placed a hand on her heart, the ragged tunic feeling rough beneath her talons. It was a gesture that made Eugen melt. She was an atheist, now turned prophet. "Wonderful job, little one."

Eugen bowed her head, her face deadpan. Since the day of the incident, it's like her feelings were locked up in a vault in the back of her mind. She showed nothing, no quirk of her lip to form a smile, no furrow of her brows to show anger. Not even a tear shedding down her scarred cheek to show sorrow.

She was nothing but a deliverer.

The cult leader then stared at the young woman on the floor, quivering and afraid. Just a glare was a sign of a command, it showed how higher she was than the weak villager. It showed her authority, her importance. She was a god, looking down at her creation.

Immediately, the woman scrambled to her feet. She followed behind the winged woman, her legs shaking with each step she took. That poor girl, she won't be able to think for a long time.

And just as Eugen thought, a week later this girl was shackled and growling in her cage. Hair began to poke out the pores of her body, her skin a grayish-blue color and her eyes purely white. Her nails became claws, her clothes ripped and tarnished. Her teeth were bared, a snarl on her face.

This happened quite often, it was always the wrong vessel.

Eugen stared down at the failed experiment, her features deadpan and nonchalant. A hand went to her shoulder, the cold talon tickling her brown skin.

"Execute her." An order comes from her commander. "She wasn't perfect." Eugen slowly nodded.

This was a human being, a person become monster. This woman was somebody's baby, someone who was caressed and loved and cherished. She helped people, but also hurt them. She had feeling, she could breathe the clean air of the village when it was spring. She could smell the flowers picked from her backyard. She had a voice, one she used to talk to her sister, one she used to defend herself and to say 'thank you'.

Although, Eugen still raised her sword.

- CHAPTER 2 | END