The Corruption- First Draft

Chapter 7

Havre sighed quietly as she walked up to Garbone's room. She was greeted by the sight of Garbone crying into her pillow. "Are you alright?" She asked quietly.
"No. I- I'm just so tired of him acting like he's better than me."
"I don't think he means that. He just has a hard outer shell."
"As if he actually feels anything underneath."
"He told me himself, he's trying really hard to connect with you. I think he just doesn't understand our generation's way of dealing with trauma," she said, approaching Garbone.
"Well he's doing a horrible job at it. It feels like he's not even trying."
"I understand. Hey, how about we get some fresh air?" Havre asked, placing a hand on her shoulder gently. "A nice walk always cools me down."
Garbone sighed, nodding quietly. "Alright, if you think it'll help," she said, sitting up and getting out of bed. She wiped away the remaining tears but her frown still remained.
Havre smiled, holding her hand as they walked out of the room together and down the hall.
It wasn't long before they were outside in the cool night, stars sparkling brightly. Garbone stretched as they walk, towards the rock they hung out at before. They were silent until they reached the rock.
"It's so nice out tonight. Not even a cloud in the sky," Havre commented.
"Yeah.. It's nice," Garbone said with a small smile as the two walked up the dirt ramp and sat on the rock.
Havre beamed, and slightly leaned against Garbone, resting her head on her shoulder.
Garbone breathed deeply before exhaling. "Thank you for taking me out here. I needed this. There's just much going on, it's hard to keep my composure."
"Of course. I understand exactly how you feel. On the bright side, at least you know Lennon is alright. And you have me here to vent to when Cassius or Akae are talking nonsense."
"I just- feel bad about it. Aside a few people, no one's really cared about my needs. Wouldn't you rather be back at your village and repairing any damage Lennon caused?"
"I'm always happy to be in my homeland- but I don't mind being away from it as long as I'm with you."
Garbone's face turned red as she smiled. "Thank you, for everything. You make being in a crisis feel so easy to manage. Especially now that I know who I am. Do I, should I change my name?"
"Only if you want to. Do you like your name?"
"I do, a lot. Ever since I named myself during my Rite of Passage I've always felt a little more closer to freedom away from Cassius."
"I forgot your culture does that. I never renamed myself, I kept my birth name. It must have been a magical experience."
"It always is. One of these days I'll take you with me to witness it. Duosg is pretty close to earning his cae and new name, maybe we can see if he'll invite us to the ritual."
"That'd be lovely. How does the ritual work?"
"We sing a song that our father figures have to approve of."
"Oh I love that! Will you play me your song one of these days?"
"I, I'd love to! I have to warn you though, it might not sound very "pretty". We have to throat sing our songs."
"Throat singing? Oh I love bards who can do that!"
"Really? Most people I know outside my culture tend to find it, annoying, I guess."
"It may not be as culturally important in our society, but we do value throat singing. In so jealous that you can!" She chuckled. "My mother was the best throat singer I knew. That song I sang before was my own rendition, as she originally sang it through throat singing."
"She sounds like an amazing bard," Garbone commented, shifting slightly to get comfy.
"She would've been," she said with a frown. "She died before she could be accepted into the Bard's Guild."
"I'm sorry to hear that. I'm jealous she even got to apply. I'd love to one of these days."
"Why don't you?" Havre asked, looking at her.
"It's uh, complicated. My grandfather really wants me to stay at the embassy and take over when he eventually dies. If he dies."
"But you're an adult now, aren't you? You have full autonomy over yourself."
"That's true, but grandpops is very manipulative. I'm lucky that I'm immune to his brainwashing, but he knows well how to trick me into doing what he wants. It'd take a miracle to escape him."
"Maybe.. Maybe I can be your miracle. You can come live with me in the village."
Garbone smiled, tears forming in her eyes. "I'd like that," she said, looking in Havre's eyes.
Havre gazed back into her eyes, smiling widely. "You know, has anyone said you have lovely eyes?"
"N-no," she muttered, blushing more. "People say the tears in my third iris are unsightly. You, you think they're lovely?"
"I do. Especially with the tears," she said, resting the palm of her hand on Garbone's forehead, as if cradling her third eye.
Garbone was silent, unsure of how to respond as they gazed at each other, both slowly leaning closer, until they kiss each other.
The kiss lasted a good few seconds before they pulled away and gazed at each other again. The two of them seemed happy- until Garbone's smile dropped suddenly. Her third eye glowed brightly blue as her eye began to dance in a spiralling pattern. Her breaths became rapid and shallow as Havre watched in confusion.
"Garbone? Garbone are you okay?" She asked, laying a hand on her shoulder, but Garbone didn't respond. Her two regular eyes stared blankly forward, horror plastered in them.
Havre stood up, concerned. "Please say something. Are you okay?" She asked, helping Garbone to her feet.
Garbone could only mouth out her words, but it came out jumbled.
"Uh- uh, come on, let's get you to Eilis- maybe he can help!" She exclaimed, carefully leading her down the dirt ramp.
Eilis popped out of nowhere as they reached the ground, and he quickly rushed up to Garbone, hugging her tightly. "What happened?" He asked, pinching underneath Garbone's chin.
"We uh- we kissed, and- she just started doing that!"
"I see. Don't take it personally, she has trauma from past relationships. Garbone, can you hear me?"
Her third eye stopped glowing, though her eye still spun, just slower. "... Yes," she murmured, blinking her third eye as it teared up. She finally focused her third eye as she looked at Eilis, clinging to him tightly as she stumbled. "What happened?"
"You had a panic attack. Let's get you both back to the embassy," he said as he helped Garbone walk.
Havre was on the verge of tears. Garbone noticed this. "I'm sorry, I- I shouldn't have kissed you. I thought it would be different, because I love you."
Havre blushed. "I.. I love you too. Are you alright?"
"I'll be fine, don't worry."
"I can't help but be concerned. Can, can you tell me what's going on?"
"Uhm. Later. I, I can't get into it right now. It's too much to talk about," she looked down at the ground, wiping away tears.
"I understand."
They all walked quietly back to the embassy. Eilis was careful to direct Garbone away from Akae and Cassius, helping her up the stairs and into her room, laying her on the bed.
"Do you need anything?" He asked.
"Maybe just some ginger tea, please."
"Of course, I'll bring it up in a few minutes," he said, walking out of the room.
Havre sat quietly next to Garbone on the floor.
"I'm sorry for the scare," Garbone muttered.
"Don't be. Whatever's going on, I know you'll get through it. And I'll be here with you every step of the way- especially if Cassius doesn't interfere."
"He definitely can't find out we kissed. He'd kill me if he knew I fell in love with a non ivierae," she said, looking down at her lap where her hands rested.
Havre gently held one of them. "He won't find out, I swear."
She looked at her, smiling softly.
********
Hours later Duosg walked into Garbone's room. "Hey Garbone, are you awake?"
She sat up from her bed, rubbing her eyes. "Yeah, what's up?"
"Want to go on a walk with me real quick? Give us a chance to catch and everything."
"I don't know if that's a good idea. I don't want to risk running into the serial killer."
"I'm sure we'll be safe in the courtyard, don't you have it boarded up?"
"I think so.. Alright, why not?" She said, sipping the rest of her cold tea as she got up from her bed, and followed Duosg down to the courtyard. "So how's it going over at your estate?"
"It's alright, aside for Eimla and Ciaraidh going missing."
"I get that, it's rough losing your siblings."
"Yeah, I'm just glad you got Lennon back, you must be so relieved."
"Definitely. I just hope this situation with the killer dies over so he can go back to rubbing his village away from grandpops. He doesn't deserve to be stuck here like I am."
"You don't have to be, leave with Lennon."
"I won't get the chance," she sighed, looking down.
"You have the perfect chance. Lennon is leaving soon, since Cassius is already asleep. He's gonna come stay with us for a while until the situation with the killer dies down. If you come with, we can make sure that Cassius doesn't harm you for leaving," he shrugged.
Garbone paused, looking at him. "Really? Oh, that does sound tempting.. I'd have to talk it over with Havre."
"There's no time for that, we're leaving now."
"What? But I can't leave without her! We're good friends."
Duosg chuckled. "We don't have to keep her in the dark about it. Leave a note or something."
"Ah, I don't know-"
"Look, we're leaving now. Either you come with on your own accord or Lennon and I will save you against your own will. The choice is yours," he squinted his eyes at her.
Her eyes widened, and she stuttered incoherently. "I can't do this," she finally said before turning around to walk back inside.
"So be it," Duosg said casually as the ground rumbled lightly.
Suddenly, a vine shot out of the ground, latching onto Garbone's ankle, causing her to panic.
"Let go of me! Lennon, I'm sorry but I'm not going with you," she cried out, kicking her leg in hopes of getting the vine, but it only ascended higher up until it was fully wrapped around her calf.
Another vine sprouted from the ground, wrapping around her head tightly to gag her mouth.
"Sh! You can't wake up everyone, we need to leave," Duosg hissed as more and more vines kept appearing, wrapping around Garbone and tying together to restrain her.
Garbone struggled as best she could against the vines, but after the fith one she couldn't tear them off anymore. She fell over, thankfully being caught by Duosg.
"Sheesh, are they always this resistant?" He asked, picking up Garbone as he faced Lennon.
"It's a good quality to have. Sometimes. Let's go before anyone spots us," Lennon said. The two walked out of the courtyard and went South, the only evidence left that they were there being the holes from where the vines sprouted.
********
Morning came quickly after the three vanished. Havre was concerned that Garbone left without a trace, though Cassius acted normally.
"Does anyone know where Garbone went?" She asked, playing with her food.
Cassius shrugged. "Beats me, he almost never eats breakfast."
"What about Lennon and Duosg?" Jaryn asked. "Seems weird that the three of them aren't here."
"Are you implying that Lennon isn't well behaved?" Cassius eyed down Jaryn.
Jaryn raised his arms, "No, No, I'm just worried is all. It'd be a shame if we lost Lennon after just getting him back."
"Hm. I suppose you're right. But it's normal for Lennon and Garbone to go on long morning walks," he mentioned, biting into his food casually.
Jaryn, Ryo, and Havre all looked at each other nervously.
Ellis entered the room, carrying a letter. "Jaryn, Ryo, you both have a letter. It says it comes from your village," he said, handing it to Jaryn.
The brothers were confused and looked to each other as Jaryn opened the letter:
｢To Jaryn and Ryo Osumi:
We wish to extend our deepest apologies for the wrongful decision made regarding your exile. After a thorough review of the circumstances, it has become clear that we acted in error, and for that, we are truly sorry. The actions we took were unjust, and we deeply regret the hardship this has caused both of you and your family.
Please know that we are committed to making this right. Effective immediately, your exile is officially lifted, and you are welcome to return home. The village awaits your return, as it always should have, and we look forward to restoring the bonds that were wrongfully broken.
With sincere regret and respect,
The Council of Elders｣
Jaryn stared wide-eyed at the letter, tears forming. Ryo wasn't sure how to feel.
Havre placed a hand on his shoulder reassuringly. "Are you alright?" She asked.
"They.. They accepted us back. My village- they lifted the exile."
Havre was excited at first, but then remembered what happened to his village. "That means- you two are the sole survivors of the attack. I'm sorry."
"I guess we can always rebuild- or something like that. I don't know," he murmured, getting up and walking out of the room. Ryo looked at him before deciding to follow.
"And that's not all," Eilis started with. "It's been confirmed that Garbone was kidnapped."
"What‽" Havre jumped from her cushion. "By who? When??"
"Lennon and Duosg, last night. I thought Lennon wasn't involved at first but after looking at the courtyard it's clear he willingly helped facilitate the kidnapping. He might still be under control."
Cassius growled. "Do you know where they're heading?"
"It seems to be the Angalt's estate."
"What are we going to do? If that's where they're going, then the lich must be there."
Cassius put his hands together, thinking deeply as to what they could do. He sighed after a long minute. "I'm honestly not sure what we're could do. Theoretically I can ask for assistance from the Highking, but there's very few people who could rival a lich in power. We'll need to plan this carefully. Eilis is there anything you can do?"
He shrugged. "I'm currently asking the Highking for his opinion on the matter. He suggests sending the Paladins of the Eclipse."
"I suppose it can't be that hard taking down a lich with 10 of us," Akae commented.
"Actually, the Highking doesn't want you going. He wants you to continue protecting the Benoists and guests."
"What? But they'll need me! I'm the only one with strength needed to take down hoards of people-"
"Your strength will be more important here in case the lich tries to send that hoard, Sir La'et," he said with a dead pan smile. "The other paladins are much more equipped to handle the magical capabilities of a lich."
Akae death glared him before grunting and going back to his food. "Fine."
Eilis' grin widened before dropping. "Anyways, the Highking says they should be here within a week, and advises everyone to stay inside until further notice. The queen has officially declared a state of emergency for the entire country."
"Thank you, Eilis," Cassius sighed in relief, setting down his fork.
"A whole week before anything happens? But Garbone-"
"I don't like it either, trust me. But we need to be careful when it comes to a lich. No one's encountered one before."
"I. I just don't want to see Garbone be forced to do what Lennon has done."
"It'll be alright, I promise. Garbone is a lot more strong-willed than you think."
"I hope you're right, Eilis," she says, taking the first bite of her breakfast.
********
Hours pass and it becomes the late afternoon. Jaryn was lying in his bed, staring up at the ceiling as Ryo looked up at him, hopping on the bed. 'We should hold a funeral for the village once this all blows over,' Ryo said.
"Yeah, definitely," Jaryn muttered, continuing to stare at the ceiling.
'I just can't believe this whole time we're could've been home.'
"Yeah."
'Maybe we can just, make a shrine for the village. It would be easier than rebuilding everything.'
"I suppose so."
'Are you alright?'
"I mean, not really. I went through so much heartache just for the council to change their mind. Right before they all died no less."
'I know, it's difficult. But we should focus first on what we need to do, because we really have our work cut out for us if you want to get more involved. It doesn't look like you're very interested.'
"I am. I'm just, struggling is all. Do you ever get that feeling that you have something you need to do but your body won't let you move?"
'... No.' Ryo shifted his eyes away and back to Jaryn.
"I'm jealous, because that's what I'm feeling right now."
'Just toughen up.'
"I'm sorry?"
'Toughen up. We've been through worse, we can deal with holding a funeral.'
"It's not that simple, Ryo! Don't you have any conflicting feelings for a village that casted us away falsely?"
'Of course I do. I'm just waiting until after the funeral to feel those emotions. Seeing that our kin gets proper burial rites observed is more important than what we feel.'
"I don't want to see them disrespected either, Ryo, I just. I'm tired of bottling in my emotions."
'But surely you can hold on for another week? Or at least until we make a plan for the funeral?'
"No, I can't any more. I'm fucking tired."
Ryo hissed, 'Seriously? You're acting so immature!'
"Immature? I'm grieving for Heaven's sake! I'm sorry that I can't be as tough as you, but this is how I'm coping."
'Well it's a horrible way to cope.'
"I don't know what to tell you, then. You think I'm not doing enough and that I'm too sensitive, but I'm just a kid! I'll never get to grow up anyways, so what's the point in trying to be mature?"
'We may not officially grow up, but we're still aging. You can't expect everyone to treat us like kids when you're over 100 years old.'
"Whatever. Just give me a few days and we can plan the funeral.'
'Fine. If you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go looking for a snack,' he said, hopping off the bed and leaving the room. He came back in not even a minute later, wide-eyed. 'Havre left.'
"What? Don't tell me-"
'She went to go save Garbone.'
Jaryn stood up. "We should go and stop her."
'No, we were explicitly told to stay here!'
"But it's the perfect opportunity for me to do something. Surely she isn't close to the estate yet."
'In this moment we don't have to do anything! Nothing except planning a damn funeral which you said you need to wait to do.'
"Maybe you don't have to, but I do," he said, grabbing his bag before walking out the door. Ryo simply hissed in response.
Jaryn snuck his way out the door, thinking no one had seen him- until Eilis popped up behind him. "Going somewhere?"
Jaryn jumped as he spoke. He turned to face him. "I need to get Havre. Please don't try to stop me."
"Oh, I'm not. If you're serious about this, you'll need this to help you if you want a chance against the lich," he said, a glaive materialising in his hand before giving it to Jaryn.
"Uh, thank you.. Why aren't you trying to stop me though?"
"It's not my job to interfere in affairs like this. Just be careful, and pray to whom ever you worship."
Jaryn nodded, giving a serious look before walking off in the direction of the Angalt estate.
********
Hours passed until night came as Jaryn stood outside the more complicated designed estate. He crept up to a window, peering inside. There he saw Havre drinking with a grotesques rotting corpse. Jaryn quickly pulled away, gagging as if he could smell the decay between the brick walls.
"Havre must be under his control or something, it doesn't make sense why she would have a little tea party with him," he muttered, searching for more windows to peer through, finding one just big enough for him to  squeeze his way inside, ending up in the dining hall. He sighed in relief triple checking that no one heard him.
He tiptoed through the dark and empty hall, trying to pick which room he wanted to go into first.
"Hello?" A girl called out, casting a light spell that dispersed a bunch of glowing orbs around the room. She paused upon seeing Jaryn. "Who are you?"
"I'm Jaryn. Please forgive my intrusion, but I need Havre and Garbone back."
"How do you know them?"
"We're acquaintances. They're helping me figure out who burned down my village."
She glared at him. "If you know then why not just come to the front door and knock?"
"Because of that zombie, lich, guy!" He shouted quietly in terror, hands gesturing like crazy. "He's terrifying to look at."
"I- I suppose that's fair. But he's not a bad guy! He's been helping heal my father who's seriously ill. Even been helping out our chapter of the Yati Fae Guild."
"... Do you know about what Ciariadh has said about him?"
"You saw Ciaraidh?? Is she okay?" She rushed up to him, eyes widened.
"She's fine- but look, she says he's been making your family act strange."
"Strange? Well. Well uh, I have noticed quite a few of my siblings acting oddly distant. Especially my twin, Eimla," She put her finger to her lips as she thought.
"Wait, Eimla?"
".. Yes. Why?"
"She was one of the people who helped burn my village down!"
She stared at him in disbelief. "What? No way! Why would she do that??"
"Just like Lennon, she's being possessed! Probably by the lich."
"Is- is that why so many people have matching scars on their faces?"
Jaryn nodded. "Unfortunately. Look, you gotta help me get Garbone and Havre, please. I need them!"
"Alright, alright, I'll help you. I know where they have Garbone- they've been having me use my powers to give them pleasant dreams so they don't wake up. I'm judging by your pole arm, you know how to fight, right?"
"Yes, I do. Who am I fighting?"
"If I can overpower Kyazf, no one. But something tells me he's pretty resistant to my powers."
"Right," he gulped. "Lead the way, then."
Aislin nodded, leading the way as she walked around the long table and into the hallway. The pair turned left and went straight forward until reaching a large door already opened. The two walked through it, going down the long flight of stone steps until they reached the bottom.
Aislin's third eye glowed a bright blue as she approached the doorway, walking into a room. Kyazf looked at her.
"I see you're done with your break finally."
"Sorry," she murmured. "Lady troubles, you know?"
"I'm a guy, so no. Anyways, did Ilflurer say how long we gotta watch Garbone? He snores so loudly," he cringed, rubbing his ears.
"Shouldn't be too much longer. Are you tired? I can take over watch if you want."
He yawned. "Nah, it's fine. I promised him I'd stay here."
She nodded, taking a seat next to him. Hiding her hand, she subtly pointed at Kyazf.
Kyazf crossed his arms, rubbing his eyes as he suddenly felt tired. He yawned again, watching as the fire flickered lazily, the warmth from it only serving to make him more drowsy. His eyes started to flutter closed, but he would snap them back open. Aislin concentrated hard on making him fall asleep, and after a minute Kyazf drooped his head as he fell asleep, snoring more obnoxiously than Garbone.
Jaryn took that as his cue to sneak in, tiptoeing past Kyazf as he prepared to lift up Garbone. Before he could, Kyazf suddenly jolted awake, and head butted Jaryn, knocking him on his butt. Jaryn growled, quickly getting on his feet as he grabbed his glaive, swinging it at Kyzaf.
Kyzaf dodged it, and landed a punch on Jaryn, knocking him on top of Garbone. She didn't stir from her sleep even as Jaryn was pinned down. "You made a mistake coming here," he hissed, his eye glowing a bright blue as he transformed into a spider.
Jaryn tried to squash him, but he was too fast to catch. He was about to use his glaive to slice him in half, but Kyzaf jumped on the pole arm, climbing up and jumping onto Jaryn's arm, quickly biting him.
Jaryn shouted out from the pain, shaking Kyzaf off of him successfully as he turned back into his ivierae form, grinning like a mad man. "Good luck dealing with the poison, it's going to be painful."
Jaryn groaned as he saw the bite area turn purple, then doubled over to vomit. "What the Hell did you do to me?" He groaned, his knees shaking.
"Did the confusion set in already? I poisoned you. Pretty powerful one too," he said, casually walking up to Jaryn before shoving him into a corner. "I promise it'll hurt less if you don't move. So sit there and rot," he commanded before returning to his seat as he heard someone walking down the steps. He let the exhaustion finally overtake him as he leaned back into his chair, confident that no one else would dare try to sneak past.
Aislin sighed in relief. "I'm so sorry, Jaryn. Can you stand?"
He nodded, getting up slowly though his joints ached like an old man.
********
Havre sat on a nice cushion as she drank tea with the decaying lich. He drank carefully, trying to not spill any on his newly made clothes.
"So tell me more about yourself. Why did you come all this way to get Garbone?"
"Well- I love them. I want to make sure they're safe."
"Of course they're safe here. Much safer than with that abusive grandfather of theirs."
"You know Lord Benoist?"
"Unfortunately so. I'm not well acquainted with him, but it's hard not to know of him. Did you know he attempted corrective therapy on Garbone?"
"A what kind of therapy..?"
"Corrective. He hired someone to try and make Garbone attracted to others, because they're asexual."
Havre's eyes widened as her mouth dropped. "That's awful. Is- is that why they had a panic attack when we kissed?"
"You kissed? I'm surprised, for a long while they wouldn't even let the noble ladies hold their hand," he said, sipping his tea.
"So how do you know the Benoists?"
"Oh, I'm an old friend. They might not remember me, I knew Lord Benoist during the Ukorsi and Laterrtis Rebellion."
"Really? You're 3,000 years old? How long ago did you become a lich?"
"Roughly 1,500 years ago."
"Why don't you go visit him? I'm sure he'd be happy to see you- or at least not be so afraid knowing it's you."
"After his last boyfriend becoming a lich, I doubt he wants to see me. Let's keep this a secret, alright?"
"Oh uh, alright, no problem."