Bias

"What do you mean it's missing!" Zane Ro'meave snarled at his guard, who was now cowering before him in fear, head bowed as the poor man's form shook violently.

"W-When I went in to rotate vigil with Dauren, I saw that the relic was gone and he was lying in a pool of his own blood..."

Zane glared at the man before turning and walking away to look out the window. His voice was eerily calm and leveled now. "Then why are you still here? Go find the th-"

He was cut off by a second guard rushing into the room. "My lord! Lillian found the thief — she said she needs to see you immediately. She's in the dungeon!"

Zane swiftly spun and strode from the room, passing through the hallways and down multiple flights of stairwells until he hit the damp, dingy air of the dungeon. Torches illuminated the walls, causing shadows to eerily dance to and fro. He simply strode down the corridor until he got to the cell Lillian was inside.

He had to say, he was a little shocked that the woman he saw before him was the one who supposedly had stolen the relic. The man entered the cell and finally halted beside his loyal follower, icy blue gaze shifting down onto the crumpled form of the woman.

She seemed to be around her early twenties, and in pretty good shape. The woman had given Lillian a good struggle, as the Juror was labored in breathing, as if trying to catch her breath, though also attempting to hide the fact. She had long, crimson hair that was now laced with blood, and as he inspected further, he noticed that she had two sheaths on either side of her waist. She dual wielded. It was then that she tilted her head up to glare furiously at Zane, and he noticed she was blind in one eye.

"Well, isn't this a nice change of scenery," the woman snarled, wrinkling her nose in distaste at Zane, averting her gaze. One hand was pressed firmly against her side to stem the flow of blood.

This comment seemed to baffle Lillian. "It's a prison cell."

A crude laugh slid from between her paling lips. "I was being sarcastic, you dense whore."

Lillian went to send a hard punch at the fallen thief, but Zane caught her arm at the elbow, shaking his head. "You can go, Lillian. I can deal with her."

The Juror went to argue, but then seemed to think better of it as she bowed her head in respect. She then turned and walked from the cell. Zane could hear her footsteps echoing off the walls, and waited until they had faded from hearing, before looking back to the thief.

"Tell me, what is your name?"

There was an indignant flash within the woman's eyes as she glared back towards him, tilting her head back to rest it against the crude wall behind her. "What's it to you?"

"I simply wanted to know who the woman is that attempted to steal from me." Zane frowned slightly, noticing the color of her eyes. They were unnaturally red... There was a reason behind them that he knew of, but couldn't recall the legend at the given time.

"Anneliese," she eventually emitted with a faint hiss.

Her cold glare almost gave him chills. Almost. That name, however... Where did he know it from? The old tale mothers tell, their children to try and scare them from leaving the city, of course. The Fall of Storm Shield. Anneliese was the head guard who had fallen in battle trying to protect her lord from a mysterious bandit ambush. However, if she had fallen... Why was she still alive? Her eyes. The old lore was false. Her eyes told the true story.

"So, Anneliese. Tell me. Why did you try to steal the relic?"

"What, you mean this thing?" Anne suddenly produced the stolen artifact, showing it to Zane in the dim lighting.