Hallowed Damnation [#Wattys2016]

7

Four people gawked at Salina in clear disbelief of her answer. No one dared deny their commander anything. Only Aldus looked undeterred while Zyrin ineffectively masked his dissatisfaction with a deep scowl. The nerve of this girl to reject his gracious offer! Predictably, Juliet was the first to voice her distaste.

"You ungrateful, little whore!" she screamed while slamming her hands on the table. "Zyrin is offering you a chance to fight for a cause, for the fate of this world, for honor!"

Salina's gaze narrowed at Juliet. She had grown tired of being belittled by the blonde tart and she itched to shove one of her daggers down her throat to shut her up. The vein on her forehead throbbed with suppressed rage. When she spoke, her voice was calm but venomous.

"Honor? What honor is there to be taken from one master only to serve another? You speak of honor when you have none. You destroyed my home."

She landed her accusatory gaze at each one of them, letting them know that she held all of them to blame. When her eyes finally rested on Zyrin, the leash she had on her anger snapped.

"You killed my brotherhood. I will not serve the man who slaughtered my entire family!"

Her whole body was shaking and she pulled at her restraints. If Aldus had not been holding on to her chains then she would have gone flying to their Commander. Her face was twisted with all the devastation she felt and the vengeance she promised, but she did not expect Zyrin's reaction to be such that he laughed.

It started as a low chuckle in his chest then built up until it burst into a howl of laughter void of any humor. He laughed at her. He looked straight at her and mocked her with his amusement. There was no sympathy or remorse on his face.

"The people you so naively call your family is nothing more than a band of poorly skilled strays who have been killing innocents for years," he said with a condescending smile. He did not seem to care that each word he uttered seemed to shatter her heart further. He did not falter and continued his verbal lashing on her.

"You were either a full participant or an ignorant fool."

"Do not call me a fool!"

"Then which one are you?" he yelled in her face. He was so close now that she could breathe in his scent. He smelled like the forest after it had rained and the sun was just slowly caressing it with its warmth, but there was also a hint of something dark and brewing behind it. She averted her gaze from his and tried to ignore the heady scent.

"I had my suspicions, but -"

"But you chose to turn a blind eye," he cut her off.

She could not deny it. How could she? There were a number of missions that she did not want to push through because she thought that the charges were unfounded, but she was raised never to question orders and only to follow them. When she spoke again her voice was small and hopeless.

"They were my family. They were all I had."

"They were using you for their own agenda. How could you not see that?"

She met his eyes now. She fought back the sob that was threatening to spill out. She refused to cry in front of these people.

"Why do you care if they were just using me? Why does Archan care if the Brotherhood is killing innocents? You people never gave a shit about us before now!"

Arin snorted from the corner he was standing with his arms crossed at his chest. She had almost forgotten that there were other people in the room aside from her and Zyrin.

"We still don't give a fuck about your people, princess. We came to your godforsaken lands to look for someone with vital information for us and your genius brothers thought it was best to kill him. That's why we killed your precious family."

"That's enough, Arin," Aldus warned, but he did not listen.

"Your kind can all kill each other off for all I care!"

"I said enough, Arin!" Aldus shouted. He tossed a sympathetic look over to Salina and wondered why he seemed to be the only one who felt any pity for the girl. Why was he the only one who felt guilty that they had taken her unwillingly after they had orphaned her? Yet here they were asking her to aid a war she wanted no part of. Have they as a race totally lost their humanity? He sighed before he turned to speak to her softly.

"I am sorry for the unfortunate circumstances that have led you to us. Please know that we had no choice, but to act the way we did toward your Brotherhood."

Salina searched his face for any sign of a lie but only saw sincerity. She gave him a small nod to let him know that she had at least heard his apology.

"Why didn't you kill me too? Why did you have to take me here?" she asked Aldus.

"Because you belong in Archan, Salina. You belong with your own kind."

"I am not one of you!"

Aldus tried to find the words to appease her, but at that moment he truly saw her. He saw the injuries from their battle with her. He saw the dirt that clung to her from her stay in their dungeons. He saw the angry red welts where her shackles have bit into her skin. He saw how they had been treating her and guilt once more flooded him. This was not how a lost Archanian should be welcomed home.

He offered her a warm reassuring smile. "You are of Archan, Salina. More than you know or would care to accept at this moment. I would be honored to tell you about your true heritage if you would allow me. But first..."

Salina stiffened when she saw him wave his hand toward her. Instinctively, she readied herself for a fight, but was more than surprised to hear her shackles clang to the floor. She cupped her sore wrists while she stared curiously at the mage.

"Are you out of your mind, Aldus? Put her chains back! You have no idea what she might do!" Juliet screamed looking at Zyrin to take her side.

"Perhaps it would be best for the restraints to remain, my friend." Zyrin agreed.

"She is no danger to us!"

Zyrin slowly looked at Aldus. In all the years that he has known him, he has never heard him raise his voice like that. The whole room stood in stunned silence as they watched their fiercest general wrap a gentle protective arm around Salina.

"Let me show you to a proper room, my dear. Let's get you cleaned up and fed properly," he said.

Salina was still suspicious of his motives after this sudden show of kindness but she was grateful for the opportunity to exit the room. She gingerly followed him out of the room and did not look back at his comrades.