Aimee Marseille knows something is wrong when she is summoned quickly to return home. Upon her father's death, she finds startling news about the family's secret. Mechanical knights walk the countryside, an odd woman who seems to know more than she...
"Do you think this will honestly work?" Aimee had her doubts about Gaspard's plan. It seemed too simplistic. It would be a quick bash to the back of the guard's heads knock them out, and then she changed into one of the uniforms. It was something which was doomed to fail once they started or if anyone looked at her for longer than a few seconds.
He nodded. "Trust me. I've helped train them. I know how they'll react." His eyes seemed to pierce through the wall as though capable of seeing the guard stationed.
She shook her head. "Still don't trust in it." Her hand gripped the hilt of the stiletto, her fingers adjusting themselves with every few seconds that passed. She had never purposely hurt anyone before. Once when she was younger she nearly poked out her neighbor's eye but it didn't count in her opinion. It was an accident.
"Leave it to me. All you need to do is stand as back up in case anything goes wrong." He moved past her, making his way to the closed door.
Aimee exhaled and placed herself firmly against the cavern wall. She didn't want to give these men any indication about their current plan. Her heart beat rapidly as though attempting to break through her chest at any moment. She closed her eyes for a moment, wanting to stabilize herself, before opening them in time to see Gaspard rush the door.
A rather loud commotion sounded on the other side and Aimee crept forward, wanting to see if perhaps he needed her assistance in someway. Instead the action only lasted for a minute or so before everything became quiet. She moved away from the wall, dagger in hand, and walked to the threshold. "Is everything okay?" she asked out into the next room.
Gaspard's face appeared, the metallic section of his face with a sizable gash running down it. He held one of the guard's uniform garb in his hand. "Put this on. We need to move. I think I made more noise than I wanted." He frowned as he looked around the room as if expecting another person to come charging towards him.
Aimee nodded and accepted the shirt, quickly pulling it on above her other clothing. It looked as though she was wearing something far too large for her size which she was. The hem of the top nearly touched the top of her knees. "I hope we don't have to move too close to people. I doubt they'll think this is my typical clothing."
She adjusted her clothing and positioned her dagger at her side,making sure it was still able to be withdrawn should the moment arise. Her eyes connected with Gaspard who seemed to be frowning as she readied herself. "What's wrong?"
"We need to keep moving and I don't have time for you to spend all day getting ready." He turned and once more left the room. She followed behind him, not wanting to annoy him any further. Once they reached a suitable destination, she'd be able to adjust to what needed to be done.
The two walked only a few minutes before they encountered the first pair of guards which roamed the cavern hallway. Aimee felt her body stiffening as they passed at their side. One wrong move, one glance too long, and their cover would be blown. Her hand began slipping to her side for her weapon before she caught the wrath of Gaspard glaring at her. She moved her hand back in front of her.
One of the men looked up and stopped for a moment. "Sir, I've been asked to ensure your mission went as planned. Is there anything which you require of myself?"
"I have everything under control. There's no need for you to mettle where you're not wanted." Gaspard held himself firm, his chest sticking out as though daring the other man to say anything to disagree with him on this point.
His rouse seemed to work. "Yes, sir." His hand quickly went to his chest, hitting against the left side of it before he abruptly turned upon his heel. The other guard followed suit without so much as a murmur.
Aimee contained the small laugh which threatened to escape. "You certainly have a way of making people obey you."
"I'm their captain. They wouldn't dare question my authority. In the Glass Star, we have a working chain of command everyone obeys."
"Everyone?"
He looked at her and nodded. "Everyone."
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Fekrin cursed to himself. "Once again, dead end." His furred fist slammed against the cavern wall, nearly crumbling it around them from his intensity. He stepped back and shook his head. No need for everything to come collapsing around them.
"Maybe there's a secret passage or something we're missing? I've heard sometimes people hide them." Narit started feeling up the wall, her fingers passing along every small crash and attempting to wedge them from one another. Each time she thought she found something, it was only a few seconds before she moved on to somewhere else.
"Doubt it. They might've sealed the wall though. I can still smell her." He wasn't about to back down this time when he was certain his sense of smell directed him to the right location.
He wouldn't put it above Gaspard to do everything possible to keep people from knowing where he took Aimee. No doubt there were several people who wanted to see her assume the throne and with his beloved Stanton in danger, he'd risk everything to keep that vile woman safe. Fekrin grabbed onto one of the stones and attempted to pull it from the wall, only to find it was securely fastened.
This eerily reminded him of how things were when he left. People were constantly running about in fear because they were unsure whether or not one of Stanton's spies were listening in to their private conversations. Oftentimes they would hide away in the tunnels and hope no one spotted them. He frowned thinking of the many nights spent in these halls all to voice a dissenting opinion against a woman bent on harming anyone who stood in her way.
"Look at this," Narit said as she leaned her face against the wall. She pushed her palms against its surface as though hoping to push herself further into it. "I can see people on the other side."
"Do you see Aimee? Gaspard?" Fekrin hurried to her side. He couldn't make out even the hole she was looking through because of the positioning of her head much less anything on the other side. H eknew his sense of smell was keen on finding her. He should've never doubted himself.
"I can't. There's too many of those shiny men in there. Some of them seem pretty new too."
"The mechanical guards?" He felt his heart drop.
"Yes, them."
"How many?"
She paused for a moment, no doubt counting silently to herself. "I'd say about four dozen."
That was quite a number he hadn't anticipated. "Four dozen?"
"Maybe more. I see a few airships in the room as well. Some more might be hiding on there."
Fekrin shook his head. This was terrible news. "She has an army."
