Dawn Of War (Authors Games)

In The Zone: Temple Hill

Feyre Azure:

"Maybe we should leave them be."
"Seriously, why do we have her?"
Fey felt Ezra's presence even after they were separated.
Kara and Blaire's conflicting personalities were enough to make Fey feel at ease, even if only temporary. She was beginning to feel the distance it took to walk to the temple in her feet as they began to ache. The crunching she heard whenever she crushed a leaf sounded satisfying to her ears. No one is around for miles. It felt odd for such a place to be kept so far away from civilization.
No one said anything. Kara was walking the fastest. Either she was fast or Fey was slow. It might be the second one. After all Ezra always had to drag her across the track whenever they ran.
Luis wasn't too far behind. His arms were kept behind his head as he looked up. Oddly, his bright blonde hair almost looked brown during the night. Fey couldn't help but notice how often his eyes would wander from the stars in the sky back to Blaire's smaller figure.
There was no denial that Blaire was the daughter of Aphrodite. Her dark brown hair flowed behind her as if she were royalty. Her blue eyes were deep like an ocean. It was easy for anyone to get lost in them. The real question was when would the guy get the nerve to talk to her.
"It's this way." Kara directed the group down a stone path. Both Luis and Fey almost tripped since the path was uneven and damaged. Luis somehow managed to catch himself. It was Fey who fell flat on her face.
Blaire looked back startled, and quickly found her way to Feyre's side. Luis looked back but was struck by the amusement that took over his body. Kara ignored them all and focused on the goal at hand. Her steps were large. Kara would whip her head around as if she was trying to take in her surroundings.
"It's good to be on high alert but should we be so tense? " Kara stopped. So did Fey's heart. Blaire shook her head. Fey shouldn't have asked such a question. Slowly, Kara turned to face the two on the ground. Her moves were steady as she pivoted to face them. For the first time Fey got a good look at her face. Kara's features were sharp. Her cheeks, her jawline, but what really stuck out were her eyes. Silver like the stars when no clouds could block them. It looked like they were glowing at their brightest in the dark night. She took a breath before she spoke.
"We don't know what we're walking into."
Kara looked straight at Fey and Fey struggled to keep the gaze. Her heart could sped up even after Karas gaze left her. It wouldn't be far fetched if she felt butterfly's fluttering around her stomach.
"If we aren't alert, then we won't make it out of here." She turned back around.
"Plus, the bitch who caused all this shit owes me a vacation somewhere else." Kara turned back around leaving the three of them where they were.
"She has a point you know."
Blaire finally offered Fey her hand and Fey stood up. She swayed before finding her center.
"We don't know what kind of people we're gonna run into. We don't know what they look like, if they have weapons, hell if they're even sane." She was talking with her hands as Luis stood behind her.

"Her movements are rational, let's just hope she's mature enough to deal with her emotions."

"Yeah." Luis nodded in approval.
"You seem to get people." He moved closer to the smaller girl before nearly slipping on a pebble.
"And so it begins." Fey walked away to leave Luis to whatever he was trying to do.
"I wonder if he has any game."
..........................................
There were only pillars. There were no walls. There was no roof either. The stones had cracks from the bottom to the top. As they walked closer they were greeted by a chorus. The voices were warm and welcoming. The chords felt oddly familiar. Almost like a distant memory Feyre knew but couldn't recognize.. Blaire's eyes lit up to the sound of the choir.
"They sound wonderful." Luis was in awe but it was easy for Fey to be able to tell how unamused Kara was. Deep down surely she was moved. As they edged closer, they found a single man in the center. He was wearing an old tattered robe. Where it came from they didn't know. His arms were open as if welcoming a presence they couldn't see. All of them waited as Kara stepped forward. His eyes were closed, so he didn't see her. Kara was about to speak but Blaire ran to stop her. Kara's questionable look was followed by a slight glare. Blaire began to kneel before the man and Kara followed in suit hesitantly. Not doing anything more than a bow, they waited. He turned to see them.
"We have guests." The man went to greet Blaire. He held her bly her shoulder in order to help her up.
"Thank the gods you are here. I'm David. We welcome you here to our lovely refuge."
Blaire smiled as Kara turned. She could tell how hard Kara had to swallow to suppress her irritation.
"I am Kara." she spoke clearly. "We have been sent to bring you and 'your people' back with us in order to get you to safety." The man faced Kara. He continued to hold onto Blaire as he stepped closer.
"Oh, I am sorry to waste your time but we cannot leave. How can we?" He began to twirl with his arms out as if he was trying to reach every pillar.
"Look at what we've been blessed with. Am I right?" The people around them rejoiced.
"There's so many." Fey mentioned breathlessly. The seating of the temple almost reminded Fey of a coliseum. There were many more people there than she imagined. If all of them follow this one man, then he was the key to their success.
"To abandon this place would be criminal. Surely you must understand."
"No. I don't." She stepped back to face the many people that surrounded them.
"Surely, all of you are aware of the danger you are in. You ran here after what happened during Election Day. It's okay to be afraid, we all are. We just need you to follow us to safety."
The crowd didn't budge.
Luis walked over to Kara and whispered something to her that earned him a jab in his side. David walked back over to Kara with a smile on his face.
"Yes we do appreciate your concern, but we are not interested in leaving."
"But-"
"Kara." Blaire's voice was heard regardless of how soft she spoke. "Let me try." Kara stepped back
"David you are a faithful man who believes that the gods send people for a reason." She paused to let her words sink in before continuing.
"We were sent to make sure that this faithful flock would be protected in this dark time." Her voice seemed to soothe those that seemed doubtful.
"So do not turn the gods kindness away accept it with open arms." Blaire finished
Feyre watched in awe transfixed on the words that were spoken. Were they actually going to buy the cheesiness?
All at once celebration broke out amongst the crowd. They did. They did buy it. Overtaken by their reaction, it seemed as if David wasn't given much of a choice. It was amusing. He took a breath. It was as if he was speaking through his teeth.
"If you insist, then we must." The crowd cheered once more as David's eye wandered to Blaire. As if out of curiosity, he stepped closer to her. She was celebrating with Luis and moved towards Fey. She stopped in her tracks however when their leader touched her hair. Taken aback, the smaller girl backed into Fey. Feyre was tall enough to shield her from his strange gesture.
"Forgive me miss. It's just-" he circled her. Feyre finally understood what it meant to be on high alert. The others had tensed as well. David's eyes lit up. "You are." David took a knee before Blaire.
"The mark on your face proves it. Our marvelous god has blessed us with a goddess before us. Our deliverance is near. Our salvation is near." Blaire questionably touched her face.
"He's talking about my beauty mark." She whispered to Fey.
" I'm sorry bu-"
"Yes, sir. " Luis interjected. "During our journey here, she kept saying that this place was calling to her. She didn't know why but she felt it in her spirit. I knew she was special since I laid eyes on her."
Yeah, now he's trying a bit too hard.
"Then it's settled." David grabbed Blaire.
"Let us dine with our Savior and her friends." He guided her away and the three of them soon followed after.
................................................
"Wrong knife." Kara whispered to Fey.
Sitting at the table, Fey couldn't help but wonder why there were so many different forks, spoons, and knives. The food smelled good but Fey didn't have it in her to eat anything. Even the smallest bites would cause the servers to bring more food. Where were they getting it from anyway?
The goblet was filled with wine that she didn't touch. If there was alcohol, Ezra and Damien would always take her cup. Not that she cared about it. The many things they said to her while drunk is locked away in her mind.
Kara drank her cup. It may be getting difficult for her to control herself right now if she's leaning on the booze than verbal communication. Luis had already downed five goblets.
Kara whispered to him. "This is a mission, not a party.
Luis ignored her.
He wasn't focused on the food in front of him but Blaire. She knew that look. She always wondered what it felt like knowing that someone saw her that way. He looked at her as if she was a treasure, a jewel, a literal goddess.
Feyre expected him to get up on the table confess his love then carry her off into the night.
As if he heard her thoughts he lazily glanced over at Feyre. Who immediately presented to be looking for something in her wine.
"Drink it all Feyre." He grumbled taking another sip from his goblet.
Blaire sat at the end of the table. Luis was to her left and David was to her right. Kara sat next to David while Feyre sat next to Luis. They found Blaire a rob to wear. It was a deep royal purple contrasting David's tattered brown one. He didn't seem to mind. It looked like he enjoyed talking to her. Fey couldn't make out everything, but something in the room felt off. Before she could figure it out Kara got up and approached Blaire.
"My deepest apologies for disrupting her goddlinesses meal, but I have something urgent I must bring to her attention." Her eyes were emotionless but the bent silverware she left near her plate showed what she was trying to hide. Fey glanced at her reddened palms and began to worry about the nature of their conversation.
"Why of course." She smiled. Before she could stand, David called for two men to pull her seat. Blaire thanked her before following Kara to a more secluded spot of the temple. Fey noticed that Luis was watching as well. Feyre turned to Luis and mouthed
"Do you think this will go well?"
Cup still in hand Luis gave her a look of sincerity
"Nope." He whispers loudly. He finished another cup and decided to start on his food. Fey tried to eat again but soon stopped when Blaire and Kara's whispers turned into harsh yelling.
"Have wanted to see a drunken cat fight" Luis asks startling Feyre.
Feyre didn't answer.
"You're pathetic."
Kara nearly spat at Blaire. Her blue eyes reminded Feyre as waves as she began to feed off of Kara's frustration."
"I'm pathetic? Oh, I'm pathetic?! You can't even get over yourself."
"Elaborate pretty girl."
"You don't like that some child of a charming goddess took the wondrous glory away from your mission. Athena must not be so good of a teacher if she hasn't taught you how to deal with defeat."
"Listen here little miss prissy." Kara bent down to eye Blaire. "Don't you dare call Athena out of her name or make such accusations. I don't give a damn about not doing it myself or the Athena way or any other bullshit thing you think of. I'm proud to be a child of Athena. It's a shame that such a high ranking goddess teaches her children about dishonesty. Actually, that's expected, isn't it?"
I personally thought it would be Zeus or Hera who would do that.
It's a good thing I didn't say that outloud.
"Blaire, you give them hope. Can you bare the disappoint you'll bring once they find out?"
"You think they'll believe you?!"
"Yes. What proof do you have other than some crazy old man who believes you are."
"Well at least he believes in me." Balire sounded distraught. When Kara heard, she tried to smooth it over.
"Blaire, w-"
"Do you, do you really? All you seem to care about is youself and what ever stupid trip you came for or whatever. You didn't even care for Fey when she fell. You treated her as nothing, maybe because you are nothing." Kara stopped. For the first time all day, Fey saw Kara's hands turn lifeless. Fey watched as laire came back. She looked at her with disbelief,
"No wonder no one here likes you. You talk all this talk about being selfish and you can't even properly handle your emotions. "Of course." She muttered before walking
'Blaire, I know you know that that wasn't right." When Fey spoke up, Blaire was confused.
"Fey, what are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about this." she said motioning to her and Kara.
"You speak of people being mature and handling their emotions, but it seems as if you're a child when it comes to that yourself."
Blaire looked infuriated. She shook her head before looking for David.
"You know nothing. All of you know nothing." David soon found his way to Blaire's side.
"Are these people bothering you your gloriousness?"Blaire looked at them. Kara and then back at Feyre.
"Yes." Fey stood up and Kara looked at Balire with shaken eye.
"Guards."
The girls began to protest. Fey began to kick and she was lifted from her seat, and Kara began to yell.
"You can't be serious. Blaire call them off." Only she didn't.
...............................................
"Well that wasn't fun."
Fey got up off the ground. For religious people, their hospitality and morals were not good. Fey stretched as she saw Kara get up as well. Lifeless, she began to walk away from the temple. Feyre was confused.
"What are you doing?" she ran in front of Kara who didn't face her.
"Going back to the place where we met." she went around Fey who only got back in front of them.
"And leave them? All of them?" Kara looked up at Fey. The life she found in Kara's eyes were gone. Her black bob covered most of her face as she began to walk again. Speechless, Fey followed.
"Bu-"
"Why did you stick up for me?" Fey was taken back.
"What?"
"You spoke on my behalf. I haven't treated any of you fairly and you chose to stand by me." Kara looked at Feyre. She looked at her in her eyes trying to find the answer before Fey could tell her. When Kara said nothing, Fey spoke up.
"It was wrong. Regardless of how I felt, it wasn't right." she fixed her body in front of Kara.
"I don't know what you're going through or what has you so peeved, but whatever it is you care about it. You cared enough about Blaire to call her out and let her know that what she was doing was wrong." Feyre began to smile.
"That's someone I was taught to stand by."
She knew that Kara was shook. She didn't say anything, but for the first time, a smile almost found its way to her face. Before Kara could say anything, a scream was heard from the temple. It was high pitched. The two of them locked eyes before nodding in confirmation.
Blaire needed them. She needed them now.
......................
They were out of breath. The two girls made a sprint towards the temple. When they reached a certain point, Kara quickly pulled Feyre with her behind a push.
"Damn those Centuries."
The temple had no walls so the centuries were only covering the spaces. It was a strange setup but it made reentering a lot difficult.
"There were none before, right?"
"Yeah." Kara responded. "It's like they waited for us to leave."
"Or when we were split up." Feyre began. "We many not have fought together yet, but we're weaker now. That's what they wanted." Kara nodded in agreement before cursing again under her breath.
"There's a ballista." Fey followed her gaze and saw it too. She had never seen one before.
"They're a lot bigger than I imagined."
"There's probably one place near each corner." Kara explained. Her attention went back to the Centuries were another curse fell from her lips.
"We're cursing like a sailor now aren't we."
"Fey I swear." Feyre smirked hearing the slight humor in Kara's voice.
"Look back at the Centuries." Fey did what she was told. Guarding the temple was a mixure of the Centuries and the guards that to them outside.
"I didn't notice before but that symbol on the guard's uniform, isn't good." They were pretty far so Fey had trouble fully making out the symbol but she recognized what Kara meant.
"I can't believe I didn't notice it before, but we have to get the two fo them out of there." Kara looked around.
"Do you think you can take out that baliste?" Fey nodded before pulling out her bow. She groped for and arrow and began to aim.
The mechanism. Or maybe the rope. Yeah, the rope. Wait isn't the rope the mech-
"Actually no." Fey stopped aiming and looked at Kara.
"I have a better idea, but we'll have to run."
Feyr groaned at the remark leaving Kara baffled. Unfortunately, they were pressed for time.
..............................
"Hey, over here. I'm a kid up no good!" Fey yelled and waved trying to get their attention. As soon as she did she ran towards the other one and did the same.
"Hey. Bow down b-" Before she could finish her quote, the other Baliste prepared to fire. Feyre began to run up to the temple. Bracing herself, she tried to nudge the guards and Centuries. SHe didn't need to go through them. They were gonna move themselves. Fey looked at both and saw that they began to fire. As Kara expected, their reload time wasn't fast, but it was deadly slow either. Only when an arrow struck a guard did some of them look concern. She knew that they would have trouble making out where Fey was in the dark, but that didn't mean that they were smart enough to save their ammunition and to not cause harm to their own comrades. Feyre easily slipped by. Once she was inside the temple, she saw Kara doing the same. The two met in the middle and Fey hugged her laughing.
"What's so funny?" Kara asked trying to pry Fey's hands off of her.
"Nothing." she responded with a giggle. "I'm just happy." Kara turned away almost flustered.
"We have to find Luis."
"You don't think we'll find him when we find Blaire?"
Fey soon answered her own question when she heard a loud yell that came from the far end of the room. There Luis was struggling to keep off two guards. He was doing pretty well really. His movements were a bit slow. He must have been at it for a while. Feyre immediately pulled out her bow and release and arrow in their direction. When the arrow only graced the guard's armor, it was enough of a distraction for Luis to finish him off. The three of them ran to each other.Almost done.
"Blaire?" Kara asked.
"Over here. David and his people took her."
Luis ran down the stairs of the temple. The other two followed him to what looked like the entrance to a cellar. When they ran down, they were greeted by a chorus again. Only this time, the minor chords brought them haste and discomfort. Although the sounds were satisfying to Fey, she knew that the group was up to no good. They ran in the center where David stood. Again he was embracing a presence they couldn't see, but the dark spots around his eyes were a clear indication that their god was not a good god. Is their god a demon?
When David saw them, a smile returned to his face.
"Our guests are back. Oh how we missed you."
"Of course you did. Now what is this?" Kara demanded. The dark room was lit by the many candles that were laid out. How they managed to light them all so quickly was beyond her.
"Oh do you like it. We are getting ready to honor our God."
The three were on alert. Before they could do anything, a snap from David's fingers caused them to be surrounded instantly. Fey only had a crossbow, so she was nearly useless. Luis had a sword and what looked like other weapons in his pockets. And Kara-
Kara wasn't there.
"You see, we realised that you coming here was a test."
"A test?" Luis questioned.
"Yes. Our god always tests his most faithful followers. Right." The people cheered when agreeing with their leader. The cheering was rougher however. There were more low voices than higher ones. It created a familiar dark tone to Fey as Luis' eyes were fixed on David.
"To show that we understand him and recognize his presence, we must kill your friend here." As David looked up the two of them did was well. Blaire was floating on her back. Her eyes were closed. She couldn't tell if she was breathing. The magic that was holding her up seemed to be coming from the people in the corners. Luis gripped his sword tighter when he saw her. "By killing her, we send the guide he gave us back to him and then go along our way."
"So after you kill her, you'll leave?"
"Did I say that? I-"
"Yes, you literally just said that."
"I may change my mind. I don't know. I'm so ecstatic that we've been chosen." David sighed dreamily. "Us nobodies being chosen by some so great. It's wonderful, is it not?" The people cheered once more. Fey moved closer to Luis and tried to look for Kara.
"Well unfortunately you haven't been chosen."
David looked at Luis is disbelief. "Rebuke him of savior. He knows n-"
"Blaire is the daughter of Aphrodiate. We have been sent by leaders of a refuge in New Rome to get all of you to safety. Blaire is no Goddess or descendant or messenger or whatever the hell you think she is. I'm sorry we have kept your hopes up, but we only wanted all of you to be safe. I'm sure your God would too." The room was still. As Fey looked around she could see so many smiles fade away. Disbelief was the feeling in the room. Both disbelief and disappointment.
What broke the silence was David's dry laugh. You would've thought he was coughing if you didn't see the smile on his face.
"What's so funny?" David continued to laugh.
"Answer me." Luis demanded. He looked up at Blaire again before looking back at David.
"You thought I didn't know that?!" He was hysterical. His people were confused as they watched him.
"Someone like her sent to us. That lie came easily." He moved closer to the two of them.
"Our lovely praetor told me that some delinquency would be coming our way. So I thought, what's the best way I can get rid of them?" He walked around the two of them.
"Well obviously your teenagers so that was a plus within itself. You have a lot of problems and hormones. Manipulation was easy." David found his way in front of an infuriated Luis. "At a snap of my finger, my people will drop her to the floor where you are standing, but first-" David motioned for the guards and they pulled two two of them back. Fey didn't like the familiar feeling. Both of them resisted but it didn't take long before they were subdued. Davud counted and noticed there was only two of them. He let out another laugh. The other girl couldn't handle the heat huh." It was then that Luis noticed that Kara wasn't there. He looked at Fey.
"Where the hell is she." he mouthed. Fey shook her head.
"I don't know, but trust her." She could tell that Luis was hesitant. David looked at them and shrugged. "After we kill her, you'll follow in suit. Simple as that." With that David snapped his fingers and Blaire was released. When there was no thud, everyone looked up. Blaire took in a loud gasp and was still bouncing on a woven net. Feyre smiled once she knew who made it.
"Kara."
"Yes?"
David spun around to find Kara behind him. Her arms were crossed over her chest as she eyed the man in front of her.
David wasn't happy. He clenched his teeth as he cried a familiar command.
"Guards!"
No one moved. David was frantic. He looked the guards in front of him. Although they were holding onto Fey and Luis, for whatever reason they refused to listen.
"Guards.Guards! What the hell are you waiting for."
"For a new leader." Kara stepped forward. "You didn't have all of their best interests at heart did you?" David was speechless. Immediately he ran for the stair cutting their confrontation short. Luis tried to go after him but Kara stopped him.
"There will be some more angry guards waiting for him. Are there more guards then Centuries I don't know." Kara cut Blaire out of the net and helped a sheepish Blaire down. Blaire looked at Kara and then across at Fey. When tears began to form Kara shook her head.
"It's okay. You did good tonight."
"What are we gonna do?"
"Who's gonna lead us? "
"Will our savior even protect us? Was that a lie too?"
The people were worried. The chatter grew louder by the second. Kara tried to get them to calm down, but her voice wasn't enough. In the most if the chaos Fey knew the one thing that would calm them down. She opened her mouth as a soft sound fell from her lips. She slowly got louder causing everyone to stop speaking. She continued to sing and slowly people would join her. It started as one voice but soon flourished into the choir she loved. The song this time was different. It wasn't organized. It felt free. She knew that everyone felt that. The unity that was lost before was found in that moment.
"I know all of you are tired of being lied to. Your leader lied to you.We lied to you. Although we can't change it, we can at least promise safety and freedom. Now please follow us away from here."