The Darkest Dawn

Chapitre 12

Lucien woke with the rising sun, like always. He closed his eyes again, hoping to catch another few moments of shut eye. Yet he jolted upright when the events of the last two weeks came crashing like a tidal wave. He twisted to see Darius, still asleep. The two had fixed the beds, having to over turn the frames. Darius' hair spilled in a tangled golden mess around his head. Lucien touched Darius' cheek and pressed hard.

"What." The man groaned. He was not asleep, Lucien realized, he was brooding.

"Sorry. I was just making sure you were awake." Lucien muttered, withdrawing his hand. "I think we have to be ready."

"Ugh." Darius grunted and sat up. "We can't be ready for something we don't know." He muttered. Lucien ignored his comment and crossed the room. He found the hairbrush on the ground, the handle broken off. He grabbed the head of the brush and picked out gold and black hairs.

He began brushing his hair, which was beginning to grow longer than he usually liked it. It curled around his ears, tickled the nape of his neck and hung just above his eyebrows. Lucien finished and offered the brush to the englishman. Darius scowled and tied up his hair without brushing. Lucien dropped the hairbrush head on his bed.

The door opened, Audie standing at the other side. He was still as feverish as he was last night, but in fact worse. He had tied up his black curly hair in a high bun to keep it off his face and neck. He had terrible dark circles like he did not sleep at all. He was still shivering with sweaty skin. "The Master waits for you outside." He wheezed.

"You're not coming with, aren't you?" Lucien grumbled. Audie's eyes shifted from the two men and to the floor. Darius stood and shoved past Audie. Lucien followed, yet was stopped by a hand to the shoulder.

"...." Audie opened his mouth then closed it, uncertain. "I'm sorry." He mumbled finally.

"Did you start the fire?" Lucien asked, eyes staring straight ahead to Darius who waited for him. Audie shivered against Lucien's shoulder.

"I... yes." Audie admitted. He choked and shuddered again. Lucien shifted his eyes to Audie's feet where drops of liquid formed. Lucien shut his eyes and sighed. He shoved past the ill man. Audie's arm gave way and fell limply at his side as Lucien caught up to Darius.

The two made their way outside where a carriage waited. The two horses they had used to reach the mansion were gone, most likely in the stables. Dog had disappeared while they had ridden the horses, probably still in the forest. The carriage, black and sleek, opened the side door. Lucien glanced at Darius, who glared ahead as he climbed inside. Lucien followed and took a seat next to Darius. Opposite of them perched Rhaelra, smug and practically blending in with the dark leather seats.

The ride was long and unbearable. The seats were comfortable, but the constant stare Rhaelra presented was deeply off setting. Lucien felt more terrified than he ever did. He couldn't move, he was frozen by the gnawing fear in his very core. Something warm and rough touched his pinkie finger. Lucien tensed then relaxed when he realized it was only Darius. The ex-soldier's hand moved until it subtly covered Lucien's. Lucien gave a shaky sigh, grateful for Darius' warm hand heating his cold one.

The gesture was gentle and kind yet held deeper meaning with Lucien. Times where Regina held his hand, linked arms with him and touched his face came trickling into his mind. Lucien's chest felt compressed suddenly, his heart big. Then it hurt, a needle in the center of his chest. Lucien withdrew his hand into his lap, head turned to face the window. Darius did not pursue Lucien, placing his own hand closer to his own leg.

The carriage stopped after about two hours. Rhaelra leaned over and opened the door, gesturing the two men to exit before he did. Lucien scooted and slid down to the steps then the ground, bottom sore from another long trip spent sitting. Darius followed and stood near him, yet saying nothing. In front of what appeared to be a stone fortress, Rhaelra placed his talons on the men's shoulders, leading them to the long lines of seivohn with their own slaves. Darius gasped, his eyes going wide. He began to fidget and squirm when Rhaelra brought them to the end of the shortest line. He was muttering nonsense to himself and softly whining. Lucien waited for Rhaelra to turn and talk to his fellow Seivohn before reaching out to Darius' twitchy hand. The ex-soldier jumped like Lucien had just electrocuted him and swiveled to stare. His eyes softened seeing Lucien and he took a deep breath.

They waited in line until it was their turn up at a desk with a Seivohn behind it. Rhaelra pushed them forward and leaned over to fill out paperwork. Lucien wished he could read seivohnic. The other seivohn, larger than Rhaelra, squinted at the papers. It scanned them then shook it's head. "This one is not eligible." It muttered, holding up one of the papers.

"Oh, he is." Rhaelra chuckled, discreetly sliding gold coins across the table. The seivohn regarded them and swept them under the desk and into a drawer.

"You are correct. I must've scanned him wrong." The shifty monster muttered, stamping both papers and passing them to Rhaelra. "Please continue to inside the building and to room E5." It instructed. Rhaelra grabbed Lucien and Darius, leading them into the fortress. The walls gave off a cold aura, torches lighting the halls. He steered them into what looked like a waiting room filled with slaves and seivohn. Rhaelra sat in a plush chair. He allowed Darius and Lucien to sit as well.

Lucien was about to lean over to sit on the floor with the rest of the slaves when Darius stopped him with a hand on the shoulder. The ex-soldier shook his head, eyes stern. Right. Lucien straightened. They were no longer slaves, Lucien couldn't allow himself to revert back into a coward. It wouldn't be fair to Darius, to Regina, nor to himself. Time to be brave.

After another long hour of waiting, a tall and slender seivohn opened the door and grunted as it clicked needle-like fingers on a clipboard. "Darius Wood and Lucien Penndrake?" Rhaelra stood and muttered with the seivohn. It nodded and gestured for them to follow.

Down winding halls, the seivohn lead them to another room, one that looked like a dressing room. There was one vanity lit up with many fluorescent lights. There were plush cushions on the ground near a circular platform in front of a tall mirror that could light up. A paper divider stood in one corner of the room, decorated in painted pastel coloured flowers. The walls were a neutral beige and grey silks hung from the tall ceiling in loops to meet up with a crystal chandelier in the centre. Lucien walked inside in awe. "This room will be assigned to... Penndrake." The seivohn droned. Rhaelra placed his talons on Darius' shoulder and lead him out back into the halls. The seivohn with the clipboard closed the door, leaving Lucien alone.

Lucien sat on the cushioned stool in front of the vanity. The counter was covered in makeup and brushes, many of which Lucien did not recognize. Sure, he was decent at makeup but this was a professional's layout. He looked in the mirror, something he has not been able to do in two weeks. His face was more slim than he remembered. His cheekbones looked more defined, his jaw looked like it was cut in straight and sharp lines. His skin was caked in dirt, eyes with dark circles not quite as terrible as Audie's had been. His askew hair was dirty, greasy almost. Lucien examined himself, skipping over scars in his skin. Except one. The cut on his eyebrow was still healing, becoming more flat and pinkish purple. It'll be at least four more weeks before the scar is fully formed, white and sharp. It sliced through his eyebrow, making him look... cool? Yeah, that was the word. This scar looked cool.

The door opened and Lucien spun in the spinning stool to face it. A man and woman stood at the threshold, smug and smiling. The man was tall with black combed hair. He looked comfortable and confident, two things slaves are not. The woman with arms full of fabric and a kit of some kind next to him had very short brunette hair. She had a frown that reminded Lucien of Darius. "Lucien?" The man asked, voice clear as a bell.

"Y-yeah?" Lucien replied, nervous.

"I'm Daniel and this is my sister, Harper." Daniel introduced himself and the girl. "I'm your makeup artist and Harper is your fashion designer." He grinned.