ᴅᴇᴅᴜᴄᴛɪᴏɴꜱ - ɪᴅᴇɴᴛɪᴛʏ ᴠ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ [ONGOING!]

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 9 | ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴇꜱᴄᴇɴᴛ

It took a lot to convince Emma to lend them the key to the fountain. Tons and tons of bribery, reassurance, and several whole-hearted promises had eventually earned the trust of the still-reluctant gardener. It took all of their willpower to not yank it out of her hands, but, eventually, their patience rewarded them, and the O/P had snaked their fingers around the orb and had bid her farewell.

"Y-- you'll bring it back to me as soon as you're done, right?! And you won't touch my begonias while you're in the garden, will you?! I just planted them, so they're very fragile!" She called out to them from down the hall, still sounding somewhat skeptical. Y/N nodded, giving her an assured grin and a slight nod of their head.

"I promise, I'll return it to you straight away... and your begonias will remain untouched." 

That seemed to be enough to satiate the gardener for the time being. "All right, but please be careful down there. Those tunnels are so scary..." Trailing off, she returned to her room and closed the door with a soft click.

Y/N clicked their tongue and set off down the hall, the orange light from the sunset outside stretching and pronouncing the deep shadows that danced across the floors. Curfew was fast approaching, and the O/P should have been making their way back to their room by now, but they had more important things to concern themselves with. Naib had, most likely, already blabbed his mouth to the other resistance members about the garden's secret, and now they were probably just as eager to explore the tunnels as he was.

"Y/N L/N." A voice called from behind them. Y/N turned around with a start, hastily tucking the orb under their shirt/dress. They were suddenly terrified of the possibility that someone might see them-- though, they relaxed as Patricia came into view. The familiar clack of her black shoes echoed throughout the halls as she approached the O/P, golden eyes peering down at them intently.

"I have heard from the others that you are now among our ranks," She dipped her head in respect. "You have my gratitude for bringing the young Ms. Reznik back to us. I apologize if I had come across as stern upon our first meeting, I look forward to working with you."

Upon hearing those words from the enchantress, Y/N couldn't help but feel their chest well up with pride. Patricia was the first member of the resistance to actually thank them for bringing Tracy back-- not even Tracy herself had bothered to give any formal remark of gratitude to the O/P. Sure, the other survivors had congratulated and praised them for bringing Tracy back to the manor, but everything they knew about their supposed 'daring rescue' was built on a lie of Eli's design. To actually have their efforts recognized in the context of the truth felt refreshing-- almost relieving.

"A-- ah, thank you for your kind words, Ms. Dorval," Y/N smiled bashfully. "I look forward to working with you as well."

The pair of survivors walked the rest of the way to Eli's room in silence. Patricia didn't care to speak, and Y/N didn't feel the need to force a conversation. It wasn't at all like the first time the two had walked together-- a sort of serene silence befell them instead of the previously tense one. It was nice. Calming. The calm didn't last though-- as soon as Y/N raised a fist to knock on the seer's door, it swung open with a resounding thud. Naib stumbled out of the room, glaring back at the seer and his raving owl.

"You keep that damn bird of yours away from me, Clark!" He hissed, harshly jabbing a thumb towards Brooke Rose. The bird in question ruffled her feathers and shrieked at him, clearly aggravated. Eli rubbed her chest with his forefingers to calm her down, staring over at the mercenary with the usual unbothered expression on his face.

"She might stay away from you of her own accord if you keep on with your disrespectful behaviour," He said cooly. "You can't just make jokes about making a roast out of her. Brooke Rose is very intelligent, she can hear the implications of your tone."