ONE DROP OF BLOOD (ongoing)

CHAPTER 24: MELANCHOLY

"Like what I said, we should not make any conclusions yet. We have no witness when this happened."

The seemingly elder and trainer, second to Thitus, told Ceres firmly.

Zephyr's face remained captivated to the situation, yet, still with a balanced countenance.

Ceres stood up and faced Zephyr and the crowd.

"So, what do you propose?.. That this is just an accident? Our leader, Thitus, was killed!" he said bitterly.

He walks a little forward, like he's talking to his audience, where the spotlight is focused on him.

"He that saved us from being a bargaining sacrifice and gave us shelter and freedom, is now found dead!! How can you say that we shouldn't make any conclusions yet?! There should be someone that did this because it doesn't make any sense if he'll do it to himself, or any accident would brought him to this tremendous death!!"

The people once again shouts, agreeing to Ceres.

Zephyr still wants to tell something, but Seilah butts in.

"Ceres is right!" she said while still weeping for his husband. "This isn't an acident! And it's impossible for an outsider to find this lodge since it's hidden in the naked eyes! You know how Thitus kept this place safe for years!"

Orthyl then, stood up to face us all after hearing her mother.

"This must be an inside job! Someone who knows him, killed him here!!" he exclaimed. His voice and breath is trembling because of mixed anger and sorrow he's feeling right now.

I couldn't process it all at once in my mind. I don't know how to react or what to say. I don't even know where to look.

I bit my lip to stop myself from overthinking, or maybe because I know to myself that Erin and I were here just a while ago, before he died, and that could makes us suspects too. That makes me feel so sorry for Orthyl and his family, Seilah and Benhar.

"But who? I know that all of us can never do this kind of brutality to Thitus! He's our leader! A father to the fatherless, just like you!" Zephyr said, exchanging some intense gazes with Orthyl.

A young man suddenly raised his voice to get our attention.

"We should interrogate who were with him last!" he said. He has this silver ash shade of hair and a stiff-muscled body. His eyes are plain brown, he has thick-lined eyebrows, and in his hand, a polearm with three sharp edges, two on both sides and one on the very end of it that sits on top like it is its head. He's wearing a battle gear and a breastplate just like some from the crowd.

"Avis?!" called Ceres. That name is somewhat familiar. I heard it somewhere.

"But, we're the ones with him at the training field before he went here. I'm sure all of you saw us there with him!" Zephyr told him.

"But not everyone is there with us! Just like.. the newcomers over here!" replied Avis. He's speaking about me and Erin, I know it because he's gazing at us.

Orthyl immediately understands it and quickly comes to our side. "Wait! Not them! They're my friends!" he said. "They can never murder Thitus!"

"But they're the only ones that aren't there!"

I looked at Erin beside me. He is still quiet about this. If ever they knew about what happened, they will really suspect us, or even believe that we are the culprits! But Erin and I didn't do it.