REDEMPTION

31. WHO YOU ARE.

“It’s been far too long, milady.” Holmen slightly bowed, showing respect. However, his bowing was slightly different from when he did Bendra. His right arm was stretched out toward her while his left was over his chest. He was not on his knees but he had lowered himself slightly.

It took Achlysa a while to respond. She stood, still shaken by what had happened. Hand over her chest, she called herself by breathing. Once she was done, she placed both her hands before her and bowed her head in between. Her right foot was behind her left while she lowered herself slightly. She did this out of habit, and from all the times her mother had corrected each mistake in her posture with a whip. She cringed while remembering those moments. Her hand almost rubbed her bottom but she resisted the urge.

“It’s been far too long, Sir.”

After these words, she stood and her hands went directly to her sides. This was a test Holmen had thought of. He wanted to confirm what kind of a woman she was by testing her etiquette. It was common knowledge that each tribe had a specific way of greeting. The bow was either different or the posture was. And she had successfully passed the test, however, he had never seen such a posture before.

His master had asked him to go and fetch her. On his way, he found her door ajar. Holmen’s heart almost leaped out of his heart but he soon found a trail of evidence from the few things that were out of place. He did not expect to find one of the assassins from the Grinder guild in their territory. Without sparing a single thought, he pounced at the person ready to shred them to pieces.

Holmen was surprised that whoever it was was able to dodge his attack with his speed. His speed was not as good as his master’s but he was a lot faster than all the men he had fought before. This threw him off his game for a while. But, he was able to conceal this crucial mishap from his opponent. And even though the persons face was concealed, he was able to tell that he too was amazed by his speed. This reminded him of his errand.

He held onto the thought of her mysterious posture and informed her that his master wanted to see her. Holmen ushered her in the direction they were to head and before he could assist her, she had already moved. He stopped. Looked at her and wondered whether she was pretending or not. He could not tell.

Achlysa had been patient while he spoke to her. However, a painful tug punched a hole in her heart while he was talking to her. She wanted to crumble from the pressure but stood her ground. She knew that those were not her emotions, so who were they from? She was distracted by the man before her pointing a direction. She was able to tell the direction due to the of shifting air. She began walking but stopped when the man did not move. Achlysa faced back, and waited.

‘What’s keeping him so long?’ She thought to herself.

Holmen tried ignoring what he was thinking and began to move. They bother proceeded to Bendra's office, where he waited for them.

Bendra had no idea of what had happened when he felt her fear again. He was begging to get annoyed and irritated by how fragile she was. She was always scared. Always seeking attention. At least, that was what was running in his mind now. He was disappointed that she was her perfect late for some reason. Even if he was not interested in any women, every man wanted a woman who would bring out the best in them and not someone who was weak.

He knew that all these emotions were being sent to her directly as this was something perfect latest could do and not have control over. Yet, he did not care if it hurt her or not. He did not want her and he was willing to do anything to keep her away from him.

All their emotions, thoughts and desires were directly shared through the link they shared. It was not something they could control or hide. And what was worse, was that when one of them got an injury, other could zither bleed or have a faded scar appear on their skin. What differentiated the two, however, was not clear.

Sometimes it was the blood, other times a scar. No one, not even those involved could tell why. It was one of the few perks that called with being perfect mates.

He had walked to his window and was currently watching the busy streets fell below. This put his mind at ease. However, good things don't last too long. A knock came from that door and Holmen's voice requested entry. Bendra, let out a sigh and let them in.

The door was opened revealing Holmen and Achlysa. Holmen had a strange look on his face, one he had never seen on his face. Achlysa had a rough idea on what had occurred, when was not ready but she knew she had to be careful how she acted from now.

Bendra asked her to take a sit. She stretched her hand, touched the seat and gently set herself down. Holmen was confused. Could she see or not? His emotions were easily seen from the way his face distorted. He hesitated and left to his master's side. Once there, he informed him of the attack earlier. Bendra simply nodded and continued to what he had in mind.

“Am glad, you survived the poisoning. However, we do not know who you are. Our findings have shown us if no one by the name Achlysa. ” He paused. “Who are you?”

“Achlysa.”

‘Lies.’ Bendra thought. He was going to let her slip and tell him who she really was. He did not feel her lying from her emotions but maybe that was because she was convinced that she was Achlysa.

“Where were you born? Who are your parents? What race are you from? Who sent you? Which clan do you belong to? Do you even belong to a clan? Do you have any siblings? Friends? Or are just another one of those nobody’s seeking attention from someone you don’t even know?”

That stroke a chord in her but she replied in all honesty.

“I don't know.” She whispered. Tears threatening to fall. She instantly looked down and started playing with her fingers.

“Do you know of a man named Claus?”

She shook her head.

“Well he certainly knows you.” He said sarcastically. His eyebrow was raised and his voice was colder than ice. He threw the book that had been found onto her laps. She felt that book. Three was something sticky on sole corners of the book. She could tell that it was a book and that was just about it. As she was about to open it, a familiar voice ranger in her head.

“Healing completed. However, some changes were too far gone for me to repair. I did the best I could. I leave the rest to you. Close your eyes for a few seconds before opening.” Millim instructed. She did and when she opened her eyes, she still could not see but she was able to spot a few colors.

Millim went on to tell her that, the colors represented different kinds of living things. There was a limitation, however, things that never once had life like stones or metal could not be seen so she should be careful. Different races had different colors and she would also be able to tell their intentions if their desire far surpassed a certain limit. She was also informed that triggers would have the sales color as she. After that, Millim left her mind.

‘Thank you.’ She thought.

Bendra was not able to tell what she was thinking. He was not able to hear to her conversation with Millim. So he just sat their and waited.

Achlysa held the book and wanted to open it. Bendra was about to tell her that the book was sealed when he saw her open it without breaking a sweat. He sat there astonished by what he was seeing.

‘How could someone this weak open a sealed book?’ He thought.

It was common knowledge that any sealed object required the sales or a higher amount of magic abilities to unseal it. Books were the hardest since they could only be opened by the owner or a secondary owner. If no one was found, thank the book stayed sealed forever. And if someone tried to forcefully open it, it consume their entity.

Entity- the core that grants them magical abilities.

Achlysa ran her hands over the pages and smiled. It was a sad smile but the man before her could care less. Benadryl asked what the book entailed and Achlysa looked up, tears falling from her eyes. They were both on edge, ready to have the secrets spilled.

“Who I am.”

Just then, they heard a knock.

“Lord Lansdowne, there are Yong fellows who would like your audience.”

He signaled Holmen to let in. The young men walked in. Their eyes scanned the room before stopping at Achlysa. As soon as they saw her, they both fell on their knees and begged. One of them spoke.

“Guardian Achlysa, please hear us?”

Everyone in the room was silent. Guardian was the highest level of respect one could give an individual who had great wisdom and knowledge. Bendra grew more agitated. Just who the hell was she?

“I know, I’ll take you to see her. But are you sure that is what you really want?”