Dance of the Damned

Clean Up

Micah managed to sneak back into his bed just as the sun was starting to come over the horizon.

He left the rest of the things to be taken care of to Carvill and the others there while he rested.

Though he was able to heal himself, his body is not without any weakness and staying up two nights took too much of a toil that he could hardly stay awake anymore. Not only that, he was not completely healed, as much as he would like to be.

So much that he fell asleep the moment his head hit his pillows and Carvill tucked him in as carefully as possible before finally leaving.

Once done with her work, Teri and her group went back without so much as telling anyone.

Clover thought that they should at least check to see if anyone else needed help but Micah gave very specific instructions.

"Once you are done with your job. Leave. Disappear from there immediately."

So they left, though Teri was riddled with worry about Micah and will remain restless for the rest of the days until she heard something about him.

Heris and Clover wanted to see him one more time before they left but could not find him and Teri would not tell them anything that she knew about him, little though it may be.

It is safe to say that Division Five left with only minor injuries from being pushed by the people as they ran for cover. They were more tired than they were injured and fell asleep immediately on their beds as well.

Madam Lottie, after making sure that the people she was looking after were alright, left the scene with those from Division Six as Alexander and the people with him made their way to them only to find the people there.

Now everything is up to him to clean up after Phase Three.

__________________________

"Have you found anything?" Alexander asked one of the men walking around the crowd of people crying out of happiness or relief or worry.

"Nothing, your highness." The large dark-skinned man said, shaking his head. "We could not find anything on those people that came here to help the people even faster than we did."

"They sure cleaned up well after themselves." Alexander chuckled, putting his hands in his hips. "What do you think about this, Florian?"

"There is a chance they were the ones that started the fire." The man beside him said, his curly dark brown hair rustling with the wind. "Or their response time is really quick.

"If it is the latter, they would make a great asset in my division."

"Maybe if you find them, you can ask some of them to join," Alexander gave the man a pat on the back. "Keep asking. Someone must know something."

"E-Excuse me!" One man ran to them, grabbing a cloak in his hands and handed it to Alexander.

"What is this?" He asked, looking at the cloak and pausing the moment he saw the insignia. "Where did you get this?"

"One of them covered me with it." The man said, looking at the ground. "I begged them for help and they pulled everyone out of the rubble. Do you ... know where this is from?"

"What do you think, Florian?" Alexander said, handing the cloak to the man who stared at the insignia, a look of recognition coming on his face.

"Are you sure this is from those people that helped you?" He asked, frowning slightly.

"Yes." The man nodded. "All of them wore the same mask, though some looked slightly different. But I am very sure."

"Do you know this?" Alexander asked the man again as he stared at the insignia. "Are they a group of bandits or something?"

"They are a guild," Florian said, slightly confused. "The White Tears of the Lion. It is an awful name but they were prominent long before. Notorious in the underground.

"But I heard that another guild wiped them out completely. It isn't until a year ago that I heard of them again but I didn't pay attention.

"They could have been ghosts of the past. Legends. But, seeing this now." He looked at Alexander who looked at him with a twinkle in his eyes. "You understand, right? Your highness?"

"They might be back, right?" Alexander asked, smiling.

“You certainly seem excited, your highness,” Florian said, observing Alexander’s expression.

“Of course I am,” Alexander said brightly. “It is not every day that you hear of a guild that was completely demolished before coming back from the dead.”

“It is certainly interesting.” The man mused, looking at all the people in front of him. “But there is still the question of how they were able to build themselves up this much.

“From what the people said, there were quite a number of people in masks. So many that they thought they were an army.

“How does one get that powerful in only three years or so, since their destruction? It also raises the question of, what could they want? If it is something this powerful, we need to grow warier of it in case it means something bad.”

Alexander chuckled, hitting the man on his back. “You certainly are worried, aren’t you? Well, I can understand why. From what I remember, they are not the most … merciful group of people.”

“But that doesn’t mean this new … selection is the same.” Florence sighed, as the two walked past a group of people, someone grabbing onto Alexander’s cloak.

“Help. Please.” A woman said, holding onto the man’s cloth like her life depended on it.

“What is the matter?” Alexander asked, feeling like he saw this woman somewhere before.

“One of the soldiers was caught in a fire rescuing us.” She said, pulling him away. “You need to send someone to rescue him.”

“All the men are inside already, putting out the fires,” Alexander said, stopping. “I will be going in soon too so don’t worry about him, ok?”

“O-ok.” She said, still fidgety.

So this is the one Roshi told me to look out for. Alexander thought, remembering the conversation he had with the boy.

_____________

“What do you expect to happen?” He asked, visiting him two nights before the fire.

“Either one of two things,” Roshi said, holding two fingers up. “His daughter will die and he will live or he will be able to save her.”

“Knowing you, it is not going to be as simple as it sounds, is it?” Alexander sat on the ground, beside Roshi’s bed, looking up at him.

“No.” Roshi laughed. “But everything will be decided on how they choose to do anything. Nameless is selfish and impulsive. Not to mention headstrong. But he isn’t a bad person.”

“You mentioned a lot of negative traits, Roshi.” He laughed. “Are you sure to put any trust in him?”

“Everything will depend on what he chooses to do when he gets there.”

“Why do you need to be there though?”

“To set everything in motion. You will need to involve yourself sometimes in order to get the outcome you deserve.” He said, staring at the window with a faraway look on his face. “I told him that I would help him save his daughter.

"I will do everything I can, because I know just how desperate he is. You will know it was successful if a woman comes to you, asking you to help a ‘soldier’.”

__________________

Roshi is incredible. Alexander thought, turning his attention back to the woman who looked like she was trying to work up the courage to talk to him again.

You tugged at my clothes, risking beheading at that moment because you were concerned about someone’s life. Now you are worried?

“Is there something else wrong?” He asked kindly.

“My father.” She looked at him, tears running down her face. “Please help my father. He is severely injured from protecting those kids. Please.”

“Take me to him,” Alexander said, curious who this woman may be for Roshi to accurately predict what she was going to ask of him.

Following her with a grumpy Florian behind him, Alexander sucked in a breath the moment he saw the half-burnt man on the ground.

Nameless?? Wait, that means-

“This is my father.” The woman said, holding the unconscious man up. “Is there any way we can get help for him? Please.”

“May I ask, what is your name?” Alexander asked, trying to keep his surprise in check as much as possible.

“Elizabeth.” She said, tears streaming down her face as Alexander finally was able to tell why she looked familiar.

She and Nameless have the same face, not only that, he would show a picture of his daughter when she was younger, every year on her birthday.

Roshi. You saved her!

“Florian!” He turned to the man, unable to keep his grin off his face. “I need you to take this woman and her father to the kingdom as quickly as possible. Make sure he is seen by the best doctors.”

“Yes, your hi-“

“I can take her!” A man with strawberry blond hair said, sitting on his horse that Alexander recognised immediately, his grin getting bigger.

Roshi really is incredible.