Hours seemed to pass, and the sound of pleas, once constant, was now muffled by an unmatched silence. The people, once euphoric and desperate, were now quiet and passive, their eyes fixed and empty as if hope had finally been drained from them.
The subtle silence was broken the moment a door opened. Two burly men, wearing black tunics with hoods that hid their faces, entered the room.
— They suddenly went quiet... — said one of the men as he walked, looking around.
— They must have given up asking for help — replied the other with a mocking tone. — They've probably already accepted their end.
They walked with their attention fixed on one specific cage, the one holding Elyandra and the boy. When they stopped in front of it, their eyes settled on the little girl, who seemed to be sleeping curled up in the corner.
— Well, look at that... It really is her — said the first man, his voice rough.
— Isn't this, in a way, heresy? — whispered the other, sounding hesitant. — We're doing something terrible to a Saint.
— Are you afraid of the Church? — said the first, searching through his pockets.
— My fear isn't the Church. I mean, this is clearly a sin.
The man finally found the key he was looking for and then turned to the other with an impatient sigh.
— We've done worse things to other people. Just see this as part of the job.
— But we've never committed anything against a Saint...
While watching the men talk, Elyandra subtly turned her face toward the boy she had healed minutes earlier. She nodded almost imperceptibly, and the boy lowered his head between his knees, imitating a state of resignation.
The men finished their conversation and drew small daggers.
— Hey... Valemortis girl, we're going for a walk — said the man in a threatening voice, though trying to sound calm. — For your own safety, I suggest you don't try anything and just follow our instructions, understand?
Elyandra made a frightened face and slowly shrank back toward the rear of the cage.
— She's terrified... No wonder. But that doesn't matter, just grab her already — ordered the man impatiently.
He opened the cage and reached for Elyandra's foot. The moment he grabbed it, the girl was pulled outside the cage. At that same instant, she grabbed the cage's padlock with all her strength, resisting the pull. The boy saw it and tried to move to help, but he remembered the girl's words: "When they come to get me, I'll find a way to break the lock. Your job afterward will be to free these people and then come help me." He did not understand exactly how she would do it, but he struggled not to react.
Elyandra was then dragged out and struggled against the man's arm. He shut the cage door and then locked the padlock. The girl slipped free from him and tried to run, but she was slow compared to him, and he caught her by the arm. She then struggled, striking at the man's waist, and he threw her aside, making her fall to the ground.
— Stop resisting! Don't make me hurt you — said the man, glaring at her nervously and pointing the dagger at her face.
Hearing that, Elyandra began to cry silently while drawing her legs in on the floor. The man snorted in irritation.
— I'm not taking part in this — said the other one, stepping away. — I'll wait for you outside.
The man left the room, and the one who remained approached Elyandra with the dagger in hand. He pointed it at her threateningly.
— I already told you, do what I say!
Elyandra then wiped her tears and nodded. The man grabbed her arm again and lifted her, forcing her to stand. The girl took slow steps in front of the cage she had been in. The boy's eyes followed her until the moment she fell to her knees.
— Get up! — ordered the man.
— Please... forgive me... — said Elyandra as she slid a hand beneath her dress while kneeling.
The man then grabbed her arm, lifted her, and made her walk again. The girl kept walking with the man beside her holding her arm while she stared straight ahead. Once they left the room, the boy turned his attention to where Elyandra had fallen, and then he noticed a gleam on the ground.
— What is that? — the boy whispered to himself, moving closer to the bars of the cage and focusing his vision.
He then noticed it was the tip of a key. At that same moment, he realized that somehow Elyandra had managed to take the key to the locks and subtly hide it in the dirt of the warehouse.
— In that brief moment... she managed to take the key from him without him noticing? — the boy thought, incredulous.
He knew he could not waste time. He stretched his arm outside to try to grab the key, but he could not reach it.
— Damn it! I can't reach it, what do I do now?! — The boy kicked the cage door and noticed the padlock instantly fall to the ground. — What the...?
He placed a hand on the cage door and opened it, stunned, unable to understand what had happened. The boy picked up the padlock from the ground and noticed it was beginning to corrode.
— What is this... Was it too old? — He examined the lock, which was deteriorating somehow. — Doesn't matter... I can't waste time.
The turmoil inside the warehouse as the boy freed the others was controlled. They avoided making any kind of noise. After all, if they were to have any chance, they needed to be stealthy. But among them all, only one person knew that the night was far from over.
The moment she was outside the warehouse, Elyandra glimpsed a place abandoned to time. It was as if she were on a small deserted farm. She looked around and noticed other warehouses beside the one she had been in. In the distance, she saw a wall that gave access to the outskirts of the Empire. Then she lowered her head and continued her childish act.
In her mind, she thought: "Damn... Look at this place, there are many warehouses. It doesn't take a genius to realize they must be full of other purebloods. The problem is how to get out of here." She looked around and noticed several armed men carrying knives or old swords, poorly aligned and lacking the organization her family's guards would have.
"These guys... They definitely can't be good magic users. Maybe with everyone's help we can overpower them with numbers..."
Elyandra was moved roughly as the man holding her threw her forward. She fell onto the dusty ground and resumed sobbing, a few tears running down her face.
— The first time I saw you, the way you acted was different.
"The problem is this guy," she thought, lifting her eyes upward while sitting on the ground. Her frightened face, with a few tears streaming down, looked at the imposing man whom she now knew by name, Vargas.
— Very well... — The man threw a piece of bread onto the girl's lap. — Eat.
Elyandra looked at the bread with a certain curiosity, but she needed to keep up the act. If she was to be a helpless little girl, then that was exactly what she would be. Slowly, she joined both hands and held the piece of bread. She examined it carefully: it was clearly wheat bread, somewhat stale and rather hard, but she knew she could not afford to refuse. Slowly, she brought the bread to her mouth, but before she could bite it, a strong gust of wind passed by her face. A hand struck hers and knocked the bread away.
— A noble like you... doesn't deserve food from people like us. It isn't suited to your refined palate. So it's better if you eat nothing at all, don't you agree? — asked Vargas with a clearly irritated expression.
"This guy has something against nobles. I don't really have anything to do with that, but it looks like he's going to take it out on me," the girl thought. She then turned her face aside and perfectly emulated a sad and frightened expression.
Vargas placed a hand on the girl's chin and pulled her face upward, forcing her to look him in the eyes.
— Don't turn your face away, girl. Where is your pride, Valemortis?
Vargas's eyes glared at her with anger, but something made Elyandra even more anxious: in the distance, she saw men entering the warehouses carrying torches. That made her nervous.
— Curious? You don't need to worry about that now, we're not setting anything on fire yet. Despite the difference in value between you, it must be normal to grow attached to those like yourselves, but not for you. I can see through the nobility. — He grabbed the girl by the throat and lifted her into the air. — The truth is that you only care about yourselves.
While mistreating Elyandra, Vargas clearly heard footsteps behind him, footsteps he knew very well. He turned his eyes back and saw the masked woman staring at him.
— Vargas, need I remind you that this girl is a precious asset? I cannot sell defective merchandise.
— ...Understood.
The woman approached and stood beside Vargas while looking at Elyandra, who was still being held by the throat and using her hands to try to free herself from his grip.
— Don't misunderstand, little Valemortis, I'm not saving you out of whim — the woman said to Elyandra. — I'm only doing this because of your value. This will get all of us out of here as soon as we find a buyer, so your father won't be able to find us afterward.
The woman gestured toward the ground, and Vargas released Elyandra, who fell to the floor and began coughing, regaining her breath.
— No matter how I look at it, there's something intriguing about you, you know? — The woman crouched in front of Elyandra and placed a hand on her cheek, gently caressing it. — You're like a porcelain doll. If I were a collector, I would never part with you. Perhaps that's how Vaelric thinks, which is why that man kept his daughter hidden from the public.
Elyandra changed her expression to a more confused one; she did not understand what that meant.
— What do you mean hidden? Everyone knew I existed.
— Yes... The moment you were born, news of a Saint spread throughout the Empire. After some time, a second Saint appeared, which raised everyone's excitement even further. — The woman elaborated while sliding her hand over the girl as if searching for some flaw. — But unlike our second Saint, little Valemortis had never been revealed to the public. Few people even knew the color of her hair, until recently... First, there was an attack against the Valemortis family. After that, the heir of the house was seen by the general public when she stepped out of the Valemortis carriage in front of the magic academy.
— ...You mean the day we were attacked and when I went for the academy admission evaluation — said Elyandra, in a tone that did not hide what she had understood.
The woman stood and gestured to one of the men, who grabbed Elyandra by the arm and forced her to the ground with her arm stretched out. She was immediately held down by another man who restrained her movements.
— In any case, there's no reason for this conversation to continue, since I won't need to care much about you. I'm sure I'll find a buyer for you quickly.
— What are you doing?! — Elyandra asked while being held on the ground.
The woman gestured with her hand to someone Elyandra could not see. She then caught sight of a branding iron that had been heated; it bore the symbol of an "X" inside a circle. A man handed it to the woman along with a glove.
— I would say it's better if you don't watch what's going to happen. The sound tends to be agonizing for the victim. The smell of burned flesh can also make you faint.
"What?! She's going to brand me with a hot iron! Damn! Damn! Damn!!!" thought Elyandra as she saw the iron approaching her arm.
Their conversation was abruptly interrupted by a noise coming from inside all the warehouses at once: sounds of screams, but not normal screams. This made the woman halt her attempt to brand Elyandra.
— Vargas... Something is wrong.
Elyandra let out a faint laugh that drew both kidnappers' attention.
— ...It's kind of childish, but I think it's a little sad to have to play alone... — said the girl, calming herself for a moment. — So I asked an acquaintance to call some friends.
The warehouse doors then burst open, revealing a crowd of kidnapped people holding whatever they could find as weapons. Some ran toward other warehouses to free more captives while others charged at the guards trying to stop their escape.
— Our pigs are loose and squealing loudly. — said the woman as she watched the kidnapped people fight her guards. — It seems being a thorn in others' sides runs in the blood, damned Valemortis.
— I didn't do anything special... — said Elyandra while straining to turn her face and watch the conflict. — They're fighting on their own.
— An animal, when cornered, fights its predator with all its strength, but it doesn't seem to be only that... Vargas, put an end to this commotion.
Upon hearing the woman's orders, Vargas drew a somewhat worn sword from its sheath and positioned himself to charge toward the conflict.