Mon'Ter

Chapter 15: Blood Contract

“T-The crown...?” Nadia stuttered, shock filling her visage.  

Why wouldn’t she be shocked? Elyenora was not only the second born, but also a princess. So how could she possibly dream of taking the crown for herself?  

“Yes, the crown. Due to some circumstances my brother cannot be allowed to officially ascend to the throne, he cannot be crowned.” Elyenora spoke in a determined voice.  

“W-What do you mean?” Nadia questioned, the situation having risen by several dozen levels.  

“Let’s just say that he would make for a terrible ruler.” Elyenora answered, pushing the contract paper closer to Nadia. “Go ahead, read it.”   

“Okay then...” Nadia said, grabbing the paper while trying to regain her composure.  

‘Is this woman nuts...? How does she ever plan on taking over the kingdom?! Is that why she’s travelling alone...?’ Nadia thought as she carefully read through the contract.  

Nothing was wrong with it, Elyenora would help her ascend to the position of city lord by killing her father for her while also freeing the children, this would allow her to marry the man she wants once he’s been rescued.  

In return, Nadia was to help send the rescued children coming from other towns back to their homes while also pledging loyalty to the princess herself.  

She wouldn’t have to go public about it nor do anything that would bring prince Aydian’s eyes on her until Elyenora herself told her to, that meaning until the princess herself was ready to act upon this apparent coup d'état.   

That could take a while, she would need support from multiple other sources as well for this to work which meant that Nadia wouldn’t necessarily have to shoulder the burden of supporting her alone from the get go.  

‘Seems... Fair enough... Depending on whether or not she even reaches that point I could even get away with it without doing anything...’ Nadia thought, ‘I mean, if she’s going against the prince then he’s bound to be after her... That must be why she’s here in disguise then...’ She continued her trail of thoughts, until finally she had made up her mind.  

“Alright, I agree.” Nadia said, placing the contract back in the middle of the table.  

“Then, shall we sign?” Elyenora spoke, taking out a small knife from her bag and poking her finger until it bled.  

Nadia did the same, and the both pushed their fingers up to the two smaller circles of the contract, signing it with their blood.  

Immediately after the blood was received from both parties, the contract’s magic circles began to glow with a red light as the blood spread all over them while the words written on its sides glowed with a blue hue.   

The contract flew up, shining with both crimson and azure colors until the middle of the paper where the big magic circle was, started to catch on fire.   

In no time short, the contract burnt up and turned to dust, leaving only a few purple sigils that slowly faded away as well, signaling the contract’s completion.  

“Good.” Elyenora said, crossing her arms and leaning back on her chair, “Now then, shall we talk about how we will launch the attack.”   

“Yes, I do have a plan on that actually.” Nadia replied, suppressing the urge to sigh, a bit calmer now that it was done and over with, “I’ve got more than a dozen capable warriors under me already, what we really needed was just a bit more higher-classed fighters and with you and the ones outside we’ve got plenty.” She explained, smirking under her nose.  

‘Well, contract aside, at least now I can take care of my father and save my fiancé. Princess Elyenora will make sure of that.’ Nadia thought, feeling that she’d made the right choice.  

“So, we’ve got the man power, that’s great.” Elyenora said, “We know the location of the place, correct? What’s the plan of attack?”  

“It’ll be a surprise attack at mid-night, when my father is busy with his tasks, we will use this to start the raid against any enemies that have been hired.” Nadia replied, taking out an emerald orb the size of an apple.  

‘Mid-night, huh....’ Elyenora thought, placing a hand on her chin, ‘If we go now then Mon’Ter would be late... But there’s a danger to the children if we don’t.’  

“What is that orb?” Elyenora asked, putting the thought to the side for now.  

“It’s a magic item I had to pull some strings to acquire, a one-time use wind spell of the higher ranking magics.” Nadia explained, “It can take out even champion ranked creatures and warriors if used correctly.”   

Whistling in approval, Elyenora replied, “That’s impressive, we’ll definitely put it to good use.” She said, before asking, “I would like to ask however, what is this task of his? And how does it help us? The clock is already at half past twenty-two, there isn’t much time until then.”    

“It’s his work, he would be busy with it and it would be far easier to get through his cronies first before reaching him.” Nadia explained, “We will strike tomorrow, so sit tight for now.” 

“Why tomorrow?” Elyenora asked, thinking that they perhaps might go now. 

“If we went now there wouldn’t be enough time to prepare, we need everyone ready mentally for this.” Nadia replied.  

“Fair enough I guess.” Elyenora agreed. ‘That would be enough time for Mon’Ter to return as well, so that will be great as well.’ She thought. 

“But, his work... What does he do exactly? I know he makes elixirs that enhance magical eye abilities, but I don’t know the process. How are the children involved, I still don’t know that much.” Elyenora asked.  

“...” Nadia stood quiet for a moment, “It would be best if you didn’t know.”   

Furrowing her brows, Elyenora asked again, this time louder, “Nadia. What does he do to make the elixirs?”  

“...” Nadia remained silent.  

“Nadia, tell me. Now.” Elyenora asked with a commanding tone.  

“Okay... Just don’t act rashly,” Nadia agreed, her gaze was one full of pity as she spoke, “He uses the children’s blood and souls to create the elixirs, taking bits and pieces each time.”  

“What...” Elyenora’s face sunk, she knew that whatever was going on would be horrible, but for him to use the children’s souls?  

That is horrendous. 

“The best time to extract pieces of their souls is during mid-night, I don’t know the exact reason for it though but that is when he’s most busy.” Nadia elaborated onto the process. 

“That’s screwed up...” Elyenora murmured, “I knew he was doing something cruel to them... But their souls...? Their souls!?” She seethed with anger.   

“Your highness, I-” Nadia spoke, however she was cut off.  

“We’re going now. Get your men ready, we’re taking that man down tonight.” Elyenora said with an ordering tone.  

“What? Now?” Nadia asked, “I don’t think it will be time for that though... No one has been notified of this happening tonight! And like I said we’re not mentally prepared for-” She replied only to get cut off.  

“I don’t care if you’re ready or not, we’re going tonight, that’s an order.” Elyenora said and stood up, walking towards the door to leave the office.  

“Princes-” Nadia stood up as she yelled, however a sharp feeling of pain forced her to stop herself from speaking. 

“Wh-What the...” She panted, her breathing uncontrollable as she held onto her chest. “What just...-” 

Realization dawned on Nadia, as shock filled her visage. ‘The contract…! Loyalty to her… I... I need to follow the order or else...!’  

Once a contract had been signed, if breached then the one going against it would face severe consequences and even potentially death.  

Elyenora stood before the door and turned around. “You’re still a bit naive, Nadia. There’s more behind the meaning of loyalty than just supporting me in the race for the crown, you need to follow me and my plans as well.” She spoke, opening the door and moving outside into the big room. 

“Listen up.” Elyenora raised her voice, gaining the attention of the few people from before, “We’re raiding Jalid Talherd’s base tonight, get ready.”  

“What?!” Melissa, the older woman from the entrance said in surprise, “Now?” She asked.  

“Are you kidding me? Who made you the boss?!” Jorky shouted, unamused by the situation.  

“Through fire or rain, I shall follow you, oh beautiful lady Ely!” George spoke in an annoying tone, however Elyenora simply ignored him.  

“Siya is ready whenever Siya is told to murder!” The short girl with white hair bellowed, raising a giant two-handed war axe with her right hand.  

“Something happened?” Drull asked, his crossed arms releasing to a normal posture.  

“Yes, we have to move quickly,” Elyenora said, turning around to where Nadia now stood at the entrance of her office. “Nadia! Give me that orb, we’ll go now.”  

“Alright then...” Nadia agreed, moving up to Elyenora. “Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” She asked, holding the emerald orb. 

“Positive, there is no way we’re waiting another day. Now lead me to the place." Turning her head to the rest of the group, Elyenora shouted, "Everyone, Go get ready!" 

“Well you heard her, we’re doing it tonight everyone!” Nadia shouted, which prompted the group to start preparing all of their gear and any items which would be needed in the raid later. 

“On it.” Drull said, moving to the third floor’s storage room together with Siya where their steel plate armor was. 

“This is stupid... I was going to go to sleep in a bit...” Jorky grumbled, looking for his own chainmail armor. 

“Hey now, we’ve been preparing for this for weeks now! A night of sleeplessness won’t help you grow any hair baldie.” Melissa said, going to a changing room where she put on a dark blue robe.  

“I am ready myself, always.” George spoke pridefully as he flipped his hair. He was already wearing light leather armor and had a longbow on him, so there wasn’t much else to him.  

Pulling out a parchment scroll, Nadia raised her hand and wrote runes in the air as the tip of her finger glowed with a pale blue magical hue.  

Soon, the scroll burned after she finished the spell activation, transmitting her thoughts to the other side of another parchment which would receive her message.  

Turning her face at Elyenora, Nadia spoke with a gloomful expression, "I have informed my most trusted knights whom I have personally picked out and trained to meet us near the area of the hideout. Let me ask again, are you sure this is a good idea, princess? This sounds too reckless."  

"If we don’t do it tonight then the kids would have to endure more pain! The more time we waste before freeing them, the worse their situation gets! I won't allow it!" Replied Elyenora with a passion in her voice. 

"B-But..." Stuttered Nadia as she racked her brain to persuade Elyenora to think this through before going.  

"No buts! I have made up my mind so you’d better listen to me, the contract we signed means you must remain loyal. Remember that if you know what’s good for you.” Threatened Elyenora while her eyes flashed with a predatory gaze. 

Her gaze’s pressure put a huge load onto Nadia’s psyche, she had never been confronted like this before and it hit her hard.  

"H-Hiii... O-Okay..." Responded Nadia, feeling frightened after having found this unknown side to the princess. 

‘I hate to act the mean part here, but we can’t dilly dally any further than this. Why did I even come here if I’ll let the kids die off at that man’s hand...’ Elyenora thought to herself, looking towards the arriving people on the other side.  

"We are ready!" Shouted the group as they had finished their preparation while Elyenora and Nadia conversed. Each had armed themselves and donned a cloak to hide their gear from the commonfolk.

"Good, Let's go." Nodding her head to the group, Elyenora took the lead as she walked down from the third floor and out of the brothel with a pair of determined eyes. 

Together with her was everyone except for Nadia who stayed behind, she knew magic due to being a mage’s daughter, but she was no warrior, she couldn’t fight and thus required others to do it for her. 

... 

Walking across the street with the group behind her, Elyenora noticed a familiar face roaming about as if searching for something along the street. “Shana?” She spoke up, staring at the figure with confused and a curious gaze.  

“Oh! Ely, there you are... I’ve been looking for the place Derek told us about but couldn’t fin- what’s going on?” Shana spoke as she walked towards Elyenora, seeing the multiple people whom were seemingly ready for combat. 

“Oh, dear me... Another beauty!” George gasped with a hand on his mouth, as if to hide his shock. 

“Shut it charm boy.” Melissa uttered on the side, bonking him on the head. 

“Come on to the alleyway, we’ll talk there.” Elyenora said, pointing towards a nearby dark corner where they could speak more freely. 

The group nodded and walked to the empty walkway, now free to speak their minds. 

“I found the hidden group Derek mentioned and got their help, we’re heading towards the hideout now.” Elyenora explained in a short manner. 

“Already?!” Shana exclaimed, “Wait a second, I’m coming with!” 

“Coming with? What are you on about! Who the heck are you supposed to be anyway?” Jorky asked in an annoyed tone, looking at the second newcomer with suspicions in his eyes.  

“A friend of mine,” Elyenora replied briefly, then turned back to face Shana. “But, are you sure you want to? It’s very dangerous.” 

'Are we gonna just keep adding strangers to our group? The heck is wrong with my supposed comrades?' Jorky frowned in thought. 

“I-” Shana spoke up, but seemed to be uncertain in her murmurs. She then was cut off by Melissa in the middle of her speech.  

“Please decide after you think of it carefully, girl. It can cost you your life." 

Shana bit the corner of her lips before replying. "I have decided. Let me tag along with you."   

"Then we would welcome you, Shana. Any additional help would increase our success rate." Said Elyenora as she smiled slightly. 

“Worry not, Shana was it? Your visage is as beautiful as the moon at its peak hours, allow me, George, to protect you during our time in battle!” George spouted nonsense like usual, taking Shana’s hand as he kneeled. 

“Siya says shut up, dork!” The short girl named Siya said, grinning at the man. 

“What! How dare you call me a dork you unsprouted bean!” George fumed. 

“Shut it.” Drull glared at him, promptly shutting the man up. 

“Eh... Okay...” George fiddled back, obviously afraid of the tall man. 

“Is this group going to be fine...? Haha...” Shana asked whilst smiling wryly with a dry laugh. 

… 

It didn’t take long for the party of seven to reach their destination, a public park that neared the city walls where a tall watch tower stood atop them. 

“Took you all long enough.” An older man donning plate armor spoke with his hands crossed. 

He was surrounded by nine others, waiting at the base of the wall where the tower stood. 

“I see you’re as much of a glare face as ever, Trygg.” Melissa joked, “And I also see that the message arrived smoothly, are your men ready?” 

“While a bit sooner than expected, this is not an inconvenience.” He replied, glancing at the newcomers. 

“Two new women, whom might you be?” Trygg asked as he gazed at Elyenora and Shana. 

“The random chick who started this after a brief talk with Nadia and her friend.” Grumbled Jorky, still annoyed at the fact they had to go now. 

He should have been sleeping at this hour, it was already going past eleven. 

“I’m Ely, pleasure to meet you, sir knight.” Elyenora said solemnly. 

“Shana here! Cross bow there!” Shana introduced herself as well, swinging her crossbow around like a stick for a bit. 

“Mm.” Nodding, the man spoke, “You two can handle yourselves well in battle, I hope? Don’t hold us back now.” He said in a slightly mocking tone as he walked up to the wall and pushed one of the bricks in. 

A hidden door opened leading to a long staircase that went down under the city, it was the hideout that Jalid Talherd used for his experiments. 

“We won’t, so make sure to follow.” Elyenora said as she walked up to the staircase, gazing down towards it while thinking to herself. 

‘The kidnapped children are inside, it’s time we got them out.’

"Well then, if everyone's ready..." Drull spoke up, his eyes sparking with killing intent as he continued. "Let's get this Red Night started, shall we?"  

 ...