Angel Monarch

The conference room was silent. Only five of the six seats held people, and the absence of the sixth person was felt by everyone.

The monitor on the wall showed two people sitting together. One was a woman about the same age as Sera. Her hair was whitish-blond, and her eyes were two different colors, one blue, the other green.

Her face was beautiful, like every other Evolved. The sides of her mouth had a few laughing lines showing, which marked her usual jovial attitude. But that cheerful face showed only sadness.

There was no joy on her face, and her eyes were red rimmed, like she had been crying.

The other person held himself together much more. He sat with a straight back and emotionless face, and if he didn't blink every once in a while, people would think him a statue.

His hair was dark brown, while his eyes were a light hazel.

Cass stared at the man with curiosity, but she couldn't read his emotions, which were nonexistent.

It was a few days since Sera's 'kidnapping', as everyone called it. The news of her fate was already spreading in the public. Nobody knew who in the leadership leaked it, but nobody cared either.

As one could imagine, the people became angry, but for now, they were under control. It did wonders for the recruiting, though, which was at least something.

This was the first meeting since the kidnapping, but after the introductions, everyone stayed silent. They were all leaders of this makeshift revolutionary alliance, but there was only one person each of them obeyed.

With Sera's disappearance, everyone just sat there, waiting for someone else to step up.

"Could someone fucking begin already?!" Shouted Lilith. Her face was a crying mess, and as she spoke, she sniffled.

Out of everyone, she took Sera's disappearance the worst. She spent the past few days doing nothing but training with her Brothers and Sisters.

The only one who was even worse off was Agnes. Learning about what her life cost broke her. She hasn't left her room since that day.

She spent hours on end cleaning everything, and let nobody help her. Cass tried to spend as much time as possible with her, but she wasn't talking to her.

Every time she visited, she would find Agnes in her bed. She always held that one stupid picture they had taken about ten years ago.

Seeing her like that broke Cass's heart. The worst part was that she did not know how to help her... She could only watch as Agnes' melancholy consumed her.

As Cass's thoughts wandered, a deep raspy voice spoke through the microphone. It echoed in the conference room, demanding everyone's attention.

"How is the girl doing?" Asked Bran, his voice conveying no emotion.

"Her name is Kim, and she is doing... She is doing as good as everybody else, I suppose. I tried talking to her and learn a bit about her, but she seems very untrusting... The only question she asks most of the time is when will we she leave to be with you two!"

David felt very weird talking about Kim. She was close to the same age as Cass, maybe a year or two younger, but her maturity was missing. Sera had asked Cassandra about taking her to Bran and Melinda, and she seemed to want to follow Sera's order.

Each day, David spent at least an hour talking to her. They housed her inside a small room as far away from Cassandra as possible. She never left that room, and it was always dark inside.

She also forbade maids from entering. They left the food on her doorstep, and she left empty plates for them.

They did report strange sounds coming from the room, like somebody was training hard, which would answer while her room smelled like sweat all the time.

Trauma deeply affected the small girl, but David persisted in trying to make sense of her confused mind.

"And when will you escort her here?" Asked a commanding and sad female voice. Read new adventures at empire

Melinda looked like a budget version of Sera. She was serious, but not as much as Sera. She was also quite similar in how she spoke and carried herself, but everything seemed a tad bit lighter within her.

But this was only surface level examination. Deep down in her multicolored eyes, there was a darkness, something only a person who went through hell could have.

Melinda's and Bran's past remained hidden, and after their initial rescue from the goblin camp, no one ever mentioned it again. They all acted like those months hadn't happened, even though all survivors still had nightmares about it.

Hearing her question, David looked towards Cass for guidance. He wanted her to make this and another important decision... Who will take her there?

"I will take her. I wanted to check on my Brothers and Sisters in New Athens, anyway. The progression we make here is great, but it doesn't require my presence anymore!"

Lilith said, before anyone else could say anything. On the monitor, both Melinda and Bran nodded.

"I will also go... Sera asked me to help Kim and I keep my promises!" Said Cass, her voice firm, not leaving room for argument.

"Okay. I will speak with Kastral and send three hippogryphs to bring you here. Is there anything else you wish to talk about?" Asked Bran. His voice sounded tired and his emotionless persona was slipping.

"How are things on your end?" Asked David with concern.

Both Melinda and Bran looked at each other with exhaustion. They knew what David was referring to.

"The citizens are... unruly, to say the least..." Said Bran, trying to keep emotion from showing.

"They are about one wrong day away from open rebellion. It also doesn't help that they blame the whole Federal Alliance Central Command, after the real culprits of the previous assassination attempt came to light." Said Melinda with a lot of annoyance.

"It's actually going to be amazing to have you here, Lilith. You could give them some stupid speech, which would calm them down."

Lilith didn't answer, just made a non-comitial nod and stayed hidden behind her hood.

Soon after, the meeting ended. Jill and Frank didn't even say a word. They felt like they shouldn't be in the room, but the current leading structure was all over the place, so nobody sent them away.

Afterward, Lilith went on her way to pack a few things. She didn't say goodbye or anything, just stood up and left.

The only people left in the room were Cass and David. They both looked exhausted, neither getting enough sleep, David from working, and Cass because of her nightmares.

Every time she closes her eyes, she finds herself kneeling next to Agnes. Her body slowly dying under Cass's hands, and she could only watch.

"How are you holding up?" Asked David, while reaching out and holding her hand.

Cass produced a weak smile, but said nothing and just enjoyed the warm feeling inside her as she looked at David.

They stayed silent for a few minutes, but the moment which they loved was passing by, slipping through their fingers. They cherished these few quiet minutes. Even though everything was awful and the future was uncertain, at least they had each other to get through... Unlike Sera. Who was alone...

This thought seemed to appear in both of their minds and sudden guilt washed over them.

With a sad sigh, Cass stood up and, after giving a long kiss to David, she left the room and walked towards Agnes'... It was time to say goodbye!

Her room was silent as Cass stepped inside. The lights were on, and she was staring at the same picture. At one point, Cass thought of taking it away from her, but even the thought made her sick...

That picture seemed to be Agnes' only respite, and taking it away seemed to be a cruel punishment.

She walked to the bed where she lay and sat down next to her. Agnes's eyes watched the picture without focus. It broke Cass's heart to see her like that.

"I'm going to escort the little girl to New Athens... I came here to say goodbye, since I don't know when I will be back..."

Cass watched her mother lay there for a few more seconds. A lone tear ran down her face as she moved in and gave a small tender kiss on her forehead.

The woman who brought her up and loved her throughout both of their lives didn't even react and just continued to watch the picture.

One time, while Agnes was asleep, she picked up the picture and read the writing on the back… It was a mistake, since it made her heartache increase tenfold...

She never got the chance to tell her she considered Agnes as her mom too, and as she watched her broken mind, Cass felt like it was too late for that now...

With a depressed sigh, she rose from the bed and walked towards the door, and as she reached out, a sound came from behind her...

"Why?" asked a raspy feminine voice.

Cass's body trembled. Turning around, she saw Agnes's eyes focus on her. After days of looking at that picture, she turned away for a moment and looked upon her daughter... One that was real and not just a captured memory.

"Because Sera asked me to... She begged me to spare her and get her to New Athens before her abduction…"

It took Agnes a while to process those words, but when she did, she said something that Cass didn't expect...

"I'm going too."

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