An Owl's Rise

"So, you know this scum?" Evelyn asked, scowling at Edgar. From the way the servant of the Taidale family had responded, it was clear that he showed a high level of respect to the man that had led assassins against them. It was not out of the realm of possibility that he was some type of double agent.

Under her scrutinizing glare, Edgar shuddered and took a step back.

"Y-yes. He is one of the members of the Taidale Family. H- he's my mistress' uncle. But why is he here?"

Being shaken by the situation, Edgar's normal demeanor had completely shattered. His face was warped with fear and confusion.

"Evelyn, control yourself." Lucia whispered.

Unknowingly she had been emitting magical energy towards Edgar and exerting immense pressure on him.

When she realized what was happening, she retracted the energy.

No longer feeling the overwhelming power, Edgar took a deep breath and recomposed himself.

Yet, before he could say anything else, a commotion over by the carriages caught everyone's attention.

The six other guards were scrambling around one of the carriages, and for a moment Evelyn, her companions, and Edgar feared that an assassin had slipped past them.

'No, that's not what's going on. The carriage door is cracked, and it looks like all of the guards are talking to someone.' Evelyn thought, her keen sight allowed her to see what was going on.

A moment later the six guards backed away from the door and bowed their heads.

The door then opened and two women walked out and began surveying the situation.

Once they had made sure that everything appeared to be safe, one of them reentered the carriage and a third younger woman adorned in lavish black robes exited.

'That must be the young mistress that we're supposed to protect. Honestly, I'm surprised that she's left the safety of her vehicle considering the situation.' Evelyn thought, carefully watching the woman and her two attendants.

The Taidale Family's young mistress had long flowing silver hair that seemed to shine in the moon and starlight.

Her eyes in contrast to her bright hair were a deep black. This coupled with her almost sickly pale skin gave her an ethereal look.

Unfortunately, her outward appearance was all that Evelyn could see. No matter how hard she tried to get a read on the young woman's magical energy, she felt nothing. Almost certainly she had some sort of cloaking magic tool similar to the ones that Lucia had given to Evelyn, Bylur, Rehni, and Aralee.

Immediately the six guards surrounded the young woman and looked around with heightened vigilance.

Edgar soon rushed to his mistress' side as well, and with his head lowered began informing her of what had occurred.

However, she seemed mostly uninterested in what he had to say, and turned her gaze towards Morten, who Rehni still had chained and gagged with her metal magic.

Intently she walked towards the man, her face an unreadable mask.

"Please remove the binding around his mouth. I wish to speak with him." The Taidale Family's young mistress said calmly.

Just her natural presence gave her an air of authority, and Rehni nearly did as she asked without a second thought.

Still, she caught herself before she undid her magic and instead looked towards Lucia for direction.

Nodding her head, Lucia indicated that Rehni should do as she was asked. There was no point in antagonizing their employer right now.

With a wave of her hand Rehni dismissed the metal plate that was clamped over Morten's mouth and returned his ability to speak.

Morten sputtered and coughed now that his mouth was free. It was a pitiful display for a man that was one of the scions of the esteemed Taidale Family.

After he had gotten ahold of himself, he turned towards where he had heard the voice of his niece and glared at her. From the animosity he was releasing, if looks could kill, his certainly would have.

"I see that the danger that you warned me of was yourself, uncle. Was everything that occurred just a ploy to get me to leave our family's estate?"

For a moment Morten remained completely quiet, before opening his mouth and spitting at his niece.

One of her guards moved to intercept the extremely rude gesture and raised a fist to strike back but hesitated before inflicting the blow. As a guard that had served the Taidale family for decades, it was difficult to attack one of the family's members.

However, Evelyn had no such qualms and grabbed the man by the back of the neck and lifted him up with one hand.

As she gripped him tightly, the sounds of bone creaking became audible, and Morten screeched in distress. It was a truly unbecoming sound.

"Do that again or anything else that even mildly ticks me off, and I'll break your neck." Evelyn said, her voice laced with murderous intent.

While she did not have compassion for any humans, men like Morten were the ones that she hated the most. He'd betrayed his family and plotted to kill his niece out of jealousy. To Evelyn, this made him vermin that deserved to go out in a horrible way.

"I thank you for interjecting, but I must ask that you refrain from killing him. He still is my uncle, and I have many questions that I must asked him."

Letting out a deep breath Evelyn calmed down and lowered Morten as ordered.

Once she had let go of his neck, he turned around and glowered at Evelyn with his lifeless eyes. Thanks to Lucia's magic his retinas had been fried and his sight taken.

"Now uncle, let me ask you again. Was it you that orchestrated those attempts on my life while I was still at our family's estate?"

This time, Morten did not spit at her but, instead began laughing.

"Hehehe. No, I only attempted to poison you twice. The other attacks were organized by other members of the family. The patriarch's favor may have been a great boon for you when he was still healthy, but now that he is old and sick you won't be allowed to live. Everyone with any claim to become the family's head wants you dead. I may have failed here, but one of the others will be coming for you.

It's only a matter of time. Even hiding out in the Tyrannis Union won't be enough to protect you."

Morten looked pleased to have revealed the venomous knowledge he had. He knew that he was beaten, but if he could drive his niece to despair with his words, that would at least be some sort of victory.

For the first time, the young woman's mask cracked, and a deep sadness flashed across her face for a single second. There was almost no one that would feel nothing if they heard that pretty much their entire family wanted them dead.

"Keep him bound and toss him into one of the luggage carriages. When we arrive at the Miris Sect, I will hand him over to Grand Aunt Vivienne. She will know what to do with him."

Turning around the young mistress of the Taidale Family began walking back to her carriage but was stopped by her uncle's next words.

"You're just like your father, Maeve. Weak! His mercy is what allowed me to kill him. In the end, it will be the same for you."