Kayda’s Blood

The air was solem and heavy. Invisible weights pressed down with force upon Clouse's body as he stood there in silence.

The only sound that filled the room was the scratching of pen on paper. It's rhythmic noise made one feel a sweat on their brow combined with the heavy and suffocating air that flooded the room.

The only thing Clouse could do was stand there in silence. His usual playful and relaxed manner seemed to be sucked out of him with the presence of Dimitri sitting before the desk as if he was some sort of magnet that drew all the energy away from others.

Of course, Clouse knew this was only the beginning of his suffering with what he had to report. And as if the solem air wasn't enough, the long face Clouse was trying so hard not to make only added to the ambiance created from the two.

'I really don't want to be here'. Clouse thought to himself. If anything, he wished he was out on the town at the moment enjoying the gifts of life. But no. He was tasked with investigating the disappearance of Kayda and reporting it to this cold ice block of a lord who wouldn't even hesitate to send him to the demon continent if he deemed it necessary. And he might just do that because what he found was equivalent to-

The scratching of the pen came to a halt and Clouse gave his undivided attention to the cold man sitting in front of him, completely making his initial thoughts come to a halt.

"What did you find?" When Dimitri spoke, one could feel the iciness created from his deep cello-like voice. You would almost be able to ignore the biting chill he emitted if it wasn't for the fact that he produced an air equivalent to a sheathed sword. Composed, difinified, and reeking of hidden danger.

Clouse could only swallow what little remaining salvia was left in his mouth before trying to speak with a dry and twisted tongue.

"Well, ahem, we followed every lead given to us and asked every possible person who might have seen a silver haired and green eyed girl for a lead, but unfortunately," Clouse could feel the temperature dropping and his fingers going numb. "Every witness we found gave us a completely different destination she seemed to be heading to."

Dimitri remained expressionless, but the air around him was cold and ruthless."So?"

Clouse could only avoid his eyes. 'How in the world did I get caught up with such a troublesome captain?' "So, I have sent men to every town named, but she is too good at covering her tracks."

Clouse could only take a peek at Dimitri's expression before decisively turning his eyes away. From the look on his face, his captain was most certainly not satisfied with his answer.

He could only shed silent tears at his own misfortune. Why did he have to meet such a troublesome person like Kayda? Ever since they met her, he seemed to be put through hell and back because of his captain's whimsical temperament.

If Dimitri knew what he was thinking, he would be sure to show him how whimsical his temperament could really be.

He was no mind reader, but he wouldn't have gotten this far in life if he didn't have a good understanding of others thoughts.

His cold blue eyes narrowed down upon Clouse. His thin lips parted to speak, but before he could form a word, there was a knock on the door.

Dimitri silently looked at the door while Clouse could only breathe a sigh of relief. Wait, why did he feel relieved?

"Enter."

After Dimitri spoke, the door opened and Gerrin walked into the room. With long strides, he made his way over to Dimitri with an envelope in hand.

Disregarding the heavy atmosphere, he pressed the letter on the desk and slid it in front of Dimitri.

"You should probably read this."

Clouse felt his brow twitch at the obvious lack of manners that Gerrin was showing, but if he seriously thought about it, he wasn't really one to talk.

Dimitri looked at Gerrin before turning his attention towards the letter. With his long fingers, he picked up the letter and opened the already broken seal.

Inside was a single piece of paper with quick, brief and detailed writing.

As Dimitri read through the contents of the letter, Gerrin and Clouse stood at the side, waiting to see his reaction.

When he was finished, Dimitri set down the letter and looked at Gerrin.

"Are they sure?"

Gerrin nodded. "I've explicitly told every branch that they must not contact me unless it is a dire situation."

Dimitri looked back down at the letter. Turning to Clouse, he held out the envelope. "Send people to investigate."

Taking the envelope, Clouse read through its contents thoroughly.

It consisted mostly of information about an adventurer named Silas. Basic details that you would find on an adventurer's ID. But when he got to the main point, he was surprised to find that the adventurer had silver hair, green eyes and seemed young.

"This is too much to be a coincidence." Clouse mumbled to himself while reading further.

It continued to mention her abnormal amount of mana and Clouse couldn't help but to think back to the indcident where they had first met.

When the collar on Kayda had been released, that overwhelming amount of mana that flooded into the room still sent a shiver down his spine.

With that amount of mana, one could easily create mass chaos throughout Klenon.

After thinking about it, both Clouse and Gerrin discussed a few things with Dimitri before they decisively left the room, leaving Dimitri to his silence.

Once they had left, Dimitri's whole frosty demeanor seemed to be put on pause.

As if finally defeated by exhaustion, Dimitri sunk into his chair.

Raising his hand, he rested it over his face desisevly hiding the shadows that hid under his eyes.

He was exhausted.

Mellisony's illness was getting worse as the days passed on. And unfortunately, she was just like her big brother who could easily hide his pain.

He knew that she was suffering, but there was nothing that he could do for her. When he found Kayda, there was finally some hope that she may get better.

Then Kayda disappeared.

That day, he dropped from heaven to hell.

Right before they had discovered Kayda's disappearance, Ceneth had come to report to him about the testing he had done with Kayda's blood. It was a success. They could immediately start using the trail samples.

He was elated. But then, not even minutes later, Maggy came running in. Kayda was missing.

And that's when he felt he had fallen to hell.

Even though the tests where complete and successful, they only took enough blood from her for testing.

Now, there was no way for him to cure his sister until they found Kayda.

He should have never allowed her to have so much freedom. From the very start, he should have trapped her in a cage so she could never leave.

Dimitri seathed in his regretful and turbulent emotions before there was another knock on the door.

Dimitri removed his hand from his eyes and looked at the door coldly.

Only after a minute did he allow entry.

Ceneth entered into the office to be greated with a somber and heavy air.

His lord sat there at his desk, composed and cold, but the tired lines of fatigue that where drawn on his face did not escape Ceneth's eyes.

Stepping forward, Ceneth stood before Dimitri's desk in silence.

"Do you have something to say?" Dimitri did not look up from his papers but Ceneth could still feel the icy intent from his tone. He was in a very bad mood.

With a cough, Ceneth, tried to hide his mixed feelings. "Dimitri."

Dimitri paused for a second.

His subordinates never called him by his name even if they were close. The only times they did, was when it was something very important.

Looking up, Dimitri met Ceneth's eyes.

"Dimitri." Ceneth said again. "Someone dropped off three pints of blood at my office."

Dimitri didn't react at first until Ceneth continued. "I tested it. It is Kayda's blood."

Dimitri immediately narrowed his eyes as the air dropped another couple of degrees. It was almost to the point that Ceneth could see his breath form in the air.

Dimitri clenched his fists as his mind quickly turned.

There was no way that Kayda was still here. If she was, they would have been able to find her.

But her blood showed up at Ceneths office without anyone noticing anything strange.

That could only mean that there was someone here under him who had helped Kayda and knew where she was. Someone here was a traitor.

Dimitri did not tolerate betrayal. And it would only be a matter of time before he found out who it was.

At the training grounds, Micheal felt a sharp child run up his spine causing his hair to stand on end.

"Oi, O'Mally, why'd you stop."

Micheal regained his focus and gave a sheepish smile. "Sorry. I must have spaced out."

"No kidding." The other knights laughed.

But Micheal couldn't help but feel that something terrible was going to happen. And he didn't know why.