Betrayal (1)
"You will be sentenced to death. Death by burning."
Althea exclaimed while glaring at Dorothy sternly.
Later on, two Directive Knights march inside the room as they waste no time handcuffing Dorothy's wrists.
Strangely, she wasn't fazed in the slightest by the whole situation.
Her expression was quite neutral while gazing at the metal fastening chains.
She can only curse herself for what just happened.
'... Ah. So this is it.'
Dorothy thought downhearted.
She slowly turned her head hopelessly towards Cristo and Selene, who was standing beside each other, and gazed back at Althea.
Her head was slightly down as she muttered in a pleading tone.
"... Lady Althea, Cristo didn't do anything wrong that would be against the Directive Orders. I have understood Selene since she used witchcraft. But for Cristo--"
Dorothy tried her best to make Cristo get out of there alive.
But Althea ruined everything and silenced her.
"Silence. Sinners are not allowed to have opinions. Three of you will go to hell together with no exception."
Althea harshly exclaimed while pointing at each of them with her black sword.
After the exclamation, the knights immediately pulled Dorothy forcefully to exit the house.
"Do not revolt, sinner."
One of the Directive Knight exclaimed robotically.
Dorothy didn't move at all and sighed at the knights' automatic and emotionless attitude.
Cristo gazed at them from afar.
"... Master."
Cristo muttered but was audible enough for Dorothy to hear.
Dorothy glanced at Selene and Cristo.
She forms a small reassuring smile as she gives them a slight nod.
She followed the Directive Knights to their carriage, looking ahead towards her own destruction,
'There's nothing more but to accept this path.'
She was frustrated after knowing all of her assumptions ended up being a reality.
-
[18 March 774/Present Day]
The cell that Dorothy was placed in was cold and dark.
But it was clean and it was quite comfortable like the place was never meant for prisoners to stay.
'They have cells for sinners but will never hold trials due to opinions that are not wanted.'
She thought while gazing around the cell.
Her eyes landed on the narrow-wide bars.
The iron cell is standing in her way of escaping. But, she also doesn't have any intention of escaping.
'... Have I been here before?'
A thought suddenly appeared.
The feeling around the place is familiar to Dorothy.
It was far too familiar to the point that it became uncomfortable for her to withstand.
"Aww~"
Her eyes slightly widened when the familiar voice echoed through the empty prison cell and its dark hallway.
She looked slightly upwards as she saw a familiar figure standing in front of her with a slightly disappointing look.
"I wish I could torture Her Highness~ but that would make me a sinner."
The playful tone chuckled by her own statement as Dorothy narrowed her eyes.
"Lady Althea, what brings you here?"
Althea sighed deeply and looked Dorothy in the eye.
"You're an exception, Your Highness."
Dorothy raised her brow in confusion at the statement.
Althea looked at Dorothy deadpanned before appearing in a disheartening expression.
"Because of a certain person, we canceled your execution. Quite fast, right? It's not even a day since Her Highness was thrown in prison."
Althea explained it thoroughly.
Dorothy blinked at her statement and only let out a bitter laugh.
Althea quickly knew what the princess was thinking.
"Your Highness. You know who is that certain someone, right?"
Althea asked while looking at her through the cell.
Dorothy's lips form a small smile.
"Of course I know."
She exclaimed confidently and mentioned the person's name.
"Who else besides Azrael's doing?"
Althea blinked as she widened her smile with her free hand covering her lips.
"Pfft-! Your Highness, you're too smart. It actually scared me!"
She cheered out loudly.
Dorothy just averts her gaze to somewhere else as she was avoiding any eye contact with Althea.
".. Lady Althea. Does becoming a Directive Special Knight have more freedom than those who have held no authority of the orders like me and the rest of the citizens?"
Dorothy slowly asked with a low tone.
After asking that, Althea fell silent as if the world stopped revolving.
In Althea's memories, she could only remember someone important to her.
She remembers that they take their own lives to have freedom.
"...Your Highness."
Althea's voice was cold without any of her playful tones.
The tone she displayed was dangerous and stoic.
But it also has a painful feeling towards it.
"... Remember this. Even after death, there is no freedom. For anyone in Lucretia."
Dorothy didn't look convinced.
"Then what about you? What is your own freedom?"
Dorothy asked as she lifted her gaze to be greeted by Althea's mask.
Althea looked at Dorothy briefly and burst into laughter.
Althea laughed, but-- it wasn't full of joy.
It was a laugh full of pain.
The pain that was placed in the heart so long that Althea couldn't bear it anymore.
"My freedom is to survive! To live. While your freedom is too much to ask, Your Highness."
She finished her laughter and looked at Dorothy sternly.
Dorothy gazed at Althea as she wasn't influenced by her tone.
"In other words, you're going to live without dying?"
Althea stayed silent for a moment as a frown appears on her face.
".. I am pleased if I can do that."
Althea turned around as she walked away from Dorothy's cell.
Althea remembered that day.
It was exactly 120 years ago, where she was chosen to become a Directive Special Knight right after Directive Order appears.
Her younger self was happy.
'Freedom...there will be no such things in this cursed world.'
Althea Genetta was a poor, foolish woman.
-
Cristo gaze at his ceilings and sighed deeply.
He remembered exactly when Dorothy asked him to be her underling.
She also warned him about something.
Not just one thing, but a few things.
--"However, under these circumstances, I order you to trust no one. And trust only me."--
That was what Dorothy said that day.
Cristo was confused but he later notices what is the meaning behind Dorothy's warning.
He also remembered when he and Selene were brought to the prison a day ago, 17 March 774.
-
---[17 March 774/Backstory]
Selene was smiling eagerly as Cristo was looking down while being dragged by the knights.
"... You're Her Highness underling?"
".. Yeah."
"Whoa~ I'm her underling as well~"---
"..."
-
[18 March 774/Present Day]
There are only two people that Cristo can fully trust.
Dorothy and Selene.
Because Selene and himself worked under the same person.
Selene became Dorothy underling because Dorothy finished the task she was given.
Right after that, they will intend to execute their plans.
-
[2 April 774/Present Day]
Dorothy forms a small smile as she looks up to her ceiling.
She thinking about her time inside Lucretia and 2 weeks after her imprisonment.
'.. Everything is ready.'
But before she could think of other things, footsteps that sound closer and closer to her cell echoed throughout the empty cells.
'Is someone going to come here?'
Dorothy immediately got up from the cold, hard floor as she stood up.
She waited.
She was tense and nervous as she tried to calm herself down.
But as the footsteps grew closer, she somehow grew familiar and like she knows who it is.
Finally, the person stops his track right in front of Dorothy's cell and turned his body to look at her in the eye.
He has the same black armor as the others and he doesn't wear any helmets or something to cover his head and face.
'.. Ah.. Directive Special Knight..'
In front of her was the familiar presence of someone she knew for a while.
".. How is your shoulder?"
Strangely, the words seemed to come without a single emotion.
After he asks, she looked over towards her shoulder before gazing at the knight wearily.
"It's not completely healed. But the treatment that the knights gave me made me healed a lot faster than normal."
The knight looked briefly in the eyes at her.
"... It seems that you already aware, Dorothy."
As he began to talk again, she saw the way his eyes darkened.
"Of course I do."
Dorothy answered lightly but she didn't like the look he gave her.
"Since when?"
He asked carefully and waited for Dorothy's answer.
'It's quite obvious.'
Dorothy thought and knew he was pale in an odd way, there's something off with how he expressed his emotions.
"Haah.. since when, huh? It seems to be a long time ago even though it was such a short time."
Dorothy exclaimed with a slight taunting tone.
His expression remains deadpan and straight.
".. Since the first. I knew everything from the first time we met."
Dorothy forms a bitter smile as she gazed directly at the familiar dark eyes that held no warmth.
"--Azrael.."
Dorothy purposely looks surprised and covers her mouth after saying his name.
"I deeply apologize for my rudeness--"
She narrowed her lifeless eyes at him with a deadpanned expression.
At all, her smile also didn't fade away as she slightly looked at him straightly.
Her chest was aching with dread.
"--Sir Azrael de Revanche Second Order."
.
.
.