Conditions of the Code (2)

Ch 30: Conditions of the Code (2)

She is usually enthusiastic in her weapon training but now she look like she just wanted to it finish and get out of the training ground

There was an uncomfortable feeling for Theo seeing her nowadays.

"What happened to her? She is like drawing a line" Gio asked his brother.

"You tell me. Weren't you with her in the forest?"

Konrad who opened the door and saw his sons outside his office waiting. They both bow down and he nods slightly and they go to her room.

She is wearing a white gown she hated. Her arms are exposed and the brown spots on her right are out.

"Are you ready?"

"Yes."

She sat down and put her right arm in an armrest exposing her thin wrists with a big brown spot. Konrad put the shining blue box at the table and he engulfed it with mana for a few seconds and the box opened. Inside is a piece of skin inked by a black box and little scribbling lines.

She remembers what the count told her days before the procedure.

'You need to be awake during the stitching procedure. The code disappears when the owner is at death 's door so if your heart stopped even for a moment the code might disappear forever. As you already know, Black hair and Black eyes are incredibly rare traits. My Daughter. . . Kaleena has the same black hair but she has blue eyes.'

That was the first time she heard about it. Konrad sounded lonely when he talked about Kaleena.

'Everything that is different between you and kaleena will put you in pain, Be it eye color, age, blood type. Your body and code will reject each other for everything that is not in sync. It would be excruciating and painful. This procedure can kill you in the process.'

"Are you sure you want to proceed?"

"Yes." She will survive. She knows she will.

She was given a thick cloth to bite on. Theo and Gio grab each of her arms as she looks at the count carefully removing the code from the box.

Konrad starts slicing her skin off. The girl starts to crumple her face and her sweat starts to form. The blood in her wrist continues to drop in a metal basket.

"ARGHHHHHHH" muffled screams escaped her as she felt every peeling. Her nails dug in her palms as she endured the ache every time the thin needle pierced her skin. Theo and Gio held her with great strength.

The stitching finished in no time and the pain slowly subsided but the blood continued to drip from it. She is sweating profusely. Her arms had been let go. They all step back as they watch her rest her head in her bloody arm.

Something hot, and an electrifying feeling crawled inside her veins from her wrist. She can feel it flowing.

"ARGHHHHH" She held her burning arm and tried to stop it from flowing but it's useless.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH IT HURTS!!! " The feeling of her erupting viens made her scream at the top of her lungs. Her shoulder bones lost their grip from her throbbing arm. She punched her shoulder blades to overpower the flowing tormenting pain but it was useless. The painful torture didn't stop she can feel every bit of throbbing of her burning nerves up to her brain. It is madifying.

'Brother--- Hehehe' A small voice echoed in her head

'Kaleena, Stop runni---' The visions are like a television with bad reception.

'---No!! N-- Plea-- stop. Arghh! wa--'

"WAAAAAAAAAHH!! AHHH!!" ugly tears begin to flow. Her head feels ripped. Her body began to shiver like she was continuously being electrified and her ears and nose started to bleed. She drained all her strength and fell from the chair and she started crawling and clenching carpet.

'Is this me?' She placed her hand in the mirror.

'. . .102, 103, -- They--a- comi--' The door opened

'I lo- fat--the--e e- best'

'Smoke-- ga? *cough'

"AHHHHH. . . . WAAAAAH!! NOO." Her tears were soon replaced by blood. She tried reaching for the Count with her bloody appearance but she already lost all her senses. She can't even tell where he is.

'Who are you?' Several masked men loudly opened the door.

"AHHHHHHHH. ARGGGGH!! UGHH!!" She coughed black blood multiple times. Her white dress is soaked in her own blood. Her body soon gave in to the pain.

****

"Hey, Wait up." A voice was calling to her. She looked behind her and there's nothing but endless darkness.

"Are you ready?" There's a man beside her with a shadowed face. He smiled showing his perfect set of white teeth.

"I have something to tell you after this." He sounded happy as he led the way.

*bzzzzzt*

It's a familiar scene to her. She looked down and saw the same guy bleeding to death. His armor was destroyed and he is lying in the arms of another person.

"pro--promise-- *cough* remember?" He forces himself to speak up.

he smiled then closed his eyes.

*bzzzt*

She is struggling with all her strength but there are at least two men dragging her arms. When they turned around she saw the familiar mask. The keepers.

"Let me go!! Who are - you?"

*bzzzzt*

****

She woke up sweating buckets.

"Haaaaa.Haaaaa haaa." She is gripping her chest hard. Her heart is beating faster than she can keep up. She coughs and choke in her own blood. Her eyes are burning like it was set on flames. The veins in her eyes are pumping hard until blood tears slide down in her eyes.

The pain has not subsided, not even a bit. The ceiling is blurring and her vision is spinning. She is starting to lose her mind in the process.

'It hurts!!' She is screaming internally.

After a few seconds of struggling she lost her consciousness again.

The scenario of her waking up and losing to pain repeated for days. One day she finally opened her blood shot eyes. The pain was no longer excruciating but there was still a slight burning sensation all throughout her body. It's nothing compared to the days and nights she endured.

She woke up alone in her usual room. The sun is beaming outside. Her vision is blurry and her touch is numb. She removed her blanket and tried to move her legs but it wouldn't listen.

Her expression is blank as she tries for hours to move a single leg and after 3 hours she can move them. She attempted to stand up only to fall straight on the floor. Her expression is still blank as if nothing happened.

"What are you doing?" Theo is leaning on the closed door. He then gently carried her back to her bed. Theo knelt down and said

"Excuse me." He picks up her right leg and slowly massages and circles her ankle around.

"You have been unconscious for 45days. Don't push yourself."

She opened her mouth but no sound came out. Her dry throat hurts after attempting to speak.

"You need rest to recover fast. You scream almost every night" He moved to her other feet and massaged it.

She just stared at him blankly then she glanced at her wrist the code looked incomplete and faded. The stitch marks are not visible as if the code has been there all along.

She got it, the code. Kaleena's Code.

"Do you need to go to the bathroom?"

She stares at him.

"Father will drop by later. You should get some rest."

He put his big hands on her shoulder to lightly push her back to lie down but she resisted it. Instead she put her hands at the table and supported herself to stand.

"You won't listen to me." Theo said in a low voice. He grabbed her hand and put it on his arm. The girl slowly looked up to Theo.

"Lets try walking." Theo said. She frowned slightly but didn't reject his offer.

Taking her time to get used to walking again and Theo patiently supports her.

The door opened. Konrad walked inside and saw his son and the newly awakened girl. She still looks pale and weak. Theo bowed down slightly. He picked her up and set her down on the couch across the Count.

Theo settled down in one of the chairs after the count.

"How are you feeling?"

She only nodded a little.

"Father, her throat seems to be sore. . ." Theo said

"You need more rest. "

She just stared down blankly. Her face is stiff, she is having a hard time making any expressions.

"Once the code is complete, you will move to the main residence and live as Kaleena Alexanders"

She silently stares at her incomplete code.

'What is it? I feel like I forgot something.'

****

She is sitting in her favorite spot by the window when a soft knock followed by the door opening.

A butler, maid and knight appeared. She glanced at them uninterestedly.

'My escorts?' She went down from the window and her long simple white dress flowed weightless as she approached them.

"Yo-Young lady Kaleena, Welcome back!" The butler said as he kneel down and respectfully bow down to her. The maid and knight followed his example. Tears are welling up in the servant's eyes.

She gazes at her reflection in one of the mirrors in the room. Her long black hair is neatly combed and her eyes are shining sapphire in color just like the count's eyes.

The blue ring in her middle finger gleamed in the reflection. It was the same brilliant shining stone like they wear.

'Always Wear this. This contains my mana. It will change the color of your eyes to the same as mine. '

"I am truly glad that you came back safe, young lady." The butler is crying and so is the maid.

'They know her?'

Kaleena didn't say anything and just stared at them.

"Young lady, let me introduce myself. I am Hoston, the Head Butler. If you need anything please tell me." The butler didn't raise his head.

"I am Gavina, the Head Maid. Please tell us what you need."

"Vico. I will be your temporary escort. "

*knock knock*

Gio knock on the opened door gets everyone's attention.

"Her throat is still sore. She can't speak properly for a while."

"Oh we deeply apologize. We got carried away that the young lady is back safely."

Gio hardened his expression and she saw it all.

"Young lady, this way please." They made their way and her eyes twitched at their sweet smile but she still walked past them and let them guide her to the main residence.

The main residence is neat and clean but it was more decorative than the previous mansion. The floor is red carpeted and the two way staircase is spotlessly clean.

As they walk by the main mansion the servants greet politely but cannot help a second glance at her. Her new room is located on the third floor, the room of the original Kaleena.

The room cannot be compared to her previous room. The walls are a rose gold color decorated by big vibrant paintings and decorative swords with a small chandelier in the middle. The bed is twice as big as her previous bed. The room is filled with rose scent.

She was left alone in the room to rest and given a bell if she needed anything.

She looked around once again.

'All of these belong to Kaleena.' She drowned herself in thought. She felt like a thief but then her eyes said otherwise.

She brushes up her hair and looks at her reflection in one of the mirrors and touches it.

'I feel bad . . . really but I can't keep on feeling bad all the time. It was your father who decided this and I need you. Let me live the life you didn't get to, Kaleena Alexanders.'

She smiled but her eyes were expressionless.