Peace Treaty

"Come on Noboki… let the man speak at least. I'm interested in what he has to say." I heard above us. Standing above the two of us was the man who resembled Orion on the bay that I saw.

"I didn't catch your name, what was it again?" Orion asked me.

I stared at him with a strong will, "It's Carl. It's nice to finally meet you in person, Orion." He nodded, jumping from what seemed like two stories upwards and landing on the ground without a problem. His landing was sort of cool, but it was scarier than anything.

"Why don't you follow me, and we can talk." He told me. I nodded, running over to him.

"Sir, are you sure it's alright? We don't know if he's an enemy." The girl said.

"Noboki, it's fine. Do you really think he wants to fight? His weapon hasn't left his sheathe yet." Orion told Noboki. Orion put his arm around my shoulder and leaned in.

"Women, am I right? Let's go, food is on me today." Orion told me... what an impolite comment.

I smiled nonetheless. I was happy, this seems to be working out in my favor so far! He seems to be reasonable enough to have a discussion at least.

As we walked past the soldiers, I was able to take in the scene. They looked bloodied, they were sweating, and their scars were obvious. They were true soldiers; it was impressive to see to an extent what their bodies had been through.

"So, Carl, from what I hear, our two groups had conflict in the past, haven't they? I can take it that you're the leader of that White Stones group?" Orion asked me. I shook my head.

"He remains a leader, but if we can come to a solution, then perhaps I can convince him to follow my lead. I guess that would make me a leader as well." I told Orion about Sky. He smiled and held the door open for me.

The inside was perfectly clean. Everything was placed on a shelf and the carpets were smoothed out, with no signs of distress on any of the walls, windows, or furniture. This looked like a paradise to me… if we worked together, we could live this lavishly as well.

"In this room, we can talk." He said. Orion pulled up a chair against a kitchen table and told his chefs to cook up something. They looked happy enough, at this point I was convinced we were actually misunderstanding each other.

"So, where should we begin Carl? What did you want to discuss today?" He asked me. I set my arms on the table, showing him signs that I was being serious, just in case he was trying to debunk my true behavior.

"My friends are dying. It all started with Domin, Lia let in wolves to our base, and he lost his life. You saw the other one die on that bay to that White Stone, Demos. I think it's time we form a treaty until we're off of this Isle." I proposed to him. I leaned against the table with both of my hands, but Orion tilted his head.

"Off of this Isle? What makes you think we're leaving?" He asked me. I was confused, was this some sort of test?

"I was told that this Isle was on the brink of an apocalypse, is that wrong?" Orion shook his head again, blocking the chefs from handing over the food that was supposed to be given to me.

"No, who told you that? Sorry, that's the question I should've asked. The only people who know the Isle is in an apocalyptic state are other White Stones, and some of my soldiers. Do you mean to tell me you have another White Stone in your group?" Orion asked me.

Shit.

I froze in place. Even if that's not what I meant, I couldn't give Tavian's identity away just like that.

"N-No. It's just Sky. But weren't the White Stones discussing it while we were on the bay?" I asked. Orion took the plate of food that was to be handed to me and kept it on his side of the table.

"No. We didn't talk about any such thing. But I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. Trying to cover up Tavian's presence with no idea how to keep it a secret is pretty hard." He said.

Shit!

Without giving away my utter surprise, I tilted my head. "Tavian? I don't remember anybody in our group with that name." I told him.

Orion grabbed the back of my head and pushed it in towards the point of his steak knife sitting beside his plate, pulling me in closer and closer. I tried to force myself back, but he was a lot stronger than he looks.

"At least I know you came here of your own will. Your White Stone might be an annoying, violent kid, but he's nowhere near as stupid as you are." Orion said with a grim smile.

"I've effectively trapped you within my ranks. I've deceived you into thinking this is an open discussion by letting the chefs put out poisoned food you would've eaten if it weren't for your remarkable stupidity, and I've put the entire city on lockdown with one wave of my hand. Do you understand just how ignorant it was to march up to my castle and try to talk to me about peace? Do you have ANY idea how screwed you are right now?" Orion asked me.

Orion dropped the knife as pure fear started to corrode my joints.

"I guess I can't blame you. Ignorant folk such as yourself only live to be slaves for royalty like me. My entire family lineage was promised a royal future, just how it should be. To think, you thought you were actually capable of leading a force with the ignorance that is present in your mind. We need to dig that out, don't we?" Orion asked me again.

Orion picked up a cleaver from the counter of the kitchen and turned back to me. I couldn't even run because of this fear. Was he going to kill me? No, that's impossible… that's what Raven thought before dying, I'm sure. What the hell… this is terrifying.

"Don't, Orion." I heard.

Another girl appeared from the doorway we first entered from.

"Hah? Who are you to tell me no?" Orion asked the voice.

The light purple-haired, blue-eyed girl scoffed, "You're ignoring the information we can sap from him. This is one of the Corrupt Stones men, right?" I slowly turned back to look at her after her comment.

"Yeah, but what's your point, Moon?" Moon walked closer and closer to me. She was about the same height, but she looked older than me.

"Then we have information to beat out of him. The location of this Stone, the location of his friends, and the ability to increase the number of our slaves, right?" She proposed to Orion.

I felt the need to run, but how far could I make it? She had me frozen in place, afraid to even attempt to move.

"Are you afraid yet little kid? You can start talking and reduce your punishment. It won't go well, considering your little friends killed Raven. I think a surmountable punishment for that would be… well, what do you think?" She asked me with a soft tone. My eyes were stuck on her gaze.

There was no moment other than right now that made me feel this stupid. I really walked into a place as horrible as this and expected things to change… this was the stupidest thing I've ever done… Sky was right, I should've listened, but I just felt the need to try… would I lose my life because of this?

From the receiver on Orion's hip, a voice similar to Ellie's appeared.

"Orion. I have her. Lia. Do you want a capture or a kill?" It said.

Orion lifted up the receiver and stared at me. Without breaking eye contact, he muttered, "Capture and dismember for the Failure. Only her arms, I need her legs." he muttered.