82 Two Doves in a Cage (1/2)
Pangaea West Ward, Saint Anubis City — Magus District
High above the clouds of Lake Nicaea, there was a massive castle behind a powerful forcefield. Although the forcefield was just as powerful as before, this castle was no longer hidden within the opaque forces. Currently, the massive White Demon Castle in the sky could be seen by all. The area of the giant mass in the air was at least two-thirds of Lake Nicaea itself. In the center of the enormous castle was a shining and glorious white temple surrounded by Jackal God statues. These Jackal God statues gave off a dangerous aura and had a very eery glow in there pitch black eyes.
Within one of the private quarters of the castle, there was a thin and elegant woman who appeared to be around 25 years old, with sapphire eyes and a startling countenance. She had the beauty that could destroy a nation and sat in a posture reminiscent of a timeless painting. She wore a purple dress, and her inky black hair was braided down to her derrière as she combed the hair of an amazingly pretty little girl with multicolored colored eyes. The little girl appeared to be around eight years old and was wearing a green skirt and blouse. Any artist who witnessed this scene would undoubtedly be inspired to paint. One of the little girl's eyes was as verdant and green as emeralds, and the other was a candy purple. Her long wavy black hair was being braided in the same style as the beautiful woman behind her.
”You grow prettier every day, Milly my darling,” said the bell-like voice of the woman. This blue-eyed beauty and little girl were, in fact, the captured Isis Rah and Kamila Trilleck! ”A pity you must spend these days of your youth in constant fear and captivity. Sometimes, I wish I simply never met that man…”
”First mother, I miss my little brother…” said the little girl Kamila Trilleck. Isis frowned and released her spiritual energy. Once she was certain that her sound isolation spell hadn't been discovered or tampered with, she looked at this little girl in front of her and sighed heavily. To Kamila, this sigh felt like it carried the weight of an avalanche, and the sadness and helplessness buried within were like snow and boulders that threatened to drown or crush her. Isis spoke to the little girl candidly, ”Your brother… lives well. I can feel him. However, you must remember to never mention Jodye again. As far as they know, your memories have been wiped away along with mine. They could not possibly know about the secret art I taught you, it is beyond the level of the experts here.”
”These old men are all icky and gross! They're always touching me, and trying to grab my face, and then there are their eyes! Their eyes are the worse, first mother, they all make me feel dirty and weird thoughts try to come into my head. If I didn't have Styxx to help me, I think they would have used dirty tricks!” Kamila Trilleck's eyes watered as she complained to lady Isis. This First Mother of hers was all Kamila had in this world ever since she had woken up. Everything she knew had somehow been stolen from her while she slept. Picture that? Falling asleep in heaven and waking up in hell.
Lady Isis couldn't bear to destroy the child's innocence by telling her the truth of the characters in this place, but she had to say to the girl something to keep her on her guard. There was no lack of disgusting characters in this castle, and Isis, unfortunately, could not monitor the girl all the times. Thus, she had described a few 'dirty tricks' to the little girl in hopes of adequately scaring her off. With the addition of her unique source artifact, Kamila was sufficiently cautious. It seemed to be working so far, ”You must continue to cultivate ascetically, Milly. The more you advance in the Seven Color Psychic Scripture, the more stable your mind will be. If you can reach the second or third stage, there's no one in this castle other than those old bastards at the temple who can take over your mind.”
In fact, Isis was most worried about one of those old bastards having ideas about this favored niece of hers. Technically this was her step-child, but even more than that it was her best friend's daughter and her own son's older sister. Isis couldn't help but care for the child, and not just because she was so adorable. They were surrounded by unknown dangers on every side.
Like two doves locked in a cage of fire.
Kamila Trilleck had listless eyes and a dull appearance. If Jodye were here to see her, he would most definitely think she had been switched with another child. How was this possibly his constantly energetic sister? Kamila stared out the window, silently staring at the clouds beyond the castle through the destructive forces in-between. Once Isis finished braiding her hair, Kamila rose from her chair and followed lady Isis to her powder room. Once inside she revealed an incredible pathetic face and asked, ”First mother, will you truly marry that creepy abbot who claims himself as my uncle? What about my daddy?”
Isis Rah's gaze turned incomparably cold once Basalt was mentioned, and colder still once Osiris was mentioned, ”Do not speak of your father from this day forward, Kamila. Doing so will be enough to see us both murdered.”
Kamila's eyes flashed with a golden light of intelligence, as she responded, ”They do not dare to kill the first mother. It should be myself whom they would kill.”
”You…” Isis was briefly caught off guard before she remembered the unique abilities this girl had after her awakening. This freak of a little girl was no less amazing than her own boy! This was a difficult feat to accomplish, even for siblings, ”Sigh… Milly, do you not believe that I will willingly die before I allow any harm to befall you? Be more cautious, your death is no different from my own.”
”First Mother…” Kamila's eyes became wet immediately after hearing Isis' words. She was speechless. What could she say towards such love?
”Trust and believe, my beautiful little girl, the day these animals dare to touch you will be the day these white walls are permanently stained red!” Lady Isis' words were as sharp as ice blades, and her gaze was fierce. ”I am… not in control of what happens to me next. This is something we have planned for a very long time. I have...decided this fate on my own. However, this was a choice that your father and I made together, Kamila. Now, promise your first mother that you will obediently behave the way you've been told until I can get you out of here.”
”But first mother, I simply cannot allow you to fall into the hands of these monsters in sheep's clothing, I will not! You may believe I do not know what they will do to you, but I DO. I know! We must not let them, we can never let them touch you like they do the poor big sisters downstairs!” Kamila was frantically tugging on Isis' dress as tears ran down her face.
All the emotion Kamila had been repressing was flooding out. However, as she touched the hand in front of her, her little fingers started to freeze. An enormous pressure suddenly bore down on her tiny shoulders. The next thing she heard was her first mother's emotionless voice, which felt like it came straight out of the deepest and darkest hole in the world.
”Promise me,” Isis repeated icily.
”I… but… I… I promise.” Kamila resisted briefly but ultimately submitted. She understood that being here only gave her first mother more to worry about.
Kamila was an enormous burden for Isis! This was Basalt's insurance on controlling her. How could Isis rebel if Kamila was in custody? How tragic was it to be young and weak? Unable to wrestle with your own fate or the fate of those around you? She needed to hurry and grow! Then she could save her first mother!
However, wouldn't it be too late by then?
”Good, sweet child,” replied the lady Isis as her spiritual pressure dissipated instantly. An absent look was in her eyes as she stared at the hickeys on her neck. There were only two people in this world who had ever managed to glamour her or even touch her skin… one captured her secret before manipulating her into loving him and one rescued her in secret before doing the same. Both used glamor in such a subtle and conniving way, Isis didn't really know what was real and what was a lie. She hated them both. The latter was one whom she once loved dearly, and the other was one whom she absolutely loathed from the deepest depths of her soul because of the things she had seen him do. The miserable thing he did to her daughter. Isis had a physical connection with both and had children with both. However, the first child was born from shame and manipulation while the second was an accidental creation of temporary love.
She accepted this batty plan way back before her son Joseph's conception, and it was to get revenge for herself and her daughter. It seemed like the only route at the time because the enemy was just far too powerful and crafty. The forces behind him were so strong that even the Fort Master could not compete against them directly. Thus, she didn't mind a great sacrifice to achieve her revenge.
Life had little meaning to her before that handsome man came to her rescue.
Unfortunately, this man also wanted to make use of her to achieve his own aim. Isis despised this and yet fell in love with him in spite of herself. Nonetheless, she still harbored extreme hatred, and she desired nothing more than vengeance! Those who walk the Voodoo path are all scourges! Scoundrels who indulge in depravity to increase their might. Isis prayed that her son didn't walk to Voodoo path once he realized how quickly it could increase his power. The temptation was something that most men failed to overcome.
Especially men like Osiris, with extreme hatred and vengeance buried deep in his heart. Moreover, once her son was born, their vengeful hearts finally wavered a bit.
Many times since then Isis wondered; was there really no other way than this?
Tragically, this was no longer important, as they had already passed the point of no return. The White Demon attacked early, and almost took her away by force. If not for her miracle of a son, they would not have gotten the chance to reverse the plot to match their original plans. They were forced to execute the plan.
Now Joseph was missing, and the plan was in full effect. Nothing could be changed anymore.
Isis had to play her role effectively, or it was all for naught. Only she could get Basalt to lower his guard enough to surrender his life. This could not be done overnight.
Isis Rah stared into the mirror in front of her, and her eyes became fierce once more, before returning to hazy and demure. ”This is what we must do, my darling. Come, let us go visit Grand Abbot Basalt. It's dinner time.”
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