Chapter 6: Enter Eriz

"Ah, the girl and her little brat of a brother," a voice pierced the cave's murky silence as four figures approached us.

"What do we do?" I hissed, recalling our earlier incident with the three hooded men, "I don't even have a weapon with me this time..."

Reya grimaced. "It's not like it'd help much."

One of the four was a hooded figure, once again reminding me of the strange occurrence that had led us to this. The second was a large, intimidating man with a flickering candle in his gloved hand. His dark black hair looked like a lion's mane, the way it wrapped around his face.

The third was a tall and slender man with eyes like clear blue glass, sparkling and reflecting the light of the candle's flame. He looked at me and scowled, sending shivers up my spine. I held myself together and didn't let my fear show.

The fourth, however, was the one that truly stood out. She was tall and armoured, with some sort of weapon strapped to her side. Her honey-coloured hair fell in spikes over her forehead and the rest was tied back into a bun. She smiled at us and narrowed her eyes, a hand against the sheath of the weapon strapped to her side.

"We will now take you to the Chained Ones' Court," he voice was like honeyed poison, leaving me unsure of her true intentions. She had, however, called Reya a 'little brat of a brother,' and that was only adding to my suspicions.

Reya and I exchanged glances. His brow was knotted with worry.

"I think it's best if we wait and see what happens," I whispered to him.

Slowly, he nodded. "Y-Yeah...more of a chance of...staying alive."

"Right," and then I watched as the large man and the skinny man approached us.

I bit my tongue but didn't do much else when they grabbed me and Reya. They held our arms behind our backs and dragged us out of the cave with them.

We were taken out by the cave's entrance, which was guarded by a large metal gate and two soldiers, each standing by what looked like a hungry, mutant tiger. The beasts eyed us, almost as if they wanted to eat us. The tall woman tapped some numbers on a device and the gates hissed. The two soldiers pushed it open, and then we were finally under clear blue skies.

We were taken across a large metal platform that was no more than maybe thirty feet wide, but it's length seemed to go on forever, as it's gleaming silver surface fused with the horizon and skyline far away. The skyline, which was accented with points and daggers, stood tall and looming but trumped by the snowy peaks that stood behind them.

"I don't suppose welcomes are procedure for prisoners," the tall woman began as we walked along the platform. I flinched at the word 'prisoners,' feeling anxiety drip into my system faster than before.

"Prisoners?" My brother's voice was hollow against the cool air.

The woman turned and bent down to my brother's height. I felt every muscle in my body become tense as she took his face in one of her hands, her spidery fingers digging into his skin.

"Hey!" I yelled. The man holding me from the back pulled a hand over my mouth and I fought it. I felt a blunt blow against my back as the man's hand slipped off. I grit my teeth, holding back my cry of pain.

"Of course you're prisoners," the woman said. My brother's limbs shook uncontrollably with fear and panic, "However, you, my boy...are a bit of a special case."

She took his hand off of his face and pushed his hair out of his eyes, eyes that were focused on the ground, and then on me.

He was counting on me. No matter how, somehow, at some point, I had to get us out of here. I would not allow either one of us to die, like our mother and father. I had no plan but to keep me and Reya alive, and no matter what that required, I was preparing myself internally to do it.

We'll get out of here, I thought, once the time is right, we'll make our move...

The woman walked back to the front, eyeing both of us. When she looked at me, I averted my eyes. She had said that Reya was some sort of special case, but I couldn't be sure of what that had meant. Were they planning to kill me and keep him alive? Were they planning to torture him?

"Prisoners Note and Reya," the woman began suddenly, crossing her arms. She looked powerful and defiant, her piercing blue eyes still focused on the two of us, "I am Commander Eriz of the Order of Sepram. Welcome to Roden, colony of the stars."