Raising her hand to the door, one of the warriors knocked on it, and the doors instantly swung open. Deva fearfully but curiously craned her neck to see what was hiding behind them. Obviously, this was the council room where the elders were sitting, led by a man in a steel crown. Under their gaze, the maiden lowered her head and stared at her feet. The guards marched in together, urging the maiden on, and then parted to the sides, revealing to the eyes of the head and the council the culprit of their sleepless night.
Raising her head, Deva began to examine the room and the elders. In the center, on a throne, sat the head, who was surrounded by other elders at two semicircular tables – three on each side of him. Their clothes were embroidered with gold and jewel stones. White cuffs and collars stuck out from under the satin fabrics of the doublets3. Someone had them lined with fur, although Deva did not quite understand why this was necessary in such warm weather. These were not the warriors or the inhabitants she had seen before, but completely different people. Each of them had swords studded with gems in their scabbards. They were all fair-haired and green-eyed, except that the shade of the iris was slightly different. Even at the first meeting with the warriors of Earth Clan, Deva noted their identical eye color and thought it was a simple coincidence, but now she was amazed at such a feature.
The man in the center was crowned with a steel crown, which showed others: no matter how high you climbed, your head would always be with the common people, and it would serve them for good, and his sword was also quite plain. Deva was even more surprised that she literally «stumbled» over this man – she could not read him, could not look into his essence. It was as if he was locked away from her, locked with locks of all worlds, and the key she possessed did not fit. Deep in thoughts and having finished examining these majestic persons, she bowed her head and lowered her gaze.
With undisguised curiosity, the elders examined the young creature placed in front of them for demonstration, like a statuette. Her exuberant black-haired hair and dark skin, the blue of oceans of eyes, modesty and timidity greatly distinguished her from all the people they had previously known. Even the cloak of their clan, which she was still wearing, did not save the situation. She was another one, descended from heaven, sent to them by someone unknown and for what purpose. The maiden still stood without raising her head, her eyes fixed on one point. She felt their curious glances running over her, felt their smirks on her face and their antics. She replayed in her head what had happened to her over the past few hours and did not understand how, with all such human hatred and aggression towards own kind, she would be able to reconcile the inhabitants of these lands.
The man in the steel crown was the first to break the silence.
«Let there be a trail!» he boomed, and his voice echoed reverberate throughout the room.
«The court? What have I done wrong?» The maiden was surprised. Lifting her head for a moment and casting a glance in the direction of this man, she again came across an invisible wall surrounding him with a protective bastion. «Why is he hidden to me? I can’t see him clearly. What is his secret?»
The head of the elders surveyed the girl with a slow and meticulous gaze from head to toe. Realizing that his words had made no impression on her, except for that sharp look, he decided to continue testing her strength.
«Introduce yourself!» he commanded so loudly that even the glass in the windows rattled.
«My name is Deva,» she replied calmly and, raising her head, tried once again to look behind the veil where this man was hiding from her.
«You cost us seven of our best warriors, Deva. What do you say in your defense?» he didn’t take his gaze off her and didn’t even seem to blink, frozen waiting for her answer.
«I’m sorry that they paid such a high price for my presence here,» she sighed bitterly. «But it was probably you who gave them the command to go into the forest.»
«Hm,» he snorted, clearly not expecting to receive such an answer. «Why are you here?»
«To help you,» Deva was sincere, still trying to get into his mind to look at his thoughts, but in vain.
The head of the elders raised an eyebrow, surprised at the boldness and even impudence of such a statement. The other elders chuckled at her answer, and someone laughed outright.
«And what kind of help do we need?» he asked with obvious mockery and looked around at his elders, picking up the general cheerful mood.
«To escape from extinction,» she replied seriously.
Everyone instantly fell silent and frowned. The fun ended as quickly as it began.
«What are we going to do with you, savior?» Stephen tried to straighten out the situation, which clearly did not suit him.
Rising from his throne of perfect cutting, he descended a step lower, coming closer to Deva. He stopped just a couple of feet from her. She was silent and did not move, but kept her head submissively bowed. For a while, she felt his nagging gaze on her.
«To the tower her!» one of the elders shouted. «She will sit there all night, think it over and maybe will say something more intelligible.»
«Will the tower frighten her, Oleo?» the head drawled thoughtfully, walking around Deva and examining her from all sides.
«So, we will check it out,» another elder supported the proposal. This one’s name was Meatraw.
For a brief moment, Deva raised her bowed head and caught the gaze of this elder. Instantly penetrating into his essence, she saw what challenges were in store for him. But for now he didn’t stand out much from everyone present here. Only their leader remained a mystery.
«Hmm-m-m-m. Maybe she has to go straight to the dungeons, just to be sure?» he said, stopping at the side of the maiden, looking at her intently.
In the silence that followed, someone could be heard loudly swallowing saliva.
«And if she doesn’t come back, Stephen?» his own right hand cautiously addressed the head.
Deva was silent and listened attentively. She was very curious about how this meeting with the people of the Earth Clan would end. No, they didn’t scare her, although they tried very hard to succeed. The main purpose of this meeting for her was to study their behavior. She did not want to say anything, and this desire turned out to be completely justified.
After a moment of silence, Stephen finally answered:
«You are right, as always, Harold,» he breathed, and pulled his sword from its scabbard. He put it against the thin neck of a young girl.
The elders held their breath for a moment, and Stephen wanted to see the reaction of the unexpected guest to it. The maiden was standing still. Not a muscle moved on her face. Stephen was amazed at her calmness. He pursed his lips, removed the point from her neck and hooked the ropes on which the cloak was tied. He cut them in one easy move. The fabric tinted in the Earth Clan color fell heavily on the floor, freeing of its shackles, the shoulders and the fragile figure of Deva. A startled «oh-oh-oh» echoed through the room. Even the calloused and hardened elders admired such beauty, which was previously hidden from them, and now shone with a starry sky right in front of their faces. Stephen, pleased with his escapade, returned to his throne and, sitting down comfortably, he coolly gave the command:
«Take her to the tower.»
The guards did not take long to wait. They approached Deva and wanted to take her by the elbows, as they used to do, but stopped near her, afraid to touch her. This charming cloak,