«It’s just like yesterday,» she thought, walking to the middle of the council room. «The head of the clan is on a raised platform in the center, flanked by his elders. It seems that they didn’t even change their clothes, as if they had been sitting here all night making a decision about my fate. Or maybe about someone else’s.» She ran her eyes over the rich robes of the elders sitting in front of her.
When she stopped her eyes at the head, she tripped over his sword, which she had noticed the day before. Something about the sword seemed familiar to her, but she couldn’t figure out what it was. Stephen also stared at her with a long, tenacious and searching gaze. There was silence in the room from the moment the maiden appeared.
«What an interesting thing,» she mused, not taking her eyes off the sword, which seemed to have especially attracted all her attention. «I remember something, but I can’t get to the truth,» she frowned and narrowed her eyes, looking for a trace in her memories.
The minutes of silence seemed to last forever.
«Well, Deva, how was the night? Tell us,» Stephen finally broke the long silence.
«I’m fine, thank you,» she replied humbly, not taking her eyes off the sword until he covered it with his robe. Then she stared at the floor.
All this annoyed Stephen very much. He was used to being feared, and all these sickening pleasantries made him unbalanced. He was frowning. The words of the girl about the extinction which she had said earlier were moving in his head. He couldn’t move the word out of his head. After examining her with his eyes to the holes, he thought: «She is not who she says she is. What kind of assistance is she? She won’t even be able to kill a fly,» he was indignant and to some extent upset.
«So, you liked our tower,» he smiled smugly and looked at his elders, who, like him, bared their teeth in response. «Would you like to spend another night there?»
«As you wish,» the maiden replied meekly.
«Why are you nursing her, Stephen?» Meatraw shouted, who was also starting to get mad at this humility. «Send her to the dungeons and that’s it!» he banged his fist on the arm of the chair.
«I agree with Meatraw,» Oleo said. «We are all terribly tired and it seems that there is no escape from this scourge.»
«Who else hopes to find salvation for themselves in the dungeons?» Stephen asked an ambiguous question, looking pressive at the council, but there was no answer.
The elders feared the dungeons like fire. They hadn’t been down there for a long time, and people weren’t sent often to the tunnels. It was all the fault of the legend, the truthfulness of which they were afraid to test on their own skins. So they intimidated all the prisoners who needed to loosen their tongues. And what’s add more, it really worked. They had a special cave where the too intractable were kept – they instantly became silk and soft. But they wanted to deal with this lady once and for all. They did not see any benefit in it for themselves. Nothing supernatural, except for how she got to them, and an unusual cloak.
«And is there any use in them? Will they help us to resolve our issue?» he turned to the elders, nodding towards Deva. «Let’s start it again,» he gave her another chance, without hearing any sensible suggestions or objections from the council. «Why did you come to us?»
«To help,» the maiden whispered, but everyone heard her voice.
«In what way?» Stephen decided to support the absurdity of this dialogue, when suddenly the door of the council room burst open, banging against the wall. The guard dragged the fugitive, unceremoniously throwing him on the floor next to Deva and right in front of the council. Startled, she flinched and jumped aside, and everyone in the room fell silent, watching the scene unfold. The fugitive got all the attention now. The one, who slowly rose from the floor, stood up to his hull height. The one who looked fearlessly and contemptuously at the council.
Standing slightly to the left, Deva had the opportunity to see them from the side. She examined the very young, but already so self-confident man. He was dressed in upscale fabrics that were badly tattered and now looked more like rags, which were hanging and exposing wounded skin. He didn’t have a sword with him. The young man did not notice Deva at all. All his attention was addressed only to the head. He seemed ready to incinerate Stephen, but he clearly lacked the strength to do it. His jaw was clenched, and his hands were clenched into fists every now and then. Rage bubbled and boiled in him.
Stephen was looking at the young man as well. He was not taking his displeased eyes off him. He was obviously very angry, but he didn’t show it so much that it was noticeable from the outside. The head was clearly doing well with emotional control and the ability to put on masks, unlike the young man who had not yet learned this skill. Looking at him standing in this rag, Stephen maintaining complete external calm, said:
«Good morning, son. I am glad that you have returned home,» he said coldly and aloof, showing indifference and contempt.
At this time, Daniel was furiously clenching his fists. His stern gaze was still fixed on his father.
«I didn’t ask to be returned anywhere,» he said through clenched teeth with the hatred he could muster.
«It was necessary,» Stephen answered him harshly, raising his voice. «Do you know what the penalty is for running away?»
«Do whatever you want,» Daniel answered indifferently, lowering his lifeless gaze to the floor.
«What were you thinking about? What prompted you to run away? Is life so bad in your native walls?» Stephen broke up.
«Yes! It’s bad!» Daniel shouted. «And I certainly wasn’t thinking about new conquests. That is all… All is meaningless!» he looked at his father and waved his hand towards the windows.
«Is it meaningless? Meaningless? Come to your senses, son! Are you refusing to defend your people? The future sovereign escapes from the clan, where has this been seen? Well, the mother is not here, she does not see such a shame,» Stephen burst into words.
«It’s good thing she is not here. She doesn’t see everything you do. You are all doing,» he nodded at the hushed elders.
«You can’t judge me,» Stephen snapped. «When the time comes and you take my place, you will regret saying those words.»
«Or maybe I don’t want to sit on a throne drowning in blood,» Daniel snapped.
«You don’t have a choice. You will have to take over the reins,» Stephen answered him unexpectedly calmly. «And I want you to be ready for that.»
«I am always ready, father. But not to fratricidal wars,» Daniel shook his head.
«Then they will kill you first. To whom you will leave your people? Did you think about that before you ran off with your tail between your legs?»
«As you put it, I didn’t keep my tail between my legs. And if I hadn’t been caught, then you wouldn’t have to justify yourself to your henchmen right now,» Daniel answered him defiantly and willfully.
Stephen took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and shook his head. He could not believe that his son could go against his father’s will. That his son does not understand the importance of all that his ancestors have been building for so long.
«Yes, blood. What did you want? To sit on white soft feather beds and soar in the clouds? Did you think it was so easy to hold power in the hands, control an entire clan, protect it and not let it disappear from the face of this Earth?» After a pause, Stephen started to talk with his son again.
«The face of this Earth is kind of creepy. And I don’t want to live like that,» Daniel disgusted him.
«You are not just speaking for yourself!» Stephan roared. «There are thousands of other people behind you. Finally