"Have you ever felt any form of remorse for them?" She dragged on as she heard his answer. It wasn't flat lacking interest but it wasn't eager either. It was nothing more than functional. "Remorse would be a fleeting occurrence here and there but true remorse would be a lie to tell you. No."
The doors slid open however the shift in air between the two was palpable from a few minutes prior. "Well then does that mean you'll forget me the same way as the rest? Laughing and empathysing at my efforts before you find someone else?" Her question lasted for far longer than it should in the air.
The elevator door was silent as the two stepped in. His ice cream had been half way ravished while hers was long gone. "Maybe, but it would seem that Orsen finds you interesting so you should be easier to recall." His words never once hostile nor kind to her.
*Ding*
The doors slid open and the two walked out, the atmosphere stiff. "Do you ever truly care about those you come across?" Her tone grave as the two stood out of their room. "I do care, at that moment in time however once it's over then I'll move on." Her teeth grit, her collar jiggling faintly from her heavy breathing.
"However I do have to ask you, do you think that's the only thing to me? Guinevere will tell you that there's nothing more here than a tyrant treading about leaving nothing but destruction all over." He stretched out for the door, he noted her breathes hitching as the door slid open.
A self deprecating chuckle his lips as he took a bite of his ice cream. Her glare remained locked on his figure, unsure with the answer she would give him. "You don't have to give me the answer right now, just like Guinevere I can wait for as long as you need." And with that he took a step into the room.
She remained fixed in place, her mind swirling with thoughts on what her response would be. 'Jarren Velros...' She started off in her mind. 'The Pale Sovereign.' She went on. 'Solon.' Her eyes squinted. "Can I ask a question?" Her voice frail making him look back. "What is it kitty?" His tone perking up with a hint of playfulness laced within it.
'He really does know how to get on my nerves.' She cursed in her head as she readied her question. "I can answer your question if you answer me this. What is your name? Your actual name not a title." He tilted his head as he pondered. "I don't have one, after all the names I have are from those around me, the Pale Sovereign for instance."
She sighed with disappointment. "I'm sure that you're more than just a mindless tyrant. You can clearly learn to feel and love without a problem. You're patient and understanding so labeling you a tyrant would be too harsh on you. But then again you do this not out of your heart but because it's nothing more than a game to you."
The silence colder than any glacier. "It's clear that you can love but your fixation on games make you unable to. You do have the option to change but for that you would have to give you what you're usually are." His eyes squinted in amusement as he closed the distance between the two.
"Are...are you challenging the structure of the abyss?" His words losing all warmth, his gaze usually playful now wolfish. Still this didn't deter her as she stood her ground. "This is another game to you. That is why you barely care about those around you because they've all been nothing more than an amalgamation of toys for you to play with. Sure you can remember your favorites but you'll never escape that rut."
His figure loomed above hers, her body with each passing second as she felt something far more older than time try to dissect her entire existence. Her chest hitched, her hands trembled with his next words as she could barely look up. "Your attempt of breaking the cycle and standing out is impressive but you're not the first to think of this." His words felt like cold water all over her.
"And frankly I'm tired of such a response so it would be best for you to leave rather than me bother killing you personally." She dared to look up, her ash eyes meeting his starry obsidian stars for eyes. Nothing about them felt familiar and with a forceful thud, he closed the door as he dumped the remaining ice cream to the floor.
Her face contorted into disbelief, her chest our of breath as she tried to recall what had happened. 'Jarren...' She mused internally as she looked at her hands. Trembling before the glimmer of her collar caught her eye.
The gulp felt like a bitter pill hard to swallow as she grabbed it and pulled out. Her whimpers echoing through the halls till she couldn't cry anymore. 'It would seem that he left you all alone and crying. Frankly you should be pleased escaping his clutches.' Guinevere mused in her head, her tone flat.
'But you should consider yourself lucky that you still have your obsidian strings.' Though her mind heard all this, it was nothing more than a whisper to her as she felt an overwhelming pressure gnaw on her chest. "Hah!" The gulp of air was anything but helpful as it felt more painful, her spine tingled as she blankly looked at the puddle of tears and snobs at her feet.
'Don't worry, I won't kill you as we've met but I have to colonize your kingdom.' And with that the connection between the two came to an end. Her eyes narrowed, her mind recalling hours prior of the passionate dance the two had shared. 'Damn you Jarren!' She began with a curse that ended with more tears.
She gauged her options, she wouldn't be taken back to Reuthar, Guinevere would pose a risk with Jarren being around. With no other option to pick from, she finally made her decision.
***
"You didn't have to be so harsh with her you know." Guinevere mused in Jarren's head. "You know that I don't like to lie Orsen. And besides she at the very least had the gall to ask my personal past, touching but nothing new." His answer back was devoid of any life. A strange silence settled between the two.
"What if she chooses to end her own life?" She finally asked. "Then it would be a tragedy for James. However for me it would be no different from what I do. You've been through it all so you should know this better than anyone." Orsen let out a stiff sigh, memories flooding her mind.
Jarren made his way to the door where he found her collar and his ice cream. With a snap of his fingers, the two were instantly rid off from the plane of existence. "So are you going to keep on going with the plan or..." Jarren cracked his knuckles and with the darkness that settled in flashed a malicious grin.
"Of course, what would I do darling?" Her face on the other end twisted into disgust. "To some extent I feel pity for you Jarren. Having nothing more than toys, what a dreadful existence you must exist. I'm sure that you perceive me as nothing more than one of our toys as well." Her tone cold to which he didn't refute.
"Why of course, nothing more than pawns on a board to push around and watch each and every one break. And you'll be the most fitting one to watch you unravel." His tone both cold and cynical as he made his way back into his room. "Be damned Pale Sovereign!" And with that the connection between the two came to an end.
Now all alone his room, his mind drifted back to those he had come to fancy and play with. Some fitting to be gods and horrors and yet in his eyes, they were nothing more than playthings. 'As for you Orsen, it's a matter of time before you fall and I'll be there watching.' With a flash of his figure, he appeared elsewhere.
***
"He sent her away, it's best to say that he'll do the same for you so it would be best to leave." Clomere as much as she didn't want to believe it gave a heavy sigh. "That's how he's like. Bait you into a relationship then for him to switch at the last second, nothing more than a game he'll forget."
Clomere's fingers dug into her palms. "Fuck!" Her chest heaving as she recalled what she had gone through with Jarren. "But he won't be making any advances here so you can stay here before I manage to get Othare back on it's feet. And by the end of this world kill you both."
She had pictured herself ruling above it all, the queen of rot and mycelium and now she was being sentenced to death by the end of it all. "How, how do you manage to endure him?" Her tone quizzical. Guinevere gave a short dry laugh. "It takes a lot of endurance and persistence and a bit of lost hope." She bit her lower lip with her eyes drifting to the side.
'Oh fuck you my darling!' Clomere posed in her mind and yet a part of her wished that it was nothing more a lie. "Well it would seem that all goods things must come to an end." And with a final sigh she took her leave from Guinevere's office. 'Once more Jarren you do nothing more than hurt those around you without a care.'
She hated how powerless to stop him and yet she knew that with their demise they would be spared from her fate. 'The Pale Sovereign, for how long will you keep on playing your game till you grow weary of it?' She couldn't help but wonder.
***
"So far we've checked any major and minor cities and no sign of the pair but we're still looking." A man reported to Toren, his wording strict. "Keep on going, we have to make sure that we find these two and make sure that we make them pay!" His tone fierce jolting the already working operatives to work even harder.
Before he could take another step, he was met with a report. "Sir, we've heard riots in her western district of the capital. A code black!" Toren's face went grim, his mind swirling with thoughts. "You already know what to do." The man took his leave while he made his way back to his office.
"A code black in the capital? But how would the plague manage to breach the walls of Reuthar and infect people so far into the kingdom?" He couldn't help but wonder at the thought. His eyes narrowed before realizing that something was off.
'There is no way that there could be a code black so close to the capital out of the blue. It's clear that it's a diversion but from who? Could it be Jarren and Callista or...be those despicable people we found yesterday?' With the lack of answers at the moment, he halted his thoughts on the matter as his door slid open.
"Sir, we've managed to crack into the list and something is clearly wrong with it." His brows rose in bewilderment as he took the phone out of the man's hands. Inspecting the phone an skimming through, he realized where the problem was. "It would seem that someone intentionally interfered with this to damage with the information."
He took a closer look. 'And it would seem that the one behind it was intentionally choppy with his means.' He couldn't help but sigh as he thought on who it could be. "Have you checked the cameras?" The man already with a response at hand. "Even those seemed to be tampered with. All footage from yesterday seems to be wiped cleaned from our drives. A man on the inside no doubt."
Toren covered his face with his hand, his brows knitting. 'It would seem that they're more capable than I had initially thought. However with the black plague and the two, it would be best to put this case on hold for now.' As much as he didn't want to, the situation wasn't leaving him with any options to pick from.