Behind the heavy polished wood doors of Nox's room, Nevia stood as if on hot coals. She had been knocking on the door for close to twenty minutes already and yet there was no movement. She crouched to the space between the door and the carpet then took a hard sniff.
"... Damned masking material! I can't even smell his scent!"
She gritted her teeth, dusting her knees as she deliberated on what to do. Nevia glanced at the watch on her wrist and felt her brow twitch. Twenty-one minutes had passed. '... If he doesn't open up, how the hell am I supposed to explain this to the Chairman?!'
She lifted her hand once more and knocked.
Knock!, Knock!, Knock!, Knock!
There was silence for a moment then that peculiar child-like voice rang out, "Go away, my Master is sleeping!".
Irritation from who knows where crept into Nevia's heart and clawed at her limited patience. However, the years of professional training let her keep her voice steady as she called out, "My apologies, but it is about twenty-nine minutes after the set training time..."
She heard a snarl and immediately, her tail went to her mouth. She bit down as she tried hard to suppress her fury.
"Tell the old man I, Meimei, dare him to try and take my Master."
Nevia went rigid for a moment. She understood each word she heard but together in a sentence... She was left bewildered. '... Did I just hear someone dare the Chairman??? Am I hallucinating?? When was the last time someone did that and live??'.
While Nevia was puzzled, her feet carried her to the northern most part of the North wings where imposing doors loomed like an gate guardian's. When she had finally snapped out of her daze, she realized she was knocking in the door. Immediately, she bit down on her tail and shut her eyes. There was silence. Nevia opened her eyes and sighed in relief. '... Since this Young Master came back, I haven't been able to keep my cool... Should I request a transfer?... The Chairman probably won't agree... Now that I think about it, there's no response from inside. He must be asleep! Yes!'
She pumped her fist in the air and turned back to her quarters to draft a brief of what had happened when a cold and deep voice spoke from behind her, "What are you doing here Nevia?". Nevia felt her blood go cold instantly. 'These damned Arurs! Why the hell does this one even need me as a bodyguard?!!'.
She composed herself then turned and gave a solemn bow, "Reporting to the Chairman, I went to wake the Young Master for our training session but was driven back by his pet... I came to notify the Chairman on this."
Silvanus stood upright in long silk sleeping wear, his body partly cast in shadow leaving those silver eyes to gleam sharply.
"... Alright. Postpone the lesson to after Lunch for today. Withdraw."
He said this casually and as if she had been granted a reprieve, she retreated quickly. Silvanus watched her go with a dark look. He had just been in his study discussing some matters with Zayne and it seemed whatever was said was serious. He walked to a large French window, letting the moonlight bathe him as he stared at the forest in the distance. He would have had to be dead to not notice the huge ruckus over there.
"... At first I thought it was Wilhelmina clearing something... It seems Nox's control of the Authorities and Divine Power is growing rapidly... I need to see some faces I'd rather not... Tsk!"
He muttered this beneath his breath. His eyes fixed on the moon and the longer he looked, the long buried sorrow within stirred. The image of someone flashed in his mind. He just stared blankly, looked away and turned to his room. A flat display emerged from the wall. Silvanus placed his hand on it. It scanned once with red light and once it had identified him, the light changed to green. The doors opened and he stepped inside, "I need some sleep..."
And with that, the door closed.
Meanwhile, along the parameters of the estate's walls, Zayne moved with four men dressed in black suit. What was different about these four were the silver armbands with the letter "A" engraved on it in cursive script. Each man had one on their bicep.
All four carried flashlights, illuminating the path ahead. And at the head of the bodyguards was a man wearing an eye patch named, "Marcus,".
Marcus drew closer to Zayne almost without making a sound. Zayne continued, "How many Xenon Researchers are on sight to maintain the barrier and defenses of the estate?".
Marcus paused for a beat the resumed his pace. "About eighteen sir. Four are at the level of Grand Researcher, eight are at the level of Great Researcher and the rest of the six are all at the peak of Researcher..."
Zayne's brows knitted. '... Then why has the barrier been damaged? I can clearly see the damage and it leads all the way over there...'
There was silence as they walked. Marcus looked at the back of Zayne's head for a second, venom flashing in his eyes then he clenched his fist tightly.
'...'
Zayne suddenly haulted. His long ears twitched then a violent tremor shook the ground. '.... What kind of training is Nevia doing with the Young Master?'.
Zayne sighed then continued walking, Marcus stared in the distance, a look of disbelief all over his face. 'How did they find it?!'. He stood dumbly until another bodyguard nudged him did he snapped out of it and hurry after Zayne.
"..."