Back in the ladies quarters it was pure chaos, young women running for cover as High men security agents known as the DCSA tried to barge in.
Matron Nadine with the help of eunuch Sephas tried to stop them from getting further.
"What is this uncultured behavior, this is the quarters of women, you cannot just barge in here." But the security agents did not stop.
"This is still a part of Volataire, and violence is not allowed within the premises." But they disregarded her word and walked in, pushing things that they pleased down.
She followed them closely behind and kept speaking, but no one listened to her.
"You could be punished severely if not faded out of existence for this atrocity, are you not aware of this?" She halted, shouting in anger.
They paused. She had gotten their attention.
"This quarters houses the daughters of foreign rulers and delegates, and even daughters of different prime ministers and elite politicians of our great continent Olympus.
Are you really willing to kindle their wrath?" She continued, going to stand before them.
She wanted them to feel fear, and then back down.
The leader came in from outside, looking at his men, wondering why they had stopped.
"Sir." All the agents saluted, looking at him in uncertainty.
He walked through their middle, and stepped right in front of her, intimidating her with his height.
"We are here for an important task, and would appreciate it if you co-operate." He told her.
"But your men have been destroying so much." She replied indignantly. "Where is your warrant even?" She asked looking him in the eye.
"Uh-oh." He did not look impressed.
"This is an order from the highest authority. If you have any problem with what we are doing, then go confront him." He shouted in her face, sneering at her. "Now move."
When she still did not make any movement, he pushed her aside forcefully, and they went on, destroying things as they went.
Matron Nadine crashed into the wall, and fell to the floor.
She felt pain around her body, her hand carefully reaching for the places that hurt most while she winced.
She remained there on the floor even when Sephas offered to help her up.
Sephas was a low tier lower god if there ever was one, and he had become a eunuch to help his family live better lives.
He had no power, and he could not jeopardize this favorable means of income for his family.
"I am sorry." He whispered, his face a picture of helplessness.
Nadine felt tears gather at the corner of her eyes and smiled depreciatingly at herself.
This was the life of a lower god.
People did not care for how they treated you. It was of no consequence.
She thought she had gotten used to it. She thought that by how much she done, and how hard she had worked to become who she was it would be different.
But it was not.
She had seen the look in their leaders eye.
He was high man now, way higher than she was, and he looked down on her for it.
She wanted to laugh.
Someone who had once been a lower god, but because he had the backing of their ruler, he felt he was different.
Because he had been given divine essence to develop his core.
It seemed like a joke to her.
She got up, and straightened the creases out of her robe.
If they persisted even after she mentioned the guardians and fathers of the ladies and it failed to deter them, then it meant that they were truly from the supreme ruler Zoran, and opposition from someone like her meant asking for her own death.
She followed as fast as her aching body could allow, Sephas trailing behind her at the pace of a tortoise.
She was not surprised, that was just how he was.
"Which way did they follow?" She asked one of the ladies passing by.
"They went up." The lady said, pointing up with her finger. The lady looked scared out of her wits, her eyes looking about her constantly like someone was after her.
"You can go." Nadine told her, and she bolted.
She took the elevator and went up, going from door to door to know where they had gone through.
Many of the ladies had already hidden inside of their chambers in fear, so the corridor's were clear.
She found them inside of Merva's chambers, scattering about and searching through Merva's things.
One came out of her closet, another from her bathroom, and another from her leisure room.
Almost every one of Merva's belongings was scattered on the floor.
"There is nothing sir." One of the agents reported to their head who stood by the sidelines watching.
"Get their matron." He commanded one of them.
She walked in quickly. "I am here. What do you need?"
She did not want anymore rough treatment.
The head sized her up like she knew what they were looking for.
"Where is the lady?" He finally asked.
"Sir..?" Nadine asked.
"Sir Rotwidch. Now answer." He said harshly.
She gulped loudly, pulling at her fingers nervously. "This is a ladies quarters, not a monitoring camp. The girls go out in the morning when they have lecture or training, and stay back if they please." She paused and swallowed again, watching his face harden as she rambled on.
"I... I... I don't know where she is sir." She stammered, looking down at the floor.
"She would be back before night fall." Nadine said in fear, wishing she could just leave, but it was her duty to be present in such situation, and she could be punished if she was not.
The man had Matron Nadine round up some of the ladies so that he could interrogate them.
"Keep acting like they have no sense, would the girl run away?" Matron Nadine whispered beneath her breath, cursing them with all her heart.
"You said?" He asked suddenly, scaring her to death.
"What? Said what?" She asked in confusion, her heart beating in her throat.
He glared at her for a moment, and then moved to begin his interrogation.
"Where did she run off to?
Are you her accomplice?
Are you aiding a criminal?"
Were the questions being repeated.
"I don't even know who she is.
I've never met her before.
I don't associate with her." Were the consistent answers from the ladies.
'There is no need for all this.' Nadine thought, watching them with contempt and then looking away from them in disgust. 'Just give the girl four hours and she will be here.'
Serine walked in on the entire situation, and then hid when she noticed that it could not be a coincidence.
She waited patiently, and then pulled one of her kind when the were within her reach.
"What is really going on? Why are they lining up, and why are these men here?"
The lady looked at her, her face a clear picture that Serine was bothering her.
"They are looking for that friend of yours." Was all she answered. She pulled her hand out of Serine's grip and then walked away.
"Rude." Serine said, a scowl on her face. Surely that girl did not just dismiss her that way.
She ignored her displeasure, and turned to leave the hall.
She would be leaving for Atlantis once the barrier was down. She did not want any smear on her name in the mean time, and she was heading back to Volataire to see if she could find Minerva and warn her that they were searching for her like a criminal.
*** ***
Minerva got them away from the sea, and they were back to the grounds of Volataire.
The air pressure felt too much for Minerva and she turned into her spirit form immediately.
It felt better, but she knew that whatever the divine essence flood had been for it was also meant to harm her.
Merva watched her, reaching out for get, but Minerva waved her hand.
"I am fine." She said, encasing herself in a bubble only Merva could see and enter.
"You know that I do not mind us rejoining right?" Merva reminded her.
"I know that." Minerva answered.
Rejoining now after what had been released into the atmosphere would be deadly for Merva. She could not imagine doing such.
They began heading for the tram at the gate of Volataire once Minerva was done fortifying her bubble.
They were still far from where they were headed when they were surrounded like criminals.
"What is going on?" Minerva asked, ready to kill whoever came near.
They could not see her, so it would make it a smooth job for her.
'Minerva stand down. I don't want anything going wrong.' She said in her head.
"Lady Merva?" One of them asked for confirmation.
"Yes sir, it is I. And might I ask, what crime have I committed?" She asked calmly.
They pointed weapons at her like she was a dangerous criminal.
"Lift your hands up where we can see it." They ordered, threatening to fire if she did not comply.
She raised her hands up in the air, not moving from where she was.
"Merva this is ridiculous. Why are you letting them take you? What crime have you committed?"
Merva looked Minerva in the eye. 'Don't hurt them.' She said calmly in her head. 'I am sure that they will not harm me.'
But the cuffs they placed around her wrist pulled at her powers painfully, and Minerva could feel the pain too.
'Boo. Don't do anything.' She reminded Minerva.
She was bundled into the back of a vehicle, and it took off.
Minerva released her wings and took to the sky, following them closely behind.