chapter 74

I sat on the boat and stared out across the river. The sound of the paddle parting the water lightly tickled my ears as I watched ripples spread out across its surface. "What's on your mind, Lady Alessia?" Kharon asked as the boat slowed down.

"Do you think the Empress notices me?" I clenched my polearm as dozens of thoughts swirled around my mind.

"You alone spend the most time with her, so I'm sure she does." His words broke through the thoughts that had chained my mind, yet I still had doubts.

"I mean, does she notice me the way I notice her?"

Kharon bobbed his head in thought as he kept paddling along. "I can't quite tell you the answer to that. You know how she is. She rarely ever talks about what she thinks or feels, for that matter. I'll be willing to wager that she knows how you feel but says nothing about it."

"But why wouldn't she? I don't understand her, Kharon." Feelings that were alien to me paraded around my heart, and the frustration was gnawing away at me. I understood nothing that I felt, and I wasn't sure why. This all started when she was taken by those adventurers. The fear that she would die overwhelmed me, and awoke something deep within me, something I don't understand but has always been with me since that haze was lifted.

"It's just how she has always been. She may be naïve at times, but not much slips past her. But I wouldn't prod her. Just keep doing whatever you are doing, and I'm sure she will notice." The surrounding fog seemed to fade as the dock cut through it.

"I suppose you're right. There's just so much that I don't understand. These feelings are so alien yet so familiar. They hound me, yet I can't seem to name them." I clenched my polearm and strummed my fingers across its surface. The faintest sense of the cool metal wormed its way through to me. I yearned to feel more, and thankfully it seemed like my sense of touch was growing with each passing day.

"You are awakened, Lady Alessia. It's perfectly okay to be confused. It's been a long time since you were truly human." The wind picked up around us, gently rocking the boat.

"I don't even remember those days. All I can see now is what the Empress wants me to see."

"Do you hate her for it?" He asked as he turned the boat and paddled away from the dock.

"No! I would never hate her. I just don't know right now." I brushed back some of my loose hair as the wind whipped the surrounding air into a frenzy.

"Oh, the great Alessia, brought low by a woman." His tone was filled to the brim with mockery and sparked some irritation within me.

"You better watch it. Lest I'd use your head as a footrest." I huffed at him and crossed my arms.

"You would lose that fight, and you know it." Kharon chuckled as he spun the boat once more and took us back to the shore.

He had a point. I may be strong, but he would shred me in a fight if I screwed up even once. The sheer amount of magic that the skeleton could dish out was frightening, and frankly, rather absurd. But one day, I would be stronger than him for no other reason than to protect the Empress.

I rolled my eyes at him and stood up. "Thank you for the advice, Lord Kharon. I must go now. I need to go interrogate those assassins once more."

"You are welcome, Lady Alessia. Same time next week?" He asked as he pulled the boat up the dock, allowing me to step up.

"Of course. I'll see you soon." I replied to him as he nodded his head and pulled his hood back up. The darkness shrouded everything but his crimson red eyes.

"Farewell," Kharon called out as he pushed the boat away from the dock and faded into the fog once more. I gave him a slight nod before I spun on the dock and gazed at my hands. I was thankful that he was doing this for me. It helped me process things a little better. But some things I just couldn't seem to understand right now. I dropped my hands, grabbed my weapon, which I left resting on my shoulder, and walked down the road, intent on talking to those assassins once more.

"Have you considered my offer?" I asked as I grabbed a chair, dragged it in front of the cell, and sat down. The four zombies stood before me. Though three of them were as mindless as they come. The one that I was interested in was the leader. The one who was the closest to sentience.

The zombie looked at me with hatred in his eyes, and his teeth bared. His flesh was green and putrid, with rivets of putrid puss running freely down his face. "I refuse to serve a necromancer." His voice hissed into my mind, though the words he groaned out were nothing more than grunts.

"We are offering you this on your own terms. Before the domain erases who you were. You already feel it, don't you? The voices that whisper in your ear. The scattered thoughts and memories that you know aren't yours yet are slowly becoming a part of you." I stood up and used the hilt of my pole-ax and drug it across the metal bars, filling the room with the sound of metal being struck, with each strike being slower than the last.

The zombie looked uncertain as he stepped back. I could feel the fear radiating in agonizingly sweet waves from him as I made my threat.

"You're.. you're lying."

"Everyone in this domain went through what you are going through now. We all embraced it, and now we live happy lives, serving our Empress. If you choose to remain defiant, then I will leave you down here with your compatriots, and you will rot here until the end of time. If you tell me what I want to know, and agree to my terms, then I will allow you to pick your future before the last of who you are erodes." I clanged my polearm against the iron bar one last time before I walked back over to my chair and sat down.

"You're a monster." The zombie whispered out as he collapsed. The others barely glanced at him as they shuffled around the small cell.

"I do what I must in service to my lady. Now, do you accept my terms? This will be the last time that I offer it. The next time we meet, you will be just a mindless undead, enslaved to the domain." I crossed my legs and rested my poleax across my laps.

The zombie gazed at me for a moment before he closed his eyes. "Fine, I accept. What do you wish to know?"

I felt the start of a smile start to cross my face as I sat forward. "Who sent you and why?"

"The Theocracy of Velcrest. They sent us to dispose of Redrick and his team and make it look like the domain did it. As for why, well, they wanted to ensure that his family line had no chance of returning and threatening them." The zombie assassin spoke, his words filled with defeat.

"Does this Theocracy pose any threat to Asteria?" I didn't care about that mortal being. All that mattered to me was the Empress.

"Yes. They are followers of the god of nature, and once they hear about a domain of the undead, they will surely make a move, at least if the other countries don't make a move to stop them." I felt the faintest twinges of fear as his words weighed in on me. I know the lady has been doing her best to ensure that we have political clout, but that was still bad news. We would have to prepare for it.

"Thank you. Now, since you have cooperated, I will transfer you elsewhere. Once there, you will meet with a woman named Amari. You are to do as she says and teach her all of your skills. If you even consider trying to make a break for it, I promise you will yearn for the release of death." I told him as I stood up and walked out of the cell, motioning for the guards to start the transfer.

This information was troublesome for many reasons. The first was that I wasn't sure if I should tell the Empress or not. Everything screamed at me that I had to, but I also knew how she would react. I walked out of the room, shut the door, and slammed my fist into the wall. I really didn't know what to do.