Chapter 80 Reckoning

"What do you want to see me for?" Captain Crimson eye, asked, paying no heed to the strange behaviour of his two crewmen in front of him.

Hearing his question, Annabelle smiled. And without hesitation, she responded "I just wanted to tell you that the first task you have given me is now completed. I have successfully joined Prince Wyatt's crew and become a part of his crewmen".

Silent prevailed over the room for a few seconds.

Jerry shook as he tore his eyes away from Captain Crimson eye and looked at Anabelle "... What did you say?"

Surprised by his sudden outburst, Annabelle turned towards Jerry's direction with a frown on her face.

"What did you just say?" Jerry repeated, unsure of what he had just heard.

"I don't believe that I was talking to you" Annabelle responded, narrowing her eyes at the man beside her.

"Of course, you weren't, but what do you me….."

"STOP IT!!" His words, however, were cut short by Captain Crimson eye "Jerry…. I need absolute silence when she is talking. Please, don't make me repeat myself" he said.

Jerry tilted his head back to Captain Crimson eye and nodded in understanding.

A loud snort sounded beside him.

"As I was saying, Captain, I have successfully joined Prince Wyatt's crew and he will be here to finalize the agreement tomorrow" Annabelle said with a victorious smile on her face.

"Good. Good!! That is exactly what I wanted to hear. And also you didn't waste any time either, that's wonderful" Captain Crimson eye replied with traces of joy in his statement, making Annabelle fidget in embarrassment at the sudden acclaim she was receiving.

"But remember, this is only the beginning of the plan. If you want to receive your reward in full, then all you have to do is to follow the instructions I have given you, is that clear?"

"Yes Captain, It is".

"Alright, you can go. I will wait for the Prince's arrival tomorrow and tell someone to inform you of his presence".

"Alright Captain" Annabelle replied, cheerfully. Turning around without glancing at Jerry, she walked towards the door with a little spring in her steps.

"Click!!" The door closed, leaving the two men alone once more.

The temperature in the room dropped along with unnatural stillness. A quietness that Captain Crimson eye would have ignored if it wasn't that his second in command was trying to pierce his gaze through his very soul.

"What is it?" He asked, tiredly.

"I should be the one asking that Captain" Jerry who had just felt every word that Annabelle uttered, prickling into his skin couldn't help but unconsciously release a little of his magical energy as he spoke.

"Bamm!!!" A loud bang came from the table as Captain Crimson eye hand slammed against it. That simple action was all it took for Jerry to gain control of himself and send his magical energy retreating.

"Jerry, I will tell you what I have in mind when you are in your right senses. Because unfortunately, it seems that right now you are not" He said.

"Captain, if yo….."

"Go outside and take a breath of fresh air Jerry. Don't worry, I promise to tell you everything later. But if you are still as sharp as I know you to be, you would have already figured it out by then".

Captain Crimson responded, before sighing.

"Captain…."

"Go and take a break now, you need it".

Jerry didn't respond anymore. He stood up, nodded his head at Captain Crimson eye, and directly left the room.

"Bang!!" He forcefully shut the door tight behind him as he headed out.

"Finally" Captain Crimson eye muttered to himself.

Bringing out some documents from the drawers, he arranged them on top of his table. Sweeping the matter that had just taken place to the back of his head as though it was nothing more than a scuffle that would be forgotten the next day.

He didn't have time for trivial matters that didn't add any value to his plans. He didn't have the energy to spare to think about things that held no little meaning in the grand scale of things.

He would rather try, work, succeed and regret his actions later rather than put his emotions first before his logical train of reasoning.

And so, without wasting any of the time he had left, he concentrated entirely on the work in front of him.

…....….

"BANGGG" The door flew open as the cold winds forced themselves into the enclosed building. A man covered in a black fur coat and thick trousers with specks of snow all over his clothes and thick layers of ice forming on top of his skin tried to push the door shut and lock the chilling wind away.

"Come on! Stop sitting there and come and help me" The man screamed in dissatisfaction. Turning his head, he watched as his colleague walked towards him leisurely.

"Don't scream. The cold is already enough to sting my brain. I don't need you making a ruckus when I already warned you about today's weather" His colleague, a woman putting on the same kind of fur coat responded, grumbling under her breath as she pushed the door closed with him.

"CLICK!!" With both their combined efforts the door was closed shut successfully.

"Hah!! Hah!!" Hasley breathed out in relief.

"Who would have expected such weather this morning?" He said.

"Me! Didn't I inform you about the heavy winds and snowy downpour yesterday?"

He snorted.

"You were just lucky that the Invaders were lucky enough to predict this. Those people would do or say anything to make sure that people keep on believing them, Nina"

Nina clicked the pen in her hand, discontented by Halsey's response.

"And here we are, trapped indoors because of the stormy snowy weather" She replied.

Halsey clicked his tongue in retort to Nina's pen "You are talking as though we don't experience this every day" He responded.

Seeing the moody nature of his colleague as she went towards her seat to sit down, he chose to let the issue drop.

"What are you doing at work this early by the way?"

"Writing"

"Writing?"

"Yes" Nina nodded her head in response "I have been here since yesterday night, putting down whatever useful information that I could find about the 'Moonlight's Ice".

"Oh! You told me about doing that before, but I never knew that you were that serious about it" Halsey replied. His face quickly turned into a frown "Now that I think about it, is that the reason you started taking whatever those Invaders say seriously".

Nina clicked her pen once more, already annoyed by the man's sudden entry and series of questions.

"There is always some form of truth in a lie" She muttered under her breath, loud enough for her words to make it towards Hasley's ears "And besides, I have done my research so you don't need to worry about me believing everything they say".

Hasley wanted to reply, however, he stopped himself. Due to today's weather, there wasn't any work that needed to be done so he didn't need to bother her.

Besides, he was here to pick up some wood for his family and get back home quickly before the last logs burns out.

"Alright, I already trust that you won't follow them like some enthralled animal. I am here to pick up some things by the way, and will be leaving soon".

Nina nodded her head. She watched as he made his way through the shelves of books and quickly matched into the backdoor that led to their storage room.

After some series of noises and loud 'bangs' she saw him walking out with 6 chopped logs of wood, gripping them tightly on both of his arms.

"Anyway, I would have loved to see what you are writing, but as you can see, I am in a hurry…. See you later Nina" Hasley said, opening the door with some difficulting because of the size and weight of the wood in both his arms.

Nonetheless, he manages to open and quickly shut the door close on his way out.

Nina released a breath of cold condensed fog, before sitting comfortably in her seat in relief.

Several minutes pass, and the calmness and easiness that made it possible for her to write in such stormy chilling weather returned.

She clicked her pen once more. Setting it down on the thick pages of the book below her, she wrote…

'And so, with other kingdoms now taking sanctuary in the Vrymath Kingdom, and with the Queen welcoming them with open hands, it is undoubtedly clear that the citizens of the Vrymath Kingdom are unwelcoming of their presence.'

'But who is to blame them? The greatest threat now to the Vrymath Kingdom and its citizens is the scarcity of food, from the plants that refuse to grow under the chilling weather of the Moonlight's Ice to the animals that keep on dying, turning into icy crystal statues. A frozen mirror reflection of their former selves.'