A half-blind mother, and a brutish hunter with hair as majestic as a lion–were the associates of Tymaan and the only people he could and did trust with anything and everything. Gathered underneath the village, in a torch-lit basement with files of dungeon-like cells.
Trapped throughout that corridor were countless slaves, most of whom were fair elves–all of whom were actively being tortured in front of their children.
Their screams echoing in that corridor just behind their council room fueled their zeal and brought devious smiles to their faces. They loved every moment of it, the warriors raping the men and women in front of their kids, the children being slaughtered for sport and being hung upside down and roasted for the other slaves to eventually give in and eat the sorry children.
It was hell on Atlaris, one that would make even the lesser devils blush at the sight of.
"Your children grow healthy, Tymaan. Especially your son in my belly," cracking a smile on her blood-painted lips, Flora's silver gaze looked fondly at the father of her children, all the while her hands caressed her protruding belly. "It will soon be time to murder the girl, I hope you're not too attached to her just yet."
A faint frown crossed Tymaan's brows. He knew what Flora was insinuating, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to go through with their plans.
'Killing my own child in the womb? Such a waste...' Grabbing the lantern on the dusty desk, he moved it in front of Hatiz to get a better look at his face. As burly as a bear and as massive as a moose, he looked more like an elf-sized minotaur than a simple dark monk. But the illusion was broken by those crimson eyes, as they hungered for a challenge.
"You shouldn't falter now Tymaan, every child born must be a warrior, and that girl of yours in Flora's belly would only impede your son's growth," despite being wise and on the cusp of a tranquil mind, his nature tugged at Hatiz–disabling him from seeing the fault in his own words.
"We'll see when the time comes, for now..." Turning his attention back to Flora who was now playing with her curly silver hair, Tymaan began to explain the news about the royal carriage to the two.
"The trickster, she and her battalion should be enough to lure those bastards out. And if everything goes as planned, neither the Centaurus nor even the Arachne's would know that it was us who kidnapped them," taking the silence from the two as agreement, Tymaan slipped out of his chair to leave, but before doing so he glanced back at Flora to say one last thing.
"Don't kill that child without my permission."
Those words of warning before he left–left a foul taste in Flora's mouth. She didn't want to raise a pair of twins, especially when the girl was leeching off resources from her brother inside her womb.
"We just need to make sure my body thinks it's two babies, not one even after killing the girl, then my son will be mighty, what the hell does he not understand about that?!" Talking to herself while freaking out, she gritted her teeth shut and even dug her nail into the skin over her belly.
"Don't stress yourself, Flora. That too can affect your child's health," but hearing the sage advice from Hatiz, her eyes went wide in realization and she quickly worked her mind to let go of all worries. Instead, focusing on the screams of fair elves, she put up a smile and turned to face Hatiz.
"I need your child after his..." She told him, and it wasn't a request but more of a threat.
Being no fighter, she couldn't lay a finger on the monk, but that didn't mean she couldn't hurt him as there were more ways than one to bring down a dark elf. Poison, magic, even deals with devils, nothing was off limits. And if the only price to avoid that was his seed, Hatiz was willing to go that route rather than try to needlessly tense their relationship.
"If Tymaan agrees to it, then sure enough," knowing well enough that he couldn't bring himself to hurt her if it came down to it, Hatiz preferred things to settle calmly.
'Sometimes, it's hard to believe that I've known you since we were kids.' Reflecting on past memories and their dreams of ruling the clan one day, he felt a strange wave of nostalgia wash over him. However, that joy in just wishing they could rule was no longer there in actually ruling their village.
"Great~" With a smile on her face, Flora watched Hatiz get up from his seat and head out as well–leaving her alone in the counseling room with nothing to do, but masturbate to the sounds of screaming prisoners all day.