~24~ Choices, Choices, Fitzroy

Unedited.

Fitz's face was pressed against cold stone, his head aching something terrible. He reached for his temples, pulling away to feel his right hand ache. Red marks ran through his fingers and around his knuckles as if something burned over them. A burning from fabric.

It all came back to him in one massive tidal wave. The fighting in the labyrinth, Blur's body, Sofia's hand slipping away from his and pulling Blur's red sash with her.

Then he was in the hands of the Neverseen, fighting tooth and claw until they pressed something against his neck, and the black floor was the last thing he saw.

He pushed himself off the floor, blinking once or twice as his eyes adjusted to the darkroom. He squinted at a dark figure in the corner of the room, silver chains glinting like liquid mercury.

"Staring is rude." A clipped, accented voice mumbled from the dark spot in the room. His eyes finally adjusted, and the moonlight illuminated Maria Morretti casually lounging in the corner. She was chained to the high hells. The Neverseen knew how dangerous a Morretti is. Her wrists and ankles were bound in tight manacles, a mysterious onyx collar around her neck and abdomen.

"Ah, of course. My mind breaker has woken up." She smiled as she rolled out her neck as much as her collar would let her. It was a lazy but defeated smile.

"W-Where are we?"

Maria just shrugged.

Fitz's froze as he stared at her more, paling as he did so. Her left arm had a massive cut going from her mid-forearm up to her shoulder. And by the disgusting color and crusted blood surrounding the wound, no one had taken care of it. Shadows and bruises haunted her face, sweat gleaming down her forehead and dripping onto the scraps of a ball gown.

"What happened?" He only knew the extent of what happened. But no one knew what happened to Maria.

The Madame sighed, smacking her lips and looking around the cell as if a cup of water would manifest in front of her.

"I can't really say. I remember the Conference. The conference room exploded just as we really got into discussions. I left my children to their own devices, I knew they could handle themselves. I believe I left Lilac in Alexios's care." Maria shook her head, leaning back and closing her eyes, "I then remember not so much memories but sounds. The stampeding of feet, my voice as I yelled directions to the exits. The sound of Mirthless roars. They heard my voice. And for some reason, they began to target me above all else." Maria swallowed, "That's when he showed up."

Fitz could see the story as Maria laid out the scraps for him.

Maria had ripped the khopesh out of a downed Neverseen soldier, flipping it with mastery as Mirthless hounded her. She used the hook on the top of the weapon to rip the massive scales right off the Mirthless's bodies, slicing into the soft flesh beneath it.

"Go! There are two exits! One to the left and one down the stairs! Don't trample each other you fools!"

A roar made Maria roll to the left, blinding stabbing the khopesh upwards into a Mirthless stomach.

"That's quite enough." Maria couldn't move away fast enough, someone grabbing her from behind and slamming her to the ground with enough force to break the tile beneath her. Gethen approached, smiling down at her.

"Your children are referred to as the deadly ones, Maria. But you gave us one hell of a fight." Gethen leaned over her groaning body, "We have a few questions for you."

Maria gritted her teeth, pushing from the ground too fast for Gethen to comprehend as she hiked her dress up and kneed him in the groin before wrapping her arm around his elbow and judo flipping him over her shoulder. She snatched the fallen khopesh and wiped the dark Mirthless blood off the blade with her emerald dress.

Maria smiled, "You are right. My children are the some of the deadliest people to grace this planet." She pointed the khopesh at Gethen's throat, "And who do you think trained them?"

Gethen chuckled, raising his hands warily. Maria didn't even notice him eyeing his Neverseen back up away.

"Please, Morretti. We just have a questions."

"You crashed a peaceful conference of the Vatarian and Dunmer people because you wanted a few questions?" Maria snarled.

"It wouldn't be the first time we crashed a conference."

"How did you even know I was here?"

Gethen batted his eyes, "Why, you are here to get medicine for your childhood friend Leto, correct?" Maria's blade drooped slightly, and Gethen tutted at her, "You will never let anyone know how selfless you are."

Maria's eyes flittered silver, and she pulled Gethen from the ground and slammed him against the wall, "How dare you!"

"Easy now-"

"I will gut you, Elf."

"I see where your neice gets her bedside manner from."

Maria tilted her blade to Gethen's ears, "I'm far worse then Amalia. Maybe I'll cut those ears off from your head? Send them as a nice warning?"

"You Vatarians are as barbaric as the Ogres." He then spat, fear entering his eyes.

Maria laughed, "Wrong. We're worse. And it isn't advised to speak to ill of the ogres. My brother's friend was their king. We may let him take a stab at you for your insolence."

"Please. We are both talkers. Courtesans. Spies. Let us come to a peaceful conclusion."

"Amalia and Ruy warned me about you. You are the worst the Neverseen has to offer." Maria pressed the blade against his cheek, drawing the smallest dribble of blood, "I don't like stalkers and people who stand by while a children are abused in your order."

Maria's eyes glinted as she continued, "You are wrong, Gethen. I may be a courtesan, but I am an Assassin and spy first. No matter how many you have killed, I have killed more."

"Maria, I'm simply here to parlay. Enough with this."

"If you want information, find another. I am not your woman."

"Even if your son's life was on the line?"

Maria grew quiet, taking a step back. She glanced around them, the hallway now quiet as the crowds and fighting had moved to another part of the palace.

"Are you threatening my Alexios, Ondsinn? My boy?"

"Never. Trying to save him, in fact."

"And why would you do that?"

Gethen smiled, slowly reaching into his pocket to pull out a slip of paper. It was faded and splotchy, but Maria could make out her the small splotched of gray in brother's beard, the same gray she teased him for before his death stained a long strand at the front of her hair the same gray. She saw Allesandro's eyes nervously darting to the side as he kept his hood low. He darted through a busy crowd, clearly trying to avoid Neverseen eyes. But one Neverseen captured this very image of him holding a glowing sphere in his hand, trying to hide it beneath his cape. Gether tapped carefully on the glowing orb in her deceased brother's hand.

"Because your son is the key to getting that little trinket right there. Our leader wants it."

"And my son is in danger because?"

"He has been getting more powerful, hasn't he, Maria? You've noticed he does more than manipulate the light." Gethen leaned forward, "He is getting too strong. He needs to get the growing power out of him somehow. If not, it could drive him mad. Or worse." Gethen carefully handed Maria the photo, "It is what your parents warned you about. Too much power expelled at once can kill a Vatarian. Us elves, our abilities may be weaker compared to the Vatarians, but our powers will never kill us if we ever throw a fit. That little trinket there might be the only thing that could help that growing power of his.

Gethen leaned back against the wall casually, his hands still up, "So Maria. We simply hatch a little deal, and your baby boy will be safe."

Maria gulped, the tremor in her eyes making Gethen smirk. But she shoved the photo in Gethen's chest, staring at her brother's face for a moment longer before hardening her resolve.

"I will not associate with scum." She spat.

Gethen shrugged.

"I tried."

Maria screamed as a melder blast collided straight with her back, asleep before she even hit the ground.

Maria shrugged, tearing off a piece of her ruined dress to tie back her matted hair. Fitz stared at the Madame.

"I don't know what to say. I'm sorry."

Maria glared at him, "Did you cause me to get captured?"

Fitz waved away the question, "Of course not!"

"Then don't apoligize for something you did not do. It's foolish."

"Of course." Fitz stared at the ground, refusing to make eye contact. He knew what everyone was talking about when they said Maria was a difficult woman.

"So, what have they done to you since the conference?"

"What do you think? Torture, interrogation, blah, blah, blah."

"And?"

"I gave the sons of bitches nothing." Maria hissed as she scuffed her infected arm against the wall, "And I'm paying the price for it."

"Maria, maybe-"

"Don't you dare tell me to give them what they want. I will never." Maria barked.

Fitz swallowed, "What exactly do they want from you?"

Maria's eyes watered a bit; she looked away before Fitz could see, "They are asking about my brother a lot. And some of his operations." She blew out a breath, "It seems he had established a very small league of spies only a year before his death. Not even Leto or I knew about them. But the Neverseen seemed to think I know something about this little spy ring. Somewhere along this one-year time range, Allesandro got his hands on this artifact. They want it more than anything."

"Do you have any clue who these secret spies were?"

Maria glanced outside the small barred window of the solid iron door, listening for eavesdroppers.

"I believe most of them were stationed in the Lost Cities. But a few could've been outside as well. But I have no idea what they were assigned to do, who they might be, or anything else. I'm only guessing with things I've overheard."

"But Allesandro had Leto running the Black Swan in the Lost Cities for any elven operations."

"Apparently even Leto couldn't know about this. From what I've put together, one of the spies went under the name C.E."

Fitz swallowed, "And... what do they want from me?"

Maria sighed, shifting slightly in her pounds of chains, "They are beginning to realize that I am no help to them. So they want to get rid of me."

"Why not kill you? Isn't that what you all do around here?"

"I thought the same. But when they threw you in here with me, I put it together." Maria laughed. But it wasn't a hopeful giggle. It wasn't kind.

"They want you to break my mind."

"I'm sure anyone else can do it."

"They want you to do it, Fitzroy."

"Why?!"

"Because my niece cares for you."

Fitz froze, "Wait, she does?"

"You are her ex cognate and one of the few people she involves in our guild."

"That type of care. Right, of course."

"They know my kids are looking for me. And they know that there is a spy that has caused a lot of problems in the guild so a betrayel, a betrayel so close to Amalia's heart would break her beyond repair, could be just what they need to get her out of the way."

Only then did Fitz fully put it together.

"They want me to break your mind so Sophie won't trust me. She will try to kill me."

Maria stared at the ground, "Breaking someone else's mind is the greatest offense that can possibly be done in the Inalian world. By breaking my mind, you will break my son and neice. And through that, you will break the guild."

Fitz stood up, clenching his fists, "This is ridiculous! Then I just won't break your mind-"

Maria laughed, leaning forward with teary eyes, "Vacker, it is fairly simple. You either break my mind and get to walk free, or you stay here and rot with me."

"Then I'm going to rot."

"It will be more than rotting, Vacker." Maria turned, giving Fitz another grueling sight of her infected shoulder, "They will try to convince you to break my mind."

"Convince in the only way the Neverseen know how, huh?"

"You are finally catching on."

Fitz turned to Maria. She was barely living, barely able to keep her eyes open, "What do you think I should do?"

Maria leaned back, "I... I won't stop you from anything. You deserve to go home, Fitz. This war isn't yours."

"Please don't say that-"

Maria smiled. A small tear rolled down her cheek, "I won't stop you."

"I can handle everything they do to me. I refuse to do that to you- to Sophie! I can't break you to break her. I just can't!"

"They will do more than hurt you, Fitz."

At that, Fitz froze. "W-What?"

Maria nodded, another gentle tear rolling down the other cheek, "I won't stop you, Fitz." She repeated for a final time as she smiled at him, "You should be able to go home to your family before they are taken as collateral damage."

They tried to take Sofia as well. She got away just in time, but if she didn't, she probably would've been used as leverage to make Fitz break Maria.

"I-" Fitz couldn't say anything.

But the Madam had fallen asleep, a third tear dripping down her cheek. She left Fitz the choice. She wouldn't fight back. If not him, then the infection would kill her first.

He couldn't do this right now. He needed time to come up with a plan.

Fitz just went to the opposite side of the cell, slid down the wall, and put his head in his hands.

His sanity, safety, and that of his family.

Or Maria's sanity, Sophie's trust, and the guild?

The moon moved slightly, shining light on Maria's face. Her eyes were slightly open, and Fitzroy didn't notice the color change beneath her eyelids. Her ocean-blue irises didn't change silver, like her Pancras form.

The Vacker never realized that her eyes were golden brown, the Morretti ocean blue or silver nothing but a memory.

The city of Renisanca hustled and bustled, the nightlife incredibly different than the busy and working day. The lanterns and glittering lights string above the streets lit the way for party-going teens and young adults. The stalls that lined the main streets had been covered to protect their wares from the hooligans and drunk patrons from the many nightclubs and pubs scattered about the city.

And if not hardcore partiers, then it was the rich nobility sitting crosslegged in their velvet carriages, carefully muttering about how the city has fallen so far. They went to galas, balls, soirees, and more to continue their climb for power. If you followed one of the cobbled back roads past the lantern-lit streets, you would find a hooded figure leaned against a shabby closed bathhouse. The mark of the Cyevan assassins was hard to discern, but to those who knew what the robes meant, they knew who he was.

Alexios Morretti took a deep breath, pressing his thumbs against each other. As he pulled them apart, a brilliant sparkling string of light blistered between his nails. He then pulled it large enough to hold in his palm, like a strand of sun spun silk. And finally, he secured it in his palm.

When he opened it back up, the strand of light had transformed into a glittering golden fire, glowing brighter and brighter.

"Okay Alexios, I think I'm done in there-" Alexios jumped at his sister's sudden appearance, the fire in his hand spewing into a blistering firework exploding with light. Both his sister and Alexios hit the deck, peeking up after the ringing in their ears had subsided.

"Are you alright?"

Amalia rubbed her eyes, "What the hell was that?!"

"I-I don't know! I was just practicing with the light whip and-"

"And it turned into a fireball?!"

"Look, our powers aren't an exact science!"

"Oh gods above, I think I've gone blind-"

"Quit being dramatic!"

"You've blinded your sister! Blinded your poor mentore!"

"Oh fuck this- what did you learn?"

"Blinddddddd-"

"I'm this close to kicking you in the gut."

Sophie looked up from her dramatic wailing, "You could try."

"We probably shouldn't start fist fighting in a dirty alleyway in the middle of the night. So, once again, what did you learn?"

Sophie sighed, strolling up to a broken mirror sitting outside and readjusting her hair. Alexios only now noticed the slight dribble of blood coming from her nose. And the swelling of the bridge. And her nose was completely broken. Damn, he doesn't notice a lot about his sister.

"Amalia, holy hell, what did you do? You were just supposed to ask the Ringmaster what he knew about the Neverseen?"

Sophie shrugged, combing her bangs with her fingers before holding her breath. She placed the hilt of her hands against her broken nose and snapped it back into place, keeling over in pain.

"The Ringmaster had, uh, jipped some kind ladies and gentlemen out of their coin during poker. I had to act as his bodyguard long enough to get him to a location secure enough to talk. I took a few hits to say the least." Sophie leaned upwards, holding her nose and wiping away the blood at her nostrils.

"But I got what we needed." She said, motioning him to follow as she began out of the street.

"Well?"

"It seems Gethen wasn't entirely right when I confronted him on the beach. The Undergrounds have much more connections into the Neverseen then we do. The Neverseen don't have two artifacts, but they are close to having two. They are looking for a goblet and a sphere. The sphere my father had."

Alexios crossed his arms, "And you are sure that we met Ruy when we were kids? That this wasn't just some dream or something-"

"No, dumbass, it wasn't a dream. Ruy and I were bonded when we were young by a dragon's bond in order to keep each other safe. Then the Govenor was dirty with the Neverseen scum, we ran through the jungle, then pater pulled out the glowing orb and wiped our memory of the whole incident."

Alexios pursed his lips, "Rightttt, okay. Cool, cool, cool. Makes total sense. And I don't remember this happening at all becuase-"

"Because my father, your uncle, wiped our memories with his little glowing ball. Don't you listen to anything I say?"

"Screw it. Alright, sure, why not."

"Don't sass me."

"I'll sass whoever I want whenever I want."

Sophie groaned, "Whelp. It seems like our path is simple. We need to find Egil's children and the remaining artifacts. I also want our men to build a safe for our collected artifacts. We currently have the key and looking for my father's artifact. I believe the Pythia is our key to finding out the last of my father's actions. But after what the Sirens told me-"

"The Sirens?"

Sophie twiddled her thumbs, "The Nilfa that Maha released. They asked that we called them the Sirens. Maha and I assumed it was the least we could do."

"Do they still call you two their saviours?" Alexios laughed.

"It makes me so uncomfy." Sophie squirmed.

"Is that all the Ringmaster had to say?"

"Pretty much. The Neverseen are taking in large amounts of new recruits, which is how our spies got in. But they were supposed to report two days ago. I'm sure Ruy will handle everything, but still. But the Sirens? They heard a lot since they were the Neverseen's pet project. It is confirmed by them that the Neverseen have one of Egil's children. They don't know who, however. The Neverseen are focusing on finding the other sibling and Kassandra."

"We should send our men to the Ancient Vatarians' camp. They will be able to advise on the next steps to keep Kassandra safe."

"Good idea."

"Where are the Sirens, anyway?"

"Maha found them a cove on Kephalonia with hundreds of save systems. They can go in and out without being seen."

"I'll send word to Maha to send out our troops to check on the Ancient Vatarians. We should also have spy reports waiting for us when we get back."

"And then-"

"Mentore! Master!" A familiar voice called out from behind them. Alexios and Sophie spun on their heels, eyeing the young Assassin sprinting towards them. They glared, the Assassin realizing using their titles in public wasn't a good idea. But by the way he was panting and panicked, they focused on his message. He held out two letters, one thick, one thin. Sophie took them both, tucking underneath the awning of the candy store in the town square.

The first thick one was addressed Mentore Amalia. The second one had Blondie written in familiar scratchy letters.

That was Ruy. He was safe. Thank the gods he was safe.

Sophie handed Alexios the thick letter wordlessly as she ripped open Ruy's message.

Soph-

Egypitnat was a ploy. They found an artifact in Arsinoe's palace, and I'm still not sure what else. They are looking for something called the Observatory in Inalia. Please find it and protect it. They are planning something big with it. Our spies have been received and are incorporated throughout the Neverseen ranks with my help. I was cocky at first, but this is more than just another Neverseen outpost. It is the base of operations for big plans that I'm still trying to figure out. Tell my father, stepmother, and brothers that I miss them—even Kalem. And tell the guild that just because I'm not there right now, it doesn't mean they can slack off.

I love you, and please stay safe.

Smolder.

Sophie clutched the letter in her hand, tucking it into her back pocket.

"They are looking for the observatory." She sighed.

Alexios looked up from his letter, paling slightly.

"Does he know what for?"

"Nope. Not only that," Sophie hesitated before spitting it out, "Egypitnat was a ploy. They didn't want Egypitnat to occupy it, they wanted to get a artifact in Arsinoe's palace. They have a fucking artifact, Alexios."

Alexios pursed his lips, glancing at the young Assassin as his sister began pacing and plucking out eyelashes.

"Return to the guild and tell them to get the materials. We will pay extra to the Assassin in barracks who stay to build a high security safe. We will hire a trusted architect to write them plans. When we return to the guild, we will also need to send a messenger to our men in Kephalonia."

"Of course master." But the messenger didn't leave.

"Uhh-"

"I should also tell you, Master, that Venea is waiting at the guildhall demanding your presence."

Alexios' eyes blew wide, muttering curse words, "Damn it. Can't she take a hint?!"

"If you don't mind me asking, who is she-"

"A previous aquantience of mine." Alexios snapped. The young Assassin glanced at Sophie, red spreading to his cheeks when she mouthed, "One night stand."

"O-Of course Master. Sorry for inquiring. I will deliver your messages urgently." They watched as he darted back up the hill.

Sophie groaned, "Man this isn't what we needed right now."

"Well, I clearly got the better letter." Alexios waved around the thick stack of info, a clear spy report from their other spy division, "The Neverseen aren't the only ones who are chasing the artifacts. We have a lead." He handed the letter to her, "Our spies have put together that there are 6 artifacts. They found leads all over the world, but we found the only concrete one now."

Sophie perked up, "We have another artifact?"

"We have another artifact."

"Well holy shit, Alexios, let's go get it!"

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