"Tell me about the rose-gold bird," Alex, staring at Chase and Emilia demanded.
"Since you know more about them than I do, why don't you tell Master?" Chase turned to Emilia and asked.
Emilia nodded and then turned to Alex before beginning her story.
"The rose-gold are beings born from the Asura clan, a clan powerful enough to be on par with the immortals. They weren't pure-blooded demons but the blood of demons ran in their veins which was gotten from their great ancestors. But because they didn't want to belong to the demons and pledge their loyalty to the lord, he decided to exterminate them with the excuse that their whole existence was a threat to the demon realm. It was a battle that lasted for years and both sides suffered greatly from the impact but at last, the demon lord won and the Asura clan were completely wiped out. Naturally, the rose-gold bird draws their power from the sun just like the phoenix bird but unlike these sunbirds, the rose-gold birds can't resurrect once they die."
After listening to Emilia, Alex fell into deep thoughts. "The Asura clan was wiped out but fortunately, one of them survived, isn't that the case?" He asked her.
"Yes, Master!" She replied then continued. "I guess she was saved by one of the leaders here or should I say the one in charge and thus, pledging loyalty to him. Since she came here to attack you last night, it seems he sent her to either kill you or gather some useful information about you."
"That makes sense," Alex replied to her and turned to Chase. "Take the feather and leave, find out everything I need to know about her," he said to him.
"Yes, Master!" Chase replied and left immediately with the feather.
"Master, what do you plan on doing?" Emilia, after Chase had left asked Alex.
"I want her," Alex replied.
"You want her?" Emilia asked him with mixed feelings. She didn't understand what he meant by wanting the female rose-gold bird and hearing him say he wanted another female somewhat hurt her.
"Is there a problem?" Alex asked her. "If something is bothering you, you say it out to me but remember, keep your feelings to yourself and don't bring up personal feelings before me or you will be punished," he added and immediately she fell to her knees.
"Master, I dare not!" She said with her head lowered. How could she have let herself be carried away and forgotten that he was her Master and not just a random man? If she had brought up her feelings before him, he would have punished her even though they had shared an intimate affair.
Ignoring her, Alex turned to Kia. "You, go and begin your training," he said to him and then left the hall.
After Alex left, Kia saw how sad Emilia was and helped her up.
"Big sister, you don't have to be sad because of what Master said. He is right, you should not bring up your personal feelings especially at this time, because you know that this is the most crucial moment for him. He doesn't need to be distracted by things that won't benefit him, just cheer up and do what you can to assist him. I'll be at the training ground, see you," he said to her and then ran off.
Emilia watched him run off and when he was out of her sight, she sighed and shook her head.
"Even a kid is wiser than I am," she mumbled in disappointment. "From now on, I won't let anything distract us from the original plan!" She firmly said and then also left the hall.
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In the palace of the current lord of Tekoa, the masked girl was standing before her Lord who was seated on his throne.
"My Lord," she said with a bow before him.
"Do you bring good news to me?" The Lord asked her.
"I am incompetent, forgive me," the girl replied and knelt. "I failed to even land a blow on him," she said.
"Impossible!" The Lord yelled and slammed his palm on the table and it shattered immediately. "You can't tell me that!" He said in an angry tone.
"My Lord, if you can give me the cure, I promise to bring you good news next time," the girl said.
"Are you blaming me for your failure?" The Lord asked her.
"I dare not but—" the lady began but the Lord abruptly silenced her.
"If you won't complete the task I gave you, don't bother about saving your sister!" He said and disappeared from the hall.
The girl's face was hidden so no one could read her expression, but her fists were clenched into a ball. She stood up and left the hall and also the building, and then began to head toward a certain direction. After walking for a while, she came to a stop before a small house and went in, there on the bed was another girl.
Seeing her, the weak girl tried to get up but she couldn't and the masked girl had to rush over to her.
"Sister, where is it?" The girl asked her.
The masked girl took off her cloak and then her mask, revealing her face which looked exactly like the one lying in bed. They both had golden hair and red eyes, the only difference was the fierce look in the masked girl's eyes and the calm look in the other one's eyes.
"The Lord didn't give it to me," the masked girl replied and bent her head.
Seeing her sad expression, the weak girl placed her hand on her sister's own and smiled faintly.
"Lidia, if it's the will of God that I die, then so be it. I rather die than continue to be under his control, it's been decades, remember? And I am tired of being confined here, I long for freedom and you know it," she said to her sister.
"Tilia, I promised to cure and take care of you but I have not been able to achieve anything. Father and Mother will be disappointed in me," Lidia replied and sighed.
Then Tilia smiled warmly at her sister before speaking. "I don't want the cure again, I only have one request to make," she said.
"Tell me, I am willing to do anything for you," Lidia replied.
"Sister, let us leave to somewhere safe. The city is large, we can find somewhere and spend the rest of our lives in peace. I no longer want to be under the Lord's control, please," Tilia said to her sister with tears already in her eyes.
"Okay. Tonight, we will leave and go somewhere else, okay?" Lidia replied and hugged her sister.
Later at night, Lidia had already packed their bags and dressed her sister up so after making sure that no one was around, she carried the bags and helped her sister get down from the bed.
"Tilia, we will be leaving now alright?" She whispered to her sister who nodded her head in reply.
Lidia knew how weak her sister was, and didn't like the idea of putting her in a dangerous situation but this was what she wanted and even she could not help but feel the same.
She was tired of committing crimes for the Lord day after day without getting the only thing she had always wanted from him. This time around, she was going to go against him even if it meant dying in the process.
Her sister also chose to die a free person rather than die a captive, so they both decided to escape and be forever free.
Before they left, Lidia didn't forget to carry their golden swords as they were the only assets left behind for them by their dead parents and as they set out, she would occasionally look around just in case; the last thing she wanted was for them to be caught by the guards or it'll be over for them.
-----
Meanwhile, in Alex's palace, Alex was sitting in his seat when Chase walked into the hall with a brown envelope.
"Master," he said with a bow.
"Did you succeed?" Alex asked him.
"Yes, sir," Chase replied and went to hand the envelope over to him.
Alex collected it and opened it, the contents inside were papers and paintings of the two sisters.
"Master, the one with the fierce gaze is Lidia, the one that I believe to have attacked you last night while the other one is her sister, Tilia who is seriously sick. The current Lord saved them when their clan was being wiped out and since then, they've been under his command with the promise to cure Tilia but recently, her illness is deteriorating and the Lord is yet to give them the cure as he promised."
"Do you have any idea where they might be?" Alex asked Chase after he was done speaking.
"Yes. They live at the farthest part of the current Lord's palace and it is heavily guarded," Chase replied.
"Okay. You can leave," Alex said. Chase turned to leave but before he got to the door, Alex called him back. "You are good at gathering information, this will be your job from now on, do you understand?"
"Yes, Master. I am willing to do anything for you," Chase happily replied.
"That's good, go and rest for now," Alex said to him and so he left immediately. Staring at the paintings in his hands, Alex grinned faintly. "It's time for some visit," he muttered and stood up from his seat.