Chapter 1143: Jacqueline Opens Up
Chapter 1143: Jacqueline Opens Up
The crimson-silver moon lost its crimson brilliance as the day ended and night started.
Atop the Royal Castle's rooftop, four ladies were sitting and enjoying the views of Nightingale while listening to a young blonde girl's complaints. They sipped their beverages, ate some snacks, and just listened to whatever she was saying.
"…and I told them that I'm scared of bats and spiders but they never listened! They sent me in a cave full of those and it haunts me till this day!"
Jacqueline's face was full of sorrow and pain. Her eyes were teary and her brows were knitted while her lips were curled down.
Fei patted her back from the sidelines and didn't interrupt her.
If Isa or any of the EGC members were looking at this situation, they would definitely have a heart attack. How was their ever silent, revenge-seeking, rebellious teenager of their clan speaking so much!? This was a question they would pay any amount of money to get an answer for.
To answer their queries, it wasn't too difficult for the four ladies to make the young girl talk.
They were all old foxes, beings who had lived for quite some time, and the moment this girl was in their presence, they had begun analyzing her. The way she presented herself, the way she talked, the way she behaved, the way her hair fluttered in the light breeze, and the way she tried to hide her nervous and embarrassed feelings… the ladies could see it all.
The one who knew the most about this girl without even her saying anything was Keith. She knew how a broken girl looked, and what level of suffering one must have been through by their appearance alone.
There was a reason why the ladies acted so casually in the start with Jacqueline. They didn't have to discuss it together, they just went with the flow when they saw one person do it, which was Fei.
Fei made sure the girl was comfortable. Sylvia made sure the girl's mood and demeanor matched theirs, and through her questions, elevated her to their level.
Fanny asked all the relevant questions that would be needed to get the girl to open up while Keith periodically dropped in to ensure the girl did not resist or hesitated while sharing a few of her memories. She also ensured to guide the conversation to get to know about Jacqueline's personal life, instead of the clan she was affiliated with or the crimes she had done.
Through their collective team work, the girl found herself a comfortable place to vent and let out her frustration. There was no one in the Evure God Clan who could understand her properly, and even if there was, she was not comfortable enough to have a person knowing all her secrets be around her. What if they used these things against her in future?
The ladies at this table were all strangers. Even if they knew information about her, they wouldn't be able to use it as they did not have the necessary connections or resources to do so. At least that's what Jacqueline thought.
"…and this one time, they trapped me in a one meter cube room for six years in the name of training. It was so cramped, it was so claustrophobic…"
A drop of tear leaked out of Jacqueline's eyes as she talked about this.
Fei patted her back and from the front, Sylvia passed her a hot cup of coffee.
"Have some." She said in a soothing tone.
Jacqueline nodded her head lightly and took the cup.
She held the cup with both her hands. It felt warm and comforting on her palms.
She was gazing at the empty space in front, reminiscing about her traumatic past, and in the heat of the moment, without looking at the drink, she had a sip.
"Uwaaaghhh—!"
Jacqueline spit the coffee back in the month violently and had everything splatter around.
She turned to the side and aggressively began puking.
"Bleerghhhhh—!"
"…"
The ladies were speechless by the sudden change of events.
'What the fuck?' They all thought, Sylvia included.
"What did you give—"
"Uwaaaghhh—!"
Fanny's words were cut off by the puking Jacqueline.
"Seriously, what did you give her?" Fanny hurriedly asked.
"I just… gave her coffee." Sylvia gave Fanny a cup of coffee and said.
When Fanny had a look at it, she knitted her brows and asked, "What in the witchcraft is this…"
"Uwaaaghhh—!"
Ignoring the puking Jacqueline, Fanny showed the coffee to her mother.
Keith had a look and saw the charred black coffee to be bubbling and letting out fumes. She raised her eyebrows in surprise and muttered softly:
"It's quite the potent poison."
"…"
Sylvia's neutral face became further expressionless as she heard that.
"It's coffee," she argued.
Snap!
Fei snapped her fingers and got the whole surroundings clean, free from Jacqueline's mess.
She held Jacqueline by her shoulders and said, "Let's have her rest for a while. We'll continue later."
The three ladies nodded their heads and Fei left the place, leaving the three to make a report for the Queen.
…..
In the Qing Mei Sect, Lith sat in a courtyard with a small pond with Arya and Luna.
Grass covered ground was at a comfortable angle by the pond, and Lith was sitting there, working.
Behind him was Arya. She had her legs wrapped around his waist, chin placed on his shoulder, and was working too on her tablet that was placed on Lith's lap.
Luna sat beside Lith with her shoulder touching his, and in utter silence, the three did their respective things.
As Lith worked on his tablet, he had multiple windows pop up suddenly. With swift and fast movements of his hands, he closed all of them, and checked what was the reason for it.
There was breaking news about the Evure God Clan and the Asura God Clan.
Almost overnight, the Evure God Clan had captured one of the Asura territories while the latter had done something similar. Unknowingly, they both had taken the same step, and this was causing a heated discussion among the general public. They found better strategies, discussed the stupidity of the two clans, and debated on who was right and who was wrong.
The two's current situation could be pictured through a chess game. Both had made their opening moves by moving their pawns, and surprisingly or unsurprisingly, had moved their knights closer to the enemy lines without setting up proper defense or attack.
Now both the two's knights, aka the captured territories, were at a risk as it was quite close to the line of control of their respective clans.
Thinking of things this way, Lith extended his hand out and willed the elemental energies around him to manifest a chessboard and pieces.
Death energy colored the chessboard with gray and gave gray pieces while Dark energy was responsible for the black side.
Lith held the pieces in hand and moved them as per the two clans' situation.
It was white's turn, which was the Evure God Clan, and Lith began thinking from their perspective.
Two knights were at b6 and g3 respectively. The situation was so stupid and risky. The chances of both the players suffering a mutual loss was high. If they did not want to, they would both have to withdraw quietly, which was an impossible task.
The worst case scenario in this was that they may end up losing their rooks, however it would then put one of them at an advantage, which Lith thought they wouldn't want to happen. Thus, Lith went with the second worst scenario where they played a little safe and got both the knights captured.
Now, it was the Evure God Clan's turn again and Lith was thinking what their next move would be and how he could intervene.
As he thought of things, a beautiful hand moved towards the chessboard and moved the white queen. It slightly threatened the opponent's bishop at the far end of the board.
"Give threats and make it a flashy provocation, babe."