Chương 173: Chapter 161-Chosen Awakening

Tension. High stakes. Everything is on the line. One mistake could end this, but I'm used to that. With a trembling hand, I look at my cards. Does she know? No, of course not. I'm solid. Nothing can get through the impenetrable fortress that is my beautiful.

"Go fish," I say with an odd smile.

"You're lying," Penelope accuses as she leans back in her chair.

"How dare you say such a thing, and in front of Ilota? I don't want such negativity to be the first thing that he hears," I say as I gesture over at the bed. Hopper scratches at his bandages.

"CJ, just show us your cards."

"You too, Hopper? I am appalled at the distrust you are showing. Both of you. You should be ashamed of yourselves for even thinking that I would [Lie] about something as simple as this," I say with a dramatic tone. Penelope shakes her head.

"Charlatan, if I asked you if the sky was blue, there's a fifty-fifty chance that you would lie to me. Yes, I'm almost certain you would. After all, you're oddly competitive."

"Okay, Penelope. Oddly competitive? Talk about [Throwing] stones in glass houses," I say as I carefully switch out one of my cards.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know. Why don't you ask your [Predict], Ms. Card Counter?"

"I'm only using [Predict] to catch you stealing," she says as she grabs my hand. A whole deck of cards goes spilling out of my sleeve and onto the ground.

"Penelope, what did I say about planting evidence on me? What a low move."

"Oh, please. You are not pinning this one on me. How would I even get a whole deck of cards up your sleeve? In fact, how did you get a whole deck of cards up your sleeve?" she asks in utter confusion.

"Guys?" Hopper taps his bandaged foot.

"Listen. We need to finish this game. When are they going to get my carrots?" Penelope and I share a look.

"Should we tell him?"

"Tell me what?"

"Guys?" Penelope lets out a long sigh.

"We told them not to bring you any carrots." Hopper gasps audibly.

"Why would you do that?"

"It's for your own good. You need to stop. They ran some tests, and they told us that you are 90% carrot," I [Lie] dramatically.

"If we don't get that down to at least 30% in the next thirty days, you will become a carrot," Penelope follows up. Hopper's hands shake as he looks between us.

"You didn't have the right to decide that for me. What if I wanted to be a carrot?! They're tasty and healthy too!"

"Not the way you eat them."

"I don't have a problem. I can stop any time I want to!" Hopper yells as he slams his hand onto the table.

"Guys??" The room grows quiet. Penelope shakes her head in disappointment as she sorts the cards. Hopper looks down at his shaking hands. I try my hardest to not laugh. With a gentle hand, I grab Hopper's shoulder.

"Hopper, sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night, and I see you. You're just sitting there eating a carrot in the dark. That's not normal. You have a problem, and if you don't rein it in. I'm going to have to take drastic action. You don't want me to do that," I say with a reassuring but firm tone.

"You wouldn't dare do that," he says, glaring at me.

"You know I would gladly do that. In fact. Lu-""Fine! I'll stop eating so many carrots! Don't tell her!" With a wave of relief, I pat him on the back.

"Thank the Gods, because I really didn't want to do that. She scares me, Hopper and I've fought a Dragon before. That says something."

"Uhm… Are you guys putting on a play?" Ilota asks.

"Of course we're not. Just killing some time until you wake up," I say with a dismissive tone. Who would ask a question like that anyway? A play, really? I mean, I could pull off a play, but these two? Hells no! They can barely [Lie] worth a… Turning my head back, I am greeted by Ilota.

"You're awake?" The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"Yeah, for a while now. Uh, what happened to you three? Is newsworthy?" he asks as he points out the various bandages. An involuntary laugh escapes me.

"Leave it to you to ask for a scoop right after coming out of a coma. I'm glad to see you're okay, Ilota."

"Same. I'm really sorry that I got caught. They had… Carina! I found her, but they found me first. We need to go and get her before it's too late!" he says as he hurriedly tries to get out of bed. Penelope gently grabs his shoulder and pulls his back.

"She's fine. The person you should be worried about is yourself. You just came out of a coma. Try not to push yourself back into one."

"Of course, Princess. So, you found her? Did she have the information we needed?" he asks with a hint of eagerness that you would not expect from a recently comatose person.

"More than what we needed. He confessed," I say with a devilish smile.

"Why do I get the feeling you made that sound simpler than it was?" he asks with a suspicious"He is," Hopper says from the corner.

"So where is he now?" Penelope sighs as she finishes stacking up the cards.

"Deep in the dungeons of the Palace along with his Purist friends. Where he will stay until his execution date." With an annoyed glance, I pull up a chair.

"I'm still not happy about that date. 6 months, really? Couldn't have made it any slower?"

"I've already explained it to you. He's a political time bomb. If the Empire executes him without going through the proper procedure, then we'll be giving the Riche Kingdom every reason to declare war. It's better to do things slow and smooth. Rather than fast and choppy," Penelope explains.

"I understand. Doesn't mean I can't be upset about it. So, when's the story coming out?" I ask Ilota.

"If you get me out of this room, I'll have it out by the morning."

"Maybe that can wait a day. After all, it's the second day of the Spring Festival. We should at least enjoy it," I say as I point out the window. Ilota peeks his head out of the window as an illusion of a Dragon flies through the Air. Further back, you can spot Luna shouting for people to try the Gauntlet of Spirit Crushing. William is picking up trash as punishment along with Clint and Clara. Viola and Ruby are laughing over a bowl of ice cream. Julian is showing Garus how to do flower arrangements.

Helia lazes near our field of Poppies. Professor Stargazer shows off her magic to a couple of kids. Kat and Mateo are competing to see who can [Steal] the biggest thing. All in all. It's a lively festival full of laughter, smiles, and fun.

"Well, come on. Get changed and let's get out there," I say as I give Ilota a smack on the back.

"You do know we're supposed to be getting rest, right?" Penelope asks with a sweet smile.

"Nobody will know. Trust me. Have I ever [Lied] to you?"" Yes," the three of them say almost immediately.

"Gods, you guys got some trust issues," I say as I tie a premade bedsheet rope to the bed frame. Hopper looks on in confusion.

"When did you make that?"

"While you were sleeping. They're your bedsheets, by the way. Hurry up before somebody spots us," I say as I grab the rope and jump out of the window with a laugh. The stones of the dungeons are wet with a thin amount of… dew? Let's go with dew. At least I hope it's dew. Gods, I should [Clean] my boots after this. The guard who was leading me stops at the front of the cell.

"Yell if you need me," the guard says as he walks over to the side. Out of the darkness walks Alexander. His suit and honor stripped from him, along with a couple of pounds of weight, but there's still a hint of sophistication left in him. Even with the shackles on his arms and the toilet in the corner. He still stands tall and proud.

"My Little Red-Eyed Devil. I'm so glad you came," he says in a coarse tone.

"They told me you weren't cooperating. That you wouldn't talk to anybody other than me. An interesting condition given the fact that I brought you in," I say as I try to read him.

"It only makes sense. We have a connection, you and I. One that can never be broken."

"Get to the point. What do you want?"

"Fine. No small talk then. A shame, but you're the one who's holding all of the cards now. How does it feel to have this much power over somebody? Are you excited, perhaps a bit reminiscent of your heritage?" Alexander says with a knowing look. With a sigh, I turn to leave.

"If all you want to do is antagonize me, then I see no point in talking to you."

"Don't you want to know why I burned Ashfall to the ground?" he asks as I reach the stairs.

"The Prideborn wanted you to kill someone. I'm guessing they were in the village. What more is there to know?" I ask, knowing full well that they were looking for Smelly Doug. With a smile, he walks right up to the cell wall.

"The person we were there to kill. You're not curious at all? Ah, that's because you already know who it was, but I bet you don't know why."

"Why?" I ask as the image of me slitting his throat passes through my mind.

"Because he stole something from the forces of evil. An item that they coveted dearly. Of course, I don't know the specifics, but I do know this. He called it The Loom of Fate." The Loom of Fate? What did you get yourself into, Smelly Doug? Wait a minute? Did he just say…

"You said 'He'. I thought the Prideborn was the one who ordered the attack on Ashfall," I say with a hint of confusion.

"Prideborn may have been our benefactor, but she was never a leader. The one who ordered the attack was the Greedborn. The leader of the Sins. Without me to lead the Purists, he'll take command and hunt you down like a dog in the street."

"Why are you telling me all this?" I ask with a hint of suspicion.

"I want to kill you, and I'm not going to let anyone else get to you before I do. Not even the Greedborn."

"You're awfully optimistic for a man with a death sentence."

"Like I said. The charges won't stick." Walking away, I let the sound of my footsteps drown out my anger.

"I'll make sure they do."

"Before you leave. I want to know something. That night, when one of my men chased you into the woods, how did you kill him?" he asks as he grabs the bars in anticipation.

"I didn't kill him. A grey wolf did." A laugh echoes out of him as I walk up the stairs.

"I suppose even your own [Lies] can fool you, my Little Red-Eyed Devil. Do try to survive long enough so that I can kill you with my own two hands."

"I plan to outlive at least you."