The Decoder - Chapter 25

Edith

Edith woke to birds chirping, a serene and peaceful sound to her ears accompanied by a terrible headache that seemed to throb endlessly around her skull. Her left arm flew over her eyes, shielding them from the bright light streaming into the room momentarily before she drew them away and opened her eyes again. She recalled last night’s escapade at Cyel Street. Desperately needing an escape from the Militia, specifically Avery and Ira’s presence after that afternoon’s drama with Ira. She turned to her side, realising that she was lying on a bed. How did she ended up on a bed? She tried to remember, but the last thing she recalled was drinking ale at The Boor Pub and then…Blast, she swore under her breath and sat up in bed, her head throbbing as if a thousand pebbles were continuously thrown at her. “I shouldn’t have consumed too much alcohol…” She murmured to herself.

“Indeed.” Said a deep voice from the corner of the room, a voice she dreaded at this moment. Her eyes darted around the room, taking in the spacious dark-paneling room, adequately furnished with expensive-looking furniture. This was obviously not her room. She forced her gaze onto the man whom she was avoiding for the past week. Without a doubt, this was obviously his room. He was in the middle of buttoning his cuffs of his black shirt uniform.

“How did I ended up in your room?” she asked, suddenly becoming self-conscious. She glanced under the covers, glad that her pastel blue ankle-length gingham pinafore dress remained intact to her person.

“You were drunk to your knees last night. I found you at The Boor Pub.” Avery said nonchalantly. Edith bit her lip at the thought of Avery witnessing her drunken stupor. She groaned inwardly.

“Did I say anything…embarrassing?” She asked sheepishly.

“Oh, you said a few interesting things.” Avery took his black jacket from the chair and shrugged into it, the seams fitting his muscular frame snugly. He proceeded to button them before buckling on a leather belt around his waist.

“Blast…” Edith swore under her breath, feeling her cheeks heating.

“What did I say?” She dared herself to ask. A part of her was curious to know, but another part of her dreaded the answer. Avery turned and approached her. She watched him as he lowered himself on the edge of the bed next to her. He was sinfully handsome with his slicked-back hair, all shaven and freshened up. With this proximity, he smelled of sandalwood and pine. He cast his famous charming boyish smile at her, which drew a blush from her.

“I’m not revealing it to you until you answer my questions.” He drawled.

Edith knew there were questions waiting for her, questions she did not wish to answer, hence the reason for her avoidance. And, there was the secret meetup with Sera. Edith had returned to Uncle Vern’s clinic for the weekend and uncle had handed a mysterious letter to her. The letter was from Sera, detailing the need to meetup at the alley at Aven Street on the 7th day of the week, at night. How did she even enter Rayard City? Curiosity drew her to Sera like moth to flame and she had gone to meet her childhood friend despite the possibilities of dangers. Besides, she had a few questions of her own needed answering to.

“How did you know where I live?” Edith recalled their conversation at the dark alley. Nate was nowhere to be seen.

“Have you forgotten we are spies?” Sera had said with sarcasm.

“No. What is it do you want?”

“Your father’s message. I wish to know what was scrawled in the coded message.”

“I told you I have not decipher them.” Edith narrowed her eyes at Sera who suddenly reached out and clasped her shoulders in a tight grip.

“Don’t lie. We need to know the contents of the message.” Sera said with a hint of exasperation in her low voice.

“Why do you need to know? I recall you hated me and my father.”

“The message may hold some vital information.”

“Mr. Roan told you, didn’t he?”

“So, you knew of Mr. Roan’s escape from that horrid mass murder.”

“Because my childhood best friend saved him.”

“Your childhood best friend? So, you’ve acquired another friend right after me.” Sera said acidly.

“My father saved him from a death fate.”

“I don’t care about your childhood best friend. We are straying from the main point here. I need to know the message left behind by your father.” Sera shook her head.

“I already told you, I have yet to decode it. It’s not a lie. And just what is your objective out of all this?” Edith asked. She needed to remain patient to get her answers. There were so many missing puzzles and she had yet to piece them together.

“Mr. Roan mentioned that it may contained the truth to Lord Sykes’s death.”

“What?” Edith said in disbelief.

“Listen. You are aware of the relationship between Rayard and Hathage, don’t you? Lord Noel is barely holding on with his younger brother missing, and is on the verge of declaring war with Rayard to protect his kingdom that rightfully belongs to his family for generations. He will fight till his last breath to protect it. I’m giving a warning here. We have amassed a large army, but…”

“But?” Edith pressed, her eyes widened as wide as a saucer plate. She could scarcely believe the information she was listening to.

“But we do not wish for a war to happen.” Sera finished when there was a sudden rustling nearby. Sera’s alert eyes glanced about their surroundings and without a word, she left in a hurry, leaving Edith to stand in the dark and dank alley to mull Sera’s words. The situation was grave, very grave indeed. The message from Ira that she had decoded replayed in her mind several times. Operation Z.

Edith had spent the last week trying her best going through her father’s journal every night after work at the Encoding and Decoding Department with Merille. She had confided in Merille about the complex coded message her father had left her. Merille had offered to help her to decipher and Edith was extremely grateful by Merille’s generosity and her tremendous encouragement that enabled her to sift through the quarter of Sir Alcoft’s journal without much difficulty. Though at the beginning Edith had tried to fight away the nightmares and had to put the journal down several times to calm herself. Merille’s encouragements gave her strength to battle those nightmares and she forced the happy memories to overlap them. She refused to succumb to the nightmares, to the dark memories.

They were a quarter way through, and Edith had discovered some of the complex codes written in the pages. She had dogeared the pages and highlighted the codes that would enable her to decode the message later on.

“Edie?” Avery’s voice brought her back to the present and she gazed into the pools of emerald before her, his head tilted, concern glinted in his eyes.

“Sorry, you’re saying?” Edith said softly.

“I asked what were you doing at The Boor Pub last night?”

Drinking myself away to relieve the heartache. She wanted to say, but instead she said, “I haven’t indulged myself in alcohol for years, so I craved for one last night.”

“Don’t lie, Edie. I know you never indulge yourself in alcohol if given the choice.”

“People change over the years.” She shrugged. In fact, Avery words were true. She would never indulge in alcohol if given the choice. She wasn’t a fan of alcohol.

“Please, Edie. Tell me the truth.” Avery pleaded gently as he took her hand in his, closing his big and strong fingers around hers. She stared at his hand, ungloved and warmth seeped into her skin. Edith remained silent because she couldn’t tell him the truth. She couldn’t lie either because she was a bad liar and Avery knew that very well.

“I know you met with her.” Avery said in a low tone.

“Who?” Edith snapped her gaze up at him. Even without her asking the question, she instinctively knew who he was referring to.

“Sera.”

“How did you know…?” Instead of denying it, Edith admitted and eyed him suspiciously. When he did not answer, she knew. How else would he know who she met with, how else would he know to find her, specifically at The Boor Pub. The possibility of him stumbling upon her at the pub was close to zero because she knew he wasn’t the type to imbibe in alcohol either. Cyel Street was not his domain. As much as she hated to guess it, she said it anyway.

“You place a spy on me, or you spy on me, one way another.” Edith said with a hint of anger in her voice. His silence infuriated her, and she could no longer stand to be around him any longer.

“Why…what are you truly seeking?” Edith couldn’t help asking.

“I told you, information on whatever that had occurred on that night and adding to the list, your purpose meeting with Sera. Why are you hesitant in sharing the information with me? It couldn’t be you are on…her side? A spy?” He eyed her suspiciously, his grip around her hand tightened. The pressure caused a slight pain to her palm. How dare he accused her of being a spy! Edith ground her teeth in irritation.

“Or you do not trust me?” Avery continued in a lower tone.

Indeed, she did not trust him completely, not when he doesn’t trust her completely either. But she couldn’t bring herself to admit that bit, so instead of replying, she yanked her bandaged hand away from his grip and rolled herself to the right, scrambling to get off the bed. The throb in her head was making her unstable as she struggled to right herself.

“Edith!” Avery lunged at her across the bed, his hand scraping against the hem of her dress before landing on the bed. Edith ran for the oak door despite her throbbing head. He wasted no time in pulling himself up with his elbows and scrambled out of the bed.

“Stop right there!” He raised his voice and Edith automatically halted in her steps. She turned and he was standing by the bedpost.

“You do not trust me enough to convey whatever you know of, to me.” He narrowed his eyes at her.

“Only because you don’t trust me enough either.” Edith returned. That silenced him. He didn’t bother denying it because she knew it was true. Whenever she had inquired about his background and worries, he would avoid the topic like the plague. The knowledge of it stung her more than she’d expected. The hurt was unbearable. Her vision blurred with tears and she blinked them away rapidly.

“You want to know why I was at The Boor Pub last night. That’s because I need an escape.” When he remained silent, she added, “what has become of our friendship, Avery?” Her voice cracking, almost pleading.

Before she burst into a bout of tears on the floor, Edith left his room. She needed a channel to release her frustrations and hurt, but she wasn’t sure where to release them. And so, she buried herself in her work and her father’s journal in the next three days.

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