The Decoder - Chapter 30

Edith

Edith stood at the centre of the dark alley facing ‘Rox’s Boutique’, the aforementioned place in Sera’s note. She glanced around the alley, squinting her eyes at every corner for any unexpected figure. Resting in the crevices of her right boot, was a small knife she had brought along to protect herself in the event the meeting turned violent. She prayed it would not head to that direction. The last thing she wanted was to spill blood. She clutched her overcoat tight around her when the cold wind blew. She did not have a good feeling about this at all.

“Edith.” The familiar voice called out from behind her, startling her. Her nerves were jumpy, and this would not bode well. She turned to face her childhood friend who was dressed in a coffee brown dress that fell just above her ankles. A black sash wrapped around her slim waist and her hair was dressed into a simple chignon.

“What is the purpose of this meeting?” Edith asked with caution, eyeing her childhood friend while also keeping an eye on their surroundings. They were far from watching eyes and it was midnight, the citizens were abed now.

“Your father’s message.” Sera said softly.

“You’re relentless, aren’t you?” Edith sighed.

“For the sake of protecting Hathage, I will not stop.”

“I have yet to decipher the entire message.”

“How long will it take to you complete it?” Sera took a step forward.

“I don’t know. A week at least.” Heck, Edith hoped she could complete it as soon as possible before Operation Z happen.

“I don’t have a week. Do you know how dire this situation is?”

“Why are you so confident on the contents of the message?”

“Don’t test my patience, Edith.” Sera said acidly. She clenched her fist as if controlling her anger.

“You mentioned that Hathage has amassed a large army. Is His Majesty, Lord Noel planning to declare war?” Edith asked, narrowing her eyes at Sera. If Sera wanted information, so does Edith herself.

“It does not concern you. I will protect my king no matter what it takes. He has lost his father and brother, Avery. He can’t lose the entire kingdom as well. I will prevent that from happening.”

“Wait, who did you say his brother’s name was?” Edith held up a hand.

“Avery. Why?” Sera took another step toward her. Edith’s mind whirled at the information. No, Avery’s last name is Kainz. It might not be the same person, Edith told herself, but her gut feeling was saying otherwise. She did not know Avery’s background and whenever she asked, he had brushed it off. Why hide his background so much when there is nothing to hide, unless there’s indeed something to hide? Edith felt herself going pale and a chill ran down her spine. She took a step backward.

“What are you hiding, Edith?” Sera advanced on her and Edith took another step back. Suddenly, Sera lunged at her, knocking her off the ground and she landed on her back on the cold dank ground. The impact knocked the air out of her, and the back of her head knocked painfully against the hard cobblestone. She grunted and swore under her breath.

“What are you—"

“My patience is growing thin, Edith. I need information and I suspect you know more than you let on.” Sera said angrily as she sat atop her abdomen, her hips straddling Edith’s sides and her gloved hand pinned both of Edith’s wrists atop her head. Sera’s free hand drew a dagger from her the insides of her overcoat and placed the blade on Edith’s right cheek, the cool steal pressing against her soft skin.

“Spit out whatever you are hiding.” Sera applied slight pressure and the blade nicked her cheek, drawing blood. Edith groaned and restrained herself from struggling, less she cut herself further.

“The childhood best friend I spoke previously has the same first name as Lord Noel’s younger brother.” Edith bit out.

“What?”

“But his last name is Kainz.”

“What else?” Sera applied more pressure on the hilt of the blade, the blade was cutting into Edith’s flesh and she winced. She could feel the blood trickling down to the side of her neck, staining the collar of her blouse. She contemplated mentioning about ‘Operation Z’, but the thought the better of it.

“Do you wish for a war to break out, Sera?”

“Of course not. I only wish to protect Hathage and my king.”

“I see…”

“Do you wish for a war to break out?” Sera asked the same question; her voice was low.

“No.” Edith said simply, trying to ignore the sting at her cheek.

“Then, we could stop it. If only you’d cooperate with me.” Sera grimaced.

“How can I trust you?”

“We were childhood friends before, weren’t we?” Sera’s expression turned wistful. It was the first time Edith had seen that expression and she wondered what was going through Sera’s mind now.

“We still are.”

“So, tell me what you know.” Sera’s expression hardened once more. Edith thought about the operation again and she couldn’t bring herself to trust Sera fully. She had yet to know Sera’s full story and her purpose. Granted, her loyalty was specifically for the current His Majesty, Lord Noel and she wanted to protect Hathage. But, how did Sera switch sides? Unless, she was originally an Hathagian? Maybe, she could learn to trust her childhood friend once more, afterall, Sera had been wronged before.

“There is an oper—"

“Get off her this instance.” A steely and deep voice intercepted. And before she knew it, the weight on her abdomen was gone and Sera went sailing across the air. Her back hit the wall with a bone jarring impact and fell to the ground in a heap. She swore loudly and struggled to gain her bearings because the barrel of a pistol was aimed at her forehead. A surge of panic brushed through Edith’s core and she quickly rose to her feet, massaging her wrists as she stood rooted at her spot.

The man stood before Sera, his pistol aimed at Sera’s brows, was dressed in an Elite’s uniform, his long overcoat brushed his ankles. Edith wouldn’t mistake the insignia sewn onto the collar and she wondered who this man was. A spy that Avery placed on me? The man cocked his pistol and Edith took a step forward.

“Stop! Don’t shoot.”

“She harmed you, Miss Edith.” The man said and raked a gloved hand through his tousled hair.

“You know my name. Are you the spy Avery placed to keep an eye on me?” Edith narrowed her eyes at him. She couldn’t see his face clearly due to the dimness. The man’s silence confirmed her question. She heaved a deep sigh and took another step forward.

“What’s your name?”

“Teo.” The man answered, never breaking his gaze from Sera.

“Pleased to make your acquaintance, Teo. I would appreciate if you could lower your pistol.” Edith forced a smile, trying to steady her nerves.

“Are you certain, Miss Edith?” Teo asked.

“Yes. Sera is my childhood friend. Let her go.” Though she suspected Teo already knew that information.

“She won’t do any further harm.”

“It’s wise not to underestimate your enemy, Miss Edith.”

“That’s true, but if Sera wanted to kill me, she would have done it some time ago.”

Teo was silent for a moment. Edith could literally see his brain working like cogwheels. Then, he lowered his pistol and took two steps back.

“Let’s head back to the Militia, Miss Edith. It’s late and unwise for an employee to sneak out on weekdays.” Teo said and reached for Edith’s bandaged hand when Sera suddenly spoke in a quiet voice.

“Why did you spare me, Edith? I could have killed you if I so wished.”

The question caught Edith by surprise, and she stared at her childhood friend for a heartbeat. She felt the leather of Teo’s gloved hand gently wrapped around her right wrist. A spy and a bodyguard. She bit her lip at Avery’s thoughtfulness though he had originally assigned Teo to spy on her movements rather than playing bodyguard.

“Because you’re my friend. My very first childhood friend.” Edith smiled warmly. Sera went very still and stared at her, her mouth agape and her eyes wide.

“Let’s go, Miss Edith. We need to get your injury treated.” Teo urged.

“Alright.” Edith muttered and allowed Teo to drag her away from dark alley, leaving Sera alone. Edith glanced over her shoulder one final time and noticed that Sera’s attention was no longer on them and her head hung low, staring at nothing on the ground. She had almost told Sera about the dratted ‘Operation Z’ but was interrupted and she wondered if Teo hadn’t arrive, how Sera would react to that information. She would no doubt relay the information to Lord Noel. She did not understand the current king of Hathage well, but she could imagine a war breaking out nonetheless, for the sake of defending his kingdom. During the journey back to the Militia, it suddenly dawned on Edith that Sera’s assistant, Nate was nowhere to be seen. She’d half expected Sera to show up with Nate.

“Thank you for saving me tonight, Teo.” Edith said to break the silence between them. He turned to look at her then, and Edith drew a breath. He was beautiful, if that could be described of a man. His eyes were as dark as the night sky though they lack emotion.

“You’re welcome, Miss Edith. Though, I’m only doing my job.” He said with an impassive expression.

“Nevertheless, I appreciate your rescue.” Edith focused her gaze straight ahead, suddenly feeling her face heating. She had considered Avery, Caden and Lucien handsome, but this man was far beyond.

* * * * *

6th Day of the Week.

After the secret meeting with Sera two days ago, Edith focused on deciphering her father’s message, once more spending hours in the night and only getting at least two hours of sleep. She couldn’t delay any further and when she completed the second sentence in the early hours of dawn, she threw up her hands and stretched, feeling a slight triumph that she was not far away from completed the entire message. She took the parchment she had scribbled on and read it: “There’s a reason I brought Avery to the Alcoft cottage and you might be surprised by this information.”

Edith blinked at the message several times. Why the suspense! The urge to decode the third sentence was biting away at her this instance, but she needed to get dressed because today was the day Caden’s birthday party took place and she needed to help with the preparations. She and Merille had yet to the last batch of chocolate cookies and decorate the birthday cake which they baked together the night before.

She ran her bandaged hand through her disheveled hair and sighed. Edith forced herself out of the table and attended to her morning ablutions. When she was done, she picked out a simple white long-sleeved blouse and a violet-coloured tulle flare skirt that covered her shoes. She completed the attire with a violet ribbon tied around the collar of her blouse. She would change into a dress later on, before the party starts. She dressed her hair into a simple braid that hung over her left shoulder. Edith stared at herself in the mirror, pleased with her simple attire, before her eyes drifted to the white bandage patch on her right cheek, reminded her of Sera. She couldn’t help but wonder what she was doing now. Teo had let her go unexpectantly. She was probably in hiding now, away from suspecting eyes of the Militia. Edith brushed away thoughts of Sera and focused on the activities of the day. There was no way of hiding the black circles under her eyebags, so she tucked the parchments into her journal and stuffed the journal into a drawer by her bedside. She planned to decode the third sentence after the party was over.

Edith made her way down the corridor of the dorm and past the cafeteria. When she arrived at the centre compound, she noticed a carriage and several wagons parked at the large circular driveway. Several soldiers alighted from the wagon and Edith assumed these soldiers must’ve returned from their assignment, which she hadn’t a clue about, though she had her suspicions that it was related to the operation. She was about to turn away when the carriage door swung opened and Avery stepped down, looking as handsome as ever in his snug double-breasted overcoat. Then, he reached into the carriage and handed down Miss Ira. When her booted feet touched the ground, he took her pelisse which was draped over her arm and pulled the pelisse around her dainty shoulders, clasping the hook at her collarbone.

From Edith’s view, it was an intimate gesture only shared by lovers. She felt a tightness in her chest at the scene and it bothered her very much. She was aware it was jealousy, an emotion she wished gone because an unhealthy dose of it only led to disaster, and hers was venturing towards that border. At that moment, Avery turned, and his gaze fell on her. Their eyes met and she quickly turned away. Her mind was a mess and she needed to get away from there before she acted outrageously, which was unlike her character.

Edith marched towards the Entertainment Building, trying her best to forget the scene. Of course, Miss Ira was his fiancée, so naturally he would behave like one. They were after all, going to be husband and wife one day. She bit her lowered lip and willed her memories to focus on the preparation for Caden’s birthday party instead.

There was no point sulking over something that was out of reach and she had no intentions of being a party-pooper.

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