Five stages of knowing : Shock and denial
2038 Words
Vita had left the Governor and his residence to Nero .
He needed to ask the Governor more questions but he had left that to Nero .
He needed to be at The Haze before whatever the governor and his councilmen had planned went down .
Agrippa was currently in a state of emergency , anyone that got in the way of the soldiers would be done with .
He whistled for Fabia and rode back to the city , taking the major roads they had avoided earlier .
Juno would have denied it but he could tell that Juno was not the kind of person to sit still and let the soldiers do as they wanted .
Fabia seemed to understand how much of a hurry Vita was in , he galloped ahead , his speed at a newer and higher degree .
As they approached the city , Vita noticed with increasing unease that the streets were void of soldiers .
Even the occasional patrolling guards were nowhere .
He finally reached the street that held The Haze .
It had been closed off .
The soldiers had created a barricade and blocked off The Haze and the rest of the businesses close to it off .
They were searching people before they let them out of the barricade .
Vita got off his horse .
He patted Fabia and whispered words to him .
Fabia gave him an unsure look , Vita smiled and shooed him off .
He turned around , he had sighted a couple of business owners that had been let through huddled together .
Two men and two women , they were all dressed warmly , they definitely were not among the starving populace .
He walked quietly towards them , they would not have noticed either way , all their focus was on what the soldiers were doing .
One of the soldiers stood out to Vita , he walked tall , commanding the other soldiers and dismissing the other business owners .
He was obviously targeting only The Haze .
" Ne'er have we got all this acting in just a day ".
One of the men in the huddle commented , the others nodded .
" Aye , aye , who would have expected what happened this morning ".
Another man commented .
One of the women hissed , she had a malicious look .
" They act all high and mighty only to all be insane people ..."
She lowered her voice here .
"...what we all experienced this morning can not be just as a result of opium , there must be other things they take that has made them that way ".
The first man nodded ," I also thought that might be the case ".
Vita was not getting any where with all of these cryptic gossiping .
He cleared his throat and they all jumped .
Nero might have laughed if he was here .
" What exactly happened this morning ?"
They all looked from Vita to each other and back to Vita .
The woman that had been silent since came forward , she had an authoritative air about her .
" And who might you be ? "
She was sneering at him .
There was no need to hold back , Vita stood to his full height .
" What exactly happened this morning ?"
An intimidating aura was a core training for brigadiers .
The sneer vanished and the woman gulped , she took a step back .
" You are the brigadier from Caeso ".
She had an accusing tone , the other business owners unconsciously stepped back too .
Vita put a hand to his waist , opening his coat slightly to reveal the hilt of his sword .
He would not hurt them but they did not need to know that .
The first man that had talked cleared his throat , they all turned to him .
" A man came this morning , he's a regular that we all know . His looks and clothes make him stand out ".
Looks and clothes , Juno was the only person of interest when it came to looks and clothes .
Vita tilted his head , " Continue ".
" Well , this morning he looked as though he was sick , he was almost naked and without shoes . He was shivering and yelling for the owner with his hands flying around ".
Vita blinked , he had seen Juno just this morning , that could not be Juno .
He had been absolutely fine this morning .
" Never seen a man with such hair " , this was from the first lady that had spoken earlier .
She sneered as she said this too .
" What about his hair ?"
Vita waited with bated breath for anyone to answer .
" It was wild , reaching his waist and flying around his body ".
Vita broke into a run .
He had known , something had kept nagging at him concerning Juno .
As he approached the barricade , he watched the man in charge notice him .
The mans face hardened .
Vita drew out his sword , even if they claimed not to recognize him or his coat ,
they could not claim the same ignorance of his sword .
It bore the crest of the Royal Crimsons .
The soldiers at the front line blocking the barricade fell to their knees , they had acknowledged the sword .
Vita ran past them , his eyes on the man .
He was not curious what the man would do ,if the man was standing there by the time he got there , he would cut him down .
Bloodthirst .
It was a thing that everyone could sense when they saw it , the man must have sensed it too .
Vita threw his sword into the air and caught it , nothing like a good show to show who was really in charge .
He thrust forward and the man fell to the ground untouched , Vita did not bother with him , he ran forward to the entrance of The Haze .
The doors were closed and two men stood out , they watched Vita approach . Vita knew this look , it was the look of a determined bodyguard .
He slowed down , intimidation would scare them , but they still would not budge .
He stopped before them , he returned his sword to his sheath while they watched like Hawks .
How was he going to get them to open up ?
An image on the doors caught his eye , it was a carving of sort .
He had seen the carving somewhere , very recently .
It came to him , it was the same carvings at the entrances of the shelter .
They had been so brazen about this , how had no one noticed ?
If the thief was related to The Haze , there was a high chance that Larona was either here or at the shelter .
One of the men was staring at Vita's fingers .
Vita checked to see what could have caused such an intense look , he raised his fingers up .
The ring Juno had given him just this morning , he raised his other hand to cover it up .
The carving on The Haze's doors and The shelter was also on the ring .
Vita was confused .
He walked ahead , his hand raised up , showing the men what his finger wore .
The men looked carefully at the ring and exchanged looks .
Finally , they nodded and moved aside to let Vita pass .
He pushed the doors and walked in .
The place was empty , devoid of any sort of life .
It was a look that Vita was not used to seeing on The Haze .
He put a hand on his sword just in case and turned , looking around .
He began to walk around , searching for anything .
He was walking to another room when he saw the short staircase that led to Ali's office .
Of course , that was the best place .
He moved ahead , breaking into a jog .
He went up the stairs and pushed the door .
It budged , the door swinging open gently .
The room was empty , not particularly empty but it did not have what Vita was searching for at that moment .
Vita walked in looking around , it looked too ordinary .
Like an average bedroom , not something that depicted a man that connived with criminals .
There had to be another room connected with this one .
Vita had grown up in a palace , a very old one .
There were always new rooms to discover .
He began to touch things randomly .
A jug that sat on a small table by the bed .
The paintings on the wall .
The sides and panels of the walls .
The posts that held the bed .
He heard a click and went towards the sound , he was right the room opened up to another one .
He let himself inside quietly , it was an office , the actual office .
The flare from a red fey lantern was the only available light .
Vita crouched to the floor .
He heard soft groaning and moved forward .
He stopped when he saw what was the source of the groaning .
Someone lay on a make shift bed , Larona .
A man knelt by her side whispering softly and wiping her forehead .
Larona had began to cry , the man held onto her hand trying to calm her .
His whispers had become more fervent .
Vita stood .
Was this the thief ?
There was no way the man had not noticed him but , he refused to acknowledge his presence .
Vita moved closer , the light was dim but he could now make out the features of the man , it was an old man .
" The next few hours will determine if she lives or dies , that was why I asked to not be disturbed ".
His voice was frail , betraying his rigid posture .
Vita took a step back , catching the thief was a priority but not at the risk of Larona .
He heard another door open quietly and turned .
Ali came first , his features distinctive even in the dim light .
Then , Juno came forward .
He was limping , Vita's heart stilled thinking of what he had heard outside .
Something else caught his attention though , Juno was dressed completely in black .
It was not unusual but right now , he looked exactly like the person that he had seen at the governor's house , the supposed thief .
But , there was no mask and suspecting someone solely based on similar clothes seemed out of it .
That was what he told himself yet he stepped back involuntarily .
It could not be Juno .
His eyes strayed to the table where the fey lantern shone from .
There was something on it , Vita balled his fists .
It was the same mask , the one he had seen on the thief in the forest and just a little earlier at the governor's house .
He owned part of The Haze .
He hated the government .
He had an arsenal of weapons in his house .
Goddesses , even his gate was made of Wolfram .
He had even stolen his horse after playing with him briefly earlier that day .
Of course , it could be Juno .
He looked back up at their faces .
Nothing , no panic , no fear , no denial , just acceptance .
Not could , it was Juno .
- Writer
