Presence- The Marked

by L J Branch

  “That’s enough, Ardent!” Vivi boomed, flames exploded from around her throne that burned brightly. Band 13 tensed at the sight and Alice couldn’t help but look up at her fearfully. Kat’s fear of Vivi was now much more understandable for the hacker. Heathcliff smiled smugly at her even as a few other councilors looked a bit uneasy.

  “I’m just speaking facts, lass. The Victoire girl clearly doesn’t want the position and Midas is not fit for it. We’ve all agreed it’s time for a change, I say we put an Ardent on the throne, hell we already have one close enough as it is,” Heathcliff said as he gestured toward Vivi.

  “They’re in the same band so that would be pointless. Also, Rose doesn’t want it either and don’t you dare use me to further your goals!” Vivi snarled. “You disowned me, you can’t claim me as a part of your family only when it’s convenient!”

  “She’s right. Besides, the jobs Diamond took were because I asked her as her father and King. She simply did her job,” Roderick spoke up, his voice firm. “Don’t use my mistakes as an attempt to illegitimatize her position.”

  “But he has a point,” a younger man with pale skin and brown hair said as he and his band sat across from Roderick’s band. He was an ambitious man named Ronaldo Avarice, elected representative for the Outsiders in the Guild. “Like father, like daughter. Though I disagree with the notion that an Ardent should lay claim to the throne, I say it needs to be abolished altogether.”

  “Not this again,” Antonio muttered from his seat. This served to make Ronaldo angry as he glared at the man.

  “Us outsiders make up sixty percent of the Guild! Why should you all have so much power?”

  “Of that sixty percent, how many of you are actually in our top bands?” the head of the Hattori family asked. Alice looked at the man who was one of her biggest idols in silent awe. Hattori Hanzo was an elderly looking man but even despite his age Alice could see the resemblance between him and Akira. “The greatest one that ever walked among you is the one you’re trying to dethrone this very moment. Logic like that is why you all do not have a bigger say. We bring in the most capital, the most power. We were born and bred for this while you all were picked off of the street, deemed worthy by us more times than not. You exist to pad our numbers. You wouldn’t even be here if it wasn’t for us, so how about you sit down and know your place? You claim the outsiders don’t have a voice, you’re wrong, it’s just your voice in particular that we ignore.”

  “Wow,” Kat said as her band looked at Akira’s father in surprise. They hadn’t expected him to come to their defense.

  “That said,” the Hattori patriarch continued as he faced Band 13. “You saw a problem that was being ignored and acted accordingly. Without you, a dangerous man would have a dangerous weapon with him this very moment. And that’s not even mentioning the fact you helped reveal that the Black Moon is not as gone as we thought,” the man continued as a few of the councilors flinched at his words. “However, we cannot ignore the fact that you willingly compromised the Guild. You kept a civilian marked and unsupervised for months. This is an action you must be reprimanded for. Normally you’d be expelled, and in my family, you’d lose a finger. That said, that would be too much for the very thieves that saved us and defeated an Arch-Mage.”

  “So, what do you propose we do?” Heathcliff asked sarcastically. The response, however, came from an unexpected source.

  “With all due respect councilors, fuck you,” Diamond said after a moment. Stunned, everyone, even her own band, looked at her in shock.

  “What did you say to me girl!?” Heathcliff boomed, gray smoke pouring from his mouth as he glared down at her.

  “I apologize for being unclear,” Diamond said apologetically before she cleared her throat. “I said, fuck you, councilor Ardent. You don’t get to sit up there and judge my leadership when none of you have done a single job in at least a decade. You come from a time where civilian technology was primitive and you could learn what you needed to as you went along. The world no longer operates that way. Jobs are becoming more and more impossible to undertake and you are all unwilling to adapt to the world that is changing around us so that we can rectify it. Too content to rely solely on the Hattori family and their connections! Ask any thief that is still active when the last time they accomplished a job without contracting a civilian in some fashion. Odds are each thief you ask will be unable to answer that such a job occurred in the last year. That is unless they come from the Hattori family who actually knows how all this new technology works,” Diamond said as she narrowed her eyes. “You say I exposed us to a civilian? I ask you, where is this civilian? Because all I see next to me is my band.”

  “Heresy! Are you honestly claiming that civilian to be your bandmate!?” Heathcliff shouted, the temperature around him rising while his eyes turned a bright orange. “If it wasn’t for the mark, she wouldn’t even know what a band is!” Heathcliff said as the councilors spoke up in agreement. “A four-person band simply does not exist.”

  “There’s a first time for everything,” Diamond said firmly.

  “Yes, but not that,” Antonio said with a sigh as Julia perked up.

  “How about a test?” Julia spoke up as she got their attention. Vivi glared at the woman but said nothing, a silent request from Roderick who wanted to see where Julia was headed. “Remove her mark yourself Heathcliff, if she still recognizes what’s going on, Diamond is right. If she forgets, you’re right. We can solve this now.”

  “The traitor has a point,” Heathcliff said as Julia just smirked at him while a dark expression crossed his face. “Don’t get too comfortable, Frost, we still must deal with you. Come here, lass, I’ll remove that mark and we can see if your so-called boss is right,” Heathcliff said as Alice suddenly found herself put on the spot. A shiver ran down her spine as she realized that there was no way out of this. Not when she was in a room filled with the most powerful thieves the Guild had to offer. Shakily she stepped away from Band 13 and nodded her head. Alice took a deep breath before she hardened her expression. After everything she had been through with Band 13, she refused to show her fear.

  “Fine,” Alice said as Heathcliff stepped away from his seat. Alice went to meet him halfway, but found her wrist grabbed tightly by Kat. She closed her eyes when she found herself kissed by the thief while Kat’s hand slid up the back of her shirt.

  “Sometime today, please,” Heathcliff called out impatiently clearly disgusted as Kat broke the kiss before she raised her middle finger at him. Alice calmed herself down as she made her way toward him. Alice turned around when she stopped in front of him and raised the back of her shit. Heathcliff’s eyes narrowed when he saw the mark that rested in the middle of her back between her shoulder blades. Heathcliff smirked as an orange presence coursed over his hand. Heathcliff moved to burn the mark off once and for all only to find himself paralyzed. Startled, he looked up at Band 13 and shuddered slightly when he saw a seething Diamond. Diamond’s glare froze him in place as her anger overtook her. It was only after Kat whispered something in her ear that he found himself free of her suffocating presence. Heathcliff shrugged off the dark feeling he felt from Diamond and slammed his hand into Alice’s back. Alice screamed in pain as she felt her skin burn as he violently ripped the mark off. When he ripped his hand free, Alice collapsed to her knees both dazed and hurt. Band 13 immediately rushed toward her, and Kat quickly pulled out her flask.

  “Here drink this,” Kat said quietly as she put the flask to Alice’s lips. “This might sound weird but do you remember me?”

  “Y…Yes,” Alice said with a weak smile which Kat returned.

  “And what am I?”

  “My kitten,” Alice began which made Kat smile brightly at her. “And a thief,” Alice added as Heathcliff looked down at them incredulously. The council whispered amongst themselves.

  “Where are you?”

  “The Guild, right? The council chambers?” Alice answered with a frown and Kat smiled brightly
as she pulled Alice in for a hug.

  “Well, that’s that,” Julia said with a shrug while she ignored how the council erupted in pandemonium. “Let them go home and rest, yeah? They should enjoy their time off until their second year begins.”

  “Not just yet,” a new voice said as the door to the chambers opened up. Everyone in the room froze when they saw a human-sized Juventas enter the chamber. The Goddess made strong confident strides toward them as her divine presence made them instinctively bow. “You’d let these heroes go unrewarded for their troubles?”

  “L-Lady Juventas!?” Heathcliff stuttered out surprised to see her after her long absence. Quickly, those assembled bowed before the Goddess. “Rewards?”

  “Arise,” Juventas commanded as the thieves scrambled to their feet. “Yes, Band 13 has completed a job that was given to them by my sisters and me. We gave them a contract, calling for the assassination of the Arch-Mage, August,” Juventas said with a warm smile as she turned to face the stunned members of Band 13. “We have decided that you all shall each receive ten thousand Honor along with a boon of four thousand gold coins for your band,” Juventas said and Alice was glad that she could stand on her own now because she was positive that she would have been dropped.

  “Holy shit, we can almost skip two years with that!” Kat exclaimed.

  “In addition,” Juventas continued as her smile seemed to grow. “Young Frost, your strength has impressed my wayward sister. Laverna wishes for you to tell whoever trained you that they are to be considered a Master, effective immediately. Laverna expects great things from this school of…Hēishǒu, was it?”

  “Yes, my Lady,” Jack said as he bowed respectfully. Julia and Vivi both looked at him proudly before they glanced at each other. Julia’s smile faltered slightly as Vivi outright glared at her.

  “Katarina and…” Juventas trailed off as she stared at the civilian with a small frown.

  “C-Call me, Alice,” Alice said after she got over the shock of being addressed by an actual Goddess. “It’s a long story,” Alice said when she noticed the confused expression on her friends’ faces.

  “Katarina and Alice, Discordia wants it to be made clear that as long as Katarina considers you a member of the band, you shall be treated as such,” Juventas revealed. It was then that a tense silence seemed to come over the council which in turn made Juventas frown as she swept her gaze over the council. “I do not particularly enjoy being one left out of the loop. Would someone care to explain what it is that I am missing?” Juventas asked as Heathcliff felt his heart plummet when more than few glanced his way before they looked away. Even those who were on his side avoided eye contact with the man. “Ardent, is there something I should inform Discordia of?”

  “I…I…” Heathcliff stuttered out as even Band 13 felt bad for the man.

  “Usual council inefficiency, nothing more,” Diamond finally answered her Goddess as Heathcliff looked at her in surprise. “Nothing I can’t handle when I ascend,” Diamond said pointedly as she made it clear that she would hear no more of Heathcliff’s claims against her position, less he wished to face the wrath of Juventas.

  “I see, speaking of which, would you like to?” Juventas asked almost as an afterthought as if it didn’t matter. Diamond blinked owlishly as Juventas’ words registered in her head.

  “Excuse me?”

  “Your ascension, would you like to become the Bandit Queen now?” Juventas asked as she gestured toward Roderick and his band. “Your mother was your age when she first claimed the throne, would you like to give it a try?”

  “Lady Juventas…nothing would bring me more joy,” Diamond said after a moment before she clenched her fist. “But I must refuse,” Diamond said and Juventas didn’t seem surprised in the slightest. “My mother was forced to take the throne early when she was not prepared in a time of desperation. It caused her no small amount of stress and personally, I believe it ended up inhibiting her full potential. Everything worked out in the end but she made plenty of mistakes on that seat because she wasn’t ready. Please allow me to finish my training so that I can ascend when I am truly ready and with a council that will stand by me.”

  “I see,” Juventas said while her eyes shone with pride as she stared at Diamond. “You’ve grown wise my child.”

  “Only because of your light.”

  “Still, I do not wish to leave you without my own gift, having the member from my sect being the only one without something special will portray me in a bad light,” Juventas mused. “Name one thing and it will be yours as long as it is in my power to give it to you.”

  “Anything?”

  “Anything.”

  “Then please allow me to reverse one of my mother’s mistakes,” Diamond pleaded before she gestured toward the council. “This…This is a mess, my Goddess, one that stemmed from my mother believing she was doing the right thing but I see it as her gravest error. Please restore power to the throne, make it a seat that matters once more.”

  “What!?” Ronaldo shouted before Juventas leveled him with a piercing stare.

  “Do not yell in my presence child,” Juventas warned only once which made Ronaldo nod nervously. Juventas’ eyes never left him as she continued speaking to Diamond. “Why would you wish to overturn one of your mother’s biggest actions as Queen?”

  “She took away its power to make sure another tyrant like my grandfather didn’t sit on the throne. That said, even if he was a tyrant, a mad king…the Guild was still standing when she overthrew him. He did his job, Diamond said firmly. “She had a council that loved her and as a result, was given a false impression that she made the right choice because she could get things done. But look at the council now? Plotting, scheming, and stopping my father at every turn to the point he had to put me at risk just to get something done! I don’t want to be put in that position, I don’t want to have to risk my own heir one day because the council doesn’t agree with me,” Diamond said passionately as Jack looked at her in surprise. There was so much raw emotion in her voice that he had to check whether or not her glove was still on. “You, Discordia, and Laverna created this Guild, its very structure both physically and politically. My mother had no right to change something you set in place. In a way that one act was far madder than anything her father had done.”

  “Isabelle was young, you are right,” Juventas said after a moment. “However, with youth comes a level of naiveté that can be both good and bad,” Juventas said as she rested a hand on Diamond’s shoulder and smiled down at her. “So be it, as of this moment the council will work as it did before Isabelle’s reign. Perhaps now your father can get things done,” Juventas said as both Heathcliff and Ronaldo looked ready to faint. “I expect great things from you, Roderick and eventually you as well Diamond,” Juventas said before she prepared to leave only to stop suddenly. “Also, before I forget,” Juventas said as she turned to face Julia this time. “In light of recent revelations, consider your sins forgiven. The Frost family’s honor is restored but also, as an apology, everything you lost shall be returned with interest. Laverna just has one last mission for you,” Juventas said before gesturing toward Jack. “Guide your child.”

  “Understood,” Julia said quietly as she gazed down at Jack from her throne while Juventas disappeared.

  “Well, then shall we bring this meeting to a close?” Roderick asked before a grinning Vivi nudged him.

  “What are you doing? You don’t need their permission anymore!” Vivi said as his eyes suddenly shone with mischief. The members on the council who had continuously opposed him now looked at him with apprehension.

  “You’re right,” Roderick said as he stood up. “We’re done here,” he said before he and his band convened with Band 13 and led them out of the chambers. Roderick didn’t care if the councilors went home or not. “It’s great to be King,” Roderick said as he wrapped an arm around Diamond’s shoulder. “But it’s even greater to be able to call myself your father. Isabelle would be proud,
I know I am.”

  “So how did you two pull that off?” Vivi couldn’t help but ask Kat who just smirked in response.

  * * *

  Council Chambers, Minutes earlier

  As Kat kissed Alice, she slid her hand up the back of her shirt. In between Alice’s shoulder blades, Kat quickly placed a second mark on her. It was at that moment, Alice caught on to her plan when she felt the familiar sensation of the mark being etched into her body. Once they were forced to end their moment, Alice approached Heathcliff bravely. As Alice pulled up her shirt, she showed the man the false mark and hoped beyond hope that the ruse would work. If it wasn’t for the searing pain from his hand, she was sure she would have let out a sigh of relief when she felt him rip away the false mark.

  * * *

  “I’m just that good.”

  “Now you sound like the lad,” Vivi said as Kat laughed before she glanced at Julia who tried to reconnect with Jack. It was ironic, really, Kat only just met the woman but could tell she was like an older more experienced Jack. Confident if not a bit cocky and could charm whomever they wanted. To see them act so awkward around each other almost made her laugh.

  “Hey, are you gonna be okay with this?” Kat asked Vivi with a frown.

  “I hate her with every fiber of my being, lass,” Vivi said though her heart wasn’t in it. If anything, she just sounded tired and for once, Kat felt that the woman actually looked her age when she saw the exhaustion on Vivi’s face. “That said, he’s a grown man like you’re a grown woman. Who you two let into your lives is up to you, I raised you two good enough to trust your own judgment,” Vivi said as she glanced at Alice who smiled shyly. “Doesn’t mean I won’t still give you the third degree later, lass,” Vivi told Alice which immediately wiped the growing smile from her face. Amused by Alice’s blatant fear, Vivi looked back at Kat. “She’s a shitty person, but I’ll be damned if she wasn’t a good mother while she was there. It’s hard to pinpoint what a Frost is truly like, everything you know about them ends up being a façade. However, one thing I do know is that she loves him. That bond is something you can’t fake,” Vivi said quietly before she shook her head. “So, what do you all have planned for the summer?” Vivi asked which made Kat and Alice pause before they grinned at each other.