[center][h1][color=00aeef]Chres[/color][/h1][/center]


[hr]
Late into the night, Chres found himself sitting alone staring into the fire of the guest wing’s foyer. There he waited. Princess Lys had not returned yet. The thought made him want to drink, but he stayed his hand, trying to to keep his promise.

Silence loomed about Chres, interrupted by the occasional servant tending to the fire. He’d asked them a few times about the princess. They looked at him as if he were an oddity. And indeed he was. Afterall the night was growing late.

”She hasn’t returned?” One of them had replied. “I’ll be sure to inquire the master, assuming he is still awake. If I had to guess though, he probably offered her the VIP suite. 

Chres nodded. That should be that then. Was there really any need for him to stay out here any longer? Would it not be better to resign himself to sleep?

Another hour passed with the occasional servant wandering in and out. They all seemed to eye Chres as an annoyance. As if his presence was somehow interfering with their current work. Eventually it became too much to bear. 

Chres stood up from his current resting spot. But instead of heading to his room, Chres found himself exiting the guest wing entirely.
 
As he left, he nodded farewell to the current servant in the foyer. The servant nodded back silently. Watching Chres leave with a sort of hunger. 

Unfortunately, Chres found that he wasn’t able to get the tranquility he had hoped for in the halls of the darkened mansion. Servants brustled in and out of the mansion’s corridors even there, despite the late hour. Chres couldn’t help but frown, wondering to himself if they ever slept.

Eventually, he decided to ignore the looks they gave him. Tuning them out and focusing on his internal thoughts. Namely a question from Tayla which she had asked him earlier that day.

Why was he here?

The Being had stolen Chres’s life from him. Nothing would be left of him after he died. The world would not remember him. Except… except for…

[color=8493ca]"-your fellow pactmakers-”[/color] Those had been the words spoken by the being.

And now, after everything, where was this being now? For weeks they had heard nothing from him! Forgotten and pushed aside despite everything the Being had put them through!

[color=8493ca]"Aside from your fellow pactmakers, the world will not remember you... Any of you... Unspoken... forever more..."[/color]

Unspoken. Forgotten. Aside from his fellow pactmakers. There would never be anyone else in Chres’s life anymore. Only the pactmakers. So if anyone would remember him after he died, it would be them.

Chres found his hands trembling in the form of a fist. His knuckles white as bone. With effort, he unclenched his hands and calmed himself. 

It was too soon for such thoughts. He still didn’t know what his dead wife meant when she told him he didn’t understand. The only problem, just where did he start? 

Exhaling, Chres turned around the way he came only to find himself face to face with a servant who he had not realized was there.

Chres blinked in surprise, but then bowed his head in apology. [color=00aeef]”Excuse me.”[/color] He muttered.

He made to move around the servant, but the same servant cut him off.

“You have wandered quite far from the guest wing at so late an hour.” The servant said.  

Frowning, Chres met the servant’s gaze. [color=00aeef]”Sorry.”[/color] He muttered. [color=00aeef]”I was on my way back right now.”[/color]

Again he made to maneuver around the servant. Again, the servant cut him off.

“Actually, I think we prefer things this way.”

Immediately, Chres found himself on high alert, as he heard the rustling of two more servants behind him. 

The servant in front of Chres smiled, “We tried to keep you away, but you Norms persisted.” He reached into his clothes and pulled out a dagger.  “On the upside though, you did give us a princess.”

Chres reached for his magical reserves. Found them. Attempt to shape them into a blade, and… Nothing happened… His reserves stayed where they were. Stored away in his clothing.

Panic filled Chres. His magic wasn’t working! He could still feel things but his magic wasn’t working!

The servant lunged forward. Chres reacted on instinct, dashing to the side, catching the man’s wrist and then pushing the man forward to throw him off balance. 

With a shout, the man cried out, as Chres pulled the man’s arm backwards and twisted the wrist, disarming the man. 

Catching the dagger in his free hand, Chres then kicked the man into the other servants that had previously been behind him.

Surprised, the servants threw up their hands and caught their comrade. Chres took advantage of the chaos and made a mad run back the way he came. To the guest wing. Behind him, the guards yell after him. 

[color=00aeef][i]Sil![/i][/color] He thought through his mental link to his familiar. [color=00aeef][i]We’ve been had. My magic’s not working and the servants just tried to kill me![/i][/color]

[color=a2d39c][i]Oh, that’s nice![/i][/color] Sil thought back happily. [color=a2d39c][i]But if you don’t mind, I’m kinda busy right now watching Tayla sleep. Did you know she puddles from her mouth?![/i][/color]

[color=00aeef][i]Sil! Now is not the time! They have Lys! Warn the others before-[/i][/color]

Another servant appeared before Chres. Thinking quickly, Chres pulled out a throwing knife. Aimed and…

Chres’s foot landed on a bit of rug that inexplicably tore away from the rest of the rug. He slipped on the bit of loose rug. Loosing his footing, he fell to the ground with a thud.

The man smiled. “Not easy fighting in the Divergent, is it?” He said, while spitting on the floor and raising his hand. The spit began to warp and change, transforming into a blazing beast.

“Fortunately for us.” The man continued. “Our magic works.”