"This girl," Fallyn sighed, getting to her feet and walking towards the door leading to the hallway, "I swear I will kill her if she has armor on."
Another set of metal clanks followed the first pair, this one lower in volume, only Blanc catching the sound of it.
He took the knife from between his legs and waited for the moment Fallyn passed by him.
"A moment, My Lord Blanc, I have to scold her if she ever is to learn," Fallyn giggled lightly, getting near him.
"No need to explain to me what a parent has to do for their children, My Lady," Blanc laughed as she passed him, "For I intend to do the same."
As she passed, he turned swiftly, grabbing her and placing the blade to her throat.
"What is the meaning of this?" Constantine yelled as he and Benedict jumped to their feet.
Miyanna, Kael, and Lune were frozen, seeing what happened.
All but Celine.
"Why don't you tell us that, My Lord Constantine?" Celine wondered, getting to her feet.
Silence came from his mouth, a silence as deep as Benedict's mutism.
"Why?" Blanc hissed into Fallyn's ear, "And you dare use the High Monarch's name while you betray him?"
"Oh, child," Fallyn sighed as the multiple metal steps approached the door, "When the life of all you hold dear is at stake, do you think loyalty to others will remain? Only survival remains."
The door opened, and first to enter was Faye; most of her entire body, save for the head, was covered in armor.
Behind her, one after the other, soldiers came pouring in.
All knew who they were, as the helmets they wore were well known to the eyes of the five.
A faceless helmet covered their heads, except for two small openings where their eyes stood.
The nightmares of the Iron Line.
"Release her, My Lord Blanc," Faye ordered, drawing her sword.
"Selling your entire Blood to the enemy will make you accomplices to all their sins," Celine replied, looking towards her old friend.
"Unfortunately, Celine dear, at this point in time, you are the enemy," Faye said out loud, "But that could change, for they only want Lord Blanc and the twins, nothing more. You and your sister are free to leave."
"If you think I'm going to let our husband be taken away, you are mistaken, Faye," Celine replied, drawing her sword.
Miyanna, Lune drew their swords while Kael drew his bow, ready to loose an arrow at a moment's notice.
Miyanna took a step forward, looking towards the soldiers of the Iron Line.
"I am the fourth commander of the Larva Orbis, Miyanna, who is the leader of your company here?"
A soldier, dressed the same way the others did, took a step forward, "I am."
"Stand your men down, and you may live to see your sons," Miyanna said, addressing the man. "Do not, and I will kill every single one of you worthless pieces of scrap iron for threatening my family."
"This is where we are then," Blanc sighed, scraping the blade over Fallyn's skin. "I suggest you move out of the way, and we will take our leave nice and easy. Do that, and I might even free Lady Aron."
"You will not threaten my wife inside our home," Constantine muttered, getting to his feet, with Benedict joining him soon after.
"I threaten whom I please, My Lord," Blanc replied, pressing the blade harder on the woman's skin, "And I suggest you keep that in mind if you plan on doing something unwise; otherwise, I cannot promise you the neck of your wife will remain intact."
"I see why you lived for so long, child," Fallyn said, smirking, despite the situation she was in, "You know when to speak and when to act."
"Thank you for your kind words, My Lady Aron," Blanc chuckled, looking around them.
The Iron Line soldiers remained still, with only Faye approaching.
"Not another step, Faye, or I will cut you down," Celine said, walking towards her.
"I am sorry, Celine, but you cannot afford to stop me," Faye muttered, dashing forward.
"You must have amnesia," Celine spat, defending against the swing that came her way, "Remember my name, Faye."
"What?" Faye asked, confused, as she thrust her sword.
Celine spun, deflecting the attack and using that momentum to cut Faye near her unprotected collarbone.
"What was my name, Faye?" Celine asked, following with an upward swing of her sword.
Faye tumbled backwards, barely dodging the tip of Celine's sword from cutting at her chin.
But Celine pushed on, not letting Faye recover, "My name, Faye?"
"I would suggest Your Lordships not to act upon instincts," Kael said, arrow nocked, as he aimed at the two, "My aim is quite frightening as of late."
"A pup dares threaten the old bear," Constantine clicked his tongue, "Go suck on your mother's tits."
"I fear she's not present, My Lord," Lune replied, brandishing her sword, "But you will not speak ill of her again."
"And what will you do with that sword, little girl?" he asked, taunting the two, who, despite their young age, had the strength to match their words.
Although ten of Kael and Lune were not able to defeat him, Blanc holding his wife as a hostage made it impossible to act upon the rage he felt.
"Come and see, old man," Lune grinned.
The Iron Line soldiers began walking as Celine and Faye fought, hoping to catch Blanc, as he was too focused on the battle.
But what hit three of them like a raging bull, sending them flying into the wall, was Miyanna, who made sure to keep an eye on them.
"You've made your choice," she pointed her curved sword towards them, "Now come and die."
The standing soldiers pushed forward, brandishing their own curved swords as they aimed at Miyanna's vitals.
But the difference in strength was far too great between them, as with each swing, punch, or kick Miyanna gave them, another fell dead or unconscious to the ground, until Miyanna found herself standing on a pile of bodies.
Constantine pushed forward, the rage getting the better of him as he dashed towards the twins.
But a sharp sting at his side made him tumble down to his knees.
He grabbed his right side, where the stinging came from, feeling the warmth escaping through his fingers.
He looked downwards towards his wound and saw only blood painting his calloused hands.
He turned his eyes towards the twins, who were frozen in their spot, not having done anything yet.
"Then who…" Constantine muttered as the darkness overtook his mind, falling dead to the ground with a loud thud, drawing the attention of all parties.
"NOOOOOOO," yelled Fallyn, seeing her first husband lying dead, his eyes still open as the blood poured all around him.
What made her heart break the hardest, though, was who killed him.
The man raised his finger to his cracked lips, only mustering the only thing close to a word he could mutter.
"Shhh!" Benedict signaled for silence towards his wife.
The sight of her father dead and her mother's guttural scream distracted Faye for just the slightest of moments.
Enough for Celine to take advantage of that mistake.
Since at the moment she did not pay attention, Celine got behind her and managed to immobilize Faye by impaling her sword into her left thigh.
"Aghh," Faye groaned, now on her knees, grabbing at the open wound, unable to continue.
Celine took Faye's discarded weapon and pointed it at her throat, "What was my name, Faye? Tell me, or this sword will meet your other thigh."
"C-Celine of… of Blood Maroux," Faye muttered through gritted teeth, barely able to speak.
"Correct."
A loud thud came from the outside, before Blanc noticed six or more pairs of footsteps approaching.
"There are more coming," he said to the others, as they all turned towards the door.
Only to freeze in place, seeing who entered the dining hall turned battlefield.
"A fine evening to all of you," said Lucien Maroux as he entered the hall, wiping the blood off his sword.
Three more women walked in one after the other behind him. All three of them were wives of his.
But the other two…
By the Vita, the other two women who entered the hall almost made Blanc drop his knife.
"Kill the traitor, son-in-law," Lucien spoke, drawing his attention, "Her daughter and husband will give us all the information we need."
"As you wish," Blanc nodded, dragging the knife across Fallyn's neck, making her choke on her own blood as she tried to breathe air in.
But Blanc could not even care for the woman dying at his feet as he looked into the eyes of the two women, smiling warmly at him and his two younger siblings.
They were as beautiful as the last day he saw them.
No… perhaps even more so.
"Good evening," Blanc muttered through building tears, bowing as deeply as he could towards them, "Mothers."