The air was tense between the two, one a hand for Redfall and the other nothing more than a spark of rebellion of the old ways. Dagna didn't bother starting a conversation with Seryn who had her attention out the window. The ride had been smooth with no form of problems.
The weight of the silence however was too much for the dwarf to bear. "Excuse me but what exactly will happen to me when I get to Redfall?" She couldn't help but ask, her face laced with a bit of worry and curiosity. Seryn's gaze drifted to her, empty as it was since she had picked her up.
"My mission is to take you to Redfall, what happens after is none of my concern." Her words cold before gazing away from her. She felt a knot in her stomach, her breathes growing shorter as the walls of Redfall came into view. The drones that coasted above felt like eyes glaring down on her.
The streets were busy with people who all ticked to a perfect rhythm. Their eyes hollow as they went about with their days. 'How could one do such a thing?' She mused, appalled with what she saw before the walls of the palace came into view. The air was dead, not a single sound to welcome her.
The coach was parked for the two to alight. Seryn took the initiative. "Well done Seryn." Jarren spoke with a smile on his face before his attention went to the dwarf that reached her upper torso. Dagna took a closer look at the man who shone his serpentine smile, the air around him wrong before her gaze went to the girl next to him.
'Who is she?' Her question in her mind met with an answer that caught her off guard. "You must be Dagna, this I'm Jarren and this is Lyssara." The air turned awkward, Seryn took her leave into the palace. "Well come on, we have much to cover." His words leaving her no room to protest.
She looked up before back at the path she had taken. 'The security here is way too much.' With a short sigh, she followed the two who began with a tour of the place. Jarren with his hands clasped behind his back gave a lay-out of the place, Lyssara and Dagna tagged along before he came to the end.
"You didn't have to overwhelm her you know." Lyssara finally bothered to break the silence that had began to creep in. "She has to know how to get around the place. I have other matters to attend to so I'll her in your hands." And with that his figure disappeared from the scene.
Lyssara sighed him off while Dagna showed her shock. "Come on, you're not the only captive around here." And with that the two made their way to the garden outside, the myriads of flowers a delight to witness. Dagna now at ease with Lyssara finally spoke. "I'm Dagna but I'm sure you already knew that." Lyssara flashed an innocent smile.
"Lyssara." She stretched her hand out and the two shared a knowing handshake. "This place is another world compared to my kingdom." Dagna mumbled as she looked around, her eyes taking in the silicone and steel that flashed all over.
"Well it's a bit overwhelming but you'll get used to it." The air eased between the two as Lyssara reached out for her tea. "So what's it like here? After all being in the leading kingdom sounds exhilarating." Lyssara gave a helpless chuckle as she nearly spat out her tea. "Exhilarating isn't the word I would use. As for excitement around here, the game is far better than these walls."
Dagna's brows furrowed, baffled with what she meant. "What do you mean game?" Her mind thinking that there were games that she engaged in to pass the time. "Game, Jarren should connect you to the hellish experience. You'd be the fourth to play." Lyssara realizing that she didn't do much with her explanation sighed her off.
"It's complicated to put it in words but think of another world where you get to kill and grow stronger. With skills to acquire as well. A great use of time other than these banal walls." Dagna found it odd that it would be boring in a kingdom like Redfall before her mind recalled of the husks that marched all over.
Other than the palace, she hadn't seen anything that resembled life out in the streets, Seryn was a testament of this. "Do you ever experiment with the technology?" She shot up, her tone hesitant. "Not really, after all I have other matters to focus on but if you are interested, I'd have to introduce you to...Clomere."
Her face darkening as she said the name. "What's the matter?" Dagna immediately asked noticing the shift of her tone. "Clomere is a very complicated person is all." She leaned in, her voice turning into a whisper. "I personally don't like her. Crimson or Floraison are way more tolerable." Dagna was still lost with her words however she went with them.
'I never thought that I would put my fault in a demon.' Her eyes drifted to Lyssara's obsidian horns, her guard initially up began to wither away as the chatted away. She came to learn more about Jarren and the rest of the monstrous lot that governed Redfall. Her emotions shifting from surprise to horror the more they went on.
By the time they had come to an end, she was filled with wariness. "I never thought that they would be so powerful." She muttered in disbelief, now realizing as to why her father was so fearful of Redfall and it's rulers. "However with you around, I guess it won't be so lonely around here." Lyssara chuckled as she took her last sip of her tea.
"Was that the reason why I'm here? To offer you company?" Lyssara shrugged her shoulders, unsure with her response. "With these freaks, it's hard to tell what they have on their minds." Placing her cup down, she leaned back into her seat taking in the view. "It's rather frightening to think that they could have long taken over and yet they dally."
Lyssara gave a hum, affirming with Dagna's words. "I know that this may come off as a stretch but do you think that I could learn about the inventions and technology that power this place?" Before Lyssara could respond, another voice echoed from behind. "Here the two of you are, I was wondering when I would get to meet Dagna."
Magdalene stated as she made her way to the pair. Dagna's body tensed seeing her figure while Lyssara was shrouded in apathy. "My queen." Dagna scrambled to get on her feet as she made a bow, Lyssara covered her face in embarrassment. "You don't have to do all of that, just be casual with her."
Dagna however remained stiff hearing Lyssara's words. "You don't have to be tense around me sweetie, just think of me as an aunt of yours." Magdalene said as she shone a disarming smile to Dagna who began to ease up. "Of course, aunt Magdalene." Lyssara spoke tearing the awkward silence.
"She wanted to learn about technology. Could Clomere help her with that?" Magdalene let out a light chuckle, her hands clasping. "Of course however she's busy at the moment. And speaking of busy you haven't walked her pet." Dagna watched the back and forth chatter between the two, realizing how familiar the two were.
'It would seem that she isn't one of those. However why did it have to be the worst one.' From Lyssara's description of Clomere, she had come to associate cruelty with Clomere, something Lyssara knew she would be reprimand for by the miss. "I'll get to it then." Groaning as she got in her feet, she gestured for Dagna to follow her.
"It was wonderful conversing with you aunt Magdalene." Dagna said with respect. "Of course Dagna." Her gaze shifted to Lyssara. "Maybe you could learn a thing or two from her." Lyssara'a crimson eyes narrowed not with hatred but contempt. "Of course, aunt Magdalene." She forced herself before leaving the gazebo.
...
The babble on the walls gaining Dagna's attention, Lyssara watched her fawn over each piece with indifference before the two made their arrival at Clomere's room. "Get ready to meet Diana...and hopefully not Clomere." The latter part of her sentence a whisper Dagna didn't catch as Lyssara opened the door.
The scene the two met with was a grand bed and a dog couch not far. "Is that a human?" Dagna voiced her wonder as she saw Diana. "I did tell you that she had an odd taste." Lyssara claimed as the two walked in. Clomere walked in from the bathroom, her purple hair in a bun as her figure was draped in a towel.
Her jade eyes darted from Lyssara before her bed where her clothes lay. "Could you two give me a minute? I've got to change after all." Her words flat as she undid the towel that held up her hair letting her lavender hair cascade over her back.
Dagna's face flushed as she turned around in shame. "Of course!" Lyssara stood to face the horror, her face showing her unamusment. "There's no need, after all I'm sure you wouldn't mind." Clomere didn't bother as she let her towel fall to the ground revealing her stark body. Lyssara's expression didn't change as she went on with her request.
"Dagna-" Clomere cut her off. "I know, that's the reason why I had her called here. Now if you're fine watching me operate on her turn make yourself comfortable." She spoke as she changed her attire into something more professional. She was now wearing a white sterile coat, her hair held back in a neat bun once more.
"Come on Dagna, make your way to the table." With a snap of her fingers, a table opened from the floor in the middle of the room. A glance was enough to prove that it was an operating table as numerous needles fell from the ceiling and onto the table. Dagna who was scared to turn around felt a shiver run down her spine seeing the needle.
"Excuse me but what exactly are you doing?!" Lyssara voiced her frustration as Dagna made her way to the table, her face portraying her worry. "I'll be making some adjustments to her body is all. No more will she be shackled by the limits of flesh." Clomere's tone flat as a needle flashed in her hands. "Don't worry dear, she won't be hollow like Seryn, her mind will still be the same. This isn't a lobotomy after all."
He joke met with a glare from Lyssara. "Take off your clothes." Dagna taken aback looked at Clomere as if testing that she was sure with her words. Seeing her glare, she began to slowly undress till she was naked. Her hands covered her breasts and genitals, Clomere remained unfazed as she ordered her to get on the table.
"You said that you wanted to be here, what exactly do you plan on doing to her with this operation?" Lyssara asked as the needles began to lower from the ceiling, now hovering a few inches above Dagna's face. Clomere administered a shot of the vial in her hand to the lady sending her unconscious.
"This might be new to you but I'm going to change parts of her body that I deem...useless. But her mind and what she calls a consciousness will remain the same, the body will be different." The mechanical arms began their work as they began to carve her skull off. It wasn't just he upper body but the rest of her body as well which began the replacement.
To the side another machine came to be, printing the parts she would be replaced with. Lyssara watched from the side, her mind swirling with questions she held back till the operation was over. Seeing how focused Clomere was, she let the silence and the faint whirls of the machines fill the space between them.
Her eyes drifted to Diana who was still asleep, her body lacking the scars she had left her with the last time she was with her. 'At the very least she cares about how you look to heal you.' Still baffled that Clomere kept Diana as a dog in her own room.