Keevah watched Aveedah's face and unlike the ruthless Queen others could see, he could see her dilemma and he thought of ways to solve it for her.
"Your highness, allow me." He begged looking into her eyes.
Aveedah looked at him for a while before she took a seat allowing him a closer look at the guests.
Keevah moved closer to the four people standing, they were all injured severely and if not given immediate attention, one or two will be lost. Quickly, he casted a spell on them one after another and they began to heal, it was an exhausting process but he took it in.
The knights watched quietly as he healed them one after the other. Immediately he was done, he looked at the Queen and she nodded at him.
"Eric, take them to the secluded prison, provide them with water and food and double their security."
"Lock Victoria up in the interrogation room and well done to all of you." She paused to look at Victoria before she continued.
"Your efforts are recognized and I will compensate you all for the trouble."
"Victoria, I hope when I release you, I do it with with pride to have been your acquaintance."
"For now, Eric provide her with food and water in the interrogation room."
Having gave her orders, she walked out with Keevah leaving them in a dilemma.
Eric looked at Victoria who was still on the floor, her eyes downcast.
"I hope while you sit in there, you understand why the queen is this way." He said outloud for others to hear. Aveedah had been one of them and was their leader until her father had passed on. She is familiar with every single one of them but was closest to Victoria and Eric. But before she was their friend, she was a queen, a queen who is having sleepless nights to protect them, he did not want to have the people who should support her misunderstanding her, she did not deserve such.
" Where are they from?" She asked immediately they stepped into her private library.
"That is something very confusing." He replied carefully.
Aveedah raised an eyebrow and he beckoned her to sit down before he started his explanation.
"They are from the same place seeing how one speaks for all of them and they were obviously sent seeing how they didn't bother denying it but the confusing part is how they are together when they are so different?"
"You see one is an ungifted, the other a fire wielder, the other an earth wielder and the last one an air wielder, there is only one possibility where those people can be under the same authority." Keevah said staring straight at Aveedah who looked at him in realization.
"Outcasts!" She muttered.
"They surely have a leader Vee, they must have made a gang or something." He continued.
"This is more than some petty gang. If you take a close look at them, they are not some untrained brutes, their physique, their stance, their endurance, their resolve, their manner of speech, there's no doubt it is more than a gang." She replied thoughtfully.
"But if that is what it is, doesn't that mean you have an ally?" He asked.
"An ally or someone who wants me to think he is an ally." She replied.
"Something does not feel right Keevah, they could have blended with my people by sending all fire wielders. Why such diversity?"
"Why protect my people to the extent of giving their life in exchange for Victoria's?"
"If you don't want to be found out Keevah, you clear your trails, these people are leaving their trails for me to follow, it feels like a fish being lured by food and I don't like it." She concluded standing up from the chair she was sitting on.
Keevah was quiet for a while as he pondered on her word. Truly, they were leaving subtle hints for them to pick out.
"But we can't conclude on the fact that they are trying to decieve us, what if it is their own way of getting their own ally, you know, just the way you are being cautious, they are also being cautious so that they will not end up exposing themselves to their enemies." Keevah replied.
Aveedah nodded a bit.
"So you are saying we can't afford to lose an ally just because we are being cautious of falling into a trap?" She asked and Keevah smiled in response.
"I agree. Then we can play along, afterall a known enemy will always be better than an unknown friend. Knowledge is bliss, while ignorance will always remain the most potent poison in history.,"
"When you drop a bait for the fish, you even try to protect the water from the disturbance of the wind, until your hook lodges into the mouth of the fish, you stay calm, you even try to slowly drag the fish to confirm how deep the hook is in the mouth before as fast as you can, you drag it out of the water to avoid it escape." Aveedah explained and this made Keevah gave a knowing smile.
"Your highness, allow me to make them think the hook is lodged deep in our mouth." He replied making Aveedah smile wickedly.
"I do not have a problem with that." She replied calmly.
"Vee, What about Victoria?" Keevah asked on a second thought. Victoria had fallen a victim of her emotions, it was as simple as that but cannot be proven. Which made her case as good as doomed.
"Victoria." She whispered.
"How deep do you think the hook can lodge?" She asked, confusing Keevah by the sudden change of topic.
Keevah struggled to find a reply when he saw her give a sinister smile, she stared at him in the eye moving closer to him, she could almost see her reflection in his black orbs.
" Keevah, I plan to make it go deeper than they imagined. They have already left us the hints, find out the biggest most organised community of outcasts, I, Queen Aveedah Moorah Aarah of Vedarah will pay the leader a visit." She whispered to him, the most sinister yet alluring smile on her face, a twinkle of evil in her eyes, Keevah swallowed.
"And I am guessing, Victoria will be part of the entourage." He simply said, making her smile go deeper.
Satisfied, she moved away, throwing one last glance of assurance at him, she walked out of the place leaving the man both excited and anxious.