Chapter 7

The cobblestoned plaza was silent as a tomb; No birds chirped their songs. No chirrupy sentences coming from the inhabitants of the city. No one but Brielle and her harsh breathing to mask the thudding of her heart.

Observing Talin who was a breath away from her, Brielle realized the differences of their stature. Talin was a head taller than her, with lean arms and long fingers. Fingers that could travel to her neck, wrap around her skin, and squeeze the life from her small body. Though the defender's posture was relaxed, her punishing stare said that she could move at a moment's notice to strike down her target. Suddenly, the scary rumors didn't seem far-fetched, or funny.

Brielle took a step back. "D-dispose?" she said, wondering if she'd heard it right.

Talin moved forward, a glimmer in her eyes. "Dispose," the defender repeated in a low voice. "Dump, ditch, scrap. Something like that."

Like trash? Like rubbish on the streets, or a spill on the floor that Brielle was forced to scrub when her master would intentionally turn his glass upside down to pour its contents on the carpet, just to taunt her. Something like that.

Her fist connected to the side of Talin's face before she could stop herself.

None of them made a sound, not her or Talin whose face had turned away to the side due to the impact. If Brielle's heart was thudding wildly before, it had quieted down, almost to a dull throb. She'd done it now. Her existence was over. She'd hurt not only her future sodales, the one who was going to protect her, but a person who was rumored to be untouchable in combat. Add to that, her knuckles were numbing. She'd never lifted a hand to injure anyone, sometimes at the expense of her own defense.

She opened her mouth to speak, yet no words came out.

Talin slowly turned her head to face Brielle. Bafflement was written on her expression instead of anger. "Who are you?" she said.

Brielle's hand twitched at her side. She didn't know what to do. Maybe she should apologize first before she explained how she was nothing to be bothered with, and Talin should leave her alone. Perhaps along with the apology, she could also beg for her life. After all, weren't the defenders the ones who were supposed to choose their partners for The Offering? Why was Brielle caught in this? Where was Talin's original partner? It should have been selected years ago.

Before she could say all those things, footsteps echoed on the plaza, the sound heading right towards them. "I'm glad the two of you are getting well-acquainted," Master Vincent said when he was within speaking distance. He never went anywhere on the city without his guards, and right then, eight stood behind him, shadowing his every step. All of them paused near the two women.

"A bit late for a stroll, isn't it?" Talin remarked. She straightened her back and appeared to have recovered from their little spat, as if nothing ever happened. Brielle also noted that the defender wasn't as respectful to her master as any other person on Sector I normally was around him.

Master Vincent's lips formed a straight line. It suggested that he too was none happier with Talin's way of speaking to him. "The night is too lovely to pass down," he replied. Master Vincent glanced from one girl to another thoughtfully. "Clearly, I wasn't the only one thinking that." He pushed his glasses up and smiled. "So how are the two of you? Getting to know each other, I see."

"No," Talin denied, looking away.

"You just randomly ran into each other, then?" Master Vincent inquired. "How convenient."

What was he trying to say? Brielle thought. The two of them meeting here was nothing more than coincidence.

Dispose.

A shiver ran down her spine. Talin couldn't have followed her here, could she? The defender was just as surprised to see Brielle in the plaza alone.

"What I do with my life is none of your business," Talin finally answered Master Vincent. "I report to the president, not you."

Irritation crossed the master's features. "My mother is old," he said. "You're looking at your future president. If you're still alive by then, that is."

Talin was unruffled by the insult. "You can count on me being here." She turned her back to him. "It's your daughter you have to be worried about. With the other defenders targeting her head in The Offering, she's as good as dead."

"That may be the case, but if she dies, you're going down with her," Master Vincent reminded. "Aren't you forgetting something? You're going to take your sodales vow soon. The law states that if you're not able to defend Brielle in battle, and she dies, your fight is forfeit. You need to die too. Your life is tied together from now on. I suggest you think of her more as your extension than anything else."

Talin's jaw clenched. Brielle could see the beginnings of bruises forming on the defender's right cheek. She shouldn't have struck her impulsively like that. If they were to survive together, they needed to be in top shape. Then again, she shouldn't have been compared to trash.

"I know what the law states," Talin said stubbornly. "I don't always need to follow it."

"The law was created for a reason," someone else spoke. The guards flanking Master Vincent stood to attention and saluted for the newcomer.

"Mother," Master Vincent greeted with a flustered smile. "I thought you were going to stay on our table to enjoy the feast."

The president walked regally to them, the rest of her guards surrounding her. "I smelled smoke from the distance," she said. "And you know what they say, when there's smoke, there's bound to a fire. My fire starters had been here all along."

Master Vincent stepped to the president and looped an arm around her. Mother and son didn't look alike in any way. Their similarities ended with the color of their clothes, though if you heard them speak to a crowd, you couldn't deny that they had the same penchant for getting attention. They expressed it in different ways- Master Vincent with his syrupy way of speaking to the audience, and the president through formality and respect.

"We weren't starting any fire," he said to his mother. "I was simply reminding our defender about her responsibilities for The Offering. Our country can't win if she keeps denying her sodales."

"Winning is my responsibility, not her." Talin said this as though her partner wasn't there.

Brielle sensed a long discussion in the making. They've been bickering this amongst themselves for some time now. Why did they keep it from her if she was to be in the thick of things? She balled her hands angrily. Official business as it was, it was still her business.

The president sighed. "What's done is done. Since the situation is out of our hands, we can only make the best of it."

Talin shook her head. "It's not over until I say so," she said. "You'll regret this." With one last look over her shoulder to Master Vincent, and a distasteful glance at Brielle, she walked away, heading to the buildings beyond the plaza.