The Infiltration - Part 1

Everything was lively up until this moment. The band had been playing a nice song that everyone enjoyed listening to. All the members of the nobility were walking around with smiles on their faces catching up with acquaintances and friends, gossiping and talking about news in other regions. Several were busy stuffing their faces, albeit calmly and slowly, with the offered food that tasted divine. It was a joyous evening, and everyone was having a great time.

Aside from the disruption before the dance of course.

But that all changed when the man on the stage made himself known as he held his swords against one of the guard's necks.

Everyone's face turned to shock and panic as they saw this. It was outrageous, for someone like this to happen within a Lord's Castle.

After he spoke, everyone could only watch as the guard remained perfectly still within the man's grip, as with the sword pressed against his neck, as closely as possible, he was sure that trying to free himself would only end in his death.

It was just silence as the man stood there as if he was waiting for everyone's attention on him, and by this point, a lot of people were worried about what would happen next.

Some though were confused about how this had happened. How had this man got in here and managed to take one of the guards hostage? With all the nobility here, there was a staggering number of guards for security, many even bringing some of their own to be sure they were protected against something like this. So how was this man here?

Upon inspecting his outfit, he did look a little like nobility. He had a very nice outfit on, similar to what some of the other noblemen were wearing. Could he have been with them all this time, some wondered. That was a scary thought.

What was even scarier though was why he was still here. As mentioned, with the large about of security, many even being in this room, how was he still on stage?

A few took their eyes off the man and looked around the room to where the guards lined the walls and saw a shocking sight. Where they had been standing at ready like they had been all this time, they somehow had all been taken out in some way, just like the one at the front.

Several were in choke holds or had swords and daggers against their throats like the man at the front, by people they had never seen before. A good number were just crumpled on the floor as if they had passed out or were asleep, and given the gaps along the wall, some were just missing. It was unprecedented, for a force this large to have been taken down in one fell swoop.

The men that were holding the guards all had the same outfits on. They wore very dark outfits, hiding every feature of their body and face. They were, to Octavia's thoughts, the stereotypical image of how you imagine an assassin or ninja to look.

Before she could ponder more on this, the man brought everyone's attention back to him as he spoke again.

"Now I'm sure you're wondering what's happening here. You must be scared, panicked, and afraid about what's going to happen next. But have no fear. I did not come here to kill anyone, but that doesn't mean I won't. So, if you do what I say, you will be able to get back to your evening and get on with your life.

No one knew what to say. With the number of people in the room, even the wannabe heroes and brave soles could see things would not go their way should they speak up. Even if everyone in the room rose up and fought, without swords or weapons of any kind, it would not be a long fight and would end in many nobles dying.

"From the looks a lot of you are making around the room, I'm guessing you hope the guards will come to your rescue. I'm sorry to say that they are all being…acquainted with my colleagues and will probably be delayed indefinitely," he said with a slight grin.

"Why are you here?"

Everyone turned to see who had spoken, but it was obvious who it was. Being the host of the ball and his household, Lord Desmon spoke up.

"Lord…Desmon, right. In part, it is because of you, but allow me to explain. I am part of a large group and I came here for one reason and one reason only. But when we realised there was a ball being held here and that it was so easy to infiltrate it, we decided to…get a little something for ourselves along the way. With so many members of nobility here, wearing jewels and finery, how could we not take the time to rob you all."

At that, two of the doors to the ballroom opened, and in streamed even more of the same men, all holding bags.

"So, if you will be so kind as to give us everything valuable you have on your person, that would be great. And while you do I will explain my true purpose for being here."

The men slowly walked around the room, holding out the bags to the men and women of nobility. A few resisted at first, but once punches started landing, everyone soon became more cooperative in handing their wealth over.

"There is someone among you that I need. Someone that should not exist yet has somehow managed to worm her way into your society. Someone who, after saving a damsel in distress has been treated as an honoured guest within this very castle." He said to the crowd as he slowly looked over to Lord Desmon.

A few in the crowd didn't know what the man was talking about, likely not having heard the story. But the girl in question and many others knew whom he was referring to. A girl who was currently hidden on the side of the ballroom with Sylvia.

As he spoke, she did all she could to try and hide herself more, such as tucking her tailing beneath her dress and hiding behind a good deal of people. But she knew that it would not be long before he or his men found her. What she didn't know was why they were looking for her.

'Are these that group from before, 'The Hidden Collectors'?', she couldn't help but wonder.

She didn't have long to think though, before Sylvia pulled on her arm and started to whisper to her, asking her the same question on whether she knew who they were.

Back on the stage, the man started to speak again.

"Lord Desmon has been kind enough to allow this girl to remain in his household, but I am afraid her stay with you will have to end here," he said staring at the man in question.

Octavia was trying to figure out what she could do. Sure, fighting came to mind, but if all these guards could be taken out by them, what could she do? The only thing was to flee. She needed to get out of this room and get away from them before one of his men finds her, or one of the nobles decides to rat her out.

"We need to get out of here," she whispers to Sylvia, who wholeheartedly agreed with her. The problem was that with all the men wandering around, and the nobility standing still, any movement from her, was going to be spotted.

On the other side of the room, Lord Desmon stood his ground and stared right back at the man. He dared not look over to where Octavia was, as that was a sure-fire way she would be caught. He also knew that if Octavia got caught, Sylvia would not let her go quietly given the relationship they had with each other. This was his castle and his family. It was his duty to keep them safe.

"I'm afraid that is not going to happen."

The man then had a faux look of shock on his face as he heard Lord Desmon speak, as of course, he knew that Lord Desmon wouldn't just let an honoured guest be taken.

"I'm sorry, but that isn't really your decision to make. We know she is in this room, and it's not like there are many places to hide, even with such a large number of vermin present. It will not take us long to search the whole room. There is nowhere for her to go."

Octavia was beginning to panic. More so than she already was.

When he said she had nowhere to go, her eyes roamed to the doors in the room and saw men standing in front of them. There really wasn't a way out.

In the corner of her eye, she could see one of his men heading in her direction, robbing people as he went, and it would only be a matter of time before he reached her. She had no plan, and no idea how to get out of this.

"I won't let you take her."

The man on the stage used the pommel of his sword to strike the guard's head, causing everyone in the room to gasp at the sight. When the guard fell to the ground, he started walking towards Lord Desmon with a look of annoyance on his face.

"Oh really. And how pray-tell are you going to stop me? You have no guards, no knights, no weapons. You are just an old man in expensive clothes. You are nothing without people following your orders."

As he got right up into Lord Desmon's face, the man's face had ended up turning to disgust as he spoke, his hatred for nobility really coming through.

On the other side of the room, the man walking through the crowd was getting nearer and nearer to Octavia and Sylvia.

But while Lord Desmon knew this was a dire situation, he could only look back at the man in front of him and smile.

"You really know nothing about nobility. Do you?"