Mercy

"... I am sorry" She didn't lower her spear, but Liandra found her arm held. In her mind there was no reason to believe Ophelia´s excuses, but she did believe them, and she couldn't strike her.

"I am sorry" Liandra repeated, and this time she lowered the deadly weapon. "... my name is Liandra"

"Ophelia... I am a white summoner and acolyte of the gods" There was still unease between them, Liandra was very cautious not to turn her back on Ophelia, and Ophelia still didn't believe she wasn't dead yet.

"I was captured... I don't know how long ago. It must have been years, it felt like an eternity. Is Reid II still the king?" Liandra nodded, no use mentioning he was her father. "Dark came during the night, and crashed through the doors. We all heard it, and some of us hid, others went to see what was wrong. I was one of the fools that went to the chapel to see what happened..."

"It was brutal carnage. Corpses littered the ground, and the beast gorged on their remains as if he was savoring a banquet. He looked at me, and even across the hall I could feel his serpent eyes holding me captive" Ophelia broke in another sobbing, and Liandra did finally.

"I don't know if anyone at the monastery survived, I prayed night after night that they did, but I never had much hope." She held her wrists "I prayed, I so often prayed to have strength to join them, but I was... I am too much of a coward" Liandra had let go of her spear, and sat besides the crying woman, offering her hand, but not daring to touch her without permission.

"I tried to resist, I swear I tried, but it was so much easier to comply, to use my knowledge to his evil purposes... the chants I once used to call Angels and Celestials were perverted to summon devils and demons. I tried to always make a mistake, some imperfection in the ritual that would make the manifest demon somehow flawed, but even so. I don't know how many times I yielded to him, and soon I could see he had an army" Ophelia held Liandra´s hand, and the princess offered a warm embrace. She still felt miserable, but sharing someone else´s burden was a great relief.

"It is over, Ophelia. He is dead" If only she was a little more paranoid, maybe the princess would have noticed how Ophelia was really holding a dagger in her other hand, a wicked blade that had been used on many foul ritual.