How should she have felt?

Being back within the city, it seemed… odd.

Improper perhaps. Yet wholly appropriate too. A weirdly conflicting sense of satisfaction coinciding and at conflict with a direct feeling of discomfort. Like the guilt to have committed an act of murder, only for the victim to be a horrid human being, deserving of their fate.

To Astrid, it was the duality of the matter, her being within this city. She as much found herself playing both the leads within this performance: the hero of Oak Town, a girl having emerged from the streets to becoming one of the most powerful women within Crocus, a Senator within the Fiore Government, one of those closest to the ear of King Reign. And as much too, she was the one whom had accepted the shadows to arise to such a place of power, shadows that had anticipated her compliance, her loyalty.

Her loyalty extended only for as long as it stood to mutually benefit her and her benefactor. The latter were the first to show his hand, a gambit made to bring her down to her knees, force her back into servitude like that of a slave. In reality though, she stood there free, stripped of whatever foreign influence may have once lingered; the byproduct of her own counterinitiative, having gone far and above the sense of success that she would have striven for, now having come out as the clear and present victor.

At least within her eyes.

She still had a game to play yet. It was a game of chess that had begun when she first ventured into Oak Town so long ago, once a young woman on the run from her vindictive father. But now, she and the force opposite her on the board had found themselves slowly yet methodically taken one another’s pieces, neither conceding nor having even given it the thought.

Yet the board was in her favor now. As evident as the fact that she stood in Oak Town before this building, her magnificent, if not horrific, stilettos clicking as they stomped against the cobblestone road just before the imposing stone staircase that led inside, each step was a step closer to her securing checkmate.

The air almost felt heavy with each step taken, the trip being no different than that of what she had taken time and time again within Crocus, her tour of duty as a Senator being far more of a physically demanding role than this. That did not take away from the air becoming thinner, her breathing picking up if only slightly, the light exhales that escaped her lips almost enough to be mistaken for a faint growl. An unnecessary response, if not one driven by instinct first and foremost. The political world was cutthroat; cruelty being an attribute that behind closed doors was to be revered and respected.

As the total number of steps ceased, her eyes shifted in focus, staring upon the imposing stone doors, ornate in design, having an aesthetic far more resonate within a crypt or massive dungeon. Imposing. Ominous. Exactly what she would have figured from a place like this. Even with this being her first actual time in this building, she felt familiar with it, almost as though it were like a second home.

Another step forward as the two doors slowly swung open, a rough grinding sound echoing about, almost deafeningly so. Another step again and with a flash of grace proceeded through the doors in motion, for the briefest of moments the heavy stone coming within little more than a centimeter or so on either side of her, any less elegant in posture or position and she were to have felt the full brunt of the door swinging open. No more than another step or two forward now within the building and she found herself with two large figures blocking her way, their collective side all but obscuring everything beyond them, any attempt to adjust her view being met by them intent on preventing it.

She understood clearly enough the message that they were trying to send. She was not welcome here. Her head tilted upwards, eyes staring straight toward what she could have only imagined being pairs of eyes hidden behind thick black shades, their reflective lenses giving her only a darkened viewed of her own face, her distinct eyes standing out even within the black tint. Her eyes and the distinct beginnings of a smile, almost a conniving one as she turned her back towards the pair of bodyguards – a dangerous proposition under most circumstances – and as her hand took hold of the long ponytail extending down her backside, Astrid pulled it back, exposing the back of her neck. Her neck, and the black tattoo imprinted upon the skin.

The guild tattoo of Phantom Lord.

There wasn’t a word spoken. None that needed to be. It was the bargain made in exchange for the legacy that she had set forward. Inconsequential to her at the time of her agreeing to it, the situation having befallen her during then being a genuine case of life and death. The tattoo had given her so much more, all the more remarkable in how little heed she had given it, looking past it when she first felt the branding upon her skin, her unveiling it before these guards being one of the few moments counted on one hand that she took intentional notice of it.

A wave of her hands as she parted the pair like that of the sea at her control. Left to her own devices, her own freedom, finally the chance to admire the Phantom Lord Guild Hall for the first time was hers. Her first impressions ended up leaving her, uncertain. Dimly-lit lights did little to paint a truly adequate picture of the interior, décor and aesthetics like that of a luxury club, heavy neon lights that dimly cast upon premier dark wood and leatherbound furniture. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught the briefest of glimpses of patrons looking in her direction. Astrid smiled, a part of her almost wanting someone to attempt something, her mind quite intrigued at just what she may have done to make their last moments memorable.

Not for their sake, but for their associates. Her guildmates. If one had the mistaken idea to try to engage with her, she would make a very clear point of informing them just how awful of a decision that would have been.

Ascending the large staircase that descended down, the image of Astrid, adorned in her typical, elegant attire, cascaded by the red neon lights were a memorable enough sight for all those in attendance. A beautiful woman, mysterious and intimidating, holding power far greater than what anyone may have imagined or first thought, showing her inherent superiority to that of those who otherwise bore the mark of Phantom Lord.

All save for one.

Some time passed as she continued through the upper level of the Phantom Lord Guild Hall, the club-like aesthetic fading away as it instead shifted to that of a more proper, more refined palette. Not unlike that of what she had been used to in Crocus, what she had been exposed to in parts of the Blue Pegasus Guild Hall. It was clear that the lobby and its look were designed with the members in mind, while this elegant decorum was intended for the man who seemed engrossed in a newsletter, seated within an impressive chair as a massive mahogany desk stood between him and the empty chair, it only a few feet away from Astrid as she stepped through the doorway.

She need little more than a single glance to know with certainty just whom she was looking at, certain that his memory of her would be just as vivid. Just as crisp as when they had first met, when they had entered into their agreement.

Fitting, that it would end with them looking one another in the face again.

No better way for them to finish their game, for her to declare to checkmate once and for all.

Not heeding any invitation, she proceeded towards the empty seat, an impressively built seat, also of mahogany. Top quality, greater than most of what she would have hoped to have found within Fiore, certainly within Oak Town. Taking a seat, she crossed her legs and leaned slightly backwards slightly, her posture still upright, her eyes focused, an ambitious smile upon her face.

“I have to say, I’m impressed by what you’ve done with your little piece of this place. Has a much more, refined flare, than that of those, children, have taken a liking towards,” necessary small talk, it would be done with soon enough she figured. “If I remember correctly, the last time we met, I had the distinct pleasure of hosting you within the heart of Fiore. It would only stand to logic that you reciprocate the courtesy. I’m sure you would agree.”

“After all, it almost feels as though a lifetime has passed since we previously met. So much has happened, much that both you and I inevitably have strong opinions towards. How about we go about putting the past in the past, and letting our little game finally come to its final play.”

She sat there, waiting as the two guards whose presence had been unfelt, registered only in the most meaningless of facets, yet their presence nonetheless provided nothing more than the eavesdropping to the banker conducting business. It was with the gesture by Iblis that the duo departed, removing themselves as empty as their introduction had been. A weak smirk began to escape out of the corners of her mouth as they full departed, the faint echoes of their heavy steps further and further down the hallway eventually became little more than a blank sound travelling against the wind.

“Under typical circumstances, I imagine that one would take reverence in that sort of compliment,” her eyes looked right within those of Iblis, neither of them having seeming to be intimidated of one another, despite her effectively staring within an abyss. Neither party had come to this encounter unarmed, Astrid having conducted a methodical operation that gave her an uneasy level of leverage, particularly for one within a city such as Oak, where hold of the corruption was key. Meanwhile, Iblis held within him his own power; strength that even Astrid doubted she could appreciate, as well as the full capacity and force that he had been capable of building for however long he had been in rule.

Yet, in a way, they viewed each other as equals, at least to the degree that one could have drawn from their combined presence.

Astrid extended forward, taking grip of the second glass of wine that had been left upon the heavy-set desk, seizing it and the red liquid for herself. “I will admit, I’ve long been a fan of chess. The competition. The control one may seize for themselves. It reminds me in fact, a match that my father had brought me to witness. One of the few things I will concede that he had done right by me,” She paused, taking a small sip from the wine. If there had been any sort of poison or negative ailment, her Dragon Slayer nose would have picked it up well before. As it touched her lips, the faintest of nods indicated her approval. “Excellent vintage.”

“It was a famous game, you see. In fact, I would be more surprised to imagine that someone such as yourself wasn’t aware of it.” She leaned back now in the chair, wine glass in hand, the faint smirk now much more apparent. “There’s so much to appreciate about it, when you really think about it. Rook to F6; the identifying of the Senators you supported. The ones you sought to use to depose me.” In such a manner, she laid it out for Iblis, facts that the Phantom Lord Guild Master may have already been made aware of, but it was a matter of pride. Showing how she watched the house of cards fall upon the table, to both of them, this was a show of strength. “Queen to G5; holding the emergency session of the Senate and through my own devices, securing authority of the Office of the Auditor.” The wild card, few could have anticipated Astrid calling for such a session, even fewer expecting that she would have come out of it getting precisely what she wanted; unrestricted power, even in as limiting a capacity as the Office of the Auditor granted.

“And then, Queen to G3; converting all of the funds the Reconstruction Act granted to Oak Town. More precisely funds to you, and to the Senators whom you supported, the candidates that you sought to aid, and instead it all going to me, to those whom I support.” Another healthy sip from her glass, there being something just delightful in it all, her masterpiece being something that no doubt neither could dismiss.

“That, in almost all cases, that would be checkmate. Absolute end to our game.” Her words were cold, her visage dark, brooding even. But then it shifted, almost playful in nature now, if not conniving. Fearful even. “But what fun would that be? Seldom is the game decided in a single match. The glory comes when the fallen contender submits in absolute defeat.”

She chuckled in a reserved manner, but one that only happened to reinforce the cold side that Iblis no doubt was certain existed, the very same demeanor and mindset that would enable a daughter to betray her father, lead him to his own dishonor, death, and besmirch his legacy with her own corrupted legacy. “I am not playing the same game as the legions who have come before me. I’m seated at the world stage with match point in my sight.”

“I’m quite confident that someone of your… predilections… can’t help seeing the potential there and not wanting to take a front row seat to watch it all in its splendor.”