Synthetic Survivor: Machine Age

"Woman!" Gilfred shouted.

The sounds of frantic steps echoed through the corridor.

Entering his work place was his wife.

Gilfred was sat on his rocking chair drinking a bottle of wine. There were three other bottles of wine lying on the floor.

"Yes honey?" His wife asked him.

"Bring me another bottle, this one is almost empty, hurry!" He shouted again. After gulping the entire content of the bottle, he threw it away. The bottle miraculously did not shatter despite being made of glass.

His frightened wife ran across the corridor to give him another or else she'll be punished. Her punishment depended on her husband's mood and how drunk he was.

As she ran to and fro, she was shedding tear after tear yet she did not wail.

"This is no time for wailing!" She thought to herself.

She got back from their special collection of wine and brought with her two bottles. The bottles were filled to the brim with powerful wine that her husband liked the most.

"Give me, now!" Gilfred was impatient.

The wife trembled as she gave her husband his bottles. Gilfred proceeded to open the first bottle he got and continued on drinking.

His wife did not say a single word and left the room, holding back her tears and the pain she felt in her heart.

She went to the living room, there she was comforted by the mansion maids.

"Miss, are you alright?" One of the maids said as she gave the wife a warm towel.

"Yes, dear. I am fine, it's just, your master is stressed beyond compare at the moment" the wife assured.

"Miss, we can't let the master continue on hurting you! Last night I heard a crash upstairs and the next morning I saw your bruised leg!" One of the maids said.

"It is fine, my dear. I have you all to treat me whenever I get injured, is it not true?" The wife said.

"But miss, you are with child! We cannot lose another one of the master's heirs"

The wife smiled and waved her hands.

"Don't worry, I am protecting my love. As long as my husband does not touch this w.o.m.b of mine then there will be no problem. I will not let myself miscarry" The wife assured.

"How can we be so sure that you won't miscarry?" Another maid came in, bringing with her a cup of water. The maid handed the water to the wife and she drank it all.

The wife sighed and did not answer the maid's questions any further. She lied on the couch and stayed there. The maids watched over her as they heard the sounds of bottles being smashed across the halls.

"Our master has gone mad" one of the maids whispered.

"Please don't hold any resentment for your master... despite what he has become right now, always remember how he was back then" the wife suddenly said, tears began to form on her eyes. The maids noticed and immediately brought her a dry napkin.

"Miss, please don't cry" the maids tried their best to comfort her. "I'm fine, I'm fine, it's just.. I miss my husband"

His husband was alive and well, however, she missed the true husband that she knew.

It was a few months ago when her husband changed for the worst. It was night, storm clouds had formed over the capital and it was raining.

Under the heavy downpour of the rain that night, a man was running through the streets. His carriage got stuck in a hole but he had no time to lose, he was bringing with him urgent message that concerned Lord Gilfred.

Lord Gilfred at the time was inside his mansion. He and his wife were sitting on the living room, enjoying their dinner together like they always did.

"Dear, you've gained plenty of weight, please mind you eating habits" his wife would say.

"Aw, come on now, your food is too delicious everytime! It's your fault that I eat this much you know" Lord Gilfred would tease. He and his wife were both happy at that time. They had a son they could be proud of and were successful in their lives as nobility.

Suddenly, as they were dining. A guard rushed in.

"My lord!" He said when he opened the door. This startled the husband and wife while alerting the guards in the dining room with them.

"My! What is the matter for you to come in like this?" One of the guards shouted.

"It is urgent, my lord, a messenger has come and he brings urgent news. I cannot speak of this news my lord, but please hurry!"

Lord Gilfred spared no haste, he got up from the dining table and ran out with the guard. His wife followed him, escorted by other guards.

At their front door was the messenger surrounded by four of their guards. He was drenched and exhausted. His heavy breathing could be heard echoing.

Gilfred came down the stairs with the guard and he met the messenger.

"What news do you bring?" He said.

The messenger pulled out a letter from under his coat and gave it to Gilfred. Gilfred took the letter and opened it. There was a note inside, he pulled the note out and read it.

As his wife came down the stairs along with the other guards, she saw her husband get on his knees.

"Dear!" She shouted.

"My lord!" The guards shouted.

The lord let go of the letter and stared at the floor unresponsive. The guards tried to shook him back to reality but to no avail. His wife came to his side and begged him to answer her. Gilfred only had an expression of despair.

His wife noticed the note lying on the floor and took it. There, she read it.

*...Lord Gilfred and Lady Rodona, the body of your son has been found along with his men near the countryside to the north.. *

*...we are not exactly sure who killed them, but when more troops arrived at the scene, they found weapons from that of the Theocracy and it is not far-fetched to say that the people fleeing into our lands were responsible...*

"N.. no! It can't be!" She cried.

"Give me that!" Gilfred pushed his wife away and took the letter before heading off outside.

"Lord Gilfred!" The guards followed him.

"Get my carriage! Now! Tell the men at the camps to prepare to head out" he shouted. Most of the guards went with him while the rest went to the stables to get their horses and the carriage.

The maids heard the commotion and ran to the entrance. There they say the wife lying on the floor, crying.

"Miss!" They were frantic.

They took her by the arms and lead her to their bedroom. The maids were quick with their care and tucked her up in bed.

"I'll go and get some water" one of the maids hurried off.

"I'll go get something for the miss to eat!" Another of the maids hurried off.

The last two maids attended the wife whom was crying nonstop. None of them wanted to ask what had happened but proceeded to try and comfort her anyway.

"Miss, please don't cry" they plead.

"You won't understand!" She shouted at them. This shocked the maids who became frozen in their place. The wife realized her actions soon after.

"Please forgive me!" She begged.

"Please! It is fine, please stop crying" the maids did not stop from their jobs and continued to comfort their mistress. The two other maids came back bringing with them a glass of water and a piece of bread.

They gave the water first and she drank it. Then they gave her the bread which she begun to much in a furious manner. Whatever happened, they thought, it must have been very serious to the point that even their once calm and happy mistress would be pushed to such a shameful state.

Half an hour passed and the wife had calmed down. The maids never left her side unless she requested anything from a loaf of bread to a glass of water.

One of the maids went down the stairs to get her mistress a glass of water when she noticed a note lying on the floor near the front door. She went and took it. She opened the note and read its content.

Shocked, she covered her mouth to prevent herself from screaming and she hurried off to fetch the glass of water, clutching in her hands the note.

She got back upstairs and gave the glass of water to her mistress and presented her the note that she found.

"Miss, I found a note lying near the front door.. is this the reason of your distress?" The maid said.

Rodona stopped drinking midway and looked at the note the maid held in her hands. Then, she cried.

"Mistress!"

"Take that note away! Now!" The elder maid shouted. The maid apologized and took the note away and returned to apologize.

It took them another 10 minutes before their mistress calmed.

Rodona, however, was not angry at the maid for presenting her the leader, rather, she was thankful of her for reminding her why she was feeling so dreadful.

Rodona asked the main in question to explain to her peers what she saw written on the note, which the maid obliged.

"My dearest sisters, it is with extreme regret that I inform you.. that Sir Gondsor has been killer"

The other maids gasped.

"Miss, can we see the letter with our own eyes?the elder maid asked.

"You may" said Rodona who had covered herself with the napkins provided to her.

The maid that had kept the letter presented it to her sisters and each took turns to read it. All had the same expressions after reading it. After the last maid had read the letter, all of them stared at each other and then turned to their mistress.

She was silent.

Their mistress was no doubt lost in her thoughts and full of regret.

And as their mistress did not say another word after that, the maids kept their silence. They stayed by her side throughout the night, and when she fell asleep they left one of the maids to watch over her. The maids then left her room when it was past midnight.

There were two guards outside the mistress's room to ensure that she was safe. These guards did not know the reason for the commotion since they were hastily called to replace the guards that went with the Lord.

In their minds they thought that there was a threat and so, despite the fact that they were unsure, kept their vigilance and guarded Rodona for the rest of the night.

When the sun rose the next morning, its bright light did not make itself known. Instead, the storm that had been since yesterday continued to cover the skies of the capital and rained down its waters upon the streets, the houses and the fields.

The maids then returned to check on their mistress. The maid they left was still awake, sitting on a chair at a corner of the room

The other maids went it and asked her.

"How is the mistress?" They said.

"She is doing fine" she answered.

She told them that she slept for the rest of the night and that she was breathing fine. The elder maid then relieved her of her duty for the day since she spent the entire night awake.

"Alright, ladies, let us care for the mistress until she fully recovers"

It was a long week. Lord Gilfred returned by the end of the month, it had been three weeks since then. The entire household was present when he arrived with the body of their son.

The entire estate looked in horror and dread as the coffin that contained the should be heir of the estate was brought out of the carriage and carried out by the guards.

Rodona broke down and wailed loudly when the coffin was brought out. Her husband ignored her wail and walked to their family grave that was just to the side of their mansion.

There was no service, it was straight to the burial.

Only their household was present and a family friend. The family friend was none other that Fedrix's wife who attended in her husband's stead.

The burial place that was dug up by the workers was grand. It was supposed to be Gilfred's burial once he died. Little did he expect that his only child would be the one to get buried instead of him.

The entire audience watched as the coffin was lowered down the pit and the workers started to cover it with dirt.

The others cried in silence while Rodona made her cries known to everyone. Her husband? He was silent and despite the pleas of Fedrix's wife for him to come see Rodona, he was reluctant.

Furious, Fedrix's wife came to Rodon herself and gave her a hug.

"Sister!" Rodona cried.

"Now now little sister, you can cry, you can cry, let the sorrow out"

Rodona cried on her shoulders that day.

When the burial had concluded, the household retreated to their stations. Lord Gilfred retreated to his work place, leaving his wife to be taken care of by Fedrix's wife.

The maids assisted the two sisters and all of them went inside the mansion. The sisters sat together in the living room with the maids attending to their needs.

Little did Fedrix's wife know that day, that her sister would live under constant fear and hell once she left.

-

Lord Gilfred got on his carriage and left. He left without even saying a word to his distraught wife who was lying on the coach.

"The maids will take care of her!" He thought to himself.

He had been blinded by his dread and sorrow, he wanted nothing but vengeance. He seemed to have forgotten that he had another heir inside his wife's w.o.m.b.

"Sir, the road is treacherous due to the litter, dI suggest we-"

"Coachman, I have urgent business to attend to now! Get me to the castle right now or ill6bave you executed for your insolence!" Gilfred shouted.

"Y-yes!" The coachman slapped the horses and they ran.

The ride was rough but Gilfred did not care. He planned on manipulating the talks to favor his side. He wanted the Metal Men themselves to theml him that they wanted Dioz to execute the Freetan peoples in exchange for peace. It was the reason why he sent up his friends with their armies to the north.

Friends he called them but they acted more like his underlings due to his immense power and blackmail that he held against them. The lords marched their armies north, numbering 5,000 in total, small in number but more than enough to massacre tens of thousands.