RBR Chapter 13 The Matriarch

20m pillars held up the dark and gloomy ceiling. Leah didn't find the gloominess of this hall unsettling, on the contrary, it reminded her of the cave. The way the pillars were uniquely constructed had awed her the first time as they were too flimsy to hold up such a heavy looking ceiling, but they were holding. They were in the shape of emerald serpents, though, she didn't know if that was their true color as the hall was flooded with wisps of perpetually floating holographic green flames.

Except for the gloomy dark ceiling, the entire place was colored green from the illumination.

Her steps echoed within this room as she walked, the only thing that made her unhappy with this hall's design. It seemed even her decision to come in with bare feet hadn't changed anything. The flooring material had been made in such a way that it amplified even the tiniest sound.

She had just arrived from school when a summons had arrived from the matriarch herself. The uniform was uncomfortable even now, only that the clan leader couldn't be made to wait. That would be a grave sin.

The hall was long enough for her to ponder about some things, after all, it did have an entire floor all to itself.

Her thoughts took her to Eric, the boy that she feared and had also developed a curiosity for. Most of those who had their first run-in with a rampager would think that they were mindless beasts, but that was far from the truth. They were incredibly intelligent, only that why would they need to speak to food? Only the strong ones, capable of going toe to toe with them could illicit a few words from them, or an entire conversation.

Eric was the first rampager she had spoken to, though, his clear emotional spectrum was now causing her to second guess her first observations. Rampagers displayed emotions, but mostly, apathy was the more prevalent.

'What is he?' She asked herself even as her feet continued carrying her forward.

"Are you planning on challenging me, initiate?" A voice filled with amusement rang out in the hall, snapping her out of her thoughts abruptly.

She stopped, and then looked down, only for her face to pale. One of her feet had crossed a green line demarcation on the floor. She hurriedly withdrew it and bowed low, on her knees.

"Forgive me matriarch, I was lost in thought." It came out as a plead. The woman was prone to weird mood swings, killing a fellow clan member wasn't far from her. That's why she admired that in her, the ability to act on her whims.

"This once, will I make an exception." The voice slid into her ears, greatly relieving her. 

"Thank you, matriarch!"

She stood up and looked forward. Only a pair of vertical slitted emerald eyes greeted her. The part of the hall where her throne resided was shrouded in darkness, and according to the whispers among the other members, many speculations were being considered, from a nest for her eggs, to a sofa for her comfort. No one was allowed across the green line, not even the cleaning robots!

"Report. I am rather curious myself, why that man created this...what should I call it...mmm...life form?"

"It appears highly intelligent and possesses the same emotional spectrum as a normal human. It seems it wants to form some sort of connection with me though..."

"A connection? I will allow it. Befriend him and milk out all the secretssss..."

"Matriarch, I have a question." Leah took this chance to want clarification. 

"Hehehehe...in my presence, even your status as an heir doesn't warrant you to question or advise me on anything, so, if you don't want me to take the trouble of waiting for another heir, keep everything to yourself, understood?" Even though the words appeared lighthearted, a shiver crawled down her spine. Leah had momentarily forgotten who she was dealing with.

"I apologise!" Once again, her knees hit the ground.

"Now, go! You are no longer needed...but, I will summon you at every Friday, to give me something new about the boy. If you fail at this task, well..."

She shuddered once again even as she wondered why her address had changed from 'it' to 'him'.

-----

'A meeting with the matriarch takes a toll!' She sighed while her body soaked in a bath, the warmth from the water soothing and nourishing her skin.

'Becoming a matriarch is only a matter of time. But then what next?' 

Leah wondered. The wilderness had been about survival day in day out. Her mind had been so focused on living to see the next day, it had had no room for thinking about the far future. But now that she found herself with plenty of peace, she started wondering about the future. Ever since she had made it into this city, nothing had piqued her interest except...(her heat skipped a beat)...those dark blue eyes containing a hunger.

Leah was very astute. She had noticed that the boy harbored some sort of motive for wanting to approach her. He had those eyes as if he was considering something more important than the rest of the teens at the school. She felt a heat creep up her face at that. He was almost like her, an outcast you could say. His mind was way above that of all the others at school.

But what made her heart race was the fact that she was curious about what he was searching for.

'Curiosity does kill little snakelings'

She rembered one of her little brothers saying that. It had been his signature phrase, and now, it had popped up. 

The dark blue eyed boy was full of unknowns, and those same unknowns were what she was drawn to, not to mention the fact that the matriarch had changed her address from 'it' to 'he'.

'What was he?'

-----

Elec's thoughts swivelled towards the dark as he sat down onto the sofa in his room. They mostly pertained to what had taken place during the day, something which was evoking jealousy and envy within him.

That boy, who looked just like him had managed to gain the attention of the person he most wanted to befriend.

He felt anger and rage at the fact that he had been dismissed by her, yet, she had held a conversation with one in his likeness! He wanted to break into the boy's room this instant and demand an answer, but held back.

It wasn't because of rational slivers in his mind, instead, fear. Fear for his life! He didn't think he could ever forget the alternate transformation from yesterday.

"Why do I have to be afraid of him? Why?" He stood up and paced around his room, his heart beating at a million miles a minute. He grinded his teeth, biting his lip enough to draw blood, but ultimately still failed to work up the courage to confront the boy.

"She appeared to have gained an interest in him. Did she discover something about him?" He wondered. He had managed to catch one episode during the day where she had been watching Eric with an indescernible expression. 

A few minutes had passed and he had calmed down, instead deciding to try and logically think things through.

There was no way that a girl raised from a noble clan had taken a liking to a guy just at first sight. He knew, because even for him and the others, such things rarely happened. They did, but no one would try to approach their love interest on day one. They first had to attain information.

So, he wondered whether the girl had somehow sensed Eric's weirdness, or abilities? 

'No one knows where she has been all her life, or her abilities, so there is a strong possibility that she possesses an ability capable of detecting what he truly is. Wait a moment here? Then wouldn't that mean that she would report her findings to her clan master?' Elec paled upon reaching that conclusion, bursting out the door as if his butt was on fire. He had to confide these conjectures to his mother. 

It wasn't because he cared about the boy, but because of the fact that their clan might lose their current position if such a thing became problematic.

He found her in the kitchen, preparing dinner, even though the sun was still in the sky. She did always cook too much food, so preparations had to be made almost 3 to 4 hours in advance.

-----

"What do you think mother?" He asked after relaying his worries.

"All the spectrum clans have been provided with some information about your bro-no, about Eric." His mother must have captured the dissatisfaction from his frown, thereby changing the address. But that still didn't make the frown go away as it implied that his mother had already started to see the boy as family.

"Mother, do you really believe Eric to be family? He's an experiment...I am sure father will dismantle him the moment his usefulness is gone, though I still haven't been able to determine it for now." Elec started, choosing one of the high chairs near the kitchen sink.

Her hands paused, but she didn't turn to look at him or berate him.

"I know...but we should treat him as family while he's here. Besides, I won't allow that to happen to him, by any means necessary!" Her tone was firm, even a baleful aura releasing from her body for an instant.

"I know you don't like him...you think that he's going to take over your life, but, I for one don't think that will ever happen. So far I haven't seen any signs of that. You...were born alone into this world. Baguma refused to give me other children, always going off on new conquests. I have always wanted a playmate for you..." She turned towards him, causing his heart to be moved at her reddened eyes.