THREE

“There's no one else here but you and I. Are you going to tell me who you are and your purpose for being here or not?”. Dean Lee asked impatiently. 

They both had been in the dean's office for a while now but the intruder had not shown any sign of wanting to divulge any information whatsoever and he was growing impatient.They had been sitting in silence and the stretching stillness and sedentary act of the intruder was becoming very irksome.

She knew she had to say something as soon as possible but she couldn't seem to come to terms with the idea of telling him anything. She  was a person very chary and circumspect in her dealings with people. Whether he might be able to help her or not, she couldn't take the chances of leaving hints about her life because like everyone else, he was also a lackey serving under the reign of the powerful. No one could be trusted, that was the harsh truth she had grown to know and live with all her life.

The dean sat, looking at the intruder, impatiently tapping his feet and drumming his fingers against the desk. He couldn't help but scrutinize this unknown figure seated before him. The figure was seated elegantly and confidently on the chair but looked undeniably fragile in the hoodie. 

He looked like he would easily break if he were slightly pushed, just a tiny bit. How could someone as puny looking as this possibly break through something as strong and impenetrable as the Arietian seal? That unnerving question kept biting the dean at the back of his mind.

Absent-mindedly, he furrowed his eyebrows, his scrutinizing gaze even more intense than before. There had to be something behind this mysterious figure and he was determined to get to the bottom of it. He was determined to uncover the secrets behind this intruder's powers. Perhaps the phrase 'Do not judge a book by its cover' applied exclusively in this case. But whatever the case may be, he was going to find everything out, no matter what it took.

He was about to speak again when the intruder drew his hand out of the pocket of his hoodie, where it had been all the while they sat in silence. The dean grew tense as he balled his fists at his sides, prepared for whatever threat was to come.

The intruder pulled out a red pen from her pocket and raised her head slightly to look at the dean, of course the hoodie still covering her face totally. Dean Lee looked confusedly at the person before him before looking down at the pen, his eyes switching between the intruder and the pen. 

‘A pen?'. He thought confusedly.

She tilted her head to the side a bit, waiting for the dean to pass her a piece of paper. She was not going to make the mistake of revealing anything to them, and most definitely not her voice. She only needed a place to stay for a while, until she had completed her mission. There was no way she was going to leave a trace or even a little speck of herself behind.

Dean Lee finally realised what she meant as his eyes shone in realisation and he stretched a small note pad towards her from the drawer in his desk. She wrote on it and passed the pad back to him. On it was written just one word, "Accommodation".

He furrowed his eyebrows and looked up at the faceless intruder. ‘You broke into a camp, you're questioned and the first thing you request for is Accommodation?’. He mused in wonder.

"You broke into our camp, I ask you who you are and what your purpose here is, and the first thing you say is accommodation?". He voiced out his thoughts in disbelief.

She looked down and scribbled something on the pad again before passing it back. "Yes", and yet another single word. His creased eyebrows deepened even further.

"Why would we give you accommodation here in our camp? You broke our protective seal made for us by The Stanchion, why should we trust you? For all we know, you could be a threat to our camp, why shouldn't I just kill you this instant? Give me a tangible reason to let you live".

'That's exactly what I need', she thought. She had destroyed something very valuable to them, and not just valuable but also powerful, something made by the gods. That was sure to have aroused their curiosity and fear.

How could something as powerful as the seal of the gods be destroyed by a person and not an army? That would be the question running through their minds. That could be her key to staying here or incurring more enemies. She could either be allowed to stay or be considered a threat and be captured, this was a huge risk she was willing to take for the sake of completing her goal.

The man seated before her, together with the entire camp, was curious about her. They wouldn't want her out of their sight for fear of causing danger to the world, that was truly a fact, one that could be of benefit to her or may serve as danger as well. It was a two–way thing. They still don't know what powers she possessed or the limitations of her powers and what she was capable of. No one trusted what they couldn't control or had any knowledge about.

"Curiosity". She wrote again. His eyebrows creased further, that at this rate, he surely would have wrinkles when he grows older. 

"Curiosity? Would you mind expatiating?". The dean asked coolly, his tone in contrast to his impatient mood. Her short responses to his questions were peeving and he was growing impossibly impatient. He didn't know how much more he could stay coolheaded. 

"You're all curious to know what I am, are you not?". She wrote and the dean leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk, seemingly interested in what she had to say. The intruder was finally responding to his long awaited questions.

She continued to write, "You don't know if I may serve as a threat to you all or if I may in some way be useful, am I right?".

The dean was amazed at how the intruder was able to decrypt his thoughts. He was surprised, astounded and astonished but he was quick to mask it, choosing to just keep quiet and listen to what she had to say, more like read what she had to write.

"Whichever it may be, you'd like to put me under surveillance at all times and that can be done either by capturing me or making me a member".

He knew what she was saying was true, but the key to survival; never reveal your plight or weakness to your opponent. He continued to scrutinize this abstruse, esoteric and arcane figure seated before him. 'What could be running through his mind', he thought. The dean was finding it very hard to ascertain what thoughts could be going through the mind of the person sitting before him.

"And what makes you think we'd choose making you a member over the more suitable and rational idea of just torturing you and getting whatever answers we want out of you". He said confidently, an accomplished look on his face. He was trying to get the intruder to agree to his terms. He would use torturing as a counter measure against the intruder, he would make the intruder bend to his will, thereby successfully extracting every ounce of information from him.

He was trying to corner her, trying to scare her into agreeing to his terms. She knew this strategy all too well. Everyone of her enemies and hunters had used the same technique. They all basically had the same mentality. She had mastered it over the years and could turn the tables on those who chose to use it. A perfect example would be this man seated before her.

"If you do decide to capture me, what makes you think you'd be able to catch me?". She wrote, making his triumphant expression slowly fade away.

"Like you said, I destroyed something powerful. Something made by the gods, what will stop me from destroying this camp and all that is in it, including the people?". The dean's hands which had rested on his lap, tightly gripped his trousers at her proclamation, causing his knuckles to turn white.

'He's handling the situation quite well', she thought. He needed to bite the bait and she was hell-bent on making him do so. 

"I assure you it will be a single and simple flick of my wrist". She wrote once again.

'That ought to do the trick', she hoped.

His grip tightened even more and the tempting urge to incarcerate and torture this person before him became overwhelming but he successfully pushed all foul thoughts back, attempting to calm himself.

'What guts did he have to break into their camp and threaten to destroy it and right in front of the camp leader, right before the dean?'. He couldn't help but want to know more about this person, where he learned to have such confident and enshrouded demeanour, even seemingly calm right in the face of a life or death situation.

After a long moment of silence, the dean smiled and leaned his elbows on his desk. He had come to a conclusion, they would have to accommodate the intruder, not mattering how much everyone would oppose to this idea, he would have to strictly agree to letting her stay for the safety of the camp. He would have to find a way to convince them all.

There was a particular statement the intruder had made about wanting to keep him under surveillance and he agreed to that. Sometimes, it's safer to know your enemies and have them under your wing than let them be out of your reach, as it would be easier to take them down as a popular saying goes; 'The devil you know is better than the angel you don't know'. Having him under their superintendency would make him easier to take down if he tried to do anything, right?

She had him exactly where she wanted him. She had succeeded in cornering him, smoothly turning the tables on him. He had bitten the bait and all that was left was to wait for him to make a decision. 

She knew he wouldn't make an irrational decision without thinking of the safety of the camp first. Choosing to capture her would not only wage war, but would cause a lot of lives to be lost and she was very sure of one thing; no matter how many opponents she faced, she might be injured but no matter how lethal the injury was, it could never kill her, it could never amount to the countless scars she had, not only physical but also mental ones and that was her curse.

"Looks like we have a new member, then. Welcome to camp Arietis, uhh...". He finally spoke, agreeing to her terms. She had triumphed and she hoped that this time around, it would fall in her favour unlike the other failed ones.

"Doom. I am Doom". She wrote. She wouldn't take the chances of giving them her real name, besides that was what she always brought with her everywhere she went. That was what she was known for. That was what she was exceptionally best at, even without having to lift a finger, she could bring doom, death and ruin to every path she crossed, to every being she dared to associate with. She had done it countless times, what was stopping her from doing it this time around.

But she was hoping, praying that it would spare her this time, that it would allow her breathe in peace and at least allow her to achieve her goal, her mission, something she had been trying for years now to achieve, ever since that tragic day. 

But deep down inside her, she knew it was too much to ask for, she knew it was almost like asking for the world but she was determined to achieve it. She wasn't going to take the situation with levity this time, she was going to make sure she got what she wanted and she would make sure it stayed like that, regardless of the circumstances.

"Welcome to camp Arietis then, Mr. Doom". The dean smiled but deep down, he wondered if he hadn't made the biggest mistake ever by allowing this Doom to stay in the camp. He wondered if this name would have any effect in what the intruder would do in the camp. It was just a name, right? But he couldn't help but think,

‘Hmm... What a name he had...’.