Age 1991Heather Genkin, daughter to Okane Genkin stared at the door to her father"s office for a few seconds debating what to do.
"What is my dad hiding..." She muttered giving a small frown.
Ever since she could remember her father had always been strict with his rules. He never let her leave the house unless he had a meeting in another city. Even then she was never allowed to leave the hotel they were at.
She was never allowed in his office him always keeping it under lock and key. Then again he was rarely in his office only being in there one day a month.
On those days he would lock her, in her room, not letting her out, and would meet with those strange people he invited over.
She had no idea what he was hiding in here but she knew it had to be bad...
"That man..." Heather thought back to her time in that cursed city... The one with that green mask. "Coin. He couldn"t be... My father would never be a part of some group... Yet..."
The twelve-year-old girl walked forward slightly as she reached her hand out. Slowly a small amount of green crystals came out forming a crystal key.
"Never expected me to do this dad... Did you?" Heather gave a small smirk. She spent weeks figuring out how to shape her crystals into the perfect size for a key.
She slowly slid the key into the lock c.o.c.king it to the side as it slowly opened.
"Now. Let"s see what you"re hiding dad."
The door pushed open silently as she entered the room.
It was fairly large but mostly bland looking. It had a simple red carpet. Towards the left was a simple wooden table with some bottles of some expensive alcohol laid out. Three chairs also stood around the table. No doubt where her father, and his two strange guests would sit.
On the wall and obnoxiously large picture rested. On the ma.s.sive picture, a headless man riding on a horse of bones could be seen.
"I didn"t take my father for the type to get this kind of art?" Heather said with a frown as she placed a hand on it. Her frown grew larger. "It feels hollow."
At the back of the roo,m a large wooden desk rested. On the desk was a simple computer that wasn"t on, and two pairs of pictures.
Heather walked over to the desk flipping one of the pictures over. She let out a breath as her eyes widened. "M...Mom?"
In the picture, her father rested. He looked younger. At least twelve years younger. He also looked happy? An expression she had never seen on his face before. Stand beside him was a young woman. She also looked happy. She almost looked exactly like Heather but older.
"I didn"t think we had any pictures of mom left..." She slowly set it back down in the same place. She slowly reached out grabbing the second picture.
This one was of her and her dad. She was six or seven. Her father had his trademark disappointed look on his face. She stared confused at the camera not understanding what they were doing.
"I didn"t think he kept this picture?" She once again placed it back down. "Let"s see what we can find." She began to open his drawers.
There was a few papers, of expenses for building repairs, and expansions. The collection of tax.
But what really caught her attention was a strange black remote with a simple red b.u.t.ton. Next to it was a black briefcase. There was also a second white briefcase.
She opened the black briefcase finding a pair of black robes and a small green wooden mask. The same mask that Coin had been wearing...
"...No..." Heather quietly shut the case feeling a numb sensation go through her body. "This can"t be real..." She slowly placed it back where she found and set there for a few moments. She felt cold now. Extremely cold. Her father... "What about the other one." She clicked it open.
Inside was a pair of green armor? Like the kind, a knight would wear. It even had a large green knight helmet.
"Why does he have two?" She shook her head also placing it back. Her mind moved fast as she tried to think of something. Was her father really a vicious murderer? Why? How? When?
The last thing she grabbed was the simple black remote.
"That looks extremely suspicious... Well... When you have the other two stuff." She clicked a small b.u.t.ton on the device and nearly jumped when the painting flew open. "That"s... Beyond suspicious. Why father... I really wanted to be wrong..."
She walked over to the painting finding a small room? It was just a wooden room with a simple small wooden table in it. On the table rested a black box.
"Is this it?" She asked. She stepped into the room opening the small box. She set the remote down on the table accidentally pushing the b.u.t.ton again causing the painting to close on her leaving her in the darkroom. She ignored that though staring down at the item in the box.
Inside was a simple, and small, Amethyst...
The words "The Third Key" could be seen.
"A ring?" She grabbed the ring feeling a warm sensation on her hand. "Weird?"
"Bang!"
She jumped slightly hearing the doors to the office crash open.
"Uh oh..."
Meanwhile...
Irene gave a heavy frown as she stared back at Max.
"Do you have to point a ball of hot magma at me?" She asked frowning. A small trickle of cold air came off of her hands freezing the ground around her.
"Look at my darling North standing up to the big bully Max-" Reine began.
Max gave a sly smirk as he dropped his arms. "Sorry." He shrugged. "I"m used to dealing with Hero. He usually doesn"t stop when I ask him to, so I have to use force to get him to see things my way."
Irene continued to eye the man up practically glaring at him. "Why. Are. You. Here." She said through gritted teeth.
"We came to save you! We"re here to back you up my darling prince!" Reine announced.
"Well, she"s kind of right..." Schutz muttered giving a shrug.
"N... Not really..." Bolin muttered. "We kind of just don"t want you to mess up our mission." He said through a shaky voice.
"My two allies, plus Reine, speak the truth," Max said calmly. His sly smile never left his face as his grin actually seemed to grow.
"Your mission?" Irene said flatly.
"Well, you see my prince!" Reine announced shooting forward in an attempt to grab onto Irene"s arm only for the girl to sidestep her causing the n.o.ble to fall face first in the snow.
"As I was saying. Your mission?" Irene asked again ignoring the girl.
"Well," Schutz said slowly as he helped his n.o.ble back up. "We were sent on a mission. Our goal it to find some information on the n.o.ble of this city."
"Okane Genkin?" Irene asked eyeing the manner that was behind her.
"Look," Max said giving a small smirk as he raised his arms up. "Let"s go to an inn. We can talk there. I would rather us not be standing out in front of his manner. We can discuss our mission, and what we"re gonna do about Hero as well."
"Hero!" Irene said frowning. "He"s here!"
"You didn"t know?" Schutz asked.
"No?"
Max let out a small sigh. "d.a.m.n... I thought he would have been with you. Or at least you would know where he was... What are the chances he"s already inside the manner?" Max asked.
"No way," Irene said shaking her head. "A Zero percent chance-"
"Boom!"
The manner exploded in a hail of ma.s.sive flames as the entire city shook.
"...Okay... One hundred percent chance that he"s in there." Irene sighed turning around. "That can"t be good."
"Well so much for stealth." A ma.s.sive ball of magma smashed straight through the gates as Max burst through them. "New plan. Storm the castle."