Leon continued seeing I wasn’t completely convinced. “Controlling these people would have been easy. They want justice for the unfortunate and the King can offer them that. It’s obvious they want to kill someone so why not the right people? The corrupted royals who want to bring this country to ruin. The lives this could spare would be countless with a mutual agreement.”
Whether through greed or justice, the outcome of violence was all the same, people died and cities burned. One can not simply remove an entire portion of people to end a certain corruption. That would just seed more hatred which is why this plan was extremely brilliant.
To bring half of their enemies on their side and remove the true culprit of the corruption, maybe all wasn’t lost. Maybe the future I’m trying to protect can be secured.
“Is this true?” I turn around to ask Eric.
“Somewhat.” He crossed his arms, raising his head arrogantly. “But the truth is not mine to reveal.”
“So, you weren’t behind the rumors about me nor this ordeal.” I commented under my breath. They seem to care less about my reputation, only about my surrender for the sake of someone else. Who wants me to fall into irreparable ruin this badly?
Leon clicked his tongue at Eric. “You're as foolish as the person that hired you to betray your original employer.”
"Oh, don't think I'm unaware." He said nonchalantly with a smile. "The Unruly, a group of philanthropists that stood against the entire world to protect a lost priestess. A group so untamed and wild that not even the five mighty Kings' can control. But if blood doesn’t spill, then the injustice will continue to drive people. I simply want to speed up the process.”
“You're really insane, you know that?” I said and shook my head in disgust. I couldn’t listen to these people anymore, they were going to make my head explode. I turned around to check on Adraya, but she seemed to passively stand there fine like before.
Something was still missing. Something about this situation didn’t make any sense.
“Cass?” Aiden called out to me gently.
What was missing? This had to be a distraction. Something bigger was at play here. They were being promised something that would never happen. Violence would always end in more violence.
My body went still upon piecing together what was about to take place.
It was at this moment I knew I messed up yet again, but this time my mistake would actually cost me my head along with everyone else.
I grabbed Aiden's shoulder in haste. “We need to leave. This is a trap.”
He looked at me in surprise, turning to glance through the woods for signs of danger, but it was too late. We've been here for too long already. The situation was about to take a turn for the worst.
“Every time you get involved, more trouble begins to arise.” Eric spat at us, gritting his teeth together. “This country was built on a hierarchy that is no longer needed. With your death, we can start a new era free of your sins. Free of this endless suffering.”
“So, you just expected us to sit back and watch people die? Ha! That is unlikely." Leon chose to sit nearby on a large boulder and watch quietly from the background. With a hand propped under his chin he mused, "You're overconfident."
"Tch." Eric looked away slightly annoyed. "I don't care about the girl. She doesn't want me anyway." He took a step forward, now holding a defensive stance.
Those behind him followed suit.
Helix shifted slightly, startled by the sudden movement, but remained focused on keeping Maya tied down.
“Do you realize now, Cassian?” Maya asked while she was pressed tighter to the ground. “Do you realize where you went wrong?”
Who could have guessed that the death of a servant girl from a corrupt household would be the exact catalyst to bring this country to ruin. Only I knew of this outcome, but even then I could not stop her from being killed. Riots could be heard from behind me, the faint glow of flames created shadows on the plain before us.
People emerged from the woods at this moment, tall men and women wearing shiny armor and carrying weapons of various kinds with intentions to wipe us out.
Yes, I have realized where I went wrong.
There was only one person, one person that would stand to gain everything, and the true culprit behind this sudden fiasco.
Despite how we were being pursued, Leon remained calm and tilted his head at the soldiers in a fascinating way. His cobalt blue earrings dazzled slightly with the firelight from his movement.
Aiden grabbed my shoulder and moved me behind him as we were being cornered, but I wasn’t about to stand idly by while my friends were about to be killed. Before I had a chance to react, however, our numbers suddenly increased when Zenith, Sagittarius, and Themis arrived at the scene fully prepared to dive into action.
Speaking in an ancient language, Themis carried a spell book in his arms reading its contents diligently. He looked at each one of us, whisking his spare hand through the air that unveiled glowing white particles of magic that swirled to our feet.
All of a sudden my body felt much lighter and agile, the speed buff having taken effect. Aiden went ahead to join the fight, drawing the sword at his side and slashing at a soldier nearby that approached my direction.
Zenith worked alongside Sagittarius to keep the soldiers away from us too. She spun around flashing me a bright smile while knocking two men out cold with the hilt of her tightly gripped daggers. “Perfect timing, wouldn’t you say?”
“Zenith,” Sagittarius said, reprimanding her softly. He blocked a sword that came swinging at his head while proceeding to talk with her. “Don’t get too cocky. Focus.” Just as he was speaking to her another sword came flying at him from behind, nearly taking his left shoulder off.
Zenith quickly intercepted kicking her knee into the woman's stomach which sent her flying backwards and stumbling to the ground. At this moment, the priestess revealed another smile, clearly enjoying herself. “What was it you said? I didn’t catch that.” She laughed under her breath, a crazy glint in her blue eyes that resembled the night sky flecked with stars. Paired against her fair skin and long white garments, the sight was rather stunning.
He sighed in resignation, lowering his head. “You are both as stubborn as you are beautiful,” he admitted.
Their pursuers ceased fighting for a moment, sensing their emanate distraction.
The young fellow who was in front of Sagittarius looked up at him gravely. “Are you guys going to fight us or go on a date? Because some of us would like to keep fighting and end this,” he demanded.
Sagittarius raised his staff and flashed him a rare smile. “Be careful what you ask for.”
I stomped on the edge of a tall blade that was below my feet, sending it flying into my hand with ease. Daggers were my specialty but I had little time to go search for one. This sword would have to do for now.
Despite how hard they were working, more soldiers appeared seemingly out of nowhere.
My gaze drifted to the rock where Leon was sitting a moment ago but now appeared to be gone. I looked around hastily, my mind wondering what he was planning, whether he was safe, but he was truly missing from sight. Before I had time to think about the matter further, a sudden chill erupted down my back as I felt a pair of eyes land on my head.
There was someone behind me.
I gripped the hilt of my sword, bracing to turn around and dodge if needed, but my attention was distracted to the sound of firearms being locked and loaded. Dozens of barrels were suddenly pointing in our direction from both the soldiers and the rebels. No signs of ceasefire were in sight.
“Did you finally figure it out?” Patrick leaned his head around my shoulder to catch my reaction. The gesture was almost like a playful inquiry. In my eyes, I saw my brother who I loved dearly, yet in this moment, chills ran down my back that I didn’t notice his presence sooner.
Everyone was too occupied with the fight to notice our interaction, but I heard his voice as clear as day. The sudden change in his behavior made me fearful more than I ever thought I would. My heart raced and twisted around, plummeting into my stomach with an awful foreboding of what was to come.
I backed up ever so slowly, my breath catching in my throat.
Patrick suddenly moved in a casual way, holding me close like a friend instead of the threat that loomed before me. “There, there.” He whispered comfortingly. “Don’t make a scene.”
My lips twisted with hesitation. “I don’t know why you're so pleased. The rebels betrayed your alliance with them,” I said in a spiteful way.
Hearing my reply, Patrick merely shrugged. “They already satisfied their end of the agreement so I don’t really care what they do at this point.”
There was no denying the situation any longer. I dropped the sword I held, taking a sharp breath. “I see.”
Turmoil grew inside me that he decided to go down this path even though I earnestly believed in him.
“In the end, you chose power over me.”
I knew I recognized the unique design of their seal engraved on the shoulder plates of their armor the moment I laid eyes on them. The soldiers were from the Northern Kingdom. This was more than just a rebellion. The North was trying to claim Cassanova as their own like many countries have tried before them. For a peaceful nation that never got involved in worldly politics this was a huge change in attitude to say the least.
Patrick most likely called a truce with them, accepting his losses of having a choke hold over the rebellion. It is the only logical explanation to why Patrick left the Northern forces alone since they are both fighting over Cassanova.
"Cassian, you're a really smart individual. It is no easy feat to fool you, but I don't think you understand the complexity of this situation."
Yes, that much was true. Who's writing the scripts behind the scenes? Because it's certainly not me anymore.
Patrick smiled at me kindly. "If it weren’t for that soft heart of yours, I dare say there isn’t a man alive that could challenge you."
"You think too highly of me. It seems I'm unable to even save you from this fate," I replied with perpetual bitterness.
“Remember when we were kids how we used to play in the garden?" Patrick spoke softly as if reminiscing. With his hold on me released, he walked around to face me for a moment. His blonde braid swung below his waist from the movement. "Father would always scold us because when we came inside we’d get mud on the floor.”
I scoffed at his implementation. “Of course I remember. He would take a handkerchief from his coat pocket and wipe some of the mud off for us, saying we'd not have to worry about our mother and could continue to play.”
“Yes, but do you remember that bird you found? A sparrow, wasn’t it? Black wings, broad and smooth. Beady eyes that you could’ve sworn reflected your own." He looked forlorn as if reliving this memory for the first time. "But the problem was that it was flawed."
Why would I remember such a thing? Patrick seemed to recall this memory in such detail.
"It was injured, but you insisted on caring for it. On a rainy afternoon you brought it indoors, your clothes were soaked and you had been crying. Father thought you had hurt yourself too but no, the blood on your clothes was because of the bird." He continued like he revealed some great revelation, turning to watch the fight before us.
Maya was lying on the ground injured near a tent, holding the bleeding wound on her stomach.
In the thick of battle, Helix could be seen nimbly maneuvering between foes. He took them out one by one with a flick of his daggers. Some fell to the ground while others merely staggered.
The problem was not his ability to fight, but rather the armor on the soldiers offered full frontal and back coverage so he could only strike at the small openings at their armpits or go for their clothed legs.
The ones that were not fatally injured soon returned to battle, pushing their focus back onto Helix. He had gathered a decent following that were chasing after him, but his stamina had yet to dwindle and seemed limitless for the time being. He ducked under a sword that came swinging for his head, not slowing his pace even for a moment.
Themis worked behind the scenes, throwing random spells at our comrades to help regain their lost strength.
It was evident the situation was becoming more dire. The shotguns were still aimed at us from afar, ready to fire at any moment.
Patrick's voice resonated again, continuing the story as if reaching his point. "Later that night, you caught a cold. Ran a high fever of 105. You almost died that day, but when the doctor came and told us you were better, do you know what was the first thing you asked, Cassian?”
My mouth suddenly became very dry recalling this memory that I tried to forget.
“How is the sparrow, did it survive? You waited for days in the garden, until someone finally told you, only then did you realize the bird did not make it."
I took a shuttered breath, wishing he would stop this story.
"And do you know what happened next, Cassian?" Patrick looked deep into the woods, further weaving a picture of this story into his mind. "The very next day we found you in the yard covered in blood again. You were insisting that if your sparrow couldn’t live, why should the rest?"
Anger suddenly consumed me by his insinuation. "I was a child back then! You can't be serious, holding me in that same regard now."
Ignoring my outburst, Patrick continued with faint interest. "You had taken a knife from the kitchen and gathered some rocks and killed the entire flock. No, actually you demolished them. I know because when we looked, there was nothing left.”
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