The Princess of Wrath

Chapter 11 - Part III: Any Means Necessary

The rescue party did not stay long in that temporarily uninhabited section of the ward. The military police were approaching dangerously to the place, attracted by the haunting sound of the bells coming from the Silent Keep in the middle of the incessant storm, forcing the group to circulate at a moderate gallop through the streets where the majority of students and educational workers from the colossal schools and universities resided.

The night and the storm remained two valuable allies for the time being, ensuring that the vast majority of citizens continue inside their homes, asleep and oblivious to the alarm that was causing the total lockdown of the city.

If everything went according to Amos' secretive plan, it was possible that upon awakening, the people of Entrana would find a city without Asura and without justice for the death of Prince Julianos.

Amos guided them without specifying the final destination, creating uncertainty in the rest of the group with one singular difference: Asura, with her face being beaten by both the rain carried by the wind in the opposite direction and Diana's ponytail, could not help but think about those insults against her, engraved on posters nailed to the walls of buildings and lanterns.

She felt no grudge against her people for that, nor against Jocelyn and her oath of vengeance. She could not. The curse and her unforgivable crime perfectly justified the hatred she earned; a rebellious and evil thought cross her mind in response, causing her to ask herself a simple but decisive question:

"Could I pay for my sins...if I let them kill me...?"

"Are you okay, love?!" Diana asked her by noticing her prolonged silence, almost screaming to her after increasing the speed as they turned down a new and dark street devoid of military forces.

Asura, stripped of her sinister and private train of thought, did not answer her with words: she just clung to her waist more tightly and looked aside, towards where Amos and Aurum with Stanislaus rode a very short distance between them and argued out loud.

"What are you still doing here, Black? Wasn't it that your mission ended once the Princess reached the University Ward?" the champion of the Empire asked him, ignoring that behind him Emmett was pale and about to pass out from nausea. They were riding so close between them that Asura could see amid the imposing wind loaded with endless drops of water the gunslinger's cheekbones rise to give the impression that, behind his handkerchief, he was laughing.

"You answer him, kid," he said to Stanislaus, whose fear permeated in the grimace that decorated his face did not lie in the dizzying movement of the horse, but in what the man in front of him could do with him. "Can you pay me my fees?"

"I-I was thinking of giving you the m-master key to my estate!" that answer made Diana turn her head sharply, stunned. She did not intervene in the discussion, mainly because she had to look straight ahead and pay attention to any problems that might arise along the way, but Asura knew that she did not like the idea of ​​her brother at all.

"And risk getting caught for breaking and entering? Don't be stupid!" Aurum admonished him before turning his attention back to Amos and explaining in a shrill voice: "Look, I'll be with you all a little longer. I hate to admit it, but at the moment being alone in this part of town doesn't benefit me. In return, I'll let young Belmont pay me what he owes me once the whole city stops chasing us."

"That's very considerate of you."

"Oh, and I'll keep this revolver too until I get the money," Aurum briefly drew Antares and caused the calm and diplomatic expression on Amos's face to vanish. "Consider it a gesture of good faith, okay?"