THE LADY

2

The smell of the city was strong. Teron learned that the seige just finished 1 day ago, and so many of the corpse was still here. He saw one of the corpse, it was lying outside of an open door. Inside He saw three figures.

The situation of city was proof of how the siege end. Many of houses they passed by were destroyed. And body parts was everywhere. From the hand -it looked like it was from a small child- to head lying in a gutter- a soldier casually walked toward it and tossed it to the cart behind.

The road raised until the palace was infront of them. Many of the armored soldiers were here. Walking from here to there. Doing what their superior told them. Teron looked back, most of the building below was on fire, or the fire was put out and only a strong black smoke remained.

The palace was in a good shape, unlike the city that it promised to protect. Most of the window were destroyed or just had a large hole in it. But beside that, the palace was good like before.

Teron and his companion Polin walked at the hallway that had a red carpet and a white walls. They passed some soldiers. All of them didn't gave Teron and Polin any attention. They stopped outside of a wooden with a flower sculpted in it. Teron knocked.

The door opened, and inside, Teron's attention caught the woman sitting in bed. Her hand was in her lap. The face of the woman was relaxed, a smile was in her face.

"What are waiting for, Teron?" A harsh voice asked.

Teron snapped. He saw that his companion was already inside of the room, looking at him. Beside him, sat in a chair was the General. The gray hair was combed, the armor was color of red. General Manor.

"Teron." The old man repeated.

He immediately walked inside, trying not to glanced at the woman sitting infront of them. Inside, Teron realzied that there was another person inside. Even the hair was black, the High Sorcerer was more old than the General. An Ancient.

"Master Teron." Welcomed by the sorcerer.

"High Petrus, can you guide the The Lady?"

"As the General's command."

Teron watched as the two person left. The air around the woman was regal. A royal figure. He saw face to face the emperor before, but the woman was different. Her presence command that you should obey. Before the High Sorcerer closed the door, Teron saw the woman looked at him.

"Yes, yes! The Lady. The ruler of Char." The General snapped.

Teron looked at the General. The old man was still in his book. Writing something that was important than looking in both of them. "So, how's the pass?"

"Everything was done in your command, General. Tomorrow, the citizens will arrived at the South Land." Polin answered.

The old man closed the book. He stood and tossed the massive brown book inside of a drawer, then faced them. The face of the old man was haggard, and tired. And something else. Teron saw this expression before, when the last tactician declared that the possibility they break the city was impossible. And going back was not different than sticking a sword in their stomachs.

"Is there some problem, General?" Teron asked.

"Ohh! Yes, a lot. "

Teron looked at the city below. Most of the smokes he saw before was gone. But the damage in the city was still visible. The thing the general told him, however. He sighed.

The general learned that the nobles left after the siege was planning a Rebellion. Here inside the city. The empire could quenched quickly this kind of trouble, but the number of soldiers here were small. The new ones were still on the road, moving in a barren land outside.

"The empire won." A cool voice said beside him.

Teron turned, surprised to see the woman. She wearing a long dress, the lower part was brushing on the floor. She was looking at the city below, but Teron knew that she not here for the ruin city.

He turned to walked away, when the woman called him. "You should celebrate, Soldier. But celebrate quick." He quickened his pace, didn't gave the woman even a glance.

He left the room, his chest feel heavy. He asked why the lady was strolling casually when the reason why this seige gone so long because of her destructive magic. The General snapped at him, said that the High Sorcerer wouldn't budged. "That Ancient Leech won't hear anything about why would that cunt should be put in a cage or two. Go to him if you want, don't waste my time."

He walked to the hallway. He passed many soldiers. Many of them was having a conversation with their fellows. The Palace grew hot he realized. The sun was setting but it's still felt like the whole place was still in the middle of a hot afternoon.

  He walked outside. Many of the soldiers was doing something so only small of them saw as Teron walked toward one of the towers in the palace. He entered the door. Climbed the rolling stairs, and find himself atop again of the tower. 

Oh! How he wanted to leave this place. The war was over, but he was skeptical if the possibility of going home was real. He walked above the wall, passing some guards. All of them gave him a nod or salutluted him. He returned all of it.

When he was near of his former place before, he froozed. The Woman was there, looking at the city again. He wanted to go back below, but there was nowhere he can go now. He thought of a tavern or inn, but he heard that most of the inn or tavern were either destroyed or occupied by the soldiers. Drinking with soldiers were in the bottom of the thing he wanted to do now.

"You're here again.  Did you asked why I'm walking freely?" She asked, this time there was a smile in her face.

"Yes." He answered. He didn't hide his annoyance of the thing.

"Well. I think your High Sorcerer was great. His magics crippled me. Now,"  She raised her hand, a small flare appeared in it, but it vanished quicky. "I'm just like an apprentice in magic now. Yes I can summon fire, or other else. But when the time I attack one soldier, the other can kill me instantly. I'm not what I'm used to be. "

Teron listened, but inside, he was not convinced of what the former ruler told him. He looked below. The city was miserable below, the light of setting sun sorrounding the whole place. A small number houses only had a light. The rest was dark.

" How about you soldirer? Are you what you used to be?"

"What do you mean?" He snapped, didn't raising his eyes to the woman.

"You know what I mean."