War Zone

Keep your enemies closer (5)

It was a terrible mistake.

I thought as I stared at the King of Ma-i anxiously. The sack covering my head had been removed, but the gag remained tied to my mouth.

"Oh my... What a lovely sight... It's just like Crassus' hair. I would have thought you're related if I didn't know the man."

Why was I kidnapped? Isn't Ma-i supposed to be the safest? Crime rate is supposed to be zero? The king is righteous and kind? Not this diabolocal man with a weird fetish..?

"Your beauty couldn't be related to a madman... Yes... Indeed. Just like the statue of Patar that I failed to acquire." He came down from his throne and circled me with a crazy expression on his face. A satisfaction and obsession that mingled in a psychotic gaze as he grabbed my hair crudely.

"It's your natural hair color..." He laughed, seemingly pleased. "I didn't believe it when I heard a foreign woman with white hair entered my lands, but here you are! How utterly pure... You'll be a nice addition to my collection!"

I shook my head at his crazy ramblings as I tried to look around for any means of escape. There were big windows both sides of the room, and large double doors at the opposite of the throne that was guarded by two hooded men. By the throne, stood two burly men who wore different articles of clothing from the ones on the door and an additional two, the ones who kidnapped me,  are standing behind me. Their King is spouting like a delirious madman, but none of them look even the slightest bit appalled as if this is an everyday occurrence.

"Yes... We can't let you age anymore, otherwise this beauty will fade. What a pity." He shook his head as he lifted my chin towards him. His train of thought seem to lead to a horrible conclusion, and I hated that I was right. "To preserve your body perfectly, I must hire the most skilled undertaker!"

My eyes stared in dread at the implication of his words, especially as he religiously uttered qualifications the undertakers must have.

"And oh... Have them lined up by tomorrow. I'm afraid this little one would develop a wrinkle if I waste any more time. That simply won't do." He returned his gaze to me again, smiling in satisfaction at the fear I couldn't hide from my eyes. "Don't be scared, at least your youth will be immortalized in your golden years! Aren't you excited!?"

He's crazy...

As soon as I thought of that, a loud crashing sound interrupted the deranged delusions of the king.

"What's that?" His face instantly twisted in displeasure. "Someone go and bury whoever's responsible for that noise! How dare they cause trouble in my abode-!"

Another crash roared in the palace grounds, and everyone grew alarmed at the sound that was slowly closing the distance to where we all stood. At last, a shout came from outside the throne room.

"Your majesty! It's Azrael!"

My ears perked up, and I felt my blood ran cold. Is it the Azrael I know...? He's crazy, too... Did he come here alone? How does he even know I'm here?

The King's eyes narrowed. "Quickly, hide her away!"

The two guards immediately hauled me, and shoved me through a door that magically appeared beside the throne. It quickly shut with a heavy thud as soon as I was inside. There, I sat trembling, alone in the dimly lit space.

Although the king's haphazard commands to kill the intruder were muffled by the panel that divided the rooms, I could still discern the words clearly if I make an effort.

I wriggled my wrists to try and loosen the binds, while scanning the area for any useful objects that can help me escape. Azrael can't fight against those men without any aid. They're inhuman!

I could still remember how the significant distance I painstakingly created between my pursuers and me vanish as the men that were supposed to be at the other end of the lengthy street appeared in front of me in the blink of an eye. The chase was extremely short, and when I opened my eyes, I was already tied up and being transported in a carriage to the palace. While recalling how I was easily abducted, I saw a picture of the king hanging on the wall in a frame. I stood up, planning to break the glass to use the shards, when a frightening force shook the castle. A muffled yelp broke out from my gagged mouth as I fell to the floor along with the king's portrait. Shattered glass littered the floor, while the panels that hid the secret toom rattled terribly. When I looked back, large cracks had lined the dividers from the force.

What the hell was that?  

Despite not knowing what's happening in the throne room, I fought to stay conscious as I looked around for any suitable shard to use. I don't have time to waste. I was lucky in Banaha to have found Leon Gofraidh, but Ma-i is an unfamiliar territory. And now that the line I have read from the novel regarding Ma-i's peace is false, it became a land stranger and more dangerous than Kesoe. 

"Ugh-..." I bit my lips when I cut my hands even though I grabbed the shard with the cloth of my skirt. I endured it as I anxiously sawed into the ropes bit by bit. Unseen forces continued to shake the Palace and a few of the King's orders he was shouting could be heard from outside. That they should hold the doors closed tightly or he'll kill them all. 

Then came the loud clatter of a heavy object falling. I moved the shard quicker, and soon, was able to free my hands. I then removed my gag and stood up to look for a chance to walk out, when the building shook once more, and a terrible scream echoed from the adjacent space. I wasn't able to hold onto anything, so I fell to the glass bits and scraped my knees and hands. 

"Azrael... Don't hurt Azrael...-" My head was still hurting from the first fall, but I forced myself to stand up, and that's when I heard his low voice cutting into the air into the panels hiding me from view. 

"The first finger is punishment for taking something under my wing."

"Fuuccckkkk! Do you think I'll let you leave after breaking my finger!? Guards-!" 

"Are you aware of the blade on your neck..?"

A choking sound came out of the King's mouth as he felt the sharp edge of the weapon near his artery.

"Let's make a bet..." Azrael uttered grimly. "I bet my hand can cut you before your guards can reach us. What do you think?"

"...S-Stop! Everybody, stand still! Do not approach us!" The royal noble immediately retracted his initial words.  

Suddenly, my knees buckled, and my head throbbed a little more painfully. Somehow... It seems like he has the King hostage... Questions that I've tried to supress bombarded my head. Of how he was able to enter the palace. How he managed to get past the guards that didn't seem normal. How they know his name. How he could actually talk in a voice so steadily apathetic and sound like it's his real voice. It sounded both unfamiliar and familiar to hear a friend suddenly talk like a different person. And it brought back the warning of my so-called sister. 

And the memory of myself anxiously running back inside the guest house one night in the Gofraidh's villa, because I couldn't find Azrael among the people that stood with me. Because I was worried the poisonous snake might have bitten him while he was on his way out. And there, as I stood behind the door of his room...

I heard what I wasn't supposed to hear... 

That he is Issac Gryffon Vanderbilt. The knight Isaac in the novel who destroyed the whole empire in one night at the end of the story. 

***

A/N:  𝚃𝚛𝚊𝚐𝚒𝚌, 𝙸 𝚌𝚊𝚗'𝚝 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚙 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚜𝚘𝚗𝚐, 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎'𝚜 𝚋𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚛', 𝚊𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚝 𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛 𝚜𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚖𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚜𝚎 𝚎𝚡𝚊𝚌𝚝 𝚕𝚢𝚛𝚒𝚌𝚜, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙸 𝚊𝚕𝚠𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚒𝚖𝚊𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚋𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐. 𝙻𝚘𝚕