Fall of seven Beasts

The snake

[CHAPTER 11: THE SNAKE]

Bella had thought long and hard about her plan of leaving that place. She could not run away while Gaharu was away, because that would definitely cause Suria, Talia, and Satria big trouble. She didn't want to make things worse for them.

Bella went through her days as usual, managing the servants to clean the palace, arranging things, sword and archery training at the field, and taking a long walk around the mountain. She had also learned a few tips to understand the directions of the Ra territories like, which path leads to where, and such.

"Any news from south border?" Bella asked Satria when he was accompanying her during her evening walk. They walked past the river and heading down the villages. Her foot was still hurting so she walked slowly.

"Nothing to worry about, my lady. Without their chief leader, Tayen, Moro stand no chance against Lord Gaharu." Satria replied.

"Hm." Bella let out a small sigh. These beastmen never tells her anything regarding the situation of the war. Only Sora and Abnaki would tell her a lot of things. Satria or Sepatu would certainly not say much about stuff like this to her. Was it because of their ranks? Lower ranks soldiers would definitely fear the punishment they would get if they say something more than what they were supposed to.

"Satria," Bella called out, "Why did you become a soldier? Why not just live a simple life in the village, like the other tigers?"

From what she'd observed, Satria was the youngest beastman she had seen so far amongst Gaharu's subordinates. Although he was very tall-- more than six feet, he was probably a lot younger than her, a teenager, probably in his seventeenth or eighteenth. He had a scar across his left eyebrow, but that didn't ruin his pretty face. His hair was wavy orange, and longer than Sora's.

"Before the Ra tribe was formed, the tiger clan was weak. Snake and lizard clans trampled over us and killed most of our kind, leaving mostly the old and useless. Females were taken away and tortured brutally, in ways that even I cannot describe with words." Satria lowered his head as his eyes seemed glazing. He continued,

"Young cubs were taken and tortured as well, some lucky ones were forced to be slaves. The unfortunate ones were violently beaten and starved to their deaths. Lord Gaharu was the only tiger who stood and fought back, and saved those who were captured. Not only did he rescue the remaining of the tigers, he also rescued panthers and leopards, although there were not many left of them. He formed armies and led them to victory. Because the tiger clan had lost our land, Lord Gaharu took over this mountain, gave us a place to stay and live our days, and provided everyone protection from snake and lizard clans."

"I was one of the unfortunate cubs, tortured and starved. I could only watch as my mother humiliated and tormented before my eyes, and listened to her wailing and harsh breathing until it finally stopped... It was because I was weak that I could not protect nor help her. That is why I became a soldier. Only by becoming strong can you prevent such things from happening."

Bella drew in a long deep breath. She raised a hand to pat on Satria's back.

"Your mother would be so proud of you. You didn't let her down."

"Lady Bella," Satria took her hand and grasped it tightly the same way that Sora had grabbed her hand before, and said, "Lord Gaharu is not evil, he is what he is now because of the past. I hope you can try to understand him, because you are precious to him."

Bella gazed deeply into Satria's golden irises. His eyes filled with sincerity. She had never thought that a young soldier like him would have suffered so much as a child. And she didn't expect him to speak so generously of Gaharu.