Womanish Lady

Chapter 42:

   By the time her Uncle finished his story, Fuyaiyah was kneeled along with him in the snow, but dazed. She cried and was emotional in the first half of his story, but the last half, she kneeled in a daze. The whole story had come together. Now her emotions were catching up.

Her Uncle slowly stood up, looking around for nowhere in particular.

"I loved my home so much that I got scared of something happening that I only wanted assurance. I still don't know exactly where I went wrong."

He offered his hand to help her stand but Fuyaiyah politely rejected the gesture, stood up and looked him in the eye. They both studied the pain in each other's eyes.

"I think that the first moment you started believing the facts of what people were doing outside of the Kingdom instead of believing in the people within the Kingdom led you astray."

Her Uncle nodded.

"That may be so." Then he hesitated. "Are you still-"

But he trailed off.

"-It doesn't matter how I feel because, outside of me, the hearts of too many other people have been affected because of the past. There's a battle going on, and you need to decide what you're going to do about it."

King Lenon was in the middle of thinking when a magenta arrow shot through the trees and shot him through the chest.

The King fell, and Fuyaiyah, taken aback, screamed and went to help him.

Nali and Norekeito found her again. But Nali and Norekeito were upset. Only Bon-bon was happy to see her.

"What are you doing, Fuya?!" She practically screamed. "Are you helping him?"

"What are you doing, Nali? We all agreed to fight only on defense! Why'd you shoot an arrow?"

Nali was so upset that she dismounted her horse and grabbed Fuyaiyah.

"The game's changed! Prince Kyuni had left on a bad note and the General is heading to slay every one of us! If we don't take out the King, the General will go on a killing spree!"

She pushed her away and looked around in confusion.

"That doesn't make sense!"

"It's what's happening!" Said Norekeito, dismounted his horse as well.

"I know we had a plan but that doesn't mean everybody will cooperate. We need to be with everyone else, but hold the King hostage. We needed him to be immobile so we could take him without him hurting anybody."

"After everything I heard, I don't think he'll-"

Her Uncle, being a King first, was offended by hearing their plans to immobilize or kill him. His paranoia of an outside party threatening his Kingdom failed to be calmed.

He stood up, and tore out the arrow in his chest while mounting his horse.

"Nothing's going to happen to my Kingdom as long as I'm here!"

Then he rode off towards the battle. Fuyaiyah, ignoring Norekeito and her sister's questions and assumptions, rode off after her Uncle with only one thought in her mind.

"This battle can reside peacefully! He just needs to be assured that the Kingdom will go unharmed."

Fuyaiyah managed to catch up to her Uncle.

"Don't be paranoid!" She yelled against the wind. "Nothing will happen to your Kingdom as long as you let nothing happen to our village! Let's only return to make a deal in front of everyone!"

He kept his eyes forward.

"You cannot threaten me to make me do what you want!"

"That's not what I'm doing at all!"

He glared at her. It was like their moment of connection from a moment ago never happened.

"Then let me do my thing and leave me alone "

Fuyaiyah was taken aback and King Lenon advanced ahead. She kept pursuing him, but she was aware of her sister following her - seeing what she was going to do about the King. So Fuyaiyah pulled out her bow and arrow to make it seem like she was about to shoot him down. But she just held the stance.

Intercepting them, Prince Tuquor saw her seemingly about to shoot down his father, and stopped her bow with his sword. The Prince and Fuyaiyah went aside while Nali and Norekeito continued on in pursuit of the King.

She was impatient and upset seeing her Uncle reverting to his usual mindset. So she tried to redirect Bon-bon to go after him, but Prince Tuquor blocked her with his sword. Fuyaiyah knocked it away with her bow, but stopped anyway.