Closet Work

ABSOLUTION: 2

He was standing at the rear edge of the massive destruction site. The city hall purged into the ground like a cripple and the search teams operation was in motion. They were picking out rubbles, hounds sniffing fresh blood, pulling out limp corpses from the merciless concrete burial.

The viceroy eyed this with a clenched sigh, absorbing all of the overwhelming scenes.

A black car stopped behind him. The back door opened and his personal gaurd climbed out with an adolescent girl clutching nervously to her ruffled up frock. But even so she held her royal posture. She bowed to the viceroy. His personal gaurd stood by her.

"Sir as you have ordered I have brought the princess." The gaurd detailed.

"Armeriya", the viceroy murmured looking at her bright bronze eyes. "Look where the kingdom stoops..." He cuddled the child toward him.

"As royal blood we must be sincere to our duties, to our promises." He reminded her. "Look out there", he pointed at a corpse just discovered-the sight of a deconstructed body, all bloody and white from dust was being carried away. The princess felt a lurch in her stomach. But she watched sickened anyway.

"Can we deny we are not partly responsible for all these?" He asked her dramatically.

She didnt know any answer but what she did know was the horror of what was unravelling in front of her. A delocalized uniformed arm was just recovered by the search team from under more debris. On the other side two search men were getting their tools and machines to free a man stuck between building rods-some of the metal plunging right through the man.

She nodded trembling.

"Dear", the viceroy turned her around to meet her eyes. "Do you know how abundant our wrong doings are that they cause the agony of these men...."
He violently turned her back to face the devastation site again.

"Now tell me", he spoke softly in her ears only audible enough for his gaurd to hear standing near. "Does this not need justification? Does this not need accounting for? And at the tragic end isn't it our plunders to clear?" He could sense the guilt surfacing in her.

"Do you understand my dear Armeriya what your father said about honour and nobility? He said we those on the thrones must make ammends for our own mistakes, to stand in trial because justice is our lead slogan at the end of the day!"

The princess only trembled, keeping her expression bold despite her rising nausea along with the guilt and sorrow. She dared not to cry.

"Then like his highness had committed, he placed himself to the exploit of war and had suffered the pain of cuts and wounds but he...." His voice changed to loud determination. "...Avenged his honour, his pride and wrote justice with his blood." His voice lowered. "He stood for his men as they stood for him.."

"Your father demonstrated the world fair ruling, his selfless commitments and as his heir- you must follow his steps too Armeriya...." He left a raspy whisper in her ear.

"Do you feel like you should do as he did? Repeat his novelty?"

She was trained not to cry but the first signs of tears were appearing unknowingly. She knew their kingdom was in war but most times she was shielded from the inhumane details of it. The gory looks of life she saw petrified her, wishing to turn away. But even if the emotions of her eyes were stolen, she would look straight ahead. There was just too much blood.

"Yes uncle. I will do the same." Her voice fading behind the resolute of the statement.

Her uncle clutched out a dagger out his coat pocket. The pointy tip of it was pressed against the silk ruffles of her dress. Then as close as his head was to hers, he murmured into her ear softly, "I have your consent Armeriya"

The dagger plunged into her like a swish of air and pulled out, it's journey through the silk pleats and through the flesh of her back lasted a second. She stunned in pain and then there was no moment for her. She dropped down on the earth.

She lied there in pain, fathoming the searing pain in her heart and staring into the blank sky with only the grey dull moon hanging there. The moon was new and hovered in day light since centuries. Her dress was soaking with a slow gush of blood.

She did not wince or gasp. Her eyes were shock bound from the pain she endured and breathed in while her uncle narrated the harder reality. He was frozen by the uncovering grief but his lips didn't comply.

"For all the deaths we caused carelessly, confused in our own sins...Sacrificing to the God is the only way of redemption." He murmured slowly to her ;standing still.

His gaurd disarmed his riffle with a look of disbilief and astonishment. But he did not move not that he lacked instinct to aid a dying girl or the gesture to revolt this open murder. He was padlocked to this man's will and command.

The viceroy weighed his gaze on the girl fondly. "For every hundred ordinary human blood we dissipate, one royal will equalize the weight of sin."

"Sleep well Armeriya." He added pacified. "You honour your bloodline by volunteering to be the sacrifice."

The viceroy's face suddenly filled with restrained remorse. Her vision was receeding. Despite which she saw his smudged mouth move to commence the last words she will hear.

"Rest in the same honour as his. You lower me with your incredible give away to the common people."

She could not see anymore but she did hear her uncle sob.