The Fallen Throne

Chapter 22.2 ✦ Unravel

ALAINA

Despite being all choked up in smoke, anyone is able to see that beautiful – but of a deadly warning – flare, shooting high up in the sky from the bell tower not too far away, right where Lloyd should be.

She's worried about Lloyd, and also Lancaster who's disappeared – or is she the one who has gotten lost? – but she has other things on her plate right now. Because there's only so little room to squeeze in worries concerning them, as she's stuck in a blur, where the tip of a sword from an unknown and unseen figure beyond the haze is pointed directly to her neck.

Forced in this sudden, unexpected predicament, Alaina can't seem to even think properly, as if the haze has crept into her mind and blocked her rationale and obscured her clear thinking.

For as much as she knows with the blur scene that's unfolding before her, there's a wall behind her, keeping her from running in the opposite direction. She'd move, but the haze is making her uncertain – who else is possibly with the man with the sword, backing him up? What good would that do her anyway, even if she somehow manages to duck away from the blade, as she's only got so much as a dagger? And what of the haze that's gradually creeping into her lungs, swallowing her whole?

It's much too risky to try and force her way out of the situation purely by brute force. She'll have to devise a plan, critically, in this state that she at least still has a ground to stand on, one that she's 'safe' – for now.

A blurred, blinded battlefield is a dangerous one, Lancaster's distant voice tells Alaina, as if he's right there by her side, aiding her. You'd lose the fight before it even begun if your vision is stolen without you realising it. Sight is crucial.

"Reveal yourself," Alaina says through the haze between them. "Or do you wish to be hidden among the haze like a coward?"

The figure shifts a little; she sees it hesitate ever so slightly, uncertain of himself or taken aback by her sudden, firm comment. At this, she sees an opportunity, an opening. She lowers herself to be out of the blade's threatening pierce, and in a swift motion, she sweeps a kick at roughly where the armed man should be standing, tackling him as her hand reaches for the dagger strapped to her thigh.

With the clank of the sword blade and the thump of metal hitting the ground, she knows, confidently, she's successful. Thinking fast, she grabs the sword from where it had fallen with her free hand and points it to the figure, who she now sees clearly...

"General Trajan?"

Alaina almost stumble backwards in surprise at the sight of him. Worse, too taken aback by the thought – fact – of him pointing the sword right at her neck seconds ago, her blood rushes, adrenaline rising in her veins. Her heart thumps fast, beating against her mind and ears as a surge of different emotions conquers over her sanity at once – anger, hatred, fear, panic, resentment, confusion.

Reluctant to allow the feelings to overtake her consciousness, she grips the sword tighter with it still firmly pointing towards the pitiful general. She opens her mouth, unsure even of what to say or what might come out of it, but before she is able to do so, Trajan speaks.

"Oh, Alaina!" he says, shifting under her. From his actions alone, she can tell he's finding a way to stand up and be out of the sword's way. He breathes a sigh of relief. "I'm glad it's you – I had thought it is someone else, an enemy! Thank the Saints it's you and the fact that you're in better shape than ever... My, where and how did you learn or pick up such swift forms as a princess? This poison –" he coughs at the word – "here, hand me my sword. We have to make sure the others are fine and not overtaken by the enemy."

Alaina stands firm, narrowing her eyes in pure hatred and suspicion. "Enemy?"

"Yes. I believe this smoke – or haze, call it whatever – is created by the enemy. And they're dangerous, from what it seems, I believe only someone like Kai has the capability – or ability – to do so."

"The enemy? What do you mean by that?" She grips the sword even harder that her knuckles are turning paler and whiter with each passing second. She isn't sure what to feel about the situation she's in no longer. "And you're saying this is Kai's doing."

Trajan shifts again, but that doesn't make Alaina any less conscious or less guarded by her surroundings. Instead, she inches closer to him with the blade still pointing right at him, threatening him not to move with a glare.

"Alaina – your highness." Trajan backs away slightly, careful of the weapon before him. "Please, I'm not the enemy. We need to find the others and –"

"Who is this enemy you speak of?" Alaina says sharply, narrowing her eyes. "How did you know if there is one, in the first place?"

She advances on him, the cold tip of the blade pressing on the skin of his neck. She gains confidence with each step she takes as the distance between them closes, as if she senses the fear of the great general transmitting from the tip of the blade to her own body, fuelling her blood in the form of an energy source or some sort.

"And why did you call this haze a poison? Unless you know it yourself that it is – because you are the one who set it up. You are the cause of this haze... no, poison. You are the source of this poison.

"You don't understand –"

"Yes, I do," Alaina snaps, cutting him short. "I am of a clear mind, despite this stupid haze, or poison. It does not – and will not – obscure my vision or my thinking."

The general backs to the wall. Unable to find the words or even the courage as to speak further after seeing a side of the princess he's never thought she has, Trajan stays silent and conflicted as he watches the sword close in on him. But despite his hopeless state, Trajan tries his best to maintain a stern and confident composure.

However, despite having the upper hand – though to what, she isn't even sure, as she is uncertain what is to gain by pinning down the general – Alaina is desperately trying to find serenity in her chaotic mind. Though she may seem calm and confident on the outside, she is deeply conflicted.

Is Trajan really the enemy? She is no longer sure of herself. Trajan seems innocent now that he's pinned to the wall, pressured under her – she hasn't even allowed him to speak, possibly to clarify. But that doesn't change the fact that he is suspicious, with his actions since the beginning of the obscuring haze and his way of words. She can only hope she's right, nailing him in place. But what if – just what if – she isn't?

The most important thing is the fact that she has never actually handled a sword before. Is she even capable of executing it, with her trembling little fingers?

Alaina wills herself not to go by her emotions. Feelings only get in the way; she'll have to trust her rationale, her critical analysis and her reasonable judgement.

"And one more thing." She raises the sword. "Kai's fire is nothing of this sort; unlike this pitiful haze, his fire is much more beautiful."