Conquered (Koumei X Fem!Reader)

The Annex

Fire. That's what you remembered of the revolution. The revolution of Balbaad. People had cheered. His name. The name Alibaba. It echoed through the streets. But you stayed quiet. The revolution was good, indeed but at what price, you wondered? How would the people protect themselves from invaders? The most powerful empires in the world surrounded the country by all three sides. If news got out that Balbaad was now a republic, the Kou and Remm Empires would surely try to conquer the people. The seven seas alliance would possibly allow the people to come join their alliance but at what cost? "Y/n! Come on, we have to help our country!" Your best friend told you. You huffed.

"I know. It just bothers me that we have no military now. So how we protect ourselves?" You asked.

"Aw, come on! We'll be fine!" They answered. "Besides, with you as such a strategist, we could create an entire empire in two days!" They continued. You smiled and shook your head in disbelief.

"Sure." You answered. Yeah, right. "Let's get to work." You urged. Your friend smiled and nodded.

"Right!"

*Time skip*

Your insight had turned out to be true. A couple of days after the coup d'etat, the Kou empire had caught wind of the news. Nervousness and anxiety shook you down to the very core. If the people fought, it was likely that they would die for nothing. "How dare they!" Your best friend snarled. Their hairs were on edge and eyes brimming with fury.

"We shouldn't aggravate them." You urged as the first ship landed on the shore. The other people also looked angry, for as the ship boarded some of them pulled out knives and daggers. "Hold on! We don't know what they even want!" Another female protested, holding a baby. Clearly, the females of the kingdom realized that people could die if war broke out.

You looked back at the docks to see a tall man with dark red hair step onto it. He had a shoulder pad on his right shoulder and was in traditional Kou robes colored red, black, and white.

"This kingdom now belongs to the Kou Empire." Was all the man said. Most of the civilians growled in response. But you, standing at the front of the crowd just watched, biting the inside of your cheek in anticipation. What the hell were the others thinking?

Gasps of shock and whispers flooded around you as Barkak walked up to the man. The people parted as he walked up to the other person and the half animal humans that had gotten off the boat. Most likely the household vessels of this man.

"I see that you have heard that we are now a republic, and are changing our ways." Barkak began. "But, why, may I ask, are you taking over our country?" The black-haired man continued. Barkak was recognized by many as a skilled swordsman, and a ally of the Fog Troupe while it had existed. The red-haired man simply huffed.

"You have no military force, and could easily be attacked at any moment. Because of this, my country is going to protect you in exchange for your resources. Besides, you still have quite a debt to the Kou empire." The other man answered. You blinked. His voice was powerful and controlling. It was almost as if you could faint just by him ordering you to.

"That doesn't mean you can take control of us!" Your best friend snarled. The other man looked at him.

"Even if you have a new type of leadership, we cannot just forgive your debts. And besides, as I have said before, you need the protection of someone. And the Kou can- and will- give you that protection." The man's words were pretty- and promising. Not that most seemed to like that. Barkak touched his chin in thought, and you tried to find more details of the other man.

Even though you were a distance from the Kou man, you could see his red eyes and noticed that he had a goatee as well. His face seemed to hold a mostly stoic look about him, and as you had thought earlier, he emanated power.

"You're correct in the fact that we have no military." Barkak agreed. "And.... You're also too powerful for anyone of us." Was he really saying what you thought he was? "So... perhaps it's best if we submit to your rule." He continued. More gasps sounded. Some of relief, and others of shock. You just blinked. It was indeed true that the only djinn in possession of Balbaad was Alibaba's, and he could only weapon equip. Besides, you had heard whispers when Sinbad left that he had taken all three princes to Sindria, and left for the Kou. For unknown reasons, perhaps, but still reasons. So, it was very possible that Balbaad was defenseless, and Barkak would know this.

It was useless to prove that your kingdom was strong. You sighed at B/f/n bristling next to you.

"It'll be okay. Maybe we need to change to stay safe." You comforted.

"You know he'll drag us into war, Y/n" Your friend answered. Their eyes were lit with fury, and you had to flinch away.

"Anger is not always the answer." You informed. He huffed. "That's enough for today. We should be going." You urged. Besides, Dindea, your boss wouldn't care if the world had blown up- she would want you to get back to cooking in the kitchen.

To be honest, you did not care if your friend followed you or not. They were welcome to continue watching the confrontation, and you headed out of the crowd, back to your master's kitchen. Your master was a rich nobleman who treated his workers fairly better than most, and had given both you and b/f/n a job and home at the place in which he called home.

Yes, you owed your whole life to that man. But that did not mean that you approved of how he taught others and handled life. Besides, it was rather difficult to get out of his iron grip in order to find suitors. He always wanted his servants by his home. You walked up to the large manor and stepped inside, quickly changing into your work clothes and headed into the kitchen. Dindea looked at you and pulled out her pigskin crop, and you winced.

"There was trouble over at the docks today. The Kou empire has claimed this kingdom as part of theirs now." You informed. "B/f/n and I got swept up in the trouble." She huffed and gestured to the open fire. You began tending to your duties almost immediately. After all, Dindea was a busy woman- and did not like to be kept waiting.

"Well, there you are!" The female huffed when B/f/n came in the room. "Y/n showed up two hours ago! Did you get mugged or something?" Asked your boss. B/f/n shook his head.

"I wanted to see what would happen to Balbaad...." He answered.

"And?" Dindea asked in prompting.

"And..... We'll be joining the Kou Empire." B/f/n's head hung low. He looked absolutely heartbroken about the news.

"Well, no use in tearing yourself up when we've got shelves to dust! Go on, get!" The other female shooed him up the stairs with a duster and you sighed. Why did this have to happen when your life was just about to get easier? "It'll be okay, honey. The Kou know that there's no point in a kingdom with no citizens. And you'll realize that soon too, dear. But I do worry that many of our citizens will retaliate. So... promise me you won't go outside more than you must, understood?" Dindea asked.

"I won't. Thank you, Dindea." You thanked before pulling out a fresh loaf of bread from the oven. "And.... Thanks for looking after us so well." You continued. She snorted.

"Focus on here and now." Was all that you got in response.