บท 74: The New Ruler
Larika and Midel ran as fast as they could towards the imperial palace. They left the villagers on the walls when the blood rain ended. They witnessed how the citizens' eyes transformed from white to normal.
When they entered the internal cities, a few soldiers stopped them. Larika clutched on to her dress. Her bones were almost visible with her tight grip. Her eyes kept looking at the imperial palace.
Midel glanced at the soldiers. "Moon crystal," he summoned the bluish-white crystal ball that he picked up from the cave.
"I am your empress and you dare to raise your weapons against me!"
A few citizens noticed the commotion and went to look.
"Your Highness! Please help us! The emperor cursed my son!"
"Empress Larika, please ask a witch to reverse the curse on our families! Some are still cursed, and they won't move. You have to help us."
One cry led to another. Midel lowered his hand as his gaze landed on a few people inside the palace grounds. Indeed, a few more children and adults still have white eyes and did not move even if the others were pleading. He noticed that these were the people who did not catch a drop of blood rain on them.
"Try smudging some blood rain on their eyes," he suggested.
"Smudging blood on them?" The citizens looked at each other. It is true that they were already covered or sprinkled with some blood when they gained consciousness but…
"We tried…but it did not work." One man carried his three-year-old daughter. Blood was smeared on her face, but her expression remained like that of a lifeless doll.
"We will try our best to find a solution. Now, let us through." Larika stared angrily at the soldiers. She dangled her anklets and bracelet. The tinkling sound silenced everyone around them.
Entranced at the sound and beauty of the empress, the citizens and soldiers paved a way for them. Seeing the effect, Midel sneered and hid his crystal ball back to his space ring. Larika scowled at him, "Are you going to let me do all the charming here? I am the empress, mind you!"
"Well, enchantresses can fight bloodless. Isn't that more efficient since you are the empress?" he emphasized the words 'the empress' trying to provoke her anger even more.
~~~~~~~~~~
Soon as the blood rain stopped, a group of men aging 35-50 hurriedly ran to the room that just exploded. Four men in black-clad clothing, two boys (one with a severed arm), and a young woman with red hair and red eyes welcomed them with a bloody scene.
"Where is the emperor?" asked the oldest man in the group.
"And you are?" Yllana stood up with the help of her sword. Her scars have miraculously healed, and her face has already reverted back to normal. But she could feel all the bones in her body aching for a rest.
"We are…" All of them have a bitter expression on their faces as if hesitant to say the next words.
"The council of elders," Larika continued what they dreaded to say. "You are all new…again?"
"Your Highness!" They all bowed their heads and kneeled in front of her. Their bitter faces instantly lit up. Hope was written all over them.
"Please, you have to help us! The emperor called three witches and summoned everyone! He wants to take over the North Kingdom! War might soon break out!"
"Elders, please," she assisted the eldest to stand up holding his elbow. "I can only guide the kingdom, but I do think we have to find someone who can lead us," she met Lucien's eyes. If looks could kill, she already died without a whole corpse.
Before she could add another statement, a group of young men and women along with a few children arrived. Their shabby clothes could not hide the fact that Yllana could recognize some of them. The banished villagers!
Most had already reunited with their families and have reverted to their normal looks. The spell on them was lifted too thanks to the blood rain!
"Grandma Era saved you." It was all that she could say. It was the only sentence that will not hurt so much but would hint that she had something to do with the curse and blood rain. Everyone went silent.
After a while, the crowd opened up to make a path to a ten-year-old girl. Her white hair and white eyes were so captivating that everybody else just stared at her. She was ten! She is still ten. But her eyes contained an expression that can not be found in a ten-year-old.
She stopped in front of Yllana. Up close, Yllana noticed the faint glow around Mariek. She had seen this form once when they were kidnapped by Garon's men. Is there another foresight that she must know? Her heart thumped nervously. So far, she hadn't liked the effect of foresight against her being. Mariek's pink lips parted.
"You have the ancient emperor's seal... Your Highness." She bowed to her knee. Everybody now respected this little girl's foresight. She was indeed a gifted young lady. But why was she kneeling in front of?
"Yllana?" Midel just quirked his brow then smiled slyly. No questions asked. He followed her example and knelt beside her. Maybe he already knew this would happen?
Yllana took out the yellow stone that Grandma Era had given her. When it touched her palm, golden lines appeared gently and formed one word, 'Ruler'.
Everyone in the room gasped. The elders glanced at Larika, a worried expression was on their faces. But to their surprise, they saw their empress kneel before the young woman.
"Grandma Era holds the highest position in the Council of Elders. She will not give you the kingdom's treasured seal if it did not choose you in the first place, master." Larika explained.
The villagers followed suit. One by one, Yllana witnessed a whole kingdom bow before her. Except for one guy who just stared at her back. No one saw how his pair of dark eyes glimmered in pride and that rare smile that could ruin cities.
She looked at him and caught his expression. Lucien stepped closer to her until they were only two feet apart. He leaned closer feeling the blush creeping on her cheeks.
Poke!
"Idiot, let's go stop a war." A round circle appeared in the middle of Yllana's brows. He walked out of the room, a hand in his pocket with something. He was holding something inside. And if Yllana could see that palm-sized paper, she would recognize it.
Ruler? Her? What should a ruler say in this situation anyway? She sighed. "He's right. Now is not the time for this," she walked past all of them and called all the elders of the council. A war is coming. And she may be the only one who can make things right.
~~~~~~~~~~
North Kingdom
Her red lips moved into a thin line. Her fair skin and petite figure revealed that she was just about sixteen years old. She was small. But the crown on her head otherwise gives the hint that she plays the biggest role in the North Kingdom.
"Empress Blanche, Kheera sent news about the South Kingdom." Her servant entered the courtroom. Eyes wide, hands shaking.
'Something is wrong,' Blanche had an ominous feeling about the South. The two kingdoms had never been on friendly terms ever since the world began, but it does not mean that they were at war. But why would there be news about the South Kingdom?
"What is it?"
"General Rua of the South Kingdom is on his way here with five hundred thousand soldiers." The servant was holding her hands on her chest.
Blanche stood up abruptly with her fists scrunching the piles of papers she was reading earlier. The paper was badly wrinkled as Blanche tried to clear her head. She asked the servant to repeat the message, trying to figure out if she had heard wrong. The servant obliged to repeat it twice to her. Seeing that she heard it right, Blanche ran to her room.
"Five hundred thousand soldiers against eighty thousand? This is a massacre!" She bit her lip and tried to steady her heart. "Call the elders and the Holy Knights," she commanded. She shut herself in her room.
In a dim part of the room, she removed a large piece of white cloth that covered the oval mirror. The golden chains supporting it above clinked. It was as tall as her with curved lines serving as its major design all over. But what is surprising was that there was no reflection within the mirror. She placed a hand over it, feeling the cold surface. She closed her eyes.
"Mirror, mirror, by my side, will the North Kingdom survive?"
A flash of golden light appeared in the middle of the mirror and spread across its surface. A handsome man appeared on the other side. With his face, he might be around twenty-five years or so. His clothing was not of that period. He has a long loose robe with animal fur lining, a staff on his hand, and a crystal ball on the other. And he looked pale and expressionless.
He stood before Blanche. He did not kneel, nor did he give signs of recognition before the girl before him. When he started to speak, there was an eerie tone about him just like the darkness behind him. "Two futures still await the tides, with a red star guiding both sides."
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