Chapter 106: Chapter 106
Sara didn't know much about her powers from the very start, she had no idea how to fully awaken her divine blood, not even what exactly were those powers she possessed, she knew that it was more than just her physical strength and sharp senses, Gods must have more strength than just that , Hell, even the demons had more than just strong and fast bodies with absolute senses, she would feel it sometimes, a veiled power steering inside her, but she didn't know how to reach it, how to unveil that force and use it, there was one passive skill that she mastered though, it was related to the aura's she was sensing, the moment she get close to those auras, their light start pouring into her, she understood this ability to be the life absorption Eren talked about, the one the Gods used to steal life from others, her aura, the silver one felt somehow like the origin of the other small auras, once exposed to each other, the bit would reach to the all, the part would return to the origin, and anyone's life force would be drained from them and pour into her, she didn't know how to exactly launch it, nor how to stop it, as it seems her powers were raw and acting on their own accord, it was helpful when it came to the soldiers, all she had to do was touch them and they would fall at her feet like dead flies, she was able to take down all the soldiers in the Tuba village, and even the villages she went to under disguised, she was also able to give little Dahlia a peaceful death in her sleep without pain once her condition worsened, but beyond that, she was always afraid she would take an innocent's life by mistake, that is why she kept her distance from the villagers until she was able to figure out how to neutralize her deadly touch.
The road to the castle wasn't an easy one, the villagers were too weak from the torture and starvation, Dahlia's mother, like many others, ended up losing her mind partially after seeing her husband being killed right in front of her eyes, just like the rest of the village's men, Luckily Sara had some medical knowledge that she acquired during her days in the holy tower, she was able to offer some help to the injured women and children and then lead them toward the capital, it was the safest place they could go to with all the invasions, not that the soldiers were a threat to her, but the villagers' safety was her major priority at the moment, one that surpassed her desire to revenge, especially with her main enemy gone to the center, followed by the major suspect in her father’s death, right then she devoted herself to the poor villagers who asked for nothing more than a peaceful life, but instead were thrown under the wheel of war, they were innocents, just like she used to be, they were the people her father told her he loved the most, the simple people who had no grudges nor schemes, who didn’t care about the fancy names of the royals and nobles, who just wanted a better life and worked for it, these were the people she could connect to, the nobodies that no one cared about and just chose to sacrifice and walk over their bodies, they were....her…the old her who only wanted love and life but was given nothing but pain and death…
At first, Sara didn’t plan to stay in the capital with the villagers, all she wanted was to make sure they were safe before going back on her own journey, or maybe check on other villages and see what could be saved, but when they reached the capital, she couldn’t leave, hell, she barely believed it was the same capital she visited with Eren not months ago.
The once beautiful and organized capital looked like a giant refugee camp, with people gathering on the streets, some laying on them with large packs with them, children were screaming and crying, a horrid smell of human offal filled the streets, some soldiers were watching over the refugees, their faces cold as stone as the people kept on asking to be looked upon by the princess regent.
The princess regent? Nara? Sara knew that with the Queen mother gone and the King leading the army, no one was left but the twins, but from what she knew, it was the brother and not the sister who was supposed to take the regent status, unless something happened to him too.
Who ever was on the damn throne better start doing their job and tend to the people, for she didn’t save those women to have them live in a river of shit, Sara told herself as she walked toward the man who appeared to be the captain of the city’s watch.
“I would like to meet the princess!” Sara spoke in her cold voice, taking the soldiers and everyone else by surprise.
“What for?” the captain said while narrowing his eyes at the strange scarred girl with the cold expressions, barely holding back the words he truly wanted to say, ‘and who the fuck do you think you are so speak like this and ask to see the princess?!”
“I am a citizen, and I believe I have the right to speak to the princess, and personally tell her about what is going on.” Sara continued, hearing the approving hums of the people behind her, she knew it was what they all wanted and deliberately made her voice higher than normal, the soldier was rude, but not an enemy, and she needed him to do as she said without forcing him.
Intimidation it was then, she told herself, and the people, especially the ones who followed her from Tuba were right at her back, supporting her, even when they had no idea what she wanted to say to the princess, she just had the strength and nerve they didn’t, and even when she appeared to be ice cold, the people couldn’t help but sense her presence like a dancing flame.
The captain nodded annoyingly and sent one of his soldiers to report back to the princess, and while everyone held their breaths and waited, Sara wondered about the upcoming confrontation, she still remembered the first and last time she met her sister, and ironically, she was still lying about her identity, she remembered the way she felt back then, how small she felt compared to her sister, but none of that mattered anymore, she wasn’t interested in status or even sisters bonding anymore, all she wanted was to assure the villagers were going to be properly taken care of and whether her sister had anything to do with her father’s death or not.
Shaking away the memories of the past as she stood at the castle’s gates, Sara looked straight at the smiling red headed who was walking towards her surrounded by soldiers, Taghit soldiers, Sara wondered what difference was there between them and the Manrast soldiers? Would they kill and rape innocents if they were the invaders? Would they do such horrible acts out of vengeance if they got the chance? She was still indecisive about the human nature and how ugly it could get, and whether it was worthy of saving or not, looking back at the smiling beauty that approached them, she remembered the way she felt toward Nara the first time she saw her, putting aside the intimidation, she loved her sister back then, not that she hated her now but the word love was too strong for the moment, and to Sara, even Nara wasn't trust worthy anymore, for all she knew, the innocent looking beauty was still a suspect in murdering her father, which meant, she was still a name on her list to kill.
Nodding her head slightly while everyone else bowed, Sara waited for her sister to finish ''welcoming'' the fugitives and offering her ''sincere'' condolences for their losses, everyone was moved by the princess' gentleness and humbleness except for Sara, she was no longer the girl who could be moved with words, preprepared words which were memorized like a poem, she wanted actions, measures taken by the capital to protect their citizens instead of hiding in the impregnable castle while the helpless people who had nothing to do with the dirty politics were being killed and enslaved.
''I believe you are their representative, May I know your name, My lady?'' Nara's voice was both gentle and elegant, Sara took a couple of seconds to answer, looking into her sister's aura, it was clear, no malice, just pain, stress, and fear, but no malice, the princess’ aura almost felt like the villagers, faint but pure, no murderer could look that pure, feeling better about her, she answered in her usual monotoned voice.
''Dahlia.''
“Well, Miss Dahlia, as their representative.” Sara wondered when was she selected as a representative, but still chose to act like one “I believe you are the one I am supposed to discuss with.”
………
“That is not what I am asking for, Your Highness.'' Sara replied to Nara's question calmly, studying her sister, she wasn’t the same confidant princess, she looked tired and lost, and even with her training and teachings, she had no experience in ruling as it wasn’t her role to play, and she didn't have the skin to stand tall in these harsh times, she was totally lost, having no idea what to do about anything, Sara wondered once again why was she left alone to deal with this? Where was Nicholas? Her twin, and why did the human king ally himself with the demons anyway? Why would he leave his kingdom barely protected and in...not so good hands for a cause that wasn't even his.
''Really? I thought you wanted your homes and lands back, these were the requests of the others...'' Nara spoke, feeling internally grateful for the girl, the other refugees kept on asking her to send troops to reconquer their lands, troops she didn’t have in the first place.
''No, all we are asking for is food and shelter for the time being, we cannot go back to the borders, the Manrast troops will come at us again, so unless the troops you are planning to send can defeat the entire Manrast army, it is pointless, and even reckless if I may add, as it would only weaken the kingdom and destroy whatever forces we have to defend the capital.” Sara explained her point of view to Nara while thinking in the same time about the little detail she had mentioned, about the other refugees asking her to send troops to retrieve their villages, it was suspicious, if these villagers had suffered the same way the Tuba villagers did, they would know how risky it was to go back to the borders, being her skeptical self, she made a mental note to dig in the matter a bit more.
''Do you have any empty places where we can stay, your Highness?''
''For now, I’m afraid only the barracks are available, with comfortable beds for everyone, and a kitchen, an infirmary to treat the wounded, I hope it would be fine.''
''It is perfect, Thank you for your hospitality, your Highness'' Sara said while standing to leave the luxurious salon she and the princess used to talk, feeling the princess’ gaze on her back, she couldn't help but feel sorry for her sister, it felt as if she was so scared and tired and clueless at the same time, the weight of the responsibility was crushing her but she was trying to stay on her feet, Sara admired that about her, as someone who gave up at one point, the strength to keep going was something she valued and her sister had it.
Leading the villagers to the barracks, Sara kept an eye on the survivors of some of the other villages, something about them was suspicious, they were hurt and injured, but not severely, there were some men among them, which wasn't the case with the Tuba village whose men were killed the moment the village was taken, they looked, healthier, she had witnessed the cruelty of the Manrast soldiers with her own eyes, there was no way they got a bit softer toward the other villagers, unless…
A crazy thought popped in Sara's head while listening to a middle aged men talking about how poorly the princess had received them, that they don't want any mercy of such kind for they are no beggars, that they should be given their homes back instead of being treated like pigs, Sara focused on his accent, and it didn’t sound like someone from the borders with their way of thickening their ‘r’, and his aura, it was stained....
Connecting the dots, Sara reached the conclusion that the villagers were let loose on purpose with some intruders among them to persuade the princess to send the rest of her troops to the borders where they would be easily destroyed and then there would be nothing left to defend the capital, the capital was the beating heart of the kingdom, taking it means taking the kingdom, and even if the king returned with his army it would already be too late, the capital must to stay protected and those spies propagating their poison in the refugees heads needed to be eliminated.
Instead of taking them down herself, Sara chose to tell Nara about them during their meetings, mostly because she wanted the princess to trust her, she needed that kind of power, the power of status and the ability to influence if not make important decisions if she wanted to keep the kingdom and the people safe, the princess who at last found someone to offer her real help seemed to trust her to some point thus requested meeting her often.
Sara told her sister, who didn’t feel like one back at the time, about the spies, their purpose and the need to expose them in front of everyone before executing them, Nara took her advice, sending some skilled soldiers to watch the suspects then catch them red handed when they were planning to send their reports, they were put under trial and later executed.
And just as she planned, Sara was rewarded by the princess’ trust, one which she planned to use to get her revenge.