Tears (Part 2), Scene v1

She climbed to her feet and dragged herself to the horse she left over night. She climbed onto her horse, sitting there for a moment in a daze before setting off down the road back to Rokan. She didn’t want to see Lucas again, never again like that. The monster had to pay for what it did. To betray the Empire by killing Lucas, the person she loved…the Catheran had to pay.

The road was lonely and deserted. Or perhaps there were people, but she did not notice. The first time she rode to Lucas’ home was six months ago, on the first warm day of spring. He shared with her stories of his family, such as the time when Isella first tried to make beef and wine soup. They all loved it and had several servings, but she mixed in the wine too late, so they all grew less sober than they hoped. Another story involved Isella finding a young rabbit huddled between the stack of towels just outside the bathing room. She cared for it for three months, until it left one afternoon. Amazingly, it kept going back to visit her. Lucas shared many other stories with her, but they were usually about Isella. If she really loved him back, why did she abandon him? Why did she run away, and conspire against the Empire? How could she try to kill the person she supposedly loved? Because of her, Lucas grew sad and depressed in his final days, but at least she paid for what she did. The beast still had to answer for her actions.

Sunset was approaching by the time Sara arrived at the capital. She rode to the rear gate of the castle to avoid as many people as possible. Her face was undoubtedly a mess, and blood covered her clothes. From the outside, all looked normal enough, but inside was completely different. Soldiers were rushing this way and that. Everyone had a panicked look on their face as they ran through rooms. Had they heard of Lucas’ death? Of the furlicker’s betrayal? Whatever it was, it was enough for them to go about without noticing Sara. She spotted General Devin issuing commands to a squad of soldiers. “Sara? What happened to you?” he asked, as soon as he caught sight of her.

“Lucas…” Her voice was weak, and the words caught in her throat. She let out a trembling breath to try to compose herself. “That furlicker, she—she murdered Lucas!”

She struggled to fight back the sobs that crept up on her. General Devin looked at her, his brows furrowed in disbelief. “What? Are you sure? She murdered Lucas? No…it’s going to have to wait. You’ll have to give me details about it later. We have a bigger problem to deal with right now.” A bigger problem? Lucas was murdered by the damned Catheran! How could anything possibly be more important than that? “Hundreds of people were poisoned this morning, likely by the food that was served for breakfast. Fortunately, it doesn’t seem lethal, and was probably used to create a distraction.”

“A distraction? For what?”

“His Majesty, Princess Delphi, General Raze, and Kismet are all missing. We believe whatever group poisoned the residents abducted them during the chaos.” Sara was in disbelief. For everything to happen at once, it couldn’t have been coincidence. “Not too long after, there was a collapse in part of the castle’s foundation, probably to seal whatever route they took.”

The general was right. Something terrible had happened. General Razelin Viselle Atraea, who some consider a prodigy of Rokan, and Sara’s idle for four years, was abducted along with two members of the royal family. “Wait…The furlicker was here this morning? Lucas was murdered just last night. Do you think she might’ve been involved in this?”

“If what you say is true, it’s a possibility. Go write a report of everything that happened last night. I’ll be questioning everyone in my office, so just bring it to me as soon as you finish.”

Everyone rushed back and forth, as Sara walked back to her quarters. Many were panicking with their friends, most of which accused the Kival. Are the Kival really capable of abducting not only two members of the royal family, but also the Silver Guard? No, it’s impossible. The Kival are nothing but second-class citizens of Lokem, exiled from their homes. They would need to know how the castle life works and it’s layout to be able to do something like this, both of which the beast is more than familiar with. Lucas must’ve discovered something to make him a threat, or maybe it’s because he was a candidate for becoming Delphi’s Guardian, an obstacle. But if that’s true…then will she go after me next? She’s probably figured out that I was the one who saw her, and I’m also an obstacle to her, but she hasn’t attacked me yet. Why didn’t she try to kill me so I wouldn’t be able to tell anyone about her murdering Lucas? Since she’s missing, and arrived in time for everything that happened here, she must’ve rushed over here and was involved in the abduction. Either way, that damned monster will never get away with what it did. Lucas didn’t deserve to die, and I’ll kill it myself if I have to.




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