She had a frown.
"I have to say something."
A stage of dark and dull within the unlit, stood a little one, emitting her silhouette, barely making her visible in little moonlight. In the depth of mystic night, no one was there aside from a few women drunk from red nights or some sleeping on the side roads. Her tiny hands grasp a horn of speech.
Behind her was The Great Tower of Marina, which existed in each City's capital District, the norm to alert citizens when the arrival of War with its Giant Bell, a Bell enough large to even make it possible to ring it needed at least three men.
It rang, that it was Ark's duty to perform on the words of the land master, of which she knew nothing about, but having won the lands and being the priority of the city, as always, the Bulldog of Throne did as told. Told by a figure appearing in the grim night one day along with her slave and a companion, that mysterious figure has won the land, and Ark was a mere soul that had witnessed it.
The black-cloaked mysterious figure that had just won this city. The far echoing bell wakes women of the district to their immediate thought of forthcoming war. Marching from their homes towards the stage, the number of women increased, some still in their dreams but many present to the peculiar call. The wonder of each thought complied with one another—there was no war—the shores were clear nor there were hauls of soldiers. Captain Alika abided by his post, they still believed there could be no war, not a single scratch to this city if he stood.
Although there was a figure of a young girl dressed in that southern Melidiona natives, one glance was enough that she was not from their neighbor. Yet some did recognize her as they were here not even a day ago, they were supposed to leave for their next destination, wondrous to even them as to why they were still here, but more perplexed were the ones who even saw them left. What was the call for? Each synced a thought, but as soon their eyes roamed past further to find a young lad standing behind the young girl, alongside a mysterious black-cloaked figure, it was a sudden shock.
Hatim stood behind the young girl goes by the name of Zera along with his master—Athena, who was beside him covered in the black grim cloak—as if the angel of death—having won the land of Marina, she was the ruler of the city, yet she stood behind the young little beacon of hope.
"My name is Zera…I do not know what my complete name is, but I have come from south of Melidiona, and I want to say something…"
…
"It's hot…"
'Often Meliodiona was a city of hot weather, rain does make its way once in a while, but even after that, the temperature remained the same.'
"Zera! Why did you do that again?"
'Cleo, the boy I lived with after my mother passed, I shifted with them. His mother was quite a wonder of this world, but he was nice, yet way too clingy. I know why he was here, the ruckus I made, broke some of the local merchants' stuff and apparently, there was every kid of the colony involved but the blame landed on me alone, though I was used to it by now. He continued his random talk, but I got lost in the moment, looking at the blue sky near the shore. After blabbering for several minutes he also knew I was interested in his scolding. He lay beside me, gazing at the same blue sky. Wind sways our hairs and we share the same reflection of the sky in our eyes. I have something that I want to say to him.
"I want to find my dad…"
'I didn't even know that my lips would whisper until he asked for it. Of course, I wasn't ready just yet to tell him my dream, so I shut him, with a piece of pepper stuffing inside his mouth, but someday…maybe I will…after that I went back to sleep. Closing my eyes and laying with hands behind my head, some gales blew, giving a tingling nice feeling. I nearly fell asleep.'
"You know, Zera…you are very bright…"
'What's that supposed to mean? It made me all flustered when he told me that, I got up and looked at him with my death stares…I mean I am all tanned, and dark-skinned because of this stupid hot weather and I don't like it, is he picking a fight or something?'
"No, I mean, even if all the bad things happen to you, you overlook it and continue to do it, and don't stop until you have gotten bored of it…so like think of it as a compliment!"
'Cleo adapted a rosy face, which I really did not enjoy watching. But I was always open to compliments, so I put my hands and my hips and smirked with the brightest smile I could afford—from which his rosy face turned into a big red tomato.'
…
"I am from a town, a very small colony. Never in my life have I seen outside of those little allies. It was terrifying to leave all that and follow people I just met then, yet there was something…someone I have to find, grab his collar and smack him down, ask him every question of my life…but on my way here, I realize the world is not the same as those allies. The people I always hated were perhaps the kindest ones I've met, people that made me sick, now I think about them before sleeping every day… I know you don't want to hear all that, but I need you to understand me and what I'm about to say…"
'I had to take that pause.'
"I have come here from Marina's Docks and War is coming, the drum pirates are making their way to the city's naval shores, they will come here as well, the only reason they aren't here is because the Navy held them back for nearly a decade, but today, the number of Naval Soldiers is reduced to nothing."
"Don't say bullshit, little runt. Captain Alika is there, ain't no one touching this city!!"
A drunken woman was standing there in the corner, she had her reasons but just then there was a hint of being mocked in each of them. The crowd was perplexed but also never did they want to hear from a little child to tell them their Hero Captain Alika could be defeated.
"Yeah! Who are you to say in this matter!"
"Go back to your city!"
"Don't waste our time! It's midnight!!"
Her eyes adapt to a nervous view, whirling from one person to another in a hurry, unable to answer their question once at a time.
"NO!!"
'If I hadn't yelled, the people wouldn't have listened.'
"We can not rely on somebody special to change history over and over. There are enough heroes in this country!" A halt to her tongue. "You don't have to be special to make the difference. You just have to make a difference without thinking about it, little differences, making your little path and changing the lives of the people around you… eventually, it changes the world, little by little…"
She had spun to Hatim for a second, those gazes of a raven snake taunting him. He merely met her eyes in reply.
'This was not in my speech, yet I wanted to let my heart out. I don't know why, but Cleo fogged my thoughts. I want him to see me right now, to see how much I have grown in these past weeks.'
Zera begins to comprehend that the people of the majority would not believe her words until the truth comes to their ears even.
"Rose of Red-Line has been dethroned."
Zera let out the words of shock. It was a news that not a single soul could have imagined, the women in the depth of drunken dreams became sober, and each of them let out a great gasp of disbelief.
"WHAT?!"
It was an honest reaction for each of them, a figure of that caliber could not be dethroned in just a simple night, without waging a single sword or blood. Rose had an army of specialized men under her, and taking on her meant taking on the strongest soldiers of the city who kill without a single thought.
"My friend here has taken the city of Marina fairly. Lady Ark Ischyros's tongue can be taken for validity. And is the new Empress…"
Zera had her finger pointed at Athena and Ark above the tower and looked at the crowd, while they marked their eyes at her, and as she blinked while nodding for confirmation, the disbelief in everyone wore off a little instead grew tension within their hearts. Their city's new great Empress or perhaps an Emperor was a figure mysterious that they did not even know the face of. Of course, it was unsettling but Ark would never lie, she had the pride of a Warrior, and it shivers their nerves. Zera had told the crowd of hundreds of now nearing thousands of women of the city her speech, her duty was to make them believe and to make them knowledgeable of the forthcoming war. Athena nor Hatim were capable of making that happen. He has fallen quite far from humanity, while she carries none.
Yet, the crowd seemed to be wary. Mere minutes of words spoken have shifted their world in a peculiar direction. Unaware and still gulping down the truth, they were not ready for something as grand as War. The belief that Captain Alika would fail them does not cross their mind. Their eyes were burdened with bafflement, and thoughts couldn't gather to decide to follow a little girl's voice. Their thoughts carved for validity, from someone of their own, the witness, which merely was a single person.
Ark Ischyros walked her step down to the stage of unlit lights. The shine of the moon disappeared for mere moments, for that, she lit a lantern. Carried below, her steps did not even halt at the stage, she marched off, not meeting the eyes of citizens, she kept walking to the training house. All the eyes fixed on her, each wailing to question, yet her silent lips were enough to assert her choice to be foreign to any answer. Ark walks between the crowd as they make a way for her. Suddenly her steps halted—she stood in the middle of everyone. "Before I leave, just let me remind you something…We are the heroes of our own story, and no matter what, no one can take that away from us, no one." It was not a loud notice yet when told in the chasm of grim night where silence was the zenith, beyond each ear her words spread like a fire in the forest. Her presence has taken steps away from them, the women of the district, merely avert their gazes to each other momentarily, and then spin their lavish eyes to Zera…
The Little Beacon of Hope gazes back at each of them, those snake-ish gapes of grim raven having a sparkle within. Her lips curled and revealed a toothy grin.