We traveled to the Green Wall the next day. Ali Al-thule was leading the caravan in the direction to Porto Razza. I must admit that the treatment of him with me was quite kind and correct. In the world of the nobles, sometimes you couldn't tell what a noble really thought about you. Behind an affable smile, the darkest intentions could be hidden. I couldn't tell if that was the case with Ali, what I COULD tell was that I made an effort to sketch smiles when inside, I wanted to vomit.
Since I was little I was always ambitious. Anyone of low birth would be grateful to the Saints for being born into the family that I was born in. Accommodated, without problems, protected by the guardian of the South. But that was not my case. I dreamed of more. More money, more power.
And I hated the Duke for having what I wanted. I hated Ali, his son. I hated everyone who was above me. Even the King.
I tried to distract myself with the landscape I saw through the window of my carriage. I visited the Green Wall as a child and didn't remember much. Now that I saw it again, it seemed beautiful to me.
Lots of green grass, trees, bushes, mountains. Not like the South, full of arid lands, dust, sand, and deserts.
I heard some soldiers say that the strangest and most dangerous beasts hid in the jungles of the green wall. Some were so poisonous that, with a single prick or bite, they would paralyze you in seconds and kill you before you could seek help.
How interesting…
I imagined how Ali Al-Thule died poisoned. It was nice to dream. It gave me pleasure to visualize in my mind how he crawled and babbled for help.
The trip was quite fast, thanks to the fact that we took the Royal Road. We arrived at sunset on the fourth day.
We unloaded at the most luxurious inn we could find.
"I want you to search each house," Ali ordered upon arrival. "No one has the right to rest until the dark-skin is brought before me. Whoever stops to rest will be whipped. Whoever stops to sleep will be executed. "
And so did his soldiers.
They knocked on the door of one house, then another, then another, and so on, until they invaded all of Porto Razza.
People walking the streets, merchants, sailors, and neighbors looked at us in confusion. As if wondering what the fuss was about.
I joined the search. I put on my armor, tied my sword around my waist, and took to the streets together with a group led by Ali.
It was late at night and less than half the port was yet to be searched.
"There they are!" Yelled one of the soldiers.
Ali and I ran to the call. And then ... we saw them in the docks ... Bachué and her companion. A woman with cinnamon skin, short hair, golden as copper, and brown eyes.
"After them!" Ali ordered.
The group of soldiers ran towards them.
They tried to escape snaking between the narrow quays, but to no avail. There were too many soldiers. We cornered them quickly.
Ali and I made our way through the soldiers and came face to face with the woman who had betrayed me.
"Bachué ...," I said.
"Your Grace," she replied.
"I am Lord Derderian now."
"Oh, my condolences, My Lord."
« Your condolences? Fuck you, Bachué. Fuck you really hard. You have no right to say that to me after you've betrayed me, you fucking harpy. »
I wanted to jump on top of her and hang her as I did with my father.
I wondered if it would feel just as good.
"On behalf of the Guardian Duke of the South and behalf of the King, you are under arrest," Ali Al-Thule said.
I was sure that they could no longer escape. However, once again, we underestimate them.
The brown-eyed woman pushed Bachué aside and she fell crashing into the water.
"Swim!" The woman screamed.
What the hell was she doing?
"Go, Bachué!" The brown-eyed woman yelled.
"I will not leave without you!" Bachué replied.
"THINK OF YOUR SISTER!"
The brown-eyed woman drew a sword. We hadn't realized she had a sheath until she showed us her steel.
Who the hell did that woman think herself to be? Challenge me like that? To me? I was a nobleman trained in the art of the sword!
Dammit!
I felt like the blood went up to my head.
Dammit! They weren't going to escape! NOT AGAIN!
I felt as if my body was consumed by flames. I drew my sword and lunged at the brown-eyed woman.
PAM! She blocked my cut.
PAM! She blocked again.
ZAS! She evaded another.
The woman was no beginner. She knew how to move.
Where the hell did she come from?
"GO AWAY!" The woman screamed.
"I love you!" Bachué replied.
I love you? Had I heard correctly?
No, no, no ... it wasn't possible.
Several soldiers ran across the docks to try to catch up with Bachué, but she swam quite fast.
I was consumed with anger; I didn't stop attacking the female swordsman. We crossed steel until she took a few steps away from me, raised her hands, and dropped her sword.
"I surrender," she said.
The soldiers surrounded her and tied her hands. I looked back and saw how Bachué was leaving in a ship that was lost in the night sea.