For the rest of the day, Rachelle was not herself. She was starting to get eaten by fear. She knew that the real sword was with her, but then again what could she do? The Pope is obviously out of Helena's league where she could just bully in a simple manner.
She could sense that the Pope was a powerful being. If she decides to offend him for the second time, he might as well target her, which will bring Rachelle's life to an end.
She heard that Helena was fetched by the priests, and probably went and stayed at the Holy Church. To think that the Pope would plan to create a fake scenario. Shit, the Holy Church's affluence is getting bigger.
There will come a day when Rachelle will fail in her task if this continues. She needs to master the use of swords now, or else it'll be the end of her—
"Felicia!" Someone knocked some senses in her that made her flinch. Was she overthinking too much? She looked outside and noticed that it was already nighttime. Her head then twisted back on Noctua, who had been calling her for the nth time.
"You're overworking yourself. Nothing will happen to you, I swear in the name of the Goddess." Noctua cheered. She's acting weird and distraught, clearly affected by what news has been delivered to her.
"But what if that Paladin is someone that will eventually kill me?" She asked. Noctua could see how much it affected her, her eyes showed how bad her state was. If he could, he wished he could help her.
"No... He can't kill you or lay his sword on you. I believe in you, you are strong so don't get too much thought in your head. You need to get your head together, Felicia. Or all of your hard work won't become fruitful if you keep being like this." Noctua reminded her, trying to console and calm her because she was trembling.
Realizing his words, she took a deep breath, easing her system, breathing out. He's right, she shouldn't be thinking about things like this, it'll only cause her anxious and always on the edge.
She needs an immediate plan. But what?
"The paladin will just act as a knight around Helena. He will only draw his sword if the Saintess feels threatened. So when Helena starts to annoy you or scheme against you, you better pull out immediately." Noctua warned.
"How come you know something about a paladin?"
"Because it's what every paladin does whenever they are assigned to protect the Saintess. And since it is not an ordinary sword in the people's eyes, the more they will justify the Paladin's work. So you better be careful around Helena. She's something that is not going to be as easy from now on." Noctua added, giving her an odd feeling.
Which is similar to what she felt after knowing the Paladin's existence.
"You're right...the sword may be fake but the people's eyes will always be the death of us," Felicia muttered, letting out a stressed sigh. She laid out her body, staring at the ceiling.
Her mind was running amok with the possibilities of how it could affect the current story right now. The course of this story has stirred away as she messed with it further, making her future unstable.
"Just relax and think of nothing else. Tomorrow is a big day. Oh and Tyren's days at the monastery are running over. I suggest that you at least learn the basics of how to wield a sword. Who knows she might send another assassin to harm you." Noctua said as he began to flap his wings, floating in the air.
"Sleep well, Felicia. You need to rest." The bird expressed as he began to fly back towards his nest, the corner which he hides every time. Meanwhile, Felicia just hummed, still lost in her thoughts.
Tomorrow could be a dangerous day. But whatever it is, she needs to face it or else she will have no idea how to defend herself against the three of them, and possibly, the whole country is turning against her.
'Quit overthinking and just go to sleep, twerp.' her consciousness snarled at her, making her close her eyes and decided to clear anything that bugged her head. No matter what it is, she will conquer it.
—
Felicia opened her eyes in an unfamiliar space, or it seemed like an arena where gladiators fought. The sun was shining brightly, making her squint her eyes, avoiding the radiating blast of the sun.
Black smoke covered the entire space, everyone was cheering in a festive mode. Felicia felt trapped, unable to move. She looked down and saw that she had been chained, or inside a cage as if she was a wild beast.
Confused as she looked, she tried to oversee what was currently happening in front of her. Why is everyone shouting? Where is she? Why is she caged like an animal? Where are the others?
Questions flooded her head as she tried to move but realized she couldn't. Her body was severely wounded, and her back hurt as if she had been hit multiple times by a sharp object. Everything was painful.
Her skin turned purple and blue, abused and battered. Her dress was long gone and was replaced by a potato sack. Her once-long hair was cut and shaved.
What is happening?
Soon after, she could hear the crowds getting louder, followed by two guards dragging out a woman who was severely battered like her.
She tried to squint her eyes, hoping she could see the person who was about to be burnt. But what shocked her the most was that tears suddenly ran out of her eyes, crying over the woman being dragged by guards.
She tried to yell, hoping everyone could hear her but she couldn't feel her voice coming out of her mouth. Instead, she felt that her tongue had been cut, making her unable to yell her frustration over what was happening.
"Kill her!"
"Burn her!"
"She dared to poison the Saintess!"
"Avenge the Saintess! She deserves to die!"
Everyone was yelling, raging and vengeance was seething in their eyes as they all watched the woman being dragged towards the pit of hellfire, burning ever so violently. They were cheering, chanting the woman and claiming her as a witch.
Yet Felicia remained rooted in her cage, holding the rail as she watched the woman, slowly looking into her. Her eyes demanded how tired it was and she wished nothing more but to end the suffering that had been placed on her.
Felicia continued to cry, she continued to cry over the woman who just smiled at her after seeing her for the last time.
"Throw her!" Everyone chanted, wanting the woman to die in the blazing fire, eating everything it touched. Yet the woman just stared at Felicia.
Her eyes flash with happiness and relief.
'I hope you live.' the woman mouthed before the guards threw her into the well of fire, which made everyone feel happy, yelling and chanting how the witch who poisoned the Saintess was now gone.
She could hear the woman's repeating agony, crying loudly as the flame devoured her, claiming her into the depths of hell. Felicia was crying hard, she wanted to shout her pain yet there were no words coming out of her.
Instead, she cried silently, witnessing death happening right in front of her. It was torture.
To think that people were happy to kill someone innocent, didn't grant the woman leniency. They accused her of something that didn't happen. Felicia continued to cry in anger, disappointment, and sadness.
She was having mixed emotions over it yet rage was evident in her eyes. Her tears turned red, resembling blood as she continued to cry, washing everything with her tears of blood.
——
"HAA! HAAA!" She suddenly woke up, bullet sweats running down her forehead. She jolted, sitting on her bed as she continued to pant heavily after the dream that she had.
She was hot, feeling cold, and angry. But what confused her was that her eyes were bawling tears for unknown reasons. She was crying, feeling the rage of herself in that dream.
"W...what?" She mumbled as her eyes continued to let her tears stream down to her face. What is happening? What's with the odd dream that she had?
She could feel the chill. The vibrant colour of that fire was haunting her. She could feel like she was being held in a cold spot. It was hard to determine what the dream was all about, especially the woman who was burning in the fire.
She was trembling, it's as if she had died. She started to fear it even more, unable to fall asleep and just chose to stay awake. Noctua was sleeping, the night was deep and cold, and the whole household was sleeping already.
She continued to cry, feeling helpless in a situation where she had to witness it. It's not just a simple dream, but rather a premonition that warns her about the future.
It was bleak and dark, filled with nothing but agony and suffering.