*Huff huff* The Lady ran through the forest, her breath coming in ragged gasps. As she fled, memories of her childhood struggles resurfaced. She had escaped her parents' oppressive shadow at an early age because they were unbearably cruel. In the palace, she felt like a caged bird.
Yes, she was a princess, and to forge her own destiny, she decided to carve her path independently. However, this decision came with numerous challenges. With her golden hair and piercing eyes, she attracted unwanted attention. Some sought her for their desires, while others saw her as a means to wealth. To escape this harsh reality, she ran and ran.
After what seemed like an eternity, she reached the edge of a cliff. Towering trees surrounded her, their leaves creating a patchwork of shadows. Through the gaps, she glimpsed the couple crossing the border with her child.
"Goodbye, my son. Please don't hate me too much," the lady said.
The full moon bathed her in its silvery light. Her teary eyes shimmered like pearls, and a gentle breeze tousled her hair. She quickly wiped away her tears and composed herself. The sound of approaching horse hooves spurred her into action once more. But she couldn't get far. Her dress snagged on a tree branch, and she tumbled to the ground. Exhausted, her legs refused to support her any longer. She realized that even her legs had surrendered to her cruel fate. Lying on the forest floor, she awaited her end.
"I promise you, as long as I am breathing in this world, I won't allow anyone or anything to tarnish your face or your dignity," she remembered her beloved's words when he professed his love.
"But I am a fugitive. You are royalty. This world will never accept us. Please, try to underst—" she couldn't finish her sentence as her beloved silenced her with a kiss.
"So what if I am royalty? I will change the world if necessary," the man declared.
The lady gazed into his eyes. In that moment, she felt as though he had drawn her into his kingdom and, with great care, placed a queen's crown upon her head.
Lying on the ground, the lady relived these cherished memories. They were her solace, easing her pain. She suddenly smiled as she beheld the full moon.
***
"Captain, we have found some bloodstains on the ground," a soldier reported.
"Follow them. She couldn't have gone far," The Captain,Alex commanded.
"Yes, sir." After saying this, the soldiers began to march like an army of robots, following the stains.
***
"Ah, who do we have here, and what a beautiful smile you have. Now I understand why our lord fell for you so hard," said the man with a sword sign on his right arm.
He had climbed the cliff before the army and found the lady lying on the ground.
"Don't you have any shame? After betraying us, do you still think you can call him your lord?" the lady asked.
"What made you think that I was the one to betray our faction?" He smiled as if he had won. He approached the lady with bad intentions.
The lady pulled herself together and slapped him on the face. Her eyes were full of disgust as she said,
"There is only one person who knows about the upcoming events of our faction. Also, the enemies came from the abandoned escape path of the main house. It can only be discovered by deeply analyzing the house's map with much knowledge. And there is only one person who can do it," the lady said.
"So much wisdom and fiery attitude in your eyes," the man clapped his hands while saying this.
"Why did you do it? We trusted you like our own family. But you stabbed us in the back. What do you want?" the lady asked.
The man, who had been laughing until now, his eyes turned red, and he seemed ready to burst with emotion.
"What do I want? It is the power that He had. Do you think all the power, wealth, and support he had was earned? This power, wealth, and support belonged to my family. It belonged to me. I deserved it all. But that old frog gave everything to him. What did I lack? I served that old frog with my life, but you say I don't deserve a penny? Tell me, Alicia. TELL ME!!" the man screamed.
"It was good leadership. He saw all his faction members as family. He was a good human being, unlike you, who is greedy for power. Do you even understand what you said? I feel no pity. Instead, I feel like laughing because you let go of all your self-esteem to gain power," Alicia said.
"You've got some words. Do you know that your hours are numbered?" the man said.
"I know that better than anyone else. And I have no regrets. As my beloved promised to care for me in the afterlife, I have no worries," Alicia said.
"We'll see about that," the man said shortly.
***
Meanwhile, the armies climbed the cliff.
"I have no more questions. Just get rid of her," the man said to Alex.
"Before I leave, I want to say something," Alicia said.
"What?" the man looked at her and asked.
"Don't you find it strange why the king suddenly changed? As he was ruling peacefully, what could be the reason behind it?" Alicia threw a question at him.
"I don't think I have to answer you. Hey! Don't waste time," the man said with an irritated face.
As the blade was placed on her neck, she again remembered the face of her baby and the promise. The blade swung, and it was the end for the lady. The leaves on the ground turned red with her blood in an instant.
***
The man and the army descended the cliff. They had finished disposing of the lady's body and were heading down. During the entire time, the man pondered Alicia's last question. He had ignored it initially, but it was quite strange. He wondered what had caused the king to change so suddenly.
As they rode their horses , they took the path to check the border's conditions. When they reached the border, they heard soldiers laughing.
"Oh, we are living the life here, aren't we?" Alex said with a straight face. Upon confirming Alex's presence, the soldiers stopped laughing and returned to their positions.
"Why were you laughing? Anything funny happened?" Alex asked.
"No, sir," the soldiers replied.
"Any movement on the border?" Alex asked for a report.
The soldiers reported all the activities of the past seven days.
"Just a few hours ago, a couple crossed the border heading west," a soldier reported.
"So?" Alex asked.
"I-I think I noticed something unusual," a soldier said from the corner.
"Come here and report," Alex ordered, with eyes of fire.
"There was a child with them. I think the child had a sword sign and a lion in the background," the soldier said with a shaky voice.
This sentence froze Alex and the man. The man ran to him and grabbed his hand.
"Are you sure? Did you see the sign clearly?" the man asked.
The soldier, petrified, nodded.
"Then, let's mobilize a team and eliminate them," Alex said.
"No, don't make hasty movements. It's the desert. Mobilizing troops there will breach the peace treaty between the East and the West," the man said.
"Then what do we do? The child of a tiger will also be a tiger. It will target us in the future," Alex said.
"No, by then, we will be in power. We will be the powerful ones, and everyone will follow us," the man said.
At that moment, an eagle arrived with a message. The man opened it and smiled.
"What is it?" Alex asked.
"The Table," the man said and threw the message away.
"Do you want to join?" Alex asked.
"Of course. They invited me. Please lead the way," the man requested.
Alex took the lead, and they started towards "The Table."
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