Betrayal

"Sarah, before you do anything, it's not her who-"

But Sarah didn't hear at all, she appeared in front of us and tightly gripped Sheila's neck. Sheila was lifted high in the air, struggling to breathe with a sound that scared me.

"Sarah! Look at me! Sarah!!"

She glanced over here, with a pair of piercing eyes that made all the hairs on my body stand up. A warning to run immediately.

"Sarah, I know you're angry, worried, scared. But I'm fine. I'm okay. Hey, look at me, just look at me." I took a deep breath, staring directly into her eyes. "I'm okay."

Sarah released her grip, letting Sheila fall to the ground as she quickly gasped for breath. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, almost losing her life.

Sarah ran, coming to embrace me, letting sobs take over. I could feel her body trembling strongly, making me feel so guilty for making her like this. She, who never even showed fear, was now trembling with such a strong embrace, afraid of me disappearing.

Sheila stood up, taking a relieved breath knowing she was still alive, then glanced in our direction. A warm smile formed on her beautiful face.

As Sarah pulled back and touched my cheek, our eyes met with a warm feeling in our hearts. Sheila said, "Now I understand why you said she's my enemy. I can see how much she loves you, Z."

I hoped my face wouldn't turn red, though I could feel the blood rushing to my cheeks, making them feel so warm that I almost wanted to turn away.

But that gaze...

I've seen it before.

I'm sure I've seen it before and felt the same way as I do now.

But why can't I remember anything about Sarah?

"I know you both long for each other, but you don't have much time. You must leave before Her Majesty finds out you've escaped. Or.. do you want to hear my plan first?"

I turned to Sarah, who was also staring back at me.

She nodded in agreement.

I returned my attention to Sheila, who was already smiling widely over there with a pair of eyes that slightly worried me, as those eyes now belonged to someone who intended to cause a great chaos.

"Great! Since you've agreed to hear my plan, it means you're involved in it too. Ah ah, no objections, please. By listening to this plan, you'll also know my true intentions. Sorry, but that's just how it is," she said quickly while placing her hand on her hip, a characteristic pose of Sheila when she's giving orders.

"Why can't I hate you?"

Her smile expanded with a look that turned into a seduction. "That's my charm, Z," she said, before her gaze turned serious. Though that captivating smile still remained on her face.

Sarah began to explain her grand plan to us and the reason why she betrayed me, which turned out to win the heart of the Queen. The Queen's relationship with Sheila was not good, especially after what happened a few years ago when she was still the leader of the 01 Brigade.

So, Sheila needed something to show her loyalty to Her Majesty in order to infiltrate her troops, which would be leaving shortly.

The reason the Queen wanted to send them away was to eliminate Sheila from the world. The request to travel the world was merely a lie the Queen told to make them leave the kingdom. Coincidentally, Sheila was the owner of the flying ship construction. It wasn't strange at all for her to be the one going, considering she understood the most about flying ships.

With the kingdom's energy needs being urgent, it was an excellent opportunity to get rid of Sheila while also blaming this world's inhabitants as the reason for the attack. The Queen would gain the support of the people and strengthen her position as the ruler of Clockheart, which she unfortunately failed to secure due to the chaos in the city.

That chaos ruined all of her plans. The panicked Queen was exploited by Sheila. And she used Zent as a way to return to the Queen's side, becoming her trusted right-hand. Just like a few years ago.

"Why should I be on the Queen's side, you ask? To stop her plans of world domination. I don't want Her Majesty to remain controlled in darkness after what happened before. Moreover, only death awaits at the end if Her Majesty continues like this. So, to redeem my mistakes, I have to stop her."

"What actually happened in the past, Sheila?" I asked. "We have the right to know, considering the current situation," I continued, as I noticed she was about to refuse.

Sheila fell silent for a moment, thinking before taking a deep breath. She nodded in understanding and looked back at us with a profound sadness evident in her hazel eyes. "At that time...

I was not only the leader of the 07 Brigade but also the right hand of the Queen. His Majesty always entrusted everything to me, even appointing me to take over when he was sick or visiting other kingdoms. That's how much trust His Majesty, the Queen, had in me. Until that happened."

.

.

"Captain! We're going to lose them! What should we do?"

Sheila clenched her teeth upon hearing her subordinate's words and hurriedly went to the window to observe the flying ship, which was supposed to be their primary task, now engulfed in flames.

She weighed the options on what to do while the ship was still in the air, and there was only one thing they could do to save the Queen's child inside.

All of this happened because, as it turned out, there was a traitor within the 07 Brigade who was a spy from another kingdom. He set fire to the supplies inside the aircraft, and the fire spread rapidly until now, the flames were soaring high in the air. It was only a matter of time before the engine exploded, and the ship lost control.

"Bring us closer to them!"

"Roger!"

Her subordinates moved quickly, maneuvering the ship closer to the Queen's child's vessel, while others prepared to attach a grappling hook to keep both ships side by side while maintaining a safe distance from the fire.

Once they were close enough, Sheila, who was already on the deck, immediately jumped over, wearing a mask to breathe in the smoke, and rushed into the ship, ignoring the calls from her subordinates warning her about the growing fire.

Inside, panic began to overwhelm Sheila, causing adrenaline to surge, giving her extra strength to push through the flames, even though her body felt so painful. She searched below, where the cabins were located, but couldn't get in there as the door was blocked by flaming wooden debris.

The fire raged, filling the room with smoke, forcing Sheila to find an alternative route through the stern of the ship.

No one was alive there; only the bodies of the members of the 07 Brigade who had fought fiercely against the traitor remained. The traitor was none other than the Vice Captain.

Sheila's close friend.

Because of that, it wasn't Sheila who was by the Queen's child's side, but the traitor. He volunteered to take Sheila's place so that she could rest after working tirelessly and sleeplessly. As a friend, of course, Sheila agreed.

But now, both of her hands were clenched tightly in anger.

Sheila even pounded a wooden door to pieces, not caring about her bleeding right hand. She entered a corridor, calling out the Queen's child's name, but the room was silent, devoid of human voices. Only the sound of the fire consuming the wood echoed.

Her heart was pounding, sweat drenched her body, and her breath was heavy. Sarah fought through it all to save the five-year-old child who had a smile like the morning sun.

Then she heard the voice coming from the bridge.

Sarah rushed there, summoning all the strength she had. The entrance was visible in front, wide open. She ran there, colliding with the door with her side as she was running too fast, and froze in place, witnessing the scene in front of her.

A man with blonde hair and a pair of beautiful emerald green eyes was now pointing a gun at the Queen's child, cowering in fear in the corner of the room. His white uniform was stained with ash and blood.

The eyes that had always looked gentle now appeared so sharp, filled with hatred. He glanced at Sheila, and a vacant smile formed on his face.

"Ah... I had planned for you not to see this. But you always do crazy things. I didn't expect you to actually jump onto a burning ship like this," he said.

"Helio... W-what are.. you doing?" Sheila tried her best to utter each word, still finding it hard to believe that the person who had been by her side all this time had become the one stabbing her from behind.

"I'm sorry... I have to do this."

Sheila stepped closer, but instantly stopped as she heard him shout loudly.

"DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!" Anger was evident on the handsome face that had once won Sheila's heart with its tenderness and shared memories. "I will really shoot him. If you take one more step, I will kill him, do you understand, Sheila?" He demanded.

Hearing the trembling voice made Sheila believe that he didn't actually want to do this, but he felt forced. It was evident from his right hand, which trembled while holding the pistol.

"Helio... Why?" she asked softly.

He gritted his teeth, trying to contain everything that was raging inside him, but seeing Sheila's face, Helio couldn't hold back his emotions any longer. "The Queen killed my family."

"What...?"

"SHE KILLED MY FAMILY!"

"That's impossible! Her Majesty would never do something like that!" Sheila retorted indignantly. The Queen she knew had never been so cruel as to kill the family of her subordinates.

Helio reached into his uniform, pulled out a pendant from his neck, and threw it in front of Sheila while shouting, "HOW WILL YOU EXPLAIN THIS!"

Inside the open locket, there was a black-and-white photograph.

A young child, a younger version of Helio, smiled at the camera with two people standing behind him. A man and a woman, both smiling happily while placing their hands on the child's shoulders.

"How will you explain... that the two people I killed were my own parents?"