A declaration of war

"Why are the gates closed?!" the leader of the pursuit shouted over to the people gathered on the walls. In a silly attempt to appear like a normal traveler, he even took down his helmet, revealing a pretty handsome face underneath it.

"I wish I would know this myself, sir!" the leader of the guard's shift replied before glancing over at Serene hidden beneath the battlements. "Mayor's orders, sir," the guard added, moving his eyes back at the cavalryman.

"Come on, brother! Can't you open them up for one moment?" the man on the ground insisted. "We only need to get one thing done, and we will be out! In and out, ten minutes max, no question asked!" the man shouted before patting himself on his belt. "You can be sure I will make it worth your while!" he added.

'What audacity!' Serene thought, clenching her teeth. But instead of standing up and lashing at the man, she moved her eyes at the leader of the gatekeepers only to shake her head in denial.

"I'm sorry, sir, my supervisor would have me flogged for that," the guard followed Serene's instructions, denying them entry to the Tadkarian cavalry.

"What should we do, then?" Tadkarian officer asked, shaking his head as if to prove how troubled he was himself. A mere moment later, he suddenly looked around as if to check if no one was watching. "I shouldn't be doing that..." he said, infusing a heck a lot of hesitation in his voice before pulling out his sword and showing its blade to the guards at the top of the city's gate. "Can you see the marks? We are with the Royal Guards! Surely, you can make an exception for us!"

A chill traveled down Serene's spine. 'They sent the royals after us?' she thought, feeling how the entire situation turned even more complicated than it already was.

'No, it doesn't matter,' she thought after a moment of hesitation. 'It doesn't matter at all,' she repeated in her thoughts, clenching her fingers into fists. Then, she raised her head and looked at the leader of the guards, only to shake her head horizontally once again.

"Sir... It's an honor to meet the legendary Royals, but my orders are simple," the gatekeeper shouted, lowering his head and resting his hands on the wall's battlements. "Sir, are you sure about this? Denying entry to the Royal Guard... I can't take responsibility for that!" he whispered to the girl hiding just beside him.

"Don't you dare open the gates," replied Serene. 'It will take some time to bring that guy to a mobile state,' she thought, calculating her chances as she squinted her eyes. Then, with a single, decisive move, she unsheathed her sword, flashing the crest that decorated the blade near the hilt. "Royal orders, keep the gate shut!" she said, unwilling to waver.

"I really hope your mission is worth it, sister," the gatekeeper said as he swallowed a mouthful of saliva. The sight of the royal crest on her sword reassured him, even if only a little. He raised his head again and threw a look at the men below the gate. "I'm really sorry, sir, but no can do. I have already sent some men to notify the major. Once my orders change, I will be the first to welcome you in our city, but for now, I can only ask you to stand fast," the gatekeeper said in a determined voice.

"Sir!" a soldier entered the gate's terrace through the hatch door in its floor. Yet, before he could give his report, a quick onslaught of annoyed looks made sure he would remain silent.

"You are aware of what does it mean to deny entry to the Royal Guard?" The cavalryman below the gate shouted, no longer bothered to keep his face smiling or his voice kind. "Without a proper reason, you are as good as declaring a war to the entirety of Tadkar and its allied states!" the man shouted, clearly unwilling to waste any more time.

"Sir Serene!" the soldier whispered, gesticulating at the girl to come closer to the hatch. "I bring the news from the infirmary. It will take at least a week to get your patient to walk, but he should be able to handle horseback in four days," the soldier whispered.

'That settles it, then,' Serene smiled lightly, despite her soul tearing into two under an overwhelming amount of grief and guilt.

"Do not answer him," she said in a normal tone, directing her voice at the leader of the gatekeepers.

"Sir?" the man looked down, puzzled by the unexpected order. But rather than receiving an answer, some kind of explanation, he only saw the royal servant take a few deep breaths before suddenly standing up, ending the ruse that they kept since the closing of the gates!

"You speak about sparking a war," Serene shouted, looking down at the men below the gates. "But this is what you already did when you massacred everyone at the border post or when you mercilessly killed my companion!" she shouted, throwing the past events right in the man's face.

'There is no point to hide anymore,' she thought, perfectly aware of her advantageous position. 'We can run in mere four days. There is no way for them to gather the forces to besiege the city so quickly!' she thought triumphantly as she looked down the walls on the man's angered face.

"So war it is," the man replied in a calm manner, seemingly not bothered by the revelation of his crimes whatsoever. "Men!" he shouted before shaking his hands in a peculiar fashion for a moment.

There were no orders spoken. The man clearly didn't intend for his wishes to be heard by the soldiers at the walls.

'Aren't you a bit too obvious?' Serene thought, shaking her head. She then turned towards the gatekeeper and nodded his head.

"So the war it is," he said as his face turned deadly white. Nevertheless, he moved to the back of the terrace before waving at the people waiting below.

"It's done," he said once the special unit at the streets of the city rushed towards the bell tower standing between the outer and inner set of the city walls. Yet, as he turned his head to face Serene, the hesitation was written all over it. "Sir, are you sure?" he asked in a trembling voice.

"This is a beautiful city," Serene replied, seemingly making no sense. For a moment, she simply stared into the town from her elevated position, ignoring the gatekeeper's question.

Then, as if some kind of enlightenment struck her, she turned around and grabbed the man by his shoulders. Her face was still from all the grief, guilt, and doubt that rampaged through her soul. "Our domain only exists because we turned a blind eye to the atrocities those fuckers committed," she said in a loud voice.

She told the truth that everyone was aware of, but no one had the balls to utter as it went against the royal policy of cooperation.

"For years, we watched how they consumed our neighbors, playing the good little dog on their leash. But now, we hold the ace that can topple them," she shouted, not caring about the consequences of her words at all. "Now, we can strike where it hurts them. But for that," Serene stopped her tirade, biting her lips to the point where fat drops of blood dripped down her cheek. "But for that, we have no choice but to abandon the beauty that we so strongly wished to preserve," she said as madness exploded in her eyes.

A madness that only one ready for their own demise could exhibit.

"Now, it's the time when we abandon what we always fought for, just to give others a chance for the ultimate victory!"