6 5: Capital (2)

Standing at the foot of the gates of the Capital gave one a sense of awe and inadequacy.

Towering at three-hundred feet with a slight arc facing the outer cities, anyone approaching felt like an ant under a giant's foot.

The walls were covered in different flowers and exotic plants, making up a massive vertical garden that spanned far and wide, fading into the circular shape of the city.

It was said that the current King of S'alazar was the one who put up the garden as a gift to the Queen who was known to love all things living.

The people loved it and had loved the royals even more for bringing beauty and prosperity into the land. And so, when the Queen had fallen into a long and deep sleep for some unknown reason, the kingdom had gone into mourning.

Eva finally arrived at the Capital's border after an hour of travelling by foot.

Walking along the wall towards one of the gates, she noticed a never-ending chain of enchanted candles.

The candles were placed there by the citizens, and they have now been burning a purple flame for more than a decade.

Still burning.

Still waiting for their Queen to awaken.

Eva sighed at this. Remembering this story always made her tear up a bit.

Following the instruction of the baker, she went inside the gate with the number 3 adorned on top.

From the outside, the gates looked like a normal cutout from the wall, but from the inside, it looked like a spacious dome, with over a hundred people bustling about.

Floating above the people's heads is the Kingdom's crest, an S, intricately designed, inside four hoops increasing in size, all rotating in different directions. The hoops symbolized that the cities of S'alazar are all key in protecting the kingdom.

People who passed by Eva raised their brows in disapproval. A commoner was rarely seen around the Capital gates.

"Excuse me, is there a guard here named Heron? I'm here to deliver a letter." Eva politely asked the lady at the help desk. The woman openly looked at her in disdain while she stood up, making Eva feel small.

Seeing Eva fold back into herself gave the woman a sense of superiority, making her smile. She nodded and talked into a small box after instructing her to wait while she called the guard over.

Not too long after, a man from the other side of the dome wearing a thin chain-mail approached Eva's general direction.

Eva patiently waited, standing firmly on the spot, smiling from ear to ear. She had already forgotten about the help desk lady as she began to think happily to herself about how she could already taste the bread that the baker promised her.

But her smile fell when suddenly, an ominous feeling washed over her.

As if on cue, the system spoke up, after being quiet for the entire trip to the Capital gates.

"Warning. System detects a large amount of magic nearby about to deploy. Immediate danger sensed within 20 meters of host." Eva held her breath at the system's sudden announcement.

"W-what? What do you-"

"Host is advised to flee. Source of danger is now 15 meters away. Threat cannot be ignored." Eva's skin tingled and there wasn't any hair in her body that wasn't standing. She frantically looked around for anything out of the ordinary.

"... 10 meters from the host."

Sweat started beading on her back. After looking around, she found that the only thing that was getting nearer to her location was the guard.

"15 feet away from the host."

Step by step he came nearer to where Eva was standing, and as soon as his image came into focus, Eva whimpered as she found her strength and took off at a dead run.

Eva's eyes were wide with fear.

She was scared witless.

She would have screamed if her voice hadn't caught up in her throat.

Running at top speed wasn't very natural to Eva. Her heart burned and her legs felt that they'll break at any moment, but she ran. She knew she had to get away. She was still running even after she passed the gates.

"Host is still not safe. System advises-" There was a pause. "Magic was deployed." Before the system finished informing her, an explosion sounded behind her, causing her to crash forward due to the shockwave.

All around, chaos erupted.

Blood curdling screams could be heard from the people who were just outside the gates.

The unfortunate ones who remained inside perished immediately.

Unsurprisingly, Gate 3 itself was fully in tact. Nothing was amiss save for the large cloud of black smoke that was constantly oozing from the inside.

Eva tried to stand but she winced when she saw blood on her leg.

It seemed that something shot out due to the explosion and hit her.

Struggling, she shakingly turned her body on the ground to look at the havoc she barely escaped.

Looking around she saw that there were several injured on the ground begging for help. There were those who ran to their aid, and there were some that ran from all the mess.

And then there were those who were being held back from running into the gates. These people had a look of desperation on their faces as they shouted their loved ones' names.

Eva looked on at the scene in front of her with increasing horror as tears started forming in her eyes.

She finally let out a scream.

Several people rushed to her side, thinking that she was in great pain. But anyone who came near her was kicked away and scratched, making it so that more and more people actually had to help and restrain her.

Everyone, including some onlookers, looked at her in pity, thinking that she had broken down due to the traumatizing experience.

One by one, wizards and warriors started flooding in on the scene, healing the wounded and managing the disarray.

One particular wizard appeared in front of Eva, signaling the people around to release her.

Those who were holding Eva down looked at each other with shock, as they slowly stepped back and let the man approach her.

The man wore a uniform unlike the other healers. He had the royal crest on his chest, and under his eye was the King's brand.

Bending down, the man sighed as he looked at Eva's face that was still frozen in terror.

"Oh, Eva... Of all days, why today?"

A look of concern was apparent on his face as he snapped his fingers prompting Eva to fall asleep, collapsing into his arms.

Without missing a beat, he immediately transported both of them into a familiar shack in the slums.

He carefully set her down on the floor and turned to the plant at the corner of the room.

Plucking a petal, he walked back to Eva and kneeled beside her.

He peeled her mouth open and placed the petal on her tongue.

He waved his hand and the petal turned into a glowing liquid that slowly dripped down her throat.

Finally, he healed her external wounds, and left a few coins above her head.

Before leaving, he scowled as he looked around. He grunted as if dissatisfied and procured a blanket out of thin air. He laid it over Eva and left.

Moments later, nothing could be heard except for Eva's soft breathing.

"System successfully recorded event. Playback is now available."

The system took form beside Eva. It paused, looking at her, at the flower, and then back at Eva.

He watched her with an indecipherable frown, and walked forward and sat at her feet.