16 Taking Down a Symbol of Justice (2)

*Flashback*

« You're the daughter of that whore, huh? », a grunting marine soldier spat at a small girl in rags, « Your mother has abandoned you. Get lost. »

That's how Yara became an orphan. At just 6 or age, her mother represented her world, and at just six of age, her world abandoned her.

It was a turning point in her life. What caused her gentle mother to...give her up just like that? As she grew up in the streets, stealing mostly, she began to understand more of her mother's plight. Selling her body first, and then destroying her body with alcohol and drugs.

Her mother destroyed herself. Why? Because she was weak. And this trauma became a lesson for her: power became an obsession for her.

Years later, at just sixteen, a woman became her role model: Lara Hart. She had been insulted in some bar, and unlike other women, Lara stood up, and punched the guy so hard that his teeth flew in the air.

Her strength, her aura...It was what Yara was striving for. She had tried to grow stronger, but she lacked the knowledge to train properly.

That'd when she left the guild of thugs she had been living with for years, and instead joined the red ghosts, who were, at the time, unknown to the world.

*Flashback End*

Seven years had passed since this day. And she grew stronger. Much stronger.

*Splash*

Using the numerous weak townsmen as a cover, she faked being one of them, and stealthily approached the marine soldiers who were reluctant to shoot their brethren.

That was their mistake.

Just like that, using the crowd as her shield, she managed to fell over seven marine soldiers by herself! That was a feat she would have never thought possible a month ago!

That'd when she realized how...monstrous William Steel was. The young gentle boy who used to be nothing but a chore boy...changed overnight, as they raided Kaya Village.

In just one day, his personality, his skills and his ambitions shifted dramatically. At first, she thought he had been hiding his true skills all along, but now, she felt like it was an entirely different person.

She tried to get closer to him, in order to take advantage of his inexperience with women and his lust, but it backfired. Still, he trained her, formed her to display such a grandiose feat.

For that, she was more than thankful. The plans of the attack were too elaborate for the stubborn Lara to set up, and too evil for Jackson or George to come up with.

Like many, she could only attribute the credits of the attack to one man: William Steel. His willingness to train others and share his mastery with knives and rifles, going to the extent of sparring with newly recruited seamen, moved more than just one person.

At some point, with the recent contributions of William Steel, the loyalty of the crew was starting to shift. Though they didn't hold high ranking positions, many seamen shared unspoken ideas like: 'Shouldn't William be the captain of the Crusader?'

´Was Lara the legitimate captain of the Red Ghosts?'

'Who was in commands? Lara, Jackson or William?'

These unspoken questions plagued the internal politics of The Crusader for days now, and it would certainly never fade away, especially at a time where their dreams of glory was within their reach.

The symbol of justice, Garlic Town Marine Outpost, was crumbling. Men and women from the marines were giving up, some even tried to run away from the battlefield.

It was beautiful.

« Truly, he is a man worth following », Yara said out loud, while gutting an injured marine caporal, taking him by surprise.