Elin-19

Niaes sat on the bench, facing the closed door behind which she could hear noises, knowing what was happening inside. There were no guards on either side of the corridor. She was still dressed in battle gear, covered in dust and dried bloodstains. Feeling out of place on the exquisite carpet beneath her, she wondered where the guards had put her sword, hoping to retrieve it when she left. For now, she sat still, pretending not to hear anything, silently praying for peace in the refuge valley and for her subordinates to handle the prisoners well. She also wondered about the outcome of Elin's interrogation.

The door opened, and Niaes immediately stood up. Prince Galin emerged from the bedroom, holding a plate with a small piece of cake.

"Here," Galin offered the plate. "I know you haven't eaten anything since noon."

"Prince, I..."

"Are you refusing?"

Niaes took the plate and ate the cake, feeling uncomfortable as she swallowed too much cream at once, causing her throat to ache. She placed the plate on the chair and looked up to find Galin standing close to her. He reached out his thumb and wiped the crumbs from her lips.

"Look at me," Galin said.

Niaes looked into Galin's eyes, trying not to show any emotion, but failing.

"Are you afraid?"

"Yes, Your Highness."

"You shouldn't be. You are the only guest to receive wedding cake from me tonight."

"I am honored..."

"Then you shouldn't be afraid."

Niaes didn't know what to say. Galin chuckled, glanced at the slightly open door, then continued to stare at her.

"I hope you didn't overhear anything embarrassing. My queen, you know, she's still immature. Physically and mentally. She's not happy, Niaes. She wants to be the queen of this country, but she's not happy. She says because the Tolkar Sword is gone, I can't marry her. That's an excuse, Niaes, a woman's excuse, you understand. She's reluctant, but blames something else. Guess what I told her? I said, 'I'm marrying you, not that sword. I am the master of this country, capable of doing whatever I want, and you must obey. You will share the wedding cake with me, and then become my woman.' And that's what I did."

"I... I don't know why you brought me here."

"I already told you to look at me," Galin pushed her cheek with his finger. "My queen, perhaps she's still crying. But soon, she will realize how foolish and ignorant she is behaving. Would you like to go in and see her?"

"It's not appropriate, Your Highness."

Galin stepped back slightly. "Alright, Niaes. Let's not talk about her. Let's talk about you. About your failures."

Niaes was about to speak, but Galin covered her mouth with his right hand.

"No, no apologies. Nothing. When I talk about failure, I'm not referring to what happened this morning. I'm talking about something you didn't know two days ago... Your father hanged himself. His body is still hanging there because no one wants to take it down. He was a madman, and his daughter is a traitor. It's like there's a dead rat on the road that no one wants to clean up because it's disgusting and could spread disease. That's your father."

He looked at her, his hand moving down to the side of her neck. Niaes felt it hard to breathe. She despised herself more than Galin, knowing she was at his mercy. Her right hand clenched where her sword should have been hanging.

"There's blood here. You have a small wound on your neck, with coagulated blood." After a pause, he continued, "This is... the blood of a traitor. I believe treachery is an ugly trait that runs in the blood. You can never trust people with such lineage. You and your father are another proof."

"My father was always loyal to the country before he resigned."

"No, no, no. You were too young back then, couldn't understand anything, except maybe one thing. You fell for an officer named Swan. He was kind-hearted, passionate, with a bright future ahead. This wasn't my conclusion, but one unanimously agreed upon by your father and other naval commanders. Your father was tough on Swan, but he was actually willing to let him become his son-in-law."

"How... how do you know?"

"Me? What do you think? I was studying under the late king at the time. He knew, and so did I. Cookee Fielding killed his daughter's lover! That was the most common topic after dinner at the time. And whether you dressed as a prostitute to provoke Cooke or did it for real, ministers were divided into two factions arguing endlessly. Niaes, your pain, your forced departure from home, was just a joke to others. Oh, hold it, don't cry. I've had enough of another woman's cries just now, and I'm not in the mood to endure yours. I'm telling you these things out of kindness because I want you to understand what happened back then. Do you want to hear?"

Niaes could only nod.

"Your father had dealings with the pirates who were the target of the operation at the time. He took their money and arranged for them to escape. The promising young hero, Swan, found out. Your father killed him and threw his body into the sea."

"That's impossible. It can't be."

"It's the truth, Niaes. When you drove Cooke crazy, wasn't it to hear such an answer? Now I can tell you, his madness wasn't just because of you but also because he couldn't bear the guilt himself. Considering his past achievements, the late king didn't punish him severely, not even disclosing this treasonous act to the public, which was extremely generous. Now you understand why betrayal runs in the blood, right? Cooke was a filthy traitor, and so are you. It's not your fault; you didn't have a choice. It's the blood in your veins. Do you have anything to say?"

"I hope... hope to receive severe punishment for my betrayal. I am guilty..."

"Niaes, if that's truly what you want, I'd be happy. Unfortunately, you're just giving up. I know you want to live. As I said earlier, the late king treated your father very generously. Generosity is the virtue opposed to betrayal, and the generosity of a king is the supreme divine thing. Just like the late king pardoned Cookee Fielding, now I pardon you, Niaes Fielding. I won't kill you. But you must leave Stromgarde, leave Arathi, and never come back."

"The troops in Refuge Valley..."

"They won't face any punishment. It'll take some time for them to adjust to the new commander, at most."

"You... really..."

"You doubt me?" Galin squeezed Niaes's neck, making her back hit the wall. "I'm pardoning you, yet you dare to doubt me? You make me very angry, Niaes. I've been speaking to you with patience despite my anger. I'm so angry, maybe because of the other half of blood flowing in your body. Let me give you a suggestion: after leaving here, don't think about the battlefield anymore, become a prostitute. I believe your mother's blood will make you excel at it. You've already proven yourself to be Cooke's good daughter, so next..."

Niaes had to put her hands on Galin's wrists, but when she tried to push him away, Galin tightened his grip. Galin kept talking, but she couldn't hear what he was saying. She wanted to kick him but couldn't muster the courage, not only because she was about to attack a prince but also because of everything he had said earlier. She no longer felt she had done anything meaningful. Leading soldiers in Refuge Valley to fight against enemies. Standing at the back of the army with her sword. Hesitating to put on the clothes she hated, imagining what words to use to provoke her father. Sitting next to Swan for the first time, not knowing what to say. Perhaps it was all just a series of mistakes, because the Tolkar Sword broke, and the prince who swore allegiance to her suggested she become a prostitute in the future. All mistakes led to an irreversible outcome. Maybe one thing was right: rescuing Crecyda from the kidnappers. Crecyda, the woman who had been looking for her husband. Glocara said she had finally reunited with her husband. At least I did one thing with a good outcome—

"Oh, right," Galin said. "I heard you got along well with a woman named Crecyda in Refuge Valley. Without her, you probably wouldn't have stupidly led soldiers to protest. Like you, she's also a guilty woman, but unfortunately, I can't pardon her. Her crime is too deep. I sentenced her to be hanged, then watched her turn into ashes in the fire. You should consider yourself lucky to live on..."

Niaes gave up the idea of ​​counterattack. In any case, she had lost the opportunity. Galin's hand never stopped exerting force. Niaes still held onto Galin's wrist, but she didn't care how long she could hold on. After so many years on the battlefield, she had long understood that death could come at any moment. Since dying tonight wasn't something completely unexpected, she stopped resisting it.

When Galin's hand loosened, Niaes's mind stopped thinking about anything. The sudden disappearance of pressure on her neck was like a wave washing Niaes out from under the sand. She opened her eyes and found Galin looking at his left side. Niaes also looked in that direction. A little girl, not even as tall as Galin's chest and wearing nothing, stabbed a knife with a handle plated in gold and ribbons into Galin's abdomen. Niaes understood that the girl in front of her was the future queen of the country, and the knife, which Galin had used to cut the wedding cake.

The girl stepped back a few steps. Galin looked at her, reached out his hand, and slowly approached her. His hand was about to touch her neck, and she couldn't move.

"You're all the same," Galin said, "you all..."

Niaes knew what she had to do. She covered Galin's mouth with one hand and pulled out the knife with the other, stabbing it into his heart. Half a minute later, she let go of his hand, letting him fall. She squatted down, used her hand that wasn't stained with blood to move the hair covering the girl's eyes, and looked at her.

"Come with me," Niaes said. "I'll take you away from here."

The girl looked at Galin lying on the ground, then at Niaes. She shook her head.

"I'm not leaving. I'm the queen."

She slowly knelt down, placing a hand on Galin's back. "I'm the queen. The queen of Stromgarde."

Niaes stood up. She had done what she needed to do. She glanced at the girl one last time. The girl's white knees were soaked in slowly spreading blood.

To avoid disturbing the wedding night of others, the security in the house was lax. Niaes jumped out of a second-floor window, bypassed the guards, and entered the familiar streets. She returned home, put her father's stinking corpse down, and buried it in the nearby mud; she had intended to burn the house down but gave up to avoid drawing too much attention. From here to the gate of Stromgarde, no one suspected her. Perhaps because no one knew her. She had fought hard in Refuge Valley to protect Stromgarde, but now she found it an undefended city for a regicide.

She returned to the wilderness and unconsciously walked near Refuge Valley, stopping where the guards couldn't see her. She lay down and slept on the spot, without considering whether it was safe; she felt that if she were attacked by beasts or ogres at night and died, it wouldn't matter. The next morning, she woke up unharmed and didn't know where to go. She stood on a small hill and looked into the distance, occasionally seeing Elin and Glocara. They were heading west, without any attendants. Niaes wanted to know what Elin had asked from Sengu, but she didn't want to disturb the two now. Besides, what happened on the battlefield yesterday was forever irrelevant to her.

She wanted to leave, but she always felt something she couldn't let go of. I have nothing left, but—right, the sword. My sword is gone, she thought. She wandered around the places where battles had taken place in her memory and found a corpse. There was a sword with a missing piece in the corpse's hand. She pried open the stiff fingers, pulled out the sword, and held it in her hand. She still didn't know where to go, but now she began to feel less worried. Six months later, she quietly listened to people talking about what happened at Stromgarde in a small tavern far from Arathi, and the story quickly spread through the streets where humans lived: Prince Galin bravely sacrificed himself to protect the Tolkar Sword from the hands of the tribes. Even though he never ascended to the throne despite a lifelong commitment, he became a king far greater than his father. Under the guidance of her father and the great ministers, the young queen continued the work of revitalizing the Kingdom of Stromgarde.

Niaes didn't want to tell anyone that this wasn't entirely true, and it had nothing to do with whether she wanted to save her own life. She remembered telling Elin once that not everyone needed the truth, but the truth would do its best to help everyone. She planned to take back that statement. She left the tavern with the sword in her hand, wanting to find a place to be alone.