ENEMIES WITHIN

By this time, the people in the West had heard the name, 'The girl from the East' and they were hoping that she would be an asset to them in battle. The King of the Lamias was secretly searching for her, hoping to see her soon.(The Lamias and the Emins didn't have clans since they all came from one ancestor, they were ruled by a King, the Lamias had a King and so did the Emins. That's why these two territories were more united and stronger than the other territories.)On the Northern side, the Emins were having a meeting. They were about to decide the date for attacking the west and what to do concerning 'The Girl from the East'. "We can't attack the West without capturing the Girl from the East" one of the Elders said. "And why is that so?" another Elder asked. "I suspect that the Girl from the East is the daughter of Amigo who has reincarnated". He replied.This Elder's statement brought deep silence to the meeting room. The king had been thinking about the possibility of that happening but he being a very smart man King knew that this didn't happen. "Bring me the captives from the East" the king declared. Three tattered looking men were led out by guards. These were the Chiefs of Mazil, Zumba and Salmi. "When you destroyed the Zaandi Clan, did anyone escape?" The King asked them. "No your highness, we carried out your instructions very well", they replied. The King had a special ability of discernment so he was able to tell when people were lying and when they were saying the truth and clearly, this case was one where people lied. "Really?" The King asked, "Yes my King" they replied. The King smiled and asked them who the Girl from the East was and of course as expected, they didn't know. The King of the Emins was a very cunning man and after going around dressed as a beggar; he learnt that the Girl from the East was from the Zaandi clan. Though it seemed like a rumor, the King didn't doubt it at all. The King threatened the three Chiefs and promised to torture them if they didn't capture the Girl from the East in one week time. He gave them fifty specially trained warriors to enable them carry out their task efficiently and effectively. The King of Emins would have killed the Chiefs a long time ago but he didn't because he knew what they were capable of. They had some hidden ability that was why he entrusted them to capture the Girl from the East.On the side of the West, the King of the Lamias' search for the Girl from the East proved abortive. He was a wise King and he knew she was in the City but he couldn't find her. He gathered his men and continued his preparation for the oncoming battle.The three Chiefs who were tasked with capturing the Girl from the East had a very clever plan but that was at the sacrifice of the lives of the fifty trained guards and they were going to enforce that plan.They knew she was in the City of the West so it made their search easier. The Chiefs were very talented when it came to deception and cross dressing. They alongside the fifty specially trained warriors dressed like women with tattered clothes which were blood stained, they were able to deceive the guards of the West to let them into the city, they claimed that the Girl from the East rescued them from the Emins. In the city, they knew their job had began, to reduce suspicion,they went separate ways, they planned to meet at another location that same night.That night, something unusual happened, there was a burning flame at the edge of the city, this was thanks to the Emins who had infiltrated the West. That was their signal. The warriors of the Emins started fighting, shooting arrows and burning more parts of the city. The warriors of the West were very agile and so they took defensive positions trying to defend the city. It was harder defending the city when the enemy was already inside but they had already prepared for this and since the warriors of the Emins were not that much, the Warriors of the West barely held the upper hand. This was enough to carry out the plan of the Chiefs. They lured people to start shouting; "The Girl from the East, help us!!!" The people kept on shouting and within seconds an arrow was seen flying from another direction, Two Emins warriors were already dead. That was enough for the Chiefs to know her location. Bozaaai!!!, they shot the special gun which the King of the Emins gave to them. Zeruta was down. They quickly captured her and with the distraction from the smoke. They were able to follow a secret route and left the City with at least ten trained warriors left. This was better than they thought. They thought they would lose all the warriors but it turned out that not all the warriors were killed.The North and the West were not as distant as the North and the South, so within two days, the Chiefs and the warriors got to the North. The palace guards quickly took hold of 'The Girl from the East'. She was still on her mask and no one planned on removing it yet. They wanted their King to see her first before deciding to do anything. They chained her hands and her legs and kept her in a room which had been created for that purpose.When the King heard the news of Zeruta's capture, he didn't act surprised like the guard expected him to be. He just calmly left the palace and went straight to where Zeruta was kept. He opened the gates and got in. While he was staring at her, she woke up. He asked her, "What's your name?" She didn't reply, she was busy thinking of a way to escape and was trying to recall all that had happened to her."I asked what your name was", the King repeated himself. He knew she heard him but didn't want to answer. "The Girl from the East" she replied. "No, I meant your real name" the King said. Zeruta felt uneasy with the presence of the man whom she assumed was the King. She observed her body and noticed that her normal bow and quiver had been taken from her;she was only left with the bow which once belonged to her mother. The Emins would have taken it if they saw it, but they didn't notice it was a bow and a quiver, thus, they left it. The King was staring at her all these while, he then told her that he'll kill her once he destroys the West. He was the King, his voice made warriors shudder with fear, but after threatening her, Zeruta didn't even reply or plead for her life, she just looked at him and replied "okay". This amused the King because he was expecting her to beg for her life or at least offer up some resistance but she didn't. Indeed, the rumors were true. He left and began making immediate plans on conquering the West. The Girl from the East was down, they needed to take actions fast.The Gun shot by the Chiefs had caused great damage to Zeruta, she was bleeding from her mouth and she had some bruises on her head. Any normal girl would have fainted or maybe died even before they got to the North, but this wasn't any normal girl, it was Zeruta. Her body had great healing abilities so without taking drugs, the injuries started curing themselves.In the West, the King was surprised at what had occurred. He had a lot of questions to ask, "How did the Enims get into the city?", "Are there more unknown Emins in the City?", "Are we being betrayed by the refugees in the city?""Would….?." but no one could give him any answer. The King knew that the Emins were on their way and what just happened proved that they were not yet ready and prepared to defend the city, they needed more time.