Chapter 24 : Breakdown

When she finished a bowl of wonton soup, General Julius cleaned the dirty areas on the table, and afterward, he arranged the empty bowl in his hand. There was nothing Zina could do aside from laying her body on the bed. It feels like waiting forever. Although the conversation between them was not made yet, she just slipped it away because of the wonton soup.

Zina started staring again at the nearby window, but she was not looking outside for an extended period. Wondered why she suddenly anticipated General Julius as one of those pitiful soldiers too. Perhaps it was because the prince, that had not yet been seated on the throne but ceased to be known in his ancestral history, described him as callous and aggressively grouchy, notwithstanding the circumstance that Prince Zhang Wei would publicize their betrothal the next two weeks. No matter how hard, she ensured she could not call to mind the continuous judgments inside her head. All her thoughts about the prince and her selfish and cruel father still lashed inside her head and would remain while waiting for everything to end. Obviously, it was not making her stay in Port Pampanga healthy until her father, King Foster—a harsh leader led astray—will be put in the prison.

"Princess, I will change the gauzes when I come back. Just rest and do not do anything that will hurt you, or else the prince will get mad at me." Julius turned around, leaving the one dish on the table covered; Zina was now staring at it. 'Could that be my snack or lunch?' But she was not in the disposition for asking General Julius about it, she just thought it must be a satisfactory meal later, even if she did not know what name it had. And since Julius did not bother bringing back the conversation, both of them must have a disinterested agreement mentally.

As she was busy finding a thoughtful plan, Julius got out of the room.

Only to realize that she spaced out when she breathes out and her strategy died out as her sensitive state of mind jerked in, it was maybe the disadvantage of having a shock.

"Sabi, I hope you are doing well." She whispered out of the blue as if her instincts were telling her to say it even if there was no Sabi beside her, and as if her memory controlled her.

Because Zina, her mind just casually contemplates the two days before traveling out of the palace with Sabi and her mother.

She was alone, reading a book on the table. Closer to her right side was a feather pen and a mini flag beside it, waving the Ganot logo—it has a blue traced line of the outer color of a tulip flower surrounded by silver laurels, the color inside the flower was starfruit. She was inspired by the book 'Bleak House' and her mind even came up with a poem that she dedicated to those who sacrificed themselves to save the state and their loved ones. Meant for those protectors that cross the threshold with an expression of darkness, that originates wholly as a thought, they are being tortured by it and the rest can let it go instead of dwelling on it. An act of courage that arises, where amity one day would spread through regions and desires the people to be burning up with faith.

A knock on the door frame made her head rise up as she was about to write the poem that was stuck in her mind, "Sister, may I take some of your time? I have a piece of news for you,"

"What is it about Sabi?" She asked while she placed a bookmark on the page of the book she was reading before she intentionally closed it. Without any warning, Sabi loosely ran towards her like a crab, Sabi's hands were shaking on each side as Sabi raised her arm to each corner like a corpse.

"I love you, sister! You are the best!"

Zina gradually closed her eyes as she gently let the tears fall from both sides, making herself end the memory of Sabi at the moment. And her massive emotion seemed to calm down which was comparable to an adrenaline rush as to what she would have noticed about herself, if only she had not been in a coma for several days.

With her eyes closed after tearing up, she eventually fell asleep.

While Zina was sleeping in the room, the soldiers that were in training outside of her window was beginning to prepare for shooting practice, the practice had been arranged to go with the scorching summer hotness. General Julius forgot to inform Zina that the training team created its own shooting schedule around the date that almost every one of the soldiers was able and available to train, and this month would mark the first time that there was a Princess resting in the Port. No one would be participating if Zina was known to exist as the Princess here. At the least, there were no complaints as to why Princess Zina was here and there.

"Are we weak man?" A commandant yelled out.

"No, weak men are only those who are not willing to die!"

The soldiers on the field that were facing the dummy targets responded all told at once. With their loud and deep voices.

Zina's head moved on the opposite side of the pillow as her brows slowly form into a puckered brow, she was not facing the nearby window anymore. With the yelling, the noise of their footing, the dissembling, and assembling of guns that clank more racket, Zina sighed gloomily even if her eyes are still closed and basically half-conscious, the blast are not a blessing for her ears and it would not help her plus it will be just unswervingly making her approaching afternoon a cycle of on and off sleep.

Unless the ongoing training of the soldiers ended or they transferred a new location to practice.