CHAPTER THREE
"w-what?!" I yelled, springing back, and the hag frowned, bending to pick up the mirror. "Look at this. It's even more cracked now." The hag sighed, turning the mirror around to showcase even more cracks and a few shards of glass on the floor. "I- This is- This is way harder than before! You mean it's going to get worse If I die again?" I asked, and the Hag nodded. "Yes. You've been missing for the last ten years, Darling."
"B-but why'd you save me? Don't you hate me?" I asked, and the Hag nodded again. What? You do? "I do, Darling. But that god of yours told me he'd curse me with bad luck forever if I didn't bring you back to life no matter what. And then I happened to save this young lady from the slavers when she got kidnapped. So, hurray! It took me ten years."
To be fair, that did sound exactly like Bog. "Ten years… This is all a bit too much. Could you… leave for a minute?" I asked, head in my hands. I couldn't handle it! The hag nodded and left, leaving me to wallow in my misery. Ten years? as in, 3650 days? What now? was the Jubelian Empire even there? No, it was probably part of the Ruthim Empire now. I glanced around the house, trying to find anything familiar. A news article. hanging on the wall. "Loyal to the Royals", one of the Ruthim Empire, published everything that happened in high nobility. I got up to walk to it, taking it off the wall and into my hands.
Levi - a prisoner from the Jevlian empire gets hailed as the new Duke of the Iosodype territory.
Duke? Levi? I stared at the page for a minute, drinking it in. Why would he… betray me? No, wait. Why would he betray his country? Then, my mind drifted back to the trash heap. uhm. Maybe his country hadn't been that kind to him. Because I wrote it that way. Okay, fine! I get that he had a reason! But duke? That's too far. Especially since the Isodype territory is a wasteland ridden with monsters. I turned the page to its back, ready for more. Don't stop the gossip, please!
The Duke of Isodype territory single-handedly executes hundreds of his own country. Does the emperor have a new toy?
I shivered, then decided to pocket the newspaper. Maybe another one? I'd get some more reading done when I eventually journeyed to the capital as Eden. The first thing I needed to do when I got there was free Zal. With curiosity, I picked up another piece of paper.
The Duke of Isodype agrees to lead a war against the rebellion of the Jubelian Empire.
Oh my god. My hands crumpled the paper, tearing the edges, as I clenched my fists. Traitor.