Chương 13: Sara’s Demonstration

Kimia es maki equalis orkin minika bara ri mikeo platas rin! Sara blinked from her position the moment her fight with Jason began, skating on thin air as she accelerated to his location. She churned her core and wrapped her fist in just enough mana to cripple him. Aelia threw up a barrier between Sara and Jason in a split second, and when Sara hit it, there was a huge shockwave of mana. Sara hadn't gone all out, but she was still humbled by how unyielding the barrier was.

It rippled with golden light, but it didn't so much as crack. It was a reminder that there were deep layers of refinement between her and the monstrosity that killed Agronus. The shockwave still kicked up a blinding cloud of dust that temporarily blinded the crowd. When the debris cleared, Jason's face was revealed to all. He stared forward, eyes trembling as he looked at Sara, whose fist was still flush with the barrier.

"Y-You just tried to kill me," Jason muttered numbly.

"You actually tried to kill me."

"No, she didn't go that far," Aelia declared, turning to Sara.

"What were you trying to do?"

"Break so many ribs that he'd never think he was God's gift again," Sara said, lungs still smoldering. Her temper hadn't flared so severely for years. But to learn that he remembered Emma's death, and for him to, yet again, blame it on circumstance, sent her over the edge.

"No, no you didn't!" Jason yelled.

"You tried to kill me!"

"Tell 'er to take this barrier down, and I'll show you how much constraint I have," Sara snapped.

"Both of you!" Aelia screamed.

"Calm down!" Sara stared Jason in the eyes.

"If someone dies fighting, that's their fault. If someone dies because of something you do, that's your fault. If you ever get Emma killed because of something you do, I'll reap your fucking soul." She turned to Aelia.

"Did that barrier declare me the winner?" Aelia looked between them.

"Yeah. That's what I said."

"Hey!" Jason yelled.

"She just tried to kill me!"

"This is a controlled battleground," Sara repeated sarcastically.

"We told everyone to use the full extent of their might." She turned.

"Whatever. Think what you want. I surrender the championship. Let the next match decide."

"Let's take a break," Aelia said. No one complained. Raul silently sat beside her in a shady part of the colosseum as they took their break. He took a few breaths and nodded, rolling his tongue on the inside of his cheek. He looked back down and said, "You know… I can't tell who's worse in this situation."

"Flip a coin," Sara suggested. He nodded slowly.

"Jason. Did he… do something to you? Before… this?"

"No," she said.

"I just have these… dreams. And each and every one of them ends with him getting Emma killed. Every. Single. One of them. But you see, a dream's just a dream. But when you hear that he's also had that dream, and he's still throwing around magic without the slightest respect for human life?" Sara pointed to Jason, who was arguing with Aelia in the distance.

"Yeah, no," she said.

"That's…" She didn't finish her statement. Raul nodded distantly.

"I've had some dreams, too."

"About what?" she asked.

"Sameee thing," he said, elongating the word "same" as if resigned to it. He leaned in to whisper.

"Not what happened. But that damning look you gave 'em that day. I… I remember you hitching Emma's… burnt… boiled… body onto your horse. And now… watching him lately…" He watched him go off on a vitriolic tirade against Aelia.

"It's like he's changing."

"He is." Raul considered her words.

"I gotta question. And I hope you'll be honest."

"Shoot."

"Did you also dream about… the summoning? Did you know it'd happen?"

"Would you hate me if I said yes?" He nodded.

"Yeah."

"Would you forgive me?" He nodded again.

"Then yeah. But just know, Raul. My dream was a lot longer than your dreams'll ever be.

'Cause in my dream, Jason locked you up and executed you nine years before I woke up." Raul turned to her for answers, but Aelia called out to him as Jason stormed away.

"Raul, you're up."

"Okay," Raul got up.

"I hope we can talk about this later."

"Well, your hopes are dashed."

"Fuck." Raul walked into the ring and fought his best against a Rank 7 reaper. A single rank made all the difference, so he, despite showcasing a spectacular match, lost. Yet all cheered for him regardless. It was just that good.

"Sara, it's your turn," Aelia said.

"I concede," she said.

"Then we'll call it a tie." Aelia walked to the center of the colosseum.

"It seems that both competitors have conceded the match. Given that this is a showcase of the Chosen, the winner we'll crown today… is Lady Reece!" Sara, Jason, and Raul walked to the center of the colosseum to the sound of roaring applause. As they bowed, Sara whispered one last thing to Raul:"Stay away from crypts. You may feel stronger, but you're not ready yet." If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

Then she walked toward the gates, ignoring Mary screaming, "What? Is this seriously how this is gonna end?" Emma barred her path.

"Sara…"

"Sorry, Emma… I gotta go."

"Please say you'll make up with him?" she cried. Tears spilled down her cheeks.

"It hurts my heart to see you two like this."

"Sorry, Emma. But… I'm not the person you or Jason used to know. I'd like to be. But right now… I have priorities. So… sorry. But we're not making up." That was the cruelest thing that Sara had said since coming to Veridia, crueler than what she had just said to Jason. Emma desperately wanted—needed—her best friend.

But the Emma Sara knew had been boiled alive in an acidic attack launched by Haligara, a legendary basilisk that earned Jason his storybook equivalent of Excalibur—the same sword Sara killed Agronus with. The Emma before her was an eighteen-year-old child. Sara might as well have been her mother. It just… wasn't the same.

"I see…" Emma said.

"Well, I hope… you're okay."

"I'm not," Sara whispered.

"I'm very, very fucking not."

"Come on," Aelia said, walking up to them.

"It's time to meet your patrons," she said to Emma.

"And for you," she said to Sara, "to meet the king." Sara nodded.

"Lead the way." Sara gave Emma one last fleeting glance and then followed Aelia through a tunnel and to a staircase with the Chosen. Only instead of turning right with an usher, she took a left and journeyed toward the king's audience box. She already dreaded the conversation to come, but she dreaded it more when she saw Edico standing outside the box with a guilty expression. And here… we… go.

2"Let her in," Edico said, ducking his head through the door before stone-facing Sara as he continued to post up outside the door as Aelia followed Sara inside. Inside was a traditional Roman skybox filled with a dying king who was fighting for breath—blanket on his lap. He could only see Sara because Lord Darthmith turned the king's chair so he could do so. He looked closer to an aging mob boss than a prideful king. Darthmith stared at her warningly. He was a lanky man with gaunt cheeks and sunken eyes.

Despite his sickly demeanor, he also had black hair and eyes that were perfect to warn people of consequences. Sara took it to heart. Darthmith was dead long before she took the reins of the kingdom. Too loyal. Pity.

"It's you," Trinov said, taking deep breaths.

"It is. Though, I suppose that sentence is correct no matter who you say it to," Sara joked. He chuckled and said, "Good. Seems you can… speak… to a king." Darthmith braced him when he started coughing again.

"Perhaps I should talk?" he suggested.

"You know, Darthmith, next week I'll feel good enough to scold you for suggesting that." The advisor stared at Trinov mirroredly, stunned and silent. Then Trinov burst into cackling laughter.

"Come in, come in, dear. There's much to discuss in private, but there's just as much to speak in the"—a wheezing cough—"present. I hear you have a palate for wine."

"And all things fermented," Sara admitted.

"Good. Then I don't need to worry if you'll appreciate this swill." His hands fumbled for the wine. Darthmith handed him a glass and filled it. He did the same for Sara.

"Oh, give her the bottle," Trinov snapped, jabbing a finger at her.

"A young alcoholic with a bottle is a mark of celebration." Sara chuckled when Darthmith hesitantly handed her the bottle. She didn't disrespect the courtesy. She drank from the lip, and the king cackled with laughter.

"Good, good. Now get out. There is much to discuss in private." Darthmith was stunned. Aelia took a step forward.

"My King."

"Not you," he said.

"You'll stay." Darthmith stared at Trinov like a wounded animal.

"My… Liege. Have I done anything—""No, no. This is a request from Edico. I should be the one annoyed by your distrust. Now, shoo, shoo. You'll get your time to make requests." Darthmith smiled dimly, bowed slightly to Sara, respectfully she noted, and then left the room. Once Darthmith left, Trinov drank two swallows of wine and then took three breaths.

"So we lost the war," he said grimly. Sara lifted an eyebrow.

"Excuse me?"

"You don't need to put on airs. Edico has already informed me of your situation. That you're from… the future." The two clues clicked together. Edico wasn't feeling guilty for betraying her. He looked guilty for betraying his king, as slightly as it was.

"Uh… yes. I…" She chuckled.

"Guess you can't ask a sycount to keep a secret."

"A foolish move," Aelia said sternly.

"Can you fill me in?"

"I'm not an Oracle. My language… power… I'm not from this timeline. I returned to the past to rectify… the future. We lost the war."

"That sounds rather serious," Trinov said.

"But it makes for a… wonderful story. So… tell me. Is that boy a reason for our loss? You seem to have… bad blood with him."

"He seized your kingdom and beheaded my friend," Sara said curtly.

"Edico sought me out to reclaim it, but he killed your sons and daughters as well. I headed your kingdom for ten years. We fought Agronus… and lost. I was no ruler."

"You're rather bold speaking of such matters so glibly," Aelia said.

"And so," Sara pressed.

"Today, I present to you a moonbloom. To keep you alive, not take advantage of the power vacuum your death will leave." Trinov cracked a smile when the room's gravity lifted.

"You know, you declare yourself a poor ruler in one sentence and prove you're competent in another." He laughed and coughed.

"Don't worry, Edico has assured me of your intentions. To hear him tell it, he'd trust you with my life." He cackled humorously.

"Man looked like a constipated dog who brought a stray pup home and expected a good scolding. I'm way too young to have seen something that… magical."

"So you believe my story?" Sara asked.

"I will. After you… expose a few traitors, get some more nobles hanged. Swear allegiance." He flicked his full hand dismissively.

"Yes. I'll believe your story. And seek… an… agreeable partnership. The question is: what do you want?"

"To kill Agronus and alleviate my obligations to this world. That's one. The second, and pertinent one is to subdue the man that'll ruin everything."

"Lord Newborn."

"Yes, Lord Newborn."

"Ah, but Lord Newborn is young. All can be molded if you pay enough attention to them."

"Not Jason. Not after thinking I tried to kill him."

"An unwise move if you planned to appease him," Aelia said.

"I never planned to. A greater person may have looked past everything, said, This isn't that, but I'm not that person. Not after what I've been through." She turned to Trinov.

"Besides, he's not as young as he seems. The people who share a spark with me regain their memories in bits and pieces."

"Or so Edico has told me."

"Yes. And the spark between me and Jason is so serious it threatens to restore his memories. If you want any hope of controlling him is dashed. That's why you should send me away. Perhaps to the southernlands, where I can protect the kingdom from the Hikan Empire. As a landowner." Trinov thought through things.

"That's a wise move… I do owe you a debt strong enough to warrant such an action. Consider it done. I will make you a noble and keep a close eye on Lord Newborn. Is there anything else?"

"Not now."

"Okay, go, go. I'm sure you'll have a… curious pick of patrons. Rest assured, we won't be watching too closely." He winked. I'm not assured in the slightest, she thought, feeling the dull thrum of a forming headache.