The Emperor's Black Swan

Ep 7: Not Going Anywhere

Sania’s POV

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I expected the woman warrior to bring me clothes. And she did. After I got rid of the soot covering my skin, wash and untangled my hair, I put on the clothes. It looks like men’s wear, just a basic tunic and pants, but feels comfortable on my skin. The only shortcoming of it all is there is no footwear.

Previously, when I had my wings, it didn’t really matter because I could just fly to wherever I want. But without my wings, that means I would have to walk to get to where I need to be. And walking miles in barefoot sounds painful.

I need to find my sisters. Starting with Scarlett.

I just want to make sure she is safe. She can be pretty hard on herself and quite a hot mess, if I may say so myself. Talking about that stepsister of mine, she is actually a werewolf. That is how I know about wolves abiding by their Alphas, I learned it from Scarlett. And she told me that the easiest way to claim an Alpha spot, which only works for individual wolves, is to show them you are stronger.

Anyway, I’ll just steal some shoes along the way. And steal other things like supplies, weapons, and food. I’ll think about it more after I figure out a way to get out of the garden.

After ordering the wolf to eat, I walk to the edges of the garden. I tried flying away, and it didn’t work. I am hoping it was because I was in a swan form and when I have returned to my original form, I can walk out of the garden freely.

I glance at the wolf, tearing apart the deer meat with gusto. From the corner of my eyes, I see the deer that talked to me before I shifted. That deer is turning pale from seeing the wolf eating a pure animal deer.

Not that I should care. They will live for today because I have made the demon believe I can still access my shadow magic. If the demon finds out that I can only do limited magic, it will not submit to me easily.

Now that I think of it, I am quite surprised by the drastic change of the demon. It turns docile pretty quickly, which makes me think it is highly likely it is not a pure demon.

I think it is a hybrid between a demon and an actual wolf, since the wolf side is pretty strong compared to the bloodlust demon side.

At least for tonight.

This brings me to another question. Who brought a demon wolf to Aluthia? The demons should still be hiding in Tollyria. No one should have known of their existence in this world yet.

And other questions which I completely ignore; how long does the man have before the demon will completely take over? Who is this man, anyway?

I remind myself that I don’t have to answer those. All I need to do is to get away.

I walk long enough until I find the edge of the garden with the forest. There is an enormous stone wall separating them and guarding the castle. Remembering where the sun had set previously, I make a note that I must be heading east.

Another note I make is the lack of surveillance in this particular area of the castle. Is it because of the demon going rampage here? If it is not, there surely should be a lot of breeches. Blind spots like this in the palace are a serious matter. Why was I not informed of this then? We could have planted a spy or two easily in the Aluthia Palace if I had known.

This further proves my suspicion that the Emperor is involved in covering up the demon. That woman warrior seems to be a high ranker in the palace. She might be Bifta, the infamous war general in the empire. I have never met her because we have been avoiding going into battles with the empire royal armies, so I don’t know Bifta’s face.

Again, I remind myself. None of it matters.

My plan has failed. But it worked to some degree, and it has given Aluthia an edge to win this war. Now, the fate of the world rests in Aluthia and I will wash off my hands of this problem.

I climb a nearby tree swiftly. But when I jump to the wall, my body hits another invisible wall and I fall down to the ground with a painful groan. My shoulder is in a lot of pain, but at least I don’t feel any dislocation.

Shit.

I quickly get up and walk, following the stone wall. After a few meters, I climb another tree and stretch my hand to the stone wall. It hits the invisible wall.

Shit. s**t.

Utterly annoyed, I jump down and run for several minutes until I am sure I have gone far from the previous spot. Climbing another tree, I realize that my heart has been beating rapidly, desperately grabbing to that sheer hope that the invisible barrier does not envelop the garden.

But hope and I don’t go along very well.

No matter how many times I climb, the barrier is there. Even when there is no longer a stone wall, when I have circled the garden until I reach the edge of the garden that faces the palace, I can’t get out.

My feet are sore, my arms ache, and I am super annoyed.

Who the hell cursed me here?

The garden is separated from the palace complex by an iron gate decorated with a complex pattern. The gate is closed, chained with numerous locks, and there are several iron plates covering the gate.

I am guessing it is precautionary for the demon wolf. So, they are limiting the demonic wolf’s rampage to this garden only. Since the edge of the garden that connects to the palace is on the west side of the garden, and I am surprised by my spatial ability too, I must be in the eastern garden.

I know. There is a high chance that the invisible barrier covers the gate too. But I just got to try.

Just… I need to get out. I want to get out. I am done being stuck in a dark place.

So I grab a large rock and start smashing the chains of the gate. One by one. My arm strength is weakening. But picking the locks with my nails is not really an option–I suck at it. My mind becomes empty, only focusing on one goal. I am good with focus. Putting all my effort into one goal in mind, that was how I tricked the demon who invaded my adopted father. 

Little by little, step by step, one lie by one lie.

Doesn’t matter if I get tired after some time. Doesn’t matter I got sick and became the target of everyone’s hatred. Doesn’t matter. Doesn’t matter.

My life, myself, doesn’t matter.

No one would listen to us, and no one would want to help us. So we stopped seeking help. We helped ourselves. And in the process, we have become the evils in their eyes.

But it doesn’t matter, does it?

Because our evil deeds are giving a slight chance for them to win against the demons in the upcoming war. In the end, I will always be known as one of the evils in the world.

I am evil. Because I made myself to be one.

I don’t regret it.

CLAANG

The last lock has been smashed. The sound of rock against iron filled my ears. When finally I can put down the large rock, only then my eyes blur and I hear my own raging breath. Feeling dizzy, I use one hand to lean on the gate.

I really need to stop pushing myself beyond my limits without knowing. Sometimes, it’s hard to know when enough is enough.

After taking some deep breaths, I yank the chains down harshly. My eyes catch a bird flying nearby. When I look to my side, the bird is hovering above me. It is Frederick.

“Are you here to get out too?” I ask, though I know the bird won’t be able to answer me back.

Frederick stays silent.

“Nice talk.”

“Look, I am sorry,” I honestly don’t know why am I apologizing to the bird, “I know you have it rough, being cursed and hunted by a demon wolf. But I can’t save you. I have my own… agendas. And I can’t always save everyone.”

The bird caws weirdly, which somehow I got a feeling is the human equivalent of scoffing.

“I don’t always have to save everyone,” I say again, looking at Frederick in the eyes. “Learn to save your own selves instead of relying on someone else to fix your problem.”

Did I just say that? It surprises me too.

Using the remaining of my strength, I push the gate as hard as I can. The iron creaks as they move, but they do open wide. In front of me is a cobblestone, full of liches and wild grasses, proofs that no one has been attending the streets or even the garden.

Clenching my fists, I take a deep breath. And exhales completely. Then I take the first step.

“Shit.”

The invisible barrier is still there. Frederick suddenly flies above me and tries to fly away, too. He hits the invisible barrier above the gate and then flies back to the same tree. His black eyes stare at me, mockingly. Just moments ago, he was scared shitless when he saw the wolf. And now he is looking down at me. Literally and figuratively.

I laugh as the reality sinks in on me. The barrier surrounds the garden like an invisible dome. None of the cursed people can walk out. Which means I am still cursed. So why have I returned to my original form then? Why I am the only one shifting back?

Does that mean I will return to the swan form again at some point?

Shit.

It is highly likely.

Especially when I feel a tingle on my fingertips as I watch the dark sky turning orange on the horizon. When I turn my body, I see the sun is rising from the other edge of the garden.

That tingle spreads all over my body. It doesn’t hurt, but as it is foreign, I feel uncomfortable. My sight suddenly moves, as if I am getting shorter and my vision span moves to the side of my face. The last thing I see is my arms turning into wings.

Just like that, I am back to being a black swan, watching the sunrise.

“Not going anywhere?” Frederick says from the tree in a very sarcastic tone.

***

Darilus’ POV

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I wake up to the same Goddess painting in my room. My head feels dizzy and my throat is parched. It’s not the worst though. When I try to sit up, my entire body feels like being punched repeatedly.

“Urgh,” I groan.

“Easy,” Bifta says. She grabs my arm and assists me to sit. Polar is standing at the foot of my bed, looking so worried.

Hearing Bifta’s voice, I snap my gaze to her, roaming her body up and down. I look for any wounds but can’t find one.

“I’m fine, Your Eminence,” she says without me having to ask.

I sigh an enormous relief then laugh at myself. “I had a very weird dream, Bifta,” I say, brushing my face and hair, “I dreamt the wolf could get out from this room and was about to hunt the people in the garden.”

“But then a black swan turned into… that witch in Tollyria and could tame the demon!” My chest hurts when I laugh.

Bifta and Polar, however, do not laugh with me. When I look at Bifta again, I honestly don’t know what to feel.

“It is not a dream, Your Eminence,” she says, “I saw the witch too.”

I don’t know if I should be scared that an enemy is in my garden and the only one who can tame the demon, or if I should feel hopeful because finally there is someone who can control my demon?

One thing for sure, though.

“Bring me all the documents you have on The White Witch,” I order them, “Don’t let anyone else know about this.”

I need to find out all I can about her. I will be prepared to deal with a witch this time, unlike before. 

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