Last Service
2056 Words
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“Uh...,” Cairo hesitates. “I think Lady Juliet is right.”
Juliet sighs but doesn't show. She still has minor hate towards him.
“Tsk,” Shui violently responds. “You're with her too? I think this Aiko is waiting for this to happen.”
“It doesn't matter how you think, Shui,” says Juliet, getting enough of him. “Lady Aiko loves her child and she will never leave him. I don't know about you but did you feel the love of your mother towards you? She would die for you. Or is it just you didn't grow up being loved so you have this kind of trust issue?”
He wrinkles his nose and sits properly just to say, “Watch your mouth, you—”
“Shui,” says Eleanna her voice is powerful and makes the air heavier. “you will not speak against Lady Juliet. She has proven herself to be loyal and competent enough to be a master of decisions. You will respect her and for this meeting, you will speak no more. You have no respect.”
He slowly slouches his back in submission, embarrassed in front of many people. Han tries to act normally, couldn't do something to help his friend regain confidence.
“Let's go with what Lady Juliet suggests,” says Eleanna. “No harm will come to your child, Lady Aiko. You have my word.”
Aiko swallows and nods. Eleanna gestures with the look in her eyes and the guards start to unchain Aiko's left wrist.
“No!” Dany cries when the men grab his forearm. He struggles, giving the guards a hard time bracing him.
“Just stay put, sweetie,” she says, caressing his back. “It'll be over soon.”
He calms down a little bit and they have finished bracing his small right wrist. After that, they remove the brace on her right arm. Most of the people inside the room are nervous because she might teleport all of them into a dangerous place or perhaps she'll make a run for it. Instead, she stays put, carrying her child.
This angers Shui even more. His pride is hurt, thinking that people will not believe him more in the future because of this.
“Lady Aiko,” says Eleanna.
“Yes, my lady?”
“We need your experience to lead this new nation. We'll certainly need you and your son to lead the people and the whole Realm. We are planning to regain what we have lost. Your son is one of the Pillars of the Realm. He must be trained to do his duty as soon as he can.”
“But he's still—”
“Young, I know. He's the son of Lord Enzo, right? I believe he has great potential. He'll be fine. I started training at the same age.”
“As you wish, my lady,” she bows.
“First, Lord Cairo will take this into account so that you and your son will be known as citizens of Odin's Order. As for his training, I will be the one who's going to be responsible for it. Lord Darius would've been the best choice but as you have heard, he's gone. Finally, I want you to bear your second child healthy. I will send servants to take care of you.”
“I don't deserve this treatment, my lady,” Aiko bows lower.
“You do. And I want you to know that I'm your ally. I want us to trust each other. Now, guards, remove the chain from... what's his name, my lady?”
“Dany.”
“Remove the chain from Lord Dany.”
The guards are hesitant to remove it. They think Aiko will escape as soon as they remove it and they'll be blamed. It's done. The chains have been unchained. What they feared didn't happen. Aiko is there standing carrying her son, both of them unbound. She can choose to escape whenever she likes but she didn't.
With her chin raised at the level as everyone does, she says, “Lord Enzo told me to come here and seek your protection to raise our children. So, I will. I understand that we tried to escape earlier but it was too sudden and we were surrounded. I was afraid that my child will be taken away from me.”
“I assure you, my lady,” says Eleanna. “You and your children will be safe here.”
“Thank you, my lady,” she bows.
“This meeting is now concluded. All of you,” she refers to those who come to witness her decision. “I don't wanna hear any lies spreading about this meeting. I've been hearing rumors about me. I was trying to be transparent about the decisions I make by letting you witness them and yet this is how I've been repaid.” She looks at them like she knows who did it. All of them are petrified for a second until she says, “Spread the truth, not lies.”
“Her charisma...,” Aiko thinks to herself. “it's as impressive as King Rai.”
“Yes, our lady,” they all bow.
They pour out of the room and some of the Seaters remained except Shui and Han.
“Please show Lady Aiko and her son their room in the Palace,” says Eleanna.
A human servant approaches them and bows, “This way, my lady and lord.”
“Show them hospitality.”
“Of course, my lady.” He bows and leads the way.
“I'll see you later, Lady Aiko.”
They nod to each other. Aiko follows the servant. Over her shoulder, Dany is looking at Eleanna. Their eyes meet but then he looks away. She smiles but it was too late for him to see. They already left the room.
(On Mars)
Two loud groans coming from a room, followed by a question, “Are you done?”
“Yes, my lady.”
“Good, now get out. I thought you'd last longer.”
“I'm sorry, my lady.”
“Don't be. Just get out.”
The man hurries to wear his clothes and leaves through the door. He's a little bit surprised when he finds out that someone important is waiting outside all this time.
“General,” he salutes after closing the door behind him.
The general salutes back. The man walks away in a hurry and the general looks at the man for a second without turning his head. He swallows and shakes his head to stop thinking about it.
“Lady Silva?” he asks. “I have something to report.”
“Oh, General, please come in.”
“Are you done changing, my lady?”
“Just come in. I don't mind.”
He clears his throat. “Right after you change, my lady.”
“Don't be so shy, General. We have known each other for so long. It's about time we know me bare. I'd like to know you on the bed too.”
“I refuse, my lady. I respect you and marriage with Lord Narada.”
“Oh, that b*stard? If he isn't dead, he's there on Earth ‘playing’ with young goddesses.” She almost mutters the words, “And that son of mine too. They might look ugly and annoying... but h*ll, they're lady-killers. Father and son—they are.” The volume of her voice is back to normal as she continues, “Narada and I are married but we're open. We bred for the sake of bearing genius children. And it worked. Anyway, come here. That young soldier is inexperienced about how to satisfy a woman. You have a lot of experience, right, General? You can finish what he started.”
He didn't entertain and says, “We have a piece of information about a goddess traveling around Mars. She has taken thousands of refugees. How she managed to keep them is a mystery.”
“So, what about it?”
“We are planning to break a hole in the enemy lines and evacuate the civilians. We'll ask—”
“Who told you to make a plan without me?”
He pauses for a second to swallow. “I just thought that—”
“Who told you to make a bl**dy plan without me?” Her voice is threatening as if she's a bear waking up in the middle of hibernating. She opens the door while she's raw. The general looks away. “Look at me.”
“My lady, you're—”
“I said, look at me, in the eyes or anywhere you like—I don't care. Look at me if you don't want me to gouge your eyes out.”
He looks at her face. Saliva and sweat are on her skin. Her neck is full of hickeys. She's breathing through her half-open mouth. With her hands, she touches his chest, slowly sliding it up to his shoulder then wraps him, pulling him closer to her dark cave. With her powers, she closes the door and they kiss. She pushes him to the bed and starts undressing him.
“My lady, sto—”
“Don't move.”
Dozens of needles are ready to pierce his whole body. He cannot move and lets her do what she wants.
“Who is this goddess you're talking about?” she asks.
“They say she can... ugh... control swords, my lady...”
“Oh, yeah?” she smugs, breathing hard. “And?”
“I heard they have a large spaceship... hid— hidden in th... the desert to the west, my lady!”
“Interesting!” she chuckles.
“Please... let us go, my lady! Hundreds of children are starving, soon they will eat dirt!”
“But I love all of you!” She breathes very hard. “I can't just let you go!”
“I'm begging you, my lady! You have gone mad!”
“Yes, I have gone mad because this feels so good!!”
They finish loudly and there, on the bed, they rest for a while. Only their breaths can be heard inside the shady room. Their sweat and scent mix.
“Ugh!!” he groans not of pleasure but pain. A metal rod pierces his heart.
“Thank you for your last service, General,” she says, l*****g his neck. “You have been a good man to me. You have always left me satisfied with your service.”
She finishes him with five more metal rods. He perishes with no last words to say. The already-wet bed sheet is getting soaked in his bl**d.
“Now,” she says, smirking as she sits on the bed. Her uncovered body is full of bl**d. “I can't let these people suffer more. And... they might warn the refugees. Every second, they feel more pain... It's time I ended it... like what he said. Ah, yes... it's time.”
She sighs, looking up and caressing her neck. Then her eyes glow bright silver. Screams of agony cascade through the whole dome.
A few days later, Sayuri and Gwen arrive at the scene. The dome is still standing. Hundreds of craters surround it. Thousands of corpses are rotting. Sayuri glares seeing such tarnation. Then wrinkles her nose when she smells freshly spilled bl**d.
“What happened here?” asks Gwen.
Sayuri didn't answer and takes them down to the entrance of the dome. And there... a place more cursed than the Underworld is before them. Children, women, and the elderly, all lifeless. Most of them are m*rdered. Metal rods pierced on their chests.
She closes her eyes, puts her hand on her forehead, and grasps her hair. “ARGHH!!!” she screams in anger.
Her voice echoes throughout. The violet light from her eyes lit up the place for Gwen to see clearly. She throws up as soon as she witnesses the atrocity.
“What happened here?” Gwen cries, feeling sadness and dread at the same time.
“They will pay...,” Sayuri growls. Her teeth could almost shatter as she grits.
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