ALLEGIANCE OF THE INFIDEL

WHO IS THIS MAN?

"Mother, could you accompany me for now. Father can wait", Astrid exclaimed while placing her hand on her head.

Soon enough, tiny vague distorted images appeared when she lifted her eyelids. She stood with a hazy vision and sat on her canopied, curtained bed with a head sheet laid over the pillow resting on a sheet-draped bolster.

Just when she tried to move, she felt a striking pain on her thigh, and her mind drifted back to the callous reality. Exhausted in both mind and body, she could no longer endure this tide of recollection.

With extensive efforts, she lifted herself up and dared to stand on her feet. She then summoned her attendant Rose and inquired her about the time that had passed since the gala. Rose informed Astrid that she had been unconscious for two days. Upon learning the truth, Astrid commanded her attendant to help her clean and get ready.

"He'd kill me! I didn't show up for two days," Astrid screamed frantically.

Without enquiring about her troubles, Rose complied. She helped her get dressed and ready to leave.

Astrid then ate the food that Rose had prepared for her. After getting replenished, she covered her face with a scarf, wore her dirty boots back, slipped out of the window, and ran towards the tavern.

Xadaria was divided into three parts. The first part of the city was comprised of wealthy lords and nobles. The second part of the city was inhabited by clergy and middle-class men. The third part precisely lay towards the outskirts of the kingdom and had people belonging to the lower class on the hierarchy, followed by scums and goons. The tavern was located in the second part of the city.

Posterior to her reaching the tavern, she observed the absenteeism of Stetson. She had been waiting at their meeting spot for more than half an hour. Though his absence made her disheartened, she alleviated her thoughts and went to search for Stetson's squire.

Fortuitously he was around the same area. He seemed to be waiting for someone as well. Astrid approached the guy, but he couldn't identify her as she had her face covered with the headscarf.

Without wasting her breath in exchanging greetings, Astrid told him about her identity and then inquired him about the reason behind Stetson'd inability to show up. The squire informed her that Serlon had been gravely injured by the rogue that tried to attack the prince, and since then he had been resting. Moreover, the squire further told her that there will be a hiatus in their training for a few days as Stetson is required to take some time off to alleviate the pain that the injury had caused.

Unwilling to leave Stetson alone, she strenuously retrieved the information from the squire about the knight's whereabouts. She partly felt it was her fault that he got injured. She felt that she needed to make amends for that. Upon retrieving his correct address, she ran towards the third part of the city where Stetson dwelled for the time being. Her steady paces transformed into abate ones gradually.

She felt anxious as she was finally making her way towards the Inn where Stetson took ambush. While carefully observing the surrounding area, she moved further. Upon careful examination, she realised that there were smaller houses made up of inexpensive material which contrasted the rest of the part of the kingdom. These houses had brick walls with no hard cementing and shattered windows. To enhance the grotesque property, there were even some symbols drawn on those walls, not the pleasant ones. Through those symbols, it could be deciphered that some sort of crusade took place in that area. Though the streets were well built, the houses of the people were in miserable conditions.

Crooked men and women crowded the streets, and glared at the pedestrians like greedy and heinous animals. They were lurking around to seize a chance to deceive people. Astrid's outward aspect did make her appear naive, more susceptible to being cheated. Thus, everyone's eyes were on her.

A young man approached her and asserted that she seemed lost and he could help her in finding her way. Astrid told the man that she knew where she was headed and tried to dissuade him from trailing her, but he didn't oblige. He kept reassuring her that she could trust him.

While his pleas pestered her, she couldn't do much about it initially as she didn't wish to grasp the crowd's attention to herself. On the other hand, the guy just wouldn't stop, so Astrid decided to take matters into her own hands. She positioned her sword towards him and tried to scare him off. The femininity of the little lady proved to be the hindrance in making him leave. On the contrary, he was mocking her because of her strange admiration for the 'matters of the men'.

He gaped at her skinny arms and asserted, "Little lady, Didn't your mother instruct you about the ways of the women? What you possess in your hands is a tool for men, and not meant for meagre beings like you".

She twitched her left eye in anger, smirked as she was well aware of her capabilities. She took her wooden sword out of its holster and brought it up close to his face. Unexpectedly, she served a hard blow on his shoulder.

Consumed by the pain on his shoulder, he slowly drifted towards the ground. Few men began to flock around him, and Astrid hurriedly escaped. While wiping the sweat that dripped around the corners of her face, she continued to saunter.

Finally, she reached the Inn. It was bigger than the usual ones. There were many travellers that stayed there, so it appeared extremely cramped. As it was April, many pilgrims were also accommodated in that place.

While passing through the crowd, she managed to meet the host. She inquired about Stetson and was directed towards his room.

After entering a tiny room, she witnessed a sleeping Stetson on the bed who had bandages wrapped over his shoulder and head. She felt contrite and placed her hand on his head. He lifted his eyelids and gaped at the lady with sad eyes.

She appeared extremely concerned with his frown.

Thus, he smiled at her as he exclaimed, "You have your mother's eyes. Don't fill them with tears; That doesn't look good on you. You are meant to be a warrior. Don't let little inconveniences hinder your confidence. Rest, for now, we'll commence our training from tomorrow".

Astrid's head was drooping because of the weight of the guilt of not being able to aid him, the only man that cared about her well-being and growth in the whole kingdom. She tried to open her mouth to whisper words of gratitude for his devotion towards his oath of helping her, but she was haltered by the knight who pleaded with her to return back. He told her that he'd be much more worried to have her in that part of the kingdom than the mansion.

"It's the same in both places. Both places contain people with ill intentions. Here, people's motives are visible on their faces. In the mansion, people choose to hurt you behind your back. That's the only difference," confessed Astrud upon commenting on the unjustness of her mother's death.

Stetson clearly had no method to rebuff the little woman's theory on their kingdom. Thus, he just pleaded with her to leave, "Since you hold the position to bring the change in the kingdom, it is must that you stay protected. Hence, I want you to leave."

"I understand," declared Astrid and moved away after kissing the knight on his cheek.

While making her way out of the degenerated section of the kingdom, she witnessed a sickening scenario. The barrel of ale had spilt on the floor. The destitute people ran towards it, cupped their hands and tried to drink it from the street. The red colour of the ale resembled that of the blood. Though they were only trying to quench their thirst, the scenario appeared disturbing for the onlookers. She pitied the predicament of those underprivileged, poor souls and remembered the false report that was presented in the senate by various ministers. The ministers claimed that there was peace even on the outskirts of the kingdom. It was feasible that the ministers warmed their pockets more than providing aid to these people.

Hurriedly, Astrid made her way back towards the palace since she didn't want to get caught in the frenzy. While making steady steps, she observed the cluster of few citizens around an old man who stood in front of a podium. The man was wearing ragged clothes and had a long grey beard. The people held long sticks, axes, pikes and halberds. They seemed to be revolting against something. The old man talked about tyranny and how it affected the poor and also expressed his views on the royal goons.

The old man abruptly fell down. The crowd simmered with rage when they discovered that the old man had been shot down by one of the royal guards. While running towards the guards, men that were part of the rebellion screamed, "In the honour of the commonwealth, let no tyrant rejoice".

Soon what followed was bloodshed. People mercilessly butchered each other and blood spilt on the streets. While staying hidden, Astrid tried to move forward but was hindered by two anonymous men who held both of her arms and tried to drag her into a corner. Soon, they were knocked over by a forceful thrust. It was the same infiltrator with azure eyes and dark hairs that appeared on the court as a rogue.

He held her hand and ran towards the palace while protecting her. After running towards the mansion, he dropped her towards the secret passage.

"I am very much capable of protecting myself. Your service wasn't needed", asserted Astrid.

While escaping, the boy yelled, "It wasn't service. It was aid. Fool!".

"What an i***t! If I would get my hands on him again, I'd definitely hand him over to the guards," mumbled Astrid.

Terror then evoked in her heart when she realized that she had been gone for too long. She rushed back towards her room.

As usual, she hid her dirty boots inside the bed and got changed. She, thereafter, summoned Rose and inquired if anybody infiltrated her room in her absence.

She lifted her head and responded, "Prince Sirius did."

Astrid held a huge breath in fear and dismissed Rose. Then, she looked for the letter that she wrote earlier. Fortunately, it was still well hidden. Thereupon, she breathed out a sigh of relief and recalled all the happenings that took place. She was filled with remorse while thinking about the poor men, their part of the city and the victims of the riot. Both scenarios of ale and blood were very disturbing for the young lady, yet her thoughts were consumed by it only. It was evident that the kingdom seemed to be blooming from the outside but it was constantly consumed by the royal parasites from the inside.

Since she couldn't dwell on it for longer, she got ready to head out for the dinner. As much as she hated to join the people she detested the most, she was obliged to do that.

Messalina sat beside her and gave her constant threats and reminders about the mannerisms of a lady. Purposely avoiding her every threat, she focused on filling her stomach with the delicacies that persisted before her.

While eating, she catches the gaze of her half brother, Sirius who kept gawking at her.

Astrid furrowed her brows in anger and gave him a hard look. Then, he suddenly returned her detest with a huge smile.

Annoyed by his constant gaze, she decided to leave.

Consequently, he followed her and mumbled after getting closer to her, "I receive the knowledge of your whereabouts all the time including today".

"I think you need serious assistance. You spent your days while idling and worrying about other people. You can't be helped. You're even devoid of reasoning now", claimed Astrid.

He gritted his teeth and warned her that he will have her head spiked one day if she wouldn't comply with his demand.

Astrid was impassive and unbothered by his baseless snarling and reminded him about the thrashing he received earlier.

The irreverence that Astrid held for Sirius made him furious and he yelped, "I would make sure that you don't see that knight ever again".

Astrid's world collided upside down. She stood there motionless, and fear paralysed her mind. She feared that her one indiscretion would cause her eradication, without even seeking retribution from the blasphemous people. The very people that caused the death of her mother.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE

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