ALLEGIANCE OF THE INFIDEL

HUMILIATED

Xadaria was one of the five greatest kingdoms, but what made it varied was the diverse cultures and religions that the place offered. The place was occupied by the people of five different religions- Oiwushi, Gimini, Canonism, Myazsn and Faith of the Aurora. Among which 'Faith of the Aurora' was held superior as it was followed by the crown itself. Xadaria even shared a huge history of bloodshed as well, and it wouldn't be wrong to imply that much of it had to do with people's squabble for beholding the supremacy of their religion.

Many civil wars broke out because of the same reason. Apparently, there was another power rising, they castigated 'The crown', and beheld the power of the common people. They called themselves, 'The Commonwealth'. King's atrocious behaviour in marrying a mistress, and beheading the first wife only made it more obvious for The Commonwealth to beheld the belief that 'Tyranny could bring forth anything, but peace'.

The occupation of the people of Xadaria was usually agriculture, rearing animals, making weapons and military training. The tales of Xadaria's military's competence were told even in far wide nations. Also, half-yearly tournaments were organized by the crown where people proved their valour. The kingdom Xadaria held great distinction from other lands because it contained a dense forest that led to the 'Realm of the unknown'. Although it was apparent that the place was inhabited by several non-human entities, there was a curiosity in people to explore it. However, nobody dared to set their foot on that land as it was home to several inhuman entities.

The old folks of Xadaria held the belief that the realm was inhabited by goblins, fairies, hobbits, dragons and any other unexpected creatures. Things that few people believed were nothing but the result of paganism that people had followed earlier. The people of the present searched for a definite reason behind everything. They weren't believers of the vague theories but were only satisfied with actual facts and evidence. That became apparent when Lord Julianus went into the realm and strenuously dragged a supernatural being with him. It was Florinda.

The nymph was captivated in her own land and was brought to become the Queen. Lord Julius's motives in marrying Florinda were to extract information regarding the woman's supernatural powers. She never disclosed anything as she believed that it could endanger the life of her people. The saddest part about her death was her incapability to see her people for the one last time.

Since the death of Florinda, Messalina was regarded as the Queen and 'the first lady'. The title was all that mattered to the mistress. She was content with it. Yet, there was one last thing that she worried about. She needed to make sure that the other woman's daughter wasn't a threat to his son. As the week of castigation was nearly over for Astrid, Messalina devised several plots to fill the little girl with nothing but remorse and melancholy. She wanted her to stay depressed. That way, she wouldn't interfere in her intention of securing the inheritance for his son. She wished for Astrid to regret even touching her son, Sirius. Meanwhile, in her chamber, Astrid was immersed in composing a letter. Just when the sound of the footsteps approaching her chamber made its way to her ear, she hid the letter and instead took hold of an empty sheet of paper.

To further avoid suspicion, she began scribbling stuff on it. Precisely then, someone grabbed her by her arm. The source of that disruption then stood in front of her and pointed out, “Today, there will be a celebration for your brother, Sirius. On your father's insistence, you have been invited for the same. If I would get even a little hunch that you are making amendments to cause destruction, then I will have you skinned alive. Mark my words, young lady!”While drawing circles on the sheet, Astrid asserted in a hoarse voice, "Forgive me for the facts, but he is not my brother".Messalina growled in anger and tried to mortify her with her brutal words, but Astrid paid no heed to it and avoided her purposely. After being rebuffed, Messalina left the young princess's chamber in a fit. Astrid had grown habitual of that abuse. Thus she wasn't affected and decided to leave.

Before stepping out, she grabbed her headscarf and jumped out of the window. After exiting the mansion, she met up with the knight near a tavern. The knight disclosed to her the place of their training-in the dense forest that lay on the periphery of the town. In response to that, she glared at him with big eyes and an open mouth. She wasn't content with his choice and thought that he had deliberately chosen a difficult place. That way, she'd exhaust her enthusiasm for learning faster. Before the knight could explain something about the reason for an unusual venue, Astrid exclaimed, "If you didn't wish to help, you shouldn't have claimed so in the first place.”

Even when Stetson tried to give an explanation, Astrid didn’t let him and continued her grumbling.

"Don't fret yet, and follow me", said the knight after realising that there was some sort of misunderstanding between them.

Astrid followed him into the dense forest. There was an area particularly in the middle where several trees were chopped in order to clear the ground. Astrid seemed impressed by the efforts of the man, her eyes gleamed and her lips curled into a smile. After observing the pleasant smile on the princess's face, the Knight tossed a wooden sword towards her. Since the young lady failed in catching it, he indicated that she needed to pick it up. They both stood opposite to half divaricated trees. Serlon taught her the movements, and she imitated them. After failing multiple times, she threw the sword. She was miffed with the fact that she couldn't master any of the movements.

The knight then approached her, placed his hand on her shoulder and told her in the most gentle manner, "I was much worse when I initiated learning it, but it was my resolve that kept me going".Astrid then thought about the consequences that would await her if she were not to become 'self-reliant'. She would have to deal with the heinous people that murdered her dear mother, and she wouldn't be able to do anything about it. Even the thought of the failure disgusted her. Thus, the young girl picked the wooden sword back again and began following all the movements with an enhanced concentration. Her movements were swift, and her blows were hard. There was a visible improvement in her attacks, but her hands became severely bruised. The blood dripped out of the freshly formed bruises just how the mercury drops from a broken barometer tube. After observing her movements, Serlon gaped at her wounded hands and instructed her to halt her actions."Stop this nuisance now!' he roared.

After being startled by the sudden uproar, Astrid did as was told to her. After getting closer to the young princess, he tore the scarf that he was wearing and used it to bandage her hands. That stopped the bleeding.

“You are here to learn, not for suicide. Try to be a little more concerned about your life", exclaimed the knight. Astrid nodded but her gaze was fixated on the ground. Her actions even astonished her, and hence she was embarrassed. She had never been that reckless in her life before.

When she engaged in learning violent movements, she couldn't help but imagine hurting the people who wronged her. That evoked hatred in her. While training, she imagined attacking her offenders and couldn't care about the wounds that surfaced on her fragile skin.

With Stetson's warning, she does realise that her self-harming behaviour wasn't going to take her further. Thus, she swore that she wouldn't act that incautious again. Thereafter, they both went back towards the fort, and she slipped back into her chamber discreetly.

Just when she climbed back to her chamber, she abruptly heard footsteps. She hurriedly hid her muddy boots beneath the bed and then lay down upon the bed. To avoid appearing suspicious, she further opened up the book that was in front of her and began to read. Shortly, she heard two loud knocks on the door.

"You may enter", said Astrid to bestow the consent. The woman standing at the door finally took tedious steps towards Astrid. It was only then Astrid realise that it was her attendant, Rose. She bowed in front of Astrid and dropped a new dress and sandals on her bed.

“Lady Messalina has ordered Lady Astrid to wear this and join her in the gala. She has advised that you attend it in time", the woman said politely.

“Alright, you may leave now !" affirmed Astrid.

The young princess then yawned as she notified the attendant, "It feels like my body is weighed down and I am trying to walk uphill. No matter how much I will sleep the fatigue is still overwhelming. In addition to that, there is this celebration. It would have been better if I could put a halt on the time and rest for eternity".

After complaining for a brief minute, Astrid wore the finest silk and leather and had her attendants do the other necessary rituals that were essential for being a lady of the court. Her hairs were fixed and things were splattered on her face, and the fragrance lingered all around her.

Her attendant then directed Astrid towards the great hall where the celebration was taking place. Though Astrid was only sixteen, she was way more mature than the ladies of her age. She imitated the mannerisms of the court and tried to appear agreeable to the Lords. Her mannerisms did were accepted by the courtly people, but somehow it was unexpected and shocking for some since she didn’t shy away from sharing her true opinion on things. She behaved like a proper lady and charmed several lords when she reached the hall where the celebration took place. Sirius sat with a broken nose and had an obscure semblance as he waved towards his half-sister. Astrid was taken aback by his bogus generosity. Thus she tried to make it seem that she wasn’t paying attention to his behaviour. Anyways Messalina demanded Astrid to walk towards Stetson and sit beside him.

Even the emperor of the Preonamond Kingdom and his son were also a part of the gala. King Oswald was pleased with the manners of Astrid, and the same was the case with Prince Andre. Prince Andre was delighted with Astrid's charm and elegance. Astrid observed the gaze of the duo fixated on her, so she approached them and bowed in front of them. They accepted her greeting, and Andre took Astrid away to discuss important stuff conversing with her in solitude.

Astrid had never been alone with a boy before, and yet in the name of forming an allegiance with the influential lads, she went with him. While engaging in the conversation, they took small strides. Astrid felt uneasiness but maintained her composure.

"You should visit Preonamond, you will certainly like the place. We have the finest metal in our swords, best ale and military", bragged Andre.

Astrid was beginning to lose her composure a little, and exclaimed, "Virtue, once bragged about, once you pride yourself upon it, ceases to be such.”

Andre felt dejected and acknowledged his sordid behaviour. Then, Astrid smiled and asked him about his sword, which was made of tri-titanium. She pleaded for his consent and then held the sword herself. She had a huge smile on her face and her eyes glistened like fire.

Her admiration for the sword hurt the young prince’s pride.

“Yes, holding the sword is one thing, but engaging in battles is another", asserted Andre.

Accordingly, abrupt loud sounds of footsteps approached them. Shortly, they saw a man wearing a mask and holding a sword, charging towards them. The anonymous masked man tried to approach Andre; Astrid took him for an assassin. Since she was in the possession of the sword, she decided it was right to battle it out with him. Their swords clashed, and the infiltrator was awestruck by her movements. Fright struck in the heart of Andre and he ran away in haste in order to protect himself. The atrocious man tried to follow the anxious prince but was hindered by Astrid. She leaned further and landed a blow on his leg and swiftly had him by his neck.

The moment she tried to remove the masque, he kicked her and she lost her balance. By seizing the appropriate opportunity, the man rose and made endeavours to land a hard blow, but was hindered by Astrid's counter-attack. Though she fell, she didn't accept failure.

Just when the man was about to make another, he was captivated by two big arms that belonged to the knight Serlon. Astrid rose and removed his mask. The person behind the mask was actually just a boy that she had never seen before. However, those eyes. They captivated the young princess's heart. That shouldn't have happened as he was the infiltrator.

He must be around eighteen. He had bright azure eyes, thin lips, big curly hairs and bronze skin. There were several bruises on his face too. Bewildered by the astonishing revelation, she neared him and inquired about him. The boy remained quiet and didn't utter a single word.

“I'll hand him to the royal guards; They will know better about the ways of making him confess", asserted Stetson. Thereafter, the Knight dragged the boy towards the hall but was wounded by a sudden blow on his head. The boy had an accomplice, Astrid tried to halter them, but was kicked and landed on the ground with a cut on her lap.

Though the boy had the chance of killing Astrid, he didn't. Astrid's vision blurred out, and the last thing she remembered was that the boy glimpsed back at her face, uttered something inaudible as he left the place in haste.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

AUTHOR'S NOTE

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Please add this book to your library if you wish to support the author. It would mean the world to me and my stray cats.