“Hey, easy, love,” said Tessandra with a sigh, quickly cleaning the blood off her weapon.

“Sorry, it’s just... so many people fight every year to become a Royal Guard! It’s one of the most coveted positions in the Kingdom. The pay is good, and many people desperately need that kind of salary. We all had to go through a very tough selection and defy the odds to get there. I trained with these guys. But... when I see how easily those bastards betrayed the Kingdom for even more money, when we are trained to protect it, it makes me mad. Even if a lot were in it for the money, I still thought they were good guys, loyal. For fuck’s sake, we’re supposed to protect the citizens of this Kingdom! ...Yet I saw guys wearing the same uniform as I do forcing themselves into houses, robbing their neighbors, and... and they spent half the night ransacking the castle and fucking beating us up...”

Tessandra suddenly realized how furious he really was. Unlike her rather vocal self, Sabael was one to keep his emotions to himself and rarely showed what he felt. She had already understood that, but after finally reuniting with him that morning, she hadn’t realized how long of a night it had been for him. They had been separated, and after getting beaten up and captured, he had escaped an execution only to be thrown right back into fighting. He hadn’t gotten rest, and half of the people who had put him through hell overnight wore the same uniform as him. Well, he had most of his clothes ripped apart, so there was a clear difference, but still... his fists were clenched around his sword’s handle and trembling. Because his injuries were mostly alright, it didn’t mean Sabael was feeling the same inside. She was a bit annoyed at herself for being so blind. Cessilia was the empathetic one, while she easily missed these kinds of things... She sighed and put her sword aside to walk up to him.

Sabael, who had been ready to keep going, was taken aback when she suddenly came up to him, and put her hands on his cheeks.

“Look at me. You’ve had a long night, Sab,” she said softly. “I understand. But you need to focus, and cool down a bit, love. Don’t worry, I promise you all those bastards will pay in due time for their betrayal. And once this is all over, your King will make sure the next recruits are truly loyal. I’m sure you’re in for a hell of a promotion too.”

Tessandra’s cool eyes finally got to him. Sabael realized how heavily he was breathing, and gradually calmed down. It was his first moment to catch a break after all that... He sighed and slowly nodded. Tessandra smiled and put a quick kiss on his lips, making him chuckle and put a hand on her lower back.

“We got time for this?” he chuckled.

“We got all the time you need,” she retorted very seriously. “Sab, I’m hot-headed, but even I know that if you stay that mad, you’re going to make mistakes. I don’t even care if we fry those bastards, but I don’t want to see you get hurt. You’ve got enough parts of your body injured already and I am not liking my handsome being damaged. Also, only I am allowed to touch and stitch you up. Got it?”

“Ah, I was worried you were getting soft. Now that’s my girl,” he smiled.

“Yeah, exactly.”

He put another kiss on her lips, making Tessandra smile. Now he seemed much calmer.

“As much as I love this, I’m pretty sure we don’t have the time to get any naughtier. Ready to throw a party at those bastards’ residence, dragon style?” she smirked.

“Let’s get going.”

They resumed running, one behind the other, gradually meeting more hindrances on the way. It was clear the Yekara fighters were pouring out from the main residence, unlike the mercenaries they had paid to assist them. Sabael and Tessandra had to stay together and keep forcing their way to the main residence, sometimes deciding to hide when a larger group appeared on the way.

They took a new turn, and Sabael grabbed her to hide in between two houses when another group passed by without noticing them.

“Heck, how many are there...?” groaned Tessandra.

“More than I thought,” admitted Sabael. “My best guess is they got more people that were outside to be in the Capital for this. I’m also pretty sure some of those were definitely not Yekara until recently...”

“So what, they got more people to join the clan?”

“That would be a good way to recruit without being noticed. Many people are desperate for a bigger tribe’s protection, and if they had papers as Yekara people, it would have been easy to sneak them inside the Capital too. You recruit people from the desperate neighborhoods outside, promise them food and a roof as long as they promise to fight for your clan’s sake. I bet many would be willing to agree to that rather than keep struggling outside the Outer Wall...”

“Cessi was right,” sighed Tessandra. “This Kingdom really needs a lot of changes...”

“I’m sure she and the King will get to that as soon as we’re done here. Come on, let’s get–Fuck!”

Tessandra turned her head to see what had suddenly made him mad, and she gasped.

Another group of men were coming from an opposite street and entering the large residence, but they weren’t alone. Tightly bound by a large rope and her mouth gagged, she clearly recognized Nana.

“Shit! What the fuck were those bloody Cheshi doing?!”

“I wouldn’t blame them,” sighed Sabael. “I bet my sister couldn’t sit still and tried to help anyway...”

“Why did they capture her?!”

“They probably saw her lighting those fires, they know she’s working with us. They might try to use her as a hostage, maybe?”

“Oh, fuck no,” groaned Tessandra. “I swear if they touch a hair on Nana’s head, I’m going to fucking unleash hell on those damn bastards.”

“I’m going to have to agree with that...”

Sabael looked worried for his little sister. They remained hidden a few seconds longer, watching Naptunie get taken inside. Tessandra had planned to just set fire to the building, but with Naptunie in there, it would be hard, they had to extract her first. She tried to analyze the building. It was a fortress indeed: high stone walls with a tower at each end, and even the gates were heavily guarded. From what she could evaluate, the fortress was at least six or seven times the size of any house they had seen, perhaps more.

“We need to get Nana out, and quickly,” she muttered. “...Any idea how to get in there?”

“I could pretend to be one of them?”

“Sab, everybody saw your face in that plaza, none of them will believe that. Chances are at least one of those bastards will recognize you... I’d be of the opinion to barge in, but if they use Naptunie as hostage, it’s not worth it. I have no idea of the layout of that place, they might kill her before I even get to her. Damn it, I should have just jumped out as soon as we saw her...”

“They could have used her as a hostage all the same… Frankly, I’m surprised my sister got caught. She’s smart, if she wanted to flee, she wouldn’t have been caught so easily!”

“No time for that, Sab, we have to go in… Should we split up? You distract them and I climb up the side? They won’t think of you as much of a threat compared to me, no offense. That could leave me the time to climb over, grab Nana, and get out of there.”

“That could work, but like you said, you have no idea how it is inside!”

“Damn it... If only we had a dragon here,” groaned Tessandra. “We could have a view from the top!”

“Let’s just go with your plan,” Sabael shook his head. “I don’t like leaving my sis in there any longer, so let’s–”

Before he finished his sentence, a huge explosion blew out behind them. Both ran out of their hiding place, their eyes on the vivid column of fire coming from the Yekara residence. Their people were pouring out, many of them screaming or shouting in utter panic, but Tessandra was most shocked by the fire itself. It was a bright blue color.

“Don’t tell me...”

“Tessa! Sabael!”

To their own surprise, they suddenly spotted Naptunie herself, running out of the crowd, her dress a bit burnt but the rope and her gag gone. She looked out of breath, with soot on her face and one of her buns undone.

“Nana, what the heck?!” exclaimed Tessandra.

“I did it!” she said proudly. “I did it! I-I told the Cheshi that were with me about the plan, and they agreed to help me out! I knew that if I managed to get inside the Yekara residence, I could trigger an explosion that would drive them out and cause panic in their ranks! I know you told me not to, but the second I realized their residence was made of the same type of stone I used to–”

“What the hell is wrong with you?!” exclaimed Tessandra. “Have you gone mad? You could have blown yourself up with them! Nana, what the hell were you thinking?!”

“I-I just wanted to help,” muttered Nana, suddenly vexed. “I couldn’t just stand on the side when I knew I could help!”

“...Told you,” sighed her older brother.

Tessandra’s eyes went back to the huge fire behind her. It was even more mind-blowing to see the culprit’s small silhouette against the raging fire behind them. She sighed.

“Oh, Nana. I’m starting to think you and Darsan really are one hell of a dangerous match...”

“M-me and Prince Darsan?” Nana blushed.