Tessandra scoffed, and got rid of the blood on her sword.
“This isn’t Cessi’s first time dealing with a dragon,” she said. “As long as she and the King stay together, it should be fine.”
“Wasn’t His Majesty injured?!”
“That’s what I said, she’ll cover his ass!”
Although she was hoping that was the case, they had no way of finding out how things were going in the castle; the entire way to the gates was blocked by countless fights. The streets were crowded with both citizens and Yekara fighters or mercenaries. It was easy to see which side each was on; while the Yekara and their allies were fighting with proper weapons and sharp skills, the townspeople were literally handling pitchforks, kitchen knives… actually, anything that could stab, cut, or knock out someone.
Tessandra avoided another swinging shovel when she moved to the streets, trying to find a spot where she could observe their surroundings more clearly. They had lost sight of the Cheshi allies, but they could see them appearing from time to time to help the citizens take out the Yekara. This was one of the messiest battlefields she had ever been on, but at the very least, she was almost sure they had the upper hand. Despite their lack of skill, the citizens that had gathered were just too big in numbers for the Yekara to properly fight. Every time they tried to face someone, three more citizens would come from behind to knock them out or hinder them in some way. Tessandra had even had her own one-on-one fights taken over this way, and now, she was just fine swinging her sword and trying to make her way out the best she could without injuring innocents. It also meant there weren’t any killings on either side, as the Yekara barely got to do any damage, and the citizens were more focused on defending themselves too. They were even somewhat serving the fighters to her, one by one, or to anyone with fighting skills, so either the Cheshi, the Royal Guards still on their side, or Tessandra herself would give the finishing blow. Still, this wouldn’t be enough. She had to know what was going on throughout the Capital.
With Sabael following tightly behind, she did her best to break away from the fights and climb up a roof to check out the situation. The fighting had mostly overtaken the handful of large places in the Capital that had the space for it; all the other streets were mostly deserted, except for people running from one place to another, or attempting to flee the surrounding chaos. She glanced toward the sea shore; Naptunie had lit the last fire a while ago, and there was nothing else to add. She could spot the dragons easily defending each one of their bridges, and happily getting rid of all the mercenaries and Yekara people trying to cross them; it looked like both dragons were having a lot of fun and absolutely no trouble at all. She wasn’t worried for Darsan either. He was probably having tons of fun on his bridge with plenty of people to brawl against. No, Tessandra was more concerned about Kassian and that woman, Bastat. They were in the middle of the largest battlefield, the edge of the island that was the Capital, trying to organize the chaotic troops however they could to minimize the losses.
“How bad is it?” asked Sabael, as she came down. “Did you see my sister?”
“Nope, no trace of Nana, but that’s for the better... This is the most chaotic battle I’ve ever seen, Sab. The citizens are trying to defend their homes, but not all the fights are evolving. We can’t simply kill all those bastards one after another, it’s going to take ages, and I want to get to the castle!”
“Same,” he sighed. “I don’t feel too good about leaving the Princess and His Majesty on their own when the Yekara have taken control of the place. ...Can’t we get one of the dragons there?”
“If we do, we will leave one more bridge unattended, and from what I’ve seen, I would not recommend that! Plus, you’ve seen their sizes! Even just Kian would literally wreck any street he steps in!”
“So what do we do?” sighed Sabael, glancing around at the chaos surrounding them. “We need to stop the fights here and get to the castle! I am not fond of the Yekara, but I can’t help but believe we need to capture them, not kill them! Not only them, but all the Royal Guards too!”
“And those mercenaries,” muttered Tessandra.
She was thinking along those lines. As much as she loved a good fight, this Kingdom was already on its knees long before this. The streets were full of citizens, and each family was doing their own thing to survive. Tessandra couldn’t help but remember her cousin’s concern, even toward those mercenaries. She would hate to see that much blood shed. There had to be a way it could be stopped.
“...Sab, those people are sticking to their spots, right? They probably got orders before the fight.”
“Yeah, the Yekara have always been military. They stick to their orders until death if they need to. Between us Royal Guards, we always joke that they need their superior’s brain to think for them...”
“So if we found a way to have them stop fighting or make them believe they don’t have a reason to fight anymore, it could work, right? What would make them move?”
Sabael frowned and raised his sword to counter another attack coming from a soldier. As soon as they had gotten to the end of the building, they found themselves stuck in the crowd again, surrounded by shouts and strikes coming from all directions. At this rate, it would be hard to even regain control of the crowd, they were risking a mass riot...
“Let’s force them to move,” he suddenly said.
“What? How?”
“Their main residence! The Yekara Clan’s residence has been guarded like a fortress forever. That’s where they stock everything, including their weapons, and they’ve never opened it. I heard some of their people enrolled in the Royal Guard talking before, it’s like a whole military camp in there!”
“...So if we get in trouble over there, you think they’ll run to save their home?”
“Worth a shot.”
Tessandra frowned. It was a bit unethical, but from where she stood, she couldn’t really say they’d be the worst of the two. In fact, some other houses had been raided before, and for the entirety of the previous night, the other citizens had been subjected to forced searches and violent threats. The more she thought about Sabael’s idea, the more she felt like it sounded right. All those soldiers were there because of their deep loyalty to their clan. If they thought something had happened at their main residence, they’d probably flock there regardless of the orders they got.
“...I like your idea, handsome. Where is it?”
“A few streets away from here, northeast!”
So they would also get closer to Kassian and Bastat’s position. Tessandra glanced at the castle. She wished she was able to help her cousin, but right now, she was probably much more useful on the ground, among the other soldiers... She glared once more at the Red Dragon, climbing up the towers.
“Cessi, don’t be too kind, girl. You better not let that bitch get away again...”
“Tessa? Are we going?”
Tessandra nodded and joined Sabael. He ran ahead of her, guiding her through the streets. It was remarkably easy to get away from the crowd they had been with; Tessandra’s shiny green armor could be seen from far away, and by now, the locals knew she was on their side. They kept fighting every time they found a Yekara soldier on the way, or a Royal Guard who had betrayed his uniform; Sabael was the maddest at those. As someone incredibly proud of his duty, he was furious at all those who had turned their backs on the King. They had just killed another duo of them when he furiously kicked one of those guys out of the road.
“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.”
