Izrina could barely hear clearly what was being said. She watched Spinola's lips when the woman muttered something to Cora.
"Prostitutes?" Izrina muttered, shocked.
The soldier pointed the dagger at the woman who had just spoken. "You mean to tell me that you all are whores? You expect me to believe that?" he asked, with a suspicious look on his face. His eyes scanning the faces of everyone in the crowd.
"Y-yes my Lord." The woman who had spoken for everyone continued, "We were meant to dance for the royal family, but they cast us out without paying what they owe. We have nothing to do with that rotten family."
Izrina, who was hiding beside Spinola, heard only muffled voices she couldn't quite make out. They had been caught by some people while pretending they were fallen women. That was Izrina understood so far, but something itched in her. Spinola had warned her to always keep her face down, but Izrina couldn't erase the feeling that someone was watching her.
Someone with a really powerful presence.
Unable to hold back, Izrina peeked through the veil. Her eyes searching through the crowd and towards the soldiers. She was about to look away when she didn't see anyone but-
There he was.... Izrina first noticed the large, rectangular gold and red gemstone earrings that dangled with the wind. Her eyes slowly moved up, to see a set of white teeth and then a pair of coal-black eyes that-
"Ah!" Izrina gasped, shutting her eyes tight. The person was looking directly at her!
Spinola noticed the girl's hand tighten around her. "Are you okay?" the woman asked. She knew the girl was in pain and needed help. The sudden stop did them no good at all.
Meanwhile, the head soldier scowled, staring down from his horse with disdain, "Harlots? Worse than filth, kill them all." He ordered. In practiced coordination, the other soldiers took out their swords amidst the screams of the travelers.
"Please spare us!"
"Don't kill us, we beg you."
Cora, who had gotten his sword ready, bent down slowly, going to stand closer to Izrina, waiting to attack.
The head soldier raised a spear. "Keep none alive! Atta-"
"Leave the prostitutes." Another voice, more controlled and dominant, interrupted. "Their lives are hard enough. We take them with us," he ordered this time with a softer tone.
Confused and slightly annoyed he wasn't getting his pound of flesh, the soldier turned, "But your majesty-"
"We leave now...and with them. It is an order." The King drawled with a tone of finality that the entire soldiers recognized.
The soldier bowed, trying his best to be obedient. "Yes, Your Majesty," he murmured.
Spinola and Cora's sigh of relief was short-lived when the same soldier jumped down from his horse.
"Form a line and make your way to me. I need to make sure you are not assassins disguised as prostitutes." He commanded with a frown on his face. The man seemed like he wanted a reason to kill someone.
Other travelers were eager to prove they were innocent, so without any more words they struggled to form a line, pushing themselves in the process.
"This is bad." Spinola whispered, joining the line with the princess standing in front of her. The woman's only gamble was that nobody has ever seen the princess's face.
The soldier tapped the shoulders of the ones he'd searched, showing them where to stand.
"Cora...what do we do?" Spinola fidgeted as it got to their turn. The woman swallowed a hard lump in her throat, still holding Izrina. As it got to Izrina's turn, Spinola could feel her soul escape her body through her mouth.
"You, move. Next." Now standing in front of Izrina, he leaned.
Izrina recoiled, trying to hide her face. Her skin turned paler than normal.
"Reveal your face!"
Spinola did so fastidiously, letting down the girl's veil. The two women could hear their heart drum against their chest.
The soldier took an awfully slow scan of Izrina, licking his lips as he did. The girl's dress had dried and clung to her skin. Showing her curves where nature did its wonders.
"Why won't she do it herself,?" The man who was looking for a reason not to leave barked, causing Izrina to flinch. "Is she looking down on me?" The man snarled, feeling offended.
Izrina had forgotten she was supposed to read the man's lips when he raised his voice. She raised her hand, "I-"
"Not at all, My lord." Spinola stepped forward, giving the man a seductive smile "This lady is only deaf...she'd never dare to go against you."
The man's eyes lit up with cruel fascination. "A deaf prostitute?" he grabbed Izrina's hand with force, ignoring the girl's soft whimpering. "Let me see if she can hear the sound when I get inside her."
Spinola's eyes almost jumped out of her head, "No!" the woman cried out in despair. "Please take me instead..."
"Get of my face, old shrew." The man used one hand to push Spinola with force causing the woman to land butt first on the ground.
The others gathered moved away in fear.
"Why won't she let him have her?"
"It'll end quickly, so we can be on our way." The women complained.
Spinola wasn't having it, the woman dragged her bottom on the ground. It would be better they get killed than a foreign filth lay his hands on an innocent girl.
"Please...my lord."
Izrina who had little idea of what was happening, tried to reach for Spinola's hand while pulling herself away from the man.
"Stop moving, dirty wench!" Before the man could rip Izrina's dress, his hand was stopped mid-air. He turned with anger.
"Who dares-"
Cora squeezed his hand, bending it backward until the man let go Izrina.
"You!!" Seething with anger and shame, he let go of Izrina, who scrambled to help Spinola up.
Cora waited to make sure the princess was in safe hands, then he turned to look at the man. If only the fool knew where he touched. Cora hated himself for admitting the princess to be anything less. Not to mention a prostitute even.
"Just because they sell their body to survive doesn't mean people should treat them as filth." The young guard remarked calmly. A clear contrast to the seething foreign soldier.
The soldier charged at Cora. "I am going to kill-" An arrow pierced through from the back of the man's head and out of his mouth before he could finish talking.
Cora closed his eyes, turning his body to shield Izrina from having blood stains on her.
A squished sound was heard as the arrow got retrieved from the man's mouth before he dropped dead. His eyes wide with shock even in death.
"I hate stubborn fools more than flies." A voice exhaled, its tone bored.
Izrina felt another wave of sickness when she saw the man sprawled dead on the ground. Her head kept spinning that she almost lost consciousness. When she shifted her attention from the dead body. Her eyes fell on a young man with the shiniest deep, warm bronze and sun-borne skin she'd ever seen.
Who is this? Izrina asked herself, afraid to look at his face. She kept her eyes on Spinola's hand.
"This young man is right," the man who had spoken remarked, walking over to where Izrina was with Spinola. He stretched his hand forward to them.
"Whores are not dogs. They are humans, and even animals get treated better."
Spinola moved Izrina behind her before taking the man's hand. She got on her feet. "Thank you, my lord." She bowed deeply. When the woman raised her face, he noticed the man was intently staring at the princess with a grin that showed his two sharp canines.
Izrina wished she could hide under Spinola's skirt, she could feel those same eyes looking at her as if timing her to make a wrong move.
"Ehm..." Spinola cleared her throat, using her entire body to shield Izrina. "We owe our lives to you."
The man lazily settled his eyes on the woman, twitching his lips. He turned around, with a bored gaze. He pointed the blood-covered arrow at Cora.
"I like you....join my army." He handed the arrow to Cora. Turned to leave, but paused.
He moved his head to the side without turning completely, with a little lean of his body. "I am Neron Valehort the third, of Zephyrus."
"And you all are spoils of war. From this moment on, you belong to the Emperor of Zephyrus until the day you die." He got on his horse and mounted with ease. His tousled jet-black hair, giving him an untamed allure.
"I am the Emperor of Zephyrus." A wild grin curled his lips. For a moment, his eyes paused on the girl with red curls. And his raven-black eyes danced with mirth.