Chapter 2- The Golden Vexillum in the clearing
734 Words
The debate among the elders grew heated, their voices overlapping in sharp tones. Some scoffed at Easther’s ability, dismissing her as a reckless child who would never survive. Others, grudgingly, admitted that her resilience surpassed what they had expected. A few remained silent, unwilling to take sides but unwilling to underestimate her either.
And yet, as the discussion rose and fell, all their gazes inevitably shifted to the throne-like chair at the head of the hall.
The man seated there did not need to speak. His silence pressed heavier than any words.
Shadows concealed his face, but they only magnified his presence. Broad shoulders framed by the darkness, the faint gleam of polished black leather shoes, the cruel glint of the dragon-engraved sceptre in his gloved hand—all of it painted the outline of someone who was less man and more sovereign.
The elders’ quarrel dwindled into uneasy murmurs. Their breaths slowed, their bodies stiffened. None dared to look him directly in the eyes.
When he finally raised the cigar to his lips again, the room fell completely still.
The ember flared, illuminating the sharp curve of his lips and the faint mist of smoke that curled against the dim light. Even this unhurried act was enough to set the air thrumming with tension.
“Heh,” he exhaled slowly, his voice low, rich, and cold. “You waste your breath. Survival?” A faint curl of amusement twisted his mouth. “Freedom?” His tone deepened, the word dragged like a blade against stone.
The silence that followed was suffocating. Every elder in the room could feel the warning in his voice, hidden beneath that lazy calmness.
“She fights because she was made to fight.” His gaze, though veiled in shadow, seemed to pierce through walls and distance, reaching the bloodied girl struggling in the forest. “That is all. A weapon does not choose. It obeys.”
His gloved fingers tapped the sceptre once, the sharp sound echoing like a gavel. “And yet…” He leaned back slightly, exhaling another smooth ring of smoke that spiraled upward before breaking apart. “That little one dares to look at me with eyes that question.”
A dangerous light flickered in his eyes before vanishing again, swallowed by shadow.
The elders stiffened. None dared to speak. They all knew—the man was not merely watching a trial. He was gauging something deeper.
The cigar burned lower, smoke curling like an omen.
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The forest pressed in around her, the air so heavy it felt like breathing through cloth. Easther’s heartbeat thudded in her ears, louder than the whisper of snakes and the rustle of unseen predators stalking the shadows. The clearing ahead gleamed, too bright, too exposed—like a stage built for death.
Her boots sank into the damp soil, every step dragging her broken body forward. Blood oozed through the bandage at her thigh, warm and sticky, but she didn’t stop. She couldn’t.
The Golden Vexillum swayed in the sunlight, the red cloth snapping lightly in the wind as if mocking her.
Almost there.
Her fingers gripped the hilt of her knife tighter. She darted forward, body twisting low as she slipped past a hidden wire strung between two rocks. A trap—waiting for the less careful. Another step, another glance—her eyes caught the faint shimmer of a poisoned dart embedded in a tree trunk, freshly triggered. The forest wanted her dead.
But she had lived too long inside death to bow to it now. Not when she was already just a step away from achieving her goal.
Giving up was not an option. What more failure.
Easther’s breath came ragged, and her knees almost buckled. She forced herself upright, stumbling toward the rock platform. With every step, her vision blurred, then snapped back into focus. The flag was so close her trembling hands itched to grasp it.
I will not fall here.
At the foot of the platform, her chest heaving, she lunged upward, clambering onto the stacked stones with a strength drawn from sheer fury. Her bloodied hand shot out, closing around the mast of the red flag.
The moment her fingers closed over it, the stand beneath gave a tiny click.
Easther’s instincts screamed. She threw herself sideways just as the platform erupted with a loud booming sound throughout the forest.
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