《Unfold》 Chapter 1:Bedazzled ¡®WAAAAHHHH, YOU TOOK MY JELLY!¡¯ The little girl exclaimed loudly, her eyes immediately turned to her brother who swiftly pulled his hand away from his lips. Not before the girl noticed it, though. She puffed her cheeks while glaring at him. ¡®YOU-¡¯ ¡®No proof, no talk.¡¯ He winked at her, a smile on his face. This, of course, further triggered her emotions as she then stomped off from the dining table, and into her room. ¡®How could he?¡¯ She grabbed a nearby pillow and hugged it tightly, in response to her anger. She rolled from left to right and from the right back to the left, until she finally gave in and stuffed her face into the pillow and screamed her heart out. Her voice, despite getting muffled by the fluffy pillow, dominated over the silence in the room as the morning sun seemingly rose with her voice. Only two sounds could be heard in there, the creaking sound of the fan above her and also, her scream. It wasn¡¯t until minutes later when she has finally calmed down a little and decided to come out of hiding in the room. ¡®Stupid Dane. Not even an apology¡­¡¯ With every step towards the living room, her expectation of seeing her brother¡¯s face grinning at her grew stronger. And so, she took off her shoe and held it in her hand, ready to have it launched at the right time. TICK! TOCK! TICK! TOCK! The clock hands ticking sound has somehow became clearer in these few seconds. Slowly, she poked her head out from a corner of the wall and scanned the living room. Dane wasn¡¯t there. She quietly stepped out from hiding and tiptoed around the room, then the kitchen, followed by the other rooms. Nothing. Absolutely no one. There was no denying it. That, the house, was strangely empty. KNOCK! KNOCK! Someone was at the door. The girl recalled her mother¡¯s words to never open the door to a stranger. ¡®But, does that advice apply to the present situation?¡¯ she thought. Over the seconds, the knocking became fiercer and louder and she, could only laid back on the sofa and tightly shut herself up from the sound she wished would go away soon, with her pair of hands. The situation did not get any better with the voice of someone shouting at the door. Someone who sounded like a person you wouldn¡¯t want to mess with and be told, ¡®Fuck off!¡¯A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. As the time stretched on, whoever who was at the door must had finally given up, she thought, with the cease of the knocking. She opened her eyes and pulled her hands off her ears, steadily rising to her feet when suddenly, the door flew open and crashed into the wall behind it. One stood at the door with his leg still hanging in the air while the other two men watched on with a smile. Well, they were the ones smiling, but her, she was too shocked to move away from the spot. However shocked or unstable her mind was, she could not help but notice the odd clothes the men were wearing. The plain tunic they fitted in, along with the broad trousers and the strangest of all, she thought, was the string they used to tie around their waist. Did they not know about belts? Anyway, there she stood quietly, frozen down to her toes. She stared blankly at them which they at first ignored but soon, turned to her. Their eyes met. ¡®Tell me, little girl.¡¯ He stepped into the room. ¡®Why didn¡¯t you open the door?¡¯ ¡®Uhh... M-mother said n-never to open the door to strangers.¡¯ ¡®You know what,¡¯ he walked forward and leaned towards her, a grin curved over his lips. ¡®Your mama¡¯s wrong. Because, now, you are in deep shit.¡¯ Ending his line, he brought up a fist and swung it at her. At that precise moment, she saw an image in her head: A pair of eyes looking into hers. As the fist landed on her cheek, she zoomed out of the image and the punch sent her flying across the room and hit the wall on her back. ¡®ARGH! ¡® ¡®Up for the second beating?¡¯ There were no merciful looks on their faces. Those laughs and giggles, they were no humans. Which is why, you are going to have to be one too. ¡®Hey, what¡¯s that?!¡¯ The man at the front asked. The other responded, ¡®Are my eyes getting blurred or is the girl¡¯s hair turning green...¡¯. ¡®Well,¡¯ a drop of sweat trickled down his neck. ¡®We will soon find out.¡¯ Chapter 1 (Continuation) The slick blackness of her hair slowly dissolved into a glittering green. She brought herself up and with the eyelids swung open, the two black spots in her eyeballs shrunk into slit-shaped pupils, caged within a sea of red space. The nails grew longer and sharper, and so did her two front teeth when she bared them before the men. Standing and glaring at them now was no longer the same girl they knew, despite her still being little at size. In her stead, now stood a human beast. A vampire. ¡®A-a monster!¡¯ One of them exclaimed. The rest stayed still, their eyes and widely gaped mouth remained still. Everything was silent, except for the small hushing sound they made as they breathed in and out loudly. For the first few minutes, no one dared to move. No one but the girl, now with a new appearance, as she shifted about in her positions. Her eyes fixed on them. ¡®Hey, hey! Why are you guys being afraid of?¡¯ Everyone turned to look at the straw-hair man in brown tunic as he stepped out and towered over the tiny vampire. A dagger hanging at his waist, he grinned mildly. His expression was no answer to discomfort she was feeling. They are not worthy of your compassion. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. There was a momentary pause in the voice. Kill them. Her eyes flashed in green then gradually, darkened into the color of blood. In a time, shorter than the fraction of a second, those fingers of hers found their way through the man¡¯s chest. ¡®Y-You, asshole¡­¡¯ Immediately, he unsheathed his dagger and swung it down at her. The blade hissed past her and dropped to the floor, followed by the man¡¯s fall. She then turned to the others, who were no longer bound by their fear and stayed still. They lunged out at her with their fists. That alone sufficed to alert the little vampire of the danger she was about to face. Or the danger they were about to face. Death. Unlike before, the adults seemed to have the advantage in number. Their punches, however, were carelessly thrown without coordination. Some of their punches even interlocked with one another; Sometimes, they even hit each other. Seeing their messy fighting patterns has revealed openings for her to enter into the appropriate range. And, kill. Her house vanished without a trace, including the ones who tried to assault her earlier. She stood there, staring at the people walking about the marketplace. The streets were filled with stalls selling grocery items of every kind, and of every origin, flooded with townspeople and villagers of different backgrounds. This wasn¡¯t the world she lived in. At that moment, unknown to her, a pair of eyes were watching her. In the midst of the waves of people, a cloaked girl was there on the ground, the cloth¡¯s wrapping around her covered in dirt and footprints. The cloaked girl¡¯s green hair dropped smoothly to her shoulders as she stood up. Her eyeballs stopped shifting around for a second, and they were fixated on the girl. Tears started to well up in both their eyes. At last, we meet. ¡®Arlin.¡¯ Chapter 2: One Down ¡®EHHH?¡¯ The girl with black hair, who introduced herself as Alicia, suddenly stood up and filled the alleyway with her voice. Arlin immediately placed a hand over her newly-found friend¡¯s mouth. ¡®It¡¯s best not to reveal your true identity here. With these many people, of which we know nothing about, who is there to trust and who is not there to trust?¡¯ ¡®B-but, look at them!¡¯ She pointed a finger at the passer-by. None were looking at them, nor were any of them stopping for a moment to do so. Everyone was just walking past them, seemingly not noticing their presence. ¡®Humans are naturally born predators. Such pretense doesn¡¯t require much efforts from them. However, even the greatest actor has his own flaws in his craft.¡¯ Arlin said, turning her eyes from the girl to a butcher opposite the street. ¡®Look! See how that man is suddenly cutting the meat suddenly?¡¯ ¡®Nothing¡¯s odd about that.¡¯ ¡®You fool!¡¯ She blurted out, sending shivers down the Alicia¡¯s spine. ¡®A butcher doesn¡¯t butcher a meat so quietly. He¡¯s obviously trying to get a gist of our conversation!¡¯ She nodded silently. ¡®And those traders over there.¡¯ Her eyeballs rolled in the direction of a flower-stand with the seller and a woman was standing at. ¡®They have been standing there, from the second you shouted. The woman, especially, was taking her own sweet time admiring the flowers, in which case is most suspicious, considering that there are only five types of flowers on display there!¡¯ ¡®We should make a move then¡­?¡¯ A stampede of steel marching along the street could already be heard from where they were. There was no reason to look, because the sound itself, the clanking of the steels, has already revealed much of where they originated from. ¡®Too late. The news has taken flight.¡® She has read her thoughts before she could even put them into words. ¡®The knights. ¡¯ All eyes were on the men in armors, displaying a mixture of both amazement, and fear. Their gloved fingers circling around the hilts of their swords at the waists as they scanned across the crowd gradually backing away at their presence. And there, before the knights, opened a path. ¡®All these folks are cowards! Don¡¯t you agree, Zed?¡¯ The knight riding the horse next to him, grinning behind his helmet, jokingly replied, ¡®Indeed, Trevor! These trashes should be sent into the battlefield for real, instead of having us to protect them.¡¯ ¡®You know what? Something tells me to doubl- NO! Triple their taxes!¡¯ They laughed at the suggestion. To them, it was but a windfall but to the people here, it was but a proof of the corruption spreading throughout the kingdom. At that precise second, a voice cut in. ¡®Shut your crap, you monkeys! We are here now, for one purpose.¡¯ A knight larger than the rest of his kind, pulled at his rein and slowed the horse down before coming to a complete halt. Having drawn his blade that bore the design of a snake slithering around his hilt, an order was issued, shouted at the peak of his rough voice. ¡®RELEASE THE KRAKEN!¡¯Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Everyone was shocked at his words. Everyone but the knights who at once, rode off towards the audiences, drawing their blades and without a moment of hesitation, slashed down at them. That instance was enough to strike fear into the eyes that watched the death of the people standing by their sides. The crowd dispersed into various directions, screaming for their lives to be spared. Arlin and Alicia watched in horror the scene that unfolded before us. It was a massacre. Alicia said, ¡®We should escape!¡¯ ¡®We can¡¯t.¡¯ ¡®Else, death awaits us! We got to r-¡¯ ¡®TO WHERE? There¡¯s no escaping them! Even if we do manage to get to the next town, we will still die. Not just this town, but all the towns and villages will be pillaged and burnt to the ground! Nothing¡­ nothing could be done.¡¯ Alicia¡¯s face flushed with red then, taking a deep breath, she said with a glare fixed on Arlin, ¡®YOU, IDIOT! You defeated three men earlier, and now, here you are, bound to your own fear and refuse to move.¡¯ ¡®It was only three men then.¡¯ ¡®So? Does seeing an additional nine to ten men turn your heart into stone; Your head into a mess? And you claim yourself as a vampire?¡¯ Her eyes widened at the mention of her race. How could she tarnish the name of it, fearing the lower creatures called human? ¡®Don¡¯t talk crap with me. Who said I was scared?¡¯ Vampires know no fear. ______________________________________________________________________ Houses lit up in flames as clouds of smokes rose into the air. The loud screaming of the men, women and children alike slowly faded away with the increase in the blood splattered radius. Bodies laid along the streets with their eyes wide- opened and drowned in fear. It was clear from it that, they died after experiencing a tremendous amount of pain. A level of pain of which none would know nor wished to experience. Most of their chests were split open with a blade and their organs are stabbed at repeatedly, until all were so messed up that none could be recognised by sight alone. ¡®A-are you sure this will work?¡¯ ¡®What? Scared now after convincing me not to give up?¡¯ Alicia shook her head then, clapped both her hands on her face. ¡®I-I AM NOT AFRAID!¡¯ Arlin placed a hand on her mouth quickly. ¡®Shush! Do you want to die so soon?¡¯ She shook her head again. Arlin nodded in return. One of the knights was separated from the rest of them, striding his way past an alley, which not to his knowledge, was where both the girls lying in wait in. The horse were galloping slowly as the red- tainted blade scratched the ground beneath it, filling the air with deafening screeches. ¡®No more pests already?¡¯ he mumbled. 3,2¡­1 ¡®Now!¡¯ The knight had a momentary surprise after hearing the sudden outburst of voice. Alicia rolled out and pulling a rope together behind her, bound the back legs of the steed. Her heart was beating furiously as she did that for a second later would, without a doubt, led to me being sent metres away by the kick of those strong legs. The horse became wild and started to struggle its way off the rope. She held on tightly. With the horse unable to move, the knight was forced to act. He raised his hand, with the sword in it. ¡®Die, bastard!¡¯ The blade sliced down at her and her eyes stared in fear at the sharpened edge closing the distance between it and her face. God, make it in time! ______________________________________________________________________________ Blood spilled from the gash on his neck. His armoured body fell off the horse, to her side and the blade escaped his grasp, clattering onto the ground. On his back, Arlin stayed crouching down over his neck. Her eyes instantly noticed the two broken glass shards penetrated into the flesh. ¡®Just as I calculated.¡¯ said Arlin. A smile curved along the girl¡¯s lips for she had just barely escaped the jaw of death. And her friend saved her as planned before the attack. That¡¯s right. Arlin has become her friend- her first friend in this world. Chapter 3: The New King ¡®Spare my child. Please!¡¯ A woman, heavily dressed in a dress followed by a cloak over it, pleaded. To her side, a child could be seen whimpering away in fear, his eyes moist with tears. ¡®You can kill me but, please¡­please let my child go.¡¯ The knight looked down at her through the gap in the helmet. His blade was on the standby. ¡®Sure,¡¯ He said, unknown to the woman that there was sarcasm to his tone and he stabbed her at the heart. The mother fell dead before her child. ¡®Now then, off you go, peasant!¡¯ He paused and tapped the ground with his sword. ¡® I shall reward you, kiddo, with five seconds to escape.¡¯ The boy, hesitantly, left his mother¡¯s side and ran away as fast as he could. He thought that he could survive the death that befell her. He thought that he would execute his revenge when he grew older on these much despised knights. But, he never thought that as he was running with his back to the knight, a sharp steel with its surface reflecting the sunlight was pointed at him. Never once did he think of looking back to where he came from, for the sword has now escaped the clutch of the knight¡¯s fingers. And, he too, fell the way his mother did with the blade protruding from his chest. The knight burst out laughing from atop his horse at the sight before him. To him, it was nothing more than a form of entertainment. The stream of blood making its way down the blade seemed to send his mind lusting for more. He looked around him, searching for more to be his victims. Just then, his eyes caught something motioning towards his direction, from behind the crates a few metres away. ¡®Foolish resistance,¡¯ he thought. Alicia knew that the knight has noticed her and a smile instantly flashed across her face. She trusted her friend¡¯s mind more than hers and she was prepared to lay down her life, though it was something she wouldn¡¯t want to try if possible, for it. It was quite a daring of her to do that, she thought, for she knew herself as a person who would not want to get into a fight should she be given a choice. But, somehow, after taking up the form of the vampire friend of hers, in a matter of seconds, her heart and mind has become firmer than before, encased in steel. Arlin has made me a better person on the inside. It¡¯s my turn now, to claim the spotlight. Arlin telepathically said before the line broke off. The armoured man advanced towards where Alicia hid. His lips broadened into a grin underneath that helmet and his fingers tightened around the hilt of the sword. One strike was all he need to strike her down, he thought. Meanwhile, within the enclosure of the castle, upon the throne, a man could be seen sitting on. A man or perhaps, a devilish creature to many who have known him for long as they could remember. On his chest, a pendant the form of a jewel hung over it. His hands rested on the manchette and his gaze locked on the room he was in. There was little left of his skin to be described as his look could only be distinguished by the whiteness of it: Bones exposed to the graceful touch of the air. At where his eyes should be, has now been replaced by empty sockets, filled with darkness. Vines crawled out from within them and entwined the body in a fashionable manner. Leaves sprouted out from the stems as they blocked the full view of the body. On the head, stood a crown made of layers of gold, carved onto it the chronicle of the long history of great kings that has brought light to the kingdom. All but one king had not his tale among them. For that ruler was now dead, in his throne. The guards on duty, pushed the massive doors open at the presence of the Great Knight. Despite the long-sleeved tunic he wore, the ends folded till the top of his forearms, the build of his body could not be hidden completely as muscles bulged and pushed out against the tunic. Below his nose, he bore a thick moustache that curved upwards near the tips. He spoke in a hard, slurred voice when he neared the throne. ¡®I have warned you, old friend. You should have learnt to submit to a power greater than yours when you were born else, you wouldn¡¯t have ended up like this. The aura of death enshrouding you as your thread of life is slowly torn off your heart. Even now, you are still staring at me from those black holes of yours, and on the inside, you are hoping how good it will be if you could stab me with those bony fingers you have.¡¯ He paused momentarily to giggle before saying, ¡®However- ¡®He raised a hand and pointed directed his fingers at the skeleton. A stream of lightning zapped burst into existence and zapped across the room towards it. The very core of the king turned into ashes within a split second. ¡®Dead, you are.¡¯ Sound of footsteps approaching the room could be heard. Sound of foot cladded in a metallic surface, clanking with every step they took. ¡®Not even a dead guy deserves your mercy, eh?¡¯The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. The Great Knight replied, ¡®A dead king is not needed, Stranx.¡¯ Stranx, donned in a full armour, returned his reply with a surprised look on his face. ¡®Trying to take up his place, aren¡¯t you? Your ambition never ceased to amaze me, Trident.¡¯ ¡®Pray keep your thoughts to yourself.¡¯ He turned his body to face the knight behind him. ¡®A king is but a useless tool if the power resides within others and not him. And that power, Stranx, is in my hand now.¡¯ His hands rose with the tone of his voice; His eyes widened as the future he so desired flashed before his eyes. ¡®A new age has dawned. A time when I, the Great Knight of Trandafir, am the definition of king.¡¯ The onlooker stood and smiled at his declaration. ¡®The devil is let loose.¡¯ _________________________________________________________________________________________ With the knight now directed all his attention to Alicia, Arlin silently slipped towards him from behind. Her nails sharpened at the end as veins surfaced and thickened on her skin. She grinned at the thought of being able to take down another knight with her own hand. And, with that, she lunged at him. He turned his head, and she found empty sockets glaring down at her from behind the helmet. ¡®The hell?¡¯ She jumped back, in response to the sudden increase in beats at her chest. The skin that bore the characteristics of the knight gradually melted off the bones. The muscular arms that once held the armours in place was now swinging weakly in the air, seemingly about to crumble at any moment to come. He or it, to be precise, could not spoke through his mouth but could only groaned and growled at me. His thoughts, unexpressed to her. His words, died off before they reached his mouth. ¡®GAHHHH!'' Arlin shot a glance at Alicia. It¡¯s high time we retreat now. ¡®B-but¡­¡¯ Alicia thought, hoping that Arlin could read her mind. A massive hand swung down at the little vampire, forcing her to take another huge leap backward while locking her sight on the hideous creature who has seemingly, just return from the dead with its bones in the open air. Not a second was wasted for Arlin instantly made a dash towards Alicia, then, grabbing her hand, they ran like never before. Or maybe, it was just Alicia. Well, only they know the truth! The armour that became the shell for knights, slowly melted away into a pool of silver liquid at its foot. Trident, in the throne room, raised his glass of wine, to the cheers of the highly ranked knights and authorities. ¡®To the birth of a new era!¡¯ Axtec, the Great Knight¡¯s most trusted knight, shouted. His drawn blade in the air, glimmering with the rays of light bouncing of its surface. ¡®ALL HAIL TRIDENT!¡¯ The others followed. Trident, seated in the throne chair, put up a warm smile before the guests to which everyone naturally responded with a smile. However, what they did not notice was the dark, malicious aura enshrouding him. A tinge of darkness could be seen pulsing in his eyes as the low ranked knights across the kingdom had their living body exchanged for bodies from the realm of the dead, in return for a greater strength. ¡®Mhm.¡¯ He grinned. ¡®I am returning to my chamber first, Axtec.¡¯ ¡®Very well, my lord.¡¯ Axtec leaned towards him, and whispered something at his ears, which widened his eyes for a brief moment. Back in his room, his door locked, he went to the nearest window, scanning the landscape that laid out before him. ¡®I missed one, eh? Now, that is something I must not overlook, unfortunately.¡¯ He raised his finger to his shoulder-height and pointed it at a certain direction, over the mountains at a distance. ¡®Begone.¡¯ A stream of light burst out from the tip and across the sky. The skeleton knight was chasing after them at the back as they ran as fast as they could, turning around the alleys and entering buildings before exiting them, before eventually losing it in the process. It was when they thought they managed to by- passed several similar creatures that they managed to escape from the town and arrived at the woods surrounding it when suddenly, a bright light burned brightly above them and shot down at them. Alicia opened her eyes afterwards, only to find Arlin had a hole in her chest. She died a quick death. Everything happened so fast before she could find a perfect response to the scene before her. A girl enveloped in her thin, brown cloak lying on the grass. Her eyes gazing up at the sky above her. ¡®ARLIN!!¡¯ She clenched her fist tightly as tears ran down her cheeks and dropped to the ground. In a mere one day, a friend was made and a friend was lost. ¡®Arlin¡­¡¯ Just then, a storm brewed in the sky. Thunder roaring in the distant and lightning scattering across the dark clouds. Her blue eyes darkened into a shade of red and the blackness that covered the surface of her hair faded away slightly, revealing the green core underneath it. Small fangs replaced her once normal teeth. ¡®Your death¡­ shall be AVENGED!¡¯ she cried after undergoing a metamorphosis into a close lookalike of her dead friend, Arlin. Axtec entered the room and found Trident still with his finger up. ¡®You did it, I supposed?¡¯ Trident replied with a smile, his back still facing him as he lowered his arm. ¡®I cannot sense their presence without knowing about it. A great job indeed, Axtec.¡¯ Axtec bowed to him proudly, knowing that he had served his lord¡¯s desire. ¡®So, what do you have for me?¡¯ ¡®The guests have dispersed after knowing of your sudden absence from the room.¡¯ ¡®Very well. You may go now.¡¯ He closed the door behind him and walked down the hallway, back to his chamber. The power over the kingdom now rested upon the new ruler, the Great Knight, Trident. Chapter 4:The Beginning of a New Age The trees swayed with the passing of the wind, carrying with it a sense of dread. Birds grew restless atop the branches and flapped their wings, taking off in a manner that rustled the leaves wildly and gave rise to the calling of the animals, as the first streak of light appeared across the horizon. ¡®KIKIKIKI! Do you really think you can beat me in a battle of strength?¡¯ asked the ape-like humanoid creature. His opponent, look-or should I say, faced it and simply responded to his boastful question with his finger signalling ¡®No¡¯. The man stood, towering over the beast, with a plain mask covering his face and a clown-hat which was worn on his head. His hand, was thick with muscles and where his left hand should be at, down from the forearm onwards, a metallic one took its place. ¡®Can¡¯t speak, human?¡¯ He stood still. ¡®That did it!¡¯ It leaped forward with its claws out and down at him. He remained static. ¡®FOOL!!¡¯ SLASH!! Its head dropped to the ground, its veins and nerves severed. A moment later, its body followed the motion. And several moments later, blood began to flow out from the stump. And these happened, because of that split second when a blade, so fast that it escaped the piercing light, lunged out at the beast¡¯s neck. ¡®Y-You c-call-ed m-my name?¡¯ Further deeper into the woods, hiding among the bushes and trees, there lied a creature in its slumber. Or, to be precise, unconscious. Layers of hair spread across its skin and a pair of tusks sprouted at the sides of its stout. A strong gale blew past the forest, sending a shiver down the trees and grass, as for once in ten years, it, at last, opened its eyes. On the other hand, deeper into the woods, there lied a small hut, or should I say, a tent made of leaves and branches, that stood in the middle of the bare land, surrounded by trees casting shadows over it. With the rising of the sun, the flame that lit the pile of woods at the centre slowly grew weaker and died out. ¡®All hail the Lord-¡¯ shouted a lady with the upper portion of her face, above her mouth, hidden behind a long beaked mask. With elegance, but shrouded with tremendous force, she stabbed a blade made of bone into the flesh of the dead animal lying before her. ¡®MY ASS!¡¯ Her eyes glimmering with a spark of anger, she said, ¡®Your doom is here.¡¯ Meanwhile, in a place where its inhabitants feared and fretted daily for the coming of the storm that would bring with it a huge wave of sand. One sweep alone, would cost the lives of many who lived tiringly under the scorching heat of the sun. Even the breeze that never seemed to take a liking to the place, could not bring a smile on the people¡¯s face. A living hell, most called it, or to paint a better image of it, a dessert.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡®Don¡¯t you ever get tired?¡¯ a boy asked. To which the heavily cloaked figure replied, ¡®I wish I could, but my body is no longer the way it should be.¡¯ The boy scratched his head. ¡®Sounds complicated.¡¯ The cloaked figure laughed at his response before saying, ¡®Long words short, kid! This body is¡­ not mine.¡¯ As expected, the boy tilted his head to the reply and got his hair ruffled, before hearing, ¡®Soon, you will get it.¡¯ And, a laugh softer than previously. And, back in the kingdom, a slightly average-height girl, walked among the buzzing crowd, with her head up to the sky. Gazing at the birds that flew over her and at the clouds that floated past her. Her attention was only snatched away after bumping into someone. ¡®Hey! Watch where you are going, miss!¡¯ There was a quick shift of colours in her eyes, from black to red then, back to the original, before lowering her chin and looked at him. ¡®My apologies.¡¯ A smile drawn across her lips. In the past ten years, she has learnt to blend in into the environment. The way the people lived their monotonous lives every day, the fastest shortcut into gaining a small amount of money to survive on and also, what not to say to avoid suspicions. Her arms were no longer the skinny like in the past, instead, they were thicker and denser, covered with muscles after years and years of training in seclusion. The hair that used to reach her shoulders upon being let loose could now touch the ground with ease. She was taller by centimetres and her eyes had a sharper look to them than those of the hawks. ¡®It won¡¯t happen-again.¡¯ And, that man was never seen again. THUD! THUD! A finger with more flesh than usual, tapped the crystal ball softly. A pair of eyes from a few steps away watched intently as the tribe¡¯s mage focused its attention to the glass-like sphere, in hopes of getting a glimpse of their tribe¡¯s next action for better days to come. It was almost close to a minute when suddenly, the old ogre cried out in joy. ¡®What did you see, Azke?¡¯ The other asked. ¡®The wait is over and the time is now. Fetch the archers! Gather the fighters! IT IS TIME TO MOVE. TO- ¡® Its lines were cut in, as the ogre rose from its seat and flexed its muscles, causing the tattoo on its shoulder to bulge in and out, muttered, ¡®Attack the humans.¡¯ It grabbed the large blade leaning against the wall of the tent and walked out. Within minutes, the horn was blown. Hundreds of the green creatures halted their tasks at the sound and the tribe¡¯s blacksmiths instantly heated up the furnace and threw into it blocks of steel. A grin curved across a lip. ¡®At last, I am back to work!¡¯ Rushing out to the main tent were the ogres who had always wanted to satisfy their hunger for wars once more, after the supposedly first Tribes¡¯ War centuries ago, a tale of a fierce battle between all tribes, that was passed down over the generations in many versions. There was the version of the humans enlisting the aid of the Titans to crush their forefathers and there was also the version of the ogres winning the war but decided to give up on it because of their forefathers¡¯ wish to reclaim the times of peace before the beginning of the war. ¡®-And that, is why the humans succeed in building a large kingdom. But worry no longer, for the fate of our tribe shall be restored to its rightful place. Azke, our mage, has foreseen our victory should we come down on the humans as soon as possible. There¡¯s a hole in their defence, a weakness behind their strength, that we should lay our hands on. Open your eyes and grab your weapons! Seven days later¡­¡¯ It paused for a second as the tension in the atmosphere began to dense over the minutes. ¡®We fight.¡¯ And, deafening roars and cheers filled the air.