Chapter LXVI

Sabina's Retaliation

The empress' laugh echoed through the room as she recognized Adriaas family name.

“Jackpot,” the empress exclaimed triumphantly. “That explains the big mouth, entitled bitch. What did you think would happen? I know your kin by their inflated egos.”

Adriaas hadn’t planned to respond. She saw no point in doing so, but she couldn’t resist.

“I am not my father, just like you.”

“Ha! It amuses me when someone dares to defy me,” Sabina remarked, savoring the reactions she received. “You’re right. There’s something about you that reminds me of someone insignificant, Ancaris.”

Ignoring the comment, Adriaas focused on maintaining her composure. The surge of adrenaline was subsiding, and the pain returned.

“Hey, snap out of it! Am I too boring for you, Ancaris?” Sabina taunted.

Adriaas struggled to gather her strength to respond when Indictur intervened.

“She has two broken ribs, and a broken arm,” he said, attempting to buy her some time. “I’m concerned about possible internal bleeding as well. She fell from a horse.”

Sabina’s demeanor shifted dramatically.

“Oh! My apologies for not noticing. Perhaps there’s something I can do to help. Give me a moment, dear,” the empress said as she headed towards a door behind the throne, turning her back on them.

Indictur tried to get her attention with a hush, exasperated.

“Hey, do you have a death wish? I’m trying to save you!”

“You’re an Ancaris? Why didn’t you say so?” Vulnic was mortified by the idea of Adriaas lying to them, while Indictur was exasperated.

“Are you truly that clueless, Vulnic? No matter who we are, she holds more significance than any of us, possibly even the entire country, that’s why she didn’t share.” Indictur retorted.

Adriaas tuned out the conversation she had been trying to avoid since their arrival and observed Sabina’s actions in the distance. The empress meticulously searched for something inside a majestic wooden archive, her back facing them.

“From now on, I’ll do the talking,” Indictur asserted. “Our only chance of survival is through confession. I’ll take responsibility. Don’t make things more difficult than they already are, Vulnic. Once this is over, return to the camp, try to stay alive.”

“What if I want to be the one responsible for our actions, Indictur? Think about Raxae,” Pemula interjected, having risen up from the ground, irritated at their back and forth, covered by blood.

“That’s out of the question. You’re too young, and, to be honest, among all of us, I bear the most responsibility for what we’ve done. They will understand. I’m part of the committee. It’s my duty and..."

"Found it!" Sabina's voice echoed from the closet as she walked back towards them. "Here it is, take it."

The empress brought a small box and handed a white pill to Adriaas.

"What's this?" The prisoner asked, her voice tinged with mistrust.

"It's medicine, a bone pill. We smuggled them from Dictaduria. This little one should help realign your broken bones. Then you won't have any trouble addressing me. How does that sound? Take some water."

None of the words spoken by Sabina were optional.

The woman offered a glass with water to Adriaas, who took it reluctantly, trying to avoid any spontaneous behavior from their host. She was clearly suffering from a power delirium.

Adriaas swallowed the pill and drank the water, hesitating but knowing there was no other option. She experienced something akin to an out-of-body sensation, detaching from her physical self with the accumulating pain. By blocking her mind, she overcame the sudden and forceful readjustment of her bones. It was a clean snap that realigned her ribs and arm like magnets, along with a poorly healed nose injury from a previous incident, all at the same time, overwhelming her entire being.

"You didn't give her the other pill!" Vulnic had his eyes fixed on Adriaas, who was enduring a painful yet healing experience. "She shouldn't feel her bones coming back together!"

"That wasn’t just any horse your friend Adriaas Ancaris fell from," Sabina spoke with animosity. "As part of the Elkrachet’s domain, every horse in Landica belongs to me."

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Adriaas couldn't control the spasms caused by the bone realignment.

"Ah, witnessing nanotechnology work its magic inside the body is always a delight. Now, please, Adriaas Ancaris, kneel and address me properly. I’ve done enough to earn that."

The empress stood tall, awaiting Adriaas's compliance. Summoning all her strength, Adriaas rose to her feet, relieved to breathe without hindrance.

Ditcos returned as she was about to speak.

"My empress, I apologize for the delay. Here’s the list. We’ve compiled the previous verdicts for similar violations of our law." The man shared, sharing an outdated screen in his hands.

Without uttering a single word, Sabina strode toward him and snatched the tablet from his grasp. She read through it meticulously, analyzing every detail until she reached a decisive conclusion.

"As I expected," the elder woman proclaimed, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "The circumstances may be slightly different, but we’ll adapt accordingly."

A brief pause filled the room as Sabina fixated her gaze upon the four prisoners standing before her. In that moment, her thoughts churned, plotting their destiny right in front of their vulnerable eyes.

"I must commend both of you," she praised, her eyes locked onto Indictur and Vulnic. "Your boldness won't go unnoticed. Ditcos, have you brought my tools?"

"Yes, Rineria, please," the man responded, turning to another guard standing behind him. A young woman, not much older than Adriaas, nervously approached the empress, attempting to conceal her own anxiety.

From a crimson box, Sabina retrieved several mysterious tools crafted with unfamiliar crystals. With a wide smile, she selected a particular instrument—a deep red and white crystal in the shape of a horseshoe, with pointed ends.

Pemula observed the guards' apprehensive expressions, sensing that what would follow wouldn’t be pleasant.

"Behold this beauty, known as a fluid vacuum, but I prefer to call it Dracula."

Sabina relished the anticipation in her announcement.

Adriaas struggled to comprehend the name until she witnessed the tool in action.

The empress toyed with the device in her hands as she approached Elchome’s brother.

"Once again, confess you claim responsibility for treason, intending to burglarize the empire’s property," she asserted, pointing the tool directly at his face.

"I was involved in the planning, yes," Vulnic admitted, casting a nostalgic glance at his friends.

"Then, brave man, I find you guilty of treason against the empire and sentence you to extreme blood cell removal," Sabina wasted no more words and swiftly placed her crystal device on Vulnic’s neck, extracting his entire blood supply and, with it, his life. A horrified cry escaped Pemula’s lips as she witnessed the grisly execution.

Adriaas gasped for air, feeling sick, while Indictur stared at his friend's corpse.

"You," Sabina directed her attention towards Indictur. "Do you admit guilt in the charge of treason? And remember, if you lie, it means execution."

"I do." His tears welled up as he turned to Pemula and Adriaas. "Tell Raxae I love them and that I’m sorry for not saying goodbye."

"You are found guilty of treason against the empire," Sabina proclaimed before they could respond, placing Dracula on his neck and ending Indictur’s life abruptly. "Shall we continue with you, ladies?"

Having witnessed the instantaneous demise of Indictur and Vulnic, Adriaas felt a deep rupture within her being. Nothing else mattered. She saw it in their eyes—the light extinguished, leaving behind lifeless husks. Their bodies crumpled, one after the other, while Pemula and she stood frozen in terror.

The empress, deriving pleasure from their silence, approached, whispering as her breath sent shivers down their spines.

"Your punishment for association will be indefinite imprisonment. Ditcos, escort them to our dungeons and leave their friends with them. Make a note to send them to Landica Prison once we’re done with our special punishments for them."

Obeying the command, Ditcos and six guards surrounded the prisoners.

"See you later, Ancaris. Be grateful for that," the empress taunted, tugging her hair.

"Thank you, empress," Adriaas conceded in defeat, realizing that opposing Sabina was futile. They were now utterly powerless, while the empress stood at the opposite end of the spectrum.

"Finally!" Sabina was proud of herself. "It’s time for you, Ancaris, to reflect on every decision that led you here. I’ll see you tomorrow for the second part of your punishment in our main plaza, when the sun reaches its zenith!"

As the Imperia leader departed, the two women struggled to rise from their kneeling positions and walk away from the throne escorted by those guards. Their thoughts became a jumble, swept along by the chaotic current that had brought them to this dire moment. Regret washed over Adriaas as she questioned every choice she had made that day.

Minutes later, both prisoners were thrown into a dark cell, surrounded by a maze of iron cages. They entered amidst the gaze of other prisoners who bore witness to their arrival. Adriaas paid little attention to them, but it was clear that a majority had already suffered terrible mutilations.

Dizzy and nauseated, she struggled to process the unfolding nightmare. Across from them, an empty cell faced their own, where guards callously tossed Indictur and Vulnic’s bodies. It was a chilling reminder that they were at the mercy of a merciless empress, whose empathy was nonexistent.

Pemula screamed and cried until her energies were exhausted. It went on for a few hours until she fell asleep on the cold ground, while Adriaas curled up next to her, traumatized. Within the lightless confines of their cell, time lost all meaning.

Night and day seemed to blend into one another as they coexisted with the decaying corpses of their friends. Pemula’s constant cries kept the other prisoners on edge.

When the guards swung open the gate, they wasted no time in attacking, wielding electric batons that rendered the two women unconscious.

When Adriaas regained consciousness, she found herself on her knees, wrists bound to a wooden post, naked. She turned her head, and a surge of pain and blurry vision revealed Pemula, similarly bound and unclothed. They stood on a platform in a grand and unknown plaza with adobe architecture, exposed before an audience of hundreds.

Rage burned within Adriaas, her futile attempts to cover herself only met with the unyielding restraints. Pemula’s eyes remained fixed on the ground, void of any spark.

“What’s happening?” Adriaas asked, her voice trembling with fear.

“Isn’t it obvious?” her friend responded, devoid of emotion. “They’re making an example out of us. This is how it goes—murder, mutilation, or lashes. My suspicion is that we’ll endure the latter.”

Moments later, a soldier wearing dark green armor approached them and confirmed her grim theory by brandishing a long, golden whip. Adriaas understood its purpose all too well.

As the sun began its descent, casting a fiery orange hue across the scene, they detached from their own bodies. Tortured and humiliated, they became mere objects of spectacle for the eager onlookers. It fueled Adriaas through hatred and vengeance towards Sabina, Sectum, the Sephirot, and her own father.

The whip struck her back time after time, ripping her skin and causing immense pain. Yet amid this suffering, she envisioned subjecting the empress to the same torment, as if it meant surviving. Though she didn’t keep count, Adriaas later discovered that she had endured thirty-three lashes before falling unconscious.