Chapter 93
“The Fall of the First Hero”
Rita was completely devastated after her father’s death.
Her eyes were swollen from crying so much, the dark circles under them and her lack of appetite were a palpable sign of it.
That and the anger in her eyes as she looked at the guards that guarded the warriors during the training sessions that had been taking place outside in the forest or in some dungeon to help them level up faster, as if she wanted to kill them right on the spot.
And not just with her eyes.
“Stop doing that!” Kalysto scolded her in a low whisper as she approached her after dinner, feigning a closeness and familiarity that didn’t really exist between them, but that helped to keep up appearances as they were escorted by a group of guards to the corridor where their rooms were, on the third floor of the north wing of the castle.
“And what else do you want me to do? Celebrate with joy because those damned kidnappers didn’t even bother to bring the remains of my father’s body and left him there to be eaten by monsters?” Rita snarled at her, and the fire burning in his eyes only served to reaffirm what the former waitress’s instincts had already warned her.
Kalysto let out a long sigh, realizing that this girl could unknowingly ruin her plans to help them escape from there alive.
“You’re just making it easier for them to choose who their next victim will be and make it look like another accident," she answered her in a low whisper, making sure not to draw the attention of the others, especially the guards who were far enough away not to hear their conversations and too interested in the one they themselves were having. Rita’s face paled for a moment before she frowned.
“Do you really think...?” But before she could finish, Koden had approached them.
“We need to talk.”
As soon as I’m done with her, Koden," Kalysto replied, but as usual, Koden ignored her.
Do you really think it wasn’t an accident like the others said?
“Ha," she mocked, “Are you really so naïve as not to realize that coincidentally, the first of us to die was the only one who openly opposed the king from the beginning?” This time it was Koden’s face that lost all trace of color.
“But they can’t kill us... They need us!”
“They need someone to get their hands dirty for them. And as long as they have others willing to do the dirty work, what does it matter if they get rid of some they consider rotten seeds in the process?” Both young fellows looked at her in silence. Alarmed at the coldness in her words. “Now stop being so obvious, you two, and come in!” She said, before opening the door to her room and letting them in, closing it immediately and heading into the small bathroom. “Come in," she ordered, and seeing that neither of them followed her, she went in and waited for them inside.
“Why is it necessary for us to lock ourselves in a small bathroom when you have a comfortable couch out there?” Koden questioned.
“Shh! Keep your voice down! We don’t know how much they can hear us from outside or if they have some kind of spying device," Kalysto scolded him.
“Oh! You’re right, I didn’t think of that," he replied with flushed cheeks. “But Kalysto, if this goes on like this, we can’t stay here. We need to escape!” she added with conviction after a few minutes of silence.
“That’s more than obvious," Kalysto replied, rolling her eyes.
“I want the two guards who let my father die dead!” interrupted Rita.
“You’re not ready yet.”
“What?” - The young woman shouted, “Do you really think you can just come and tell me...?”
“You want to face Enho and Jack, don’t you? Enho is level 13, but Jack is level 17. They would kill you long before you could draw your sword. And you haven’t even reached level 10. Get there, learn to wield your magic and then you’ll have a chance against them. Before that, it would be suicide,” she explained. There was no emotion on her face as she did so. Just pure practicality. “And I doubt very much that your father would want his beloved daughter’s life to be wasted because of a bad decision made in haste, when you know there are smarter ways to achieve it," her voice took on a deeper tone as she said this last, her cold green eyes boring into Rita’s warm, pained gaze.
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“...” Doubt shone in the mage’s eyes for a few seconds as she debated with herself and pressed her lips together before making a decision. “So, you really want to wait?” Kalysto nodded her head.
“I think it’s the wisest thing to do for now. There are stronger monsters out there than we’ve seen so far. And if most of us don’t have the basics to defend ourselves, we will have no way to survive. Plus, if you’ve been paying attention to the guards’ conversations, several cities have been destroyed by monsters in the last few days. And we don’t want to get caught up in that," she added, looking at both of them. “We need to be strong enough to survive something like that, and find a safe place to travel to while we find a way home.”
“Do you really think there is a way back?” Rita asked, full of longing.
“There must be... The problem will be finding it.”
“But it’s better if we escape before the first ball. Didn’t you hear what the king said at dinner? The guy is planning to have a ball to celebrate the arrival of the heroes in less than two weeks!” Koden interrupted.
“We were all there Koden, there’s no way I would have missed it," replied Kalysto with some irony. But unlike Koden, what caught her attention was the look of hatred that the queen had given the king after making that announcement, without bothering to first offer their condolences for the death of the fallen hero.
At least someone has a little conscience in this place. Kalysto thought, however, she had no illusions about it.
“So we’ll find a way to escape after the first ball and in the meantime we should focus on getting as strong as we can?” Rita questioned.
“Although it’s important that we get stronger, I think it’s ideal to wait for the second ball.”
“What? But that’s too long!” Koden complained.
“Did you hear what the king said?” She questioned him, and he frowned, trying to remember everything he had said. “They will bring the heroes of Bhallys who were summoned at the same time as us.”
“And what does that have to do with our business?
“That Thomas is among the heroes summoned, and Alice was with him that day.” Gave as an answer.
Rita, seeing that they both looked at each other in silence, asked:
“Who is Alice?”
“My best friend," Kalysto replied. Then she turned to Koden. “Look, I have no problem helping you escape, but I’m not leaving here until I’m sure if Alice came with Thomas or not.”
”But it’s too much time.”
“You have two options. If you wait until I can confirm it, you can count on my help to escape from here. If not, then you’re on your own” Koden opened his mouth to protest, but Kalysto interrupted him. “And I’m going to give you a piece of advice. Don’t talk about this in front of Sandra. You can tell the rest if you think you can trust them, but she seems too delusional about seducing Milo that she doesn’t mind betraying us and using any information she gets from us to get his attention. And he’s smart and observant enough to use that to his advantage. Don’t forget that we are in enemy territory, and no matter how friendly these people appear, they are still the ones who kidnapped us, or those who follow and serve those who kidnapped us. They will not hesitate to turn their backs on us and use us for their ends. Do not be so foolish as to trust them.”
“No one would be so foolish as to do such a thing!” Koden complained, but Kalysto looked at him reproachfully, arching an eyebrow as they both looked at each other in silence. “Don’t look at me like that, I would never...”
“I didn’t mean you," she interrupted him in a neutral tone.
“He would never...!” He was annoyed, but then he stopped. “Shit!” He paled as the possibility dawned on him. “…He would, wouldn’t he?”
“We both know he’s naïve enough to trust the wrong person. Remember what happened with Karen? “
“Don’t remind me of that self-serving bitch! As soon as she found out his father’s company went bankrupt, she was quick to dump him like a flea-ridden stray dog!”
“I know, it was me who had to clean up the mess,” she complained quietly after letting out a long sigh. And I was the one who had to take care of a young man who had just lost his mother, and whose father had tried to commit suicide while his son seemed to follow suit while drunk and high.
“So...will you help me with my revenge?” Rita questioned her. After waiting for the strange silence between them to end, but decided to interrupt when she saw that they seemed too locked in their own memories.
“No problem” she answered with total tranquility, to Rita’s great surprise, “but you will have to level up first” Rita nodded her head, totally willing to accept such a level of commitment, “and start taking care of your food, if you starve yourself you won’t have the strength to fight and they are already far enough ahead of you. It’s not smart of you to give them even more.”
Rita clenched her fists tightly. And though Kalysto’s words hurt, they were able to pierce through the thick fog of grief and anger that had been ruling her since the loss of her beloved father.
“I’ll do whatever I have to do to get rid of those bastards who only mocked after letting my father die!”
“In that case, start practicing mana manipulation. It will come in useful later," she replied softly, and Rita nodded her head. And after believing that the conversation was over and that it was best to leave before continuing to raise the suspicions of the guards, she nodded her head in farewell. “And Rita?”
“Yes?” answered the young woman as she opened the bathroom door, before leaving.
“Do yourself a favor, and choose fire as your element," Rita blinked in surprise before giving her a dark smile full of promises of revenge.
“Of course, Kalysto, I will do that.”