Chapter 7 Consequences

Seeing Fionna unconscious, on the still blood-gushing head, was quite a sight.

Never had he seen someone faint during horrific times. Though his life had been full of them.

He narrowed his thick brows and brushed his straight nose once in a quick swipe as he stood up after sheathing his sword.

The sword that has made many a great man fall in battle.

"What a handful" he thought as he watched her peacefully sleep on the pillow... He joked.

He hadn't quite had a good look at her even though she had so easily caught his attention during the auction.

The other young maids which without a doubt were beautiful had a terrible feeling of fear written all over their faces.

The terror each one of them potrayed just made the young maids seem useless to him.

And with this, he could never behold that which any man had beheld of them.

The same men who would do much worse to them than they already are in.

However, Fionna, even in such perilous times, didn't seem to be frightened.

In chains and been dragged to be sold to a stranger, she was calm as though she had been through hell and worse.

Fionna Sears, he thought as he fancied her face. It was slim and quite the allure . The freckles were in no doubt to her favor...

However, his thoughts were so rudely interrupted as the carriage came to a halt and one of his men launched in.

His eyes first landed on the girl then slowly back to his Lord.

"Quite eye catching, isn't it? " he chuckled.

"I shall handle this" his man opted but was flatly refused as he took a step forward to proceed.

"No, get some rest... I've already got blood on my clothes"

True... But something else pushed him to refusing the man's offer.

Even though he considered his men first thing before himself, and as much as he had never been made to do much work other than leading his men into the battle field...

He was zealous to do this.

The man closed the door shut behind him after a short while of regarding his Lord.

His one knee slightly bent to floor level, and his one hand carefully rose her head up whereas the other grabbed hold of the head to free it from her weight.

Although it was tossed the instant he did so.

He now positioned both hands under her thighs and nape. It was so thin of a clothing that he could definitely believe there were no boundaries between him and that delicate place.

However, he had no intentions of doing whatever it was a man deprived of it for years would do. He even believed he was void of such desires.

For almost all his life, he had been engaged in nothing but fighting battles for Kings.

Though along his way, he had made fellow friends who would advice him to put better use of his physique and the same friends who also ended up being traitors.

Put better use to his physique? He plundered at the phrase each and every time they were so bluntly spoken to his face.

He tried once or twice was it, to have not only a woman at his side but someone of opposite gender to earn his trust and loyalty... As well as love.

But the way he sees people, from experience, if men other than his, they were nothing but deceivers who will only use people seeing that they are very well purposed to their advantage.

The women... As geishas.

Hiding their true faces so perfectly with heavy makeup that made even their natural beauty fade.

But not only in hiding their true self are they made known, they hide themselves with a hypocritical smile... One which says otherwise about the person, one which makes someone not know their real intentions towards you.

Yes, he had had his pride taken as a soldier and what more...his heart, broken.

He now once more, just as he had lifted her, carefully layed her down on the mattress.

Preferably not to look at her sleep, he walked out of the room and was examined so questionably by his right hand, Calistus.

But he dared not ask.

Arthur was a frightful man, not just his presence but his deeds which reached even in places unknown and spread like wildfire in Astria.

That is, their current location.

"I'll go freshen up then we will go through the battle plans once more" he spoke and all this while having his back facing Calistus.

"Yes, my Lord" Calistus followed whereas another random guard came and stood watch in front of the door.

The castle guards had been standing on both ends of the entrance when Fortes walked in.

His time to execute the final phase of his plan was now. Involving a courageous and fully-esteemed self of being able to look at the queen and spiritually spit to her face with a lie.

The vision of doing this was swift, however, when he stood right in front of her throne and looked into her brown piercing eyes, he wavered with his first words.

"My queen" he knelt before her and head bowed slightly "The auction has come to an end"

The queen didn't give him a grateful reply, neither did she give him any reply. She had risen her head so high in a proud manner as to look down on anyone before her.

Moreover, he knew what she was waiting to hear.... The bidding on the last slave.

"Each and every slave was sold at not more than a million Belmoths " this was when he wavered...when he had to lie.

" The last slave was, as expected, more notable however it was just a mere difference" he rose his head and tried staring at first into her eyes as a way of earning her trust in his words but failed miserably.

His eyes slightly moved and now looked at her brows. This way she wouldn't note his sudden lack of confidence as he spoke to her.

"Very well" she now looked down at him for a really long while. He had winced few times,she realized, He wasn't to be trusted.

No auctionner CAN be trusted when money was involved. For this was their profession. To make people believe in things that weren't so.

She stood up and gathered her dress even though two of her guards were already about to do it. "Follow me" she ordered flatly with no threathful tone and neither was it joyful.

Fortes wasn't sure why she would order him to do that but he had no evil intentions in his mind.

The two guards now rather accompanied her during their stroll.

They had walked for a while now and just as Fortes was about to question on their stride, she had stood in front of the towering, sturdy execution door.

But he had no clue that this was the execution door. He simply thought a great reward for finishing the auctioning lay wait.

Queen Estella had not bothered to look his way all this while be that as it may, she still didn't look when they both stood at the execution chambers which held Belmothians who had gone against her will including... His sister.

The queen had been holding her hands before she now rose one up and immediately down to her side.

This was an order... An order of execution.

Fortes hadn't looked at the bewailing sister he had so much cared about. Yes, cared.

"This was just a reminder of what happens to those who lie to my face" she glared at him. "You have a chance to redeem yourself Fortes. Tell me the truth"

He laughed in his heart. She was bound to die whether he lied or didn't lie to the queen's face. But this just made him re-gain the courage he had once lost.

Fortes in the same manner withheld the gaze he had at first been frightened of "I speak the truth and nothing but the truth"

After all, who is a man if he is unable to take risks...