The Parverhill Fortress

Seira bit her nails as she got frustrated every second. Just as she was about to question her sanity, she caught sight of the woman who told her that the people in Arcadis were cruel. The woman was in the vehicle next to them but as she studied the expression on the woman's face, her shoulders sagged. The woman was also busy admiring the streets.

With her heart pounding on her chest, she leaned back again on the wooden board; closing her eyes momentarily, hoping that she could no longer see the wagon like what Hannah said. She must be hallucinating due to her wounds.

"Right, that must be the case" she mumbled.

With that thought, she slowly opened her eyes. She was trembling inside as she picked out the wagon and the dreary expression of the woman.

"W-wh-what—" she bit her lower lip. She has no single clue of what was going on but she was sure that the woman was in a position she didn't like.

She stood up shakily and took a step forward. Just as she was about to jump, the vehicle moved to cause her to stumble "No!"

As soon as she sat up, she searched for the wagon. Her eyebrows furrowed when the woman earlier was not there anymore but a red liquid flowing in the glass was the only thing she found.

A pair of dark brown eyes met her amber irises out of nowhere. A gasp escaped her lips as the man was casually sitting on the roof of the wagon.

The man with messy and long hair reaching above his shoulder; a long scar on his forehead and well built, straining on his black shirt was staring directly at her. He has a ring piercing on his lips. The silver collar he had, sparkling to the sun rays. A moment of shock registered on his face, followed by the realization and a sudden flashed of mischievous glint swirl in his eyes.

Before the vehicle moved past, she saw the man smirk and wave; facing the vehicle that she was riding.

She covers her face with her hands; completely baffled at what is happening around her. The sound of other's voices faded with a pulse as she felt lightheaded all of a sudden until she hit the floor of the wagon.

….

"Seira, Seira wake up" Hannah shakes Seira's shoulder while wildly looking at the guards sauntering to their vehicles. They were the only ones who left in the wagon. The others were already making their way to line up. She was feeling sorry for trying to wake her up as Seira obviously has a high fever with how hot her body was. The medicinal liquid that she gave to her will only lessen the pain and mildly heal the deep wounds. It acts as a first aid, but Seira's condition will surely take a toll to her. It surprised her that the woman was able to hold it for long. If she was in her position, she collapsed and maybe woke up after a few days.

Seira blinked several times trying to refocus her vision until she noticed a light orange stretched far and wide to the sky and Hannah's face looking at her with a mix of worry and urgency.

"Come on, you need to stand up" Hannah reached for her arms and hooked them to her shoulders.

Whimpering, she slowly got up on her feet; unaware of the guards making their way.

Her head felt like someone hammered it while a stabbing pain was erupting in every part of her body.

"What are the two of you still doing there?!" one of the three guards shouted at them.

"We're just about to walk there," Hannah calmly replied.

"Why are you holding her arms?"

"She was sick Sir—" Hannah tried to explain but the guards pulled the two from the wagon causing them to momentarily lose their balance; almost falling on the ground.

"We don't care if she was dying. Now stop being sluggish and move faster!" the guard shouted.

Seira gritted her teeth. She abruptly shifted her feet to avoid her falling causing her left foot to twist slightly. The guards were the same as the persons who were the sole cause of her dilemma right now. Cruel and apathetic. She holds her breath as she takes a step forward in a slow, shuffling, awkward gait.

"Sorry I can't help you from here" Hannah mumbled behind her.

"It's okay, thank you" she smiled.

When they reached the two lines of people, they went to the line on the left.

"Wow," they uttered at the same time; noticing the towers along the walls.

The sky-high Parverhill Fortress is garrisoned. There are many towers along the walls: several projecting fortifications built at an angle to the line of a wall, so as to allow the defensive fire in several directions extending outward on the wall while some were erected. A gold-ironed grilled gate was situated at its western side.

Above the gate, there is an immense gold metal symbol of a golden lion on the left and an eagle on the right with a shield in the middle that is defending the central point; a flower wreath in the bottom, and a royal crown in the top.

In the same location, two atypical blocks were built into the walls. One of them is decorated with a lion relief while the other bears the relief of an eagle, same with the symbol in the gold gate. The walls of the fortress were built of stones of medium and small sizes.

Seira felt a tugging in her heart as she gazed at the symbol in the gate. She dropped her head when a queasy feeling rose from her stomach followed by the pulsating pain of her head. Her left foot that she was sure was sprained added to her frustration.

"Seira, back in Arcadis, you said that there is a wagon and a woman right? I haven't seen anyone there" Hannah suddenly asked.

"Uh…." Seira didn't expect the sudden question of Hannah. Even she was not yet to recover from the confusion she was under back then.

"Yeah, she looks scared and in a depressed state Hannah" she honestly revealed.

She was not sure if what she witnessed was a product of her imagination but she saw it with her own two eyes and it felt real.

Hannah looked at her with a frown. Then she cracked up after a few seconds.

"Are you sure that you're not hallucinating or what? Cause you have a fever" Hannah wiped the tears that formed in her eyelids due to her constant laughing.

"Ye-yeah…… You-you're right, maybe I was just hallucinating" she muttered. Revealing it was not a good option after all.

"That was a hilarious joke. Thanks for that"

Seira simply nodded her head with a small smile on her face. That was not a joke but she was not sure what she witnessed back then. She suddenly remembered the smirking image of the man in the wagon. The man surely saw her looking at him and the vehicle. Pushing the thought in the back of her mind, she changed the subject.

"By the way, how long have I been out earlier?" she added hastily.

"5 to six hours"

"That was long. Anyway thank you for earlier"

"Well, that's what friends are for," Hannah chuckled.

Seira smiled. She still has a bit of luck in a way of meeting and having a friend in the fast-changing course of her life.

The hysterical plea of a man catches her attention along with the other people in the place. Hannah and she both looked at the man with worn-out shirts and pants; holding his head in his hand while wildly facing back and forth.

"I don't want to do this! Get me back to my town!"

"You don't have the right to demand anything now, servant!" a guard made his way to the man. The guard held the man's arm but the man punched the unprepared guard who lost his balance and fell with a loud thud on the ground. The man sprints in the direction where the wagons turn to the left.

"HELP—" the man didn't get to finish his sentence when a guard standing on the man's way out, hit him in the stomach using the grip of his sword causing the man to fall on the ground.

The crowd backed away when the guard on the ground, just a while ago, trudged and kicked the stomach of the man one after the other.

Seira clenched her fist as she watched the man spit blood.

"We should help him—"

Hannah cut her off "We should not dwell in it Seira. We will just get flagged together with that man"