Betrayal

"Healing Magic: Grand Heal." The wounds I inflicted on Elsie fade.

"Elsie!!" sobs Rai, running to her aide. She turns to me and asks, "Will she be okay?"

"Yes, the wounds have all been healed; however, I think we should restrain her."

"Why?" asks Rai, concerned.

"The chances of her running away are low, now that she knows I can defeat her; however, those chances are not zero. I'd like to avoid a fight with her again. If it comes down to it, I won't have the power to hold her back."

"Haruki, the way you speak about her, it does not sound like you're talking about—"

"Princess," interrupts Erika. "I agree with Master. I think we should restrain her. Elsie - despite being a former Valkyrie Knight Commander - is a criminal now. This was her choice, so we should respect it and treat her like one."

"But..."

"Rai, you are the future Queen of the Sakura Kingdom. You have a duty to protect your people. Do you understand what that means?"

She quietly moves away from Elsie. We take her body to the town and tie her with ropes we found. After a few hours, she regains consciousness.

"Where...?" She looks dazed for a short while, before snapping back to reality after seeing us stand in front of her. "You..." she says glaring at me. She regains her composure, and says, "I see you found quite the monster, Princess."

"Elsie, will you reconsider joining us?" asks Rai. "If you do, I will accept your return as a Valkyrie Knight."

"Princess!! What are you...?" screams Erika. She stops after seeing Rai's expression.

Elsie laughs and says, "Do you believe I will come back to a traitor, like you?"

Tension fills the air. "You keep mentioning 'traitor'. But what exactly do you mean?" I ask her.

"So, she hasn't told you?" she asks me. "The princess next to you is not as innocent as she looks. She has killed people before."

I look at Rai. Her expression looks grim. "Is this true?" I ask her.

She does not answer me. Elsie; however, snickers, "Of course it's true. That girl is a wolf in sheep's clothing. If you let her close to you, you will only end up with a knife lodged in your back."

"What do you mean? You always say Rai is evil; however, from what I've seen, she doesn't have the capability of doing anything evil."

"Yes. I also believed that, before I saw her true face. It happened seven years ago..."

I was born in this town, currently known as Serpent's Nest. However, seven years ago, this town was not as barren and lawless as it is now. It was prosperous. The town was called Snake Summit. We got this name because of our worship of the Goddess of Lies and Deception, Egle. Despite being rumoured an evil Goddess, Egle is one of the kindest goddesses. We respected her and decided to worship her. Because of this decision, we had enemies from all the other towns in the Sakura Kingdom. All except one. The capital city, Delia. We had an unbreakable relationship with the capital city. The King would often visit our town for non-diplomatic reasons. Those days were fun. Then the day arrived, I turned thirteen and we had a grand banquet. The King brought his then-eight-year-old daughter along. Before I met her, I only heard rumours. As I walked through the crowd of nobles, I remember being pushed to the ground. A hand reached out to me and asked in an angelic voice, "Are you okay?" I remember that meeting like it was yesterday. She was elegant, beautiful, and kind. The way she spoke to the nobles showed maturity I still, to this day, have not grasped. She was the perfect example of a princess. I was captivated. And it was at that moment I decided to lay my life down for Rai Sakura. After that meeting, I trained hard and got accepted as a Valkyrie Knight. After a year, I became commander of the Valkyrie Knights. With this, I became ever so closer to serving Rai personally.

One day Rai invited me for tea. I was ecstatic. All the hard work I put in. All the sacrifices I made. They finally bore fruit. The tea party was a success. I made a great impression on Rai, such that she wanted me as her personal guard. I gave up my position as Valkyrie Commander and Erika - the young genius and my vice-commander at the time - took my place. Years passed, Rai turned twelve, and I seventeen. We visited Snake Summit as the King's representative. The visit was to discuss ways we could unite the Sakura Kingdom. The princess had wonderful ideas which the duke, my father, was happy to follow. The talks went well; however, that night an incident occurred, which incapacitated the princess for half a year. The noble factions - who hated my people - blamed the Duke of Snake Summit. However, the King wanted to ascertain the truth. He held great respect for my father and knew he would never do such a thing. That was until the princess woke up. The King asked her who was responsible for the attack on her, and she said those five words which shook me to the core, "A knight of Snake Summit." The King was devastated. The nobles, after hearing this, wanted to burn the town to the ground, but my father pleaded with the King. He offered his head for the lives of his people. The King took his offer, and a public execution was held. The day my father died, was the start of Snake Summit's downfall. The townspeople were oppressed by the neighbouring noble lords. I pleaded with the King to stop the oppression; however, he and the princess turned a blind eye to the tragedy.

"... The people soon became outlaws and were executed. Then the once beautiful town became what you see today, all because the King and princess decided to let the nobles do as they please."

I look at Rai. Her face is pale like she did not know about all this. "T-That is a mistake," she says, confused. "I never said a knight of Snake Summit did anything."

Elsie laughs. "No use trying to hide it now, Princess Rai."

"No, I am serious. My exact words were, 'I did not see my attacker. It was dark, and it all happened too fast.' Those were the words I told the chief adviser."

"The chief advisor? Not your father?" I ask her.

"No, the chief advisor, Dolion Pierre, told me Father was busy mediating between nobles. I just woke up and did not know what was going on at that moment."

"I see. Then I understand the whole story." Elsie looks at me confused. "Elsie, Rai never betrayed you. It was all done by the chief advisor. He changed the story and had your father take responsibility for it all. I assume he was part of the noble faction who hated your father."

"Then what about my..." she stops mid-sentence, realising who she reported to.

"It was Dolion Pierre you pleaded to, was it not?"

"He told me the King and Princess were too busy with more important matters than to tend to my town's measly issues. I was blinded by my rage towards the King and Princess for executing my father, at the time." She turns to the princess, "Is it true? Was it truly not you?" she asks her. Rai nods her head. "W-what have I done? I blamed you for my father's death when it was all because of the chief advisor. Why was I blinded by my rage? Why did I not ask you personally? Why did I trust the words of that snake?"

Rai walks to her and hugs her tight. "You are forgiven," she says. Tears fill Elsie's eyes. She cries in Rai's arms. Her cries echoing through the night sky.