A Day Of Life And Death

Kayuba and Bayu were walking stealthily through the hallway when Bayu asked, "Are you sure we should kill the person that elf told us to kill?" Kayuba said, "We are not mercenaries, but I have a feeling that we should kill this woman. The woman is not an ordinary person. She is the mother of two of my enemies and also the widow of a person who killed a lot of my able soldiers ages ago. She instigated many people to revolt against the ogres and wasted my hard work of years. I want to see death in her eyes when I chop off her head." Bayu asked, "Shouldn't we refrain from personal vendetta?" Kayuba said, "There is no ifs and buts in wars. We have to destroy our enemies as fast as we can." Bayu asked, "Who are our real enemies? Xao Chang or the elves?" Kayuba smiled, "We are currently neutral. If Aliyah makes a deal with us and takes us by her side, we will be safe and secure in the future. But, if we can't do that, we are screwed." Kayuba and Bayu entered the room of Queen Sejasha and saw her sitting near the mirror, caressing her hair with a comb. She saw their reflection in the mirror and screamed, "Who the hell are you guys? How dare you enter without my permission?" Kayuba laughed, "Death comes uninvited. We were sent by Aliyah to kill you. She thought it inappropriate for you to stay alive in such hard times." Kayuba took out his sword and chopped off her head. Kayuba wiped off the blood from his sword and threw a bomb on the floor. 

All the guards rushed to the room and Kayuba and Bayu took out their swords. The guards stopped and looked at the decapitated corpse of Queen Sejasha and ran towards them. Kayuba and Bayu easily killed all the guards and then ran outside. Thirty armed guards ran towards them with spears and tried to impale them, but Kayuba produced red smoke around the scene which blinded them. Kayuba jumped and slayed all the guards as Bayu shielded him. Archers drew arrows at them but the protective shield deflected all the arrows. Bayu threw three smoke bombs on the floor and soon the whole floor collapsed. The archers died getting crushed by the debris and three people threw huge cannonballs at them. Kayuba and Bayu ran towards the door and then ran towards the outside. They were surrounded by almost three hundred armed soldiers led by Gilbert, Licha's husband. Kayuba and Bayu looked around them. Gilbert said, "Surrender yourself, criminals. We have outnumbered you and you cannot escape. Trying is futile. Surrender and we will give you an easy death." Kayuba and Bayu laughed, "Let us go. We will not give you an easy death." Gilbert said, "I gave you a chance to surrender. Kill them." The armed soldiers ran towards them and attacked them. Kayuba and Bayu killed everyone of them with ease. Gilbert tried to run away, but Kayuba chopped off his leg. Bayu took out his dagger and carved out one of his eyes and then cut off his ear. Kayuba and Bayu chopped all his fingers. Kayuba smiled, "Tell everyone if you manage to survive. The fire is red and the burn is purple." Kayuba and Bayu disappeared in red mist.

Licha and her army commander, Halidesus were standing near Gilbert, who was looking at them. Gilbert said weakly, "Those scumbags were sent by your estranged brother or his mad friend, Aliyah. The assassins said the words used by her family members. I am pretty much sure that those assassins were neither elves nor ogres. They had supernatural power and immunity. All of our artillery and soldiers felt useless against them. Bring Vera here. She might not be safe either." Licha said, "I don't trust her and bringing her here will be dangerous for all of us." Gilbert said, "Don't take any hasty steps, Licha. You are pregnant and I don't want you to go inside the insidious maze. Those people are not going to be merciful to you." Gilbert took his last breath and collapsed on the bed. Licha said, "Prepare for his funeral. I don't want a very big funeral for him. Bury my husband and mother in the family graveyard." Licha and Halidesus walked outside and entered Licha's room. Halidesus asked, "What is going on inside your brain, Licha?" Licha smiled, "I don't think my brother would do such a ghastly thing. He can be brutal sometimes but not a murderer. I have full doubts on Vexana and Aliyah. They are not very good with people, especially Aliyah. I have seen and heard the things she does to fulfill her selfish desires." Halidesus asked, "What are you planning, Licha? You want to declare war against them?" Licha looked at her and said, "No. Declaring war against them will be madness. Gilbert was right. They will show no mercy to me. But, we cannot stay stationary too. We have to keep moving, even if it means we have to crawl." Halidesus looked at the door and said, "Mr. Leo Vora, Mr. Levy Devin and Mr. Bron Antilevsky has come to meet you." Licha turned and looked at them. Licha said, "I don't want your empty condolences, fools. I want answers. I have blindly financed all your illegal activities, ignoring the good of my people and what I get in return is a dead mother and husband. How can someone come inside my palace and kill my mother and husband and then escape so swiftly?" She looked at Bron, who said grimly, "We are looking at the matter very carefully. But, I think it has nothing to do with politics or your family feud. It happened quite randomly." Licha said, "Randomly? We all know that this was a political murder. They don't want us to join with Kystion and by killing our queen in broad daylight, Aliyah has shown us her might." Leo Vora looked at Halidesus and asked, "What did Kavana say about this murder?" Halidesus replied, "He is not concerned with our family feuds. He wants an immediate and firm answer. He said that we have a week to answer him or else he will consider us an enemy." Levy smiled, "What is the use of being so proud of our power if we can't save our lives?" Licha said angrily, "I'm fed up with this war nonsense. We are fighting from ages with no possibility of winning and this war has ate my grandfather, my father, my uncles and my brothers. Now, it has devoured my mother and husband. I don't want to live in the past and die fighting like a mad person." Bron said, "Those assassins were clearly not normal. Our powerful weapons had no effect on them at all. It was like they were demons." Licha said, "Demons. That's impossible. Demons will never do murders for elves. Maybe, it was some new kind of magic. Who knows what kind of magic that sly Vexana knows. I still don't see why Elgin is silent. Is he involved too?"

Bron said, "Elgin involvement doesn't matter that much. The murder of your mother and husband has certainly stirred lots of rumors and turmoil around Namaria. We should focus on the current matter right now which is how to boost back our falling business." Licha slapped him and said angrily, "Think outside your greedy mind, bastard. What will you do with money if you are not alive? If they can reach my mother and kill her, then there is no doubt that our lives are in danger too. Money will come again, but we won't have a second life. If we can't fight, we should at least hide. Cut all your dealings outside of Namaria. No one should come from outside in Namaria. Every visitor is a potential threat." Levy said, "But. I just ordered a new consignment from Gongam City. If the consignment doesn't come in time, my business will suffer dearly." Licha said, "I don't want to argue with you guys any further. My decision is final and there will be no modifications let alone relaxation." She walked outside the room. Levy, Bron and Leo looked at Halidesus. Halidesus said grimly, "Don't look at me like that. I don't make decisions for Namaria. Anyway, Licha is right. We cannot take unnecessary risks. The assassins are mysterious and therefore we should be extra careful. I have arranged rooms for you three in the palace and you guys will stay here till those assassins are nabbed or killed." Leo said, "Fine. But, I have to go to the Kingdom in a couple of days." Halidesus asked, "Are you mad? What business do you have there?" Leo replied, "I have to meet Kystion. He is going to be very useful for us in the future." Halidesus said, "I don't want to say it. But, given the situation we cannot risk going out of Namaria. But, also we cannot stay idle and become sitting ducks. We have to bring Kystion here." Bron asked, "Is that possible?" Halidesus said, "Of. course, it is possible. One advantage of having a mixed population is that you have allies in both groups. Some of my friends in the Kingdom tell me about the events on a daily basis. Apparently, Kystion has lost control of the ogres after the arrival of Kavana and he is desperately trying to win back the trust of the ogres. So, if we present a reliable opportunity for him, he will definitely come here." Levy said, "Kystion is an idiot. We should talk with Kavana. He is young and influential. We should place our bets on him." Halidesus smiled, "Don't let his old appearance fool you, son. Kystion is a very dangerous ogre. Your forefathers witnessed his might and his intellect. I can say confidently that even today, Kystion can devour hundreds of elves easily in the battlefield." Levy said, "His tales are old news. Kavana is the new sensation. His war glory is more than Kystion's. We should bet on Kavana." Halidesus said, "Fine. But what will you give Kavana in return?" Levy said, "Money, of course. In desperate times like war, money is the most important commodity." Halidesus said, "Kavana has a lot of money with him. He recently conquered two vast provinces and has the ogre money with him. He needs men to join his army. Can you provide men to him?" Levy said, "That's impossible. I barely have enough workers for my factories. The ogres are a minority but the cheapest labor and I cannot send them to fight wars and die." Bron said, ,"Then it looks like we are in a stalemate." Halidesus said, "No. We are not in a stalemate. We are just ignoring the truth. We should talk with Kystion. Meet me in my room when you think my advice as valuable." Halidesus walked away towards his room as the three looked at him going and sighed.

Elgin was sitting near Cindy, holding her hand. She was unconscious under the effect of general anesthesia, but the blood still hadn't stopped flowing. The baby was healthy, but taking it out from the inside of Cindy was a hard thing to do. Cindy showed small signs of pains by making little moans and having sudden shivers. Elgin looked her and the pain that her face showed at that time was bewildering him and making him feel guilty for being so selfish and unjust with Cindy. Elgin looked Cindy and kissed her forehead. He walked outside and looked outside the window. It was early morning with a little mist in the air and a golden color all over the sky, signaling the arrival of a new day. Elgin took a long breath and went downstairs to get a cup of coffee for himself. He went to the room and saw that a small elf baby was lying near Cindy and crying. Elgin threw the coffee mug and ran towards him. Elgin picked him up and looked at Cindy, who was getting cold. Aliyah and Vexana appeared with human blood and saw Elgin was holding the baby and was sitting near Cindy's dead body. Aliyah said, "We should take the baby downstairs. It is too cold in this room. I will send someone to take Cindy's body downstairs." Elgin rose and slowly walked downstairs. Aliyah and Vexana walked towards Cindy and looked at her sadly. Vexana said sadly, "Poor soul. She didn't deserve such a tragic ending, especially when she become a mother." Aliyah said, "The most tragic thing will be taking her body to the mortal world to bury." Vexana said, "We should bury her here. At least, her son will be able to see his mother's grave." Aliyah said, "Don't act like an emotional fool, Vexana. I don't want my nephew to grow up as a coward. We will tell everyone that his mother left him and ran away." Vexana said, "I will nurture him. He will be a good and kind man who will help others in times of need. He will not grow up and become a heartless monster like you." Vexana disappeared in white mist. Aliyah sighed and mumbled, "Why does everyone think that being strong-willed is bad? Compassion are for people who have not seen adversity and that boy is going to face quite a lot of adversity in the future." She disappeared in purple mist......