Chapter - 3 first face off

So far, you've seen that Arya tightly closed her eyes, screamed loudly, and suddenly felt a strong gust of wind from the front. Moving ahead, after a while, she opened her eyes in fear and didn't see anyone in front of her. She looked around and felt a sense of calmness as if peace had prevailed for ages.

Arya took a relieved breath and replied, "No, they probably didn't let me go, but I managed to escape."

The old woman, seeing Arya return, exclaimed, "You... did they let you go?"

Arya retorted, "No, they probably didn't let me go, but I managed to escape."

The old woman, now happy to see Arya back, said, "It's good that you escaped, my dear. I think the king didn't call you. Those clever soldiers took you away on the king's behalf. Now go, you must be tired. Rest."

The next morning, Agustus sat on his throne in the courtroom in his usual stern manner.

Just then, the general of the soldiers rushed in from outside, knelt before the king, and nervously said, "My lord... that... that..."

Agustus stared at the general and Justin's voice boomed, "How did you enter without permission, and now you're wasting time? You know the value of Lord Agustus's time. Speak quickly, and if it's not important, you know the consequences."

The general, after hearing Justin's warning, looked towards Agustus with trepidation. Seeing Agustus's agitation, he trembled, as Agustus was cleaning his sword, implying he had taken someone's life even before the general arrived. Agustus seemed truly heartless, possibly unaware of the meaning of compassion. If he wished, he could punish anyone and cause rivers of blood to flow every day.

The general composed himself and fearfully said, "My lord, yesterday... yesterday, 20 soldiers were sent to kill that girl, and she hasn't returned all night..." .

Justin (angrily) - "Is this your urgent matter? What do you want? Now go out of this courtroom to find them and bring them back!"

The general quickly moved his neck and said, "Apologies for interrupting in between, my lord, but the urgent matter is not this. The important thing is that the soldiers haven't returned all night, and now in the morning, we found the bodies of those twenty soldiers in the jungle. None of them are alive."

Justin was surprised by the general's words, and Agustus's cold face turned towards the general.

Justin - "Is all this because of that girl...?"

The general - "Yes, my lord. It seems so. It's been heard that those soldiers had taken her away even before. It's my suspicion that Balkan might have sent some sort of black magic with her. Otherwise, how could a girl single-handedly kill twenty soldiers?"

Justin looked towards Agustus, whose already cold demeanor had turned even more dangerous.

Justin - "You don't need to worry, my lord. I will personally handle this matter."

Saying this, Justin turned towards the general and signaled for him to follow. As they were leaving, a cold voice came from behind, "This empire is mine. The people here are mine, and I will take the life of the one who takes the lives of my people into my own hands." Agustus stood up from his seat, placed his sword in its sheath, and walked away from Justin towards the voice.

On the other hand, Arya, who was troubled from the moment she woke up, wanted to go back home, but she was trapped here in an unfamiliar place. As she arrived, King's soldiers appeared behind her, whom she neither recognized nor knew.

Arya (thinking) - "Think, Arya, think. What happened to you? Where are you stuck? First that castle, then the red moon in the river, something no one has seen for years. And then that tornado that pulled me in. Did I die? Is this reincarnation... No, no, what are you thinking, Arya? Have you time-traveled or are you having a really long dream?"

Suddenly, she noticed some children playing nearby. Seeing them laughing and playing, she was drawn towards them.

Arya to the children - "Eww, what kind of useless game is this? Let me teach you a new game. It's a lot of fun."

The children looked at each other and then at Arya. Arya looked at them mischievously, picked up a stone, and started making something on the ground.

When Arya showed them how to play, all the children happily agreed, and Arya played with them one by one. Many people, from young lads to others in the vicinity, were looking at her with eyes filled with laughter. Just then, the sound of horses approached.

Upon seeing their king from the front, everyone became nervous and knelt down. Agustus looked around and saw a girl with dark hair cascading down her back – it was Arya. Arya looked back at the children, then looked at Agustus with a challenging smile.

Arya - "Why did everyone stop? Did everyone just give up together?"

Arya placed her hands on her waist, tried to give a villainous laugh like a character from a Hindi movie, and said, "See, Arya might be difficult to defeat, but she's impossible to defeat." With that, she turned and looked at Agustus, who was staring back at her along with everyone else, including Justin .

Arya heard Agustus's voice and her eyes widened in astonishment. "This... This is the same voice I heard in my dreams. And these green eyes... What does this mean?" she wondered.

Just then, an old woman rushed out from inside and panicked upon seeing Agustus. She quickly moved towards Arya, grabbed her and pulled her down onto the ground, saying, "Keep your head lowered, or your neck will be severed."

Arya, already bewildered, became even more astonished by the old woman's words. "What do you mean by 'neck will be severed'? Who has the right to cut anyone's throat?" Arya exclaimed, her words carrying enough intensity for everyone present to hear. Justin's blood boiled upon hearing Arya's words.

Justin (angrily) - "Mind your tongue, insolent girl! Do you even know who you're standing in front of?"

Arya looked at Justin defiantly and then glanced at Agustus before saying, "This green-eyed one has tormented me for years. Today, everything will be settled."

Arya - "I neither know nor care who I am to you. I can use my mouth the way I want, whenever I want. It's my will."

Before Justin could say anything further, Agustus looked at him, and Justin bowed his head.

Agustus rode his horse towards Arya, dismounted, and stood before her. Arya could feel his aura around her. She took a step back, and just as she did, a gust of wind blew. Agustus swiftly grabbed her hair and neck, pulling her closer and coldly said, "My concern is not how you arrived here, but the fact that you are standing on my land. Everything on my land belongs to me. So, you too are mine. This empire follows my orders, under the name 'King Agustus Kingston.' Therefore, you will also follow my orders, willingly or unwillingly." With that, he released her and mounted his horse again, riding away.

Arya, her mind filled with shock after hearing Agustus's name, couldn't believe she was standing on the land of the very king she had desperately tried to reach through her countless attempts.

Lost in her astonishment, Arya was jolted when Agustus suddenly rode his horse towards her, pulled her up onto his horse with him, and without a word, rode off at high speed, leaving everyone behind.

To be continued...