Chapter 16: A Situation Without Choice

Yiss was staring at Lina, feeling troubled.

"What?! Why should you join the Rogues?!"

Lina turned to her with furious eyes—an expression Yiss hadn't seen just before.

"Our country is going to be ruined! No one can help us! How are we sure the prince didn't just run out of fear!"

Yiss was taken aback and replied,

"No, no, no! Are you really just going with them? You trust their words?!"

"Yeah! There's nothing left in this country! And you know as doctors we'll be captured if seen at the borders!"

"Ha ha! Lina is right!" Kti remarked.

Yama began,

"Indeed she's right! If you don't realize soon, this country will be in ruins very, very soon."

Yiss was silenced.

"I'm leaving!" she said and got up.

As she was walking away, a large bat swayed quickly towards the air and was heading straight for her neck.

She dodged, and looking up, she saw Kti had slashed it in half.

"See? The Rogues own Blood Forest.

If it were somewhere else, you could get away. But here, try getting away, and you're screwed."

Shree recovered from shock and walked away, enraged.

This time five bats were heading her way.

Running away, they caught up to her, and Yama managed to chase the bats away with a club.

Yiss fell hard to the ground and realized there were three vultures circling above her in the sky.

And upon opening her eyes wider, she saw Yama and Kti towering over her, and they looked disgusted.

"By now, you should know what's coming next," Kti said.

Before Yiss could respond, the vultures began to head straight in their direction.

"They're coming!" Yiss screamed in fear.

Yama shrugged and said,

"Told you."

Kti and Yama jumped into the air and slashed the deranged birds heading their way.

Yiss began to cry.

"Why?! Why?! Why?!

I don't want to join this."

Lina had been watching them from a distance.

Yiss tried to stand up, but Yama fell onto her, and she landed hard on her back.

"Does that hurt?!"

Yiss groaned in pain.

"Think about pain! So many children could die in a war and lose their spines because you were spineless!"

Kti grimaced.

Yiss tried standing.

Yama kicked her face and sent her back.

"I wish those adventurers actually dealt with you! Maybe next time, you'd get a brain!"

She left, enraged.

Lina rushed over to Yiss.

"Please, please just join us. I joined because if I tried leaving, this forest or Kiltar's government will do away with us."

Yiss just kept crying and nodding.

Lina was patting her back.

Yama went to them and said,

"Want to see firsthand what me and Kti are talking about?"

Lina and Yiss turned to her.

Kti joined up with them and pointed towards a man running towards them in fear.

Before anyone could say anything, a young man was rushing towards them looking distressed.

"Yama and Kti, greetings!"

They smiled at him and replied,

"Hello! You bring good news?"

"Actually," he began,

"I bring bad tidings."

Everyone was ashen at his words, especially Kti and Yama because this man was an informant for the Rogues.

He continued,

"There are now even more rumors of people thinking Prince Timothy is our leader.

And this has not only spread throughout Kiltar and Misk, but a foreign land.

And this land does not have a queen or king or governor as ruler.

B-but—"

Yama became angered and eager.

"Did they slice your tongue?! Speak up!"

The man inhaled deeply.

"Madam, this foreign country is led by a feudal mistress.

And we might be their first target."

***

Tye's heart was pumping because the men were silent at his words.

"How? How can we have the solution to this thing that had struck our village?"

Tye inhaled and exhaled.

"Fruit," he said.

They were all confused and asked,

"What do you mean 'fruit'?"

They asked.

Tye became enraged as he finally had a better hypothesis.

"When did someone come here and give you the fruit of the Blood Forest?"

They all were dumbfounded at his words.

Then one of them seated said,

"I can't remember any fruit!"

"Wrong!" Tye yelled.

"In Kiltar, when someone commits a grave offense that's too small to punish them with death but too grave to lock them up, they're sent to Blood Forest."

Everyone began to laugh.

"Ha ha! Just look at this guy!"

"Ha ha! We're Miskans that have lived here our whole lives! What would take us to Kiltar?"

Tye became grave at their words.

"More like, what would bring Kiltar to you."

All the men thought for a while, remembering some time ago, a strange man offered them a new kind of fruit they had never seen before.

And not long after, they never remained the same.