“No one knows,” the man said and gave Bola his food. He was rearranging the wine on the shelf to meet the order the taskmasters had placed on them.
Bola carried his bowl of bread and mutton and sat on one of the empty tables, at the end closed to the wall. The men on the other end were still whispering among themselves, and Bola wished deep down that he could unveil what they were talking about.
He shifted uneasily when one of the men from one of the tables lifted his eyes towards him, as if looking down on him. There was no smile on the man’s face, even as his eyes left Bola back to his company.
Bola swallowed the first bite and gulped them down with a glass of chilled
“They would say it’s a foolish and stupid thing for a girl to do, but it’s my decision anyway.” She said with a shrug of her shoulders. Bola held her by the jacket and pushed her back to the chair.He then shook his head, “Don’t you know that the Watchers do not have any family of their own, these people battle demons all their lives, they put their lives in danger to protect the people on this side of the wall. Is that the type of life you want to lead?” Bola asked seriously. He did not add the fact that if a Watcher had a child, one would be heavily punished. Their whole like must be dedicated to the emperor alone. “You smeared my cloth wi
He swallowed the sorrow, using all his energy to keep his mind from going back to that night when the taskmaster had murdered his family in cold blood.“I am sorry to hear that,” Vera replied sadly. Her voice could not hide the lace of pity that Ginika always despise. “I need air,” He muttered as he wiped his eyes and walked towards the door. Ginika felt suffocated and could not stay in the room. At the moment, he especially felt like shouting or destroying something. Before, he was so busy running away for his life before the recent death of his family had fully sunk it.
“Now,” The man continued, “Each of you has been given a small portion of this fluid.” The white Vesslars—the women in white armor—jumped down from their horses and stood before the girls among the children.“If you are a Drudge, indicate now, because the fluid will kill you if you take it,” His threats hung on the air for some time, until a boy walked out slowly. As if that was a signal, others followed him, both boys and girls alike. There were about fifteen of them in total, and all dressed in fine clothes.“Good, you did well.” The man smiled, “The Watcher is not meant for Drudge” The rest of the children laughed at the slaves. Ginika’s face twitched as his eyes widen with a heat that ma
“Be the princess I could never be,” Abigail said and pulled away. She was looking into the girl’s eyes now, “Be that Queen that the world would look up to.”“I can’t do this, Abi. How could I even think about it? I can’t let you give up your perfect life for my pitiful, wretched life.” Zita said as she grabbed Abigail's arms. Abigail pushed her away to free herself from the other’s gasp. “It’s not your choice to make, and besides. Your life is not wretched.” Tears blurred her vision, but she wiped them away before Zita could see. “You are my friend and sister, Zita, and as long as I live, I will forever love you.”
“Wait!” She heard Ginika say, but she would not pay attention to some boy who thinks he knows how to control every situation.Abigail ignored him as she was fuming inside. She just continued to walk towards the men who carried the children. “Drop them down,” She said, and the whole crowd turned their heads to her. “I said, drop them down,” Abigail commanded, not caring about what the crowd was thinking of her. The Vesslars who carried the children looked at her with confusion for a while, and then, they all erupted into hot laughter as they watched her.Abigail observed hersel
But a little part of Ginika advised him to stay put. It was none of his business, and he already did his part when he tried to stop the stupid girl earlier. He only had little knowledge about a sword fight, and the closest weapon he could manage was a quarterstaff, which his father had taught him how to use anytime they were off, hunting rabbits. But, even with a thousand quarterstaff, there was nothing he could possibly do to these men. At this time, Ginika could only watch like everyone else. The girl, who sprawls on the floor, was now panting slowly, using her fingernail to scratch her body as if that would scrap off the agony.
The third guard charged, bringing his sword from the left angle, and aiming for Ginika’s belly. Ginika jumped back and spanned to the right, just in time to get away from the fourth guard, who had sliced his sword horizontally.He didn’t wait for them to recover from the surprise, which covered their face as a result of his speed. Instead, he jammed the free end of his staff into the rib of the fourth guard, just where his armor was loosed. The man let out a yell, before his body had crushed to the ground.Pain flooded Ginika from his right thigh as the sharp end of the third guard’s sword sliced them. Regardless of the pain, he could not stop and get caught.
The selection of Vesslers still continues. From this point in the balcony, they could still see the children as they meander on both sides of the street until they were lost somewhere in the distance.It’s been about forty years now, yet she still remembers how they had picked her; she could still see the wall of the white wall. All the trainings, the battles, the killings… She always could not forget those as if they just happen recently. “Do you ever think life would have been different?” Balak asked as he gave her dark glare, but ironed his expression with a small frown. Vera frowned, confused about what he wanted to say, “What do you mean?” She asked.