The Last Snow

Chapter 22: After-Effects

"Report."

"We found traces of a battle inside the tomb. There was an explosion, and blood was splattered everywhere. But there were no signs of King Taemin."

"Our spy in the castle informed me that our dear king is no more. What about Loren and Chen? What of the two leaders who went with him?"

"We found Chen's body near the tomb. Loren was nowhere to be seen. And... uhmm...", the scout hesitated for a second.

"What is it?", asked the voice that came from the glass ball he was holding. It glowed with a faint light as the scout walked around the dark catacombs.

"We found their weapons inside the tomb, Mistress Chu. My men are saying that Chen betrayed Taemin and that Loren might have been in on it as well.", said the scout.

Chu was sitting comfortably in her room back in their desert fortress. In her hand was a similar glass ball. A bluish, silver liquid swirled inside the ball as she spoke.

"I don't think our leaders would betray our king. And even if they did, I know for a fact that Loren and Chen could not defeat Taemin by themselves. Nevertheless, bring Chen's body back with you. I shall await your return, V."

"Yes, my mistress."

V watched as the swirling silver liquid in his glass ball stopped. The light disappeared, and darkness crept in on him. Still, he walked with ease and made his way to Chen's body. He didn't need light since he was born with the ability to see in the dark, a feature that is common to all elves.

He was joined by three other elven scouts, and together, the four of them carried Chen out of the catacombs. They used a northern exit, leading up into a small oasis, where a set of horses were waiting for them, and as the sun began to rise, they rode into the desert, back to their home.

~~~~~

After their dinner was finished, Lisa finally went back to her home. She was greeted by her mother's warm embrace the second she stepped foot inside their house.

As much as Lisa wanted to tell her mother what happened, Lady Lalisa told Lisa to rest, saying that she should get a good night's sleep first.

Lisa agreed since she knew that her body needed the rest. But for some reason, she couldn't sleep. She sat up from her bed and leaned her head back as she looked at the sword on the table.

The scabbard was beautiful, too beautiful for something that is used to kill. Lisa stood up and approached the sword. She held it by the handle and pulled the blade out of the bejeweled scabbard.

Her lantern light reflected on the sharp blade. The weight was perfect, the sword was balanced, and it was just the right length for her.

"That's odd.", thought Lisa as she practiced swinging the sword. The sword felt like it was made for her. Even the grip of the handle matched her fingers perfectly.

She ran through the various forms with ease, finishing with a quick diagonal slash.

The blade glowed as Lisa swung the sword, and as she finished her swing, the curtains at the far end of her room fell to the floor. She approached and inspected what happened.

The bottom half of the curtain seemed to have been sliced cleanly. And the wall behind it had an inch deep diagonal cut, the same direction as Lisa's final slash.