The Jewel of Zecaj | ONC 2022

11🔸Badriya

"Heads up!"

Badriya's eyes widened at the sight of the scimitar spinning at her direction. She and the guards ducked for cover. The blade embedded itself into the ground in front of her. Its stared back at her.

The two haris quickly collected themselves. One of the them turned around and headed for Ayaz, while the other, the one who was fancy talking with Ayaz, remained in front of her, closing in on her once more. Badriya's grip on her rusted dagger loosened.

There was no way she could make it out alive fighting against a skilled and armed guard from the Khadysian army. She was just a thief who knew how to use a knife and perhaps land a punch or two.

Damn this.

Badriya hid her dagger and grabbed the scimitar.

The haris charged.

Steel clashed with steel. The haris struck at Badriya with so much force she almost let go of the scimitar. That, and the weight of the weapon made it difficult to maneuver. Her left hand throbbed.

Well. I guess holding it with one hand was a bad idea.

As the guard prepared for another blow, Badriya adjusted her grip, but it, along with the rest of her body, wobbled under the heaviness of the scimitar.

What in the world was Ayaz thinking when he gave her a scimitar? She didn't know how to even hold a damn sword, and he never had the chance to teach her how!

With the thought of him in mind, she found herself looking for him in her peripheral view.

Ayaz was gone.

He left her.

No. He did not dare.

But he was really gone. The guard that was coming for him just stood there, staring down the path where Badriya and Ayaz came from, where a trail of blood had started.

The haris facing her attacked, his scimitar high above his head.

That jaban.

Badriya ducked and rolled on the ground, dropping her only useful weapon behind.

That idiot. All this time. . . he planned on leaving her for dead!

Badriya froze. Two guards were surrounding her on her left and right. Voices were echoing from the cave.

She had nowhere to go, and it was all Ayaz's fault.

Ayaz the crown prince. The damn son of the damn sultan. No wonder he seemed so secretive, so quiet. He was worse than Rashid, Badriya realized, and in more ways than one. She should've stuck with her initial instincts and not trust him. But it was too late, and now it cost her everything.

A group of men with violet turbans and long scimitars came into view, some of them marching with torches in their hands. They broke up into two lines and parted, making way for a woman. She wore a gear similar to the guards, only that it looked like it was far more luxurious with the swaths of silk and gems of amethysts adorning it.

More damn Khadysians. My luck just keeps getting better and better.

The two haris from earlier moved towards her, tying her hands with rope behind her back. They also took her dagger.

"What is this mess?" The woman wrinkled her nose at the bloody sight of dead soldiers. "Did you do this?"

"I wish," Badriya spat.

"Her companion did it, General, but he escaped," one of the haris who tied her said. "He claimed that he's the Zecajian prince."

This woman, a general? Badriya thought. That doesn't seem right. What's someone like her doing here, anyway?