Realm Drifter: Cruel King

~Chapter Thirty~

Chapter Thirty; The Decision

~

..."I've made my decision." 

Silence echoed around her, hearts pulsing as tension grew. The silence swimming in waves around them, their curious eyes beckoning. 

"And what would that may be?" His sly voice broke out, sending think lashes of fear down Alannah's back. 

"I--" She couldn't get the words out. The words getting stuck in her throat as she struggled to speak the foreboding words. 

'What if he went through with it? Would she have to watch them die? Would a King be so cruel to his people?'

'Of course not', Alannah thought. She wasn't the first to go through this trial. He could not spare two villages or two children. The fury of the people would outnumber him. How ridiculous had she been, begging on her knees thinking he would slaughter entire villagers and children. But... he had given the word to have hundreds of women were killed. The dent in the population would be enormous, a population crisis would ensue. Not to mention the widespread panic and anger. 

But it didn't make sense, the people she had spoken with didn't seem mad, the people she had seen were happy. Living fulfilling lives as if women were not pulled from their clutches. 

All these contractions bubbled over and Alannah couldn't get the words out. 

"Speak!" Salvatore snapped, his harsh words snapping her from her thoughts. 

It was now or never. 

"My decision is..."

~

I was being dragged, arms locked behind me in a vice grip as I was dragged to the entrance of the village. My legs pushing and fighting back but I couldn't fight the strength of two armed guards.

My body was being dragged through the entire village, used as a spectacle and demonstrations of what they do to intruders. 

But it didn't stop me. I was running out of time and my only hope was that word would spread. 

"Alannah! Please- tell Alannah to stop--"I screamed in pain as my arm was yanked further back, the guard pushing his steel-gloved hand into my spine to push me quickly through the village.

"Don't let her make the decision. It will doom you all-- Hey! Stop it, I'm trying to help you!" My voice had grown weak, but my persistence hadn't. 

I needed to find her or pass my message on. She was just a little girl, she didn't know what she was doing. She didn't know the power she had over each realm. 

Dooming a realm, breaking the equilibrium can trap any realm drifter in that realm for decades. Centries even, just until the world stabilises itself. And by then, her lifespan will have long since wasted. 

If I don't warn her, if I don't get to little Al, then she will trap us both until the last breath we take. 

~

My heart was pounding, my fingers tingling as the world seem to freeze around me. 

'Mama, where ever you are. Please come find me. Please save me and take me home. I know what to do, but I don't know what impact this could have on the world. I don't wanna fight anymore, mama. I wanna go home' I silently begged, a single tear dripping down my cheek as my eyes began to grow blurry.