Everywhere she went, Sigrid traveled with a chair. After sending Da Alia on her final journey, she sat down and faced the Suncrest knights that were no longer battling. They stood in silent formation, their silver armor with the sigil of their da stained with blood. Grief poured from their eyes. A feeling of loss overpowered them.
She was the only noble that dared to use female knights. She was the only one that offered them protection. With her death, the lustful n that had long sought to conquer them would descend like wolves and tear them to pieces.
Many of the female knights were already plotting their escape. They needed to leave Suncrest as soon as possible and find safety in other cities. They would find other jobs. Jobs that did not fulfill their purpose which had died with the da.
"I am happy to share that you all belong to now." Sigrid announced with a daring smile. "As with any war, the winner gets the spoils. Your lady is dead and you have no one to serve. I am an Empress and I could use your services."
"You killed our lady." One of them wailed. "How can we serve you?"
The lightning in Christie’s hands sparked.
Sigrid held up her hand and stopped her from striking the one that spoke. Instead, she reiterated with a question. "How many ladies, won and n have you all killed? Do not stand here and claim righteousness like you don’t know the rules of war. It is kill or be killed. If I had not killed her, she would have killed . It is that simple."
Lady Iryne and Mauve walked forward with a prisoner in their hands. One or both of them threw her before Sigrid. The prisoner was Emmah Fairfax.
Sigrid leaned forward with a deeply satisfied smile on her face. "You want to know why your Lady lost her life, the answer is simple. She was protecting this criminal. A murderer and thief. This woman will be taken back to Eldoria and tried, she will be punished for her cris." She looked out at them. "As for the rest of you, you will be leaving this very knight. Like I said, from now on, you will serve ."
She threw her hand out and gold threads flew through the air like needles with wings. They entered the bodies of the female knights and linked to their souls, binding them Sigrid.
So tried to fight the bond but it didn’t work.
"You are not our Empress." Sir Lucy growled.
"Oh but I am." Sigrid said calmly. "I am the Empress of Eldoria. Soon, when I wish, I will swallow all the kingdoms around Eldoria and create the largest empire in the world. I won’t touch doris because your new Emperor is a friend."
The female knights felt the pull. The strong bond that tied them to Sigrid. It was wearing away at their resistance, shifting their allegiance, wrapping around their hearts like a hand.
"You are not supposed to use magic like this." Sir Aiko whispered.
Sigrid raised her eyebrows. Nobody dictated how she used her magic. Besides, she was not using it for evil, nature was not crying, it was applauding her. "Your Lady, Da Alia fought with bravery and she taught you well. She was a dignified woman whose downfall was her need to repay a favor from decades ago. She is gone now and either you serve another or you throw away all she taught you and find jobs as tavern wenches and maids. Will you serve ?"
She asked a question as if they had a choice. Nevertheless, the question made the knights pause and consider their futures.
Sir Skylar stepped forward. "Aren’t you worried about one of us taking revenge soday?"
"You will be dead before you even get a chance." Sigrid answered.
That little thread that she had tied to their souls would see to it. Not that she planned to share this with them.
"We will not love you like we loved her." Sir Skylar said.
Sigrid grinned. "I am not lacking for love."
Sir Skylar turned to the others and said in a stern voice, "We serve her now." She knelt.
The others followed, all kneeling, one by one, bound by a golden thread and a desire to continue wielding the sword. This way, they could continue the legacy of the woman that made them who they were.
Sigrid looked at them and smiled. "Rember from now on, you serve an Empress, not just any Lady. You will be my private knights. You will represent and I expect you to be the best. I will equip you, I will enrich you but I expect nothing but the best from you.
Now, pack up. Pick up your families for those that want to move with them. You have only one hour and then you are all off to Eldoria."
They dispersed to pack up their property and locate their loved ones. Others buried their dead. They would have loved to bury the da but there was no body to bury.
Sigrid waited, legs crossed and eyes closed. She listened to Emmah’s cries as Lady Iryne gave her an ass whooping.
The knights were very prompt and all returned within the ti fra that she had given them.
Veylin covered them in his shadow and she teleported them back to Eldoria, to the forr Ye residence. Their families would settle down there while the knights would move to The Vale and the royal castle.
By dawn, Suncrest was crawling with dorian mages and nobles Lord and Ladies from nearby estates. They had not noticed the smoke coming from Suncrest because they were waiting for the chaos in the capital to be quelled.
"This place reeks of magic, strong magic." Nelly, a mage inspector said, squatting over the area where Da Alia had been burned to ashes.
Her partner inspector Echo sniffed the soil. "So serious magic." He looked at a bloodstained ring on the ring which was charred. "I don’t think anyone survived this massacre. The entire place is empty, parts of the estate are scarred by flas."
"Who did this?" Nelly asked.
Echo shook his head. "I say rogue mages. Many have been passing through our empire lately.
Nelly stood up at the desolate estate, hoping to find a survivor that could explain what had happened. "Do you think that it could be the new Emperor, Alexander Ridley. He slaughtered Malcolm’s entire family and his forces have captured the West, South, East and now central. Rumor had it that Da Alia had found another person with royal blood."
That rumor had visited many noble hos and everyone had been waiting for that potential heir to be revealed.
"Well, we will never know now." Echo muttered.
Reviews
All reviews (0)