Chapter 48

Esmeralda was stunned by the appearance of our friends, but nothing prepared her for Talia's statement. Her face contorted with fury as my wife's words sank in. She was speechless for seconds before she pointed the sword to her daughter. There was no hesitation in her stance. She would really hurt Talia if she pleased. It angered me to no end. "How dare you talk to your mother like that?" Her voice was venomous as a snake's. "Go back to your room."

Talia's laughter bounced on the throne room. "You still think I'm a child don't you?"

Esmeralda regained her composure. "With that attitude, yes I do." She lowered the sword, letting the sharp tip scrape on the floor. "Princesses shouldn't act this way."

"And how would you know of it?" I asked. "You're not royalty." I got to my feet shakily. "You stole the crown from me. You don't have a right to lecture your daughter about princesses. Especially when you're not a Queen yourself."

She trembled in fury. Her arrogance about the throne was admirable if she wasn't such a crazy person. "You have no right!" she hissed. I gasped as Esmeralda's fingers found my neck. Her feelings of hatred vibrated through me as she squeezed without remorse. Enough was enough. I was prepared to throw her off when Talia shouted.

"Let go of Cybele now!" The Princess pointed a gun to her mother. It was unnoticeable before. She must have had it tucked underneath her shirt. Esmeralda didn't release me from her grip. "Don't make me repeat myself," Talia warned. She placed her other hand on the handle, her finger on the trigger. "I won't hesitate to kill you."

"I taught you better than that Talia."

"You didn't teach me anything at all." Her voice shook. "There's only hatred and pain with you mother." Sweat appeared on her upper lip. "You even pretended that Cybele was dead. I couldn't live with it. I wanted to die for such a long time knowing that she's not in the same world anymore."

Esmeralda's grip loosened. "I did it all for you child." Her expression softened. It was more bothersome than her look of hatred. "You don't understand it because Cybele messed with your head. But if you look at the bigger picture, you'll realize that I'm right." Esmeralda signaled for the guards. All eight of them surrounded the Queen, making a semi-circle so there was an opening in front. She offered a hand. "There's still a way out of this Talia. Join me."

Talia still pointed the gun to her mother. "Join you with what?"

"In ending this. It's time to seal our fate as the rulers of this country."

"What about Cybele?"

"You don't need her. You can marry anyone you wish because you're the Princess," she urged. "If its freedom you want, I will give it to you. Want to live away from the palace? I can give you that." Her voice was promising. "If you need friends to talk to, I will make sure it happens." Esmeralda's gaze flitted to Van. "You shouldn't associate with lowly people like this."

"Stop insulting me God dammit," Vanessa said as she hurried to get up. "I'm a person. A cute one. Why do you have to be so rude?"

"See what I mean?" Esmeralda asked as she concentrated on Talia again. "They don't even respect their Queen."

"I thought we've established that you're not Queen?" Van asked. "You're just a. . ." Her nose wrinkled. "Frustrated heterosexual." Van made an apologetic face at Alex and Lance who were standing side by side near the door. "No offense fam. We're cool right?"

Esmeralda let Van's statement pass. "Come with me Talia. Family is more important than love. You're young. You'll find someone else. A million guys are waiting for you, so long as you let me help."

"I can't love anyone else mother. There's only Cybele in my mind. She occupies my thoughts all the time that when I'm not with her, every bone in my body screams for her that it hurts. How do you expect me to be with someone else?" Talia removed her finger from the trigger. "Give it up mother. There's no use fighting."

Esmeralda handed the sword to the guard on her right. She looked strangely calm. Years of practice have made her into a cold-blooded creature. Did she have the same expression on her face when she learned that my father, the one she loved the most, was killed by Ronaldo? It scared me that she would kill without remorse.

"What are you planning to do child? Hundreds of guards will protect me. Even if you manage to escape, more will come and hunt you down. As long as you're with Cybele, you will never be free."

"Who says anything about escaping?" I asked as I pulled Brooke up. Van moved in front of her as some sort of protection. "We're not running away anymore. We're starting a revolt." I tilted my head to my friends. "There's no trial for monarchy, but we can overthrow it."

"You and what army?"

Van laughed. "Oh, this one is good."

"Shush," Brooke reprimanded. "This is no time to joke around."

"I have this sickness called I can't shut up syndrome." Van addressed the Queen. "You. You're going to lose at this game. I'll make sure of it. If you're going to play soccer, you're going to suck at it. There's no game of thrones because I'll move the chair away." She pointed to me. "And Cybele? You can't kill her off. She has a fandom. You don't."

"We've got company," Lance warned before the weird conversation could progress. From the door came more guards, each of them armed to the teeth, not only with swords but with rifle too. From their steely gazes and the way they advanced to my friends, it was clear that they knew who the enemy was. They were there to protect their Queen, albeit a false one.

The guards surrounding Esmeralda closed the gap around her. As one, they drew their swords, ready to fight to the death as per their sworn duty. It was sad to see them on the other team. They should have defended my deceased parents like they were doing now. But none of that mattered today. I would reclaim their loyalty someday, or die trying.

"Join me Talia," Esmeralda urged again.

The Princess shook her head sadly. "We're way past the point of no return. As we speak, people you have wronged before are entering the palace, fighting the guards. They want to see your rule crumble. They're rooting for Cybele."

"Is that your final decision?" Talia met her mother's eyes as she nodded with determination. "Then I will mourn a dead child before this day is over," Esmeralda said. She turned to her personal guards. "Let's go. The warzone is no place for a Queen."

"We're not done with this," I said. Sensing my need, Alex tossed a gun to me, which I pointed to Esmeralda. She was well-covered by the guards. There was no opportunity for a clear shot. And if I did pull the trigger at this exact second, the bloodbath would begin. Despite my desire to kill her now, I had to wait.

Esmeralda didn't acknowledge my question. She and her personal guards started to walk to the opposite direction. It was a dead end. Where was she going? When they neared the wall, a guard pushed a tile. To my amazement, it parted slowly, dust occupying half of the room. She had a secret passageway installed.

"Kill them all," was her last word before she went through.

As much as I wanted to follow her, the Princess and my friend's safety should come first. Somehow, I would find a way to capture Esmeralda later. The rules of the war was more complicated than it seemed. You could not simply attack without expecting a retaliation.

"Which of you losers should die first?" Van said as she turned to our company.

Talia still tried to reason with them. "I'm still your princess," she said to the guards. "Who will take over the throne if you kill me?"

"That is not for us to decide," an armed guard answered. "You are a betrayer to this country Princess."

"My mother was the first one who betrayed you."

He was unmoving. "We swore an oath to the queen. We have no other choice." The guard glanced to his comrades. "Do what we were meant to do."

One hesitated. "But she's princess Talia. I don't think I can harm her."

"This is for our family you stupid fool! If we don't kill them, our wives and children will be in danger. Toughen up." The guard swallowed hard. "I don't mind dirtying my hands to protect people I love." He aimed his weapon to us. "Don't use your guns men. We'll hit each other at this distance. Eliminate them by force." He charged.

The men who were with Alex and Lance shielded us from the attack. Our friends, plus Talia ran to us. "Here," Lance said as he handed a gun and knife to Van and Brooke. "Use that to defend yourselves." He turned worriedly to the passageway where the Queen disappeared to. "We should follow Esmeralda. My men can hold the guards here. More are coming. I gathered them when you called me from England, just as promised."

"Thank you," I said. "I'll express my gratitude later if we win the war."

"You don't have to Cybele. I remember who you are now. We used to play when we were kids."

"Less talk, more fighting," Van said as she avoided a knife with a duck of her head. "If we're going to follow the bitch, it's now or never."

"Let's go." Without a glance back, the six of us trailed to the passageway. Guards and our allies were still screaming and fighting. I didn't want to think about it for now. If people were to die for me, I had to make sure that our goal was met. No matter what the cost. It was the only way I could thank them.

The tunnel was long and narrow. Torches lit the walls. It was cold and damp, and smelled heavily of incense. It was devoid of any decorations saved for our shadows as we walked through. Because of its size, no more than two people could stand side by side inside. Because of the way we entered, Van was the unfortunate bloke beside me. We were followed by Brooke and Talia, then Lance and Alex.

"I'd like to imagine that we're in the tunnel of love," Van said. She grabbed hold of my hand. Vanessa was trembling, though her voice didn't hint of it. She was nervous too. One of us could die at any moment. I'd like to think that it was on Esmeralda's side. "Do you think we should kiss Your Majesty? That's what they do in these places."

"Sometimes I wonder if you're joking or not," Brooke remarked.

Talia chuckled. It sounded forced. "Don't worry. I'll slit her throat before she tries to make a move for Cybele."

As we turned, another dark tunnel was presented to us. It seemed endless. "You have weird friends Cybele," Alex said behind. "I guess we're strange too if we're part of this group."

"That I can be sure of," I murmured. "And just so you know. We-"

"Aaaargh!" A sword came swinging down for my head. I unsheathed the knife in a second to defend myself. The attacker came from a dark hole on the right that I didn't notice. It was hard to maneuver away since there was barely any leg room. "Die!" the guard screamed. I pushed the sword away using the force of the knife. There was no time for talking as we struggled. Brooke came to my rescue by letting her own knife go, straight to the person's forehead. Life left his eyes as he hit the ground.

"Are you okay?" Talia asked, wrapping her arms around me. That was a close call. My heart still thudded fast.

"Yes. But we need to focus. Apparently there are hidden passageways to this tunnel."

"Okay."

Another problem presented itself eventually. The tunnel split into three. I tried to see far into the passageway. There was only darkness. I had no idea where the exit was or what route Esmeralda took.

"We have to split," I said. "Talia, I can't be apart from you." We stood in the middle of the fork. "Brooke, go with Van on the left side. Lance and Alex, the right. We'll meet after this on the garden."

Talia was about to exchange places with Van when a cracking sound echoed. It was too late as I stared above. It came crashing to us. I was barely able to roll backward as smoke filled my nose and throat, and blinded me for seconds. Bloody hell! There was a stinging sensation on my face as the smoke started to clear. I touched my cheek, spotting blood as I withdrew my hand.

Talia came to mind. I hurried to the ruin. Rocks, lots of it obscured the other side. "Talia! Talia can you hear me?" I dug on the pile. They were too large. "Are you alright Princess? Answer me please." There was desperation on my coarse voice.

"I'm okay," came a muffled reply. My heart leaped. She was safe. "Brooke, Lance, and Alex are with me. Is Van there? We can't find her."

Someone groaned behind me. I turned to see Van. She was sprawled on the floor, her legs covered by rocks. "She's here!" I ran to her side, pushing the stone out of the way. "Are you okay mate?"

"Am I dead? Where are the rest of the hot ladies?"

"You only get me. I'm sorry." She smiled weakly. There were scratch marks on her arms. "Are you fit to stand? If not, I'll have to leave you here."

She grunted as she pushed herself to a sitting position. "I'm functional. My head was shaken though. Help me up?"

"I think your head was shaken long ago." I wrapped my arm on her waist. "Ready? One, two." She winced as we stood. "You're heavy Vanessa."

"All the more to pin you down My Liege." Though she was joking, I could sense that she wasn't a hundred percent okay. She was hurt. "Don't look at me like that Your Highness. Vanessa is tough as nails ok?"

"If you say so." I placed her arm over my shoulder. This wouldn't do. I'd have to leave her in a safer place later if I could find one. "Talia. Do you hear me?" There was a muffled yes. "Go with Brooke and take one pathway. The plan still stands. I'll take Van with me."

"Van," Brooke called. "Speak loud so I can hear you baby. I'm worried."

Van smiled like she won an award. "I knew that girl is in love with me too. Hahahahaha! Take that arseholes who dumped me in high school. I win in life." She giggled. "I'm alright babes. No need to be upset."

"Okay."

"Let's get this over with," I said. "Be careful guys. Enemies are lurking in every corner." Muffled agreement. "I love you Princess. See you later."

"Awww. That's so sweet," Van teased.

"We need to go." With one last look at the ruin, Van and I trudged forward. Our procession was a slow one. I had to carry half of Van's weight as she limped. She was breathing hard. Sweat was all over her face. The girl was hurt bad. I had to find a safe place soon. "I need to leave you Vanessa."

She shook her head stubbornly. "I'm not dead weight. I can fight for you."

"You're wheezing. You can barely stand. And you smell like blood," I explained patiently. "I know how strong you are mate, but this won't do. I can't let you die. Brooke will kill me."

"B-but I promised to protect you."

We halted. "You've done a good job of it. I'm proud of you. But now I have to protect you." I pinched her cheek. "You're the sister I never had. That's why I can't let you continue. You understand me right?"

She nodded, sadness in her eyes. "What will I tell my grandchildren when I recount this exact date? Van didn't fight because of a bloody limp." She groaned. "They will laugh at me."

"You can say that you were the one who rescued me. I wouldn't mind."

Her eyes widened. "Watch out!" Van hugged me tightly.

"What's?" I realized that something hit her from behind. I craned my neck to see what happened. Ronaldo was meters from us, holding a bow on his hand. His face was triumphant as Van's hold on me weakened, until she slid on the cold, hard ground. "No, no, no," I whispered repeatedly. "Vanessa."