A Threat

A Threat

The next morning Cyrus faced the army at the center of the battle, holding up Xeik’s head for everybody to see. The atmosphere glowed expectantly in combination with the sickly stench of burnt meat and a lingering smell of gunpowder that always hung in the air. The warm glow of the sun the next morning generated shadows stretching over the field over the debris of the battle that had happened the day before. Armor, swords, and shields were demolished; dead bodies of warriors were scattered around. The sky above was dark, grey, and heavy with the smoke of ashes and the wind carried the weak, dull moaning of people who were lost in the fires.

With a look of desolation and resolve, Cyrus looked at the aftermath of the tragedy. His face was now smeared with dust and perspiration, his lips tightened into a narrow grim line as he spoke to the remaining soldiers of the South pack. ‘Put away your arm,’ he instructed, sharply yet still tired. "This battle is over." His eyes roamed to and fro over the crowd and he was looking for any hint of rebellion. The soldiers, skin worn of color, eyes heavy, and posture slumped, glared at him with a combination of threatened and defeated appearance. Their morale had been broken by bombardment and now they remained a confused and demoralized army waiting for whatever happened to them.

However, as the soldiers prepared their response confusion arose. A woman, who had two kids chained by the neck, forced her way to the middle of the area. People flinched in recognition of Audrey, her eyes wide and sanity-defiant. She had messy hairstyles, her face looked evilly enraged and desperate, and her clothes were damaged and bloody. She was excessively fidgety; her actions were uncontrolled, swift, and uncoordinated as if she was suffering from deep anxiety.

Shock dawned on Agnes’s face: her eyes opened wide, her color faded as she discussed and figured out the children were her siblings. 

Gertrude and Gerald their faces as guileless as children’s glanced fearfully into Audrey’s grip. Their clothing was ragged, their clothes were filthy and their eyes were swollen from weeping.
The look of fear on their faces broke Agnes’ heart, a powerful painful rush went through her at the state of danger her siblings were in.

"Audrey, stop!" Agnes looked terrified as she shouted and tried to get closer but Cyrus had hold of her arm. He held the steering firmly and gently; it was a signal, a warning about the danger of the situation.

‘’If you don’t give up your throne," Audrey screamed, she was manic. "Then I will set myself and these children on fire.” her eyes had a dangerous look in her eyes and evil in her tone. The soldiers who surrounded her all winced and looked otherwise, shocked beyond comprehension, horrified in fact. The physical attractiveness that Audrey had was magnificently wiped off by the hatred that filled her face, her eyes were fiery.

Growing a little more courage, Adrianna who had come to the battlefield when she heard about Xeik's death, came closer and said firmly: "Audrey, please. Consider that what you are doing will not change. They're just children." She stretched out a hand in supplication. She just wanted to reach out to the children and hug them. The fact that she was once a child who was loved and protected only made the images of the frightened siblings even more horrifying for her.

Audrey stared directly at Adrianna and sneered at her. “It’s too late for that,” she muttered pouring a bag of coal on her and the rest of the frightened children. The powdered coal even surrounded them and there was no air in it, like a black cloud was suffocating it. The children wailed, their frail bodies shivering from the resulting terror. The black dust stuck to their skin and their clothes.

Agnes struggled against Cyrus's grip, desperation etched on her face. "Let me go! I have to save them!" Her voice was raw with emotion, each word a plea for the lives of her siblings. Tears streamed down her cheeks, mingling with the dirt and sweat of the battle. The sight of her siblings in such peril was almost more than she could bear, her heart breaking with each passing second.

Cyrus refused to back down, staring pointedly at Audrey; waiting for any sign that she would return to sanity. He started thinking hard, trying to figure out what could happen if they elected to do something. He was aware that if Audrey’s spirit slipped and darkened one more time, the children would be dead for sure. He sensed Agnes’s eagerness, her struggle, her tries to escape but he could not afford for her to go with a moment’s decision.

But Audrey’s eyes were no longer full of reason, and instead, she was filled with hate. She drew out a flint, the metal shine reflecting the morning sunlight. A look at the metal gleaming in the light and everyone present could feel their breaths sticking in their throats realizing the impending doom.

The scene was frozen, an awful tableau vivant of insanity and hopelessness. A once familiar feeling of hope and a new day dawned shrouding the drama with a cold light. Each noise seemed louder in the absence of other noises – the cawing of crows in the distance, the blowing of the wind, the hasty panting of people terrified by the scene. For the longest time, each second became moments, and the tension, growing excruciating.

Keeping the flint tightly in her hand, Audrey shook as she glanced from Cyrus to the children. Her thoughts were filled with anger, fear, and desperation. It was not the words that mattered but the look, the stare, the disapproval, which descended on her like a ton of bricks on an already fragile soul. 

"Please, Audrey. Let them go. They have not harmed anyone, they haven’t done anything terrible," Cyrus pleases.  Every single one of his words was an effort to bring out the human in Audrey, enclosed in a person so tormented. 

Agnes in the moment could actually see her own heart crumbling into a million pieces.

Adrianna stepped forward. "Audrey, listen to me. You don't have to do this. I would always welcome you back as my sister. No matter what." She was confident on the outside, but she was nervous on the inside. 

For a moment something like doubt flickered in Audrey’s character. Her eyes filled with doubts; her hold on the flint weakened and released the flint slightly. The grimaces and the swollen red cheeks of the children, their eyes dilated by fear, appeared to kill the madness that reigned in her mind. She could sense that there was pressure on her, that she was about to do something big, something she hadn’t entirely grasped that she was doing yet.

But the madness was back immediately, and Audrey’s face became bitter again. "No! You are a liar." Her speaking lined between utter anger and sheer hopelessness, her tone was a whip in her words. She lifted the flint; her hands shook and her body tensed as if she was struggling within herself.

Cyrus tightened his grip on Agnes, his eyes never leaving Audrey. "Think about what you're doing, Audrey. This isn't the answer." His voice was calm, but there was an underlying note of urgency. He could feel the situation slipping further out of control, and he knew that they were running out of time.

The children's cries grew louder, their small bodies shaking with fear. The sound was a knife to Agnes's heart, each sob a reminder of her helplessness. She struggled once more against Cyrus's hold, her desperation giving her strength. "Please, Cyrus. Let me go. I can't just stand here and do nothing."

Cyrus's jaw tightened, his heart aching for Agnes. "I know, Agnes. I know. But we can't risk it. We have to be smart about this." He could feel his own frustration building. 

Adrianna took another step forward, her voice gentle and soothing. "Audrey, look at them. Please, put down the flint. This is not you Audrey." 

Her words were a lifeline, a fragile thread of hope in the midst of the chaos. She could see the struggle in Audrey's eyes, the flicker of doubt that gave her a glimmer of hope.

Audrey's hand trembled, the flint wavering in her grasp. She looked down at the children, their tear-streaked faces a mirror of her own inner turmoil. For a moment, it seemed as if she might listen as if the desperate pleas of those around her might reach her heart.

But then the madness surged once more, and Audrey's expression twisted in rage. "No! Give up your throne Cyrus!" She shouted, her voice cracking with emotion. "Agnes, do you see that he does not love you? He would rather your siblings die than give up the throne."