Estevan
The smell of blood and burnt flesh was strong over the battlefield, as was the sound of swords clashing against each other. I could feel the distress, the fear and the anger. Looking at Otávio, I could see Benjamin in front of me, as if it were the fight I had with him all over again. I could still feel the hurt, the hatred that seemed to run through my blood as Esmeralda's face came to mind, how much she had suffered and all the pain and struggle she had had to go through.
That damned family had to be wiped off the face of the earth and that was something I had in my mind as an old promise that my parents hadn't allowed me to keep, and now it was pounding in my head again.
I couldn't die, I couldn't die because of Alexia or because of my son, whose face I wanted to see soon. I still had a lot to do, I needed to honor Esmeralda and avenge all the pain she had suffered at the hands of Benjamin, whose sin Otávio also shared.
I held the sword tightly in my hands, I felt my body aching, the tiredness was no greater than the adrenaline and with my eyes focused on that face I had had nightmares about for many years he held his sword tightly too and I advanced on him, a cut on my leg and the burning and pain seemed to be just distant noises, I glanced at the stranger, it was just a superficial cut that if it wasn't stopped would soon be a big problem.
I advanced again and Otávio blocked my attack, he switched off his sword and dragged it, the metallic noise, his sword tilted a little so that it was over my neck, but a little and it was going to pierce my throat so I had to use all my strength not to let him advance a centimeter more.
"Your problem is that you're letting your anger get the better of you," said Otávio, I spun the sword so that his sword and mine fell to the ground, then I advanced on him and punched him once, twice, three times, seeing the blood pouring down his face, I grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and lifted him up, slamming him hard against the ground, then I punched him again until all that was left was a big blur of blood and a face deformed from so many blows, Otávio was no longer breathing.
I looked at him taking a deep breath and stood up, looked at the battle around me and heard the dragon's roar and looked up, flying through the sky Alexia seemed fine until she was thrown hard to the ground.
My heart fluttered at the sight of her trying to get up, miles away, my eyes widened and my heart fluttered at the sight of Charlotte climbing down from her dragon and pulling a sword over her waist to kill her.
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Mariah
Huddled over so many men, I didn't let go of Soraya's hand for a second as we ran, the door of the shelter was opened, some women and children were already inside.
"No one else!" Said one of the guards "The queen is protected, now close the door!"
I looked at the door and saw it close.
Only the children's cries could be heard over the silence. Soraya looked at me, serious and silent over the tension of the place, until the first explosion was heard, as well as the cries of men being wounded.
"When I was little, I used to throw stones into a pond near my house," she said, her eyes fixed on me. "My father taught me to throw them from a distance and I would aim at a fixed point, always hitting it. I know it's not the same, not by a long shot. But it should do you some good"
"I'll protect you with my life" I said to her and Soraya touched my face, smoothing it.
"You know, Mariah, I thought I'd never have a friend in this castle where coldness seems to be all there is. You and Alexia have shown me that I was wrong, something I don't like, but in this case, I'm glad I am."
I hugged her tightly and then another loud noise made us cringe, fear and dread dominated my whole body as my heart raced, I raised the gun readying myself.
"These doors won't stop you," I said to Soraya.
"No, they won't" She lowered her gun and pulled me along quickly "Come with me"
Without understanding, everyone followed the queen, who opened a second door, she began to walk through what looked like a sequence of corridors and went forward, the goblets were lit illuminating the way and then a group of soldiers appeared, Soraya quickly raised her weapon, but then lowered it taking a deep breath, she looked nervous, her hands were shaking too much,
"Your Majesty," she said to the soldiers, "what are you doing here, it's dangerous!"
"We need to flee, the shelter won't stop a witch's strength."
The man shook his head and then everyone began to follow him through the corridors, crossing them quickly we came across a group of enemy soldiers, they stopped at the beginning of the corridor, I pulled a girl behind me to hide her and they both ran towards each other, a big fight broke out.
"Come on," said Soraya, moving in the opposite direction, through the children and women who were following us, she took the lead again. Her courage was something I hadn't expected, even though I admired her, even in fear Soraya mastered the situation with flying colors.
She started climbing up stairs that seemed to have no end until she reached an open sky, this was the only direction she had and when she reached the top, Soraya looked around, I thought she was looking at the war, but she was paying attention to something else, she was far away.
"Soraya"
"Be quiet" she asked, closing her eyes, the silence, the distant cries of war, she opened her eyes and focused on a part of the castle where a small light appeared through the window, she pointed "That's where the witches are".
She turned to the women and children and said:
"Stay up here, if you keep following me you'll be in twice as much danger" Soraya said in a firm voice, giving orders.
"But Your Majesty"
"Don't question me, baroness, they don't want you, they want me" Soraya walked among them "Don't worry, I've come this far not for nothing!"
She went back down the stairs and followed, Soraya stopped halfway and touched one of the doors which was locked, she hit the door with the strength of her body, but I knew it would be useless.
"Move away, Soraya," I asked and she moved away.
I aimed the shotgun at the handle and fired, then the door opened. I felt like I was in a labyrinth walking through places I didn't know in the castle.
We kept running until we reached a new empty corridor, but when we turned it Soraya bumped into a man and almost fell, he held her tight and she looked at him frightened, dropped the gun and threw herself into Acácio's arms who held her tight.
"What are you doing here?"
"I knew you needed me," he said, smoothing her hair and like few other times, I saw tears flow from Soraya's eyes.
Soraya wasn't vulnerable on a daily basis, hard as a rock and harsh as a leader, she had many layers, which only the most intimate could see, collapsing wasn't something she would do, but Acacio was her safe haven, something so intimate that I had only seen her talk twice drunk in the women's lounge, collapsing how much she loved Acacio and now, he was here for her.
"Mariah" He looked at the gun in my hand and Soraya's "Do you know how to use this?"
"Acácio, we'll kill half the world before we die"
"I'm glad to hear that" He looked at the gun in Soraya's hand and tilted it a little to the side, taking it from her direction, he didn't judge her or try to take it away, knowing it was a way of defending himself, he went ahead, his sword dripping blood on the ground showed signs of a recent fight which meant they were close to confrontation, to the enemy and my whole body went rigid.
Acácio led the way, dragging himself along the corridors and paying attention before turning around, he quickly slit a man's throat, his sword clashed loudly with a soldier's and I put Soraya behind me while I shot with the question, there were a lot of men and they were coming like crazy, I was shooting as fast as I could until one man came too close, he held his rifle tightly and the shot hit the ground, then his forehead was hit by a bullet and he fell to the ground, Soraya had shot him, she got out from behind me and started shooting at my side.
"Save your bullets, Your Majesty may need them later," I said, still firing and shouting.
"You won't make it alone, there are too many" She fired again, missing the shot, but hitting the second one and knocking the man down "I won't let you give your life for me being able to do anything, we're both going to get out of here alive!"