Solana couldn't sleep properly as she wore her general clothing and was not even bothered to change back after spending a good hour bathing by herself. She turned and tossed across the bed in her room, rubbing her hands against her own tired eyes while sighing heavily for the tenth time tonight.
There were a lot of things bugging her aside from serving a tyrannical ruler; it was the fact that the man who took their offer was willing to do it just for the sake of those people. She can't get it all; nearly everyone she met is selfish to some degree or another.
But that Seth person was something entirely different; he cares about the people around him like family and was willing to take the blame for the mistakes. Of course, she sensed the fear coming from him; death was inevitable in his position, and he didn't die in the end.
Instead, he stood up and became the leader of the newly formed religious movement that's spreading throughout the empire. If that wasn't surprising enough, she had grown some level of respect for him in fighting for what is right.
It is too bad for her that she is forced into this situation because loyalty to the empire is always her main priority. First and foremost, she needs to remain cautious at the thought of even betraying or showing signs of it. If she does, consequences are bound to happen.
Landing on her back with her hat placed on her side, Solana sighed exhaustively as she stared at the ceiling deeply while the moonlight provided the necessary lights inside her private chamber. "Maybe," she said, touching her chin with an index finger, "if I could—"
A not-so gentle knock was made on her door, interrupting her train of thought altogether. Turning her head at the entrance of the room, she wouldn't bother checking on this night, knowing how she herself is supposed to act professionally with her underlings. Grabbing her hat and putting it over her head, she then got up from her comfortable mattress to answer it.
Walking towards the door without a weapon in her hand, she nonchalantly opened it to reveal no one other than her good friend Gus, who was not looking pleasant judging from his facial expression and how he appeared before his superior in front.
"Gus?" Slowly rubbing her tiredly, "Is there something bothering you at this hour?" She asked the giant with a confused look, "Don't you realize how late it is right now?" I want to know the reason for being awake so late at night.
The big fellow sighed deeply as he scratched the back of his head. "Sorry to disturb you at this hour, but may I talk about this issue in your room?" Unsure if the general wanted to have a conversation at a time like this while avoiding her eyes, "it will be quick, I promise," he added.
Noticing how his behavior is different from usual, Solana realized that something is clearly wrong and nodded at his request. "Very well," she welcomed him inside as the bearded man went inside of her private room. "You are lucky that I was awake. Otherwise, I would have slammed the door on your face," she said jokingly, as the giant didn't even smile or comment.
Closing the door, she watched him head over to her and sat on the edge as he beckoned her to sit beside him, "This might be a bit sensitive, so please do forgive me for not telling earlier." Begging for an apology as his head lowered in shame, Solana complied by sitting down and crossing her arms with anticipation.
She raised her eyebrow at him and asked, "What's this all about?" The general is genuinely curious to know, as he was about to speak when she interrupted him, "Before you spill everything, don't leave anything out." Being in command and making him respond with a nod.
Gus nervously looked around before finally, his eyes finally laid on hers. "It's about a dream Cyan has," the name itself caught her by surprise as the lady waited for him to continue on. "And it is something worth talking about between you and me," he confessed.
The general wasn't surprised nor intrigued by this, as she simply blinked a few times at it and said, "So..." Getting closer to his face with a slight annoyance present in her eyes, she asks, "What is your point?" She wanted to get back to sleeping again. "People have dreams; what's so special about them anyway?" I was asked impatiently by her.
"Please listen to me before deciding," Gus begged with a hint of desperation. "Cyan is a magician, remember? She has visions and can foresee events of the future," hoping to convince the woman as his fear began to rise alongside his heartbeat.
Thinking deeply about this, she was aware of the fact, but this, however, is different: "But this was a dream, isn't it? Vision usually involves the girl staring at nothing and then getting some kind of imaginary image or thought in her head," she shrugged, "regardless, it was just a dream that came by."
"This is no ordinary dream; I assure you that it is a vision of the empire," he said as the general noticeably raised her eyebrows with slight interest. "In her dream, she told us the downfall of our queen by Seth's doing," which greatly alarmed her to some extent.
She frowned at this: "I highly doubt he is capable of taking down such a powerful empire as ours," looking away dismissively by waving her hand. "His not a warrior, tactician, diplomatic, or has any strong relations with other rebels," Solana lectured him on how silly he sounds by mentioning this: "He's just some charismatic nobody who got lucky of leading a new religious movement," explaining herself to him.
The big fellow disagreed: "Dream or not, it is important to take it seriously and give warning to the queen in advance." He suggested to her that she should pay heed to it: "Even if there is a small chance that it becomes reality, it is better to take precautions beforehand."
A conflicting thought came into her mind: if there is a chance that their beloved empire is defeated by the hands of a single man, then it is worth giving this information to the queen. However, part of her doesn't really want to do such a thing in the first place.
Lowering her head to the floor, she greatly despises what the empire has become—a rotting carcass that is filled with corruption, slavery, and discrimination. But at the same time, Solana can't imagine abandoning it. Although she doesn't know the reasons why.
Even Gus can sense this: "If you are having doubts about informing the queen," he said, eyeing her as he read her like a book. "I know how you feel; we have served for years for this empire, and you think it will be fine without a corrupt ruler, but she is the legitimate heir nonetheless."
Her only response was silence, not saying anything in regards to this as the man shook his head in disappointment. "Please, Solana, we have to tell her," the giant pleaded once more, "or else it's going to happen whether or not you want to accept it," trying to persuade her but to no avail.
That's when she finally spoke, "no," firm denial as Gus gasped in disbelief, "we shouldn't," finding having the courage to admit it as the general looked at him in the eye, "look at ourselves, what we have become in years of service," recalling past memories of how the commoners were overjoyed of seeing them before becoming hated and feared, "the people used to love us, now they see us as the enemy," she slowly explained in detail to him.
Gus was shocked, quickly standing up and looking down at the superior he served faithfully. He couldn't believe what he was hearing: "You are denying this fact that she could be endangered." unable to find a reasonable defense of this, "This is an act of betrayal and even treason! Can't you imagine the consequences of keeping secrets from her?!" His shouting has escalated.
She was horrified by this but felt it was the right thing to do nonetheless. "Look, Gus," she said, covering her face with shame plastered across her facial features. "The commoners are people to, you know that, right?" Her voice sounded vulnerable and exhausted from everything.
He froze on his spot. Anger rose on him as he never witnessed or thought of seeing his trusted ally and general acting differently, almost like a traitor. "How can you betray your own people?" Almost loathing the very presence of his general, "she's our queen! Don't you forget that? She's the one who's in charge of the empire," emphasizing his words.
Solana didn't back down; however, she stood up and faced the giant man, saying, "Look into my eyes, Gus," with coldness in her voice as she raised her head to his face. "If we tell the queen, then she will do so much worse compared to what she is doing now," the woman admitted to him, knowing that executions will be ten times more frequent and punishment for defying her word will have people flogged publicly, a truthful statement that Gus can't deny.
Allowing her to speak more, he remained silent to listen to everything. "Not only that, but we've been on this long enough to know that our economy and recruitment will be far lower than ever before." Glaring at him with unflinching display, "The empire has been crumbling ever since she came, and now you want to make it worse?" The general accused Gus of wanting that to happen.
She saw his hesitance and his thoughts conflicting in believing her or not, but Solana decided to prove it to him once more by adding another challenging point: "Think about it; we already lost troops over petty battles that have no merit." She approached him, "Who do you really serve? The empire and his men or brat who took her father's throne?"
Taking a step back, Gus grimaced at the realization of losing so much from nothing. "I...I know one thing: if we don't tell her, it is an act of betrayal and dishonorable thing to do. Our lives will be over once that happens," he said, nervously sweating at the idea of being caught. "Besides, she is also important for the heir."
"The queen we have isn't anyway a true leader," the general cut him off by continuing on the discussion, "yes, the current queen is also vital for the kingdom, but I personally feel nothing good will come of it in the end if she stays longer of leading us." Her explanation was quite logical and well structured enough for him to follow.
"Divines..." Looking away, he is extremely troubled by making a choice. "This is such a big dilemma that I am facing," the giant rubbed his chin before finally making eye contact with the superior. "I can't deny you as your superior after all," causing the woman to smile in relief. "But our queen is still the rightful ruler; we should be loyal to her unless we're traitors ourselves."
Despite that being a reasonable assumption to make, Solana just laughed out of nowhere as she raised her head at the ceiling with a few tears of amusement, she asked, "A traitor to whom? A tyrant whose abuse of power is simply unfathomable," her laugh calmed down while shaking her head at the bearded fellow, "to think of all the years, I am actually talking to you this way."
Gus didn't understand. "Our allegiance is with her," he firmly declared to her, "I won't have any part in this secrecy in regard to her safety, and I will never hesitate to report any suspicious activity," still retaining his loyalty to the queen, "and unless you come up with some kind of solution in proving that I should not, then I'm sorry to say, but I am reporting this matter to her majesty in the morning."
Her eyes narrowed at him, showing a look of hatred at the loyal subject of the empire for choosing it over her. Nonetheless, she just walked past him to reach for the doorknob, opening the door. "Then you were never a friend of mine, and those you called comrades," her coldness stunned him with what was happening.
Never in a thousand years did he expect that Solana of all people would do this to him, "General?" Speaking in bewilderment and shock altogether, "what has gotten into you?" He asked in a concerned tone.
With the door already open, she took a glimpse of him by slightly turning her head. "You were never my friend; none of you are to me," she admitted to him with regret, "only pawns and slaves that blindly follow whatever orders given by the queen without question; it saddens me that you can't see that until now."
He had no words to say anymore as he left her room before hearing the door shut loudly behind him as he stood outside her private chamber with a returning conflicting look. "Do I need to warn her? Or keep it secret?" Lowering his head down at his raised, open palm.
The memory of him beating Seth to a bloody pulp was still as vivid as yesterday. He honestly regrets allowing emotions to overcome him but couldn't help himself from doing what he thought was right. The guilt ate his heart and conscience at seeing which was truly eating him alive.
Clenching his raised hand into his fist, "true leader," he repeated the sentence during the time he was about to fall into unconsciousness: "Who was the true leader all this time?" Questioning it to himself several times before releasing a frustrated grunt.
