If you have a penchant for those brave, just, and kind characters, then Nara is not for you. She's everything that type of protagonist lacks: ambitious, cynical, manipulative, distrustful, and treacherous; those are some of the adjectives that descr...
"Anything to refute?" Verrater asked with a triumphant smile.
"No, it's all mine. Well, almost everything," Nara confessed, noticing that some things were not hers.
Verrater was surprised to see that she had given up easily, and had a feeling that something wasn't right.
"For cunning prey, where and how to display the bait is essential. Otherwise, they won't jump at it." Nara averted her gaze to Hybris, who had been silent all this time. "I've kept my end of the bargain, he's all yours, commander."
"Arrest him," Hybris ordered.
The guards surrounding Nara suddenly rushed at Verrater. Meanwhile, Hybris approached her and released her restraints, noticing the multiple wounds on her body.
"Good performance out there," he praised her.
Nara snorted under her breath and stood up. It wasn't all an act. However, she had no intention of revealing this vulnerability of hers that she had taken advantage of to make her arrest more authentic.
"Let go of me, you're making a mistake!" Verrater exclaimed angrily.
"Baldomar, Sivas, take her to the healer."
"Yes, sir."
As the three left the tent, Hybris took care of the real traitor.
Weeks ago, his kingdom had intercepted an encrypted message from the enemy. The queen, on Verrater's recommendation, decided to dispatch the Black Legion to get rid of this imminent threat on her borders. It was then that Nara approached Hybris privately and told him that there was something suspicious about how this information had been obtained.
Both of them had come to the conjecture that there was a traitor among their ranks who wanted to keep Hybris away, and who would surely frame someone to buy more time for the enemy. Nara offered herself as bait, being the only one with the ability to carry out this role flawlessly. And just as she had planned, she became the perfect scapegoat.
To be honest, if Nara hadn't made a deal with him, even Hybris would have believed Verrater's allegations. Just in case, he planted two guards, Baldomar and Sivas, who watched her at all times.
An hour later, the commander went to the tent that served as an infirmary, finding Baldomar standing guard outside.
"Is she still inside?" Hybris asked, puzzled.
"Yes, sir."
Having a bad premonition, Hybris rushed in. The scene before them left them bewildered. The healer and Sivas were unconscious, bound, and gagged. There was no sign of Nara.
"Find her and bring her to me!"
Baldomar shot out the door, meanwhile, Hybris rubbed his face, cursing inwardly. He had let his guard down at the last moment.
Nara, who had stolen a horse from the stables, was already well away from the camp, letting out guffaws every time she imagined the commander's reaction.
Defecting had been her plan all along, but Hybris would not allow such a competent and dangerous subordinate to escape his clutches. Who knew Verrater would serve her the perfect opportunity on a platter.
The kingdom's future? That was Hybris' problem.
Nara would continue her journey in search of new adventures.
Word count: 982
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