Guilded

Guilded - Chapter 5

I close my eyes and curl up into a ball. I barely even knew him, I barely even knew him... He just became my friend yesterday, and he took his life because I edged him on? I'm almost angry at him for doing it and I punch the metal gates on purpose to make my hand hurt. The pain distracts me from the tears and eventually I'm not crying anymore. That's when Ania comes to get me.

"Hey, uh... Saheim wants to take a vote," she tells me as she helps me up.

"For what?" I ask.

"He wants to know if everyone is truly alright with being vassaled to the Dark Blood Empire," She informs me.

I get to the pavilion and sit next to Frank. Once Saheim notices I'm here, he stands on top of a table to let us have a better view.

"Everyone put your heads down," He instructs. We do so.

"Alright, if you are alright with the vassalage, raise your hand," he pauses to count the hands. Then I hear him writing on a white board, the marker squeaking. "Alright, if you disagree with the vassal raise your hand," I raise mine as high as I can go.

There's a long pause, in which a lot of squeaking is heard. Eventually I hear the marker lid snap shut and I realize that other than the low voices of the authorities, it's absolutely silent.

"Alright, put your hands down, you can look up," Saheim says.

I look at the white board. One person voted for the vassal, everyone else voted against it. Immediately, people start talking. They seem happy.

"Alright, settle down. I'll have a talk with Samael today. You're all welcome to come along, but it's not mandatory. We want to respect the events of today," Saheim tries to continue but is interrupted.

"Excuse me!" A woman says, walking towards the pavilion.

She's followed by two men, one with a camera and the other with a voice recorder. I notice the half dressed soldiers back away from view of the camera. The woman seems to be in her early forties and she wears more makeup than needed . Her blond hair is short and stacked and she wears a bright blue dress with heels.

"Excuse me," she repeats as she trips on a rock and falls to her knees with a scream. We all stare at her, a few chuckles going through the soldiers. She looks at the man with the recorder. "Don't just stand there, help me up!" He does so rather reluctantly.

After brushing herself off she continues. "My name is Claudia Evanston. I'm a reporter for KSL News and we have a few questions to ask."

Saheim jumps down from where he stood and walks up to the woman. He holds out his hand to shake hers. She grins nervously at his sweaty palms, but shakes it, only to wipe her hand off on a handkerchief from her pocket on her chest.

"I'm Saheim Saab, the Emperor of Ardor. I'm afraid we can't answer any questions right now. If you want to, you need to schedule it with me later," Saheim explains.

"Ah, yes, Emperor Sawhim was it?" A couple of members chuckle. "Now, darling, smile! You're going to be in the newspapers tomorrow and this evening's television news as well," Saheim's expression looks confused, the same way it did when Michael walked out.

"He's not the only one running this place. Not anymore, that is," Says Samael who appears from behind the news reporters. The cameraman pans to him as he walks over next to Emp. Instead of facing the crew, he faces us.