Frozen Fire

Chapter 5 (Edited)

The Dungeon

It felt like the longest night of his life. After what happened in the emperor's chamber, they brought him and the girls to a very much smaller tent. Again, Dayu found himself couldn't sleep at all. Only the different thing from before was it seems he wasn't the only one who couldn't sleep. All of the girls also couldn't. Lin Er and her friend that somehow Dayu just found out the name was Qian Yue were practically sending daggers through their eyes to Dayu all night long. They were obviously angry they have to get punished because of something which wasn't their fault. Meanwhile, Xiao Li didn't say anything. But this time she didn't bother to get closer to Dayu like before. He guessed Xiao Li must angry at him too.

Before the dawn, some guards came again to the tent and dragged them out. They threw them into a carriage. When Dayu tried to look at his surrounding, he realized that the armies now was getting ready to continue their journey. All the tents were folded and packed. Hundreds of horses were lining up in a long line. The Warriors had been dressed in their war's clothes. Some of the armies were getting up in their own horse and the rest of them with lower rank would continue the journey by walking. They were more than ready to get home.

In the last of the line, there were carriages. Those all contained with their stuff, weapons, war treasury, and some of the war prisoners. Dayu and the other three girls were on one of those carriages.

"In the name of all Goddesses in Heaven, where are they gonna take us?" Qian Yue asked in panic when the carriages began to move.

"Stupid." Lin Er grunted. "Didn't you hear what the emperor said? They will bring us to the dungeon. The dungeon is in the palace in Forbidden City." When she finished the talk, Lin Er glanced with hatred at Dayu.

Dayu sat in silence. He snuggled closer to the corner of the carriage. He knew he was at fault, but what could he actually do to reverse something that already happened? People said some prisoners much preferred to death rather than locked up in great palace's dungeon. He just couldn't think what would happen to them.

He tried to kill the Emperor and he heard the tales so many times that none of those people who tried to kill the Emperor would be free from the emperor's sword. But why he was still breathing now? Why didn't he just kill him?

'Then... why don't you do what you usually do? Just take your sword already.' Dayu had asked the emperor to kill him. But all he got was his vague answer.

'I want, but I can't'

Why couldn't he kill Dayu?

'I know you hate me, but I don't.'

He remembered the emperor's words. But what was that supposed to mean? Dayu snorted. That damned emperor indeed had some twisted ways in thinking, it was no wonder he ended up having the thought to destroy any kingdoms he could find.

-

They arrived at the Forbidden City two days later. Dayu heard the girls were gasped loudly when they saw it with their eyes how enormous the great palace was. For a while, they forgot about their agony as someone who would be sent to a dungeon.

This was also his first time stepped up in the Forbidden City, but he was holding himself to awe at something that actually built above of the suffers from another kingdom. The royals in this Great Palace must be served with the most delicious meals, but how many people out there from the kingdoms they've been destroyed that actually almost dying of hunger and struggle just to get a piece of bread? These royals dressed in fancy clothes and sleep on a comfortable mattress, meanwhile so many children out there that their parents have been killed in the war and now they had to sleep in the street with thin clothes without their parents to embrace them anymore. How could Dayu look at something like that in awe?