A Peaceful Silence (Akatsuki no Yona Shinah X OC)

Flashback

Well, a promise is a promise. Here it is, everyone; my Ezra POV project. I hope you like it! Let me know what you think!

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~Two and a half years ago~

"There's nothing for you here. Leave."

The declaration was bold, but the statement had no substance. I knew this just as well the officials I was facing. My small, powerless fists were clenched so tightly at my sides that I could feel the rough texture of my jagged, uncut nails digging into my palms.

The lead soldier, a tall, dark-haired young man with narrowed brown eyes and a nasty smile sneered at me in contempt. "You don't decide when we leave, girl," he snarled. "We'll get what we came for, one way or another."

I clenched my jaw, fury searing through my veins. "We have nothing," I hissed.

"Oh?" The soldier tilted his head, his dark eyes gleaming with malice. "Then what's that your mother is eating?"

I glanced behind me in alarm, realizing for the first time that in my rush to get outside, I'd forgotten to close the door. From where we stood outside the modest hut my mother and I shared was a clear view into the one-room space, where Mom could be seen sitting up in bed with a small piece of bread in her trembling hands. Her amethyst eyes watched us carefully, worry and fear showing plainly in the lines of her face.

I turned back towards the officials, my eyes blazing with righteous anger. "I bought that bread almost a week ago. We've been eating it sparingly, trying to make it last."

"If you had the money to buy bread, then you have the money to pay your taxes," the soldier told me in a matter-of-fact tone, as if his statement made any sort of sense at all.

"The hell kind of logic is that?" I snapped. "You're even more stupid than you look if you think for one second that what you said is true."

The soldier narrowed his dark eyes dangerously. "You'd best watch your tongue," he snarled. "Maybe I'll cut it off for you, to save you some trouble."

"You'd best check your head, 'cause it seems to me like it's damaged," I retorted. The words were out before I even realized what I was saying."Maybe I should cut it off for you and save us all a lot of trouble."

"Why, you--" the soldier snarled furiously, reaching for the sword at his waist. "C'mere, brat!"

Shit. I've done it now.

"Ezra." A soft hand on my shoulder made me glance up, and my mother's thin face came into view. "That's enough."

"Step aside, woman. I'm going to teach your daughter a lesson," the soldier growled, his dark eyes never leaving my face. Fear ran through my veins like ice, and I placed my hands behind my back to hide their trembling.

"What's the reason you're here?" my mother asked in a pleasant tone, her neutral expression giving none of her thoughts away. She sounded a lot braver than I felt.

Another of the soldiers, this one a man with light brown hair and pale blue eyes, stepped forward, placing his hand on his comrade's shoulder. "We're here to collect taxes."

"Then we seem to have gotten a bit sidetracked," my mother remarked. "Let's return to the original issue."

The blue-eyed man nodded. "You know what you owe," he said.

Mom nodded. "I do, but unfortunately--" She was halted mid-sentence by one of her coughing attacks, and she turned away from us, dry, barking coughs issuing from her throat.