The evening scene in the village was very different from that in the Kingdom. In the village, the atmosphere was peaceful, there was absolutely no noise or sound. There was a sereneness that hugged the town like a mother's voice singing a lullaby to her infant. The air was pure and fresh. Birds were chirping in the trees creating sweet harmonies for the ears to hear. The civilians poured out their bath water onto the streets letting the ground sparkle with flowing water.
"This could have been such a beautiful place" Lalzari imparted as her eyes welled up from the beauty before her. She was so use to seeing destruction that the sight of bliss had her in awe. She had forgotten just how sweet the sight of pure landscape tasted. As she walked passed one of the small houses she noticed a small child sitting in front of a warm fireplace laughing at something that was out of view. There laid so many pure souls in this village even after such a massacre they found happiness within the warmth of a fireplace.
Suddenly, a few civilians had started noticing Lalzari and became frightened by this stranger walking through their town. Old widows and men of farmers peaked out their windows and when they saw her they would quickly close the blinds. They didn't want to be seen so badly they acted like they had seen the plague walk through their hallways.
Lalzari wanted to enter the houses, introduce herself and make them see that she wasn't something to fear. But time was of the essence and she couldn't be exposing her identity. She glanced over the porches as she walked by trying to find the blue flowers yet the houses didn't even have flowers. All that they had was hay and mud. But then again, flowers wouldn't bloom with such a darkness roaming the kingdom would it?
"ARGH" Lalzari shrieked as a wide strong hand clasped over her head pushing her backwards with such force it looked as if she was a flying kite swooning in the air. Her back hit the hard concrete and she rolled to her stomach screaming in agony. The same hand grabbed her shawl lifting her head up just above the ground. She knew what was coming, and kicked her ankle chains off swinging them against the figures head "SHHHAHHH" a deep voice groaned as they let go of Lalzari. She quickly rolled up yanking the emei piercers out of her bun, going into her stands ready for attack.
And without a second to kill she marched towards the figure throwing herself into it, slicing the figure with her weapon. "UGH STOP!" the voice barked as she continued to chevel cuts into their exposed skin. The figure threw the petite vixen off of them slamming her into the concrete once again. The sound of the emei piercers against the ground was like sharp forging blades at the blacksmith. Lalzari quickly got up once again, the collision of her piercers against the concrete creating a small spark of fire as her viens once again turned golden and illuminated against the steel causing a reflection backscattered in the emei piercers.
"Who- who are you?" The figure cautioned, their voice confirming that they had no plans to fight furthermore. Lalzari let down her guard securing her emei piercers back into her bun and tightening the chains. "I'm looking for blue flowers, where do I find them?" She inquired ignoring the figures question. The figure took down his hood and his face became clear.
He had a wide square chin adored with high cheekbones that held his face together like a corset. His nose was wide but pointed downwards in a sharp angle. His eyes were unique, they were a dark pink which was something Lalzari had never seen before. His black afro colliding with his brown skin the colour of cinnamon. He was extremely tall and muscular even though not much could be seen through his hand-made armour of cloth and thin silver chains that embraced his body in a hug. He gave Lalzari a side smile as he continued.
"Hah, there's no blue flowers here but it's a code for someone we can trust. I'm Zikki, follow me" Lalzari walked behind the tall unique figure intrigued by his pink eyes. They came to a house and as Zikki opened the door a young woman stood and looked at them with suprise. She looked a lot like Zikki, she had the same dark pink eyes but her face was so much more delicate. She had a small face with a pointy chin, her nose was petite and fragile with small plump lips to compliment the elegant features.
"This is my sister, Zomayah" Zikki announced as he closed the door behind Lalzari and went to stand beside his blood.
"Who are you?" Zomayah wondered as she came closer to Lalzari.
"I was bought by King Laham. I've come to find the rebels and make an alliance. Khushboo told me where to find them". The two siblings looked at each other before turning to the strong warrior in front of them.
"Khushboo..." Zomayah sighed as she looked up at the half broken celling "we know of her too well. Her story is devastating isn't it?" The confused vixen had a puzzled expression on her face. Why has everyone I met always suffered? She spoke in her heavy thoughts that had become like an anchor hooked onto the bottom of the sea.
"Khushboo hasn't told me much about her past so I don't know" Lalzari admitted and Khushboo's face played in her mind like a cassette stuck on repeat. Zomayah and Zikki nodded as if they knew Khushboo wasn't the type to share her past with just anyone.
"Come have dinner with us and I'll tell you everything you need to know" Zomayah said as she laid out a basket of food on the floor and sat down munching into it. Zikki joined her not too long after and Lalzari came and sat down starring at the white baked dough and deep coloured curry. She hadn't had proper food for a while yet the smell looked too good to not indulge in. She took a big bite of the white dough dipped in curry and it was as if her whole vision changed. The food comforted the young vixen like nothing she had ever felt, it reminded her of her mama's food or at least the few times she got to taste it.
"We are the last of our kind. Laham has spent time destroying us but he doesn't know there are two left. The rebels... There's a group of us we're all outsiders and we're going to finish him!" Zomayah promised between bites.
"But... We can't because he's too strong and we're not" Zikki confirmed as he got a stare of hatred from his sister.
"We can do anything we put our minds to!" Zomayah snapped as she shoved more food aggressively into her mouth.
"He's not wrong you know... Laham is too powerful, you need someone like me who knows the ins and outs and well not to brag but... I'm his favourite" Lalzari asserted proudly as she constructed the perfect plan to persuade the siblings.
"And what do you suggest then miss powerholder?" Zikki investigated intrigued by the vixens fiery attitude.
"Well... Give me a mission and I'll do it, after that, you'll ally with me and help me take Laham down" Lalzari beckoned as she spooned the maroon dyed curry into the dough.
"HAH! You've been at the kingdom for some time and still not managed to rescue the basement. And you want us to think you can actually complete a mission for us?" Zomayah snapped as she slammed her fist into the table. Lalzari remembered back to the day she went to the basement and what she witnessed, the horrors and terror envelope her memories tapping her back into that moment.
"A girl ate her own mother... They aren't sane civilians you can put out back into society" Lalzari bellowed as she grew annoyed of the atmosphere that had penetrated the conversation.
"Sane? Would you be sane if that was you? They don't deserve to stay captured just because the capturers in the first place drove them crazy. How's that fair?" Zomayah questioned as the red flame within her fired up and painted her face with anger.
"If you let them out without any plan, anywhere to go, any protection, what do you think will happen? Chaos." Lalzari asked and answered as she licked her fingers clean from the curry finding the conversation pointless and preparing to leave empty handed.
"She's right! Stop thinking you know better of things which you don't know!" A strong yet alluring voice fumed and everyone turned their heads to see a woman standing behind Lalzari. The woman wasn't very tall but looked very young. She had a long angular face so imperfect it became perfect to look at. She had big lips that looked like huge clouds one would disappear in. Her eyes were narrow and a shamrock green, and her hair was short and pastel blue adorned with ribbons on each side and pearls traveling downwards on the right. She was adorned with a beauty mark aligned crookedly on her nose. She wore the same hand-made green armour yet hers looked more sturdy than the siblings. Her skin was the colour of a warm cup of mocha served on a winter morning.
"REHAMAL?!" Zikki beamed as he quickly stood up. Surprised by the dynamics Lalzari stayed calm as she could sense what a gentle soul Rehamal was.
"I hope we didn't offend you Rehamal?" Zikki asked gently as the look in his eyes seemed a sense of longing for the shamrock green-eyed vixen.
"I was once in the basement, I would know! Let's give her a mission and see what she's capable of" Rehamal stated as she came besides Lalzari and started to indulge herself in the food presented in front of her. Zikki stood and stared at her as she stuffed her mouth, she ate as if she hadn't gotten food for weeks. Zikki's strong battle-like aura had turned into a wounded child as he starred at Rehamal. There's was much more to uncover from the relationship between the two.
"Okay, well in honour of Khushboo save the Zulumat Orphanage under Queen Qasin's control" Zomayah announced as everyone went quiet, even the hungry femme fatale had stopped eating.
"What's wrong with the Orphanage?" Lalzari investigated.
"It's the devil's baby" Zomayah bellowed.