As soon as the outcome of the duel was announced, Gadhevi started a riot between his faction and Rajendra's, for he refused to accept his defeat. As result, the Parsians were dragged into it and had to fight for their lives even though they no longer had any connection to the occurring event.
Asa glanced around her restlessly, only to find chaos. Many soldiers in white were clashing with soldiers in red, as well as her allies while she herself only stood there doing nothing but clenching her fists. If only she had her bow and arrows at times like this...
A sound of scraping metal in front of her caught her attention. She was surprised to see Arslan was standing firm there, wielding his sword. Before she could say anything, he exclaimed first, "Stay behind me! I will definitely protect you this time!"
As soon as Asa comprehended his words, her twin was replaced by a certain woman in her vision. She felt a sudden sharp pain struck her heart and squeezed her eyes shut as she collapsed to the floor and tightly clutched her aching chest.
"Asa?! What's wrong?!" despite the chaos around her Arslan's panicked shout was the only thing she could hear at that moment. That painful memory she unintentionally recalled felt like it was pricking her heart with needles. Nevertheless, she didn't want him to worry, so she forced her eyes open to look at him and smile. "I am... o..."
But instead of Arslan's concerned look, a man wielding sword was the first thing that came into her sight. Immediately her smile dropped, and at the same time the color red filled her vision. Unlike that time, she didn't feel nauseous nor pain; in fact, she forgot she was actually in pain. A burning sensation crept onto her eyes and as if they were really on fire, her eye color turned blazing red. Her pupils also turned into slits like feline's. This change was noticed by Arslan and caused his eyes to widen in shock.
Time seemed to be stopped for him until Arslan realized those eyes weren't looking at him. He followed after them over his shoulder and was shocked to find a man who looked ready to swing his sword behind him. Arslan promptly held up his own sword in defense but that man still didn't move a muscle. His expression looked utterly stricken by fear. His sword slowly slid from his grip and fell to the floor, followed by his body.
Arslan was just too confused to move his stance. That man, too, didn't move. Was he... dead? If so, why so sudden? What caused it? Nothing pierced nor cut his limbs. If not, why didn't he move again?
Only when he heard a thud behind him did Arslan move. "Asa!" He called, sheathing his sword to put the girl in his arms, "Pull yourself together, Asa!"
"What happened?" Gieve knelt next to him, then focused his attention on Asa. The girl breathed slowly with eyes closed, seeming to have lost her consciousness. '...tsk, we're short on people right now... I can't fight while carrying her.'
He turned to Arslan. "I apologize, Denka, but I will need you to carry Hime-sama while I--"
"That will not be needed," Asa's voice cut in. The two then watched as she slowly rose from Arslan's arms and wobbly stood up. "As you can see... I am fine."
"...alright, let's hurry out, then," Gieve nodded, then looking at Arslan, "Denka?"
"Yes." Arslan nodded back without taking his gaze off of Asa. He felt a bit calmer now after seeing her normal blue eyes. Even so, the confusion still piled up and lingered in his mind. He decided to put the matter aside for now, somehow believing he would find the answer soon.
Just then they heard slashes and screams approaching them, then not so long after that Jaswant emerged from the other side of the corridor. When his gaze met with Arslan's, he spoke up, "Please follow me, quickly."
"Wait," as the other Parsians joined them, Asa interrupted with a glare, "You betrayed us once, why should we trust you now?"
"I completely understand your distrust towards me but this is a quarrel between Sindhurans. Upon this day before the gods, if royalty from another kingdom were to be met with discourtesy, it would bring shame to the kingdom."
"A shameless traitor talks about honor?" Gieve mocked.
"He's got no reason to betray us, Asa, Gieve. He's just loyal to his country," Arslan said with a tone that almost sounded like scolding before turning to a startled Jaswant, smiling, "We are in your care, Jaswant."
With the crown prince's decision, the Parsians, with Jaswant's guide, rushed down the dim corridor until they arrived at a gate that led them to another side of the arena. They stopped, not because they realized that wasn't the exit, but because of what they witnessed. The soldiers from both sides had ceased fighting and now were chanting Sher Shenani, all the while setting their gazes on Daryun. From the looks of it, they were talking about him. While Rajendra, he was seen wielding a sword against Gadhevi's somehow bloodied sword.
Asa noticed when Jaswant's eyes widened and body trembled. Her gaze traced after his abrupt run towards Rajendra. No--towards a bloodied man lying before the new king of Sindhura. "Mahendra-sama!"
'Mahendra... he must be the man whom Jaswant claimed to be like his own father. No wonder he was that panicked.' The man exchanged some heavy words with Jaswant, and when the younger man began to cry, Asa knew he had gone.
She slowly closed her eyes and bowed her head slightly.
●●●
Following after the chaos, Jaswant was jailed in the dungeon below the royal castle as a prisoner, alone. Not like he wanted to be with another people in somewhere else. After his most precious person had passed on, he wasn't sure if he still wanted to live or not. He probably wouldn't mind if he were to be put there for a lifetime. But it seemed the gods already had plans for him as some soldiers came to his cell and set him free.
When he stepped out of the dungeon and entered the light, the first thing he saw were Arslan's welcoming smile and Asa's glance. Somehow he wasn't surprised. "So it is by your intentions..."
Arslan nodded. "Yes. We had you placed under our care."
"Then... I suppose I should be thankful?"
"Thinking of spending the rest of your life down there, I see," Asa crossed her arms, surprising the teal-eyed man with her comment, "That will not solve anything. You are just running away from reality. The world will not stop simply because your beloved left you."
Asa turned on her heels then, leaving behind a dumbfounded Jaswant with Arslan. The young prince gently smiled as he beckoned the man to walk with him.
"This might sound weird, but... Asa and I understand how you feel, Jaswant." Arslan began.
Jaswant looked at him in wonder. "What do you mean?"
"You see... we are actually just like you."
"Just like me?"
"Yes. Apparently our lord father and lady mother are not our true parents. They never once treated us like their children, actually... but then, like you, we found a person whom we loved like our own parent."
"Loved... you mean?"
"...she passed on to Elysium, just one day prior to the day of the duel before the gods."
Asa stopped walking then, followed by the other two. "She... Bahar died a hero. She protected me in exchange with her life. Both I and Nii-sama are very grateful for what she did and nothing in this world could ever be done to repay her. The most we could do is to keep living in her place."
She turned to Jaswant to give him a stern look while Arslan stood next to her, smiling softly. "Your beloved had passed away, but his death will not be in vain. Why, because you will live to carry on his last wish."
"It's up to you how to live your life, but in case you find nowhere to go or nothing to do... we'd like to let you know we will always welcome you with open arms." Arslan continued.
Jaswant was speechless.
Just then, Rajendra's voice called the twins from their backs. As the twins briefly turned their attention to him, Jaswant hurriedly excused himself from the scene, leaving the two alone with his king.
Well, the twins never expected him to answer immediately, anyway.
~Chapter 38 : End~
Thanks for reading~!