Reincarnated Into A Dead Woman's Body In Another World-Chapter 383: [Bonus - ] The Ashen Whisper (V)

Part 5: Having the Freedom of Choice

Well into the late night, despite the many protests of Arabella, the admiral of the Royal Guard of Cravolta lied in wait in the abode of his temporary captors.

Arabella stood to the side of the open-aired chamber furnished with lavish sofas and jewelled tables till the time came that Sayyed returned and reluctantly greeted his previous captive—agreeing to parley with him in the process.

Dozens of the Khathi men surrounded the chamber as Sayyed gave a side-eyed glare to Arabella and sat down on his sofa like a throne.

Arabella’s gaze immediately went to the floor, but she forced herself to keep her chin up and back straight while she faced ahead. Sayyed rested his arms out wide on the back of the sofa and placed one leg over the other.

He gave a fanged grin and his tail hairs never spiked as it rested beside him. Fravash on the other hand, showed no emotion on his face beyond the slightest lowering of his brows.

"Thudh!"

The admiral kept his gauntleted hands on the hilt of his sword that he sank into the carpet. The double-edged blade, which broadened from the cross-guard to the flat tip, mirrored the seated wolf-man and reflected the yellow lights in the room.

The Khathi reached for their weaponry, but Sayyed merely lifted a hand and they stood down. He raised and tilted his head, "You have decided to stab my expensive carpet?"

"You had your men assault and imprison my unit, as well as strike me several times while I was unarmed and unable to defend myself?" he calmly rested his hands on the cross-guard and thumbs behind the handle.

Sayyed smiled with his fangs poking out as his only ear ticked, "I have decided to excuse you for your infractions and I will gladly let you and your unit go on your merry way back home.

Leaving with but a few bruises seems like an unfair exchange on my part, no? But I will let this slide."

"How generous of you," Fravash snarked.

"So, admiral, why have you stayed behind after the departure of your men?" Sayyed queried and side-eyed Arabella. "Tea? Coffee? Wanting to put your nose where it does not belong even more?"

"In due time, but that can wait. For now, I shall look past your infractions."

Sayyed’s golden rings clacked against the back of the sofa as he tapped his fingers and chuckled. As if on cue, the Khathi men chuckled alongside him. Arabella forced herself to keep her false composure as her eyes darted between Fravash and Sayyed.

Fravash kept his shoulder up and stable as he waited for the laughter to expire. "An investigation will be held in Asheva regarding past relief shipments and other matters at present. However, I am here now to discuss another matter."

Sayyed sighed and kept a yawn away from coming up, "And that would be?"

"I will pay ten times your weight in platinum for the freedom of that young woman. She shall be accompanying me back to Cravolta City," he firmly put.

Arabella’s eyes widened and her brows furrowed. Was she supposed to be flattered or take offence...?

This got a loud laughter to escape Sayyed’s lips, while the rest of the Khathi quietly glanced around... "You have this on your person, yes?" Sayyed said as he sat back, more relaxed than before.

"I do not," the unfazed Fravash replied. "I will have to revisit this estate after I return home."

"I did not realize Cravolta hires clowns to be the admiral."

"I suppose that much platinum can be converted into armite, I am sure that is a rare currency for you to behold," he said, pretending to ponder it.

Sayyed’s eyes narrowed.

"But you have my word that I shall return and pay what I rightfully owe."

Sayyed leaned forward, "Listen boy, how old are you?" he tilted his head.

"Seventeen."

His lips broadened to show his fangs, "I understand you’re too young to be dealing with these sorts of trades and deals. You can have her if and when you pay that price."

Arabella furrowed her brows and for the first time in a long time, glared directly at Sayyed.

"I believe you misunderstand me on a few accounts; I do not wish to purchase her, I want to give Ms Kaveri her freedom. She can decide truly if she wishes to accompany me to Cravolta City afterwards.

Also, you seem to think that this is some sort of negotiation or exchange. Let me be perfectly clear, this is not a transaction, this is what is happening whether or not you consent. The sizeable sum I am offering is out of generosity."

Sayyed’s ear ticked and tail began spike as he sat up.

"I believe coin greases the wheels of the deprived lawmakers in these parts? Please, let me know if I am mistaken; proof would be further appreciated as well."

Sayyed stood up as straight as an arrow and met Fravash’s gaze. Arabella pursed her lips and looked to the noble who, in essence, was fighting for her independence—shouldn’t she be the one doing that...?

The wolf-man pointed to Fravash and spoke, "Watch your mouth boy. I give you one deal; you return to your city, you tell your men and the king to stay out of Asheva’s business and I let you walk out of here with all your limbs intact."

"Interesting proposition; I shall decline."

"You might want to reconsider," as Sayyed said, the Khathi drew their scimitars and crossbows. "I do not know what came over the girl I took from the scraps of society, to release you and your men.

I fed her, gave her medication and brought her up to be to what she is now. She has bitten the hand that feeds her," he sneered and growled before his glare targeted Arabella. He looked back to Fravash, "But I will call it a stroke of luck for you."

Arabella breathed a little heavier and her eyes darted around to the Khathi men who were ready with blades and trained their crossbows on Fravash.

"Luck? Hardly. That young woman is not at fault in the slightest," his eyes shifted to the side and met Arabella’s.

He then faced Sayyed once more, "If news were to reach his majesty King Riyanavan Tamara that you and your men held the Admiral of the Royal Guard hostage, alongside Lord Vagesh Keya and several of my unit, there would be no salvaging it.

In the case of my death or disappearance, you would have unit after unit of Royal Guard marching into your estate to arrest you where you stand. If you resist, it would be the end of you.

However, we do not need to discuss hypothetical scenarios at the moment," Fravash continued to speak without a drop of sweat. "Fortunately for you, your ward was willing to listen to reason and save your faction from collapsing.

I have instructed my unit that if I do not reconvene with them within a day’s time, it will signal Cravolta to declare open warfare with the settlement of Asheva and claim its borders.

You and I both are aware, Asheva is no position to defend against an invasion of that size nor does it have the resources. If the ruling elite do not surrender, they will be expunged. So let us refrain from foolishly rash behaviour, shall we?"

"You dare challenge me in my own house?" Sayyed growled.

Fravash furrowed his eyebrows and cocked his head to the side, "You are mistaken; this is not a challenge, this is a threat—or rather a promise.

So, please do reconsider humbly taking my offer; five times your weight in platinum should be enough to cover any losses and you shall no longer hold Ms Kaveri as an assassin."

"..." Caught between a rock and a hard place, Sayyed considered his options. Meanwhile, Arabella felt pain swell in her chest and her mouth became dry.

An odd sense of guilt washed over her and she felt weight being lifted off her shoulders, but somehow also felt more weight being put on...

Her hand hovered over the hilt of her rapier as she looked to Fravash. If there was ever a time to make a decision... How would any of this play out, she wondered...

As if to interrupt her verdict, Sayyed replied to the admiral, "Leave this place at once; you will leave alone. You and your men are exiled from Asheva."

Fravash turned his head to Arabella and gave her a look. But what in the world did that look mean? All of a sudden, her throat choked up and she felt once again like a child with no agency over, well, anything...

The admiral shifted his feet a little and sighed, "Unfortunately, that will not be happening today. I will rescind my offer. I will leave it up to Ms Kaveri to make her decision on the matter," he turned exactly ninety degrees and put his foot down to face her.

Arabella’s head began to ache and she stared to the two people in the middle of the room. Her fingers were stuck in place right over the hilt of her blade.

"Please, join me and we may depart for Cravolta City. As long as you are within our borders, these men will not even lay their gaze on you, much less bring you any harm.

I apologize for putting you in this sudden position, but if you wish to stay here and see what punishment lies in store for you, I will have no choice but to accept and leave alone," much kinder eyes he gave to her.

"Arabella..." was all Sayyed had to snarl out to make her shrink her eyes away from the situation.

"The choice is yours, no one else’s," Fravash stated. "I will add, you let me free for a reason. I am unsure what that reason is, but my instinct says there was some morality involved. Do what you deem is best, based on the values you hold dear."

...

...

"Snap."

Every trigger on the nearby crossbows were pulled and the Khathi men with scimitars closed in on, Arabella? Her head twisted around and she raised her hands.

"Clang!" "Pang!" "Ping!" The bolts of the crossbows bounced off of silverish armour and a broad sword. Arabella had ducked down and stepped back causing most of the bolts to miss anyhow, but Fravash had stepped in close enough to take a few hits.

He continued his swift movement and stood by Arabella’s side. Arabella unsheathed her rapier and got up in a single movement. "Made a choice yet?" Fravash spoke over his shoulder while his eyes were glued to the incoming Khathi men.

Arabella’s eyes lowered—her view was much clearer. If it was too much of a hassle to keep her, he would just order her dead... Of course she already knew this, but now the restraint was gone. There was little that was more precious than Sayyed’s pride.

The clashing of blades ensued within the chamber and each clang rang louder than the last. Arabella adeptly moved through the space and used her fine rapier to pierce the hands of those with scimitars and crossbows.

If that was not enough, she stabbed further and higher—their hearts and throats. Blood gushed onto the carpets and walls, while Sayyed stood with his hands behind his back to watch it all develop.

Fravash moved slower than most in the room, but his form took no damage from any bolt. His double-edged sword he could swing wide across the scimitars that could not even meet the armour of his legs.

He kept close to Arabella, acting as a shield with his blade and figure. Fravash thrusted his sword forward and hooked the underside of the Khathi man’s arm, causing him to be pulled inward.

His head got bashed in by the blade and Fravash easily disarmed him before he hit the ground. However, more help arrived through the archways as the Khathi began to filter into the chamber...

"I think it is time we left," Fravash said through pants.

Easier said than done when they blocked every entryway. If only Arabella had some... She wiped the blood across her cheek and looked around. They were being mobbed into the corner of the room.

This entire estate was quite clean as usual. But surely not every particle of dust can be cleaned off the carpets or the feet of ever sole that stepped foot in here... Her fingers drifted through the air while Fravash blocked the incoming bolts and blades.

Much like when smoke and ash snaked across the ground to form the Black-Sand River, tiny rivers of dust and dirt slithered towards the corner, from the carpets and through the tiles.

Grains of sand stuck in the tiles and clothing of those who stepped in—all the rivers hissed along the floor before they were whipped into the air by her orders.

One moment, there were dozens of men; the next, there were simply corpses. The dust and dirt exploded out in barbs from where she stood, avoiding Fravash and piercing into every body in the room...

What followed was the thudding of them all falling. Blood leaked from the cut across Sayyed’s cheek as he stood in the centre of the room, with now bodies blocking the floors. He glared while his spiked tail rose up, "You will not be free, except in death."

Arabella looked him in the eye and met his glare with her own. She sprung forward, with the dust and dirt forming into crescent-like blades towards Sayyed’s neck.

...

Fravash moved across the fallen bodies and stood by the exit, where he saw more foes incoming and the sound of distant barking getting closer.

Then he turned, to see two floating crescents of dust right by Sayyed’s neck. However, no blood dripped and Sayyed still had his hands behind his back.

Arabella was frozen in place and her hand was stuck reaching out. Her brows furrowed. She can kill him now, but why, why in the world couldn’t she?

Before any other thought even crossed her mind, her magic only lasted for so long before it faded and the crescents lost their shape—to simply fall as dust onto the carpet.

Fravash grabbed Arabella’s wrist and dragged her out of the room. Arabella’s gaze was fixed on Sayyed’s glare till his he was out of view and they were out of the estate...

The two were soon scrambling to push a small cart and attach it to two giant snakes with hooked grey beaks. "How fast are these roadwinders?" Fravash got into the cart and took the reins.

Arabella tossed the beasts’ rations into the cart and jumped into it herself. "Equally fast. Faster at night through the desert."

Bodies of Khathi men—some dead, some alive—littered the stables at the edge of the estate. Five large dogs sat compliantly and wagged their tails as they watched Arabella gave them a small wave goodbye.

"Ready to depart?" he looked back.

She peered back with her eyes drooped and lips tightened... "I have no choice at this point."

Fravash’s brows creased, "You always have a choice; there are just worse or better options. Sometimes the worse can lead to better."

She leered. "That would also mean the better can lead to worse."

"Who knows? But it does mean the better option lies with me?"

Arabella’s eyes glazed over. "Not the time to smirk. If we’re heading north, there’ll be Khathi going around the borders we would have to evade."

"Then we can try heading eastwards."

She shook her head. "Same problem. The Khathi will be around the east and west borders too. The south is dominated by the Revan Clan, but they are significantly less of a threat. We’ll have to face something any way we choose."

"Hm... Then how about we go through the south and circle back up north?"

"I leave that up to you. There should be enough rations for the roadwinders to last a couple of days at least."

"We can enter the province and restock in Ralitaia City well before that. None can pursue us beyond that."

"Very well then. It’s time to go... I hope the next half of my life will be better this way." Her hands moved, but her eyes darted to the estate behind her...

With Sayyed still alive, who knew what could happen. Trusting this admiral, with her life? Perhaps it may be outside of her comfort zone to do all of this; but when has her life ever known true relief.

"I will do my best to ensure it," he took the reins and the roadwinders slithered forward.

Arabella sat in the cart and watched her home for the past eight years become more and more of a view in midnight. Running away had crossed her mind multiple times throughout those long months.

Yet the fear of being caught regardless of any plan she had kept her put. Any approach could very well be foiled after all. But now, with the help of someone else... She tapped Fravash on the pauldron as the roadwinders speedily glid through the sand.

He turned, "Are there any pursuers?"

"I’m not sure. Though, I doubt Sayyed or the Khathi won’t be on our tail soon. I had a question." The lantern dangling over the cart gave enough light to read her signals.

"Feel free to ask."

"How many people have you helped this way?"

He looked to the road ahead, "I honestly do not keep count... Somewhere above twenty at the very least, I know it is not much. The Royal Guard in my current unit are made up of people I have aided in the past.

If you wish to be a Royal Guard, I can secure a position somewhere I am sure. You certainly have the skills for combat and an affinity will get you much further."

"I’m not sure if I’m cut out for that line of work," she dismissed. She eyed him from behind. All things considered, she had a good feeling of how it will all go.