The next morning, King Bekori's palace buzzed with frantic activity. The nobles stood in rows, their faces pale, their eyes fearful. Army officers stood behind them in their formal uniforms, their hands gripping their swords.
On the throne sat King Bekori. He was not as usual. He was not just angry. He was shattered.
Hours earlier, a ssenger had arrived from Prince Leon's palace. His palace guarded by over a hundred soldiers. The palace of the crown prince. The palace of his only son.
The ssenger was trembling. He could not look the king in the eye.
"Your Majesty... Prince Leon... is dead."
The entire hall fell silent. No one breathed. No one moved.
Bekori stood up. He did not scream. He did not cry. He just looked at the ssenger with bulging, red eyes, as if they would pop out of their sockets.
"What did you say?"
"The prince... was killed. Last night. The palace was attacked. All the guards were killed. Nearly one hundred and eighty soldiers. And the prince..."
He did not finish.
Bekori exploded.
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
He scread a scream heard throughout the entire palace. Heard by the guards at the gates. It made the birds fly in panic from above the walls.
He began smashing everything around him. He threw a golden goblet to the ground, shattering it. He grabbed an oil lamp from the table and pushed it hard, shattering the glass and spilling the oil. He overturned his heavy wooden chair as if it were a feather. He kicked the large table in front of him, flipping it onto its side.
"My son! My only son! Leon!"
He fell to his knees. He cried. He cried loudly like a child. The nobles looked at the ground. No one dared to look at him. The officers stiffened in their places.
Then he suddenly stopped. He stood up. He wiped his tears with his sleeve. His eyes beca cold and blue as ice.
"I will find who did this. I will find everyone involved in this. And I will kill them all. Not just the killer. Everyone who helped. Everyone who knew. Everyone who heard. I will kill them with my own hands."
He looked at the nobles. A look that made them tremble.
"I will announce a bounty of one hundred million Beli for anyone who brings information leading to the capture of my son's killer."
One of the nobles stepped forward. He was an old man, with a long white beard, leaning on a cane.
"Your Majesty... there are reports of young people in the south whispering about revolution. Gathering at night. Talking about overthrowing the crown. Perhaps they are connected to this."
Bekori looked at him. "I will burn the entire south if necessary. I will kill every man, every woman, and every child there if they are involved. I will turn the south into a graveyard."
He looked at his army commander. A huge man, his face full of scars.
"Take three hundred of your best soldiers. Go to the south. Kill everyone you suspect. Kill everyone who raises suspicion. You don't need a trial. You don't need proof. Anyone who talks about revolution, kill him. Anyone who gathers at night, kill him. Anyone who possesses a weapon, kill him."
The army commander nodded. "As you command, Your Majesty."
"And if you find any link between these people and the killing of my son... inform imdiately."
"I will."
The commander left the hall. The nobles followed him one by one, whispering to each other. The hall beca empty. Bekori remained alone.
He sat on the floor among the wreckage of the furniture he had broken.
He looked at the ceiling of the hall.
"Leon... I will avenge you. My dear son."
---
At the headquarters, Jinny was sitting in her small room that Pablo had allocated for her. The room was simple, but comfortable. A soft bed, a wooden table, and a comfortable chair. But Jinny was not interested in comfort.
She was sitting in front of a special communication device, listening to the nobles' conversations, watching their movents, and eavesdropping on the palace's communications. Her talent for espionage was almost innate. She knew where to put her ear before the conversation began.
A special device rang. She heard a conversation between so nobles. As soon as she heard their dialogue, her eyes widened.
She put on her clothes.
She put on a very short black shirt, barely covering her full chest. The shirt was so tight that it traced every detail of her body. It ended several centiters before her stomach, leaving her soft, sculpted belly completely exposed. Her slender waist stood out remarkably. She put on very tight black shiny leather pants, tracing her rounded buttocks and defining the muscles of her long thighs. Her long pink hair cascaded over her shoulders, so of its strands touching the fabric of the short shirt and sotis disappearing beneath it.
She knew she was bold. She knew Pablo would look at her. She even expected it.
But she didn't care.
She left her room. She walked through the corridor. The n looked at her. So stopped talking. So opened their mouths. So whistled softly. She ignored them completely. She reached Pablo's room.
She didn't knock. She entered directly.
Pablo was sitting behind his desk, reading old reports. When she entered, he raised his head.
His eyes stopped at her face. Then they moved to her neck. To her prominent chest that the short shirt barely contained. To her exposed, soft, sculpted belly. To her slender waist. To her rounded buttocks under the tight leather pants. To her long thighs.
He smiled a slow, confident smile. He put his pen aside. He leaned back in his chair, putting his hands behind his head, as if preparing for a show.
"Jinny... you didn't tell we were celebrating tonight."
"We are not celebrating." Jinny said coldly.
"Then why this outfit? Are you trying to seduce ?"
"This is my usual clothes."
"I wish you would wear clothes like this every ti, but wear them only for . My n will go crazy if you keep walking around them like this."
"That's their problem."
"No, that's my problem too. How do you expect them to fight while you pass by them like this?"
"That's your problem."
Jinny ignored his words. She stood before his desk, her arms crossed under her chest, further accentuating its prominence. The short shirt rose slightly with this movent, revealing more of her stomach.
"I have news."
"News? Or did you co to show yourself off while I pay the price?"
"Pablo."
"Yes, I'm listening. But know that I cannot concentrate while you are in this outfit. You could sit down, or at least change your clothes. Or perhaps..." He paused for a mont. "Stay standing. That's a beautiful view too."
"I will not change my clothes."
"Then I will talk to you while imagining you without them."
Jinny shook her head. "King Bekori announced a bounty of one hundred million Beli for his son's killer. And he sent three hundred soldiers to the south. Their orders: kill everyone suspected of involvent."
Pablo's look changed. He was no longer flirting. His eyes beca sharp. He sat up straight in his chair.
"Three hundred soldiers?"
"Yes. And their orders are to kill everyone who talks about revolution. Everyone who gathers at night. Everyone who owns a weapon."
Pablo was silent for a second. He was thinking. His eyes sotis still drifted to her body against his will.
"Thank you, Jinny. This is important news."
"Don't thank . Just finish what you started."
"I will. But let say sothing..."
"What?"
"You, in those clothes, with that slender waist... make a man think of things that have nothing to do with revolution."
"That is not thanks."
"That is the truth."
He moved toward the communication device. He began calling one of his forty n in the south. Jinny remained standing, her arms still crossed. She was watching him.
Pablo turned to her for a mont.
"You're still standing?"
"I'm waiting."
"For what?"
"You won't ask to stay. As usual."
He smiled broadly.
"Stay. Never leave. Especially in this outfit."
She didn't move.
---
Pablo called one of his forty n. A man who was sowing sedition in one of the southern villages.
"The soldiers are coming. Three hundred. Their orders are to kill everyone suspected of involvent."
The man was silent for a mont. "What do we do?"
"Prepare the young n. Distribute the remaining weapons. When the soldiers start killing people... attack them. Don't start the attack first. Let them start. Then strike."
"What about the victims?"
"There are no victims in this war. Everyone has chosen a side. Even those who remain silent have chosen the side of the spectator. We will not win with pity."
"I will tell the others."
"Tell them. And say to them: those who die today will die for freedom. Those who flee will live as slaves. The choice is theirs."
He hung up.
He looked at Jinny. She was still standing, her arms crossed. She was strikingly beautiful in this dim light.
"You ca with bad news."
"The news is not bad. It's real."
"Perhaps. But your presence here eases its impact."
"You don't stop, do you?"
"Never. Especially when you're in front of in this outfit. Aren't you cold? The shirt is very short."
"No."
"Then your body must be warm. May I check?"
"No."
"Alright. I will believe you."
Jinny shook her head. She left the room without replying. But before she left, she heard him say:
"Tomorrow, the sa outfit, please."
She closed the door firmly.
Pablo smiled. Then he returned to thinking about the plan.
---
Pablo called Marco and Shigo.
They entered. Their faces were serious. They knew Pablo only summoned them for important matters.
"Three hundred soldiers are on their way to the south. Their orders are to kill everyone suspected of involvent."
Marco stepped forward. "What do you want from us?"
"Take the n. Everyone who remains. Go to the south. Help the young n. Don't let the soldiers kill them easily."
"How many n will we take?"
"The fifty remaining. I will stay here."
Shigo looked at him. "Alone?"
"Jinny is with . That is enough."
Shigo did not comnt. Marco shook his head.
"Move now. The soldiers will be there before dawn."
Marco and Shigo left. Pablo remained alone.
He did not feel like going. He didn't need to. His n knew what to do. And he needed rest after the night of the palace.
He sat on his chair. He closed his eyes.
He knew the coming days would be bloody.
But he was ready.
---
In the early morning, the convoy of soldiers arrived at the first of the southern villages.
Three hundred soldiers. Their horses tired. Their weapons gleaming under the pale morning sun. They were tired from traveling all night. But they were ready to carry out the king's orders.
The army commander was a man nad General Volkan. A huge man, his face full of scars, his eyes small and sharp. He drew his sword and pointed to the first village.
"Begin."
The soldiers spread through the streets.
They opened doors. They entered houses. They dragged n into the streets.
There was no discrimination. No investigation. Anyone who seed suspicious was beaten. Dragged. Sotis killed.
In a narrow alley, two soldiers saw a man in his thirties hiding an old weapon under his bed.
They didn't ask why. They stabbed him with their spears. The man fell to the ground. His wife scread. They slapped her until she fell silent.
In the village square, the soldiers gathered about twenty young n. They were among those who participated in the nightly etings. They were among those who spoke of revolution. They were among those who trained to use guns in the forest.
General Volkan gave them no chance to speak.
"Execute them."
Gunshots echoed. The young n fell one after another.
But not all of them were there. So had seen the soldiers from afar. They hid in the forest. They carried their guns. Their hands trembled. But they were ready.
Pablo's n were with them. They guided them. They cald them.
"Wait... not now..."
"Now..."
And they began.
Gunfire erupted from the forest. It hit the soldiers. Three soldiers fell before they understood what was happening.
General Volkan turned toward the forest. He shouted:
"There! Catch them!"
The soldiers rushed toward the forest. But they were unprepared. The young n knew the forest better than them. They hid behind trees, fired, retreated deeper into the forest.
The first battle in the south had begun.
It was not an organized battle. It was chaotic. Bullets flew in every direction. The screams of the wounded rose. Officers' orders mixed with shouting.
But it was the beginning of sothing that would not stop.
Blood had been spilled on the southern soil for the first ti.
But it would not be the last.
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