Scadrial Port (30 minutes later after the past incident)
"Is there any bank nearby? It's urgent." Rhea asked one passer-by at the road.
That man inspected her from top to bottom, then looking at her eyes, replied, "Umm... 5 minutes from here, you have to go straight.." He pointed towards the road beside them.
"Okay, thanks very much for your kind resolution." Without wasting a single second, she started walking towards the road in a not so fast, yet busy manner.
She entered the bank and went straight to the 'Money Deposit' section. She pulled out her card from pocket, then started remembering, 'So what was the password, umm...it was the first letter of our names then the last digit of our birth years, so ORB379- or something like that... Oh no, I should not have thrown away the paper, should I? I thought I would remember. Let me check first.'
She entered 'ORB379' then on the screen 'Incorrect Password' pops up. She thought, 'Am I mistaken? Then what was it? '
All of a sudden, she heard a very familiar one.
"So you are here." Orin's sharp gaze was focused on her eyes.
"Orin, Brynn...you two came here just at the perfect moment. I was thinking of you both..." Her words got interrupted by Orin.
"We too! What a coincidence, right?" Orin got a smirk on his face.
"Absolutely, help me please. I forgot the password." Rhea looked at them with a pitiful sight.
"Fuck all that nonsense! Just give us the password already...you grasping bitch...you thought you would take all the money alone, don't you? Know you are playing with us too." The frustration in his voice was evident.
"What are you talking about? Is it some kind of game?" Rhea couldn't understand anything.
"Rhea, please, give us our money back.. We have given our every last accumulation to make it happen... Now please don't betray us... I am begging you." Brynn was almost broken.
"I haven't done any of these things guys... I just went out for a walk, then I remembered that I had another account and I left without depositing the money, so I ask a passer-by where the bank is, as I have to deposit the money in this bank, but I threw away the password paper and forgot it. Nothing else-" Rhea tried to justify her.
"Enough of this drama, I'm telling you straight up, tell me if you'll give us our money back or not." Orin took out his knife from his pocket.
"Please trust me, I haven't done any such things, Brynn you believe me, don't you?" Rhea looked at Brynn in a longing gaze.
"I used to...but now I don't...You may have gotten into this job out of greed, but you should give us our money back." Brynn clenched his jaw.
Rhea didn't expect this from him. She loved him from the bottom of her heart. And she thought he loved her the same way she did. So hearing this, she was crushed inside.
She stood still and said, "I repeat I haven't stolen your money or any such of things...but seeing your trust towards me...I wish I had...I wish I could be able to strike at hope and trust, I could break all bonds with one blow. I can't... But I wish I had....." Rhea broke down in tears.
Rhea hastily wiped her tears, attempting to refocus on the screen before her. The flashing 'Incorrect Password' notice looked to mock her.
"Rhea" , Brynn said quietly. He moved closer and softly touched her shoulder. "Don't weep...perhaps we misread everything. Perhaps this is not your fault—"
"Are you really falling for this once more?" Orin said as he moved closer. You're still acting the fucking hero despite her lying through her teeth."
"She is not lying!"Brynn spun around quickly.
"I know her—" Orin cut in, "You thought you knew her." You might not have ever truly known her, though.
Rhea glanced in between the two guys. "I promise you both I typed the correct password. ORB379 was it. That's the mix we decided on, right?"
Orin grinned but remained silent. simply gazed. Brynn scowled, feeling uneasy. "Hold on, did you mention ORB379? That's—" Orin cut in once more, but in a different tone. chilly. Far away. "The password was that. I made a change." Like a blade, silence fell between them.
"What...?" Stunned, Rhea whispered. "Yes. Orin stepped closer to the screen and repeated, "I changed it." "I realized I feel jealous when I saw you two before you were out on your little 'walk.'" You two were becoming... too near."
Instinctively, Brynn stepped in front of Rhea and muttered, "You bastard..." Orin laughed. "You're behaving as though I did something incorrectly. I kept us safe. But now that I think about it, perhaps I just needed to defend myself."
With his fists clenched, Brynn approached him. "Provide the password. NOW."
"Or what?" Orin said, opening his knife once more.
"You'll fight me? OVER her?"
"You're the one trying to tear this apart, not her!" Brynn sprang forward and grabbed Orin's wrist. As they struggled, the two collided with a row of chairs. Everyone in the area began shouting, but nobody approached—it was the exact chaos Orin enjoyed.
"Stop it!" cried Rhea. "Please, Orin—" However, it was too late. The knife slipped between Brynn's ribs during the struggle. Rhea ran towards Orin and grabbed his collar, but Orin threw her apart.
Time paused...slowly, almost stunned, Orin retreated.
Brynn spoke with great pain,"You bastard...you always felt jealous upon us." Blood bloomed on Brynn's shirt, and he gasped and staggered. He reached for her and whispered, "Rhea...I never lost faith in you." He fell to the ground.
Rhea dropped to her knees beside him, her hands trembling. "Brynn... Brynn!"
"I was never meant to kill you...all I wanted was to kill this bitch who ruined my plan." Before anyone could stop him, Orin had already slipped into the crowd and vanished as security guards hurried in.
Tursia Fort
Queen Cassandra stood still on the Fort balcony and watched the black-grey ruins of the palace. The ashes were all that remained. It was hard for her to believe that a 14-15 year old child was the reason for such a miserable condition of their king and palace. And why did the greatest of the soldiers fail to stop him?
(at evening)
"So the war is over, right?" Queen Cassandra looked at the courtiers, obviously who survived the war.
"No it's not...never until I die..." Cassandra said in a cold voice before anyone could. "You people think ruling a kingdom is so easy, right? Building this kingdom took so many years more than you could ever imagine. It's about a 1300 years old kingdom.. but why should you care? You were born only to obey the throne. You have no worries about who sits on that throne. You became desperate to usurp this kingdom in my absence. Those who were their leaders will be punished accordingly. And before anyone betrays me in the future, I will inflict such punishment that the blood of the people will tremble to do such a thing. I will decide the fate of all of you."
Nobody dared to speak a word. Cassandra continued, "Tomorrow morning the guilty will be punished in public, then the army of Velmor will arrive before nightfall, and the fight for my rights will begin the day after tomorrow. The court is dismissed."
Lady Cassandra sat with his hands crossed over his cheeks and his head resting on them until each of them left the court. Then she entered the room designated for her and found that her son and daughter had been put to sleep by the maid. As soon as she entered, the maid bowed her head and left the room. She looked at them and thought, this fight is not for herself, for the king, or for the people of this country, this fight is for her own blood, her children.
Arizona Desert
Various weeks passed since Massimo and his friends had left the Arizona Desert but the thoughts regarding them still lingered in Stella's mind. The thoughts of whether Massimo was alive or not haunted her the most. It was mostly 3 to 4 days Massimo was there but occupied a permanent place in her subconscious mind, maybe in her heart too. So, that anxiety raised her heart-beat. This drove her to tell the matter to her allies, Simon and Travis.
"Shouldn't we go to visit them...even assist them at their battle..after all it's our responsibility." Stella spoke to them.
"Ofcourse we will....I was thinking about it too." Simon nodded.
"We should and we shouldn't too...the battle is in its full rage and if we go now we will be killed...assume our condition if we go there...we live near Tursia and support Barren...we will be attacked from either side...so it's better not to take any hasty and foolish decision. Foolishness has many types and the most dangerous is driven by emotions...it knows no bounds."
Simon agreed at the wise decision of Travis and decided not to go for then but later.
Stella understood that it was pointless to rely on them, they wouldn't get the job done.
Barren
After the end of the great cycle of war brought a breath of peace after a long time. Adam was yawning in peace after a great sleep after a long time. He had summoned Massimo to come that day. As usual, Massimo came after a while, excitement clearly evident in his eyes. He had already predicted why he was summoned.
"So, Massimo, from today I will teach you archery and swordsmanship."