Bruno stood outside of the temple, where the busy streets lay before him, filled with dozens of people—merchants and commoners—who were minding their own business and continuing in their daily lives as if nothing ever happened.
All around him, they ignored his presence and walked by, chattering amongst themselves while enjoying the fresh morning air, unaware of what his plan to do for the time had come and that his plan had already set the motion of moving forward. Taking in a long, steady breath, Bruno felt his heart beat fasten in pace, thumping vigorously from excitement or perhaps anxiety.
He cannot tell between the two, but whatever it is, he doesn't feel good about doing this. On one hand, he cannot wait to return to his precious home and see his finished book, but on the other, he is betraying his friend, who had saved and taken care of him.
The poet remained on his spot, watching the entrance for any signs of anyone approaching outside, yet no one had appeared for more than an hour or so. Raising his open palms together, he looked down at them with a contemplative display of what was to come.
Is a book worth more than a human's life? Especially if that person is his friend? Bruno, despite his hunger for spreading his teachings and the unification of all religions, found himself hesitating to proceed with the act that was handed over to him.
Does this make him an awful person? Probably not, as he was only doing this for his selfish interest, but it is nonetheless the wrong thing to do, regardless of what anyone may think otherwise. Besides, no one can change what happens next unless they try hard enough to find a solution for it.
Somehow, Bruno doubts he will ever continue this by being friends with them. He had already returned to the capital, and now their usefulness is over. He never intended to make friends through this trip to the city itself.
Closing his hands, he cringed at himself for having such thoughts, but soon they turned into sadness as he realized how far gone he was in committing such betrayal. "I'm sorry everyone," he said, sighing in resignation, looking up at the beautiful blue sky with a melancholic smile.
He can do this, just this once, and it will be over. Bruno doesn't have to worry about it any longer if he chooses not to, for what matters is getting this over with and continuing in his works, as none of these should matter to him as his own life comes before anything else.
Loosening his arms, he lowered his head towards the said entrance to see Seth and his companions following behind, speaking with one another as they walked through its gate, which opened wide for them to enter and exit altogether.
"Seth!" He yelled with fake enthusiasm, "How did it go?!" Bruno hurried over to meet them halfway, feigning concern with curiosity written all over his face while approaching the group, but his eyes immediately stopped in his tracks when he noticed two unfamiliar people.
A tall soldier known for his reputation for having served the Empire for a very long time, and the other is a little girl who looks like a scholar like himself but is more likely a magician based on the pointy hat she is wearing on top of her little head.
Returning the smile with his own, Seth stood in front of him before saying, "I'm not going to die today," stating the matter of fact in a plain and simple tone as his grin grew wider from the joy and relief he expressed. "It's pleasant to hear good news, is it not?"
Bruno briefly looked away for a moment, ashamed of himself at how happy Seth sounds when the day he dies is coming to an end. "Yes, it is indeed," he said, averting his eyes towards his other companions, who stared back with mirthful looks on their faces. "Can I ask why?" He inquired innocently enough, as if he had not known the truth.
"Ah, right, how can I forget?" Seth apologized wholeheartedly with a faint laugh. "The voting was even," he said, telling the truth in the simplest explanation possible. "So for now, I am free to live for today until the next court," he explained with pure contentment.
Looking over Seth's shoulders, "Who are those two?" Pointing out Gus and Cyan, who also shared the same expression, "Your new traveling companions?" He asked quizzically, with a rising suspicion of what transpired, as the chance of their plan not working when strangers are involved is a possibility.
Then the little girl was the first to introduce herself: "I'm Cyan, and this is my friend, Gus." She elbowed his hip lightly, encouraging the large soldier to introduce himself, finding it rude if he just stood there with intimidating presence alone.
Gus narrowed his eyes on the poet, having a sense of distrust in his heart towards the man, but he pushed these thoughts aside after coming to the conclusion that he was only paranoid, and it wouldn't be fair if he just assumed the worst without any solid proof. "I'm a friend of Seth, and before you ask again, I'm not going to arrest him," he chuckled before raising and extending his hand towards him.
Moving towards the man, Bruno took the handshake with ease, and a nervous chuckle escaped his own lips. "That's a relief," happy of knowing he doesn't have to do anything drastic against them, as the duo then put their hands away. "For a moment, I thought you were one of those corrupt knights in armor that people are talking about."
Folding his arms over his own breastplate, Gus expressed a display of apprehension in what the poet had said: "They worked their asses hard to protect people like you." His face hardened into a frown as he continued, "At least show some respect for the men who died for the Empire," he declared firmly, to which the other man nodded nervously.
"Sure, sure!" Bruno said, waving off the topic altogether. "I know, its my fault for assuming," apologizing sincerely at what came out of his own mouth, "but I've always seen so many of those corrupt soldiers doing whatever they want, and it feels like they're not doing their job as knights ought to be." His concerns about the Empire's military forces seem to be very valid in light of how corrupt they are.
The little girl agreed with this take. "His not wrong," she remarked, joining their conversation while nudging Gus arm once more. "The taxes are high, and misuse of power by those soldiers or nobles has ruined many lives and deaths among the public," pointing out some flaws in the Empire's system of ruling.
At first, Gus wanted to argue about this, for he sees no wrong with it when his men have put their lives on the line. But knowing himself and seeing their atrocities before his own eyes, along with receiving mercy from the holy man, who is considerably a king.
It wouldn't be a good image for Gus to defend the empire's corruption and oppression, let alone a reasonable defense for what his men had done, despite considering them his family. So he sighed and accepted defeat, looking away from the others as guilt washed over his consciousness.
Noticing the reaction, Seth smiled with joy at seeing this: "humility is a virtue of goodness," complimenting the knight who grunted in response, "and I'm happy that you are beginning to accept what you've been avoiding all this time," stepping closer towards his new companion, "let the guilt wash over you like snow so that you may learn from them, grow, and then become a better person in the future," putting a hand on the large man's shoulder with a nod.
Everyone stayed silent, observing the scene playing out in front of them. It's rather nice to see how kind the holy man is. Seth was something else to behold, for none had seen a person express this much compassion in their entire lives.
Coughing to get their attention, Bruno then opened his mouth to speak. "I know a place to stay," the poet suggested with a cheerful smile. "I have a house where we can rest," he proposed, causing everyone to raise eyebrows of curiosity at what he just said.
"You have a home?" Solomon commented, "How come you never told us that?" He questioned with astonishment but also puzzlement, "You could have at least said something to us, y'know!" The boy cried out, rather disappointed that they had never heard of this.
And Bruno became dumbfounded at this, along with the others who also share similar sentiments. "I told you before," he said with a raised brow, "remember?" As he said those words, the boy blushed in embarrassment from not realizing it soon enough.
"Shit."
"Language," Seth said with a mixture of seriousness and humor.
Sighing through his own nose, Bruno continued his conversation, "Anyways, come and let's get this over with already," gesturing them to come along before moving away as the rest followed suit in a group of six, "We don't have all day!"
Traversing through the crowd, his companions chatted away without knowing what was to come as his own heart throbbed violently, frightened to commit the betrayal in front of their very own eyes, especially of the very man who had saved his life.
While they were walking, Mathias, one of Seth's followers, came ahead of Bruno. Along with a multitude of swords and clubs. Now he who betrayed him had given them a sign, saying, "Whoever I kiss, he is the one. Seize him." Immediately he came to the Son of God, said, "Greetings, Rabbi!" and kissed him.
With eyes closed, Seth then understood what is in store for him after this act of betrayal. "Do what you must, old friend," was his only reply before being harshly grabbed by the soldiers around him, which caught everyone's attention as even Solomon and Genno knew there was no way out of this situation with so many people around.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Gus demanded, approaching his men, "Who ordered this?!" Clenching his fists tightly, he couldn't understand how this was possible, for no one inside the capital aside from his trusted allies had known about this.
"I did."
General Solana stepped out of the crowd of her soldiers. "Mathias has told me everything," she said solemnly, a faint trace of regret and sorrow hidden in her own voice. The look in her eyes was cold, devoid of all emotions, while she stared at him with remorse.
"What?!" He couldn't believe it. "Why would you do this?!" Unable to understand the reason behind this, he knew that she wouldn't, for they held a great respect for the holy man despite being on different sides of the war and battle altogether.
Even Cyan took part in this conversation, approaching the woman who she considered to be like a big sister and asking, "Is there a reason behind it?" Doubting Solana would ever do such a thing, for she trusts in her beliefs that her ideals are truly sound and not clouded by betraying others.
"Queen Cinder..." Solana wanted to say more, but she felt like she had no right to explain. "She knew from the moment Mathias told me," she said, glancing over the soldiers who were struggling to push away the angered boy that was Solomon.
"FUCK OFF!" Solomon shouted at the soldiers, "LET GO OF HIM OR YOU WILL ALL REGRET IT!" He cried out as the soldiers tried to retrain him: "GET OFF ME YOU BASTARDS!" Tears streamed down his eyes, trying to break free from their grasp, while everyone present only watched with utter remorse on their faces.
Genno went over to the commotion with a heavy heart. "Arrest me as well," he said to the armed men, who then turned their attention onto him. "I am a longtime accomplice with that man," gesturing to Seth, who was currently being held by the men.
Two knights glanced at one another before nodding as they apprehended the monk by his wrists, pinning him onto the ground with excessive force that would have caused some serious injuries to his body as they then brought him up despite having only a bloody nose.
Seeing this, Bruno's heart could not take this anymore; "arrest me to!" He shouted, causing everyone, including Mathias, to be surprised by this answer: "I am accomplice that helped them come here!" In which case, the traitorous priest responded back in shock.
"You were the one who lead them here. Why should you be arrested like the rest of them?"
With tears streaming down his face, Bruno lifted his eyes up to the priest. "Because I'm his friend," were his only words uttered through this terrible situation that had befallen them all.
