"Master, I didn't mean for things to go this far. Please forgive me." Opal laughed and slapped the dagger against his face. "Why should I? Not even your wife and her cousin are pleading for their lives." Opal stood up and walked back to her chair.
"I'll explain somethings clearly and I won't explain them again." Opal leaned back in the chair and crossed her legs. "I was eight when I first left home. It was done secretly but father and mother knew. Palari was only five at that time so that meant those other two were seven and six. I think. I left home and didn't roam far, really. I sneaked into Feri and became a maid in the Palace. I stayed there for a year and some months before returning home."
"When I returned, everything was just how I left it, peaceful and happy. One day, Mother decided to take Palari out of the palace and I tagged along. Of course, we had guards but not much, after all no one wanted to make an enemy of our Kingdom. So, it was a complete shock when we were attacked in the middle of the street. It wasn't ordinary, it seemed like they were watching us for a long time. I was barely entry mid-level, so I hadn't realized that they were silently taking out our guards."
Opal scoffed. "When they attacked, we had three guards remaining. They protected us, I protected mother. It wasn't easy. Three guards against fifty. Mother could only hold onto Palari in fear as they backed us into a corner. I had a short sword, which meant I had to get close to strike. These were entry high level martial artists. I had to fight with my life on the line because it was."
"Of course, I knew that I needed to hold out. I needed to because I knew that father would rush to our side immediately after hearing the news. We weren't completely alone. It was thanks to some of the citizens nearby, causing distractions, otherwise we wouldn't have lasted, and I would've have killed so many." Opal leaned on her hand, staring at nothing.
"Just when I thought everything was going to be over, one of the assassins slipped past me. I didn't think, I moved and just as he swung his sword down, I managed to stab his side. He swung at me wildly. I moved back but not fast enough as the tip of his blade sliced across my face. I felt pain but he was heavily injured and father had arrived. I didn't have time to deal with the pain."
"Whoever was left, was killed quickly. I walked over to retrieve my sword, thinking he was dead, but he grabbed my arm and pulled me down. 'She never said you were this strong. Since this is a death mission then you should know who wanted you dead.' He pulled out a plaque. Something anyone who knew about Regila's royal family would know." She looked at Kasian.
"What do you think it was?" She asked him. "A death plaque. Given to the personal guards of the Royal family." Opal smiled. "Smart for once." He chuckled and she looked away. "That King was foolishly in love that he gave that power to his wife and Queen, Olani Relia. She sent news to my mother about it three years prior, showing off how much her husband doted on her."
"I remember when she begged my father for it. Said she would train them personally since she was worried they were lacking. Unless you were a captain, you wouldn't have that plaque." Kasian gave additional information.
"That man's words stuck with me. I was who she wanted dead. Not my mother or father. Me." Opal shook her head. "I couldn't believe it, but I couldn't risk it either. So I left home. I took Palari with me and left. I didn't take her because I needed company, I took her since I wasn't sure if she would be in danger since I left. To make sure, I stayed in the Kingdom for a year and made sure to spread the news that the eldest Princess was missing." Malari, who was listening silently, couldn't help but to tear up again.
"In that year, I did a lot of things to survive and build up my own force. Private fights made the most money, especially when the odds were against me as a ten-year-old. I looked older for my age. I created a fake name and fake documents to participate. I won and invested the money back into myself the first few fights. The return was enormous, so I went with the next valuable piece of meat and brought a brothel."
"I trained them to collect information because that's what I needed the most. Three months later, I controlled half of the gangs in the Kingdom and ten more brothels. Another three months and I had the entire Kingdom's dirt in my hands. At that time, the signs of war had already begun to show in the outskirts of Palk. I knew then that it was time to branch out. I sent men out to every Kingdom. They worked fast and were ruthless enough, so I entrusted a lot with them."
"War started before the year ended. Heln was hit hard and fast. They had to ask for help from Regila. Early the next year, they sent out secret notices to the gangs. They were hiring mercenaries to join. I signed up and left Bira to take care of things regarding Rain and had her arrive for someone to take care of Palari." Opal's fingers tapped on the armrest.
"I struggled, killed, returned, expanded and repeated that pattern for seven years. I had my share of fun near the end. Once for survival and another for pleasure. I won't go into details, but I was pushed out. It messed with my plans for a bit, but I delegated the task to another and left the army. Unknowingly I was already pregnant when I left." She looked at Kai.
"The war was finished a few weeks after I left. The Pendant Tower also appeared around that time. Months later, I gave birth to twins. The older stayed with his oldest brother and the youngest went to his father. A few years later, I was in Regila on business and another set of twins were born months later. I wanted to send them with their father as well but unfortunately, they were sickly. So, they stayed by my side."
"I went to visit my sons in Heln, their father appeared there as well and months later, another daughter was born. Another visit like that happened in Ojun years later and another boy was born months later. After the twins got over their conditions, they didn't leave my side because it made no sense to at that point. They were quiet, well-behaved and understood that their mother was doing something important for their future."
"There was a moment where it made sense that I could've let them live with their brothers, but I couldn't burden them anymore than I did. They were in the dark while the others were in the light. Only a highly selected few knew of their existence, even if they didn't know what they looked like. I wore a mask in the army because I knew Regila sent a prince in the reinforcement to Heln. I couldn't risk anything, not my safety, not Palari's and not that one year old child that called me mama before I left for the war."
"After the war, I began wearing the mask more and more for certain occasions. Even when Healion was little and he asked to draw a portrait of me, I declined. I always told him to never draw my face. I couldn't leave even a sliver of proof of my real face on paper. As the boys grew up, they started visiting me in secret more and more and each time, it was a surprise."
"I'm sure, Malek and the others thought they were just young captains of my shadow guards that I favored because of their abilities. If Rain and Kain never came to find me after they realized that Malek disappeared, I really would've died."
Opal scoffed once again and stood up. "I really treated you too well." She kicked Malek's back. "While your wife was making antidotes with Kana, you were off having a fling with her cousin." Mia's head snapped up once she heard Opal's words. She looked at Lai, but the latter lowered her head. "Then you went back to your wife and enjoyed yourself some more. Leaving the mission and me in the flames. You really know how to enjoy yourself. Don't you?"
Opal grabbed Malek's hair and dragged him up. "Death is too easy or you but this farce went on for too many years." Opal sliced his neck open. She dropped his body to the ground and looked at Mia. "Did you know that he personally poisoned you so you wouldn't have his children first? He wanted her to have his first child and he succeeded." Opal smiled and grabbed Mia hair.
Opal saw her mouth and realized why she didn't let out a sound. "Oh. I forgot about that." She chuckled. "Fight them to death in hell." She sliced open Mia's neck and moved to Lai. "You thought you hid your children well, didn't you?" She asked her and chuckled. "Don't worry. I made sure, they accompanied their siblings well." Opal sheathed her dagger and snapped Lai's neck.