The War God’s Favorite novel Chapter 60

The Little Sister
Cassandra ran to the Princess’ side in utter panic. What was going on? Shareen had fallen off her chair like a lifeless doll! Her first move what to check her pulse and breathing, but in a matter of seconds, she realized the Princess wasn’t poisoned but drugged.
“Dahlia!” She called.
“I checked both cups, my Lady, I swear!” Replied the young woman, crying in shock. “I swear I drank from both! The tea was fine!”
Cassandra believed Dahlia, but this didn’t make any sense! She was completely fine while Shareen was passed out. She grabbed both cups, smelling them. Nothing smelled out of the ordinary, but it could have come from anywhere…
Around them, people were in total panic after seeing an Imperial member pass out. No one wanted to be associated with a crime towards the Imperial Family, and the punishment that would come with it. Everyone around quickly fled the scene screaming, leaving the three women alone. Cassandra desperately tried shaking Shareen, calling her name and hoping to wake her up. Who had done this? Who would be crazy to attack the Princess in the middle of the street! And so few people knew about their outing, too!
She brought her fingers to her mouth and whistled loudly, out of despair. She hoped he wasn’t too far, because she had no idea what to do!
“Come!” Suddenly said a voice, grabbing her wrist.
Before she could protest or resist, Cassandra was dragged away from Shareen. Whoever was running in front of her held her wrist strongly, not letting go.
“Let me go!” Yelled Cassandra, despite the shock.
However, her kidnapper didn’t stop. She couldn’t even see who it was, as they were covered in a dark hood and cloak. They ran across several streets, but Cassandra, with her round belly, was running out of breath.
“Stop! Stop! I can’t…”
Whoever it was finally stopped, and took her inside a house. Cassandra was too busy catching her breath to look around, but she could tell it was one of the most common kind of house for the middle-class people, big enough for one or two people to live in. It was pretty dark, however, as the individual left the windows closed.
“…It’s really you…” Whispered the woman, still standing a few steps away from her.
“Who are…”
But before she could finish her sentence, Cassandra’s eyes finally met the woman’s face.
There was no mistake possible, no matter how incredible it looked. She had such a strikingly similar face, the same emerald eyes, the same dark brown hair… She only looked a bit younger, and her lips were fuller, her cheeks chubbier.
“Mi…Missandra?” She stuttered.
The young woman nodded slowly, looking like she was having a hard time believing her own eyes too.
“You’re… really Cassandra, aren’t you? I can’t believe it…”
They were both in utter shock. Cassandra fell on the closest seat, her legs unable to support her a minute longer. She observed her younger sister head to toe, shocked to have found her but also shocked to see how alike they were, physically. Missandra had grown up to be a strikingly beautiful woman. Cassandra was pure beauty, but
Missandra was a cultivated one. Every detail of her face looked perfect as if it had come out of a painting. She had some light make up on, almond eyes and the piece of her skin visible didn’t have a single scar, unlike her older sister, who had marks everywhere. She was indeed a bit curvier than Cassandra, too, showing that she had probably gotten better meals while growing up. Her hair was cut shorter, to her chest’s length, and a bit more voluminous and curly.
She stepped a bit closer, looking at Cassandra as if she was seeing a ghost.
“How did you…’
“I saw you on the terrace of my shop, so I…”
“That was your shop?” Asked Cassandra, suddenly realizing what had happened.
Of all places, they had picked her sister’s shop! She had thought about an apothecary business but didn’t think about a tea shop. Although, those were increasingly popular in that part of the Capital, as tea was considered a fancy drink.
Missandra nodded, taking off her hood.
“Yes. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw you, with a Royal too, but I knew I had to move quickly. So I drugged your drinks and put the antidote in yours. It was easy to not which one, apparently your tastes haven’t changed at all…”
So that was why Dahlia hadn’t felt anything, like Cassandra she had drunk both the drug and the antidote… Dahlia! Cassandra suddenly realized she had left her at the scene with Shareen. Well, at least the Princess wouldn’t be alone when she woke up…
“What the Heavens happened to you,” whispered Missandra, looking at her body and pink dress, detailing her sister from head to toe. “You’re so… thin… And… are you really…?”
“Yeah, I’m a concubine, and… pregnant.”
Her sister’s face immediately seemed on the verge of tears, looking completely sorry for her.
“No, no, Missandra, I am fine! I am really fine, this is not…”
“If only I had found you sooner…” She sobbed. “I swear, I looked everywhere for you as soon as I could leave the red District! But when I finally found your last master, a few months ago, they said you had been taken to the Imperial Palace as a slave to be sacrificed, I thought… I really thought you were…”
“You thought I died,” sighed Cassandra. “No, I was saved unexpectedly… I was looking for you, too! But back then, the Red District was the one place I never went, and when I got there yesterday, they said you had left months ago. Missandra, I am so sorry, you were sold to a brothel…”
Missandra shook her head, trying to wipe her tears.
“No, it was probably nothing compared to you, big sister. To be taken as a concubine… I am so glad I took you out of there! Don’t worry, I can give you some of my clothes, and we can leave the Capital, they won’t find us! I have enough money saved away. We can terminate the pregnancy, too, so they…”
“What? Missandra no!”
Cassandra had screamed without thinking because she was shocked. She hadn’t thought her sister would think she needed to be saved, let alone help her get rid of her child! She put her hands on her belly, immediately getting protective of her child.
“No, no, Missandra, you don’t understand.”
“Big sister, I knew what those red or pink dresses mean! You don’t have to be afraid, I will help you! I know it must have been hard to live with those wretched Imperials, but now…”
She was stepping closer to take Cassandra’s hand, but the elder sister shook her head, resolute.
“Missandra, listen! I do not need to be saved. You need to listen to me. My prince loves me, he really takes care of me, and this is our baby, our loved baby. The woman I was with earlier, she’s his sister, Princess Shareen. She’s there to protect me, too! Actually, we should go back and check on her, Shareen might…”
“No!”
Her sister grabbed her hand, shaking her head, looking completely panicked.
“No, no, you can’t go back! I don’t know what they told you, but the Imperial Family is cruel, Cassandra! How many over concubines does he have? Those women kill each other every day! And you can get killed anytime, too, as soon as he gets bored! Big sister, you don’t want that life! We can…”
Before Missandra finished her sentence, a loud growl suddenly resonated from above, making them both jump. Cassandra immediately understood what was going on, but her sister’s eyes were wide open in utter fear, looking at the roof.
“What is…”
“That’s my bodyguard,” sighed Cassandra.
The next second, the walls and floor shook strangely, and the roof over their heads was completely blown away in a big gust of wind. Wood and stone tore apart all directions, a few small debris falling around them, and Krai’s big head appeared above, growling loudly.
Missandra screamed in pure terror and tried to run away, but Cassandra held her hand, preventing her from leaving and trying to have her calm down.
“Missandra, it’s fine! It’s fine!”
“He’ll eat us! He’ll eat us! That dragon is…”
“A friend! I promise he won’t hurt you,” yelled Cassandra, desperately trying to cover the dragon’s loud growls. “Krai, hush! I’m fine, calm down please!”
The Dragon, apparently unhappy or confused, kept growling over their heads, his huge claws tearing some of the furniture around them. His red eyes were glowing in anger at Missandra, despite Cassandra’s attempt to hide her behind her. 1
Right then, the door was blown away from the only wall left standing, and Shareen appeared, furious, followed by Dahlia.
“What the hell is going on!”
“Shareen, are you fine?” Asked Cassandra.
“Fine? I wake up in the middle of an empty street with you gone and that big scaled ass making a mess of the place looking for you! What the heck happened… Wait, don’t tell me that’s really your sister?”
The Princess had finally realized the striking resemblance between Cassandra and the terrified young woman standing next to her. Missandra, after a few seconds of surprise, jumped in front of her sister, taking a little dagger out, glaring at Shareen and obviously getting ready to defend herself and Cassandra despite her own fear. Cassandra sighed again, totally exhausted by the turn of events.
“Yes, it is. Sorry, she’s the one who…”
“I drugged you, how come you’re already…?” Asked Missandra with a frown.
Despite glaring at Shareen, she couldn’t help but also try to keep an eye on the Dragon, too, wondering which would be the bigger threat. The Princess rolled her eyes, crossing her arms.
“I have a Dragon’s blood, you think your little sleeping potion can knock me out so long? I only needed a few minutes for my blood to get rid of it. Don’t do that again though, or I’m slicing you pretty little neck next time. And keep that toothpick away, from the way you hold it, I can tell you’ll only manage to injure yourself.”
“Hinue, li yunja ya…” Whispered Missandra. (
“Ya men da paerins da linue,” replied Cassandra. “Alshenjei li. Missandra, bato kaichira.”
“Kaichira? Hinue, li snaira!”
“Alra, mai li ya hensen. Linue, bato… almere.”
…What was that? Shareen and Dahlia exchanged a look, completely baffled. They had never thought Cassandra could speak another language! Whatever they were speaking, the sisters’ sounds were completely different from the Dragon’s Empire’s language. They couldn’t understand a single word they had said.
Whatever those words they exchanged meant, Missandra was still sending doubtful glances at Shareen, refusing to leave her sister’s side. Cassandra, though, was obviously trying to have her calm down.
“What the hell was that?” Asked Shareen, baffled.
“Alshengenui, Hinue. Li ghen…”
“Missandra, it’s okay. Please. I promise Shareen won’t hurt me or you,” replied Cassandra, switching back to the Dragon Empire’s tongue.
“I still haven’t decided on that, actually,” said Shareen, clicking her tongue and glaring Missandra’s way.
Apparently, she was still not over the drug incident. Cassandra sighed.
Missandra, next to her, couldn’t take her eyes off Krai. The Dragon had finally stopped growling upon Shareen’s arrival, simply looking at them with his red eyes filled with curiosity, one paw on the last wall standing. His nose was sniffing Cassandra, as if to check if everything was right. She gently patted his snout.
“That b… black dragon… That’s the War God’s…”
“His name is Krai,” said Cassandra. “He’s my friend, and sort of my bodyguard, too, as you can see.”
“He just destroyed my house!”
“Yeah, he tends to do that when you kidnap his favorite toy,” sneered Shareen.
“Kidnap? You’re the ones who took my sister away! Snaira!”
Shareen frowned, annoyed, and turned to Cassandra.
“Whatever she is calling me, I do hope that chick knows being your little sister doesn’t give her an extra life, Cassandra.”
“Missandra, please, calm down. We should go back to the Palace, now, we have caused enough trouble. I don’t want his Highness worrying about where I am, either. And we need to talk where we can both be safe, alright? I need you to trust me just this once.”
“Hinue, I don’t want you going back there…”
For a second, she recognized the eyes of the little Missandra, the little sister she had been separated from many, many years ago. It was heartbreaking to see that scared expression of hers again. Despite everything, Cassandra understood her younger sister’s concerns. She had survived all on her own until now. She was scared just like Cassandra had been before she had met and learned more about Kairen. Moreover, the terrifying rumors about the Imperial family that Missandra had probably heard, too, were sadly true, for most of them.
She took Missandra’s cheeks between her hands, trying to have her focus on her instead of the Imperial Princess
or Dragon.
“I promise it will be fine,” she said in their native tongue. “I just need you to trust your big sister this time, okay? We just found each other, Missandra, I am not risking losing you again. Come with me to the Imperial Palace, I’ll explain everything.”
“…Are you sure?”
“I am, Linue. Now, come.”