LUCEM
Chapter XXII's

The sound of repeated knocking of the door forced my eyes open. Moonflower's voice called out from behind the door.

“Mars, get up and get ready for dinner,” the door.

I'm asserting from the room.

The sound of Moonflower's steps sounded away, I got up to clean myself up before then joining the dining table.

It appears Marbella has been sitting with the group filling the side of the dining table like a family that is too big and unplanned. It's a little hard to describe how it should look.

I pulled out the remaining seat on Marbella's side, instantly the atmosphere suddenly boisterous with a squeak and a gulp. It seems that I have made this dinner a little delayed, so some stomachs become impatient again to fill. Marbella and Moonflower were not at all disturbed.

My plate was filled, and Marbella and I started to engage in dinner table conversations. But it felt a little difficult to direct Marbella on the topic I wanted, she was more interested in giving me suggestions like, eat more or about other trivial things.

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At night, James, Jiso and the troops had returned to the room closest to the ground in this house, resting after some physical activity. I have rested enough for today. Marbella did not show herself again, returning to her room shortly after dinner.

I walked over to Moonflower who was sitting on the porch stairs, her hands holding a cup of warm chocolate that she slowly absorbed. He turned his head for a moment and smiled at my arrival and went back to the courtyard. I sat on the top step a short distance from where Moonflower was. The wind was blowing slowly towards us, and I realized this woman had a soft vanilla scent that was always attached to her.

There was nothing else to do, I took the initiative to go to him to reduce the curious burden that filled my head all day.

“Bagaiama tell me your secret?”

Moonflower chuckles. “this is part of your thousand questions?”

“You can think of it that way,” reply me.

“Share secrets to a man I've only seen twice?” he glanced at me and smiled.

“But you look very familiar with my brother,” I keep fishing him.

“We became familiar after I saved her several times from confinement, I like cats and cats like me, also as humans we are two young women, that is.” Moonflower said it without seeing me.

“You are what?” ask me without covering up my growing curiosity.

Turned his body and looked at me. “What do I look like?” reply asked.

I didn't give him an answer, for a moment we were silent. Moonflower got up from her seat, then said goodbye to rest.

Now it's just me, looking at the night sky, the weather's pretty good and the wind blows breezy. The atmosphere became very calm and I thought, maybe I should re-learn how to communicate with humans after a long time.

Simple things that sometimes feel difficult to realize when the head meets the head.

I sighed to alleviate this pressure of ignorance.

Slowly my eyes closed then opened again with a slight surprise due to the sudden attack of drowsiness. It happened repeatedly, but I refused to move on.

A woman in a dull white dress with her hands tied was herded towards the field. In the follow-up with the figure of a man whose hands were tied back and his head was covered in black cloth, both arms were tightly grasped by two men wearing moss-like uniforms.

The people who were spectators exclaimed in obscenities and swearing from the barrier. Rotten tomatoes and eggs thrown even though far from the target. The woman's body was pulled roughly, standing several meters before the man with his head covered. The woman was seen struggling and begging, her dusty face was covered in tears and unrecognizable blood, while the man's body looked weak without a sound.

The man with his head covered was dragged back and his body was knocked down on a wooden beam that formed a crossbar, his hands and feet tightly tied to the wood. Some men came forward to lift the wooden crossbar and straighten it in a hole that had been provided. They moved quickly to ignite the burning fire of hay and dry twigs that were stockpiled around the wooden beams where the man with his head covered was. The fire grew immediately.

A middle-aged man in white robes, holding a pouch in his left hand. He walked around the fire with rhythmic steps. His right hand repeatedly reached into the contents of the pouch and then threw it into the blazing fire while letting out loud screams, the abuse and mockery of the alleged crimes against the man who was dying in a burning fire.

The sound of crackling from the wood and the burning body. The fire continued to lick every inch of the man's body, the heat that penetrated the entire layer of his skin creeping up every nerve and shutting it down, his entire muscle tissue shrinking, it shrinks due to the high temperature and slowly makes it charcoal towards the ashes.

AAARRRRRGGGHHHH...AAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGHHHH..” screams of pain rang out from the man's mouth then slowly subsided, disappearing in the blazing flames. The black body was seen frozen in the fire tongue dance.

Meanwhile, the two men at the woman's side in dull white dresses, clutching the woman's hair rough backwards, forcibly raising their faces to keep staring at the flames devouring the male figure before her, a flash of fire loomed over his face that was wet with tears and blood. He begged, thrashed and screamed in grief to witness the horrors that were so great, that he finally drooped helplessly and was dropped to the ground just like that.

The white robed man exclaimed. “Pendosa has perished... sinner has perished....!!”

The crowd clapped and cheered shuffling their hands into the air with satisfied faces. A very sickening, disgusting and unreasonable sight. My head feels spinning.

“Akh, gosh...!!” I gasped, panting with a body soaked in sweat. I held onto my tight chest and my stomach churned with nausea cramming down my throat, forcing me to spit out my stomach contents instantly making my throat bitter and warming. I tried to stand with shaky legs, the thick liquid coming back out of my mouth and my nose wetting the clothes I was wearing.

Marbella ran out to me, not caring about the fluid from my stomach that had not subsided, she hugged me tightly.

My body continued to tremble unstoppably, Marbella hugged me. “I'm here, it's okay, Mars, I'm here.”

He continued to rub my back and head in his arms, until a sense of calm I slowly regained, but my energy vanished without a trace. I pulled Marbella down. Marbella with all her might held my body, I could feel her legs shaking with the weight. As I tried to make a sound, I was again stunned in an unbearable cry. There is a pain I cannot understand.

My body felt helplessly frozen and my skin felt cold. Moonflower helped Marbella get me into the house and cleaned up. Marbella did everything for me, without asking questions and finding out anything from me.

Afterwards, Marbella helped me lean back and gently massaged my fingers while sitting down. Marbella's silence made me no longer dare to think, at least for tonight. Marbella did not leave me in the slightest and the troops who kept watching us dispersed after being asked. The night runs slowly into the morning, feeling much longer than the other nights.

Several times Marbella tried to make a little joke to force me to laugh, and as hard as I forced myself to forget, I remembered her even more. My brain doesn't understand cooperation this time. The tape was played over and over again and again. Briefly fought with my efforts to calm down. I lost many times and won occasionally when I stared at the tired face of Marbella who looked after me.

“Marbi, who are they?”

I looked at Marbella's tired face that was drooping down my shoulder.

Ah, never mind. Now I just miss the morning and the sun so much. Quickly come.

*****