Chapter 41 – The queen sacrifices herself
The young woman woke up early this day. She breathed heavily before turning her head toward her husband. He was back to her. She got up and went to the bathroom to dress. When she got out, the tyrant was here, just in front of the door. Seeing his worried gaze, she smiled to him and stroked his face.
-…Is there really nothing I could do to make you change your mind?
-I just can't stay here and cross my arms while such a huge threat is hanging over your heads. I must do it, Pagan.
Later, they were in front of the palace. Sati had tears in her eyes but tried to smile all the same. The young queen hugged her before turning toward the dictator.
-I'm off. I'll be back, I swear it.
-Hm…
-I love you, Pagan. Please don't wo –
He seized her in his arms and clasped her as firm as he could.
-Please…come back to me soon…
She responded to his hug with the same intensity, and then slowly separated from him. He kissed her before letting her go with an extremely heavy heart. The young woman went in the helicopter and offered him a large smile before going away.
-Aliya…are you sure of this?
-Yes, chief. I'm not alone; I know I can count on you. We'll do it. All together.
The Russian looked and admired the young queen's determination, but he also was very worried. The soldiers who were about to go on the spot were reunited. Yuma offered her help and her mercenaries for the fight. The young sovereign thanked her before beginning a speech.
-Well, as you all know, we're heading to the enemy camp again soon. Be extremely careful: they're more organized, more equipped and far more dangerous than what you've seen before. Know to save yourself but don't forget to help each others as well: we'll make it only if we work together. From the few I saw, the new Golden Path doesn't seem to have assimilated this since our last fight so turn it at your advantage. We must come back victorious and relieve the people and your king. You're our beautiful country's shield, it counts on you all. Whoever you are – father, brother or son – please do everything you can to come back alive. If unfortunately it doesn't happen, the whole country will honor you the way you ought to. I, Aliya Min, will be the eagle who will guide and support you in this tough fight. Whatever happens, win and come back your fist raised! Together, for Kyrat!
When she finished her speech, everybody raised their fist yelling and praising her. She turned her head toward her Russian mentor who ordered the soldier to prepare to leave. Her step-sister came to her.
-Are you sure you want to go?
-I am. I'll follow my mercenary queen path until the end.
Yuma nodded and looked at her running toward the helicopters, thoughtful.
Hardly had they arrived that the Golden Path attacked them. Aliya was impressed by so much vehemence, but her determination didn't weaken: she must kill them, because they were too dangerous.
The fight to enter inside lasted thirty long minutes. The young lieutenant was proud seeing the royal army following her advice and encouraged them as much as she could. At Yuma's signal, some soldiers used rocket launchers to neutralize enemies in heights while Aliya was dealing with the ground troops. After they destroyed the door, the tyrant's sister ran to the young queen.
-Will you cope with your arm?
-Yeah, don't worry.
She planted a syringe in it before making the troops move on. When they entered, she pushed Khiran – who was the target of a sniper – and killed the latter with her M-79, making two more victims. When they took cover, he thanked her, but she told him he will thank her if they come back alive, and said he had to pay more attention as Sevati was waiting for him.
The cleansing of the inside was a little longer than the outside and despite of the losses, they were progressively gaining ground.
The young queen privileged the soldiers' protections and toured the place to help the groups. While the firefight, she was fairly injured, and even if they were fortunately minor, the accumulated pain was slowing her a bit. A moment, she noticed a young girl with a long black braid. She tried to join her, but the young girl threw some C4 before fleeing.
-Oh shit…take cover!
The soldiers began to run outside. Some second later the C4 exploded. To the general surprise, other bombs were on the walls, which caused the destruction of that part of the building. Jay and Yuma evacuated the soldiers rushing. As he was heading to the outside, big debris fell.
-Chief! Look out!
The young lieutenant gave him a powerful kick in his back to project him to the outside and used the impulse to do a back flip. As he was turning to see where she was, he saw her running toward the door where she saw the young braided girl, before debris entirely blocked the way.
Aliya took time to heal, and then ran into the corridors to meet the young girl again. She searched the rooms she fell on, hoping to find something. A moment she found a diary. Reading it, she fell on three names: Sabal, Amita, and Darpan. This last name was disturbing her…and she ended up reminding of her stay in the complex. He was the only one who managed to flee. Aliya gritted her teeth and started her researches again. She arrived in a room opened on a little part of a mountain and overlooking a huge waterfall. She did some steps and then suddenly froze. Instantly, she took one of her skorpions and shot behind her. Her target dodged the bullets and also tried to kill her so she took cover behind a table. When she heard her adversary reloading, she stood up and observed the room. She noticed a shadow and shot on it, injuring her assailant. Approaching, she recognized Darpan and seized him by his neck after she disarmed him.
-You…why did you want the Golden Path to reborn?
He didn't answer, trying to let go of her. She threw him against the wall and pointed her skorpion on him.
-Whatever…you're a poison for the country…I won't do the same error twice trying to talk with you.
She was about to shoot when she heard something slamming. Darpan threw a smoke bomb and tried to flee but the young woman managed to shoot in his leg before losing sight of him. When she was trying to reorient; she was taken by her hair and projected with a violent kick on one of the huge windows. Her head hit against it, cracking it and making her bleed. Before hitting the ground, she had damage with a piece of furniture. She had difficulties to stand up. She was hit again to make her fall again and her hair was seized again.
-Wow…look at what we have here…the queen of Kyrat…what a honor! You're really strong to have come here just like that! What a shame you'll die soon…
-Amita, stop this…
-At least I'm not holding her by her hair…
-You are too hotheaded! It is not a chief behavior.
-Please spare me with your boring sermon…so…what are we doing? We send this usurper back to hell?
-Just try it!
Sabal strengthened his pressure on her hair, increasing her crane pain. Then Amita enjoyed hitting her.
-Does it hurt? That's nothing compared to what you're going to undergo!
-Shit!
Jay was really angry facing the blocked way. After cogitation, he put some C4 and mines in the fallen debris and made everything explode with a rocket. Yuma sent her soldiers around the building to try to locate Aliya and followed the Russian mercenary to find her from the inside…
-Crap…I hope she's not injured! Don't do anything stupid, this time…you must come back with us…
Aliya was really suffering with her head wound…she had to heal…she tried to stop the young girl, and at the moment she managed to grab her arm, Sabal pulled her back, making her scream of pain. Amita stepped back, impressed by the young queen's strength.
-Well…Pagan really made you become a powerful mercenary…
-Why are you doing this?! I read your projects in a diary, are you fucking mad?! How could they have chosen so corrupted people like you?! Do you really believe the people will follow you and such ideals?!
-Those ideals are the ones Mohan praised when he was alive. I'm here to make people never forget his memory and beliefs.
-Although it's about time to forget the past…
-Amita, this is not the right moment!
-You're really pathetic…spending your time arguing is your way to help the people?
Get along before hoping to do god things!
-Ohh, the queen is yelling…
-You're a poison for Kyrat! Pagan may not be a saint, but he accepted to change for the people's sake! And what are you doing, meanwhile?! You reappear like fucking flowers and want to impose your miserable personal vision to a whole people! You bunch of dogs!
Amita hit her again. The young queen used the movement to grab her khukri and free herself from Sabal's grip, cutting a bit his hand at the same time. She seized his head and threw it on a table. Amita tried to hit her again but Aliya projected her with a kick, and finally immobilized Darpan sending him on the window which broke at contact this time. She could take time to take her purple syringe…
She was a bit worried with taking this syringe because it was a shorter way to come back to the horrible state in which she had killed Iravat…but at the point she was, she had nothing to lose…and she just couldn't imagine leaving before she has tried everything to eradicate the threat…
-I will never let you…compromise the country's happiness…even if it means it will be the last thing I do…
Pagan…
Sati did not dare asking if he was okay because she knew too well the answer. The young queen left for almost two hours, now. He was on the balcony sofa, his lips on his ring, and his eyes were closed. Sati sat next to him and took his hand. A moment, he opened his eyes and stood up abruptly. He seized his vest and quickly walked toward the door.
-Pagan, what are you doing?!
She ran toward him and took his arm. He turned.
-I can't, Sati…I just can't…stay here and wait for her return. It's unbearable. I want to see her, I want to know if she is okay, I want to come back with her…I would suffer again for nothing in the world!
He kissed her forehead and left calling for a helicopter despite her friend's begging…
Aliya planted the syringe in her neck and began to shake. Her sight blurred and she had difficulties to discern her braid lying on the floor.
Then, as her vision became suddenly perfect, she walked up to Amita, who more and more failed to keep her proud face. Jumping on the lieutenant, she engaged the fight during long minutes, but then weakened facing the queen's dilated pupils and worrying sneer. Aliya threw a vase on her and took advantage of her guard down to seize her by her neck.
-You're a threat to Kyrat…I didn't make the poppy fields disappear, but it's now way it stays the only exploitable resource…how can you hope for a nice future if you send children on the spot or in the fields rather than at school…
Aliya hit the young girl violently until she coughs up blood. Amita tried to defend and managed to stab her in her thigh. As the pain annoyed her more than anything, she gave her such a powerful punch in her neck that it literally crushed her throat. She didn't let her time to smother, took her head and broke her neck, killing her instantly. Sabal, horrified of the scene, tried to neutralize her taking the skorpion she left in the ground before. She waited a few second behind one of the beams until the loader was empty. At the moment it happened, she walked up to him unsheathing her second skorpion and shot on all his members, ending up making him fall near Darpan.
-Do you like sacrifices? Kyra told you that change can occur if blood was shed? Right! May your blood appease your goddess and make the curtains raise and let you see your misplaced fanaticism!
To marry little girl and choose one of them to put such a heavyweight like a goddess reincarnation…is definitely horribly mad!
Felling the syringe effects coming to an end, sue hurried to shoot in Sabal's head and did some steps, letting the air stroke her face and appease her. She looked next to her: Darpan wasn't moving. She walked again, admiring the waterfall before falling on her knees and cough. The effects of all he syringes stopped, and she was beginning to suffocate, invaded by the sudden pain of all her injuries.
-I can't…let you live…I must kill you and find new commanders…Sabal and Amita were so promising…you're going to pay!
She turned and saw Darpan, who stood up and had a grenade in his hand. Aliya stood up with hardness and wanted to take her skorpion, but she froze by hearing the noise of propellers she knew well. She turned and recognized Pagan's helicopter. At the same time, Jay broke down the door and rushed to the outside with Yuma. The young queen couldn't move, and had real difficulties to stay on her feet. But she gathered her strength to headshot Darpan. Unfortunately, the latter had unpin the grenade.
It exploded and Aliya was projected back and fell into the emptiness under the horrified eyes of her mentor, her step-sister and her husband…
The young woman fell in the water and regained the ground quickly, as the current was strong. Pagan descended his helicopter and ran toward his wife laying on the ground and bleeding from everywhere. She had enough strength to open her eyes.
-My dove…
-Pagan…
She did everything she could to smile and stroke his face.
-We did it…Kyrat will finally be fine…but…it seems like I couldn't have kept my promise…
He begged her not to say it, joining his tears to his beloved and pressing his hand on hers.
-Pagan…forgive me…The most important is that everybody is safe…mainly you…watch over Kyrat…
-My dove, no…
-It will be all right…
-Aliya, please…don't leave me…
-I love you…
She slowly closed her eyes, repeating those words to her husband who seems to lose his mind as he was feeling her wife's strength leaving her. In a desperate move, he grabbed the last three syringes she had in her pocket and planted them in her body. Seeing nothing was happening and that her eyes weren't opening again, he firmly held her crying in silence...
