Even Alicia was not sure what had possessed her to react that way.
But as the saying goes, "When in Rome, act like the Romans."
She wasn't in the 21st century, where she could be arrested for something as simple as a verbal assault. Over here, it was kill or be killed. Jungle justice. Only the strong would survive.
And she was going to survive.
Two of the man's friends rushed to his side, while one whose face was red with fury began to approach Alicia while wielding his weapon, which had the shape of a sickle.
"You are going to die!" He said in a furious tone as he tried to attack her with it, but she quickly dodged the first strike.
"I can say the same for all of you if you do not hand over the keys and step aside," Alicia spoke in a serious tone before she pointed the sword at the man, firmly grabbing it with both hands.
Meanwhile, his friend was at the point of death, and the others with him were doing their best to stop the bleeding while yelling for him to remain with them and instructing the other one not to let the perpetrator get away with it.
"Princess... Run!" The woman she had saved earlier yelled at Alicia when she realized the man was attacking with the intention to kill.
"Princess?" The man asked, stopping his strike midair.
"Princess... Amber?" One of the other men behind asked in surprise while looking at Alicia.
"Isn't that Prince Harold's wench?" Another one asked in panic as he tried to wrap his head around that and also stop his friend from bleeding to death. But it seemed none of them were going to work.
"What if she is? She just stabbed Polo!" The last one yelled, the evidence showing right on his body since he was soaked with his friend's blood.
"Are you Princess Amber?" The one attacking Alicia asked her.
"What if she is? Kill her!"
"She is Prince Harold's beloved! And we need to get Polo treated first!" He yelled back at one of his friends before he faced Alicia, demanding,
"Have Polo treated by the royal physician, and I will hand over the keys." He bargained even though it looked like what he most wanted to do was bash her head against the gate until all the essence was splattered everywhere like a tomato.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" One of his friends yelled and tried to pick up his weapon to do the deed instead, but another one stopped him.
"No!" Alicia firmly rejected the deal.
"He's nasty. My mercy does not extend to his kind. No royal physician would save his filthy blood."
"HOW DARE YOU!" He yelled at her. "I will never hand over the keys."
"You are in no position to bargain with me." She said it coldly. "I can only let you leave this palace alive, and if it's his fate, he will survive if you find him a physician quickly. So... hand over the keys." She demanded.
"Just give her the stupid keys! Polo is dying!" One of them shouted.
It was a surprise to see how emotional these men could turn when one of their own had his life on the line.
"Hand over the keys!" Another yelled at him.
Heaving in anger, he swore as he tossed the bunch of keys to her. "I will kill you myself one day."
Alicia snorted as she caught the keys in her hand. "It is not your fate to kill me." She replied.
He was angry. But they had lost. They could only carry their brother and hurry out of there to get him treated, with the promise of returning for her.
Alicia looked at the bunch of keys like it was an award plaque, and it was only now that she realized how hard her heart was beating in fear and her body was trembling. She had been scared. Anyone in their right sense would have been. But she had surprisingly done it. And she had surprisingly survived.
Once again, Harold's name alone saved her.
She raised the key above her head and dangled it as she said, "Shall we begin?"
The women cried in joy, all looking at the keys with sparkling eyes filled with tears. All the men present there looked at her with admiration, and by now, more people had already come out to witness this.
She is a saviour!
She is indeed!
Our children are safe!
This and many other words were what Alicia heard around her, giving her a feeling of deja vu. Was it the first time she saw Anne?
She felt a sense of fulfilment. Even though she hadn't exactly done something that great, her heart swelled with joy.
Alicia watched as mothers reunited with their children. Boys and girls who had never experienced such hardships before cried in their mothers' arms.
It was such a beautiful yet sad sight to witness.
What exactly caused Tyra to act like this? If she hadn't heard directly from Paulina, she would have thought they were all lies.
All the mother's expressions had taken a huge turn, and whenever they looked at Alicia, their gaze had turned from one of fear to one filled with gratitude, despite the fact that she was still holding a bloody sword.
"Thank you for what you did. You are what many of us will never be." A young girl who had just reunited with her brother, who had been arrested, said to Alicia with sincerity.
"It's... nothing. Anyone could have done that." Alicia responded with a warm smile.
She let out an adorable giggle before she shook her head and said, "No one could have." And then she walked away to help her brother out together with her mother, who sent Alicia a grateful smile.
"My husband was dragged in here this morning. Is it... okay to release him too?" A woman asked hopefully. Her eyes were swollen, thanks to crying for the past hours.
"Release everyone who was locked between yesterday and today," Alicia instructed them loudly, making them cheer.
The women thanked Alicia warmly and quickly joined the others as they divided the key amongst themselves and helped each other with burning torches.
"Thank you." Paulina, who had been quietly holding a fire torch beside her, spoke quietly to Alicia as they watched the commotion inside the dungeon.
"For what?" Alicia asked her in confusion.
"For doing this. For not letting me stop you. She was right... no one could have done it but you." Paulina said this with a proud look in her eyes.
Was it really her doing? Alicia thought to herself.
Somehow, she was having imposter syndrome. She had only been able to survive so far because of Harold. Without him, she would have died a long time ago.
"When I heard a commotion happening here, I knew it had to be you."
Alicia and Paulina turned to the voice and saw Lance, who had just entered.
Lance's gaze moved from their faces to the sword in her hand.
Follow current novels on freewe(b)novel.c(o)m