Chapter 5 - part 2: "Pursuit"

After I went quickly to my rooms, changing my clothes so that I could easily blend in with the crowd, I followed the secret path that would lead me out of the imperial palace, away from the eyes of the soldiers. Once I arrived in the streets of Riviera, I entered the festive atmosphere of the people, who anxiously awaited the arrival of spring days, to rejoice in the new season and rebirth after winter.

The first days of spring were acclaimed with ceremonies and banquets throughout the empire: there were funds that could be used for these occasions, so that no one lacked the material and food necessary to survive. The army itself was in charge of traveling around the empire or the governors of the various regions were instructed to distribute the wealth granted by the imperial palace. I had worked on this project with my father's permission since I was a princess and once I became empress, I had freed myself from any resistance put up by the nobles, winning the approval of those most willing to change. One of the main problems of Atenarte was the conservative class that prevented positive transformations from taking place in the empire, especially in favor of the weak.

After personally seeing destroyed villages, mass torn apart by hunger and poverty, desperate people and children so thin that you could see their bones, I could not remain silent in front of their requests of help. I would have done everything possible to improve the condition. It was my duty.

Wandering the familiar streets of Riviera, I realized that without clues, without information about Alex's whereabouts, I would never find her, so I resigned myself, calling the attention of my personal guard, Malik. Nobody knew of his existence, I had hired him while I was at war with a northern kingdom and at the time he had worked for the opposing army, as a chosen mercenary; I immediately saw in him an exceptional virtue, great skills that with targeted training would have made him really strong. Confronting him on the battlefield, I convinced him to follow me amidst the screeching sound of swords and made him my personal spy: he was a person I could trust because he depended completely on me and had decided to give me his life, after my decision to spare him and his loved ones. Obviously I had provided for his family, allowing them to enter the borders of the empire, under my protection. I was not an evil person, I would not have left his people in a country destroyed by war and in the midst of an enemy army.

I looked around and caught a shift near me, to my right: Malik appeared at my side, stepping out of the crowd as if he had always been there waiting for me and began to follow my step, slowly approaching.

"Her majesty."

"Find the witch for me. I have already ran out of patience."

"Yes, her majesty"

Malik disappeared back into the crowd, ready to take care of the task I had entrusted to him.

I decided to reach the square while I was waiting for him, convinced that he'd come back soon thanks to its great capacities: the space was animated by stalls of various types, many offering food to passers-by, and I observed the joy on the faces of the families who walked the streets of Riviera or of the couples in love who exchanged glances full of affection. A few children were playing ball; one of them fell right in front of me, tripping over the cobblestones of the square.

I helped the child get up smiling at him and saw him freeze in front of me: the people knew my face, at least most of the people of Riviera had seen it during my returns from conflicts or when I was visiting the temple of the capital, to pay homage to the divine spirits who watched over the empire.

"A-re you the beautiful princess? I mean the empress!" the little one covered his mouth with his hands and looked around frightened. His friends watched him bewildered, but after a while they started playing with the ball again.

"Yes it's me, but let's keep it a secret between us, okay?" I brought the index finger to my lips in a gesture that was meant to make him understand to remain silent about my presence in the city, right in the midst of ordinary people. In my position I could not afford to make mistakes and I knew I was well loved by the people but I also had to be careful of possible opponents, who would have jumped at the opportunity to hurt me or worse, kill me.

"Yes!" He smiled sparkling with joy and surprised me by taking my hand: "Mom and dad always say that her majesty is a gift from heaven, I believe it too! Thank you! "He told me before heading to his friends to continue playing.

It comforted me to see the happiness on the faces of my citizens: it was what kept me going. In this way I understood that I was doing good deeds and that my choices were right or that fighting was also necessary to defend these innocent people.

I did not love war, I had never loved it, but as I grew up I realized that it was part of my duty to overcome my personal disgust or my disagreement for the good of all. A sovereign, or an emperor, could not afford the luxury of behaving only following his own desires and the desire to enrich himself at the expense of others. Many tyrants had fallen because of their greed, many dead men struck by their own sins and their lies.

A strong person always had to be one step ahead of all their opponents and not trust anyone, at least not someone who could gain control over you.

The minutes passed slowly that day, but as expected Malik returned before an hour had passed, with news that I would not have expected: -Her Majesty, I humbly ask for forgiveness... the witch Alex has located my position and I have not been able to reach her.-

He was not a man of many words, but observing his body language I always understood what he wanted to communicate; he was young, he could still improve and I didn't blame him for losing Alex, she was an escape expert after all.

She had used magic, something my people or surrounding peoples had only heard of in fairy tales, legends, ancient stories, or even invented tales to scare travelers from wandering around dangerous places in the narrowest territory, be it swamps, shady woods, mountains inhabited by beasts. I should have personally dealt with the situation, that was now certain.

"Malik is not your fault, Alex has knowledge that we do not have... I'll take care of it now."

Malik disappeared from everyone's sight and I spent some time walking through the crowd, thinking about what I could do to find out Alex's location, until I saw an all too familiar figure standing next to a stall. It was Keira, followed by two other soldiers.