Kingdoms #11 - Mutiny

Ruby didn’t wait for Rey to return, the mutiny started.

Terror attacks, pogroms, anything the rebels could do to cause havoc and disorder across the kingdom, even if it means they hurt themselves in the process - they didn’t care as long as they disrupted Zyrah’s day.

Zyrah was sitting on her throne, hundreds of worshippers at her feet, and suddenly she saw smoke, not far from the palace.

She stood up and started walking to the window to have a better look, a few worshippers were caught between her toes.

“What’s going on…” she mumbled, then she noticed - the food supplies were burning, she started running outside, * crack crack*, the tiny worshippers who were caught between her toes crushed by the pressure.

She stood beside the burning warehouse, she started kicking sand on it, ignoring the poor villagers who tried to put out the fire themselves, kicking them into the fire together with the sand.

“Who did it?” She asked in a terrifying tone, “someone tell me now!” She quickly stepped on top of the warehouse, breaking it apart and putting out the weak fire, twisting her foot to extinguish it.

“It’s your food, idiots!” She shouted, she didn’t understand this mutiny anymore, they are deliberately harming themselves, she never dealt with anything like it before.

She went back to her throne room, sitting and holding her head, propping her feet towards the worshippers so they could keep treating them, shaking her head in anger.

A messenger came from the bridge that connects with her throne’s handle.

“Goddess, the rebels burned more food storages across the capitol”.

She sighed impatiently, “how come I didn’t know about it? I should know everything they plan, where are my spying bugs? I’m going to crush few of them to deliver the message for the others”, she explained arrogantly.

The messenger gulped, realizing she doesn’t know, the messengers were so scared of giving her bad news.

“What is it? Speak”

“G-Goddess… they killed them all, there are no more spying bugs”, he paused, his face turned pale, “it’s Ruby, she… she can spot liars, she uses magic or something”

Zyrah sat there, slowly digesting the nonsense she was hearing, “are you telling me we don’t have eyes and ears in their stupid tunnels anymore?” She asked, confused, she didn’t like being confused.

“Y-Yes goddess, every single spy that entered the tunnel never came out”, he said, his face still pale, whole body shaking.

She sighed again, placed her hand beside him, he slowly turned his face towards her first, she pushed him with her finger all the way out of the bridge.

“Ahhhh!!!!” He screamed as he fell down all the way from her throne to the floor, getting smashed on the tiny worshippers below.

“I’m surrounded with idiots”, she mumbled and got up again, walking outside, she stood on the sacred staircase, the whole capitol was at her feet.

“Rebels, you wanted my attention? You have it.

People of my kingdom - extradite and hand over every rebel you know or suspect”, she paused, examined the people staring at her, “any family that will fail to deliver a rebel - will be squashed”

People gasped in panic and fear, looking at each other.

“It’s us or them”, someone said in fear, looking at his wife and kids, “d-do you know any rebels? Please”, his eyes filled in fear.

His teenage son was shaking, he hid it from them, but he was a rebel himself, he can’t risk his family, he must extradite himself.

A lot of families were going through the same dilemma.

And not only rebels were extradited, a lot of innocent people were given to the palace by force, people were trying to save their families, and were willing to stab their friends in the back to ensure it.

Zyrah's plan was cruel and exaggerated, but effective.