Swords of Justice
Chapter 24: The Lady's Story
Hamza won and defeated Moataz. Princess Hasna hurried over to check on him—his face was swollen and bruised, marked with blue patches. She asked anxiously, "Are you alright?"
Qasim approached, saying,
"Come, let us tend to your wounds… and then to that man's as well."
Princess Hasna applied a healing ointment to Hamza's injuries. Afterward, he put on his clothes and armor and sat down to rest. This time, the princess went to Moataz, who was crouched on the ground, clearly overwhelmed with sadness. As she gently applied ointment to his face, she asked:
"Why the sadness? We only want your help to strengthen the security of our kingdom."
Moataz was not the only one who felt that way—the entire village of swordsmiths shared the same sorrow. Princess Hasna couldn't help but notice it.
Qasim said to Hamza,
"It seems they're not pleased with the outcome."
Hamza stood up, stepped forward, and said firmly:
"We cannot rely on you if you are dissatisfied with this… We will leave if you do not agree."
Princess Hasna replied,
"We desperately need them."
Moataz rose to his feet and said:
"We are men who keep our promises. We will join your war… but I do not want another tragedy to befall the Lady."
Princess Hasna frowned slightly.
"What happened to the Lady? I noticed before that she hated us deeply."
Moataz looked up at the sky and began:
"It happened long ago… The Lady was once an ordinary girl living in a village, leading a simple life. That village suffered from poverty and famine, yet its people were content. They helped one another through both good times and hardship.
However, they were oppressed by the palace soldiers—men who were supposed to protect them. Instead, they were cruel and wicked, beating the villagers, stealing their food, and spreading corruption and tyranny. In truth, they themselves resented being assigned to guard that village.
Then one quiet night, without warning, while the villagers were asleep in their homes, a band of ruthless thieves attacked. They killed anyone who stood in their way, set houses ablaze with flaming arrows, slaughtered the elders, and showed no mercy to women or children—they killed them all.
The Lady's family managed to find a way to escape… but her father insisted on going to inform the soldiers so they could fight back. He told his wife and daughter to hide until he returned.
They waited for what felt like endless minutes… until at last, the palace soldiers appeared, facing the band of mad thieves.
The Lady thought the battle would begin—that justice would finally be served. But… but… something unexpected happened.
Her father's lifeless body was thrown before them by the palace soldiers, who then said to the bandits with wicked grins:
'Well, the agreement has been fulfilled… let us divide the spoils.'
It was a devastating shock—one no one could ever imagine. The Lady had believed that the kingdom's soldiers existed to protect its people, but instead, they betrayed them.
Her mother could not bear it. She rushed forward, screaming at them… and they killed her without mercy. Then they spotted the Lady hiding nearby.
The commander shouted,
'Kill her! No one must be left alive after what happened here!'
The Lady fled into the forest. They chased her throughout the night, but fate stood by her side. Somehow… she survived, though barely.
The next morning, while I was wandering through the forest cutting wood for fire, I found her unconscious and in a pitiful state.
I took pity on her and brought her back to my village—the village of swordsmiths. Our doctor managed to treat her wounds.
We waited eagerly for her to wake… but when she did, she was terrified of us, as if we were monsters. She was clearly in deep shock.
We did not pressure her. We gave her time. As days passed, she began to trust us—but she did not speak. At first, we thought she was mute, so we named her 'The Lady,' since she was the only female in our village.
Over the years, she learned to become strong. She mastered swordsmanship, blacksmithing, and archery, and helped us with our daily work.
And thank God, one day she finally spoke. She surprised us all and told us her painful story. We felt deep sorrow for her… yet she chose to keep living.
Those were peaceful days… until that fateful day came."
To be continued…