ALL NOVEL Die for the Cause
She was shaking. Bad. Her throat was abnormally dry and her vision was completely black, with her stomach cramping like she was experiencing hunger pangs.
"Xin Yi. Sit." As soon as the sentence finished, Nova's vision was restored. A small table with two tea cups and a singular teapot filled her vision. Her hips made a strange cracking noise as she gazed at the table, like she'd been standing too long and her bones were shifting.
Her eyes trailed from the table to the woman sitting quietly at the table on a mat. The dark-haired woman with striking blue eyes stared at her unblinkingly, picking up the teapot and pouring it into the teacup closest to her. Nova could only blink and look around the unfamiliar room
Steam rose from the cup as she brought it to her lips, gently blew on it, and took a small sip before placing it back down.
“Don’t make me repeat myself.” Before Nova could even process the words, a strange feeling invaded her body, making her move to sit cross-legged. The strange woman poured more tea into the cup closet to Nova.
“Drink.” Once again, Nova’s body acted independently, downing the cup within seconds, leaving merely a few droplets. Her tongue didn’t even taste it but the tea itself soothed her dry throat. Her hand placed the cup back down, leaving her and the woman staring at each other.
“What. Is. Happening.” Nova said. The confusion was starting to seep into her mind, not yet turning into panic, but it was getting there. This stranger was dressed in traditional Cheongsam clothing, was glaring at her like Nova owed her money, and she was in a strange ancient Chinoiserie-looking room. Not to mention the godforsaken feeling that had possessed her body to make it move on its own or the fact that she was completely blind not 30 seconds ago.
To top it all off, Nova had no recollection of getting anywhere near this room. Her last memory was that she was simply relaxing in a restaurant and eating fish at Sushi Ginza Onodera. As the facts began to pile up in her mind, Nova’s panic was starting to materialize.
The strange woman didn’t answer the question, merely arranging the tea pot and cups into a singular straight line.
“Xin Yi. Answer my question and all your questions will be answered.” The woman removed the two tea cups from behind the teapot.
“Without the tea cups, is the teapot still useful?” At that question, Nova felt…Sick. More sick than she already did. She was on the verge of hyperventilating now, with her palms becoming wet and clammy. But she forced herself to stay calm. This was obviously some sort of sick kidnapper, as such she needed to keep calm and comply with the woman’s demands.
“...Y-yes? The pot can still hold tea.” The woman didn’t reply, just continuing to stare at her while she placed the cups back into line with the pot. The back of Nova’s head, the veins in her neck were beginning to ache, like something or someone was stabbing her, making her eyes water. The woman then removed the teapot from the line while keeping the cups in place.
“Are the cups useful without the teapot there to pour them tea, Xin Yi?” Nova’s stomach churned, violently. There were multiple ways she could answer this question, but in her sickness in panic, she could think of only one answer that would most likely satisfy the kidnapper.
“...No.” The woman smiled. Nova’s vision blurred
“I’m glad you know. Xin Yi, we are losing. It may seem that the colony is on the verge of collapse but it is we who are on track to be destroyed. Without a way to drum up support, funding, and momentum we aren’t going to be able to keep up with the Colony.” There was a lull in her words as she stared at Nova.
“I think you know where I'm going with this. Xin Yi, you are useless. You have repeatedly embarrassed our family lineage with your antics, have proven yourself to be completely incapable as the head alpha of our household, and are simply…unfit for our image.” Nova was completely hyperventilating now. Something was wrong, even in her worst anxiety attacks, her body never felt like this.
Her gaze was drawn to the cups. The Woman’s cup was still essentially full, leaving a warm brown color of the tea to be completely visible in Nova’s eyes. She looked inside her own cup. Black. The Woman gave her a gentle smile when Nova looked at her.
“I knew you wouldn’t notice at first. I’m surprised you noticed at all.” The Woman took a sip of her own, non-poisoned cup.
“You won’t die. It’s simply to make it easier to transfer you to the Colony’s hands. There are two options for what is going to happen to you. One, that…wench is going to keep you hostage. Two, she’ll kill you. That’s what I’m betting on personally. Since she just…hates alphas like you.”
Nova couldn’t breathe anymore. She could barely even see the woman in front of her. All of her medical knowledge abandoned her, despite her racking her still functional brain for an answer. Her vision dimmed still, and her body which had maintained the cross-legged sitting position throughout everything was finally swaying.
“Goodbye, sister. Please die for our cause”
Then it all went black.
The leading officer chewed his lip. This fight was going smoothly. Too smoothly. As his unit fought the last 4 men still standing, his mind strayed to the suspiciousness of the whole thing. Why was a Federation unit straying so far into the border with so few men? Why were the men that they had so weak? Why were the men’s faces so grim even before they saw the Colony’s unit like they had submitted themselves to death already? The leading officer hadn’t even started his speech about trespassing before they had cried out,
“In the name of the Federation!” And practically threw themselves onto his men’s weapons. It was merely these last 4 men that had given his unit an actual fight.
“Commander!” His soldier’s voice brought him out of his thoughts. The last 4 men lay dead on the ground, with the rest of their unit. He spurred his horse onto the soldier who was standing in front of the carriage the Federation soldiers were ‘guarding’. He dismounted and approached the soldier who moved to the side and held the door open.
Lay inside was a woman.
