Alyssa was upset with all the information she got on the Royal family. She knew she was living a horrible life but she never blamed the King for it. For her, it was like any normal day. She would never have thought in her wildest dreams that the people of her country were starving under these corrupt leaders. She knew the value of food and knew what starving felt like more than anyone in this country. She felt distressed and angry knowing that there were more Alyssa"s out there starving, sick, cold, and dying in this cold weather with no one to help them.
She regretted not focusing her attention on them.
Her whole life revolved around her room, school, and tortures from Violet and her mother.
She found that the condition of the country was not good.
She decided to take a stroll around the city. Not the Royal City because it was the face that needs to be polished and most of the n.o.blemen lived there. She took a train and went to some cities far a little further than the capital.
While strolling through the city she can hear more cries and begging than laughter.
"How can I give you more tax. I don"t have any. I have no land left. Now, what kind of tax do you want?"
She heard a hot-blooded man protesting. She called him hot-blooded because except him rest looked too coward to even meet the eyes of the officer standing before them. Beside him, at his side, there was an old man and an old woman, maybe they were his parents, Alyssa guessed.
She looked at the officer standing at the center. The tax collector was a straight man with sharp features. He was wearing a three-piece suit with royal emblem sewed on his chest. He posed like a clean G.o.d in front of sweaty, covered-in-dirt man. Hearing him protesting, he touched his spectacle, and the bodyguards having the latest model of arms beside him kicked the man in the stomach. The man fell down on the ground groaning in pain.
Seeing him in pain his parents rushed towards him. Both of them knelt down and begged the tax collector for mercy. The tax collector ignored their plea and touched his specs once more. The guard present near him went towards the old couple and started beating them along with the men. They were beating the old couple with the end of their guns.
When the man saw his parents beaten up, he went to stop the bodyguards but was thrown aside.
People gathered around them and among them was Alyssa too. Just like them, she was also watching it silently. But unlike them, there was no pity in her eyes. Her heart was burning in fire. She just wanted to take their guns and shoot them. She felt so helpless.
His parents were old, sick, and starving. They couldn"t handle the beating for much longer. His mother became still after 5-6 heavy blows but the monsters were still beating her. His father was covered in blood too. He was on the brink of death. Then one of the bodyguards. .h.i.t his head hard with his gun. Blood started oozing out from it. Gradually he died too.
The man groaned and leaped towards the tax collector but before he can reach him, he was shot in his left leg. The tax collector squinted his eyes and said, "Pay your tax, or else next one to die will be your wife."
The fire in Alyssa"s heart burned even more. They were so cruel. Even the word cruel is not sufficient to represent their action. Killing innocent people was fun for them. They cruelly killed an old couple in cold blood. What more they are not capable of?
Before leaving the tax, collector announced, "The citizens of Coral Bells, it is your fortune that you live in this country. And it is your duty to serve your nation and its King. Because without King there is no nation and without nation, there is no "YOU". So, you all must treat your King like a G.o.d because just like G.o.d, he is the creator of you all."
After he left the crowd scattered. n.o.body gave a helping hand to him. He was sitting beside the dead couple crying, asking for their forgiveness and his wounds bleeding. Alyssa thought that if he didn"t dress his wounds in time, he will probably die from blood loss.
She stopped a taxi and went near the man. She shook his shoulders but the man was unresponsive towards her. Alyssa called the taxi driver. When he came Alyssa asked him to help her to put the dead bodies in the car. The taxi driver was startled seeing two corpses. He didn"t want to get in trouble so he declined her. He had taken only one step towards his car when Alyssa called him, "I will double your price".
The taxi driver looked towards her and scoffed, "Triple".
"Alright", Alyssa agreed.
He went to get the corpses, but as soon as he touched them, the man who was kneeling in front of the corpses began to s.h.i.+ver. He looked towards the taxi driver; his eyes bloodshot. He attacked the taxi driver and started punching him. Alyssa knew that this was some kind of anxiety attack but she didn"t know what to do.
She silently came close towards the man and used her taser on him. The man after getting shock lost his consciousness. She then approached the taxi driver and said, "Are you alright?" then she gave him her hand to make him stand.
The taxi driver spat towards the unconscious man and said, "I am not helping this beast, give me my money and I will go."
"What for? You didn"t help him." Alyssa retorted.
"You see little boy these bruises, I want to get money because of this." He said, pointing at his bruises on his face.
Alyssa didn"t want to waste her time arguing him so she said, "Take him to the hospital with you. I will pay extra."
The taxi driver reluctantly agreed and took the man to a hospital nearby leaving Alyssa with the corpse. She asked a pa.s.serby about the man"s address and hired another taxi taking the corpses with her towards his house.