Two days passed quickly, and Kana really wondered what was going on in this strange trial. Besides the people, what was going on seemed to be quite strange. As soon as they reached the road leading to the capital, she was kicked out of the wagon along with Tilia and Ceilie. "Sorry, but we are not going into the capital itself. We have to let you off here."
"It's fine. Thanks for the ride." Ceilie took care of dealing with the old man driving the wagon. But Kana felt like something was off.
"Is it just me, or was he really in a rush to leave this place?" Kana asked.
"Hmmm? How could that be? He was probably in a rush, is all. Come on, we need to hurry." Ceilie pushed Kana along. She did not feel much of anything just now, but since Kana mentioned it, she decided to keep her ears perked up just in case something was wrong. She would not say her thoughts out loud, though. She did not wish to worry Kana and Tilia.
They were still almost two hours from the actual gate. The day was slightly hot as well. Kana was perfectly fine, but Tilia, who grew up a pampered princess, was sweating from head to toe. "You okay, Tilly?" Kana asked. She waved her hand and created a ball of water, and let it float over to Tilia.
"Kana…." Tilia's lips quivered as she began to drink the water. The cool, refreshing water slipped into her mouth and down her throat, making her feel alive again. Ceilie smiled warmly at the scene. She always knew Kana was very caring, and incidents like this proved it even more. "Thank you Kana…"
"If you are thirsty, just ask. The day is quite hot." Kana gently rubbed Tilia's back and used some wind and ice magic to cool the poor girl off.
"I will, thanks." Tilia felt refreshed. She was very happy she could make a friend like Kana, who did not care about her race.
The group of three finally arrived at their destination when Kana felt as if everyone was staring at them. "Is it just me, or are we being stared at?" Kana whispered softly to Ceilie.
"No, you are right. We are being stared at. Or more like Tilia is being stared at." Ceilie frowned. She did not know what was going on.
"Young Miss, you should hurry and run away. If they catch a human here, you will be…." An old raccoon woman walked over and whispered to Kana and the rest.
"Why is that? I thought humans were allowed in the beast kingdom?" Ceilie had always thought it was fine for humans to come here.
"They are only allowed in the first town near the border for trade purposes….. This far inland…" The old raccoon woman was interrupted when a shout came from behind her.
"What is going on here!? Who allowed this filth this far inland!?" A group of guards walked over with their swords drawn.
"Hold, who are you talking about?" Ceilie stepped forward, pulling Kana and Tilia behind her.
"I am talking about the human filth you have standing behind you. Are you one of those human lovers!? We do not allow such people this far inland. I will give you two choices: return to the border trade town, or we will imprison you and execute the human on the spot." The guard was not making any concessions, and Ceilie could see this. She was at a loss as to what to do in this situation.
"Tch…." Kana clicked her tongue. She realized now why this was a trial. "Ahh…. I give up. I was having fun too…." Kana looked at the guards and waved her hand, causing the earth under their feet to suddenly disappear. The group of guards, which were six strong men, all fell into the hole. Kana then waved her hand again, sealing the hole, making it so that only the heads of the six guards were still sticking above ground.
Kana walked over, squatted down, and looked at the guards. "Why are you being like this?"
"Kana! What are you doing!?" Ceilie was scared, she did not want the entire kingdom's army after them!
"Big Sister, stay there. I will deal with this." Kana turned and gave Ceilie a reassuring smile. Her calm, mature expression caught Ceilie off guard. She had no idea why she felt like Kana was many years wiser than her.
Kana did not pay any more attention to Ceilie before turning back to the guards. The leader of the guards finally snapped out of his shocked daze and yelled out: "What are you doing!? Let us go this instant, or you will all be killed for treason!"
"Shut up!" Kana snorted, causing the man who was still ranting to go silent. He was still yelling, but no words were coming out. When he finally realized what was happening, the man's eyes finally showed fear.
"Anyone else got things to say?" Kana looked at the other guards, who were not even daring to speak and nodded in satisfaction. "Good, now listen to me and answer my questions. Why are you all so against all humans? Not all humans are bad. There are many good humans. Just like how there are many bad beastkin, there are also good beastkin. Why discriminate just because one person is a beastkin and another is a human? Wasn't one of the major values of the beastkin to fight against all forms of discrimination? What the hell is going on that you are willing to kill an innocent little girl who could not even harm a hair on your head!?"
"I can answer…." One of the guards suddenly spoke up. He had a guilty expression on his face. All the guards also felt slightly guilty. Kana could see it in their eyes.
"Go ahead." Kana wanted to know exactly what was going on. She wanted to know why a kingdom that fought against discrimination would be willing to kill a human if they did not leave the capital.
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