[CHAPTER 11.1: THE SNAKE]
Bella had thought long and hard about her plan of leaving that place. She could not run away while Gaharu was away, because that would definitely cause Suria, Talia, and Satria big trouble. She didn't want to make things worse for them.
Bella went through her days as usual, managing the servants to clean the palace, arranging things, sword and archery training at the field, and taking a long walk around the mountain. She had also learned a few tips to understand the directions of the Ra territories like, which path leads to where, and such.
"Any news from south border?" Bella asked Satria when he was accompanying her during her evening walk. They walked past the river and heading down the villages. Her foot was still hurting so she walked slowly. 
"Nothing to worry about, my lady. Without their chief leader, Tayen, Moro stand no chance against Lord Gaharu." Satria replied.
"Hm." Bella let out a small sigh. These beastmen never tells her anything regarding the situation of the war. Only Sora and Abnaki would tell her a lot of things. Satria or Sepatu would certainly not say much about stuff like this to her. Was it because of their ranks? Lower ranks soldiers would definitely fear the punishment they would get if they say something more than what they were supposed to.
"Satria," Bella called out, "Why did you become a soldier? Why not just live a simple life in the village, like the other tigers?"
From what she'd observed, Satria was the youngest beastman she had seen so far amongst Gaharu's subordinates. Although he was very tall-- more than six feet, he was probably a lot younger than her, a teenager, probably in his seventeenth or eighteenth. He had a scar across his left eyebrow, but that didn't ruin his pretty face. His hair was wavy orange, and longer than Sora's. 
"Before the Ra tribe was formed, the tiger clan was weak. Snake and lizard clans trampled over us and killed most of our kind, leaving mostly the old and useless. Females were taken away and tortured brutally, in ways that even I cannot describe with words." Satria lowered his head as his eyes seemed glazing. He continued,
"Young cubs were taken and tortured as well, some lucky ones were forced to be slaves. The unfortunate ones were violently beaten and starved to their deaths. Lord Gaharu was the only tiger who stood and fought back, and saved those who were captured. Not only did he rescue the remaining of the tigers, he also rescued panthers and leopards, although there were not many left of them. He formed armies and led them to victory. Because the tiger clan had lost our land, Lord Gaharu took over this mountain, gave us a place to stay and live our days, and provided everyone protection from snake and lizard clans."
"I was one of the unfortunate cubs, tortured and starved. I could only watch as my mother humiliated and tormented before my eyes, and listened to her wailing and harsh breathing until it finally stopped... It was because I was weak that I could not protect nor help her. That is why I became a soldier. Only by becoming strong can you prevent such things from happening."
Bella drew in a long deep breath. She raised a hand to pat on Satria's back.
"Your mother would be so proud of you. You didn't let her down."
"Lady Bella," Satria took her hand and grasped it tightly the same way that Sora had grabbed her hand before, and said, "Lord Gaharu is not evil, he is what he is now because of the past. I hope you can try to understand him, because you are precious to him."
Bella gazed deeply into Satria's golden irises. His eyes filled with sincerity. She had never thought that a young soldier like him would have suffered so much as a child. And she didn't expect him to speak so generously of Gaharu.
"Can we please not talk about him?"  She grunted in displeasure. She didn't want to hear about him. He may be a hero to the Ra tribe, but that doesn't change the fact that he's a scumbag.
"My apologies, Lady Bella."
Satria lowered his head. Bella's lips formed a smile as she raised a hand to caress Satria on the head. He was like a little brother that she never had. Loyal, caring, and dependable.
"Since you taught me archery and sword, let me teach you something in return."
*****
Gaharu glared coldly as the Moro troops retreated. He didn't plan to keep on chasing them. They were only weak soldiers. Why would Moro send such weak soldiers to attack? What are they playing?
"Are you alright, my lord?" Sora, followed by other soldiers ran to Gaharu's side.
Something is not right. Moro would not simply attack and retreat. They could be on to something. Gaharu started to feel uneasy. He pursed his lips tightly, his jaw clenching, and his thick eyebrows frowned as he turned to Sora, 
"Send reinforcement to the Leopard Fortress and fortify the Tiger Palace right away." Gaharu commanded.
"Yes, Lord Gaharu."
Gaharu drew in a deep breath. The Tiger Palace mountain was filled with weak females, the young, and the old, with only two hundreds of soldiers guarding there. The tribe will be damned if the Moro were to attack there while he was away.
"Sora, return to the palace immediately."
*****
"Abnaki! I haven't seen you in the longest time!" Bella greeted cheerfully when she saw Abnaki pacing her way. She waved her hand in the air like a little child.
"Yes, it has been quite a while, Lady Bella." Abnaki bowed slightly with a smile on his handsome face. He was on his way to the palace and met with Bella halfway.
There were several more beastmen in white robes followed behind Abnaki. Bella glanced over as she beamed her bright smile at them when they bowed. They were all panthers. All dark skinned, short and black haired with pointy ears and green irises.
"I am on my way to the palace to see you, my lady." Abnaki replied when Bella asked where he was heading.
"Baghacheroamni will be held in the Great Temple, and I would like you to come. Everyone in our tribe will attend." Abnaki said again.
"Baga... What?" Bella furrowed her eyebrows. Satria behind her chuckled softly. Bella turned to Satria with a questioning gaze. 
"What the fuck is that?" She asked.
"Baghacheroamni is a ceremony of thanking the ancestors and gods of our tribe for the blessings that they had given us, hoping to bless and aid Lord Gaharu to bigger victories and achievements." Satria explained.
"There will be offerings to the warrior gods and tribe members are to witness the ceremony until the end."
"What kind of offerings?" Bella asked again.
Satria came closer and whispered in her ear,
"Captives from other tribes."
"You mean... Like a sacrifice?"
Satria nodded. Bella turned pale. She could not allow such a ceremony to be held in front of her.
"Abnaki, can we talk?" Bella turned to Abnaki with her eyebrows frowned. She may not completely understand their rules and ceremonies, but using the lives of other tribe members as a sacrifice was surely wrong. This was a matter of humanity-- beastmanity.
*****
They sat down by the river, where Bella had the servants place a platform with a wooden table and stools for her to chill with Suria and Talia whenever she goes there. Abnaki nodded as he listened to Bella. He realized every word she said was reasonable, and took her words into consideration.
"By all means, I definitely would not agree to such offerings to be made. What's the use of killing another tribe member, when you can offer good food and fine wine to your gods? Do you want the gods to send you more deaths? Shouldn't you wish for the gods to bless you with more peaceful days and enough food for the tribe?"
"You are very wise, my lady. Thank you for your enlightenment. I shall follow your words." Abnaki responded. The other panthers who were standing behind him also bowed respectfully.
Satria who stood behind Bella, curved his lips into a smile. Lady Bella is truly amazing.
As the two continued to chat, Satria felt uneasy all of a sudden. He glanced around the forest and the riverside. He thought he heard a twig snapped but wasn't sure of it.
"My lady, high priest," Satria interrupted their conversation with a stern face, "Something is not right."
"It cannot be..." Abnaki too, immediately glanced around. He stood up and the other panthers surrounded him as if protecting him.
Yes, it couldn't be. No other tribe has ever intruded the Tiger Palace mountain before. But Satria's hunch was seldom wrong. Could it be that the enemy knew that most of the warriors of Ra had gone to the south border?
"Come, my lady." Satria grabbed Bella by her waist and steered her away from the riverside. Satria noticed movements from the bushes and trees around them. Surely, there were other presences there aside from them, and they were getting closer. 
"Be careful, high priest." Satria said.
"Do not worry about me. Take Lady Bella to safety. I will meet you at the palace." Abnaki replied.
"Be careful, Abnaki. All of you." Bella said to the panthers.
"You too, my lady." Abnaki replied. The others nodded before they split up.
Bella tried to keep her pace with Satria. As she ran, she turned around slightly and saw there were several beastmen in black leather armors chasing after Satria and her.
Who are they? From their armors, they're certainly not from the Zov tribe.
"My lady, grab onto me."
"Huh... Ah!"
Before Bella could react, Satria swiftly carried her up in his arms so that he could run faster. He ran past trees and bushes with Bella in his arms. Bella gazed behind them. We lost them! She couldn't see the beastmen in black anymore.
However, just when she was about to let out a sigh of relief, an enormous red snake slithered out in front of them, blocking their way. Several giant komodo dragons appeared and surrounded them.
Satria froze in his steps. He glanced around but couldn't find his way out. They were completely surrounded! He placed Bella down and unsheathed his sword. The giant komodo dragons transformed into half naked lizard headed beastmen. The snake remained still, hissing harshly with its whitish forked tongue sticking out once in a while.
Bella couldn't believe her eyes. Once, she had watched the Anaconda movie and it gave her nightmares. She had never thought that she would face a snake a lot bigger than in the Anaconda movie today. Bella squirmed when she noticed the snake's sharp red eyes were glaring at her.
"My lady," Satria whispered to Bella, "Run when you have the chance. Run as fast as you can, do not look back."
"Satria..."
The young soldier charged towards the lizard beastmen, trying to buy time for Bella to escape. More beastmen in black leather armor showed up, all drawing their blades towards Satria.
"Run, my lady! Do not look back!!" Satria shouted.
Bella hesitated at first, but if she stayed there, it would only cause Satria to worry and couldn't focus on his fight. She ran as soon as she got her chance, deeper into the forest. She avoided running towards the villages, instead, she ran towards the palace.
There was a big rustle behind her. She turned around slightly just to see what it was. To her horror, the giant snake was crawling fast just behind her!
"What the fuck...?!!" She screamed. The scene behind her was terrifyingly horrible. Bella gathered every strength she had in her body to run as fast as she could, ignoring the pain of her injured foot. The giant snake caught up with her and forced her to change her direction.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck...!" Bella cursed in her ragged breathing. She was forced to run further away from the palace and she had no choice but to head east. Ran and ran, she went down the mountain, passed the most smelliest part of the mountain where she was told where the dead prisoners were thrown.
Bella covered her mouth and nose when the awful putrid smell invaded her nostrils as she ran. She immediately felt sick to her stomach, yet she didn't slow down. She felt as if she was going through a rigorous cardio workout and she was so grateful that she could still run.
Her leg muscles were starting to ache and she knew she was going to run out of breath very soon. She must find a place to hide. Bella looked over her shoulder for that damned snake, but it was nowhere to be seen. Bella slowed down, and glanced around her surroundings. It was dead quiet.
Bella realized she had left the palace far, and almost reached the foot of the mountain. She had been running for quite a long time. Her legs trembled and her kneecaps were hurting, they felt loose. Bella stopped a few seconds to catch her breath before she glanced around again to find a place to hide.
Suddenly there was a big rustle behind her. She turned around to find the giant red snake already next to her. Before she could react, the snake moved swiftly and wrapped itself around her, using its muscular body to suffocate her.
As the cold, smooth skin of the enormous giant reptile wrapping around her, Bella shivered in cold sweat. Could this be the end of her? She felt as if her lungs were crushed, air was chased out of her chest, she couldn't scream, let alone move a muscle. Soon, her vision went blurry and she blacked out.
*****
When she regained her consciousness, Bella found herself tied in a long thick rope. She was lying on her side, she could feel the moist soil underneath her. She glanced around her. There were three camps made of snake skins and the smell of burning firewood lingered in the air. The sun was setting and the air in the forest started to get colder.
"Are you sure this is Gaharu's female? She looked like she had not yet reached maturity." A gruff voice sounded.
"Even so, she is certainly beautiful. Never seen a female with such a beautiful face before."
"She is mature, alright. Look at her breasts, they are very big! Hahahaha...!"
"Should we play with her? I have never touched a female this beautiful before, I wonder what she tastes like."
Bella squirmed as she listened to the talks of the reptiles not far from where she was lying. She bit her lips when some of them came closer to take a good look at her.
"You are awake, female." One of the lizard-headed beastmen said. He snickered nastily at her, his eyes gleamed with lust.
"What do you want from me?!" Bella yelled fiercely.
Those ugly lizards cracked as if it was funny. One lizard-headed even stretched out his hand to touch her breast.
"Get your filthy grey hands away from me, you fuckin' scum!" Bella cursed as she jolted in anger.
"It is so soft!" The lizard exclaimed, showing his set of razor sharp dirty teeth as he laughed stupidly. The others then came forward, wanting to touch her as well.
Suddenly, a blade flashed before their eyes, and the sound of blood splashing followed after. The lizard-headed who had touched Bella's breast screamed in pain as he fell backwards. His hand was severed from his body. All the other lizard-headed beastmen immediately moved away from Bella with their heads lowered down in fear.
"Whoever dares to touch her, will lose their heads next." A terrifyingly cold voice sounded.
Bella gulped. She tried to lift her head to see who it was, but she could only see a tall beastman in black leather armor and tall leather boots. She couldn't see his face as he was back facing her, but she noticed his long red hair.
Blood dripped down from the sword in his left hand. A left-handed? No... Bella saw that he had a cross dual sheath on his back. It was the first time Bella saw someone here in the beastmen world using two swords. Bella noticed how the lizard beastmen seemed so afraid of this one. She guessed he must be the leader. But she remembered hearing Gaharu and Sora talk before about how Moro's chief leader was still missing. Could it be that he had returned...?
"Prepare the wagon. We must head back before the Ra catches up with us," the red haired commanded. He turned to look over his shoulder at Bella with his sharp, vile-looking red orbs, "And handle her with care. If she is harmed, I shall deal with all of you."
"Yes, General Mihaje!" The lizards bowed their heads in fear.
Bella sucked in a shuddering breath. This beastman called Mihaje... His skin was as pale as the dead, he had a leather mask covering his mouth and nose, his irises were as red as blood and his pupils were two sharp lines. Bella immediately recognized those eyes. He was the giant snake that had her running like there was no tomorrow and eventually captured her with less effort.
Bella was put in a wagon together with the red haired. Mihaje sat facing her with his arms crossed. His black leather mask added more mystery in the cold aura he exuded. He was keeping his eyes shut most of the time but whenever he opened them, Bella gulped. His snake eyes were terribly sharp and scary, she felt like he could kill her with only one look.
"What do you want from me?" Bella gathered her courage to open her mouth, however, her voice came out trembling.
Mihaje scoffed before closing his eyes again.
"Hey!" Bella stomped her foot hard to get his attention. Aw, my foot. Damn it! I should've used my other foot. 
Mihaje opened his eyes and stood up. He leaned forward and rested both his hands at Bella sides, with his face leaning closer to hers. She could hear his breathing clearly underneath his mask. His blood red snake irises were staring deep into her eyes.
"Try that one more time, I will snap. Your. Neck." The way his airy and raspy voice murmured word by word sent shivers down her spine. It was cold and threatening. 
"But shouldn't you at least let me know why you're taking me away?" Bella asked again. She was scared of him, but she tried not to show it.
Mihaje glared at her. There was a hint of surprise in his eyes. He scoffed again.
"Why would you want to know? You will be dead soon."
"I still need to know the reason for my death." Bella replied, glaring back into his blood red eyes.
Mihaje leaned even closer and whispered in her ear,
"Are you afraid?"
"Not if I know why."
Before Mihaje could reply to that, Bella headbutted him hard on his pale forehead.
Mihaje was thrown slightly backwards. Bella grunted. Her own forehead hurt like hell, she felt like her skull had cracked open. The headbutt didn't seem to injure Mihaje, but he was obviously angry. He clenched Bella's neck with his large cold hand, bringing her forward to his face. His harsh panting could be heard inside his mask as his chest heaved underneath his black leather armor.
"You...!"
"Kill me. I'll now gladly die in your hands after knowing I successfully humiliated you with that headbutt." Bella chuckled breathlessly with Mihaje's long fingers grasping tightly around her neck.
Mihaje scoffed again. Louder this time.
"You are a fearless one, are you not?"
"Kill me now or I will make sure you'll regret it for letting me live." Bella forced the words out of her mouth. Her face was red from suffocation.
Mihaje loosened his grip around her neck and tossed Bella back on her seat. Bella coughed hard as she gasped for air. The tight rope around her body made it harder for her to breathe.
Mihaje sat back in his seat and shut his eyelids close. His arms crossed and his breathing was slow but hard, it was as if he was restraining his anger.
Why didn't they kill her? What will they do with her? Are they going to use her against Gaharu? Is that it?
After a while, the wagon stopped. Mihaje lifted the curtain to see what was wrong.
"General, the path is blocked." A voice sounded from outside the wagon.
Mihaje jumped off the wagon to see what was blocking the path. A while later, he came back and approached Bella. He drew his sword at her as he came closer. Bella thought he was going to aim for her throat, her breathing became fast. Mihaje cut the rope that was tying around her ankles and pulled her up to stand.
"I will break your legs if you try to run away." He warned.