[CHAPTER 16.1: THE LIZARDS]

"Bella," Mihaje suddenly spoke after a while, "I want you. I want you with all my heart."
Mihaje turned his face slightly, kissing the skin of her bare chest, as his hands slowly crawled to the front, cupping her breasts underneath the damp fabric. His kisses trailed upward and he went for her neck.
"Mihaje..." Bella pushed him slightly, staring into his snake eyes, "Teach me how to fight like you."
The corner of his lips twisted into an awkward smile,
"Why, all of a sudden?"
"I don't want to be a burden. I want to know how to protect myself."
"From what I see, you can protect yourself pretty well. You killed a soldier of mine with only a dagger." Mihaje kissed her neck as he spoke.
"Ah..." Bella accidentally let out a soft moan when Mihaje hit her sensitive spot.
"Bella, do you want him? Or me?"
His question made her bite her lips, thinking. They were already half naked, embracing each other. Bella stared into his eyes for quite a while. There was insecurity in his eyes.
"Mihaje..." Bella drew in a long breath, but Mihaje stopped her from continuing. He covered her mouth with his, as his big cold hands wrapped around her tightly. He was afraid of her answer. He wasn't ready to hear it yet.
"You should wear some clothes. You can get sick like this." Mihaje finally let go of her after their long kiss, urging her to wear something.
Only then Bella realized she had not changed into her clothes since she finished her bath. Mihaje let out a faint smile when he saw her flustered.
"You silly female."
*****
Tayen sat up and gave his most polite smile when he saw Bella come in. The servants bowed their heads before leaving when Tayen gestured for them to leave.
"How are you feeling?" Bella asked as she sat on the bed side.
"Better, now that you are here."
Bella scoffed, shaking her head. Tayen was wearing a shirt with an opened front, showing off his muscular chest. She could see the gauze wrapping his shoulder underneath his clothes. He was leaning his back against the wooden bed frame.
"You shouldn't have done that," she said, referring to the time when Tayen had shielded her with his body from the manok attack, "you could've died."
"I do not know why I did it. I was not thinking, it was an honest reflex," Tayen held in a deep breath before he smiled again, "I would rather myself get hurt than seeing you get hurt."
Tayen stretched out his big cold hand to hold her warm one,
"Besides, I will heal. I am a snake, after all."
Bella nodded slowly. The humidity here in Moro's main does help with a snake's healing. Although the deeper the wound, the more layers of skin must be shed and the longer it will take for the wound to heal. She gazed down at the hand that was gripping hers.
"Bella," he called as his grip tightened, "would you stay if I ask you to?"
"What do you mean?" Bella questioned back, pretending not to understand. She slowly pulled back her hand and smiled awkwardly.
Tayen cleared his throat before smiling back. His eyes clearly showed displeasure, but he immediately switched his expression.
"The snow days will come soon. Thanks to your idea on using the manoks fur as coats and quilts, the tribe does not have to worry about the cold." Tayen changed the topic.
"Snow days?" Bella tilted her head.
"It snows for the whole six full moons before we can see the dry land again." Tayen explained.
"Really...? Wow." No wonder the weather feels colder these days.
"So, do you hibernate during the snow days?" Bella asked out of curiosity.
Tayen looked back at her with a questioning gaze,
"Hibernate...?"
"Yes, um... Like a very long sleep."
"No, why should I sleep for a very long time? I am not dead."
Oh, okay... So the snakes here don't hibernate. But how can they stand the cold?
Bella decided not to ask. Nothing makes sense in this world, anyway.

*****
Mihaje took a deep breath. His heavy breath was muffled under his mask. He knew Lord Tayen would make such a decision. No one understands Tayen more than him.
"The... The Ang, my lord?" One of the lizard soldiers stammered. Did he hear it wrong? The Ang tribe was an all bear tribe, different clans of bears united as one. They were huge sized beastmen, fearsome, and were not weak at all. The Ang tribe had been living their lives peacefully without disturbance from other tribes and no other tribes that dared to mess with them.
The look in general Mihaje's eyes told him he didn't. It was exactly what they heard. Tayen had his eyes on one of Ang's territories.
He wanted to launch an attack on one of the bear villages. It wasn't the village that he aimed, but the land and the precious plants growing there. Those plants were valuable, and yet no one seemed to know about it except him.
"But, my lord, your injury..." The lizard soldier beside Mihaje didn't dare to continue when his gaze met with Tayen's cold stare.
"Mihaje, what say you, brother of mine?"
Mihaje stepped forward to the table where Tayen was leaning and pointed on the map that was on the table,
"Here, my lord," Mihaje's airy raspy voice sounded, "we should start with here. The Zov passed along this path for numerous times which means they must have set camps somewhere around here. We will send some troops to ambush their camps, and some troops to wait at this path and block it when the Zov crosses over this path to get to safety. The Ang will definitely-"
"Come to Zov's rescue and when they do," Tayen pointed at another spot on the map, "This territory will be ours."
Mihaje nodded once. It was said twins have a strong connection between them. They think alike. They know each other's minds.
Tayen smirked,
"You know exactly what to do."
*****
Bella knew something wasn't right. The atmosphere inside the castle felt tight and somewhat tense. The soldiers seemed to be preparing for something. They only appeared during the evening, looking all dead serious.
One evening, Bella bumped into the servants at the corridor who were on their way to bring her several newly made coats. Bella examined them. They were coats made of manoks fur, but they were dyed black. The coats were not as fluffy as she thought they would be. They were a bit coarse but it provides warmth, and looked quite fashionable.
"Where's Tayen?"
"Lord Tayen has gone to the army camps with the general, Lady Bella." One of the servants replied politely.
"Who do you think you are? Calling Lord Tayen by his name." A voice sounded behind her.
Bella turned around to find the three stooges-- Rana, Toya, and Fikila. Bella asked the servants to just leave the coats in her chamber. The servants bowed to Bella and left hurriedly. It seemed like the presence of those concubines were disliked even by the servants.
Bella instantly let out a groan of annoyance, rolling her eyes to the back of her head. The sight of Tayen's concubines was hurting her eyes. They were like handsome shemales wearing sexy dresses, with skin so pale as if it had never seen the sun. Normally, Bella wouldn't prejudice against females in the beastmen world, but these three were extremely annoying. Just by the way they always glare at her made her irritate. They only dared to come and pester her now that Tayen and Mihaje were not around.
"Does she think she can replace you, sister Rana? Just because Lord Tayen has treated her a little nicer. You are Lord Tayen's favorite!" Fikila spoke loudly, finger pointing at Bella's chest, "Look at how ugly she is! The only thing she has is her oversized bulge."
"Don't even try to compare me with you. You're just one of his countless sex slaves here." Bella snapped, "Besides, you're not even his first choice when he needs to fuck. I bet you haven't been called into his chamber for quite a long time."
The three females gasped loud dramatically. They strode forward to Bella in an alarming manner.
"Where is your manner?!"
"Who do you think you are, talking back at us that way?!"
"Do you even know who we are to Lord Tayen? We are his wives!"
Bella shook her head slightly with her eyes rolled up. She forbear the anger as she clenched her hands into tight fists. The females were as loud as crying mother chickens.
She tried to remain calm but when one of the loud females shoved her shoulder, she couldn't take it anymore. Toya was about to push Bella's shoulder again when Bella caught her wrist,
"Try that again, and you'll be fuckin' sorry." She warned.
Toya scoffed loudly, pulling her hand back. Fikila raised her hand and slapped Bella on the face when Bella wasn't aware.
Fuck. She did not see that coming. Although they're females, their energy were almost as same as men's in her world. The slap was so hard that it blanked her mind for a short second.
Rana was smirking devilishly as if she had won the battle. She didn't even have to move a muscle, Toya and Fikila were doing the things she'd been wanting to do to Bella.
"You bitch!" Bella yelled and kicked hard on Fikila's shin.
Fikila yelped in pain and she bent over to grasp her lower leg. Bella threw an upward punch on Fikila's chin when the female bent down to Bella's punchable height.
"Fuck!" Bella grunted, rubbing her right fist. She never knew punching someone could hurt this much. They made it look so easy and cool on the TV!
"Why, this wench!" Rana whose jaw dropped open after seeing Fikila fell flat on the floor, came to her senses and turned towards Bella.
Toya's chest was already heaving, her breathing was loud and she charged towards Bella. Bella tucked the skirt of her dress up, she leaped and threw a spinning back kick at Toya, a move that Mihaje had taught her. It was so hard to learn, and it wasn't beautifully performed as well, but still successfully inflicted pain. As soon as her foot landed on the floor after that spinning back kick, Bella dashed towards Rana. Her left foot stepped onto Rana's stomach to support herself in the air as she swung her right foot at Rana's face, kicking her side profile.
"Whooo!" Bella was pumped. She could feel the rush of adrenaline. She never felt so proud of herself before. She felt like the strongest heroine in an action movie.
Toya and Fikila were whining and crying. Rana's face was red in unspeakable anger. She stomped her foot on the floor as she commanded Toya and Fikila to attack,
"Get that darn wench!"
Bella knew she couldn't fight them all at once. They were a foot taller than her and her lousy skills were only good enough to buy her time or provoke the enemy's anger. She ran before they could even start chasing. She ran back into her own chamber and locked the door behind her.
"You wretched being! Come out now, I dare you!" Rana screamed outside Bella's door.
"Why don't you try and break the door? I dare you. What do you think will happen if I tell Tayen about your behavior towards his honorable guest?" Bella laughed silently.
There was a brief silence outside her door, then she heard footsteps walking away.
"Hah, stupid bitches..."
*****
Niro, the young lizard guard, hesitated for a long time. He would be beheaded if he dares to disobey his lord's command. But this female had made a deal he couldn't refuse-- she can get him into Mihaje's team of special force.
Niro looked up to Mihaje as a role model, and had been wanting to work directly under him, yet never got the chance to prove himself to Mihaje.
"All you have to do is bring me to the camp where they are, and leave me there. I will not tell a soul that you're the one who brought me. Then I will also ask Mihaje to recruit you into his troops. You do know that Mihaje and I are close, don't you? He'll listen to me." Bella persuaded. Although whether or not Mihaje would listen to her opinion, she wasn't sure herself. She only said that to make Niro bring her to the camp.
"I... I will try. But can you really get me into the general's troop?" Niro asked, his eyes were gleaming with excitement and hope.
"Sure, of course. Trust me." Bella grinned. These lizard-headed... they may look fearsome on the outside, but they can be quite stupid, she thought to herself.
*****
Bella rode the giant komodo dragon for almost two days. Went up and down the hill and went through wet and dry forests, finally the giant lizard slowed down its pace.
"Lady Bella," Niro in his lizard form spoke, "we are almost there."
Bella who was tired as fuck nodded at the lizard who had its head turned around to her. It's about time, Bella thought, her back was already killing her. She had dozed off several times while strapped to the saddle on Niro's back. They only stopped when Bella wanted to pee or drink water and eat. Niro had packed some meat as their food source for the journey.
When they entered a forest, Niro stopped and sat on its belly flat on the ground so that Bella could get down.
"This is as far as I can take you, Lady Bella. Go west and you will see the camps. Be careful."
"Okay. You too, Niro."
There was what seemed like a smile on the lizard's face. She wasn't sure if it was. But she smiled back anyway. She watched until the giant komodo dragon was out of sight before she turned towards the direction that Niro had pointed.
After walking in the woods for quite a while, Bella heard noises so she slowly paced towards it. There, from a distance, she saw camps made of snake skins. Little by little, Bella approached the camps. She hid behind a tree when she saw Tayen walk out from one of the camps. He was wearing his black leather armor, and a black cloak with shoulder ornaments and brooch chains. His waist-long straight red hair looked shining under the bright sun and his pale skin made him look like the prince of the undead.
"I do not want to see them when I get back. Chop their heads off." Tayen's voice was as cold as the ice. Murderous aura exuded from him and wrath could be seen in his blood red irises.
"But, my lord, Lady Rana has been serving you for years..." The soldier who was given the orders spoke.
"She has been with me for that many years yet still did not understand me well and dared to disobey my words," Tayen's raspy voice was icy and sinister, "the same fate will befall you if you question again."
"I will get rid of them, my lord."
Bella pursed her lips. Were they talking about punishing Rana and the two? But why? Was it because they bothered her? Even so, it wasn't that serious that they have to be beheaded? Was Tayen really that ruthless over something so trivial?
"Umph...!" Bella jolted when a big cold hand clasped her face, covering her mouth. Another hand wrapped around her shoulders from behind. She felt the coldness of his skin and his leather armor, her nose caught the musky earthy smell exuded from the beastman behind her.
"What on land are you doing here, and how did you come here?" Mihaje's voice whispered next to her ear. He sounded anxious and furious at the same time.
"Mm..." Bella tapped the hand that was covering her mouth.
Mihaje drew in a deep breath before letting her go.
"I was curious to know what you guys were up to." She babbled.
"Do you not know how dangerous it is to be out here?" Mihaje wanted to hit Bella on the head, if that could make her a little smarter.
"This is not a playground, Bella! Who brought you here? Go back to the castle before Lord Tayen knows about this." Mihaje was yelling at her in a whispering voice.
Bella grunted quietly as her hands clenched both sides. Seeing how her cheeks puffed up and her eyebrows frowned, Mihaje immediately softened his tone,
"We are going to war against the Zov and Ang tribes, I do not wish for anything to happen to you. Being here is dangerous." Mihaje clasped the side of her face. His cold thumb rubbed against her cheek.
"War against the other tribes? Tayen had promised me not to engage with any war while I'm still here!" Bella widened her mouth in shock. Actually, he only promised her not to fight against Ra.
Mihaje stayed quiet as his eyes narrowed to the camps. Tayen was seen walking back to his tent. Mihaje then turned his attention to Bella,
"Who brought you here?"
"Niro, the castle guard. I promised him that I'll talk you into taking him into your special force if he helps me."
He wanted to pinch that pretty face of hers, but at the same time he wanted to kiss her long and hard. She made him so speechless that he didn't know whether to get angry or laugh. It was a mystery to him how Bella can be both adorable and annoying at the same time. Mihaje's face twitched as he hissed long,
"You brazen female..."
*****
"Protect her with your life." Mihaje gave the task to send Bella back to the castle safely to one of his trusted and loyal subordinates.
"You can count on me, general." Supa bowed his head.
Mihaje grabbed Bella by her wrist and she turned around to face him.
"Here," Mihaje handed her a short sword with a black sheath, "I had this forged for you."
Bella's eyes sparkled as she held the sword. It was very light and the length of it was just right. She smiled,
"Thank you, Mihaje. I really appreciate it."
Mihaje then helped Bella climb onto the saddle on Supa's back, who had already transformed into a giant komodo dragon for the journey.
"I will return to you," Mihaje said softly, "be safe."
Bella nodded with a faint smile on her face. She grabbed tight on the leash as Supa strode fast after Mihaje had given the signal.
Mihaje watched until they were out of his sight, before turning back towards the campsite. He should return to his tent before Lord Tayen suspects something.
*****