Savina, the Red

The emperor continued to watch me with his dead eyes. He didn't look angry or upset. There was no difference between him and a robot.

Maybe a robot could show better emotions.

"Why are you here?" I managed to spit out the words.

"I wanted to check if there were truly no survivors," He answered me in a monotonous tone. "What is your name?"

I looked at his sword and then, I glanced at his face. How long would it take for him to kill me? He killed me last time without any questions. I took a step back from him. Where could I run? If I ran in the other direction, I had to pass by the camp. Some soldiers would notice me. If I ran in the direction of the emperor, I would meet the sword. Even if I had one life left, I wasn't keen on dying.

"I am not a member of this tribe." I placed my hand on my chest. "I came here to… to…"

"To?" He raised his brow.

"Steal from the dead, " I blurted out. Then, I fell on my knees and put my palms together. What was pride? Could it save me from the sword? "Emperor, please forgive me. I am a wanderer who is trying to survive. I take stuff from the dead and sell it in the village. I mean no harm. Please let me go."

He studied me for a moment. "I am not holding you."

"..." This bastard!

"Since you admit your crime, I will be lenient." The emperor took a step toward me, putting his hand in the hilt of his sword. "It seems that you don't even know who the emperor of this country is."

Fuck! Why did I call him an emperor? He's not an emperor yet. Dante Scheledrus Wyrm tilted his head as if he was expecting me to do something. I swallowed. "What is my crime?"

"It's a crime to steal from the dead." He bent down on his one knee in front of me. With a low voice, he told me, "Don't you know?"

I shook my head aggressively. "I didn't steal. I didn't steal. Please, don't kill me, your majesty!"

His eyes seemed to be searching for something in my face. "Are you really not a survivor?"

"I swear." I touched my throat, sharp phantom pain stabbing in my throat. "If I fell from the height, I would have been wounded, right? I didn't even get a scratch."

The emperor nodded. "It doesn't mean that you aren't one of them."

"Then, what should I do to make you believe me?" I had an urge to hold his wrist to prevent him from unsheathing the sword or punch his face. "I am not a Mara" or whatever they are. I was just wandering and I ended up here. I stumbled and fell on a corpse. That's why my clothes are dirty." By the time I finished, I had no idea what I was saying.

"Name," He muttered, keeping his eyes on my face.

"Savina Cox," I uttered without a second thought. Then, I realized that I shouldn't have told him my real name.

"Savina is your first name." He paused for a moment, knitting his brows. "Is it?"

The man seemed both normal and abnormal. Could personality change with each trial? I had no idea. "It is my first name."

Dante cocked his head, seemingly falling into deep thoughts. He mumbled absentmindedly, "I have never heard of the family name Cox."

"Actually, I made it up," I said quickly. "I am an orphan without any family name. That's why I decided to make my surname."

Apologies, my dear parents, who brought me to the planet earth and raised me. I had to do whatever it took to survive.

He eyed me with interest. "What does it mean?"

Meaning? I was at a loss. When I was a teenager, I did look into the meaning of my surname. Though there were many possible meanings, I chose the one that I liked. "Red?"

Dante stayed silent for a long time. I wondered if I had said something wrong. The future emperor was acting strangely. I couldn't even ask why. He killed me last time without a word. Now, he was acting all chatty with a robotic face.

"I decided that it meant red," I added, hoping that it was enough.

"Not bad." He stood up, straightening his back. "Savina, the Red."

"..." It was too easy. Did I survive? A whisper of doubt lingered in my head. The villainous emperor was acting abnormally. Was it him or his doppelganger?

"Are you lucky?" He continued, "If my people had found you, I would have killed you right away."

I pursed my lips together. Did he kill me because his people found me last time to keep his ruthless image? What a horrible man! He deserved the ending that he got in the story.

"Though you told me a convincing story, I think that you are a liar." The emperor unsheathed his sword. "Pale yellow hair, green eyes, sunburnt skin and a robe with the emblem of the mara tribe… Savina Cox, you can change your name, but you can't change your appearance."

Shit!