“For Laurel! For her Highness!”

“Oooh!” Men from the distance roared.

The sound of armor clanking reverberated. Blades glinted from the shadows of the trees. Silhouettes danced and shuffled through the woods. The moon and the stars which lit up the night, vanished—hidden by the dark clouds that loomed over the forest. Everything—was dark. Everything gradually turned into a darker shade of what it was.

Why…

I was running. I ran through the woods dragged by Erina.

Why does Erina look so tall? Why is she here? I looked up. The difference in our height, as far as I could remember, was never this apparent.

My thoughts kept on looking for a conclusion to this ridiculous situation. Eventually, my body wore down. It ached as if it was screaming at my head that it could no longer keep up any longer. My breathing got ragged, and finally, a sound came out from my own mouth.

“E-erina I can’t... Keep up...” A childish voice said. “It’d be better... To leave me here...”

“Please endure, your Highness.” She said. “You must live.”

This... It can’t be, right? It’s impossible. How?

It felt like I was a spectator of my own body.

Soon the clouds looming above started to drop a few tears from the sky. The tears multiplied and became a drizzle, then the drizzle turned into a downpour.

It did not take too much time before the firm ground turned to mud.

As we ran, mud flew and splattered which tainted my dress. The rain drenched my body and soaked my dress—adding unnecessary weight. The surroundings, my body, felt colder and colder. My breathing became hazy. Then finally, my footing gave out and slipped on the mud. I fell face first on the mud-filled ground.

“Your Highness!” Erina shouted as she picked me up. “Please endure, your Highness. We would be able to reach the city soon. So please, just a little more.”

This words…

As Erina cupped my cheeks to reassure me, I heard the footfalls from behind. When it got close, the person supported my body and turned my face towards the other direction.

“Your Highness, please continue running,” She said with a gentle smile as she wiped the mud covering my face with her bare hands.  “And never forget to keep that bright smile of yours.”

It was a soft and gentle touch that it easily overshadowed the cold and dark surroundings. After looking at her directly in the eyes, I stood there with my quivering legs and gave a nod.

“I-I’ll try.” I bit my lips as I forced my body to get up.

This.. Isn’t this Ria?

Suddenly, blood dripped from her sweet and gentle lips.

“Please run, your Highness,” She said before her body fell on the muddy ground. On her back was an embedded dagger. As she laid flat, blood spread throughout her clothes. I could never forget it. It was the last time I saw Ria’s smile.

“R-ria? You’re okay, right?” I spoke as I tried to prop up her body back up with trembling hands.

No. No. Not this again... Please... Stop...!

My body pushed and pulled Ria's body, hoping that she would eventually stand up like how she used to. I wiped her face as she wiped mine.

“Ria... Ria! Please... wake up... Ria!” My sight was blurred with tears. “Y-you promised, right? You said you’d eat sweets with me when we get back.. So plea-”

Before I get to finish, Erina grabbed my arm and pulled me. She ran and dragged me once more.

“E-erina! Please wait! Ria.. Ria is still alive! P-please, let’s carry her back at least!” I pleaded as I burst into tears. “Please! Erina! At least Ria!”

“I’m sorry, Your Highness,” Erina said with a frown. “Please respect Ria’s wishes and live.”

“Why?! Why… W-what did I do wrong... First, it was Grandpa. Then it was Mira.. And now it’s Ria.. Why? What did I do wrong? H-have I been bad? Did I hurt someone?”

My thoughts took a dip into a dark and murky liquid. Not a single thought other than pleading for it to stop overcame my mind.

“No. Your Highness is innocent. You have wronged no one.”

“Then why? What did I do to deserve this?! It should’ve been me...! I’m useless...! I’m just a weight! A baggage!”

“Your Highness has never wronged anyone. Please believe me and please don’t speak those words.” Erina returned me a glare. “You would’ve been thrown long ago if you were just a weight to everyone. Please, Your Highness, never forget your smile, just as Ria mentioned.”

“But... I can’t... I don’t think I deserve to be happy...”

“Your Highness, there will come a time that you will realize that that smile of yo—agh...!”

An arrow struck Erina's right shoulder. She then unintentionally let go of my arm and fell on her knees while her left-hand held her bleeding shoulder.

“No! Erina! Please! Don’t leave me too! I’ll do anything! Please! Please stay!” I held Erina from behind as tight as I could.

“Your Highness, I’m fine,” she said as she stood with her right arm limp. “Come, we need to go.”

She grabbed my arm with and restarted running. As we ran, a continuous rustling sound followed from behind. I turned around to look out of fear. Then and there I saw an arrow struck the man in a black garment, but it was too late. A dagger was already thrown inching towards me before the arrow struck.

Then slowly as if time slowed down, everything became visible. The leaves falling from the trees, the mud dancing in the air, the raindrops falling from the sky, the dagger slicing through the air, everything. Everything halted. It was as if time halted on its own.

At that moment, my thoughts resurfaced.

What? What’s.. happening?

While I was pondering, a melodious voice echoed through my head.

[How is it O’ pitiful child?] It said.

I looked for the source of the voice and found a shadow from the distance lit up by the moonlight peeking through the clouds. But before I could make up the shadow, time moved again and the dagger closed in on my face. My body unconsciously closed its eyes.

Followed by the dagger was a sound similar to that of shattering glass.

---

[Melia..]

[Amelia. Wake up.]

I lifted my face as I heard Mon’s voice.  When I looked at him, he wore a worried expression.

[Are you ok?] He said as he pointed at his eyes and traced his finger down his cheek.

“Huh?” When I touched my own, I felt traces of tears.

“I’m sorry... Please give me a few minutes,” I said as I huddled again and allowed my tears to flow.

While I cried myself, I grasped the pouch Erina left with me.

It’s okay. It’s still here.

After a few minutes, I stood and wiped my tears away.

“I’m fine now. Let’s go,” I said as I walked in front.

[Are you sure? We can still rest for a while longer.]

“No, I’m fine. Crying in a corner would not do me any good, nor does it to anyone.”I forced up a smile. Smiling was... something that could wash away the sadness—even if temporary.

I gripped the pouch again as if squeezing it for courage.

[You’re too hard on yourself.]

“Don’t worry, I think I deserve it,” I said as I walked further. “Mon, please lead.”

[Suit yourself.] He said as he started to move ahead of me.

Yes, I deserve this. If only I had not been a dead weight, more of them would’ve survived. Grandfather, Mira, Ria, the Knights, and the soldiers. Every single one of them... I need to work on their behalf.

---

Afterward, Mon and I hiked from the foot of Alabaster. We frequently took a few minutes of rest as we went higher and higher. He said that it was bad to hike up the mountain too quickly. If not, a curse may fall upon me that would make it hard for me to breathe.

“Does it happen when going down?”

[No, it only happens when going up. The Alabaster wishes to keep intruders away.]

Along the way, we spotted several beasts from afar. The noteworthy ones which I should strictly avoid were the Catoblepas, Cerastes, and especially a rare sighting of a golden goat called Amalthea.

The Catoblepas resembled a buffalo, but with a very thick fur, large hooves, and a head pointed downwards most of the time. Mon said that its gaze could naturally turn anything into stone and it has a toxic breath as opposed to its buffalo-like body.

The Cerastes was known to be one of the great predators of Alabaster. Only a very few of them are seen around Alabaster. They were huge serpents with light-brown scales and spikes covering the top of its scales. It has unique thick horns above its head which were said to be used as catalysts to cast magic.

On the other hand, Amalthea is considered as the divine goat of Alabaster. It was the symbol of prosperity due to its golden fleece. He also mentioned that it could control storms. Despite that, it was known to be docile and would not attack anyone unless provoked.

There was another divine beast considered by the Tribe, but Mon said that I would be meeting it at the Proving. So it was best to let me see it personally. It was not considered as the divine beast of Alabaster since it only makes an appearance during the duration of the proving. The Tribe had several debates whether to consider it as the Beast Guide of the Proving, but some said that it only watched over most of the time.

There were also several others which we passed through like the Fang Wolves, the Orthruses, and Spiked Hyraxes.

Mon also taught me how to avoid most of them and how to stay hidden.

“Can you show me a beast so I could try using dark magic to hide my presence?” I said. “It’d be better if it’s docile. I’ll just check if it could detect me only using dark magic.”

[Dark magic?]

“Yes. Well, I guess it’s pretty rare for the Tribe? Dark magic is usually used to hide presence, but not completely as compared to a light and dark compound. It’d be good if I can save up mana using only dark magic to sneak through.”

He led me near a nest of Spiked Hyrax. The Hyraxes were small but were at twice the size of a horned rabbit. They also had sharp spikes on their backs.

I approached from a nearby bush and chanted the magic for Hide. Mon tried to pique the interest of the Hyrax by throwing a piece of fruit nearby. The hyrax passed through the bush I was hiding, but it stopped midway and tried to sniff the air. After looking at the surroundings for a few seconds, the Hyrax continued towards the fruit.

It’s a success, but my smell…

From the result, it seemed that it wouldn’t work against beasts with an acute sense of smell.

As the day passed, we again made a camp for the night and slept like usual as he filled me in with information that I could use during the proving. It felt like I was cheating, but it’d be better if I return alive like I promised.

At night, I still fell asleep in the middle of the night watch, but I no longer dreamt of my past like the previous day. Even so, the voice at the end of my dream piqued my curiosity. If I remembered my past correctly, I never heard a voice like that before. I tried to think of several candidates, but it was impossible to think of something I never encountered.

On the next day, I was again fed information by Mon. He also continued to let me borrow his bow so that I could continuously practice. He also told me how to differentiate edible from non-edible plants. He also showed me how to skin a few animals and told me how to process them for temporary use. This continued until the afternoon where we reached the crest of one of the mountains.

From the crest, the view of the Tribe’s residence became visible as well as the greenery that surrounded the mountains. Clouds resting lowly were scattered here and there, and the majestic sun showered over the rows of cloud above the peaks.