Chapter 12 – Eventful Outing
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Kabal struck out at me but I swiftly avoided him. The months of running and being beaten have made me more agile than I thought this body capable of. Though I did not wield a sword with as much grace and skill as any great knight, I had my speed on my side. Compared to Kabal who had several kilos of hard steel weighing him down, I did not wear heavy reinforcement which allowed me to be fast, although it also meant I had more weak spots. As long as I wasn’t struck, it didn’t matter.

Kabal advanced on me, striking out several times and quick succession. I dodged many of the blows before trying to block the last. It wasn’t the smartest move. The strength of the knight’s swing launched the sword from my hand.

But I wasn’t completely disarmed. I spun away from the next jab and drew a knife, turning it in my hand with practiced ease. I had showed average performances with the sword but I had quickly become an expert with knives. Kabal was forced to lean back to avoid a quick jab at his gut.

I targeted vital points without hesitation as he taught me. Thankfully, for his life, he was quicker and more skilled than I was and managed to avoid all of my attempts with ease. While swerving and dodging, he even had the time and energy to comment on my fighting.

"Swordsmen always neglect this little weapon." He grinned. "It cannot block a sword, no, but it can sneak through the gaps in your opponent’s defenses as well as any blade." He tilted his head to the side.

Frustrated, I let out a snarling sound and lunged at him again. But my swing was a little too wild. Kabal twisted around me and swatted the knife out of my hand.

“I lost. Again.” I sighed.

“You will lose hundreds, no, thousands more time until you are good enough to defeat me.” The knight tried and failed miserably to reassure me. “But you did very well. We can add new elements to your routine, others weapons, maybe more opponents– “

“Magic?” I tried, hopeful.

“Nope! Not that.”

But why?” I whine. “I’m ready for it though.”

“Maybe. But the Lord refused and I follow his orders.

I sighed defeated. I have been trying to convince him and his employer for months, to no avail. I even asked Maeve – I was that desperate – but it didn’t work either.

I guess I’ll just have to teach myself then.

 


 

The wooden floor was cold underneath my back. Eyes closed, I let the heat of the winter sun warm the air around me. Not that the current weather could actually be called winter; it did rain pretty often during this time of the year but in general, the South rarely got cold enough that I needed to wear warmer clothing.

I was hiding in a deserted corner of the mansion. I hadn't done this in such a long time. My last real earth-to-Hazel moment had been a few months ago, after being told I now had a fiancé. I had laid in the garden for hours contemplating exactly how I should proceed, what I should do with that information and what it meant for the plot.

A months after Maeve gave me a head’s up, I had received a velvet box in which sat the most ostentatious necklace I had ever seen in my two lives. The piece of jewelry was shining so bright it had me wishing I had sunglasses. The intertwined gold and silver metals were beautifully embellished with all sorts of gems. It had been my first time holding something so precious. Even the jewels the duchess wore, which were quite lavish themselves, paled in comparison.

With the necklace, had come an official letter from the imperial palace that had confirmed what the duchess had announced and had described the necklace as a token of the love and affection the heir to the throne held for me. He hadn't written any letter himself so I didn't know how he felt about our current situation.

Of course, I recognized the jewelry. I had heard about it from Lian during one of my history lessons. It was called The Sun’s everlasting vow. The jewelry was an imperial heirloom, passed down from crown-princesses to crown princesses and was an elegant representation of a timeless bond of love and affection that had connected the first two Renascendas.

Needless to say, it was extremely precious and, if the plethora of gems didn’t already give it away, extremely expensive.

As I had lifted the heavy necklace, I had wondered how many gold coins I could get by selling it. I had dreamed of someday finding a way out of the estate, out of the empire and living the rest of my life comfortably with that money.

Unwittingly, the prince might have given me one of the means I lacked to ensure my survival in case things went to shit a few years later.

Sighing, I finally cracked my eyes open and stared out the widow I had thrown wide open. The room I was in directly gave on the back of the estate, the only part that wasn’t completely surrounded by a stone wall or a gate. There was a wooden portal separating the forest from the garden.

To my knowledge, there hasn’t ever been any problem or incident but it still made me uncomfortable that the only thing separating us from the rumored monster-infested forest of the Cresci mountain is a flimsy wooden door.

“Now that I think about it, it’s weird that someone as careful as the duke would leave his house exposed to danger like that…” I said outloud, now fully seated so I could get a better view of the portal.

It was weird indeed.

The entire estate, including the gardens and the several ponds, was walled up.What was the point of leaving an opening? Especially in such an unfortunate location.

 

***************

 

"Dad! I have a question!"

I unceremoniously barged through the door without bothering to knock first or wait for him to allow me in.

In the last 2 years I had taken the habit to do that when I wanted to tell him something, important or not.

If it bothered him, he had not mentioned it or even uttered a complaint. I liked to believe it was a testament of the strange familiarity we had surprisingly developed since my reincarnation. Though I was still astonished by the amount of patience he displayed even when I asked what could genuinely be considered the dumbest questions a normal person (in this world) could ask.

Elias raised his head to look at me with a small smirk teasing his lips. He always did that instead of scolding me. It was the expression of a guy who wish he had popcorn to eat while enjoying something highly entertaining.

"I will leave you." His aide, that I hadn't notice until he opened his mouth, said before exiting the room, not even waiting for his master's permission.

"What is it?"

I approached his desk, a little curious about what occupied his attention when he was holed up in his office for hours.

His desk was a mess. To be honest, his entire office was in an uncharacteristic state of disarray. Although most documents were still on the desk, quite a few of them lied on the floor. There was an abandoned small piled on the side of the table. I suspected the Duke's aide had been gathering these fallen documents before I arrived.

Among the mess of papers on the floor, I recognized the golden detailing that characterized official letter from the imperial palace. The letter was crumpled and discarded on the side of the table, out of his sight.

I bent down and picked it up. But before I could read it, it was snatched out of my fingers. It wasn't a violent movement, but it was quick and unexpected enough to make me jump a little.

"Do not touch trash!"

"Is it not a letter from the Emperor?" I asked flabbergasted.

He didn't respond but merely threw the paper back on the floor. A satisfied look relaxed his features when the crumpled ball hit the floor, back where it apparently belonged.

"Anyway", I diverted my attention back to him. "I have a question."

"And I suppose it is important enough to interrupt my work." He asked with a glint of amusement.

"I guess it could have waited but I was really curious."

"I am listening."

"Are there really monsters in the Cresci Mountain?"

I knew monsters existed in this world. In the game, one of the stages involved a celebratory hunt during which the capture targets tried to win Riannon's affection by killing the biggest, most dangerous beast they could find within the perimeter of the competition. I also heard of voraces, omnivorous shapeshifting creatures that used to terrorize the common folk before being almost entirely exterminated.

The existence of monsters was something I had come to terms with, after all it was to be expected in a world where magic existed.

"There are."

"Then why is half of the estate embedded in the forest of the mountain? We could be attacked."

"Do not worry about that, there is nothing to fear as long as you do not wander in the forest on your own."

I thought about his reply. If there were really dangerous creatures in that forest, it made even less sense for that wooden door to be there. What's more, I would have heard of at least one incident, like a maid being devoured while hanging the laundry or a monster sneaking in and killing a lot of the staff (not me though). Not that I wanted it to happen, but I found it weird that it hadn't.

"It’s weird..." I said out loud without realizing it.

It couldn't be that dangerous if we have never been attacked. I remember the monsters in the game being described as vicious and ready to slaughter and devour any human on sight. Some of them could fly and others were so big that a wall such as ours wouldn't be much of a deterrent.

The wheels in my head were turning. I haven't been out of the estate since the awakening confirmation. Not that I hadn't thought about it or wanted to go for a walk. I just figured I would be safer inside until the events of game started or until I was a good enough fighter that I could fare on my own in a medieval setting. Also I was too busy to think about it.

But now that the outside world was looking straight into my eyes and beckoning me temptingly, how could I possibly refuse such an offer.

The portal wouldn't be hard to climb and I didn't have to get to far from the estate. I could just go around the wall and I would be out, unseen and unheard. I could come back in just as discreetly.

As ideas of what I could do outside were racing through my head, the Duke's eyes were still on me.

"If you are this bored as to think about the forest it must mean your curriculum is not busy enough." He finally said. "I will talk to Maeve about it then."

I panicked. My curriculum was already as busy as humanly possible. Between my classes with Lian, those with Corteza's, my music and dance classes, my lessons with Kabal, those with the new teacher whose name I have a hard time remembering as well as my newly added Crown princess lessons, I barely had the time to breathe.

My face must have been the embodiment of terror since the Duke chuckled lightly.

"Come here." He said, gesturing to his lap.

Ugh! Do I have to? So embarrassing.

I reluctantly went around the desk, dragging my feet. He lifted me as he usually did, placing me on his lap.

"Aren't you busy?"

"I am. I was also very busy when you barged in."

I ignored the reproach implied. If I was bothering him, he should have said so earlier.

“What were you doing?” I asked picking up of the papers with the duchy’s seal on them.

“Checking the finances of the dukedom. Our latest harvests have not been the greatest, we have to buy more resources from neighboring territories to compensate for the deficit.”

I took a closer look at the spread sheet and granary reports in my hands. The numbers on it told another story.

“Then how come we have so much grain stored near the border.”

In fact, we had twice the amount necessary to feed the entire dukedom, which wasn’t a small territory, in just one granary. With this amount, we could solve the issues of several other territories of the Empire. We might even help quell the insurrections happening all over the continent.

“You know how to read this?” He asked.

“Yeah. The duch– Mother taught me.”

And I hadn’t been fun, let me tell you that.

 I returned my attention to the papers.

“Considering that we have a shortage of food, it does not make sense that we have this much in just one granary.”

There were 4 granaries in total in Zahar and the resources were supposed to be equally distributed among the four of them. Having this much in each granary would mean we are not only self-sufficient, but also wealthy enough to be our own country.

But it’s impossible. The entire Empire knows the dukedom is encountering difficulties. Even the duke confirmed it.

“I think the person who sent you this made a huge miscalculation.” With an expression that said  I expected better of you, I added, “You should read these things before putting your seal on them. If this gets out people might think you are incompetent.”

“Thank you for your advice. I will be careful in the future.” With strained smile, he took the papers from my hands and placed them on a pile, far away from my grasp.

“I think you should investigate this matter.” I advised further, trying to reach the papers again while he kept pushing them away. “It could be more than a simple mista–”

“Hazel.” He interrupted. “I can see that you are doing very well in your studies. You deserve an appropriate reward. How about buying new dresses? You like them a lot if I recall. Miss Bonpin will arrange an excursion and I will assign a few guards to accompany you.”

I squinted my eyes in suspicion. He was being uncharacteristically talkative which was obviously a tactic to divert my attention. Not a good one.

It made me even more curious as to what he was trying to hide. But on the other hand, I really wanted to go out now and he was offering.

I guess I’ll know what he’s hiding sooner or later. For now, I’ll take the bribe.

“Thanks dad.” I finally answered with a fake placid smile.

 


 

Haron stood at the edge of the water, his whole body shivering when it lapped at his toes. Shifting his weight from one foot to the other, he dug his toes into the damp dirt and bit his lip indecisively. I, on the other hand, had already shucked both of my shoes in the grass, lifted up my skirt and dipped my feet into the water down to my knees, pale skin proudly glowing under the sunlight.

Haron has been sulking lately. I understood from the snide comments he made at Miraella that he felt like I was neglecting him. I couldn’t even deny it. It wasn’t that I preferred spending my time with her, she was nice and all but I still liked Haron better. He was my little brother after all.

It was just that since I became the Crown princess, I have felt like it was important to actually understand how high society worked, especially among people my age… Well, the age of this body. I wasn’t really ready to spend more time than necessary with the duchess so Miraella Velpassi was the best option. What’s more, she was surprisingly well-versed in this area, she knew about all the rumors and had an outstandingly good understanding of what was being said underneath the polite conversations. The little girl had proven herself particularly useful to prepare for my first tea party and subsequent social debut. It helped that her company was also very enjoyable.

My brother glared down at me.

“I cannot believe I let you talk me into this…”

I grinned at him excitedly, flicking my legs to spray water on him. The pond wasn't too deep, at least not where we were standing, only reaching midway up his ankles and my thighs.

“C'mon, Haron, the water is nice.”

He rolled his eyes, but stared at me, hesitating whether to join me or retreat back to safety.

When I called to him once more, he left out a defeated sigh, dipped further in the water and winced when he realized the water a little chillier than I had described it. He stepped forward, letting the water reach up to his calves. Raising his chin stubbornly, he walked forward, arms hugging his own frame.

“Liar! It is cold!” He accused, teeth chattering.

“It is perfect.” I argued, before dropping my hands, slapping them on the surface of the water and spraying him with water again. When he grumbled, I laughed teasingly.

“Look at you, Little Haron, being a rebel.”

He rolled his eyes at me again and waddled a little further into the pond but keeping his distance from me in case I decided to splash him again. Unfortunately for him, his reactions were too entertaining for me to stop trying to annoy him. I slapped the water again, splashing both him and me.

“Haze!” He complained.

I simply laughed as I continued to drench him with pond water.

“That is not funny.” He said, his frown deepening further.

“If you were not being so uptight, you would see the humor in this.” I countered. “So? How does it feel to toss away any and all propriety?” I winked.

He rolled his eyes once more. If he kept at it, I feared his eyeballs might never come back to their original position.

“Not that I am complaining, but… what exactly brought this on? I had the feeling that you did not need me anymore since the Velpassi girl made our guest room her home.” Haron asked, his nose scrunched, ignoring my playful tone and choosing to sulk instead.

“What? Since when do I need a reason for us to hang out now?” I replied, hesitating to splash him again for his insolence. “Ok you’re right. We don't exactly spend as much time together anymore.”

“Hmpf!” He simply huffed, crossing his arms and turning his back to me.

"I think you're exaggerating a little, Haron. Mirae and I are closer but she cannot replace you." My mouth twitched.“Mm. You know what we could do?”

“I am not playing Kodran with you ever again.” The boy said, shaking his head.

He starting to walk toward the shore. I laughed, then proceeded to follow behind him.

“Because I always win.”

“Because you always cheat.”

“Being a sore loser is not a good look on you Haron. And neither is slander.” I shrugged. " But that's not what I meant."

He looked over at me curiously, his eyebrows relaxing a little bit. It wasn’t a smile yet but I knew I got him.

“What do you have in mind?”

“Well, Father allowed me to go out and I wanted you to come with me.”

“Are you going shopping?

“How did you guess?”

“Well, usually when you ask permission to leave the estate, it is either to attend a tea party or to buy things. The only person you have kept contact with is that Velpassi girl, but I doubt you would have a tea party with just 2 people.”

“Soooo? Are you coming with me or not?”

“Do I have a choice?” He asked with a cheeky grin.

“Nope.” I smiled back, hugging his side.

“You are so lucky I am a forgiving person.”

"The most forgiving."

 


 

As I followed Haron out of the carriage with a knight’s help, I began to look at the people passing in front of the boutique.

Since the shop was located in a place frequently visited by ordinary people, you could see children shouting, running around in shabby worn-out outfits, a plethora stands loaded with goods from where merchants were shouting to be noticed, and several onlookers who showed interest were peering at the merchandise.

When I didn’t move, watching the people for a long time, Haron stopped in his tracks, turned around and carefully asked: “Do you have another place you want to visit?”

“No, it is not that. It’s just that… It is my first time seeing a place like this…” I replied, half in daze.

“What are you saying? You used to come here pretty often.”

“It feels like I am seeing it for the first time.”

“If you say so.” A confused Haron relented. “Let us go inside.”

I received the owner’s greeting, before looking around the store. It wasn’t particularly big, not like the gigantic malls she used to shop at, but it was filled with a wide variety of items that went from the simplest and ordinary to the most extravagant. The dresses, what I technically came here for, varied from simple indoor clothes to decent everyday dresses and even lavish ballroom garments.

For commoners, those indoor clothes might all be grand, valuable ones, but for the nobility, things were different. It was strictly taught that a noble lady needed to wear different clothes for indoors and outdoors, and if one were to head out in the middle of a day while accidentally wearing an indoor dress, it would cause rumors of her shamelessness to spread quickly.

Just thinking about these tedious rules, I couldn’t help but click my tongue.

Sometimes this world is really annoying.

After choosing a few clothes that were at least acceptable, I requested that all of them be wrapped. Before I became a duke’s daughter, I never thought there would be a day I could afford so many expensive clothes. Even if I had starved for three months and saved all the money, I would never have been able to buy the cheapest item in that place.

Oh well, he said I could spend however much I please. And if he’s gonna forbid me from learning magic and hide things from his family, I am allowed to quell my frustration with a little bit of therapy-shopping.

I probably bought that whole boutique and I still had some pocket money left. On the table in the corner of the boutique, there was a tray with a steaming tea pot and cheap snacks prepared. The owner guided Sophie, a bored Haron and I to that spot.

The owner then cautiously asked: “There are more high-quality clothes upstairs. Would you perhaps be interested in seeing a selection?”

“It is fine. Let me just pay for what I have chosen.”

“Yes, yes. It will be ready right away. Then, please enjoy the refreshments and wait a moment.”

Seeing the owner’s back quickly disappear, I took a snack and bit it. Tasting that cheap, buttery taste, rather than hating it, I kind of missed it. There just weren’t that many junk food options in the ducal mansion. It might have been better when I had been hungry, but still, it caused me to reminisce about my past self.

The owner of the boutique did everything in his power not to make us wait too long, and he soon appeared with all ten items wrapped up. One of the knights accompanying us received the packages, and Sophie paid for them.

I had finished my shopping so I could either go back home like a good little girl or I could hang around town a bit longer.

I’ll go for the second option.

The next stop was the general store where they sold goods for commoners.

It didn’t take long for us to reach the general store. Haron was starting to complain that he was bored and I was willfully choosing to ignore his whining.

As I was walking around, checking out the different items when I heard a loud shrilly voice shouting: “Newspaper! Newspaper! 1 silver for the latest news! It contains very important information, so be sure to buy yours today! Only 1 silver!”

I stopped and looked in the direction of the voice. There, I saw a boy holding a newspaper in his hand, shouting for customers in the streets. The little boy was around our age and looked like what I imagined Oliver twist would look like in real life, from his worn-out shoes to his little hat.

I gave his shoes a second glance. It looked like he had been walking around for hours. His feet were probably peppered with blisters. His face looked as gaunt and pale as humanly possible. It was truly worrisome.

A newspaper? Come to think of it, I need some information.

Although newspapers were delivered at the ducal household daily, the information was aimed toward the nobility, which was different from the information in newspapers targeted at commoners.

I can’t just focus on what happens within nobility, I might not stay a noble forever.

“Hey kid!” I called out to the little boy.

“Kid?” Haron commented next to me. “He is probably older than you.”

I ignored the disgruntled little noble and chose to focus my attention on the other child.

“What can I do for you lady?” Big brown eyes looked at me with a mixture of curiosity and apprehension.

“How much for the entire bag?”

His little backpack was filled to the brim with papers.

“Um… Well… That would be 20 silver coins, my lady.” He responded, his face suddenly bright.

I plucked 5 gold coins from the purse Sophie was holding and placed them in his hands.

“You can keep the change.”

“Thank you so much, generous beautiful lady.” He bowed several times before placing my new acquisition in the waiting hands of a knight and running in the other direction.

Satisfied with this, I decided to put an end to my therapy-shopping and finish the day with a little bit of sight-seeing.

 

***************

 

It all happened very fast.

One moment I was walking, minding my own business, and the next there was a lot of yelling and I was on the ground with a kid on top of me.

Being tackled wasn’t something I thought I would have to worry about as a harmless noble lady but apparently, I was wrong. Before even the knight could react – which they have been extremely slow to do – my knee-jerk reaction kicked in and I used both legs to kick him off with enough force to send him sprawling into the wall of an adjacent building.

“Ugh! That hurts! That was quite the kick.” Said the upside-down pile of boy, his accented voice sounding very enthusiastic and not at all offput by their mutual near-death experience.

Before he could breathe another word, he was surrounded by my escorts – Finally! – and swords were pointed at his face.

“Who are you?” Haron asked after he helped me up from the cobblestones.

My assailant barely seemed to have noticed the ray of swords surrounding him. In fact, he dusted himself with the carefree attitude of someone who was about to sit for a picnic.

He was broad shouldered and quite tall for a kid.

Are they all that tall in the Kingdom of Phenicia?

He was wearing finery all in green, he looked like a noble but he didn’t look like someone from Zahar. Although his white hair didn’t differ much from the colorful norm of this world, his dark skin and amber eyes seemed foreign.

He looked like what she'd been told a person from the Kingdom of Phenicia looked like, though she'd never seen a painting of a phenician person with such shiny amber eyes.

"I cannot believe they managed to find me. I was sure I snuck out discreetly." He said. He didn't seem to be talking to any of us as much as to himself, bending at the waist to examine the state of disarray his jacket/robe was in. "Ishtar, that rat! She must have told on me."

“WHO ARE YOU?” Haron repeated, louder this time.

I could chime in and ask why he had felt the need to tackle me on his way, but he was barely paying attention to the lethal weapons under his chin or to Haron’s rather repetitive line of questioning. So I said nothing.

“Let me do this. Do not hurt him. Yet.” I said as I slowly went around Haron and between the knights, approaching him as close as I could without being within his grasp.

"You!" he said, spinning on his heel with enough rapidity to send his long jacket-robe in a sweeping circle, jabbing a finger in my direction. The widening of my eyes was the only concession to my alarm as I sustained his piercing gaze. “Did she send you to spy on me? Are you one of Ishtar’s handmaids?”

“First of all, I don’t know who you are or who you’re talking about. And second, when you push someone to the ground, propriety requires that you apologize.” I said, trying my best stay civil to this delusional brat who just ruined my dress and didn’t even have the decency to say sorry.

He narrowed his eyes and, still ignoring the swords, came closer. The situation became even stranger when he came nearer. Uncomfortably near. In fact, his face was almost touching my own. I didn't try to get away from him, even though that was my first instinct. I hadn’t survived Kabal’s training for several months to back down in front of a bratty kid.

To prevent myself from punching him in the face for invading my precious personal space, I told myself that I shouldn’t make it a habit to beat random kids.

It may not be intentional on his part. Maybe they don’t have the same concept of personal space in the Kingdom of Phenicia.

“humm…” He looked me up and down. “You do not look like her usual entourage. Did she pick up a stray noble in this empire?”

“Listen dude, I don’t know what you are talking about. And to be honest, I do not really care. Just apologize so we can move on with our lives.”

“I do not agree with that!” Haron shouted from behind me. “He has to be punished for attacking you.”

The Phenician boy's eyes narrowed further, that finger he'd been pointing at me moving as if he was going to poke me in the chin with it.

“Who are you?” He asked.

“I believe my brother asked you the exact same question. And if I recall, you did not dignify us with an answer.”

He took a step back, seemingly pondering about what I just said.

"That," he muttered to himself but not doing a very good job since I heard ever word, "is a very good point." He started pacing from one side to the other, the swords following his every move. “But I cannot just go around telling people who I am.”

I mean, I’ve never seen someone who speaks that much to himself. In public.

“You are one creepy dude. Anyway, apologize so me, my very angry brother and my very armed, very skilled escorts can avoid the effort of getting it out of you by force.”

He paused for a few seconds, seemingly taken aback by my threat.

“HA HA HA HA HA!” He burst out laughing as though I had said the funniest thing he ever heard. “For such a small little girl, you are quite brave. I like you.”

“Sorry but I’m already taken.” I grimaced before rejected him and putting more distance between us.

Haron chose that moment to move between us and growl at the other kid.

“Seize him!” My brother ordered.

“I would not do that if I were you.”

Not heading his warning, the knights marched forward to carry out their order.

The phenician boy raised both hands in the air and for a second, I thought he was giving himself up. That was until he snapped out two twin blades from somewhere behind his back and somersaulted to avoiding the grasp of the knights. He then slid to the side and in less than 2 seconds, he was behind me with his blade grazing my neck.

At that moment, my thoughts went back to the point where everything went to shit.

I did not agree to any of this and I am certainly not ready to die again.

The blade on my neck wasn’t pressed enough to cut me but I didn’t move. Judging by the way he had moved earlier, he fast enough to slit my throat and escape before I could elbow him in the solar plexus.

I looked around me, my eyes pleading for help. But it felt like we were trapped in some strange bubble, no one else was acting as if what was happening was strange. If I had seen a guy tackle a little girl on the street and then threaten her with a knife, I’d like to think I would at least have stopped to make sure the child was okay.

The position I was in wasn’t uncomfortable per se but being restricted created or made me take notice of minor pain throughout my body. My back hurt. My hipbones hurt. My hands hurt because I had apparently scraped them on the cobblestones earlier. My elbows were bruised, and I was losing sensation in my legs.

“Are you alright, my lady?” he asked, which was ironic since he was literally holding a knife to my neck. “You are looking kind of pale.” Then he snorted. “Then again, who am I kidding? This is Prath, everyone looks pale.” He seemed to find this hilarious, which pissed me off.

“Release my sister and we will not hurt you.” Haron promised.

Lies.

The only way he would escape prison or execution now was if he was a member of the imperial family, which he wasn’t, or a royal of the Kingdom of Phenicia, which I doubted he was since he was wandering around without an escort. What kind of royal would do that? Also, what kind of royal would act so recklessly in another country.

“Do not do something you might regret.” I added.

“I am the victim here. You escort attacked me.” My captor defended indignantly.

“EXCUSE ME!” I finally snapped, almost forgetting I wasn’t currently in a position to do so. “If I recall properly, you were the one who tackled me out of nowhere!”

He was silent for a moment. Hopefully realizing he was in the wrong.

“Fine. I apologize for that. I might have miscalculated the trajectory and speed I used.”

“Finally! You could have done that like 10 minutes ago, we could have avoided… This” I replied gesturing to our predicament.

“I will let you go. As soon as the two men who snuck behind me and are now aiming for my back put down their weapons and come back with my range of sight.”

Haron clenched his fists in anger. His plan hadn’t worked. The knights came back in front of us with their empty hands up.

“Hm. This insignia reminds me of something. Purple and silver… You are the daughter of the duke!” The phenician kid exclaimed, his realization coming way too late for me to be relieved.

"Yes," I said, and nothing more.

"That is great! We will see each other again then.” He chuckled. “By the way, my name is Aidon.”

With this, he was gone faster than my guards could react. I was left shocked and a little shaken while Haron barked orders.

“Search the whole area and find him!”

 

 

 

Bonjour Bonjour,

Here is chapter 12!! Hazel's first time outside on her own turns out to be more eventful than she would have liked. Who is this new character? What does he want from our protagonist? Answers in the next chapter (probs. I haven't decided yet.)

Enjoy!!

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