Chapter 7: - Sent to Afar
-Crash
The sound of wood as it splintered against the wall, sounded throughout the room.
The sound came from a chair, as it crashed against the nearby wall. The thrower, Rall, who stood with anger and in his eyes, began his rant against his father and his actions in the throne room.
"How could he do that? I had everything right there in front of him, an opportunity that won't come again, and yet he let her go!!"
Rall, in his anger, picked up a nearby stool and threw it once more against the wall, shattering it on contact.
His mother, the queen, sat nearby at a table, calmly sipping her tea, as her son once again threw his tantrum against the walls about his father.
If she said she wasn't upset about the development of the trial, then she would be lying. Of course she wanted the girl in jail, false charge or not.
She had dealt with rumor after rumor after rumor about her daughter. From the thoughts of genes, to the question of whether Lia was King Grant's daughter or not.
In the end, when Vivian saw Lia, all she was reminded of was how much that girl had put her through, just for her weakness alone. The sooner she was gone, the sooner Vivian could rest in peace without worry of what Lia's actions would do to her.
But now, even she had to admit, her husband might not have been the smartest person, but he was by no means a fool.
'Why didn't he just take the opportunity that was right in front of him?'
Vivian wondered, her head pounding with questions and concerns.
Vivan began to wonder whether her husband was just being merciful, or foolish. It never once crossed her mind that he might still love his daughter, when so many others had abandoned her. It just didn't make sense to her.
"I planned everything from the beginning, but she beat all my expectations, I'll give her that. But when I heard about how she did that I had to take the opportunity. So why?!"
Rall punched out his anger against the nearby table, smashing vases, and tableware. The shattered bits of destroyed porcelain and silver fell to the floor.
Vivian looked to her son with annoyance.
"Would you mind? I understand your anger, but nothing will come of it."
At the sound of his mothers voice, Rall calmed himself down, and took a seat opposite her.
"Then what do we do?"
Vivian scoffed.
"Honestly, this is why kings have queens to begin with.When you become king, you best pick a good queen, otherwise you'll be lost."
"I already have one, don't you remember?"
Rall had been engaged since last summer to a duke's daughter within the kingdom of Cilza, their neighboring country.
The engagement was purely political, but Rall had to admit that the woman was incredibly genius. Both politically and economically. It was a marriage neither of them refused, as they both could see the value in each others worth.
"Yes yes. I know all about Ryla. But still, you ought to learn these things and take advantage of the opportunities placed before you."
"What opportunity? Everything I planned is gone. Sure I wasn't expecting her to make it through, the guards might have come a little later, but for those assassins to end up that way made me question it myself. And you could see it on his face, father was questioning the legitimacy of those doctors' claims."
"I'm aware of all of that. What I'm talking about is how the king is now pushing for Lia's safety. We could take advantage of that."
Upon hearing Vivian's words, Rall tilted his head.
"Advantage? Of what?"
Vivian simply smiled and placed down her tae.
"If you want Lia out of the way, then this is the perfect chance to get her out. All you need to do is move her far away, possibly closer down south in our summer mansion. I'll sign off on it so you won't have to worry about your father."
Now it all made sense to Rall. If his father was worried about Lia's safety, then sending her out of harm's way would be the easiest solution to his now doting problem.
Getting Al Shir's trust once more.
If he had to guess, Al Shir might not be in the best of moods right now with him, considering that he did try and have Lia arrested.
But that would all change. He only needed time.
Eventually, by the contract that binds him, he would be forced to train Rall, and Rall would use that time to get closer and earn his trust once again.
Of course, he would be upset about Lia's departure, but if it was for her safety, he couldn't go against it. Afterall, he was very avidly pushing for her safety back in the throne room.
They would be stuck, and forced to agree with this decision. And when she was finally gone, Al Shir would have no excuse but to focus more on him than he would on Lia.
Rall's face twisted into a smile as he began to slightly chuckle.
His mother, seeing this, simply smiles and sips her tea.
***
The sound of the carriage wheels as they crunched against the gravel, coupled with the steady sound of galloping hooves resonated through the air, and filled the ears of all those in the vicinity.
Over thirty knights guarded the carriage as it made its way through Concor valley, a small mining and farming town south west of West Wall, a small city they had passed only a few days ago.
Within the carriage, sat Lia, who, at the last minute, was told to pack her things and be prepared. Next thing she knew, her mother had signed off on her trip down south to the family's southern mansion.
She had prepared for another attack, or some sort of scheme, but the last thing she expected was this. An act of love and worry? Lia scoffed at the idea.
She knew well what they were planning.
They were hoping to send her away for half a year, which would allow her brother the time he needed to get what he wanted.
'How could I have let this happen? I was foolish.'
Lia had been prepared for whatever they might throw at her, and yet still they forced her down this path.
Now she was on her way to the family's southern mansion, a home they hadn't used in over seven years, due to the growing danger of barbarian raids.
But Lia was not worried. The border wars that took place between them were only skirmishes and small battles. At the moment, Rovsta did not need to waste so many resources on them, but the concern was ever growing.
As such, the concern her uncle and master had for her were not ignored. But they too were put in a difficult position after what they said in the throne room.
They had no right to deny this decision, as it would directly contradict what they had preached to the king and queen.
They were stuck, and she blamed herself for putting them in that situation. To her, it felt like she was just a burden. A burden they would eventually get tired of.
As the carriage creaked on, Lia could see the faint traces of footprints and cart tracks from her window seat.
Taking a look through the plains that surrounded her, she could see the outlines of buildings and a church, assuring her that they were almost at their destination.
Concor valley, a small valley just off the southern coast, bordered by mountains in every direction. Normally, this tail would be full of people given that Concor valley was one of the only habitable places among the Trail Tear mountains.
A mountain range that was home to many monsters, creatures, thieves, and strange occurrences. Given all that, Concor valley would have a large military might to be able to protect themselves. But that was not the case.
For whatever reason, no monster or creature had ever appeared or attacked the valley before, making it a safe haven for the weary.
An island in the middle of an open ocean.
That's what many people called it. A safe haven for the weak, but upon seeing it, all Lia could do was look at it with sadness.
This was their last stop before they reached Brookneck beach, where their mansion happened to be located. The closest tourist destination found near the barbarian lands.
Lia was already dreading the children who would run around screaming, the parents who would poke at her and bug her for questions.
But if Lia was being truthful, she was looking forward to it in some way.
The constant power struggles with her family, their greed and arrogance. She was always caught in the middle.
Now, she was free to relax and enjoy the few months she might get in peace. Sadly, however, she would also be confined to that city, and escorted the whole way around.
Lia had no doubts that the guards provided to her were spies the queen had placed to watch her. She would inevitably be 'overly protective' whenever she did anything.
-Creak
The cart came to a sudden halt, nearly knocking Lia off of her seat and into the one adjacent from her.
A guard near the window she had been looking out, came up to her and informed her of the reason why they stopped.
"Your highness. Apologizes, but we seem to have someone blocking the road."
Lia kept calm and recomposed herself, showing little embarrassment or anger.
"Is something the matter?"
"No ma'am. He'll be out of here soon, just one moment."
And with that, the drapes covered the window, and she was blocked from seeing the outside. Of course this was for safety reasons, but Lia couldn't help but fear that the man in the road was possibly just some farmer who tripped or didn't hear of her passing through.
If that was the case, Lia hoped the guards wouldn't be rough.
Each one of the guards was at least B class, and over the thirty that escorted her, ten of them were summoners.
Even then, Lia felt like it was just a little too much security. But she couldn't complain.
Lia thought back to the moments before she was forced to leave. She had bidded her uncle and master goodbye and thanked them for their help. Her master was reluctant to show much emotion, but her uncle was not.
She could still feel the bruises from where he hugged her. He loved hugs.
Nya of course, being the motherly figure that she was, gave her an even more crushing hug. But what was worse was her refusal to let her go.
It took about twenty minutes for her, Master Shir, and her uncle to convince Nya that this was best for her.
Of course that didn't stop her from packing Lia a number of things, from food, medicine, clothes, twine and string, and even a small silver dagger for protection.
Lia, upon seeing it, kept it close to her. She knew the attack on her life in her bedchambers was only the start. She was aware of her family having known about the assassins, but still could not conclude who the person was.
'Who sent them?'
Lia's question was left unanswered as she pondered over it constantly in the past few days. And with such long hourly drives from forest, to city, to town and so forth, Lia had a lot to think about.
Of course, that wasn't all she did. She was lent a large amount of books from her master's personal Library. Including 'Rex Chaos,' the book that LIa could still not figure out.
For one, it was written in a different language, similar to the title and cover. But, even with Al Shir teaching her the occasional words, she still could not figure it out.
There were times when she thought she understood, but then the language suddenly changed form, almost as if it was mixed with different languages all together.
It had stumped Lia so much so that even though she spent a large amount of time from this trip on that book, she had only made it past chapter ten, and with very little understanding.
If things continued like this she deduced that it would take her over three months to read the whole thing, another four to decipher it, and another five just to lay out the plot, information, and little things the book decided to dump on her out of nowhere.
She promised herself that she wouldn't get too involved in a book she thought was just terrible for being an information dump. But instead, she found herself constantly going back to it, eating more and more of the information it fed her.
She quietly leaned back and before she realized it, she was asleep.
***
Lia awoke to a piercing cold entering her chest, almost as if someone had fed her buckets upon buckets of ice all in one gulp.
She shivered to this feeling, and struggled to get up. And it was then that she realized where she was.
A dark, empty, and seemingly endless void stretched out before her. She could see the thin trials and wisps of smoke floating through the air, going, yet coming from nowhere.
It was entrancing.
She was afraid, but at the same time, she felt a feeling of peace. A blissful peace.
'Where am I?'
'What's going on?'
'Why?'
Endless amounts of questions and concerns poured through her mind, and soon she found it hard to breathe.
She was afraid, more than she would dare show anyone else.
But everytime she felt the feeling of fear overcome her, the feeling of peace and bliss set back in, and her worries became inexistant.
It was relaxing, and helpful to keep her calm, but it only increased her worries.
'This place doesn't want me to be afraid. Why?'
It was a mix of fear and bliss that made her hyperventilate, but she soon calmed herself down.
'It's just an illusion.'
She thought, trying to keep herself calm.
"What is this pace?"
She no longer felt the fear to speak as she did before, and spoke out openly.
It was so empty, so endless, so vast.
So alone.
"It's called the Abyss."
The sound of another voice made her jump, and turn in fear towards the sound of the voice, searching for the owner.
Instead, what she saw made her freeze. Two crimson red eyes shone out throughout the endless darkness that surrounded them.
And out from the darkness, walked a figure dressed in black, as his crimson eyes peered through the darkness like ruby's glinting off the sunlight.
His figure was frightful in more ways than one. He looked like a demon from hell, and the darkness that ate at him from his sides.
The darkness parted as he made his way past the growing fog as it drifted by. And with him, the silence that once made Lia fearful above all else, found a new form of silence Lia did not know existed.
She was afraid, but more than that, he felt familiar. But how?
"Lia, daughter of King Grant and Queen Vivian. Sister of crown prince Rall, and princess Clara."
Upon hearing his words, Lia froze.
'How does he know who I am?'
As if reading her mind, the man tilted his head, and looked at her with curiosity.
"U question? That's fine. Allow me to introduce myself then."
The man took a bow, his right hand against his chest.
"My name is Cain. I am the guardian of this place, a place I call the Abyss."
He was so calm, so quiet, so collective, it shocked her just how calm he was in such an empty place.
"How do you know me?"
Cain looked back up to her, a smile threatening to appear on his lips. Lia did not miss this, and held her gaze and defense.
"I've been watching you. For quite some time at that little one."
"You've been watching me?"
Lia instinctively took a step back.
"Oh, little one, there is no need to be afraid. I'm here to help you."
The man raised his hands, and backed away, his voice sweet and king.
Lia knew better than to trust strangers like this. She had done so many times before, and look where it got her.
She reached for her dagger, the very same one Nya had packed for her, she kept at her side, hidden beneath her blouse. But she found no dagger, only her belt.
Lia's mind began to return to the present with fear reading every move the mysterious man made.
But when her eyes met his, her face twisted in shock.
He was smiling.
Not in a sinister way, or in a creepy way.
Pride.
Lia read it on his face, just as easily as she had read it on Rall's on the many days they had seen each other.
But this smile was different. Where Rall was prideful with arrogance mixed within, this smile held pride, but no for himself.
For her.
The smile of pride he showed was for her.
"Seems like you've caught on."
He said, taking one step forward, walking in a circle around her.
Lia remembered back to the time when her master would teach her about the lion's circle. A predatory way where the predator knows who is prey and who is not, and actively shows it by walking around the prey openly.
He was showing her that she was powerless.
"I'm a bit unsure whether I should be showing myself to you right now, but it doesn't matter. Your instinct to protect yourself is quite surprising, almost respectable."
He stopped, mere feet from Lia, who stood frozen with fear. His eyes betrayed the calm and kind act he put up. He was a killer, and had killed before.
Cain regarded her with much curiosity. As Lia began to shiver slightly before him, his lips threatened to curve up into a smile.
He needed to end this conversation quickly.
"As much as I would love to continue talking with you, I'm afraid that we must cut this meeting short."
Lia snapped out of her trance, and taking a few steps back, looked to Cain with creased brows.
"What do you mean? What are you planning?"
"Oh, nothing little one. But I'm afraid you're in quite the bit of trouble back in that carriage."
"Carriage?"
'How does he know I'm traveling in a carriage? Is he watching me even now?'
Lia wanted answers, and she wanted them now.
"How-"
But before she could begin to ask, Cain interrupted her, bringing his hand up before him.
"No time for chit chat. You've got to be somewhere."
-Snap
And with that, Lia was thrown into another pitch black void of nothingness.
***
Lia awoke with a ringing in her ears. Her body hurt everywhere as it screamed out in pain.
Dust clouded Lia's vision, as she slowly tried to get up, barely managing to make it into a sitting position.
The pain was agonizing.
As the dust settled, and the ringing slowly faded away, Lia found herself in the middle of a dirt road. Broken pieces of wood and iron laid around her.
The sound of metal creaking, and breaking echoed through the open air.
-Rooooar
The sound of a loud screech filled the silence that had settled in, causing Lia to jump.
She could hear the screams of a man, who cried out in fear and pain.
As she looked to her left, she saw something that made her freeze in pure fear. Her blood ran cold, her voice and body began to shake, as she looked on with horror.
Nearby, covered by the canopy of the trees, she could see one of her escort knights, armor torn, shield broken, lying on the ground. He held out his hand as if to block some incoming attack.
Blood poured from many wounds, and his leg was bent in ways they weren't meant to be.
It was then that Lia could see dozens of broken pieces of iron and metal. The small remnants of armor and weapons, broken and shattered.
The sound of heavy footsteps vibrated out through the ground, as Lia watched in horror as a large creature, the size of a large giant, walked forward. And with one loud scream filled with fear, Lia watched as the orge picked up the screaming man, and bit him in half.
Blood seemed out to the floor, and Lia found she could not move.
The sound of maniacal laughter filled the air around her, but she didn't bother to look to find the owner of the laugh.
She already knew what happened to the guards who went to check on the farmer in the road. She could only guess that their deaths were quick.
The carriage must have exploded when the farmer summoned the ogre. She must have barely survived the contact.
As the ogre reared its ugly head, she could see the gluttony in its eyes. It was going to eat her.
She knew she should run, but she couldn't move. She was paralyzed with fear. Even as it took those slow and steady steps towards her, she could not move.
Until she heard his voice. The voice of a man who she feared more than the ogre.
"Run."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone