[Author's note: This chapter takes place in the past before our novel first started.]

She panted as she ran with only the clothes on her back. Tears streamed down her face as she recalled the feeling of stabbing the blade into Gilyn's face. She couldn't shake the look of betrayal in his eyes before he fell down screaming in agony. It was a sound that would haunt her memories until the day she died.

She didn't want to hurt him. However, she was afraid that if he couldn't stop her from leaving then the King would kill him for letting her go. She thought that if she attacked Gilyn then he would be safe from the King's ire.

She succeeded, but now she was on the run out of the city. She had seen maps of the Kingdom before, but she didn't memorize it. After she escaped, she had no idea where to go. However, she knew that she didn't have time to rest. It was only a matter of time before the King caught up to her.

She panted as she walked under the night sky which was starting to turn lighter. She stopped walking to rest her blistered feet. She had only ever walked in a small wing of the building, so she wasn't used to running and traveling so far. She had been walking on a steep rocky path which slowed her down tremendously. The only direction she could go was straight since there was a steep cliff to one side and an endless desert at the valley to her other side.

As she rubbed her weary feet, she heard dogs barking in the distance. She stood up quickly with a panicked feeling in her chest. There were no villages where she was and no where to hide except for in the desert. The sound of horse's hooves stomping the ground became louder and louder. There was only one thing it could be.

The King had found her.

She let out an anxious gasp and looked around to find somewhere to hide. However, there was only a road with nothing around. Her face turned down the hilly path which led to the desert which was notorious for being unable to escape. If she ran into it now, then she would most likely get lost and die from dehydration. She looked back and saw the King with a sword in hand charging at her from atop of a horse.

She couldn't run away.

Death by dehydration?

Or death by the King?

Her hand rubbed her stomach which had not even begun to bulge. She started sprinting into the desert with all her strength. The King and his men came to the place she had been and stopped to watch as she rushed into the desert's endless landscape.

One of the men spoke, "Your Majesty, should we go after her?"

His cold eyes watched her, "No. Let her die in the desert."

Once she ensured the King was no longer chasing after her, she collapsed to her hands and knees. She groaned in pain from her now bloodied feet. She looked around, but could only see the golden sand around her. The wind picked up and tossed sand into her eyes and mouth. The sun was starting to rise and was already setting the desert on fire.

Her skin burned and her lips cracked. Her eyes felt like needles were piercing into it from the intensity of the sun. She wanted to cry from the Sun God's intensity, but no tears came out. She forced herself to stand up and walk. She had no idea which direction she came or which she would go. However, she knew she had to keep moving.

When the night came again, she was so happy she cried out. However, she quickly realized that the nights in the desert were just as harsh as during the day. They were so cold, she shivered until she lost sensation in her hands and feet. When the sun came back up, she cheered once more.

However, it was just a terrible cycle.

Finally, after only two days in the desert she collapsed and was unable to move. She sobbed dryly, "Sorry… My child… I failed…"

She heard the birds circling her and cawing as they waited for her to die. Then, she heard a strange noise come from the left. Her vision was blurred, but she could make out the figure of a person. Was it the King? Had he found her?

She was poked with a stick and groaned. The man turned to the caravan, "She's alive."

"Good. Put her with the others. She will fetch us a good price."

She was placed into one of the wagons with bars and stuffed inside with people. She felt it move and a warm liquid rush down her throat. Her eyes fluttered open to see little boys and girls as well as women. They were the ones who had given her water. She sat up in confusion.

One of the women spoke, "Don't make a fuss. The slave traders will kill you if you are too much trouble."

She gave a nod. Her face was still stoic without any trace of worry. She rubbed her stomach with an empty feeling. Slave trading was still a popular practice in some parts of the Sanki Kingdom. Even if she were to become a slave, how was it any different from her previous life so far? As long as the child lives…

No. She wouldn't allow her unborn child to become a slave either.

For several days and nights, the caravan traveled across the desert. When it came to a stop, she was led out by several men holding weapons. She gawked at the horse that looked so different than the horses at the Palace. They had weird bumps on their back.

A man pushed her forward to stop her thoughts. She was led to a building with bars and hay on the floor. They shoved her into a stall while packing it full with the others. She sat in the corner with an expressionless face as she looked at the small window which was barely large enough for a hand. As she waited, she soon learned that the place she had been brought to be a slave auction house. If she wanted to escape, she had to before she was sold.

She placed her hands together and closed her eyes. She prayed to the Gods to come set her and her unborn child free. As she prayed, she didn't care who judged her or who pitied her. She wouldn't stop praying for anyone.

That night, she heard a slithering hissing creature climb in through the window. The other women and children gasped as the venomous snake came into their stall. The Holy Empress looked at it and smiled warmly.

It was one of the most venomous sand vipers. She reached out to it and it bit her in reflex. As the venom entered her veins, she didn't flinch or cry in pain. She had been bit so many times by these snakes that her body didn't even feel a chill from it anymore.

She whispered warmly to it, "Did the gods send you to help me?" The snake's beady eyes turned to her. She turned to look at the guards lining the halls. She spoke calmly as the rest of the women and children looked at her as if she was crazy, "Can you bite those guards and bring me the key strapped to their waist?"

The snake finally let go of her hand and slithered outside of the bars. The women and children flinched and jumped out of its path. The snake calmly and quickly bit the guards who screamed in pain and started convulsing on the ground.

Then they stopped.

The snake brought back the keys which she took and unlocked the doors. After she set everyone free, she turned back to the snake with her hand outstretched. "Would you like to come with me?"

The snake slithered on her arm and she ran off into the night once more. She walked around for miles making sure she was far enough away from the slave traders headquarters before she allowed herself to relax. She found herself in a nearby city filled with bustling lights and sounds.

*grooowl*

She pressed her lips together as she held her stomach. Although the slave traders had intended to sell her for money, at least they fed her and gave her water. Now she was hungry and parched, but she had no money on her. To make everything worse, she had no idea where she was.

Her hand slowly traced her stomach. She was worried for her unborn child. Not just because she hadn't been eating and drinking properly, but because her stomach wasn't as large as it had been for her previous pregnancies. She wondered if the child was even still inside of her.

She let out a sigh and tried to remain cheerful. Thinking about these things wouldn't help. The Gods brought her to this city for a reason. She stopped to ask someone for the location but found her voice didn't come out. She was still too hesitant to use her voice to speak to others. She didn't want the Gods to punish her again.

In the end, she decided to just keep walking. Soon, she found herself in front of a church. The smell of bread wafted out from inside. The church must be baking to prepare for the upcoming service. She looked around before sticking her head into the window. She saw several loafs of bread sitting on a table waiting to be consumed.

When she checked the room, she noticed no one was around. She crawled in silently and snuck to the table. She reached out and took one in her hand. She quickly devoured it without caring how hot it still was. She was starving and could care less about the burns on her dry mouth.

"Oi! What are you doing in here?!"

An older woman ran out from a nearby room and ran towards the startled Empress. Before she could run out of the window, the older woman began to hit her with a broom. She trembled and crouched down in fear as the woman continued to hit her. Then, the assault stopped. The woman tossed her the broom on the floor in front of her with a huff.

"If you want free food, you need to work for it."

The Holy Empress glanced at her in confusion and saw her staring with a serious expression. The Holy Empress gave a slight nod and grabbed the broom.

-To be continued-