The pace they had started with, was now long gone. Fatigue and stress accumulated rapidly within their bodies. Blisters began to surface on their bare feet after walking without any breaks, through such an undeveloped terrain. Even so, they didn’t lose hope since her highness and Geraint was with them. The both of them would always give them encouragement whenever they felt down, consequently maintaining a steady level of morale.

“We’re near.”

As the leader announced the words they were all waiting for, their expressions lightened up almost at the same time. Nonetheless, it was too early to celebrate. Her highness and Geraint, instead of being relieved, had their faces became even more tensed.

Catching a glimpse of it even though they were still quite far away from it, her highness could feel her heartbeat ran amok. An unusual looking house or maybe a mansion due to its sheer size, located so deep within the forest.

Both its walls and roof were ivory white in color. Windows were non existent and only a door could be seen from the outside. As they neared the building, the cluster of trees became thinner which allowed others to see the building much more clearly.

“Geraint and I will go first, everyone else should stay here.”

Her highness, who saw that the land surrounding the building couldn’t possibly provide them any sort of cover, decided to halt the march at a safe distance. A circle of land unreached by the forest’s influence, her highness could easily imagine that something dangerous had caused it. And considering that only her highness and Geraint had the capability to fight back, the other members of the group should just hide and wait for the outcome.

“Be ready to cast a spell if the owner is hostile.”

Nervous tension erupted between the two as they discussed the plan. Straightforward but dangerous, her highness would be the one to make contact while Geraint would quietly chant an offensive magic spell.

“Yes your highness.”

After being bound by a curse that not only shackled them into place but also prevented any use of magic, Geraint was worried that his skills had already rusted. Even so, since her highness had entrusted him with such an important task, he accepted the plan with the maximum amount of confidence he could muster right now.

“.......”

Silence prevailed as they walked side by side, suspense intensified with each step they took. The land around the structure was surprisingly comfortable to the surface of their feet. Soft and sandy, not a single piece of rock could be felt. With only a few steps remaining, the both of them looked eye to eye.

Her highness nodded at Geraint, signalling him to start the process of chanting. Geraint responded to her expectations by choosing the deadliest spell he could possibly cast. His mouth began to move, chanting verses without any audible noise.

Knock knock knock…..

She knocked on the door in a relaxed manner but exerted enough strength to create a powerful sound that reverberated throughout the inside of the building.

“Is anybody home?!”

Forcing out all the air inside her lungs, her highness shouted at the top her voice.

“..........................”

Nevertheless, only silence answered her inquiry that was full of desperation.

Knock knock knock knock knock knock…..…..

She became impatient and started to knock on the door more forcefully. Her highness repeatedly banged the door that was made of reinforced metal, not giving any care for her hands that reddened with each impact.

“Please open the door!”

Once again she wrung all the energy she could muster and made another desperate plead.

“Coming!”

As if answering her prayers, a voice came from the inside of the house. A high pitched voice that was definitely produced by a female.

“...........”

They were thrown into confusion as they began to imagine the appearance of the owner. With the voice being feminine and youthful at the same time, a little girl was the only thing they could picture.

Clink……...clunk……..rattle

The sound of keys and locks clattering together was audible to the outsiders which made them tense involuntarily. Slowly and gently, the door that was double their height began to open.

“Who are you people?”

The owner of the voice was revealed, a child with blonde hair similar to Geraint, a little girl with eyes full of suspicions. She peeeked from the door that was opened just enough for her small head to fit through.

“.........................”

The both of them were speechless, unable to react to the child who threw a question at them. Afer seeing the girl with their own eyes, they could never imagine her as someone hostile.

“Err…I am Catherine Alders Montcroix third princess of the Alteria Kingdom.”

Catherine, being the first one to recover, introduced herself in a courteous manner. Not minding the fact that she was a member of a royal family.

“Geraint Holmes, Princess Catherine’s loyal attendant.”

Geraint, who had already forgotten to recite the next verse of his spell, managed to go with the flow and introduced himself with a well mannered bow.

“Hmmmm….”

But it seemed that their introductions had dealt an opposite effect to the girl. Her eyes that were originally half closed, narrowed even further. Which made both the princess and her attendant to sweat profusely.

“We would like to request for your assistance since we’ve been lost in the forest for quite some time now.”

Wanting to break the tension that began to form between both sides, her highness continued with her appeal to the girl that seemed so young to be the owner of the house.

An enlightened expression surfaced on the little girl's as soon as she heard Catherine's call for help. Intending to reply, she opened her tiny mouth.

“Mmmmffmm!”

Not a single word was formed as a hand suddenly pacified the girl's attempt to talk back. Obviously, a hand that didn't belong to the child as it easily covered her mouth along with the half of her face.

“...............”

Once again, the pair was stupefied and before they knew it, the hand which silenced the little girl had already managed to pull her back inside.

BAM!

Followed by a large sound of the door being slammed shut.

A long pause was made between the two as it took them quite some time to digest the current situation.

The little girl was without a doubt, a resident of the house. She looked perfectly healthy and didn't seem to harbor any emotional disability. And the hand that pulled her back was probably the real owner of the house.

For a moment, Catherine thought that the child was being held captive. But then, she and Geraint certainly looked suspicious themselves. It was normal for the owner to be wary of them, hence not wanting its child to make contact with them.

“For now, we need to earn the trust of the owner.”

It was the only option they have right now, Catherine concluded. Even if they failed at first, knowing that the owner wasn't hostile to them, their chances of survival had already increased significantly.

____________________________________

After that first encounter, the residents never made contact with them again. Not a single noise could be heard from the inside of the large house as the inhabitants grew wary of their presence. And as they waited and waited, time rapidly passed by. The sun that shone so brightly was eventually replaced by the soft radiance of the moon.

“We should make camp here.”

Catherine had decided for the sake of the group. It was much better for them to reside next to the house, instead of being stuck inside the wilderness. If by chance danger came their way, the residents of the house might possibly took pity on them and decide to at least provide help.

“Geraint, go fetch the others.”

“Yes your highness.”

Geraint obediently went to the hiding place of the girls, that was just a few steps beyond the cleared land.

The girls were all resting together peacefully, their backs leaned on the trunk of a single gigantic tree.

As much as he hated to disturb them, staying at the vicinity of the forest could still pose a threat to their lives. He embarrassingly tapped their bare shoulders and whispered, in their corresponding languages, that it was already the time to move.

They stretched their limbs at first and let out sleepy yawns. Still, they were amenable to their instructions as they obediently marched towards the place where Catherine was at.

The moment they reached the designated area, Catherine had already started with the camp. Even if she did say that they would make camp, only a bonfire was possible with their current resources.

With only the assistance of the moonlight, Catherine managed to collect a pile of dried twigs from the nearby trees.

Geraint, who already knew what he needed to do, chanted one of his few offensive spells.

"Akula qaziem moipar tasarak tagolann!”

“[Flame whip]!”

An incantation made from an extinct language. For every word he uttered, a corresponding symbol must be imagined in his mind. The first two words symbolized heat while the third and fourth represented the breath of life. Lastly, tagolann represented fuel, the most important word in the incantation. If all five could be recited in succession, a chain reaction would instantaneously occur.

Mana began to leak from his core, through his veins they travelled to the location where the magic was intended to manifest. Geraint extended one of his arms and pointed it at the direction of the pile. From his opened hand, a yellow colored flame was born. Moulded by the concept of the magician, it changed in form and became a whip. In complete control of his magic, Geraint made the whip touch the pile of twigs.

“Wow!”

As if seeing something amazing, Ranxa clapped in admiration. Geraint couldn’t help but smile wryly after seeing such an innocent reaction. Beast folks had the lowest aptitude in magic so it wouldn’t be a surprise if some of them had never seen magic before. On the other hand, the other members of the group didn’t react much after seeing such a spectacle.

The fire slowly devoured the wood and gave birth to light that illuminated their surroundings. For the first time, all of them sat face to face. Only Ranxa, Geraint and Catherine actively interacted with each other, while the other three stubbornly refused any sort of bonding throughout the span of their travel.

“It's the perfect time to introduce ourselves.”

Catherine suddenly proposed, wanting to break the tension inside the group. With Geraint serving as the bridge, the language barrier wouldn’t be an issue right now.

“My name is Catherine Alders Montcroix, third princess of the Alteria Kingdom.”

Since she was the initiator, Catherine introduced herself first. Every words she spoke of, except her actual name, was translated by Geraint. Which allowed the girls to understand how important her title was.

Eyebrows were either raised or pulled together. The former being the reaction of the dwarven girl and Ranxa while the two elven girls, had done the latter. Catherine not minding the mixed reaction, puffed out her chest proudly.

“I am Geraint Holmes, Princess Catherine’s loyal attendant.”

Geraint made a courteous bow while introducing himself. A tad bit shy being in the limelight, especially in front of such beautiful maidens. The reactions of the audiences were quite dull, except for Ranxa who looked up to him with glittering eyes.

“Ranxa!”

Ranxa’s introduction was brief yet overflowing in energy. Always in full smile, the half feline girl successfully lightened the mood.

As the first three showed clear enthusiasm in their introductions, the other three reluctantly followed.

“Nalmibella Shatterthane.”

A dwarven girl who was only a head taller than Ranxa. Dwarven folks usually sported long moustaches and possessed short burly arms. Despite that, Nalmibella exhibited youthful features and was far from the typical dwarven look. Short black hair, that made her look boyish, and an androgynous face that frequently made others confused. With her pointy ears being the only trait that separated her from humans, Nalmibella’s appearance could definitely be considered a rarity.

“I am Ilyana Ermaris.”

“Teryani Ermaris.”

Two introductions in quick successions, the elves made their names known. As if signifying their closeness with nature, both Ilyana and Teryani had lush green hair that reached their buttocks. Their faces possessed supernatural beauty that could capture the hearts of any known living being. They were the tallest of the group, with alluring bodies that carried minimal fat. Compared to Catherine’s somewhat unripe beauty, both elves carried enough maturity to stir a man’s desire to reproduce. The both of them were almost identical except for the fact that Ilyana’s hair was curled while Teryani’s was straight.

It was supposed to be the first step in filling the gaps between their hearts but it seemed that after finishing all of their introductions, a deafening silence prevailed. In just a single day, a lot of things had happened. Everyone was tired, fatigue clearly showing on everyone’s faces.

“Geraint and I will take turns with guard duty, everyone else should go to sleep.”

Noticing the exhausted state of the group, Catherine once again volunteered herself and Geraint. They were the only dependable members of the group, she thought. Despite the fact that Ilyana and Teryani’s race was known to be guardians of the forest, the both of them seemed lacking in terms of fighting capability.

“I’ll keep watch first, go get some sleep.”

Geraint initially disagreed, but as the princess kept on insisting he soon gave up. He was not in a position to refuse since Catherine was much stronger and experienced compared to him. Even though he was supposed to be the one doing the protecting, Geraint could only cast a few spells and was a complete beginner in combat.

“Please be careful your highness.”

As much as he hated being weak, Catherine’s decisions were always on point. The earlier he could get sufficient rest, the earlier he could replace the princess in guard duty. Geraint entrusted his back to the soft and sandy ground. Surprisingly, it was softer than the cart’s floor. A star studded night sky welcomed him as he looked up, filling his heart with a strong sense of freedom.

Everyone encircled the flickering fire while sleeping in peace. Except for Catherine who was quite sleepy herself, all of them were fast asleep. She would occasionally doze off but was kept awake by pinching her own cheeks.

“I need to find more wood.”

Catherine noticed that the bonfire was gradually losing its flames. She needed to find more fuel or else others might wake up from being cold. The princess stood up and began to do stretches. After being seated for quite some time, her legs felt numb. If she was to venture inside the forest again, Catherine needed her body in its battle-ready state.

“Come to think of it, there’s not a single monster at this part of the forest.”

Staying near the house was the best decision she had made for the group. Even if they were outside, the building provided enough security for them to be free of monster attacks.

Once again, she surveyed the mysterious building under the moonlight. To be located at such an isolated place with its enormous size, a mystery Catherine wanted to uncover.

“Huh?”

For a moment, something came inside her view while observing the top part of the building. A tiny red light that was hard to notice at first. But after focusing on it for a few minutes, her vision adapted to the darkness.

!!?

A silhouette of a person and a red light glowing on its head, the last moment she could remember before being devoured by the darkness.