In Epsilon, the city southwest of Nexus, in a castle enclosed in tall brick walls and towers, a little princess lives in the seclusion of her room, elevated yet isolated from the rest of the world. Silently, she sits by the lone window staring at the clouds, intently stalking random birds in flight while her eyes of bright emerald green reflect the azure hue of the sky – she passionately envies their freedom, secretly praying to god in her heart to grow her a pair of wings so that she can conduct herself in the air like the envied creatures and escape the life of boredom atop the tall, tall tower that is her room, her prison.

Knock, knock! “Your highness, the teacher’s here.”

“Tell him to wait. I’m dressing up.”

Dressing up she says, but she locks the door shut, keeping her attendants out of the room. She gathers the bed sheets, curtains, and all the fabric she can find regardless of their value, and joins them all up, tying them together, making a long, long rope. She ties the end of it at the base of her bed and she kicks open the window, wherein she drapes the improvised implement down the freshly mown lawn.

Inheriting her father’s appetite for adventure, the danger of plunging down mere a hundred feet from the air to the ground scares her not but only excites her – she straps a little pouch of necessities on her shoulder and goes out of the window gripping tightly the makeshift rope. She then carefully lets her delicate fingers slip down but not lose grip, gently kicking the walls with her tiny feet, rappelling down at a moderate pace to safety as she makes it down the lawn.

Little success! She raises both arms in the air, rejoicing her early victory. Her celebration ends shortly as she hears the loud barking of the guard dogs. The icy feeling of being found out creeps her nape as she spots the guards standing by the gate patrolling the area with their loyal partners, a couple of dogs bigger and louder than their bark, panting and sniffing. Quick of wit, she grabs from her pouch a slice of her breakfast ham and throws it in the air with all her strength, hurling it a distance, thus it splats neatly on the ground not to close nor too far from the creatures of interest.

The splattering noise and the strong aroma of meat arouse the four legged beasts’ sense of smell and hearing, making their ears and nose twitch uncontrollably, calling their undivided attention. And off they go running, competing who will first get the irresistible snack, plowing the soil as they drag their ironclad handler with them, salivating to the call of fresh meat!

The ironclad partner awakens to the clattering of plate against the soil, shocked to see his partner helplessly dragged in the soil by the beast. Left with no better choice, he runs after them and deserts his post, leaving the gate unmanned.

The opportunity escapes not the princess – like the wind, she passes through the unmanned portal unnoticed, leaving the castle with haste.

Big success! Glad she never had to listen to her teacher’s boring lessons and glad she gets a fresh breath of air contaminated by the bitter scent of grass freshly cut. She merrily skips to town, shielding her delicate eyes against the strong sunshine that rarely grazes her delicate skin. Laughing at all the mischief, she speeds the pace of her run, making her hair flutter freely in the gentle breeze glowing golden in the sun, experiencing pure bliss. She enjoys the rare occasion, for she seldom has the choice.

Upon reaching the park, she buys as much food as she can with a few silvers from her purse. She sits down the bench to enjoy them, celebrating the day, and tired, she rests her back comfortably against rough wood. She quietly observes the festivity.

Rowdy, kids run freely, playing chase, and trouble they brawl at the very smallest things, forgetting time and circumstances. How loud they laugh when they win and how bitterly they frown at each other when they lose, making ugly faces. Innocence, even the sourest expression the kids can come up with only lasts a slice of time, passing resigned to the stream of time, flowing without a stop. Envious of the experience, she reaches to the kids, offering them snacks and asking them to let her join their little game, but they refuse – no one knows her and no one wants to lend a leg. The kids put on some hostile judging stares, scanning every inch of her pale skin, her eyes, and even her delicate and silky apparel.

Dejected, the princess’ heart fragments into a hundred shards, devoured by the darkness and heaviness called the void, laughed at by the devil himself in blue skin. Even though outside, she feels the invisible constraints of her prison – her small secluded room in the skies and her royal rank – following her wherever she goes. She shies away from the kids and retreats to find other objects of interest. She then walks around the park and inspects every detail she can sink her pair of eyes on, scanning every single rock on the pavement. Amazed, she finds that none of the individual rocks are the same, but they do make a functional whole. She reckons that if she looks hard enough, she might find even the most precious of stones hidden in the cracks.

She regains her composure, wanting to make friends of the kids again even in her royal rank, free of prejudice. However, much idle time has passed in her reflection and things have died down considerably. With the kids nowhere in sight, she realizes now that she’s all alone. Bitter, she mopes and kicks dirt, thinking that her little expedition’s a waste and the world beyond the four walls of her room are all but the same – things aren’t any different outside.

“I’m going home!” She regrets the trip and funny evil thoughts creep in her mind, poisoning it with the thought of the loud spanking her royal rear will receive from her devious father, the crowned prince of the country. Off she goes running hurryingly, thinking of the best words to say in apology to her dearest father, tracing her way back to her royal estate under the dimming light of the sinking sun.

“Ouch!” She trips and falls down and scrapes her delicate right knee against the gravel, making it bleed. She grimaces, covering the bleeding wound with her tiny hands.

Holding a lantern, a burly bald man reaches to her. “Princess, need a hand?”

She squints, blinded by the light. Sparkles, the man’s blackened teeth and wicked smile come to her attention.

“No thanks, I can stand on my own.” She dresses the wound with her hankie and rises up on her own, walking away, ignoring the man’s good yet suspicious will. Ahead, another man greets him. The sharp angle of his cheekbones and chin protrudes his skin, which is smudged in soot and dirt, while his hair is unkempt and greasy, and his clothes, all tattered and ragged. He clutches a dagger from his loose, loose belt and waves it at the lass, wearing a devious smile that stretches from ear to ear, showing the widened gaps on his rotting blackened teeth.

“Yo, princess! It’s unbecoming of you to ignore people’s courtesies.”

“Go away! It’s none of your…. KYAAAA!!” Behind, the burly bald man locks her arms, restraining her.

“Say that again, princess. Scream! No one will come to help. Ahahahaha, hahahahaha!”

The lass struggles and kicks the mud, letting her shoe fly off, hitting the skinny man by luck right in the eye. Bending down, the skinny fellow drops the dagger. He rubs his eyes and shouts, picking the muddied dagger. “YOU!”

Not letting the chance slip, the lass puts on a struggle and frees her right arm from the clutches of the burly fellow. She pulls an orb from her pouch and throws it on the ground. “WAAAAAHHHHH!” A pillar of blue fire bursts from the orb and rises to the clouds, scorching the skinny man helpless. In flames, he runs screaming and spinning as he falls to the dirt, tossing and turning side by side in futility to extinguish the magick fire. Dazzled by the blue magick, the burly fellow loosens his grip on the lass.

The princess takes advantage of the opportunity. She kicks, punches, and shoves the burly fellow away, and rides the wind at full speed, avoiding the scorching pillar of blue flames. She runs, runs, and runs to no end, eventually running low on breath. She stops roughly a hundred yards away and rests her palms and her weight on her shaking knees, panting heavily and sweating profusely. She hears the footsteps coming, causing all her bodily hairs stand up and forcing her to resume the run while hardly gaining any rest.

Dragged by exhaustion, she maintains her slowing sprint forward, but alas, in her blurry and shaky vision, she finds more men ahead, waiting. She stops and catches breath, looking left and right for other ways out, only to find despair waving at her with his white bony fingers. Even her flanks are sealed, encroached by men who lie in wait for an ambush. In a last ditch effort, she throws a fit, screaming to the top of her lungs, “ELLIOT! HELP ME! HELP! HELP! SOMEONE, HELP!”

“Bad princess. My brother was charred to cinders, thanks to you. I’ll have your father pay in ransom. HAHAHAHAHA!” The burly balding fellow licks his chipped and rusted dagger, smiling widely, intentionally showing his blackened teeth to the princess. And bad men from all sides surround her, steadily walling her in, sealing all exits. Cornered like a rat, she freezes and warm watery secretions flow down her legs and her feet, soaking the soil three shades darker. Trembling, her heart sinks and weakens, while her knees buckle to her weight, letting her rear catch her fall, crushing the mud that dirties her frilly silken clothes. Her eyes lose color and even hope as she stares blankly in the air, letting her tears flow uncontrollably.

A chilling gust of wind blows a fog of dust, blurring the air heavily and making the surroundings barely visible even to the light of the lanterns the goons carry. Left and right, punches, blows, dying screams, and a variety of miscellaneous noises resound in a dark cacophony. The settlement of dust unveils the bloodied and bludgeoned bodies that litter the ground and contaminate the air with the filth of rust and death.

“Who are… Who are… you?” The burly bald fellow points at the blurry silhouette of a man, trembling. In a snap of a finger, the shadow disappears and reappears right in his face. “Arrrgghh!” He eats a fist in the gut and spills acidic fluids mixed with blood from his mouth and to the soil. Shortly, he falls face down on the muddied ground, succumbing to his fate along with his comrades.

“It’s none of your business to know, you disgusting pig.” The mysterious shadow spits. He picks the lantern up and approaches the princess, revealing her messy and snot ridden face.

“Are you alright?” He reaches to her – life and color comes back to her eyes, sparkling to the fluttering flames of the lantern. She takes the hand and pulls herself up, jumping on and hugging the mysterious stranger, resting her head on his warm, strong, and broad chest, bawling loudly, soaking and dirtying the stranger’s outfit in mud and her salty tears.

“Calm down, it’s alright. All of them are gone.” The stranger gently rubs the back of her head, caressing her smooth and silky golden hair, calming her down.

After spending much time crying, her eyes redden. She looks with them at the man, asking softly “what’s the name of my hero?”

“Julius Daedalus, a wandering champion from Solus.” The man humbly boasts.

“You, you know my father…” She tugs on his clothes.

“Hmm… it can’t be? You must be… Your highness, princess Aria!”

“Take me to my father’s castle. He’ll reward you handsomely.”