Day 26 of the Fourth Month, Year 1016 – noon

Sinjar Town, Nave Province

WHEN Victoria woke up, she felt that her whole body was in pain.

Her shoulders, her legs, her back… Everything throbbed in burning agony, as if she was scorched alive. She gritted her teeth to prevent herself from screaming, but it was a struggle. She could barely move from her place.

Her place. Where was she? She frowned. What did she do? What happened?

“Ah, she is awake!” A familiar voice exclaimed.

Through her blurry gaze, Victoria could barely manage to recognize her friend Alize. “I…” As she tried to get up, her right arm was held, preventing her immediately.

“You are still so heavily injured,” Alize said. “Don’t move.”

Victoria pouted, but she obeyed the older girl after she managed to sit up. “Where…?” She asked with a weak voice.

Alize understood her meaning. “Oh, we are still in Sinjar,” she said. “They had burned the whole town down just a few days ago. The townspeople had gone elsewhere.” Alize frowned and sighed. “Really, not a good thing.”

Victoria was dumbfounded. No wonder it was empty when she walked in yesterday.

Wait, yesterday?

She looked through the window of the room she was in. It was bright outside. “Time?” She asked again, hoarsely.

“You had been unconscious for a few hours,” Alize replied. “Don’t worry. Everything is fine. I heard some people arrived at the right moment yesterday.” She hesitated, but then said, “you hired them, right?”

Victoria smiled. “I take it… they are gone now?” She tried to get up again, and this time Alize didn’t stop her. Her friend knew how stubborn she could be.

Alize nodded. “Oh, but that guy is still here… The one you asked to deliver Nile to me.”

Ah, yes, that Viscount. What was his name…? Jason. Victoria nodded, and this time tried to stand. The pain on her legs shot up immediately, causing her to falter and needed to be supported by Alize.

“I told you, you are still injured,” she muttered. “Stubborn girl.”

Victoria didn’t care about what was said and started to walk outside. Each step caused her legs and her whole body to hurt, but she held it in. The sun was high up the sky already, causing her to blink a few times. Alize looked at her for a few moments and made sure the Princess was settled. “I’ll go heat up the medicine,” she said before walking in.

“You are awake!”

Victoria glanced sideways and found that Dev and the guy she hired from Blades, Jason, stood there.

“Highness, you didn’t die! That’s good.” Jason winced. “I’m sorry I failed to secure their safety after I deliver the lieutenant to the sergeant.”

“It’s okay,” Victoria replied, ignoring the ache in her legs. “It was my fault. I should have thought that they were watching the Capital Guards.” She was, again, careless, the only thing she shouldn’t be. All of these were her fault.

“Well, it’s a good thing you sent for us to help before you go off on your own,” the young lords nodded in approval. “If everything’s all right, then I’ll be off to tell Brad you’re alive.”

Victoria snorted, but she didn’t say anything and just waved her hand instead. Brad would definitely be glad she was alive, not only because they were familiar, but because her death would complicate the politics of the whole kingdom.

Jason walked away.

Victoria turned towards Dev, who had observed her the whole time. “Hey,” she greeted with a grin.

The young Major didn’t smile back, and instead a frown marred his face.

“What?” Victoria sat on the stool in the terrace of the wooden building with a wince. The stool was a bit singed on the end, perhaps due to the fire Alize talked about, but it was still pretty sturdy to sit on. “What are you frowning for?”

“Did you try to kill yourself?” He sounded rather harsh.

Victoria was taken aback. This was the same anger he had a few hours ago, when he saved her from early death. She thought he would have mellowed out by now. “I…” But she found she had no way to answer him.

She had thought that her death would be better and would pay the lives she took. She didn’t avoid the attack because she had thought it was just what she deserved. She forgot about her responsibilities, about the things that she needed to be alive for. About the chaos that the kingdom would descend upon if she had died.

Seeing her hanging her head down without answering, Dev heaved a long sigh. “What happened?” He asked, in a much calmer voice than before.

She looked up towards him.

“I can deduce Martin had a grudge on you,” he replied. “But I’m wondering what it is about.”

Victoria glanced away. “Ah, you didn’t catch him, did you?”

“They ran away,” he said, but his eyes were trained on her without pause.

She heaved a sigh. He wouldn’t give up, and she didn’t feel like dismissing him. “I… When I was five, I was playing in the garden with the royal cook’s twin children.”

He didn’t glance away from her.

Victoria licked her lips. “At that time… Lirsk attacked the palace. They managed to enter the back garden where we were and immediately identified me. They went to kill me, but the twins stalled time for me so I could run.”

Dev just kept observing her.

“I… did run. I run away, but the enemy was everywhere, the palace guards were all dead, and I couldn’t find a safe place. That’s when Lirsk soldiers started to yell that they would kill my friends if I don’t come out.” She desperately looked at him. “I… The twins yelled not to come out and even told me not to waste their efforts…! I… hid. My guard held me back, but I could have… I left them to die.” She moved her eyes away, not daring to stare at him.

He was silent for a few seconds longer than she thought. “Victoria.”

She kept her head down.

“Victa.”

Hearing her nickname, she looked up slowly.

“You were five,” he said gently, his eyes boring into hers. “You were a child.”

“So were they,” she replied in a soft tone.

“Your existence is why people haven’t fight to death over positions,” he said, and then he shook his head. “Okay, it doesn’t sound pleasant. But if you had died back then, along with—pardon me—your father, your mother would have no chance to reign. The blood bath to be the King would be fiercest, among your uncles and cousins. If that happened, Lirsk would easily take over and I don’t know what would happen to the Kingdom.”

It was harsh, but it was the truth. And she did know all that. Only, no one had ever blatantly said that in front of her nose. So far, her father’s siblings were comfortably ruling over their own provinces as Dukes, but she remembered the tales how hard her father work to keep his position as the Crown Prince back then. All his siblings wanted a piece of the crown up to the point of murdering and assassinating, but no one succeeded in snatching it from him. After that, her father banned them from ever being involved in politics and strengthened the position of the Council—to the point of today, where even her mother the Queen Regent had to listen to them.

Victoria sighed.

Dev misunderstood. “You are not convinced?”

“No,” Victoria shook her head. “No, I know all that is true. But to live…”

“Do you think it was my fault that my brother died?”

Victoria frowned. “What? No, of course not!”

“But I didn’t do anything when he insisted on turning himself in jail.”

“You don’t know he would die,” she whispered. “You were a kid.”

“So were you.”

Victoria looked down.

“Look, I’m not saying being a kid excuse everything. But sometimes when you were ignorant and don’t know anything, things happened. You just have to learn that the world doesn’t revolve around you and perhaps it’s not your fault things happened.” He caught the pointed stare she gave him, and laughed. “Alright, maybe things do revolve around you. But my point still stands. Anyway,” he shook his head, “What kind of moron Martin is? He should have taken revenge on the Lirsk scums! Why was he taking revenge on someone who had been a kid?”

Victoria couldn’t help but laughed lightly. “Thank you,” she said with a smile. “I get it.”

Dev nodded, then started to look to the distance. “So you knew to call for help. Why didn’t you wait until your help arrived?”

Victoria grimaced. He was talking about Blades. “I just thought… Well, I sent a soldier that are part of them to their nearest base with a message, but I don’t know how long they would take… I won’t take the risk of people dying because of me.”

Dev looked at her, then sighed with a smile. “Okay. Well, we could go as soon as you are better. The doctor that was called to treat you said as long as you drink your medicine, you’ll be good in no time.”

Exactly at that moment, Alize came out of the building, carrying a small bowl in her hands. “Here, drink this,” she gave it to Victoria.

Wrinkling her nose, she took it and started to drink. It was… well, bitter, of course. What else did she expect? “Where did you get this doctor?”

“The nearby town,” Alize replied. “The people you hire went and get him. Nile is escorting the old doctor back right now. Honestly, I didn’t expect such an expert in a small town on the province border. Victa, your wounds earlier…” She looked at her, sighing. “It was scary. I was afraid you wouldn’t survive.”

“Then this doctor must be really good,” she replied. Victoria knew how bad the whip wounds on her. She had always recovered quickly, but even she herself knew she was at death’s door with that last blow from Martin. “If he indeed was from ‘the people I hire’, then it was no wonder.” Blades would know experts here and there. Ah, well, she had to pay them more now.

Alize didn’t pry, as she knew Victoria wasn’t going to tell her who they were. “You really made me worry so, Princess. But thank you for rescuing me… Well, trying to. It would be better if you wait for help.”

“Thank you for worrying, my friend.” She could feel the sting of concern in her friend’s voice, so she grinned instead and continued to drink the bitter concoction. She had no reason to whine—she brought this upon herself, after all. “Are you really fine being here?” She asked after finishing her whole bowl.

Alize gave her a stink eye. “I have to escort you to the Capital.”

“Ah?” Victoria sighed. “Right. Then you are going back to Dustor?” She turned to ask Dev.

The Major nodded. “I’ve been away for too long. But I’ll also be escorting you to Naveland first, to finish my mission. Anyhow, with the Corps that you sent, we won’t be losing.”

Victoria’s face twisted into worry. “What about those soldiers that attacked the Corps’ base? It’s worrying.”

“Ah…” Dev shook his head. “I remember before I left, we left someone watching them in hiding. We haven’t gotten any news yet.”

“I guess nowadays, no news is good news,” Victoria sighed. “How did you get out, anyway?”

“I burn their camp,” Dev replied calmly. “Rowan and Julie helped me and we went out without a problem. How did you?”

Victoria winced. “Well… I do know the secret entrance, so…”

Dev glared at her.

“I’m sorry,” Victoria said, deflated. “But those enemy soldiers… They escaped?”

Dev nodded. “They went away methodically, after the initial panic. It was actually concerning how disciplined they were… The Corps marched with that news to General Adefine, though, so don’t worry.”

Alize pat her head. “Yes, don’t worry. Don’t think too much. You’re still so injured. Does it not hurt?”

It did hurt whenever she moved, but she just snorted. “Don’t baby me.”

Alize laughed. “Alright, I won’t baby you. You better go back and rest. We’ll depart after you feel better.”

“Alright,” Victoria stood up, though she was barely able to keep herself straight. Alize readily helped her walked back inside.

She let go of her worry and went back to sleep. []