"Alinea…"
Her heavy lids fluttered as she slowly came to wakefulness. She opened her eyes and was blinded by the light.
Did someone call her?
"Urgh…" she groaned as she shifted, but something heavy kept her from moving.
When her eyes started focusing, she realized she was lying down on the dirt by the cave's entrance, but a huge body was pinning her down.
"Sven?" she called upon recognizing the body on top of her.
"You're awake," Sven said gently, a look of relief flashed on his weathered face as he pushed himself up, but the action suddenly made him vomit blood and gasp for air.
"Sven!"
Alinea's eyes widened as memories flashed, and she remembered where they were, that she immediately sat up with all her might, rolling the huge knight on the side so she could look at him better, and her eyes widened more upon seeing the plethora of arrows on Sven's back.
"N-no…" Alinea shivered, and pain sliced through her gut and shoulders, and she realized she's gravely injured as well. But she didn't care about herself.
"Hang on," she whispered as she pressed on Sven's biggest wound – but it was useless. He had too much injury, she couldn't find the most fatal one.
"It's okay. At least you're safe," Sven said in between labored breathing.
Alinea knew he had definitely shielded her – took the arrows that were supposed to hit her. She reckoned she should have more injuries than what she had now. Sven must have used his remaining energy to heal some of her wounds, and tears flooded her vision before they fell down her porcelain cheeks.
"What are you saying? You will be safe too," she told him as she lifted her head to see if the others were there.
"They're gone," Sven informed her.
When the soldiers released the arrows and she let the lightning rain down on them, Alinea remembered seeing Rubic, Lucius, Midas, Horgall being struck simultaneously by projectiles as they tried to cover her. Sven then lifted her up and took her in the cave, but only got until the entrance before he too got struck multiple times.
"Alinea," Sven called, and she took his hand. His liquid eyes were starting to lose focus and she was scared.
"You are strong…You can find it…Find it and escape from here…" Sven murmured; his lips turning blue as he heaved his last breath.
Alinea knew he was talking about the artifact. It was impossible, however. The harpy was just the entrance guardian. The monsters inside were said to be more frightening. But she wouldn't contradict his words.
"Live…"
Upon saying those words, Sven closed his eyes, and Alinea knew he was gone.
"Sven…" she laid her head on his chest, her hands clutched at his clothes as she cried.
She didn't know how long she wept. But when it was over, she was totally exhausted. She couldn't take a rest though. There was something very important she needed to do.
Biting her lower lip which still trembled, she raised her head to look at her surroundings.
Death. It was everywhere.
Several yards away, bodies of Ritz soldiers lay strewn on the ground, scorched by the lightning storm she created. But she didn't care about them.
Lifting herself up, she trudged in the midst of chaos to find her comrades – and she did. Rubic, Lucius, Midas, Horgall – they were all lying lifeless on the ground, pierced by arrows.
"Oh…"
All gone. Her loyal vassals were all gone.
Seeing their bodies, her knees folded and she kneeled on the ground. "Is this…Is this it?" she asked the heavens, and she laughed bitterly at her fate.
She was losing blood with her injuries, and yet she's still alive. She had been spared for a few more hours just to see the chaos and her fallen warriors – her friends, her brothers.
With the remaining strength she had, she gathered all five of her men and dragged them near the forest where the ground was soft so she could bury them – and bury them she did. It was a shallow grave, but at least she was able to put them to rest properly while she still lived.
"Goodbye brothers…" she whispered to her sleeping warriors before she turned back to the cave.
As for her real brother…
Her gaze landed on the fallen Ritz soldiers again, and she spat on the ground. The death of this battalion was her last gift to Alistair. She had tried her best not to hate him – accepted her fate. But this very last move of her brother was just too much.
But there was nothing she could do about it.
She smiled bitterly again, as she walked inside the Devil's Cavern. On the ground was a trail of her blood that continued to drop from her injuries.
"Onwards where the garden is… Onwards where her true love waits…"
In her hazy state, she sang an old folk song she used to sing when she was still living like a true princess in the palace. Singing, sewing, playing musical instruments – they were all she ever knew how to do until Alistair became king and she insisted on being useful to him.
"Ha!"
Remembering her brother made her curse under her breath. Ingrate!
Alinea had lost track of how long she walked and walked. It was dark, and she had felt the presence of small beasts inside, but none came to her to attack. She wondered when another monster would come out and finally finish her suffering.
It didn't matter. Sooner or later she would die anyway. She had lost too much blood.
PLOK! PLOK!
Ahead, she heard droplets of water, and she continued on until she reached the middle of the cave where there were natural water and light source. She looked up and above was a huge hole, letting in illumination from the outside.
"What…"
Everything looked…normal. For a place infamous for its danger, she felt nothing. If Kronos' artifact was truly here, she wouldn't be able to walk here easily, and she would have felt the energy from the item.
But of course.
The one who gave her the map was Alistair. This was probably not the real Devil's Cavern. She was led here to be ambushed. The harpy was probably a fluke – a random monster that frequented the place.
"Ahahahaha…" her self-mocking laughter echoed in the closure, and she finally gave in to fatigue, falling onto her knees by the water.
"Alistair… you win," she announced as she looked at her reflection in the water and frowned. What looked back at her was her own face, but…
The clothes were wrong. The hair was wrong. The eyes were wrong. The woman in the water was not wearing armor and has short hair. But, just like her silver-grey ones, the pair of brown eyes that stared back at her was clouded - like all hope had been extinguished.
"Who…" she wanted to ask, but fatigue and the loss of blood had taken their toll, and she collapsed on the water with her final breath.
Alinea, the warrior princess of Ritz was dead.