Lory stepped out of Zhao Li Xin's embrace to continue exploring the weapons in the room. Meanwhile, Zhao Li Xin needed a few moments for his brain to work normally. The princess didn't know the effect she had on him as her attention was focused on the table.
Lory had to admit she was more familiar with weapons and armor instead of jewelry. She wasn't raised like a flower in a glasshouse. Her childhood memories centered around her training with Fargo and Fredhard. She spent most of her days in the training room with Lucas. Lory was forbidden from using her healing powers on herself or Lucas during the sessions thus leaving the siblings black and blue from the training. She was only allowed to use the healing power once the training was completed.
Lory didn't know she was raised differently from other princesses in other Kingdoms. She only realized these when she was already used to the combat lifestyle. It was fortunate that Fredhard also embedded the royal etiquette on her and Lucas without them realizing it. Fargo taught them how to be warriors, while Fredhard natured their minds for them to think like rulers. However, their instructors were gentler to Lory than Lucas as they claimed he was born a man.
Lory's hand unconsciously floated over the weapons. It was how the Gifted chose or accessed their weapons as it allowed them to feel the energy within them. They would choose a weapon with an affinity to them. Most asked what an affinity felt like only to get varying answers from everyone. Some claimed it came in the form of a whisper, while others said it was like a magnetic feeling, and others could even feel small electrocution from the weapon.
Lory could tell she had an affinity to a weapon if she was drawn to it. She couldn't explain it clearly, but no one did. The Gift was not cultivation that was easier to control or explain. The Gift was more intangible. Experts said learning about the 'Gift' was like falling in love for the first time: Everyone had a theory about it, but everything happened by instinct. The Gift was also hard to control, and many people had died from the awakening of their Gift. The awakening was when powers first emerged to the Gifted. It mostly happened at the age of five or six years, appearing like a burst of energy. Those with a stronger 'Gift' had less chance to survive. It was fortunate that Harland eventually managed to create a Mana Controller saving many lives. This included Lory and Lucas who were born with powerful Gifts.
"You seem to be more inclined towards weaponry than jewelry?" Zhao Li Xin commented as he watched Lory's hand hover over the weapons. He was suddenly wanted to know more about her as he watched her dazed look.
"More like…familiar…" She answered unconsciously.
"You know how to use weapons?" Zhao Li Xin tried to probe her gently.
"I had to…" Lory smiled helplessly. She was still focused on the weapons around her.
"You had to?" Zhao Li Xin thought he heard wrong.
"I don't hate it though..." Lory's hand stopped above small red twin daggers. Her hand twitched a little.
She caressed the daggers gently as her eyelashes fluttered. She could feel a surge of energy creeping towards her fingers. Her lips curved upwards. The affinity wasn't one hundred percent, but it was alright for now.
Lory grabbed the daggers handle and skillfully fiddled with them with her fingers. Her movements were fast and smooth like an expert. Lory tested the weapon's balance and sharpness; nothing was out of place. The daggers were perfect. Lory smiled with satisfaction. Surprise touched Zhao Li Xin's eyes as she pleaded innocently, "Can I have this?"
"Sure!" Zhao Li Xin took a deep breath to calm himself before he replied.
"Thank you" Lory smiled happily. She first thought she may need to ask him to make a weapon for her. Stumbling over the cute daggers saved her the trouble.
Zhao Li Xin got to uncover a new clue about his little savior. He was sure Lory was proficient with martial art from the way she handled the weapon. It was puzzling since she couldn't cultivate and didn't have a shred of Qi flowing through her. The other question was where she learned to handle a weapon the way she did. The news he gathered about her showed that she never went anywhere. After she left the village, she went straight to work at the Lao Manor where she had been for years.
His discovery only brought more questions than answers. It seemed like his savior was more mysterious than he thought. Although this didn't matter who she was in the past as it didn't change the fact, she was the same woman who saved him.
"Ri Yi, I want to go downstairs to fix weapons. You can come with me or stay here."
Lory looked around. There was still more to see. She also wanted to explore the second floor. "I will stay here for a while."
"Okay… Be careful. Don't touch anything carelessly," He warned her once again.
"I won't!" Lory obediently nodded.
Lory went up the second floor once Zhao Li Xin left. She found shields, bows, and arrows and a few old books on armament weaponry something she couldn't understand. She examined each weapon but didn't touch them as warned. She could tell they beautifully made by looking at them and was impressed by Zhao Li Xin's skill.
Lory yawned as time passed by. She couldn't get out by herself as she scared of the array outside and she didn't want to bother Zhao Li Xin while he was working. She chose to wait for him. She found a long couch near a big wooden shelf in the corner. She sat on it and quickly felt sleepy. She took less than a minute for her to drift into sleep.
______________________________________________________
It was one of the long winter days in Harland and the city was covered with the white heavy snow or at least that's was the way it was supposed to be.
Lory was eighteen years when she returned to Harland after running away many years ago. The television screens were filled with the news of her home country. They spoke of Nazareth, one of the last of First Kind mystical beasts who had taken the form of a black dragon with two heads.
Nazareth was the size of a mountain and had a huge horn on his head. The beast was known to be asleep under Mount Fehrer for thousands of years. However, he suddenly woke and attacked everything in his path with madness.
No one could understand how the sleeping beast gained so much strength. Nazareth managed to destroy the king's strong shield that had protected their country for centuries.
Lory vividly remembered this particular day as everything was burning when she returned. The streets were filled with people running and screaming. She remembered feeling the heat from the fire and the scorched corpses laying all over the place. Lory saw a four-year-old girl crying next to a corpse. A collapsed building was falling above the kid who was calling her mother repeatedly.
"NOOO!!"
Lory rushed to the kid in time to hold her in her arms. She used her wings to shield them. A purple light emerged from her forming a transparent shield that protected them from the falling building. Once everything settled, she flew away from the scene holding the little kid. She landed in a safe area only to find many refugees protected by the King's Men.
"Princess Lorient!" One of the King's Men shouted as they bowed to her in courtesy.
"Take care of her," Lory ordered one of the King's Men after she placed the little girl down. She then turned to another one and asked anxiously, "Where's my father?"
The King's Men looked at each other with grimaces on their faces, "The King and his Archknights are near Cestine Castle. They are holding off Nazareth to ensure the citizens get to safety..."
The ground suddenly shook from a deafening explosion. The refugees screamed in fear while the soldiers become more anxious.
Lory felt like the air was sucked out of her lungs. The sky was grey with smoke instead of white snow. The air was covered with dust and smoke. The burning fire made the temperatures extremely hot. It was suffocating, "Protect our people. I'll find the King!"
"Yes, Your Highness," The King's Men bowed respectfully.
Lory nodded in response as she closed her eyes. Purple orbs flew from her chest and poured into the remaining citizens and King's Men. Their wounds and pains were cured without a trace. They also recovered their power and mana. This was the healing Gift that was only possessed by Princess Lorient.
"Thank you, Your Highness," The Citizens and Kings Men said in unison as they bow to her.
"Be careful..." Lory said. She then spread her wings and she flew off to find her father. She saw her beloved Kingdom burn into ashes. Her once beautiful city, Herriond, was nothing but smoke and ashes. Lory averted her gaze from the city and focused on getting to the Cestine Palace. Half of the palace was burned down. She found a safe spot in one of the balconies to land safely. She looked around before she heard a loud roar at the end of the hall.
"Lory, there are many beasts in there. Prepare yourself," Girsha warned telepathically. He was inside Lory's soul, protecting her with his wings.
The once great and magnificent Cestine Palace was now scorched and wrecked. Beasts roamed all over the place in freedom as they roared and destroyed the remaining wall.
"Yeah, I can see them," Lory dove towards the beast horde at lightning speed. She landed with a loud bump as slammed the nearest beast to the ground with the wind from her wings.
The beast roared with anger, but the princess wasn't worried. She smirked at the horde of beasts.
She opened her palms and a gold staff appeared. It was the Trinity Staff, her most dangerous weapon. The God's Sword was the only thing that could be compared to the Trinity Staff.
"Let's clean this palace!" She grabbed the staff which turned into a golden sword. She quickly marched forward and was met by five grizzly looking beasts. A pack of black Fanghorn that looked like black wolves with long thick fangs also jumped towards Lory, but she managed to easily dodge them. She swung her sword into one of the beast's stomach spurting blood as it died instantly.
This made the other beasts furious. They tried attacking her at the same time, but she quickly created a transparent shield to protect herself. The beasts push Lory back as her sword changed into a bow. She aimed at the beast nearest to her. The wind arrow was thrust into the beast's head, dropping it dead in a second. Some beasts tried to attack her from behind, but her wings protect her, pushing the beasts with a gust of wind. The beasts were thrown away. They banged into the wall and died instantly.
"Thank you, Girsha!" Lory said.
"No problem," He responded.
"Die you filthy beasts!" Lory's weapon once again changed into double swords as she attacked the remaining beasts. She swung her swords and killed the beasts right away. The beasts could only roar before Lory cut off their heads.
Done with the beasts, Lory ran to the main hall only to find other beasts. She fought with them as she cast the icicle spell. Icicle appeared out of nowhere and they fell on the beasts, killing them.
Lory didn't waste any more time inside the hall. She decided to search for her father outside. Her instincts were right as she found him there covered in wounds and scars. The remaining soldiers around him were in the same state. Lory knew one of them very well. He was Captain Zargan, Her father's Archknight. She cast out her power to heal them before they realized she had joined them.
"Lory!" King Marcus was stunned to see his wounds disappeared as he felt his daughter's power near him.
"Father!" Lory ran towards him with a worried look and jumped into his embrace. She hadn't seen him in a year, and she missed him more than she ever thought.
"Lory, why you here?" The King was stunned by her arrival.
"Princess Lorient," Captain Zargan bowed at her courteously.
"I came to help you!" Lory responded to her father with a determined look.
"No. You can't be here!" The King said firmly.
Lory was surprised by his response. Her father rarely yelled at her. The worse he had done was to glare at her when he was annoyed. His glare was enough to scared Lorient, Lucas and his subordinates.
"I'm not going to leave you!" Lory stubbornly said as she steeled herself. Captain Zargan smiled as he left the father and daughter to talk privately.
"Lory, listen to me," King Marcus held her hand as he looked at her deeply. "We all have a role to play as royalty. We have duties that we each need to carry out."
Lory knew what her father was going to say. She looked away as she didn't want to hear it. The King, however, held her chin gently, "Lory you must guide our people to Mark'ieth. Your brother Lucas is not here so I can only rely on you... Your people need you. They need your strength and hope…remember you are my daughter... A Lucient heir."
Lory's tears streamed down her cheeks. She hugged her father tightly. "I'm sorry, father… I'm sorry for everything!"
"Me too, Lory" King Marcus said gently as he kissed the top of her head softly. "No matter where are you or what you do, always remember who you are. You are my daughter, the King's daughter, a Lucient heir. You must remember…never forget this."
"BOOMMMMM...!"
They heard a thundering explosion followed by the sounds of machine guns. The people's screams mingled with the thunderous roar. The ground shook once again, and the King protectively held his daughter. Captain Zargan ran back to them with worry yet his composure remained calm
"I'm sorry, Your Majesty. We can no longer hold the creature."
The King nodded. He knew his time had come. Lory tightened her grip on her father's robes. She was afraid to let go. She knew this was the last time she could hold on to her father.
"No…" She begged desperately. "Don't go!!"
"Lory, you must leave…" King Marcus released her grip reluctantly. He wiped her tears and stared deeply at his beautiful daughter for the last time. If only he could hold his son too. He took a deep breath before letting go of Lory's hands.
"We leave now!" He commanded the King's Men.
King Marcus walked away with the King's Men following closely behind him. Lory watched her father's departing figure with sorrow. Captain Zargan smiled at her meaningful. He bowed at Lory and said with a profound gaze, "Farewell, Princess."
Lory bowed back at him with gratitude. She knew none of the King's Men or Archknights following her father would make it our alive. They knew this but still chose to follow their king without hesitation. There was no greater honor and joy than dying besides their king. It was for this reason that they chose to march with the king for the last time.
Lory clenched her fists as her father's figure faded in the darkness. She choked as tears streamed down her face. Her body stopped shaking a few seconds later. She wiped away her tears, closed her eyes and took deep breaths. Her nerves gradually calmed down.
She opened her eyes and looked up with a resolute gaze. She spread her wings and flew away to fulfill her royal duty as a Lucient heir. She needed to do what her father told her to do.
She guided the people away from Herriond towards safety. She used her shield to protect the refugees and the remaining King's Men's while the beast hordes chased after them in a frenzy.
"CHARGEEE!!" Lory screamed at the King's Men as she changed her trinity staff into a long sword. She struck the beast with impeccable movements. She slashed the beasts into pieces one after the other without stopping. The King's Men followed her lead. One could hear the loud roars, clashing steel mingled with explosions. Some people screamed as the ran in fear as they looked for a safe area.
"KEEP GOING!" Lory screamed once again. She turned to a few King's men and commanded them, "Take the refugees away from here!"
Lory covered her eyes with her arms as a bright light blinding her sight. Everything was white for a moment before she heard an earth-shattering sound. The ground trembled and the heat around her skin increased.
Lory gasped in fear as she ran towards the cliff. She would never forget what she saw at that moment. There was a big crater in the middle of Herriond. Most of the city was gone. Lory kneeled helplessly. She knew her father was also gone with the disappeared city. She didn't cry as she knelt on the ground.
She stared at the blazing fire at a distance. The people behind her held each other in sorrow. Their homes were gone. The once rich and beautiful city had turned to ashes. Tears streamed down everyone's faces. They couldn't go home anymore. Lory stayed frozen as time seemed to have stopped in her mind... 'Lost,' she thought. She had lost everything.
"Princess, more beasts are coming!" A soldier's shout woke her from her stupor. Lory clenched her sword until her hand turned white. She didn't have time to mourn or to reminisce about what was lost.
"Take the refugees away!" She ordered once again. "You, how many people do you have left?"
"Less than a hundred soldiers, Your Highness."
Lory nodded. "Okay, ask your men to come with me. The others need to protect civilians. We will take our stand here. We aren't going anywhere until they are all safe. You hear me?"
"Yes, Your Highness!"
The civilians left with some of the King's Men. They needed to get through the border to reach Mar'Kieth, the Underground City. The place was built by the King and only his high-ranking officers knew of its existence. Lory learned of it a few months ago.
A hundred black dots came towards her at full speed. Lory's face remained calm as she watched this. There was no fear or worry in her eyes. Only determination.
"KING'S MEN, ON GUARD!" She shouted.
The sound of clicking guns and swords being drawn from their scabbards could be heard behind her. They were preparing for what could be their last battle.
"For HARLAND!!" Lory screamed to pump them up.
The King's Men behind her yelled simultaneously with vigor. The black dots kept getting closer covering the sky. The horde of beast soon ran towards them.
"FOR THE KING!" Lory raised her sword.
"FOR THE KING!" The King's Men responded as they screamed louder.
"CHARGE!" Lory aimed her sword at the beast horde and charged at them like a cannonball. The beasts roared as the soldiers charged at them without fear. The day would later be known as the 'War of the Fallen' as many people including the soldiers, civilians and the king died.
It was also the day Lory changed. She turned into a warrior from a sweet princess. She lost her bubbly and warmed personality and she also lost her smile.