-- POV General --
As Gaya prepared to guide those hidden beneath the mountain and Freya neared her destination, back a week earlier, another person was also moving forward into her future.
Princess Alayna had finally made it out of the castle undetected, managed to sneak into the Church, and even had a chat with three protectors whose names she didn't even know. The princess had learned that the mission had failed and that they were looking for a way to repair the damage. Her desire to escape led her to propose to find people willing to go with her to see what was going on in the Dark Forest. The protectors were at first reluctant but finally accepted as they had no other choice but to remain discreet.
Alayna now had money, 10 gold coins to carry out her mission and had a week to find volunteers capable of fighting. She had been wandering the streets for a day, not even knowing how to proceed or where to start. Her fear had overtaken her excitement and she had not dared to approach even one passerby for fear of being recognized. The princess was finally out in the open for so many years and anything was making her panic and suspect passersby of watching her. She didn't risk the protectors turning her in because as she had stated, they needed her help too. They would much rather help the princess escape than face the wrath of the Supreme. And then it's not as if the Church and the Royalty were on good terms so finally the three humans felt they were gaining on the exchange.
Alayna, once out of the religious building, had walked around the city for the very first time, this time paying attention to everything she saw. At first, the princess had been shocked by this city full of life and people, marveling at absolutely everything. Alayna may have been 18 years old, but she still had the eyes of a little girl when faced with so many new things and discoveries. She had never known anything outside of her castle life, she was literally like a baby bird opening her eyes for the first time in her life. But reality soon caught up with her as she began to see the first slaves on the streets and in the many shops. At that moment, her fascination with the city had completely disappeared, giving way to the same disgust she had felt for so many years already.
She had smiled in front of so many happy people and let herself be fooled, but now the princess could no longer smile when these same people were living openly happy in front of so many unhappy people. She wasn't in a position to help them right now, so all she could do was run away and hope that maybe she could come back one day and free them all.
"I have to hurry.."
As Alayna muttered these words, she had decided to snap out of her torpid state and get moving so she could escape. The three guards had given her enough money to fulfill all the requirements, get dressed and eat until the rendezvous date. She couldn't help but feel weak even though her determination didn't waver. The princess didn't realize that she was already incredibly strong considering what she had already had the courage to do and what she had been through.
So the princess' quest to find companions she didn't really want to have, in a huge and unknown city, had begun.
____
-- POV Alayna --
*I'm going to start by finding something to wear, I can't keep this dress and these shoes.*
My feet were all messed up and bleeding and my shoes were broken. I didn't look very good in my expensive outfit, which was completely trashed. I needed to find clothes, shoes and most importantly something to hide my face.
"Let's go !"
I had received quite a few scratches on my arms, legs, and face during my run and my body was in excruciating pain from running around so much. I was not a mage and certainly not a warrior, just a weak, ignorant, lost and confused young woman. I had never known anything in my life and here I was, alone with a week to complete my mission or I would not be able to escape with their help. Of course nothing was stopping me from leaving now...but I wasn't like that. They had helped me and I would help them as promised.
As I walked the streets looking for a place to buy clothes, a sign shone in the sun with a shirt symbol. I had finally found something to wear and couldn't help but rush into the store.
The place was clean and well maintained, the clothes were sorted by gender and there seemed to be everything. The salesman was a well-dressed young man who once the door was opened and the bell above jingled turned to greet me.
"Hello, if I..."
As he adjusted the glasses he had on his face I could see him looking me up and down before speaking to me in a much less friendly voice.
"Ma'am, I hope you have the money to pay. We're not in a store that fits into...everyone's budget.."
I nodded slowly as I held up my purse, taking care to lower my head while jingling the coins in the small cloth bag. The young man with a smile then leaned in before inviting me to call on him if I had any questions.
*Tsk, I know this kind of attitude change all, too well*
I hurriedly picked out some clothes and shoes before paying and hurriedly walked out still with my shawl on my head. I was now dressed in a dark blue skirt, a simple white top and comfortable brown shoes. This outfit had cost me 50 silver coins so I only had 9 gold and 50 silver coins left, which seemed really expensive for what it was.
But I had no idea how much money was worth in this city because I hadn't studied, I had not had a tutor, too busy being forgotten. I had to sacrifice my education and a lot of other things to get there...I was a very stupid and ignorant princess.
*Don't think about it...*
Shaking my head to get rid of the negative thoughts, I now had to find something to hide my face more easily as well as my hair.
As I wandered back through the many streets, a small store full of various things piqued my curiosity. It seemed to have everything and as I looked through the many items available after entering, I finally found the two things I needed most.
*Perfect !*
In a corner of the store there was a large white hooded cloak with a black mask that could cover the upper part of the face. It was simple but special because it had the particularity of having a light blue crescent moon at the forehead.
"This is..."
I thought it was beautiful and without hesitation I grabbed it and the cape and bought them right away. I had also chosen a leather shoulder bag in the same color as my shoes. I had 9 gold and 20 silver coins left. Once out, I put on the cloak and mask, happy to finally have my hands free and not have to put my head down. My new bag was at waist level and I was finally ready to conduct my research and as I walked through the streets, I had made a decision that I would not break.
*I'm not taking off this mask until I find you !*
___
Six days had passed and I had finally attracted the attention of some adventurers. Using the money from the three protectors, I had posed as an anonymous employer and offered the guild a bounty of 50 silver coins per head to go to the Dark Forest and back to investigate the 71 missing people. The guardians had given me instructions on how to proceed and I had to specify in the request as the employer, that the strongest adventurer would be the leader. Once he returned, he was to give the result of his investigation to the guild, which would normally pass the information on to a person serving as a messenger for the three at the main church.
During the week I had also bought a small dagger just in case, even though I didn't really know how to use it.
Ten people from different groups had responded and all I had to do was to join them and pretend to be the employer's messenger. I had no combat experience at all and had never seen blood except for that famous day when I inherited the medallion. I was obviously terrified of being on a battlefield, but if joining these adventurers would get me out of this town, there was no need to hesitate. I wasn't planning on following them all the way, but staying with them at first would be beneficial, if only to learn a little more about how to survive outside.
*The appointment is set for today !*
The week was over and it was time to gather. We were all to gather in front of the guild before riding to Yarlford, a town near the forest, before venturing out.
*Okay, don't get noticed*
Clutching my precious medallion still hanging around my neck, I headed towards the many people waiting outside the guild. They were all separated to chat with their respective party members while I was alone. My heart was pounding in my chest as I made my way to a corner and made myself as inconspicuous as possible. I didn't have a nameplate since I wasn't a real adventurer but rather the employer of these people and a fake messenger. However, none of them were to find out that I was not strong like them, let alone that I was the princess of this Kingdom.
Among these people there were three groups, one of three, one of two and one of five. In the first group, there were two men and one woman wearing dark red capes and carrying swords. Their faces were hidden under a hood and if it wasn't for the woman's long hair, I would have taken her for a man. In the second one there were two sisters, twins who seemed to be mages since they had no weapons with them. Both women were quite small and dressed in two fancy red dresses, hidden in some places by light armor. The last group consisted of four men and a single woman.
"Good ! Gather round ! You all read the mission guidelines just as I did, and it looks like I'm the leader."
The only woman in the last group stepped forward as she looked at everyone with a smile on her face before speaking again.
"You are all going to show me your nameplates so we can all check this together. I think I'm the strongest but let's take a look anyway."
The first group consisted of a level 23, a level 21 and a level 25. The twins were both level 28 and the last group indeed had the strongest members. The four men were level 28, 29, 31 and 32 while the woman who was the leader was level 35.
She was tall, had green eyes and black hair and carried a thin sword at her waist. I didn't know her name yet but I could easily guess that she didn't look very friendly as she planted her eyes on me.
"You masked damsel, show me your nameplate !"
She had spotted me and I could only reply that I was not an adventurer.
"I...I am not an adventurer. I'm only here under orders from the employer, I'll just keep him informed of the...the mission before your full report when you return."
As I finished my sentence, the woman approached me before smiling with all her teeth as she spoke in a honeyed voice.
"Oh I see. My name is Sarah, can you give me your name in return young lady ?"
"A..."
I didn't know what to say as I had never thought of a pseudonym until now. I had managed to keep my mouth shut at the last moment but I was already in a tricky situation in the first few minutes. As I panicked with my eyes closed and clutching my medallion, a thought suddenly came to my mind as I thought about this precious object and my mask.
"Lu....Luna ! My...my name is Luna."
"Well nice to meet you Luna, you are quite mysterious but I am looking forward to getting to know you..."
I suddenly felt uncomfortable as I looked away, nodding my head. At the same time, Sarah regained her seriousness as she turned to the others.
"Good ! We're not going to go directly ! Let's gather outside the city gates to learn a little more about each other before we travel."
It was finally time to leave the capital, I was all excited to leave this monstrous city, not knowing that another black haired monster had set her sights on me.
____
FULL STATUS
Name : Freya
Age : 0 years / Mentally : 25 years
Sex : Female
Course : Ice Demon Wolf of chaos - Adult
Race : Major Demon
Titles : Blessed by Titania, Goddess of endless Chaos and eternal frozen Hell.
Dragon tamer
Ruthless slayer
Level : 32/70
Exp needed for next level: 22 100 / 33 000
HP : 90 000 / 90 000 MP : 45 000 / 45 000
Strength : 390
Defense : 386
Agility : 400
Stamina : 403
Speed : 392
Intelligence : 390
Charisma : 410 (imperial she-wolf)
Attribute points to allocate : 0
Married to: Gaya
Daughter : Shiro
Kingdom (menu)
Subordinates : 385
Humans killed : 148
Elements: Ice / Chaos
Skills (all):
Attack - Demon Claws (Lvl 5)
- Bite of hell (Lvl 5)
- Infernal ice spikes (Lvl 6)
- Fighting techniques (Lvl max)
- Mastery of the katana (lvl max)
- Demonic aura of the empress (lvl 5)
Defense - Ice demon wall (lvl 5)
- Demonic cloak (lvl 5)
Pain Resistance (lvl 3)
Attack/Defense - Domain of the Ice Empress "frozen wrath" (lvl 1) - (under condition)
Others - Humanoid form
- Ice creation (Lvl 4)
- Storage of chaos (Lvl 3)
- Devouring chaos (Lvl 4)
- Analysis
- Second soul (Lvl max) - unique
- Telepathy
Passives - Commander (lvl max)
- Natural Aura of the Ice Empress ]