As the sun began to dip below the horizon, casting a warm glow over the palace grounds, Princess Ariadne made her way to the King's chamber to bid him farewell. In the quiet of the royal chambers, the Princess stood before her grandfather, King Silas, her armor glistening in the soft light of the room. The weight of her impending departure hung heavy in the air, a somber reminder of the dangers that awaited her on the battlefield.
As the King approached his granddaughter, a sense of solemnity hung in the air. As they exchanged final farewells, the King's gaze softened. "My dear Ariadne," he began, his voice tinged with emotion, "before you depart for the battlefield, I have something for you."
With a gentle smile, he extended a beautifully adorned sword towards her, it's blade shimmering with an ethereal glow in the light. Ariadne's eyes widened in awe at the sight of the weapon, it's beauty unmatched by any she had ever seen.
"Ariadne, I present you this sword, named Sovereign's Blade, a symbol of our family's legacy and strength. May it serve as a reminder of the courage and determination that reside within you."
"Grandfather, it's exquisite. Who did this sword belong to?" Ariadne murmured, her fingers tracing the intricate designs and the beautiful diamonds etched into the blade. Yet, despite her admiration, a sense of hesitation lingered within her.
The King's smile remained enigmatic as he gently urged his granddaughter to accept the sword. "Trust me, Ariadne. All will be revealed in time. For now, let this sword be a symbol of your strength and resolve as you face the challenges ahead. Embrace it and wield it with honor."
With a hesitant nod, Ariadne accepted the sword. As she strapped it to her side, a strange sense of familiarity washed over her - a feeling as if she had wielded this sword before, in a distant memory long forgotten.
And with a heavy heart, Ariana stepped forward and embraced her grandfather, the warmth of his embrace a balm to her soul in the face of the trials that lay ahead. "Farewell, Grandfather," she whispered, her voice barely above a whisper. "Until we meet again."
As she turned to leave, the king watched her go, his heart heavy with worry yet buoyed by the knowledge that his granddaughter was destined for greatness. And as Princess Ariadne stepped out into the world beyond the palace walls, she carried with her the love and support of her grandfather, a beacon of hope in the darkness of war.
***
The same evening, after sunset, Ariadne, Kayla and Madam Calista climbed into the imperial carriage and set out in the west direction to the border.
Even though all of the ten ladies-in-waiting expressed their willingness to accompany her, she cannot take them along with her. All of the Princess's ladies-in-waiting came from noble families and none of them knew how to fight so they also did not insist. Even if she was going to battlefield, she was still a girl and a princess on the top of it, so, Ariadne still needed someone to take care of her. That is why she allowed Kayla and Madam Calista to tag along with her.
The Princess's knights surrounded the carriage from all side riding horses. Following them were the twenty thousand soldiers of the Armed forces who were commanded by the King to fight alongside Princess Ariadne.
The imperial carriage and the army left the capital and raced along the road. Because of the fight with her mother, Ariadne was feeling a little down, thus they did not speak much. Kayla felt that the atmosphere was truly very awkward, thus she took the initiative to speak up: "Your Highness, if you are angry Her Highness and do not wish to speak to her, why don't you write a letter? If you write now, we can still send someone back to have it delivered to Her Highness."
Ariadne nodded and did not have any objections to Kayla's arrangements. In truth, she also felt very bad for losing her temper at her mother. She wanted to go and speak to her mother again before leaving, but her pride would not allow her to do it , even though the other party was her biological mother! For Ariadne, apologising meant losing and she would never want to lose to anyone, including her biological mother.
Seeing her nod, Madam Calista immediately took out a paper and handed it to Ariadne. Ariadne reached her hand to take the paper, but she suddenly felt as though there was something bumping against the seat. Following this, she heard an extremely irritated voice say: "I am being stifled to death here and you are talking about writing me a letter!"
This shout nearly scared the people in the carriage to death. Ariadne, who had been sitting on the seat nearly fell off and the paper in her hand fell to the floor of the carriage, as a cold sweat began to drip from her head.
'This voice was… mother?'
"Aria…" While Ariadne was thinking about it, an urgent voice spoke up once more.
Ariadne trembled and quickly stood up from her seat. Her fingers pressed down on something, and there was a click from the carriage bench she was sitting on before. She grabbed the edge of the bench and lifted it up, revealing a large space with a person inside. The bench was lined in thick leather, so it was difficult to know there was an empty space even if one tapped on it .
Very well, she resigned herself to the fact that her refined and elegant mother, Princess Nailea, was lying flat under the seat and looking at her with a bitter and pleading expression.
Madam Calista then helped Princess Nailea be seated before helplessly saying: "Your Highness, how did you get out of the mansion?"
Princess Nailea waved her hand, "Don't worry about this. Either way, I have already come out. You should also stop calling me Your Highness. When we're out here, we should remain low-key."
Ariadne facepalmed, "People are capable of hiding in our carriage now? Madam Calista, do you want to ask who it was that was in charge of inspecting this imperial carriage this morning?"
A knight that was driving the carriage and had sharp ears immediately shouted: "Princess, I am the one who is in charge of inspecting the imperial carriage. But this matter was not my fault. Her Highness said that she was here on the King's order and would be going to the military camp with the Princess."
Ariadne also became frantic, "You believed everything that she says?"
The person outside was rather indifferent, "What else can I do? Can I say that Her Highness is lying? Then I would really lose my head."
Upon hearing this, Ariadne was speechless. She opened her mouth to speak, but before a word could even come out of her mouth, her mouth was stuffed with a pastry.
Princess Nailea laughed and, happily began enjoying the remaining half pastry. She then waved to her daughter, "Come here and sit closer."
Even though she was unwilling, Ariadne still got up and sat at her side. Princess Nailea immediately leaned against her shoulder then moved into a more comfortable angle before falling asleep, using Ariadne's shoulder as a pillow. Right before falling asleep, she used a warning tone to tell her daughter: "Don't you dare to send me back to the palace."
"It won't happen." Ariadne accepted her fate, "Forget it, you can come along. After we get out there, you will listen to everything that I say."
"I know, I know. So wordy."
Just like that, the princess ended bringing along a unexpected passenger while going from the capital.
On the ninth day, at twilight, the group finally arrived at the City of Nedate. The Armed forces set up a camp infront of the city gate. Fortunately, there is a huge distance between all the cities. The place could accommodate all the soldiers.
The City of Nedate was the third City from the border. The first two cities, Phoviren and Kreneur were already under control of the Riagovis Empire.