It was nearing the end of fall's reign, paving the way for the icy king, as such, the temperature had decreased to a chilling point. The villages around the forest often kept to themselves and with the chilling coldness added to the mix, the whole area was as quiet as a cemetery.
It was within this mass of flora that a beautiful girl with inky black hair was caught under a trap.
She looked around warily while her breathing became shallower. The colour had drained out of her face making it seem as though she had seen a ghost.
To make her act more believable, the girl screamed." Help! Please, is there someone out there? I...I am scared."
She muttered the last words to herself but made sure it was heard by the others who were spying on the floor.
She fell to the ground out of fear and anxiousness and began sobbing.
The man who had hidden himself behind the tree thought it wise to come out now as it seemed the lady had completely lost all hope of salvation, though he couldn't understand why a lady like herself would be wandering around this place where even the bravest of knights dare not come close and that too without guidance.
For why he concluded that she was a lady, her skin was as white as milk without any blemish and he could smell her tantalising perfume from where he stood, with a lewd smile, he walked over.
When his eyes caught sight of her beautiful face, his smile became wider. He would surely receive praise when he brings her back, he thought.
He carried the girl away who screamed, pleaded and tried resisting which all ended with futility.
After walking for half an hour and far into the forest with the lady on his shoulders, they entered a human settlement.
The lady had now stopped resisting and began whimpering and sobbing in fear, meanwhile in truth, she was just using the free ride to survey her surroundings and the path to the settlement.
It was fenced with hardwood and the whole settlement occupied roughly twenty-five houses. As they went deeper into the settlement, she felt lots of gazes boring into her skin which made a shiver run down her spine.
It wasn't that she was scared or anxious, rather she felt the gazes were too overwhelming as this was the first time she had received such a large audience.
They should enjoy it, she thought. After all, not all people got to see the person who killed them.
After getting to the largest house in the settlement, a man dressed shabbily with a gruff stopped them.
"Who is she?" He asked, his voice filled with irritation which made her wonder if he had already been annoyed by someone before they appeared.
"P, I found this lady in the middle area." There was silence after the man spoke and then after a few more seconds, she was dropped harshly on the uneven ground. Her dress had contained a bit of the fall but she was still hurt. She stared at them in anger, wanting to berate them for treating a lady roughly before she suddenly remembered why she was there, taking on a meek and scared appearance, she scooted back.
The man, referred to as P seemed to be analysing her and after a few minutes, he nodded in approval.
"Good Job," he trailed for a few minutes as though wanting him to identify himself, then he continued in the same disinterested and annoyed voice he spoke to them with." Keep her with the others. No, she will be a fine good, keep her safe."
He left her with the man who brought her and entered the house. The man then carried her again and took her to another house, but he was much more careful this time.
I can enjoy this, at least, she thought. Patting herself for a job well done.
Meanwhile, a luxurious carriage pulled up in front of the palace and Ely walked out of it. Her bright sapphire eyes had turned dull and she walked stiffly as though trying to keep herself from falling asleep on the road.
"Is the Prince home?" She questioned the butler who was pulling off her coat, he bowed his head and answered in a monotone.
"No, My Princess. He left the palace the day after you left."
She nodded and walked to her room. At this moment, all she needed was sleep to rest her weary mind. For the past week, she had been going from cities to villages for the annual tour as the King couldn't do it and even with her setting a week aside, she was not able to complete the tour since the Elyptis kingdom was a huge one and had to come back to do some of her royal duties back at the capital.
Even as exhausted as she was, she was happy with the improvement they had made. The people were living a good life and even though it could not be compared to the high and expensive life of the elite, they had it well. The crime rate was also low which was good news to her and the other officials.
Without bothering to change her clothes, she lay on the bed while the events from the past week came playing before her eyes.
Now all that was left for her to create the paradise their family dreamed of was for her to get the crown. The crown had the burdens and plight of the entire kingdom tied to it.
Many eyed the position while being ignorant of the plight it held, all these thoughts slithered in her mind while she slowly fell into the sweet embrace of sleep.
The chilling wind blew across the room, dancing ever so graciously with the silken curtains. It was past noon when one expected the sun to shine its warm light to bless the land, it was rather enclosed behind the flurry cotton of clouds thus casting the land in a greyish hue of light and raising the notch of coldness to another level.
Nevertheless, the people of Elyptis didn't let the gloomy atmosphere put a stop to their work as they had to eat. As Ely stated, the common people of Elyptis lived their lives better than those of other kingdoms but there were places where she didn't get to see or more like some people didn't let her see it.
When the Princess had announced that she was going on the annual tour instead of her father, the officials who habited the darker side of the world made quick in their attempts to either silence or sack the underprivileged of society.
In regards to where the kingdom stood proudly, which was in between two mighty hills and was bordered by a waterfall which served as an alternate source of water for the kingdom, they had a lot of sources of employment which could earn them a good salary, thus when the upper echelon of society saw it, they worked on the blind side of the royal family to monopolise it and slowly silence the people, putting their very own there. This act of theirs naturally didn't go well with the former occupants of the occupation thus leading them to also dwell in the dirtiest part of the world, indulging in horrendous and mortifying activities.
But Ely did not know if any of these and even if she knew, there was doubt whether she would be surprised, she might. That was the nature of humans, cruel, greedy and selfish.