"No!" Judith had screamed, unsure of what to say but certain anything she would say would have a better outcome than this.
"Oh? So is there another explanation?" Qui Lin had asked, expecting to hear something more profound.
"I..I…"
"Anymore hesitation, and I will incinerate you where you stand." Qui Lin threatened, of course she had no intention of going through with this, she just aimed to get a reaction out of Judith, make her falter.
After taking a deep breath, Judith became calmed and had fixed her gaze directly onto that of Qui Lin.
"My father taught me and only me, no one else in Western Shoubi knows what I know. And all of my father's research has been destroyed."
"By whom?" Qui Lin had countered.
"By him, as he knew his work would put his and my life in jeopardy."
"And yet you taught you his secrets either ways?"
"Not all, at most I have knowledge on five beasts and that is it." Judith had fired back, not wavering in any of her words, no matter how powerful Qui Lin's leer was.
"Why did he teach you these secrets in the first place?"
"He...aimed at increasing my chances at being a Tethered, but he soon found it too risky, so he didn't teach me further."
"How do I know that his research is destroyed?"
"If it were, I wouldn't be a slave right now. Western Shoubi wanted what he learned, but since I couldn't provide, then made me a slave."
Taking in Judith's words, Qui Lin was silent for a moment, before taking it as it was and letting it go.
"How many more Unrecorded Parabeasts do you have knowledge on?"
"Two, maybe three." Judith said.
"I see." Qui Lin had let her flames die out, then she slowly turned and faced her back to Judith, before she began to walk then. "Perhaps there will be more use for you then."
Upon hearing this, Judith had rested a little easier, up until Qui Lin had stopped in her tracks. "One last thing though." She said, then called upon her flame Alkalis yet again. "How did you know my name was Quanchi?" She had asked then turned to Judith with her flames burning hot in both her hands.
Judith thought for only a moment before she gave a response.
"I never knew you were the legendary master Quanchi until you had just told me." Judith had said, gaze still unwavering whilst Qui Lin had been all but confused. "I only called out that name because I knew everyone would turn to me upon saying it, I wanted to get your attention." Judith had said, and with that, came the end of Qui Lin's questioning.
Qui Lin had still kept her gaze fixated on Judith for several seconds, before dismissing her Alkalis and turning her back onto Judith once more.
"What is your name girl?" Qui Lin had asked.
Judith took a few moments to contemplate what she would say.
The protagonist of the novel was named Sarah, but something had urged Judith to use her real name. After all, the people who sent her would have nothing to do with her from this point onwards. Or at least, nothing to do with her, in public.
"Judith, my name is Judith." Judith had said, after deciding that this was what she wanted to do.
"Judith." Qui Lin had said, before looking over her shoulder so she could see Judith. "I will be questioning you further on these Unrecorded Parabeasts when I have time. Until then, be very careful, because I'll be keeping an eye on you."
Qui Lin had said nothing more after this, but proceeded to her mount.
Once Qui Lin was out of earshot, Judith had let out a huge sigh of relief, while clasping her chest, afraid her heart would burst out of it.
Once Judith had regained herself, she stood erect and began to watch everything unfolding before her every eyes.
Though she felt sadness by the Lergobeasts that were now Untethered due to their Tethereds' demise, she still couldn't help but feel this euphoria overcoming her.
She looked at the floating carriages filled with nobles descending to ground level, then she diverted her attention to the Tethereds with their Lergobeasts.
It was not a fever dream — at least not as far as Judith knew — but it was reality, her favorite fantasy novel was now her reality.
Magic and fantastical creatures were now her reality, and the best part about it all, she knew everything that would unfold.
She knew every nook and cranny of this world, and she would use this to her advantage to shape this world and its events to how she wanted and would make sure she lived her best life, no matter what.
***
After the slaves, Untethered Lergobeasts and the corpses of the dead Untethereds had been rounded up and or stored inside a Vortex, Qui Lin had led the way forward, with Judith now walking behind her mount as opposed to that of the prince, who was a little far back.
Judith — along with everyone else — had walked for three hours without break, before the sun began to rise, shedding light onto the vast desert. Also to everyone's elation, the sun had also shed light on the path ahead, revealing in the distance a camp, or rather a stronghold, which indicated that they had arrived at the borders of Qugan.
Upon arriving at the stronghold, the front gates had opened at once, since the watchers saw Qui Lin and the prince from a distance.
Judith had kept her gaze sharp and her guard on high alert, as she had just remembered something very unruly that would happen to Sarah at this point in time.
It was now that Judith began to feel the clothes on her skin, or rather, the lack of clothes thereof.
Upon looking down at her body, she had noticed that she wore nothing more than a tattered shirt and a wrapper that was tied around her waist with the help of a rope.
'No wonder I was so cold.' Judith had thought, while trying to hide behind Qui Lin, so the prying eyes aimed at them would not land on her. Or at least, so that the prying eyes of a particular somebody wouldn't land on her.
Not much further into the stronghold, a group of men had approached Qui Lin.
One of which stood out amongst the rest.
Judith began to take in the man's features.
He was tall and wide, with broad shoulders and a generally wide physique.
He had black hair that seemed like a waterfall that ran down to his shoulder, with a neatly trimmed black beard that made him seem like a gentleman.
But Judith knew better, because in the novel, this man tried to skin Sarah alive.