San Wol hated owing anyone anything, but it could not be helped; the Imperial Prince had saved her life, so what else was there to do but answer his summons? The Imperial Prince's fiancé was not what she had expected from the stories she had been told. San Wol had expected to meet a cunning viper, not a mess of a girl.
Lady Gardenia seemed to lack purpose; if Argo had not been with her, San Wol would have doubted that this girl was the one she was sent to retrieve. Lady Gardenia seemed like a lost child looking for any scrap of hope.
Gardenia moved as if she were possessed. She dressed in the clothes she had been provided and walked out of the bathing chamber. "Will Jia er join us?"
San Wol had never heard that name before, yet then again, that did not matter to her, "Yes," she did not care to lie so long as what she was sent to do was done.
Argo handed each of them a cloak and led them down a hidden passage. Screams could be heard through the walls as the palace caught fire.
The ninth prince had attempted to flee but did not expect to be cornered by a most vile being. The creature looked like something out of a nightmare, with claws that twisted outward, horns that dripped an oily substance, and teeth far more jagged than those of sharks. Its fur was matted with blood.
Who had allowed such a creature into his palace? The ninth prince wondered, too afraid to scream. His chest felt like it would explode, but breathing had become difficult. The smoke burned his lungs. Why was no one coming to save him, he wondered as the creature swung its massive paw, cutting him in the gut. The scream from the ninth prince sounded far from human.
The High Mage had opened a portal to the Demonic Realm, allowing the creatures to run rampant. Creatures from the far riches of the world swarmed out, glad to be able to move. Rouges and Devils came out to play. They did not care who summoned them; they were only delighted to be free.
Amongst the Devils was a beautiful fox spirit whose birth had occurred just as the portal opened. The fox spirit rushed past countless guards and somehow found herself before the High Mage. To the fox spirit, the High Mage appeared beautifully deadly. He radiated danger.
The fox spirit tried to get away but was not fast enough. "Did you come through the portal?" the High Mage asked, "How peculiar that a divine fox would be trapped in the Demonic Realm and a newly ascended one at that."
"Everything is ready," a man clad in black announced. "San Wol has taken her ladyship out of the city."
"We should join them," the High Mage said, tossing the fox spirit towards the man. Find a safe place for her."
"If I may," the man cradled the fox spirit in his arms as if he held a baby, "the High Priestess will probably be willing to take her in."
The High Mage waved his hand in approval as he moved on from the scene. He had removed one of the bastards that hurt his Lady. He would let her deal with the other however she pleased.
Gardenia was seated beside San Wol, and she had an odd look in her eyes. What had happened in the short time they had been apart? Jia er reached over, but she did not react.
"What happened when she met with the third son of House Honeysuckle?" Jia er asked, "Did you leave them alone?"
Argo bowed and said, "The Lady spoke with her brother; she even unlocked his cage. Even though I was next to her, I could not hear what was spoken, and movement was not possible until the explosion took place." Argo seemed to want to say more but held his tongue.
Jia er was no longer in a good mood, "speak!" he commanded.
"It seems the third son is a member of the Cardena Imperial family he resembles the Princess your Imperial Father was supposed to have married."
"So the Imperial Princess chose to hide in House Honeysuckle," Jia er reached out again and drew a pattern on Gardenia's forehead, the enchantment broken.
"That conniving bastard, how dare he enchant me," Gardenia attempted to leave the carriage but was pulled back by San Wol and held in place by Jia er.
Jia er graved Gardenia's chin, forcing her to look him in the eye, "You still have to choose to stay in this Kingdom and burn with it or come with me and prepare a proper revenge."
Gardenia thought, I have no backing and lack a plan, but if I leave with them, will I be able to return? Everything she had done until now was a disappointment and meaningless as she had done nothing. From the start, it was all Lucas's plan. Even when she could not see him, he was there.
After Jia Er broke the enchantment, a series of memories rushed forward. The real Gardenia had lived on the constant edge, wary of everyone, especially Lucas. Every accident she had was an experiment of his to see if he could make her reliant on him. He even drove the Marchioness mad enough to believe she had bored the child of a demon, making her wary of her newborn.
To think Astra once considered him a poor man misjudged by society. Calling Lucas Honeysuckle a madman was far too kind. What Lucas had done to Gardenia was not something a human being would do to anyone, especially a child. Astra curled up, pressing against San Wol like a child struggling to ask for help.
"I do believe she will go with us." San Wol could sense the shift in Gardenia's mood and, without a care in the world, pushed Jia er out of the carriage. " I advise your Highness to find another means of transportation." The carriage door slammed, leaving Jia er out in the open.
"There is something wrong with your bride," San Wol sent a message through the communication array, "I think it best you not go near her for the time being."
"Could you elaborate?" Jia er asked as he mounted his horse.
"She seems to have the same aura as all the broken women Crescent Mountain takes in." San Wol said, "I advise you to give her time. It seems whatever enchantment she was under was suppressing an unsavory existence."
"Make haste," Jia er commanded as he led their group out of the Kingdom of Lucia. He would find who hurt his dearest. It was alright if she could not remember their past lives. He would remember for the both of them even if the heavens admonished him.