She made lemon tea and sat on the porch gazing at the moon like she did every night. There was a full moon tonight. The pale white moon took her back to the old days when she used to go for adventures with her brother and his companions... his friends.
They would set up camp at night, make some hot beverages and cook while they gathered around the campfire. They would joke and laugh forgetting that they had just subdued a demon beast and almost died in the process. At the time, she didn't know how precious such moments would be. She didn't know how much she would miss such days. She would give anything to be able to go back to such days once again.
[It's already late. Why don't you go to sleep…?] Girsha nestled on her knees comfortably.
[I'm not sleepy…] Lory sipped her tea slowly.
[Hhhh… you barely sleep anymore…] Girsha sighed.
[You know I didn't even sleep a lot even in Herriond] She reminded him.
[You still slept better there...] The bird rebuked her.
She smiled wryly [Well, there is no place like home, isn't it…?]
The bird, Girsha, was the only reminder of her, Princess Lorient's, home as he was her guardian. The bird was the size of a paradise bird. His feathers were white and yellow with a long golden-yellow feather on its tail.
The bird had clear green eyes and a soft pink beak. No one knew the cute little bird's real figure as it could shift its body. It could turn into a giant bird, the size of a big airplane with wings that were fifteen meters long. He used to be known as the 'Lord of the Sky'. Girsha was not like the sacred or celestial beast. It was more like he was 'The First Kind' beast. He lived during the age of the gods. Roaming the world for a very long time. No one knew Girsha's age, not even himself.
When Princess Lorient learned about her twin brother, Prince Lucas', cruel fate, she was in despair.
The prophecy spoke of the end of the Lucient Lineage and the last King of Harland. It involved the creature of darkness, Nazareth the Black Dragon of Mountain Fehrer, breaking out of his thousand-year prison to summon the Demon Beast and Darkness from the Outer World. The only thing that could stop him was the power of King's God as it could repel the Darkness and kill Nazareth the Black Dragon.
Prince Lucas was to obtain the power of the Seven Gods Swords that belonged to the Seven Gods, the creators of the world. The King of Harland was a descendant of the 'First King', a Lucient. Each descendant was gifted with the power of wielding one God's Sword.
However, Lucas, unlike his predecessors, was to be gifted with all the seven swords so that he could open the gate to the outer world and suck the dark power from Verrion - killing him.
Saddened and heartbroken with the prophecy, Princess Lorient left the Kingdom at the same time Prince Lucas and his Archknight left for the 'Trial of the King' ceremony.
She found a way to defeat the prophecy after a decade of searching. She ended up colliding with the Demon King Lazarus using her own soul as collateral. The Demon King accepted the bargain she offered happily as he had been trapped for a millennium.
The soul of a Lucient heir was the only thing that could set him free. He lent his power to Lorient so that she could save her brother. However, like every power exchange, there was a consequence attached to it.
One of which was being sent to a strange world. Fortunately for her, the language was like one spoken in one of the countries on Verrion which she knew. The writing was however different. It took some time for her to learn it and luckily, she was good at learning a foreign language.
She was also a pragmatic person, smart and quick-witted. She spent most of her life outside the Cestine Royal Castle. It was either she was in boarding school or out accompanied her brother for beast subjugation and dungeon exploration.
She lived in the wilderness especially after she ran away from home when she was seventeen years, never guessing that everything would fall to ruin before her return. She lost everything she took for granted.
[You wanna hear some gossip?] Girsha asked excitedly.
[I don't have a choice, do I…] She sarcastically replied
[No!! So, listen to this… The girl, Lao Min Na, the Concubine's daughter... You remember, right…?]
[....] Lory was too lazy to make any comment.
[Nevermind… she makes a lot of money selling her pills and elixirs. I don't know where she learned all that, but the girl is now richer than the prime minister. What do you know… she is actually an alchemist…] Girsha laughed loudly. The laughter sounded like loud chirping to other those who could not understand him.
[I can't wait to see the Prime Minister's face when he gets to know what his unwanted daughter has been doing…] Girsha's tone was filled with mockery and ridicule. Girsha was a beast who was always amused by humans' greed and ambition: the things they would sacrifice to get what they want. He found it fascinating, pathetic and a little ironic.
Girsha always looked down on humankind but it all changed when he met Lorient and her family. He had heard the rumors about the Lucient King being chosen by the gods themselves. They were humans who were spared from all greed and envy. Girsha never really believed it. So, you can imagine his shock when he first met Lory.
Lory gently tapped her mug with her finger [I still don't get why he hates his own daughter so much...]
[Of course, you don't, you are softy... the men in this world have gigantic egos. How can he accept the rumor that his woman left him for another man...] Girsha smirked.
[Even if it's probably not true...? Why didn't he consider that she was kidnapped or framed?] Lory shook her head in disbelief.
[Nah... that selfish egomaniac old man wouldn't think that far… He doesn't want to] Girsha sneered.
[Hhhh… and why does he blame the daughter who has nothing to do with it in the first place?] Lory exhaled. She still found it hard to understand was constituted as a common sense of this world.
Prime Minister Lao Yun Gi had many women: one legitimate wife and five concubines who bore him many children – three sons and four daughters including Lao Min Na.
When Lao Min Na was three, her mother suddenly disappeared. The legitimate wife found proof that showed Lao Min Na's mother had an illicit affair with a merchant. The legitimate wife informed the prime minister that Lao Min Na's mother ran away with her lover but left her child behind.
The prime minister was quick to condemn his runaway wife and the three years old daughter without any investigation. The prime minister hated Lao Min Na from then on. He neglected her and let his wife and other children bully Lao Min Na. The weak bullied child soon grew to be strong under his nose. He was unaware that his weak daughter had cultivated to the Core Stage at Master Level. She was also a talented alchemist, nonetheless.
[How long are you gonna stay here Lory? Lao Min Na will seek revenge sooner or later. I see darkness in her eyes. She will burn this place to the ground. I'm afraid this could implicate you.
Yesterday, a maid died because she consumed poison meant for Lao Min Na] Girsha said.
Lory took a deep breath [I know... let's wait a little bit longer]
[Do you like being here...]
[Nah… I just don't have any other plan... yet]