In all 10 years of Dalia's life, coming to the capital was the best thing that had ever happened to her.
Gone were the days when she had to spend the whole day alone if the other kids her age were occupied by helping their parents in tending to the fields.
Gone were the days when her mother had had to go to bed without eating, just so that she wouldn't have to starve. Although her mother used to insist that she had already eaten somewhere else, Dalia knew that she had only had water to fill her stomach.
Coming to the capital had changed everything. First, there had been the candy which she had always had to look at from a distance. Since she had never had the experience of having anything in abundance since being born, she had treasured everything that she had gotten, thinking that it might last only a little while.
Thus, she had become all the happier when her mother told her with tears of joy in her eyes that she could have candy every day if she wanted, as they would be settling down in the capital due to the kindness of the King who had sanctioned something called a pension for them.
Although she didn't understand everything her mother had said, she had had a feeling that their lives were about to change for the better.
Her mother had always had a penchant for embroidery in the village, with all their neighbors praising her for her handiwork and using it to decorate their living rooms or dining tables.
After saving up the pension for a month, her mother had bought a strange box that she was told to stay away from because it was very delicate.
Apparently, this was one of those trinkets that she had only heard of but never seen except for the few times that she had gone to the mayor's house in the village.
What was incredible was that every time her mother sat down with a ball of yarn in front of this box, a few hours later, a beautiful patch of embroidery would be in her mother's hands as if it had magically been made by that box.
Everything seemed to be going well, but after a month, the box broke down and black smoke came from it as if something inside it had exploded.
Her mother rarely cursed, but this incident had made her grumble that the salesman who had said this was a thirdhand trinket and would definitely work for six months was a cheat and a liar who had to be brought to justice.
Without any other choice, another 2 months of saving had had to go into buying another box which seemed to be in a better condition than the other one which had multiple dents around it.
On some days, Dalia accompanied her mother to the market where they set up a stall to sell the embroidery work. Although the first few days had seen them getting very few customers, with time, those who realized that the embroidery on these patch works was much more detailed than that sold in many clothing shops around Lanthanor hurried to the stall to buy as many as possible.
This had delighted the duo, letting them believe that this business was actually viable for them to earn enough to survive and even save for a rainy day.
Her favorite part about the capital came soon after.
It was in the form of the largest building that Dalia had ever seen in her life. Labeled as the School of Lanthanor, she had been puzzled about what it was when her mother had brought her here the first day after giving her a stack of parchments and a quill.
Only saying that she wished that she had such an opportunity when she was her age, her mother had sent her inside along with the many children who were also bemusedly trying to figure out just where they were supposed ago.
After being led into a large room by a kind lady who had asked if she had been lost, Dalia had listened for the first time about the Continent of Angaria which made a thirst for knowledge be born inside her.
Each and every occupation on the continent had been laid out clearly, with the one catching Dalia's attention the most being that of an enchanter.
She knew very well that although they had land in the village where she had been born, they had had to toil day and night because they couldn't afford the magical devices which maintained the other's farms.
Although they had come to the Capital where their lives were a lot better and she also had many more friends to play with, she couldn't help but feel that this wasn't her true home.
Hence, all she wanted was to be able to become someone who could make those magical devices so that she could take care of the farm by herself while her mother rested. After all, Dalia guessed that even her mother felt the same way because of all the time she had sat on the porch of their small one-bedroom house and gazed out at all the buildings surrounding her as if longing for the open fields of the village.
Since that day, she had willingly cut down on her playing time to learn as much as she could. Whenever they had enough money, her mother would also take her to the town library where there were so many books that her jaw had dropped when she first looked at them.
Knowledge matured her, and in just a few months she had started to act like somebody who was well beyond her age.
As her worldview grew, the adoration she had for the King who had made everything possible grew day by day until the point where the King and the Kingdom had the highest importance in her heart right after her mother. This was also attributed to the books about the King's rise to the throne, which were available for free even in the school.
Today, the entire city had gone into a festive mode because of an announcement made by the government.
The eldest prince who had committed the most grievous acts in the known history of the Kingdom was finally going to be brought to justice by the King who had promised that it would be so.
The last time when she and her mother had viewed the execution, she had had no idea about what was going on. Thus, this time, she resolved to see everything and hopefully catch another glimpse of the man who was responsible for changing her life.
In the school, the only complaints that the teachers had had on her was that she often got into arguments and even fights with those who expressed opinions which were negative towards the King.
Looking forward to seeing their expressions when they realized that the King was really someone who kept his word, Dalia excitedly ran back home with the intention of celebrating with her mother.
Yet, the moment she approached the building in which the apartment they had rented was located, she realized that something was wrong due to the black smoke that was coming out of the window.
Worrying for her mother, she immediately ran inside and felt glad when she saw that her she was fine. Only, she was collapsed on the ground, sobbing.
Seeing Dalia enter, Helena got up and hugged her tight. In the past few months, she had seen her daughter mature with a speed that astonished her. Knowing that this was mostly because of the school which allowed her daughter to think for herself without being constricted by limited knowledge, Helena was also all the more grateful to the King.
Thus, recently, she had stopped treating her daughter as a little child and had started to confide in her and even depend on her to maintain their family. After all, with maturity came responsibility, and she knew that she would only be burned out if she tried to take care of everything by herself.
With stuttering words, she said, "It-it broke again, and I used the last of our money to buy supplies for the huge order that we received the other day. What do we do now?"
Dalia was lost for words. When they had taken the order, they had received strict instructions that it had to be delivered by the specified time or there would be dire consequences. So far, Helena had never delayed any of her orders, which had actually lead to them getting this order in the first place.
Now, this disaster had occurred which might cause them to shut down their whole business because of losing credibility and gathering the ire of the powerful people whom they would offend by not being able to deliver.
In this time of distress, the only person she remembered was the tall and dashing man with a dragon on his shoulders who she believed to be the kindest person in the entire world.
"Mother, after the execution tomorrow, we will go to the palace. Even this trinket was supposed to last one more year, and the police refuse to take the case. I believe we will find justice there.", she said, with shining eyes.