The Chronicles Of New Havens

As Elizabeth thought, Shirley was currently reliving her nightmare. She was so paralyzed with fear that she heard nothing of the conversation around her. Instead of the prison cell in the Yunyun Stronghold, she imagined herself transported back in time to those horrible and deprived years of being a prisoner. As they say, war was indiscriminate. No matter who they were, they were bound to suffer at some point. Shirley could be said to be one of the more pitiful ones. Lour Island, where she was from, was a small, insignificant island in the Teria Sea. There were no bountiful resources, no standing military, and no strategic potential. Under normal circ.u.mstances, people would ignore such an island. Unfortunately, nothing was ever so simple.

Lour Island belonged to the Star Household, one of the Alzar Kingdom's Grand Nobility Households. The current matriarch of the Star Household was the Mistress of Justice, Grand Lady Malinda Star. As a result of being related, the Xingyuu Empire did not let it go. During the Teria Sea Campaign roughly four years ago, they invaded Lour Island. Without troops to defend itself, the island collapsed instantaneously under the pressure. To resupply their fleet, the soldiers ransacked whatever they wished, bringing a sea of destruction that destroyed everything it came across. Shirley's family was no exception either. As a family of blacksmiths, they were a prime target. Her father tried resisting the soldiers, while everyone else fled to the hillside. However, he eventually died, and Shirley was captured.

Like many other young women, she was taken onboard their sh.i.p.s to be used. Chained to the walls of a prison cell while being treated less than an animal, this was the source of her grief. Days passed like years, weeks passed like decades, and months passed like centuries. Every living moment was agony and pain. She deeply wished she perished back then, as if to not suffer so dearly. Although she was eventually rescued with the fall of the Xingyuu fleets in K.A. 511, the mere thought of being put into a cell again triggered her fears. Bad memories were like weeds. Once they took root in your mind, it would be nearly impossible to remove them. Even if you tried, it would only come back harder.

She knew this was not back then. She knew this was a different time and a different place. But her mind would not give her peace. Every time she remembered that horrendous torture, her body would seize up. Helplessness filled her very being to the core. Her breathing was erratic, her back was drenched in sweat, and her hands were clenched so tightly that they drew blood. Shirley wondered if her bones or her mind was going to crack first under the pressure.

"Shirley, listen to me! Calm down!" Elizabeth shouted, shaking Shirley furiously.

With that violent nudging, Shirley finally snapped out of it. She looked around to see Elizabeth's worried gaze with Benedict and Freon watching over. "Elizabeth? Ow, my head hurts…"

"Yes, it's me. You started panicking in the corner. Are you okay?"

"No," Shirley sobbed. She thought those nightmares would never come back to haunt her, but reality was often cruel. Just thinking about it made her scared to the point of gagging.

"There, there…" Elizabeth stroked Shirley's back in a calming manner, much like Shirley did with her before. However, she could not say any words of comfort like they were safe.

"To act like that, she must have gone through something pretty nasty," Freon lamented.

"I've seen many war victims act the same way," Benedict continued somberly. "Some learn to muster through it, but others collapse to it."

"Well, we're going to be experiencing the same soon enough anyways," Freon remarked darkly.

At some point in the night when the prison was quiet, Elizabeth was roused awake by the sounds of a flurry of footsteps. Bringing torchlight, the hallway immediately illuminated prompting Elizabeth to look away from the blinding light. When her eyes adjusted properly, she saw three figures stood in front of the cell. Two were prison guards, easily identifiable by their uniform and demeanor. However, the third was someone unexpected. Wearing an elegant blue and green dress reminiscent of azure oceans and verdant jade, the flawless beauty was Princess Xiuying Tzu. The princess wore a curt smile that could comfort even the toughest of individuals. To this, however, Elizabeth frowned. What business could this girl have with her?

Elizabeth was escorted to a nearby room by the guards while Xiuying herself sat at the table. The princess gestured for Elizabeth to sit as well and motioned for the guards to leave. The guards were initially hesitant but gave up. Princess Xiuying was known to be unorthodox, unlike Princess Ming. Besides, Xiuying was not exactly powerless! The saber that hung off her waist was not for show. Though the princess never had a chance to show off her combat prowess, rumor has it that she reached Half-Perception Realm! As an eighteen-year-old girl, to reach that point was testament to her prodigious skill. Therefore, even if an altercation occurred, Xiuying could easily suppress Elizabeth.

"You must be wondering who I am. I am Princess Xiuying Tzu, one of the Twin Imperial Princesses of the Xingyuu Empire. I wanted to know more about you."

Elizabeth said nothing. Xiuying could tell she was being ignored.

"The Xingyuu Empire may have captured you, but we only know the most important details about you. We don't know the finer details like where you came from, where you grew up, or who your parents were."

Xiuying was not lying. The Xingyuu Empire's intelligence network was vast, but not omniscient. The secrets revolving around Elizabeth were top secrets that only the highest echelon of government knew. Even the Royal Assembly, one of the highest ruling bodies, were left clueless. The same could be said about the Third-In-Command of the Quinvoren Army, General Illion Doro. It was not an exaggeration to say that there were less than ten people in the entire world that knew her secrets! The spy in Castle Reinhard caught bits and pieces of the conversation between Korogin and Elizabeth, but not all of it. Being surrounded by hundreds of Perception Realm knights and thousands of regular guards, the spy needed to divide their attention to protecting themselves. Not to mention, there were lurking giants like Sir Winstin. There was no way they could hear everything!

Elizabeth snorted. Why would she say anything? Benefiting her enemies out of her generosity? What a joke! She was content on angering Xiuying by staying quiet, especially now that she knew the girl was a princess of the Xingyuu Empire!

"You can trust me that this is a personal interest, not on behalf of the Xingyuu Empire," the girl sighed, as if understanding Elizabeth's thoughts. However, Elizabeth remained proudly tight-lipped, as if saying If I don't talk, can you make me? I dare you to do so!

Seeing this was going nowhere, Xiuying shook her head and gave up, "Very well. We can talk again later when you feel like it."