Chapter Four: The Princess And Insults

Despite the covering on the roof, the cold air still seeped in plenty, causing the night to be quite miserable for Elisia. Initially, she had been grateful that someone had come to save her, but the more she shivered, the less gratitude she felt. Instead, she began to get irritated.

"Why did she have to break through the roof anyways?" Elisia complained to herself. "Of course, if she's one of them, then I suppose I shouldn't expect anything. It's only natural for a savage to use brute force instead of common sense."

Although, when Elisia thought about force, she immediately recalled the display the mystery woman had put on. "She was… quite strong," Elisia admitted. Even with her magic, she had her doubts that she'd be able to beat the woman in a fight. Where the former princess had completely failed, the woman had swooped in and taken care of all three assailants in a matter of seconds. "Perhaps if I had put more effort into my physical education classes, I could've done the same…" Elisia grumbled. Most of her studying time had gone into magic, and when those who could teach her to use martial arts or weapons insisted she try harder, she'd always respond with the following: "I'm only even learning magic because it seemed fun. What use would I have for something as boring as fighting with my fists, especially when someone else will always fight for me?"

Looking back now, Elisia felt quite foolish. She could've never imagined she'd end up in the situation she was in, but now that she was, she wished she hadn't been so arrogant. It seemed that in Dehl Village, she was truly powerless. Elisia had hardly any skill with weapons or martial arts, and she had no idea how many more people possessed those anti-magic crystals. There was also the issue of most of the magic she could use to fight with potentially requiring enough mana to have to justify herself to a council. With her title stripped, her power gone, and her skills useless, Elisia had essentially become nothing more than a common woman.

She grit her teeth in frustration. "How could this happen?" she asked herself. "How could I be so careless? How could father cast me out so easily?" Elisia had many questions, but no answers. All she could do was stew away in the cold, broken jail hut.

By the time morning came, she was beyond exhausted. Between the events of the day, the events of the night, and her raging emotions, Elisia wanted nothing more than to flop onto a soft, comfy bed and sleep for hours. Alas, all she had available to her was the hard ground underneath her.

At the sound of footsteps approaching, Elisia quickly stood up. Considering what had happened, she was very on-guard against people. Readying herself in the best fighting stance she could manage, she waited for the individual to show their face. However, when she saw the face of an elderly man, her guard dropped, if only a little.

"Good morning Elisia," Gorose said calmly, seemingly not bothered at all by Elisia's hostile pose.

"...good morning…" she muttered back.

"You still seem quite tired," Gorose observed, drawing a snort from Elisia.

"Of course I am. How could anyone sleep in such wretched conditions?"

"Indeed," Gorose agreed. "Though being the age I am, I suppose I find sleep quite easily," he laughed.

Elisia rolled her eyes. "No doubt because he seems to be some sort of turtle man," she thought.

"Now, I do have a bit of business with you," Gorose said, getting the former princess's attention. "It would appear, either at some point in the night or during our interrogation of your assailants, that a part of your branding spell has become common knowledge. Specifically, the people of the village have become aware that calling you a princess will cause you pain."

Elisia grimaced. Truthfully, she had never done well with pain. Even just a paper cut was enough to make her loudly complain. To feel searing pain every time someone called her a princess (or if she did it herself by force of habit), it was practically too much.

The best way to describe the pain a branding spell caused was as follows: Imagine a bright-red and orange metal rod, nearly at the point of melting. Then, imagine placing that rod on your skin. That pain alone would be enough to cause a fair amount of damage. Now, take that pain and multiply it by a factor of three. That was how much pain the branding spell caused when its conditions were broken.

Luckily, the pain was usually brief, as it was meant to be a reminder more than a constant punishment. However, with how customizable the branding spell was, it was possible to make those "reminders" much worse. For instance, the one determining the conditions could make it so each time a condition is broken, the intensity of the pain increases. Similarly, the length of time the pain occurred could be set as well. Rather than just a few seconds like Elisia's, it could be minutes, or even hours. The only downside for the one in control was that if the time was set for too long, the spell would burn out completely and cause the release of the one branded.

Regardless, for one who did poorly with pain like Elisia, even just a few seconds was excruciating. To know that now everyone in the village (all people who hated her), could now cause her pain at will without even having to lay a hand on her, was terrifying.

"Did you know this would happen father?" she thought angrily. "Just how much did you want me to suffer?"

"I'm informing you of this," Gorose continued, "because as of right now, keeping you in this cell is rather pointless. With a broken gate and roof, plus your magic capabilities, I doubt you could be kept in here for long."

The thought of escape crossed Elisia's mind. Could she escape? To answer that question, Gorose went on. "So, for the time being, we have decided to allow you to wander within the village until the cell is fixed. This should only take a day or two, but during that time, you will be escorted at all hours. For sleep, you will stay in my house."

"They're going to let me wander?" Elisia repeated to herself. Truly, it seemed like a perfect opportunity. "Even if I can't leave this territory, there's no reason for me to be at the bottom of the barrel like this. As soon as they let me out of here, I'll start establishing my new reign."

She couldn't stop a smirk from coming to her face. It was true that her use of magic would have to be minimal, but a minimal display should be all it would take to convince the others just how superior she was to them. "Those idiots will come to know the power of a princess," she thought, then immediately twisted in agony. "Guh…" she let out, feeling the recoil of her branding spell.

Witnessing all of this, Gorose sighed. "I do hope you won't underestimate our village, Elisia," he warned. Elisia looked at him, a bit startled.

"Did I say my plan out loud?" she wondered, but she was sure that wasn't the case.

"Why do you look so alarmed?" Gorose asked, sounding confident. "Do you really believe you're hiding your true intentions with that smirk on your face?"

"Ah…" Elisia let out.

"I do not wish to fight with you," Gorose said sternly. "But, if you insist on creating a battle between human and not, then I will give you a battle." With those words, Elisia could feel the air around Gorose change. What power it was he possessed, she had no idea, but it was clear that he had a lot of it. Over the course of the last week or so, Elisia's survival instincts had been getting sharpened by leaps and bounds due to the extreme conditions. Now, they were kicking in again, telling her to not start a fight.

"...Very well," she thought. "It's not as if violence is my main weapon anyways." It had always been with tongue and mind that Elisia had gotten what she wanted. Really, with how simple-minded the demi-humans and monster people were, Elisia was sure she'd have hardly any difficulty bringing them to her side. "They may hate me now, but when I promise them lavishness and luxury in return for their loyalty, they'll surely be bowing at my feet." This time, she made sure to hide her intentions.

"Brace yourself, Elisia," Gorose said. "Outside of these walls is a world of pain for you."

"Hah," Elisia scoffed. "We shall see." Haughtily, she marched up to the exit and stepped outside. With a confident look on her face, she turned to the guard at the door, a man with pointed, tan brown dog-like ears and a tail to match.

"You there," Elisia said. "You will protect me from those ruffians, won't you?"

"Huh?" the man let out dumbly.

"After all," Elisia cooed, slinking closer to him. "You're not like the others, are you? You don't believe all those nasty rumors, right? I promise I'm not the evil woman they say I am. All that happened earlier was me defending myself and responding in kind. You understand that right? If anything, I'm a victim. You've heard about the attack last night, haven't you? Those terrible men came in and planned to assault me! All I was doing was sleeping peacefully in my cell. I wasn't hurting anybody. I know you can understand that.

"We all just got off to a poor start with each other. I'm really just a maiden who needs protection, so you'll do that for me, won't you?" Honestly, having to get so close to a demi-human made Elisia feel sick, but she put up with it. "If this works, this ill feeling I've gotten in my stomach will be worth it," she thought deviously.

However, the man, standing there with a brown top, black pants and minimal iron armor, stood there, spear in hand, and stared at the former princess. "...Do you actually think I'm that stupid?" he finally asked, clearly miffed as his average-looking, clean-shaven face twisted in irritation. "Who knew the princess was such a bad liar?" Putting emphasis on the word princess in a mocking tone, Elisia also let out a small cry of pain.

"I'm only 'guarding' you because I was told to, princess," the man said smugly. "If you actually get attacked, don't expect any help from me." Turning back toward the spot where the gate should've been on the jail hut, Elisia found herself looking desperately at Gorose. In response, Gorose simply shook his head.

"This is reality, Elisia," he said. "There is nothing I can do about the words of the people."

"Aren't you the one in charge here?!" she yelled. "You should have better control of your people!"

"It's not about control," Gorose said. "It's about leading all of the residents of this village to better lives. If they speak insulting words, but still live a life they're satisfied with, then who am I to stop them?"

"But yesterday, you defended me!" Elisia cried.

"As I told Noka," Gorose said. "I was not defending you, but rather expecting more out of my people. Throwing rocks and spewing hate will not lead to a better life. That is why I stepped in. To put it another way, if they had all just shouted insults at you, I would've found no need to act.

"The world is harsh, Elisia. Your life is no longer in the palace, but here. While many may not agree with it, I now consider you a resident of this village as well. Because of that, I hold you to the same standards as the others. I want you to live a better life than the one you are now. Unfortunately, in order for you to do that, you will have to experience the hardships before you, and I cannot stop them from happening. However, I will do my best to aid you if you truly need it, or give you my advice, for what it's worth."

Elisia stared at him, furious. "You worthless man," she spat. "I should just burn you down here!" But, as she raised her hand to create a spell, the point of a spear immediately touched the underside of her chin. "Put your damn hand down, princess," the guard commanded. With the pain he caused by calling her "princess," Elisia's hand dropped. "You will not lay a hand on the elder," the guard said, glaring at her.

"That's enough, Hanen," Gorose said. With that, the guard, Hanen, dropped his spear back into a relaxed position.

"Elisia," the elder said. "You should view this as an opportunity."

"Tch," the former princess scoffed. "What opportunity? To mingle with the rabble at the bottom rungs of society? Ah, how greatly that will benefit me! Or, perhaps, it would benefit them. Maybe you animals can learn a thing or two about how to act like a proper human being. Oh, but maybe I'm just overestimating you all. The thought of you being able to learn is honestly almost laughable."

Next to her, Hanen audibly grounded his teeth, but across from her, Gorose remained calm, seemingly unbothered by Elisia's sharp tongue. "If you wish to teach," he said, "then I will welcome it." Of course, he knew Elisia hadn't been making a genuine offer. Still, if he could at least put the idea in her head, then maybe it was possible for her to do a bit of teaching one day?

At the current time though, that was impossible. "You really are a fool," she sighed, then muttered, "Honestly, this is what I get, getting my hopes up in thinking that I've found a demi-human capable of being perhaps halfway decent."

"Argh!" Hanen let out. "I've had it with you, princess!" As the young woman curled over, experiencing another bout of pain, the guard charged. Seeing him out of the corner of her eye, Elisia went to use a spell, but she was too slow. The guard was on her in seconds, but as she braced for impact, she heard an odd sound.

Opening her eyes, she saw Gorose standing in front of her, his hand up. Touching his hand was the point of the spear, but where it had once been a perfectly sharpened object, it was now completely bent and misshapen.

"Hanen," the elder said with force. "A loss of temper can be the difference between life and death. Remember that the next time you go charging at someone without thinking."

"Y-yes sir…" Hanen said, clearly frightened. Having dropped to the ground, Elisia looked up at Gorose.

"How did he do that?" she wondered. "He didn't cast any magic, and his hand is fully open, so I don't think he grabbed the spearhead either… Is his hand truly so hard the spear bent on impact?"

It sounded ridiculous to someone who treated demi-humans and monster people as completely incapable, but when Elisia really thought about it, she thought she recalled hearing stories about the abilities of some demi-humans and monster people. "Perhaps those stories were true…" she thought. "And if they are, then… the elder may be correct in telling me to not underestimate them."

It was a bit sickening for Elisia to admit a demi-human might be right about something, but at the very least, her short time with Gorose had taught her that he was a man not to trifle with. If she dared, Elisia had a feeling it may cost her life.

As she was contemplating that, a small group of children walked by. Consisting of two obvious demi-humans (a cat-boy and a girl with tiny antlers sticking out of her head) and one monster person (something of a cross between a human and an armadillo), they looked over and saw Elisia.

"Hey, look, it's the princess," the cat-boy said mockingly. Instantly, searing pain shot through Elisia, keeping her to the ground.

"What's wrong, princess? Does something hurt?" the armadillo child piled on.

"Guys, come on, we shouldn't taunt the princess so much," the girl said, showing fake sincerity while causing plenty of harm herself.

Seeing Elisia writhe in pain on the ground, the children giggled. Gorose went to scold them, but before he could, they ran off. "Why even bother?" Elisia muttered. "Didn't you say you can't control people's words?"

"True, but children should still be taught to be kind to others," Gorose said simply. "Now, I have other business to attend to. Elisia, Hanen, please act in a manner that won't shame this village."

"I'll do my best."

"As if I care about this backwater shack-town."

With a sigh, Gorose left, leaving the other two behind. "So, princess, where to?" Hanen said. Having only just stood back up, Elisia gritted her teeth to bear the pain and keep herself upright.

"Like I would have the slightest idea where to go," she spat. "Perhaps the palace?"

"If I could send you back there, I would," Hanen said.

"Really?" Elisia said, surprised.

"Yeah," Hanen said, then put on a vicious smile. "I'd pack you up nicely and make sure it was addressed to the prison underneath."

"You insolent low-life," Elisia said, glaring at him. "If I ever get the chance, I swear I'll put you in your place."

"Sure thing, princess," Hanen said, sounding cocky, then continued in a breezy tone. "Boy, I thought today was gonna be rough, but I think I'm actually gonna enjoy it. There's no way anybody'll let you walk by without triggering that spell thing that's attached to you, especially knowing it'll cause you pain. Serves you right, after everything you've done to people like us."

In all the years Elisia had lived, she had experienced plenty of hate. Hearing the barbed insults from the people on the street was nothing new to her. However, her current situation was much different. Before, she was able to simply ride away in her carriage or command guards to shut them up. She never had to face such aggressive hatred nonstop. And now, on top of that, the very hate of the people in the village was combining perfectly with the conditions of consequence for Elisia's branding spell.

When the idea of escape had come to mind, Elisia hadn't considered it much. She had no idea just how far the boundaries of Dehl Village went, nor how the branding spell would define them, so she assumed she would be stuck in the village. But, if being trapped in that place meant a constant barrage of burning in her shoulder, Elisia was beginning to think that trying to test out the boundaries might not be such a bad idea. "At least I would be able to put some distance between me and these barbarians," she thought. "Who knows? Perhaps I'll get lucky and the territory will extend to an actual human town. Then maybe I could find a mage or alchemist of some sort to remove this damn spell…"

Now, plotting her escape, Elisia smirked to herself. However, her enjoyment didn't last long, as another resident of the village passed by with a nasty "Oh look, the princess has graced us with her presence."

With more pain rocketing through her body, Elisia scowled. "I swear, one day I'll make all of them regret treating me this way."

Honestly, it was kind of a backwards way to think. The only reason Elisia had gotten into the situation she was in boiled down to two things. One was the failure to keep her plan from leaking to the public. The other was the hatred she had stirred up among demi-humans and monster people. All that was really happening was that everything was coming back to her. As the saying goes, what goes around comes around, and if you send out hate, you have to expect it'll come back for you eventually.

Unfortunately, being the royal she had been, Elisia had never even dreamed of a day coming when she wouldn't be protected by high castle walls and the power she had been born into. She had just assumed that she could do whatever she wanted because that was how it would always be. Now that she had fallen so far, Elisia was getting a brutal wake-up call that took the form of (quite literally) painful words.

"...Perhaps somewhere with no people," she finally said.

"Nope, no can do," Hanen immediately said back.

"Excuse me?" Elisia said, irritated. "I've given my decision. It is your job to follow it."

"Well, y'see," Hanen said. "If I did that, I wouldn't get to have my fun. Plus, if I took you out to where nobody was, who knows what kinda trouble you'll get up to. Better to be safe than sorry right?"

"Are you actually opposing me? I'm the first princess-"

Elisia curled over. Quickly falling back into her old habits had just caused her own suffering. Next to her, Hanen laughed loudly. "Oh wow, that's hilarious! I can't believe you just did it to yourself like that! And you call us stupid! Ahahahaha!"

"Shut your mouth, you foul mutt," Elisia said bitterly. "Now, do as I have said."

"Not happening," Hanen said, recovering from his laughing fit.

"Ingrate!" Elisia screamed at him.

"Insult me all you want, but the fact is you're not going anywhere by yourself or with no eyes on you, so get used to it, princess."

*****

The next several hours were excruciating for Elisia. Nearly every single person they passed made sure to address Elisia as "princess" when they saw her. Only a week ago, she would've been pleased by them understanding she was higher ranked than them (and also revolted they were even addressing her), but now she wished for nothing more than for everyone to ignore her very existence.

At this point, she was sure the branding spell had to be glowing red on her shoulder with how much it had been activated. With no mirrors around, it was impossible to tell, but it certainly felt like it. If that truly was the case, then Elisia just had to hope her wavy blond hair (now a disheveled mess) would be enough to hide it.

"Please…" Elisia groaned. "Just let me rest here for a moment."

"Aw, but why, princess? No one can see you here," Hanen smirked. Currently, Elisia had slipped behind a hut that seemed to be out of view. There was no one else around at the moment, but it was certainly possible that someone could come by. As she sat in the shadow of the hut, she leaned up against its cold exterior, getting some relief for her searing-hot shoulder.

Elisia had started out with dreams of persuading the people of the village to fall under her reign, then had even entertained the idea of escape. Now, with the brutal treatment she had already faced, escaping was beginning to sound like the only choice she had. "If I spend any more time here," she thought. "I think it may end up being the death of me."

Though, being the person she was, Elisia was also greatly frustrated. Why should she have to be the one running away? The thought of turning her back to the people she despised so much brought her no small amount of irritation.

"I'm the one they should be running from," she thought. "Why am I, someone of much higher status, even considering giving up here?"

To try and escape simply because she didn't like how she was being treated was far from the way Elisia usually handled things. In the past, if someone tried to come after her, she doubled her efforts, eventually steamrolling them into submission with a combination of power and superiority. So, why should now be any different?

It was true that she should keep in mind what Gorose said. As she had never seen demi-humans or monster people fight, she wasn't really sure what they were capable of. Back in the capital, she had actually had the opportunity. In the coliseum, it wasn't uncommon to see demi-humans or monster people fighting in the ring, but the former princess never had any desire to witness such an event. In general, she found featured-fighting like that to be barbaric, and in addition, she never wanted to waste her time watching the filth of the kingdom compete against each other in such meaningless competition. Although, now a part of her was wishing she had.

Gorose bending a spearhead with nothing more than his palm was enough to make Elisia think twice about starting any physical altercations. Besides that, she was sure she wouldn't really be able to fight back even if she tried. Most likely, as soon as she made a move, someone would trigger her branding spell, which would end up causing her to falter.

Essentially, Elisia was only left with her words, but so far, she had been too busy trying to avoid people to really try any persuading. Not helping her in the least was her "guard" Hanen, who seemed to be doing his best to guide Elisia into crowds while also adding in his own occasional barb.

Overall, the population of Dehl Village wasn't large, at least compared to a city. From what she could tell, Elisia estimated the number of people to be roughly around 50 to 75 individuals. But, it was also possible that what qualified as "Dehl Village" was beyond what she could see. That meant that there could've actually been even more people.

That thought alone shook Elisia a bit. If she was having this much trouble with this amount, how would she ever make it through an even bigger population?

"If it really turns out that there are more of these wretched beasts, then perhaps I really would be better off in that cell…" she thought.

However, at the moment, Elisia had decided she wasn't going to give up just yet. "No hiding or running away," she thought confidently. "I am the superior one here. I'll make them bow to me." Standing up, she brushed off her skirt and shirt, along with fixing her hair a bit. "There," she said, satisfied. Elisia knew it was probably a far cry from her usually regal appearance, but it would have to do.

Marching out from behind the hut, Elisia stared out into the village. "Let the conquest begin," she thought smugly.

"What're you smirking for, princess?" Hanen said, suspicious.

"Ow…" Elisia groaned. It seemed she was already starting to get used to the branding spell's punishment, though it was most likely only for single instances. "I'm not smirking," she said, glaring at Hanen. "Honestly, do you really think a princess- guh… would ever make such an expression? How ignorant must you be?"

Striding away from him, Elisia readied herself to approach the first person she saw. "You there," she said loudly, drawing the attention of a woman who seemed to be a kind of fox woman. "Don't you find this life rather boring?" Elisia said. "Why don't you come with me? I promise I'll give you everything you desire."

Proud of the fact she had managed to stomach talking to a monster person, Elisia waited for the woman's response. However, it was not as positive as she had hoped. "Wow," she sighed. "I had always heard you were ruthless with people like me, and I heard plenty of stories, but… I never imagined you'd be this stupid."

"...hah?" Elisia let out, but the woman went on.

"Give me what I desire? I already have it! This village is exactly what I've always wanted. Do you have any idea what life was like for me before I came here? Every day was a living hell. It took everything I had just to survive a day between the constant attacks and lack of food. Elder Gorose creating this place and offering such a nice environment is more than enough for me. Besides, do you honestly believe you could give me anything of value, princess? You no longer have any of your power or money, and even if you did, I would want none of it, as I'm sure it's stained by the blood of my brethren."

With a small huff, the woman walked away, leaving Elisia shell-shocked. Never before had anyone talked back to her like that, let alone a monster person. "What… just happened?" she uttered aloud.

"Pfft… ahaha! Oh wow, you just got shut down hard! What's the matter, princess? Surprised that there are some people not afraid to speak their mind against you?"

Elisia glared at Hanen, but he ignored it, continuing to speak. "Just so you know, that's how most of us here feel, both about Dehl Village and you. There's nothing you could possibly offer that would make us wanna serve some arrogant bitch like you."

"How dare you," Elisia said darkly. "All of you are so ridiculous here, acting like your lives actually matter or that there's something of importance here. Allow me to correct your absurd world-view. You are nothing. These people are worthless. And this village? It's a pathetic attempt to create some sort of 'community' where you can all belong, but you belong nowhere except under the feet of others. All you are is garbage cast aside by the rest of us, forced to live on the desolate outskirts so you can suffer and die out of sight and out of mind."

For a moment, Hanen looked furious and ready to snap at the former princess. He gnashed his teeth and snarled, but after a few seconds, that feeling seemed to fade. "Y'know what?" he finally said. "I think I'm finally starting to see what the elder does about you."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Elisia asked. Hanen shrugged.

"I don't have any reason to tell you, but I will say this: you stand there, calling all of us pathetic, but at least we're happy here. Can you honestly say you were happy in that palace, princess?"

Whether or not that was an earnest question, it was hard to say, but it was one that bothered Elisia to no end. She wanted to snap back at Hanen, insisting that she was much happier in the palace than she was now or ever would be in the village, but… something stopped her. As soon as she went to say those words, she found her tongue to be stuck and unmoving. Was it because she actually believed what he said? Just how happy had she been before?

"No, of course I was happy. I had everything I could ever want. This feral creature's words mean nothing," Elisia told herself. And yet, that question persisted. Even her words were a little off. She wanted to say she was happier in the palace than in the village, but that was just a comparison. Of course she'd be happier back where she came from, but could she say she was happy?

Truly baffled by the question, Elisia fell into silence. Seeing that, Hanen did the same. It wasn't that he didn't want to make another snarky response. Rather, it was that he realized the former princess seemed to be seriously contemplating his words. "Well, if she learns something from that, then I guess that's good," he thought awkwardly.

After that brief moment of consideration, Elisia looked around. Everywhere she looked, each person she spotted did seem content. "...how ridiculous," she muttered under her breath. How could they possibly be satisfied with this way of life? "They live in shacks and hardly have anything. What could possibly be so good about this?" Elisia thought bitterly.

She wanted to give all of this a little more thought, but she was prevented from doing so as she was verbally assaulted once more. "Heyyy, princess! Havin' fun here?" a man asked mockingly. "Hope ya enjoy the hospitality, princess."

"Shut… your mouth… mongrel," Elisia said through gritted teeth.

"Ah?!" the man exclaimed. "Mongrel, huh? Big talk from a girl who got kicked out of her own home. So, what does that make you then? A failure of a royal?"

"Better than a worthless animal," Elisia shot back.

"We're not animals!" the man shouted. "Someone outta teach you manners!"

Taking quick strides, the man, a kind of lizardman by the looks of it, approached Elisia. "Hang on… ah," Hanen said. While he didn't want to guard Elisia, he had been charged to do so by Gorose, so he would do as he was told. However, he was still carrying the spear with the bent spearhead, meaning he had no weapon other than his fists. "Man," he thought. "I don't wanna get in a fist fight with this guy, especially over this stupid princess."

The lizardman reached Elisia and at the same time, pulled back a fist. On his knuckles seemed to be sharp-looking spines that extended about half an inch off his hand. Swinging it down, Elisia dodged as best she could, but having dedicated little to no time to martial arts, she was quite slow. The fist ended up grazing her cheek, creating three small scratch marks.

Feeling her face, Elisia brought her hand in front of her and saw the blood on her fingertips. "...You'll pay for that," Elisia said. "You'll pay with your life!" Readying a spell, she formed a small icicle in her hand. Ice magic wasn't particularly her speciality, but she was versed in it well enough to know basic spells like this one. Plus, because water (and by extension, ice) magic drew from the moisture in the user's surroundings, even somewhat large spells made little impact on the mana of the world.

Holding the icicle like a kitchen knife, Elisia lunged at the lizardman. Truth be told, she had never really fought anyone before outside of training. Most of the time, she made other people do the fighting for her, but there had been a time or two in the past when she had needed to defend herself. "I'll show this ingrate his place!" she thought angrily.

But, before she could reach the man, she felt a hand grab her arm. Then, before she knew what was happening, she was flipping through the air, eventually landing flat on her back with a bit of force.

"Ack…!" she let out on impact, coughing. Looking up, she spotted Hanen staring down at her. "Some guard you are," Elisia spat. "You're supposed to protect me, and instead, you attack me and even let me get attacked."

"There's no way I could beat this guy without a weapon," Hanen said. "And I wasn't about to let you stab one of my friends."

"You know she wouldn't have hit me, right?" the lizardman said like it was obvious.

"Hey, I just wanted to make sure," Hanen said with a shrug. Meanwhile, the former princess was lying on the ground, being completely ignored. At first, she had at least expected to be helped up, but as the conversation went on, it became clear that no one had any intention of doing that. So, standing up herself, Elisia yet again brushed herself off a bit before starting to walk off.

"Ah, hey!" Hanen called out. "You can't just go wandering around on your own!"

"And why not? It's not as if you've really been of any help," Elisia shot back. "Perhaps I'll go tell that turtle man about what you've been doing today. I'm sure he'll be happy to know that one of his villagers isn't carrying out his duty to the fullest."

Hearing that, Hanen stiffened. To him, not helping Elisia and playing the role of guard were mutually exclusive, but, now that he thought about it, Gorose probably didn't see it that way. "'Human or not, we have to show them our best,' he'd probably say," Hanen guessed. Deciding to try to be of better use, Hanen went over to Elisia.

"Alright," he said with an irritated sigh. "If someone tries to attack you again, I'll try to stop them. No promises though."

"You ought to say you'd lay down your life," Elisia said with a huff.

"Don't be so full of yourself," Hanen said. "Who'd wanna die for you?"

With that said, Hanen began to walk away, but Elisia simply stood in place. "Great…" Hanen thought. "She's probably gonna yell at me again or something." However, his expectation turned out to be wrong. Elisia looked up at him, and for the first time, it wasn't with hate in her eyes. If anything, it seemed to be sorrow.

"I suppose you may be right," Elisia said quietly. "Because if anyone really was willing to go that far for me, I suspect I would no longer be here…" Even with all her arrogance, Elisia could see that much. If there was anyone who was that dedicated to her, cared for her enough to rescue her and had the means to do so, it most likely would've already happened. Things never would've gotten as far as Elisia becoming a prisoner and enduring an endless tirade of insults.

For his part, Hanen had nothing to say. It was most people's assumption that the former princess probably didn't have anyone close to her, but to see her basically admit it so openly created new feelings. With just the assumption, they all imagined a woman by herself, only surrounded by her possessions. All the demi-humans and monster people would mock the imagery and pretend to be sad.

But, before Hanen's eyes, there appeared to be nothing more than a sad, lonely young woman, dirtied by both the conditions she was in and the treatment of her. He couldn't really say he felt sympathy for her, but in that one moment, Hanen felt just a bit sorry for the woman they so openly scorned.

"Now then," Elisia said, regaining her usual stuck-up tone. "Come along, dog."

"I'm not a dog, you bitch!" Hanen shouted back as she walked away from him. Most demi-humans didn't take kindly to being referred to as their base species (i.e. dog for dogman, bull for bullman) Monster people were a little different, but that was mostly because they looked a lot more like their base species, so it didn't bother them as much.

*****

As night approached, more people began to gather in the center of the village. Most of them were coming in from work, whether it had been going to the surrounding villages to trade or working fields. With food being served in a space that would amount to a town square, it was a natural spot for people to congregate and share stories of the day as they ate.

Of course, on this particular day, there was really only one topic everybody wanted to talk about: the former First Princess Elisia Felbrun walking around the village, and if you had been able to cause her some pain while she did.

It was a somewhat brutal topic, but for the people of Dehl Village, it was perfectly normal. Truly, the hate for Elisia ran deeper than even she really knew. If a day had ever come when she was killed in the capital, there would've been many demi-humans and monster people rejoicing and insisting they throw a parade. Getting the chance to cause her a bit of pain was the least they should be allowed to do after everything she had done to them.

Along with that topic too was the princess herself, standing far off to the side. Next to her was Gorose, who seemed to be acting as her guard now. Upon seeing that, a few of the villagers became worried, but it turned out to be for nothing when they saw Gorose scold Elisia for something. She simply turned away in a huff, but it seemed to be effective, so the villagers believed Gorose had it all under control.

As for the reason he was with her now instead of Hanen, it was really just to relieve him. "You've been guarding her all day. You should get some food and rest. I'll watch over Elisia," Gorose had insisted, which made Hanen feel a little guilty after he had slacked on his duties, but he took Gorose up on his offer anyway.

"That man is truly incompetent," Elisia said irritably.

"Is he incompetent?" Gorose asked. "Or do you simply not like him because he flipped you over?"

"You saw that?!" Elisia exclaimed, feeling embarrassed.

"I happened to look when I heard a bit of commotion," Gorose said with a gentle smile.

"If you saw, then why didn't you stop him?!" Elisia yelled.

"Well, for one thing, your assailant was a bit too far away and quick for me to intervene," Gorose explained. "And besides, I think in this instance, it was good for you. Perhaps you'll learn a little humility."

"Humility?" Elisia repeated mockingly. "Please. I have no need for humility or humbleness when it comes to you people."

"Remember that next time you end up on your back like you did today," Gorose said with a small chuckle. "Now, why don't you get some food as well?"

"Tch. As if I'd want to put anything into my mouth made by those dirty hands," the former princess scoffed.

"You ate last night though, didn't you?" Gorose pointed out, confused.

"T-That was different!" Elisia claimed. "I was quite famished, and since it was brought by you, I figured it was probably safe…"

"Hm," Gorose let out, taking note of Elisia's words.

"But," she continued. "This is just food for the masses. I'm sure there are all sorts of diseases in that big pot, not to mention any poison that might end up in my share."

"Hey, you hear that everyone?" someone called out. "The princess thinks we're all disease-ridden!" Realizing her words had not only been overheard, but also misconstrued, Elisia tried to cover for herself after gritting her teeth through the pain in her shoulder.

"No… that's not what I said. I said the pot is probably full of diseases. Though, I wouldn't be surprised if the people here were as well." Next to her, Gorose sighed.

"Then here's hoping this gets you sick!" another person yelled. From somewhere in the crowd, a small brown bowl flew through the air. Sticking up his scepter, Gorose swatted it away, but unfortunately, he could do little about the contents. The white, porridge-like substance shot out from its container, expanding in all directions before at least some of it landed on Elisia. Seeing that, a few in the crowd let out cheers, but were silenced by a strong look from Gorose.

"Are you alright, Elisia? It didn't burn you, did it?" Gorose asked with concern.

"...d it…" she said, not audibly as she stared down at her basic, worn brown shoes.

"I'm sorry?" Gorose said. Then, fiercely, Elisia's face shot up.

"I'VE HAD IT!" she screamed.

"I knew I was right about all of you! You do nothing but say barbaric things, attack without cause like wild beasts and constantly cause pain! I don't need to put up with this! I don't need to suffer through all of this torment for one little mistake!"

"...So what will you do, Elisia? Fight us all?" Gorose asked with a stern tone.

"No," Elisia said. "Even I can recognize strength in numbers, and in order to win, I'd have to use an amount of mana that would trigger an alert. So, just this once, I'll cede some of my pride."

"Meaning?" Gorose asked. Elisia looked at him.

"Meaning I wash my hands of all of you."

Turning, Elisia began to head in the direction she believed to be north. "...Will you attempt to walk back to the capital?" Gorose asked.

"It's better than staying here," Elisia said bitterly. "You filthy mongrels can just stay and rot out here."

"And how do you think you'll get back when that nasty spell won't let you?" Gorose asked as he followed after her.

"I'll just endure it," Elisia said defiantly.

"I don't mean to dampen your spirit, but I've seen you collapse just from people using a certain word to address you. It may be possible that the condition of trying to leave the outskirts is stronger than the consequence you've already been experiencing."

Elisia stopped. "...I don't care," she said. "I'll suffer the same fate in the village anyways, so I might as well do it on my own terms." Beginning to walk again, Gorose followed after her silently. However, the journey didn't last long. About ten minutes after they had begun, Elisia curled over.

"Ghh…" she let out. Trying to stand back up, she reached out her left foot in an effort to take another step. As soon as it touched the ground ahead of her, the branding spell activated much more. Just as Gorose had surmised, this penalty seemed to be much worse.

"GYAAAAAAHHHHH!!!" Elisia shrieked, dropping to the ground. Her shoulder, her entire body, felt like molten metal had been poured onto it. "IT BURNS! MAKE IT STOP!" she screamed. Quickly, Gorose went to her aid, pulling her back a few feet so she was back within the boundaries.

"Haa...haa…" Elisia breathed. She was completely drenched in sweat, and when Gorose took a look at the branding spell, he found it to be glowing a crimson red, the color coming from the light it produced and the blood it had drawn.

"Such a nasty spell…" Gorose muttered. Then, he looked at Elisia. He was about to check on her when a shout caught his attention.

"Serves you right princess!" a woman yelled. Turning around, Gorose noticed that a small crowd had followed the two of them. At the sound of being addressed as a princess, Elisia let out another groan of pain.

"This is so satisfying! How does it feel to get a dose of your own medicine, princess?!" a man called. Yet another bout of burning ran through Elisia.

"Ugh…" she let out. "Stop…"

"Oh, you poor thing! You must be sooo miserable, princess!" another individual said mockingly.

"Nnnh…" Elisia grunted. "Stop… please…" Just barely managing to turn her head, Elisia looked up at Gorose. There were tears in her eyes, along with a great amount of desperation. "Gorose," she said weakly. "I'm begging you… make them stop…"

Trembling from the pain, Elisia's head fell again. Her whole body shook, and the branding spell was only just now starting to cool. Whether that meant the burning effect was still ongoing or not, Gorose wasn't sure, but he did know that with each successive broken condition, recovery for Elisia would be that much slower.

The elder of Dehl Village had no special connection to Elisia. There was no real reason to protect her, and even upon meeting her, he hadn't felt any immediate desire to guide her in any way. Rather, it was simply a hope he had held for many, many years. That, perhaps one day, there can be true unity among everyone.

A hope like that was a big one, and it was one that needed big things to happen to make it a reality. Things like turning the evil princess into an ally.

In truth, Gorose had gotten a letter delivered to him by bird telling him the princess was being sent to his village. When he learned that, he was almost overjoyed. He finally got his chance to make a big difference and take a step toward the unity he wished for. Even after hearing all the hate come from Elisia's mouth, Gorose still held that hope.

This was the main reason why he gave her more kindness than any of the residents could, but it wasn't the only reason. In the short time Gorose had gotten to know Elisia, he learned that she really was nothing more than a child. It was true that by human standards, she was a young, beautiful, early-20-something woman, but in Gorose's eyes, she was hardly an adult.

Perhaps this wasn't a woman who hated for the sake of hating. Perhaps it was a woman who hated because she simply had never been taught any better. And if that was the case, then all that was really needed was to teach her more about the things she didn't know.

Of course, that was an oversimplification, but Gorose was convinced that with enough time, Elisia could learn to understand his kind, and in turn, perhaps help with his bigger hope. The fact that he was already beginning to see her as one of his own residents was just an added bonus that made it easier to care for her.

It was with all of this in mind that Gorose stood up. He faced the crowd, and when all eyes were on him, he brought up his scepter before slamming it down into the ground. The impact resulted in a loud boom, and underneath the scepter, a small crater about two inches in diameter had formed in the earth.

With nothing but the light of a nearly full moon shining down on them, Gorose spoke. "This woman has wronged us in many ways," he began. "She has hurt us, made us live in the slums, and sometimes due to her actions, lives have been lost. I understand your frustration, your anger… your hatred.

"But," he said with force. "This woman, Elisia, is no longer in the position we've always known her to be. She's now much like the commoner humans. As I'm sure some of you know, some of those commoners are quite kind to us."

A few in the crowd were beginning to see the elder's point and looked away in shame, but the rest watched on. "Elisia is not here of her own volition. She did not come to start a new life, nor has she come to try and make amends with us. But regardless of that, she has gotten the opportunity for a new life, along with an opportunity for a new outlook, nonetheless."

"I do not expect you to love her. I do not even expect you to acknowledge her. However," Gorose said, his face hard. "This new Elisia, this commoner kind, is suffering from something outside of her control. There was no way for her to know where the boundary is, and know it is so close to the village."

This drew a few murmurs, so Gorose decided to spell it out for them. One of the biggest conditions of Elisia's branding spell was already public knowledge anyways. "Elisia cannot leave the outskirts of the kingdom! Along with that, she cannot invoke her name in a show of power, nor address herself as a princess. This also applies to everyone else who calls her a princess. These are the conditions placed upon her by the king of this kingdom, who had her exiled here."

"That's why she dropped to the ground?" someone wondered aloud. "Because she tried to leave the outskirts and the spell wouldn't let her?" Gorose nodded.

"Exactly. And these conditions were placed on her against her will. I only wish I had known how severe the consequences would be if she tried to leave…

"Regardless," Gorose continued. "She suffered because of it, and in her time of agony, you all decided to pile on." A few more people looked away in shame. "Greed doesn't only come in the form of money or power. It comes when you want too much. If you wanted to see Elisia in pain, then you got that. But, some of you were overzealous, and insisted on seeing more. Tell me, are you satisfied?"

At last, most of the people understood. They should've been trying to show a little kindness to Elisia. If they treat her as an enemy, of course she'll do the same thing. Adding to that, some of them had been going out of their way to cause her pain, rejoicing in it. They even piled on while she was down, making her misery even worse. How did that make them any better than Elisia was when she was a royal?

"I have made a decision," Gorose said formally. "I will be taking Elisia out to the woods just to the south of the village. No one is to approach her, nor speak to her, without my permission and presence."

With his declaration made, Gorose scooped up Elisia off the ground. At this point, she was wavering between being conscious and unconscious, so she put up no protest. Gorose carried her past the small crowd, then through the village before finally going out the back end and going even farther.

About 20 minutes later, he arrived at the place he was going. In thick woods, there was a small area that was somewhat clearer than the rest. In it, there was a very small, dark brown wooden shack. It was really only big enough for a bed, and its only unique feature was a tiny window to the left of the rickety door. A short distance away from the shack was a long log, and in front of that was a circle of stones meant to be a firepit.

Walking toward the structure, Gorose opened the door. When he did, he was met with the smell of pines. Inside and to the left was a singular "mattress" (cloth tied together and filled with hay) with a blanket on top that took up most of the floor space. All that was left was the bit in front of the entryway. There were no decorations either.

"It's not much," Gorose whispered as he laid Elisia down on the mattress. "But it will certainly be better for you than the village." Pulling the blanket over her, Gorose left a short note explaining the situation and then placed it by Elisia's head.

"Good night, Elisia," Gorose said quietly. Then, he left the shack, Elisia's new home, and headed back toward the village.

End of Chapter Four.