Three Years
Eloria Camer knew her father too well and she proved herself right when her father was purposely rough with her from her first day of training.
It was the Commander's plan to push his daughter to her limit and make her realize that she was making a wrong decision.
A life full of wars and blood? He will never want that for his only daughter! However...
Eloria was more than stubborn this time and somehow, her determination and persistence kept on surprising the father.
What had happened to his daughter who was always very soft and gentle? That fragile being was nowhere to be seen whenever he pushed Eloria to her limits and trained her harshly!
With her 13-year-old body, even the sword should be heavy for her but... she didn't show anything even when she was made to hold onto it for the whole day. Not to mention that she trained harder than anyone else! This made Deric Camer more and more curious.
What made her so determined to the point where all his methods to make her quit, failed?
He asked her many times but... her answer was always the same.
"I will tell you later if possible, Father."
Each night, he would share the details of the training with his wife who was equally surprised as him. However, they have no idea no matter how curious they were.
A week passed and Eloria showed no sign of backing down, much to the anxiety of her father. And when a month passed, the powerful Commander didn't have the heart to push his daughter more than necessary anymore.
He accepted defeat along with her decision. Though his wife felt devastated when she thought of the life their daughter chose, there was nothing she could do either because, during the past month, Eloria spent all her time in training at the Camer Army camp; so far from changing her mind.
Once she earned her parents' acceptance, Eloria Camer started going home to visit her mother from time to time but her priority was still her training and making herself stronger. She practically cut ties with all her noble friends and acquaintances and kept on walking the path that would mold her into a true warrior.
A year later when she turned 14, she was already among the best in the Camer Army with many merits. She started forming a bond with the other soldiers, especially the ones who stayed loyal to her father and the army until the end even when her family lost all their powers in her past life. She formed an invisible barrier between herself and others and only trusted a few whom she could be sure of their loyalty.
Her broken heart wasn't even mended yet. How could she possibly open herself easily?
Due to this, she often came off as a cold-hearted person but she still had the trust, respect, and loyalty of the soldiers who now strongly viewed her as the successor to their Commander who was her father.
Was it because of the scar in her heart that she also started to develop many traits that she never had in her past life? One was... cruelty.
She wasn't that kind-hearted Queen who gave her all for the people anymore.
At the age of 16, she was known as a cruel General of the Camer Army who never showed mercy towards anyone who dared to offend her or stand in her way. She might be a warrior but she didn't fight for the people, the kingdom, or the royal family.
She fought for power and... she did get what she wanted as she became the most powerful General of the Aritish Kingdom whose name and influence spread all around the continent.
It took her three years to successfully transformed herself from a weak and fragile girl to a cruel and powerful General.
Will she be able to come this far if not for her broken heart? She doubted that.
It was a rainy day and like always, General Eloria was in the camp of the Camer Army. The now powerful and famous 16-year-old General was standing on top of a high pavilion all alone. Despite the heavy rain that poured over her and drenched her clothes, she remained unfazed as she intently stared at one particular thing.
"General." One young man dressed as a soldier of the Camer Army ran over to her with a wooden umbrella in his hand. When he reached where she stood, he lifted the wooden umbrella to shield her from the rain.
"It's already raining for a while," the young man said to General Eloria. "Please rest in your tent now. Commander will be back soon."
He knew that it wasn't raining when his General climbed up the pavilion but... why didn't she go to safety now that it was raining heavily?
For a while, there was no response from General Eloria Camer only to make the soldier more anxious.
Was something wrong? He tried to speak up again, but...
"Vicus." General Eloria muttered his name and pointed her chin at something which was far away from them. "What is that?"
Confused, the soldier named Vicus trailed his General's gaze and saw something red which he identified after a few tries. "It's a flower... " His voice trailed off when he realized one thing. Then he quickly lowered his head. "I apologize, General. I will have it removed right away."
The moment Vicus finished talking, the General turned around and started walking while Vicus followed her all the way to her tent.
"Today is an unlucky day," General Eloria uttered when she took a seat on a chair behind her desk. She briefly glanced at the outdoors when she continued, "The rain won't stop and that useless flower too... they make me feel uneasy." She looked up at Vicus who was standing and rhetorically asked, "Do you think I'm feeling this way because the feast is coming up?"
Vicus didn't know why his General hated rainy days and flowers but he did know the feast she was talking about. The 50th birthday of the King will be in three days and General Eloria was also invited. In fact, Vicus didn't understand.
His General hated this kind of gathering and she spent almost all her time in the camp. Why did she insist on attending this one while she can just come up with an excuse like she often did?
"You can skip if you wish, General. I don't think it will cause you harm," he cautiously replied after thinking about it for a while.
Eloria Camer still remembered too well. The feast in question was the event where she met Rayan Varence for the first time.
So, why would she skip after she spent three years to become the person she was now? She had no intention to prevent it like a coward.
In fact, she was curious. Now that she was famous for being a cruel and powerful General and not for being a beautiful and gentle daughter of Duke Camer... would that man still try to use her as a tool for him to take over the throne?
After all, he was currently just a powerless Fourth Prince and not the King.
Eloria also doubted that Rayan Varence would know her face. She never appeared in public or at any events. Even to the people, her face was still a mystery, unlike her name which was more than well-known.
"It will be a royal event and there will be many flowers there, General. Do you really wish to go there?" There was a hint of humor in Vicus's tone and Eloria saw through him. After all, he was the one whom she trusted the most, one of the few people whose loyalty she could be sure of.
"I hate flowers just like I hate the rain. However, being traumatized by it is a different thing, Vicus," she wittily explained with a smile that Vicus failed to read. "My hate for flowers won't stop me from going to that place."
That place - a palace that was much more of hell to her than home. She will be going there for the first time since this mystery happened to her.
In the past three years, she received many summons from the King but... she ignored it all. In Aritish, girls usually entered society when they turned 16 and when she started going down her current path, she was 13. So, even the King and the officials won't know what she looked like. She also knew that they were more than eager to see her.
The ones who knew her face were the soldiers and... the enemies whom she fought against on the battlefield. Even her childhood friends won't be able to identify her anymore. That's how much she had changed in three years!
"Send someone to the palace to confirm my attendance at the feast," Eloria Camer finally said to her confused right-hand man. With a little smirk on her lips, she added, "I think it's time for me to finally show myself to the world. I'm prepared for it."