Checking if the Country is still Alive

Elinalese's eyes widened as she took in the sight of the young woman stepping forward from the group of survivors. Her heart skipped a beat as she recognized the face she had feared she would never see again.

"Luminova?" Elinalese's voice was a whisper, filled with disbelief and hope.

Luminova was no longer the elegant courtier of Eldoria that Elinalese remembered, but there was no mistaking her striking beauty, even now, marred as it was by exhaustion and the hardships she had endured. Her once-lustrous auburn hair was now tangled, and her face was streaked with dirt, but her emerald eyes were as bright and sharp as ever.

"Elinalese!" Luminova cried, her voice breaking. In an instant, she crossed the rubble-strewn ground between them and wrapped the Duchess in a tight embrace. Tears flowed freely down both their faces, their relief palpable after being separated for so long.