CHAPTER FOUR

ANALIA

"This way little girl."

I'm snapped out of my admiration by a soldier who places a firm hand on my back. Unlike her comrades, she isn't cladded in armor but instead in a uniform with lots of insignias adorning it, indicating her supposed rank and accomplishments. I can tell she's someone important though but I can't tell how important she is. Her ebony skin compliments the green fabric of her uniform as it shimmers even at dusk. Her wavy midnight black hair is pulled up in a ponytail as it cascades down her shoulders giving her a more feminine look.

My eyes fall to the large gleaming sword that is attached to the scabbard on her waist belt and is left with its hilt easily accessible to her. Her overall persona exudes strength and depth.

"I'm sorry." I apologize, now looking up from the scary sword to her beautiful shimmering eyes. She gives me a small smile but it doesn't reach her eyes.

She guides me with her hand on my back past the fountain and into the big wooden doors of the palace. A set of guards are manning it but they seem to pay me no mind as the lady walks in with me. I don't know whether to feel safe or disturbed by the way she's sticking close to me as glue.

"How old are you little girl?" she asks. Her voice is stern and cold, enough to make shivers run down my spine at its intensity.

I grit my teeth together at the fact that this is the second time she's calling me that. I know I look like a little girl but it's quite annoying how she keeps pointing that out.

"Twelve." I grit out in annoyance.

"Your name?"

"Ana Vakshir."

"You're quite young Ana Vakshir, are you sure you want to enlist as a companion?" She asks, now stopping halfway through a courtyard.

Why does everyone keep asking me the same question? I made up my mind the minute I stepped out of the gates of Ansyer and nothing is taking me back there. In truth, I'm more afraid of being trapped in that town forever than being gobbled down by some monster.

"I want nothing more," I answer honestly as I look up to her brown eyes. They're firm as well as scary yet oddly enough I don't feel scared.

"I'm General Cara of the king's army, feel free to ask me anything along the way. I'll be taking you to the princess who is in charge of organizing the conversion. She shall ask you relevant questions to pair you with a suitable Demigod."

I swallow all the information as she suddenly begins to walk. I feel awe at the fact that I'm in the presence of someone as important as the general of our realm. No wonder she walks with such confidence and poise.

I do wonder though, which demigod would want my horrible skills. I try to hasten my pace to catch up with her seeing as my tiny legs make it hard for me to walk. After jogging through a series of hallways and courtyards, General Cara finally stops in front of a grand finely polished door made with expensive oak wood. To my surprise, no guards are manning the door and after a soft knock, she proceeds to open the door.

The first thing that hits me is the strong waft of expensive perfume followed by the sight of blinding beauty. The woman sitting on a makeshift throne is dressed in a silk-made chiton which is wrapped firmly on her slender body annunciating her figure and radiating elegance. Her platinum blonde hair is left cascading down her shoulders as it is adorned with precious stones of garnet, rubies, and gold. Her porcelain skin melts in with her attire and gives more life to her already blazing sapphire eyes.

Across her are men and women dressed as haggardly as I am. I can't tell exactly what this room is seeing as there are no other pieces of furniture apart from what she's seated on but from a glance I can tell that she's a princess and the people across her are companions.

"My lady." General Cara bows and I follow suit robotically.

"Oh, Cara. I didn't think you'd make it." The princess's voice is dripping with softness almost like honey. It is enough to entice anyone and I find myself drawn to its nature.

"You know there's no way I'd miss this gathering my lady," Cara replies politely whilst standing upright.

The princess's gaze shifts from the companions gathered across her to me and my body freezes at how icy and cold her sapphire eyes are, a contrast to her angelic voice. It's almost like she can see through me.

My chest thumps loudly and it feels as though everyone can hear it as all eyes are now on me.

"And who is this pretty little thing?" she asks Cara, her eyes however still intently fixed on me. Can she see past the illusion? Is she a goddess? If she's the princess then she's probably just human. Then why is it that she's looking at me like she knows everything about me?

"Her name is Ana, my lady. She's here to enlist as a companion." General Cara announces with a slight bow.

The princess smiles eerily as she beckons to me with her finger. I let go of my heavy sack and walk up to her shaking in my boots. I desperately feel like biting my lips in nervousness. I bow once I'm before her, I find myself unable to look into her eyes. She is indeed beautiful.

"I do hope you know how late you are. Is there any specific reason why?"

My racing heart calms a bit at her question. She's not saying anything about the necklace hidden in my tunic.

"I found out about the enlistment three days ago. I come from Ansyer my lady, and it's a day's journey to the capital." I respond with my voice shaky.

"I see," She muses. "And what skills are you particularly good at?"

"I know medicine to a great extent, I'm also good with the bow and arrow." I lie through my teeth. If they find out that I'm actually a disgrace. I will be sentenced to death for lying to the princess.

"Oh really?" She chortles as she clasps her hands together. "If you weren't so late I'd have loved to see you shoot something." She states with a smile.

"Anyways, as I've said earlier you're late Ana. Most of the companions here have already been paired. The only reason I'm accepting you is that we have a few more demigods who just decided to join in the conversion this year. Although if they decide they don't want you at the bonding ceremony, you'll have no choice but to go back home."

My heart sinks at her words. The bonding ceremony is the day we get to officially meet the demigods we will be accompanying. It's also the day companions get bonded to their masters by sealing their fates together with a mark. It's a risky thing for a human to do as they've automatically sworn their loyalty to the demigod for life. The sign only fades away if the said demigod dies or if they do win the conversion.

"Yes my Lady, I understand," I reply with my head still bent low.

"Good, you can go stand with the others ." She instructs, I can feel her gaze burning holes through my head.

"Th-thank you, my lady." I stutter as I walk toward the companions. They all look young but It's obvious I'm the youngest. As I walk to the back, I try my hardest not to meet the eyes of anyone. I don't particularly think anyone would want to make friends with a twelve-year-old. Not that I'm even interested in making one.

As soon as I'm positioned at the back, the princess begins to speak. "We spent the last week analyzing all your skills. You all have promising talent. As you know, the terrors of Ayesha's land aren't to be taken lightly. Although Asha was a powerful and benevolent goddess, her realm is the exact opposite. You should know that if any of you eventually die, we won't hesitate to replace you though that cannot be said about the demigod you will be accompanying. It is unlikely though, that a Demigod will die first." The princess remarks at the end as an afterthought and I swallow hard. She's telling the truth though, the humans always die first.

Ever since the conversion started years ago, only two victors and their companions have been recorded as successful out of six. That's how suicidal Asha's land is and that's why humans hardly consider it.

"As companions, your job is to kill and die for your masters. Please do try to motivate yourselves with the expectation of a reward at the end. I believe you all can make it." She encourages with a sweet smile that does nothing to ease me.

"You also have to get ready to kill your fellow humans if need be. It's all about survival of the fittest. The weak will be trampled on and the strong will prevail." I shrink back when her eyes fall on me. Is she referring to how weak I look?

She beckons to General Cara whom she hands a scroll over to as she reaches. General Cara opens the scroll, showing a map in a language I know but can't understand.

The language of the gods.

General Cara's loud voice pierces the air in a manner that makes my body go cold. "A copy of this map will be handed to every one of you. I assume you all know how to read. If you aren't fluent enough, hopefully, the demigod you're accompanying might help. The highlighted areas on the map show the areas you're to pass to get to the teardrop. As you can all see, four points have been highlighted, these areas are known as the four terrors of Asha," She pauses to take a deep breath.

"The first terror is the terror of changing seasons, in this area you will be experiencing harsh weather conditions that can switch up at any moment, most people can survive this part so I won't say much about it. "

"The second terror is the terror of monsters, here you'll encounter species of monsters you have never seen or heard of before. A few have been documented by the companions who were able to survive. You will be encountering faceless creatures who lurk in the dark and the like. The third is the terror of illusions, this area is where most humans die and unfortunately, we have little knowledge about this place but from records, we know that the line between reality and phantasm is highly distorted in this area. The last terror is known as the subjects of Asha's land, I believe that this terror is where you'll find the teardrop and where you'll encounter the guardians of her land."

The silence which envelopes the room makes my shaky breaths audible. I have to admit, I'm scared. How was Grandmother able to survive all these? She told me stories but she never got into detail. Now that I think about it, she never actually told me anything useful.

Will I survive?

The second terror already sounds bad enough. Should I back out now?

"I want you all to have this in mind. You may all possibly die but If you win, the rewards are mind-boggling. You could buy yourself a noble title and never have to live a life of poverty. You could have everything you've ever dreamed of." The princess tries to encourage us but all I can hear is the frantic beating of my heart.

I refuse to be shaken. I can't back out now that I've come this far. I can do it, if Grandma could survive then I may too.

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