Chapter 9

"WAAAAA!!" Dozens of the instant orphans' children cried filling the whole street. Most of their parents have been killed, leaving the kids to fend themselves to the evil forces.

She was aware she was inside a dream.

PAM!

The sound of explosions and the burning houses along the street hitting the eardrums of everyone. The wild smoke quickly occupied the dark sky above, the dust abusing the nostril, coughing, and nauseating everyone who was still alive.

"Father! Mother!" Some other kids called their parents in desperation. The noble sleep night that they wore was rivalry to the beggars. No one could not distinguish the noble and the beggars in the mix.

"Father! Brother!" This time Elizebeth called her father and brother. Her voice cracked, hoarse by hours of crying. Her nightgown was dirtied by the dust on the uneven road. Her face was messed with tears and dirt in between, however, her main focus was on those two people.

"Father! Brother!" Called her as she coughed terribly. She tried to cover her nose with her sleeve yet it was not working. Her sleeve was full of dirt as well. The dirt stuck to her throat, making her cough.

"Where are you?" She twirled around, her messy hair followed the flow of her body. The usual beautiful face was now no better than the ugly duckling. She tried to search for them with the limited vision hers. The night was so dark, yet the dust around made it even worse for her.

She almost gave up when she didn't hear any answer either from them both. She proceeded to walk into the street to search before the voice she was longing for answering her desperate call. She turned sharply towards the voice, a relief smile plastering her face helplessly.

"Father! Brother! I'm here. I'm here. Father! Brother!" She hurriedly answered back. Blindly went towards the voice. Slowly, yet steadily towards the source. Her smile grew bigger as she saw their silhouettes.

"Elizebeth!" Duke and Demien called their loved ones while coughing.

She was not a five-year-old Elizebeth, but a 19-years-old. She grew too much, his height was his father's neck tall. Her hair grew longer around her waist. Still wavy yet dirty than before. Or this was the real Elizebeth, not the impostor Elizebeth a.k.a Olivia.

"I'm here…" She halted subconsciously when she took a look properly at both of them. Like getting struck by the lightning, she leaped towards both of them with a worried face. Stumbled over the stone and fell, she quickly rose without nursing her injury as usual and just ran towards them without care.

"Elizebeth!" They welcomed her in their embrace. Looked at her full of worries as usual despite the dry situation.

"I'm okay." She reassured them by giving the cutest smile she could muster even in such an appearance. Her eyes roamed around her father and brother. Their body stinks with blood smell and their cheeks smeared with dry blood.

Duke looked at his daughter's bleeding foot, the anger was evident on his face.

Elizebeth looked at her foot too. "I'm okay, father, brother. Hurry up. We need to go." She took both of their hands and pulled them together with her.

"No." But Demien shook his head. The usual warm smile was nowhere to be found. "You need to go. Find a carriage. Keep moving forward without looking back. I will send you it to your aunt's house. You'll love it over there."

Her aunt? She never met her aunt before. Who the hell this aunt was? Why did she only learn about her only now?

Elizebeth then saw it. She saw how grieved the situation was. No. She could not escape alone. She must escape with them. No matter how much she denied it, deep down she knew she loved them both very much.

"No!" The stream of tears fell down her cheeks. She knew the ending. She knew it all too well. This can't be happening. Just this morning she wished to meet her father and brothers. Just this morning she promised herself to sacrifice herself for her family's wellbeing. This can't be happening.

Suddenly, the sound of angry soldiers marched behind them back not so far from them. Both Demien and duke looked back and front quickly. They then held her hands tightly at each side and glanced at her.

"Can you run?"

She nodded.

"We need to go." They ran in silence afterward. Their eyes hurriedly looked around to see any threat as Demien and Duke constantly clenched their swords tightly.

Elizebeth obediently followed them without talking back. She bit her lips tightly holding the pain of her foot silently in fear as they both heard her. They had no luxury to stop so she could not whine.

They ran towards the forest just in front of them before one of the soldiers spotted them.

"There! I saw the duke!"

Shit; Elizebeth cursed inside her heart not knowing both of her father and Demien cursed the same thing inside theirs.

They ran yet still could not outrun the soldiers. Duke looked back in the stoic face, eyes bloodshot. He glanced at his daughter's sick face and dirty appearance. He could not afford to put his daughter in this situation. His heart could not help but worry if she ever got captured again. In a resolution, he gritted his teeth and let the precious hand go.

"Father?!" Elizebeth tried to grab the hand back in panic. She looked at her father. He had already stopped moving and just drew out the shining sinister sword. "Father!"

"Father!" Demien called his father as well. The usual monotonous voice was highly alarmed.

Duke shook his head. "Take good care Elizebeth for me. I'll try holding them back a little." His stern voice left an order for his firstborn. "Take good care of her for me."

Demien clenched his jaw, his hand tightly gripped Elizebeth's hand.

"No. NO. FATHER! FATHER!" She stubbornly shook her head. It sounds like a farewell to her. She didn't want that. No. She couldn't afford that. No. Not her father. "Father." the tears inevitably streamed down.

"They are here!"

All of them looked at the voice direction.

"Go!" Duke urged them to go, his hand clasped his sword tightly.

Demien blinked. The hot tears streamed down from his cheeks. He bowed to his father before dragging Elizebeth together with him.

"No. No! Father. Father! Dada! Dada! No!" She cried out loud. Restrained them both from leaving their father behind.

ZUP!

The stray arrow hit his father's shoulder.

"DADA!!!!!" She shouted in hysteria.

Demien was shocked too but he could do nothing when his father fiercely stared at him. Commanding him to do what was being told. He wiped the tears off his face, immediately held Elizebeth's light body like a princess, and stomped away.

"NO! NO! DADA! DADA!!!" She struggled inside his hold. She froze for a while when she saw his father's lips moving. She then saw another arrow hit the same place. "DADA!!!!!" Her voice was undoubtedly echoing inside the dark forest.

"SHH. SHHH." His brother tried to soothe her, the hot streams unnecessarily fell again. "We need to move quietly, baby." Demien's voice quivered as he ran faster.

Understanding her mistake, she wrapped her hands around her brother's neck and buried her face in there. The hot tears spilled on top of the clothes, yet Demien was too focused on running to care.

She saw it. She saw it amidst the panic. His stoic father suddenly stretched his lips abnormally wide to form a sincere smile. She saw it. And she saw it too. She saw that his father's lips moved. He said something. She saw it. She knew the meaning of it.

'I love you, my Elizebeth.'

She read the lips precisely to what was being taught by her father. She knew what she read was correct. Her father loved her so much.

They moved stealthily. Demien tried to avoid any direction that could lead to the imperial soldiers. He knew the road too well but it didn't mean that they were safe. They were truly safe when Elizebeth was safely out of this forest. So he had no choice but to march forward. His sister was weirdly quiet in his hold, but he could not check on her just yet. He's afraid his resolution crumbled to see the pitiful sight.

"The first young master is here!"

Another group approaching them from behind far away.

"Shit!" It was Demien's first time cursing with the presence of his sister. He couldn't help it.

"Baba?!" The quivered voice asked him.

"I'm afraid you need to run away alone this time, baby." He dropped the news instantly. He almost wavered before the voice yet he bit down everything.

"... Will Baba be okay?" She pondered for a bit before asking the question. Tightening the grip.

"YOU! Need to be okay. Don't worry about me. I will soon put you down at the entrance. Just follow the yellow and orange tree. After that, find a carriage that has an eagle sign. Tell them you need to go." He laid out the plan for her.

Elizebeth listened attentively while sobbing. "Baba?"

"Go find our aunt. She will help you."

Elizebeth just buried her face once again. She knew the ending. She knew it all.

They outran the soldiers for some time before Demien abruptly stops. "Elizebeth."

She detached her face from her brother.

"I will put you down." He put down his sister with a heavy heart. He then peeled off his outer jacket and put it on top of his sister. "Follow the tree. Yellow then orange. Find an eagle sign carriage. Tell them you, Elizebeth Diana Chandler, need to go."

She listened to the order precisely while nodding her head in dry tears.

Demien put on a bitter smile while tugging her long hair behind her eyes. He stared at her for the last look. This was his final moment. He had to carve this lovely face inside his heart and mind.

"Go." He pushed her shoulder light that her sister staggered slightly backward. "Go now. This is not your place anymore."

She bit her lips. Her eyes trembled.

"Go!" He urged the same way as his father.

Elizebeth nodded solemnly. She turned around but looked back still. Her eyes seemed conflicted.

"Go Elizebeth." He pushed his sister again. It's hard to let his sister go yet he held down the yearning.

Elizebeth shook her head and turned towards her brother and wrapped her arms around him. Gave him the last warm hug and Demien reciprocated it. He embraced her tightly. Shutting his eyes.

"They are here, My Lord." The sound from the distance flinched them both.

"Go!" He hurriedly pushed her away before drawing the identical sword as her father. "Go!"`

Without looking back, Elizebeth ran for her dear life. The sound of swords clashing with each other almost made her stop her track but the mission her brother gave floating in front of her eyes. She heard the sound of the scream of her brother and the sound of mad laughter from the opponent. She picked her pace and ran deep into the forest with the guideline of her brother.

"Kill him!" There's a short pause before, "find MY QUEEN!"

She heard the sinister laughter again this time the tears streaming down from her cheeks once again. She sniffled and ran towards the destination only she knew.