At Death’s Door

Qadira woke up once again in an unfamiliar place. The hell is going on? Am I just dreaming or something? How many times did this happen already? Qadira thought to herself but the thought was immediately cut off when she felt pain in every fiber of her being. Although it was tolerable, the pain was still uncomfortable.

She tried to get up and after much struggle she was able to lean on the wall. She scanned the room but unlike the luxurious and elegant room she saw previously, the room was very dark. The only light she saw was from a torch light outside of the room she was in. The room was barricaded with metal as if she was in a prison. Wait, prison?

When Qadira's eyes adjusted to the darkness, she scanned the room once again and realized that she was indeed in a prison-like room, a dungeon to be exact. What the hell happened while I was unconscious? She asks to herself

She remembered the priest, the emperor, and the crown prince. She remembered the excruciating pain she felt when the high priest cast a spell on her, but that's all. It baffles her how she is supposedly a princess of the Kingdom of Sesbania, yet now she finds herself in such a sorry state.

Qadira was trying to think what could a princess do that even the people of her kingdom had no choice but to confine her? Treason? She thought. But that couldn't be, she hasn't been in the place for much long and interacted with people ever since she finds herself in a different world.

Qadira thought that there's a high chance she was in prison because of what the previous owner of the body she's in had done. However, whatever it may be, she has no idea.

Qadira decided to rest and calm herself. Minutes after, two people opened the cell, cuffed her hands, and escorted her outside. Based on all the armors and metal gears they were wearing, they're most likely soldiers.

"Where are we going?" she asks them. However, they just continued walking and ignored her, so she decided to just keep quiet. Qadira wanted to think they were going to release her, but the fact that she's still wearing a handcuff, that might not be the case. With that, there were two things running in Qadira's mind, it's either she's going to a trial for whatever she had done, or she's on the way to get executed.

Although she wanted to run away because both things she was thinking are bad news, she knows it will just be a futile attempt. She doesn't know any martial arts nor is athletic in any manner at all. Aside from the fact that they could easily subdue her, she doesn't know the blueprint of the place very well so they can easily outrun and catch her.

Qadira couldn't help but feel lame and terrified at the same time. The situation wasn't what she was expecting at all. When she first realized she transmigrated in a fantasy world as a princess, she expected her life to be a little more fictional like, or if not, at least a little more light-hearted. Yet, all she encountered was just misfortunes after misfortune. Forget not eating any food in the place for her soul to not get trapped, she should worry more whether she'll end up dying in the place or not.

After a few minutes of walking, they were finally exiting the place. Having been in the dark for so long, Qadira was blinded by the sudden brightness outside. She used her hand to cover her face from the sunlight. When her eyes finally adjusted, she found herself in an arena-like place. It was oval in shape and massive in size. People were screaming from different corners. The noises they were making were almost deafening.

"Witch!"

"Demon!"

"Execute her!"

"Burn her!"

She looked above and saw lots of people were sitting, but what caught her was the people sitting in the upper front of the arena. There she saw the emperor, crown prince, the high priest, and other seemingly high ranking people.

A loud sound of a gong enveloped the arena and the people who were screaming earlier suddenly turned quiet. A middle-aged man steps forward wearing a maroon robe while holding what seems to be a lady justice, a scale used to symbolize justice.

Qadira turned pale and her hands and feet were breaking in cold sweats. Am I really going to die? She thought. Although she doesn't particularly fear death nor desperately wants to cling to life, she does not want to die in vain. Especially not in an unfamiliar place. However, if she really is going to die nevertheless, at least she wishes it would be as painless as possible.

"Throughout our history, dark magic has been nothing but a root of disasters and destruction unto our land, the sea, and sky. Many lives have fallen and been lost through our countless battles to fight evil." The man wearing a robe started to speak and the people listened to him with agony and hatred visible on their faces.

"With High Priest Gallardi's examination and Crown Prince Odaxis Novae and Emperor Boreal Novae III's testimony, Princess Erythrina Novae of the Kingdom of Sesbania has been found to have practiced dark magic. The practice of dark magic in any shape or form as we know is automatically sentenced to death." The man continued.

The princess couldn't help but close her eyes to prevent herself from feeling overwhelmed. Her heart was beating rapidly and she felt her body turn cold. She simply wished it would end sooner as to spare her from the prolonged agony.

"However, taking into consideration the royal status of the defendant, Princess Erythrina Novae, and no known damages nor victims of her dark magic. The sentence of death has been reduced." Upon hearing the word 'reduced', Qadira immediately opened her eyes. She felt relieved that at least she isn't going to die yet.

"By the power vested upon me by Dayea, the Goddess of Justice, I hereby sentence Princess Erythrina Novae to be stripped of her royal status and removed from the family registry. She shall be reduced to the status of a commoner and exiled to the Land of Monsters. She shall be denied any rights to step on the Kingdom of Sesbania again. This sentence shall be effective until the death of the defendant."

The man ordered and the loud sound of the gong was once again heard. Although Qadira feels relieved that she isn't going to die yet, what worries her other than being stripped of her status, is to be exiled in the Land of Monsters. Just by the sound of it, she's sure as hell that can't be good news.

After the announcements, the people of the arena suddenly turned quiet. After a few seconds, people's murmurs could be heard all over the arena but what caught her attention was the crown prince who was whispering something to an unknown person, which must be his aid.

He glanced at Qadira while they continued whispering to each other. The crown prince later stood up and left the arena. Meanwhile, the guards who escorted Qadira earlier walked towards her and guided her to another place.

They walked to what seems to be a tunnel and Qadira saw that there was a simple carriage waiting at the end of it. Before she entered the carriage, she heard a familiar voice.

"Halt!"

She turned her back and saw the crown prince rushing towards her. He looked at the guards and said "Let me talk to my sister, this won't take long."

The guards looked at each other and eventually nodded. They walked away from both of them but not too far away, just enough that they can still see them but not hear them.

"Sister" called Odaxis. Qadira just looked at the prince's eyes who's desperately trying to hide his worry and sadness. "Hmm" she replied, waiting for him to continue whatever it was he was trying to say.

"I'm sorry this is all we can do for you"

"I won't ask you why you practiced dark magic, you must have your reason."

"But, please do take care"

The prince said. She sees that the prince is waiting for her to say anything, but Qadira has no idea how to respond nor what to say at all. After a few seconds of silence, the prince walked closely towards her and suddenly embraced Qadira.

Qadira has never been the type to express physical affection. So, the sudden hug caught her off-guard. She felt so stiff and awkward, not sure whether to hug the prince back or just let him.

Before she could decide how to react, the prince slid something in her hand, it seemed like a piece of paper. She was about to ask what it was about but the prince immediately whispered to her.

"Look at it when there's nobody. It will help you" he said and broke up the hug. Qadira looked at him and nodded. She discreetly hides the piece of paper in her pocket. She smiled at him and mouthed "Thank you".

The prince wanted to say something back but the guards walked towards them and said "It's time to go". The prince stepped backward and just looked at Qadira as she entered the carriage. He watched the carriage go until both of them couldn't sight each other anymore.

So much has happened in the very short time since Qadira transmigrated. It was not unusual for her to feel tired, more less, hungry. What the heck I've gotten myself into. She thought.

Qadira tries to remain conscious throughout the ride, but her body is betraying her. The amount of stress and pain that has been accumulated for the last hours is finally catching up to her. Eventually, Qadira dozes off in the middle of the ride.

____

"If you weren't irresponsible, he wouldn't have died," said Qadira's mother in passing. Qadira couldn't help but feel baffled by how insensitive and straightforward her mother's remarks were. Although it seems as though she was merely stating a fact and didn't mean to hurt nor blame her, it didn't make her feel any better.

Her futile attempt to remain indifferent by her own emotions and guilt was what allowed her to refrain from blaming herself by what happened to her father so far. She knows very well that recognizing she had fault, although is a good thing for most part, will certainly destroy her.

"Your father is out there drinking again, you should go there and escort him home"

"You didn't know? Your father was shot last night"

"Don't worry, he's fine"

"I'll come pick you up to visit your father"

"I'm having a bad feeling, we should just get a cab and hurry up"

"I'm sorry he's dead"

Again, Qadira thought to herself. It's always been like that for the past years ever since her father passed away. Whenever she thinks she has moved on and is doing fine, the memories of the past will once again haunt her.

The tragedy of Qadira's father kept replaying in her mind like a broken film playing in a loop with no real ending but only a beginning. It was nauseous and painful, almost like a torture.

Qadira felt her body turn cold, her heart getting heavy, and her breath getting uneven. She knew she was having a nightmare at that moment. She also knew that she really had to wake up, but it was by far no easy task.

"Princess!"

"Princess, wake up!"

Qadira felt someone shaking her. When she woke up, she saw one of the guards holding both her shoulders. Rather than worry, the man in front of her appears to be more annoyed.

Qadira looks frazzled, but the man didn't really care. He took a step back and looked at her.

"We'll be stopping here for the night, and travel again at sunrise" informed him. Qadira looked at him and just simply nodded. She wanted to ask him how long is it going to take for them to arrive at their destined location, but looking at how indifferent and irritated the man was, she chose to just remain silent.

GROWL…

Both Qadira and the man froze up when Qadira's stomach suddenly made a loud noise. She couldn't help but feel embarrassed. Thinking back, she hasn't eaten at all ever since she ended up in Sesbania. Although she did say she shouldn't eat anything in this world, she didn't really have the opportunity either.

"Ahem!"

The man fakes a cough to get her attention and breaks off the awkwardness. He looked at her and said, "Come outside, we've hunted a rabbit for dinner".

"Okay", Qadira responded.

She fixed herself before getting out of the carriage. When she went out, it was already nighttime. There were a few fireflies flying around and a few crickets and cicadas could be heard in the distance. Other than that, the place was quiet.

In the distance, she saw a bonfire. Around it are two other men sitting and eating meat. The other one was the other guard who escorted her earlier, while the other one is probably the coachman. The moment she came closer to them, they stopped eating and glanced at her. After that, they nodded to acknowledge her presence before looking away and getting back to their food.

Qadira stared at the remaining meat that was still barbequed above the fire. The man who woke her up earlier grabbed the stick the meat was connected to and gave it to her. She accepted it and said thank you to him.

Qadira looked at the meat and she felt her mouth start to water. The aroma smells amazing and the juices that drip from it looks so appetizing. She hesitated and contemplated whether to eat it or not. But the thought was cut off when she heard her stomach make a loud noise again, and this made the men stop to look at her.

Just bury yourself or turn into ashes, Qadira scolded herself mentally. She felt embarrassed and awkward, but she tried to remain composed and act as if nothing happened at all, and she's very good at it.

"Eat," said the man earlier. She looked at him and then the food. She silently gulped and finally came into terms to eat. She thought that whatever comes after, she just hopes it won't lead her to her demise.

Qadira felt full after she ate the whole meat given to her. She waited for a few minutes to see whether something would happen, but thankfully, everything seems normal so far.

She felt her bladder acting up, so she went to one of the guards and excused herself so she could do her business.

"Don't go too far and don't take long. There are lots of wild animals around" he calmly said and she simply nodded.

Qadira looked around and went to the bushes a little far from them yet enough that she could still see them. After she was finished, she fixed herself. As she was about to take a step to go back, she saw a group of four people approaching the guards and the coachman.

They looked dangerous. They were all holding different weapons, one of them was a girl with a long ponytail wearing a red and black fitted dress with cuts on both sides of the thighs. She also wore an eyepatch on the left side of her eye and had a black harness on both thighs which contained small weapons like kunais and shurikens. The other three people were all men, one of them was extremely muscular and tall, he was bald and had a big scar crossing his face. He had a massive sword on his back that looked like it weighed tons.

The other one had a black mask covering half of his face, he wore a black fitted jeans and a torn jacket on both arms with a hood on it. He also had a bow and arrow hanging at his back. The last man had long silver hair and pale skin. He was wearing an elegant, all black, elongated cloak with one-eyed glasses, and instead of a weapon, he was holding a book

They were people who don't look like your typical side character villains at all. Guessing from their appearance, she bet they were either mercenaries or from an organized group. Either way, both are bad news.

Qadira immediately sat down and hid in the bushes, careful as to not make a sound and get noticed. She saw that one of them, the muscular man, stepped forward to confront the guards and was saying something but she couldn't really hear it.

The guards immediately drew out their swords and pointed it to the man to prevent him from approaching. The man however, instead of being scared, just looked at them, amused. He walked forward to the guards not caring at the sword that was pointed at him.

Qadira wanted to do something to help the guards and coachman, but her instinct and entire being were screaming danger and she knew that one wrong move could cost not only the guards and coachman's lives but also her own. With that, Qadira decided to remain quiet and observe the situation. The guards were still pointing their swords to the muscular man, it was obvious how scared they were but still tried their hardest to remain calm and maintain their stance.

One of the guards tried to swing the sword at him but he caught it with just his fingertips. With not much effort, the sword broke in half and it left the guard terrified. The guard froze and lost his grip to the sword which made it fall to the ground. Before he could react and do anything, the man grabbed the guard's head with one hand. Looking at the man's stature and how big the man's hand was, the guard's head almost looks like it's just the size of an apple.

Qadira's instinct was telling her to look away, but it was already too late. She saw how the head of the guard was crushed by the man's hand. The flesh and blood splattered everywhere and some of it went to the man's face. He let go of the guard's body and just let it fall, lifeless.

He looked at the blood that was dripping on his fingertips and just casually rubbed the blood on the clothes of the lifeless guard. He then looked at the remaining guard who looked mortified at that moment. The wet stain on his pants was visible even with just the light from the bonfire and moon.

The man ignored him and turned his back away from the last guard to face his members. Perhaps out of fear, the guard took the chance to run away. However, before he could run away any further, the woman swiftly threw two kunais at the guard, precisely hitting his head and heart, instantly killing him.

"Foolish," said the muscular man. He turned his back again to face the coachman who seemed to have been frozen in fear.

"Please spare me" the coachman begs and was already kneeling for his life.

"Have you seen a black stone-like egg around here?" asks the man.

"No, I have never" replied the coachman

"Hmmm" the man uttered and was looking intensely at the coachman. He was trying to see whether he was lying or not.

"I see" he simply stated when he confirmed that the man was indeed telling the truth. The coachman sensed a tiny hope that he could be spared, but before he could try out his luck, an arrow directly pierced his skull. Not knowing where exactly it came from, he died and fell with his eyes open and face facing the ground with the arrow on his head.

At the coachman's back, the man holding a bow was walking towards the rest of the members. "There was nothing suspicious in the carriage, I guess they were really just traveling as they said," he said. Qadira, who was looking from a distance, didn't even notice since when did the man get there until he made his presence known.

The muscular man looked at the lifeless body of the guards and the coachman. "Pity," he muttered indifferently and turned to face the man with silver hair. "Dispose them" he commanded. The silver haired-man nodded and uttered some words. The dead bodies, as well as the carriage and horses were lit on fire and immediately turned into ashes and evaporated, leaving no traces behind.

TO BE CONTINUED...