PRIZIANNA: The Lost Princess of Esperanza (The End of Demons)

Prologue Aziza woke up feeling heavy. She touched her chest when she suddenly caught her breathing. She remembered that night when their kingdom was attacked by a lot of demons. She was just a 5-year-old kid back then to witness such a tragic scene. “Aziza, are you okay?” Bell asked her. She just smiled at her companion. Bell was with her for almost 5 years. She got her companion Bell after she got a rare weapon when she killed a level 8 demon. “I am okay, I just remembered what happened to our kingdom back then.” She said. The scene was fresh to her mind. Aziza didn’t want to remember what happened but she was always haunted by it in her dreams. She keeps on hearing shouts from the people in the kingdom. The soldiers, maids, and even her parents. Aziza holds on to the necklace on her neck. It was the necklace that her mother,the queen of Esperanza kingdom, gave her. The necklace will also prove that she’s the princess of Esperanza and also her yellow blonde hair and her blue eyes. But right now she’s hiding with different features. She has red hair and colored brown eyes. She needed to change her physical appearance so that the demon lord would not find her, because she knew that until now the demon lord was looking for her to take her power. From yellow blonde hair to red hair and from blue eyes to brown eyes. Royal people in the Tercera have yellow blonde hair and blue eyes and it’s dangerous for her if she does not change her physical appearance. Also, it was her late mother’s idea to change her appearance for the demon lord, who could find her immediately if she would not change it. “Don’t you want to come back? The Esperanza kingdom was looking for you. I know that you know that, Aziza. We always heard that soldiers were looking for you. The kingdom will be at risk if there’s no one who will rule. You know that,” Bell said. But how could she do that? Hermoza was now her home and she didn’t want to leave Hermoza village to return to Esperanza. The people of her village love her so much and she loves them as well. She couldn’t imagine leaving Hermoza village. “I know… but, I am happy here and I don’t want to know what I am going to do if I ever come back to the Esperanza… it’s not that easy, Bell. My parents died in front of me… the whole kingdom will just remind me of that horrible scene when my parents were killed and eaten in front of me.” She said. She closed her eyes hard; she could still remember how the demon lord ate her parents. She decided to live in Hermoza village as Aziza the red-haired adventurer. What comes into her mind when she is going to come back is that Deena would be alone to defend the Hermoza from demons if she left. “If you are worried about the Hermoza, why don’t you just send soldiers that will guard the village?” Bell asked her. But it’s not that easy for her. “That would just make the people more suspicious and also other villages would think that there is special treatment to the Hermoza village if I did that. It will be a negative image for the kingdom of Esperanza,” she said. “I think you are thinking too much, and how about Atticus? The one that you saw at the lake when you fought a water demon?” Bell asked her. Her mouth parted. She remembered Atticus, the one that came from the other world. “Bell, you know… in our book, Esperanza’s clan, it was written there that a person that came from the other world was capable of killing the demon lord?” Bell flew to go to her and then she sat on her lap. “I know that there’s a book that sends strong people here to kill the demon lord, but that one that you saw was a weak one. How could you let him stay here?” Bella asked. Aziza smiled, she cannot just leave Atticus in the forest because the place was full of demons and Atticus was still new to their world. His life would be at risk if she did not go to let him stay in her house. “I know that you like him. Look at you, your cheeks are red. The man has a handsome face and he's also tall and has a great body, but the only problem is he’s weak and I can sense that he’s a coward.” She looked away from Bell. It was not like that. She’s just thinking about the man’s safety and here is Bell teasing her. “Stop with that, Bell. Where is Atticus?” she asked. “I thought that after you helped him he would go and travel on his own, but then he came here with you. I think he also likes you, Aziza,” Bella said. But Bell doesn’t really know what really happened. She doesn’t want to tell her companion because she knows how talkative she is. “But, Aziza, I wanted you to think about the Esperanza Kingdom. I think you will be safer than here. The soldiers can defend you and I am sure that an adventurer who has strong weapons would protect you. We didn’t know, what if the demon lord knew that you were here? We can’t put the life of the people here in the village,” Bell said. I don’t want that also to happen. What should I do now? I am torn between going back and doing my duty as a princess rather than staying here in the Hermoza village to protect myself and live as a normal adventurer. “Aziza, the food is ready.” Aziza looked at her door when she heard that. Bell fled and opened the door and before she went out, Bell smiled at her. “I want you to think about it, Aziza. You are the one who will decide your future.”