Her Crown

The journey

Hot, burning hot. The sensation trickled down my left ear. My eyes slowly opened, revealing uncontrollable and massive flames engulfing the entire cottage. My throat felt constricted. Delphine shouted for me; I witnessed Zulkian warriors fighting for their lives and mine. A horrible sight unfolded—outnumbered, my people were dying again.

Amid the chaos, my name echoed like a distant whisper.

"Lorie- Nalorie, wake up."

Was I in a dream? The scene melted away like a heated snowman. A cold hand rested on mine. I jerked forward.

"Thank the sun. You were trapped in your own nightmare. You could have been lost. What troubles you so?" Delphine's hand comforted me, but confusion lingered. Was it just a dream? It felt real—too real. In fact, it was real. Everyone was gone.

"It's the emblem. It makes your emotions more intense and I think it's pulling out your powers. The emblem will consume you if you don't control it. That is if you don't want it removed." Delphine stares at my palm, I was more confused than ever.

Whatever Orion did to me, he needs to fix it. I stand and remove my chemise, I pull my hair into a tight bun, securing it with a poisoned pin. Delphine's eyes follow me as I swiftly dress up and arm myself to teeth. Delphine breaks the tense silence.

"You're not thinking of—you are not going to him are you?"

I ignore her and walk out of the cottage.

"NALORIE!" She yells pulling up a barrier, obstructing me from passing.

"You're going to throw away all what I've taught just so you could put your neck on the guillotine. Orion is a mad king, emblem or not, he'll have you killed before you can even blink."

"I. Do. Not. Care. I'm dead anyways. My people are dying, suffering in the hands of Arthur. And you'd rather me cower away from meeting Orion. He could help, he gave me this emblem for a reason. An enemy of my enemy is a friend." Delphine sighs, lowering the barrier. We both stand in the pregnant silence, waiting for God knows what. The silence stretches by the second.

"I'm going, Delphine. I will come back. Alive, With the army of Orion."

"Nalorie….."

"I will survive. I will. Protect the zulkians like you always have. I will be back before the leaves fall and swap their greens for the oranges."

"But your powers."

Delphine's eyes glazed over with unshed tears, she holds them and purses her lips.

"The warriors—"

"I don't need them to know, I'm sure they will go to the pits of hell to make sure I don't leave this mountains."

We both smile, she pulls me in a tight hug.

~~~~~~~~

The following days was of delphine and myself secretly making preparations for my journey, I wanted to travel light but she refused. I'm sure the magic pouch is filled with hundreds of magic potions, varieties of food and water.

"Delphine, I hope you know this pouch gets heavier when its at his limit. I have to travel as light as possible, I will find my way around the woods and rivers."

She stops tieing my tunic and looks at me like a silly child.

"If only you knew what beast roam those forest, you'd have your lips shut and let me do what I know best.

Now listen. There are two routes that lead to the south kingdom. One is for the villagers, common men and noblemen. All legal citizen of the south that there is.

Then the second route is for strangers, intruders and trespassers.

Now why is there a second route? Reason is because there is a charm around the territories of Orion, only those leaving the kingdom can use the first route as they have to use the royal seal on their hand."

I unconsciously rub on the emblem, it crackled like lightening, making me shiver. The feel of power.

"LISTEN!!!!."

Delphine's yell broke my little daydream.

"As I was saying. The seal is just like what you have but yours is special and more different. The seal is there on their hand to turn the statue of their great dragon, after which a clearing to the forest will appear and they embark on whatever journey they want to take, while coming back into the kingdom they follow the same procedure.

Now you can't take the first route because, you are not in the city nor are you a legal citizen of the south. Which makes you follow the second route which is more longer, dangerous and strenuous.

The south kingdom is very hard to get into, Orion had the great sage create a mirage and matrix around his boarders. Intruders like you would walk for weeks even months and still never get to the edge of his kingdom. .

The worse is the hallucinations that ends up killing the trespassers. all this for a kingdom that is just few kilometers away."

I raised my eyebrows, few kilometers away?

"Not few kilometres away from here silly," she chuckles, "few kilometres away from the kingdom.

Most intruders die off while they are near the kingdom. It's how the mad king has kept his kingdom safe."

Delphine looks at me worriedly, she takes my hand in hers. The emblem throbbing and glowing.

"He gave you this so that you'll come to him. This emblem will let you get into the kingdom easily. The barriers only open up to Orion, this seal is a symbol of him. Like a mark, the matrix recognise the king. Only the matrix, the journey is still long and dangerous but when you get to the matrix you're near to the south. Your journey becomes much more easier from there."

The moment she finished speaking I hug her tightly.

"I'll miss you Delphine. You're my home."

She laughs hugging me back.

"Which is why you should hurry back and don't take long."

"I won't take long."

I left with a new determination.

~~~~~

The journey had lasted almost a moon

as the frosts of winter melts away and gradually relinquishes its hold, a subtle transformation unfolds across the landscape. Spring emerges, weaving a tapestry of warmth that gently caresses the mountains with its blanket.

The trees awaken with a newfound vibrancy, their branches adorned with blossoms that paint the world in hues of delicate beauty.

For me, Spring is not merely a season of renewal but the harbinger of power and

the commencement of my quest to reclaim not just my throne but to carve a legacy as the supreme ruler of the 12 kingdoms.

Lot has happened in the past season, my empire fall, my kins death, Delphine's training, the zulkians and the power that now seem to slither through my veins and this journey to the south.

With the power I seem to have accumulated, it doesn't unfortunately hold a candle to the army Arthur has gathered. I remember the way my own people were suffering for my powerlessness. I saw them in shackles and chains, whipped and forced, abused and hopelessness.

I miss my family, everyone. The journey was long as Delphine said, dangerous even. The tree spirits were nasty to me, the ogres and the wind demons.

These emblem is more than it seems. it protected me at all times, shielded me from dangers but didn't stop the those little supernatural things from causing trouble for me. The murmuring in the tree tells me they are at work again. the tree spirit, it's like they've all agreed to make my life hard. each and every tree.

My pouch had run out of resources, I survived from wild grapes and mushrooms. the water here is poisoned, Orion went extra miles to keep people away from his kingdom. I'm already on his territory and I can feel it already. my body brimming with immense power that I felt light headed. I push my tired and weak body forward, dragging my worn feet across the Savannah, the next step I took determined my life.

The matrix, this is it.