After the royal council was dismissed, Danyel went to Gianna’s chamber.
“How are you feeling now? Does that hurt a lot?” He asked keeping a neutral face, though he sympathized with Gianna.
Gianna was guessing that Danyel was the one behind the assassination attempt. When he came to see her, which never happened before, Gianna confirmed her guess. This brat! How dare he try to kill her!
“No, sire. That doesn’t. I can’t feel the pain because I’m overwhelmed by the satisfaction that I didn’t let those cowardly losers kill me. It increases when I see their hopeless faces.” Gianna uttered, looking Danyel in the eye.
“Oh, but I expected you to be more intelligent. That assassination attempt was a warning. It was a message asking you to quit. I thought you understood that. This whole place is dangerous for you. This might be only the beginning.” Danyel said.
“Why didn’t you just send a note with them? I don’t like hidden messages at all.” Gianna gave him a sarcastic look.
That was when Danyel understood her thoughts. This silly rascal! How dare she even think he would do such a cowardly act!
“What? You think I sent them? I’m behind all these? How dare you!” Danyel yelled at her. He did not want to take credit for something he never did.
“Why? That was an easy guess. Who else wants me out, if it wasn’t you?”
“Who doesn’t want you out actually? No one wants you here.” Danyel dropped a truth bomb.
Gianna was completely clueless about that. She did not know how those kinds of stuff were operated in the outer world. Since Stri was ruled by a selected chief, Strians did not care to learn about royal matters.
“What are you talking about? More people want me out? Like who?”
“Well, it would be easy to give the list of people who want you here. And that’s going to be my father, you and your kingdom.” Danyel said with a cunning smile on his oval-shaped face.
Actually, he was letting out the bitter truth.
Most of the Hesmian aristocrats, royal families from other kingdoms who had big hopes but screwed it in the last minute, some insiders like concubines and the crown prince himself wanted to get rid of Gianna for various reasons.
“Okay. But you are one of them who do not want me here, so there’s a chance you’re behind this. And you promised to make me suffer. Do you have any proof that you’re innocent?”
“I don’t want to prove anything to anyone, alright Jenny? But inside me, I know I’d never do such a pitiful thing. I indeed want you out, but not dead. That’s not me.” Danyel stated emotionally. He did not want another person to be killed for no reason, just like his mother- Empress Lalina.
“My. Name. is. GIANNA!” Gianna screamed a bit.
Danyel let out a small laugh. That was the first time he laughed in front of Gianna. Though he remembered her name, he constantly kept calling her other names to show that he did not care about her.
“Anyway, keep in mind that your suffering period has just begun, do not hope this would end even after the wedding. They won’t stop until you quit. I won’t stop too. Just know it.” Danyel gave a decent warning.
“Is there no way that we could live in peace?” Gianna talked softly. She was done arguing. That was not her type. She was a friendly person.
“Only if you quit this whole thing.” Danyel was about to leave.
“I want to see your girlfriend!” Gianna said in a hurry.
Danyel almost tripped. He did not expect her to say that.
“Why? To threaten her?”
“No, I want to see which kind of girls you like. Is she beautiful?” Gianna was honest.
“The most beautiful girl in the world. But no, you can’t see her.” Danyel left immediately.
For the past days, he was trying to remove Yasvie from his mind which was the hardest thing for him to do. But after Gianna reminded him about her, that caused him to forget everything and float in an imaginary world which belonged to him and Yasvie.
Though they did not get much time to spend together, Danyel and Yasvie were able to create a lot of beautiful memories. Danyel sat on his bed and recalled those awesome moments.
He recalled the excitement he felt when their first kiss happened; Yasvie was so shy that she blushed like a strawberry. Danyel remembered how she let him sleep on her lap and play with her hair. He wanted to re-experience the warmth he felt when Yasvie moved her small fingers through his short hair.
Danyel felt an urge to see her. He badly wanted to meet her.
“I will take the risk.” He said to himself.
Since his personal spy- the officer appointed by the emperor was very hard to trick, Danyel had to be extremely cautious. He pretended to be asleep and slowly went near the window. With much effort, Danyel managed to open the window without making a noise. He got out through it and looked down.
Since his chamber was located on the first floor, he had to avoid falling and find a way to get down at the same time. As there were tiny pieces of stones on the ground, jumping was not an option. Fortunately, Danyel saw a pipe that led to the ground. It seemed strong enough to bear him.
He carefully came down using the pipe. But at the moment he put both his feet on the floor, Danyel saw two guards coming that way. Acting super-quickly, Danyel hid near a set of barrels. Luckily, the guards did not identify him as his black robe matched very well with the color of those barrels. Plus, it was the evening.
Using his sneaking skills, Danyel went near the water maids’ quarters to get a glimpse of Yasvie. As if Danyel’s wishes were heard by some genie, he saw Yasvie coming through his way.
Her beautiful face looked a bit dark just like when the moon hides behind a dark cloud. Her mind was completely blank as she wanted to stop feeling hopeless. Yasvie thought that Danyel was avoiding her because he no longer loved her. She wanted to stop thinking of him. Though it was indeed very hard to let go of him, she felt like she had no choice.
No, Yasvie. You were wrong!!!! Just wait for him.
Accidently, Yasvie saw Danyel. First, she thought it was all in her mind, but then she realized that he was truly there. She ran to him.
Danyel grabbed her and went to an abandoned building near Yasvie’s quarters. Then he hugged and kissed her, letting out all the emotions he kept hiding.
“I thought you forgot me.” Yasvie was crying.
“No, my love. There’s no way I can ever forget you or let you go. But I was forced.” Danyel said while wiping Yasvie’s tears.
“By whom? Your princess?” Yasvie was scared.
“She’s not MY princess, okay? She’s not much of a threat. It was my father. He knew about this from the beginning. He threatened to kill you the worst way possible if I met you again. That’s why I couldn’t come. I’m sorry Yasvie.”
“Oh! I’m sorry too, sire. You were thinking about me all the time.” Yasvie rubbed Danyel’s face.
“Yes. I came here taking a huge risk. All I want to know is that I love you a lot. I’ll try everything to stop this wedding. Even if I marry her, it would just be a fake marriage- limited to a paper. And I promise you, I will find a way. I will find a way that both of us can get rid of this and live peacefully. There must be somewhere we can live the life we want.” Danyel said.
“I know you will. Um…how is this princess? Is she beautiful? I heard she faced an assassination attempt.” Yasvie was curious.
Danyel recalled when Gianna asked about Yasvie the same way.
“Ah yes, she’s a warrior. A bit different than I thought. She looks fine, but can’t be compared to you. She wanted to see you.”
“For what? Is she going to kill me?” Yasvie was scared.
Why does everyone think that Gianna wants to kill Yasvie??
“No. She was just a bit curious about you. She told me that she won’t get between you and me, but she wants to have a child.” Danyel uttered.
“She seems kind. I expected her to find me and threaten me to death, actually.” Yasvie spoke her mind.
Danyel and Yasvie had to return to their places without spending more time together as they did not want to get caught.
But behind their eyes, someone else was watching.
*********************************************************
After the assassination incident, Minnah started giving lessons to Gianna on combat skills. As a top fighter, she could transform Gianna into a medium-level fighter in four days. Gianna was a quick learner, but she could not improve in Stri because she did not get the teacher’s attention as much as she needed. They were learning in packs.
But here, she got the full attention of Minnah which led to a great improvement.
The other two maids were suspicious when Minnah spent more time inside Gianna’s chamber. They were making weird guesses.
“She favors Nadya a lot. I’m sure the princess doesn’t even remember our names.”
“Yes! You know what; I think they are…lovers or something. What else do you think they’re doing inside the chamber? It’s very unusual that a princess even lets a maid in otherwise it has to be cleaned. I don’t think they are cleaning the chamber for four entire days.”
“I thought it too. Remember when the princess met us for the first time and called Nadya by some other name? I bet that was her ex-lover’s name. And Nadya must be looking like her.”
“Oh yes. That’s how you end up when you live in an all-female island. Hahaha.”
*********************************************************
When the Hesmian Empire was getting ready to celebrate the wedding of their heir, a super-secret gathering was being held at an abandoned cottage in a jungle outside the Hesmian border.
A slightly old man who always wore a cloak with a hoody was the head of the meeting. He always kept his face a secret from others, but his powerful voice made others fear him and surrender easily. He was waiting for someone.
“This woman never learns to be punctual. Late every day.” He whispered in anger.
“Be patient, bossz. We need her. She’s the only insider from Hezzmia.” Eswenth, a Lisdonian colonel said. He had a weird accent like all the Lisdonians. They spoke a different language.
After some moments, another person wearing a hoody cloak showed up with a guard.
“Four days to go. The outer layer of soldiers will be decreased by a huge amount. It’s better if we trap them by all four directions.” She said.
“Hey lady, it’s me who decides about the attack. Just update us about the recent events.” The hoody guy commanded.
“I told you about this crown prince’s affair right? I think it’s serious. I think this girl is his weakness. If we caught her, we can easily get him to do anything we want.”
“Why are we only focusing on the crown prince? What about the emperor?” Eswenth asked.
“Oh, I’d love to talk about my good old friend. But his time is over. We’ll have to deal with the little boy.” Hoody guy said.
This was the first time neither the Strian spies nor the Hesmian spies did not have a single clue about an invasion; the biggest invasion ahead, to be honest.
Danyel was going on a morning walk with his spy, maids, and guards when he saw a partially huge mess in the swordsmanship-practice area. The trainees were gathered in a circle and cheering loudly. When Danyel reached there; curious to see who was fighting, he was shocked to see his friend Amell- one of the best fighters in the empire being knocked about by…Gianna. Wearing armor, she looked better than he had ever seen her before. Her hair was tucked into a bun which was wet from her sweat. She was smiling and panting at the same time. Some were cheering for Gianna while others were encouraging Amell to get up and fight back. However, Amell was lacking energy so he gave up. He got up and said, “You’re such a fighter, aren’t you? You defeated all the best guys here.” Gianna smiled. She too was a bit tired after wrestling with seven muscular guys without taking a break. She defeated all of them; one by one. Though she was tired, she wante
Upon hearing someone’s footsteps, Danyel took his sword and prepared for a fight. His hand was still hurting, but he did not care. Even though Yasvie wanted to stand by Danyel and help him, she was too afraid to go forward. She hid behind Danyel. Danyel tightened his grip on the sword. The sound of the footsteps was increasing. Using his predicting skills, Danyel identified that only one person was coming their way. But he could not feel relieved because he knew that only one extremely skilled Lisdonian soldier was enough to kill both of them. Every passing second felt so long as if they were experiencing a slow-motion mode. Fear, curiosity, anger…all the emotions were bursting at once. The moment came…and the person was………Gianna! Again wearing armor. “Oh, it’s you! You scared me to death!” Danyel let out a big sigh. “Thank god it wasn’t another Lisdonian killer!” Gianna uttered. She felt so relieved. She was looking for a place to sto
Yasvie felt relieved as Danyel finally agreed to leave Gianna and save their lives. But she was wrong. Danyel had had other plans. After running a few yards up on the hill, Danyel found a nearly-perfect hiding spot filled with bushes. He stopped. “Yasvie, hide near the bushes. I’ll get Gianna.” He already had the idea of going back. “Sire no! Please don’t…” Yasvie did not get the chance to complete her line. “Here, keep this dagger with you.” Danyel gave her a dagger and ran instantly. He opened the temple door with much effort only to see Gianna falling on her knees in front of his eyes after an enemy’s sword went across her chest and belly; giving her a HUGE cut. She was not wearing a metal chest shield. Gianna went unconscious instantly. But she had managed to kill five men of Remington’s army. Seeing this horrific incident increased Danyel’s energy. He swore to himself that he would kill each of them. Showing off the combat
Hesmia was being prepared to welcome the new era under the new emperor. Remington was overwhelmed by the idea of sitting on the throne which he always dreamt of. In his youth, he challenged Emperor Narendra, stating that he could defeat the emperor in any form of combat skills. The reason for his overconfidence was a prediction from an astrologer whom he met while training in the Elville Mountains. The astrologer said that Remington had a kingly aura and that he could definitely rule a widely-spread nation. Emperor Narendra was shocked at his loyal friend’s sudden change. However, the emperor managed to defeat Remington in every battle. Filled with shame and rage, Remington vanished into the evening breeze without a sign. Everyone thought that he might have either changed his identity or been committed to an asylum. Merikh Remington, who was meant to be a forgotten memory, had unexpectedly returned to Hesmia with the most dramatic entrance. Nevertheless, the astrolog
The Great Empire of Hesmia has a long history of 3000 years. It was founded by 'Nihas the great'- a soldier who worked for the Findaivian (now a part of Lisdonia) Emperor. The majority of the Findaivians had fair skin, so the tan-skinned people were considered 'low'. They were given less opportunities and their rights were frequently ignored. Nihas gathered all the tan-skinned people and began a revolution. His side won the war and eventually founded the kingdom 'Hasvia' (Nihas+Findaivia).Its name changed from 'Hasvia' to 'Hasmia', then to 'Hesmia'.Nihas' descendants- known as the 'Sammata clan' continued to keep the monarchy stable. Only the sons of the queen consort were considered heirs to the throne until Princess Anantha defeated all her brothers and uncles in an all-in-one test to prove that she was the most eligible person to be the monarch. After that, Hasvian women got the opportunity to rule.Among the
Danyel came out from the hollow first. Gianna left the hollow only after Danyel confirmed that the villagers had gone. Seeing each other in the bright light was more awkward. Gianna kept staring at the ground while Danyel tried to explain the situation. He could not stop stuttering. “Um…I just… I just wanted to uh, stop you from screaming. If they heard you…um, it would be bad. That’s why I… Gianna, I’m so sorry.” “I-I understand you, sire.” Gianna stuttered too. She wanted to pretend that she did not like it, but she could not deny that she had already developed feelings for Danyel. She just did not know when it started. “You know what, let’s forget it. Let’s both erase it from our memory, alright? Whatever happened between us was a mistake. No need to make it a big deal.” Danyel said while avoiding Gianna’s eyes. Though Gianna nodded and agreed, inside, she felt sorrowful. A man kissed her and awakened her feelings, but immediately told her to forge
The former emperor- Narendra was locked in a prison chamber. His hands were tied to the wall with chains. Remington ordered not to give him any food, but Narendra received a glass of water once a day. Though he was shot by an arrow in his heart, was tortured, and starved for two days, Narendra did not die. He wished to see Danyel saving the nation before his death. But he knew that he did not have much time left. In the evening, Nimue visited him with Nimie. Narendra recognized them and wanted to shout at Nimue but he had no strength to do so. “Look who we have here. Does he look like an Emperor to you, Nimie?” Nimue laughed wildly. Nimie silently stared at Narendra. “NIMUE!! You traitor!! Why did you do this? Why?” Narendra spoke with all the energy he had. “I told you to make me the empress, didn’t I? At least you should have made my daughter a princess. You’re just paying for your faults, Narendra. You deserve this.” “How dare you say my na
Danyel was kicked several times by the Lisdonian soldiers on the way. Those kicks did not hurt him a bit because the inner pain was already hurting him intolerably. Lisdonians mocked him and cursed him but Danyel did not understand what they said. He did not bother to listen to them. His mind was preoccupied with Yasvie. Every memory that he shared with her began to show in front of his eyes, one by one. The girl that he loved with his whole heart had betrayed him for money. He still could not believe it. When the men just reached an area that had a lot of tall trees, a Lisdonian soldier’s neck got hit by an arrow. Everyone looked in the direction in which the arrow came from. Two more men were killed the same way as the first soldier. Eswenth and the Lisdonians prepared their swords while Danyel checked around in wonder. A group of masked people suddenly emerged from behind the trees. There were more of them than the Lisdonians and they seemed more skilled.