Chapter 24: 24. SETTLING IN

SOPHIA STONECLAW

I just arrived the southern continent a few hours ago and after a long carriage ride, my first stop was a room inside a building I had no idea where it was located. The room wasn’t stretching as far as being comfortable, but it was livable at least. It wasn’t large, as its area roughly measured three meters by four meters at most. At the center of the room was a wooden rectangular table with matching chairs around it, four of them in number. Two lamps containing yellow glowing orbs were placed on opposite corners of the room. The luminance the lamps provided wasn’t too bright, but it was sufficient enough for any activity to be carried out in it. 

Vayr was the one who led me inside the room, and there was a lady who was already present there. She greeted me courtly, before Vayr left us to attend to a few people who were seeking his attention. From the brief conversation I had with the lady, I got to know that she was Octavia Stromfrey, and was Vayr’s assistant.

I knew about the war that Father was trying to start, but I didn’t bother asking the reason why he decided to embark on it. I never gave much thought, or showed concern about the war, but as I sat in that room, in a house deep in enemy territory, I couldn’t think about anything else but the imminent war.

Preparations and plans on taking over this continent began a very long time ago, even before I was born, and it was quite surprising that they had been able to infiltrate the continent and carry out activities here for a long time without raising questions. It was a matter that was beginning to pique my interest.

Vayr dismissed the people he was talking to, and took a seat across me.

“Apologies, your highness, there were pressing matters I needed to address urgently.”

“It’s alright, so fill me in on the things I need to know.”

Vayr handed official files containing details of the expedition to me.

“I will go through these, but I still need you to fill me in,” I said to him.

“Ummm, where do I start from?”

I stared at him, wearing a laissez-faire expression on my face.

“Okay. Well, this continent is quite different from ours. It comprises three regions, or more commonly, called republics, which are separated by small bodies of water. They are the northern republic, central republic, and southern republic. The central republic situates the imperium which oversees the affairs of the northern and southern republics, so it’s safe to say that they practice an imperial system just as we do in Azkhan, but theirs is quite unique. Each republic comprises of smaller state regions, and these regions do not have any designated head or governor. Rather, they are governed by a council comprised of heads of prominent Houses, with a representative from the imperium.”

I understood what he had said so far, but I felt like the whole system was complicated and hard to follow.

“At the moment, the expedition is no longer a discreet one, as we had already began to make our moves. The plan is quite simple. We attack those prominent Houses and destabilize the northern and southern regions. Our next course of action depends on how the imperium reacts to the attacks.”

I nodded in approval,

“It sounds like a good plan.”

“From what you’ve said so far, you’ve got everything under control, I don’t even need to be here,” I said to him.

“I am sure his majesty has his reasons. Besides, if we happen to encounter any unforeseen difficulties, who else would be better at resolving them?”

Azkhan was different. In books I had read, and movies I had watched in my past life, royalty was always protected and was hardly sent to the battlefield. But here, El-borns who were the ruling class were the foremost to march to battle. Even I, the princess of an empire was deep in enemy territory.

I picked up the file Vayr handed to me earlier, 

“It’s been a long day, where do I get to sleep?” I asked.

“Octavia,” Vayr called, signaling her to lead me to my room.

“Come with me, your highness.”

I was led out of the room, as we walked through a corridor, only stopping in front of a door at the end of the corridor. I didn’t need her to tell me that we’d arrived at my room as she bowed and left.

I sighed, 

“I’m already beginning to hate this place,” I mumbled as I opened the door and walked into the room.

The room I had just entered looked a bit more comfortable, though it was nothing compared to my room back at home. I couldn’t complain about it because it was probably the best room the house had to offer. At least it had its own washroom. I took off my clothes and hopped into the bath. The water in the bath was cold. The chilly sensation the water birthed had a piercing effect on my skin, as every muscle in my body tightened in protest against it. That feeling was what I liked about cold baths. It struck me because it felt weird longing for something, a feeling, that my body didn’t welcome in the best way. I laid back in the bath until my body was fully immersed in it, exposing only my head.

I sat there wondering how everything was going to turn out. For the first time, I started to ask myself questions which should had always bothered me.

“Why was I reborn, and why did it have to happen under these conditions?”

I would be lying if I told myself it was just happenstance. There had to be some person or being, and a reason behind it. Annoyingly, there was no way I could possibly have the answers. The conflict hadn’t escalated to a full blown war, but it was beginning to give me a perspective shift as I hadn’t experienced one first hand.

Somehow, I felt that human life didn’t hold much of a value here, it was easy to just dispose people like their life held no meaning. They way they talked about the war like it was just some kind of game played with winners determined at the end. In reality people were going to die, a lot of them. 

I remembered the first and the only person I killed. Though it was unintentional, as I happened to go overboard during training, I couldn’t shake off the feeling, and it gave me sleepless nights. I came from a world where human lives were valued, and the only killings I witnessed were the ones I watched in movies. Here, it was totally different, and everyone seemed okay with it.

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Maybe I was scared. The war was inevitable and I was already sent to the front lines. I had to kill again, not just a person, but a lot of people. I didn’t have a choice, if I didn’t, I would be the one killed. 

I managed to stop myself from thinking sentimentally, asking myself, 

“What if I happen to die in this war? The second shot I had at life, just gone?”

No matter how strong I was, it wasn’t impossible that I could die in combat, I wasn’t immortal. Someone, or even people out there might be a lot stronger than I was. Dying was a given, it was war after all.

I started thinking back on the years I’d lived in this life, just to discover that I hadn’t even done much. Although this life was easier and more comfortable than my past life, I found out that both shared something in common; I was still so much of a loner.

I didn’t have friends growing up here. Maybe my past life still managed to haunt me in this one. I believed that people were the same, and given the circumstances, people of this world would have still treated me the same way I was treated in my past life. My status as princess made it even more easier to avoid making friends as there were only a few people that I could mingle with.

Intrusive thoughts and self reflections kept me occupied as I sat in the bath. The conclusion was that I was bothered and scared, but I couldn’t bring myself to confront those feelings.

After bathing, I wore a light garment as I sat on the bed reading through the files Vayr gave me earlier. The files contained very detailed information about the southern continent, the operations that we’d already launched here, and the campaigns we were yet to embark on.

“He really does his work well,” I said as I collapsed on the bed, staring at the ceiling above me.

I waited patiently to fall asleep, and when my lids became heavy, I just let them close, drifting to sleep. 

* * *

I rolled from one end of the bed to the other, protesting against the incessant knocking on my door. I wanted to yell at the person knocking,

“I need more sleep!”

But doing that would make me look like a big baby, and I didn’t want to appear like one, not in front of my subordinates. I wasn’t in the palace where I was always pampered, I was here for official duties, militaristic ones to be precise, so I always had to show strength. 

“Who is it?”

“Octavia Stromfrey, your highness.”

“To what do I owe this visit?” I asked, trying hard to stop myself from yawning.

“A meeting is scheduled to take place soon, and General Vayr wants you to be present. According to him, it’s an opportunity to meet other officers and get acquainted with them.”

“Alright, I will be there soon,” I said dismissing her.

I washed my face, got dressed as Octavia led me to the designated meeting place. I was expecting the meeting place to be the room from the night before, but I was largely incorrect, considering the size of the room. Octavia led me to a hall, as three of us took the stage, while every other person present in the hall sat around long rectangular tables arranged vertically across the hall. 

All of them stood up to pay respects on my arrival and I reciprocated by simply waving my hand. All of them took turns in introducing themselves, and though I wasn’t concerned about who they were or what positions they held, I had to pretend and patiently listen to what they all had to say, because it was required of me to do so.

When the introductions were done, I left the stage and went to sit at an empty table, with Octavia following me closely. At that point it was apparent that Octavia was filling Orlyo’s shoes since he didn’t come here with me. She was always trying to be very close to me at all times like some human shield. I actually considered telling her off, but I happened to have just enough self control not to. I loved my personal space, and even though it made me more of a loner, I didn’t want people encroaching it. Sadly, I wasn’t left with many choices, as it was one of the things that came with this life, so I had to blindly accept them. 

“Your highness, if there is anything you need, please let me know.”

I was tempted to say to her, 

“I would love you to stop following me around.”

But rather, I simply nodded.

“Vayr asked you to babysit me right?” I asked her, wearing a forced smile on my face.

She didn’t respond as she looked down at the table, trying to avoid making eye contact with me. Her silence and reaction already answered my question.

“Well, you are just doing your job, right?”

“Yes, your highness,” she replied. 

I sat there listening to what everyone present in the hall had to say. I had to commend Vayr on how he was taking care of things here. Everyone present in that hall were high ranking officers in charge of their respective squads, who reported directly to Vayr. It was an interesting meeting since everyone contributed ideas, with Vayr having the final say. Everyone in the hall appeared to take the meeting seriously so I decided to pay attention to what they discussed, since I might just happen to learn a few important things from them.

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