Chapter 45

Turns out, the village was not abandoned after all.

In fact, it was a thriving and functioning refugee camp.

Arya's heart lit up and a smile broke across her face once she realized who was in charge.

"Baron Pax!!!"

Baron Pax, who was in the middle talking to some people, turned around and saw them coming.

A smile also broke out across his face as he raced over to them.

"Princess Arya!!! My goodness, I thought you were dead!! I'm so happy to see that you're alive and okay!!"

Arya used what was left of his strength to put on a smile.

"Yeah, happy to see you too, Baron Pax. But I'm hungry and so are they."

Baron Pax wasted no time in welcoming the small, rag tag and smelly group(He didn't comment on how bad everyone all smelled which showed what a nice and wonderful person he was) to a small house where they could all clean up and refreshen.

But Arya stole a few quick glances around the camp and spotted a few people wrinkling up their noses or pitching them shut or running away from them.

It was a one story house that was cozy but a bit on the small side with just one small bedroom with just a bed and dresser, a mini kitchen with a small pantry and one bathroom. A rocking chair next to a fireplace served as a living room.

There was only one bathroom for all five of them and it was decided that the girls would go first.

Baron Pax informed them that he would send someone to give them all some clothes to change into.

 Arya volunteered to go last saying that with her shorter hair, it would take less time for her to wash up and she was the one who wasn't as covered in blood and monster guts as the others were. Sure she had a few drops of blood dotting the shirt and pants and some blood on her face but that was nothing compared to everyone else who looked like an entire tub of blood got dumped all over them.

Assyrian, Granite and Ezekiel left the house to wait outside until all three girls were finished.

Freya went first followed by Lily.

When it was Arya's turn, she slipped into the chilly clean water and bared her teeth when the cold reached her bones.

It's better than nothing and I don't have the luxury of warm water right now, Arya thought, and I hadn't bathed in days now. I must stink badly by now. Just grit your teeth and clean yourself up, Arya, she thought.

There was no shampoo or conditioner or any cleansing products to wash her body or hair with but there was a bar of soap-that was covered in blood and dirt.

Yeah, no way I'm using that soap bar, Arya thought, as she reached for a second unused bar of soap to wash herself up with.

She must have spent at least an hour in the bathtub, trying to remove every last bit of sweat, dirt and stink from her body.

When she finally finished up, the water was murky and dark and Arya thanked whoever had to clean up the bathwater an early thank you.

She didn't expect Lily to be the one handing her her clothes.

Well, not Lily the little girl but Lily the royal palace maid. Arya's personal servant.

Lily also recognized her princess and she looked super overwhelmed and emotional.

"Your highness!!-"

Arya cut her off and took the clothes from her hands.

"Talk later, Lily, right now, I have to get dressed."

…

The clothes were nothing special or fancy but they were comfortable and fitted well on her.

A simple off-white loose cotton shirt with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows and a pair of loose black leggings with comfortable leather boots.

A dark green cloak and hood completed her outfit and Arya was grateful for it as the weather was starting to get a bit cold now as winter was approaching.

Lily and Arya left together so Lily could give Arya a tour of the camp and Ezekiel and the boys rushed inside so they could get cleaned up. Lily left clothes for the boys before they left.

Lily quickly explained to her what went on in the past few months as they toured the camp.

It was a whole ass apocalypse.

Many people had been killed off by the waves of monsters that kept attacking.

The months leading up to the monster attacks were when the monsters wiped out all the farmers, blacksmiths and other essential laborers and food and other supplies were in limited stock now as there had been food and all kinds of storages in the months before the first attack.

Children were left orphaned as their families and parents were killed off and the war had begun.

Entire towns and cities were wiped out or were abandoned as the survivors fled to safety.

Of course, the lower classes and the workers suffered first.

Baron Pax managed to gather up some students and Royal Guards to lead a makeshift army to fight back against the invaders.

So far, they were standing their ground but unable to make a dent against the waves and waves of monsters that came to attack.

They rescued many people but they couldn't save everyone and death was commonplace.

Arya looked around the little run down village now turned into a base camp/refuge. 

A small group of people who looked to be survivors huddled nearby, trying to focus on eating their rationed food or resting and recovering.

Old men and women, entire families, little children who Arya knew deep down-a painful and horrible fact that made her want to cry-were left orphaned and all alone, and more. All of them looked tired and worn out, eyes dull and lifeless as they either cried and mourned for the dead or were trapped inside a nightmare of the trauma they suffered from.

 People mingled and talked in hushed whispers around her, the hushed whispers and eerie quietness were interrupted by the cries and screams of grief and anguish of the survivors who were suffering from the loss of their loved ones and/or good friends; The entire camp had an atmosphere of sorrow, grief, fear and anguish as the survivors/refugees mourned for their lost ones or relived the horrifying events over and over in their minds. Everybody here was a refugee-they came here to find safety and protection from the invasion of monsters that were now unleashing terror and mass destruction on humanity outside 

Everyone-The young, the old, the single, the married- was stressed, tired, scared, traumatized, and above all, were in pain and suffering not just from their injuries but from the pain in their minds and hearts. You could see it in their eyes, you could see the hopelessness, despair and terror along with sadness and devastation they were feeling. 

Mothers cradled and tried to comfort their crying children while they themselves were in tears and still shell-shocked.

Young children ran around in desperation, trying to find their parents after being separated from them during the chaos of the invasion.

Other children cried with the harsh realization that they were left all alone in this world now. Their eyes lifeless and broken and their childhood cruelly snatched away from them.

Frantic parents ran around, asking anyone if they saw their missing son or daughter, feeling more and more hopeless and grief-stricken with every person who shook their heads and offered words of comfort and sympathy to them. 

People went around asking for information regarding their wife, husband, sister, brother, child, mother or father yet they received nothing regarding the fates or whereabouts of their loved ones.

One man was crying and sobbing in despair and grief, his screams and cries could be heard even more all the noise and chaos of the refugee camp: He was mourning for the death of his daughter, who was killed by a invading monster, he could be heard screaming over and over again and again- "My little girl!", "My little girl!".

And, the most heartbreaking and horrible sight, three rows of dead bodies, faces all covered up with any sort of material possible-blankets, coats, handkerchiefs, napkins and even burlap bags. Arya felt sick looking at the tiny bodies of the innocent children who were killed off and the crying and screaming parents grieving for their dead children. Young, old, married and single. Everyone suffered.

Arya tried not to think about the dead and gone. Especially the little kids. She herself had to fight for her life many, many, many times already and she could feel death waiting close by, ready to take her whenever her luck or time ran out.

Lily shook her head sadly and directed Arya away from the rows of dead bodies.

"There had been a battle recently and the aftermath was clear to anyone with eyes: There had been casualties and the victory was a close one. We lost a lot of people, innocent people caught in the crossfire, and good fighters as well. That attack took place a little more than a day ago and they still don't have the chance to take our dead far away from the camp and bury them."

Many of the refugees suffered from injuries ranging from bruises and scrapes to broken bones to lacerations to concussions. A makeshift medical station was set up by volunteers but was soon being overwhelmed and was completely understaffed and unprepared to deal with the massive influx of people needing medical attention with the sole doctor present, a young blonde-haired woman, attending to as many people as she could before she physically couldn't anymore and fainted due to exhaustion and overexertion. The volunteers running the medical station did their best to tend to their wards yet their medical supplies were lacking and much-needed medical supplies such as painkillers and certain life saving medicines were in short supply. They were even resorting to having to use strips of cloth as bandages since they ran out of real bandages 5 minutes ago.

Volunteers were also handing out food and people were lining up to wait for handouts of meager rations. It wasn't much as there had already been food shortages even before this apocalypse started and now there was no one left to grow and harvest or make food now. 

In fact, everything was scarce and limited these days: food, water, life-saving medicines, clean clothes,etc,etc. Many people had been left homeless after their homes had been destroyed, many of them lost their families and friends, some had even lost their lives. Such was the reality for many people of the kingdom now after the monsters and beasts invaded.

Arya stopped to see that there were people receiving and waiting for medical care.

There were a few more people who looked to be royal guards: 3 men and 2 women.

The doctors and nurses looked overworked and stretched to the limit, Arya thought.

She had a healing ability so why not use it to heal other people?

Arrya walked over to the makeshift medical ward.

Lily knew what Arya was planning on doing and she smiled.

That's so like my princess, Lily thought.