Chapter 46

Freya was crying and sobbing as she was reunited with Demterius and her mother.

Assyrian's mother threw herself onto Assyrian and broke down into tears in front of everyone. Little Azalea hugged her brother by hugging his leg.

"Baby boy, my baby, I thought you were dead!!"

She let out another broken cry.

Assyrian looked like he didn't know how to handle such a situation right now.

"Mother, I'm fine. I'm a tough guy and I wasn't going to die so easily-"

His mother took his face into her hands.

"No, it's not okay. I was so worried about you and I couldn't sleep properly at all these past few days. I'm glad you're back safe and alive-unlike some other poor mothers who lost their children to those horrible beasts."

Granite looked sad and happy for Assyrian right now and Arya knew he was probably thinking about his own family right now. Were they still alive or were they dead?

He also wondered if now was the right time to reveal he was in a relationship.

Ezekiel coldly and emotionlessly observed the reunion with sad eyes.

His mother died when he was so young he didn't remember anything about his own mother and his father had been murdered months ago now.

Ezekiel decided to leave and not ruin the happy reunion.

….

"Okay, who's next?"

Arya finished healing up the broken leg of one man after she already healed a woman.

They were all from the royal palace so they knew her identity as a princess.

"Thank you, your highness, for using your precious healing powers on us."

Arya turned red and waved him off.

"It was nothing compared to your courage and bravery in defending the civilians from a surprise attack. Thank you for fulfilling your duties to the kingdom as a Royal Guard who protected the people of this kingdom. I thank all of you for your willingness to sacrifice your lives if needed for the safety of others."

Everyone was touched by Arya's warm speech and heart and their respect for her grew.

Arya's head spinned and her vision was getting a bit blurry. Was she overworking herself?

It wasn't just the royal guards she was busy healing up but the other injured survivors as well.

She swayed a little and Ezekiel caught her.

"Ezzy!!!"

"Your royal highness!!! The crown prince!! Hail the Future king!!"

Everyone bowed to Ezekiel and Ezekiel looked like he was carrying a heavy burden on his shoulders that he wanted gone.

Of course, Arya thought, he's the next in line for the throne and the future king. He'll be the new ruler of this kingdom-if there's still a kingdom to rule once this shitshow is over, that is.

Ezekiel held up a hand to silence them before addressing them in a confident and calm manner.

"Is this all of you? Only 5 of you left?"

A woman who was missing her left eye nodded.

"Yes, your highness, only five of us are left now. There used to be 20 of us but 15 died during the recent attack that took place about a day ago."

"Five people isn't enough to defend what looks like hundreds of refugees. If you include me, Granite, Freya, Assyrian and Ar-Ar, that's five more people to your group and 10 people still isn't enough. Have you received word about any other refugee camps like this one?"

The woman shook her head.

"Sorry, your highness, no word about any other camps or survivors yet but it cou;d be because we're really isolated and in a mostly uninhabited part of the kingdom."

"..."

".....'

Arya listened a little bit before she went off to find something to eat.

She hadn't eaten a good meal in days now.

Ezekiel will make a good king one day, Arya thought.

….

Arya sat down in an empty place as she ate her ration of black bread and vegetable soup.

She just found a place where a tree that was located a good distance from all the noise and drama of the camp to eat her food.

The black bread tasted a bit dry and tasteless to her so she dipped it into the soup.

Well, calling it soup would be generous as it was little more than boiled water with some carrots, potatoes and peas in it.

The "soup" helped to soften up the bread and give it some taste. The soup and vegetables tasted bland and boring to her but Arya knew food should not be wasted.

She took a big sip of the remaining soup and swallowed the last bit of bread she had.

"Not the best, but not the worst either."

"Hey there, pretty girl!!!~~"

Someone was calling out to her and it looked to be some guy walking up to her.

He looked ugly and piggy-like with beady brown eyes and ratty and greasy sandy hair.

"Is it getting hot out here or is it just you?"

He winked at her and Arya felt all the life drain out of her as she realized he was flirting with her.