Waking up - Volume 2 Chapter 1

Ellie slowly woke up. Putting up an act, she did not open her eyes, pretending to be still asleep since she found herself dangling over someone's shoulder.

'Have we been captured by House Gennan already?'

Ellie thought, trying to move her hands, but she couldn't—Something was restricting her movement, gripping her tight, but it wasn't painful. No, it was soft and comfy.

'A blanket?'

And not just any blanket, this one has a built-in heating function.

'No! Resist! Do not fall asleep! I must remain vigilant.'

Despite the trial taking place in a dream, like an unwanted guess, the pain followed her back to reality; it lingered on her muscles and bones like a bitter aftertaste, causing her body to ache all over. Meanwhile, her head throbbed with a dull, pulsing weight, like the time when she stole alcohol from her cousin.

Or was it something different? Perhaps my body had undergone rapid changes during the trial, which is why it hurts. But who cares?

The soft cloud continued its onslaught against her already tired mind, threatening to take her away from consciousness. But just before Ellie fell victim to the cruel fate awakening her, the mount that her captive was riding stopped abruptly and sat down on its belly.

Normally, her hands would have covered her mouth to stop it from making a sound, but this time they had failed her. And a short gasp escaped her mouth.

"Ah!"

Ellie immediately bit her upper lip.

"Looks like the princess has woken up." Her captor said, multiple hands grabbing the blanket as he began to put her down from his broad shoulder.

'Stupid! Stupid!'

She had lost the chance to strike when your opponent least expected.

'I will have to make do with what I have now.'

Ellie closed her eyes. She focused on reaching into the deepest part of her soul, the part where her Promise resided—a world forsaken by warmth. A gust of wind gently guided her hand to where the black, red blade was, lingering between her index fingers before reluctantly letting go.

A gap opened up as Ellie's hand fell from above, grabbing the knife by the handle, hot smoke sizzled out as they made contact, but she didn't mind the heat. No, she didn't feel the heat. The ice chains binding the knife didn't cave in immediately, desperately holding onto the knife like a child not wanting their toy taken away. Ellie started pulling the knife out of the chains; one by one, they broke off until the last one remained.

However, just as she was about to set the knife free, a familiar voice rang out from outside.

"Ellie! Ellie! My baby!" Alea yelled as she rushed over from somewhere close to check on her daughter.

Hearing her mother's voice, Ellie felt calmer, like catching the scent of home in the middle of a storm. Reason took the reins, brushing away the fog of panic, allowing her to see things.

'It seems they don't tie mother up. And based on the distance of her voice, they don't seem to restrict her freedom too much. They even went as far as giving me a comfy blanket. Maybe our situation isn't as bad as I thought. I need to see it for myself before doing anything rash.'

Her survival instinct retreated to the back of her mind as she released her grip on the blade's handle. Almost immediately, the ice chains slithered along the blade once more, latching onto it before squeezing tightly, threatening to bend it out of shape.

Opening her eyelids, the bright light blinded her briefly, and she saw three shadows looming over her. One was closer than the rest, bright blond hair shone beautifully under the dazzling sunlight, while the rest had multiple pairs of hands, some were symmetrical, some were not, they stood a few steps back, respecting her personal space.

"You've woken up! You'd gotten me so worried—falling sick like that after hearing Velkan Thunderspine's death."

Ellie closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath. This was new. Was she saddened by Velkan's death? Yes, she was. In fact, all the deaths that she had encountered, the guards, the old man, the brute, even the cannibals' demises, brought great pain to her. But to say that she had fallen sick because of it was too much of a stretch.

"I'm tired, Mom... Can we not talk about him?" Ellie made sure her voice was hoarse and weak, but it was still enough for others to hear. There was a tint of sadness mixed within her complaint.

"Right. Right. I shouldn't have brought it up." Alea said, fixing a strand of white hair behind Ellie's ear, she couldn't help but smile, feeling extremely happy after seeing her daughter pass the deathly trial. "How unthoughtful of me. I will go back to preparing food. Rest now, dear. We have a lot of things to talk about."

Alea stood up and walked away, a feminine figure followed behind her.

The larger Dwarph stayed with Ellie, turning his back around, using his massive body to give her shade.

"Thank you." She said softly before closing her eyes, nudging against the soft blanket.

She wiggled around, her limbs ached with exhaustion, her eyes stung from staying open too long, her body was ready to rest, and yet—sleep wouldn't come.

She tried counting the way her chest rose and fell with each slow breath. Ellie turned her head up, looking at the Dwarph.

"Hey, big nice gentle man over there. Would you mind unbinding the mattress? It's really difficult to fall asleep like this."

The Dwarph turned around, looking down at Ellie before getting on his knees, putting his three right hands over his left shoulder.

'Right-handed, huh. I will take that into account.'

"This humble knight greets Princess Zelris. My name is Doread of Clan Thunderspine. There are three of us who are assigned to accompany you to our clan's domain: I, that youngster over there who is helping your mother prepare food is Stensa, and finally, there is Periola who is currently scouting ahead."

'Clan Thunderspine? It doesn't seem like they are trying to enact revenge for what Mom did to Velkan. Is this what Mom meant by 'having permission'? That they were in on this from the beginning. What could they possibly want from me and Mother?'

"I thank you for your service, Sir Doread. But please just call me Ellie."

"I can't do that." Doread replied bluntly.

A moment of silence. Ellie was visibly stunned, not expecting to be refused so bluntly.

"Alright then... Anyway, please help me loosen up the blanket. I think I am having trouble falling asleep because of it."

Doread thought for a moment before replying.

"I'm sorry, Princess. But I don't think I should be the one to do that. You will have to wait for the others."

"Why?"

"How do I say this..." Doread scratches his head. "Unexpectedly, during the time you were sick, your body had undergone a massive growth spurt. And your clothes no longer fit you. But since we didn't prepare any clothes in your current size..."

"I'm naked under the blanket." Ellie blinked, surprised—she was already bigger than people her age, so the fact that her clothes didn't fit her anymore only made her more eager to see how much she had changed.

"How long have I been asleep?"

"About a month, Princess."

"Stop calling me Princess."

"A month, huh?"

'There is a difference in time.'

"And where are we?"

"We have reached the eastern coastline, Princess."

Ellie's eyebrows twitched but she didn't interrupt Doread.

"We wanted to cross the central forest to remain unseen. But because of your condition, your mother insisted on taking a boat instead to reach our destination sooner."

"And you really thought that—NO ONE—would find it's even a bit suspicious that a group of Dwarphs getting on board with a servant elf and a young elf girl wrapped up like a corpse in a blanket? You don't need to squint hard for that to scream _slavers_ from every direction."

"Might as well have you hung a sign around my neck that said 'We Definitely Didn't Kidnap Her'."

Doread didn't know how to respond, awkwardly smiling after Ellie's comment.

But then a female voice came from above.

"There is a captain that I know who won't question the unnecessary stuff if the job pays well."

Ellie turned her head around, toward the sound coming from high above the trees.

"Well, lucky for you. Now you won't have to spend a buck ton of money on some shady captain. Just give me some coins to buy something nice to wear and pocket the rest for yourself."

The sound of tree branches bending slightly became more pronounced as the female Dwarph leaped between them, making her way down, even so, it was very hard to notice if you weren't paying as much attention as Ellie.

The female Dwarph landed gracefully, her feet met the grass in a silent kiss. Unlike the other two, there were no flaws to her form—her chitin shell was smooth, both sides were symmetrical with no rough spiky parts to them. She had the same thunder blue color, but the color was more even, no spots too bright, no spots too dim.

"Good to know. I don't enjoy doing business with that bastard either." She patted the blanket. "But in the meantime, be a good girl and stay in there."

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