A Rogue and A Royal

The Real Threat

The strange drug-like effect that was affecting her before was finally starting to wear off. She could now comprehend her surroundings and figure out where she was exactly. Goth looked around; she was in a forest. Judging from the gently brisk coolness, she was in the Northeast. But the sand on her bare feet and her potato sack repurposed as a dress say otherwise. They say she came from somewhere in the South; or with a lot of sand. But this forest seemed oddly familiar. But she knew she had never been here before. 

Only when she made it to the ruins of a village is when she stopped and froze.

The ruins were large. Broken down and burned straw and wooden houses line the worn stone streets. She hobbled over to the large torn banner of a yellow star in the center of the ruins. It had specks of blood on the beautiful silky dark blue background, but the star remained untainted after all these years.

"I'm home," she whispered just as she fell to the ground from exhaustion. "Pink, laugh now from oblivion. I'm finally home." She giggled weakly as she passed out.

A dragon flew overhead. It was the same dragon Goth had seen the day of her execution. It lands right next to Goth. It breathed heavily on Goth, which woke her up. She was too exhausted to move.

"You came home, little Starko." The dragon boomed. "You felt my presence in your time of need, and you came. I will praise you for that and that alone. Now is not the time for praise, now is the time to help." 

"W-why..." She mutters weakly. 

"I must help the last of my followers." It muttered. It tossed Goth onto its neck. "Try and hold on. You've been running for days; I know you have. I will not take you home; I will take you to the place you need to be." After that, Goth passed out again. 

Before she knew it, as she woke up, she was falling from the sky. The dragon dropped her. The drugs wore off much more, but she was still weak and in pain. She couldn't stop herself from falling, and she was very high up. So she accepted her fate. 

Until the pink-haired Ace from a couple of chapters ago leaped up and caught her. He still wore his black cloak. He held Goth tightly as they land in a wooden wheelbarrow filled to the top with hay. 

Ace lept out of the wheelbarrow while holding Goth tightly. They were on a small farm in the countryside. There was a small field of plants behind the modest wooden house. 

"D-damn, not you..." Goth groaned. 

Ace rolled his eyes. "Don't worry. Sky gave explicit orders not to kill you on the spot."

"Gala, take me to Gala?! I-I'm scared..." 

"Wow. The demon is scared."

"I'm not a demon. I'm scared. I want my Gala. My cookie. Please..." 

"Well, one, you mean hello. It's been months since you were last seen. Second, I was teasing you. Public opinion changed on what you were when the dragon started preaching about you. I know how strange that sounds; trust me, I was there. Three, who the flipping floppity hippity hoppity is Gala? Four, I can get you a cookie, not your cookie. And five, whatever got you so scared I don't want any part of." Ace exclaimed. 

"M-months..." Goth teared up. 

"Yeah. Why do you need an update on what's going on?" Ace asked as he walks inside the house with Goth. 

Inside was also wooden, with a small dining area and kitchen. Ace walked into a room with a small twin-sized, unmade bed. It also had some trinkets from the earth, like toy cars and action figures. There was even a box tv sitting on a wooden nightstand far from the bed. Ace laid Goth on the bed and sits next to her.