Asher the Insane

71 - The Queen's Journey Part 03 - Wanted

Aini had been living with her adoptive father, the ex-Imperial Weapons-Master Baohu Ta, and his son Baohu Wangguo, for ten long and peaceful years now. They lived in a quaint little farmhouse in the countryside, away from the turmoil and chaos of the cities of Alaran.

The simplicity of their life had always been a blessing in disguise, allowing them to cherish each other's company and enjoy the little things in life. Even though Aini had never known her birth parents, she loved Ta and Wanggou as if they were her family. It was a beautiful tale of love and compassion for finding one's family outside the preordained. They shared their joys and sorrows together.

Their world would soon turn upside down when the Emperor declared a new order, sending a message to his people via the imperial council. The decree was clear: whoever would bring the emperor his daughter, alive or dead, would inherit a fortune from the Imperial Treasury.

Even though she was safe at the moment, it was certain that in the future she would become prey for hunters.

It had been years since anyone had heard from the princess and until the time of the order, the people of the kingdom had largely forgotten about her.

Aside from all that, after the death of his own wife, Ta Baohu had settled down on a small farmhouse, where he and his son, as well as Aini, were living in a way that was isolated from civilization; away from all the cities and other settlements in Alaran. Enjoying their simple farm life away from most of civilization.

However, the children were fascinated by the idea of visiting the cities, fascinated by all the different types of lives the city people must have led, each one with their own unique lifestyle and whatever sights the city had to offer, with people from all over the world flocking to them to begin a new life there.

They rarely ventured out of their little haven, but whenever they did, usually only once or twice every few months, it was for necessary errands, such as buying essentials or selling their excess produce.

Since then, unbeknown to them, the threat of hunters always loomed over their heads.

Even months after the order has been given, neither Baohu nor the children were aware of it, because their last visit to a town or another kind of settlement had been about a year, since their harvest had been just enough for them, with no dearth nor excess.

They just continued living their lives as they had always, completely oblivious to the fact that they were being hunted. They woke up every morning, tended to their crops, and went about their day, unaware that they were being searched for by the entire empire.

As the days turned into weeks, and the weeks turned into months, the Baohus began to notice something was amiss. They started to see, often far in the distance, more imperial soldiers passing by their farm.

One troop which wandered to their farm handed them a piece of paper and started to ask them questions in an aggressive manner, but Ta managed to scare them off.

The piece of paper was a wanted poster of Aini and Ta.

A rough illustration of Aini as a teenage girl and an inaccurate depiction of Baohu as a middle-aged man were both printed on it.

These posters were plastered everywhere in the cities, with more and more variations of Aini's image popping up as time went on. Some showed her with long hair, others with short hair. Some showed her with a smile on her face, while others portrayed her as sad and frightened.

The text on them read:

"Wanted Dead or Alive:

Wo Aini, the missing princess, and daughter of His Imperial Majesty, Wo Chongbaini.

Physical Description:

Unclear, likely a very pale, black-haired teenage girl of around thirteen or fourteen years old, probably accompanied by the Ex-Imperial Weapons-Master Baohu Ta and his son, Baohu Wangguo.

Deal however may fit with the Baohus, but the Princess has to be recognizable.

Reward: 50'000 Imperial Silver Jin Chan."