The Lady Justice

Chapter XIX: Finding Our Way Home

Princess Amelie Hartmann of Goslar, Cadet of the Longbournian army

14 October, Year 1 of Sebastian VI, Emperor of the Longbournian Nations' reign

Unknown Location

I had experienced better days.

Drifting in a sea of almost pitch darkness, we were accompanied only by the echoes of waves crashing against rocks, the loud ticking of my timepiece that hung around my neck, the hollowness of our bellies, the fires in our throats, the stench of rotting fish and our own piss.

With the abundant amount of time I had on my hands, I had come to the conclusion that we were being held in a corner of the endless stretch of caves lining Amöneburg's coastline.

However, there was nothing I could do about it. We had not seen our captors since the day we had been brought to this wretched place, and those bastards were the only ones who knew the way out.

I drew my knees up against my chest, sighing.

Judging by the faint snores and even breathing I heard around me, it was clear that most of my colleagues who had been kidnapped alongside me had long fallen asleep. They had given in to the hunger, to the thirst, that had been plaguing us all for the past two days.

Sleep was the easiest escape out of this situation, after all.

Drip, drip, drip. Salt water continued to drip from the ceiling, and wetted the ground beneath my bottom.

I was so tempted to place my chapped lips on the cool ground and lick the water, that my whole body trembled with the need. However, I knew to do so would be the fastest way to meet my maker, and I had no wish to make His acquaintance so soon.

I could not afford to. Damn it, I wanted to live.

I was only sixteen. I still had so many dreams I wanted to fulfil, so much more I wanted to achieve. I had not fought to be able to attend the Academy, only to die in this desolate corner of the world.

Even though my mentors at the Academy disliked me, even though I added wood to the fire every day by breaking the rules, and choosing to train and study at my own pace, I still loved learning all about warfare, working hard, and becoming a better warrior under their tutelage.

It had been my dream to become a warrior, to be able to fight for my Emperor and my people for as long as I could remember. I had grown up listening to my nursemaid narrate to me the tales of the infamous Crown Princess Consort Juliette of Monrique, who was her country's first Lady Knight, and the first female Commander General of the Monriquan Armed Forces.

Many a time, I had pleaded with my parents to hire an Arms Master to train me, so that I could become as strong, courageous and skilled as the Lady Knight of Monrique.

But I had always been denied. My mother used to tell me it was a foolish dream, and that I was an even more foolish girl.

I was the youngest of my nine siblings, and the fourth daughter of my parents, the Prince and Princess Consort of Goslar. I was handed over to my nursemaid shortly after my birth, and my parents never met me unless it was for dispensing important information, or disciplinary measures.

It used to bother me at first, but I became accustomed to it over time.

As had all my older sisters, I was expected to make a grand marriage when I came of age, bear my rich husband countless heirs to bestow his riches upon, manage his household and uphold his family honour in front of society.

It was society's expectations, and as always, society's expectations were my parents' expectations.

Warfare and politics were men's work. Indeed, whoever heard of a Princess taking up arms? She did not fight, but was fought for. She did not defend, but was defended. It had always been the way of the world, and society was content in keeping it that way.