Once the Prince picked Eleanor to dance, they clumsily moved to the middle of the hall, but given the great mood of the Prince and the blushing face that Eleanor had, the rest of the people in the party decided to follow suit. Young lords would go find a pretty young lady that they liked to ask for a dance, and those who already had someone with them, picked their hand to join in the party.
There were, of course, a few people that remained alone just watching. Some due to shyness, and others just for a simple desire to be entertained by the moves of the people dancing, but most of them enjoying the mood of the event.
However, the same couldn’t be said for the Duke’s daughter, who remained at the same side, glaring daggers at Eleanor for taking the Prince away from her. The anger in her was such that the wine glass she had in her hands cracked under the pressure.
Still, she remained quiet, just like the couple of ladies that stood with her, who could easily sense the foul mood that their Lady had.
After a few hours later, the party was coming to an end. The Prince was once more congratulated for his achievements in the battlefield, and people started quietly leaving the hall.
“My lady,” he said to Eleanor, who had spent most of the time with the Prince, and looked at him with blushing cheeks. “It has been a true pleasure to spend my time with you.”
“I should be the one to thank His Highness for spending your precious time with someone like me,” she bashfully replied, lowering her head.
“Someone like you?” he questioned with raised eyebrows and a soft smile. “What does that mean?”
“Well… I’m just the daughter of a poor Baron, so for you to spend your time with me, it’ll probably make you look dirty,” she replied with a regretful smile on her face.
The Prince laughed, shaking his head as he did and causing Eleanor to look at him with surprise. “That is complete nonsense. I spend a lot of my time with knights and soldiers out in the field, getting muddy and dirty from fighting, and a lot of those men don’t even have a noble title to begin with. So to say that spending time with such a lovely woman is going to dirty me, is to say that my achievements are even dirtier than mud.”
Eleanor paled slightly, lowering her torso and head deeply. “I’m so sorry for the words that I’ve said! I-I never intended to offend—”
The prince suddenly placed his hands under Eleanor’s chin, causing her to look back up with surprise, but the prince was just smiling. “My lady, please, there is no need for such things. What I meant to say is that you are not at all undeserving of my attention.”
With a flushing face, Eleanor lifted her torso once more, and returned the soft smile to the Prince. “I thank His Highness for the kind words…”
There was a moment where they just looked at each other, but since it was already getting late, some of the Prince’s guards were already urging him to move. He turned his attention to the knights and then back to Eleanor.
“We shall meet again, my lady,” he said, taking her hand and giving it a soft peck on the fingers. “And when that time comes, I hope that we may spend our time in the same lovely manner.”
The Prince let go of her hand, and she brought it back close to her chest, where she held it tightly with her other hand. “I hope I can live up to Your Highness’ expectations.”
“I’m sure you will,” he said with a smile, after which he turned and left the hall with the guards.
Eleanor didn’t have an escort, or anyone to take her back home, and so, she was forced to leave from the side of the manor, where people wouldn't be able to judge her. However, to her surprise, a couple of knights appeared, stopping her on her tracks.
“My lady,” one of them said, “We’re here on His Highness’ request to take you home. So if you could follow us, we’ll make sure that you get home safe.”
Eleanor looked with surprise at the couple of knights, but after spending so much time with the Prince, she smiled, nodded and accepted their offer, going with them without even asking who they were or to identify themselves…
Truly, a complete mistake from the pitiful young lady.
* * *
“You should’ve known to stay out of where you don’t belong,” said the Duke’s daughter, sitting in front of a gagged and bound Eleanor as a moving carriage stumbled from side to side.
The knights that picked Eleanor after the party were none other than the Duke’s daughter's personal soldiers. She gave them orders to pick her up under the Prince’s name just so she could get her hands on the poor girl.
Eleanor had tears spilling from her eyes, and there was a desire to scream for help—for someone to do something—but how could anyone come and stand up to the Duke’s knights? She was done for the moment that she was captured.
Right now, they were on their way to another place in the Duke’s territory; a rather curious place in this world. The people called it a ‘World Dungeon’. They were places of power where energy from the world was stored, creating a field full of all kinds of monsters and dangers. And like the dangers, defeating those monsters, and exploring those dungeons could also result in plenty of rewards, like extra power and rare materials.
However… The one close to this town was a special one. It was known as a ‘Void Dungeon’, where a black veil, acting like a portal, covered the entrance, and nothing that ever went inside was seen again. Not even I could see inside the dungeon to know what was inside, as that ‘veil’ would prevent my Godly view from entering.
As a God, I could force my way in, of course, but there was no need to taunt the world like that just to satiate my curiosity, so I’ve just waited to see if anything about them is known from the people of the world itself.
And it seems like there might be a new forced explorer into it, since right now, the carriage with both the Duke’s daughter and Eleanor had stopped by that place. Usually, such a dangerous place would have people keeping watch of it, both to warn people that might accidentally wander in there, and to keep a record of anyone brave or foolish enough to walk in there with their own two feet. But this time, the Duke’s daughter made sure that nobody was watching as they approached.
The door of the carriage was opened, and one of the knights burst in to grab Eleanor by the arm, dragging her outside as she struggled to keep herself steady, failing to do so and falling face first to the dirt. Behind her, the Duke’s daughter walked out, passing by her to stand next to the other knight.
“Bring that little whore here, quickly,” she commanded, and the first knight moved to pick up Eleanor from the ground.
She struggled, but these were trained knights, with the ability to fight bandits, monsters, and demons, so her little amount of strength and magic power was nothing compared to what they could do as they dragged her by the arms behind the Duke’s daughter.
After a short walk, they were standing in front of the dark veil of the Void Dungeon. Eleanor looked up to it with tears spilling from her eyes, which she turned to the Duke’s daughter, begging for mercy with a muffled voice.
The Duke’s daughter looked at her for a moment. “Remove the restraints.”
Without hesitation, the knights removed the chains and gag that Eleanor had, and then forced her down the floor once more. Eleanor looked up, pleadingly. “Please, I beg you for mercy. I promise I won’t get close to you ever again, and—and you can have the hairpin if you wish! Just don’t hurt me, please!”
The Duke’s daughter simply shook her head. “I’m afraid that’s not possible. You see, His Highness has set his eyes on you, and as long as you’re around, he’s going to want to find you—be that your pretty face, or your ugly corpse. I can’t allow that to happen, so for that… you have to disappear.”
“No! Please!” Eleanor begged once more, but the knights grabbed her and started dragging her to the veil.
“Hehe, say, if she’s going to die, why can’t we have a little fun with her before throwing her away?” asked one of the knights as he looked at Eleanor’s body up and down.
The Duke’s daughter turned a foul glare at the knight, who backed away with a terrified look, after which the Duke’s daughter raised her hand in a stopping motion. “Wait.”
The knights stopped and looked worryingly at the Duke’s daughter while Eleanor looked relieved. However, the Duke’s daughter just approached the knight that spoke and reached for the sword in his hip.
“My lady, I-I am sorry—”
“Even when she’s about to die, covered in tears and snot, she’s still gripping the hearts of other people’s men…” the Duke’s daughter interrupted the knight, with spite on her voice and grinding her teeth as she looked down on the terrified Eleanor, and then at the knight. “Maybe going back without your sword will be punishment enough? Or would you rather join her?”
“No, my lady! I’m sorry! It won’t happen again! Please forgive me!” the knight quickly replied, but the Duke's daughter simply scoffed.
Saying that, the she turned the sword to Eleanor and then… threw it to the ground, where it clanked a couple of times as it landed by the crying girl’s knees.
“Try to hold on to that,” the Duke’s daughter said, turning her face to the couple of knights afterwards. “Toss her in there.”
“Wait! You ladyship! Please!” Eleanor begged, brushing the sword aside.
But her pleading voice was ignored as the knights already had their hands on her, which is when she did what she could, scrambling to reach the sword and gripping it in her hands as the knights grabbed her by the arms. Then, in a quick and swift motion, they threw her to the dark veil, where she disappeared as her screaming voice was suddenly cut out from the rest of the world.
Once the Prince picked Eleanor to dance, they clumsily moved to the middle of the hall, but given the great mood of the Prince and the blushing face that Eleanor had, the rest of the people in the party decided to follow suit. Young lords would go find a pretty young lady that they liked to ask for a dance, and those who already had someone with them, picked their hand to join in the party.
There were, of course, a few people that remained alone just watching. Some due to shyness, and others just for a simple desire to be entertained by the moves of the people dancing, but most of them enjoying the mood of the event.
However, the same couldn’t be said for the Duke’s daughter, who remained at the same side, glaring daggers at Eleanor for taking the Prince away from her. The anger in her was such that the wine glass she had in her hands cracked under the pressure.
Still, she remained quiet, just like the couple of ladies that stood with her, who could easily sense the foul mood that their Lady had.
After a few hours later, the party was coming to an end. The Prince was once more congratulated for his achievements in the battlefield, and people started quietly leaving the hall.
“My lady,” he said to Eleanor, who had spent most of the time with the Prince, and looked at him with blushing cheeks. “It has been a true pleasure to spend my time with you.”
“I should be the one to thank His Highness for spending your precious time with someone like me,” she bashfully replied, lowering her head.
“Someone like you?” he questioned with raised eyebrows and a soft smile. “What does that mean?”
“Well… I’m just the daughter of a poor Baron, so for you to spend your time with me, it’ll probably make you look dirty,” she replied with a regretful smile on her face.
The Prince laughed, shaking his head as he did and causing Eleanor to look at him with surprise. “That is complete nonsense. I spend a lot of my time with knights and soldiers out in the field, getting muddy and dirty from fighting, and a lot of those men don’t even have a noble title to begin with. So to say that spending time with such a lovely woman is going to dirty me, is to say that my achievements are even dirtier than mud.”
Eleanor paled slightly, lowering her torso and head deeply. “I’m so sorry for the words that I’ve said! I-I never intended to offend—”
The prince suddenly placed his hands under Eleanor’s chin, causing her to look back up with surprise, but the prince was just smiling. “My lady, please, there is no need for such things. What I meant to say is that you are not at all undeserving of my attention.”
With a flushing face, Eleanor lifted her torso once more, and returned the soft smile to the Prince. “I thank His Highness for the kind words…”
There was a moment where they just looked at each other, but since it was already getting late, some of the Prince’s guards were already urging him to move. He turned his attention to the knights and then back to Eleanor.
“We shall meet again, my lady,” he said, taking her hand and giving it a soft peck on the fingers. “And when that time comes, I hope that we may spend our time in the same lovely manner.”
The Prince let go of her hand, and she brought it back close to her chest, where she held it tightly with her other hand. “I hope I can live up to Your Highness’ expectations.”
“I’m sure you will,” he said with a smile, after which he turned and left the hall with the guards.
Eleanor didn’t have an escort, or anyone to take her back home, and so, she was forced to leave from the side of the manor, where people wouldn't be able to judge her. However, to her surprise, a couple of knights appeared, stopping her on her tracks.
“My lady,” one of them said, “We’re here on His Highness’ request to take you home. So if you could follow us, we’ll make sure that you get home safe.”
Eleanor looked with surprise at the couple of knights, but after spending so much time with the Prince, she smiled, nodded and accepted their offer, going with them without even asking who they were or to identify themselves…
Truly, a complete mistake from the pitiful young lady.
* * *
“You should’ve known to stay out of where you don’t belong,” said the Duke’s daughter, sitting in front of a gagged and bound Eleanor as a moving carriage stumbled from side to side.
The knights that picked Eleanor after the party were none other than the Duke’s daughter's personal soldiers. She gave them orders to pick her up under the Prince’s name just so she could get her hands on the poor girl.
Eleanor had tears spilling from her eyes, and there was a desire to scream for help—for someone to do something—but how could anyone come and stand up to the Duke’s knights? She was done for the moment that she was captured.
Right now, they were on their way to another place in the Duke’s territory; a rather curious place in this world. The people called it a ‘World Dungeon’. They were places of power where energy from the world was stored, creating a field full of all kinds of monsters and dangers. And like the dangers, defeating those monsters, and exploring those dungeons could also result in plenty of rewards, like extra power and rare materials.
However… The one close to this town was a special one. It was known as a ‘Void Dungeon’, where a black veil, acting like a portal, covered the entrance, and nothing that ever went inside was seen again. Not even I could see inside the dungeon to know what was inside, as that ‘veil’ would prevent my Godly view from entering.
As a God, I could force my way in, of course, but there was no need to taunt the world like that just to satiate my curiosity, so I’ve just waited to see if anything about them is known from the people of the world itself.
And it seems like there might be a new forced explorer into it, since right now, the carriage with both the Duke’s daughter and Eleanor had stopped by that place. Usually, such a dangerous place would have people keeping watch of it, both to warn people that might accidentally wander in there, and to keep a record of anyone brave or foolish enough to walk in there with their own two feet. But this time, the Duke’s daughter made sure that nobody was watching as they approached.
The door of the carriage was opened, and one of the knights burst in to grab Eleanor by the arm, dragging her outside as she struggled to keep herself steady, failing to do so and falling face first to the dirt. Behind her, the Duke’s daughter walked out, passing by her to stand next to the other knight.
“Bring that little whore here, quickly,” she commanded, and the first knight moved to pick up Eleanor from the ground.
She struggled, but these were trained knights, with the ability to fight bandits, monsters, and demons, so her little amount of strength and magic power was nothing compared to what they could do as they dragged her by the arms behind the Duke’s daughter.
After a short walk, they were standing in front of the dark veil of the Void Dungeon. Eleanor looked up to it with tears spilling from her eyes, which she turned to the Duke’s daughter, begging for mercy with a muffled voice.
The Duke’s daughter looked at her for a moment. “Remove the restraints.”
Without hesitation, the knights removed the chains and gag that Eleanor had, and then forced her down the floor once more. Eleanor looked up, pleadingly. “Please, I beg you for mercy. I promise I won’t get close to you ever again, and—and you can have the hairpin if you wish! Just don’t hurt me, please!”
The Duke’s daughter simply shook her head. “I’m afraid that’s not possible. You see, His Highness has set his eyes on you, and as long as you’re around, he’s going to want to find you—be that your pretty face, or your ugly corpse. I can’t allow that to happen, so for that… you have to disappear.”
“No! Please!” Eleanor begged once more, but the knights grabbed her and started dragging her to the veil.
“Hehe, say, if she’s going to die, why can’t we have a little fun with her before throwing her away?” asked one of the knights as he looked at Eleanor’s body up and down.
The Duke’s daughter turned a foul glare at the knight, who backed away with a terrified look, after which the Duke’s daughter raised her hand in a stopping motion. “Wait.”
The knights stopped and looked worryingly at the Duke’s daughter while Eleanor looked relieved. However, the Duke’s daughter just approached the knight that spoke and reached for the sword in his hip.
“My lady, I-I am sorry—”
“Even when she’s about to die, covered in tears and snot, she’s still gripping the hearts of other people’s men…” the Duke’s daughter interrupted the knight, with spite on her voice and grinding her teeth as she looked down on the terrified Eleanor, and then at the knight. “Maybe going back without your sword will be punishment enough? Or would you rather join her?”
“No, my lady! I’m sorry! It won’t happen again! Please forgive me!” the knight quickly replied, but the Duke's daughter simply scoffed.
Saying that, the she turned the sword to Eleanor and then… threw it to the ground, where it clanked a couple of times as it landed by the crying girl’s knees.
“Try to hold on to that,” the Duke’s daughter said, turning her face to the couple of knights afterwards. “Toss her in there.”
“Wait! You ladyship! Please!” Eleanor begged, brushing the sword aside.
But her pleading voice was ignored as the knights already had their hands on her, which is when she did what she could, scrambling to reach the sword and gripping it in her hands as the knights grabbed her by the arms. Then, in a quick and swift motion, they threw her to the dark veil, where she disappeared as her screaming voice was suddenly cut out from the rest of the world.
