I woke up with a start.

Right, I passed out after I could no longer follow them. The impossible colors of the foilage kept me hidden while I slept, but I couldn't even guess how long it lasted. This stupid world had no sun, only this fake-looking purple sky, and the lazy clouds floating above.

The air was thick with the scent of exotic flowers and the distant calls of unfamiliar creatures. Those tiny luminous creatures I noticed before now completely covered my legs. They fluttered away as I sat up. I felt a dull ache in my calf, reminding me of the long walk while I followed those two before I lost their sight. And all my remaining strength.

I was a disgrace to my royal family. A lineage that traced its roots to the ancient dynasties of Saipole. And now that I was well rested, I thought dying here would be still better than returning defeated. Not that I found a way out, completely alone now.

I wondered what happened with the two idiots. If those monsters accepted them or if they offered themselves on a silver platter. But I had no better idea than to follow their tracks.

The castle still loomed in the distance. It overshadowed the thick jungle and its dense, tall canopy that played in red and blue. They had no reason to grow green leaves if there was no sun. The wizard in me had questions about the ecosystem, but the disgraced princess decided to move on. And go out with a bang.

Still, as I walked, I couldn't help but marvel at my surroundings. The jungle was alive from the vibrant hues of the flowers to the calls of the unseen creatures. Critters scurried in the lush vegetation, avoiding everything larger than them.

Our royal palace's garden was quite something, but part of me couldn't wait to explore this alien world. Even yesterday, or whenever I fell asleep. I followed the survivors without hope but kept looking in every direction to take all the sights. All the while a sense of unease kept me on my toes.

The path ahead was clear, and wide enough to traverse without getting caught in vines or branches. Now that I couldn't see a single soul in either direction, I gave up sneaking and went straight ahead. Thinking about it now, it was stupid to follow them like that since I could have walked up to the minotaurs as they did. If the situation got hairy, I could have finished them with a single blow.

Instead, I wasted all that energy trying to hide, and now I lost sight of them, and sight of time completely. If the monsters of this dungeon could keep track of it, they must have had a secret method. I found no signs that could measure time in here. I could have slept for a few minutes to a week at once, and I still wouldn't know.

I didn't see dreams, and I woke up refreshed apart from the sore legs. With the dense mana of this place, it might have been faster to rest than normal anyway. I hoped I didn't sleep for an entire week though, not that it mattered much.

The castle was still there, and I had one way to find out if the idiots were inside. As I drew closer, more trails crossed this one, and it resembled a proper road through the jungle. My unease increased as I tried to watch every possible angle and junction. It was more tiring and nerve-wracking than yesterday. I still marched quite far before I ran into the first creatures.

But that was quite the group. Chained together in long, winding lines, were thousands of monsters. More or less humanoid creatures, all dragged towards the castle's enormous gates. I saw minotaurs and harpies in chains but also escorting, and there were so many more I couldn't recognize. I remembered my scientific codex back home.

A mixture of fear and resignation filled their eyes, but not a hint of resistance. Whatever awaited them within those walls, they accepted it already. Driven by curiosity, I couldn't wait until they all passed by, moving in a slow, endless line. I decided to move closer to better understand what happened. It was impossible to hide from that many eyes, so sticking to the foilage again, I hoped to avoid the guards.

I should have known better. Once the monsters spotted me within the chained mass, they pointed at me until the guards noticed. I crept deeper into the thick undergrowth, but it was too late, and soon harpies appeared over my head. I thought that I would rather die than return after my failure, and now this was my chance. But at least I refused to go down without a fight.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

I sent a bolt at the flying beasts before they came too close, but a minotaur popped up next to me, eyes locked into mine. A low growl was all I heard before his axe flew towards me and I had little time to reinforce my arms with magicules. I managed to deflect it but it hurt as hell. The axe cut deep into my steeled skin, which should have been impervious to such attacks.

The harpies dove for me too, their talons outstretched and screeches echoing in the air. I had no time to react. Instead of another lightning I drew high voltage at my fingertips and shocked the bull next to me.

I expected it to falter, but he didn't even budge. With a loud cry, he was ready to strike again. I decided against another block and made a run for it instead. The harpies reached me first, and my hands weaved intricate patterns to call a barrage of magic bolts. The energy still crackled on my fingertips, but the strike wasn't as devastating as hoped. Were they tougher than the monsters I encountered before?

One harpy missed its mark, tumbling to the ground, but the next got too close. A strange, unseen force worked against me, dampening my power. I knew immediately that those damned fairies were at it again. The minotaur charged, trampling the lush vegetation, and without mana he outmatched me. They did not play fair.

I tried to dodge another attack, pulling my dagger out but couldn't hope to pierce their thick skin. Not without my spells. The weight of the next blow almost broke my arm, even though I used the dagger to parry. I ran out of time, and even though I still had mana left, I couldn't control them anymore.

I had to do something, find those pixies or get out of here. I stumbled instead and harpies and minotaurs surrounded me from every direction. I didn't even see those fairie bastards, yet they already defeated me. Another loss, another humiliation, but at least it didn't seem like I would survive this one. The axe approached my face dead on, and I couldn't do anything about it.

"It's not fair, I'm the First Princess of Saipole!" I screamed as if it would matter anything, but the axe never arrived. I squeezed my eyes closed and heard no thud, but my face was still in one piece, so I glanced up. I saw the confusion on the minotaur's face, with his weapon only inches from my head.

The harpies paused, their eyes narrowing as they circled over my head with curiosity. To my surprise, the bull retracted his axe and dragged me up. He talked in a grumbling, low voice, resonating in the jungle, but I could understand every word.

"You speak the holy tongue." His massive head tilted to the side, but the way he said it, it wasn't a question. When the Nordhaben Princess talked to them, that was a stroke of genius, rather than idiotic. I doubted she knew what would happen, but I had to make the most out of this situation, as she did.

"Yes," I replied, my voice shaking thanks to my heart's pounding. The pressure from the fairies eased up a bit too, and I repeated his observant words. "I speak your holy language. Don't kill me."

The minotaur let out a deep, rumbling laugh. His massive shoulders shook with amusement. He dragged me back into the trail before I could catch my breath, but he didn't stop there. He pulled me towards the chained sea of creatures. Before I realized it, my hands got attached to the rest of them, and they didn't even slow down.

"The Dragon God has foreseen that more of your kind will come. He will reward me to bring you along, in time for the Ritual." He explained, laughing into my face. "Join the slaves, bound to serve His Holiness, and you might become one of his priests too."

"Priest? Ritual?" A chill ran down my spine at the mention of these. "I have a message that I must deliver to your Dragon God. Very important one. You need to release me and lead me to him."

The minotaur turned his back on me, laughing before addressing my bluff over his shoulder.

"You'll meet him on the ritual. If you are lucky, he will listen to what you have to say." He scoffed, then yanked on the chains to urge me and the other creatures nearby to move faster. "If you are worthy of his time, you can prove yourself during the Ritual. And if not, he will crush you like the rest of these worthless slaves."

With that, he left me there with my doubts about this ritual. It reminded me too much of our arena, and how we forced people to fight each other to death. It was an efficient way to lose the annoying elements and find the strongest warriors. The castle kept growing in the distance, but we marched for an hour to reach it while the harpies flew overhead.

I had no choice but to follow, my heart pounding as I took a closer look at the creatures, they chained me together. Some of them were more than three times my size. Even if the pixies no longer interfered with my magic, I couldn't imagine winning against them all.

The castle's presence grew, the scale of its walls and the gravity of the situation overwhelmed me. The chained monsters entered through the massive main gates but didn't stop there. Marching through echoing halls, we ended up in a clearing inside the castle's walls. I recognized the old Crantan Arenas' inspiration with its high stands and balconies.

Elizabeth and Cath stood in one of them, but I couldn't tell if they noticed me. Before I could call out, a sudden wind ruffled my hair, and a huge green dragon landed with a thud within my arm's reach.