"You want Erax resin?"

said a skinny guy with brown hair. he had hissed when a cyan colored hair girl cornered him by the Treasury. "Are you crazy? That is restricted. Only healers could purchase those. it is poisonous"

"I know what it is," that girl said.

"I need it."

"Why should I help you? the Viscount will burn me alive if he finds out."

"Because I will give you what you want," she said, and hated how steady her voice was.

"You have been asking the other girls, right?"

"But now, I am offering you the exact thing you asked them about."

He stared at her red eyes, her fair skin, her cyan braid.

"How many nights?" he asked.

"Seven" she said..

"And you bring me the resin in a clay jar, unmarked, to the laundry chute. No one sees."

He swallowed. "Whoa there, seven nights. You swear?"

"I swear by whatever is left of Agilrach, 3 upfront and the rest after i got them from you" she said.

"Fine." he said while hurriedly drags her inside the wine cellar.

.

.

.

.

.

*clog*

He locked the door. hastily undress her top while kissing her lips with urge.

after Heldia got undressed, he put his left hand on her right chest, covering something fluffy part of hers.

*squeezes*

"Mmmpffff..!!"

he put his lips to block hers from saying something while pushes the back of her heads with his left hand towards him.

*rustle*

*rustle*

he then pulls down his whole pants, and soon, her undie, without removing her long purple skirt.

*boing*

a wooden club suddenly emerged below his stomach, in upwards motion. turns out it was his.

he grabs his wooden club and turns Heldia backward, and inserts his club into her Cave of Temptation.

*thwack!!*

a clapping sound could be heard, as he lunges Heldia, cornering her, deep inside.

*thwack*

*thwack*

"Ahhh.. Fuck it" he said

"Mmmmppffff...!!" Heldia tried to speak with closed lips.

Then...

*splurts*

a white resin could be seen flowed down her Cave, dripping into her thighs while his club still inside.

his hips slowed. his hands held her fluffy pillow below her neck, left and right.

*squeezes*

and he increased his pace, quicker.

"Not.. enough.. more!!" he said.

Heldia looked backward, and said "Hey.. That already counts.. as One.. Why.. mmpppfff--"

"Shut up.. i need.. more.." he said while moving his squeezing left hand towards her mouth.

he then continued doing that sequence, 7 times in a row, until it was almost early morning.

.

.

.

.

The year was 3115 by the Apixus Calendar and the wind that came down from the north still carried ash, even ten years after the fire.

In the lower scullery of the Galum estate, Heldia von Agilrach scrubbed.

"You missed a spot, ghost eyes," a voice said behind her.

Heldia did not look up. She knew that voice. Rooga.

She kept scrubbing the stone. Her hands were red from lye, her fair skin blotched from cold. Her long cyan hair, braided thick down her back with a curly pony at the end that refused to be tamed, was tied back with twine. When she lifted her head, her bright red eyes caught the lamplight.

"Did you hear me?" Rooga said, kicking the bucket. Water sloshed over her knees. "I said you missed a spot."

"I heard you, young master Rooga," she said quietly. Her voice was even. She had learned that evenness like a sword form. "I will clean it again."

"Good," he said, and he leaned down, too close. "You should always clean properly. Father says cleanliness is next to obedience. Do you know what obedience is, Heldia?"

"Yes, young master," she said.

"Say it."

"Obedience is doing as I am told without question," she recited.

He laughed. "See? You can learn. For a northern peasant."

He walked away, his boots leaving fresh mud on the floor she had just cleaned. Heldia watched the mud spread, then dipped her brush again and cleaned it a second time. She counted her breaths. One, two, three, four. The mana circulation her father had once described to her brother, a river under the skin.

She was nineteen this winter. If you passed her in the market with her head covered you would think she was some angelic statue that had been left out too long and had learned how to breathe. That was why they stared. That was why they hurt.

She was the second daughter of a house that no longer existed. The Agilrach Dukedom had governed six villages in the north, a hard land where barley grew short and swords grew long, and they had been renowned for their swordsmanship more than for their gold.

The other maids whispered about it when they thought she could not hear.

"Is it true her house had six villages?" one had whispered last month.

"Six villages and now six graves," another had answered. "Or less."

Heldia remembered the day it ended as a weight in her lungs, not as a story.

That day, Year 3105 of Apixus Calendar, August 18th,

She had been nine. Her twin little sisters Irina von Agilrach and Erina von Agilrach had been six. It was late summer and the sky over Agur Mountain had been wrong since early morning. Gloom pressed low over Fortress City of Rachen, her hometown.

"Mother, can we go to the mountain?" Heldia had asked, tugging on Kylene ein Falsid's sleeve. Kylene had been mending a torn doublet, her brown hair pinned up.

Kylene ein Falsid had frowned at the sky. "Not far, Heldia. Stay where you can see the smoke from the chimneys. And take your little sisters instead, I got a few things to do."

"Boo!! You always busy, Mother.. I do not want to take them," Heldia had said. "They are slow."

"Take them or don't go at all, and also i hold you responsible for them" Kylene said.

"That is what it means to be the older sister. Promise me."

"Fine, I promise," Heldia said, though at nine she had thought responsible meant getting to give orders.

They had gone to the vicinity near Agur Mountain, not that far behind Rachen. There was an abandoned cave there, shallow and dry.

.

.

.

"Listen," Heldia told the twins, trying to sound like their father Magamus von Agilrach when he drilled his men. "This cave is a castle. You two are the guards. You must find white rocks to defend it. Ten white rocks each."

Irina, bolder despite being born minutes later, put her hands on her hips. "Why do we have to stay here? You always get to explore."

"Because I am older and because I said so," Heldia said.

"That is not a reason," Irina said.

"It is a reason because I am nine and you are six," Heldia said. "And because if you come with me you will step on a snake."

Erina, tugged Irina's sleeve. "There is a good white one there. Look."

"Fine," Irina said, still glaring at Heldia. "But if we find ten first, we get to be duchess and you have to be the horse."

"Deal," Heldia said, and she smiled despite herself. "Stay in the castle. That is an order from your commander."

"Yes, commander," Erina said solemnly, and saluted with a rock.

Heldia walked up the small rise behind the cave, just enough to see over the scrub and see her hometown. The wind stopped. The birds stopped. Then the sky tore.

.

.

.

.

*BOOM!!*

There was a loud sound that was not thunder.

"Father?" Heldia whispered to the empty air.

Fire engulfed Rachen. Not a house fire. All of it at once, as if the town had been lit from below. Smoke rose in a black pillar that turned the gloom yellow

.

.

to be continued..

They had gone to the vicinity near Agur Mountain, not that far behind Rachen. There was an abandoned cave there, shallow and dry.

.

.

.

"Listen," Heldia told the twins, trying to sound like their father Magamus von Agilrach when she took a peek at his intercourse with her Mother accidentally. "This cave is a castle. You two are the guards. You must find white rocks to defend it. Ten white rocks each."

Irina, bolder despite being born minutes later, put her hands on her hips. "Why do we have to stay here? You always get to explore."

"Because I am older and because I said so," Heldia said.

"That is not a reason," Irina said.

"It is a reason because I am nine and you are six," Heldia said. "And because if you come with me you will step on a snake."

Erina, tugged Irina's sleeve. "There is a good white one there. Look."

"Fine," Irina said, still glaring at Heldia. "But if we find ten first, we get to be duchess and you have to be the horse."

"Deal," Heldia said, and she smiled despite herself. "Stay in the castle. That is an order from your commander."

"Yes, commander," Erina said solemnly, and saluted with a rock.

Heldia walked up the small rise behind the cave, just enough to see over the scrub and see her hometown. The wind stopped. The birds stopped. Then the sky tore.

.

.

.

.

*BOOM!!*

There was a loud sound that was not thunder.

"Father?" Heldia whispered to the empty air.

Fire engulfed Rachen. Not a house fire. All of it at once, as if the town had been lit from below. Smoke rose in a black pillar that turned the gloom yellow.

Through the smoke, things moved. Creatures from the demon world such as goblins, ogres, trolls, even lesser dragons.

.

.

.

She saw them massacre, dismember, and eat. She saw people she knew. She saw a baker torn between two goblins. She saw a guardsman of her father's house try to hold a line, and an ogre took his head and squeezed until it burst.

Her legs went soft.

One of the goblin horde saw her. It screamed and ran at her with a wooden club in its hand.

Heldia kneeled. She could not stand. The wooden club rose.

"Hey! Ugly!"

A voice cut through the screaming. A man moved between her and the goblin, so fast the wind blew her braided hair back. He was young, perhaps twenty five, with blue hair tied messily and rugged light armor patched many times. In his right hand a curved sword, in his left a mace.

He slew the goblin with a single cut and then brought the mace down to be sure.

Blood sprayed her cheek. Hot.

He looked at her, breathing hard, eyes tired.

"Are you hurt, kid?" he said.

*shake*

*shake*

Heldia only shook her head twice. She could not speak.

"Good. Listen to me. What is your name?"

"H-Heldia," she whispered.

"Heldia, do you have family?"

"In the cave, my sisters," she said, pointing.

He crouched, so his eyes were level with hers. "Heldia, you need to run now. Take your sisters and run into the mountain. Do not look back at Rachen. Do you understand? The bells are gone. Do not wait for bells."

"My mother and father are in Rachen," she said.

"My father is Magamus von Agilrach. He is strong."

The man closed his eyes for a second. "Ah.. the Duke.. His last wo-- i mean, he told me to find the children by the mountain. so that was you. You have to run, okay?"

"Where is my Father?? and my Mother?? will you come with us?"

"They are.. fine. maybe." he said.

"No, I have to go back. Now run, Heldia von Agilrach. Run and do not stop until you cannot hear the fire."

"What do you mean, mister?" she asks.

but that man hurriedly ran towards the blaze inside Rachen without a words.

So she heed his words and ran. She ran back to the cave where her sisters were, heart beating so fast she thought it would break.

"What was that sound?" Irina asked when she burst in, panting, face streaked with blood that was not hers.

"Nothing," Heldia said, pulling them both into her lap. Her hands shook. "It was nothing, just hunters."

"The sky is black," Erina whispered. She looked past the cave mouth where the glow was now orange. "Sister, the town is burning. I can smell it."

Heldia put her hands over their eyes, gently.

"Close your eyes," she said. "We are playing a new game. The game is we sleep here tonight. Whoever sleeps longest gets to be Empress of Apixus."

"That is a stupid prize," Irina said, but her voice wobbled. "Is Mother coming?"

"Mother said.. to stay here for tonight" Heldia said, and her voice cracked. "She will find us. For now we sleep. It is fine."

"Is it fine?" Erina asked, small.

"It is fine," Heldia said, over and over, until it sounded true. "It is fine, it is fine, I am here, it is fine."

The three of them fell asleep in the cave, huddled together under Heldia's thin cloak, while Magamus von Agilrach died protecting Kylene ein Falsid, and Kylene followed the same fate soon afterwards, and all of their other family died in that incident, except for her and her twin little sisters.

##############

Meanwhile in the front gate of Rachen

"Kylene!!" shout a man in a state that one couldn't tell is fine of not.

in front of him, a woman lying on the floorbed was swarmed with 8 goblins, one at each of her limbs, two holding her backbone, one covering her mouth from behind "Mmphhh--!!" that woman was Heldia's mother and the man earlier was her Father.

*ripping sounds*

one other goblin tore her dress, exposing her intimate part.

one of the Guardsmen outside the Gate shouted "Your highness!!" as he ran towards her slashing the goblins restricting her.

*slash*

*slash*

three goblins dead on the spot.

"Are you alright Your Highne--"

"Watch out!!" Kylene shouted as she saw one goblin behind the guard.

*stab*

"Guhh-- no.. i must.."

The goblind behind him plunged a dagger into her back, piercing through his stomach.

"Nooo-- Mmmpppfff!!!" shout her, again.

the surrounding goblins swarmed at her once more, twice the amounts. four restricting her while the others lined up holding their part of the lower body that resembles a big tipped, small staff, 2 inches long.

*thump*

the one on the front rammed the Cavern of the restricted woman. moving forward and backward in a fast pace.

the others stood still as if wait for their turn. some of them rubs their weapon back and forth.

"Nnnggghh..!!!" Kylene moaned while struggling. but it was useless.

*splurt*

"Kylene, NOOO!!!" Shouted Magamuz, he couldn't move, his legs are torn. he crawled towards her.

"MMMMMPPPFFF!!! KYAAKKK!!" She screamed as the goblins take turns.

.

.

.

.

.

.

And the moment finally ends when the last goblin unplugged his weapon from her Cavern. leaving whole lot of White Mucus mixed with blood around her Cavern and its bushes.

They left.

Magamuz finally arrived near hear, after dreadfully crawl his way. he lost too much blood. so was she.

"I'm sorry, Kylene... My dear" he said

"... Ngk.. Keuk.." she couldn't spew a single words. Seizure befall her. it was pitiful and disheartening.

and then, after a few moment, they breathed their last breath while holding each other's hand.

Fortunately, this tragedy did not reach the ears of their beloved child. What burden shall they carry, if it does. The world is not so unforgiving to let that happens.

##################

to be continued..

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.

The following night, a fat guy wearing an attire that looks expensive and a blue turban, named Bragin Gazmuth found them while scavenging remains in her hometown, and held them captive.

"Well, well," a voice said, rough and amused, poking them with a boot. "What do we have here? Three little northern mice, still breathing. These are quite expensive goods."

Heldia woke first, scrambling in front of her sisters.

"Do not touch them," she said, voice hoarse from smoke and sleep.

Bragin Gazmuth was a large man with a scar that split his lip, a famous underground slave trader from The Cage Guild. He smiled, and it was not a smile.

"Touch? Little girl, I am going to own you," he said. "You are lucky. Demons eat the ugly ones. The pretty ones get to live. Now be quiet, or I will leave you for the trolls still sniffing around."

"You cannot," Irina said, trying to be brave, her little fists up. "My father is a duke. He will come."

Bragin laughed. "Your father already turned into ash now, little duchess. Ash does not come to the world of living. Now into the cart."

.

.

.

.

.

He traverses directly to the Free City of Harblam, near Imperial Capital.

He sold them as slaves to one of the Houses near the Imperial Capital. It was Galum Viscounty, a Notorious and Fearsome House with countless underground criminal activity in drugs, black market, and slave trading, led by Viscount Jerren di Galum, a brown haired man with buffed body in his mid thirties, and also a Rune Knight with fire affinity.

Jerren di Galum looked them over in the courtyard the day they arrived.

"Three," he said to Bragin. "You said three northern. These two are too small to work."

"They will grow," Bragin said. "And this one," he pointed at Heldia, now nine and already showing growth results, "this one will be worth ten slaves when she is fully grown. Look at those eyes. Men pay for eyes like that."

Jerren crouched to Heldia's height. His forearms bore dim runes.

"What is your name, girl?" he asked.

Heldia stared at him and said nothing. Erina clutched her skirt.

Jerren smiled. "No name, then. You are number seventeen now. Seventeen, eighteen, nineteen. Take them to the scullery. And wash that ash off them. You are devaluing my merchandise."

.

.

.

.

She and her six year old twin sisters got mistreated badly, especially by the sons of Viscount Jerren, Rooga and Alen.

They ask them to do chores meant for the older servants, giving them less meals. messed with their tasks.

sometimes, Rooga tried to harass her sisters but she protected them, and get beaten instead.

But she did not harbor an ounce of despair. she did not want things to end it just like this.

She had a Plan, an extreme one at that.

.

.

.

.

.

So, in order to execute her plan she secretly accumulated the necessity. Strength.

In the day she trained her body in every day's chores.

"You are slow, seventeen," Narna, the head maid said.

"I am sorry, ma'am," Heldia would say, and she would carry two buckets instead of one, letting her arms shake, letting the muscular burn build. She would run the long way around the estate on errands.

At night, while studying herbal books, she circulated her mana.

In the small room, after lights out, Erina would whisper, "Sister, what are you doing? You are shaking."

"I am breathing," Heldia would whisper back. "Go back to sleep."

"It looks like you are hurting," Irina would say, sitting up, frowning in the dark. At sixteen she was already sharp tongued. "You do that every night. Why?"

"Because if I stop, I will never start again," Heldia said. "Because I need to be strong enough to get us out."

"You think we can leave?" Irina asked, and her voice, usually bold, went small. "They have guards. They have knights. Jerren is a Rune Knight. He can burn us with just a single glance if he wanted to."

"I know what he is," Heldia said. "I have been watching."

She had. Ten years had passed. Now it was year 3115 of Apixus Calendar, and from information she accumulated around her all this time, her older brother Agamund von Agilrach was reported missing since the incidents and his whereabouts could not be found. The thing she could recall was that he was a fourteen year old, short red hair neatly combed to the left, he was bright guy. Now if he still alive, he would already be twenty four years old.

One night she told her sisters.

"Agamund might be alive," she said, low, while they huddled.

Erina gasped. "Brother?"

Irina grabbed her hand. "Where? Where did you hear that?"

"In the kitchen," Heldia said.

"The Viscounty's Guard Captain was reading a letter in the training Hall, while I'm doing cleaning chores."

" He said the Agilrach heir was never found among the dead. They listed him as missing. Missing, not deceased."

##############

"The girl.. *mumbles* *mumbles*.. Agilrach" said a tall and buffed bald man wearing full body armor, he is the Guard Captain, while holding a letter, alone.

"Pardon me, sir Dibal.. did you just mention, Agilrach?" i asked while sweeping the floor

"Huh? Why do you care?" he replied

"I'm just curious, I'm sorry if i offend you.." i continued sweeping

he asked again "Hmm.. you really curious about it?"

*step*

*step*

His callused hand touched her chin, "Fine, you're not half bad, I'll tell you"

"Really sir? i am grateful.." i said

"But, i need to do something first.." he said while glancing at my chest

"what do you mean, sir?" i asked him with anticipation

He hold my hand, forcing me to follow him the back of the weapon vault behind the training hall. "I want to.. how do i say, ah!! right"

"Taste you.."

"But, sir--"

"You don't have a choice, now. i am at my peak now.. those whores couldn't satisfy me, maybe.. you are different" he said while pushing me to the floor.

*whack*

i laid down the floor, his hand pulls down my undies, but keeping my skirt intact.

He ducked and heveling his head at the front of my Treasure Trove, then kissing it, and also played his tongue in spiral motions.

i couldn't hold my voice. "Nnggghhh--"

Realistically, i hate to admit that i am treated this way, moreover, by a guy like him. but what can i do, i am powerless at the moment, but soon-

*Clank*

*Clank*

he unequipped his lower parts of armor, then he pulls off his pants. showing fully erected his Giant Sword. it was just as lengthy as my finger could stretch, but thicker.

Then he raised my thighs with his callused hands, and put them on his shoulders as my skirt rolled downwards, exposing my Treasure Trove further.

He drooled himself a little, then put his hands on my chest

*squeezes*

He roughly squeezed my clothes as well as the fluffy solid substance underneath.

He grabbed his Giant Sword, as if readying to plunge his enemy on a battlefield.

*Thump*

"Ack.. Mmmnnngggghhhh--" i tried to hold my voice as he puts his Giant Sword towards the dry Entrance of My Treasure Trove like it's going through its usual scabbard.

it grazed the ceilings, then went deeper inside. his hips moving in a circle, followed by the trajectory inside.

*Whack*

"Keuk... "

He clapped his right hand towards my hips a few times until it turns red.

and keep plunging his Giant Sword.

"Mmmmmmhhhh..."

It was rough and relentless. his waist keeps changing the motion and trajectory. Making the traverse unpredictable.

*splurt*

he came. i can feel the warm fluid poured inside me.

"HAAA.. THIS FEELING.. "

"YOU TASTE... GOOD" he said with satisfied face, i despise it.

some minutes passed.

.

.

.

.

"Mnngghh.. sir, huff.. huff.. i can't.. huff.. take it anymore.." i beg him

He stopped briefly and said "This not even half of it.. such weak body.. TAAAHH!!" he suddenly increases the pace.

*splurt*

"NNGGGHHH-" i moaned in surprise

another minutes passed. then hours.

He already changed way too many Sword Style, from Standing, crouching, mid-air, backpole, interlock, wall push, and many more. each of those changed after he reached his Heavenly State, as hr rolled his eyes upward briefly.

he already reached heavenly state at least 14 times already, the splurting sound his Giant Sword makes, slowly changed to splashs. "this crazy bald guy, did he not get tired?" i thought. i was near half of my limit. That's breaking the record so far. don't think any weird thoughts.

my consciousness slowly fades away. not that because i cant handle it but, i have been forced to "spar" by more than 3 different weapons the last 3 days. From Rooga's Bastard Sword, Alen's Curved Sword, their Uncle, Mezus' Thin Rapier, and even my best friend's, Rohan's Gigantic Claymore, but i dont count it as forced spar, i initiated it.

.

.

.

A moment before Dibal's stamina ran out.

"Please.. Ahhhh--" i put my usual facade as a weak girl.

"mercy.. sir.. Ngghhh-" i beg again

he continued his plunging, faster.

"YES, THIS IS IT... HHAAAAPP--!!"

He stopped.

White mucus poured out as he unsheathe his Giant Sword from my Treasure Trove.

Drippes all the way down to the floor.

he smiled.

then i wiped the mess and wore my undies.

.

.

.

.

"Ahem.. this was a letter from my wife in the neighbouring city" he said as if nothing happened.

then i asked a few things i need to know about. he answered it. after i got all the information i need, i continued my pending chores.

###########

but the part that she had told to her was, just the information about their older brother part. Not what happened entirely.

"Missing is not alive either," Irina said bitterly, but her eyes were wet.

"It is a chance," Heldia said. "If he is alive, he is twenty four now. He might be looking for us. Or we can look for him. But not from here."

She was treated badly ever since, moreover when she turned nineteen, the sons of Jerren, it worsened. They began to assault her, almost daily.

She never described it. She refused to give it language. When Alen or Rooga came to the scullery at night, she would look at the wall and count the stones and think of white rocks in a cave.

Again, the only thing she ever said to her sisters about it was only this.

to be continued..