Life in a new Kingdom

"...Mom...?" The somber words left Lukia's lips. Frightful tears poured down her cheeks. She dropped her bow as she approached the cage. Caleb and everyone else stood still in silence. Lukia gripped the bars before some magical rune shot a bolt of lightning that pushed her away.

"U-ughh..." The imprisoned woman groans at the sounds. Her body was drained of any essence of life. A husk of a former person left hanging by chains. The fact that she was still breathing was a curse after what she endured this entire time. Scars across her belly were rapidly healed back together, most likely by Shaar's magic if one of the offspring had forced its way through her.

"I thought... I thought you and Dad died when they attacked... B-But... Here you are..." Lukia sobs through her words. Her entire body shakes from the shock. Caleb kneels next to her and places a hand on her shoulder.

"You shouldn't see this... That isn't your mother anymore. Whoever that is, isn't her. She died a long time ago, you hear me." In his own way to console Lukia, Caleb tries to lessen the horrific thoughts going through her mind. She lets out a loud cry into his arms before Gale joins to console her.

"Lukia, we need to move; we can't do anything for her. She wouldn't want you to feel this way; she would want you to live and forget about this." Gale whispers into her ear. Everyone else looks away in silence, none of which have the courage to say a thing.

That is until Uzel's ears begin to twitch. He stops breathing, slowing his heartbeat to focus. Caleb looks at the woman and then back at Lukia. Turning the torch away from the figure to obscure the image.

"We should put her out of her misery. She deserves peace." Lukia continues to cry as Caleb suggests the idea. Nana looks at him and nods in agreement; everyone else nods and turns away, and Uzel tries to ignore everyone else.

"I'll do it... I'll make sure she finds peace..." Lukia speaks through her sorrow. Reaching for her bow, she stands up, concealing her face as she draws the bow and arrow, aiming it for her heart. Caleb silently watches, as does Gale.

"U-u-ugh-ghh..." The soft moans filter through the air and the sounds of chains rattling from the husk echo off the walls.

"I'm so sorry... Mom... Please... Forgive your foolish daughter..." The bow shakes in her hands as the tension of holding the arrow falters with each passing second. Tears cloud her vision, and she struggles to keep a steady shot.

"U-ugh... L-Luk...Lukie..." The frail words come out clear just for a moment, the fragment of memory and the deepest of emotion pours into the final words. Lukia hears the nickname her mother would always call her. The words cut deep into her, enough so that she falters. Unstringing the bow as, the tears fall from her eyes to the cold stone.

"Mom..!" Lukia's heart breaks over and over again. Caleb makes the tough decision, grabs the bow from her, and draws the arrow without hesitation. Lukia reaches out to stop him, but Gale quickly stops her, pulling her back, screaming for him to stop, but watches as he releases the arrow. It strikes true into her heart; the soft gasp of air leaves her mouth before the woman slumps over, a look of relief as she looks at her daughter one last time before the life in her light softly snuffs out. Lukia curses and cries before sobbing again into Gale's arms, unable to accept seeing her family dying in front of her again. Caleb holds the bow tightly in his grip.

"I'm sorry, Lukia, but we need to move-"

"Caleb! Look out!" Uzel shouts, to everyone's surprise. Quickly dashing forward with his dagger, he stabs a creature right next to Caleb. The blood spilling out of something invisible quickly reveals a goblin cloaked in magic.

"What the-?!" Gale watches in confusion as she drags Lukia to her feet, pulling her back.

"The goblins are close! I could barely hear them but there are more that are being covered in magic! We need to leave now!" Uzel wipes his blade and turns to the entrance. His ears perk up, and he focuses. Everyone begins to move for the exit with their respected partner. Nana grabs her sword but struggles to move from her own wounds.

"Uzel, if they get close, let me know; I can at least make out their silhouettes!" Caleb runs to Lukia, places her bow in her arms, and gives her a good smack. "Lukia! Snap out of it! We are going to need covering fire! Use the pain and fight back! Take your revenge against them!

Lukia watches as she rubs her cheek from the slap. She grips her bow, looking at it before looking at her mother. Letting out a deep sigh and collecting herself before wiping the tears from her eyes. Sucking up the snot that was dripping from her nose. She nods to Caleb and toughens up her demeanor.

"I'll get the injured out of here! I trust you to hold them off!" Gale directs Caleb, and he nods in agreement. "Uzel, let me help you-"

"I'll stay. They won't see the goblins approach; without me, they will die."

"Come on, you lost a lot of blood, and you can't fight properly as you are now!"

"I got my party into this mess; I got you guys involved as well. It is up to me to make up for my lack of experience. Go, I can handle myself."

"Damn it, don't you dare die, you have to carry on for those who fell!" Gale takes and carries Syphine and carries her out. Eriie follows after him. Yorn, who is fully tapped out, takes the rear and follows after—leaving Nana, Caleb, Uzel, and Lukia to defend the flank.

"Nana, you should go too, we can handle them for some time, buy you guys time to move."

"I can swing my sword just enough to do some damage; don't worry."

"Don't do this, not now, alright! Just listen and go!"

"Uzel is staying behind, and he is worse off; I think I can handle myself. Besides, I don't mind the handicap."

"Hmph, fine. We don't have time to argue. Uzel! How many are in the room?"

"At least ten!"

"Shit! Everyone! Back to back!" Caleb instructs, and they follow. Standing shoulder to shoulder with Nana and Uzel, Lukia draws her sword and holds it with a firm grip and resolve. Keeping her eyes open and focused for any signs of moment, they prepare for the sneak attack.

"Caleb, on your left! Nana right under you!" Uzel pinpoints with his hearing approaching goblins. Caleb sees the slight shift in air and stabs the goblin in the throat. Nana is slow to the draw, and the goblin latches onto her and drives its dagger into her left shoulder. The dagger made it halfway before she grabbed the creature's face and crushed it with her strength. The blood spills over her chest as it falls over lifeless.

"You alright?" Lukia asks her.

"Just fine, that was nothing!"

Looking between everyone, Caleb formulates scenarios in his head as the way the enemy will approach. Will they come in at once now that they know we can defend against them or will they do something more cunning. Until a thought hits Caleb.

"Everyone! Get low!"

"What? Why?"

"Just do it!" Obeying his command, everyone kneels down with their weapons held out in front. Caleb breaks away from the group, grabs the torch on the ground, and runs to the exit.

"What are you doing?!" Nana shouts.

"Trust me!" Caleb flashes the torch around him, which causes three glimmers to shift slightly. A grin appears on his face as he swings his sword, cleaving through the three goblins as they fall over dead. "The torches flames will cause them to react! They will move away!

Leaning back, Caleb tosses the torch toward the group, and it passes over their heads; the torch abruptly hits something invisible, which causes it to light on fire. The invisible goblin screams in pain, flails around, and runs at the three crouched. The flaming goblin causes the remaining glimmers to back away from it. Uzel hears the shift and orders everyone to strike at them.

Lukia screams as she slashes through the one in front of her, cleaving through its body before it splits apart. Uzel ducks under two blades aimed for his head and stabs both with his daggers. They fall over dead, bleeding profusely. Nana swings her sword to deflect the strike by the goblin and then shifts her weight to overpower it. Then, swinging her blade to cleave it into two. The creature lets out a yell before dying to its wounds.

"Alright, we need to move!" Nana shouts to everyone and turns away from a hidden danger.

"Nana! Watch out!" Lukia turns to see the weird-looking ogre somehow silently sneaking up behind Nana and, with its massive club, strikes at her.

She reacts too slowly due to her wounds and takes a massive blow to her arm, the sound of the bones breaking as it launches her into the air. She plummets and hits the hard ground with a loud thud, a piece of her bone sticking out of her arm. Her sword falls right next to her.

"Shit! He's fast!" Uzel backs away and barely dodges a fatal strike from the ogre, and Lukia tries to retreat, but the ogre reacts to her movement and takes a quick step forward.

"G-Get out of there!" Barely able to stand, Nana lifts her sword with one arm and rushes to her aid. Clashing with the ogre, she thinks about her failure to detect such a large creature in time. Fighting against herself, she tries to fight back but is pushed away, watching as the ogre lifts its massive club and prepares to smash down with a deadly strike to her head. Eyes wide open as death approaches, she feels the end draw near...

"Yrraahhhh!!!" Caleb leaps forward, screaming at the top of his lungs as he plunges his sword deep into the shoulder of the ogre. The hulking creature twists its head at Caleb. Staring at him with its cold eyes, it lets out a loud, eerie cry before it clutches Caleb and throws him hard into the wall. He gasps as his ribs crack under the pressure, and he coughs up blood before falling to the floor, defeated.

Everyone stares as his body falls, and the ogre quickly recovers from his wound. The creepy nature of its body is unnatural; tampered with dark magic, it shifts its focus on Uzel and Lukia...