Chapter Six: The cage.

Several hours had passed since General Richard departed the Kingdom of Vitalis with his troops, leaving the captives securely confined in their respective carriages. With a sense of accomplishment, he was radiating with both brightness and satisfaction after successfully accomplishing a remarkable task. He believed that this would make King Murdoch proud.

Prior to departing, he had deployed a significant quantity of soldiers hailing from the Kingdom of Eratreal to ensure the protection of Vitalis. King Murdoch had already taken control of nine kingdoms before, and he had served as the commanding general of the king's army, playing a significant role in the victories. As of now, they have taken over a tenth Kingdom.

The King bestowed significant privileges and great wealth upon General Richard. The Crown Prince, The Duke of the Isle, was also promised marriage to Richard's daughter, Arabella. With an assured grin, Richard acknowledged his own strength in Eratreal, aware that even the King would think twice before going against him.

The kingdom of Eratreal was located towards the eastern border of Vitalis, and was relatively close in proximity, the latter being only a day's journey away. The success of the Eratreal invasion can be attributed largely to the significant short distance involved. 

Within a span of half a year, King Murdoch had dispatched both his spies and his oldest son, the Crown Prince , to gather information on Vitalis in order to ascertain their vulnerabilities.

A plan was proposed by General Richard for how to conquer Vitalis and it was laid out two days ago. He had declared to his troops that they would carry out the invasion during the nighttime.

He received information from his spy, posing as a soldier in Vitalis - that the King of vitalis and some of his troops had recently come back from a hunting expedition in a distant Kingdom. The spy recommended that it was the opportune moment to attack, considering that the King and his men were fatigued from their arduous journey.

Richard moved swiftly to collect his soldiers in response to the King's directive, and headed towards Vitalis without delay. Vitalis posed little difficulty for him since it was a much smaller kingdom when compared with Eratreal and they were known to be generally peaceful.

It was the evening of the following day when they finally reached the vast kingdom of Eratreal. The general was greeted with a shout of victory as the people welcomed them. Because the people of Eratreal weren't surprised that Richard didn't return empty-handed, he brought great plunder and slaves for the King, as always.

They finally arrived at the palace as they came from their carriages.

Richard glanced at his captives. "Take them into their cages," he ordered swiftly. Looking seemingly confused, "Where's the princess?" he questioned, glancing around.

"She's still asleep," returned the soldier, pointing inside the carriage.

"Oh, she thinks she's still royalty," Richard mocked with a hint of sarcasm. "Take her inside the cage," he ordered, before marching into the palace hall.

Elizabeth regained consciousness after being unconscious for almost an entire day. She wriggled about and became aware of a distinct rigidity. She realized that she wasn't in her own bed and slowly opened her eyes, struggling to recollect the events that led her to this strange location.

She gradually opened her eyes and realized that she was in a large, dimly lit room surrounded by metal bars. As soon as she comprehended that she was confined in a cage like an animal, her heartbeat accelerated rapidly.

She glanced around, as her eyes fell upon several other ladies nearby, all of whom appeared just as disoriented and terrified, confined within their own cages. While some expressed their sorrow through tears, others were seen pacing back and forth in a state of exasperation. The air was thick with the scent of perspiration and anxiety.

As Elizabeth tried to recollect how she got here, a sudden pang shot through her head. With an expression of discomfort, she let out a groan and placed her hand on her head, detecting a swelling on her temple. 

She experienced soreness and stiffness in her bones, and her tongue felt parched and dehydrated. Out of nowhere, a rush of memories came flooding in: an attack had taken place resulting in the death of her parents. And Nicholas, Oh Nicholas, her beloved, whom she loved deeply. She hoped he was alive.

With each passing moment, her terror worsened as she came to the realization that she had been abducted and taken to this location. Her heart felt like it was about to burst out of her chest as she wondered what was going to happen to everyone here. Were they going to be sold as slaves? Or probably even killed?

She also wondered about her brother, Arthur, and her slave girl, Aurora. She hoped they were alive and well. Where they also brought here? She wondered as she looked around frantically for any sigh of Aurora amongst the ladies, but she was nowhere to be found.

Elizabeth was deeply saddened and overwhelmed with distress. Just hours ago, she had been experiencing the happiest moment with Nicholas that she had never wanted to end, but now he was probably dead and she was confined there. How cruel life was to her. Knowing that she'd never see her parents again was wrenching through her heart. She wailed while hobbling with discomfort.

"Are you alright?"

She spun around, and was alarmed to behold a young lady sitting inside a cage in close proximity. She wore ragged attire and her brown hair seemed unkempt and grimy. She appeared undernourished and fatigued.

Elizabeth shook her head, unable to give a verbal answer.

"Don't worry," the girl said, smiling at her. "Your friends are safe."

"Where are they?" Elizabeth glanced at her with renewed hope. "I don't see them around here," she complained, looking around the cages.

"There are other cages apart from these," said the girl. "A handsome man and a young girl, right? I saw the soldiers take them into the other room." She explained.

"Thank God!" Elizabeth sighed. "But where are we?"

"We're in the Kingdom of Eratreal," she said, fixing her gaze on Elizabeth as she explained. "Did they also invade your kingdom?"

"Yes," said Elizabeth in surprise. "So they invaded yours also?"

"Yes, "she emitted with a low growl, "And killed my family."

Elizabeth watched as she cried. She was in no position to comfort anyone after what she'd been through herself. She also wondered what other misfortune lay ahead of her.

"I wonder what's going to happen to us?" Elizabeth asked with a gloomy expression, eliciting an uncomfortable reaction from the girl.

"Oh, you don't want to know," the girl bemoaned.

"Tell me," Implored Elizabeth. "I can bear it."

"We're going to be sold," said the girl. "And to the highest bidder at that," she lamented bitterly.

Elizabeth felt like dying. A few moments ago, she was a princess, and now she was about to become a slave. What else had the world planned for her? Again, she considered her life pathetic.

After indulging in further conversation with the girl, she got to know that her name was Alice and she was from the Kingdom of Gur. They had also invaded their kingdom and killed their king and his family, leaving only the princess alive. She was taken here and sold last week to one of the noblemen of the kingdom. Alice had been in the cage for over a month, since they were yet to price her.

It was no secret in Eratreal, that on every mission General Richard embarked on, he ensured that he returned with the loveliest young women who were later sold off as slaves. Before installing their own soldiers, they ensured the elimination of the loyal soldiers of the previous king. The young men had no choice but to swear loyalty to King Murdoch or face the possibility of death. On the other hand, the princes were brought to Eratreal with the intention of breaking and converting them into obedient slaves. Murdoch took great pleasure in this particular triumph.

The ladies suddenly heard the sound of footsteps approaching and froze, their eyes staring at the person coming towards them. A man with a bald head appeared, holding a whip. He started taunting and intimidating them, telling them they were worthless and that they were here to serve others. The sound of the whip cracking sent a shiver down Elizabeth's spine.