3: HER NEW JOURNEY

[ 5 years later]

"Ashtria, I'm here," a person said as he head inside. Ashtria approached the door to meet the person entering their small house made of coconut leaves and bamboos. She removed the curtains that were blocking the door and looked at him. 

"Welcome back, dada," Ashtria said coldly. He is the one who assisted her escape from the palace. She owes him so much for saving her life that he even took care of her after that. He was a close friend of her parents' and the commander of all guards in their palace.

"Have you cleaned up?" her father asked, and Ashtria responded with a nod. "Yes, I finished all of the housework, ahm, how's your work?" Ashtria queried.

"Well, the new king, I mean the new owner in this palace, almost guessed that I was the one who saved you," her dada said again, looking into her eyes. "Don't worry, this place is hidden, so they won't know you're here; however, Ashtria, you must leave this palace no matter what and dive into battle."

Ashtria fixed her gaze on his eyes before moving her gaze to the ground. "Like dad, right?" Her dada replied with a nod.

"What's on the outside, dada? Can you tell me something about it? I asked dad about it once and he didn't even give me a good answer," Ashtria said. Her dada gives her a smile and taps her on the shoulder.

"Come sit here, I'll give you something, and I'll tell you what happened to your parents," her father said, patting the chair next to him. Ashtria sat there, staring at him, waiting for him to say something.

Ashtria's heart began to beat faster and she began to feel cold; her hands were as cold as ice and shaking. She wasn't prepared for what her dada had to say about her parents. Judging by her dada's expression, she was nervous about what he would reveal.

He was Cail, a 31 years old man. Even though he gets older, there are still traces of him being a kind and gentle person, but when it came to battles, he was like a monster that was difficult to kill and catch. Some of the maids in the Creshtian palace, which was owned by her family at the time, admired him as well.

"Every year there is a so -called "International Game" where all the players around the world come together to fight, your dad was recommended to fight solo for the country and he agrees because he has a lot of trust in the people around him and that was your father's mistake,"  Cail speaks, causing Ashtria to clench her fist in rage. But her face was expressionless, and she continued to stare at him solemnly.

"Why did dad agree? If he can't fight alone, why did he agree?" Ashtria asked calmly. Before speaking, Cail simply looked away and stared at the ground.

"It's because they made an agreement; if he can win that game by himself, they will grant his wish that he don't want to participate in the game after that, and you and your mother will have a nice and simple life because that's what your father wants for your family," Cail explained. Ashtria can no longer hold back her tears. Because of what Cail has said, Ashtria recalls her parents' love for her. It's something she'll never forget. She wished she could relive it.

"Because your father is one of the fifteen strongest people in the world, many people want to bring him down, which is why his well-known friends betrayed him, and they are Daxero, Chrisallya, and Chim," Ashtria's eyes widen when she hears those words. Her tears stopped, and she bit her lower lip, causing it to bleed.

"Your father was about to win the battle, but he was killed in the middle, and after your father was killed, they took your mother out, and I don't know what happened to her," Cail says, staring at the ground.

"Who killed him?" Ashtria asks Cail calmly, but her eyes say it all. She wanted vengeance, she wanted to kill the people who killed her parents.

"The strongest fighter of Sway Blus Countrial, Axis, he can't win against him because your father was only in the top twelve, and Axis was on a higher level, he's in the top five. Your father thought he'd only fight the top ten, but he was wrong. He can't refuse the battle because his honor and dignity are at stake, he needs to do his best to win but luck was not on his side," Cail explained before turning His eyes widened as he noticed blood coming from her mouth. "What did you do!" Cail exclaimed, quickly grabbing a cloth to wipe the blood from her mouth.

"I'm fine, dada," Ashtria said, removing Cail's hand from her face. Ashtria's face was calm, but a single look at her was lethal. As if she can end people's lives in an instant.

Cail trained Ashtria for five years, making her the strongest fighter and wanting her to escape the Creshtian Kingdom. Cail is aware that people wanted to take her, especially since she had a large amount of gold left to her by her parents. Her father may only be in one of the top fifteen fighters, but he was the world's third richest person.

Cail sighs deeply and takes a seat beside Ashtria, holding the blood-splattered cloth and placing it in the table's drawer. He patted Ashtria's head, which surprised her and caused her to look at Cail. Cail smiles as he looks at her.

"So Ashtria, you need to be brave. Everything I taught you is that you will use it outside of the kingdom, but it isn't enough yet. You need to be stronger, I know you can do it. Your father's personality is in your blood, I know you are strong, just like him," Cail says, and Ashtria simply smiles.

"Dada, thank you for everything. I don't have something that can replace on what you have given to me but I promise that I will take revenge, I will make sure that they will pay the price that they made," Ashtria said and stood up. "I am ready to leave this palace, dada," she added. Cail smiled and stood up as well, he took something and removed the wrapped cloth.

"Take this gun, this is your father's favorite. Use it for future purposes and take care of that as this is very valuable to him," Cail said, handing the gun over to Ashtria. She took up the gun and examined it carefully.

"Thank you," Ashtria stated, clutching the gun tightly. She wanted to say something else, but someone called Cail's name from outside the house.

"Cail! Get out of there! I know you hid her if you don't bring out Asherion's daughter, I will burn down your house!" Someone yelled and stood outside waiting for them. They surrounded the nipa hut so they wouldn't be able to escape.

Cail abruptly takes the bag of gold and silver and hands it to Ashtria, who then speaks. "Ashtria, hurry up, get out through the secret passage, hurry up!" Cail exclaimed as he drew his sword and prepared for battle.

"B-but, what about you dada?" Ashtria inquires of him, concerned. Cail smiled as he looked at her.

"I'm fine, hurry up! You need to go out," Ashtria said as he walked towards the door, but before Cail could leave the nipa hut, she ran up to him and hugged him while her tears began to fall. Cail's eyes widened and he was taken aback by what Ashtria had done.

"Until we meet again dada, make sure to be alive. This will not be our last meeting, I'm going to travel now. I'll make sure they will regret what they've done, that's a promise," Cail held Ashtria's hands, and he felt tears dripping down his back. 

Ashtria then proceeded to the secret passage. She grabbed a black cloak and bolted as fast as she could. They won't be able to see her with her black cloak because it was late at night.

"Find that woman! I know she's just here around!" Ashtria recognized the shouting voice and dashed to the big gate when two people suddenly blocked her path.

"Do you think you'll be able to escape? I'll get a lot of money if I catch you," the man with the black dagger said, grinning at her.

Ashtria simply ran up to him, kicked the man in the stomach, and took the dagger he was holding. With the blow she delivered, she also put him to sleep. She was almost struck by a sword when the other one suddenly slid his sword on her neck; she went behind him and stabbed the dagger she was holding in his neck, causing blood to flow from his neck.

"I'm sorry, but I have to live as well," Ashtria said as she looked at the two people and ran away.

She dashed to the small door where she had gone as a child. A thick smoke entered her nose as she exited the main gate. She ran again, this time covering her nose with her hands and looking behind her. She realized she was no longer close to the big gate and couldn't even see the palace. She paused for a moment to return her gaze to the location that had brought her happiness, albeit for a brief moment.

"Mom, Dad, I'm already outside the palace, outside the wall; I'll make sure they regret what they did to the both of you," Ashtria said as she slowly turned around and began walking to a place where she didn't know where her feet would take her.