Chapter Three

Elena finally arrived at the entrance of the castle gate. To avoid the guards from seeing her, she sneaked out in the form of a maid. It would have been hard to discern her as she was never treated, especially in the castle, so her clothes were worse than a maid's. Her heart was beating hard when she reached the guards.

Fortunately, they didn't suspect anything, so she left the castle without a problem. It was a good thing that not everyone knew her face. They have heard stories about the bastard child, but most haven't seen her or even care to. She spent most of her time in the castle library or her secret passage hideout, listening to the King and his advisors. Thanks to the extensive knowledge she accumulated, she knew following the Forest would lead her to the border between her Kingdom and the Kingdom of Neba.

Neba was her mother's homeland. Her mother had always talked about that Kingdom, its scenery, the food, and the culture. To be honest, Elena had always been a bit curious about her Kingdom - the Kingdom of Pres. But after the way her own family in the castle treated her, she doubted if the people would accept her if they found out her real identity. From what she had gained from the discussions between the King and his advisors, the people are fiercely loyal to their King - the same King she wants to destroy.

So as far as she was concerned, going to the Kingdom of Neba was a good idea. She would start a new life and map out her journey towards getting revenge.

Kingdom of Pres,

Back at the palace…

The maid looked at her colleague who left the garden with a look of derision. She had never seen such a shameless person in her life; then again, all the people in this Kingdom were. She was sent here as a spy by the King of Neba to find out about the sad ending of his only daughter. The King had never been a fan of the King of Pres. So, after finding out about the mysterious way his daughter died, he instantly became suspicious. The King of Neba had an uncanny sense of intuition. It turns out he was right again.

His daughter didn't die of natural cause.

She was killed.

She smiled. Looks like there was going to be a war.

In the forest...

As Elena made her way deeper into the forest, she took in her surroundings. She saw plants, trees, and animals that she had only seen in books in the palace.

There was an animal that caught her interest. It had a hide of golden brown and very unique horns. The horns look connected, made up of different connected horns. Its eyes were black. She didn't see any white or any other color, just black. It looked soulless, but she found it very cute if she looked behind the eyes. She wondered if it was a mystical creature. She has heard of them, but no one has seen any in a long time.

The animal was grazing, and she just couldn't help herself to study it, not worried at all if she would be caught.

As she moved, the animal paused its eating and looked at her. She stood very still as the animal did so as not to scare it, and they were like that for a while. Sensing no threat from her, the animal resumed its grazing. She moved closer to the animal slowly so that the animal won't be spooked. Except for the occasional twitch of its ears, the animal paid no heed to her.

She walked closer to the animal, so she was about an arm's length to it. As she stretched out her hand to touch its hide, the animal paused its grazing and sharply looked up at her. She gasped and retracted her hand a bit, especially after closely viewing the animal's soulless eyes. When she was sure that the animal would cause her no harm, she raised her hand towards it again, slowly until she could feel its hide.

She was in awe as soon as she touched it. She looked at the animal, surprise and admiration shining through her eyes. Its hide felt as soft as silk and yet very sturdy. As she moved her hand through its hide, stroking it, the animal growled in satisfaction.

"You like that, don't you?" The animal released another contented growl in response. She smiled in return and kept dragging her hand across its hide.

"You are the first friend that I've made since I escape from the palace. So, I'll name you..." She paused, thinking of a name that could fit the animal to perfection.

"Forest. I'll call you Forest since I met you at the Forest." She laughed at her joke. She continued stroking it, and then she looked at the sky. Seeing as her time had gone, she wished Forest goodbye and ran further into the woods. She looked back at her first friend and saw that it had resumed its grazing.

She smiled.

She alternated her time between walking and running. So finally, before the sun completely went down, she was able to make it to the border of Neba.

She crossed the border and made her way to the throng of people who were filing into its Kingdom. She noticed the guards asking for something resembling a wooden pass. She instantly became nervous as she didn't have one at all.

She studied them closely and realized that they collected the pass from only adult males and females. A child or award could be supported by one or both. Using her small stature to her advantage, she made her way towards an old man in the crowd and supported him, acting as his ward. The man probably could not speak because he looked at her with gratitude.

They grew closer and closer to the guards guarding the gate into the entrance of the Kingdom of Neba. Finally, it was their turn.

"Your pass." One of the guards said. She lowered her head and stood shyly behind the old man she was with, keeping up with her act. After what felt like hours to her, they were finally granted access inside the Kingdom.

Neba was a beautiful country. As she entered the Kingdom, she was greeted with the sight of bustling citizens carrying out their day-to-day activities. It was filled with life. She imagined her mother walking amid the crowd smiling, a royal disguised as a commoner.

Elena wished the old man goodbye, and he, in turn, replied to her with a smile. Thinking about her mother brought a smile to her face. She was sure that the citizens loved her mother and could also freely converse with her, unlike in the Kingdom of Pres, where citizens couldn't look upon a king's face or talk to any of the Royalty. She knew upon seeing this Kingdom that she would find safety here. She had never felt so at peace with her environment, even when she was in the Forest.

She made her way into the throngs of people, buyers and sellers and just normal pedestrians carrying out their different activities. She passed stalls that sold very different and beautiful items. They were bracelets, necklaces, anklets, and very beautiful, colorful clothes for females; headdresses fit a queen and beauty substances for the skin.

Her hands itched to buy some of those items, but she couldn't afford them as she didn't have enough money. Even when she was in the Kingdom of Pres, she was never given an allowance or earned any. It was one of the causes of her malnutrition, which made her seem smaller than most when she was just nineteen years of age.

Elena set to work immediately to begin her new life in Neba, asking about available job openings in different places. Finally, she came upon a restaurant that looked worse for wear and had a poster saying...

HIRING.

A COOK IS NEEDED.

She was very happy upon seeing the sign. She tore the poster and went inside the restaurant.

Although Elena didn't eat well, one of her many skills would be cooking. Back at the palace of Pres, she made use of leftover ingredients to cook for herself. After having the opportunity of tasting the King's food (which no one ever found out about), she could proudly boast about cooking better than the King's most prized chef. That was her secret as she never wanted to cook for the King or his family. Despite her cooking skills, she had so few materials to work on. So she could only eat well if there was a huge ceremony hosted by the King, which included different dishes, thereby providing her with a variety of leftover ingredients.

Elena entered the restaurant and took in its surroundings. The wooden floor creaked whenever she moved. The walls had moulds on them, and save for the waiter, there was also what looked like a homeless man who slept atop one of the tables. The tables and chairs weren't in good condition either. They were either broken and supported by some kind of pillar or roughly covered with parts of them already chopped off by rodents.

No wonder they have no customers. She thought. If they could accept her, she would bring good food and change the outlook of the place.

"Hello. What can I help you with?" The waiter said. She guessed that he was also the manager. Seeing as the place was, she doubted anyone would work here, not to talk of him being able to afford any.

The manager was of a short lanky build, and he was extremely thin with beards so full only his eyes were visible. She brought out the poster she tore and gave it to him.

"I'm looking for a job. Are you still hiring?"

The shock was evident on the man's face. He looked around the restaurant, then looked back at her, sadness and disappointment radiating off him.

"We would have loved to hire you, but as you can see, there isn't much to do here. I would soon have to shut down the shop." Elena was quiet for a while.

"What if I can help you bring this restaurant to new heights? I can bring you so many customers that you would get tired of serving." The man's eyes lit up in hope before it quickly dimmed and was replaced with curiosity.

"I have to test your skills first to be sure of that." He said.

"Where is your kitchen?" Elena asked.

"Over here. Just follow me." Knowing that there was nothing he could lose, he took her to a small room at the back of the restaurant. Compared to its serving area, the kitchen was pretty decent.

She took a look around then started removing random ingredients from what was left on the kitchen shelf. Taking out a small pot, she washed it and kept it aside. There was chopping, slicing, boiling, grating, and grinding of different ingredients mixed. Finally, the food was done.

She took a small serving bowl and served the manager what she had cooked up. The manager at first hesitatingly took a spoonful, and then his eyes shone widely as if tasting something rare. He began to eat the remaining food very fast. The food was spicy, so he made little panting sounds as he ate until he finished the food, leaving no stains in the bowl. He released a sigh and looked upwards, a contented smile on his face. Then he faced Elena.

"How was it? She asked him. The man looked up at her, awe and hope illuminating his eyes.

"Wonderful. It was wonderful!”