Chapter 4

" We will follow her"

The three followed lulu, as they followed her the three was curious why did the girl get an axe. As they continue the 3 were shocked that there is a hidden tunnel to the palace and when they reached the end of it there was a big door lulu opened it and there they find hidden cells where dangerous criminals were tortured and imprisoned. They observed lulu whose shouting and calling alibaba's name but no response, until a prisoner talks.

"Hey shut up! If you're looking for the blonde, she's in the last cell of the last level. You better get her body before it gets rotten, oh wait it already was rotten" the prisoner said while laughing.

"You shut up! Or you might want to taste this axe im holding" lulu said. After the conversation with the prisoner she was surprised by the apperance of three familiar figures.

"You're highness what are you doing here?"

"Let us talk later, what's more important is to find her" as they ran down through the last level and finally reach their destination, it was full of cells whose doors are thick block of metal with a single window above. When they reached the last cell Koubun voluntereed to confirmed if alibaba is inside.

"No, old geezer let me handle this" Judar said

Judar tiptoe to reach the window, there he sees a blonde girl full of wounds and blood covering her body and her face was full of dust and dirt, her eyes are wide open but dull and full of pain, her mouth was slightly open as if waiting for a single drop of water to reached her dry throat. Although she's breathing she is not moving, her wounds were huge and deep, and her hands and feet where chained. Judar can't speak from what he saw, although he killed a few many people it is his first time seeing someone between death and never ending pain.

"Judar is she there?How is she? Is she alive?"kougyoku said. But Judar is still in shocked of what he sees inside the cell.

"Hey how is she!" Lulu shouted. Then lulu pushed him and take a peek at the window when she sees the condition of her friend, she let out a sob.

"K-kougyoku u-use your weapon equip to open the d-door" Judar said but this only makes kougyoku and koubun shivered because it is their first time seeing judar trembling. Kougyoku immediately materialize her weapon equip and cut the door into two, her eyes and mouth are wide open and a mixture of shocked, pain, and pity painted to her face and the same thing can be seen throuh koubun.

Judar walked inside cutting the chains using the axe lulu is holding then carry the wounded fragile body of the blonde, Kougyoku and lulu are crying while Koubun retain his composure though deep inside he also wants to cry. The blonde closed her eyes that makes kougyoku worried "Hey! she closed her eyes!" Kougyoku shouted.

"she just loose consciousness but she's stil alive"Judar said in monotone but anger can be heard. They immediately proceed to kougyoku's room and lay the blonde in the bed. Ka koubun instantly used his magical tools and metal vessel to heal the blonde.

"Ka koubun how is she?"

"Princess she received a hundred deep wounds and she's almost out of blood, what i can only do now is gave her first aid, we need a magician whose expertise is healing and a doctor, unlike her mother she's in a near death situation and she needs an immediate help"

"I will ask the empire to brought here a magician and i'll ask koumei to help us with his dantallion" kougyoku said. She immediately used a clarevoyance magic tool to contact koumei and luckily koumei is in his off duty. After an hour the magician came in and help koubun to heal the blonde.

Kougyoku, lulu, and judar are sitting patiently waiting and no one dared to speak, and after an hour koubun and the other magician are done healing the blonde "How is she?is she ok now?"kougyoku asked.

"Yeah she's fine now princess but the magician needs to treat her one more day to heal her completely" koubun said. The three sigh in relief

"Well that's better, now i need to make that pig pay for it and i'll report this to his father" kougyoku said, when she's about to reached the door to open it she was suddenly stopped by lulu.

"Princess im sorry for my interruption but can you please stop what you were planning for ...alibaba's... sake"

"What do you mean? and her parents has the right to know this!"

"You won't understand it"

"Then make us understand it" Judar said.

"Im sorry but it's alibaba's decision, the first ti-"

"You mean this is not the first time it happened!"kougyoku said

"Wait let me finish, you're highness. This is not the first time she was locked in that place, before ahbmad drag her there and didn't give her food for a couple of days. Im the one helping her and give her food by sneaking and sometimes paying the guards for their silence. That's when she told me that she don't want to make her parents worry about her so everytime it happens im the one talking to them and make excuses."

"What?, you mean she's been there for a couple of times and mistreated by that pig"

"Yes princess so please don't do what you were planning, but this is the first time that the governor go to this extent".

"Hey! you told us before that alibaba is Ahbmad's sister, what do you mean by that? and why did Ahbmad do it to her if she is his sister?" Judar asked. "Yeah tell us" kougyoku added.

"The truth is I also don't know when I asked her before, all she just say is 'It is all her fault so she deserves it' Im not sure but i think it is something deeper and maybe that is why she tolerates everything that Ahbmad do to her. About her being ahbmad's sister it is something I heard during one of their fightings 'that she is an illegitimate child of the king from a slum prostitute' That is all i know"

Ka koubun, kougyoku and Judar are speechless about what they heard from lulu.

"How can I not know this?im a useless friend? she's bearing this a long time ago, but she has her father barkakk and mother tayba?" kougyoku cry again.

"Stop crying princess" Even ka koubun don't know what to say and how he can comfort the princess, instead she just let the princess cry in his chest.

"Yeah i think she was adopted, princess I know you all care for her so please don't do anything so reckless without her knowledge and one more thing when she wakes up don't bombarded her with questions and just act normal like nothing happened"

" Are you serious!? How can we act so normal after she almost die" Kougyoku shouted again.

"Ughm how can i say this... Don't make her feel ughm... weak. She don't like that and I hope that dream doesn't attack her again"

"What Dream?" Judar asked.

"She never told it to me but there is a time when I go to that place to secretly bring her food I saw her dreaming, she's even talking of things I dont understand so i wake her up and when she woke up she didn't speak, eat, or move and it takes 3 days before she recover from that dream so I hope this time It won't attack"

"Okay we understand, what are you planning now?" Koubun asked.

" I will go to her parents and tell them that she will sleep here, and if you let me I want to go back here and check her condition" Lulu said.

"Ofcourse you can come back lulu" kougyoku said

"Thank you youre highness"

3 days had passed and Alibaba is completely healed the scars are also invisible to human naked eye. But she's still not waking up.

"Ka koubun what did the magician said? Why isn't she waking up?"

"The magician said she was very drained from the assault and needs a lot of rest to regained her energy"

"But isn't it too much it's been 3 da-". Judar walk inside the room together with lulu and started to talk.

"Hey kougyoku we have something to do, leave her to this girl for a while"Judar said pointing lulu.

Kougyoku, Judar and Ka koubun leave the room, Lulu sat on the bed beside alibaba and hold her hands.

" My princess please wake up" As she stare to her princess, she was shocked when her golden eyes was slowly opening and the princess turned its face to her.

"Lulu".