Chapter 18

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Day: 1001

Days Left: 4479

Lives Saved: 5

Princess Alfreda decided that after a long day of napping and relaxing in the comfort of her tent, she should spend the rest of the evening napping and relaxing even more in the comfort of her tent. This monotony was occasionally broken up by Lili delivering food; Calanthe insisting on styling her hair again, and Corinna and three of the imps, that had taken a shine to her, would visit for a chat.

At first, Alfreda did try to pick up reading or another hobby as she was self-restricted to reside in her tent; however, these attempts soon grew more sparse until the point where the princess waited out her days doing nothing at all. There were times when Alfreda hesitated at the tent exit, considering joining the others in their games and conversations. Still, lethargy swept through her mind, and the motivation to do anything productive, anything fun, and sometimes to do anything at all disappeared. Some days, Alfreda had no appetite and could not will herself to eat, giving her portions secretly to the imps so that Lili and Calanthe would not be concerned.

These days would pass both slowly and quickly, slowly when Alfreda wanted the day to just end, and then quickly when she almost collected enough motivation to do something, but the day had already ended. Then, she would have to restart again, hoping that that motivation would rekindle tomorrow.

Every day was the same, and Alfreda had stopped counting them down. So what was even the point? She did not have a set prison sentence like everyone else; no, Alfreda was trapped in the Eternal Abyss for as long as her sister, the queen, deemed it so. Or maybe, Alfreda would be down here forever if she did not beg for her release.

Would the next generations of royalty not be told that she was down here? What if she ended up like Calixte and the imps and became forgotten, never free, and all of the people she knew on the other side were long dead?

Alfreda shook her head, struggling to keep these dark thoughts and pessimism at bay. The only hope that Alfreda had left was that her cousin, Duchess Sophia Vipond, would take the crown and free her, as the thought of Queen Corinna getting pregnant and bearing a successor was indeed laughable. Yet the fear was still there. What were the chances that Sophia had worked out that the 'Princess Alfreda' on the other side was indeed a fake and the real one was imprisoned in the Eternal Abyss? Sophia's intelligence and deduction skills were... perhaps not the best. Still, Alfreda remained hopeful that, at the very least, her cousin could tell an imposter apart and maybe come to the conclusion that Alfreda was in the Abyss... or would Sophia believe her to be dead?

Groaning, Alfreda flopped onto her pillow, nesting into the nest of blankets. There was no use worrying about it so much, for there was nothing that she could do from this side but wait in the hopes that one day she would be free from here without having to plead to her sister.

Despite sleeping for most of the day, or rather for months now, Alfreda's body was still swarmed with fatigue and exhaustion. Then, about to close her eyes to rest, a tingling sensation pricked the back of Alfreda's neck, a feeling she had felt over half a year ago.

She paused a moment, considering whether or not to answer the call, surprised that she was even given the option until she sucked in a breath and accepted it.

After laying down and closing her eyes, Alfreda soon opened them and found herself surrounded by darkness, though she could see herself perfectly clear. Then, with enough time to imagine herself in a regal gown instead of her worn nightgown, Princess Alfreda turned to see the image of a white thrown emerge in her sleeping mindscape.

Eventually, a figure appeared sitting on the throne; Queen Corinna IX, adorned in a plain silver garment covering all of her skin and her iconic featureless white mask.

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