Knights of The Dauntless Princess

Chapter 25: Fardowsa

Amara temporarily distanced herself from Fardowsa to find a way to hide her identity. She searched for a house far from the town and was not disappointed when she saw the home of a farmer.

"Who are you!?" asked a man who appeared to be over fifty years old. Amara removed her head covering, and the man and his wife and daughter widened their eyes after recognizing her. "You-you're the princess! What are you doing here!? Are you planning to kill us!? Have mercy! Have mercy on us!!!"

Amara's face was saddened, and she tried to explain, "No! Please believe me! I have no ill intentions towards you! Please trust me, I beg you!"

"Why are you here? You won't gain anything from us!" the man said firmly, positioning himself in front of his family to protect them.

Amara stood before them, staring intently, "I won't stay long. All I want is for you to hear me out. Time is running out, and I need to hurry!"

The farmer's daughter, Bella, clung to her father's arm and peeked at Amara. When Amara noticed, she gave her a sparing smile that warmed Bella's heart.

"F-Father, let's listen to her," she said, stepping away from her father's protection. "I feel like she doesn't mean any harm to us."

"Bella," her father said.

"Thank you! T-Thank you for trusting me, Miss Bella," Amara replied.

Bella gazed at the princess as if enchanted by her beauty. She smiled at Amara and showed respect, "I'm pleased to meet you, princess. How can we help you?"

Amara's face once again filled with worry, "I want to ask for your help! I want to change my appearance so the guards won't recognize me!"

The farmer frowned and felt anger rising, "Bella! Stay away from her! She only wants to use you to escape from the guards searching for her!"

"No! That's not what I'm trying to do!" Amara quickly said, tightly clasping her hands. "My plan is to enter Fardowsa and save my beloved friend! But I can't do that if they recognize me and immediately take me to the palace!"

"To... Fardowsa?" the farmer's wife interjected, noticing the sadness and determination in the princess's eyes. "Do you know that once you enter there, you can never leave?"

"Mother, what is Fardowsa?" Bella asked.

Concern for her daughter's safety filled the mother, and she embraced Bella, "Fardowsa is a place where only the rich and influential can enter, and they turn young ladies taken from their families into slaves."

"Will they take me too, Mother?" Bella inquired.

The father's expression turned fearful because Bella was nearly eighteen the following year. "No, my child! I won't let that happen!"

Bella looked at Amara, and the princess seemed like an enchanting beauty at that moment in her eyes. Bella smiled at Amara and showed respect, "I don't know how we can help you."

Amara felt touched, "I consider this a great debt, and I humbly ask if you can give me a hand. I don't want anything bad to happen to anyone! I'm just so afraid right now of my friend because I know she's suffering there! I'm begging you!"

The princess bowed deeply, leaving them to ponder if they were worthy of her presence.

"My lady," the mother spoke. "Please stand up. We will help you to the best of our ability!"

"Thank you so much!"

Although the father hesitated about what they were doing, his wife and daughter seemed at ease with the princess and helped her prepare. Using the Black Floryn flowers, Amara colored her hair, and they made her more attractive. Her once innocent and charming appearance transformed into a mature and seductive look. They dressed Amara in a long dress that emphasized her cleavage. The princess felt embarrassed but believed the dress would be of great help.

"Thank you for your help," Amara smiled and was about to leave when the farmer called out to her.

"Lady princess," he said, and Amara turned to look at him. "I don't know how you'll save your friend or how you'll escape from that place, as you cannot bring your sword there. So, take this," he handed Amara a small dagger. "Please accept this and be safe!"

Amara's eyes shone with gratitude, "Thank you!"

"Take care, Lady princess."

Amara nodded at him before finally leaving the place. She returned to Fardowsa, focused solely on finding Nina as soon as possible. Once she reached Fardowsa again, despite being nervous, she steeled her resolve.

For Nina! I have to save her!!!

She left her belongings and horse some distance away and approached the guards of the place. They immediately walked towards her and stopped her.

"What do you need? Who are you?" one of them asked.

"Uh, I'm sorry! I just wanted to know if I could work here. I have no family and nowhere else to go," Amara replied.

The guards examined her, and upon seeing her attractive face, especially her ample bosom, they signaled to their companion to let her in.

"Sure, it looks like our master will like you," one of the guards grinned, allowing Amara inside.

They took her inside the Fardowsa, and as Amara entered the luxurious place, she admired its beauty and elegance. It felt like returning to their palace. However, she felt something ominous as she was guided more profoundly into the establishment. She noticed guards patrolling from the corner of her eyes and knew there were likely many on other floors. As they kept walking, her heart stopped when she saw the large cages they passed by. The pain in Amara's chest intensified as she witnessed the miserable young women locked inside.

No! Does this mean they're the maidens forcefully taken from their families and imprisoned here? What kind of place is this!?

"We're here," the guard grinned and opened the door. "Master, we have someone applying for work."

"Let her in," a rough voice from within commanded.

Amara swallowed hard, overwhelmed by intense anxiety, and trembled as if she didn't want to proceed into that room. But the man who brought her there pushed her inside abruptly.

"Oh, there you go! Do your best, huh!" he said with a mocking laugh before closing the door.

Amara fell to the floor, and her anger surged once more. That annoying man! Just wait; I'll end his life later!

"Tell me, miss, what's your name?" a voice she had heard earlier asked.

Amara looked up and widened her eyes as she saw a terrifying man seated amidst piles of money and gold.

Who is this despicable person!?

When Amara didn't answer the fearsome man who was the leader and owner of Fardowsa, Leonard, two of his guards approached her.

"Let go of me!!! You don't need to hold me! I can stand on my own!" Amara shouted, trying to break free, but they held her tightly.

Leonard stood up and slowly walked towards Amara. The young lady was still quivering, confused about what she should do. When Leonard got close to her, he caressed Amara's beautiful face.

"You know, miss, your face is so lovely. I'm trying to figure out who you resemble, but I can't remember," Leonard said with a more sinister grin. "But that probably doesn't matter."

Amara gritted her teeth and tried to move her face away from Leonard, but she couldn't escape the firm grasp of his men.

"Stay away from me! I'm here to work! Why are you treating me like this!?" Amara demanded.

Leonard laughed at the innocence of her question, "Don't you know that everyone who works here is my slave? So, whatever I want to do with them, I'll do it! Aren't you happy that I've accepted you? Hahaha!"

Amara's eyes widened at Leonard's words, feeling disgusted and repulsed. "W-What... what do you mean? W-What kind of work is this!?"

"Hmm? Do you really have no idea? Alright then, I'll explain it to you," Leonard said, and suddenly... he tore Amara's clothes, leaving her shocked and startled. After that, he embraced her, kissed her neck, and violated her body by groping her chest.

"No! Stop! Get away from me! Enough! You piece of sh*t! D-Don't! Please don't!!! Ahhh!!!" Amara screamed but couldn't do anything as his men kept her hands restrained.

"Don't you want to work here? Well, here you go, I'm giving it to you! And you should give me what I want in return!" Leonard said with a menacing tone, continuing his actions.

Amara cried out, pleading for him to stop, but he persisted in violating her body. Tears streamed down Amara's eyes; she had never expected such a thing to happen. Dravis had done something similar to her before. Still, the sensation she felt towards him was entirely different from her disgust and repulsion towards Leonard.

Leonard tried to force his lips onto Amara's while pressing his bottom against her, but she desperately pushed him away. She feared he might discover the small dagger she concealed in her thigh. Angered by her resistance, Leonard punched Amara in her stomach, causing her to kneel down, almost vomiting.

"You're such a pretentious woman! You are killing my mood!" Leonard growled. A knock on the door interrupted, and one of his men entered.

"Master, our special guests have arrived and are looking for you. You should meet them first," the man said. "We might lose some important guests if you don't attend to them immediately."

"You damn woman! Wait for me later; I'll punish you!" Leonard furrowed his brow and kicked Amara again before finally leaving the room. "Take that woman to the dungeon, but don't include her in the auction later. I want to enjoy her beauty and body first before selling her."

Amara felt weak and traumatized by what Leonard had done to her. Everything seemed to pause for her, and she didn't even realize it when the guards threw her into the dungeon. Inside, the other women were shocked and frightened by her state.

"Are you alright, miss? Miss?" they tried to wake Amara from a terrible nightmare, but she seemed still unconscious even if her eyes were wide open.

Her body was stiff while trembling, but a familiar voice finally roused her.

"I-Is that you, Lady Amara?" Nina said tearfully, and it was only then that the princess seemed to awaken.

"N-Nina," Amara replied as she looked at her.

Nina covered her mouth in shock at the pitiful sight of the princess. She knew that Amara was in that state because of her, making her hug the poor princess tightly, "It's you! Lady Amara!!!"

With Nina's embrace, Amara's feelings calmed down, but tears continued to flow from their eyes. "Thank you, thank you for being okay, Nina!"

When they broke apart, Nina immediately straightened Amara's clothes. "You shouldn't have come here! And what happened to your beautiful chestnut hair?"

"I'm sorry, I disguised myself to save you, but I failed," Amara said with sad eyes.

"You shouldn't have done that! It's dangerous, especially for you! What if they recognized you?" Nina asked after tying up and adjusting Amara's clothes to cover her chest.

"Sister, do you know her?" Noreen, who was standing next to Nina, asked.

Nina nodded and smiled warmly at Amara, "Yes, she is... my precious friend, Lady Amara."