Andromeda could see that the humans were surprised. It seemed that finding one of their kind in this part of the forest confused them. Why? Didn't humans wander into the deeper parts of this forest? Then, who were these people? And why did they reach this place?

She drew her knees tighter to her chest. They were inside a dark cave, lit by torches being held by some of the humans. She wouldn't mind if it was dark, though. Vampires could see even without light. Sitting on the cold ground, the vampiress listened to the humans' conversation.

"She's dirty and her clothes are torn, but she's unscathed," said one of the males. He was tall and lean with short blond hair and a big nose.

The other human was a bit shorter but more muscular. He emitted a strong aura and Andromeda believed he was their leader. He responded, "It's impossible to survive here alone. She must've been traveling with others."

"Erwin, you think her comrades protected her? To the point that they died but she didn't?" The taller man asked.

"That's all we could conclude now, Mike. Whatever happened to her, we cannot just abandon her here." The one called Erwin briefly looked at Andromeda. The vampire princess acted afraid. He continued to say to his companion, "There's something about her... I think she might know something. She has survived a forest teeming with titans, after all."

"I agree. So we won't hand her to the Military Police?"

"Not yet."

Titans. That was what they called the gigantic creatures. Andromeda took in the scene around her. The humans were dressed in a brown jacket and white pants. Over their clothing was a short green cape with an insignia of two-colored wings. Around their waists was some kind of a device that had strong, long wires. When they used it, it seemed like they could fly. Andromeda never knew humans could be smart. She almost huffed. No, these humans just got lucky. It was a one-time thing. No way could these measly creatures produce more intricate and complex products.

"Hi." A petite and pretty female offered Andromeda a piece of bread.

She took it without a smile. Though sure that humans were pea-brained, she should be very careful around these people. She should thrive here after all. And the perfect guise would be to blend in with them. First, she would observe. Then, she would know what to do.

"My name's Petra," the petite girl with short orange hair introduced herself. "You must've been through a lot. But you don't need to worry now. You're with us and we're the best." She grinned at Andromeda, sure of herself and the strength of her group. Andromeda scoffed inside. These scrawny little humans against those giants? Did they really have a chance?

Although...

She remembered the short black-haired human who found her first. That human was surprisingly strong. Where was he? She looked around but could not find him. What she found was a face too close to her.

"He~llo!" The face greeted her. It had large light brown eyes behind thick glasses and a mouth stretched in a wide smile. The human said, "You're really beautiful! Your skin is so soft, so perfect. Your gown looks expensive. Are you from inside Sina? Why were you in the forest within Wall Maria? Were you taken? Abducted? Have you seen titans? How did you survive them?" Andromeda was pelted with questions.

She acted scared and searched for the eyes of the other humans nearby.

"Section Commander Hange, give her a break! She looks traumatized. Maybe that's why she couldn't speak," said a male who was cleaning his blade.

Good.

Abducted. Traumatized. The humans were giving her excellent ideas she could use for her lie. Her act. Or, better yet, she could just tell them she could not remember anything. Yes. That'll do. Those ideas from the humans would be her backup plan.

Stare...

Only then did Andromeda notice that most of the humans inside the cave were staring at her, seemingly mesmerized by her beauty. The vampiress liked the attention and, despite deciding earlier to limit her actions toward the creatures, managed to show a small smile. Her audience blushed.

Vampires were known for their ethereal beauty and Andromeda was one of [if not] the fairest vampires in the kingdom of Aurum. As early as 14, her suitors lined outside her door. They gifted her gold, pearls, and jewels. It was so easy taking the hearts of those fools and breaking them. What could she do? She never cared about them, anyway. Andromeda was never a romantic and she cared only about perfecting her looks and her skills. To be the best queen in their world's history was her sole goal. Her life-long wish. Her dream.

But she ended up here in an unknown world. In a filthy cave with dumb humans.

"If you don't stop acting like that, everyone will really stop liking you, my lady." Another image of Proteus appeared in her mind. Fleeting but it was there. 

She clenched her fists. How could the vampire betray her? She trusted him, but he--Damn! Damn, that vermin!

The leader of the group approached his crew and told them that they could rest and sleep. Tomorrow morning, they would continue their journey.

The lights from the torches were extinguished and the humans laid sleeping bags on the floor. They settled in and, after an hour, were soon in dreamland.

Except for Andromeda.

She was given a sleeping bag but she laid awake atop it. With the crickets singing loudly outside, the vampiress stood up and quietly exited the cave, careful that her heels wouldn't click loudly against the stone floor.

Outside the cave, the full moon shone with a thousand stars. The night sky looked very much like that from home. A chill covered Andromeda. Finally, the truth sank into her flesh. She was exiled. Never to see her world again. Never to live in her castle. Never to be Queen of Aurum. Her hands shook. Her lungs stopped working. It was like she could not breathe. All her bravado from earlier dropped and totally abandoned her. Yes, she was strong. But in an unknown land, she was lost. Did not know what to do. How to start over again.

Could she, though?

Could she truly survive in this world? What if the humans discover her true identity? She was sure they would kill her. Thrust a stick into her chest. Unalive her.

The vampiress clenched her dirty gown. She did not like where her thoughts were going. This was so unlike her. Never had she felt and acted this way before. She had always been the calm one. The thinker. The logical. Steadying her damn nerves, she took deep breaths. She willed herself to calm down. Panicking won't do her any good. She needed to find a way to make sure she could thrive in this damn world.

It would be alright.

Didn't she decide before to rule this world and exact her revenge on Aurum, especially on that snake Proteus? Ah. Yes. That was a nice goal. A very good one. She touched the blood-shaped pendant hanging on her neck. It contained the portal that took her; it could also contain the one leading back to Aurum.

Another set of deep breaths.

One.

Two.

Thre--

"What the fuck are you doing here?" It was the same male voice Andromeda heard first in this world.

She whirled around and saw, indeed, the short black-haired human who found her lost in the woods. She put down her hand and straightened her back as the two stared at each other.

The man's eyes were still dull and his mouth was formed into a frown. "You'll lead the titans to the cave. Stay inside," he commanded.

What should she do? Defy the man and show power? Or be passive and act obedient? Hmm...

When she was in the middle of thinking of a perfect response, her eyes saw the gear on the man's waist twinkle.

What in this strange world was that?

Andromeda walked closer to the human, squatted, and looked at the gear. She pointed one of her beautiful fingers to it.

"Huh? You want to know what this is?" The man asked with furrowed brows.

The vampiress nodded.

The human pulled a blade from the side of the gear and showed it to her. The fine piece of metal glinted like a faraway star. "We kill the fucking titans using this. It's the first time you saw one?"

Another nod from Andromeda.

"I don't know where you came from and why we saw you alone in the middle of the forest, but you better make sure you won't act like shit and hold our group back. I don't like my men dying because of someone else's stupidity."

Andromeda stood up, and with her three-inch heels, was at eye-level with the stranger. She looked into his dull gray eyes and nodded once more.

He sheathed back his blade and said, "Good." But as he was about to head back into the cave, he suddenly stopped.

The vampiress saw the reason why he froze. Without both of them noticing, hundreds of fireflies surrounded them. Little yellow glows floated all around them, enchanting Andromeda for the first time in this land. Their lights reminded her of Proteus' amber eyes. Again, her insides quivered and her hand absentmindedly reached for one of the flying bugs.

"Idiot!" The man was quickly by her side, holding her wrist. His hand was rough and warm, but not welcome.

Nobody but her ladies-in-waiting was allowed to touch a Princess. So, automatically, Andromeda raised her other hand and slapped the man hard on his cheek.

"Fuck!" he exclaimed but did not shout. "Do you want to die? I just saved your life. Those are not fireflies. They're ignisias, and they're extremely poisonous. Why the fuck didn't you know that?"

Oh.

Okay.

Her mistake.

Andromeda didn't bow her head or mouth a "sorry." She just readjusted her clothes and went back inside the cave while dodging the floating glowing, poisonous insects. Shame though that one cannot touch them. They were such beautiful creatures.

+0+0+0+0+

"Ahahaha! Ahahahaha!" The bespectacled Section Commander laughed hard as she sat on the back of her dark horse. "That's a piece of art on your cheek, Levi!"

The short, black-haired human, who she found out is named Levi, scoffed and climbed on his black stallion. "Shut up, Abnormal." For a moment, Levi and Andromeda's eyes met but both quickly looked away.

The humans were preparing to head deeper into the forest. They put saddles on their horses and sat on the creatures' backs.

A man on a brown horse approached the vampiress. "Hey miss," the rider said, "my name's Oluo and you'll be riding with me."

She?

Riding with an unknown man? The thought of sitting very near a human, their bodies so close together, made her cringe inside.

No way.

She went toward a horse without a rider and climbed it to sit on its back. Lightly kicking its side, she led it toward the rest of the group. The man named Oluo just scratched the back of his head.

At last, the blond leader, Erwin, spoke: "We continue south. Just outside of this forest is the town of Adelheid. There, we'll fulfill our goal for this expedition. We will set a resupply station in Adelheid's garrison. And, in that town, it would be easier to capture at least two titans. Let's go!"

Capture those big creatures? For what? Hostages?

The rest of the group cheered and the party departed the cave they stayed in. The galloping of horses filled the silence of the woods. Beside her, Petra appeared, short orange hair billowing with the wind. "I'm sorry you have to accompany us on such a mission. We really don't have a choice. We cannot turn back empty handed and we cannot risk leaving a few soldiers with you in the cave. Right now, we're just less than 5 kilometers from Wall Rose and luckily haven't lost or injured a comrade. We encountered only a few titans. But, the journey will be more perilous. We'll surely come across more titans. When we do, don't panic and just stick to us. Trust us, okay?"

Andromeda resisted the urge to lift one of her brows. It was not like she needed their help in the face of those gigantic ugly titans. Now that she knew how to defeat them, she could kill them easily with her bare hands. But she nodded at Petra and rode with the group.

Just then, she heard a bang and saw a black smoke rise somewhere on their left.

"Titan spotted!" shouted Oluo.

Finally, Andromeda thought.

She was itching for some action.