The Failed Heroine

Eliona was on her knees, her hands shackled behind her back and her head bowed. One would expect the young woman to have a look of shame or fear on her face, but the former Hero had nothing but disdain for this supposed court. Although she was only eighteen, she had been the child of adventurers and had grown up learning from the best the Guild had to offer. Her title had been Sword Master until last year when her achievements had earned her enough recognition to be elected as the current Hero. After being recognized by the king, her status had been gifted to her by the Baltan church. She had dedicated her life from that moment on to protecting the kingdom and fighting the army of the Demon Lord. Or at least she had tried.

The title of Hero came with plenty of perks, but also a few conditions. The Hero was gifted a sacred sword and armor to fight against the demons, and a Saint from the church accompanied them as proof of their position. Just as she had been awarded the title, she could also lose it. If the Hero lost three battles in a row with the Demon King's forces, then they were to relinquish their title. She had some close calls, but hadn't lost a single battle until a few weeks ago. In truth, the loss was not her fault. Commanding the kingdom's forces was the crown prince Gregory Hyssan, and for some reason, he had pulled his troops from the field moments before the battle was to start. Eliona had been left with only a few hundred men against a of several thousand. She had been to retreat to the walled city of Mantille and had done her best to hold the city. For three days she and her men had bolstered the city's defenses and tried to hold back the dark tide, but inevitably the city fell. Eliona had barely made it out with only a handful of refugees and two of her most trusted allies. Half her party had been lost and nearly all of the soldiers that had held the city with her were dead.

"This is a travesty," roared Altar Max, the Saint that had been assigned to her. On his wrist, he still wore the Party Bracelet that connected the members of their party. Like her own bracelet, three of the six gems gave off a soft green light, while the other three had gone dark. Altar strained against the soldiers holding him back and tried to his way to the center of the throne room, but he didn't have the strength.

"SILENCE!" King Morthan Hyssan sat upon his throne, wearing dark armor and an even darker expression. At his side stood the rather smug prince that had abandoned Eliona. The king shifted to lean casually on one arm, but his expression didn't change. His glare had been known to make lesser men cower and weep in his presence, but Eliona lifted her head and returned his glare in kind.

"Hero Eliona, Lioness of Virage, for your loss against the Demon King and the sacking of Mantille, I have decided that you are unfit for the title I once entrusted to you. Do you have anything to say before your sentencing is carried out?"

"I actually have something to say father," spoke up Gregory at his side. "Eliona, I made you an offer before. I can't stop your title being stripped, but if you reconsider your refusal, I can at least offer you some measure of leniency."

"You bastard," challenged Altar, "You pulled back your forces because she turned you down? Mantille's fall is on your head, not hers!"

"Remove him from the room," commanded Morthan. His soldiers wrestled the Saint from the room, amid panicked whispers of the watching noble and clergy. There had been rumors that the prince had been making an effort to bed and marry the Hero, but for that to be the real reason behind such slaughter...

"I do have something to say, your majesty," Eliona finally answered. "This trial is a sham. Even if this loss had been my fault, by my rights I still have more battles to prove myself before you can legally strip my title. And Gregory... If I wouldn't sleep with you before, what makes you believe I would ever surrender my body to you after you let those people die? You're scum!"

"Perhaps I am, but you are the one who will have to live with the loss. Tavel and Nord lying dead in front of you and Valentia carried off by the Orcs. Why, she may still be alive. How many days did her light remain lit on that bracelet? A day? Two? Perhaps the Orcs finally stripped it from her with the rest of her gear. Its not like she would need it for what they would have done to her. Or they may have grown tired of her and ended her life after all."

"You bastard!"

"Enough," growled the king. "Your gear and money will be taken into custody for the next Hero. Since you have no desire to take my son's generous offer, I have decided that you shall be exciled from the capital until the Demon King has been defeated. You will be sent to the city of Parth. What you do from there is up to you."

"Parth? That city is on the edge of Demon territory, not to mention that it has three labyrinths surrounding it! The miasma that leaks from such places corrupts the minds of men. That city is a hell hole! If you send me there, I will be defenseless."

"Think of it as a lesson in humility Eliona," said Gregory with a cruel smile. "Perhaps in a few months I will come to check on you and see if you are more... receptive, to my offers."

There was little else to be said after that. Her armor was stripped, leaving her in just an undershirt and loose pants. Her sword was taken and handed to Gregory who smiled and said he would take care of it. Even her Party Bracelet was taken. Eliona was left standing with nothing. Her long black hair was left hanging free instead of tied up with a ribbon and her height of five feet, six inches was hardly imposing.

After she was left without her gear, a priest was pushed forward. She didn't know the man personally, but he had been present when Bishop Nathaniel had given her the title. She could see the despair in his eyes and knew he was against what was about to happen. She gave him a soft smile and whispered, "I forgive you." His shoulders slumped and his eyes looked pained, but he gave her a slow nod and reached out his palm and placed it on her forehead. The words he spoke were in an ancient language and she couldn't understand them, but she felt their power all the same. Her strength began to drain, and all the magic and skills associated with being the Hero were torn from her body and soul. She screamed in agony as a piece of who she had been was cruelly stolen from her. The last thing she saw before she passed out from pain were the tears in that poor priest's eyes. She spent the night in a cell and the next morning she was loaded into a wagon and began her journey to Parth.

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A month had passed. It had been a humiliating month. The soldiers that were sent to deliver her had not been kind. They had harassed and groped her as they pleased, though fortunately they had not actually themselves on her. She was never allowed to be alone. Bathing and using the bathroom turned into shows for the guards as they watched her strip and clean herself. If she had been allowed a weapon, she could have taught them a lesson in manners, but she had nothing. Not even a copper to feed herself.

Her guards delivered her to the gate of the city and let her out of the wagon. They took one last chance to grope her before leaving her to go to the nearest tavern. Over the course of the last month, her situation had been made painfully clear to her. She had nothing, and the only way to prove herself again would be to defeat the Demon King as a Sword Master instead of as a Hero. Parth was a dangerous place to be starting over. The miasma from the labyrinths had made the people here twisted and cruel. Even though a barrier had been erected over the city, three labyrinths were more than it could handle. The outskirts of the city that lay outside the gate were filled with thugs and the guards rarely patrolled the area. Inside the city was only somewhat better. The Red Light district was perhaps the richest of the city as base desires were enhanced by the evil that seeped into the city. The mayor was known to be corrupt and wasteful with the money he collected as taxes, and the soldiers could be overly harsh in their punishments of crime.

Eliona looked to sky, knowing that night was coming soon. She had few options at the moment. Making a living here would be difficult, and trying to leave was almost impossible without some gear and money. Defeating the Demon King was even more impossible in her current state. For now her main concern needed to be finding a place to sleep and getting some food. With the hour starting to grow late, she wouldn't have much time to earn money even by visiting the Adventurers Guild. As for sleeping, she had little hope of having an actual bed to sleep in. Some Guild branches would rent out rooms, but she didn't need to go into debt on top of being penniless. There was a chance she could sleep in a stable at one of the taverns, but even that wasn't a sure thing. Sleeping outside was generally not allowed in cities, so if she was to sleep outside she would either have to do so in the slums or in the nearby forest.

As for money, finding a job was one option, but she didn't have a lot of skills for normal jobs like baking. She could always go back to being an adventurer, but she would start with missions that didn't require combat until she could afford a weapon. Of course there was one other option... She didn't even want to consider the Red Light district. It would take care of her short term problems of food and shelter if she could find a decent brothel, but the idea of debasing herself in such a way made her feel sick. She didn't want to lose her virginity as a prostitute, and she certainly wasn't ready to take the risk of pregnancy. With all of this in mind, she carefully weighed her options.