《Emerge Chronicles: Smart And Brave...Also》 Smart and Brave...Also: The sword and A Mothers Reslove The soft, warm, and inviting sounds of the crackling fire painted the polished stone in front of the fireplace in orange hues. Besides the fire, the only other sound in the room was that of a woman reading to her child on a bed and the child¡¯s precious giggles and inquiries. The woman was adorned in a green silk nightgown, and on her head was a crown made of little-entwined roses. The leaves of the rose were small chips of emeralds, and the petals of the flowers were rubies. The crown had small Dragon Claws wrapped around the rose stems with flakes of black amethyst making up the talons. Her eyes were a fierce blue, a rarity seldom seen. Her husband often referred to her eyes as ¡°sea opals,¡± a vibrant blue and valuable gem stone brought by the merchants from the trading islands in the middle of the seas. She was exquisitely beautiful, the perfect picture of how a queen should appear in both physicality and noble demeanor. She is the Dragon¡¯s Rose, Queen Sarinah Erin Loudas, and wife to King Danyais. Queen Sarinah¡¯s strawberry blonde hair was being tended to fondly by the child standing in the bed behind her. The child she was reading to, her daughter, Crown Princess Arinah. They were in Arinah¡¯s room, and the princess¡¯s bed was big enough for two people to sleep in. Her bed was a canopy bed, draped in sheer pastel green and pink fabrics, and scattered throughout the room were miniature furnishings designed in regards to the princess¡¯ height. A small dark purple chaise lounge with a matching larger one sat along a wall. There was a small table accompanied by chairs off in another corner, and thick rugs with ornamental designs covered most of the floor. Tapestries designed with floral patterns, animals, or depictions of Arinah¡¯s favorite stories hung on the walls. Flanking her bed on both sides were ornamental nightstands with several large candles burning on polished silver platters. The fireplace was built into the wall across from Arinah¡¯s bed. To the left and right of the fireplace hung two banners with her family¡¯s crest on them, the Crystal Dragon clutching a rose. Arinah¡¯s favorite thing about the room, by far, was the ceiling. Her father, King Danyais, told her the ceiling was enchanted by some magus a long time ago when it was his room. It was gifted as a sign of gratitude for a favor to her grandfather King Ledan for lending the magus assistance on some task involving a dragon. If Arinah did not gaze into the ceiling every night when she slept, then she would not have believed her father about the dragon since dragons have not been seen in the world for hundreds of years. When her room was dark and the sun gave way to the night outside, the ceiling would light up with the stars and moons. The magical ceiling would become an exact copy of the skies above Castle Rose Claw. Arinah already knew all the constellations due to laying countless nights under this wondrous ceiling, and her parents told her about the stories behind them. The story of the constellation Little Girl Soma, standing on the fence waiting for her father to come home, was her favorite, since her father was always busy. She could relate to Soma. While staring at the ceiling, sometimes Arinah would see white streaks falling faster than she could blink. Her mother told her they were falling stars, bringing the wishes and answers to prayers the Gods have decided to grant back to Gawraith. With all the pastel colors, decorative plush furniture, and toys lying about, her room was fit for a princess, except for one thing. There was a collection of wooden practice swords resting on a stand in the corner of her room. The swords were definitely not the usual things one would expect to find in the room of a princess. These swords are Arinah¡¯s most prized possessions. Her practice swords were all custom-made for her, just like the miniature furnishings adorning her room. The petite wooden swords allowed Arinah to get used to the size and weight as she practiced with them. Going from left to right on the stand, the swords were smaller, becoming larger, a direct reflection of how she would progress from sword to sword as she would grow into larger swords. Arinah¡¯s father learned woodworking just to make them for her since Arinah¡¯s mother issued an unofficial decree to the woodcraftsmen in Rose Claw, forbidding them from making practice swords in a losing attempt to try and discourage her husband from teaching their daughter the sword. Arinah wanted to be like her father ever since she saw her father fight at the Rose games. She even kept the broken swords and the earlier disastrous prototypes her father made in a chest under her bed as keepsakes. Her grandmother, Baroness Zarinah, and her mother were against the notion of her taking up swordplay at first, but Sarinah, like Arinah¡¯s father, did not have the will to deny their daughter¡¯s persistent requests. Often when they read fairy tales together, Arinah switched the genders or roles of the princes and the princesses so she could imagine she was rescuing the gentleman in distress. Arinah¡¯s grandmother, Baroness Zarinah, complained about how rough her granddaughter¡¯s hands have become from all the practice and extra practice Arinah snuck in. Arinah counted the brush strokes as her mother read, ¡°99, 100,¡± Arinah paused. ¡°Mother, what comes after 100?¡± the Princess asked of her mother. ¡°My dearest, that is quite simple. Since you already know how to count to a hundred. It is one hundred and one, Ari,¡± Sarinah said, smiling at her daughter using the nickname they all called Arinah. Like the sword and Ari¡¯s rough hands, it was also her husband¡¯s fault Arinah would be doomed to just being known as Ari. The Queen¡¯s mother, Baroness Zarinah, harped about Arinah¡¯s nickname just as much as her swordplay and refused to call her Ari out of stubbornness. Sarinah took the brush from Ari¡¯s tiny hands. ¡°It¡¯s your turn to read,¡± handing her the book. Ari jumped to the floor, her small feet barely making any sounds other than when they clapped on the bare areas with no rugs. Ari pushed a small stool, and it made wooden scraping sounds on the stone floor until Ari had it over the rugs. She guided the stool, placing it in front of her bed. Sarinah put one leg on each side of the stool, and Ari nestled herself between her mother¡¯s legs. Her mother started to brush Ari¡¯s bright red hair. Little Ari began to read, sounding out the words as she went along, and getting help from her mother by raising the book above her head for help from her mother when the words were too big or complicated for her. ¡°Mother, was father like the prince in this story when you met him,¡± Ari asked, tilting her head back. Her mother appeared upside down in her vision. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. ¡°Your father, when I first met him,¡± Sarinah chuckled, ¡°he was more like an ogre,¡± the Queen told her daughter. ¡°An ogre?¡± Ari asked, her head tilting to the side as she imagined her father as an ogre. ¡°He was green and ugly? Did you kiss him and make him better?¡± Ari asked, being serious with her inquiry. Her mother laughed. Relishing in Ari¡¯s innocence, Sarinah scooped her into her arms, pulling her back up onto her bed. ¡°Oh, my sweet little Ari. I love you,¡± Sarinah said aloud with pure joy, nuzzling her nose against Ari¡¯s soft cheek, causing the little princes to squeal in delight. The two nuzzled with each other, Ari¡¯s tiny hands touching her mother¡¯s smooth cheeks. ¡°Mother, I can¡¯t wait for you to have my brother,¡± Ari said from out of nowhere, her tiny arms squeezing hard around Sarinah¡¯s waist. The Queen took her daughter by the shoulders, pushing her at arm¡¯s length, looking into Ari¡¯s eyes. Only a few knew of the Queen¡¯s pregnancy. Those who knew only learned of it a few days ago, along with Sarinah. ¡°Brother? Did someone tell you that you would be getting a brother?¡± Sarinah asked her daughter, confused about how even Ari would know when only a few trusted people knew. The possibility of a new royal child being born was always kept as a guarded secret until the pregnancy would present itself. Sarinah had even heard tales of some monarchs in the past condemning their wives privately for putting on too much weight, and staged arguments by the spouses to conceal the pregnancy. Not even the king knew of this yet since he was out traveling with his men, and she wanted to wait for Danyais¡¯ return to surprise him with the news. ¡°Yes, it was Grandfather. He told me in my dream,¡± Ari said, sliding back down the bed and sitting on the stool, picking up the book and waiting for her mother to resume brushing her red hair. ¡°What did you say?¡± Sarinah questioned earnestly. Ari was still a babe and not even walking when her grandfather, King Ledan, died. She could not even talk at that point of time in her life, and there was no way she could remember King Danyais¡¯ father. ¡°How do you know the man in your dream was your grandfather?¡± but before Ari could answer, a scream for help was heard outside of Ari¡¯s room in the hall. What was that? Queen Sarinah thought fearfully. The door to Ari¡¯s room was flung open, startling both mother and child. Cina, her mother¡¯s personal handmaiden and best friend, darted into the room, slamming the door behind her, sending a muffled boom echoing down the stone corridor outside. She latched the door lock, and Cina picked up a thick plank of wood from behind the dresser off just to the right of the door, placing it over the door between the two iron bars embedded into the stone wall to reinforce the door. ¡°Cina, what is going on?!¡± Sarinah asked hurriedly. ¡°My Queen, there are intruders in the castle!¡± Cina told the Queen, fear was in her voice. ¡°There are intruders in the castle?!¡± Sarinah repeated back, stunned at what she was hearing. We are being attacked! The thought sounded ludicrous to her, but yet she was watching her most trusted friend struggle to push the dresser next to the door in front of it. ¡°Yes, I did not see how many. There was a man in a robe, and behind him, I saw at least ten men. Some of their faces were painted to help stay hidden in the shadows; I saw swords on their hips,¡± Cina explained further in-depth. This section of the castle didn¡¯t allow swords unless you were a member of the King¡¯s guard. Sarinah did not believe Cina would mistake the King¡¯s Guard for anything other than what they were. The Queen looked at Ari¡¯s eyes, seeing the fear tangible on her face. Sarinah touched her stomach and then Ari¡¯s precious cheeks. She moved decisively to the banner hanging to the left of the fireplace and pulled it from the wall. Behind the banner was a glass window. Sarinah picked up a candlestick sitting on top of the fireplace mantle with her right hand, ignoring the momentary discomfort from spilling hot wax on her hand. She smashed the glass with the candlestick to access the recess behind it, clearing the jagged glass with it, and tossed it to the floor. The recess built into the stone wall contained a crossbow and a sword, but it was the rope within she sought. Sarinah wrapped her hand around the rope, pulling it out of the recess, twirling it around her right forearm. She placed her right foot on the wall and pulled on the rope. At first, the rope seemed as if it didn¡¯t want to move, offering resistance, but gradually Sarinah could feel the rope beginning to move freely until a bell began to ring loudly, alerting the castle¡¯s guard there was danger in the royal quarters. Sarinah continued to pull until she felt someone tugging at the other end of the rope, and then she stopped. The ringing of the bell became more frantic at this point, and soon other warning bells throughout Dragon Crest echoed each other as the entire city was being warned of danger. It was a small comfort for her to know the bell tower guardsman was there. Sarinah stopped pulling on the warning bell rope, letting the guardsman on the other end continue to sound the warning bell in the northern battlement. The guardsmen will come for us soon. Cina walked over to the queen, not taking her eye from the door, and then someone knocked on the door. Shouts of ¡°For the king!¡± ¡°The Dragon forward!¡± ¡°The Blood is in danger!¡± and other things they could not hear clearly from the room erupted outside the door. Sarinah and Cina positioned themselves in the middle of the room. Cina grabbed Sarinah¡¯s hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. Sarinah moved quickly to her daughter¡¯s bed and took her daughter in her arms, kissing Ari¡¯s cheeks, and pulling up the runner around Ari¡¯s bed. She knelt down, placing her child under the bed, reaching back up on Ari¡¯s bed. Sarinah grabbed almost all of her stuffed animals and pushed them under the bed with her. Ari¡¯s eyes were as wide as the sky, with tears leaking out, her lips quivering. ¡°Here my brave little dragon,¡± Cina said, rushing over, kneeling, and sliding one of her wooden practice swords under the bed. The act seemed to calm Ari as she wrapped her hands around the wooden hilt, her knuckles turning white. Cina quickly took Ari¡¯s tiny hand and kissed it before moving to recess in the wall to collect the weapons hidden within. ¡°Baby, this is just a game, you have to stay quiet, and under the bed. It is how you win,¡± Sarinah said, letting go of the runner fabric. It draped back down around the sides of the bed, concealing Ari. Fear wanted to drive Sarinah to tears as she watched her daughter¡¯s fearfully, tearful stained face vanished behind the fabric. But her motherly instinct, that furious protective rage no loving parent should ever have to feel. It wanted to burn the rock walls of her child¡¯s room to molten lava. Sarinah stood up, turned around, and Cina was standing holding the crossbow with a bolt already loaded. The sword from the hidden recess was already fastened around her waist. The sword and belt looked out of place on Cina, who was dressed in her maid uniform, a plain blue dress with an apron marked with the Crystal Dragon of House Loudas emblem. ¡°Take this, my Queen,¡± Cina said, offering the crossbow to Sarinah. Queen Sarinah Erin Loudas¡¯ face became like steel as she fiercely walked over to her friend. She drew the sword from Cina¡¯s waist instead with dreadful determination. The sword and a mother¡¯s resolve made its lethal intent known with the rasping of the metal made mingling with the scabbard. *** Into the woods A company of twenty men rode single file on horseback on the remnants of a road in a wooded forest. Even though the overgrowth had swallowed the road with bushes, grasses, and even some rooting trees. One could still see the outline of the former road, well now more path than a road. The pathway was used primarily as a game trail now by the wild animals in this forest. It was still a better, but much slower, way to navigate the forest. The birds chirped their warning calls, and the sounds seemed to echo endlessly throughout the forest as other birds took up the warning calls, notifying the rest of the inhabitants of their forest that there was a twenty-man incursion into their wooded domain. The men wore armored black steel; all were uniform in their appearance, with swords and shields holstered onto their backs or sides of their saddles. Each of their shields was painted with a Crystal Dragon clutching a rose. However, among these twenty men, one man was not armored as the others; his armor was polished steel, gilded in gold trim. On his head sat a war crown, a metal steel cap with a thin golden dragon curling around the outside, and underneath the crown was a chain mail coif concealing his dirty blond hair. The eyes of the dragon were green to match the king¡¯s dark green eyes. His chest armor had an engraved image of a dragon clutching a rose, the standard of his house, and his kingdom. The man was High King Danyais Hathat Loudas, master of Castle Rose Claw, protector of Dragon Crest, and the ruler of all Loudas, one of the four great kingdoms in Gawraith. His family¡¯s castle was centralized in Loudas for well over 600 years, giving rise to the largest city in his kingdom, Dragon Crest. The forest they traveled through was called the Nagian, named after the Brobdingnagian Flower Pines. The flower pines in Nagian, where the king of all trees in Gawraith, larger than any other species of trees and the only trees allowed to grow in this forest as if they themselves declared it by royal decree themselves. Growing at the top of the enormous trees were giant translucent flowers that would expand out during rain or snowfall. The forest was ancient, smelling of rotted and humid vegetation. Giant blue and red pinecones ranging from the size of cats to as big as a man lay scattered around. Limbs fallen from the trees were the size of trees at least a hundred years old in other places and dried crusty sap droplets the size of a horse hugged the bark of several of the trees. Since entering the forest, they had come across some of the sap flows that made it down to the forest floor from the behemoth trees. They saw smaller animals such as birds and rodents ensnared or encased in the amber tar-like sap. To their surprise, they even found larger game animals entombed in the hardened amber, perfectly preserved. If Danyais had the means, he would have ordered them to be cut from the amber and sent back to Dragon Crest to put on display. Regrettably, time was something they did not possess, and the idea of having an exhibition of the many perfectly preserved animals had to be filed away for a later date. The Brobdingnagian pines stood taller than any castle Danyais had ever seen, including his own. The massive gates of Dragon Crest¡¯s walls were made from these titans of trees, due to the difficulty of the wood to catch on fire. A lot of the older nobles¡¯ homes and the old inner city of Dragon Crest were constructed from these trees. No one knew why the wood was so resistant to fires, but the lack of fires in the Nagian forest would explain why these trees have been able to grow to gargantuan sizes. In contrast, other forests would have to contend with natural fires that would have burned and claimed their larger trees over the course of time. This forest was once a prized commodity for his kingdom, but a dragon made the Nagian its roost hundreds of years ago. The Dragon, with his harem of dragonesses, forcefully annexed the forest from Loudas. The clutch of dragons protected the forest fiercely, even burning and killing the population outside of the woods. Driving the people away, even venturing further out till one of Danyais¡¯ ancestors treated with the dragons and promised to never let another tree be harvested from their forest ever again. Even after the dragons vanished and with the proclamation lifted, no one dared to venture into the woods. Their greed was kept at bay by the fear of the forest being protected by spirits or the prospect of dragons returning one day. Danyais scanned the forest with his eyes, looking for a possible attack behind any shrub big enough for a man to hide behind. He knew he did not have to observe such things since the men with him, even though they appeared in a relaxed manner and joking amongst themselves, each scoured the forest with fierce scrutiny. They were his king¡¯s guard and not just his normal king¡¯s guard; some of these men Danyais would consider his family, trusted beyond even some of his advisors in his court, though they were forbidden to speak on political matters unless the matters would impact the throne severely. While others with him now were chosen for their deadly proficiency in weapons and the zealot like-way they would protect the throne of Loudas. Danyais looked at one of the falling limbs; it was clearly as big as the largest tree he had ever seen until he came here to this forest. ¡°If a limb falls in a forest, would it make a sound,¡± Yadu, one of his men, joked, and Danyais chuckled along with the rest of them. ¡°We know your mother makes all sorts of sounds,¡± Mansa said, and this time Danyais had to stifle his laughter at the crude but funny joke. Danyais had his hand over his face, trying to hide his smile as the men were in a fierce battle of words of one-up-manship. Feeling the facial stubble on his face with his ungloved hand, he found being unshaven for twelve days uncomfortable and irritating. He even formed a habit of plucking at the stubble with his fingers lately. I wonder what my girls would think of it, rubbing the stubble with his hand not wearing a glove. The missing glove was tucked into one of the saddle side pockets. Danyais spotted another of the giant limbs that had fallen not too far from the path, the giant needles of the limb still retaining their dark green color. It must of happen recently, raising his hand and pulling the rest of the men behind him to a stop. Several of the men quickly pulled alongside their king with shields raised, forming a protective pocket. ¡°Be at ease. I just want to collect some of the wood from that limb to make Ari some practice swords with,¡± Danyais said, leaning back in his saddle and pointing behind one of the men shielding him. A tall man rode up, and the guards around Danyais parted to let him through. The man was Zander, Danyais¡¯ closest friend, and most trusted advisor. Zander was considered a scoundrel according to the nobility in his court, and the king couldn¡¯t even deny it since he knew how his friend was, but when it came to Zander¡¯s loyalty to Danyais, there was no one higher in Danyais¡¯ heart other than his wife and daughter. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Growing up, Zander was skinny and ungainly. In fact, he looked out of place in the armor he now wore. His hair was sandy brown, and his eyes matched. Zander¡¯s entire existence in Danyais¡¯ world seemed out of place to the nobles of his court. Zander was not born a noble. He was the son of a cook serving in the King¡¯s kitchen, and on his cheek were three tattooed lines. The lines were the mark of a servant bonded to a noble house. The firstborn of every generation was born to servitude. A line would be added for each generation until after seven lines amassed, and then their families would be granted their freedom. When Danyais was young, he was not fully aware of social standings, and he did not understand the cultural doctrines or any of the complicated rights and wrongs of their world. To him, Zander was a friend who took the blame and a beating for stolen sweet pies from the kitchen. Even though Danyais and another one of his friends, Elhanan, were the true culprits. Looking back on the entire thing and knowing how the castle and peerage work, Danyais knew if he had spoken up and assumed responsibility for the sweet thievery, he would not have suffered much for it. However, from Zander suffering in their place, that sweet act of cruelty, a friendship was born. The three of them ran rampant throughout the castle, getting into all sorts of trouble. When they got caught, Zander was punished, and they were not due to their nobility. It was during these times when King Danyais learned of the class system, and his friend Zander was a slave. None of it mattered to Danyais, even though it was a concern of Zander¡¯s when they got caught in some new scheme. Danyais went to his father, King Ledan, and expressed his concerns about the way Zander was treated and how he did not like it, or the whole concept of servitude in general. Being a doting father and to placate his son from such dangerous thoughts, King Ledan issued a creed throughout the castle of Rose Claw. If Zander was with the prince when mischief struck, he was to be pardoned along with Danyais. With his newfound immunity, Zander, Elhanan, and Danyais set out on a reign of terror. It did not end until Zander¡¯s mom, Zumi, much like the head executioner, showed no mercy to his friend. Zumi, in her judicial righteousness, punished the entire castle by not making anything sweet for a whole month. Not even his father had the nerve to invade the kitchens when he found out the Queen and his mother-in-law sided with Zumi. It became known as the ¡°Sweets Rebellion¡± incident. King Ledan seeing how the trio of women outmaneuvered him, began to monitor Zander¡¯s upbringing along with the entire castle. Danyais¡¯ father even made sure Zander was tutored and educated alongside his son in every aspect expected of the prince, although the lessons on mannerism and courtly conduct never seemed to stick. The rambunctious Zander still got into trouble well into his youth, and even now, Zander found ways to cause mischief for King Danyais. Later in their friendship, Zander proved to be brave when he stepped between Danyais and a poisonous assassin¡¯s blade. For weeks after the failed attack, Zander was sick and on the brink of death. The attempt left a long scar on his right arm. Zander exploited in more ways than one. ¡®I just tripped trying to get out of the way,¡¯ Zander often told the story as such. When he found himself in a dispute with Zander, his friend would often nonchalantly rub the area around the scar on his arm, guiltily reminding Danyais of what Zander did for him to secure a better outcome, which as of lately did not work on anything of importance but it still did not stop Zander from trying. Even long before the assassination attempt, Danyais made his mind up never to treat Zander as a servant. Zander¡¯s heroic act gave Danyais all the precedent he needed to set his family free and raise them to the peerage. Zander¡¯s mom, Zumi, stayed in the kitchens even though she now had the status of a noble lady, and for months the staff grappled with calling her Lady Zumi or Zumi like they all were used to, before she eventually just made them all settle on Zumi. But all knew better than to mess with her. Danyais was afraid that he may have started a precedent with all future head chiefs in the kitchen would be nobles. The entire concept was weird at best, and King Danyais still did not give up on the notion Lady Zumi would one day retire to the village and lands he rewarded Zander with. If such a day came, then Danyais would make many visits to the village for her sweet pies. Zander did not know who his father was, and his mother never spoke on the subject to anyone. It was no doubt a noble who took advantage of Zumi. Danyais¡¯ daughter, Ari, called him uncle and loved to hear the stories of their youth, but often scowled in disbelief at how her father ¡°got¡± her beloved Uncle Zander in trouble all the time. ¡°What is going on? Why are we stopped? Dany, I should¡¯ve never talked you into letting me come to this place,¡± Zander said, guiding his horse to a stop near Danyais. ¡°As I recalled, I didn¡¯t have to do much convincing. Something about my wife trying to set you up with a certain young lady.¡± Danyais retorted, causing several of the surrounding men to laugh. ¡°Really, in front of the men,¡± Zander said, raising his hands in disbelief. ¡°What?¡± Danyais asked, his eyebrows arching. ¡°You know this lot can¡¯t keep my secrets. They are going to go back to Crest, and someone is going to let it slip that I am engaged,¡± Zander said. As if realizing what he said aloud, he stood up in his saddle, looked over his shoulder, and announced loudly, ¡°I am not engaged!¡± Laughter picked up in the ranks as others asked to be filled in on what was going on before adding their own mirth to the situation. ¡°I know you are not engaged, Zander,¡± Danyais said, pausing for a brief moment before adding ¡°Yet!¡± loudly enough to be heard by most people. ¡°Really!¡± Zander said, turning his horse around now to face all those behind him. Standing up in his stirrups, ¡°Alright, I want you all to repeat after me. ¡®Zander isn¡¯t engaged, betroth, promised, married, or in love with anyone.¡¯¡± The men were laughing at the absurdity of his demand. ¡°Wait! Hold off on that love part because that can mess me up just as badly. Come on, repeat it now!¡± By now, several of the men were outright laughing. Yadu, a loyal and portly King¡¯s Guard, was even crying about how his one abdominal muscle hurt and was begging for someone to stab him, to put him out of his misery, causing even more laughter. ¡°I want to make sure you all know that I am not engaged. Yet or otherwise,¡± Zander miserably pleaded his cause. ¡°I-I-I am sure they heard you,¡± Danyais said, barely able to complete his statement before turning his face away from Zander, his cheeks clearly raised in the hilarity of Zander¡¯s words. Zander glared at his friend and kicked Danyais¡¯ foot in the stirrup, forcing the king to look back at him. ¡°I can use your help here,¡± Zander said, nonchalantly rubbing his right arm where his scar was. The act of it almost made Danyais want to declare that his abs were about to hurt as well. ¡°All right, I will ask,¡± Danyais said, turning his horse around to face his men. He waited for the men to regain some of their composure. With all their laughter, the men were still intently glancing around at their surroundings to make sure they were secure. ¡°Repeat what Lord Zander said.¡± The King was not prepared for what followed; it was a hodgepodge of wrong and right responses said aloud. He heard some say that Zander was not engaged. A couple declared he was, others said he had a secret betrothal, and one even said there was a secret marriage because of a love child. But what really threw the whole lot of them into uncontrollable laughter was when Mansa announced to the group, they needed to help get Yadu up from off the ground. He passed out from laughing and fell from his horse. Threatening Him With Love ¡°Go get your stupid wood,¡± Zander said with his head hung low. Danyais thought he heard Zander mumbling about his decision to step in front of a stupid assassin as he gently kicked his horse. Moving the powerful animal towards the fallen limb, Danyais wanted to collect wood from for Ari¡¯s new practices swords. Maybe this wood will fare better than the others. Dismounting and grabbing the small hand axe he had attached to his saddle. He inspected the tree while several of the men who recovered from the hilarity fanned out in front of him, forming a protective barrier several meters away from him. Danyais spotted several smaller limbs that were about the right size needed for practice swords, and hacked away at them. With each swing, chunks of wood flew into the air until he had several logs that could be whittled down later. Danyais handed several of the logs over to one of his guardsmen to stow away on the pack animals. A muffled sound of thunder reverberated throughout the forest. Danyais almost forgotten there was a storm approaching earlier over the horizon when they first entered the Nagian. He looked up at the canopy of the forest. The flower portion of the giant trees extended out, almost blanketing the entire forest with their translucent petals. The areas where the large petals did not overlap or where they pushed against each other, forcing gaps in the canopy, allowed the rain to sneak in. From the amount of rain seen in those breaks in the canopy, it was a torrential downpour. The massive trees barely swayed in the onslaught of the storm. If it was not for the flashes of lightning and muffled thunder, then any inside the forest would have been oblivious to the chaos outside. Danyais refasten his small hand ax to his horse, mounted the animal, and guiding it back over to the rest of his men, those who were guarding him while he retrieved the wood were returning to their horses in the column. Zander stared neutrally at Danyais and knew his friend was plotting a counterattack on him for not supporting his claims of being a single man anymore. But, what was Danyais supposed to do, everyone in Dragon Crest knew Zander was fickle when it comes to any romantic relationship, except his poor mother. ¡°My ¡®King,¡¯ did you get your stupid wood?¡± Zander formally addressed Danyais, emphasizing the king part in a sarcastic tone. ¡°Yes, Lord Zander,¡± King Danyais replied to Zander in just as an antagonizing tone as well. He knew his friend only address him formally when pomp and circumstance required it, but never in front of just the guards or his wife and daughter. Some of the King¡¯s Guards around snickered and smiled at Danyais and Zander. They all knew the bond these two shared with each other, so the guards accepted the informal way Zander would treat Danyais while any other person would consider it a miracle to escape with all their limbs or even head intact with the antics Zander employed sometimes. ¡°We should get a move on it if we are ever going to find him,¡± Zander said, giving up on whatever verbal sparring he intended. ¡°You¡¯re right. Let¡¯s get moving, guys!¡± Danyais said, nudging his horse to move forward on the path again. His men following behind, still gazing at the forest for any possible threats. ¡°Are you sure he is here?¡± Zander asked, pushing a branch from out the way of his face with his hands. ¡°Yes, my father granted this entire forest to him,¡± Danyais assured his friend. ¡°The stories of this place. This forest. It is cursed, they say,¡± Zander whisper, as if saying the word cursed any louder would bring a mysterious demise on them. ¡°Cursed? I have seen no bones other than animals. How would anyone know? No one has lived or ventured in this forest in our lifetime because of blind faith in some stupid rumor,¡± Danyais said. ¡°See, you admit there is something wrong with this place. If no one has made it out of here in our lifetime, then what are the odds he is still alive? Maybe the curse got him too? There is a reason why no one has ventured into the Nagian in hundreds of years,¡± Zander said, wearily eying his surroundings. ¡°I thought you didn¡¯t believe in the notion of superstitions,¡± Danyais retorted. ¡°I don¡¯t, but come on, we are literally the only ones to venture into this forest since one of your great grans lifted the ban, and here we are searching for some fabled man who has probably been farting dust for a long time now. Are we even sure he can help us?¡± Zander replied. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Danyais thought he heard Zander mutter something about poison under his breath, causing Danyais to smile inwardly. Zander often joked when times were stressful, if the assassin¡¯s poison was more lethal or if he did not ¡®trip,¡¯ he would have peace. ¡°Yes, he is very real. My father told me about him before he died. Besides, do you remember the ceiling in my old room?¡± Danyais said, referring to the starry ceiling enchanted by a magus as a thank you for a deed Danyais¡¯ father assisted him with. ¡°That ceiling was a different person altogether,¡± Zander curtly stated. ¡°No offense, but your father was how old when he died, and he wasn¡¯t in his right mind, either. Though his story does explain the strange attraction, you have for poisons.¡± ¡°Sixty was how old my father was, and he told me many times that you were at fault for his nerves,¡± King Danyais said. ¡°Besides, previous guardsmen verified the story he told and some of their sons who are with us right now,¡± Danyais answered his friend back, wondering where this line of questioning was going. ¡°Are you sure their fathers¡¯ minds worked¡­¡± Zander said. He was interrupted when someone blurted out, ¡°Married!¡± ¡°What was the kid¡¯s name again?!¡± and others chimed in with ¡°Engaged!¡± ¡°Mercy guys, my one ab can¡¯t take much more!¡± Yadu said, setting off another round of laughter. Zander looked over his shoulder, scowling at the men behind him. ¡°Even if they all were sound of mind. How old would that make this so-called magus, then? Are we even looking for someone alive? We are just as likely to find a skeleton with a gray beard as a senile old man,¡± Zander concluded his argument. They continued to ride deeper into the forest. Their small talk filtering between the trees between occasional bouts of laughter. Hours later a man at the front of the formation raised his hand in a fist, and each man behind him copied the motion, bringing their horses and conversations to a stop. The horses were well trained by the war stables and became quiet at the signal of the fist in the air. King Danyais kicked his horse in the side and traveled to the front of the column, with Zander trailing behind. When they arrived, they found Wendell, the man who issued the stop order, looking up a hill intently. Wendell was the highest-ranking guardsmen Danyais brought with him. He should have been higher in rank than he was now, maybe even Vice Commander of the King¡¯s guard, but Wendell did not seek promotion choosing to instead to stay by Danyais side when he was Prince to oversee his education in physical combat and field training. Wendell would often drag Zander, but take Elhanan and Danyais on educational excursions to the forests outside of Dragon Crest to teach them bushcraft and survival skills. When the trio became older and seasoned veterans of the woods, Wendell would abandon them altogether, letting them fend for themselves for extended amounts of time. All the while remaining just close enough in secret in case he was needed. ¡°My king,¡± Wendell said, pointing to a giant tree near the top of a hill. The tree was bigger than any of the surrounding trees, easily twice as thick, making even the giant trees they have seen so far appear to be saplings next to it. Danyais looked at the tree and was puzzled. Besides the tree¡¯s humongous size, he did not see why Wendell stopped them. He was about to ask Wendell what he wanted him to see. ¡°Look closely at the base of the tree towards the middle,¡± Wendell instructed Danyais. The wind moved a plant at the base of the tree, and through the wind stirred branches, Danyais saw a glimmer of light appear at the bottom of the tree. ¡°It¡¯s a door!¡± King Danyais said in awe. Danyais scrutinized the tree now and could see what he thought was the profile of the door. The door was constructed to look like it was part of the tree itself. Bark and moss covered it. The door would have been entirely hidden if not for the little sliver of light giving it away. ¡°Guess that is why you are the scout, Wendell. I would have no one besides you be my eyes, Wendell,¡± he said while touching the man¡¯s shoulder. Wendell¡¯s face beamed with pride. Danyais pulled on the reins of his horse, turning to face his companions. ¡°So, there is a light,¡± Zander said. ¡°Looks like your curse theory is out the door,¡± Danyais said. ¡°Want to make a wager on if he is old and senile then?¡± Zander asked. ¡°Even if he is old and senile, we still need his help. From here on, I will go alone,¡± Danyais announced. The men whisper their protest vigorously, with hands waving and heads shaking. They did not want to alert anyone they were there. ¡°Well, if you do not come back, I will tell Ari about how you met her mom. The real story,¡± Zander threatened him. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t!¡± Danyais said in an unkinglike voice, his eyes widening as he imagined the fury of his beloved wife. ¡°Guess I best come back then. I could not have the Queen kill my best friend now, could I,¡± Danyais smiled, spurring the horse forward. ¡°She might just dig your corpse up after all and murder you all over again, along with me. It is supposedly only you that knows the story. I have kept my mouth shut,¡± Zander said, checkmating him with his last comment. Danyais just smiled and kicked his horse, moving up the hill. He heard Wendell issuing orders to the men. The men fanned out and secured the hill. About halfway towards the giant tree, the ground became exceedingly muddy. Danyais glanced up and saw a massive hole in the canopy, a perfect oval shape as if someone carved it out. Danyais¡¯ horse¡¯s hooves sank into the mud, and the stead struggled for proper traction on the slippery slope. Not wanting to endanger his horse or have it roll over on him, Danyais unmounted, tying the horse to a bush nearby. Dig Your Corpse up ¡°Go get your stupid wood,¡± Zander said with his head hung low. Danyais thought he heard Zander mumbling about his decision to step in front of a stupid assassin as he gently kicked his horse. Moving the powerful animal towards the fallen limb, Danyais wanted to collect wood from for Ari¡¯s new practices swords. Maybe this wood will fare better than the others. Dismounting and grabbing the small hand axe he had attached to his saddle. He inspected the tree while several of the men who recovered from the hilarity fanned out in front of him, forming a protective barrier several meters away from him. Danyais spotted several smaller limbs that were about the right size needed for practice swords, and hacked away at them. With each swing, chunks of wood flew into the air until he had several logs that could be whittled down later. Danyais handed several of the logs over to one of his guardsmen to stow away on the pack animals. A muffled sound of thunder reverberated throughout the forest. Danyais almost forgotten there was a storm approaching earlier over the horizon when they first entered the Nagian. He looked up at the canopy of the forest. The flower portion of the giant trees extended out, almost blanketing the entire forest with their translucent petals. The areas where the large petals did not overlap or where they pushed against each other, forcing gaps in the canopy, allowed the rain to sneak in. From the amount of rain seen in those breaks in the canopy, it was a torrential downpour. The massive trees barely swayed in the onslaught of the storm. If it was not for the flashes of lightning and muffled thunder, then any inside the forest would have been oblivious to the chaos outside. Danyais refasten his small hand ax to his horse, mounted the animal, and guiding it back over to the rest of his men, those who were guarding him while he retrieved the wood were returning to their horses in the column. Zander stared neutrally at Danyais and knew his friend was plotting a counterattack on him for not supporting his claims of being a single man anymore. But, what was Danyais supposed to do, everyone in Dragon Crest knew Zander was fickle when it comes to any romantic relationship, except his poor mother. ¡°My ¡®King,¡¯ did you get your stupid wood?¡± Zander formally addressed Danyais, emphasizing the king part in a sarcastic tone. ¡°Yes, Lord Zander,¡± King Danyais replied to Zander in just as an antagonizing tone as well. He knew his friend only address him formally when pomp and circumstance required it, but never in front of just the guards or his wife and daughter. Some of the King¡¯s Guards around snickered and smiled at Danyais and Zander. They all knew the bond these two shared with each other, so the guards accepted the informal way Zander would treat Danyais while any other person would consider it a miracle to escape with all their limbs or even head intact with the antics Zander employed sometimes. ¡°We should get a move on it if we are ever going to find him,¡± Zander said, giving up on whatever verbal sparring he intended. ¡°You¡¯re right. Let¡¯s get moving, guys!¡± Danyais said, nudging his horse to move forward on the path again. His men following behind, still gazing at the forest for any possible threats. ¡°Are you sure he is here?¡± Zander asked, pushing a branch from out the way of his face with his hands. ¡°Yes, my father granted this entire forest to him,¡± Danyais assured his friend. ¡°The stories of this place. This forest. It is cursed, they say,¡± Zander whisper, as if saying the word cursed any louder would bring a mysterious demise on them. ¡°Cursed? I have seen no bones other than animals. How would anyone know? No one has lived or ventured in this forest in our lifetime because of blind faith in some stupid rumor,¡± Danyais said. ¡°See, you admit there is something wrong with this place. If no one has made it out of here in our lifetime, then what are the odds he is still alive? Maybe the curse got him too? There is a reason why no one has ventured into the Nagian in hundreds of years,¡± Zander said, wearily eying his surroundings. ¡°I thought you didn¡¯t believe in the notion of superstitions,¡± Danyais retorted. ¡°I don¡¯t, but come on, we are literally the only ones to venture into this forest since one of your great grans lifted the ban, and here we are searching for some fabled man who has probably been farting dust for a long time now. Are we even sure he can help us?¡± Zander replied. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Danyais thought he heard Zander mutter something about poison under his breath, causing Danyais to smile inwardly. Zander often joked when times were stressful, if the assassin¡¯s poison was more lethal or if he did not ¡®trip,¡¯ he would have peace. ¡°Yes, he is very real. My father told me about him before he died. Besides, do you remember the ceiling in my old room?¡± Danyais said, referring to the starry ceiling enchanted by a magus as a thank you for a deed Danyais¡¯ father assisted him with. ¡°That ceiling was a different person altogether,¡± Zander curtly stated. ¡°No offense, but your father was how old when he died, and he wasn¡¯t in his right mind, either. Though his story does explain the strange attraction, you have for poisons.¡± ¡°Sixty was how old my father was, and he told me many times that you were at fault for his nerves,¡± King Danyais said. ¡°Besides, previous guardsmen verified the story he told and some of their sons who are with us right now,¡± Danyais answered his friend back, wondering where this line of questioning was going. ¡°Are you sure their fathers¡¯ minds worked¡­¡± Zander said. He was interrupted when someone blurted out, ¡°Married!¡± ¡°What was the kid¡¯s name again?!¡± and others chimed in with ¡°Engaged!¡± ¡°Mercy guys, my one ab can¡¯t take much more!¡± Yadu said, setting off another round of laughter. Zander looked over his shoulder, scowling at the men behind him. ¡°Even if they all were sound of mind. How old would that make this so-called magus, then? Are we even looking for someone alive? We are just as likely to find a skeleton with a gray beard as a senile old man,¡± Zander concluded his argument. They continued to ride deeper into the forest. Their small talk filtering between the trees between occasional bouts of laughter. Hours later a man at the front of the formation raised his hand in a fist, and each man behind him copied the motion, bringing their horses and conversations to a stop. The horses were well trained by the war stables and became quiet at the signal of the fist in the air. King Danyais kicked his horse in the side and traveled to the front of the column, with Zander trailing behind. When they arrived, they found Wendell, the man who issued the stop order, looking up a hill intently. Wendell was the highest-ranking guardsmen Danyais brought with him. He should have been higher in rank than he was now, maybe even Vice Commander of the King¡¯s guard, but Wendell did not seek promotion choosing to instead to stay by Danyais side when he was Prince to oversee his education in physical combat and field training. Wendell would often drag Zander, but take Elhanan and Danyais on educational excursions to the forests outside of Dragon Crest to teach them bushcraft and survival skills. When the trio became older and seasoned veterans of the woods, Wendell would abandon them altogether, letting them fend for themselves for extended amounts of time. All the while remaining just close enough in secret in case he was needed. ¡°My king,¡± Wendell said, pointing to a giant tree near the top of a hill. The tree was bigger than any of the surrounding trees, easily twice as thick, making even the giant trees they have seen so far appear to be saplings next to it. Danyais looked at the tree and was puzzled. Besides the tree¡¯s humongous size, he did not see why Wendell stopped them. He was about to ask Wendell what he wanted him to see. ¡°Look closely at the base of the tree towards the middle,¡± Wendell instructed Danyais. The wind moved a plant at the base of the tree, and through the wind stirred branches, Danyais saw a glimmer of light appear at the bottom of the tree. ¡°It¡¯s a door!¡± King Danyais said in awe. Danyais scrutinized the tree now and could see what he thought was the profile of the door. The door was constructed to look like it was part of the tree itself. Bark and moss covered it. The door would have been entirely hidden if not for the little sliver of light giving it away. ¡°Guess that is why you are the scout, Wendell. I would have no one besides you be my eyes, Wendell,¡± he said while touching the man¡¯s shoulder. Wendell¡¯s face beamed with pride. Danyais pulled on the reins of his horse, turning to face his companions. ¡°So, there is a light,¡± Zander said. ¡°Looks like your curse theory is out the door,¡± Danyais said. ¡°Want to make a wager on if he is old and senile then?¡± Zander asked. ¡°Even if he is old and senile, we still need his help. From here on, I will go alone,¡± Danyais announced. The men whisper their protest vigorously, with hands waving and heads shaking. They did not want to alert anyone they were there. ¡°Well, if you do not come back, I will tell Ari about how you met her mom. The real story,¡± Zander threatened him. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t!¡± Danyais said in an unkinglike voice, his eyes widening as he imagined the fury of his beloved wife. ¡°Guess I best come back then. I could not have the Queen kill my best friend now, could I,¡± Danyais smiled, spurring the horse forward. ¡°She might just dig your corpse up after all and murder you all over again, along with me. It is supposedly only you that knows the story. I have kept my mouth shut,¡± Zander said, checkmating him with his last comment. Danyais just smiled and kicked his horse, moving up the hill. He heard Wendell issuing orders to the men. The men fanned out and secured the hill. About halfway towards the giant tree, the ground became exceedingly muddy. Danyais glanced up and saw a massive hole in the canopy, a perfect oval shape, as if someone carved it out. Danyais¡¯ horse¡¯s hooves sank into the mud, and the stead struggled for proper traction on the slippery slope. Not wanting to endanger his horse or have it roll over on him, Danyais unmounted, tying the horse to a bush nearby. What A Civilized Person Would Do? Danyais continued up the hill on foot, his feet sinking deep into the green mud. Soon, he was out of breath and each step he took burned his calves, the ground sometimes devouring him up to his knees. This hill is a muddy green fortress! Danyais looked back up at the oval cut in the translucent canopy. He slipped, falling forward, when his hand hit the ground it gave way, his arm sinking into the mud, and his face submerged momentarily into the green mud. He pushed himself back up and wiped his face and hands with his black traveling cape. ¡°Are you okay, Majesty!¡± Zander yelled from somewhere. ¡°Zander, why are you yelling? You have just lost me the element of surprise,¡± Danyais responded while spitting mud out of his mouth. ¡°You can blame your horse for the whole lost thing, all that heavy breathing and trampling it is making it so you can be heard back in Crest!¡± Zander yelled even louder, not caring if they alerted anyone now since they had the hill secured. Danyais placed his hand on the ground, trying to push up, but his arm sunk again into the soft ground up to his elbow. Danyais pulled his arm free, somehow managing to stand up, and turned back around to face the bottom of the hill where his men took up positions. ¡°It is not the horse making all the noise,¡± Danyais said back, knowing that Zander had picked this moment to enact his revenge on him. ¡°Out of shape, my king?¡± Zander said, trying to feign concern for his health. ¡°I am fine! It is just that the ground is not favorable!¡± Danyais yelled back at them. He was not sure, but Danyais thought he heard laughter from multiple sources. He turned back around and plowed ahead up the hill. The closer Danyais got to the tree, he could see signs of a house carved into the tree. The house was done in such a way a person could not tell from a distance. There were windows cut into the tree, but there was no glass to reflect light. Moss hung in front of the lower cut windows, obscuring them altogether. He tilted his head, looking further up the tree, and noticed a thick broken branch. At the end, where the branch seemed to be broken, a thin trail of smoke leaked from it. Danyais saw other branches where smoke was faintly escaping. It was like an old trick Wendell had taught him when he was younger. If you build a fire in the hollow of a tree or at the base of a tree with a lot of leaves, then the smoke gets dispersed as it hits the branches and leaves, making it harder to be spotted. As Danyais got closer, the ground dried out, offering his burning legs a reprieve. He passed another tree and was surprised to see a horse eating hay. A horse! The animal was housed in a stable carved into a smaller but still large tree sharing the hill. Danyais passed another tree, and he saw pigs were enclosed in a pen. A larger pig gazed at the muddy man curiously before flopping into a mud puddle and rolling over in the mud. Sending wet sloshing sounds and chunks of mud flinging at the other pigs nearby. The pig stood back up, looking back at Danyais as if comparing itself to his muddy appearance. Danyais looked at himself, shaking his hand, flinging some of the excess mud back at the pig who just grunted and flopped on its side. He heard chickens clucking, pulling his attention just as they darted into another tree behind a moss curtain. He could see the door leading to their coup. Danyais turned around and looked at his men at the bottom of the hill and realized none of them could see what he saw from the site lines they had. The layout of this settlement is done in perfect concealment. He marveled, looking around at each structure again. Gazing at the ground, he saw the paths cut into the ground from continuous use, all leading back to the door at the larger tree. Danyais arrived at the door, taking a moment for him to find it, even though he knew it was there. He touched the door, feeling for a handle. ¡°A knock is what a civilized person would do when coming to a person¡¯s home,¡± a raised voice said from behind the door, startling Danyais for a moment. ¡°I am King¡­¡± Danyais was interrupted. ¡°So, that is why you stand out in that gaudy silver-golden armor of yours, though it isn¡¯t as gaudy as before,¡± the voice curtly said with sarcasm. Danyais looked down at the armor he was wearing. The hill did maul him good as he ascended it, leaving him caked in green mud and grime. There were moments when he thought he would lose his boots to this accursed hill. Almost the entirety of his front body was covered in a layer of green mud, including his face. Danyais could make out the head of the dragon on his breastplate, the rest of his house emblem was below a layer of green mud. His gauntlets were just as green, and his cape was ruined. Danyais found himself in a position he was not used to. He felt a mixture of both embarrassment and annoyance. He hoped it did not sound in his voice when he spoke. ¡°I have come in search of a pow¡­¡± ¡°Uncivilized,¡± the voice responded, cutting off his words again. ¡°Pardon me?¡± Danyais asked. There was a long moment of silence. Uncivilized is keeping your King outside waiting, Danyais thought at being annoyed by just a voice. There was a long silence, it was as if both people were having a competition to see who would cave in first. Feeling even more annoyed now, Danyais finally knocked on the door. ¡°Enter, the handle is at the top, and wipe your feet, else you can go talk to the pigs,¡± the voice said. Danyais scraped his boots against the ground the best he could and felt for the handle, pawing at the door as if he was some drunkard messing with a tavern wench. Where is the bloody handle? Even after being told of the handle¡¯s general location, it still took Danyais a while for him to find the door handle, it being covered in moss, hid it most effectively. The door swung open. The door was just a little shorter than Danyais, and the light not being repressed anymore spilled out into the forest along with aromatic smells of herbs and meat cooking. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Danyais crouched down to avoid hitting his head, stepping through the doorway. It is a house carved inside the tree! Danyais eyes darted back and forth, looking at everything, leaving him in awe. The tree was hollowed out, and there was a staircase cascading up inside to several floors carved from the tree itself. The room he was in was spacious enough for several people to occupy. There was a kitchen area off to the right that, even though it was small, it was spacious enough to allow at least three people to work comfortably prepping meals. The wood was all polished from use and oils; the floors higher up, were carved in half circles, extending about half the width of the tree to match the aesthetics of the staircase. On the second floor, Danyais saw bookcases carved into the tree filled with books. There were plants drying, tied together with twine in batches or already dried hanging all around from hooks digging into the tree. Glass jars filled with different colors of liquids were being heated by flame, making bubbling sounds. There was a scent of pipe smoke faintly in the air. Books and scrolls lay on tables, and chairs and some were stacked to the sides of the stairs in such a way one can still traverse the stairs upwards. A man was sitting with his back facing him in a hooded robe, holding a long stem pipe in his hand, faint wisps of smoke rising from it. ¡°What do you want?¡± the man asked, turning to face him, lowering his hood. The man appeared to be younger than Danyais. His black hair was long and unkempt. ¡°I am in search of a magus, your master perhaps,¡± Danyais said to the younger man, stepping further into the center of the room. ¡°There are no servants here. You look nothing like your father,¡± the man amusedly said, standing up and walking over to Danyais. He circled around Danyais, inspecting him as if buying livestock from a farmer. ¡°My Fa-Fa-Father?¡± Danyais asked, bewildered about the sudden change of the topic in the conversation. Before he could follow up with a question, the man forged on with the conversation. ¡°It has been a while, but I do not recall your father being green,¡± the man said, motioning to a mirror. Danyais walked over to the mirror and looked at his reflection. He already knew his breastplate was stained green with mud, but now Danyais saw his face. This is what the men were laughing about. No doubt, Zander had issued an order for the men to be quiet and not alert him about his stained green face. ¡°I inadvertently saved your life once,¡± the man said. Danyais turned to face him. A small clay jar with a wax seal was tossed at him, and Danyais snagged it out of the air quickly. ¡°I guess I can save you from a green face now. This jar contains soap that will cut through the staining properties of the mud. Use it the next time you bathe,¡± he explained. ¡°I thank you, but how does one inadvertently save a life? I have a friend you should talk to,¡± Danyais said, smiling. This is the man we have been searching for, but how is he so young still? Few outside of the trusted King¡¯s Guards or the royal family knew about the attempt on his life when he was just a toddler. ¡°Clyden?¡± Danyais asked, still unsure if he was the magus he was in search of. The person he sought, by all accounts, should have been at the least in his seventies, if not older, and frail. The man before him did not even present a day over thirty and there was nothing old about him at all. Sensing the curiosity in the King and the endless questions to come with those curiosities, Clyden spoke up rudely, ¡°I know you must have questions, but know this. I will not answer any of them. I could spend a thousand lifetimes, and you wouldn¡¯t even understand. Will you stop wasting my time now and tell me what you want?¡± Danyais was at a loss for words. This man was crude at best. How Clyden talked to him infuriated him. If Clyden were to address him like this in the halls of his castle, the servants would beg for the honor to take his life. Danyais gripped his sword hilt, knuckles turning white from the pressure. Clyden looked at him blankly, not even showing a bit of care about Danyais obvious anger. Danyais bit the insides of his cheek to calm down, releasing his grip on his sword. ¡°Smart of you,¡± Clyden said. ¡°It has to deal with vrollocs. We only thought vrollocs were legends, but there is a dread horde marching on my northern kingdom. To make matters worse, eight months ago, a storm razed the entire southern portion of Loudas. The dead from the storm was unimaginable and the recovery efforts we had to postpone, but¡­¡± ¡°The living takes precedence,¡± Clyden finished saying. Danyais just had the words plucked from his mouth; it was a saying his father taught him. ¡°Can you read minds?¡± Danyais questioned him, worried the magus would take offense at some of the thoughts he had about him. ¡°Who do you think taught it to your father? Read minds? HA,¡± Clyden said, laughing and sneering at the king¡¯s question. ¡°Have you not asked for aid? What about Sukkan? Can they not help?¡± Sukkan was another one of the other four great kingdoms in Gawraith. The desert nation of Sukkan, with its numerous underwater rivers, was positioned to the west of Loudas, spreading out along the Loudas¡¯ northern borders and reaching almost all the way south. To the west of Sukkan was a mystery, the Firelands, a desert so harsh the Sukkanians even stopped attempting to cross it over four hundred years ago. The pair of kingdoms had a prickly alliance with each other. ¡°My emissaries have all returned with non-favorable replies. Sukkan does not believe such ¡®legendary¡¯ creatures can exist. In truth, they fear we are trying to lure their armies out to attack them,¡± Danyais said. ¡°They do not believe you? Why have you not sent the body of a vrolloc to them? It would be hard for them to say ¡®legendary¡¯ at the least. Why did you not go yourself or send your queen? Such an action would have shown the seriousness of your request. Lending it validity. It also would have made sure Sukkan wouldn¡¯t have denied a monarch who came to ask for help,¡± Clyden said in a matter of fact perturbed nature. ¡°How has your father taught you? Never mind, I am not your advisor,¡± he said, dismissively waving his right hand. Danyais stood there dumbfounded, pondering the rapid succession of diplomatic solutions offered by Clyden in a matter of moments. The King was committing all the conversation to memory for future use. How could his father, King Ledan, allow such a man like this to not be at his side? He wanted Clyden¡¯s aid in the coming counterattack. ¡°Will you help us?¡± ¡°No,¡± Clyden answered bluntly, without even a thought of consideration. ¡°No?¡± Danyais repeated back, as if his hearing was faulty. ¡°No,¡± Clyden said again just as bluntly as before. ¡°If it is gold, I will pay,¡± Danyais said, countering with what most men want. ¡°My answer is still the same,¡± Clyden said. ¡°Then name it, and if it is reasonable, I will give it,¡± King Danyais said earnestly. ¡°No, I will not give aid to Loudas ever again,¡± Clyden said, his voice tittering on the edge of anger. Danyais looked dejectedly into Clyden¡¯s eyes. ¡°But I will get you back to Rose Claw tonight, it is all I can do,¡± Clyden said. ¡°Back to Rose Claw tonight?¡± Danyais said. The bold claim of Clyden¡¯s statement left him stupefied as he repeated the magus¡¯ words over in his head. Back home, tonight? When the weight of Clyden¡¯s words finally processed in Danyais¡¯ head, they caused his eyes to widen, and they would have dropped to the polished floor and kicked about if they were not firmly set in their sockets. *** Runny Eggs Wendell and the others Danyais brought with him study their surroundings, admiring how everything Clyden constructed around his dwellings to be hidden. Danyais¡¯ guards all prided themselves on their superb observational skills. It was one of the key tools they all relied on to protect the royal family. Wendell, along with most of the men, must have walked down the hill a dozen times in an effort to spot the structures after learning of their existence. They made the trips, even knowing they would get winded and muddier every time. ¡°My King, I am ashamed. I had no idea this was all up here,¡± Wendell said, after making his last trip back up the muddy hill. He sucked in heavy breaths, trying to recover his stamina, marveling at the surroundings again while trying to clean the excess mud clinging to his legs and arms. Danyais looked at his men gathered at the front of the giant tree. Some of them fared better than he did coming up the hill, others had green arms, faces partially green, and some like Danyais, had their entire faces turned green. Their armors and shields were stained to the point where it looked like a painter with a fixation for the color of green were mad at them. They all shared in King Danyais¡¯ muddy fate now, except for Zander, who somehow managed to remain remarkably clean. The men tossed clumps of mud at him in playful acts of vengeance. Zander shrewdly countered them by edging his horse closer to the king, using Danyais as a shield. The men relented, not wanting to hit their king with mud accidentally. The door to the tree opened, bringing all activity to a cease, and Clyden stepped out the door with a sack over his shoulder. Some of the guards tried to angle their heads so they could catch a glimpse of the interior of the tree before the magus closed the door. The men watched Clyden wearily in case he meant harm to their king. Clyden looked at the men who were stained green before focusing on the pristine Zander. ¡°I see you came up the dry side. I am going to have to hide it better,¡± Clyden said to Zander. ¡°Dry side!¡± several of the men asked in unison, and the mud volleys commenced again since Zander did not share his secret with the rest of them. ¡°His kid¡¯s name, the bastard is called Nilec, right!?¡± someone threatened aloud, referring to their conversation on rumors before. Zander edged his horse closer to Danyais. ¡°It is your turn to stand in front of the assassins¡¯ mud balls, my King!¡± Zander loudly announced while smirking. Danyais laughed, and so did several of the other men as the muddy projectiles ceased. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Take this, send it to Sukkan,¡± Clyden said to Danyais, but handing the sack to Zander instead. Zander curiously opened the sack, peering into it. Inside the bag, there was a giant skull that looked like it belonged to a dog, but it had a horn, and the teeth were longer than any dog he had ever seen. It was the skull of just one of the types of vrollocs. ¡°Be careful of the teeth they can still poison and kill,¡± he warned, causing Zander to freeze and shut the opening to the sack immediately. ¡°Poison?! Here, you best hold this King Danyais,¡± Zander said, handing him the sack. Some of the men who knew of the story of the poisoned assassin¡¯s blade laughed. The others who did not know of Zander¡¯s heroic story glared harshly or with incredulous looks at him. Danyais was one of those who laughed. ¡°Are you sure you will not help?¡± Danyais asked Clyden again. ¡°Is this all of your men?¡± Clyden asked, ignoring the question, walking towards the chicken coup carved into one of the large trees. ¡°I will take eighteen of you back to Rose Claw. The other two will be taken back to River Tarrow with your horses when I return. Decide who stays.¡± River Tarrow was a town about two hours away from the capital city, Dragon Crest. Rose Claw, where the monarchy resided, was eventually swallowed by Dragon Crest as it increased in size over hundreds of years. Dragon Crest¡¯s massive walls, or the thorn wall, as it was known, encircled the entire city. The guards now looked at Clyden like he was insane; some even moved closer to their king. ¡°Is the room near your old room when you were a babe still not in use?¡± Clyden asked King Danyais. ¡°My father issued an order for that room never to be used,¡± Danyais answered back. Danyais had a vague memory of when he was a kid trying to open the door Clyden spoke of, but it was locked from the inside, and there was no handle or keyhole on the outside of the door. His father had caught him, and it was one of the few times he was scolded harshly. The room Clyden inquired about was the room he occupied when he saved Danyais when he was a child. King Danyais thought it was odd that his father, King Ledan, gifted the room to Clyden in the same way he did Clyden¡¯s forest. ¡°Good, then we can go now. Choose two men to stay with the horses,¡± Clyden said. After a moment, the two chosen to stay behind sat on their horses. The others were carrying their saddles and sundries. Clyden walked over to the chicken coup. ¡°Ready?¡± he asked one more time. ¡°I like my eggs runny,¡± someone among the gathered men joked. Even Clyden laughed at the joke. The other men joined in, but their laughter was cut short when Clyden¡¯s hand glowed orange, replaced by wide-open mouths and fearful, startled eyes. Clyden touched the tree to the right of the door of the chicken coup. The orange light from his hand seemed to transfer to the bark of the tree. The tree made a sound like timber cracking, revealing an orange outline of a door that glowed quickly before fading away. He pushed on the door resembling the bark of the tree, and it opened into a dark room. Clyden turned and looked at the expressions on the men¡¯s faces, and it was his turn to laugh at them as he walked through the door.
Faded Alarm ¡°This is called the Fade Realm,¡± Clyden explained from the other side of the door, picking up a torch just mounted on the inside of the door. The torch flared to heated life. He laughed again as their expression changed again with the lighting of the torch. ¡°That¡¯s real magic!¡± Zander said, his mouth left open in awestruck. ¡°You¡¯re only talking about the torch. What about the bloody door in the tree?!¡± Yadu said. ¡°Come on, do not wait too long, or the defensive seals will kill you the moment you step through the door,¡± Clyden said. ¡°I should stay with the horses,¡± Zander said, too apprehensive about entering the Fade Realm after hearing Clyden¡¯s warning. They all were hesitant, and it was King Danyais who mustered the courage to step through the doorway into the Fade Realm first. The other men, seeing their king advance before they did, spurred them into action and now crowded the door to see who would follow after him. ¡°Can someone shut the door?¡± Clyden asked after all the men stepped through the door. ¡°Are you sure?¡± someone asked weakly, fear and apprehension were in their voice, a reflection of most of the men there. Their moods were further exasperated by the eerily creaking sounds the door made when closing as if the noise singled an ominous end to be had. When the door closed, it became silent except for Danyais¡¯ guards¡¯ nervous breathing and shuffling footsteps as they examined their surroundings. It was always unnaturally quiet in the Fade Realm. Some of the men took out torches from their supplies and struck flint stones to light them, rearranging themselves so that a torchbearer was spread throughout their party. Others surrounded King Danyais with hands on the hilts of their swords, half drawn. ¡°Nothing lives in the Fade Realm that isn¡¯t conjured or brought in,¡± Clyden told them, trying to soothe their uneasiness. ¡°Come on, follow me. Do not get lost in here.¡± Clyden led the group in a straight line for about an hour until they came to a wall stretching as far as the light allowed them to see. If the entire wall was to be lit, then they would have seen a wall litter with doors. Each of these doors led to a different location throughout the world of Gawraith. The doors in appearance ranged from plain to works of art, Danyais even spotted a door that appeared to be made of gold, and there was one that looked like ice. Clyden walked to one of the plain-looking doors and opened it. The door creaked as it opened, letting pale light through it. Before leaving the Fade Realm, he placed the torch to the right of the door he passed through. Clyden nodded with his head for them to follow him into the new room. This time several men went through the doorway first before their king with swords drawn. When they saw the palely lit empty room, they signaled for Danyais and the others to follow. Danyais passed through the doorway, flanked by Yado and Wendell. There was another door in the room, and next to the door, two torches flared up brightly in a burst of intense white light suddenly. The torchlight filled the room, causing Danyais to squint his eyes momentarily as they adjusted. With his vision restored, Danyais was able to see the room now. The room was large and void of all furnishings, with only a thick coating of dust on the floor. Dust was kicked up in the air as his men started exiting from the Fade. Danyais turned around and looked at the rest of his men passing through the doorway. The men holding torches started to snuff them before entering the room, relying only on the ones mounted on the wall near the door Clyden was standing in front of. The room, even though it was spacious, quickly filled with men, and when the last man passed through the door they came from, it was closed. All eyes focused on Clyden. The door Clyden was standing near had a lock unlike any Danyais have ever seen before. There was a handle in the middle, and it was connected to four rounded metal bars pushed into the sides of the door frame at the four cardinal locations. A thick lock prevented the handle from turning. Danyais turned around slowly in the room, taking in its emptiness again. He noticed one window this time, and to the right of the window, there was another door if opened would lead straight outside. Danyais walked over to look out the window, his men parting to allow their king through. Arriving at the window, he realized the door next to the window would only lead to death if opened since it opened to a steep drop. Why is there a door here?! but his curious thoughts on the door were overwritten when he saw the sprawling city through the window and a flowing river. The familiarity of the cityscape and the twist in the river bends made him realize he was home in Dragon Crest. The Tarrow river ran along the north side of Dragon Crest. Danyais could not fathom the notion of how they traveled so far in mere moments. A twelve-day journey done in the breath of a song[1]. His mind flooded with endless economic and military possibilities such magic could be used for. A metallic sound drew the stunned Danyais¡¯ attention. He walked back to the front of the room where Clyden was just in time to see the four bars of the lock groan and move in unison. Clyden pushed the door, and the door opened, the hinges creaked loudly as if crying out oil. A maid who was passing by in the hallway stopped when she heard the noise from the hinges. Her eyes widened in fear as she saw Clyden, a stranger in part of the castle emerging from a room kept secure because of an order issued by the previous king. Never mind the fact that this room itself was located in the most guarded place in Rose Claw, the Royal Quarters, and to her knowledge, this door has never been open before. Now add the door opening with a room full of men, men who carried green shields, men armed with swords, and men with painted green faces. One could see and understand the maid¡¯s reaction as she darted off, running and screaming for help. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. Clyden stepped out the door, trying to catch the maid, but she moved quicker than Clyden expected. As she fled down the hall, she knocked torches from their mounts on the wall to the stone floor. The torches sparked from the sudden impact on the stone floor, causing many of their flames to go out, making the corridor dark. ¡°Smart girl,¡± Clyden said aloud, admiring her quick defensive actions. ¡°King Danyais, you should come quickly,¡± peering back into the room. Clyden saw Danyais looking out the window. A door slammed shut with a loud thud somewhere along the corridor. Danyais turned and walked towards Clyden. ¡°Why, what is wrong?¡± Danyais asked, stepping into the hallway. As if to answer his question, the warning bells of Rose Claw came alive. Looking around Danyais realized they were in his castle and by the looks of the tapestries on the wall he knew they were in the royal quarters. The bells meant that soon other members of the King¡¯s Guard would be rushing to defend his wife and daughter. ¡°Form up!¡± Wendell ordered, when he heard the warning bells. The men with Danyais were the best of the king¡¯s guards. Saddles, bedrolls, or whatever you could not kill a man with was dropped to the stone floor. Five men pushed in front of the King, swords drawn and shields raised, five more took up flanking positions. The remaining eight ventured out in front of the containment box formation they set up with Danyais in the middle, their weapons in hand. Clyden was impressed with their efficient movements and decisive response. ¡°I think we are the reason for the alarm,¡± Clyden said. ¡°I am sure we are. This hall leads to my daughter¡¯s room. She must be scared with all this noise, let¡¯s go see her,¡± Danyais said, his fatherly instincts on full display in his voice. He tried to move between the five guards in front of him. They closed ranks, blocking Danyais from moving forward. ¡°Let me pass,¡± he said. The men refused his request, standing like muted statues in a garden. When Danyais tried to force his way through them, the men grouped up tighter, sealing the king behind a wall of flesh and drawn swords. ¡°Till the alarm is canceled, my King. You must stay behind us. Even if we are the root of all this,¡± Wendell said, waving his hand in an encompassing manner. Danyais was about to protest. ¡°For the blood!¡± Wendell thundered in a manner that left no room for discussion. The sternness in his voice was the same as when he lectured and disciplined Danyais and his friends when they were little. ¡°We stand!¡± the King¡¯s Guard responded in a force of unity with their determination. These men would follow any order their King would give. All the monarchs before and Danyais himself knew the loyalty of the King¡¯s Guard was as an absolute, as common as the wind in the air. But when the alarm sounds in Rose Claw, the King¡¯s Guard¡¯s first order of business they would always obey was they would do what was necessary to save the royal family. The monarch first, even if it meant trussing Danyais up like a chicken and carrying him away. Only on a battlefield did the King¡¯s Guard allow for any danger to get remotely close. Danyais knew the resolve in their words. Many of his guards had the Dragon Talon tattooed around their necks. Those men¡¯s fathers refused their freedom after their fathers were 7th generation King Guards swearing even the lives of their future families to the throne. ¡°The dragon¡¯s egg lies this way,¡± Wendell said, pointing his sword down the hall. Dragon¡¯s Egg, the coded phrase used to represent Crown Princess Arinah. The protection and retrieval of the royal heir was almost as high of a priority for the guard as the safety of the king, maybe even consider on par depending on whether not any more offspring could be sired or not. Even though Clyden knew this was a false alarm, he could feel the intensity of the men moving stealthily in the poorly lit corridor. They traveled down the corridor until they came to a door near the bend in the hall. This door was painted pink with fairytale murals from different stories. Danyais knocked on the door lightly when several crossbow bolts struck around Danyais¡¯ hand with impacted thuds, one even sailing over his head. Clyden heard men screaming from down the hall, charging their position. Clyden channeled his magic quickly, speaking in a low voice, using words no one alive would understand even if they could hear him. A clear blue bubble formed around Danyais, shrinking to match the contours of his body. Another volley of bolts impacted shields his men raised in defense. Danyais¡¯ eyes tracked a single bolt in what seemed like slow motion to him. The bolt found its way through a gap in the shielded formation and struck him in the face, splintering on impact. Danyais felt a minuscule amount of pressure where the bolt hit, the blue light surrounding him rippled like a stone tossed into calm waters. Danyais locked eyes with Clyden and nodded his head in appreciation to the Magus for saving his life. Shouts and battle cries erupted in the corridor, ¡°THE BLOOD! It is in danger!¡± the newcomers bellowed out in a dangerous tone full of driven and desperate fervor to reach their Princess, their boots scraping the stone floor as they rushed to beat back the men near their Princess¡¯s door. The men who surrounded Danyais yelled back with the same passion with their own cries of ¡°DEFEND THE BLOOD!¡± ¡°The Dragon forward!¡± and ¡°for the King!¡± Some of the men in the King¡¯s company shouted for their approaching comrades to stop while some prepared themselves with grim resolve at the possibility they would be killing their fathers, brothers, and friends soon, or the chance of being killed by them. Clyden stepped forward, speaking in the same unintelligible language as before; this time, he spoke with more force. An orange aura surrounded him, gathering the attention of some of the combatants; the loose fabrics of his robe began to move as if the wind started to tug on them. When Clyden finished the spell, it caused a forceful wind to whip through the hallway, knocking all who were in it down to the ground, except for Danyais and the magus. Clyden pointed his right hand at Danyais, still wrapped in the protective blue bubble cast on him from before. The king was lifted up by unseen hands and floated over to the guardsmen, who were just rushing them. ¡°My King?¡± a guard asked after he managed to look past the green on Danyais¡¯ face. Gasps could be heard from the other guards in the corridor when they realized the floating green man was their King. *** Music Dream After the initial knock at Ari¡¯s door, followed by several thuds, chaos ensued outside Arinah¡¯s door. Men shouting at each other as they rushed towards the inevitable bloody clash in the castle¡¯s hall outside of Ari¡¯s door. But before the expected sounds of clashing metal or the cries of wounded could tragically pierce the air, there was a sound like a powerful wind rushing behind the door. For a fearful second, Sarinah thought the door was going to be ripped from its hinges as the door groaned its resistance before stopping. Cina stood in front of Sarinah, aiming the crossbow at the entrance to the room, offering whatever protection her body could afford to her queen. Warning bells in the northern tower that were blaring of impending danger stopped. The abrupt silence caught Cina holding the crossbow off guard, her finger nervously pressed the trigger, releasing the crossbow bolt. The projectile lodged into the door just above the dresser, blocking the door. ¡°Sorry, my queen,¡± Cina said, frantically attempting to load another bolt. There was a knock on the door. ¡°You in there stand down!¡± a muffled voice was heard through the door. ¡°Enter, and you will lie down eternally!¡± Sarinah shouted back, fiercely. The voice spoke up loudly, ¡°What is this song that I hear now? The melody that plays in my soul now. It is like a tune I once heard and teases me into remembering its existence. Am I dreaming? Is my life now a song?¡± Sarinah trembled visibly; she knew these words spoken from the other side of the door. Only she and the man who spoke these words knew of this poem. The words were the poem her husband composed and recited to her the night he proposed to her in the royal gardens. ¡°Danyais?! It¡¯s the King!¡± Sarinah said, darting pass Cina to the door. She grabbed a corner of the dresser blocking the door and began to pull on it. Cina joined on the opposite side of the dresser, pushing it out of the way. Once the door was clear, Cina retreated into the room near Ari¡¯s bed. With sword in hand still, Sarinah opened the door and saw her husband standing there. Danyais¡¯ armor was dirty. He smelled like a mixture of earth, horse, and all around bad. His face was painted in an olive-green tone. There were at least forty of the King¡¯s Guard in the hall. They knelt as they saw their queen standing in the doorway. Tears of relief released from her eyes, traveling down Sarinah¡¯s face; the sword dropped to the stone floor with a clang as she collapsed into her husband¡¯s arms, the adrenaline she was feeling earlier flowed out of her like the waves of sea dragging sand back out into the ocean. Danyais, clutching his wife, settled on the floor in an embrace and did not care who was around to witness this tender moment or if they judge it to be unkinglike. He felt his wife¡¯s warm tears on his cheeks. ¡°Our sudden arrival. It must have stressed everyone out. I am sorry, Rina,¡± Danyais said, using the pet name he called her when they were alone. Danyais and his queen sat on the floor, embracing one another. ¡°I am sorry, my rose,¡± he whispered apologetically into his wife¡¯s ear. Clyden watched as the king and queen sat on the floor, embracing each other. He was weary; it had been a long time since he had used his magic. Truth be told, Clyden should not have used any magic at all without Witch Devil, his war glaive in his hands. It is extremely dangerous for any magic user to use magic after abstaining from using it for an extended period of time, but to go nearly thirty years without even touching magic was almost unheard of. It was dangerous for Clyden to use too much magic at once, and if his friend Servan were around, he would have called him ¡°Stupid¡± at the least. If Clyden did not have all of his years of experience, then he could have faced the real possibility of burning out his magical essence or, worse, dying in the process, maybe even taking the whole city of Dragon Crest in the backlash along with him. Clyden wanted to find a place to sit down and wondered if he should just plop down on the floor as the king and queen were doing now. There was no way to push past the mass of guards crowding the hallway near the Princess¡¯s door. He walked towards the pink door painted with flowers. The guardsmen he traveled to Rose Claw with parted for him. Looking into Princess Arinah¡¯s room, he saw a chaise lounge. He wanted to walk over to it and sit his weary body down, but the maid he saw when he first arrived was standing in the room, holding a crossbow. Clyden entered the room slowly, and Cina looked at him cautiously. To Cina, the man walking into the room was a stranger. Cina raised the crossbow, aiming at him. ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± Clyden said, injecting as much gentleness in his voice as possible. He covered his mouth as if he was about to stifle a yawn, Clyden was uttering one more spell in his hand. It was a quick spell to put someone to sleep. Clyden opened his hand, and multiple colorful tendrils extended from his hand, crossing the space between him and Cina. Only those who had an affinity for working with magic could see the spell. The colored tendrils floated in the air towards Cina. She breathed them in, and the worry was slowly melting away from Cina¡¯s face as the spell took hold. ¡°It is okay,¡± he said one more time, moving closer to her. Cina looked at him; her eyelids fluttered, and then they closed. Her grip on the crossbow loosened, and it dropped to the floor near the bed. Good thing it didn¡¯t go off. Clyden moved quickly to catch Cina as her knees buckled under her. He held onto Cina and proceeded to lay her on the bed. The state of this woman¡¯s nerves, along with all the people in the castle, was his fault, Clyden scolded himself. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Clyden positioned a pillow under Cina¡¯s head and then walked to the chaise lounge, letting out a long sigh as he sat down. From the chair, he looked around the room, taking in the furnishings and decorations. His glance eventually led back out into the corridor. The king and queen were still in their embrace. They were taking turns talking into each other¡¯s ears. The crowd in the hall thinned out as some guards were pulling back, returning to their duties elsewhere. They bowed to Danyais and Sarinah, who did not even notice. Clyden eyed the fireplace, noticing to the left there was a recess in the wall with broken shards of glass laying on the stone floor beneath. A banner lay on the floor near it. Clyden was observing the ornate rugs covering the stone floor when he then noticed a little arm sticking out from under the bed. A tiny hand was patting around the ground from left to right before it grasped the loaded crossbow, dragging it under the bed. Clyden berated himself, Dam it! The princess, and we have all forgotten about her. Everyone forgot, except for the maid. It was why Cina stood guard, even though she knew King Danyais and Queen Sarinah were outside the door. Cina would not have stood down until Queen Sarinah or King Danyais told her it was okay if Clyden did not put her to sleep. Clyden stood up and walked closer to the bed, kneeling to the floor before lying down on his stomach. He peered under the bed. Clyden saw a dimly lit girl clutching the crossbow, wavering as she used all the strength in her tiny arms to aim it at him. Tears were in her eyes, but Arinah did not make even a noise. Brave girl. It was like looking at a cornered animal, and Clyden felt a pain of guilt about his contribution to this girl¡¯s tears. ¡°Hello,¡± Clyden said softly. Ari did not answer back. ¡°My name is Clyden. I am a friend of your father¡¯s. He is here outside in the hall. Do you want to see him?¡± he asked, reaching gingerly for her. ¡°Lies! My father said he would be gone for a month, and it has only been twelve days,¡± Ari said with a royal fierceness, aiming the crossbow with renewed vigor at him. ¡°Ah, he was gone, but I brought him back using magic,¡± Clyden said. Ari looked at him skeptically, obviously not believing a word he said. Looking at the edge of the princess¡¯ bed, Clyden picked at the beadwork on one of the tassels hanging from the bedding. He laid three crystal beads on the ground, making sure Ari could see them. Clyden blew on them with what should have been a simple spell, but he struggled to get to work. He blew again, and this time, the beads glowed brightly. Clyden spoke another spell, and the beads floated from the ground towards Ari in a circular motion. The glowing beads illuminated the area surrounding Ari, and Clyden was able to see her clearly now. Half of Arinah¡¯s body was hidden behind stuffed animals, and her red hair had some webs in it. ¡°How did you do that?¡± Ari asked, her attention transfixed on the glowing beads. She reached for the pearls of light, but as her hand approached them, they dashed away from her playfully like flies being swatted at. ¡°It¡¯s magic. Now I have told you who I am. How about you tell me who you are, little one?¡± Clyden asked gently, with a smile. Ari was hesitating, not knowing if she should talk to him. ¡°My mother told me to stay here and be quiet so that I could win the game.¡± ¡°The game?¡± Clyden asked. ¡°Yes, she told me I had to be quiet and hide under the bed,¡± Ari said. ¡°Ah, the hiding game. It is already over, and you won. You played it splendidly,¡± Clyden said with a beaming smile. Ari¡¯s brow furrowed as she contemplated what Clyden was telling her. ¡°My name is Princess Arinah Lizbeth Malve Loudas,¡± Ari said. ¡°Arinah Lizbeth M-Ma-Malve Loudas,¡± Clyden said, stunned at hearing Lizbeth¡¯s and Malve¡¯s name being spoken aloud after so long. There was a moment of pain, guilt, and anger that coursed through Clyden¡¯s body. Ari must have seen Clyden¡¯s emotions on his face as she asked him, ¡°A-A-Are you OK?¡± The magus sighed before the worries on his face faded, turning back to a smile. ¡°I am fine, Arinah Lizbeth Malve Loudas. Your name. It is a beautiful, powerful, and wise name your parents have blessed you with,¡± Clyden said. He reached his hand out, and she took it. She came out from under the bed. ¡°I knew a Lizbeth once, and she was the smartest person I have ever known. There was literally nothing that you could talk about that she would not be keenly familiar with, or at least I have could never find a topic that she did not know about.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Ari asked, arching her left eyebrow high in disbelief. ¡°Really, really. Magus oath!¡± Clyden said, holding his hand up solemnly. ¡°What¡¯s more, I also knew a woman named Malve. Not nearly as smart as Lizbeth, but still much smarter than me. She was strong and brave. Both were the most beautiful women I have ever seen,¡± Clyden said as he picked the webs from her long, red hair. He motioned over his shoulder with his hand, ¡°Your parents are in the hall. Go.¡± Ari looked towards her door, and she could partially see her mother and father sitting on the floor, but she could not see them entirely. The legs of some of the guards were blocking her view. She ran to them, the guards parting to let her through. The Guards were smiling at her, but as Ari got closer, she noticed guards whose faces were partially green, and some were entirely green. When she saw her dad¡¯s face, it was completely green. ¡°Mother! You have to kiss, Father! He is turning back into an ogre. The others are going to have to wait in line!¡± Ari shouted. Ari¡¯s mother laughed uncontrollably as the princess was enveloped by her parents¡¯ embrace. *** Old Kings Are the Worst Clyden was standing outside the door to the empty room he used to bring King Danyais and his men through to Rose Claw. The King was holding his daughter, and Ari was still trying to kiss the ogre away from him to the point that even her pink lips were now taking on an olive tone. ¡°Did you curse my father, Magus? In the books, the bad magus always curses people,¡± Ari said, looking at Clyden menacingly. The King started to speak up, but Clyden wickedly smiled and spoke first, ¡°Aye! I did, and there is only one way to break the spell.¡± Clyden stopped speaking, letting the silence draw out ominously. ¡°How do I break it?¡± Ari asked, mustering up all her regal bearing she had at her age. ¡°If you want to break it, it is entirely simple and only you can save your father from my curse,¡± Clyden said. ¡°Only me?¡± Ari asked. ¡°Yes, if you wish the curse to be lifted. You have to be a good princess,¡± Clyden leaned in and whispering to her. Ari nodded her head, silently agreeing to his terms. ¡°Clyden, I might not bathe for weeks now,¡± Danyais said jokingly, before adopting a more serious tone. ¡°Are you sure? Will you not change your mind?¡± Danyais asked him, yet again. Danyais set down Ari, and she walked the little distance over to Clyden, tugging on his robe. ¡°My answer is no,¡± Clyden said, looking down into Ari¡¯s innocent green eyes. ¡°I will be smart and brave, just like your friends. Pretty also,¡± Ari told him. Clyden smiled warmly at her, petting her head. ¡°They would have loved that,¡± Clyden said back to the princess. He looked at Danyais, ¡°Your Majesty, send the vrolloc¡¯s skull to Sukkan. It should be enough.¡± ¡°I will,¡± Danyais said, looking at the man holding the sack. When they left Clyden¡¯s forest, it was Zander holding the bag, and now it was in someone else¡¯s possession. ¡°Wait, where is Zander?¡± he asked. The man holding the sack spoke up nervously, ¡°Majesty, Zander said you would understand and switch out with me. He stayed with the horses.¡± *** The entire castle was awake and buzzing with the news of King Danyais¡¯ magical return with a Magus. Guardsmen turned servants away, claiming they had to change bedding or clean the ceilings in rooms suddenly. Some even inventing work for themselves, all in an attempt to catch a glimpse of the Magus, who traveled with their king and his guards from an impossible distance. Clyden stood in the barren room set aside for him by the previous king, thinking to himself that the room could use some of that extra labor to clean right now in here, but he would never leave this room unlocked. He was pretty sure that Danyais would leave guards outside this door always now, since he saw how easy it was for a person to come into the royal quarters using the fade gates. Clyden twisted the lever, and all four rounded bars pushed into the walls, locking the door at four points, and resealing the room. Clyden turned around, looking at the door he brought Danyais and his guards through earlier. He only now had one more task to do. Clyden had to send the remaining two men to River Tarrow with all the horses left behind in his forest. ¡®Smart and brave,¡¯ Clyden thought of little Ari and how brave she was during the whole situation he had caused. Clyden should have asked Danyais, who named the Princess, even though he had a strong suspicion it was King Ledan that influenced his son¡¯s decision. If he ever saw Danyais again, he would have to ask. He was about to enter the door linking Rose Claw to his forest when he paused, looking at another wooden door nestled into the north wall to the right of a window. The northern door would take him to Lizbeth¡¯s library. Clyden turned a portion of Lizbeth¡¯s library into a mausoleum, enshrining his dead friends there. He cast a spell on his friends¡¯ remains, putting them into an eternal resting state free of decay or the ravages of time. Lizbeth¡¯s library was also the place where he abandoned his magic. Witch Devil, his glaive, was forgotten and abandoned on the floor of the library. Clyden shook his head, trying to rid himself of the nightmarish images of Malve dying at his hands. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. After striking down Revlaman, when Clyden saw what he did to Malve, he cast every single restorative spell he knew. Clyden even used forbidden magical spells, dragging wild animals and criminals to the library by force, siphoning their life force to stall Malve¡¯s demise. In the end, nothing he tried worked. When Malve took her last breath, he chanted out a spell to stop time in her body, freezing her in time. Her body will never know decay, even though dead her skin was still warm to the touch. The images and memories of the day Revlaman took his friends, and his accidentally killing Malve haunted him. Clyden could not save any of them, and the floodgate of guilt opened back up for him. His friends were clear as day in his mind¡¯s eye. Malve was there, but then she faded away and was replaced by someone else. A little girl with curious and dazzling eyes, it was Princess Arinah Lizbeth Malve Loudas. ¡°Old kings are the worst,¡± Clyden said aloud, thinking about old King Ledan. *** ¡°My Lord, are you sure we should be doing this?¡± Porter, the guardsman, left behind with Zander to watch their horses at Clyden¡¯s house, yelled up the staircase at Zander. Shortly after King Danyais and his guard left with Clyden, Zander curiously invaded Clyden¡¯s dwelling. Zander was like a kid at play, exploring inside the tree. He climbed up and down the stairs, yelling out descriptions of everything he saw. ¡°Porter, it is fine. You are a King¡¯s Guardsman, have some courage!¡± Zander yelled from somewhere above. ¡°My Lord, we shouldn¡¯t be doing this,¡± Porter said. His eyes darted around nervously. Nothing short of an order from Danyais himself would get him to venture further into Clyden¡¯s dwelling, no matter how fantastical Zander¡¯s descriptions of the wonders he claimed to see or his sour taunting may be. It is only proper to respect other people¡¯s boundaries. ¡°Ari has to see this; she always wanted a treehouse, you know? Porter, you have to come up and see this.¡± ¡°See what?¡± Clyden asked, startling Porter, causing the color to drain from his face. Porter did not even hear a step from the man. Porter turned around to face Clyden. The magus stood in front of him with annoyance written on his face. Clyden held a wicked-looking black glaive, causing the color to fade even more in Porter¡¯s face, a possibility that should not have been possible. Porter saw silver and gold runes etched into Witch Devil. The weapon was obviously dangerous, but it was the man holding it that induce fear in him. ¡°I am glad I took the wards down before I left, or you two would be dead.¡± Clyden looked over at his glass jars, some still holding experiments boiling over low flames. ¡°You all didn¡¯t touch anything!¡± Clyden raised his voice, making sure it would travel upstairs. Zander¡¯s head peeked over the railing on the third floor, like some house cat looking down. ¡°Porter, you were supposed to give the signal,¡± Zander said. In response, Porter started to caw like a crow. ¡°You must be, Zander. Come! Your King awaits,¡± Clyden said, stepping back outside and walking over to the stable. Porter followed him, and Zander followed shortly after. ¡°So, did the King say anything else?¡± Zander asked. ¡°You mean did he ¡®understand?¡¯¡± Clyden said, smirking. ¡°I think he will want to tell you himself.¡± ¡°Oh well. Maybe I will have peace,¡± Zander said. Clyden tossed him a long rope. ¡°What is this for?¡± ¡°It is to tie the horses together, I once had a dragon get lost in the Fade, still don¡¯t know where he is at,¡± Clyden said. Porter walked over and took the rope from him. Porter started to tie the horses together. ¡°Help me to clear this,¡± Clyden said while moving stuff outside the stable. Zander saw the war glaive leaning on the gate as he approached the stables. ¡°She is called Witch Devil. I wouldn¡¯t touch her if I were you. She has not had anyone to play with in nearly thirty years,¡± he told Zander as if he had just read his mind. ¡°Is it alive?¡± Zander asked, looking at the glaive in fascination. ¡°No, it is just a glaive in anyone¡¯s hands save mine. I just do not want you to touch her,¡± Clyden said. They all continued their work in silence. Zander noticed another horse was saddled, Clyden walked over and slid Witch Devil into a special harness made to hold her. ¡°You mean to aid us, after all?¡± Zander asked. One could hear the relief in Zander¡¯s voice. ¡°Aid, no. Aid is something that is given freely. This is more like I am compelled to. There is a little girl, and I mean to see her grow up ¡®smart and brave,¡¯¡± Clyden said, pausing momentarily and sighing. ¡°They are the worse.¡± ¡°Who are the worse?¡± Zander asked. ¡°Old kings.¡± Clyden said. ¡°Old kings?¡± Zander asked, tilting his head slightly to the side. Clyden did not respond to Zander¡¯s question. He continued to wrap a leather strap around Witch Devil several times before securing his weapon in its harness. He replayed the scene of his departure from Dragon Crest in his head. Little Ari¡¯s declaration of growing up smart, brave, and pretty echoed in his mind. ¡°¡®Pretty also,¡¯¡± Clyden said, placing a foot in the stirrup of his saddle and leaping on his horse¡¯s back. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go.¡± Pretty also? Zander tilted his head in confusion, looking at the magus¡¯ back.