Mikhail awakens to the carriage halting as he made eye contact with Lilith. His face flushes a bright red as he tried to wipe away the saliva from his mouth.
"Did you sleep well? I was a pretty long journey." Lilith chuckled as she wiped the saliva from the corner of Mikhail's mouth with her handkerchief.
"T-to let Your Highness see me in such a state... I extend my sincerest apologies!" Mikhail lowered his head as Lilith sighed.
"I have already told you to speak freely when it is the two of us. Well... We have arrived. Back home." Lilith said as she placed the handkerchief in Mikhail's hand, accepting the coachman's hand as she stepped off the carriage.
Mikhail touched the top of his head and was surprised to find the hood had been placed up again. After all, he had no recollection of ever putting it back on.
"Dear Hero, I hope you have brought along the necessary ingredient. Please make haste to the King's chamber." Lilith said as she curtsied.
Somewhere by the coastal line near the cave, a hooded figure leans against a tree. The face beneath the hood was not visible, yet their presence stood out like a sore thumb.The person waited for a long while before a ragged breath could be heard and a hand drenched in an unknown black liquid grasped at the entrance of the cave."You finally made it out." the hooded figure said as they unfolded their arms and pushed themselves off the tree."Huh...? Heh, its the guide. Where's Mikhail? He back at the castle?" Susie asked as she wiped the liquid off her hands with a cloth and tossed it aside."Yes he is." the guide nodded as they handed Susie a bag of water."Thanks..." Susie muttered as she gulped down the contents of the wineskin without batting an eye."So? Why are you back here? Shouldn't you be fetching Mikhail back to the capital? Enoch, I mean." S
"The King has stabilised for now." Louis said as he observed the two young men before him."That's a relief..." Mikhail sighed as he fell limply in the chair, relieved that the worse had passed."How long could it possibly last? Are you certain the antidote you made was the right one?" William questioned Louis as he frowned."I followed the sacred text to the T. There might be a problem I had overlooked earlier. I will quickly get to work Your Highness. For the time being could you---""Yes, I will. Get to work now." William cut Louis off as he instructed Louis to start working on a solution as he turned to glance at the young man who fallen asleep out of relief behind him.William scratched his cheek as he wondered what to do with said young man. He sighed to himself as he took off the coat he wore and placed it on the sleeping man."This is my act of apology. I won't say it in words... Thank you for your hard work." William whispered as he
"Look, it's that boy! My mom says I shouldn't play with him, so let's go somewhere else instead." A young boy, pointing at another young boy sitting on a tree log whispered to his friend in a volume loud enough for said boy they were talking about to hear."My dad said so too! Let's play by the river! Now is the perfect time for fishing!" another boy agreed as they both ran off whilst laughing in the opposite direction of the young boy they had been talking snide about."..."The young boy stared at his hands and tugged at the ends of his hair before frowning. He didn't understand why he was always avoided by the other children."I also wanted to join them and fish together...." the young boy mumbled to himself, holding back the tears that threatened to fall."Do you think you could spare some time for your mother, then? We can play together today!" a sprightly chirp surprised the boy as he jumped from his seat, tripping over the stump as he
Mikhail stirs as he flutters open his sleep deprived eye lids. He rubs at them before noticing Xander sitting up in bed and reading a report from a stack of documents."Xander? You're up? And... Working?" Mikhail questioned as he observed the man flip to a different page."Mikhail? Yes. I have to say... I feel quite sprightly to be honest. Having escaped the clutches of death for the Nth time, I'm certain the God of Death is definitely waiting to get me in their clutches." Xander laughs as he placed the papers down and faced his son."Are you up for working? Shouldn't you rest longer?" Mikhail asked as he moved to stand up.However, he stumbled in his steps since he had fallen asleep in an awkward position which had caused his legs to go numb. Mikhail grabbed at the air as he tried to keep himself from falling before being caught by firm arms."Careful." Xander said as he caught Mikhail's arm and supported him."Thank you." Mikhail replied a
A soft blue glow pulsated as if it were beating to the rhythm of life. It lit up a corner of the dark room as murmuring resounded from around it."You really thought to question my authority in front of others?""... I merely worded out what I believed as a noble and a royalty from an alliance.""You forget your place. Before you are a queen, you were nothing. Who was the one who placed you in your seat? Crane your neck a bit more, and before you know it... the world will be spinning as your head rolls on the floor.""...""Do as told, Lilith. I won't repeat myself.""... I understand." Lilith replied in a subservient manner."Good." the Voice on the other end cut off before the stone dimmed out and turned red, signifying the end of the call.Lilith stared at the stone as it innocently pulsated before turning back to the translucent stone that it originally was. She furrowed her brows before lighting the oil lamp on the desk an
"Again!" William said as he paced behind Mikhail, observing him.Mikhail tightened his grip on the hilt and assumed to his initial stance. He could no longer remember how many times he had swung the wooden sword in his hands.The only thing on his mind was how the muscles of his arms felt as if they were burning and the sweltering feeling he was experiencing despite it being mid-autumn. The sweat that trickled down his forehead stole into his eyes as he finally lowered the wooden sword and turned to face William."M-may I take a break? My arms feel like they are about to fall off..." Mikhail asked as he wiped the sweat off his brows."We have not even been through this for an hour and you're already asking for a break?" William glanced sharply at Mikhail."... I... Sorry... I'm not used to this..." Mikhail said as he hung his head in shame."You requested to join the knights, yes?" William clicked his tongue as he grabbed a bag of water and
Mikhail hurried down the deserted hallway of the palace as he made his way to where he remembered the library to be. He briefly recalled William telling him to head over after lunch.However, seeing as he had dedicated most of his time swinging his blade, he completely missed lunch having lost track of time. Hence, he was frantically looking for the library in hopes of making it in time by peeking through the keyholes in the ocean of doors.Although the hallway was regal and well adorned with intricate patterns, the doors remained similar and devoid of variety. Pinpointing the exact room the library was certainly became no easy task."Ugh... Where was it? They all look the same..." Mikhail sighed in a frustrated tone as he peeked into a keyhole and noticed a stack of books.Somewhere in the back of his mind, he had equated a large amount of books to being the library. Therefore Mikhail opened the door with little to no hesitation and lowered his head as h
"I have never seen you before young lad. Are you a distant relative of King Xander? Perhaps a cousin to Prince William?" an older man asked as he pressed his palm onto Mikhail's shoulder, squeezing it firmly."Nonsense. Even if he were a relative, only those from the main bloodline has silver hair. There is no possible explanation behind the fact we were made fools of!" Another man interjected as he slammed a stack of papers onto the desk in frustration."To think King Xander would not even think to discuss it with his councils. Did he think we would let him do whatever he pleases? With whose backings did he think we allowed him to ascend the throne at a young age?!""Even if he thought to keep the boy within the palace walls, there will certainly be those who cannot keep their mouths shut. It's a disgrace that he dared to bring a bastard child!""To think he did not even consider all these is preposterous!""What do you suggest we do then?"