Chapter 1 Recap:
Draco's Kingdom of Arion in the Western Lands of Veldra, has been taken over by the Kingdom of Tharcaea. Having heard his mother's dying words, he escaped through a well that led to the hidden tunnels that ran through the underground of his kingdom, into the forest of Corteza, and met up with the mysterious man named Hagrid. He received his mother's last letter, and the Arionian medallion.

Now on to the next chapter! :)


Chapter 2: The Princess and Her Knight


"Please princess, we don't have much time! The king and queen are expecting you in the throne room in about five minutes, and you cannot go looking like that!"

Turning around with her hands on her waist, Hermione Granger frowned and shook her head, dancing out of her handmaiden's grip.

"You need to loosen your corset, Marcia! It's hindering the air from going through your system into your head! You should try wearing a loose tunic and riding breeches like I am. I feel free as a bird!"

Just minutes ago, she was gleefully galloping on her beautiful brown and white palomino horse, Faeron, across the wide fields that lay to the north of her kingdom, and today she managed to make it all the way to the edge or the Corteza Forest! She did not enter though, for the fear of getting lost in the dense woods, and so she returned, but still in a very good mood.

Smiling, Hermione walks out of her room only to see her faithful knight and teacher Aidon, blocking her way.

"Sir Aidon, what is the meaning of this?"

"Princess, the king and queen wish to discuss your future with you. It would be prudent for you to head to the throne room immediately." He said this in a completely serious manner, but his green eyes twinkled, betraying his real thoughts on the matter.

"Oh Aidon, you know I don't wish to be wed to some arrogant prince from some other kingdom! I want to stay here! Mastering my swordplay and horseback archery. I'm not some dainty little princess who would be satisfied with balls and tea parties with other annoying royal pain in the behinds! How can father do this to me? Ugh." She turned around and marched right back into her room, flicking her long, smooth brown curls over her shoulder. Her chocolate brown eyes turned to gaze at her lean, feminine body in the mirror. "Fine. Help me dress Marcia; you do it a lot faster than I do. I will never understand all the contraptions on the corsets and petticoats."

A few minutes later, Princess Hermione Granger emerged, and was escorted to the throne room by Sir Aidon. As they neared the throne room, they heard the demanding feminine voice of her stepmother, Queen Alecto, from within.

"Perhaps, husband dear, we can marry her off to the wandering Khala tribe. They have been miners for centuries, and there are many jewelry pieces I would love to purchase from them. The leader of their tribe Nar Zeefa would gladly have her."

Furious, Hermione stopped outside the door, awaiting her father's reply.

"Alecto darling, Nar Zeefa is known for his large collection of wives, I will not sell my daughter for some pieces of jewelry. We have our own miners, and you have plenty of gems. No, this will not do."

Appeased, Hermione entered the throne room, Sir Aidon in tow.

Looking up at the man sitting upon the central throne, she noticed the wrinkles that were appearing on the sides of the kindly man's face. The king had a chiseled face with the jaw of a strong warrior, but eyes of a loving father.

"Thank you father, for not selling me out like a common whore. I'm sixteen, and I believe I can tell who my heart loves, and I definitely don't love that pig of a man Zeefa." She said, glaring at her stepmother.

The queen had a mane of red hair that glowed from the pampering it constantly received. Her dark black eyes revealed only a hint of her inner cruelty, but they were constantly masked by the fake kindness that she regularly affixed on her face.

"Now, there's no need to use that language with me, Hermione. I'm merely making suggestions to possible husbands for your future. Those who will have you, of course." Said Alecto, with a snide smirk on her face, throwing a glance to Sir Aidon. "After all, you are the first daughter to the King of Lithia, you cannot marry some common knight, that would be most wrong."

Aidon just bowed his head, saying nothing.

"Now Alecto, there is no need to speak to our daughter this way. Hermione, have you considered any of the suitors who have visited in the past year? You have eight to choose from." King Armand looked down at his daughter with their similar chocolate brown eyes.

"No, father. I want to marry for love. Not out of necessity. You know that. Plus, it's not so bad to have your beloved daughter by your side for a few more years right?" Hermione grinned cheekily at her father.

King Armand chuckled and replied, "of course, dear, we will talk about this at a later date."

Neither of them noticed the angry, dissatisfied expression on Queen Alecto's face.

Her practiced hands flew over the various belts and buckles, as she prepared Faeron for another ride.

"Princess, I would advise against leaving the castle so soon after an encounter with your parents"

Swiftly turning around, she slid her sword out from its sheath that hung on her hips, and swung it toward the intruder. Before she could see what happened, she had been disarmed, and the clang of her sword against a stone pillar rang out across the stable.

"Still sloppy, princess," smiled Sir Aidon. "Why don't we take a walk in the southern gardens? We seem to have much to discuss."

"Ugh. I can never catch you off guard. It's not fair," mumbled Hermione as she put away Faeron's saddle.

They strolled out of the stable, and headed south, toward Lithia's most beautiful collection of flowers and herbs. She loved walking through the gardens, especially with Aidon. There was something very romantic in taking a long, luxurious stroll, surrounded by the beauty and sounds of nature, listening to Aidon's deep, loving voice, as he educated her in the various properties of herbs and flowers they walk past.

"Princess, do you remember the properties of the myrr resin from this Commiphora Myrrha tree?"

"Hm…" Lurching out of her thoughts about Sir Aidon, she turned her focus to the crystallized resin that was bleeding out of the side of the plant in front of her. Scraping a bit off the tree, she lifted her finger up to her nose and sniffed carefully, cataloguing the smell in her mind. "The bitter spicy myrr resin, effective for it's blood-moving properties, and used as the primary ingredient in many healing salves"

Smiling at Aidon, she dropped the resin and said, "I know every flower, herb and tree in these gardens and more, thanks to you. You are brilliant, strong, a master of sword fighting, handsome and perfect in every way. I do not understand why father wont permit our marriage!"

Filled with passion, she failed to notice the tightening of Sir Aidon's smile, and the diminishing of the twinkle in his once humorous eyes.

"Princess…"

"Aidon, stop it. I've told you countless times to call me Hermione. You know I cannot stand the formalities of royalty. Princess this, princess that, it irks me to no end!"

"Hermione. You know we cannot be. My loyalties lie with the King. He has forbidden our marriage, and I will obey him. But I will protect you wherever you go, princess." Reaching underneath his tunic, he brought out a thick, round, gold medallion, half the size of his fist. It was attached to a leather cord, which he brought over his head, and extended it to Hermione.

"This is the royal crest given to me by your father, the King when he knighted me so many years ago. You were but a little babe when he appointed me your teacher. He told me to give it to you when the time is right, and I believe that time is now. You may think you are all grown up at the age of sixteen, but I am thirty-four, and much too old and unworthy to hold your affections. Know however, that you will always be special in my heart, Princess Hermione Granger."

Carefully, he slid the leather cord over her head and let it rest gently across her breast, ignoring the stricken look on her face, as she picked up the medallion. She looked disdainfully at her father's crest, and cursed the man for marrying the witch Alecto. She loved her father, but could not for the world understand why he had to remarry. Sure, her mother passed away when she was three, but really, Alecto had no hand in raising her anyway.

Her curiosity took her away from her musings, when she her fingers brushed against the engravings on the back of the medallion.

"Hodie enim lux et futura, nobis certamen? What does that mean?" asked Hermione, keeping her gaze on the smooth engraving, so as not to meet Aidon's eyes.

"Ah, the wonders of Arcantha and the East," mused Aidon. "You do not know much about my family, do you Hermione?"

"Only that you were a peasant my father knighted, for saving his life on a hunt in the woods of Corteza. I believe it was a wild boar you saved him from? A boar about the size of half an elephant?"

Aidon smiled adoringly at the beautiful, intelligent young woman before him. How he wished he could return her affections, but it was not to be, for his heart had already been stolen by a woman who left him behind. A woman he failed to save from that same boar that tried to kill the King.

"Yes princess, that is correct. I saved your father, but I could not save my wife Esmerelda. I chose to step in front of the king instead of staying with my wife. The boar ran over her and punctured her lungs. She was dead within the minute. I managed to get my hands on the spear of a fallen guard, and because I was so angry, I threw the spear with all my might, and killed the beast with one thrust. Your father appreciated my skill, and allowed me to move into the castle for further training. I had already lost the one person that meant anything in my life, so nothing stopped me from moving in to the castle. A year later, I was knighted."

Stunned, she gaped at Aidon, not believing her ears. "You were married?"

"Yes princess. That is why your father will never permit this marriage. He knows that even to this day, fifteen years later, I am not completely over my grief. Esmerelda was my soulmate," he smiled, continuing mournfully, "She had hair the color of freshly grown wheat, and eyes like melting snow. She brought warmth into a room just by smiling, and I will never be able to forget her. We grew up together in the small fishing village of Gailee, on the East side of the Arcane Sea. Did you never wonder why we do not study the geography of the East? I am truly surprised that your curiosity was not piqued, when we went over the map of Veldra and yet there was nothing to the right side of the map."

"Yes, I wondered. I looked through all documentations of geography in our library, but there was no mention of civilization on the Eastern side of the world, just the scarce mention of the name Ardovra, so I assumed they were barren lands, devoid of human population," said Hermione, with an inquisitive expression glued on her face.

Smiling at her, Aidon continued, "There is no documentation, because not many manage to make it over the Arcane Sea to the West, and those who do, never feel the need to share the secrets of the East. Esmerelda was the daughter of the Kage of our village. Kage is the title given to the leader of our village. Sort of like the title of "Duke" in these lands. I was to son of a blacksmith, who traveled from the edges of the hidden lands of Arcantha to live the rest of his life peacefully in Gailee with his one and only remaining family member – me. At that time, I was only about four years of age.

We lived in the farmland next to the home of the Kage, and my father held a close relationship with him, as we provided the weapons for the Kage's guards and soldiers. In return, he allowed me to train with his soldiers from a very early age, not expecting me to want for his daughter. By the time he realized we had fallen in love, I was already a master in swordplay, and Esmerelda had already agreed to our union. Her father, naturally, was furious, and wanted to have me executed.

But by that time, I had gotten my hands on a map my grandfather made of the world. A map that had the most detailed drawings from his exploration on the West. What a rare treasure that was, and for my father to not understand the implications of such a map! He thought it was the fanciful drawings of a madman.

My grandfather was a traveler. A nomad of sorts. He could never stay rooted to one spot, and so he left his wife and son to explore the western side of the world. He arrived at the village of Gailee one morning, and walked into our cottage without a word and collapsed on the floor. He was dead by nightfall. Nobody knew how he got there, or whether he had even made it across the Arcane Sea. Nobody but me, for I was the one who sorted through his belongings, and found the map that led me and Esmerelda here, to hide from the anger of her father.

And that, princess, is the story of my life. The short version, of course. I feel myself traveling the same path here. Though your father accepts me as a knight, your stepmother has always held disdain for my peasant ancestry. I do not know what deeds she will commit, but we both know she is a power hungry woman, and we cannot forsee her next move.

We must –" Aidon was cut off by the sounds of thundering footsteps, that belonged to a small legion of personal guards who were loyal to Queen Alecto.

"What is the meaning of this? You dare interrupt the princess on her stroll?" Hermione glared at the head guard, a stocky, built man by the name of Antonin Dolohov.

Dolohov glared back at Hermione with his slanted eyes, saying "Princess Hermione Granger, you are being arrested for the murder of King Armand the Fourth, with the use of poison, by the order of the Queen."

"Wha-" Hermione slid the the ground, her eyes pooling with tears. "My father is dead?" she whispered.

"This is ridiculous! Release her Dolohov!" yelled Sir Aidon, as the guards made to surround the princess.

"You best be on your way, Sir Aidon. The princess is doomed to a life in the cells. Find yourself another play thing, there are plenty of women in this kingdom," sneered the cocky guard, "Take her away!"

Before Aidon could even draw his sword, Hermione had been knocked unconscious, and whisked away by the queen's personal guard. He punched a nearby tree in fury, and started formulating a plan in his head.

To be continued…



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