The palace halls were arguably more chaotic than the streets outside. Guards and soldiers sprinted past in large groups. Meanwhile terrified servants and their families fled for the dungeon in the opposite direction. The halls were a maze of limbs and armor coated in a cacophony of clanking and screams. Complete and utter madness. Kyle sighed heavily and gently leaned down to place one hand on the ground next to him, "open sesame" he mumbled to himself. A slight green glow emitted from the space between his hand and the ground and with a sudden violent trembling massive tree roots appeared as two separate walls and split the crowd down the middle, clearing a direct path to the stables. Kyle rose quickly and jogged down the open pathway, anticipating a quick and clean receding of the roots back into the ground within a matter of minutes. As the shock of the situation began to wear off silence fell over the large palace entryway and all eyes dropped to the floor as servants and soldiers alike dipped into a low bow before their king. Once again, Kyle resisted to roll his eyes.
He made his way into the front courtyard of the palace where the stables were located just as the tremors of receding roots began behind him. He continued to jog his way down the dirt path off to the side, making his way towards the animals. When he approached the stables, he found his beautiful grey and white dappled Arabian tacked up and ready. Ignoring the stable master and guardsmen bowing low upon his entry he immediately slipped one foot into a stirrup while pulling himself up over the horse and swinging his other foot into the opposite stirrup in one fluid movement. Without even a moment to settle into the saddle, he grabbed the reins, nudged his heels into the majestic creature's ribs and clicked his tongue. The animal reared at the unsuspected ferocity of its master before taking off in a rhythmic clamor of hoofbeats.
He raced down the path towards the palace gates, nearly trampling two of his elite personal bodyguards as they raced to the stables to retrieve their own horses and follow. They called out for him to wait, that he needed protection. Kyle simply galloped by, his left hand hidden behind his fluttering tunic with its middle finger standing attention in their direction. Of course, he couldn't allow them to see it for the sake of professionalism, yet it was how he felt in the moment. Having a hoard of personal bodyguards constantly in his way was irritating enough when he wasn't trying to keep the citizens of the Elf Kingdom from setting fire to the city.
Once through the gates, the "crime scene" wasn't difficult to find. All Kyle had to do was race in the same direction as the torches and pitchforks; the denser the mob, the closer he was. Yet as the crowd thickened toward the epicenter, he continued to race forward, never slowing his speed. He knew the mob mentality all too well and he knew the only way to cut through the crowd was to give them a choice of move or get run over. Thankfully this time, the citizens were smart and no one got hurt….this time.
When he arrived at the epicenter of the confusion, he found the singular Human in a small clearing surrounded by angry elves. Off to the side of the clearing two very pissed off grandmothers clutched two very frightened Elvan children into the skirts of their aprons. The elderly women had their hands over the ears of the children as they screamed obscenities at the lone mortal. The king screeched his steed to a sudden halt and the horse reared once more in surprise. Kyle jumped from the beast's back in a majestic fashion before jamming it's lead into the hands of the closest soldier.
"Here, hold this."
The soldier hardly had the chance to salute let alone get the words "yes 'Milord" past his lips before Kyle was already striding away towards the center of the clearing.
As the young king assessed the situation he noticed two pertinent details he had missed upon his dramatic entry: the Human was not only entirely calm and collected, but...unarmed. With a casual and aloof sort of gaze on his face, the young man stood in the center of the angry mob not hiding behind his shield, not pointing a sword at anyone who dare approach, but rather with his hands high above his head where everyone could see they were empty and with his sword and shield at his feet. While taking in this very, very unusual sight the caterwauling of the mob continued with a vengeance. Kyle had had enough.
He cupped his hands around his mouth as if he were calling across a loud distance and the space between them shone a bright pale blue.
"Hey!" He called and his voice echoed high above the crowd loud enough to shake some of the thatching loose on the nearby cottages. The crowd clamped their hands around their ears for a moment before realizing they were in the presence of the king. All fell silent as the dead in a matter of moments, and all citizens (with the exception of military personnel) fell immediately to one knee and glued their eyes to the cobblestone. At the same time the rhythmic clopping of nearby hoofbeats came to a sudden halt and the quiet twinging of bows being drawn tight could be heard behind Kyle.
"Oh great, the personal guard has arrived" the young king thought to himself.
He raised his left hand in the air signaling the soldiers to disarm. After a moment of hesitation all military personnel sheathed their weapons but kept a keen eye on the Human before them. With all threatening objects safely stowed away, the round-eared stranger took the chance to slowly lower his hands back to his side before placing his right fist over his heart and bowing his head.
"Your Majesty…" He greeted in a low timbre that cracked into a higher pitch at the end. By the voice alone it was clear the Human was an adolescent near the same age as the King.