A/N: Well, I'm kind of worried about getting King Izana OC so I'm a little bit hesitant writing his POV.
Well, he's going to be OC. Hopefully I'll improve next time:)
And, I'm still stuck with Chapter 16 in the manga. Hazukashii!
Chapter 2
The Third Month, Kingdom of Clarines.
The Royal Palace
It was another uneventful day for the King of Clarines, Izana Wistaria.
He still hasn't completely gotten used to being the King even though he was brought up to be one. When he was the First Prince, he has taken the liberties to do a lot of things, but now, he has to be more careful of his actions. Well, he always has. His tasks weren't even a problem for he has the confidence to do all of it well enough, as expected of a King.
It just that this time - just for this day, he needed something different.
The paper works and consultations with the other Lords kept him cooped-up in the palace and the routine suddenly aggravated him. It's already been a week when he started to feel strangely restless and anxious. It's as if something was going to happen but he had no idea what.
And he really doesn't like not knowing it.
He left the Study Room and quietly wandered around the corridors of the palace, deciding for a breath of fresh air when he saw a smoke coming from the harbour. It was a contrast to the wonderful day of cloudless blue sky in the Kingdom. Several of the palace guards already took notice and they deployed a number of soldiers to see to it.
Well, he got what he's asking for. The smoke was surely something different.
He immediately headed to the stables and directed the stable master to saddle his horse for him.
"Your Majesty, if I may ask, where are you headed?" The stable master asked timidly.
Izana smiled. "To something different."
Three guards already appeared beside him to ensure his safety before he could get past the gates.
The harbour was more or less than fifteen minutes away from the palace, and if the smoke was any indication, something was burning really fast. The smoke was already thick and black. Izana can already smell the burning wood. It wasn't helping that it's in the harbour where strong gust of winds blew to help the sailing of the ships.
They finally arrived and Izana saw the Rosythe Inn burning. People were already united in throwing pails of water to the burning establishment. The fire wasn't that big yet, but it worsens each second. If they don't do something, it will immediately engulf the second floor.
"Keep the water coming!" He ordered to the guards, coming down from his horse. He, then, addressed the people who were watching. "I need everyone to help."
Immediately, everyone present in the harbour help douse the fire.
He spotted a bunch of people, beaten-up and tied together in captivity huddled in the corner, guarded by the Captain of the Guards. They clearly weren't from the Kingdom.
"Who are they?" He asked the Captain. He bowed at him before answering.
"A bunch of criminals, Your Majesty, from the Kingdom of Eraosa. They were brought here by a noble of the country. The inn-owner said they terrorized not only the inn staff but also his guests."
The Captain of the Guards pointed a gentleman being treated by the physician. He was stabbed in his middle, and although it wasn't life-threatening, it was still enough to weaken a well-built man like him. The country of Eraosa is very far from Clarines. Izana was curiously interested to what brought them here at his Kingdom and caused this trouble.
"I thank you, Captain, for capturing them before they killed the gentleman."
"Ah, ehm. Actually, Your Majesty, when we arrived, all of them were already down. The gentleman's work, I presume. The fire originated from the kitchen and unfortunately it already spread throughout the whole floor. We have no choice but to retreat."
Izana nodded. He was actually impressed with the gentleman who fought ten criminals by himself.
"Are all the guests evacuated?" Izana asked, concerned.
"The nobleman from Eraosa was missing and there's a lady..." The Captain said gravely. "We feared that they're both trapped in the second floor, but there seems to be no sign of them yet."
The gentleman suddenly groaned. "Your Majesty…" He croaked weakly.
Izana came to his side and looked at him. He was very well-dressed, despite all the blood. There's a possibility that he could be a noble too, from another country. He hoped he's not. This is going to be a serious concern if he was, and that's the last thing he would want. Although it might be too late, considering what the nobleman from Kingdom of Eraosa did.
"Your Majesty…" The gentleman said again.
"Gareth!" Two young males suddenly appeared and immediately went to the wounded man. Both lads were well-dressed and well-built like the man they called Gareth. Also, they looked well-trained in the arts of fighting, judging from their cautious movements.
"What happened?" The young male with brown hair asked.
"Who on earth did this to you?" The one with ash-blond hair asked.
Gareth was unfortunately indisposed to answer their questions.
And then the two boys suddenly gasped.
"Where's Your…"
Their question was interrupted when a window opened with a loud thud from the second floor.
A raven-haired female in white dress suddenly emerged, coughing. Her long hair danced with the both fire and wind. She was carrying a bunch of clothes and three-swords with her. She hurriedly walked toward the edge of the roof, her eyes searching the people below who were now watching her with interest.
Her eyes came upon their direction and immediately went above them.
"Your Majesty!" The two young lads called.
Izana was now sure they weren't calling him.
"Is Gareth all right?" She asked, her voice loud and clear.
"He's going to live." The brown-haired lad said.
"What happened?!" The lad with an ash-blond hair asked worriedly.
Rosythe Inn, Three Hours Earlier
They've arrived at the Kingdom of Clarines a week ago, and Althea already decided that it's the finest country she has visited so far. Emrys instructed them to conceal their own identities to prevent Moria from knowing that they left the Kingdom. Gareth, Gavin and Percy assigned themselves the role of being her "strong, good-looking and trustworthy brothers." They will be assuming the status of Commoners who lost their home and in search of a country where they could stay comfortably. She didn't mind. She can't be a Queen right now, even if she wants to anyway.
After travelling the seas for five long days, they finally arrived at their first Kingdom, the country of Eraosa. She suddenly realized how big and wonderful the world is. Every place has its own story to tell, with people with their own identity, tradition and culture. She suddenly wondered why Florin chose to shut itself from the world. Her country wasn't really the friendliest country there is. Only a few Outsiders were allowed to enter – only those people who work for her Uncle Moria.
She hadn't wasted the opportunity of learning about each country they had visited, especially with the way they govern their country. She might be able to apply their laws and rules to Florin. She decided to take notes. Unlike Florin though, all of the countries she visited has what they call men of titles, also called nobles. It was the equivalent of their High Borns. The nobles were granted their own piece of land and people where they could exercise their own authority. It was an interesting delegation of power, although she was not sure if this could work in her country. Politics concerning these nobles, she observed, were messy.
With all her studying, the mission of finding her King became the last priority. That was until a nobleman, named Lord Dincly, from the Kingdom of Eraosa, out-of-the-blue proposed to her. He actually demanded her to marry him. He owned the land where they stayed and apparently the Lord was under the assumption that everything and everyone who set foots in his lands were automatically his property.
Lord Dincly was a large man. He was very stout with a weird moustache that surrounded his stout face. Althea was sure that he is not her King. She honestly does not care what her King's appearance would be, as long as the man's character met her standards. Lord Dincly obviously didn't meet it. And she always trusted her instinct about people. Her instinct says that Lord Dincly isn't a respectable man he portrays himself to be. Proving that would be the way he managed his temper when she rejected him. He dared to raise his hand to her. Thankfully, her "brothers" were there to protect her.
They have to get out the Kingdom of Eraosa because of him.
Althea's husband-hunting and king-finding mission was nothing but difficult! She doesn't have the luxury of time to meet every man who exist outside of Florin and wait for her heart and soul to tell her who is her King. What on earth was Emrys thinking?! Four Kingdoms, and there still is nothing.
Now she's on her Fifth Country.
And Clarines Kingdom is making her forget everything except of how awed she was to the land. She was impressed that females are allowed to have a position in the kingdom – especially as physicians. Florin only allowed the male High Borns to take up that position and they weren't even as good as Clarines' healers.
The need to learn ignited within her once again. She promised Gareth that she'll find the King here, or if not, then definitely on the next Kingdom if he gives her more time to learn about Clarines and her government. They were on their third month and getting farther and farther away from Florin. At this rate, it would take a month to go back. And that means she has but two months away to find the King.
They're staying at Rosythe Inn. The owner and his wife were very hospitable and charming people. Gavin and Percy are testimony of comfortable it was for they were nowhere to be found - again, leaving their swords behind. The two Knights always make sure that they go around every Kingdom, but this was the first time they left their weapons. They probably felt Clarines to be a peaceful, crime-free country.
"I'll probably need to talk to them. Knights don't leave their swords behind." Gareth grumbled as he shoved a spoonful of food to his mouth.
They were having their breakfast at the first floor, same with the other guests.
"You don't say." Althea mocked comically. Gareth also left his sword upstairs.
"Guilty as charged." Gareth grinned.
"The owner assured us that Gavin and Percy will be safe." Althea said. She suddenly took out a small record book and a pen from her pocket and started writing something.
"I wanted to ask their King how he protects his Kingdom." Althea added thoughtfully. "It might be useful against Uncle Moria."
"Well, you can, if you reveal that you the Queen of Florin. Although, last time I checked, our Kingdom doesn't have a good reputation with other countries." Gareth said.
She pouted. "Well, it couldn't be helped. A hundred years of isolation from Outsiders make us ignorant and uncivilized of sorts."
"I can't wait for you to change that." Gareth wiggled his eyebrows.
"Look forward to it! I have a lot of things to learn about proper governance of a country. This journey is really enlightening." Althea smiled.
Their conversation was suddenly interrupted when a loud noise came from the outside. Gareth immediately took a protective stance toward her at the same time cussing about forgetting his sword. He took the bread knives on their table. It was better than nothing.
A second later, the door of the inn exploded and revealed a group of rowdy, poorly-dressed men.
"We've travelled long and far and we are really famished!" The largest of them, the leader, announced. "We liked to be served."
The owner cautiously walked to them. "I'm afraid we don't have room for all of you, sirs." He declined politely.
The leader scowled and without a second thought slapped the owner so hard, he fell to the ground. Althea flinched at the violence. The group of men started turning tables and causing havoc. The guests screamed and tried to get out of the place.
So much for the safety of Clarines, Althea thought.
Gareth, with his back in front of her, pushed her slowly and quietly to the corner until her back hit the wall.
"Your Majesty, as I'm distracting all of them, I want you to go your way out through the kitchen and call for help." Gareth whispered.
"What do you mean by distracting all of them?! They're ten of them, and in case you didn't notice, all of them are armed." Althea protested. The kitchen was a few meters away from them. She could run to it in a few seconds, if she's lucky.
"Are you saying I can't do it?" He has the gall to smile.
"Gareth, you don't have your sword!"
"I have knives."
"No. I'll just run upstairs to get your sword." Althea decided.
"Althea." Gareth warned. Althea would have pointed out that a Knight doesn't call their Queen by her name but he shot her a dangerous look, she pursed her lips.
"You'll get hurt." Athea finally said. Gareth sighed.
"They're from the Kingdom of Eraosa, Your Majesty. I'm afraid to tell you that this is Lord Dincly's making."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. He's actually there." Gareth pointed with his chin. Althea saw a stout man in the middle of the group of men. The others tower above him so she didn't see him at all.
"I should do what you said, shouldn't I?"
Gareth nodded.
"As long as you promise me that you'll be okay." Althea demanded. Gareth was the closest she has for a sibling and she couldn't help but be worried for him.
"I promise I'll live."
"Gareth!"
"Your Majesty, just in case you haven't noticed, they are eleven of them, if you include the Lord. And all of them are armed." He repeated what she said before.
Before Gareth could act his plan though, Lord Dincly saw her and immediately ordered her capture. Gareth cursed as he and the rowdy men launched themselves to attack each other.
Althea immediately ran to the kitchens, shocking the cook and his helpers. She almost got out of the inn when a fierce grip caught her hand, pulling her back. She almost fell on her back. The leader of the rowdy men grabbed her middle and tossed her on his shoulder. The kitchen staffs made a run to the exit.
"Please call for help!" Althea called out to them.
The leader chuckled and carried her back to the dining room in such an undignified manner. Althea held herself with pride despite her position. There was no way she would cower down to these people. She is a Queen.
She saw Gareth holding up his fight. Three of the men were already down.
"Here she is, Lord Dincly." The leader said.
Lord Dincly appeared in front of her and smirked.
"You, my Lady Althea, will marry me whether you like it or not."
Lord Dincly's footman appeared from the entrance, carrying a large box. He was followed by a visibly shaking priest. It took all her strength not to gasp and to keep her face passive. She learned a long time ago that negative emotions bring all sort of excitement to other people, thanks to her Uncle Moria. Lord Dincly wasn't any different.
"We will be having my wedding ceremony upstairs. You do understand, my Lady, that it's the best we could do with all of this mess." Lord Dincly said, waiving the chaos of the fighting men.
"Althea!" Gareth yelled as he punched and was punched.
She exhaled.
"Bring me down." She ordered, enough for the leader of the rowdy men and Lord Dincly to hear. It took the man a second before he followed her order.
Straightening her back, she stood her ground and stared at Lord Dincly. She, then, looked at the footman.
"Bring the box to my room." Althea said.
Lord Dincly smiled at her triumphantly.
"Your Maj… Althea!" Gareth yelled again. She shook her head at him, telling him not to worry and then walked upstairs. The footman immediately followed without waiting for Lord Dincly's permission.
Gareth cussed more loudly. She heard loud sounds of crashing of glasses and woods, grunts and groans of men but she didn't look back.
She'll deal with Lord Dincly herself.
She opened her room and Lord Dincly ordered his footman to open the box. It was a wedding dress. The footman carefully laid it out on her bed.
"If you plan to escape, you'll never see your brother alive again." Lord Dincly smiled. The priest whimpered.
"Rest assured that I won't do that. Leave this room so I can wear the dress. I will tell you when I'm done." Althea raised an eyebrow at him.
They left her without another word.
She hastily wore the wedding dress. It was simple, yet beautiful. Lord Dincly's wardrobe taste was probably the only redeeming quality about him.
Althea immediately collected her knights' weapon, their Florin uniforms, and the bag of gold coins they left behind. The four of them stayed in one room for her safety. Luckily, Lord Dincly didn't notice or if he did, he didn't think anything about it. They're siblings, as far as he's concerned. She carefully tucked everything in so it's easy to carry once she's escaped.
All of a sudden, the burning wood assaulted her nose. She heard shouting from below. Lord Dincly suddenly opened her door, frightfully coughing.
"The inn is on fire!" The priest finally said. "We have to go down now!"
Lord Dincly ignored the man, and then ordered the footman to close the door.
"After you wed us." He insisted. He took out a small knife and held it in front of the priest.
"But…"
"You better start the ceremony now."
Thin smoke was slowly penetrating the room. At this rate, they were all going to die.
"Father, forgive me for what I'm about to do." She suddenly addressed the priest. All of them looked at her, confused.
With all the speed and strength she could muster, she took one of the swords without taking off its scabbard and whacked it to Lord Dincly's head. He dropped down to the floor, totally unconscious. The footman was going to attack her but she put her hands up to stop him.
"Open the door." Althea ordered him. The footman followed her immediately. All they could see was smoke. They headed for the stairs but it was already burning. Althea instructed them to head back to her room, checking on the way the other rooms for other people. They were the only one left.
"We're trapped." The priest said worriedly. He started coughing.
"But we are not going to die. I need you two to calm down." Althea opened the window and started to climb-up. She told the footman to hand her the clothes and the swords. From the roof, she could see the smoke coming from the first floor. She's starting to feel the heat of the fire. She hoped everyone was safe.
She hurriedly ran to the edge to see if they could jump. They can but without injuries. People were already starting to douse the fire. She searched for Gareth and saw him lying on the ground a few feet away. He's being treated by a female physician. He was covered in blood. Percy and Gavin were already with him.
She hurried to where they were.
"Your Majesty!" The two young lads yelled at her, looking up.
"Is Gareth all right?" She asked.
"He's going to live." Percy said
"What happened?!" Gavin asked. "Are you harmed? Are you all right?!"
Althea didn't answer Gavin, instead she positioned herself to the edge of the roof to throw at them their belongings.
"What are you doing!" Gavin and Percy ran closer.
"Catch!" She instructed and she threw their uniforms and swords. Gavin and Percy perfectly caught them.
And then she came back to the window.
Percy and Gavin cried in horror and cussed at the same time.
The footman and the priest were still having difficulty to lift Lord Dincly. Althea was worried he wouldn't fit to the window. She couldn't lift her up on her side. She told the priest to switch with her.
Smoke already filled half of the room. She finally succumbed to coughing.
After minutes of pushing and pulling, they've finally got Lord Dincly out. At the same time that the door burst into flames.
…
The fire finally reached the second floor. Smoke started to come out from the windows. And the lady in a wedding dress went back after throwing clothes and swords to the two lads.
It did not escape Izana that they called her 'Your Majesty'.
Izana mounted his horse and instructed two guards to keep an eye on the two lads. He then instructed the rest of the guards to position themselves around the perimeter and help the people put out the fire. Luckily, they were near the sea so they would never run out of water.
Instead of the lady, a priest and a footman appeared on the roof pushing and rolling a rather fat man over the edge. Izana surmised that the unconscious man was the Lord Dincly of Kingdom of Eraosa.
To Izana's relief the lady appeared a second later.
"Gavin, Percy!" She called. The two lads answered.
The lady, without warning, pushed Lord Dincly.
"Catch!" She said for the second time. The priest, the footman and the two lads gasped in surprise. Lord Dincly came down at the two lads, pressing them on their backs on the ground. Thankfully, all of them were safe and sound.
The lady stood up and looked at the crowd. She held herself like a queen and everyone's attention was on her. She caught his gaze and held it.
"We are going to jump." She announced.
Upon hearing the lady's announcement, the two lads scrambled out of Lord Dincly, leaving him on the ground. Izana heard himself barking orders to form a human cushion to catch them. All of a sudden, her safety was his top priority. He was in the middle of instructing his men when windows from the second floor exploded sending shattered glasses and pushing the three people out of their balance. The priest and the footman fell but thankfully grabbed the edge of the roof.
The lady wasn't that lucky.
Izana kicked his horse toward her.
The impact of catching her almost threw them out of the animal but Izana tightened the grip of his thighs and eventually regained his balance. The lady gasped for breath, as if she finally came out of the water. She awkwardly shifted her body against him so she could look at him, unconsciously grabbing his arms.
The first thing he noticed was her eyes. It was a clear violet, full of wonder and life. And when she smiled at him, Izana's only thought was how beautiful she is. He thought he stopped breathing.
The trance was interrupted when he felt a drop of water on his face. He looked up and saw the darkening clouds. He sighed a relief. It's going to rain, just exactly what they needed.
The horse trotted and Izana guided it to the crowd who was panicking with the two men dangling around the roof. Izana finally called out to them to let go. It took a moment before their hesitation vanish and let the crowd catch them.
The two lads came to them and addressed the lady.
"Your Majes… Althea, are you alright?!" The ash-blonde lad asked.
"Our sister, Althea." The brown-haired lad added for his sake.
"Is that Lord Dincly? What the hell is he doing here?" The ash-blonde continued to ask, distress apparent on his face. "And why are you wearing a wedding dress?"
She lifted a hand to stop them from questioning. She attempted to come down from the horse, but Izana gripped her tighter and prevented her from doing just that.
She looked at him questioningly. "I'm fine now, my good Sir. I'd like to go to my brothers now."
Izana just smiled at her. The Captain of the Guard came toward them.
"Your Majesty!" The guard called.
Izana and Lady Althea looked at him, much to the confusion of the guard. The two lads cleared their throats and Lady Althea averted her gaze elsewhere.
"The fire is now in control." He reported. "It's a good thing, too, that it's going to rain soon. We're going to hold Lord Dincly, his footman and the priest in custody for questioning. While the ten criminals will be directly sent to prison."
Izana nodded at him. "Good work captain. I entrust you to do the rest."
Izana looked at the two lads. "And gentlemen, I invite you and your sister to the palace. Captain, could you lend these lads a horse?"
"Of course, Your Majesty." The captain turned to do his order. A second later, a guard handed the two lads a horse to ride.
Lady Althea looked at him, frowning. "Your Majesty, I don't think that is necessary. My older brother is wounded and I'd like to remain by his side."
"You have my word that he's in good hands."
Izana turned his horse, positioned Lady Althea comfortably with her back to him and kicked his horse for a run. The rain finally poured down when they were finally safe inside the Royal Palace of Clarines.
Meeting Lady Althea and her 'brothers' and then bringing them with him gave Izana the feeling that it's not just this day that's going to be different.
