Chapter 2
The sound of boots walking on the polished marble floor echoed throughout the cavernous hallway. A young lad in his early twenties was making his way to the Great Hall where the king had demanded his presence. His elven lined, great half-round woolen wine red cloak trailed behind him. Wearing a white linen shirt, yellow waistband and a pair of azure black cotton pants, the solemn looking Len Tsukimori huffed in annoyance.
The hallways were lined with many portraits of his family. Each painting deciphering the glory and victories won by their ancestors till now. After a perilous journey down the never ending corridors, the young prince stood in front of two great oak doors. Cravings of dragons and mythical creatures decorated the polished wood of said door. Two knights, clad in heavy iron armory, saluted the prince and pushed open the doors.
Rays of sunlight pooled into the Great Hall through the high arched windows lining the entire stretch of the walls in the hall. At the end of the room, three craved dark wood thrones were centered on a low stone platform, the middle throne being the largest one. The councilors stood at the sides, below the steps. A red carpet was rolled open on the floor towards the king's throne. Prussian blue tapestries bearing the Tsukimori's golden insignia, hung along the round cylindrical columns. Len walked slowly towards the thrones, where his father and mother were both seated in their respective place. The councilmen bowed as he walked past them, even the servants who were hustling around straighten themselves and bowed at the sight of him too. He was an eye-candy for the noble ladies and maids to behold.
Prince Len bowed to his parents at the foot of the thrones. With a raise of his father's hand, he rise up and took his place, on the right hand of his father. Grey clashed with saffron, the later lifted a curious eyebrow. The older Tsukimori held his son's gaze a moment longer before turning back to his councilmen. Sighing in relief, Len sat on his throne, a smaller and lighter version of his father's throne. Misa Hamai turned to her son and smiled sweetly at him. Len just cast his mother a small smile before turning back to his father's discussion with the councilmen,
Queen Hamai shook her head in dismay. Sighing dejectedly and thinking to herself, 'Such a cold hearted son I have,' Her pretty face was edged in a frown upon catching a few words which were exchange between one particular councilmen with her husband.
"It is rumored that our neighboring country, Amane is going to have a new ruler ascending the throne after the king had passed on," the rounded councilmen, Duke Raver informed. King Tsukimori had a bored look on his face as Duke Raver ranted on and on about the so-called new king of Amane.
"Thus, I propose we go over to Amane and propose an alliance with the king," Duke Raver huffed. His chest and bulging stomach puffed out proudly. Some of the councilmen whispered among themselves and nodded in agreement, while other remain quiet. Soon, the chatter died down as everyone waited for their king's answer. The atmosphere was tensed all of a sudden as King Tsukimori began to speak.
"So, Duke Raver, you propose to take on this task yourself?" He quirked an eyebrow at the said flustered duke.
"Yes... My Lord,"
"And you are so sure that, this new king, will take on an alliance with us?"
"Um... I hope so, my king," Duke Raver stammered, all his confidence from before vanished.
"Hope? You know I prefer assurance over uncertainty, right?" King Tsukimori rapped his fingers on the armrest of his throne as he continued to point out all the cons of the proposal.
"Um... Yes, your majesty. We all know that, that's why I propose we secure an alliance with Amane which has access to the Fijiwu Mountains which supplies the silver we need. This will ensure that our supply of the silver will be continuous and in return, we can provide Amane with protection. For all the countries of the four seas, know that Seisou has the most powerful and skilled army of all,"
Everyone turned to look at their king hopefully. They all know their king demands perfection, every mission and treaty agreement must be to the kingdom's advantage. Every citizen, from the young to the old, must contribute to the growth and glory of the country one way or another. After the Tsukimori clan took over the throne, the country did indeed prosper in terms of economics and politics. Seisou had transformed from a minuscule country with weak defenses into a feared large country with its strong and experienced infantry and armada. It was rumored that all the bodyguards by the king's side were supplied by one of the notorious assassin's of the land, the Concert Master. No one has ever seen them, not even by the king's side in the palace, let alone public places. No one has any idea how they are like or their numbers. But, they are a prominent stealth of assassin's known throughout the world. Their marksmanship is like none of the other. Their styles are distinct and every one of their assassination is so clean cut that one might think it was any ordinary death for the victim.
"You know... if you stammer so much, it makes me doubt whether or not this mission will succeed or not," the King's velvet voice echoed in the enclosed hall. Everyone stood still and held their breaths, embracing themselves for the storm that was about to come.
"I won't say your plan is a completely failure, Duke Raver. However...," King Tsukimori stood from his throne and strode over to Duke Raver. The duke trembled slightly as the king slowly approached him.
It was like the lion closing in on the prey.
King Tsukimori grabbed the duke's chin and force him to look into his cloudy gray eyes. With a voice as icy as the winter's wind, the King spoke as the temperature in the room dropped a few degrees.
"The plan is a complete hoax, isn't it? There is no new king in Amane. This so called king you say that will ascend the throne, is that person there, right?"
At that moment, the doors of the Great Hall swung open. A young nobleman with hair the colour of violets, sauntered in. A hooded figure clad in a wine-coloured cape dragging a body, trailed behind him. The young man bowed and smiled at the king. The hooded figure dropped the body and walked out of the room, with stealth and silent grace. It was as if he was never there, his presence wasn't even felt.
"Your Grace, I have obtained the 'baggage' you have requested of me. This is Sir Walton Diachi, one of the guards and king's aid of the Amane kingdom. As you have requested, I have researched said 'baggage'. For the past few months, there has been sights of Sir Walton meeting up with Duke Raver at his summer villa at the borders between Amane and Seisou. From many witnesses in said villa, the meetings were always discreet and one servant claimed to have witness an exchange of gold between the two parties two days ago."
"Don't listen to this liar, my King! He's lying!" Duke Raver bellowed. He was sweating profusely, his hands felt clammy due to his perspiration, "I do not know who that man is or whatever Duke Yunoki is trying to accuse me off!'
King Tsukimori smiled asymmetrically, amused at the scene before him. He raised a hand and two knights grabbed a hold of Duke Raver who was about to pull out his sword and strike Duke Yunoki. The violet-haired man seemed unfazed by the threat the brazen duke was proposing to be, in fact, he seemed to be enjoying it a bit too much. Duke Azuma Yunoki cracked a smiled and turned back to the King.
"Sir Walton here, is a bit under the weather due to the journey from Amane to Seisou. I have personally seen to that he is 'comfortable' with his stay here. But, he has refused to cooperate with me in coming into the Great Hall, thus I had to sedate him for a while for I do not want him to embarrass himself in front of you, Your Majesty."
"You have done well, Duke Yunoki. Very well indeed. I will interrogate these two," King Tsukimori glanced at both the apprehended Duke Raver and the unconscious Sir Walton lying on the floor, " later. Send them to the dungeons and make sure they feel right at home within their cells,"
"No, my King! This is all a big misunderstanding!" Duke Raver hollered. Ignoring his pleas, the king merely turned away and sat on his throne. The howling Duke Raver and Sir Walton were both dragged out of the Great Hall into the dungeons. The large oak doors shut in place, blocking out Duke Raver's cries.
"I am pleased with your amiable way of dealing with the task I gave you. You really do live up to your family's name. With that, your reward will be awaiting for you outside the castle. It should already be loaded into your carriage. Once again, a job well done, Yunoki. That's all for today. Meeting is adjourned,"
All the councilmen filed out of the Great Hall after bowing and saluting the King. King Tsukimori held out his hand to Queen Hamai, who accepted it graciously. Both royals strode out of the room with a few knights in tow. All that was left in the room were Prince Len and Duke Yunoki.
"You have pulled it off once again, Duke Yunoki," Len complimented with a bored look on his face.
Azuma Yunoki chuckled, "Thank you, Prince Len. At least try to look happy for me, well you?"
"You know I don't do this 'happiness' crap you talk about,"
"Yes, yes. I know. Cold as always aren't you? How's the violin coming along?" Yunoki cast a questioning look towards the young Tsukimori. Len was given a violin on his 15th birthday, the day when his father the King had announced to the kingdom that Len was to be his successor when he turned twenty-one. Prince Len was now twenty-one and preparing himself for the great responsibility ahead. His father was a tyrant ruler, ruled the land with an iron fist. Although Len did not approve of some of his father's method, he saw the good effect his father rule had over Seisou and believed too, that was the only way to rule the land.
"Don't make the same mistakes as the previous kings had. Do not be softhearted, not even to your own kind. I love you, my son, but remember, you are King first before a father, that's now I succeeded in ruling this kingdom,"
His father's words echoed in his head. Shaking the thoughts away, Prince Len turned back to Azuma and addressed him.
"It's coming along just fine. In fact, we are getting along pretty well already,"
"Are you sure? Because I believe there is a very angry fairy heading right at our direction," Duke Azuma pointed at the open doors of the halls. Racing towards them at the speed of light, was a tiny creature with cerulean wings. Before Len could brace himself for the shock, the tiny creature flew right into Yunoki's swift hands who caught it in a flash.
The little fairy had long azure hair, ruby red eyes and wore a black feathered gown. Her staff was gold in colour with a small blue crystal on top. She struggled in Yunoki's firm hold and demanded to be let go.
"Let me go, Yunoki-sama!" The tiny fairy complained. Setting her free, Duke Azuma arched an eyebrow at Len, an evil gleam in his eyes upon seeing the prince's annoyed look.
"What did you say, Prince Len? From my point of view, you getting along with little Maurelle here seems rather far-fetched,"
Len could only huffed in annoyance as he stalked out of the room, Maurelle in tow. Duke Azuma Yunoki's snickered at the sight and thought to himself,
'My, my, what a troublesome day the prince will have.'
