The whole walk to the castle, Alice was excitedly hopping around, chanting "I'm going home~ I'm going home~"
Marine shook her head at the young minstrel (for some reason, Alice had previously insisted that she wasn't just a kid). There was a chance that the King wouldn't reward them at all, since they hadn't exactly exterminated the Wight Knight; they had even let him go! She hoped that wasn't the case, though, since it might crush Alice's little heart.
Sheila was laughing and skipping with Alice, tripping over Alice's feet several times, since Alice was much quicker than she. Her speed amazed Sheila, since she was always teased for her slowness as a child back in the academy. Vaguely, Sheila wondered what kind of upbringing Alice had, but was so lost in her fantasies she didn't see Alice stop, and toppled the two of them onto the pavement.
Iris just walked behind everyone, silently watching the three. She didn't want to say anything that may alarm her two childhood friends, but... Iris was getting a rather... sinister vibe coming from Alice ever since yesterday. However, she sincerely wished that it was just her own overprotectiveness of Sheila, because Alice is rather pleasant to have around, since Sheila can relate to her. It's nice to have somebody else that can see the supernatural like Sheila, so that not everybody can make fun of her anymore. Hopefully.
By now, the four of them had arrived at the castle gates. Alice grinned, and waved at the two soldiers (who almost flipped their shit at the sight of her; they had just seen her leave town yesterday!), who let her in immediately, telling the group that the King and Queen were awaiting them in the Throne Room upstairs. Alice shook their hands, and bounded off, leading the rest of them up to the Throne Room.
Sheila was amazed at how big it was, It's almost as big as the academy! OOH, THERE'S A PRIEST RIGHT OVER THERE- (was held back from running off by Iris)
Iris loved the architecture, it was quite exquisite. I wonder if it's like the castle back in Gleeba. I shall have to ask for a tour later.
Marine hated it. "Let's just hurry up and finish our business here, so we can leave." She muttered, much to the dismay of her pals.
Alice turned, and tapped her foot (although she still looked cheery). "C'monnnn! We don't have all day, guys! The King must be waiting for my return!"
Finally, they made it up the stairs, but just as they were about to enter the Throne Room, they caught sight of the Princess standing in front of her parents on the throne. It looked like a serious matter, so they decided to stay quiet and wait (Marine had to restrain Alice).
"Mother, Father... I have decided that I will answer to the knight's demands." The Queen immediately burst into heavy sobs. Sheila felt bad for the Queen; her mother was always getting sad like that.
"No! Simona, please!" King Schott leaned over towards his wife, and gave her a soft, yet stern look.
"There is nothing to be crying over, you silly woman! I'll never allow her to go!" He groaned, "Ach, these two will be the death of me..."
He turned back to the front of the room, and saw Alice skipping towards them, her party following behind her, with a certain somebody rubbing her arm (suspicious bite marks were visible).
SHE'S ALIVE?! King Schott stared in shock at the little girl, but still stood up. "A-Ah! It's little Alice! I've been waiting on the edge of my throne for your return, child. Approach the throne!" And sat back down.
Alice hopped up the steps, her taller companions idling in the background.
Princess Simona let out a large sigh of relief, the little girl had been haunting her mind ever since she had seen her off yesterday. "Oh, thank the Almighty for your return, Alice! I can't tell you how glad I am to see you safe!"
"Indeed, it's good to see you back, alive and well, Alice. So, tell me child. What has become of the Wight Knight?"
Alice tells King Schott about what happened (that she remembers) with the Wight Knight.
King Schott grunted, "So, what you're telling me is that he just lost his memory, and mistook my Simona for his fiancée? Not only that, but he told you that he's going to return to Brigadoom now, so he won't ever be bothering us ever again?"
"Yep!" Alice chirped. Wow, this is easier than I thought it'd be! I thought he wouldn't believe me-
"And you believed him!?" King Schott roared at her, alarming Marine to the point that she was going to attack him if he touched Alice. "That sounds like a scam if I've ever heard one! That blethering skite can't be trusted! And he even tricked a young girl like you into believing him...!"
Princess Simona frowned at her father, "Father! Why must you have such a low opinion of him? What has he ever done to you?"
"Hmph! For one thing, I've never even heard of Brigadoom. That proves that he must be lying!" He sighed, and looked at Alice, who was still slightly smiling. He was going to feel bad about this later. "So, Alice, he's the situation. I'm positive that that blasted miscreant will be back here soon enough to go after my Simona again. I hate to say this, but until you put a stop to him once and for all, you will have to forget about trying to collect a reward of any kind."
Iris had to clap a hand over Marine's mouth and restrain her, since now Marine was practically frothing at the mouth from her anger. HOW DARE HE TELL A LITTLE GIRL, TO HER FACE NO LESS, THAT HER RISKING HER LIFE WASN'T ENOUGH, AND THAT SHE HAS TO GO BACK INTO THE FRAY! ASSHOLE! HE'S LUCKY IRIS IS HERE...!
Luckily, Princess Simona was also outraged, and she didn't have anyone to restrain her. "Why must you refuse to believe his story, Father?! If he really is on his own, miles away from home, it must be terrible for him!"
That certainly struck a chord in Alice, who had almost the exact situation, minus the fiancée part. Well, at least the Observatory really exists.
King Schott narrowed his eyes at his daughter, who did not flinch. "Och, lassie! I'm doing all of this for your protection. Do try to understand your father."
Princess Simona's eyes widened, and she took off out of the Throne Room without another word. Her father stood up, yelling after her.
It was then that Marine was able to force Iris off of her, and picked Alice up like a child, hugging her closely. "We will take our leave now, Your Majesty."
She turned, and started stomping out of the Throne Room, Iris and Sheila trailing behind her. It was not a good idea to bother Marine when she's in a foul mood.
However, that didn't stop Princess Simona, who was standing just out of view outside of the Throne Room. "Alice!"
Alice peered over Marine's shoulder at the girl, and tugged on Marine's hair until she stopped. "Yes?"
"There's something I must talk to you about, but nobody must overhear us. Come to my room, it's just out that door and to the east." She pointed to the door that lied just to the south of the stairs, "It's about Brigadoom."
With that, the Princess quietly made her way out of the castle, and out to her bedroom. Alice looked up at Marine, who was struggling not to look at Sheila or Alice, lest she be guilt tripped into going. She wanted nothing more to do with royalty.
Alice grabbed Marine's face, and forced her to look Alice in the eyes. "Please, Marine~?"
Marine groaned, knowing she was going to lose this fight. "Damn it, fine. FINE! We'll go listen to her story, just this once, okay? Then we're going back to Erinn's."
Sheila and Alice cheered, and Alice gave Marine a quick peck on the cheek before she leaped out of Marine's arms, and raced Sheila out the door, leaving a smirking Iris behind.
"What are you smirking for, Iris?" Marine narrowed her eyes at her taller friend, who just smirked larger.
"Oh, it's nothing."