Ace was honestly astonished, how serious Israfiel took their agreement. Though most of the young Sankta's explanation was over the top and more than likely exaggerations, he couldn't help but laugh.
"I gotta hand it to you kid, never thought you'd take it so seriously." Patting him on the back, Ace congratulated Israfiel.
Israfiel smiled brightly, with a hint of smugness at the sight of a few of Ace's and Scout's squad members handing out money to each other. It seemed a few of them didn't believe in his ability to stay focused. They were currently in
Bringing his attention back to Ace, the young Sankta smiled at the older Pythia and responded, "Why thank you Ace, were it not for your recommendation I'm afraid this would never have been possible. Of course, I expect for one of our future training sessions to be all about destruction." Israfiel gave a small smirk, one that was reciprocated by Ace.
Behind the two, Scout pushed his earpiece deeper into his ear in order to better listen to whoever was talking to him.
"Don't worry kid, I'll keep my word, but don't expect it anytime soon alright? I've already gotten the next three months filled out." Scout removed his hand from the earpiece and began walking towards the two.
"Of course! So long as-"
"Sorry to interrupt you two, but we're being called by the Doctor." Scout interrupted, slinging his crossbow over his shoulder he walked over the exit and waited for them to follow. The two briefly looked at each other and dismissed the other operators before following after him. Their walk was silent as Israfiel wondered what was going on. When they entered the war room, they were greeted by the Doctor and Priestess sporting serious looks and bags under their eyes as they took their seats.
"Ace, Scout, Israfiel, thank you for coming here on short notice." The Doctor spoke with a hint of nervousness in his voice, something that surprised the three operators. "I personally wanted to thank you for retrieving the device."
"But that's not the whole reason why we brought you here." Priestess crossed her arms, a frown marring her face. "You see, we've been getting reports that some third parties are planning to cause a bit of trouble during Theresa's next assembly. With how nicely things have been with Kazdel nearing the final stages of its reconstruction, we have a feeling that some other nation is going to try and sabotage our efforts."
The three nodded their heads as the Doctor pulled out a large map of Kazdel and placed it on the table.
"Israfiel will be on standby with Theresa, she wants to show everyone that even a Sankta agrees with her ideals and wants to announce her plan of global travel. The assembly will be in the southern district of Kazdel, where the Banshee Sarkaz live." He circles a small section of the map with his finger before going into further detail of the planned security. But Israfiel had tuned those words out, only listening to the mention of his name getting him to sit straight and puff out his chest with pride. Though it was soon replaced by confusion as he tuned back into the conversation.
"-ere's a meeting with the Great Banshee at twelve. They're meeting for lunch, but really Theresa just wants to give her friend a personal thanks for letting her speak in her domain." The Doctor glanced over to Israfiel and gave him a small smile. "I see you're paying attention now, Israfiel." Israfiel could only sheepishly nod his head as the Doctor resumed his briefing.
"To reiterate, there will be an assembly next week where Theresa will announce her plans for world wide travel. Ace and Scout will be holding security around the building while Israfiel will be next to her and provide an extra layer of protection, as well as serving to show the Sarkaz a Sankta who believes in their king. I can't stress enough how important this assembly will be for the future of Kazdel." The three operators nodded their heads. They all understood the importance of this next mission. Kazdel has never been liked by its neighboring countries, specifically Laterano, and due to the bias against the Sarkaz across Terra, many were more than willing to keep them powerless and in constant strife.
As the three stood up to leave, Israfiel was stopped by Priestess.
"And where do you think you're going, little angel?" She teased, making a smile that caused the young Sankta to feel a chill down his back. "You're going to be the main star of the assembly, and we can't have you looking like you're ready for battle."
Israfiel could only stutter in a vain attempt to try and persuade the brown haired woman otherwise, but ultimately was dragged away by her with a pleading look to the Doctor for him to intervene. Unfortunately, the Doctor knew better than to meddle with a woman who's made up her mind and could only give a sheepish smile and a thumbs up for good luck. Betrayed and alone, Israfiel was subjected to the worst torture any man could endure with a woman, clothes shopping.
Two weeks later, it was the day of the assembly. Israfiel, forcibly dressed into a black two piece suit by Priestess, uncomfortably walked through a hallway of the assembly hall. He disliked how the suit felt so thin and inflexible, not to mention how tight the tie was around his neck. What was even worse was that gel had been applied to his hair, and now it felt rigid and unnatural being slicked to the right side of his face. But there wasn't much he could do, this assembly was probably going to be the most important one he's ever attended since his arrival in Kazdel, so he had to look the part. Reaching his destination, Israfiel knocked on a door, announcing his arrival.
"Your Majesty, Israfiel has arrived."
"Israfiel, come in, and you don't have to be so polite right now, the assembly doesn't start for another two hours." Theresa's voice was tranquil and soothed the Sankta's ears, a smile forming on his face as he entered the room. Inside was Theresa in all her glory, her long whitish pink hair and eyes, her porcelain skin, her shin length white dress with black sleeves and a collar with an Originium design on the dress where her left hip was, her nine rings on her fingers, each of them as black as the darkness she wished to dispel. Not to mention–
"Ezra, are you going to stand in the doorway or are you going to come join me?" The melodic voice of Theresa calling his real name broke him from his admiration.
"Apologies, your Majesty, I was simply awestruck by your appearance." Israfiel bowed, getting a giggle from the pink haired monarch.
"Ezra, what did I say about being polite? Right now we're alone, just call me Theresa." She gave a soft smile and patted a spot next to her for him to sit down. Her smile was something that the young Sankta would forever have ingrained into his mind as he stood and took a seat next to her.
"Of course, your–I mean, Theresa…" Ezra silently spoke her name, feeling how it rolled off his tongue before nodding to himself and giving a smile of his own. "How was your meeting with the Great Banshee?"
"Oh, you mean Stheno? Well, we haven't met yet, she was a bit busier than she originally thought and so had to delay her arrival. But she should be done soon, so you'll get to meet her and her son who's heir to the Banshee tribe." That piqued Ezra's interest, a male Banshee and the heir to the tribe. That was quite rare within their race, roughly being a ten to one ratio of women to men. Though he hadn't heard of a male Great Banshee before.
"A male Great Banshee? Has that happened before?" He questioned with a small tilt of his head.
"It has before, but that was long ago, far before my time." Theresa explained. A knock on the door catching the pair's attention. "Speaking of Banshees, that should be her. Ezra, could you open the door for me?" Even without her asking, Ezra would've opened the door, but being asked to open it by Theresa gave him a warm feeling in his chest.
Opening the door Ezra found a stunningly beautiful Sarkaz woman with long blue hair and red eyes. She wore a long black dress that went all the way down to her feet, a thin veil hiding her eyes and horns. She was accompanied by an equally handsome Sarkaz man who looked to be an exact copy of the woman, his hair was shorter and he wore a gray and black suit that had numerous pieces of fabric that acted like capes. Standing in the hallway, the two newcomers looked down slightly to greet the young Sankta.
"Oh, you must be Israfiel. A pleasure to meet you, I'm Stheno, the current Great Banshee." The woman politely introduces herself, doing a small bow before gesturing to the man next to her. "And this is my son-"
"Logos will suffice." He informed, doing a bow of his own.
"Madam Great Banshee, Sir Logos, it is a pleasure and an honor to meet you both in person." Israfiel allowed them to enter the room, returning the bow before closing the door behind them. The two walked to the couch opposite of Theresa and took their seats.
"I must say Theresa, I never expected your Sankta believer to be so… young." Stheno mused, taking an inquisitive glance at Israfiel who silently stood behind Theresa. Their eyes briefly locked with one another as Theresa spoke.
"Israfiel may be young, but he shows a hidden wisdom beyond his years. He wholeheartedly believes in my cause." Her emphasis had not gone unnoticed by the Banshees, the two now looking more closely at Israfiel, seemingly noticing something but choosing to keep quiet. "But that wasn't what I wanted to talk to you about. I wanted to thank you for agreeing to let me speak in your territory. Even as king, I fear that even the rest of Kazdel would hesitate to allow me to speak about this."
Stheno's eyes returned to Theresa's, a smile adorning her face. "Of course, I've grown tired of the centuries of fighting. All Kazdel seems to garner these days is hate and disdain for our race, you being king and wanting to make peace with those other nations should hopefully show the rest of Terra that we're not as bad as they make us out to be."
Israfiel ferverously nodded his head. "Of course the Sarkaz aren't all bad! You and her Majesty are living proof that the stories about Kazdel's bloodthirsty past are now over." The three looked his way, causing him to suddenly feel conscious about himself as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, getting a giggle from the two women.
"While I appreciate your belief for our future endeavors, it is naive to believe that Her Majesty and my mother are sufficient enough to prove-"
"Sir Logos, do you have no faith in Her Majesty so as to question my place in Kazdel? A nation known for their hatred of the Sankta with great prejudice? I understand how my kind are treated inside of this nation, and I am well aware that the treatment that I receive from them is only kept in check by nothing but their loyalty to Her Majesty." Israfiel's interruption caused Logos' eyes to widen, surprised by the insight of his situation and how abnormal he was for his age.
After his retort, Israfiel gave a deep bow, "Apologies for my outburst, Sir Logos. It was not my intention to bring up such a delicate topic within Kazdel. However, know that my loyalty to Her Majesty shall never falter, nor bend. Regardless of how all of Terra views her attempts for world peace, I shall stay by her side – I have made my choice." Each and every word was sincere, it felt like they could understand where he came from and his reasons for believing in Theresa.
All of a sudden, an explosion rocked the entirety of the assembly hall. Israfiel and Logos readied themselves for whatever conflict might arise as Israfiel's phone rang. Hastily picking it up, the voice of Priestess came through, but the sounds of combat were too loud to clearly hear what she was saying. Only a few words managed to make it through.
"Israfiel… Theresis… Your way!"
The sound of heavy metal boots clinking against the wood floor echoed throughout the room, interrupting Priestess before stopping at the door. Utilizing his Arts, Israfiel projected Ace's shield and hammer, ready to charge down the intruder should he need to. Slowly, the door knob turned and opened, revealing the menacing figure of Theresis who stood in the doorway with an impassive face, his sword drawn and bloodied.
With chapter 13 dropping, we get to see Logos' mom. Though without translations I have no idea what her name is, so Stheno is pretty much a placeholder until I can find a translation.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I did writing it. If you have any feedback or criticism, please feel free to let me know for future chapters.