The arrow landed just in front of Knowles. His eyes shot to where I was and I felt like I was pushed off the ledge. I landed on my leg and I heard a crack. Pain shot through me as I stood up. I leaned on a chair and drew an arrow.

“Everybody run! It’s a terrorist attack!” screamed Knowles. People scrambled out the door as the room went up in flames. I didn’t see Knowles do anything, so I assumed the worst.

“There’s more of them!” I yelled to both Libby and the two “nobles” who just happened to not leave. I looked around and spotted the fire wizard that I knew I didn’t see before.

“Yes, there are,” Knowles said when everybody had left. All that were in the room were the two wizards, me, Libby, Andy, and Lana. “I think you already know this, but you’ve lost. Nobody’s here to watch me kill you. In fact, I bravely fought off the terrorists and proved my combat abilities.”

“What about the two nobles and the princess? They can tell everybody what happened!” I screamed in retort.

“Do you perceive me as an idiot? You’re two friends over there can die. They aren’t actual nobles. The princess can die. I don’t need her. The King has already decided I was to rule this country in his absence. And you, my friend, can die a horrible, lengthy death. Right here. Right now. Do it.” He motioned to the fire wizard. Andy and Lana both then ran for the Knowles to try to catch him off guard, but their throats were slit before they even got close. What? I thought. The wizard then gave me what I think were second or third degree burns on my arms.

I screamed out in pain, but I kept the arrow trained on Knowles. I fired, but my accuracy was way off. The arrow hit the wall behind him. He walked slowly towards me as I attempted to knock another arrow, still in immeasurable amounts of pain from my arms and my leg. I then felt a cold blade on my neck.

“Drop it.” Somebody had snuck up behind me without me noticing at all. A wizard who can conceal their presence. That’s also how I didn’t see the fire wizard. I dropped my bow and slowly lowered myself to the ground. I’m defeated. I lost. I let my eyes drift shut and I slipped into the dark abyss of sleep.

A bright white light caught my attention. Is this a dream? Am I dead? I was awake. I opened my eyes to see Libby sitting next to me, leaning over me. “What are you-” I asked as I sat up.

“Lay down. It’s okay.” A bright light emanated from her hands that were hovering over my arms.

“You’re a wizard!” I exclaimed as I looked around to see what was happening. The wizards stared in shock as Libby healed my wounds. She spaced out with a melancholy look on her face. “Hey, what’s wrong? You’re a wizard! We can win this fight!”

“No, we can’t. Even if I can continuously heal you, which I probably can’t, I’ll just be targeted. When I die, you’ll be vulnerable. Even if we somehow win, I’ll be disgraced and banished to the mountains.” She started to cry.

“Listen to me,” I said with a soft voice, “Remember that MMORPG I made you play a while ago?”

“Yeah, so?”

“You were a cleric. You healed people. You also gave party members buffs. What if you’re a cleric here, in this world? And regarding the matters of your wizardry, that doesn’t have to leave this room. And if it does, we’ll figure it out. Together.” I smiled at her.

She smiled back and said, “Okay.” We both stood up and I picked up my bow.

“Are you done? I gave you your five minutes. Hurry up and die,” Knowles said as he glared at us.

I knocked an arrow and said, “Go for it.” She put her hands out, closed her eyes, and poured everything she had into her magic. My bow and arrow started to glow a bright yellow.

I drew an arrow as she chanted, “Lord, lend me your strength. Seek out thou who sin. Divine Judgement!” I released and the arrow appeared to become a beam of light as it shot straight through Knowles. His eyes rolled back and he fell to the ground, dead. That worked.

We turned to see the other two wizards had disappeared. “Quick, heal those two.” I pointed to Andy and Lana.

                                    -------------------------------

Reconstruction efforts were underway for the ballroom. Rumors of the princess’s betrothed’s death had become widespread in days. The King was nowhere to be found and most people believed he had died in the fire. I had told Andy and Lana to wait for me in a palace storage room that nobody had used in ages. We had established that as our base camp. The palace was in such disarray that nobody paid much mind to the princess, so I was able to talk to her privately in her room.

“Nobody knows of your magic as of right now. I think we should keep it that way. I think regarding Knowles, we should make a public announcement that the terrorist attack was his doing and that he was only after the throne. I don’t know what we should do about the King, I think you should decide-” She started crying. I put my arm around her and said, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought it up. We should probably wait to see if he shows up somewhere before we make a decision.”

“What about the other wizards?” she asked as she wiped her eyes.

“I think they’re gone for now, but they’ll be back. If that book was correct, and they really were banished to the mountains, then I believe they are going to take this kingdom by force next time. For now, let’s deal with what we can. We need to make the announcement regarding Knowles. How and when do you want to do that?”

“I’ll make it in front of the palace gates tomorrow and then let it spread by word of mouth.”

“Okay. I gotta go update Andy and Lana. I’ll see ya.” I started to walk away, but then she called out to me.

“Wait! You still haven’t introduced us.”