It didn’t take long for them to locate the castle. After being pointed in the right direction, the magnificent structure quickly became visible. As they grew closer, they stopped for a moment to take in its beauty. Whoever lived within its walls certainly carried a great deal of wealth. Before they could take another step forward, however, they were stopped in their tracks by a voice calling out to them.
“HALT!”
Before either of them could react, Zack was face to face with a sharp spear aimed at his throat. He instinctively threw up his hands, standing straight with high alert. Charlie gasped, looking at the one threatening her partner. He was a young man, with a rather startling appearance. He seemed to be a normal knight at first, with his plated armor and chainmail underneath; however, looking at his other features revealed he was far from ordinary.
The hair on his head wasn’t hair at all, it moreso resembled feathers. They were long and brown, tied up in the back into a high ponytail. His ears were noticably pointy, and the odd avian features didn’t stop with the feathers: he also donned a pair of large bird-like wings sprouting from his back. He had them spread out in a threatening manner as stared at Zack with his cold green eyes.
“I know what you are. What business do you have here, demon?!”
“Demon-?! Ahahaha, you’ve got it all wrong, friend!” Zack smiled innocently as he flicked his tail, trying to act natural. “This is just a silly costume!”
“If that’s a costume, then how can I see that tail of yours moving?!”
“Uhhhh…”
A moment of silence between them. With a glare, the knight thrust his spear forward. But he never made contact with Zack; with a sharp popping sound, he and Charlie disappeared into a puff of smoke. The knight took a step back, looking around frantically for where they could have gone, quickly spotting them sprinting towards the castle doors.
“HEY!” He called out, chasing after them.
The two burst into the entrance room, stopping for a moment to catch their breath. In between gasps of air, Charlie once again expressed her stunned thoughts on Zack’s abilities. “YOU CAN TELEPORT?!”
“How do y’think we got here in the first place? Anyway, that’s not important, let’s see if we can add some royal treasure to our collection! … Before that bird guy catches up to us, hopefully.” Zack ran ahead, and with a heavy sigh, Charlie followed behind him.
They were quick to find the castle’s throne room. It was large, and extravagantly decorated, with several guards standing vigilantly. And, of course, at the far end was a grand throne, lined with gold and velvety crimson fabric.
Seated on the throne was, surprisingly, a very young girl. Not exactly the sight you expect to see as the face of a kingdom. She seemed to be around the same age as the two partners. She certainly dressed the part of a ruler, however; she wore a long crimson cloak lined with fluffy fur draped over a silky tunic. A long yellow cravat hung from her neck, and on top of her dirty blonde hair sat a tall golden crown, shimmering brightly as it caught the light of the room.
The royal youth sat with what looked to be a look of concern on her face before shifting to confusion when she noticed the two had entered. “Eh?! Who are you two, who let you in?!”
Zack bowed awkwardly, gesturing for Charlie to do the same. “Uhhh, that knight of yours, with the feathery ponytail. Nice guy. Anyway, Your Majesty, we’ve got a deal for you-!”
“Oh!” She suddenly smiled, cutting Zack’s salesman pitch off. “You must be those mercenaries I hired. About time you showed up!”
“Errrr,” Zack and Charlie glanced at each other, puzzled. “No, just a couple of merchants.”
The royal’s face fell, disappointed. “Ah…” She slumped back into her throne. “Well, what is it you’re selling? Must be good if Allen let you through.”
Zack grinned, clearing his throat. “I’m glad you asked! Yes, our product is very great, certainly worth a hefty amount of gold, perhaps even some priceless heirlooms-”
Suddenly, the throne room’s doors burst open. The knight from before, apparently named Allen, rushed in with his spear at the ready. He looked disheveled and out of breath, a furious look in his eye as he once again pointed his weapon at Zack.
“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t kill you where you stand!” He yelled, his ruffled feathers standing on end. The surrounding guards leaped into action, weapons at the ready.
“Allen! Guards! At ease!” The royal quickly stood, waving her hand in an attempt to calm everyone down. “What’s gotten into you, threatening our guests?! Didn’t you let them in?”
“Wha- No! Absolutely not! Your Majesty, look at him, he’s clearly a demon!”
She raised an eyebrow, looking Zack up and down. “Is he?”
Allen let out an irritated sigh, gripping his spear tighter. “Demon or not, he is an uninvited guest, him and his servant! They are not to be trusted, you must banish them immediately!”
Zack scoffed, crossing his arms. “Servant?! Excuse me, she is my business partner! She has free will! Isn’t that right, Charlie?”
Charlie flinched. What kind of question was that?! It seemed like there was an obvious answer, but with the way she was suddenly brought to this place against her will, she wasn’t so sure. But now wasn’t the time to debate that with herself, all eyes were on her. “I-I, uh–” she stuttered over her words. “I… think so?”
“Now, now, Allen.” The royal spoke sternly. “Put your spear down, they’re not hurting anyone!”
Allen held his glare with Zack a moment longer, before finally lowering his weapon. The other guards followed, returning to their positions. “You’ve got to be kidding me…” He muttered, folding up his wings.
“Well, now that that’s over,” she stood from her throne, clasping her hands together as she addressed Zack and Charlie. “How would you two like to go on a fun little quest? Those other guys I hired are taking way too long to show up, so you’ll have to do.”
“Y-Your Majesty!” Allen looked at her with a shocked expression. “Those mercenaries were the best money could buy, and these two are-!”
“Will we get paid?” Zack interrupted. The royal nodded with a smile, which he happily returned. “Then we’ll do it! The name’s Zack, by the way. And that’s my partner Charlotte, or Charlie for short.”
The royal nodded cheerfully, before gasping. “Oh! Where are my manners? Allen, do the thing, introduce me to our new friends!”
Allen stood still for a moment, dumbfounded, before taking in a deep breath and holding his arms out towards the throne. “Behold, Her Majesty, Queen Gwendelynn of Sarinia-”
She cleared her throat. Allen narrowed his eyes. “King Lynn!” she whispered to him.
He sighed. “King Lynn,” he said in a defeated tone.
Zack raised an eyebrow. “King…?”
Allen sharply raised a hand to silence him. “Don’t. Don’t question it.”
“Yeah, I can do that.” Zack shrugged. “Let’s get going then, team!” He whipped around, gesturing for everyone to follow him. He walked a few paces away, before turning back. “Wait, what are we even doing?”
“Ah!” King Lynn chucked. “Right, that’d be good for you to know. Allen, fill them in while we travel, I’ll lead the way!”
Charlie blinked in surprise. “Oh, you’re coming with us?”
“Of course I am! What kinda king passes up the opportunity to go on a quest? Not this one!” King Lynn paused for a moment, pointing at a random guard standing nearby. “You, you’re in charge while I’m gone. Don’t have too much fun without me!” The guard gave Lynn a confident salute. Seemed the kingdom was in good hands.
Before setting off, the king grabbed a fancy scepter that had been resting against her throne. She waved it through the air, pointing onward as she began to walk. The others followed closely behind her. As they began to leave the throne room, Zack glanced over at Allen. “So, mind telling us what we’re getting ourselves into, Ponytail?”
Allen shot a glare at Zack for that comment before beginning his explanation. “The kingdom of Sarinia has been under attack by a group of wretched demons for the past few months. Their leader, Lord Zaru, recently captured our Princess Alayna. This quest will be to locate the demons’ hideout, defeat Lord Zaru, and rescue Alayna before it’s too late.”
Charlie gasped. “Goodness, I didn’t think this would be something so serious… Should we really be the ones accompanying you? I don’t think either of us knows how to fight…”
“No. Neither of you should be here.” Allen narrowed his eyes, glancing over at Lynn, who didn’t seem to be listening in. Still, he lowered his voice before continuing. “... I often question the king’s decisions, but I fear she’s gone too far with this. I pray we can somehow manage to return Alayna home safely…”
Charlie was quiet for a moment, staring down at the floor. The sudden responsibility that had been placed on her shoulders made her heart race. But she couldn’t back out now. “I promise you, Allen, we will do our best to rescue your princess and save your kingdom from the demons! Right, Zack?”
“Uhh, yeah, save the princess, beat up demons, for sure.” Zack clearly hadn’t been paying attention. He was distracted by all the castle’s fancy decorations.
As they entered the armory for some final preparations, Allen’s expression remained cold. He looked between Charlie and Zack, shaking his head. “You’re far too good of a person to be traveling alongside this demon. How could this happen?”
“H-He’s not so bad!” Charlie immediately jumped to her partner’s defense. “We’ve known each other for a few months now, and he doesn’t really seem evil…”
Allen frowned, glaring over at Zack, who was too busy drooling over all the shiny weapons displayed on the wall to overhear what they were talking about. “Every demon is untrustworthy. They’re deceitful and won't hesitate to betray you to suit their own desires.”
Charlie shook her head. She didn’t want to hear it. “No, Zack isn’t anything like that! He’s my friend!”
“Then why would he hide the fact that he’s a demon from you?” Allen narrowed his eyes. “Look at that pitiful disguise. He’s not fooling anyone.”
“He’s not–!” Charlie paused. She wanted to deny that Zack was a demon at all. But she couldn’t deny that he acted odd. The fact that he brought them to this strange land in the first place was unexplainable. But still, she just couldn’t accept that he was malicious. “... He’s my friend. Nothing’s gonna change that.”
“Hmph,” Allen scoffed. “Suit yourself. But if he dares get in the way of this mission…” He drew a sword from the wall, brandishing it for Charlie to see. “... I will not hesitate to dispose of him.”
Charlie took a few shaky breaths as she stared at Allen, seeing her reflection in his sword. She understood his threat loud and clear, but wasn’t given the chance to form a response when King Lynn suddenly called out, “Hey, Allen! Quit the chit-chat and assign our guests some weapons!”
Zack immediately perked up. “Oooh, yes, please! I want that one!” He eagerly pointed to a very large mace, covered in razor-sharp spikes.
Allen shook his head as he sheathed his sword, pulling Zack away from the weapon wall. “Absolutely not. You can pick from one of those.” He gestured to a rack of wooden spears, which were no more than a bunch of sharpened sticks. Zack’s face fell as he begrudgingly grabbed one of the spears, glaring at Allen all the while.
“As for you, Miss Charlotte,” Allen examined the weapons, searching for one that would suit her.
“Uhhh… I used to take an archery class as a kid.” Charlie recalled. “I’m not sure if I was any good, but I’d probably be better with that than any other weapon.”
Allen nodded, providing a good-sized bow for her, as well as a quiver full of arrows. Zack scoffed. “How come she got to choose?!”
“Because I don’t trust you.” Allen scowled at Zack as he grabbed a shield for himself, strapping it to his side. “That should be all. Let’s get going, then.”
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