Vervain Castle…
Where is the key, my lord?” Anise asked, her eyes glowing in deep purple. A wicked smile graced her red lips.
Alastor screamed as the witch’s hand penetrated through an open portal on his chest. The woman searched for his heart and grabbed it, almost squeezing it in the process.
“I…I don’t know… where!” Alastor coughed in pain.
“Leave my brother alone!” King Ignys shouted as he watched the witch torture his younger sibling. He struggled to break free from the chains that held him in place. “He has nothing to do with this. Your business is with me.”
“Oh no…no.“ she almost sang. “I will only stop and set him free, if you tell me where the key is.” Anise laughed as she continued making the duke suffer.
“I told you I do not have it. The key had been stolen a few years ago. “ Ignys yelled as he helplessly watched his brother writhe in pain.
“You are lying. Don’t you think I could tell my dear husband? The both of you are keeping something.” she gave up searching his chest and steadied her hand.
“Definitely, the duke doesn’t have the key…” She kept on murmuring to herself until she remembered something. Turning towards her victim, she mused. “Is it possible that your only son has the key, Lord Alastor?” She asked as she delved deeper into his chest.
“Arrrgh!” With tears brimming his eyes, he cried out in pain. Blood flowed out from the corner of his mouth. “I…I’ll… talk.” He spluttered.
The woman retracted her hand. Cocking her hips, she queried. “Well? Does my poor nephew have the key?”
“No…” he panted. “The key… was never… handed down to him.” When he was finally able to breathe properly, he said. “We don’t know where it is. We are telling you the truth. If you don’t believe me, you might as well let me die.”
“Alastor!” Ignys shouted as if begging his brother to stay with him. His blue eyes beckoned his sibling not to give up.
“Just let me die! Damn it! I am no use to you. I don’t know where the key is.” The duke continued before spitting out blood. He looked at the two stumps where his hands were supposed to be attached. The bandages had been dyed by his blood. “I’ve suffered long enough…”
“No way… I know that the two of you are hiding something. I have a hunch that both of you had hidden the key somewhere. If you will not tell me properly, I will keep on torturing you to make your brother talk.”
Turning towards the king, she wickedly smiled. “So unless you tell me, your younger brother will suffer.” She then let her hand penetrate his chest. This time she punctured the duke’s right lung.
Throwing up blood and writhing in pain, the duke begged. “I….I will…I will… tell you. Just…just let me die.”
“Alastor! NO!” Ignys shouted at his brother’s betrayal.
The queen withdrew her hand with a satisfied smile. “I knew you would give in.”
“I am sorry Ignys… I cannot take it anymore. This is for the best…” But instead of saying the truth, Alastor muttered. “This is my life. I will never give anyone the privilege to take it.” The blood that he had thrown up moved and formed a pentagram.
The witch tried to stop him from casting the spell but she was repelled.
“I am the master of my soul. With this, I will pass on.” Alastor screamed before he suddenly burst into flames.
“Damn it! He killed himself!” she shrieked in anger. Yelling profanities, she turned to the grieving King of Verbana. “Your brother is still loyal to you.”
Suddenly, the door opened. The woman would have snapped at the intruder. However, when she saw who entered, she stopped short.
“Mother!” a young woman who looked so much like the queen sauntered inside the room. Long flowing dark locks fluttered as she made her way towards the queen. Her purple eyes were filled with fear and anxiety.
“Yes, Arisa, my dear one.” Anise gaze softened at the sight of her daughter. “what seems to be the matter?”
“This information was a bit late.” Arisa imparted.
“What is it?” Anise’s face turned stern. By the tone of her daughter’s voice, she knew that it was bad news.
“Aliester has escaped.”
~~~
Tokyo Gakuen…
Aliester and the rest silently followed the princess. Innocia seemed oblivious of the four people who had managed to catch up and had been stalking her.
However, the girl seemed to have sensed something. When she turned around, the four males were quick to hide. Thinking that it was nothing, the princess resumed walking to her school.
Since the girl moved again, they trailed after her once more.
“So this is what the school is like!” Aliester whistled as he eyed the structure his cousin had entered.
The building is a four story edifice and had a wide track field. Kiosks and food stalls were erected on some areas and a huge banner was placed at the entrance.
Students, who wore uniform similar to Innocia’s, seemed to be quickly filing. The boys took note of the time, a few minutes before seven in the morning.
“Looks like a festival.” The king murmured as he let his eyes feed on the grounds. .
Daxton grunted as one teenaged girl bumped into him. The girl quickly apologized and hastily left. “they are quite in a rush.”
Suddenly the great clock tower at the center of the school chimed loudly then a chorus of fire crackers signalled the start of the school’s activity.
“Are they celebrating something?” Blaze asked as they observed the happenings in the campus. The students were preparing some of the stalls and were making last minute changes.
“I think it is a school fair.” The king said. “I remembered watching something like this a few days ago.”
“Well then, shall we check it out?” Daxton grinned.
“Why not?” Blaze gave his permission. “I still have some of the currency that Innocia had left me after our lessons in finance.”
The males did not have to gate crash the fair. Some of the students, particularly the girls, welcomed them and let them try their products on the stalls.
Although Blaze had brought money, they were not able to use them. They were given free samples using Daxton’s charm. Blaze’s haggling skills and the four males’ good looks had allowed them to take some product without purchasing them..
Forgetting their initial objective, they had explored the stalls that the school fair has to offer.
“I think we are lost.” Aliestervoiced out. Then all of the sudden, he wobbled as sharp pain shot through his chest. ”What the-“
Blaze was quick to help him. “Are you okay?” Turning pale, Aliester shook his head.
Since Aliester was in pain, they had let him rest on a bench. “What is going on?”
“It hurts.”
When Blaze examined Aliester’s chest, his eyes widened. The Verbanian duke’s crest formed. “The former duke has died. You are officially the new duke.”
“Crap!” Daxton burst out. “We are running out of time. We really need to convince the princess to come back before all of the nobles are dead.”
“But I doubt if Innocia will leave this life.” Conrad stated as he surveyed the school fair from the window. “her life here is peaceful and free from trouble. Living here for a few days made us almost forget what we came here for. I doubt if she will give this up and go back to our realm corrupted with malice and greed.”
“we’ll have to talk to her.” Blaze said. “For now, we need to find her.”
Before they could move, a voice called out. “Wait!”
They turned and saw the same girl who dropped by earlier.
“I knew it. You’re Datura’s cousins.” She smiled at the guys. “I was surprised that you visited our school fair. Are you looking for her?”
“Ahmmm.” Since, Aliester was able to recover they decided to follow the girl.
“Follow me, Datura is at the student council café.” She led the boys to the room which was turned into a café. Chairs were decorated with frilly pillows and the waitresses that were serving wore maid outfit.
“Datura.” Kira called out. “you have guests.” The princess turned around as her name was called.
Their jaws dropped as their eyes fell on the princess.
“Irashaimase, goshujin-sama!” Innocia greeted with a huge smile. But the smile was replaced with a scream when she saw that the boys are at her school.
Innocia’s face grew red with embarrassment. She never wanted her cousin and the others to see her in school. She didn’t want them to see her wear a maid uniform while serving other people.
Trying to hide her anger, she gave them a fake smile. “What are you guys doing here?” she hissed.
The four were seemed to be tongue tied. It was not everyday that they get to see a princess dressed up as a servant.
Kira was the one who answered for them. “They came to visit you.” She smiled innocently, oblivious of the other girl’s discomfort. “Your shift has ended a couple of hours ago. Why don’t you take a break and take them to the VIP?”
Innocia hesitated but Kira was pointed out while discretely looking around. “Your cousins are getting a lot of attention. You won’t have privacy if you stay here.”
Sighing, Innocia took them to the adjoining room which was turned into a VIP lounge. The place was decorated with tables and chairs and seemed more private than the other side.
Kira got the privilege to take their orders. After she left, Innocia glared at the four and snapped. “I told you to stay home. Why are you here?”
Aliester composed himself and seriously revealed the sad news. “Father died. I am now the duke of Alcove.”
Not expecting such news, Innocia was rendered speechless. Her face lost color as the information sunk in.
“We need you to help us.” Conrad butted in. “More people will suffer and die unless the witch is defeated.”
Shaking her head, Innocia kept quiet for a few minutes before blurting out. “If you want to stop the witch, then do you have any plans?”
The four looked at each other in uncertainty.
“I won’t go unless you have a concrete plan. With the way I am, I could not even go against Arisa. How much more take down Anise?” she grimaced.
Turning towards the Verbanians, she frowned. “You know that I am a failure in the family. I could not cast complex Verbanian spells like the rest of the nobles. I was not able to inherit Verbanian traits.”
“It is true that you fail in casting spells, but you excel a lot in other fields.” Blaze reiterated. “You were able to kill the nightshade.”
“That was a fluke.” She snorted.
The duke rebuked. “No, ever since we were children, you are always good in fighting. You have a natural talent as a swordsman. There were times that you have defeated me and Daxton in mock battles.”
“Really?” Conrad seemed amazed. He had never thought that the princess was adept in fighting, considering that she was supposed to be a high born lady.
But innocia remained unconvinced. “Even if that is the case, tell me, how can a swordsman defeat a caster?”
At first, they were unable to answer. But Blaze seemed to have an idea. “Do not allow him or her to cast a spell.”
“How am I supposed to do that?”
“You need to be faster than the witch. You must not allow her to have a chance to cast or use her magic.”
“That would be impossible.” Innocia seemed to give up.
“You said before that Shinobis are as swift as the wind.” Daxton incised. “I think as an assassin, you can take the witch by surprise and kill her once and for all.”
Thinking it through, Innocia finally said. “Give me a few days. Kuroe will come back anytime soon. I will have to train.”
The tense air broke when someone knocked at the door.
“We’ll talk about this later.” Innocia opened it and made way for Kira, who had changed into a maid’s uniform. She was carrying a tray filled with assortment of sweets and their specialty parfaits.
Seeing the food, Daxton’s mouth watered. When Kira set the tray down, the knight instantly grabbed one and eat it.
“Itadakimasu!” he said happily with accent. He took a bite and chewed the sweet treat happily. The others released their tense shoulders and grabbed their food.
Innocia, on the other hand looked closely at the knight. It had been a few days since they had arrived and he seemed to look different.
“What?” Daxton asked.
“Daxton , have you grown fat?” She asked while poking his cheeks. “it is definitely flabby.”
“Of course not!” he denied as he avoided her fingers.
“Really, when you first came here, you were skinny but now your face seemed round.” The princess pointed out while pinching his cheeks. “You will be called the Fat Knight if you continue pigging out.” She teased to ease the remaining awkward tense air.
Daxton huffed. “you are one to talk. You are a princess and yet you wear maid’s clothing.”
Innocia blushed beet red and mocked punch the knight in response.
At the banter and teasing, the others began to relax and enjoy their snacks.
Comments (0)
See all