The morning rose over the capital of Solaris like a crown to a kingdom.
Today was the day of the arrival. Brandon Sylphyros, the heir of the neighboring Sylphyros Kingdom and the King's chosen groom for Seyana. It was a sudden decision taken by King Raezon.
The palace was full of excitement and energy. Every grand corridor and marble hall was filled with nobles practicing perfect bows, and excitement for a union that everyone knew was purely political. For the cooks preparing the grand feast, the ministers making the announcements, and King Raezon himself, it was a day of celebration because Solaris would secure a great alliance.
But for Seyana, it was the day she feared most. It was the day her cage became small enough to suffocate her in the royal palace.
Since the incident in the wild garden, everything had changed. King Raezon had not looked at his daughter with pride when she vaporized a B-grade werewolf with a single word. He had looked at her with pure shock and terror. He recognized the golden light. It was a divine authority and a power that was from the Void Era of the Five Monarchs' rule beginning.
So, he caged her. He doubled her guard, restricted her access to the training grounds, and treated her like a fragile glass puppet that might burst out at any moment. To make sure she was under the kingdom's control, he proposed the marriage of Seyana to his own sister's son.
A horn sound came from the outer courtyard.
BROOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM.
From her balcony, Seyana watched as a magnificent white carriage passed in front of the main gates. It was surrounded by an elite-mages riding white horses. The carriage has the crest of the Dual Dragon Lilies, the sigil of the Sylphyros Kingdom.
The carriage stopped and the door opened. Brandon Sylphyros stepped out into the sunlight.
He was handsome, and he had the royal features of the Sylphyros bloodline, with perfect blond hair and a smile that charmed the entire court instantly. He wore silver, lightweight, polished armor.
He walked with a confident, easy pride. He looked exactly like a fairy tale prince who came straight out of a children's book and to Seyana, that was exactly what made her scared because there was no reason to reject him. He was too perfect.
He approached the royal family at the top of the stairs. He bowed deeply to King Raezon. Then, he turned his gaze to Seyana. He stepped closer into her personal space, but kept it polite enough to remain proper in the eyes of the court.
"It's been years, Princess," Brandon said, his voice warm and smooth. He gently took her hand and bowed over it. "I am deeply honored to see you again. You look absolutely gorgeous."
The surrounding court felt happy with admiration and thought. A perfect couple. The ideal political match.
Seyana looked straight into his eyes.
She forced a smile, but it was a perfect smile that she had practiced.
"Welcome to Solaris, Prince Brandon," she said.
She was calm and elegant, but inside her heart, there was only one thought. He is handsome. He is kind. But he is not him. That man is not my future.
Brandon offered her his arm. She had no choice but to take it. Seyana stared straight at the grand banner hanging in the hall.
I just have to endure, she told herself. I just have to wait.
****
Somewhere in the Zephyros barracks of training.
Tung. Tung.
The sound of a heavy steel sword striking the earth. Kairos Vedaryan stood alone on the stone, the dark hair waving backward with the flow of wind. He looked back toward the south, his eyes fixed on the faint golden pillars of the Solaris palace visible far away.
He sheathed his blade smoothly. He reached up and touched the heavy iron medal pinned to his chest - a Rank 1 Mercenary badge. It was proof that he had cleared the underground combat and was worth nearly a General level of power to get it.
He just said a single sentence into the harsh breeze of wind. "Please be okay, Seyana."
He kicked his horse sideways, riding down the hill.
****
Two days passed in Solaris. Seyana sat near the window of her room, staring at the courtyard.
The door to her room suddenly clicked open. A best friend of Seyana came in.
"Raksha..." Seyana took a breath in ease and walked towards her.
"You look dead, Princess," Raksha said in a dull voice. "this is why I hate politics. Grab a cloak. We're going out."
"Raksha, I can't. My father has guards posted at every --"
"They were busy," she interrupted. "I know the old escape tunnels under the kitchens. You need fresh air before you forget how to breathe entirely. Let's go."
For the first time in weeks, a genuine smile came upon Seyana's face. She threw a dark cloak over her shoulders, covering her face and followed Raksha.
They moved like ghosts through hidden passways, and within twenty minutes, they opened an iron grate and stepped out into the market of the capital city.
Seyana pulled her hood down slightly, taking a deep breath to feel the city air, and she felt alive.
"Keep your head down," Raksha whispered to Seyana, walking closely beside her. "We just walk some time and head back before the next guard rotation."
A few streets over, in front of a shop.
"I am not paying three gold coins for a map of the Northern Regions that looks like a child drew it with mud." Luna Zephyros said, folding his arms. His royal silver uniform was hidden under a traveler's coat.
"Just pay the man, Luna. We need to move," Velanor said to Luna in urgency, "the border patrols are getting stricter."
Kairos stood slightly apart from them, his senses hit by some presence. Suddenly, a familiar scent caught the wind around him. Lotus and rain.
Kairos froze. His heart races fast inside him. He turned his head and watched with keen interest into the crowd, searching for something.
Thirty yards away, walking beside Raksha, there was a girl in a dark cloak. The hood waved back slightly as she hit a stone in the pathway.
"Seyana?" Kairos breathed.
He moved through the crowd and Seyana was looking at a stall of bracelets when a hand gently fell on her elbow.
She stopped, and her eyes widened in disbelief.
"Kairos?" she whispered.
He looked older, rougher. There was a small scar side of his face. Seyana moved forward, wrapping her arms around his neck. Kairos hugged her back instantly, his arms wrapping tightly around her waist.
"You idiot," she sobbed into his coat. "You absolute idiot. You shouldn't be here."
"I had to come back for supplies," Kairos murmured, closing his eyes. "I didn't think I'd actually get to see you."
Raksha walked up, spotting Luna and Velanor coming forward through the crowd behind Kairos. "Well, this is a dangerous coincidence. We need to move before a patrol spots all of us together."
Seyana pulled back slightly, looking up into Kairos's eyes.
"I love you," she said, her voice calm and desperate. "Don't leave me here, Kairos. I love you."
Kairos is about to reply
SCREEEEECH.
A distortion signal flashed through his brain. It was exactly like the day of graduation. The colors of the market have changed slightly into the dark.
His vision blurred, and a blood-red coloured text appeared.
[WARNING.]
[LETHAL ANOMALY DETECTED.]
[EVADE.]
The world was back into reality. The surrounding civilians screamed, running around as mist appeared. Five figures stepped out of the mist of shadows. They were in pitch-black armor and they had no symbol, crest or anything.
Raezon's men? Kairos thought delusional. No. The King's aura is sunlight. This is death.
One of the Black Mist Knights disappeared and reappeared directly behind Seyana. A black sword plunged, aiming at the head of Seyana.
Kairos grabbed Seyana's waist, moving back his body, pulling her out of the black blade attack while unsheathing his sword from his hip.
CLANG!
Kairos's blade met the obsidian sword. The impact sent a wave through the street, destroying the glass windows of the nearby shops.
"Get away from her!" Kairos roared, wind mana increasing from his core, pushing the Knights backward.
"Hostiles!" Velanor alerted everyone. The earth below the four knights tried to crush them. Two Knights punched the stone with their fists and destroyed.
"Raksha! Get her out of here!" Luna yelled, his eyes glowing shiny as he was struggling to hold the two knights against the wall.
"On it!" Raksha grabbed Seyana and took her back towards the hidden path. "Come on, Princess!"
"No! Kairos!" Seyana screamed, reaching out toward him.
"Go!" Kairos shouted back, parrying another strike from the lead knight. "I'll come for you! Go!"
Dozens of heavily armored Solaris paladin mages came towards the market due to the magic explosion they heard.
The Black Mist Knights stopped, and they turned back into mists and disappeared.
Kairos stood, and Luna, Velanor are enraged with a signal thought. Why the hell were they targeting Seyana?
****
An hour later, inside the throne room of the Solaris Palace. Seyana stood king's throne.
"You snuck out," Raezon's voice was soothing, but it was scary. "On the eve of your wedding! You went through the lower market like a common girl!"
"I am a prisoner in my own home!" Seyana yelled back with anger. "You don't look at me like a daughter anymore. You look at me like a monster!"
"I look at you like someone who is trying to start a rebellion!" Raezon slammed his palm on the throne's armrest. "Do you understand what Prince Brandon would think if he knew his bride was roaming in lowly markets as a commoner?"
Seyana's eyes filled with tears. She looked at her father, realizing the man who used to read her stories in the wild garden was dead and replaced by a monster. She left the Royal Hall crying.
Raezon held his head with his hand because of tension. "Commander," he called the newly appointed head of the guard. "Report!"
The Commander stepped forward, "Your Majesty... the witnesses in the market. They all said the same thing. The Princess was attacked."
"Attacked? By who? Thieves?"
"No, sire. They described five knights in black armor. They appeared from the mist with obsidian blades and vanished into black smoke when our patrols arrived." Commander completed his report.
Raezon's expression changed fully into fear and terror-filled eyes. Every King in the world knew that description. It was a terror hidden in the history books, a nightmare from three hundred years ago. The Black Mist Knights. The personal elite guard of Malgreth, the Demon Lord of the Malgrithal Kingdom, the mightiest beast who stood on par with the Five Monarchs themselves.
"Malgreth," Raezon whispered. "He knows about her power. He sent them to kill her before she could threaten him."
****
Far to the west, where no kingdom was, the air was rotten with the smell of blood.
Inside a ford of bones and obsidian stones, a mysterious entity sat on an obsidian throne.
A spy appeared in the room of the throne, "My Lord. The assassination attempt of Black Mist Knights in the Solaris Kingdom failed."
Malgreth, the Demon Lord, came into the picture, leaning forward with dark crimson eyes and a cigar in his mouth. Malgreth snapped his fingers, a fire splash lit the cigar, and smoke blew out of his mouth.
"Assassination?" Malgreth said in anger, but with a confident smile on his face. "So... that bastard really is making a move. Trying to destroy my prey before I can claim it."
He stood up, and the spy was kneeling before him. "Let him try...." Malgreth laughed. "He thinks his little knights can change the board? I will not just kill the girl. I will devour this entire world with 'Divinity'."