Note to the reader: *.......* means he's saying that in his head.

Rate and Review.

Sorry but I'm not really sure what my release schedule will be from now on.

************************************************

Chapter 19

******************Aelisia POV****************

When I confronted Becket I realized he had skill and speed, but his defense and attack power was weak. He seemed surprised that his dagger couldn't pierce my skin so maybe he doesn't know much about aura magic. I shouldn't really be surprised since knights don't usually learn how to use it for this level of defense until they reach the rank Grand Knight. I wasn't in the mood to take my time getting him to the coliseum so I just jumped there. I left his side pretty fast to take my position on the stage next to the princess.

Eva:"Who do you think will win Aelisia?"

The princess whispered to me while the king was talking.

Aelisia:"In a normal fight I would go for Becket, but which artifact Felix has will heavily influence the outcome."

Eva nodded and turned her head back to watch. Felix came out of the gate in the coliseum and seeing him made Eva tremble slightly with rage. I placed my hand on her shoulder to calm her which seemed to work.

King Francis:"Begin!"

Becket dashed forward.

*Good plan. Use your speed to defeat him before he can use whatever artifact he has.*

Sadly Becket wasn't fast enough.

Eva:"Aelisia I want you to make sure he doesn't die even if you have to interrupt the duel."

Aelisia:"That could anger the king you know."

Eva:"I know."

I closed my eyes, crossed my arms and sighed.

* Why do I have such a soft spot for her?*

Becket lost his mobility when Felix hit one of his legs. When he tried to stand back up Felix shot his other leg.

*Is he gonna lose?*

I placed my hand on the hilt of my sword and noticed Eva tensing up while watching. Becket suddenly pulled Felix down to the ground and climbed on top of him so I relaxed a little. He was able to disarm him then he kissed him?

My mouth fell open out of surprise, but the next scene was even more shocking. Felix began to wrinkle up and I couldn't help but let out a whisper.

Aelisia:"Impossible."

Everyone was silent. We recognized what he was doing, but none of us could process what we were seeing. We stayed quiet even after he climbed off Felix and inspected the artifacts. He toyed with him for a minute before driving the sword into his chest then he dragged himself away from the corpse. Once I accepted what I had just see I quickly made my way to him. When I was close enough he looked over at me.

Aelisia:"Good job."

Becket:"Yeah."

His eyes closed and his head fell straight down into the dirt. Blood was still oozing out his wounds so I looked over at the king. When he noticed my gaze he stood up.

King Francis:"Becket the elf has won."

No one cheered, but Eva had a slight smile. The queen maintained a stoic appearance.

King Francis:"I shall pardon him from the crime of attacking my daughter."

Eva's smile brightened.

King Francis:"However many of our knights were slain by him so he will be arrested for murder."

Eva:"Father!"

Eva jumped from her seat.

Eva:"What are you doing!"

King Francis:"What do you mean? I promised only to pardon him from the crime of attacking you. I never said I would forgive him for his other crimes."

Eva:"Those knights only died because you sent them after him!"

King Francis:"Are you saying he should be forgiven for murder? Does an elf hold more worth then the very men who dedicated their lives to protecting you and preserving the peace of our kingdom?"

Eva tightly clenched her hands together at her sides. It was obvious the urge to smack the king was bubbling up inside her. The queen stood up now and joined their argument.

Sylvia:"Settle down."

Eva looked towards her mother with eyes pleasing for her help. After a few minutes of eye contact Eva visibly calmed. Her tension seemed to dissipate has her shoulders drooped.

Eva:"Yes mother."

King Francis:"Shackle him and toss him into a cell."

Some knights came out of the same gate Felix exited from. Them walked towards Becket and shackled his hands and feet together. I moved away from them and walked closer to the stage.

Sylvia:"Francis he'll die if not properly treated."

King Francis:"A murderers death isn't a problem."

Sylvia:"What would the other nobles think if you immediately let the man who beat Count Felix in a duel die?"

The king glared angrily at the queen. Naturally since the palace knights and the royal family were the only ones to witness the duel it would seem suspicious to the other nobles. If the man Felix dueled with were to die immediately after it, rumors might spread that the king had Felix killed and disguised his assassination as a duel. It was believable since Felix's family had been who the current king competed with in order to win the queens hand and the throne. The nobles might think the two families still held some animosity towards each other so the king set this up to kill Felix in order to stop the marriage with his daughter thus preventing Felix's family from joining the ranks of royalty.

It had been many years since Francis competed against Felix's father to win the right to marry Sylvia, but grudges weren't easily forgotten. Francis had developed a nice relationship with Felix's father; however, most nobles acted as if they were best friends with the people they hated. Keeping your enemies close was an established rule of being a noble.

The queen was threatening to spread these rumors which could make the nobles lose trust in their king. He couldn't afford to lose the nobles favor. The king grit his teeth in frustration.

King Francis:"Send for a healer!"

He yelled out in anger.

Becket had already been dragged away and one of the knights quickly departed to fetch a healer. In this world magicians typically work for the churches that are seen as a second power in the kingdom which is led by the cardinal who holds just as much power as the king. The king and his men train knights while the churches train magicians.

There is also an academy where a person could learn nearly anything, but the students there come from all over so it's yet another independent power separate from the 7 kingdoms. The academy however is not located on any of the different continents and is instead on an isolated island. It's more like another kingdom made up of all the races than anything else. It holds more power than any king or cardinal because of the versatility of it's students. With a group of both magicians and knights under their control they would have a more powerful army if they had to fight. There are plenty of influential people who send their children there so they also have connections in high places in every kingdom.

Sylvia:"I'll prepare something else for him to make his sleep a little more comfortable."

The queen went over to one of the knights around them and whispered an order to him then he immediately left. I was still wondering about that ability he used.

Aelisia:"He had fairy wings then an ability from a hag. What the hell is he?"

******************Becket POV****************

When I opened my eyes I saw an unfamiliar ceiling. The room was dark and felt stuffy. I was lying in a bed and noticed this room was actually a cell. It looked like someone moved a twin bed into here for me to sleep on. I could tell this was the same room of cells where I found Gene, but I knew there weren't any beds in here before. I could feel something under my sheets so I threw them off, but just sighed.

Becket:"Great."

I was wearing shackles on my hands and feet. My wounds also appeared to have been healed.

Becket:"Hm? I heard only elves could heal. Does that mean there's an elf here?"

I was a little curious since I hadn't met an elf yet, but my thoughts quickly moved back to my current situation.

Becket:"The king said he'd pardon me, but was that a lie?"

I left the bed and went up to he bars at my cell. I could see two knights in silver armor standing watch at the staircase. They were being a lot more vigilant than the last guard that was there. I decided to call out to them.

Becket:"Hey I thought I was getting a pardon? Why am I locked up?"

The knights looked over at me then one of them went up the stairs. The one that stayed didn't say anything.

Becket:"Hey you gonna answer me?"

He still kept silent.

Becket:"Hell~oooo."

After a while the first knight came back and whispered into the other ones ear. A new knight dressed in blue armor appeared from the stairs. The first two gave him a slight bow and all three came over to my cell.

Silver Knight 1:"Back away elf."

I stepped back from the bars and they unlocked my cell.

Silver Knight 1:"Get out."

I was escorted out of my cell and up the stairs. The two silver knights walked in front while the blue knight followed behind us. We were going at a slow pace since I couldn't walk very fast with the shackles on. We stopped in front of a large door which I knew must open up to an important room. The doors began to open and revealed a throne room. There was a red rug with gold edges leading up to the throne and it was lined with the blue and green knights that I saw last night.

I was pushed inside and only the blue knight followed me in. He shoved me down onto my knees once I was right in front of the throne. Since no one was sitting on it I glanced around the room, but there were only knights then I heard footsteps. The king stepped out from behind the throne and sat down.

King Francis:"Becket."

I could tell just by looking at his face that my existence was an annoyance to him.

King Francis:"I've decided what to do with you."

Becket:"You said I'd get a pardon if I beat Felix."

King Francis:"I did pardon you......for attacking my daughter, but not for killing my knights."

Becket:"What!"

I started grinding my teeth.

Becket:"I only killed them because they attacked me first."

King Francis:"I will hand you over to Felix's father and he will punish you."

The king smiled. I narrowed my eyes at him.

Becket:"You bastard."

King Francis:"I hear he's devastated from losing his son. I'm sure he'll be able to think up a fitting punishment."

I tried to stand up, but the blue knight shoved me back down.

King Francis:"I wanted to see your face when you found out. It feels nice to see your anger. Now throw him back in a cell and pick a different one. A bed is to good for this elf."

The blue knight started dragging me away and the king started to chuckle before breaking out into laughter.

King Francis:"Hahahahah....."

The king went silent and the knight dragging me stopped. I glanced over at the king and saw something sticking out of his chest. It looked like a blade had gone through the throne then the king. The blade was as red as his blood. It slid back into his chest then disappeared. A person stepped out from behind the throne.

Aelisia:"Hey Becket."

She was holding her katana, but now I noticed the blade wasn't red. The kings blood covered it making it red. The blade was actually transparent. She swung her sword and all the blood slid off it making it appear that she was only holding a sword hilt. She put it back in the scabbard and looked around the room at all the knights.

Aelisia:"Your not gonna try and fight me right?"

The knights didn't move from where they were standing except the blue knight that was dragging me who drew his sword.

Blue knight:"What are you doing Warlord Aelisia! You murdered the king!"

Aelisia:"What are you talking about Captain of the Kings Guard Rolin. I saw you kill the king."

Rolin:"What!? You bitch!"

He rushed towards her. She placed her hand on her sword and drew it at a speed I couldn't even see then sheathed it again. Rolins head went flying across the room. His body took a few more steps before falling over.

Aelisia:"Is there anyone else here who didn't see Rolin kill our king!"

The knights stayed silent.

Aelisia:"Good. Now the king has died so security on the rest of the royal family will be doubled. Also I want Rolins body moved out of here and send for a craftsman to construct the kings coffin. Get to work!"

The knights all began to move, but they made sure to clear a path for Aelisia as she made her way towards me.

Becket:"Why'd you kill the king?"

Aelisia:"Hm? I don't know what you're talking about Rolin killed the king."

Becket:"Sure."

Aelisia:"Now come with me. The princess is expecting you."

Becket:"What about these?"

I lifted my hands to show the shackles to her.

Aelisia:"Oh yeah."

She reached down and tour the shackles off with her bare hands.

Becket:"Thats some serious strength."

Aelisia:"Oh. Are you complimenting me?"

Becket:".....yeah."

Aelisia:"Then thank you. Now lets go."

She started heading towards the door so I followed after her.

************************************************

The title of this chapter is Latin for transparent sword.

Story Information