The closer JiYeong got to the castle the more nervous she became. Obviously she’d never met royalty before, and Adaora was expecting someone who wasn’t exactly her. Iridia and Silvvyr may not have recognized JiYeong didn’t belong in Allumia but the Queen had to be sharper than that. She would take one look at JiYeong and know she was not who she wanted.

JiYeong was a terrible liar on top of that. There was no way she’d be able to pretend to be whatever Champion Adaora was looking for.

They slowed to a stop at the entrance of the castle and she slid off YeongGi, taking in a breath. Much to her relief she didn't need to say anything as the Knight standing guard recognized her.

“Ahh Lady JiYeong, we were worried when you didn’t arrive with the other two but I am glad to see you here in one piece. Come, I will take you to the Throne Room. We will take care of your horse.”

She gave YeongGi a pat on his neck before following the Knight into the castle.

As they neared the Throne Room, she could Silvvyr’s voice rang out from behind the doors, very calmly explaining the situation. “She seemed rather reluctant to help once she heard the entirety of the situation.”

“I never said I wouldn’t help.” JiYeong finally entered the throne room after a brief moment of hesitation. “I was only angry that you didn’t explain to me what was going on before ushering me off to Whitewall.”

“Does this mean you are accepting my request to be my Champion and help protect Criesal?” Adaora asked, voice soft. She was giving JiYeong the look she was afraid of, as if Adaora could instantly tell she wasn’t the Lady JiYeong she knew. But she didn’t confront JiYeong, and JiYeong certainly wasn’t about to question her.

Instead she gave a small nod toward the Queen. “I will help as much as I can. I don’t like being kept in the dark though.” She shot a glance toward Silvvyr. “With all due respect, Majesty, if I’m to fight for you I need to know exactly what’s going on, and what I am fighting for.”

JiYeong's eyes shifted to the Prince standing next to Adaora to find him watching her, an unreadable expression on his face. Did he know something about her was off too?

His name was Pierce. There weren't many in game interactions with him, so outside of knowing he was next in line for the throne, JiYeong knew nothing.

His resemblance to his mother was uncanny, however.

JiYeong looked away from his eyes with a frown, turning her attention back to Adaora.

“Of course.” There was a smile on Adaora’s face that made it impossible for JiYeong to be upset at the Queen. Adaora clapped her hands together. “Do not worry Lady JiYeong, everything will be explained to you in due time. For now, I am sure you are tired from your journey. Why don’t you go freshen up and we will meet back here in a bit to discuss the threat and why I have requested your assistance.”

Tired didn’t begin to cover how JiYeong felt, but she resigned to nodding. A moment later one of the maids stepped forward, bowing in front of the Queen.

“This is Shiloh. She is the head Maid, and has been under our employment for… several years. She will show you to where you will be staying, and give you clothes to wear. She will also get you fitted for a set of armor.” Adaora nodded to Shiloh, who turned to JiYeong with a smile.

“Right this way, my Lady.”

She gave a half bow to Adaora, murmuring a thanks before following Shiloh out of the Throne Room. They got mid-way up a flight of stairs when she finally asked, “The Queen said you’ve been here for several years. Do you mind me asking exactly how many “several” is?”

“I’ve been here nearly thirty years.”

She stumbled. Shiloh didn’t look anywhere near thirty, let alone having worked for someone for that many years. “You don’t look…I mean…how?”

Shiloh laughed, motioning for her to turn a corner and up another flight of stairs. Where the Sylph took the stairs gracefully, JiYeong was fighting to not show how out of breath she was. They had to be sticking her in a tower. “I am a Sylph. We age rather slowly. Though I don’t look it, I am nearing fifty years old.”

“Fifty? Holy crap. You’re beautiful.”

“Thank you, my Lady.”

That was the second time she called her “lady” and JiYeong didn’t like the sound of it. “Please don’t call me that. JiYeong is fine.”

“Alright then, JiYeong.” Shiloh laughed again, leading her down a hall. If they had to walk up another set of stairs JiYeong was sure she would die.

Luckily for her, they stopped at the third door on the left and Shiloh opened it, motioning for her to go first. JiYeong sucked in a breath at the sight of the room. “Woah.”

It was big, the room itself slightly smaller than her living room and kitchen combined. The carpet and curtains were a deep royal blue, gold lining the edges of the curtains. There was a queen size oak bed directly in front of her, the covers the same blue as the carpet. Two nightstands sat on either side of the bed in the same wood, and a long chest directly in front of it.

To the left of the room stood a large wardrobe, a floor length mirror to the right of that. On the same side was a vanity in the same oak but white instead of brown, a large rounded mirror attached to the back and a white chair with the blue and gold flowered black pillow on the seat & back. The vanity had gold lining it as well as the mirror. There was a door next to the vanity that was slightly ajar, allowing JiYeong to see just a bit of a rather large in-ground tub.

“It is rather beautiful, isn’t it?” Shiloh asked, smile still on her lips. She leaned against the doorframe, looking around the room. “I remember when this room was decorated. Just as beautiful now as it was then. Of course it has been renovated to keep up with modern technologies.” She chuckled lightly, gesturing towards the wardrobe. “Please, there should be some dresses in there. I will get you sized and if there is not anything that fits, we will get you some clothing made along with your armor.”

The inside of the wardrobe was a lot larger than the outside led JiYeong to believe, and she let out yet another breath at the amount of dresses inside. “How long have these been here?”

“They were placed here the day you accepted Queen Adaora’s request. There are dresses of varying sizes and types, as we were unsure what exactly your measurements and tastes were.”

“I see.” She stepped into the wardrobe, looking at the different options. A lot of them were brightly colored, or really frilly. JiYeong scrunched her nose at those. It wasn’t as if she had anything against dresses, but she was going to be made to wear a dress, she’d rather not look like a cake topper.

“Er, should I change in here?” She asked once finding a simple black dress.

“If you wish.”

“Right...”

After an embarrassingly long amount of time trying to figure out how to get the dress on, and after having to ask Shiloh to help, JiYeong emerged from the wardrobe. “Do you mind lacing up the back?”

“This fits you very well.” Shiloh finished with the lace, taking a step back. “I think we should be able to work with the measurements of this dress to create more clothing for you. This is the style you prefer?”

“Uh, it doesn’t have to be black, but I like the simple dresses over the frilly stuff.”

“Noted. Not surprising. Most of those who choose the warrior life tend to prefer more comfortable clothing so I completely understand.” Shiloh paused for a moment before going over to the vanity and opening one of the drawers, pulling out a blue ribbon. She came over to where JiYeong was still standing to tie the ribbon around her neck in a similar fashion as a neck scarf. “Though a little frill never hurt anybody. If you would wait here, I will return momentarily.”

“You don’t need to measure me or anything?”

Shiloh shook her head, that knowing smile once again on her lips. “There is no need to endure you to standing for a long period of time. It will be just a moment.”

Once alone JiYeong found herself wandering back into the wardrobe. The amount of dresses was astounding, it was hard to believe the Sylphs made all of these.

Though it shouldn’t have been that surprising. Though they weren’t a playable race, the Sylph’s were known to be naturally gifted at Weaving.

Looking around a bit more, JiYeong noticed shoes on the floor of the wardrobe. Changing into shoes more appropriate for this dress sounded like a good idea.

A lot of them were heels, and she avoided those like the plague. Instead, she noticed a pair of flats in a similar shade of blue to her ribbon. With those in hand JiYeong made her way back into the room. A breath left her as she sank onto the bed. “It’s so soft.”

Maybe being the Champion wouldn’t be that bad.

Boots off, JiYeong set them to the side with the rest of her clothes and took a moment to enjoy the feel of the carpet. It was nothing like the rough, cheap carpet her apartment had. Being a royal, or even being able to live in the palace all the time must have been amazing.

There was a brief knock on the door to pull JiYeong out of her thoughts. Shiloh entered, followed by two other Maids.

“This is Sustea and Luvie. They are maids directly under me, and will be your personal handmaidens while you are here with us.” Shiloh introduced them, gesturing towards the two girls behind her.

The one standing closest to Shiloh bowed. “Nice to meet you Lady JiYeong. I am Sustea.” She was shorter than Shiloh, and pale as if she’d never stepped out into the sun, though there was a greenish-blue tint to her skin. Her hair was a deep blue and tightly coiled, her eyes almost white with pale blue specks in the irises.

The other Sylph bowed as well. “Pleasure, Champion JiYeong. I am Luvie.” She looked to be the youngest, bright red hair pulled into a low bun, bangs hung in front of pale orange eyes. She was tanner than Sustea, freckles sprinkling her cheeks and the bridge of her nose.

“Nice to meet you both as well. But please, just call me JiYeong. The titles are too much.”

Both Sylphs looked to Shiloh, who gave a slight nod. “These two will take good care of you. They will fix your hair and give you a bit of makeup. You don’t seem the type who likes a lot of makeup so it will be subtle. Luvie. Sustea.”

Directing her to the vanity, Sustea sat JiYeong in the chair facing away from the mirror and ran her hands through her hair.

“You have beautiful hair, Miss.”

“Thank you Sustea.” The “miss” was strange too but it was better than Lady, or Champion.

“Beautiful features as well. Ones we don’t normally see unless you go Far East. Rare in this part of the realm.” Luvie added, opening one of the drawers of the vanity and pulling out a variety of different tools and makeup. She looked at JiYeong for a moment, studying her face before nodding and going to pick out eyeliner, mascara and lipstick.

“If you don’t mind me asking,” JiYeong began, hesitating for a moment. It felt as if Sustea was braiding her hair and she didn’t want to mess her up. “How long have you been working here?”

Sustea and Luvie shared knowing looks before Luvie began dusting a light powder on her cheeks. “Sustea has worked in the palace for about five years now. Much less than Miss Shiloh.” She set the powder aside and picked up the eyeliner. “Look up for me, Miss.” She instructed, waiting for her to comply before beginning to line her waterline. “I’ve been here almost twelve years.”

“Ho-ow!” JiYeong flinched.

“My apologies Miss.” Luvie used a small cloth to rub the liner from JiYeong’s nose.

“It’s not your fault. I’ve always been bad with makeup.”

“Miss Shiloh warned us you might ask us about our ages. She said you were quite shocked when she told you her age.” Sustea mused, twisting the top half of her hair into a bun and securing it with a pin. “I am sure you are wondering how old Luvie and I are as well.”

JiYeong gave a grunt in reply, as nodding would likely get her stabbed in the eye.

“I am nearing eighteen years. Luvie is just about to be twenty-five.”

“You both started so young.”

“Yes. Many begin their training at age thirteen.” Sustea explained.

As players only a short quest was required to unlock a class, she couldn’t imagine going through years of training learning the skills that were more or less handed to her.

“Sustea has only just became a full-fledged maid, completing her training this year. I have been one for seven years.”

“So you train until you’re eighteen?”

“Of course some jobs take much longer to train for. For maids it is simple seeing as we are not a combat job, so five years is enough. But, say you wish to be a… well a Guardian. You have to first be a Squire, then Swordsman, Knight, then Guardian. Some jobs require you to learn additional skills as well, like Horseback Riding. Though of course you know all of that already.”

Of course. It made sense. You still had to go through that many steps in game, you just didn’t start at any specific age or go through an academy.

“All done!” Luvie quipped, setting a tube of lipstick on the vanity.

“I too am finished.” Sustea took a step back. “Would you like to see?”

JiYeong stood, going over to the full length mirror. Sustea twisted the top of her hair into a bun, the braid wrapped around the base of the bun. The back of her hair was left free to hang down her back.

Her makeup was very natural looking. Simple black color line her eyes. There was a faint gold dusting on her cheeks, and a nude lipstick colored her lips. She felt she was dressed more to go to a party than to meet the Queen.

“Wow.”

“Are you pleased?”

JiYeong turned at the sound of Shiloh’s voice, surprised to see her standing in the doorway. When had she come back?

“Oh, yes I like it. I’m just not used to seeing myself look so…pretty.”

Shiloh shook her head with a chuckle, smiling at the two Sylph’s who were standing off to the side, looking quite pleased with themselves. “You are a natural beauty, JiYeong. My ladies just enhanced that a bit.” Shiloh gestured to the door. “If you would follow me.”

“Thank you.” JiYeong turned to the two maids, bowing.

“Our pleasure.”

“See you when you return!”

“I like those two.” They neared the first flight of stairs, JiYeong grateful they were going down this time instead of up.

“I am pleased to hear that. Luvie is one of my most...enthusiastic girls. Sustea is a bit newer here but she is doing well.”.

The rest of the walk was made in silence. Once they arrived, JiYeong was shocked to see Piers standing there, and not Adaora.

“Mother will be along shortly.” Piers explained, giving a slight nod to Shiloh. “Thank you Shiloh.”

“My Lord.” Shiloh bowed deeply before turning and leaving the room.

JiYeong was still not entirely sure what to make of the Crown Prince. He didn’t seem as standoffish as he had when she first arrived. And he wasn’t giving her a scrutinizing look either.

“The dress suits you, Champion.” He said, startling JiYeong out of her thoughts.

She managed to stammer out a “thank you”, annoyed that he was able to catch her off guard. She cleared her throat. “So, since you’re the prince and all, do you think you could tell me what exactly is going on? I only know the bare minimum.”

“Unfortunately, I know just about as much as you do. Seeing as I am only the next in line to be King, and not a Knight or in the “need to know'' group, they share very little information with me.” The sarcasm was unexpected, but far from unwelcome. It made Piers seem more approachable and eased JiYeong's nerves just a bit. “I am also unsure why mother didn’t give you at least a day’s rest considering it took you quite a few days to ride from Obsidian to here.”

The doors to the Throne Room opened, eliminating her chance of responding to Piers. She didn’t mind too much that Adaora wanted to get this out of the way. Better now than when she got too comfortable in that room and not want to leave at all.

“I apologize for my tardiness.”

“Mother,” Piers started, looking at Adaora as she crossed the room to stand next to him. Adaora gave Piers a look but that didn’t deter him from continuing with his question. “I would have thought you would have given our Champion at least a day’s rest before summoning her again. What is so important you could not grant her at least five minutes?”

“I simply thought she would like to know the situation sooner rather than later.”

At JiYeong's nod Adaora folded her hands behind her back, beginning to pace back and forth. “As you may know, we employ several Scouts who travel this realm, reporting back to me whenever there is activity that suggests future threats to our Kingdom. Recently we have had several Scouts report back that DoHyeon, a very powerful Mage in Sylfelia, has been researching Magick. We are not one hundred percent sure but he seems to be searching for a way to enhance his Magick.”

Though Sylfelia wasn’t a place players had been able to travel to in game, it was mentioned on several occasions. DoHyeon was a name brought up often in reference to that Kingdom, though JiYeong was finding it hard to remember exactly what his roll was.

“It is common knowledge that Faeries are naturally adept at using Magick. In other words, while other races have to study and learn to use Magick, most Faeries are born with the ability to do so. I was not too concerned with DoHyeon just researching. Simple research does not quite prove a threat to us, and we were unsure of what exactly he was planning to do with that research. However, DoHyeon is already one of the realms most powerful Magick users. There is not telling what he could do if he realizes his goal.

“When I wrote you that letter requesting your help, I was purposefully vague. I could not risk DoHyeon getting a hold of my request and harming you in the process.'

JiYeong didn’t realize a noise of protest escaped her until both Piers and Adaora look at her curiously. It was Piers who asked, “What is it?”

“Er…well…” She was unsure if she should tell them about the attack. It was obvious Silvvyr and Iridia said nothing about it. Whether there was a reason for that or not, JiYeong didn’t want to worry the two. It wasn't as if she'd been hurt, and they'd quelled the threat pretty quickly.

But if DoHyeon was already targeting her it might be better if they knew. It'd already been stated he was one of the most powerful Magick users. The chances of him already knowing she was in Allumia were high. Adaora would be able to offer her protection better than she could protect herself besides.

“Actually, I was attacked... on the way here.”

“What?”

“By a Faerie. He said his master knew about me and that he couldn’t let me live knowing I am to be your Champion.” JiYeong bit her lip. The Scout hadn't specifically said it was DoHyeon who'd sent him, but who else would be opposed to JiYeong's involvement? “Iridia erased his memory so he couldn’t report back but…”

Adaora began pacing once again, worry etched on her face. “Ah, that is not pleasant to hear. This means DoHyeon must be moving faster than we originally anticipated. I did not wish to preemptively start a war but if he is sending Scouts to harm JiYeong, a war may be in our very near future.”