“While this is certainly not the best of news, it would still be unwise to launch an attack without knowing more. There is no telling how much progress DoHyeon has made, especially since he seems to be moving much faster than I originally thought.” Adaora stopped pacing, looking at Piers. He was watching her with a frown on his face, undoubtedly already on the same page as his mother. “The most we can do now is prepare as best we can and wait to see what other information our Scouts can bring back to us.”

She grew quiet. Though she didn’t look old, being Queen had to be a stressful job. Definitely one JiYeong never wanted to have. Adaora looked as if she needed about a thousand years to catch up on all the sleep she must have lost since starting her rule.

“That will be all for now. I must go consult with the Council and plan our next move. JiYeong, would you mind terribly if I request to see you tomorrow morning?”

“Not at all.”

“Wonderful. Until then.” Adaora gave a tilt to her head and left the room.

“Come, I will walk you back to your room.” Piers said, stepping down from the platform and heading towards the door. He didn’t wait for a response, holding the door open and looking at JiYeong expectantly.

Somehow she was already dreading this walk. She didn’t have the answers to any question he might have had for her, and he was giving her the same look his mother had earlier today. As if they knew she wasn’t who they thought she was. Briefly, JiYeong considered running. That would make her seem guilty though, so she decided to follow him. Besides, it didn’t look like he was giving her much of a chance. And there wasn’t anywhere she could run to anyway.

“You do not look as if the attack phased you much.” Piers commented.

JiYeong glanced at Piers, the statement startling her. She had no response for him. Of course the attack phased her. It was the first time anyone had actively tried to kill her. That wouldn't work though, as she was meant to be a Guardian.

"I suppose this type of thing is child's play compared to what you usually go through."

JiYeong simply nodded. Now that she was standing right next to him him she could easily note how much taller than her he was. She only came up to just above his shoulder, and she avoided looking up at him so she didn’t have to tilt her head the whole time.

“Somehow I was stronger than I usually am. I assume it was adrenaline or something.”

“Perhaps.” Piers smiled a bit, folding his hands behind his back. They walked in silence for a bit before Piers asked, “So Champion JiYeong. Where are you from? Must be quite a ways away if you had to be summoned to Obsidian.”

There it was. The question she didn’t have an answer for. “Er, yeah. I’m from really far away.” JiYeong spoke quickly, keeping her head down and picking up her pace a bit, walking just ahead of him. Hopefully he would drop it. Hopefully she would be able to think of someplace in Allumia that would make sense for her to have come from.

Luvie mentioned she resembled those from the Far East. Sinuipo, one of the cities in Tariadene. It was another Kingdom that wasn’t accessible in game but was mentioned quite a few times. “From Sinuipo, actually.”

When Piers didn’t respond right away JiYeong chanced a glance at him. The look on his face told her he didn’t quite believe her, but he finally replied with a simple, “hm.”

They finally arrived at her room and JiYeong opened the door, fully intent on falling face first into bed and not moving until morning.

“Champion, one more question.” Piers said, stopping her from the inviting comfort of the bed.

She turned to him, tilting her head slightly. “Hm?”

“Why did you decide to help us? If you are not from Criesal, you have no obligation to help us.”

There wasn't an answer for that either. At least not one that would make sense to the Prince. Her main reason for helping, as she'd decided on the ride to Whitewall, was finding a way to get home, if there was one. It wasn’t as if she was obligated to help. Even in the game, most quests were optional.

JiYeong let out a short sigh, shaking her head lightly. “I don’t know.”

Piers looked as if he were going to ask something else but she quickly spoke up. “I’m tired, it’s been a rather eventful few days.”

“Oh yes, of course forgive me.” Piers gave a slight bow, taking a step back. “Good night, Champion.”

“Good night Prince.” She waited until he walked away to close the door.

It took her entirely too long to figure out how to pull her dress off, and eventually she just decided that there was a reason royals always had help. After a while it was determined she was too tired to figure out how to get it off alone.

JiYeong immediately dropped face first into the bed. It was more comfortable now that she was laying down than it was when she was just sitting.

⚔⚔⚔

What seemed like far too quickly JiYeong was being shaken awake. When did I fall asleep?

She groaned, blinking open one eye. There was no light coming through the curtains. With another groan she resisted herself, closing her eyes again.

“Lady JiYeong it is time to wake.” It was Shiloh’s voice, her hand gently on JiYeong's shoulder shaking her once again.

“What time is it?” Her voice was muffled due to her face being buried in the pillow.

“It is just after nine am.”

“Why is it still so dark?”

“The curtains are designed to block out light.” Shiloh’s voice held a hint of amusement in it. “Queen Adaora is requesting to see you in the Throne Room, Lady JiYeong.”

“Why do you keep calling me that?” JiYeong rolled onto her back, blinking open her eyes and yawning. The covers were tangled around her waist, as were parts of her dress.

“It is habit.” Shiloh looked over JiYeong, shaking her head lightly and clicking her tongue. “Why did you not call one of us to help you out of your dress? That couldn’t have been comfortable to sleep in.”

JiYeong finally sat up, pushing the covers from her body and yawning again. “I was tired, it didn’t bother me too much.” She rubbed her eyes, blinking slowly a couple times. “Why does the Queen want to see me?”

“I am unsure, she did not give me details.” Shiloh folded her hands in front of her. “I will go retrieve your clothes. Luvie and Sustea will be in momentarily to help you get ready.”

JiYeong nodded slowly, watching as Shiloh walked out of the room. She stretched, flopping back onto the bed, eyes closed. While she was used to waking up early, the bed was much too comfortable for her to want to move.

Eventually, there was a brief knock on the door and then Luvie and Sustea were in the room.

“Wakey-wakey miss.” Luvie giggled, poking her cheek.

She rolled over to her stomach and pushing herself onto her arms. Finally she managed to crawl out of bed, swaying a bit on her feet.

Luvie giggled again at her appearance and even Sustea chuckled beneath her hand. “You certainly wake up in an interesting way, miss.”

JiYeong grunted, scratching her head. While she was glad they seemed to be more comfortable with her, she wished they would stop calling her ‘miss’. One step at a time.

It didn’t take long to get her out of the dress, wash her up and into armor. They didn’t do much in terms of makeup this time, and left her hair loose, only braiding and pinning up a piece in her front to keep it from her face.

The armor was surprisingly lightweight and comfortable. JiYeong twisted around in front of the mirror. It fit perfectly, Shiloh definitely knew what she was doing.

“Miss, there were dresses made for you as well.” Luvie said, drawing her attention away from the mirror.

There were quite a few dresses made in the same style as the dress worn yesterday. A couple were black, but there were others as well in varying colors, most of them on the darker end of the spectrum.

“There are more being made, but these are the ones that were made so you would have something to wear right away.” Sustea explained.

“That was fast.”

“Our Tailors have not made clothing for a female in quite a while, only having two Princes. They are quite excited to need to create a wardrobe for someone new.” Sustea said. Before JiYeong could respond she was being ushered out of the room. “Come now, the Queen should be waiting in the Throne Room for you.”

Luvie waved excitedly as they left the room and headed to the Throne Room.

Adaora sitting in her throne when they arrived, Piers sitting next to her.

“Ah JiYeong, thank you for joining us.” Adaora said with a smile.

JiYeong bowed lightly, returning the smile. Out of everyone she’d met so far, outside of the maids, Adaora was her favorite. “Your Majesty.” She turned to Piers to offer another bow.

“Champion.” He nodded his head slightly.

“JiYeong, I know I haven’t given you much time to rest. I apologize for that.”

“No need to apologize. This isn’t a fun time for anyone.”

“Indeed not.” Adaora smiled a bit. “The reason I called you in here was to talk about training.”

“Training?”

“Yes. While DoHyeon is proving a bigger threat than we originally anticipated, we still do not wish to preemptively act and start a war before we have all the details. That being said, I still believe it is in our best interest if we began preparations if such an outcome does occur.”

A war was something nobody wanted to happen. Though JiYeong was woefully more unprepared than anyone. If it did she wouldn’t have the first clue how to fight in it. After all, Adaora had requested her help based on her character, the experienced Guardian. JiYeong the human didn’t know the first thing about fighting; swords or otherwise.

“That sounds like a smart plan. I've helped out in small situations here or there but since I don't belong to any particular Kingdom I've not been properly trained when it comes to fighting a war.” She hoped that sounded plausible. "But who’s going to train me? I can’t imagine it’d be very effective if I train by myself.”

Adaora smiled and even Piers chuckled a bit. “No, that would not be very productive. Actually, when I left you all yesterday I went to figure out that very thing. He should be arriving shortly, as I sent for him quite a bit ago.”

Piers turned to his mother, a light frown on his lips. “Who did you get to aid JiYeong, mother?”

Adaora simply smiled, nodding towards the doors. They didn’t have to wait long, thankfully. The doors opened and a maid walked in, a very tall man close behind her. A very familiar looking man. Another NPC, then?

At any rate, she could tell right away that he was related to the two royals somehow. He was taller than Piers, and he had the same dark, curly hair and brown skin. But where Piers eyes were green, his were a dark blue. He wore what looked like Knight Armor, a sword attached to his right hip. He was thicker than Piers’ sly form, clearly all muscle, which was a result of his training no doubt.

“Mother,” he spoke, his voice deep and almost growling. Very different from Piers’ softer, lighter voice. “You rarely summon me.”

Mother? JiYeong looked from the newcomer, to Adaora and back. So she was right in that he was related. Despite the similarities, he didn’t resemble Adaora as much as Piers did. He must have taken after his father.