Chapter 37 Old Scars

Snow and Lussuria ran into the throneroom. Their forced entry was met with a line of gold clad knights. The Vulcas royal guard, their chest plates bore the insignia of the mountaineer steed, stood shoulder to shoulder. The King’s guard probably expected the resistance to be a lot greater than two Lotus children. Snow and Lussuria stopped just before the knights, their focus; the tall obsidian throne that towered over the backdrop of the room. The dark chair was massive, but also empty. The King was not present.

“I see the Lotus know no other way to enter these halls.” Frederick was standing behind the line of royal guardsmen, next to the throne.

"We seek an audience with King Raden the second! High Councilor Frederick has committed treason!" Snow yelled at the captain of the royal guard, clearly distinguished from his tall horse-crested helm. The captain stood at the center of the formation. He opened his visor, revealing his stubbled face and defined nose.

"You have put the noble's district and regal district under assault. His majesty will not be seeing you." The captain replied.

"That is false!"

"Then what is happening just behind you?” Everyone could see Arthur and Crow, beyond the smashed doorway. The Lotus agents were outside fighting several mercenaries who were still disguised as knights on the open road of the regal district.

“Those knights are not true city guards, they are mercenaries. Frederick is deceiving you all!” Snow’s accusation fell on deaf ears.

The captain of the royal guard smirked in disbelief before looking at Frederick.

Frederick only shook his head.

"Frederick, where is the King!" Snow directed the question at him.

"His majesty is in his chambers. Safe, from the likes of you."

Snow put her efforts back into attempting to convince the regal captain.

"The Mountaineer King swore fealty to the Lotus, I speak on behalf of High Queen Deamonia. I demand you open your formation, detain Frederick, and allow me to speak with King Raden the second!"

"My duty is protecting his majesty and as you are currently portraying yourselves as threats, you will not be granted audience.” The captain stood firm.

"Frederick wishes to declare war on Regalia. Do you and your guardsmen support that insanity?!" Lussuria spoke up, cutting to the chase.

Frederick strolled up to the King’s table and pocketed a seal.

"Royal guard, I would like to inquire; if you were present in this throne room the day Warlord Deamonia murdered King Raden the first?"

Half of the guard stomped one food on the ground and put their fist to their heart.

"Do you see now? These men do not trust you. They do not wish to see our King murdered by another member of the Lotus. You will be the ones that are detained. Royal guard, detain them!"

"Snow, I can take care of them-" Lussuria began to raise her hand but Snow grabbed her arm.

"No, we can’t attack the royal guard, it will only tarnish our reputation."

"Then what do you propose we do?!" Lussuria questioned her.

The guards stepped in sync towards them. Snow and Lussuria backed up towards the entrance.

“I’ll uh, figure something out.”

When they neared the exit, hooves clacked in from behind. Knights on horseback flooded into the throne hall followed by footsoldiers. Snow and Lussuria were now surrounded.

“Well I hope you figure something quick.” The girls went back to back.

“Wait a second…” Snow recognized the armor of these new knights, they weren't royal guards. The men stopped as Sir Harper emerged on his horse, wearing his most boasted armor.

"Ah the late general, knight councilor harper. Very good. Please secure these children. So, we may bring them to trial for their crimes." Frederick ordered.

Sir harper dismounted his steed and approached the girls. Snow raised her dagger. Harper stopped, putting his hands at his side, examining Snow.

"At ease, Princess.”

“Why would I? I have no reason to trust you. You weren't arrested by Frederick.”

“Lazarus suggested that I hold off on stopping this fool’s madness until now. ‘Allow the rats to surface,’ he claimed. My men are already assisting your agents outside."

Snow leaned to the side, looking outside behind Sir Harper. Arthur and Crow were indeed being assisted by Sir Harper's knights.

Sir Harper stepped past both Snow and Lussuria, unsheathed his sword, and pointed it at Frederick.

"Frederick, your coup will end here. You have declared we are at war, but you are the one who assaults our neighbors, you claim we are on an economic death spiral, yet you dump all of our city funds into weaponry and foreigners. You are the most destructive person in this room, not the Lotus. Royal guard, as knights who fight for this country and my old battalions, I order you to turn about and arrest High Councilor Frederick Stone! Lest the King and Country fall victim to his traitorous plots."

The guard radiated clear uncertainty, some of them looked towards the captain who was the only person that could sate their confusion. As doubts rose around Frederick’s legitimacy, Frederick spoke loudly in his own defense.

"Captain, are you going to allow this failure of a general. The same man who lost us the war. The man responsible for King Raden's death, demand you, to arrest the King's most loyal advisor for the past eight winters? Accusations, based off the lies of these children?! They just toppled the gate guardians and you are confused?!"

The guard captain tensed up.

"I am not confused.” The captain took a taller stance. “General Harper, I have served under you. You are correct about that. I may disagree with the amount of blame you received for our defeat. That still however does not grant you authority here. Out of respect for our past, please remove yourself and your men from the regal district. You are all trespassing here."

All the royal knights unsheathed their weapons, causing Harper's men to unsheathe their weapons. The tension of both sides increased. Harper broke the silence with his footsteps, right up to the captain of the royal guard. The captain’s sword touched Sir Harper’s breastplate.

"Captain Waldur, Did you know Nila personally thanked me for stopping your foolish unit that day?"

"You have the audacity to bring up my mother here?!"

"You would have thrown yourself and your men into the jaws of that dragonrider’s beast. And for what?! What would I have told her?! Losing a child is the worst thing that can ever happen to someone. It is folds worst if it’s for a pointless and idiotic cause. You are being played like a lute, stop letting your emotions drive you and wake up! Tell your men to sheath their weapons captain. NOW!"

Harper's voice resonated with olden authority, causing some of the royal guardsmen to lower their blades. The captain precariously pulled his weapon away from Harper.

“You expect me to believe you?”

“We have nothing to fear, the Lotus girls do not lie.”

The captain locked eyes with Sir Harper. As the intense staredown dragged on, the captain's face softened. His will teetered on the edge of uncertainty, begging for a push, a reason, to break his long held presumptions.

“I played a game of praefectus with the older one…And, she beat me.”

The captain's eyes widened, for he knew of the ritual of praefectus. Men who were well known and respected all survived the infamous test of character. It may as well have been a requirement for promotion. Never had Sir Harper lost in the sacred ritual. The captain spun around and pointed a finger at Frederick.

“Royal guard, apprehend Frederick!”

The royal guard all turned in sync.

“You dare turn on me?! Traitors! All of you!” Frederick shouted as his trust was shattered.

“You are the traitor Frederick, nobody else.” Snow declared.

“I didn’t go through all this just to be stopped here, by you useless guardsmen and an antique failure of a general!” Frederick began shuffling into his pocket.

“Stop him before he puts on that ring!” Snow yelled.

The men started to quickly approach him but Frederick had already grabbed the ring. He slipped it on and held his hand up in the air.

“kneel!”

The ring snapped with electricity. It ticked repeatedly, the noise was small but every time it ticked, the guard slowed further and further into a halt. The entire room froze. Even Snow’s muscles began to tremble.

Everyone was brought to their knees in sync.

🦁Frederick🦁

A little girl skipped up to the guildmaster of the school with lilac flowers in hand.

“Good morning, guildmaster! I got these for you!” The smile on her face was filled with joy, perfectly mirroring her innocence.

The guildmaster took the lilac flowers.

“Wow, these are wonderful Alma. Thank you.” He thanked the young student and she scurried off.

The day just started, the guild was open for teaching and business. This was a trade school for merchants. The richest merchant academy in the country.

There was a lot of activity, new blood trying to learn, old blood that was here for business and teachers from all walks of life. The guildmaster took it all in and proceeded proudly down the hall towards the rear of the building.

Students were on route to their classes, each set that passed him waved hello. He gave a swift nod to each set while proceeding down the hallway. When he got to the end, a woman emerged from the exit, holding the door open for him. The guildmaster gave her a warm smile.

The woman returned the smile.

“Guildmaster Stone. Thank you so much for the help on that warehouse deal. You really saved my behind!”

“Of course, no problem. Also Ms. Vyrelia, please, just call me Frederick.”

“Nonsense you are guildmaster!”

“This guild wouldn’t have existed without you.”

“I guess that’s true, but you are still the brains though.” She grabbed his hand, in reminiscence. “Ah, It's been awhile hasn’t it. I remember when you were stuck behind that apple stand, waiting to be rescued by little ole me. Hehe. Are those flowers for me?” She leaned in close to them, taking a sniff, before giving him a direct stare.

“Sure- I mean… Yes! These are for you, I know how much you love purple!”

Ms. Vyrelia took the small bouquet of purple flowers.

“How sweet of my Frederick. Getting flowers for the best woman in all of Vulcas.”

“I still can’t believe you were willing to risk so much for me.”

“Let’s just say, I have an intuition.” Ms. Vyrelia winked before grazing past him, her hand slid across his chest. “Pick me up after classes today, wont you?”

“Uh, of course, I have time. Yes, perhaps we can go to one of the noble venues.” Frederick nearly choked in nervousness.

“I can't wait, good day dear.” Ms. Vyrelia continued down the hall.

“Good day.” He gawked at her sauntering walk before snapping out of it.

Frederick went outside, where he saw the presence of a black coat standing on the edge of the school grounds. The presence of this individual brought ruin to his good mood. Frederick squeezed his fist and approached the figure.

“Guildmaster, the offer is still on the table. This is the last opportunity I can give you.” The man in the black coat addressed him.

“The Mountaineer Kingdom will not lose its war against some savage group of vagabond women.”

“You severely underestimate the strength of the Lotus.”

“You severely underestimate the Mountaineer Kingdom. The Guild of Merchants is the richest of all trade guilds and we back Vulcas. The mountaineer army is the largest force of these lands and is the strongest force of Lucredia. You do not have the numbers to win. The only reason why I am entertaining this conversation is so you don’t target any of my students or teachers.”

“I know your story, you started from nothing. If you do not backup the Lotus, you will be reduced to nothing. You and our leader, Deamonia, share a similar story. Which is why she has given you an option. You would be a fool to turn us down.”

“I don’t need charity. If I hear any word of you associating with my students, I will notify the King himself of your illegal presence in this city.” Frederick stormed back to the school.

A year had passed since that event.

Guildmaster Stone was seated at his desk. He did not look happy. The strokes of his pen were moving so fast he was scratching through the parchment of the letter he was writing. Once finished, he got up and rushed to the messenger window. A network of bird cages lined the window sill. All the cages were all empty, except for one. He opened the cage of the last bird, gave it the parchment rolled in a small tube, and the bird flew off. A loud bang sounded from the door just before it was kicked in. Soldiers entered the office. These soldiers had a lotus symbol on their chest plates. They were being led by the same cloaked man who had offered him a deal long before.”

“We are acquisitioning this guild and liquidating all of its assets.”

Frederick knew this day was coming. Ever since the Mountaineer Kingdom surrendered to the Lotus, Lotus soldiers were roaming the streets and taking from several guilds.

“This guild is everything, there are so many people you would hurt if you liquidate our assets.”

“You should have played along with us then, Frederick. I warned you. Right now, you could have kept everything. That’s right, Queen Deamonia would not have touched this guild and even helped you but since you backed our enemies, you will not be allowed to maintain your position. We will be taking everything.”

“You said it yourself! We came from the same background. She can’t take this away from me, from my students! There are plenty of people who are using this guild to better themselves! We give opportunities to people who are willing to work for them!”

“You should have helped us then, Your money and information would have saved a lot of lives, Frederick.”

“How can you expect me to betray my own country! That’s unreasonable!”

“I gave you multiple chances, you should have stayed neutral like the magi mage guild. Now, take us to the vault.”

Frederick led them downstairs, to the merchant guild’s vault. He had the only key for it.

Frederick unlocked the intricate metal door. After the door was open, the man in the cloak grew extremely angry.

“Where is all the gold!” The vault was completely empty. There was not a single coin remaining.

“Apologies, I have been feeling very charitable recently.” Frederick smirked. The smug look didn't last long. Frederick’s vision flashed to black as one of the soldiers hit him on the back of the head. ________________________________________________

❄️Snow❄️

“Snow can you move?” Lussuria whispered next to her. Lussuria’s eyes were blue, indicating her active frostblood.

“Yeah, you were right. I'm good.” Snow whispered back.

They were on their knees in the middle of all the knights. Everyone was frozen in place. The only ones able to move was Snow, Lussuria and Sir Harper. Sir Harper’s armor had pulsed in a grid-like pattern, breaking him out.

Frederick disappeared up a set of stairs behind the throne.

“Frederick is running straight to the King’s chambers at the top of the castle. I fear what he may do now that he is exposed.” Sir Harper leaned down in front of one of his men, who had a blank expression on his face. “That magic is vile. In all my years, I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“The plan was for me and Lussuria to engage him, when nobody was near that he could influence. We need to pursue him.”

“Aye, The living quarters of the castle are unattested for the most part.”

“We are the only three that can resist the ring.”

One of Harper’s knights came running in from the battle outside. Clashing of steel and yelling was heard that was approaching closer to the castle.

“My Lord, the mercenaries outside are bolstering! The two Lotus agents are holding most of them back but we can’t continue like this! We need you!”

Arthur and Crow, it appeared that they were still fighting.

“Tell them to retreat to the door of the castle, we will hold them here.” Sir Harper looked to Snow and Lussuria. “Princess Snow and Princess Lussuria, you two will pursue him and me and my men will defend the regal guard here.“

They both nodded before running off.

________________________________________________________

Snow and Lussuria ran through the castle, sticking north. The castle had segments of indoor and outdoor sections. The mountainous castle of Vulcas was nothing short of a natural wonder; A beauty that was hundreds of years old. The wondrous estate however, was merely a background of the girls' chase. The only focus was Frederick and Fredrick alone.

“‘The Kingdom in the Mountains,’ sounds cool, until you find yourself running up a million steps.” Snow uttered as they ran through the mid section of the stone fortress.

“Tell me about it.” Lussuria followed her complaint.

Snow and Lussuria reached a square courtyard that served as a garden in one of the upper sections of the estate. The square courtyard was surrounded by towering ivory pillars and connected to the upper part of the castle. Frederick was standing across from them at a gate, fumbling through a bunch of keys in a nervous fit trying to find the right one.

“I’m going to disable him.” Lussuria stepped out into the sunlight and raised her hand.

“rune-power-”

Frederick heard the chant and spun around.

“Damn mage girl!” Frederick’s face of fear had quickly calmed as his eyes darted towards his left.

“Go ahead, shoot!” Frederick opened his arms in a boast against Lussuria.

Snow looked to where Frederick glanced and saw a shadow on the ground. The shadow had been casted from atop one of the ivory pillars of the courtyard.

“Lussuria watch out!” Snow jumped in front of Lussuria. A crackling snap sounded as a lightning bolt hit Snow in the chest, sending her flying back into Lussuria arms. Lussuria’s spell canceled as she caught onto Snow.

“Snow, are you okay?!”

“I’m fine.” Snow growled, looking up at the sky before shouting. “Feels a little weak, you must be getting tired!”

The tracker, who was standing on the pillar, slid down and stood in defense of Frederick.

“I was starting to worry that you wouldn’t show up. Are you here to finally capture these runts instead of letting them loose every chance you get?!” Frederick shouted at his hired help, belittling him.

The tracker ignored him, only responding by raising a hand in the girl's direction again.

Lussuria stepped forward with her hand raised as well.

“Rune”-“Rune”

“Power”-“Power”

“Ignite”-“Ignite “

“Fire!”-“Fire!”

Both spells flew towards the center of the courtyard. An explosion boomed in the center as the spells collided against each other.

“I got a score to settle with this guy.” Lussuria’s eyes glared in concentrated anger towards her opponent. “I’ll deal with him.”

Frederick finally unlocked the gate. He swung it open and darted up into the final wing of the castle.

“Lussuria are you sure about this, we can take him together, his lightning doesn't affect me.”

“We survived a runic mine, rode on the back of a war construct I learned to control within one minute, and toppled the famous gate guardians. All on top of the fact that I had to do it all with a splitting headache from resisting their pathetic magic. Yes dear sister, I’ll be fine. This heathen has allotted all of his cards. I’ll finish the work you and Ares did and put him in the ground where he belongs, once and for all. Especially, for the disrespect and defilements I was made to suffer!”

“Okay, he's weakened, but don't take him lightly.” Snow didn’t like it but they were in too deep to stop. Stopping Frederick was the top priority.

“Likewise.” Lussuria muttered.

Snow chased after Frederick. The tracker watched Snow but surprisingly didn’t get in her way as she ran by him.

The tracker returned his gaze towards Lussuria.

“I have already seen the extent of that one. I accept your line duel, runic mage Lussuria of the Regalian Monarchy.”