ARYA STARK

After Alicia had accepted Princess Arya’s request to come to the Stark Kingdom’s palace and heal the King and Queen. The four of them together talked about each other for a while. Though Alicia and Regis had not particularly shared their backgrounds of Regis being the elf princess. Or for what reason Alicia wanted to travel through the human continent?

It was obvious to Arya that some of these questions might be personal, so she never brought them up. Her benefactors were very important to her, so Arya did not want to upset them in any way.

The palace had no friends or people her age to talk to for Arya. She was raised in an environment where people came from excellent backgrounds and so she always had to work hard to excel and come to that level in her tender age.

At a small age, she was already holding the finance minister post in the royal court and the keys to the treasury. No one ever doubted her resourcefulness or dedication to the job and everyone looked up to her for that. She was popular throughout the kingdom because the new policies she advocated brought greater riches to the Stark nation as it prospered. Arya also never cared for those who despised her for her ingenuity.

Even the underlying work and the foundation of the proposal to extensively increase trade with the Demon Continent was also one of her ideas. Arya did not only want to look for the riches within but seek from the outside as well. She meant no one harm, rather she wanted both continents to prosper and form stronger ties.

But Arya had never felt to be at much greater ease than talking to the three girls and was enjoying dinner with them. While they continued their planning for tomorrow after they would have reached the Stark Kingdom the next day. Its capital was itself the port city and the palace was to the farther end of the walls surrounding it.

Hana had fallen asleep after eating because she had used tremendous amounts of magic power to restore the sea and the ship.

“Now that I have taken my first ship trip, I am getting queasy. Alicia, I think we should go back to our room. I will carry Hana back.” Regis suggested or maybe she just had a little extra bite of the tasty seafood they had served for tonight’s celebration party.

“I suppose we all could stand to take that advice.” Arya was in favor as well since tomorrow her journey would end and she would be returning home.

“Goodnight Arya,” Alicia said.

It was clear by their exchange that everyone had become pretty familiar to each other by then. Especially Arya who had to always maintain a proper appearance could open up to Alicia with similarities they shared. She was also able to finally learn more about her mystic eyes from Alicia since she was more adept at using them.

After their butler Alfred who had been hosting the night and looking after the princess’s guests finally closed the door. A question that had been rising in his mind finally took form.

“Princess, can we really believe them? Will they be able to heal the King and the Queen?” Alfred’s voice was uncertain.

“Haven’t you first hand seen already what miss Alicia is capable of?”

“What I fear more is whether they can be trusted with the future of our Kingdom?”

“I might have hated to say that this was our only choice. But now I just know ⸻it is fate. Despite the fact that I don't believe in it. Ah! I wanted to talk to her a bit longer.” Arya said with a long sigh.

Her face had never been so enraptured during the entire journey. Arya was having fun like any other normal kid which was new for servant Alfred. Also, he had faith in Arya’s judgment.

“It seems that you have taken quite a liking to Miss Alicia. But I don’t think I was able to sense any kind of special magic power unlike the elf and the other child.”

“While Miss Regis and Hana have powerful magic. Alicia is special. It's obvious she is hiding her magic power and her status must be so high that not even your high-level appraisal skill could stand up to it. Tell me Alfred how many people you know possess all natures of magic power.”

“That’s something I have never heard of. But I have heard even the True Hero and the greatest sorcerer The True Demon Lord possessed five elements only.”

“And yet Miss Alicia has them all. Her magic is like nothing I have seen before and completely out of the world. Divine and absolute. And there’s something else, my eyes still cannot understand. I just can’t seem to move my eyes away from her.”

“It is inconceivable but if the princess says then it must be true.” Alfred was shocked to hear such a detail from Arya and yet he could not defy her inference because she had never been wrong in assessing someone’s magic power.

“Miss Alicia is so amazing; I wonder if we can be friends. Till now I have never felt the need for them, but it just makes my heart throb thinking to see her real face for once. But maybe she just doesn’t trust me that much right now.”

“I am sure you can do anything princess. But maybe it's time for you to rest as well. After the pirate’s ship attack, and meeting with the injured people you have not taken a single break.” Alfred hurriedly started preparing Arya’s bed and her night clothes.

“Isn’t there something else you have to say to me first Alfred, or have you been avoiding the topic altogether?”

“⸻What do you mean by that princess?” Alfred stuttered. Also, this time was not facing Arya which was unusual for his behavior to always listen to her orders attentively.

“So are you going to tell me or… I think I might have to shed some tears here.” Arya chided Alfred by enacting out to cry behind her thin elbow.

“Princess I am only chosen to keep you safe. Unfortunately, it is not my place to ascertain the speculations about the Stark Royal Family.” Alfred was surprised and not at the same time. Arya was observant enough to have noticed his expression change when Alicia pointed out that the culprit could be someone from inside the palace.

But since Alfred was only a mere butler he could not say anything. As he stated it was just not his place or standing. His only duty was to keep the princess from harm’s way and that’s what he was doing this time as well.

“I understand. So you have heard nothing from the King, my father before he was poisoned.” Arya tried with a final push. She knew Alfred meant no ill will or was intentionally trying to hide important facts. By keeping Arya away from the power struggles and conflicts inside the court, he was only performing his duties.

“Nothing that the princess must concern herself with.” Alfred bowed, still undecided to speak but firm on his duty.

“Alright. I guess I will just have to find it out tomorrow.” Arya looks out the window and even though the banks of the human continent or the tallest building of the Stark Kingdom were far from sight.

Arya could feel she was slowly getting close to her homeland. It had been only a week since she had been away but had already started feeling nostalgic.

“Father. Mother. I am coming back.”

***

STARK KINGDOM – STARK CITY

With a fog horn, our ship enters the port city. Stark City. Capital of the Stark Kingdom.

The loud whistle slowly fades and the voices of people, moving shipment cargo mingles together and could be heard from the deck of the ship. Screeches and squawks of an army of sea birds encircling above could also be heard. The aroma of sugar, coffee beans, and bitter apples packed in huge wooden boxes overwhelms the nose. Once the ship is all stopped off the berth, the crew sailors use the assistance of wind magic to get the ship in position.

Arya, her butler Alfred, Regis, Hana and I had grouped together and landed on the docks along with the other passengers. Arya’s group did not have any luggage and the same went for us as well. As it turns out, Arya's Butler Alfred could also use storage magic.

“We need to leave soon. The word of the pirate attack will soon spread. I have already told the captain to keep my presence on the ship a secret. But we don’t know for how long that would be?” Arya did not want to be swarmed by people around with her identity out. So, she was in a hurry to leave the place.

“Princess please follow me. I had already made the preparations before leaving.” Alfred seemed to be a reliable butler, unlike Hana who needed to be woken up until they had been getting late or when she smelled food.

While the flow of people was mostly towards the center of the city, we took the right route with less crowd. The way further branched into several directions while Alfred kept on taking the road with fewer people.

And at the end of it all, we had reached the southern wall that surrounded the Stark city.

“From here we will have to circle around the Southern wall all the way to the Western wall, where the palace is.”

The southern wall was essentially a lookout for the monsters that might enter through the forest surrounding it. Hence it was sparsely populated, to the point we were the only ones in the whole area.

“Are we going to go there on foot?” Regis asked.

“I had a carriage prepared before we left just in case. And I think it should be large enough for everyone to accommodate. I will be the coachman.”

Following Alfred we reached a small hut and as he had told us a carriage was in waiting with two horses. Without wasting any time we got in and Alfred held the reigns.

Even someone as determined as Arya could only to a point withhold herself from reflecting the anxiousness showing on her face and she seemed to be getting close to me, so I could only smile in return. If I were to follow in my mother’s footsteps and become a great healer, I also needed to learn to reassure my patients and console their relatives.

“I am here so you don’t have to worry Arya. My healing magic can work to cure any problem.” I said while holding her hands reassuring her that everything will be alright.

“I believe in you… It is just that there has a lot been on my mind.”

“You can say to me. I will listen.” I knew it was about the traitor but that was still all speculation and we wouldn’t know till we would reach there. So, I thought indulging ourselves in a conversation could help.

But after that Arya doesn’t seem to have let go of my hand and Regis had been glaring at me all the while.

Because of the dense forest, we could not get a proper read of the time but according to Alfred, we had already crossed half the distance.

The plan was to enter from the back door and not waste any time with formalities answering ministers about the changed situation. And I had already suggested to Arya that I did not want to attract any attention other than herself. After all, our primary goal was to heal the King and Queen and in return, I might get Arya’s help in finding Athena.

It was supposed to be that simple plan… and yet. We were now suddenly being pursued by a bunch of people in this forest.

“Alicia… we are being followed.” Regis was the second to notice.

While my Spidey senses were fast, Regis who grew in forests could hear and tell the subtle differences around her.

“Alfred, can’t this ride go fast? We might still be able to get them off our trail.”

“I am afraid princess but this is as fast as the horses can carry us or we might crash into a tree.” Alfred being the coachman was doing his best to take us properly through this dense forest.

Arya was still trying to think of a way to get us out of this without fighting.

Simultaneously a hurling fireball came at us and burned a bunch of trees in front of us.

The horses pulling the carriage screeched and came to an abrupt halt, shaking the inside of the carriage.

“Princess we can’t go any further without putting out the fire in front of us.”

“That was clearly a hostile attack. Alicia, you can send me directly there. Can you let me handle this?” Regis was hotblooded as ever. S

Huh! So, she could not watch trees being burnt right in front of her.

“⸻Alright.”

Regis was surprised by my quick response but before she could say anything more, I cast teleportation magic on her.

By my estimation, if Regis does not make a single mistake she can defeat them by taking them down one by one. Also, according to Al the pursuers seemed to be high-level fighters.

“Could they be soldiers….” Arya too was using her eyes to get a read on the magical power of the enemy.

“Master I want to help you too.” it was unlike Hana to volunteer and I was glad that she was slowly gaining her personality and I need to not worry about making her life miserable. It was taking time but her soul realm had not shown any effect after mingling with mine.

Also, this was a good way to assess how much combat skills and experience Hana had inherited from me.

[TELEPORT]

Now, Arya and I alone remained in the carriage. It goes without saying that the pursuers could be after none other than the princess herself.

…

At the same time, in the forest, Regis was already engaged in battle. I had made sure to teleport her to the right place where she could aim at the pursuers. But after her first shot succeeded in taking out one of them.

Her location was also simultaneously revealed. Alicia was now using a hit-and-run tactic.

Jumping from one tree to another, she was able to maintain a fair distance from the pursuers who had turned their target to her. With her agility, even those trained hunters could barely keep up with her.

As usual, Regis was also good at evasion. She gracefully dodged the projectile magical attack from them.

Just then the person who seemed to have cast the fire magic to stop their carriage was chanting a powerful spell and collecting magical power around his palm. As the magic was about to unleash, Regis’s arrow reached there first.

Her destructive magic attribute was enough to cause a surge in the fire magic attack and explode right in front of its wielder. The pursuer falls to the ground with half of his body burnt.

“They are all dressed as knights.” Regis noticed the armor around the dead man’s body after his disguise garb was burnt in the magic interference.

But maybe this was Regis’s first time fighting such trained soldiers, she could not look beyond their tricks.

Before she could make a successful landing after her next jump, a branch of the tree was made intentionally flipped from the side and threw her on the ground.

Her stomach was badly hurt and seeing this chance she was instantly surrounded by the enemy. They were the last of the group but eight of them were enough to cause her serious damage even if she lets her magic run wild.

The soldiers seemed little interested in the red-haired elf as they prepared their swords to finish her off. Regis too was ready to take the risk, to go berserk with her magic right there if nothing worked.

But just then a faint twist in the space caught her eye and a small shadow emerged.

All Regis saw was a single thrust of punch and the man that was unfortunately touched by it. His face was found decimated on the ground after the impact.

And all that incredible strength came from one short girl standing in front of Regis.

“⸻Hana why are you here?” Regis could not help but speak in mid-battle and lose sight of the enemy again.

The enemy showed no mercy in trying to attack the unprepared Regis again.

But before this enemy could approach, Hana swiftly move her legs and a single kick pierces through his belly.

While Hana thought she was adopting well according to the impulses Al sent to her brain with Alicia’s training knowledge.

“….Ehhh! Leave my leg.” Hana was caught by surprise as her leg was still stuck halfway through the enemy’s belly. Even though he was dead, it became more difficult for Hana to pull back her leg.

The other two knights who were surrounding Hana and Regis on the same side decided to thrust their swords while Hana was immobile.

“…Hana. Watch out…. No. no.” Regis let out an anguished scream as she saw Hana’s abdomen pierced by two swords. Fresh blood trickled from the sword's edges.

She quickly gets on her feet, or without using any chant this time, she unconsciously prepares a magical arrow which was much stronger than the usual one she could concentrate on.

She gives a simple tuck to the string and the vibrations produced from it was more than enough to tell that the arrow was deadly and anything in its way was doomed for destruction.

The force of the wind around it was so strong that it pulled the remaining enemy knights towards itself. Like a disaster, a hurricane let loose. The magical arrow shredded the entire enemy’s group apart.

Regis without another thought hurried to Hana’s side, only to see the swords running through her belly disappear. The gap in her body, and her bloodied clothes all back to normal in an instant.

Just after Hana had died it caused her Causality skill to activate and the cause of her death the swords were nullified from existence.

Now the enemy was weaponless again. Only for Hana to swing her leg midair and the heads of her murderers were separated from their necks. The strike of the force was like a heavy disaster blade as it sheared its way through flesh and bone.

“If you are just going to return back to normal after dying then don’t scare me like that.”

“Are you perhaps worried about me miss Regis?” Hana was perplexed.

“Of course, I would be. You are like my little sister I need to look after just like Alicia.” Regis never required a perfect time or place to reprimand and correct someone.

Hana was taken by surprise as she had only considered dedicating herself to Alicia. But a small want inside her lit up to also have affectionate feelings for Regis as well now.

“And how are you suddenly this strong and what was with those moves? I never thought you were trained in fighting.”

“It's all because of my strong body and I inherited all my fighting techniques from Master. But I think I am still not able to execute them properly and Regis wouldn’t have to worry about me.” Hana seemed a bit down not able to do things correctly.

“It's not like I am that bothered nor will Alicia will as long as you don’t get hurt… but you shouldn’t cause trouble and ask for help If you think you are in trouble.”

Regis remembered how Hana was able to fight on par with the immortal homunculi Eabhloid back at the Doctor’s lab. And she also learned of how Alicia’s fighting skills were passed down to her.

This made Regis wonder, that Alicia might not be only good just at magic but other fighting techniques she still did not know about.

…

Arya and I decided to come out of the carriage after I had made sure there were no enemies and went in the direction where Regis and Hana were. I always knew I could count on them to fighting

“I think it's all over by now.”

“Are any of them still alive? I would want to question some of them.” Arya seemed to be more desperate than usual.

“Yes I made sure to leave one of them half-dead in the final attack,” Regis said without flinching.

Her remarks were as usual sadistic and crushing for anyone she did not care about.

Locating the final survivor of the pursuers, Arya approached him. Just then a magic circle appeared on his head like a band and his head exploded.

“He is dead. How cruel… Why would they go to such lengths to do this?” Arya looks around for another survivor but all of their bodies were shredded beyond recognition.

Because I was still listening to Hana’s and Regis’s fight, I was unable to stop this happen. And with no survivors, we could not tell why these pursuers were after us.

I stare in Regis’s direction…, I knew it.

“Don’t look at me like that. They were so set on killing us, it's too much to ask from me to hold back.” Regis was obstinate.

“It's alright miss Regis you protected me and I am grateful. We should head back. Alfred…” Arya calls for Alfred to once again run the carriage.

But then Alfred who was then examining another pursuer’s body returned with a sigil emblem on his hand, he might have got hold of the body’s remains.

“That’s… why do you have it here.” Arya seemed to have finally realized the same truth as Alfred.

“Princess, I plead with you to return. The situation has changed. I am afraid your uncle Oweyn Stark has turned traitor to the Royal family and wants to kill you.”

***

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