FOUR
1127 Words
"You’ve grown quite fatter during these past three years. You know that, right, brother?" Lorraine said to Richard as they strolled through the royal gardens.
After the events of the Battle of the flames, Lorraine had left with Lucian to live in Serpentspire, capital of the province overseen by the great house of Winchmore in the far north of the great kingdom of Cyrian. Unlike the Capital, the province was largely more of a grassy plain than woody forest; inhabiting meadows, fields and hills on which each lord and lady of the great house established their castles.
The overseer's castle- Castle Serpentspire as it was called- was located tall on a hill in the heart of the province itself; giving its occupants a vantage view of the area. This castle was where the couple lived throughout the three years that had passed; Lorraine in charge of the province as governor while Lucian stayed with her as her husband and official representative of the Head witch of the realm in the province; at least until the times he had to leave for the Blessed Isle to act as Commander of the Defenders.
Considering how Lorraine had told him in a letter of her wonderful experiences in her new home, Richard had actually thought she would never return to the Capital again, least of all to be at the door of his chamber in the early hours of the morning asking for a quick stroll before he began his courtly duties for the day as king.
But looking at her that very moment as she walked beside him in her yellow spring gown, the king didn't mind the surprise at all. He realised then just how much he had missed her since she left and wanted nothing more than a way to spend more time with her.
Richard didn't tell Lorraine that though. He reminded himself that she had her own life now and instead chose to laugh at the comment she had made earlier. "Seriously, sister," he said, still laughing, "are you telling me that you rode all the way from Serpentspire just to berate me on my increase in size?"
"Richard, I'm not berating you," she replied, resting her head on his shoulder in a light-hearted manner that only his sister can portray so effectively. "What I'm saying is that peace suits you, that it suits us all."
To be honest, the princess wasn't the first one who had made Richard aware of the fact that he had put on some weight. A lot of the lords and knights close to him did actually. In fact, the way that his clothes had gotten snugger around him reminded him of that every day; and he wasn’t angry about it either. Like the Lorraine had said, it was a portrayal of the peace which he, as much as anyone, had fought to bring to the realm; and that, he could never bring himself to be angry at.
But with the peace came something that the king wasn’t sure he still knew how to handle yet: inactivity.
Thing is, Richard was a warrior at heart; he always would be. It was innate to him to go out and search for adventure. But with the age of peace now in place, there wasn't that much adventure to be found anymore. All that remained for him to do was be king and see to the everyday proceedings of the great kingdom which, as he was beginning to realise in the course of the years, was more based on court politics than any other thing he found interesting.
The king smiled to himself anyway. There was no doubt it that he'd rather be bored out of his mind and see the realm enjoy peace than have adventure all around him and see everything in chaos.
Just then, a loud roar suddenly came from the sky, accompanied by a massive gust of wind as a very large creature flew past the strolling duo.
"A griffin!" Richard said with a smile when he looked up.
But Lorraine had a much more intimate significance for it. "Lucian." She smiled and sprinted after it so fast that the king feared for a second that she might fall and break her neck. But he still smiled; marveling at the way love could make a person miss someone who had only just been gone for about two days.
Giving her the space that he knew she needed, Richard started after Lorraine some seconds later, reaching the palace's courtyard to realise to his surprise that Lucian wasn't the only one who had arrived in the Capital on the griffin. "Kyra!" he gasped when he saw the Soul of magic highlight from the creature in her white coat and trousers that had become almost a norm with her ever since she decided to fully acknowledge her swordswoman side. "It's such a lovely surprise to see you here."
But Kyra didn't look to be in a lovely mood even though she tried to hide it behind a smile and long hug.
"Is everything okay?" he asked, concerned.
Before the Soul of magic could respond, a shriek suddenly rent through the air, coming from the training ground.
"What in the realm was that?" Lorraine asked, looking as surprised as everyone.
"Let's go find out," Richard replied and unsheathed his sword as he ran towards the grounds with Kyra, Lucian and Lorraine in tow; they followed by majority of guards available in the courtyard then.
Just as they reached the training ground, they saw the knights crowded around a boy who laid on the floor squirming in pain like his body had been set on fire. Henrik knelt by his side and he looked very confused about what to do.
"What happened?" Richard asked the young knight.
"My squire Damien and I were in the middle of a training session when this strange woman suddenly appeared out of nowhere and attacked us,” he replied. “She was very powerful. I mean, enough to manipulate reality that none of the other knights saw or even felt her presence."
Kyra paled when she heard Henrik talk of the woman who had appeared to them. It was the strange woman in the Wiccan tower; of that, she had no doubt. But just to be sure, she asked, "Does this strange woman happen to have, by any chance, hair as white as snow and eyes terrifyingly bright?”
"Yes," he replied, surprised that the Soul of magic got the description so accurately. "You know her?"
"In fact, I do," she replied, sighing as she recalled the words she had said to her, "and I believe I know what she's here for."
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