The Girl By The Willow Tree

Chapter 2

King Leonhard, Emperor Elijah, and Lady Adele rode in the same carriage back to the emperor's palace in the north. The king would write letters to send to his nephew while the emperor observed where they were passing. Leaving the young lady having nothing to do.

Unlike from before, she wore a black and white off-shoulder corset dress, and black doll shoes. By her waist, she wore her sword belt strap which held her silver weird that had a beautiful black diamond gem on the pommel.

"For a dame, you don't wear any armor." King Leonhard said as he sealed his letter in an envelope. "I prefer to look presentable at any time and by this, I can hide in a crowd whenever I want." She replied bluntly. "King Leonhard, you are quite an attractive man but why do you not have a wife or husband? Do you prefer messing around with women or men?" She asked in return.

'How blunt...' The emperor thought.

This was how Lady Adele is. She would speak out about what's on her mind, not caring about the consequences.

Flashback...

"The Kings and Queens held a secret meeting to who would be the best candidate to be your wife." King Leonhard said as he gazed at the moon. "What?" Emperor Elijah said in shock. How could they do this behind his back? If he wanted an empress, a wife, he would have gotten one years ago.

"King Nigel brought a portrait of Lady Adele. And we chose her."

End of flashback...

"I'm into women. The woman I love is a few years older than me but she shows no interest in me." He replied, snapping Emperor Elijah out of his thoughts. The emperor knew who he was talking about but didn't say anything.

"Have you dated anyone before?" He asked, trying to not make it gloomy. She shook her head and looked outside at the sky. "King Nigel had set me up on a couple of blind dates before but all of them always try to impress me. But no, I have not dated anyone."

"Shouldn't that be an emerald?" Emperor Elijah asked, glancing at the gem on her sword's pommel. The emeralds on the sword's pommels are all purified and gives the blade power to kill demons. "I was hugging this sword when I was found. Whoever left me is still probably alive and will recognize the sword."

"The owner must've had a hard time looking for that gem. Black diamonds are very hard to find." King Leonhard said, lighting up the mood. "That is why I have put it to good use. So once I meet them, I can tell stories of how I used this blade." She said cheerfully as the carriage stopped. "We can't still be there..." The emperor said as the guard who was navigating opened the door.

The guard had dark brown hair, turquoise eyes, and pale skin. And he was quite slim for a knight.

"Your imperial highness, it seems that there will be a bad storm soon. Shall we go and find shelter?" He asked. "But there's no village or town nearby. Where will we find shelter?" Emperor Elijah said as he and the king looked around to see if they can find any place to stay for the upcoming evening.

"I see... There should be a cave around here. But we can only bring the horses." Lady Adele said as she stepped out of the carriage. They soon followed her out and the knight helped get the horses. She grabbed the horse's leash and joined them.

"Eli, let's ride this horse together!" King Leonhard said cheerfully, tugging on the emperor's sleeve. Emperor Elijah glared at him, causing him to back off immediately. "Lady Adele, you are very stunning." The guard complimented the beautiful young lady who was chuckling.

"Thank you. You recently became a knight, yes?" She asked. The knight nodded quickly, amazed by her beauty. "Yes and, uh, my name is Shane Bowen." He said nervously. She gazed at his eyes, amazed by the color.

Without thinking, she approached him and cupped his cheeks, shocking the three. "Your eyes are very lovely... I love everything beautiful." She complimented. "How bold of you, Lady Adele." King Leonhard teased, snapping her out of her daze. "Oh... I'm sorry. I got carried away." She chuckled, letting go of him.

"I-it's fine." He said, flustered. Sir Shane and King Leonhard rode one horse together, Emperor Elijah rode the other alone, and Lady Adele led the way, walking.

"If only Lady Adele would allow me to walk too..." Sir Shane sighed. He was getting upset about how she insisted she would be the only one to walk, to which she won. "You shouldn't feel bad, Sir Shane. His imperial highness should be kind enough to let her ride the horse with him." King Leonhard said while the emperor averted his eyes, annoyed.

"We're here."

They got off the horses and followed Lady Adele inside. They tied the horse's leashes to some pointed rocks of the cave, keeping them still. "What is that awful smell?" Emperor Elijah said, covering his nose in disgust. "I can smell it too..." Sir Shane said as they also covered their noses and mouths to avoid the smell.

"Hmm? Visitors?"

They all turn to where the voice came from and became stiff when they saw a male demon. He looked a lot like a human except for his sharp teeth and pointed ears. He had waist-length plum-colored hair, magenta eyes, fair skin, and a muscular body. The demon only wore pants, revealing its torso and muscles.

The demon yawned, not seeming to care about the humans in front of him. They noticed the love bites on the demon's neck, making them flustered. The demon's eyes widened when his gaze landed on Lady Adele.

'Adele...'

"Reynard, it's nice to see you again." She said, snapping him out of his thoughts. "Who are they?" He asked in response.

"That is Emperor Elijah Haynes, Sir Shane Bowen, and King Leonhard Elser." She said, gesturing to who is who. "This is Reynard. He's a demon. He is a friend of mine." She informed the three confused men while they look at her shocked. The demon is now known as, Reynard, rolled his eyes, snapping them out of their shocked trance.

"When I was a human, I was a half-creature that eats flowers. It's still the same as now." He told them, causing them to calm down a bit. "There's going to be a storm, right? Come with me." Reynard said as they followed behind him.

"I don't trust that demon." The emperor said while eyeing Reynard. "He has so much love bites... Maybe he ate the woman he slept with?" Sir Shane muttered while still being flustered. "Possible..." King Leonhard said as he didn't want to take sides. "I have a flower to give you."

"No need. Seeing such a beautiful lady is enough for me and my thoughts." He said, smirking. She ignored the fact he was flirting and smiled at him. "Adele was fourteen when she found this place." Reynard said as they saw a house and a garden full of flowers.

"Eh... I miss my willow tree already." Lady Adele said to herself as they entered the house. It was clean, a lot of flowers, and it was quite warm. "It isn't suspicious so calm down." King Leonhard whispered to Emperor Elijah.

"I brought a lotus from my pond." Lady Adele said, holding the white flower by the stem. "You're still living in that underground forest temple?" Reynard raised a brow at her. "Yeah, I am. I'll go and find a shop to buy some food." She said, leaving them alone.

"How did you both meet?" Sir Shane asked as they all sat and wait by the living room sofa.

"She was hunting down demons. Her clothes were dirty and ripped. And she was covered with dirt and demon blood." Reynard chuckled, sending shivers to King Leonhard and Sir Shane's spines. "This is why knights and dame's wear armor." Emperor Elijah said, getting a nudge on the arm by the king.

"When she saw me, she just stared at me and passed out. I carried her inside and cleaned her up."

"..."

"Huh?" Sir Shane thought for a while and when he realized it, his eyes widened and his face was bright red. "Y-you saw Lady Adele naked!?" He yelled, flustered. Reynard flicked his forehead, causing him to stop freaking out and rub his forehead.

"Tch. I didn't do anything to her body but clean it with warm wet clothing." He said, irritated by their immoral thoughts. He sighed and stared at the lotus flower he was holding. "Her body is too delicate to be touched. And she's too friendly. Honestly, she shouldn't be friends with me."

Emperor Elijah calmed down and looked at the demon. "You like her, don't you?" He said, snapping him out of his trance. "I love her but I can't. Besides..." He got up, grabbing a vase and filling it up with water.

"They chose her to be a candidate to be your wife, right?"

King Leonhard and Emperor Elijah looked at him in shock while Sir Shane's eyes looked up the ceiling for a while. "I think she'll be a good mother when she has children." He said, cheerfully. "How did you know that?" King Leonhard said, eyeing the demon.

"I'm a mind demon. I can read and control minds. Just like what I did to your knight." He said, placing the vase with the flower on the coffee table.

"So there isn't a storm? You manipulated mind to lie to us and let us come here?" Emperor Elijah said angrily as he got up, along with the other two. "I'm surprised you realized that just now." He retorted. "How cocky. Just like other demons." Emperor Elijah said, smirking.

He took out his sword while Reynard made his nails sharp. They both went to strike each other but before they could, they both were kicked. Causing them to sit down on each sofa.

Lady Adele was holding a paper bag with loaves of bread inside. They all stared at her in silence, only for it to break when Reynard started laughing.

"It was easy to tell that he manipulated Sir Shane. Just when I took a close look at his eyes." She said, putting down the bag. "So a while ago..." King Leonhard started. "Storm is our secret language for a demon. Sorry for lying and taking longer to buy bread. But I didn't know he was going to test you." She said, giving them each a loaf of bread to eat.

"Reynard, the flower shop was closed but I guess I didn't have to buy any." Lady Adele said, smiling at her demon friend. "I grow the best flowers, so no need." He said cockily. "Then why not have a flower shop?"

He smirked and rubbed his neck. "I can't sleep with women and be a flower shop owner at the same time." He said, making her chuckle.

'I wonder if Lady Adele loves him back... And I wonder what is on his imperial highness's mind.' King Leonhard thought.

"Thanks for telling me there were demons. But you know, you could have killed them yourself." She said, getting all of their attention. "I know. Just thought you needed something to stab. And I also wanted to see you." He replied, earning a small smile.

She grabbed a bottle of beer by the counter and opened it easily. She took a sip of the beer and stared at the ceiling. "Eh... I'm surprised that Lady Adele can drink it so easy..." Sir Shane said in awe. "She's a drunkard. King Nigel told me she started drinking at the age of ten." Reynard said, gazing at her.

They all start to talk, getting to know each other while Lady Adele sat on one of the counter stools and drank.

'She shouldn't drink too much...'

Emperor Elijah got up and approached her, sitting on the tot next to her. "You shouldn't drink too much." He told her. She looked at him and smiled. "This is my fifth bottle. I'll be fine." She chuckled, taking another sip of her beer.

"He's in love with you. Reynard, I mean." He said, earning a soft smile as she placed the bottle aside. "I know that." She replied. He looked at her in disbelief and grabbed her by the wrist. "You know he's in love with you? Are you giving him false hope?" He said, making eye contact with her.

He was angry. People who know that someone likes or loves them and not doing anything about it. It disgusts him. Just like how he is disgusted by his father.

"I gave him a lotus flower when I was sixteen." She said as he lowered his guard. "It was his request. If I can't love him, then at least, I should give him a flower every time I come to visit."

'A flower? The lotus...'

"So when I come to visit him, I give him a white lotus flower. Ever since I appeared by the willow tree, I treasure the lotus flowers by the pond. It's the most beautiful thing I've seen." She explained to him.

"I... I'm sorry for lashing out at you." He said, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's good to not let anyone see your weakness, your imperial majesty. Only let the ones dear to you know." She said as she smiled at him softly and poked his cheek.

He slapped her finger away, glaring at it. "Don't touch me." He said. "But weren't you the one who grabbed my wrist first?" She said. Emperor Elijah became flustered, making Lady Adele chuckle.

'Dammit!'