The Girl By The Willow Tree

Chapter 1

The ruler of the Aperion Empire... Emperor Elijah Haynes. A twenty-year-old man with black hair and pale blue eyes. He is known to be cold, bold, and ambitious. And many admire him because of how his strategies work on eliminating the vile demons in the land.

He sat in his carriage, looking out the window. 'It's quite sunny... It usually rains.' He thought as the carriage stopped. "Your imperial highness, we've arrived at the Eastern Kingdom, Oboria." The knight said as the emperor got out of the vehicle, only to be faced with his childhood best friend, the king of Dridor, the Kingdom in the south.

'Maybe something good will happen...'

King Leonhard Elser, the same age as the emperor. He has chin-length blonde hair and brown eyes.

"Emperor Elijah, it's nice to see you again." The King of the South said, smiling. "King Leonhard." He nodded.

"Your imperial highness, your majesty."

The two looked at who greeted them, only to see two men. Lord Alexander Ingram, a twenty-one-year-old man with red hair and light pink eyes. He is the captain of the guards in the Eastern Kingdom and bodyguard of the king.

King Nigel Blair, has black hair and purple eyes. He is currently nineteen and has been the king for two years. He was slightly shorter than the three of them, but as long as no one mentioned it, he's fine.

"King Nigel, it is a pleasure to see you again. But may you enlighten us on why we're here?" Emperor Elijah asked with a cold tone. "Ah, yes. Come follow me."

They both followed behind him, wondering why they were invited to his castle. "King Nigel and I have a friend." Lord Alexander spoke with a stoic expression. "And is this friend of yours related to why we are here, King Nigel?" King Leonhard asked. "Yes. She served the Oboria army since she was twelve." They entered a room that had stairs going down.

"Where will these stairs lead us to?" Emperor Elijah asked as they went down the spiral stairs. "Our friend is the pride and beauty of Oboria. You'd want to meet her."

Lord Alexander opened the door they were facing and stepped aside to let them out first. They got out, only to find themselves facing a forest, a clear pond filled with lotus flowers, and a lovely weeping willow tree. "The forest?" King Leonhard asked as he noticed that it looked like a temple. "This is the Blair family's underground forest temple. No demon can enter unless they are given permission." Lord Alexander explained. 'But why are we here?' The emperor thought.

"Nigel? Alex?" A beautiful young lady appeared from behind the willow tree and approached them. She has shoulder-length blonde hair and dull grey eyes. She wore an ankle-length sundress that hugged her body nicely. She was about to approach them but stopped when she saw the other two men who were admiring her beauty.

"This is Lady Adele Graves. She has served the Oboria army since she was twelve." King Nigel said, smiling while she made her way to them. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Lady Adele. I am King Leonhard Elser, the ruler of the southern kingdom, Dridor. And this is Emperor Elijah Haynes." He said, gesturing to his imperial highness.

'She served the army since she was twelve... Can a child even fight at such an age?'

"I've never seen a man look handsome and pretty before..." She said bluntly as she continued to gaze at King Leonhard and admire his features. "Lady Adele, may I remind you that you can't kill him or the emperor." Lord Alexander spoke, catching their attention. "The world isn't beautiful as they say it to be. Even humans..."

"But do not worry. I don't plan to kill two attractive men. I'm too tired."

Lady Adele laid on the grass, closing her eyes. "Tho I can kill them now if I wanted to." This statement pushed the emperor to the limit of his patience. "King Nigel, why are we invited here?" He said coldly while glaring at the younger king.

"Adele is a good friend of ours. We heard that you wanted to find where the demon's nest is and she might know." He explained. "Her?" He said, eyeing the lady who was playing with a black bunny.

"Yes. And in exchange for her service..." He paused and fell silent. "We wish that King Leonhard see what she has been dreaming. It keeps her up at night but when she wakes up, it's all blank." Lord Alexander continued, earning a small smile.

"Oh... I do not mind. I have nothing to do and this might be a good time to teach my nephew how to rule a kingdom." King Leonhard said cheerfully while Emperor Elijah continued to eye the beautiful young lady. He can admit that she is indeed stunning but he can't trust her.

He sighed and said, "We will leave tomorrow. For now, I want a tour around the village of Oboria." The three men looked at him in disbelief. One thing that they all know is that the emperor HATES interacting with people. One, because he thinks it is troublesome. Two, he thinks interacting with others is useless.

Lady Adele got up and nodded in response. "Do any of you want to come as well?" She asked the three. "King Nigel has some things to attend to. My shift won't be until this evening." Lord Alexander said while their king sighed.

"King Nigel, do not worry. I will take care of her for you." King Leonhard said cheerfully. "Lord Alex, please make sure he doesn't try anything on our angel." King Nigel said bitterly as he left.

'How troublesome...'

~Time Skip~

Emperor Elijah, King Leonhard, Lord Alexander, and Lady Adele were roaming around the village. The villagers would greet them now and then but they would mostly talk to the young lady.

"She's quite popular, isn't she?" King Leonhard said, amazed by how everyone knows her. "She said that it's better to have fewer enemies and more allies." Lord Alexander replied. Emperor Elijah was glad no one interacted with him. Probably because of the cold glare he sends to everyone who comes near him...

"Lady Adele!"

A young teenage boy approached them with a sword in hand. He has black hair and grey eyes. They all stopped when he yelled and looked at him. "Clive! Aren't you supposed to be in knight school?" Lady Adele asked in shock. The boy smiled proudly. "Our teacher said if we defeat him in a sword fight, we can leave early! I was the only one who won!" She hugged him, petting his head. "Let's go celebrate! My treat!" She said, dragging him away.

"Clive Rhodes, a thirteen-year-old boy. He's an orphan who she took in as her student." Lord Alexander said, catching both of their attention. "Orphan? Is that why he came straight to Lady Adele?" King Leonhard asked, earning a nod in response.

"Why would she take him as a student? It is a surprise and incredible that he has beaten his teacher but... Why him out of all the other children?" The emperor asked out of curiosity.

"Maybe because she sees herself in him. I was an orphan before. So was Lady Adele." He replied as they looked at him in disbelief. "Why would anyone want to leave such a beautiful lady?" King Leonhard said. "She was found by the willow tree at the age of six. With no memories except her name and age."

"She was taken in by the previous king of Oboria but even so, she was bullied. Do not pity her. She hates it." He said as they quickly shut up when they saw the two come back with bags of food. "I thought that we can eat these on the way back to the castle." She said, lifting the bag for them to see. "I see... Are you also coming with us, Clive?" King Leonhard asked the boy politely.

"It's nice to meet you, your imperial highness, and your majesty. Yes, I will be coming too. I wish to spend time with my mentor while she is still here." He said, rubbing the back of his neck out of embarrassment. 'At least he knows how to address nobles properly...' The emperor thought as they made their way to the carriage and rode back to the castle.

On the ride back, it was silent. Everyone was eating some of the foods they bought but set aside some for King Nigel.

"Lady Adele... Why did you pick me to be your student? Is it because you pity me?" Clive asked out of the blue. They all grew silent as they stared at the young boy who had a soft smile with sorrow. "Partly. Even I pity myself. I hate it." She said, shocking him.

"I hate being pitied. I don't like false hope. I don't like to do that much work. Yet, I still worked hard to be in this position. So you'll have to work hard too. Not for me, but to show those bastards that you have the right to be a knight." She said as he hugged her, avoiding crying.

The carriage stopped and they all went out, seeing King Nigel. "How was the tour?" He asked, approaching them. "I bought a box of ice cream!" She said, lifting the box. "Forget dinner! Let's go!" He said as he and Clive ran away with the ice cream, making her chuckle.

"I wonder if he's your son. You both have the same eyes." Emperor Elijah spoke without realizing it, making him flustered. They all laughed, even Lord Alexander who chuckled silently. "I was found at the age of six and as far as I can remember, I've never been touched by any men before." Lady Adele said as she started to calm down.

"Clive is a half-demon. And I hope he puts his power to use and help make peace with demons..."