Chapter 3

In the guest bedroom

"I bet there is a guard outside this door." Said Iris.

"Yes, there is a guard because right now till when we get the decision we are considered enemies, and I don't blame them for being cautious." I said.

"So what are we going to do now?' Asked Iris. still holding the babies.

"For starters, putting the babies down so they can sleep better is an idea." I said.

"Ok, what next?" Said Iris. Putting the babies in their cribs.

"Next we wait. Mainly because I don't roam the castle." I said.

Then knock knock.

"Come in." I said. The queen walks into the room.

"I see you did not bring that much stuff for a Prince of Zex. Could you tell me why is that?' Asked the Queen.

"I Sort of fell off a cliff and got amnesia when falling off a cliff," I said.

"I see. I am sorry to hear that." Said the queen.

"Don't worry about it. Is there anything I can do for you?" I asked.

"Well, yes, I have a question. Could you tell me why are you not in Zo castle now?" Asked the queen. "Well, I don't know the reason for that. If I were to guess, I say that I was like the black sheep of that monarchy." I said.

"I see," Said the queen. "Is there anything else I can help you with?" I asked.

"Not at the moment, no," Said the queen. She then left the room.

"Is there anything else you want to tell me?' Asked Iris.

"As well as being a big trade magnate, the Azure kingdom has the biggest navy. No one can beat them in the sea that is for sure." I said.

"For someone that had amnesia, you remember a lot of weird stuff." Said Iris.

"True, I had amnesia, but that goes away bit by bit," I said.

"So, how much do you remember?" Asked Iris.

"Ninety-five presents I remember." I said.

"What about the other five presents?" Asked Iris.

"I either will remember, or not." I said. "I see." Said Iris. Looking at her.

"That does not mean that I will forget you and what you did for me." I said.

"Oh, I see that good. I don't want you to forget these last few months. They are precious to me," Said Iris.

"That is good to hear. Come here. I will like to hug you." I said. They both hugged each other.

"Dinner is ready. The queen is waiting for you." Said one servant.

"Iris, time for dinner. Are you ready?" I asked.

"Yes, I am ready." Said Iris. One guard escorted us to the dining room. It is next to the throne room.

"Your majesty, the guests have arrived." Said one guard at the door. "Bring them in." Said the queen. The door swung open, and we saw a dining table that was on a terrace. "What a lovely view." Said Iris.

"Yes, it is lovely. This is one of my favorite spots in the castle." Said the queen. We sat down.

"We kind of look out of place, your majesty," I said.

"What do you … Oh, I see even though you are from the kingdom of gray. I guess you were not living with nobles were you?" Asked the queen.

"No, but my uncle was in the court at the castle till the time that he was working kicked him out." Said Iris.

"I know a nobleman from the village over from where we were named Derek." I said. The room went dead.

"Did I say something wrong?" I asked.

"No, you did not say something wrong. It is just Derek used to be here till he got fed up with what was happening to us. He left us without another word. He has a wife and a daughter here." Said the queen.

"So Derek has a wife and daughter here, but lives by himself in the village next to the one that Iris and her father Wern were at," I said.

"Did you say, Wern?" Asked the queen.

"Yes, why?" I said.

"He used to come by here to see how things are doing? How is he, by the way?" Asked the queen.

"He got captured by the royal guard ten months ago." I said.

"Where is he now?" Asked the queen.

"Most likely in the dungeon under the castle." I said.

"I see. I know I said two days, but from what you told me the situation is worse than we thought." Said the queen

"Yes, and that is why we need all the help that we can get," I said.

"You get that help. As the Queen of Azure and the leader of the resistance, we will help you." Said the queen.

"Are you sure about this?" I asked.

"Yes, and to show that I am with you Alice comes here. "Said the queen. "

Yes, your majesty, you summoned me?' Asked Alice.

"This is Alice. She is the vice commander of my inner guard. She will help you and relay information back to me," Said the queen.

"Hello, My name is Alice. It is nice to meet you." Alice said.

"Nice to meet you too," Said Iris and Arc.

"Your majesty, do you know any other countries that might help us?" I asked.

"Hmm, let me think. Yes, there is the Republic of the Mountain. I hear they are a bunch of," Said the Queen.

"I have a map If you want to see it," Alice said.

"Sure.' I said. We looked at the map.

"That looks like a two-day trip from here." Said Iris.

"You are right. It is a two-day trip from here." Said the Queen.

"I see when the two days are up we go that way," I said.

"So we head up in two days. I will pack to get ready." Alice said.

. "Your Grace, do you know anything about the Cyclops?" Asked Iris.

"Yes, I do. They are mainly all males. Something about fire and the women Cyclopes not working together or something," Said the Queen.

"Well, your majesty, we wish you a goodnight." I said.

"Night." Said the Queen.

Back in the room

"That was good. What did you think?" I asked.

"It was amazing. The food is great." Said Iris.

"Well, it is getting late, should think about going to sleep." I said.

'Ok. Good night, sleep well." Said Iris.

In the Morning

Knock Knock.

"Well, I am up. Who is it?" I said.

"The Queen is in the garden and she wants to speak with you alone," Said a Servant.

"Ok. Can you please take me there, then?" I asked.

"As you wish," Said the Servant.

"Iris, I am going to be in the garden if you need me." I said.

"Ok. I will wait for you here, then." Said Iris.

"I love you." I said.

"Love you too. Be safe." Said Iris.

"I will be safe not to worry." I said.

"Right this way." Said the servant. We walked for a little till we arrived in the garden. "Oh well, you are here." Said the queen. She was standing with Alice.

"What is the matter?" I asked.

"I am missing my Necklace. My sister, the Commander of the inner circle, gave it to me and now I can't find it," Alice said.

"You would not know where the necklace is by chance?" Asked the queen.

"No, I have not seen it before, so I would not know what it looks like." I said.

"Your majesty, he is telling the truth." Said someone from out of nowhere.

"Ah, Grace, you are here, why?" Said the Queen. Giving the necklace back to the vice commander.

"We caught the thief last, not at midnight. He is in the dungeon as we speak." Said Grace. "May I ask who this thief is?" I asked.

"A nobody. Which is what we call anyone that runs away from the post." Said Grace.

"I see." I said. "What is it Arc?" Asked the Queen.

"Given the right push, what are thieves and assassins good for?" I asked.

"Well, I guess they are good at gathering intel. Could you tell me why?" Asked Grace.

"All they want is to live. So what to do?" I said.

"For the time being nothing." Said the Queen.

"Oh, I know a place that might help with that," Alice said.

"No. No. No defendant not." Said Grace. "What is with the no's?" I asked.

"The family that we come from great at stealth," Said Grace.

"What is the name of your family?" I asked.

"The name of the family is Lee." Said Grace.

"I can see if one of them will help you." Said the Queen.

"That would be great. Could the person be a guy?" I asked.

" Yes, my older brother will help. If he has time." Alice said.

"You know he is also my older brother, right?" Said Grace.

"Yes, I know that. Jeez," Alice said.

The door opened and in came Iris..

"Hi, all. What are we talking about?" Asked Iris. The act of holding the babies in your arms can be a very nurturing and fulfilling experience..

"Aw so cute, have you named the babies yet?" Asked Alice.

"Not yet coming up with names can be tough." Said Iris.

"How about Jake and Lily?" Asked Grace.

"Thoughts are suitable names." Said Iris.

"So, what are your next steps?" Asked the Queen.

"Go to the Lee household. To see if they can help." I said.

"Then go see them." Said the Queen.

At the Lee Manor

"Hello my name is Arc, and this is Iris." I said.

"Hello, my name is Rex," Rex said.

"You are Grace and Alice's older Brother?" I asked.

"Yes, I am their older brother, why?" Asked Rex.

"Would you like to come this way into the sitting room?" One servant said. We head into a massive sitting room.

"I am looking for someone that could do some bit of reconnaissance." I said. "Did my sisters tell you about me?" Asked Rex.

"Yes, Grace told us about you." I said. Shaking his head.

"Of course, Grace told you about me," Rex said.

"Is that a problem?" I asked.

"No, it is no problem. I will like to know ahead of time." Rex said.

"I see. So what do you want to do now?" I asked.

"So you wanted my help with something?" Asked Rex.

"Yes, as you are aware, I am from the Kingdom of Grey. What I wanted to ask you was if you will gather intel on the Kingdom of Grey?" I asked.

"Before I say anything on that matter I want to see why you want to do this," Rex said.

"Well, while stopping what is happening. We have a personal reason for going up against the Kingdom of Grey. "I said.

"What is this personal matter you speak of?" Asked Rex.

"Iris' father Wern is in the kingdom's dungeon of Grey as we speak." I said.

Rex, with a look of shock on his face, turned to us and gazed intently. "Wern, my Sword master is in the dungeon!" Exclaimed Rex.

"Yes, and for the moment there is no way to get him out of there alive that is," I said.

"Say no more to me and the Shadows will help you," Rex said.

"Wait. What happened?" I asked.

"Is it not obvious yet that I am helping you? Keep up." Rex said.

"Ah, now I understand what you mean. Well then, glad that you will help. What should be the next steps?" I asked.

"Well, I already sent someone to the Kingdom of Grey to see what is going on. They will be back any moment now." Rex said. Then, someone came right through the window.

"My Lord, your intel," Said the ninja.

"Thank you for your hard work. Rest now if you want to," Rex said.

"I express my gratitude towards you, my lord, for your kindness and generosity. I will be near if you need me." Said the ninja.

"What does the intel say?" I asked.

"It says that the king and queen are running the Kingdom of Grey to the ground. While suppressing the revolution." Rex said.

"Ok, so what if we do a pincer move? Though that said I don't have any men to command, so the siege on the castle would have to wait," I said.

"True, but you are getting to that point bit by bit," Rex said.

"Yes, I see you right." I said.

"Did the queen tell you where to seek more help?' Asked Rex.

"I think she said something about the kingdom of the mountain." I said.

"That makes sense to ask them," Rex said.

"Yes, but as it stands right now, we don't have a way to get there," I said.

"What I suggest then is to talk with the merchants' guild in the merchant quarter," Rex said.

"Ok, we will go there," I said.

"I will go with you. With a letter of introduction." Rex said. So we went to the Merchants quarter.

"I will like to speak to the guild master," Said, Rex.

"Oh right, this way." Said the receptionist.

"Oh, Rex, what brings you to be?" Said the Guild-master.

"Well, Virus, these two are the reason," Rex said. Looking over at us.

"Hi, my name is Arc." I said nervously.

"Hello, so what brings you to the merchant's guild?" Asked Citrus.

"Well, trade routes are the reason." I said.

"Trade route to where you are thinking?' Asked Citrus.

"To The kingdom of Grey once the king and queen that are there now are gone." I said. "Ok, before I say what I have a question for you." Said Citrus.

"What is this question you want to ask?' I asked.

"What is in it for the merchant's guild? We have a guild hall in your capital, too." Asked Citrus.

"Well, if memory survives correctly you could not get in contact with the merchant's guild in the Kingdom of Grey's capital,'' I said.

"Yes, for 5,000 years. Are you saying that we will be able to again?" Asked Citrus.

" Yes, give it time." I said.

"What are you going to do in the meantime?" Asked Citrus.

"We will get more help. "I said.

"So the Kingdom of the Mountain. With the Cyclopes, and Dwarves. "Said Citrus.

"You know of them?' I asked.

"Yes, I know of them. We had some dealings with them a while back," Said Citrus.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Well, long story short, the Azure Kingdom had handled them before? Said Citrus.

"I see. What should I expect?" I asked.

"A lot of eating, drinking, and partying." Said Citrus.

"That makes sense, though they are dwarves.' I said.

"Should be fun though I don't know if taking the children will be an idea." Said Iris. "The children?" Rex and Citrus.

" Yes, twins to be exact, but depending on how long talking with the Kingdom of the mountain will take we do not want them to come with us," I said.

"Looking over at the twins," said Iris.

"I can see If Grace and Alice can take care of them. Would you like to be gone?" Rex said.

"Thank you. Here is everything that they need." Said Iris.

"Oh. Citrus. What do you think we need for the journey to the Kingdom of the mountain?' I asked.

"Well, you are going to need supplies. That can be arranged. Cristal, can you come in here?" Asked Citrus.

"Yes. What is it, guild master?" Need anything?" Asked Cristal.

"Yes, can you arrange for the supplies for the Kingdom of the Mountains?" Asked Citrus.

"Yes, right away," said Cristal.

"Now is there anything else you need?" Asked Citrus.

"Are there any monsters to watch out for?" I asked.

"Yes, there is, but for that information, you will need to go to the adventure's guild. It is near the Army barrack." Said Citrus.

"Thank you for your time. We will leave now." I said.

"Do not worry drop by," Said Citrus.

"So we are off to the adventure's guild next?" Asked Iris.

"Yes, we are. Rex, do you know where the barracks are?" I asked.

"Yes, I know where they are. Do you want me to take you there?" Asked Rex. We walked to the adventure guild.