chapter three

Days after the banquet I was sitting in the kitchen in the castle making food for myself. I always liked cooking during cooler days like this day. It was strange for it being cool and raining, for the weather was usually nice. Then I saw one of the servants watching me while I was making food, she watched how smooth I was cutting and cooking. I didn't even see her before she came all the way in the kitchen. "You seem to like cooking my lord." She said scaring me and I almost dropped a wooden spoon in the pot of stew. 

She jumped when I dropped it and smiled and started laughing. "you scared me a bit. I'm sorry about that. You don't need to call me lord, I'm a servant of the King's family same as you." I said the truth, even though My brother and I had official titles and two of the Royal Knights. We still did our duties as grounds keepers. We just had more respect from the soldiers and guards around us. 

The servant smiled and asked if he made a big batch of whatever I was making. "Oh, yes I have plenty for everyone so please eat some or pass it along." I said, pouring myself a bowl of stew and I headed to the dining room to eat my food. 

At the table was the King himself waiting for his meal and saw I had some food. Just as I was going to offer some to him the servant came out with a bowl for him. The King took one bit of the Stew and looked right at the Servant. "Who made this wonderful meal Darla?" He asked the woman, she looked right at me and then said. "He did sir he just made it known and said everyone could have some if they liked." I smiled, "Yes, that true sir, I'm always happy to cook from time to time if you'd like?" I offered the King and he agreed with it as he ate all the stew. 

He enjoyed the food as we talked about what I enjoyed in life. "The one thing I love doing is watching the sun set on a good day. The colors I see before the darkness reminds me of a rainbow after a rainfall. Another thing I like to do is cooking when I have things on my mind. Like if I have questions for myself or if I need to chill out for a bit. The one thing I love the most in life is spending time with people I love." I told the king as he smiled, "like my dear Annaya, their son?" He said as I choked on my bit of food, I took a drink of water and he still sat there smiling. "Sir, she is beautiful, but I wouldn't say I love her. She's kind to me and we talk a lot about my past, but I don't think I have love in my…" I said as he looked at my blushing face as I thought of her next to the Rosa garden. 

"Son it's alright if you like my daughter, she likes you as well. She's always talking about how strong you are and you balance that with your kindness to others. You too are similar to each other. It is kind of funny. Although you both are different from each other as well. You tend to hide yourself from everyone and she lays it all on the table for everyone to see." The King said making a good point, she's never hidden much from anyone. Although she was hiding something from Brad and I, so was Ella, I couldn't put my finger on it. I looked at the King for a moment and then he broke the silence. "I know you may not have fallen for her but the way you look at her. I see soon your true feelings will show themselves very soon. I can see it now, and I would love it if she had someone like you by her side when she takes my place someday." The King got up, patted me on the shoulder and was about to leave before handing him a summons from Queen Rosa. 

I opened the summons and read it, "Sir Jacob and his Brother Brad Wizar are you to report to the kingdom of Nail. To receive your new armor and officially crowned as Royal Knights which you'll be given titles." The summons read as I was confused, the king before closing the door saw I was confused. "You have to go through a whole ceremony to become a Royal knight. She only Knights only a few people and this will make you the thirteenth in the whole country." He said leaving me with more questions from learning that. 

A day later Brad and I were in the halls of the kingdom of nail, and were dressed in black leather armor. Which it was what he left with from the southern Kingdom of Ills. The armor was made from my cousin Jarod as a token of thanks for getting him work. 

We were walking down the hall to the main throne room which was bigger than the cabin by a lot. Queen Rosa stood up when we opened the doors and all twelve of the current Royal Knights were waiting for us. "We all are here to witness the crowning of Two well deserving strong young men. They are both from the southern Kingdom of Ills and former princes of the Northern kingdom of Masanya. Queen Rosa saw how they perform under pressure and with the vote of all the Kings and queens of our land welcome them. We welcome them back to the four Kingdoms and welcome them as our new Royal Knights." Queen Rosa said speaking loudly at everyone, the Knights looked at us and all of them had glares that could cut you in half. 

I raised my head and Queen Rosa stopped, "You may speak Jacob if you please." She said as everyone was shocked, I would interrupt her so rudely. I looked right at her and then I spoke as loud as she did, but I spoke gently.

"I don't bow to no one and I will not be used as a political pawn, I'm here because my brother wanted to join the knights. So do not glare at us before knowing us." I looked right at the line of Royal Knights in front of me. They all jumped when I made my eye's glow red like the night from the banquet. Queen Rosa laughed and everyone looked back at her. "As agreed from that night." She said walking right to me with her long black dress dragging on the floor. 

She then had a couple of servants bring out our armor for us to wear. I had medium armor meant for the front lines of a battle. It was dark red armor and had my surname engraved in the chest plate of the armor. The helmet was custom made and resembled a bear like from my homeland. The sword given to me was good, well-made, but I didn't like it. "I'd rather have my ax my cousin made for me, it's more my style of weapon." I said showing the Queen my ax and she like The King loved how it was made. 

Brad's armor was a standard light armor for archers like what he was good at. Brad could do anything from anywhere where he can see it. The armor was a dark green and had a well-made bow that went with it. Brad looked at the bow and he grabbed it to test it out. Brad shot the deer head hanging over Queen Rosa's chair. 

Every knight jumped at Brad, but I stood in the way, Queen Rosa laughed it off. "Brad seems to like the bow we made for him." Brad smiled and then thanked her; we then were given names behind our armor. "Jacob you'll be known as the Ills Crimson Reaper, for the color of your armor and your fighting style. Brad you'll be known as the Ghost of the Ills for your stealth with the bow." Queen Rosa said as we stepped back to put on our armor. It was extremely easy to put on for how difficult it looked making it. Then I put my ax on my back then I put my hatchet to my side, and I looked in the mirror. I saw a demon standing next to an archer in dark green. I loved the way it looked, and I carried my helmet instead of wearing it. 

Queen Rosa then said, "now bow so I can knight you both and end this day on a good note." Brad and I looked at each other and then I laughed. "Just this once while bowing to you my Queen." As we got to our knees and she began the knighting. 

"I knight you both for your strength, your courage and for your passion of protecting our people. This will make your first day of becoming heroes for everyone…." She said as an arrow came from a window aiming right at the Queen. I caught it right as it was inches from her face, then I crushed it in my hand. Before I told Brad to find the assassin, they were caught by one of the Royal knights. I took a deep breath and then felt my head get dizzy. I fell to the ground for a second after I saw my hand had a black mark on it. 

Brad got closer and smelled the cut and noticed it was poison. I passed out for a second then I woke up to a warm light consuming my body.  One of the Royal Knights was casting a healing spell to get rid of the poison. She was dressed in white armor and was elven with long ears and red hair. She smiled at me when she saw I was walking back up. "Good to see you're still with us Sir Jacob." She said as I sat up, I looked at everyone and they stared at me.

One of them then asked me, "How did you sense the arrow, none of us didn't even hear the bow strings before it was almost over." I smiled then looked at Brad. "I used to hunt with my brother, so I'm used to keeping an ear out for irregular noises." I said standing and brushing off the dirt from my armor then I looked over at the Queen. She blushed as I bowed a bit, "Hope you're alright my Queen." I said as she came right up to me and then she hugged me. "I'm grateful that you saved my life, next time be more careful. David would have my head if I had you killed like that." She talked about The King of Ills. 

I laughed, "It's just what I do sorry if I worried you guys like that." I said after we were allowed to leave the throne room. I headed to the garden and took a minute to take a breath as I broke down for a second. "I almost died this time around; I need to be more careful. That curse won't keep me safe. I must get even stronger." I looked up to see one of the Royal Knights watching me from the shelter not too far from the garden. 

She was tall and wore a long red and black dress with a hood. She looked like a spellcaster and was elven like the one who healed me. I stood up and brushed off my knees and went inside the building to catch up with Brad. 

Brad saw I was not looking good and he didn't press it, we headed back to home after saying goodbye. I sat back in the carriage looking out the window to the passing land next to us. I was only thinking of what King David said before I left. He said I had feelings for Annaya, and he might have been right. Whenever I'd see her, I was always smiling, or I felt good inside when around her. She made me want to show her who I really was. Although I felt this about her, I know she is hiding something from me, and I couldn't put my finger on what it was. 

Then when I got to the castle, the King was waiting for me with his whole soldiers and guards behind him in the hall. He was smiling at us when he had all the men and women behind him bow to us. "You are now our Royal Knights, our first ever Royal Knights in history. You have the whole respect from all of us." He said patting us on the back as we looked around and saw even Annaya and Ella were even bowing to us. 

"Thank you all for this honor but we don't deserve this at all." Brad said for us as I shook my head in agreement. "We will still be your grounds keepers till we die." I said smiling as Annaya stood up and looked right at me. Then she grabbed my hand, "You need to be more than that, you have so much more potential then you give yourself credit for." Annaya said and everyone agreed with her, "You could possibly be their personal Guard's." The King said pointing at his Daughters, I thought that would be a good idea. "Ok, but can we still fix things if you need us to?" I asked, The King agreed to my request and then just like that Brad and I were Annaya and Ella's Personal guard's.