The Royal Castle

"I did not expect His Majesty the King to decide to host us in his castle; it is truly an incalculable honor." Haldor couldn't help but speak as he was being led to his quarters, accompanied by his guards, who never left his side.

Otto, who was in charge of receiving these very special guests, replied, "How could His Majesty not receive the fiancé of his daughter?"

"Hmm, you speak many truths from your mouth. Tell me, Hand of the King, should I be wary of certain people who might threaten my life?"

"If I had to worry about someone in your position, it would be Prince Daemon, but of course, I haven't mentioned anyone."

Haldor nodded slightly. This man seemed to have a great hunger for ambition, so he would be a good puppet to consider for certain needs. "My soldiers eat three large meals a day. The armored bears love fresh, uncooked seafood as long as it is served with respect."

"They understand human speech, so they will be treated with respect. Do not worry about that."

The armored bears were incredible beasts, the most dangerous underground, as their intelligence made them someone to fear and their armor made them almost impossible to kill.

No one had understood that, at least not to such an extent.

Haldor looked around the part of the castle that had been assigned to him. After assessing the area, he left the matter of security to Lucian while he spoke with his new friend Otto.

"Tell me, Otto, how powerless did you feel when you saw that white walker rise from the ground after having died?" Haldor asked without looking at Otto, who was about to leave.

Otto remained silent, not knowing how to respond.

"The truth is that..."

"We are all going to die. Some will do so sooner than others, but we will all die at some point. Have you considered that? Even if we fight for ourselves, we also fight for the future, but this type of fight is different because we are not fighting for the future but for the past."

Haldor paused, turned to Otto, and said, "I need useful allies. I don't know if you are useful, Hand of the King."

"I just do my job, serving the hand of the king." Otto looked at Haldor with horror, who seemed to be very cautious but was now being very imprudent.

"You are afraid, but being cautious won't save you from dying."

"If that's all, I will take my leave. You have the meal schedules, which His Majesty the King will attend, so you will be called to join." Otto bowed to Haldor and quickly left the room.

Haldor smiled, walked over to a large mirror, and looked at his silver armor while holding his axes, one on each hip. "These old foxes who play politics are never direct; they fear having their tongues cut out, but they are not aware that they can die faster than the edge of a sword."

Lucian entered the room and said, "The places have been designated."

"Then have those who need to rest do so. I won't be going out until the afternoon, so they can be at ease," Haldor said as he removed part of his armor.

Lucian nodded and left the room.

Despite the strings being pulled, he still felt very vulnerable, as if something dark was closer than he imagined. "How strange…"