Royalty (Part 1)

[Hikerix]: "...Welcome to Rantari!"

Muriel takes a few steps towards the knight, extending her arm forward and reaching out her hand, inviting him into a handshake.

[Muriel]: "Thank you dear, this city is truly a sight to see."

Hikerix briefly shakes her hand and smiles wider, showing more of his teeth when he hears the praise directed towards his home.

[Hikerix]: "I'm glad you think so! It does shine rather brightly under queen Jericho's rule, doesn't it."

After releasing the firm grip on Muriel's hand, he turns his attention to Alcard and Nakada, who stand behind her.

Hikerix walks up to them with a gleam in his eyes, seemingly admiring the two-- especially Alcard. Nakada watches the man with cautious eyes, sticking his hands in his pockets as he stares at the knight.

[Hikerix]: "Are these your escorts Muriel? You must be a very well-respected woman to have half of Cataphrania's royal guard accompany you."

Muriel swats away his compliments with a bashful face as she covers her smile with her hand. This causes Lawrence to take a subtle step closer to Muriel.

[Hikerix]: "Oooooh. You must be Alcard! I've heard so much about you-- it's a great honor to have you visit us!"

Alcard reaches out gently to shake his hand-- an action met with with a frantic motion as Hikerix swiftly grabs his hand with both of his, shaking it up and down quickly.

[Alcard]: "Gh-... It's... Nice to meet you."

Hikerix's joyful personality took Alcard by surprise, but was not really hated, just different.

The knight let go of Alcard's hand and looked back at Muriel, who stood at the head of the group with a light grin.

[Hikerix]: "No more time to waste. Please follow me to the inner castle-- Jericho has been eagerly awaiting your arrival."

Nakada seems to have a wave of shock wash over him as Hikerix basically looked right over him, prioritizing Alcard.

As he turns his back to the group, he glances back and gestures for them to follow him-- a sort of waving motion. Nakada looks to his side at Alcard, who has a small grin on his face, clearly amused.

[Muriel]: "Of course, I'd hate to make her wait any longer. Please lead the way dear."

Hikerix leads the group through the city, heading towards the large tower in the middle. They walk past many shops and buildings.

Lisa cant seem to hold her gaze at any one spot at a time, looking around the city with shining eyes and a wide, ear to ear smile.

[Hikerix]: "As you have probably read, our city is split up into four sections. They are mostly residential, but there are two main knight barracks within the city-- not including the royal guard's personal garrison residing in the castle. One in the upper right quarter, and one in the lower left."

The group walks along one of the canals as Hikerix teaches them about the city and briefly about its history.

Towards the center of the city, and the direction that they are heading-- lies a large castle, bathed in the golden light of the sky as it peeks through the branches above them.

Julius takes in the incredible view of the city's architecture, standing in between Lisa and Lucille-- letting the beautiful buildings soak into his mind as they walk past them.

Stadiums, playing yards with real grass, and boats that float along the crystal clear water in the canals-- all of these images take shape in his mind, giving him a sense of fulfillment.

[Hikerix]: "I will have to show you all around sometime before you leave, we have amazing bakeries here."

[Muriel]: "So Hikerix dear, how are you connected to queen Jericho? You must have an interesting story."

Hikerix looks back while walking, still with a smile on his face, eager and pleased to answer her question.

[Hikerix]: "It's not too complex of a story. I originally started my training as a knight when the king was still alive and in charge. One day, he came down to check on the new recruits and took an interest in me-- said I had a unique charm, showed potential. Something along those lines at least."

[Muriel]: "Mmh. So you know her from her father?"

[Hikerix]: "Pretty much. He had me train under the royal guard, and being inside the castle meant that I got to see his daughter a lot. Eventually though..."

--"Hm? Was that the part about the civil war?" Julius thought. The man had trailed off and his smile faded slightly, looking ahead to hide his face.

[Hikerix]: "Jericho took the role of this city's ruler, taking after her father. I graduated the academy under her rule and became her personal knight. The knights in this city have been a little underpopulated ever since the war happened-- so right now, the royal guard only consists of yours truly."

Hikerix brings his hand up to his chest, pointing at himself and tapping his armor a few times, which emits a metallic clank with each beat.

[Lisa]: "Wait, for real? It's just you?"

Hikerix looks back at Lisa, who has managed to stop her eyes from frantically jumping around at everything.

[Hikerix]: "Mmhm! There are a few people currently in training, but they still have quite a bit of time before they graduate. One of which, is my personal subordinate. He's a very talented kid, a little strange though."

[Muriel]: "That must be very daunting dear."

[Hikerix]: "Agh, it's not too bad. We haven't had to deal with a major threat or anything in years, so I mainly just work as a messenger when I'm not overseeing the training sessions."

[Muriel]: "That's good to hear then."

[Hikerix]: "Aaaaaaaaaand, we're here! Welcome to queen Jericho's castle!"

Before the group stands a colossal building that towers over the rest in the city. Just out front is a small garden with flower hedges, and the main door is large with engravings.

Beside the door are two large, red banners that crawl down the wall, bearing the flag for Rantari.

[Lisa]: "Ooohh! It's so much bigger up close!"

Hikerix chuckles in amusement as the pushes on the door, which slowly creaks open.

The large door gives way to a giant corridor, lined with smaller doors and red carpet. The entire hallway was filled with fancy lanterns and high ceilings that intersect with arches.

Hikerix leads the group through the various halls and stairways that take them further up into the castle. Julius has to keep a hand on Lisa as they walk so she doesn't stop to admire the rooms and artwork that is hung up on the walls.

[Hikerix]: "Here it is. Queen Jericho's office."

Before them is a large door, just like the one on the first floor. The air is filled with suspense-- finally being able to meet the ruler of this beautiful city.

As they all wait in suspense behind Muriel, the knight knocks on the door, creating three heavy thuds that echo through the room, causing the armor on his wrist to clatter.

--A deafening silence fills the air after the thuds, leaving another moment for suspense to fill them all as Hikerix moves aside with his back to the wall.

The door slowly creaks open, and emerging from it is a woman in a green and yellow dress that drapes along the floor.

The woman has dark skin, and long braided hair that flows down her back and over her shoulders. She has several jewels in her hair that form the shape of a flower, and she has deep golden eyes that could fill anyone with warmth just by looking into them-- she had a strong sense of elegance that clung to her, anywhere she went.

[Jericho]: "Greetings. It's good to see you again after all these years, Miss Astoria. I hope sir Asura here gave you a satisfactory guide through the city."

The woman held a light smile on her face, and her voice was extremely soft when she spoke-- along with being very quiet, to the point where Julius and Lisa who stood at the back of the group could only just hear her.

Hearing the name allowed Julius to get to know the knight a little more, who softly chuckled nervously. "So his name is Hikerix Asura then. I like that name." Julius thought.

Her voice sent a wave of warmth and comfort over them all, soothing the previous tension, as if all the anxiety had disappeared the second her first words were spoken.

[Muriel]: "It's a great honor to see you too, queen Jericho. And of course, your knight gave us a perfect walk through the city, thank you for having him greet us dear."

Hearing that his guide lived up to their expectations filled Hikerix with pride, causing him to cross his arms and smile, a faint sparkle appearing on his teeth.

[Jericho]: "Oh, I'm so glad to hear that. Will you please introduce me to your party here, they look like such an interesting bunch, I'd love to get to know all of you."

Jericho's voice remained its soft and quiet tone, but her words were firm and clear. Julius had imagined her to be many ways, but this was definitely the least likely that he thought of. Her kind smile and soft words filled him with comfort, easing the tension within himself that even he didn't know was there.

Muriel shakes Jericho's hand, making sure to remove her black glove before doing so-- a sign of great respect. She releases Jericho's soft grip and turns to face the group.

[Muriel]: "This man here is Lawrence, my personal butler-- I took him in when he was young since he had nowhere else to go, and both of his parents are unfortunately no longer around."

Lawrence takes a deep bow, before stretching back up and invites her into a handshake just like Muriel's.

[Lawrence]: "It's a pleasure and a great honor to meet you, queen Jericho."

The woman eagerly returns the formality, taking his hand gently. He was surprised when he felt how light her grip was-- gentle but firm. "Is this woman really capable of ruling a whole city on her own? She seems far too... soft?." Lawrence thought.

[Jericho]: "The pleasure is all mine. So you are kind of like how sir Asura is to me for Muriel?"

[Lawrence]: "In a way, yes. I take care of her manor, and also provide protection, if the situation calls for it."

Jericho releases his hand, and returns her own to her side. She has an impressed look on her face, finding it interesting that her butler is her guard, and not some guard or knight.

[Muriel]: "And this woman is my maid, Lucille, she tends to the manor and its duties such as cleaning and cooking. She's like a second child to me rather than a servant."

Jericho smiles and shakes Lucille's hand. Lucille briefly holds the grip, before letting go and bowing shallowly.

[Lucille]: "Pleased to meet you."

[Jericho]: "Likewise. Thank you for coming along with Muriel, I had hoped she would bring company, I love meeting new people."

Her words settled in deep within Lucille's mind-- the soft and quiet voice brought a soothing feeling to Lucille, something that only Julius had managed give her, even if Jericho's was weaker than his.

[Muriel]: "This is Alcard Castellan, and Nakada Kinugawa-- two members of the royal guard, they are here to represent Cataphrania and overlook our deal."

[Jericho]: "Alcard. Nakada. I have heard much about both of you. It is a great honor to meet you two, thank you for agreeing to come all the way here-- I know the trip isn't short."

Jericho bows to the pair, who stand beside Muriel. Nakada has his hands in his pockets, looking down at her with a pride-filled smile, while Alcard bows his head to her, reciprocating her respect.

[Alcard]: "Cataphrania has had its eye on Rantari for a while, so we are glad to help where its needed. I'm sorry for what happened to your father, queen Jericho. Let us make a prosperous deal, so that this city can rise to what it used to be. Under your rule, I believe we can make it happen."

Jericho pauses for a moment, then smiles warmly and looks at Alcard with her golden eyes, letting out a small chuckle.

[Jericho]: "You're not quite what I imagined. From the stories I've heard, you were made out to be this intimidating warrior, but I don't hate it. It suits you."

[Alcard]: "O-.."

Alcard is caught off guard by her words, but it sinks in that she wasn't wrong to believe that he was a super intimidating person-- after all, he was, but he also knew how to behave himself.

Jericho moves along to Julius and Lisa, the final two to be introduced.

[Jericho]: "I think I can guess that this is your daughter. She has your eyes."

[Muriel]: "Hmhmhm, you are correct. This is my daughter Lisa, and this is Julius, my manors resident."

The queen takes a few steps closer, close enough to shake Lisa's hand, who stares up at her with sparkling eyes, admiring her pretty dress and silky black hair.

[Jericho]: "Welcome Lisa, Thank you for coming along, It's good to meet you."

[Lisa]: "Mmh! I've always wanted to come here! It's amazing to meet you Jericho, you're so pretty!"

Jericho's eyes widen briefly before a wide smile appears on her face, clearly pleased by the praise to her and her city.

[Jericho]: "You have a lot of passion, I'm glad you enjoy it here. And you, Julius-- you are a resident at Miss Astoria's manor? That means you haven't known her for very long then, yes?"

Julius is caught off guard at her question, but chuckles and rubs the back of his neck nervously, letting a subtle smile appear on his face.

[Julius]: "A-ah, yes that's true. I haven't known her for very long at all, but I'm extremely grateful for her hospitality, so I've decided to take up work for her when I can."

[Jericho]: "Well, regardless of how long you have known Miss Astoria, as long as you are friends with her, you are welcome here. Where are you from, Julius?"

Another question that throws him off his feet, metaphorically speaking. He had learnt by now that going along with the whole other world thing would only bring trouble and confusion, so he simply just stopped telling people.

[Julius]: "Oh. Um-- I'm from pretty far from here, I'm bad at maps so I can't really say where, sorry."

[Jericho]: "Oh that's okay Julius. Which direction is it from here?"

[Julius]: "Um... North?"

The group seems amused by her constant questions that make his head spin-- too amused in fact, that no one tried to tell her about his memory loss, and just went along with it with a smile, especially Lisa.

Jericho brought her hand up to her chin and looked up in thought, trying to picture in her head where he could be from.

[Jericho]: "Up in the snow huh. Ah, I guess that explains the grey eyes, a lot of people from the northern mountains of Merinnia have grey eyes-- it's fascinating."

Julius chuckles nervously once more, nodding his head to whatever she says. "Did that really just work out?" He shouts in his head.

[Jericho]: "Right, now that I've met everyone, shall we get down to business Miss Astoria?"

Jericho walks back to the doorway of her office, turning to face the group with a light but warm smile.

[Muriel]: "Of course dear. Alcard and Nakada, please accompany me with queen Jericho for the deal."

The two nod in unison and start to walk closer to Jericho, who leads them into her office.

[Nakada]: "Since when were you so nice?"

[Alcard]: "This city lost a great ruler and I'm sure, a great person. It only seems fitting."

Passing Hikerix, Jericho pauses for a moment and speaks to him.

[Jericho]: "Sir Asura, please show everyone else their rooms, I had them prepared when I sent the letter. Second floor, thank you."

Hikerix brings his arm in front of him and bows shallowly.

[Hikerix]: "Of course queen Jericho."

Jericho, Muriel, Lawrence, Lucille, Alcard, and Nakada enter the office, where a large table can be seen beyond their figures, and the door creaks closed, shutting with a loud slam.

[Hikerix]: "So, Julius and Lisa. Please follow me, I will show you to your rooms."

[Julius]: "Rooms? Are these for the day here?"

Lisa stands beside him and looks up, placing her index finger on her bottom lip and speaks.

[Lisa]: "A trade deal like this could take a long time-- especially between two large cities. Mom was away for a whole week once doing one of these."

[Julius]: "Oh. So we could be here a while then, that's why we have our own rooms."

[Hikerix]: "Exactly! This girl knows her stuff, nothing more should be expected from Muriel's daughter. Just this way now, down the stairs."

The knight leads the pair through the halls once more, and due to how little people there are now, he had more opportunities to get to know them.

They walk past several windows and paintings, one of which appears to be of Great Dragon Everard-- a painting that catches Lisa's eye.

[Lisa]: "Is that Everard!?"

[Hikerix]: "Mmhm! Queen Jericho has a strong interest in immortal plagues, especially Everard. But she feels bad about what he did to Cataphrania those years back, so it kinda died down a bit."

[Julius]: "What he did to Cataphrania? The attack?"

Lisa looks back over at Julius, once again forgetting that he wasn't given the full story.

[Lisa]: "Everard killed the queen. Or at least, who was going to be the queen. It's probably the most tragic event the city has gone through, and the king hasn't shown his face ever since."

[Julius]: "Oh, that's terrible. So that's why Nakada said he was a shut in then."

Julius felt a sting of sympathy in his heart, hearing that the king and his kingdom had suffered such a sad loss.

[Hikerix]: "Almost at your rooms. Oh! I guess while we are here, I'll show you the training room."

The two look ahead with interest as they arrive at a wide door. Sounds of wood clattering together can be heard behind the door, along with some minor shouting.

Pushing open the door, Hikerix walks inside and motions for the two to follow him.

[Lisa]: "Woah."

[Julius]: "A-ah."

Past the door, is a large room filled with banners and wooden mats that people trained on. On one of the mats, two men in causal uniforms fought each other with wooden swords-- each of them had Rantari's logo on the back of their uniform.

Clash after clash, the two struck the others sword, before one of the boys gets a solid hit on the others leg, knocking him to the ground.

"Agh!"

Once Hikerix approaches, the two boys face him with a smile on their faces and quickly stand upright, bowing to him.

"Master Asura!"

"Master Asura!"

Julius and Lisa watch as the two men bow and greet Hikerix, standing back upright and noticing the two who stood behind their teacher.

One of the boys had pale skin and short black hair. The other was a demi-human, a boy who had light cream colored fur and features of a cat.

[Hikerix]: "Too many overhead attacks. He predicted you would do one and got a clean hit off."

Hikerix looks at the cat boy who smiles awkwardly and nods his head, accepting the criticism.

Turning back around to face Julius and Lisa, Hikerix smiles at them, slightly gesturing for the students behind him to continue.

[Hikerix]: "This is where we train the next generation of royal guard. There's not a lot of people currently recruited, but they aren't hopeless at least."

[Julius]: "Ah. This place's royal guard seems so different to Cataphrania's."

Hikerix laughs, bringing his hand up to scratch his cheek.

[Hikerix]: "We are certainly different. But Cataphrania's royal guard is just next level, so you can't blame us for not being up there with em'."

[Julius]: "Well, it's not bad, just different."

The knight smiles and chuckles, accepting his response. He faces the two students once more, shouting out to them, which causes them to stop their training for a moment.

[Hikerix]: "Hey! Have either of you seen Ray today?"

The two boys look at each other for a short moment before looking back at Hikerix.

"He went home early. Something about a new book that came out?"

Hikerix sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose, letting out an audible noise as he does so.

[Hikerix]: "Aghh, that kid. I'll have to find him tomorrow then, thanks."

The two continue to fight each other as Hikerix leads Julius and Lisa out of the room, both of them confused about who he was talking about.

The large door closes behind them and they continue to walk down the hall, hearing the wooden clashes slowly fade away.

[Julius]: "If I may ask, who is Ray?"

The knight looks back at him and smiles lightly, letting out a small chuckle.

[Hikerix]: "He's my underling in the royal guard academy. He has been in training the longest, and is by far the most impressive kid in there. I personally train him-- he's a good guy, just skips out on his sessions from time to time, I'll have to scold him when I see him next."

[Lisa]: "So he will work with you soon? When he graduates?"

[Hikerix]: "That's right. But I'm not too sure if he's ready yet-- I will continue to do my best in teaching him though."

Lisa smiles and nods affirmatively, putting a smile on Hikerix's face. They reach a part of the hallway where several smaller doors sit. The knight reaches forwards and opens both of the doors, giving way to large rooms with a bed and a table with chairs, each room even had its own balcony.

[Hikerix]: "These are your rooms while you stay here. Make yourselves at home and feel free to take a look around, just try not to bother anyone too much."

[Julius]: "Thanks Hikerix. I can't thank you enough for how kind you have been to us, is there any way I can repay you?"

Hikerix places his hand up in front of him, showing his palm and smiling warmly.

[Hikerix]: "It's nothing at all, don't worry about it. That's very nice of you to offer like that though."

Julius watches as Lisa enters her room, immediately placing her bag on the table inside and running to the balcony, looking out over the edge with that shine in her eyes again.

Seeing this causes Both Hikerix And Julius to chuckle together. Julius looks back at Hikerix and takes notice of something that he found strange.

[Julius]: "Forgive me if it's wrong to ask, but... Why do you do that?"

Hikerix's face quickly shifts into confusion, raising a brow at him.

[Hikerix]: "Hm? Why do I do what?"

[Julius]: "That thing with your eyes. I noticed it before too while we were introducing ourselves-- it's like you were constantly spacing out, or looking at something that wasn't there."

[Hikerix]: "Ah-, Gh..."

Hikerix's face turned to shock as Julius continued to speak, pointing out something that no one else had ever done. Something that was so subtle, no one had even bothered to notice it.

[Julius]: "Sorry, it's probably just me, don't worry about it."

Julius chuckles and rubs the back of his neck, but gets a little worried when Hikerix continues to stare at him with wide eyes.

[Julius]: "Did I... Say something wrong?"

Hikerix slowly regains his smile back, looking at Julius with his usual expression, but this time-- with an added layer of respect, and clearly seemed impressed.

[Hikerix]: "You're very interesting, Julius. I hope this deal goes on for at least another day, I'd like to get to know you a little more."

[Julius]: "O-oh. Interesting? I'm not so sure about that, haha. But, yes, I hope so too."

Hikerix starts to walk back the way he came, leaving Julius to his room, tapping Julius's shoulder with the back of his hand as he walks past him-- a friendly way of saying goodbye, further implicated when he waves at him, while still looking forwards.

Julius waves back, even though he cant see, and enters his room once Hikerix had disappeared down the halls.

[Julius]: "Aghaaaah."

Julius stretched out on the bed, feeling the soft mattress sink from his weight, and surround him with a plush comfort. The bed was softer than the ones in Muriel's manor-- which definitely meant that they were far softer than the ones in the hospital that he had grown so used to.

Lying on the bed, Julius looked up at the ceiling, relishing in the memories that began to flood his mind-- something that happened often when he was left alone, in this world and in his own. Starring up at the engraved arches of his roof, Julius reached his open hand up, pushing the memories aside.

After closing his fist, grabbing the air-- Julius smiled.

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