Aefia leaned against the mahogany desk provided to her inside the guest chamber. Her arms crossed and her leg overlapping the other as she glared at the door with her twin crimson eyes.
When everything is silent, that is when you know the situation is about to worsen.
A bright flash of light suddenly bursted and a figure stepped out from another dimension. Specifically... The Guardian Realm. However, she wasn't as focused about her surroundings to tell that. Her eyes only stuck to the door and whatever will happen beyond.
"So you said you wanted to speak. I am present now for a conversation." Matthew interrupted while clasping his hands behind him. His stark white hair was tied loosely with the ponytail draped gently over his shoulder.
Her head snapped to his direction.
"I am aware that the Smod Empire is under my protection. But who governs over the Mides Kingdom?" She asked, straightened forward and away from the table.
Matthew looked shocked at her stern face and tone of voice. He thought for a while, pulling out his clipboard and searching through papers.
"If there hasn't been any changes... Then the Guardian of Everlasting Health is the assigned governer of this nation." He declared, lifting his gaze back at her. His face distorted to a confused gaze as he scanned the seriousness in her posture.
"Is there something you are concerned about surrounding the designated guardian?"
Aefia let out a sigh and lifted her left hand to hold the two sides of her forehead. "Just answer my questions. If a guardian is currently residing at the nation of another guardian, and suddenly comes across a situation that involves people murdering each other, is it possible to intervene? Even if the Guardian present is from the opposing division?"
Matthew stared for a while, analyzing her question inside his mind. He already understood that Aefia was trying to solve an ongoing conflict for her friend, but to abruptly ask a question entangling the Guardian Realm was quite concerning. Apparantly, asking for permission isn't a bad thing. But it is conflicting when the Eclipse division does something.
"Your question carries a valid thought, however, it is not possible. Especially since the last time, you seemed to have a conflict with her. I would suggest you don't intervene. Just do enough as a shadowed person. Then they won't know your identity."
The statement was straight-forward. It was not going to be an easy matter trying to solve the problems she was currently in.
"Then if an Aethalgard was here, would they be able to interrupt? Even from a different division?"
"The Aethalgard? Are you expecting the Guardian of Justice–"
"No." She held out a hand in front of his face to stop him. It may have seemed rude, but for her, time was running out. "Just answer using yes or no."
Matthew shut his mouth into a thin line. Not long after, only one word came out of his mouth.
"Yes."
"Then I remember getting an offer from the Guardian or Justice. That I take the third seat of the Aethalgard." She breathed out harshly while separating her hands to her side, using one to trace the wooden surface of the desk. "I change my mind... I will take it."
The knight was taken aback for a second, questioning if what he heard was right. If she chose to take it, it meant she was ready to declare herself powerful enough to occupy the seat.
"But will it be for the time being only?" He asked, out of the blue.
"No. I plan on taking it permanently." She answered back with a confident tone of voice. Which also meant, she was deeply looking forward to it. "Is it going to be hard if I took it right now?"
"No, no no no. It is absolutely alright if you want to take it now. No one is opposing you if you want to do that. If you had gotten the offer and it was put to a hold, then I believe there is nothing stopping you." He offered a smile to her, bowing his head. "All you need to do now, is to speak it out with the Guardian to Justice and that is all. He is the one who will oversee your first few days of trial."
Aefia's words froze inside her throat.
"Wait, so I don't get to instantly mendle with the affairs of this kingdom?"
"You can if it is urgent. But that too is a matter you need to discuss with the Guardian of Justice."
Well? What was I expecting?
However, before she could utter another set of words to him, a crack appeared at the air behind Matthew, drawing both of their attentions at once.
"Ho ho ho! Look who wants to become an Aethalgard Heir now!"
"Holy crap!" Both Matthew and Aefia shouted at the same time. Bewildered by the sudden 'Santa is in town' entrance by Justice.
"So now, Seraphina. You said you were thinking of the position. Do you really want it? Or do you need it?" He asked while striding over to gently grab her by her arms.
"I want it. It has doesn't have much benefit, but I still want to be in a higher position for some reasons. I think I am honestly strong enough to handle much bigger orders." She softly added while looking up with a serious face at the slightly taller guardian in front of her.
Justice seemed impressed by her words. He let go of her arms and held out his hands where a chest appeared. It was large, enough that he needed to hold it with two hands and his thumbs were an unused pencil's length away. He flashed her a smile and opened the case.
Inside was a encased with silver short sword. Its grip was red leather and the guard was silver with tiny red butterflies scratched into it. Her fingers immediately went up to hold it.
"Its pretty."
"I know, I know. I knew you would have liked it." Justice laughed while closing the case. "You can't just carry a large sword like Spectrum around like you all the time, so I figured a smaller option. Consider it an early gift for your ascending to the Aethalgard."
Aefia let out a breathe of reveal while hiding the sword inside her sleeve. "Thank you." She added while looking towards his direction. In curtesy, she bowed her head low to his presence and stepped back.
Matthew on the other hand looked more and more concern, staring at the door. "Guardians, we can't risk getting caught like this. We have to withdraw before the crazy guards chase after us!"
Suddenly, a slight distortion occured across the windows, making Aefia snap her head towards the unevenly rustling trees. A light breeze couldn't rattle an entire branch and cause the tree to away so much. It must mean someone moved through the shadows past her windows.
Even if she didn't know where the King's chamber was, she knew this meant the assassination has just started. She grinned, looked towards the side where the door was unevenly steady at a time like this.
So this must have been a long-term plan. It was all lining up as well.
"Matthew, I would need you and the Guardian of Justice to step aside to safety for a while. Getting tied up into this will make matters worse." She remarked, watching both of them leave.
However, as Justice stepped into the portal, he glanced back at her and smiled once more.
"Whatever you do... I have believes in you."
She nodded back, her expression softening for a fraction of a second before her head tilted to the side with the sounds of multiple pairs of footsteps coming towards her room.
As the portal closed, her steps lifted towards the door. With a deep breathe, she pulled it open and walked out.
"There she is! Seize her!" A guard shouted, the others followed by his order.
Her eyes narrowed down. Her fingers wrapped around the hilt of the short sword at her sleeves behind her back. As soon as one of them tried to grab her hand, she swung the blade across the air in a smooth arc. The guard immediately fell on his knees, clenching his shoulder.
One second, she stayed stood the way she was. The next, guards were frantically looking for where she had gone.
It was all starting to make sense inside her mind. His brother was aware of Cedric's presence for a long time. So when he was under Aefia's custody, his brother knew his plan to have him gone from the palace, was someday going to crumble. That must be when he started planning for this to happen.
When Aefia would help Cedric get his revenge, he would ultimately have no other choice but to present her in front of the king. The king will obviously be suspicious, but that is needed for his main plan to occur.
He originally wants the throne. Using his sister to help him kick out their youngest sibling, and now, kick out their guest. But that is to frame her. Since she is suspicious from the start, uncommon incidents directly after her arrival would lead to more stared and observations. Whom would honestly perceive that Aefia is trying to dismantle the royal family.
Because they knew Aefia was a fierce survival who would fight till the end, they had chosen a pink dress out in advance. She would be only delayed by it, not killed. A bad timing would lower her reputation and she would seem shady to the witnesses. Then, a sudden night assassination.
It seems that even before she entered this family, they were all wary of her past murders. This would arise more and more question until she is labeled as the rebel against the throne. However, because she helped Cedric get his revenge, they can easily claim that he used her to get on the throne.
At the same time, the king will be killed. Actually, the king needs to be killed for this. So Cedric's brother can easily rise to the throne without a single crime under his name. No one would want to investigate either, because Aefia, would be seen as the main villain in this plan.
What a flawless act planned to remove me.
She smirked to herself, wiping the blade clean with her sleeve. By the time she glanced back, there were injured guards and knights scattered against the floor with dark, crimson liquid flowing out fo their bodies every second. Her steps left a residue of them stamped onto the tiles.
Before walking further, she wiped her feet on aggresively against a carpet. She loved heels now, especially since now, she could use the stilletos as a defense mechanism. Kicking became easier. Most of the pressure would be directed from the heel itself, and that would be intensely painful. To think she stabbed them, and kicked them with the same heel.
She was disgusted. Her red soles were covered and stained.
But that doesn't matter. Though she had no sense of how to navigate a foreign castle, she had still tried to move the way she last remembered going there. It was going to be extremely hard recalling. She didn't even know where Cedric's room was.
However, what she did find that helped her move around, was a sneaky, human-sized rat. Who was moving towards somewhere in absolute silence.
Oh wait–Sorry.
Up close, it was Cedric's elder brother. He was muttering something about being the king and everyone respecting him. Which sounded like a kindergarten student thinking about his big dreams right there. It made her laugh for a while.
For someone who sent assassins and guards to kill me, he really is too calm. Should I just run over and stab the back of his neck? I am getting pissed out.
She let out a yawn, using her stealth skill to silently follow behind him towards the throne room. Try as she might to control herself, she only ended up losing her mind over the time.
If she were a cartoon character right now, springs and wires would be popping out of her head. And her ears would be steaming in anger. Maybe her face would go all red like a tomato. Or she might just summon a pan out of the side of the screen and hit him into the a living accordion.
But that was just all fiction that will never happen in real-life. So she dreaded in her place and held her remaining yawn inside her mouth.
***
He pushed open the empty throne room, where you could barely see the throne above the dias. The space was so dark and still, that he could hear his own heartbeat in fascination and excited.
He let out a loud, satisfied laugh in the room. Stepping deeper and deeper until he reached inches away from the stairs.
"I will finally be the king!"
He gladly told himself, only to find that a few seconds later, a second step entered the room. In fear, he turned around.
"You really have to appear at a time like this?" He furrowed his brows annoyingly at his sister, who crossed her arms and stared back at him.
"Are you sure you have done what needs to be done?"
"Of course! The assasins I had hired must have already cleaned up by now."
His sister let out a deep sigh. "Yes, but the assassins were killed this evening by an unexpected group of people who appeared down the streets out of nowhere. So... Are you still going to live in your delusion?"
Her brother clenched his fists tightly at his sides. "Wherever! The throne is mine whether they die or not! I can have everything done if that girl dies!"
The words echoed back and forth several times. Followed by the rythemic sound of footsteps entering the throne room.
"When you say that girl... Is it me?" A voice spoke, her silhouette seeming like a shadow from the doorway.
"How are you alive?!" He shouted into the space between them. Then, trying to stomp his way to her place and strangle her.
She tilted her head, and snapped her fingers. Fire spread across the candles in order, brightly illuminating the room until the throne was visible. Upon which, sat someone else extremely familiar.
"Did you think... You are the only ones who had a long-term plan?" Cedric asked with a grin while balancing a large crown on his head.