“Halt! Who goes there?!” an Elven Guard shouted as he stopped a robed figure from entering the city gates.
The three other guards, who were currently manning the only gate that was opened to the capital city–Briar Glen–surrounded the robed figure, brandishing their weapons.
Instead of answering, the robed figure took out an Insignia that made the expressions of the four guards stiffen.
“I came to meet the Princess,” a delicate sounding voice said. “Stand down and let me pass.”
The four elven guards glanced at each other before sheathing the weapon. They stepped aside and allowed the robed figure to enter the city gates uncontested.
After the unknown individual disappeared from view, the four guards returned to their duties. They didn’t even talk amongst themselves about the appearance of the robed figure and treated the situation as if the person was just a figment of their imagination.
Along the way, the hooded figure encountered several inquiries from the Elven Guards, but the same thing happened. None of them barred his way and allowed the person to pass.
Finally, the robed figure arrived at the right wing of the palace where the Princess resided.
“Halt, these are the Princess’ chambers,” four royal maidservants barred the door of the royal quarters. They were part of the Royal Family’s personal guards who had accompanied Princess Eowyn to the Southern Continent.
They only answered to the Royal Family. Not even Elandorr could order them around as he pleased.
Once again, the robed figure flashed his Insignia which made the Royal Guards exchange glances with each other. They knew what the insignia meant, but they were still on the fence about whether to allow the stranger to enter the Princess’ quarters.
“Please, wait here,” the Headguard said. “I’ll inform the Princess first.”
The hooded figure nodded in acknowledgement. The person knew that the Head Guard had already compromised, so all that he needed to do was wait.
A few minutes later, the door opened and the Head Guard made a gesture for the robed figure to enter. The Princess was seated on the couch of the living room, being attended to by four maids. Upon seeing the guest’s arrival, she waved them away to give the two of them some privacy.
Although they were reluctant to leave, the servants left the room as per the Princess’ wishes.
When it was only the two of them, Princess Eowyn bid her guest to sit and the latter nodded in acknowledgement.
“Why don’t you take that robe off?” Eowyn asked. “It’s just the two of us, so there’s no need to be reserved.”
“You’re right,” the robed figure replied and took off the robe that covered his body.
A delicate looking boy appeared before Princess Eowyn and the latter personally poured a cup of tea for him.
The boy thanked her and drank the tea that the Princess had personally served him. When he had drunk half of it, he returned the cup on top of the table and looked at the Princess who was looking back at him with a smile.
“I didn’t expect to see you here in the Southern Continent, Senior,” Princess Eowyn said. “Are you perhaps here on a mission on behalf of the Saintess? How should I address you?”
“Just call me Kenneth,” Kenneth answered. “I am here on behalf of my family. However, the Saintess also approved of me being here.”
“Kenneth?” Princess Eowyn giggled. “Who thought of that name? Was it perhaps Teacher who gave you that name?”
Kenneth nodded. “She said that it’s a good name and that it would serve me well during my stay here in the Southern Continent.”
“Did Lady Arwen also predict that this was going to happen?”
“No. My reason for coming here was to observe a certain individual.”
Princess Eowyn raised an eyebrow. The Saintess of the World Tree, Lady Arwen, only had two Disciples. One was the Elven Princess, the other was Kenneth. Both of them were regarded highly in the Silvermoon Continent because they were the only two people that had been accepted by the Saintess as her Disciples.
The Insignia that Kenneth had shown the Elven Guards was the insignia of the Saintess. Her authority was equal to the authority of the King of the Elves and very few individuals dared to defy her orders.
Even the Patriarchs of the Ancient Elven Clans were wary of antagonizing her. They were afraid that their entire bloodline would be cursed and lose the blessing of the World Tree were they to do so.
“This individual must be very special to have your clan personally instruct you to monitor him,” Princess Eowyn said with genuine interest. “Is it possible for you to tell me this person’s identity?”
Kenneth nodded. “Actually, my reason for coming here is to ask for your help. With how things are going, it is imminent that he and the Elven forces will come to a faceoff.”
Princess Eowyn frowned. She didn’t know who this person was, but if her Senior Disciple came to personally talk to her about this issue, it meant that the one Kenneth was monitoring was an extremely important person.
“Who?”
“You’re also familiar with him. He’s none other than Teacher’s only son.”
Princess Eowyn’s expression immediately became serious. Naturally, she had heard about her teacher’s son. The Half-Elf that was born between the Saintess of the World Tree and the Human Hero that had defended the Silvermoon Continent against the Demon Race invasion.
The Princess had long wanted to meet her teacher’s only son, because she was curious what the son of the two most Legendary Personages in the Silvermoon Continent would be like.
“Can you tell me more about him?” Princess Eowyn asked.
Kenneth smiled as he recalled William’s narcissistic and arrogant attitude. He hadn’t seen him since he had left the academy to participate in the defense of the Hellan Kingdom at Ravenlord Citadel.
The delicate looking boy was saddened when he found out that William was currently in a coma, due to the spiritual injury that he received during the Demon Race invasion at the Royal Academy.
“He is a very interesting person,” Kenneth stated as he looked at the Princess with a gentle gaze. “He has Teacher’s eyes and is quite good looking. He can be arrogant and narcissistic at times, but if one can see past these annoying traits, they would find him a very endearing person. Be careful, Princess. If you give him an inch, he will shamelessly take a mile.”
Princess Eowyn chuckled. “That doesn’t sound heroic. The way you describe him, he is more like a bandit. Also, stop calling me Princess. You make it seem like the two of us aren’t close.”
Kenneth sighed as he drank the remaining tea in his cup before placing it back on the table. Princess Eowyn smiled and refilled her Senior’s cup before resuming their conversation.
“You said earlier that he and our race would eventually come to a faceoff, why?” Princess Eowyn asked. “As the son of the Saintess, none of our warriors would dare to harm him.”
Kenneth nodded. “It is as you say, however, not everyone looks at him in high regard. Although his life would be spared, his Hellan Kingdom would not be given the same treatment. This is why a battle against him is unavoidable.”
“Surely you jest,” Princess Eowyn countered. “What can a single individual do against our powerful Elven Army? Of course, we can also reach a compromise and make him the regent of the Hellan Kingdom, but it will fall under Elven rule. This is non-negotiable.”
Kenneth picked up the tea on the table and took a sip. He then eyed Princess Eowyn and sighed inside his heart.
“Princess, I feel the same way as you do,” Kenneth replied. “A single individual can’t do anything against the Elven army. However, I have a feeling that he will surprise the two of us.”
“Senior, you think too much.” Princess Eowyn said with a serious expression. “No one can stand against the might of our Elven Army.”
Kenneth smiled and didn’t say anything else. He knew that continuing this talk was pointless. Even so, he couldn’t shake the nagging feeling inside his head that a battle with William would only end in mutual destruction.
The delicate looking boy had been with William for quite some time. Both of them shared life threatening battles together, but everytime that happened, the Half-Elf would always prevail.
Kenneth wouldn’t admit it, but whenever he was with William, he felt… invincible. It was as if no matter who they faced, even if the opponent was way stronger than them, they would always come up as the winner.
This feeling made Kenneth very conflicted because he didn’t want any harm to come to the boy, and yet he was loyal to the Elven Race.
He just hoped that with Eowyn’s protection, the narcissistic Half-Elf would not come to any harm when Elandorr and the rest of the Elven Prodigies stormed the Hellan Kingdom to continue their conquest of the Humans’ lands.
