Abyssal (ManxMan)

The King's Orders

The King's Orders

Kai spent the next few days recuperating and thoroughly discovering the East Wing. He was glad for the uneventfulness of these days, glad for the chance to catch his breath and gather his thoughts. Though there was no library, he found a few books lying around which he promptly devoured in an effort to learn more about Astria, and thus this new world he now unwillingly lived in.

Unlike Nostraza, Astria did not keep pets. At all. They had the dutiful servants, sure, but no human captives turned sex slaves. In his book, this made Astria the more progressive of the two nations by a mile. But Astria was no utopia either, no matter what Marius had said about the Spirit blessing it abundantly. According to Astria: The Classes that Divide Us, there was a deep divide between the upper classes and the lower classes. Like many human nations, Astria was plagued by an anomaly in its distribution of wealth. So, the 1% existed everywhere after all.

At the thought, Kai inwardly chuckled. Not only was he technically part of Astria's 1%, but he was the 1% of the 1%.

"Your Highness." A uniformed maid materialized next to him and curtsied before pouring him his morning tea. The delicious herbal scent wafted to his nostrils and he breathed it in. Just the smell of it, whatever it was, was enough to invigorate him. This particular sulfur-green tea was unlike anything he'd ever tasted, sweet but not too sweet, strong but not too potent. The first time it had been brought to him, he'd asked why it was so alarmingly green, and the maid told him it took the vibrant color of the seawater plant they boiled to make it, a plant he'd never heard of under the name of kelpie.

Kai made a mental note to stock up on some kelpie for his mother before getting the hell out of here.

As he sipped his morning tea, he wondered if he could somehow teleport back to his home overlooking the black sea. By some miracle and with the help of a godlike spirit entity, he'd escaped Nostraza and the ruthless clutches of its terrifying king. He'd teleported or space jumped himself to his own country, despite never setting foot or fin in it ever before. Yet somehow he'd known exactly how to get himself into its Royal Palace? Or was it the Spirit who'd navigated them here, considering it had once dwelled inside his father, the former king?

So many questions, and not one Astrian had visited him to explain at least a few of them since the General's tour. If only he'd unleashed his questions upon the General then. But that had seemed unwise to him; some of his questions were more of a secretive nature. He'd have to cherry pick who to trust with them. Though Ryodan seemed to be honorable and kind at first sight, Kai wasn't taking any chances until he was absolutely certain he could trust him.

The warning look General Ryodan had given him right before excusing himself and leaving the wing flashed in his mind for the umpteenth time.

He just couldn't get it out of his head, not until he figured out what the hell that warning look was about.

And why hadn't the General warned him outright instead of giving him looks and glares? The obvious and most likely answer was because he couldn't.

Kai recalled the two guards that had followed them like loyal shadows throughout their tour of the East Wing, silently watching, listening.

Those were the guards stationed by King Zoltan.

Kai stole a few glances at the two guards standing at the door from over the rim of his tea cup. They looked ready for battle, with their pointy spears sharpened and at hand and their armors spick-and-span.

He'd seen enough Game of Thrones episodes to understand that courts were as full of intrigue and splendor as they were scheming and doublecrossing.

He'd be foolish to place his trust in these guards and his uncle, but he'd be an even bigger fool to trust Ryodan just because he was nice to him once or twice. Yes, the General had risked life and limb to save him, but Kai was in no position to be giving out favors and believing relative strangers on word of mouth alone -or in this case, eyes.

He had to be smart if he wanted to survive.

In the meantime, there was nothing more he could do than wait and see what happened next. He couldn't think of a way to jump the gun on this one.

The only thing he could think to do was train the Spirit in him and learn how to wield it. He was now in Astria, the kingdom said to be blessed and protected by the Spirit of the Sea. There had to be someone who could teach him more about this 'gift' of his.

To find someone like that quickly, he would have to ask the King.

****

Kai woke up in his king-sized bed feeling much better than he'd felt in a long time. A week had passed since he'd come to Astria, and he was eternally glad that it had been a quiet one.

He'd already decided that he'd go see King Zoltan about his training even before he swung his legs over the side and his feet hit the tiled floor.

"Good morning, your Highness." A male servant with red shark-like eyes appeared next to him out of thin air.

At first, Kai thought that these merfolk servants could teleport like vampires, but he soon learned that they were simply light-footed and very, very silent. It took him some time to get used to it, but he eventually did. If anything, he now appreciated their efficiency.

Kai yawned, stretched his arms and then greeted the elderly merman with a smile, "Good morning. For today, can you find me something... formal to wear?"

Customarily, he wore comfortable clothes, usually robes, but for today, that simply wouldn't do. He was on his way to a royal audience after all.

As he was being dressed by his attendants in some of the heaviest, most extravagant articles of clothing he'd ever put on, he thought about when he'd met the King Regent for the first time. Zoltan had seemed fairly knowledgeable about the Spirit and some of its abilities, so it was safe to assume that his uncle would help find him someone capable of training him to master the Spirit.

It took an entire hour for Kai to be dressed and prepped. He was inwardly shocked at all the detail that went into dressing him in the finest clothes Astria had to offer, but he stayed quiet, patiently waiting while his personal majordomo finessed him into a true member of royalty.

Finally, when it was time for him to leave the wing, the guards stopped him, crossing their spears right in front of him.

"What are you doing?" he asked, stunned. A frisson of alarm raked him.

"I apologize, your Highness, but we cannot let you leave the wing."

Brows furrowed, he demanded, "Why not?"

"The King's orders." 

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

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