“Your majesty, why are you—”

“No time to explain, Derek, gather the other ministers and come to the throne room,” said the king.

“Of course, my liege, but you are in no condition to—is that the princess? Oh, your highness, welcome back! We were so worried—”

“Thanks Derek, glad to see you too. We can catch up later, but could you grab my stuff from my room? I think I left my ceremonial headpiece in there somewhere,” said Princess Kol.

“Of course, your highness, your wish is my command—my word, who are these people? How did you get in, no, you look so strange. You aren’t demons? Pointed ears? An elf! From the legends! Are you—”

“Hi, nice to meet you too. Yes, I’m an elf. Hey, listen, while you’re off doing what the king and princess told you to do, could you tell the guards to lock down the palace and not let anybody in or out? You might need to put your most trusted people in charge. The safety of your king and princess depends on your actions tonight!” I said.

“Yes, do what he said, Derek,” said the king.

“Of course, yes, of course I will,” said the short middle aged demon who was wiping sweat off his forehead and trotting after us as we walked down the hallway from the king’s bedroom.

A gaggle of guards awkwardly followed along, shuffling through the narrow hallways and trying to get ahead of the thin, weakened king who was somehow outpacing all of them. If they looked closer, they would realize the king’s feet were not touching the ground, and even the arms he had slung around Kol and Kelser’s shoulders weren’t strained at all. I kept pace with the rushing trio, casting motion detection magic all over the place just in case any of the guards or onlookers did something suspicious. So far, I’d tied up a maid in a closet and shut in a servant who’d turned right around after seeing us. I had to remember to interrogate both of them in case they were spies for the prince.

Derek, the king’s chief minister, rushed off to the guards’ quarters. I’d left some motion detection magic by the gate we’d used to get inside, just in case Derek tried to leave himself or if some of the guards tried to slip out in all the commotion. Luckily, nobody crossed the motion detection magic, and Derek soon returned with even more guards and some senior servants. The whole palace was abuzz with activity, despite how late it was. Some of the windows let in the moonlight, which battled the orange glow of oil lamps and washed the inside of the palace with a silver hue.

The demon king’s throne room was surprisingly spartan. A simple wooden throne, with a small cloth pillow and an embroidered flag depicting what looked like a demon’s black tail. The only fancy thing about it would be the many oil lamps that lined the walls and the tall wooden windows that were opened as we shuffled into the room. Kelser and Kol walked up to the throne and gently let the old demon king slip onto it. Kelser stepped back and joined me in the middle of the room, facing the throne, while Kol stepped to the king’s right, standing right by his side.

Derek and the other ministers, most of whom were middle aged demons who looked just as confused as Derek. Their gazes went from the king, who should have been bedridden, to the princess, who should have been missing, and the elf, who should have been a character from children’s fairytales. A few of them stared long and hard at Kelser, who ignored their stares completely.

“Derek,” said the king, “have you locked down the palace?”

“Yes, my liege,” said the chief minister as he fell to his knees and bowed to the king. The other ministers did the same, while the guards who were now lining the walls, raised their spears in salute. Kol knelt next to the king’s throne.

“My subjects,” said the king in his low, hoarse voice, taking long pauses in between, “I wanted to thank you for your assistance these past few months. I have not been in the best of health, but your love and support has kept me safe in the twilight of my life. And your perseverance has been rewarded! My firstborn daughter and rightful heir, Princess Kol has returned to us by the grace of the Heavenly Eye. And she has returned with a legendary elf and a delegate from the human tribes from beyond the great mountains in the South. I am ashamed we cannot offer better hospitality to our guests, but the situation is dire. My subjects, I have been informed that my eldest son, Prince Alek, is marching on his home with many generals who were tasked with protecting our northern borders. For generals to leave their post without the king’s orders, and before any formal terms have been agreed with the Lux Republic, is treasonous. And Alek must know that bringing an army to the capital without the king’s approval is a grave offense.”

Some of the ministers shuffled about. A few guards opened their eyes wide. Derek looked like he was about to cry.

“Derek,” said the king.

“Yes, I mean, yes my liege,” said Derek, collecting himself.

“Where is the closest standing army?” asked the demon king.

“There is an army in the East on rotation as per your orders,” said the chief minister, “they are only four days from the capital.”

“That might not be close enough,” said the king, “it’ll take a messenger at least three days to reach them.”

“If I may, your majesty,” I said.

“Of course, venerable elf,” said the king.

“Kelser here can use magic to deliver your orders. If you give him a way to prove his identity, he can bring the army back in five days,” I said. “Can’t you Kelser?”

Kelser nodded. There were a few whispers among the ministers at the mention of magic. The guards tensed up.

“Very well,” said the king, “Derek, give our esteemed guest my royal seal and a scroll with my orders. And when you’re done with that, tell the other ministers to gather up all of the retired soldiers and reservists in the capital. We have three days to cobble something together. Get the guards to join them, oh, and send levy orders to all the nearby cities, towns, and villages to the East, South, and West. And lock down the capital. I don’t want anybody leaving the city.”

“Understood, my liege, it will be done,” said the chief minister.

“Another thing, your majesty,” I said.

“Yes, venerable elf,” he said.

“Do you mind if I make some preparations? I will need somebody to show me where the prince’s army will be coming from, as well as your permission to set up some surprises,” I said.

The king thought for a moment. “Very well. But I do not want any deadly surprise traps. I would like to talk to the prince and to my generals. Perhaps they will listen to their old king’s orders now that he is no longer stuck in bed.”

I nodded. I figured the king didn’t want his son to die to a trap, especially since he might be at the forefront of the army, expecting to march inside ceremoniously.

The meeting in the throne room drew well into the early hours of the morning. The king and his ministers discussed things like rationing food, manufacturing weapons, and the acquisition of supplies from the countryside. It was clear everybody was bracing for a war.

Kelser left down the eastern road on top of a strange, horse-like monster. Kol stayed by her father’s side, supporting him with air magic from time to time. I walked up north of the city, escorted by a contingent of armed guards. The guards kept a careful distance from me, with their eyes trained squarely at me at all times. I smiled as I approached a narrow bottleneck, with thick forests on one side, and craggy rock formations on the other.

I raised both arms in front of my body. The demon guards flinched. The ground rumbled, cracks slid across the earth, and great amounts of earth rose up from the ground. I walked up the gentle incline that faced the city, and stared down the steep fall on the other side. I jumped down off the little rampart I’d made, and stomped on the ground as I fell. Shuffling feet sounded above me as the guards began peering ground. I looked up at them from the deep trench I’d dug and smiled. I gave them a thumbs up and rocketed back up to them through the air, before landing right next to a portly old guard who almost fell over himself at my approach.

“Come friends,” I said as I reached out a hand, “let me help you down.”