Walking through the streets of the Rize Kingdom, people were glancing at us, murmuring to themselves in hushed whispers, most of them pointing at the bloodied girl that I was carrying on my back. The comforting darkness of the night enveloped the city from above, but down here on the streets, everywhere we looked was lit by the city lights.

I was following Lily from behind, feeling the stares of onlookers, but I did my best to ignore them. Lily didn't seem to care either. She had the hood of her dark cloak covering her head, hiding the top half of her face. It only revealed her lips and chin.

The sound of metal cluttering approached us, and out came a group of knights from the corner of the building ahead of us. They lined up in a row, creating a blockade in the path we were heading.

Upon seeing the knights, people from around the streets quickly scuttled off, disappearing away. The shops around us closed their doors, their lights going off too.

“Lily…” I called out to her quietly, feeling alert by the appearance of the knights.

I knew this was a bad idea, carrying Zoel through the streets when she was in such a badly damaged state, but Lily insisted on just going straight through the city directly to the Royal Palace, instead of trying to avoid people, because apparently it was a ‘waste of time’.

We were trying to collect the reward for catching Zoel. Although, the deal from the parchment was to kill her, Lily said it should be fine for just catching Zoel.

Lily didn’t respond to me, she just kept walking, her head down.

“You there! Stop!”

One of the knights at the centre of the group called out to us. He was standing ahead of the pack, and looked like the leader. His armour was distinct from the rest of the knights, sharp and more detailed, gold emblems plated the front of his suit. He carried a great claymore at the side of his hip, whereas although the other knights had similar style swords, they were smaller and thinner than the one he carried.

Lily slowed down as she came in front of them, eventually coming to a stop. I stopped next to her, my arms holding onto Zoel’s leg. Her arms were wrapped around my neck, keeping her from falling off. She was still unconscious.

All the knights were wearing helmets, that hid their faces from view.

“Why are you carrying a bloodied girl on your back?” The leader of the knights pointed at me, his gauntlets had razor sharp edges on the top of the fingers. The knight’s voice was elegant despite his foreboding appearance. He was definitely a noble.

I didn't respond to him.

“We’re here to see the king.” Lily said, and the knights turned their attention to her.

A chuckle could be heard from the group of knights, though I couldn’t tell who it was from.

“See the king?” The leader of the knights repeated Lily’s words as though he thought he heard the wrong thing. Then, he shook his head. “You can’t just simply request to see the king. He’s a very busy man.”

“I insist.” Lily said firmly, then she nudged her head towards Zoel. “We have something that will be of great interest to him… a demon…”

“D-demon?”

Instantly, the group of knights took their swords out of their sheaths, the noise was like thunder, metal sliding against metal. All of the knights now had their swords out in less than a second, the blades pointing towards us.

I gritted my teeth at the sight of the swords. Were we going to have to fight them...?

“That girl you have there…” The leader of the knight’s voice was now extremely alert and cautious. He was holding onto his sword tightly. “You claim that she’s a demon?”

Lily nodded shortly, but said no more.

“Prove it.” The leader said, then paused. “And, if you are found to be lying… the punishment will be execution… I hope you know that this is no joke, young lady…”

Lily didn’t flinch.

But I shifted on my feet. There was no way I was going to die here...

If it comes down to it, I would fight them all, myself... though I doubted that I could win.

I knew that the strength of the knights in front of me were far greater than my own.

Lily turned towards me, then reached out to grab Zoel. I glanced at her questioningly, and Lily frowned. “Give her to me, Kei.” Lily said.

Nodding, I slowly eased Zoel off my shoulder, and handed her carefully to Lily.

Lily took Zoel, then turned back to face the knights. She bent down to the ground, placing Zoel gently down on the pavement by her feet, face-up.

Lily placed her hand over Zoel’s chest, murmuring to herself.

The knights were watching intently, and so was I.

A strange light was beginning to glow under Lily’s palm, and I could see one of the knights tensing, his armour making a small metallic noise as he shifted.

Zoel’s face winced, and her teeth clenched. Her hands were tightening up by her sides, balling up into fists. She looked like she was uncomfortable.

“Hey Lily—”

I tried to say, but was interrupted when Zoel suddenly screamed, her body wrenching on the floor. She was screaming at the top of her lungs, her voice deafening. All the knights flinched, and I tried to make a move to stop Lily, but was stunned when something ripped out of Zoel’s back, spilling blood everywhere.

Dark blood splattered onto the knights, tainting their armour, and they stepped back, shocked. Blood fell onto me too, hitting my face.

Two giant dark-feathered wings were now stretching from Zoel’s back, its size frightening. Even though I had saw Zoel’s wings before, they were still scary to see again. Although, they were badly damaged, it seemed like they had somewhat recovered slightly. There wasn’t as many holes in them as I remembered.

The wings fluttered behind Zoel’s back, sending a gust of wind around, then slowly retracted, shielding Zoel. The wings were covering her body, as though protecting her. She still looked unconscious though, her eyes tightly squeezed shut and her face even more pale.

“T-that’s—”

“We have to kill her—!”

“It’s a demon—!!”

The knights were all speaking in unison, they voices overlapping one another, but there was a sense of fear in all their voices.

“Silence!”

The leader of the knights raised his arm to his side, and the group of knights behind him quickly went quiet.

He sheathed his sword back to the side of his hips, then raised his hands to his helmet, taking it off.

A head of golden hair fell out of the helmet, revealing a young man with blue eyes. His face was as elegant as his voice, although there was also a strong sense of maturity and manliness about him. He held his chin up high, and looked us directly in the eye.

“We will escort you to see the king.” The young man said, holding his helmet by his side. He looked disturbed by the sight of Zoel’s wings, but he was doing a good job at not showing it. “My name is Gilbertus Alphons, a royal knight for the Rize Kingdom. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” He bowed.

A royal knight!

That is one of the highest-ranking knights one could achieve, just below the Knights of the Order. They commanded a much greater deal of respect than a normal knight and would usually require that you accomplish a stunning feat.

“T-the same to you too, my name—” I started.

“Lead the way to the Royal Palace.” Lily said, then motioned at me to pick up Zoel again.

Gilbertus nodded his head, not seemingly to be affected by the fact that Lily didn’t bother to introduce herself. Then, he ordered his knights to create a parade around us to shield us during the escort.

I bent down to look at Zoel, and saw that her wings were retracting behind her shoulder blades again, disappearing from view. She was breathing more harshly, her condition seemingly to be worsened by what Lily did.

Somehow, I felt sorry for her.

Even though, she tried to kill me earlier, Zoel still looked like a girl in appearance. I had a hard time thinking of her as not human.

I picked Zoel up gently, placing her back on my back as we went with the escort, walking silently as they led us through the streets. The sound of the knights marching filled my ears. Passerbys were quickly turning the other way when they saw the knights. Probably because the knights looked like they were carrying out a duty.

It was a law to not interrupt during a knight’s duty. Usually, when knights were out on duty, it meant that there was either crime or some other sort of violence happening.

“Lily… are you sure about this?” I whispered to her, uncomfortable by the knights surrounding us. Gilbertus was leading us, the knights seemed to listen to him completely, which made sense since he was a royal knight.

“Yes, I’m sure, Kei.” Lily replied. “This is the quickest way to the Royal Palace. I don’t want to stay another night at the Rize Kingdom.”

I fell silent at Lily’s reply, trying my best to trust her. I mean, sure, Lily has proved that she was extremely powerful, but to meet the King of Rize? I never imagined a day I would be in a position to do so.

…

Hang on, did she just not want to stay another night, because she couldn’t afford it?

From memory, I remembered that Lily only had $100 in her pouch. That probably wasn’t enough for another night of stay at the tavern, especially in the Rize Kingdom.

…

We reached the centre of the Rize Kingdom, now approaching the Royal Palace that stood at the core of the city. We had to pass through several security checks, all of which immediately gave access, upon seeing Gilbertus. Such was the reputation of a royal knight.

The Royal Palace was a massive palace where the royal family of Rize lived, and others of royal blood. There were golden structures almost everywhere around us, showing an excessive display of wealth. It was probably supposed to show the prosperity of the Rize Kingdom as a territory, but it just made me feel angry inside that they had all this money but wasn’t helping out the homeless.

Large flags carrying the Rize symbol decorated the side of our path towards the palace, and there was a vast garden, filled with intricate designs.

The actual palace was an enormous structure with towers stretching up into the sky. It was a sight that stunned me, having never seen it before. I was overwhelmed by all the abundance of fortune I was seeing.

A group of knights, in a different set of armour was standing at the door of the palace. They were much bigger than the knights surrounding us, and had much expensive equipment. Except for Gilbertus’ armour, which might had been more expensive and better designed. I couldn’t really tell to be honest.

“Ah, Gilbertus!” The knights immediately stood upright, seeing Gilbertus leading us. “It’s good to see you again!”

“I have to see His Majesty immediately.” Gilbertus said, his tone showing that this wasn’t a time for small talk. “We believe we have on our hands the demon that has been plaguing our city recently.”

“…!”

The knights’ expressions went to bewilderment. “I-I’ll let Noah know.”

The knight that spoke quickly ran inside the palace, pushing past the grand door, and disappearing inside. The other knights stood outside accompanying us, waiting. They were staring cautiously behind Gilbertus and at us. I felt uneased by their stares.

I gave them a weak smile, but they didn’t smile back.

Damn.

What are you thinking, Kei?

I shook my head, feeling stupid. I was way out of my place here. I couldn’t believe that I was actually in front of the Royal Palace.

The knight that had disappeared inside, quickly came back, his face showed signs that he was running. “You can come in, along with the guests you brought.”

Gilbertus nodded, then turned around to face us.

“I would like to remind you to that we are going to be entering the Royal Palace now.” Gilbertus spoke to us in a serious tone. “You guys must follow me closely, and not make any sudden movements. If I have any feeling that you guys are planning something… I’ll kill you myself.”

I was silent, hearing Gilbertus’ words.

Lily nodded as though he had asked her if she would like ketchup with her fries. “Let’s go.” She said.

Gilbertus stared at Lily, as though trying to judge her.

“I would request that you take off your hood, young lady.” Gilbertus said. “It’s a big disrespect to the royal family if you are wearing a hood indoors of the Royal Palace.”

“No.” Lily replied.

“E-excuse me?” Gilbertus was stunned by Lily’s reply.

“I said no.” Lily said, annoyed. “I’m not going to be taking off my hood, until I see the king.”

“…”

Gilbertus seemed at a loss. He glanced at me, then at Zoel, then shook his head. “I’ll make an exception this one time… because of the urgency of the matter…”

He turned away from us, leading us into the grand doors of the Royal Palace. The knights that had escorted us were not allowed in, and stayed outside, waiting.

Inside the Royal Palace, I was greeted by more sights of wealth, a grand hall much bigger than the one at Lily’s place. Red carpets with golden edges laid on the floor, softening our walk. Lights with thousands of bulbs, encased in crystals hanged above us, giving off a sparkling glimmer. There were knights standing guard at the side of the hall.

“W-woah…” I couldn’t help but to stare in awe at everything in front of me.

“Gilbertus!”

A voice sounded from above the stairs, and another knight came marching down the stairs. This knight was dressed in a night black armour, a giant sword sheathed behind him. Streaks of gold paint detailed the ends of his armour, and there were spikes studded across all edges of his armour, creating a menacing appearance.

Okay, this guy had the best armour out of the ones I’ve seen.

I looked down slowly at myself, then realised my armour wasn’t on me. Damn. It was probably destroyed by Zoel during our fight.

I glanced sideways at Lily who was staring ahead.

Luckily, she didn’t notice that my armour was gone… She had paid for it with all her money…

“Is it true?” The knight in night black armour approached us. He had silver spiked up hair, and a pair of black eyes. He looked at the same age as Gilbertus, perhaps even younger. “That you have managed to catch a demon?”

“Noah.” Gilbertus greeted the knight approaching us with a solemn expression. “I didn’t catch the demon, it was these two here that have brought it to my attention.”

The knight Gilbertus addressed as Noah, glanced at Lily and me, then at Zoel on my back.

“Y-you—” Noah quickly turned back to Gilbertus, his face turning to anger. “Did you make sure it is under control?!” His voice was now raised, echoing in the grand hall. “You’ve brought a demon to the Royal Palace!”

“I’ve made sure with my very own eyes.” Gilbertus said. “I’ve seen the demon, it is badly hurt. It seemed these two have managed to subdue it.”

“…!”

Noah glanced back at Lily and me.

I was extremely nervous, and not sure what the hell was going on. But it felt sort of nice that Gilbertus was giving me credit too, although I had nothing to do with catching Zoel.

“Very well then…” Noah said, his voice uncertain, but his eyes still watching Lily and me. “I will speak with Botolf to grant them an audience with His Majesty…”

Gilbertus nodded, and Noah turned away, walking back up the steps of the stairway in a rushed pace.

Gilbertus turned to us. “That was Noah, one of the Knights of the Order.” He told us. “He is one of the best swordsman in all of Rize.”

Knights of the Order!

They were the highest-ranking knights in Rize. They were a small group of elite knights and sorcerers, and represented the best of the best. They were essentially the strongest people in Rize, and were usually trained straight out of birth or had been blessed with god given talent that far surpassed their peers.

There were only eight Knights of the Order in the whole of Rize, and each one was said to be capable of defeating an army of a thousand, alone.

I swallowed, hearing Gilbertus’ words.

We waited a while longer, before Noah appeared again, followed by a middle-aged man dressed in a royal robe, the ends of the robe reaching the floor.

“This is Botolf.” Noah said to Lily and me, as the two of them approached us. Noah indicated to the man in the royal robe to show who he was talking about. “He is the Secretary of the Rize Kingdom, and also the right-hand man of the king.”

Gilbertus kneeled down, as Botolf stopped in front of us. Botolf had a dignified appearance, standing tall, with white short hair signifying his age.

Lily didn’t kneel down, and I was torn apart on what to do. Was I supposed to kneel like Gilbertus or just stand like Lily?

I didn’t know what to do and was seriously confused, so I did a mixture of both by simply giving a short bow.

Botolf glanced at me with a strange expression, then turned his eyes to Zoel, who was lying on my back.

“Excellent.” He smiled, seeing Zoel. “That’s definitely a demon. You guys have—”

Botolf stopped in the middle of his speech when his eyes turned down to see Lily. She was cloaked from head to toe, so there wasn’t really much to see.

But, Botolf’s expression immediately changed. He coughed into his hand, his eyes downcast. “I’ll take you to His Majesty.” He said.

“Botolf, we have to make sure—” Noah started.

“Noah, be mindful of who you are talking to.” Botolf interrupted sternly. “That girl…” He glanced at Lily. “She is someone very important to the Rize Kingdom.”

Noah looked at Botolf confused, and so did Gilbertus.

Botolf waved at them, indicating that their presence was no longer needed. “You guys can go now. I will escort these two.”

“Okay…” Noah stepped aside, taking Gilbertus along with him, their eyes staring at us.

Botolf smiled at us, trying to be friendly. “I’m so sorry about those two, you guys must have had so much hassle trying to get through.” His tone had completely changed. There was now a hint of nervousness underneath his voice. I was shocked. “How are you two fairing on this evening? Should I get you a cup of tea?” He glanced in Lily’s direction.

“Earl Grey, please.” Lily said, then glanced at me, waiting.

I had never had tea before. But, I didn’t really care about tea. I was just overwhelmed by this bizarre situation.

“Uh… I’m okay…”

“Excellent!” Botolf motioned one of the knights standing by the grand hall.

The knight looked confused, being singled out, but he walked towards Botolf slowly in an unsure manner, as Botolf continued to motion for him to come faster.

“Listen, get us a cup of the finest earl grey as fast as possible.” Botolf told the knight.

The knight seemed bewildered. “Your Excellency, I’m a knight, I don’t—”

“Just hurry up and get it or I will have your head out on display on the streets by tomorrow morning!” Botolf snapped, and the knight quickly scuttled off, disappearing into one of the rooms.

“Sorry about you having to see that.” Botolf turned to us, all smiles again. “He shouldn’t be too long.” Then, he glanced at Lily, hesitating. “U-uh… how have you been…? I haven’t seen you… in a while… Lilionel…”

Lily didn’t reply, leaving an awkward silence in the air.

“Um…” Botolf turned to me instead, seeing that Lily was ignoring him. “How are you, young man? You must a companion of Lilionel.”

“Uh, yeah…” I replied. “Um. My name’s Kei.”

“Oh, Kei! Great name!” Botolf reached out to shake my hand, and I took it, shaking his hand awkwardly. “I’m Botolf, as Noah introduced earlier. I’m His Majesty’s most trusted adviser. I also manage most of the communication between His Majesty and his patrons.”

“Right…”

“We really appreciate you taking the time to come here tonight, you and Lilionel.” Botolf said. “I can’t stress how important your relationship is to us.”

“Um. And same to you!” I said, not knowing what else to say.

Botolf laughed grandly. “Oh, that’s great to hear!”

At that moment, the knight returned from the room he had disappeared into, now carrying a tray with a cup on top of it. It was weird seeing a full suited knight carrying a cup of tea.

“What took you so long!” Botolf snapped at the knight, then grabbed the cup of tea of his hand. “If you were a second later, I would had ripped your bloody arms off myself.”

“S-sorry, Your Excellency!” The knight stuttered, then quickly scampered off as Botolf waved him away.

Botolf turned to Lily, holding the cup of tea out in front of him. “Here you go. Please accept this as an apology for the hassle you had to go through tonight.”

We started walking, as Botolf led us up the stairs of the grand hall. Lily sipping onto her tea.

Botolf yelled at people to get out of the way, as we moved past the extravagant hallways. The people scuttled off quickly as Botolf commanded.

I was amazed at how well Botolf was treating Lily. None of the other people we encountered along the way seemed to recognise Lily.

Eventually, we arrived at another grand door, its size towering over us. Botolf pushed the door open, leading us to the royal throne room. Even though, I was stunned at the sight of everything beforehand. Nothing came close to what I saw at the throne room.

A giant window, laced with gold, stretched out at the end of the room. There were marble steps at the end of the room, leading up to the throne, a giant seat decorated by exquisite materials that I had never seen before.

At the throne, sat the King of Rize.