Chapter 7 - I - In the kingdom of Calabria

 

“Right…so you’re uh…Lily Tamriel?  From where are you from?”

 

“I come from the city of Etihad in the Kingdom of Galad, good sir.”

 

“Hm…you certainly don’t sound like a Galadene.”

 

“Well, I was raised by my mother, who hails from Nerfes—as you can see from my traveler’s papers.  I recently came to Etihad, and would like to do business with the city of Sekhtem.”

 

“Ohh…well, judging from your looks, I could say that you’re a knight.  Is this true?”

 

“Yes, sir.  I formerly serve the Mayor of Etihad, Duke Hayes.  That’s his seal on my traveler’s papers.”

 

“I can see that, missy.  But, I can’t just let you in our Sekhtem as easily; you know that our king only seeks powerful knights to protect our land.”

 

“Does it mean that you’re challenging me to a mock fight?”

 

“I’m sorry, missy, just following orders.  Nothing personal.”

 

The knight called Lily Tamriel—formerly known as Lilyhaven Tamriel von Leese—let out a deep sigh.  She knew that the current king of Calabria, the jolly King Baldwin V Hans Levine, didn’t need knights in his service.  This was a test to see if she’s posing a threat to the kingdom’s capital city, Sekhtem.

 

And because of that, Lily knew what she had to do.

 

“…”

 

“Do you need a lance to go along with your sword, missy?” the leader of the city’s militia arrogantly asked her.

 

“If I may ask, good sir, would you have me hold a wooden sword?”

 

“Ohohohoho, you’re brave enough to fight me with a weapon for training, huh?” the militia leader scoffed. “Very well then, don’t come crying to me once I beat you senseless, little girl!”

 

“Alright, on your positions!” a fellow militia shouted, which was the cue for Lily and the guard leader to take defensive postures and prepare for battle.

 

“Begin!”

 

“!!!”

 

The militiaman, using a training spear, attacked first.  Lily quickly parried him with a wooden sword and counterattacked, which was also blocked by her opponent.

 

“Not bad, missy!” the militia leader smirked.  He then gave another shot at her, this time with his spear swirling as he came towards Lily.

 

Lily knew she was at a disadvantage regarding his reach.  She had to close in the distance between them if she didn’t want to be beaten to a pulp.

 

“…”

 

However, this was not her plan.

 

“!!!”

 

The former head maid moved to avoid the spear and attempted to attack her enemy—or at least, that’s what she had tried to make it look like.  Lily deliberately moved in slowly, carefully rigging her footwork, and giving the militiaman time to chant a spell to blast her away.

 

“Wind wall!”

 

“!!!”

 

Lily’s training sword flew off from her hands, and the next moment, she found the militia leader’s training spear on her neck.

 

“Stop!”

 

And with that, the mock fight ended.  Lily was helped by the militiaman back to her feet, and both warriors gave the other their well-deserved salute.  Then her papers were handed back to her, and she was allowed in the city of Sekhtem.

 

Lily was determined to start a new life at this place, where she was virtually unknown.  Compared to Colveente, which bordered the Holy Palatial Gardens, the Kingdom of Calabria was a country away from the holy land (Colveente was Calabria’s neighbor in the direction nearest the palatial gardens).  However, it was still on the mainland of north Chersea, and near enough to be of help to Maddie whenever the need for it arises.

 

However…

 

“That was a good fight, Sir Dane!”

 

The militia leader was handed a towel and was congratulated by his subordinates for his victory.  However, the veteran warrior was not happy, no matter how arrogant he was at the fight earlier.

 

“Nah, don’t congratulate me.  I barely won against the missy, see?”

 

“Ha?  You even knocked off her sword!  What do you mean by that?”

 

“She intended for that to happen.” Sir Dane laughed, “The first time I attacked her, the missy was surprised that she unintendedly showed her actual skills as a knight.  I’m aiming to defeat her on the first move, but she held up easily.  Awesome footwork, if you’re watching.  I couldn’t imagine that she’ll be stopped with such a simple move like that.”

 

Sir Dane’s subordinate was silent.  Their leader was a veteran of countless wars, and could quickly find out a fellow warrior’s skill in a short time before they cross swords.

 

“Anyway, call in a few of the boys.” Sir Dane ordered, “Don’t let that missy out of your sight; you’ll never know when she could be dangerous.”

 

 

Tired from the long journey, Lily tried to find a tavern to stay.  

 

“…”

 

However, all the inns in Sekhtem were full, thanks to a local festival.  Those people who were turned away were forced to flock to the town square and made that their temporary ‘home’.  Lily was no exception; upon finding a relatively vacant spot, she quickly claimed it as her own.

 

“…”

 

After all, no one would bother her to make her move away, since her armor and weapon were visible.

 

Once she was done making sure that she was relatively safe at her spot, Lily ate some of the food that she brought along, and after that, got her well-deserved rest.

 

 

Some distance away from the town square, the Traveler watched as he was looking for an opportunity to create chaos.  This was a perfect time to do some distractions, just as he was ordered to, since the Sekhtem festival was just around the corner.

 

“…”

 

Unlike in Meldech, where he was working alone, here he had a few imperial agents joining him.  Though the security at the gates was increased because of the upcoming event, he and his associates could sneak in—some skillfully hidden in the carriages, others in their disguises, and a few by bribing the militia.

 

Of course, to move unhindered, his group had to make some ‘arrangements’ with the local security.

 

“…”

 

And now, the Traveler was doing his rounds, looking for opportunities to sow discord among the local population.  Unlike in Meldech, the legend of the ‘Bloody Witch’ was relatively unknown here, and so he had to create something that would cause fear and concern for the people of Sekhtem.

 

And hopefully, that would draw out Calabria’s king, Baldwin V Hans, from the Holy Palatial Gardens just like what happened to the Nerfes ruler.  With his fellow agents aiming for the same incidents to happen in other countries, they could scatter the leadership of north Chersea, and allow a slower and weaker barbarian response to the surprise invasion force from the Empire.

 

“…”

 

Just as he was entering a narrow alley, the Traveler almost stepped on some sleeping individuals.  Many of them were exhausted, and so slept like a log.  He never apologized, for he didn’t want anyone to wake up.  Instead, the Traveler carefully hopped his way across the pathway of sleeping men and women on the way to his aim.

 

However, upon reaching the other end of the road…

 

“!!!”

 

The Traveler couldn’t believe his eyes at what he was seeing.  He took another eyeful, since he wanted to be sure that she was the real thing.  And when he finally realized that he wasn’t dreaming, fear came over his heart…

 

…for in front of him lies the dreaded ‘Iron Princess of Nerfes’, Lilyhaven Tamriel von Leese.

 

“…”

 

She was sleeping, though.  And the armor that she was wearing was of unique quality and style compared to what she usually wore from the battles of the past.

 

The Traveler warily looked around to see if there’s anyone else watching.  Upon making sure that every soul in the square was asleep—save for a few patrolling guards who didn’t even give a damn to the people at the square, he took out a pair of manacles and carefully moved to chain the sleeping princess.

 

“What are you doing?”

 

“!!!”

 

The Traveler stopped on what he was about to do.  His heart almost jumped out of his chest, and he turned around to see who was the one who disturbed him.

 

“Hey, old man, what are you planning to do with that lady knight?” a young girl was standing beside him, wearing traveling clothes.  On her hands was a half-empty, worn-out sack.

 

“Oh, you surprised me.” the Traveler smiled, “Well, I’ll tell you what, young lady.  I’m giving you three gold coins for you keeping quiet of what I was doing here.”

 

“Hmm…that sure is a tempting offer, Gramps!” the young girl smirked, “How about you raise it to five?”

 

“Kuh…I’ll give you four!”

 

“Nah.  Give me four gold and five silvers for my cooperation.”

 

“Alright, four gold, two silvers, and five bronzes?”

 

“Deal!”

 

“Here you go!” the Traveler gave her the amount they agreed upon, “Now scram!  And shut your mouth!”

 

“Alright!” the girl happily marched away shouting, “Hey Grandma, I got us money from that kind stranger!  Grandma!”

 

The Traveler cursed repeatedly as he weighed on his options:  shut the girl up or capture the sleeping Iron Princess.  However, deeming that the latter was more important, he chained Lily.

 

After all, even if she woke up, once he got her restrained, there’s nothing else she can do.

 

“Hey.”

 

“!!!”

 

The pommel of the Iron Princess’ sword almost hit him in the neck, if not for the quick evasive action of the Traveler.  He dropped the manacles, and by now, he realized that his position was now in absolute danger.

 

“…”

 

The Iron Princess was all awake, with her sword and dagger drawn.

 

 

Looking menacingly at him, the Iron Princess slowly walked forward towards the Traveler, who could not move on the ground.  By this time, she had noticed the pair of manacles at his foot, and she realized how close he was capturing her.

 

“Who are you, and who sent you?” she asked as she kicked the manacles away from his reach.

 

The Traveler remained silent, however.  In his mind, he was already looking for potential escape routes.  He knew the capabilities of the Iron Princess, especially in combat.  As long as no one would create a sufficient distraction for him, his life was forfeited.

 

“I’m asking you one more time, who are you, and who sent you?”

 

“…”

 

Lily wasted no time in asking questions further.  She closed the distance between them, using her superior footwork.  Even before the Traveler could blink his eye, the Iron Princess was already going for his neck with her dagger.

 

“!!!”

 

However, he won’t go down easily.  A veteran of many battles—both in the open and in the dark, the Traveler could also hold out fairly on his own.  He pulled out his knife and parried Lily’s dagger.

 

“Haa!”  But Lily was quick to recover.  Almost immediately, her sword was about to pierce his stomach; just as he recovered from blocking her shorter blade, which was answered by his palm pushing down the flat of her rapier.  It’s only the strength of his arms and legs that the Traveler could keep on his feet.

 

“Not bad!” the Traveler couldn’t hide his praise for her, “It’s a pity that we’re on the opposite sides of the battlefield, Iron Princess!”

 

“!!!”  Hearing that old nickname from her past visibly shook Lily, and she almost put down her guard…

 

And the Traveler seized the opportunity to strike back.  Out from under his coat, he whipped out a weapon that was strange and yet so familiar to Lily…

 

“That’s Kuro’s—!”

 

“See you later then, Your Highness!”

 

A loud gunshot was then heard that tore through the quiet town square of Sekhtem.

 

An intense cloud of smoke came up after the Traveler shot his gun and obscured Lily’s vision.  Recovering from the initial shock, she tried to pursue her enemy.  But just as she was about to run, Lily felt her left leg wobble and progressively weakened.  

 

“!!!”

 

It was then that she noticed blood on her feet.  And then the pain.

 

“Kuh!  Aargh!”  She had no other choice but to lean on her sword, or she’d fall on the pavement.

 

“…”

 

Around this time, many of those who were sleeping were already roused from their slumber, and so they attracted the patrolling guards.

 

“Oi!  What’s happening there?”

 

“Hey look!  That’s blood coming from that knight’s leg!”

 

“Get a stretcher!”

 

Lily did not know that she had just been shot.  What she knew, however, was that weapon was way too dangerous—it tore through the plate armor that she was wearing as if it was paper.  Lily could now feel the very experience of that paladin prince who faced Kuro back in the tourney…