"Father! You cannot be serious about this?! Why can't we just sit down and talk with them to help us instead of just forcing them?" Toria asked as she stood before her father on the throne 

"Enough! I have heard enough of your pointless rabble Toria! My patience for your nonsensical ramblings has worn thin young lady and as your father, I refuse to hear any more of it!" King Alfonsis replied with an annoyed eye roll, not even looking at his daughter anymore. 

"Father. The nobles are asking for our help and you do nothin-" 

"I am doing something!" Alfonsis cut her off as he glared back at her, with his expression forcing Toria to take a step back 

"You speak for the nobles as if they have done good. But when have they ever done such good things!? It was them who had brought us to this state! Our kingdom's infrastructure and resources all carted away to fill their homes with trinkets and trophies. They are the ones who had done this to our home!" Alfonsis added as he stood from his throne and walked down to his daughter 

"But they were under your orde-" 

"Silence! Since you refuse to listen to my words and continue to side with the nobles. I will send you off with them" 

"No...no you can't" Toria replied, fear in her voice as an expression of nervousness filled her face 

"I can and I will Toria....it's for your own good" Alfonsis replied, his steely gaze baring down on her, but behind it was a father trying his best not to cry 

"I am sending you to Black Rock Prison, with the rest of these nobles while you are at it" Alfonsis 

"But...But you can't! The people of the city will know what you will be doing!" Toria shot back 

"Hmmm, if that's the case, then we will just evacuate the entire city. You believe that just because I do not have the support of the military means I have nothing daughter? You are wrong. The military is still as loyal to me as it was to my father, your grandfather. And they will continue to be until this kingdom is no more. While you, the nobility and even the staff loyal to you are being sent off to Black Rock Prison, the army and navy will evacuate the capital at the same time. I will give them some bullshit reason and they will follow as always, and I will only allow them back into the city once the delegation from Halkare and their empress has agreed to marry your brother, ensuring no distractions"

 "This will not go over well Father. You know that as much as I" Toria replied, her gaze flickering to that of determined resolve 

"Maybe. But the best path forward is sometimes filled with treacherous ground...I wish you could have understood that Toria..." Alfonsis replied to her, a small regret audible in his voice 

"Guards! Take my daughter and her staff away! And get me General Trochius, I need the army mobilized" Alfonsis ordered, as he turned away from his daughter. 

Toria bowed her head and complied as two guards flanked her and began escorting her to her side of the castle, as she was about to exit the chamber, she saw Viktor shaking his head while crossing his arms as he leaned on a pillar. His gaze was that of disappointment and resignation to whatever fate awaited his sister. The princess stopped as she looked at her brother, both of them sharing a silent moment, Viktor sighed as he shook his head

"You should have just listened to us" Viktor said with a saddened tone 

"If I did, more people would have suffered" Toria replied 

"Oh yeah? And who do you think caused this in the first place? Father is right about the nobles...you were just too naive to see it" Viktor stated as he tilted his head and the guards began to move again, with Toria in tow. 

After watching his sister being escorted away, Viktor let out another sigh as he then walked into the throneroom proper. Seeing his father speaking with another demonkin, this demonkin was as tall as him but older, and unlike him, the demonkin was wearing a black military uniform and had flowing black hair. 

Viktor knew who this was, the commander of the Demon Army, General Trochius. A loyal demon to the king and himself, Trochius' loyalty was what kept the nobles from trying to overthrow them, as he was one of the strongest demonkin in the kingdom, second only to the king. Viktor could not hear the conversation between the two of them but could see Trochius' small smirk and head tilt, indicating he liked what was being said. But as he approached the two demon men, Viktor saw his father turn to him, a small smile on his face as he gripped Viktor by the arms and let out a sigh. 

"Are you ready Viktor?" Alfonsis asked 

"I am Father" Viktor replied with a nod 

"Good. Good...this is all for the best, we need their technology and skills to bring us back from the brink...you will need to do your best and force the empress of that nation to submit to you. Understood?" 

"I understand Father. I will not fail you" 

"Good....good" 

.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Later that night, Toria, her servants, and most of the nobles of the kingdom were now securely inside Black Rock Prison. An island fortress just eastward of the capital city, it had multiple buildings making up the prison, with high walls and ramparts all filled with guards to ensure no one could escape. The prison was built atop a large rock formation that lifted from the sea and the rocks were all pitch black and jagged hence the name for the place. There was only one way in and out and that was through a singular dock on the south side of the prison. 

Inside the main section of the prison, which was a giant circular fortress in the center of the complex, Toria stood in the center of a large room that had a large spiral layout, and before her were the numerous nobles and her own servants. Although some may be confused as to why the princess who was meant to be locked up, acted like she owned the place, it's because she did. For the last couple of years, Toria had been secretly siding with the nobles in an attempt to take power from her father and brother to try and save the kingdom but that was going nowhere, she decided to switch tactics and be more visible in her support after a few months ago when she had learned from an intelligence report detailing a flourishing nation on the main continent, she had ventured there in secret to try and glean any information that could help save her kingdom but was instead found out by people who were stronger than her and were about to kill her. Were it not for the intervening actions of a kitsune who called herself "Percy" she would have died then and there. 

In return for sparing her life, Toria was to be a spy for this new nation and would be assigned an agent to watch over her. Toria would constantly feed information regarding the situation in her home back to the Halkare Empire as part of her new job, she used her numerous contacts with the nobles to gain information faster and soon made herself a good asset. She did such a good job that she was given an offer to save her kingdom, although in a way she did not fully expect. In return for aiding the Halkare Empire in taking over her home, Toria was to be made governor of the island chain and would finally have access to the amazing skills and technology that had allowed the empire to flourish in such a quick amount of time, an offer she did not think twice before agreeing. 

Now, she stands before the crowd of nobles and her servants, inside a fortress that was filled with people loyal to her and far away from the fighting that is soon to go down. With all of her allies in this secure location and with only those loyal to her father left outside and spread across the island chain ready to be destroyed in the upcoming fight, Toria had done well in delivering a Hook, Line, and Sinker. 

"I take you are all reasonably alright given the circumstances?" Toria asked the room, her gaze shifting from face to face 

"I still hold some reservations about this whole thing Your Majesty, what if the new regime takes away all of our land and assets?" One of the older demonkin nobles asked with a worried expression 

"Then you will accept it with grace, it is better to be alive and given something small to restart life rather than be robbed of everything and executed. Or would you rather side with my father Baron Berk? and be robbed of your life, the lives of your family, and then all of your assets?" Toria asked with a raised eyebrow, her question and expression making the baron sigh as he shook his head to answer 

"I assure you all, the new regime will be much more better than the one we already have and it will be one where I will do my best to ensure that our people thrive alongside other races. The world is changing everyone, and we best change with it, or die drowning in the sea of time and obsolescence" Toria added as she fixed her gaze to the window and the scenery outside

In the distance, dark clouds were approaching and the waves were roaring, and only time would tell if they would weather the storm. 

A/N: And here we go! After this, we finally step into the Demon Kingdom Arc and there will be naval battles! I am excited and I hope you all are too. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I had fun writing it and if you got comments or questions, leave em below for me to read. And as always, Stay Safe and Enjoy Your Day!