May the Breeze Bless the King

“Rio, your father has called for you.”

“Excuse me?” I stared at Lacy, eyebrows raised in surprise. After living in Mikin castle for so long it took a lot to surprise me. I’d seen it all, yet somehow she’d found a way. “Are you sure he called for me?”

“Like, absolutely,” she said, nodding. “I was surprised myself. Has he like, ever called for you before?”

“Once, years ago, back when he still acknowledged my existence.” I scoffed. My father, King Avery, wasn’t the most personable human to ever live. If you were useful, he would use you like a tool. If not, he regarded you as equal to the scraps on the floor.

As for me, the talentless runt, that meant I might as well not exist. Why bother with people like Olivia or Leopold existed?

“Did he give any more information?”
“Just that you should come in your school uniform, whatever that means.”

“My uniform?” Hell, I’d have probably gone in my uniform without the request. “Why specify that?”

“I know, right? There is something kinda weird about all this if you ask me, almost like something creepy.”

“I think you’re putting too much faith in the king,” I said, taking off my shirt to change. “But whatever my father wants, there must be a reason he called me specifically.”

I couldn’t help but purse my lips. This was the biggest thorn imaginable to be thrust into my ribcage, but I couldn’t very well blow it off. Not to mention if I could get into Father's good graces with this…

Whatever this was, I’d have to try my best.

“Let’s go, Lacy, we can’t keep Father waiting.”
“R-right?” She stumbled out, face bright red for whatever reason. “Like, whatever you need.”

Yet, as we marched out there was one thing I couldn’t wrap my head around. Why did the king calling me make me feel this elated?”

                                                                           * * *

“We present Prince Rio, the fifth prince of Mikin, glory to the Mikin breeze!” As the two grand red chamber doors opened, I confidently strolled into King Avery’s chambers.

If the word luxury had a physical form, this would be it. Amidst the high-ceilinged meeting hall, columns of glittering gold held the room up. The walls were painted in an ever-shifting white that shimmered with every step, the linings moving like snakes as they shuffled the precious sapphires embedded inside like arrows.

A velvet carpet ran across the marble floors towards my father's throne. There was a softness with every step, like the individual fibers were wrapping around my feet–gliding me along.

And at the end of the carpet, my eyes met the main attraction. King Avery was the kind of man who could quiet a room by simply entering it. He stood well above pretty much everyone in the kingdom, with muscles bulging and a permanent sneer etched across his face.

Next to him, my eyes flickered to the staff lazily leaning against his throne. Alair’s breeze, the most powerful weapon in the world. It glowed a pure white, beating like a heart. Every step towards the things set my nerves more and more on edge.

I knelt, giving the deepest bow I could as my cloud white hair fell across my face. “I greet King Avery, glory to the Mikin breeze.”

“Rise,” his voice boomed like a cannon. “Rio, I thank you for hearing my summons.”

“I wouldn’t dream of anything else my lord.” Who would be insane enough to ignore the king? No one wanted to greet death that suddenly.
“I have been hearing reports about your time at the Mikin Royal Academy,” I flinched. If my track record was anything to go by, there weren't many positive ways for this conversation to go. “I think that your track record makes you perfect to take on an assignment from me.”

“Anything Father.”

“Guards!” He clapped his hands, leading to a scrambling of footsteps. “Recently, Arhonia approached us in a measure of apparent goodwill, a student exchange between our royal academy and theirs. Because of that, a student from the Arhonian School of Magic will be joining us for a semester, and I intend for you to keep an eye on her.”

I stayed quiet, watching as the guards finished their scrambling. Someone from Arhonia? I wanted to scream and cry at the same time. This was the chance of a lifetime, to meet our enemy and make myself look good in front of my father. “What exactly do you want me to keep an eye on?”

“Every move she makes. If she talks to someone, goes somewhere, eats something. I don’t know what those Arhonians are thinking, but I intend to make sure that we use this opportunity to feed Arhonia exactly what they want to hear.”

“Hear? Do you think she is a spy, my lord?” I asked.
“Do I think that?” He burst into a round of laughter. “Of course she is! Why else would those dirty half-breeds come up with this half baked student exchange? What they don’t know is how competent their spy will be. Arhonian magic is warped, twisted. There is no telling what she’ll try. It’s your job to find that out.”

“My lord,” one of the servants popped in. “The Arhonian guest is ready.”

“Send her in.”

The doors creaked open again. “Presenting Mai Arhonia, second princess of Arhonia. Glory to the Mikin breeze!”

“There's no way…” I muttered. The girl gracefully walked across the velvet path, wearing a sparkling aquamarine dress with silver curls. Her brown hair was comed flat, allowing her ears to pop out–letting the silver band around her right ear shimmer like a diamond.

It was the exact same girl I’d run into yesterday.

“I give my greeting from Arhonia, and thank the Mikin crown for this opportunity,” she said, giving a picture perfect curtsy.

“Please, stand.” King Avery said, wearing the closest thing to a smile I had ever seen him attempt. “Mikin welcomes you, Princess. If there is anything you need please feel free to ask.”

To the breeze, I could cut the tension in the room with a knife. King Avery felt like a ticking time bomb. All the while, Mai’s graceful stance couldn’t completely hide the tension in her muscles. One wrong word and the explosion would knock out half the castle.

My father continued on. “Prince Rio will be your guide while you are staying with us. Please, let him know about any discrepancies you may find.”

“I’ll be in your care,” I said, keeping the blushing to a minimum as I bowed. Even in an environment this tense I couldn’t help but acknowledge how beautiful she was.

“You two may go now,” King Avery said, shooing us away. “And one more thing Princess. Make sure you don't go anywhere but the school grounds without Rio at your side. Progan can be a dangerous city to the unaware after all.”