Chapter 11: Problem Solving

When Alice returned to Yvrial she dropped Cleo off at Clair's office, despite Clair's protest to know what happened, she simply told her she'll explain everything when she gets back. She followed Hana to a store where she would finally take a bath. After having cleaned herself off, she would be forced into fancy clothes: a clean black dress pant, and a white dress shirt underneath a starry black coat with swirling star patterns. Hana inspected her from head to toe before eventually pulling out a hairpin. She pulled Alice's short hair into a small bun and stuck the pin; with that, she was satisfied. They made their way...somewhere. They were walking deep in the heart of Yrvial, and looming overhead was the palace; now it made sense as to why she was dressed so nicely. The tall castle, made of white stone on black, stood out as the largest building in the city; it was quite impressive. Guards were posted outside the open doors; they seemed to be slacking off, but when they saw Hana, they immediately locked in. Guess the Immortal of a Thousand Wars commands a lot of respect. The inside of the palace was just as impressive; the whole place was massive and vibrant with life. Servants and other people rushed through the halls; they all looked busy." The King is having lunch with delegations from Kor'An and other kingdoms. Once we find who I'm looking for, we can leave," Hana says. Alice follows Hana as she veers left, heading through a different hall. The walls had portraits of the important people who were part of the council, the Strategist, Financial Advisor and other such things. They all held numerous photos to represent the many different people who had held the position; the only one with fewer than two was the Royal Archivist. The first one was dated 1-2000, while the second one was 2900-2925; that's a pretty big gap in time. Why had it taken them so long to find someone new? After the Archivist was the King. Starting with the first one and probably going all the way to the present-day King. Though compared to the rest, the photo used for the first King was much less detailed, all it had was the silhouette of the King against a medium blue background, a featureless face and short blonde hair. " So who's the-" Alice turns her attention back to Hana, who was gone, and she looks around the hall she was in. She was lost. Instead of staying put or going back the way she had gone, Alice decided to forge onward. She eventually ran into one of the maids, but before she could ask her for directions, the maid panickingly pushed her forward, " The lunch is about to start and you must be seated," The maid said worriedly. She was then pushed through some doors into the King's dining area, where the sound of chatter overwhelms her. The dining hall was large and filled with tables and people. They were all seated, chatting among themselves. Alice was ushered to the closest table, and she would take an empty seat next to a younger man dressed as fancily as the others. He glanced at her, confused, " Hello, my name is Valkus, and who might you be?" Alice panicked internally. If they found out she was a nobody, she might get executed, so she told the truth. " My name is Alice, and I am the Immortal of a Thousand Wars apprentice." Technically, this wasn't a lie, but rather a truth that hadn't happened yet. " Apprentice, huh? She seemed so adamant about not having any students," Valkus said, surprised. " So, where are you from? You don't seem to be from around here?" Valkus asked, his light green eyes bore into her, his face shape fit him as a rich noble, along with his blonde short hair. "I'm not from here. I come from the same place as my master, so it makes sense that you don't recognize me," Alice says with a playful laugh, hoping that was a good answer. Valkus continued to ask questions about Alice and Hana. Occasionally, he'd take sips from his wine glass. Eventually, servants arrived with plates of food, the center of the table was cleared, and platters of food were set down for the guests to take as they pleased. There was an assortment of foods, cooked meats that looked good, vegetables that Alice recognized and some that she didn't. One of the servants lowered down to speak to Valkus, and Alice couldn't help but overhear, " Everyone is here, Prince Valkus," was all he said, nothing too important. Other than the fact that the guy she was conversing with so casually was the King's son. Alice turned to ask the lady sitting next to her, but immediately whipped her head back forward and stared down at her plate. It wasn't her fault; the lady sitting next to her was so goddamn hot that it caught her off guard. She glanced over and saw that the lady had seen the whole thing and was smiling at her, her dark pink eyes staring at her. Alice smiled sheepishly. The lady next to her wore a cerulean blue dress with a beautiful pattern; her silky, dark reddish pink hair went down to her back. They all started eating and conversing with each other, aside from the pretty lady. One of the servants brought Alice a glass of wine, but she didn't drink and hesitated to say anything, " Excuse me, can I get a glass of berry juice for this one?" The pretty lady asked one of the maids, nodding her head toward Alice, and they obeyed. Moments later, the same maid came back with a normal glass filled with a fruity red liquid, putting the cup down near Alice's plate and taking back the wine glass. " Thank you," The pretty lady smiled sweetly at her before taking a sip from her own cup."I'm sure the berry juice is more to your liking. I'm also not very fond of wine either." The pretty lady said, taking another sip from her cup. She started serving food onto her plate, " My name is Astar. Lady Astar," Lady Astar said, " Alice Callen." Lady Astar let Alice serve herself some food before they continued talking. As they ate, they spoke about many different things. From Alice's time in the city to the basic workings of the King's court. Alice was enjoying the food; she had taken a bite of her steak when she felt a foreboding presence looming over her. She turned her head around to see Hana standing behind her, glaring down at her. " Evening, Prince Valkus, Lady Astra," Hana greeted the two. The prince turned and greeted Hana back delightedly, " Immortal Hana, I'm glad you could make it. I've already met with your apprentice here," He says, further intensifying Hana's glare at Alice. " Please, stay and have something to eat. I would appreciate it if you could stay for this...meeting, my Father called," Valkus said with a hint of annoyance in his tone. Hana bows slightly, " Unfortunately, I have some important matters to attend to with my apprentice. We'll be taking our leave now," Hana said. The Prince let out a sigh but let them go. Alice bowed to the prince and said her goodbyes to Lady Astar. "It's a shame you have to leave so early, but I'm sure we'll meet again," Lady Astar said. With that, Alice's lunch with the Crown Prince came to an end. She eventually caught up to Hana, not losing her this time. " So, what was the real objective in coming here?" She asked, peering a glance at her master's face, who pushed her back rudely. " The Scholar of Centuries. He'll know of a way to cure Cleo of Entropy Poisoning." Alice felt awful now; it had completely slipped her mind that her friend was dying. Though she was sure Cleo wouldn't have been too mad if she knew. " SO, who and where is this, " Scholar of Centuries"?" Alice asked as they left the palace. " The Scholar is like me, someone who's achieved immortality through our own strengths. I've only met him once, years ago, before he became an immortal, but the way he acted made it seem like he was one. We'll find him in Kor'An," Hana explains. How exciting, Alice would be visiting another Kingdom, she wondered how it looked, and what the people were like. They reached the kingdom's outskirts by sundown, and Alice looked around for a carriage or some other transportation. Despite the technological advancements like TVs and other things, they didn't have cars. Alice didn't have time to argue against it, but Hana had grabbed her from the waist and slung her over her shoulder before leaping into the sky. She would land on something mid-air before kicking off it, propelling herself and Alice fast. They would arrive in Ko'An by the time the sun was just barely visible.