Girl Meets Hero

Beyond the gate, a grand audience hall awaited.

The late afternoon sun streamed through huge windows and over the marble floor. Towering columns led up to a vaulted ceiling full of frescoes depicting the kingdom's founding, mythical creatures, and legendary battles. Chandeliers hung above from ornate iron chains, and ahead was the dais from where the throne overlooked the entire chamber.

It was a monument to centuries of wealth and power.

“Woah! Is this the Royal Palace where the king is? Ah, but… Didn't I enter the Evertread through the Amethyst Palace?” Aya looked around, blenching as she felt her head spin. “Oof… This isn't good…”

The gate was nowhere to be found. It seemed to have acted like a portal. Hopefully, Lorenz and the others were aware she ended up here and were nearby.

Seeing the hall empty, she trudged towards the door. She heard voices. Once outside in the corridor, her eyes widened. The Rah and the knights weren't around, but there were people.

“Oh, my.”

Before her was an assembly of well-dressed adults—women in bejeweled gowns, men in tailored coats. Along the walls stood palace guards in armor and cloaks. Even temple figures lingered around in their immaculate ceremonial robes.

‘Ayayayayayaya???’

“Is that the girl?” A lady gracefully covered her painted lips with a fan.

A man swept a gloved hand through his lustrous hair. "I expected another boy.”

“But she's young like the princes."

“Perhaps the only thing they have in common,” someone noted.

“Indeed. I heard she's a commoner.”

“That much is clear. Would you be here otherwise, Lord Ehlicar?”

“I can say the same for you.”

“Lord Dormodov, we are here to witness history, not for whichever purpose you claim.”

“Oh? Now that we did, will you leave?”

“Well, um… The king is yet to arrive, so…”

Aya shrank, eyeing the unfamiliar faces one by one with confusion and wariness.

Their smiles were measured. Their gazes were calculating. If their conversation wasn’t making her feel like some exotic goods in a public market, she wouldn't have noticed at all. Outwardly, their polite expressions were of composed curiosity.

"House Oulixeus is close to His Majesty, and if the king orders…”

Another noble argued, "His Majesty is of the Light faction. The girl does not belong there.”

"Someone from the Darkness faction, then. House Iscarett will be honored.”

Aya glanced down at the scrapes on her arms and legs, then back towards the nobles. "E-Excuse me…"

"Guardianship should naturally fall to the highest-ranking eligible house."

"According to whom?"

"The king should allow the girl to choose." At this, several looked amused.

"Choose based on what exactly?”

"Come now. It's not as though this is the first time a commoner became a Divine Vessel. There's an appropriate occasion for matters of custody.”

She gulped. "Please... Can someone help me…?”

There was still no response, their exchange unceasing.

She shifted her weight, wincing at the stinging sensation in her head and limbs. Whatever was going on was aggravating. She expected to get interrogations, not to be the subject of a negotiation. No one even asked her name.

‘I'm right in front of them, and yet…’

She noticed they didn't intend to approach her. It could be because she looked shabby, or she stunk of sweat. But they still shouldn't have treated her like she's air. She was hurt, and she sought help.

Perhaps, be it among nobles or commoners, she was invisible.

“Doesn't she have her own family, though? What about them?”

“Aren’t you aware? She'll have to leave them to join the royal family.”

That did it for Aya.

This could not happen to her.

This was not what she wanted.

Soon, guard knights filed in alongside a tall, imposing man in his sixties with striking white hair, golden-yellow eyes, and an intricately embroidered robe. The whole corridor fell in hushed reverence. All present bowed and greeted.

It was the Theovaleo Kingdom’s current ruler, King Gallahan.

“Where is the child? And what might you all be here for?” one of the knights asked.

A temple figure stepped forward. “Your Majesty, Etor Gallahan! We are here to welcome… Uh, our kingdom's newest Divine Vessel, and she is… Huh?”

The knight raised a brow. “High Priest, I do not see a single child.”

“B-But she's just…”

“Where did she go?”

“Did someone see her?”

“Miss Aya!”

Lorenz rushed in with Cassian, Danica, and Soccoro in tow. The king’s sharp, narrowed eyes stopped them on the spot.

“Your Majesty.”

“Rah Aerowenlore,” Gallahan said, his deep, resonant voice exuding regal authority. “I believe you were escorting the Called. She passed the gate, making her a Divine Vessel. However, it seems she has disappeared. Find her, and do not let her leave the palace.”

“...As you wish.”

From the corner, Aya, who had turned invisible, cowered in fear. ‘T-That’s the king… Can I even do this? Should I show myself? Will I get punished if I don't?’

Honestly, though, she'd rather get thrown into the dungeons than never see her stepfather again. Maybe she could ask Lorenz for help. But even he was under Gallahan’s command. The entire palace was searching for her.

‘The king isn't letting me leave. What if he doesn't allow me to see Dad, too? Will he be like those nobles and ignore my words?’

It's scary. It's frustrating. She wanted to go home.

She looked for the way out, still invisible.

‘If this were Amethyst Palace, I wouldn't have much trouble. I've partly memorized the way out. But this is the Royal Palace, so I'm not sure where to… Hm?’

A cloaked figure ran past her, then jumped over a balcony.

She froze mid-step. Her eyes bulged wide open. It took moments for the scene to sink in. When it did, suspicion and worry warred within her.

‘Have I been discovered, and they're trying to lure me?! Nobody in their right mind would jump from there! But what if something bad happened to whoever that was, then I'd carry this guilt all my life?!’ She flinched, realizing something. ‘Maybe I can also do that to go outside?’

Neither suspicion nor worry won in the end, but desperation.

The Royal Palace was too enormous for her to navigate within just hours. At this rate, she would collapse before she reached the exit. She didn't have time to rest, and besides, her strength ran out faster than her mana. At the very least, she had to be outside the palace by then.

With that in mind, she followed the cloaked figure. 

There’s a tree right next to the balcony. She smiled confidently to herself. It's time to put her tree-climbing skills to use.

“Eeekkk!”

Aya forgot about her present condition.

Before she realized it, she was slipping. This normally didn't happen, and were she not feeling like toppling at any moment, she would've landed properly. Yet, here she was, taking quite a spectacular fall.

The leaves blurred into streaks of green as she tumbled and flailed through the air.

‘I can't die! Dear gods, I can't!’ She shut her eyes. ’I’ve already been frightened to death back in those stairs! Seriously! Someone has to stop Dad from reorganizing the bookshop by color instead of category and recommending novels to four-year-olds just because I already read them at that age!’

She braced for impact, making herself visible again so that someone would see her in case she ended up unconscious.

But then, she collided with something else. A pair of arms caught her before she crashed on the ground. Feeling herself getting warmer, she blinked through her feverish haze. The hooded figure from earlier stared down at her.

It was a boy. He was under the tree all along. As she looked up, she could see he had dark brown hair and golden-yellow eyes. His charming face was familiar.

‘Ah... My savior.’ Either Aya developed a fever so severe she’s hallucinating, or she'd been rescued by the kind of hero she read about in stories.

“Are you alright?” he asked while still holding her. “I didn't see you up there. Where did you come from?”

“I…fell from the sky…” She cringed at the dubious look he gave her but continued, “I’m from…another dimension…”

“Or you're an assassin sent after me.”

‘Okay, calm down, kid. I get I'm being a weirdo for saying those, but I'm just hiding my identity. Why would anyone send a sick assassin? Why would an assassin even be sent to you?’

“You look unwell.” He pressed his forehead against her, checking her temperature. “And you're burning up.”

“What is…your name, O hero?”

“...You are a strange one.”

“Ah, in disguise, I see. On a mission, perhaps…? Understood. I shall call you Crisostomo for now…”

He sighed, “I never saw someone turn delusional because of a fever. Let me take you to the palace physician-”

“No, Crisostomo!” she cried at once. “Don’t go inside! Please, I'm begging you! Just…a clinic in town will do.”

“The town? Well, I suppose that's fine. That's where I'm heading, anyway. Can you hold on until we get there?” he asked.

“I’m tougher than I look… Don't worry…”

He nodded and started walking with her in his arms. “In exchange, promise to keep this a secret.”

“What…do you mean? This isn't…a secret lovers’ rendezvous, is it…?”

The boy did not answer, and maybe that was better for Aya's sanity later on when she could think rationally once more.