Banishment

“SKAYLA!” Lina shouted. “WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU’RE GOING TO SHARE MY SENTENCE?!”

“Well... it didn’t seem fair that you were the only one who got to act on impulse,” Skayla said, scratching her cheek. “After all, it was my shop and home that burned down. I’m well within my rights to act irrationally too!”

“THAT’S NOT THE POINT!” Lina shouted, shaking Skayla hard enough to make the enchanted shackles around her wrists jangle.

“Could you please stop rattling those?” Skayla requested, covering her ears. “They’re giving me a headache with all that clinking.”

“Let’s take those off, shall we?” Seraphine chuckled, searching the pockets of her dress. “Where did I put the keys?”

“Don’t worry about finding the keys. I can get out of these without any problem,” Lina assured her. She grabbed the chain between her wrists and pulled. CRACK! The enchanted shackles snapped, freeing her hands.

King Ernest and Prime Minister Hendrick blinked in disbelief at how easily she had broken free.

“Now for the ones on my ankles,” Lina said, bending down as her prisoner’s tunic rode up, exposing more of her slender thighs.

Queen Seraphine crouched in front of Lina and gripped the iron chain.

“Allow me,” she said, giving it a sharp twist. SNAP! The ankle shackles broke, freeing Lina.

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Lina said.

“My pleasure,” Queen Seraphine replied as the two began to giggle.

King Ernest beckoned Hendrick closer.

“Are all the women in this Kingdom this terrifyingly strong?” he whispered. “Doesn’t mana suppression stop prisoners from using magic? Did Lina break those shackles with raw strength?”

Hendrick immediately elbowed him.

“Your Majesty... please don’t say things that’ll get both of us killed,” Hendrick warned.

Suddenly, a chill ran down both men’s spines.

They looked over to find Queen Seraphine glaring at them, even as she listened to Lina and Skayla argue.

“Look what you did!” Hendrick whispered.

Ernest quickly looked away, pretending he hadn’t said anything.

“Come on, Lina, give it a rest already,” Leonora requested. “It’s too late to take back what happened, so let’s focus on a more important matter. What are you two planning to do after leaving this Kingdom? Will you move to another Kingdom to find work?”

Lina and Skayla exchanged uncertain glances.

Beyond Eldoria, the Continent of Aetheria held three other Kingdoms: Valtheria, Aurelis, and Dravaryn.

“If you’d like, I can contact people in the other three Kingdoms and see if they have work for you right away,” Seraphine offered, unable to hide how worried she was. “Let me know, and I’ll reach out to them immediately!” 

“Mother, if you’re this worried about them, why did you banish Lina in the first place?” Leonora asked, watching her mother fuss over the two. “Couldn’t you have sentenced her to community service instead?”

Seraphine sighed, staring at Eldoria’s deep blue flag outside the window. The Royal Crest showed a white dove perched on the hilt of a downward-pointing silver sword, surrounded by a golden laurel wreath.

“I honestly wish I could have done that too,” Seraphine said, gently placing her right hand against Lina’s bruised cheek. “The Noble Faction would be outraged if Lina received a lenient punishment after brutally assaulting a member of the Royal Family. They might even think they could attack you, Edwin, your father, or even me and receive the same lenient punishment.”

“I’m pretty sure no one is dumb enough to attack you,” Skayla pointed out.

“Well... you never know, my little Demon Queen,” Seraphine teased, referring to Skayla’s earlier remark about making everyone her enemy. “That’s why banishment was the only sentence I could give without creating an even greater problem that could potentially destroy this Kingdom. I truly hate the thought of letting you both go.”

“I’m sorry for all the trouble and pain I’ve caused,” Lina apologized as she held Seraphine’s hand, realizing how deeply the decision had hurt Seraphine, too. 

“It’s all part of my duty as Queen, so don’t worry too much about it, okay?” Seraphine said. “Also, don’t worry about your Order. I plan to have Leonora take them under her command.”

“Okay,” Lina said, turning her attention to Leonora. “My knights are in your hands now.”

“You can count on me,” Leonora said, smiling warmly at Lina. 

“Hey... Lina,” Skayla said, tugging on her tunic. “What do you think we should do after we leave Eldoria?”

“Well, the first thing we need to do is obtain new identification,” Lina said, taking her Eldorian ID from her item box. “Once our banishment takes effect, we’ll need new ID cards to prove who we are; otherwise, we could be turned away from towns and cities or accused of being bandits.”

“In that case, I recommend you two join one of the three major Guilds,” Seraphine suggested. “The three major Guilds issue ID cards that are recognized almost everywhere. Pick one, and I can write a letter explaining what happened to speed up the process.”

“Hmm... the Adventurer Guild is probably our only choice,” Lina concluded. “The other two Guilds, Merchant and Craftsman, would mean finding a place to sell or craft goods, and we don’t have the time or resources to set that up before we leave. The Adventurer Guild would also allow us to take quests and earn a steady income.”

GEH! Skayla groaned. “Doesn’t that mean we have to visit Old Man Zenos?”

“Is there a reason why you don’t want to go see the Guild Master?” Seraphine asked.

“Every time I see him, he lectures me for hours for no reason,” Skayla said, pouting.

“If Guild Master Zenos keeps lecturing you, what did you do?” Lina asked.

“I did nothing wrong!” Skayla exclaimed, avoiding everyone’s gaze.

“What... did... you... do... wrong?” Seraphine asked, leaning close to Skayla’s face.

“ALL I DID WAS GATHER HERBS IN A NEARBY FOREST!” Skayla shouted.

“Hmm... that wouldn’t earn you a lecture,” Seraphine muttered. “Wait... which forest did you go to?”

“Umm... the Forest... of No Return,” Skayla whispered.

“THE FOREST OF NO RETURN?!” Seraphine exclaimed. “Do you have any idea how dangerous that place is? The dense mana fog interferes with a person’s sense of direction and time. Even experienced scouts can become hopelessly lost without a special compass tool!”

Lina grabbed Skayla by both shoulders.

“HOW ARE YOU STILL ALIVE?! HOW DID YOU ESCAPE?!” Lina demanded, knowing that Skayla didn’t have enough money to purchase a special compass tool.

“I kept casting Fire Javelin to cut through the dense mana fog,” Skayla revealed, looking away and fidgeting with her fingers.

“Fire Javelin?” Leonora muttered. “THE FIRE DRAGON WAS YOU?!?!”

“Fire Dragon?” Lina asked.

“The Adventurer Guild reported that an injured Fire Dragon might have fallen into the Forest of No Return after several adventuring parties were nearly struck by fire blasts that continued for hours,” Leonora explained. “My Order spent two weeks searching the forest. When we couldn’t find the dragon, we assumed it had recovered and flown away.”

“YOU CAST FIRE JAVELIN FOR HOURS?!” Lina exclaimed, stretching Skayla’s cheeks with both hands.

“I’m sorry!” Skayla cried as Seraphine and Leonora stared at her, exhausted after finally solving one of the Kingdom’s greatest mysteries.

After saying their farewells to the King, Queen, and Prime Minister, Lina, Skayla, and Leonora left the castle for the Adventurer Guild.

The carriage eventually slowed to a stop, and the three stepped outside and stared at the massive marble building before them. At the top of a long marble staircase, five towering white pillars supported the building’s triangular roof.

“So this is the Royal Capital’s Adventurer Guild!” Lina exclaimed, wearing a simple button-down shirt and brown pants. “It’s even bigger than I imagined.”

Lina watched eagerly as countless adventurers climbed the steep marble staircase, passed between two of the towering pillars, and disappeared through the large entrance.

As Lina continued admiring the building, a long, miserable groan came from behind Leonora. Skayla clung to her, trying to hide beneath her violet mantle.

“I don’t want to go inside!” Skayla whined. “I already know Old Man Zenos is going to lecture me!”

“Skayla, you can’t hide behind me forever,” Leonora said, trying to pry her loose. “You and Lina have to set out tomorrow morning. We need to get your Guild IDs today.”

With one final, reluctant sigh, Skayla gave up and slowly began climbing the Adventurer Guild’s extremely long flight of white marble stairs.

After reaching the top, Lina, Skayla, and Leonora entered through the main doors; the bustling guild hall slowly fell silent. Conversations stopped in the middle of sentences as people placed their utensils and drinking mugs onto the wooden tables. Others set down their weapons and stared at the three women.

“W-Why is everyone staring at us?” Skayla whispered, tightening her grip on Leonora’s mantle. “D-Did we do something wrong?”

“Maybe it’s because of what I’m wearing?” Leonora suggested, attempting to hide her shining knight armor beneath her mantle. “Adventurers usually don’t have the best relationship with knights. Maybe they feel threatened or upset that I entered their territory.”

While Skayla and Leonora stayed cautious, Lina walked ahead, excited to take the famous adventurer exam.

“Looks like that’s where we register,” Lina said, pointing toward the counter. Then she noticed the enormous line stretching almost all the way back to the main entrance. “UGH! This is going to take forever!”

Suddenly, the line began to part as synchronized shuffling footsteps echoed through the hall. The adventurers stepped aside, clearing a path directly to the counter.

The three exchanged confused glances, unsure why the adventurers had stepped aside.

“Umm... are we allowed to cut in line like this?” Skayla asked as several adventurers gestured politely for them to go ahead.

“If they’re willing to let us cut in front, then let’s go!” Lina shouted, eager to take the Adventurer entrance examination.

“W-What’s happening?” Leonora whispered, still trying to understand the strange scene unfolding around them.

“I don’t know,” Skayla whispered nervously as they approached the counter. “Let’s just hurry before Old Man Zenos realizes we’re here.”

“IT'S ALREADY TOO LATE FOR THAT!” a gruff voice shouted from above. “BOTH OF YOU, GET YOUR ASSES UP HERE!”

Lina, Skayla, and Leonora looked up to see a long-bearded old man with a weathered face glaring down at them.

“CRAP!! ZENOS IS COMPLETELY TICKED OFF!!” Skayla whispered to Leonora. “Is it too late to switch Guilds?”

“HURRY UP AND GET UP HERE!” Zenos shouted. “SKAYLA, DON’T YOU DARE THINK OF RUNNING! I MAY BE OLD, BUT I CAN STILL EASILY CATCH YOU!”

“I guess that answers your question,” Leonora said with a chuckle as they climbed the stairs toward the balcony.

Meanwhile, ominous clouds gathered over the Royal Castle, where a secret meeting was about to begin.