Chapter 2: Urgent News

BETWEEN the town of Luyas and the town of Andania in the North-West, lies a road that split into halves. Both roads lead to the town of Andania. One route offered the shortest distance to the town through a forest. This route, in particular, is the least route used by even the most experienced travellers who often opted to take the other longer route.

Local townspeople have been speculated over the years behind the rumours of a fearsome Clan that was living within the forest and that many brave souls who challenged fate by entering the forest were never seen again. Others have claimed that the forest itself is a lair of a man-eating monster.

Whatever the case was, nobody was brave enough to step a foot into the forest that was barely protected by half-ruined gates.

* * *

DEEP within the forest’s walls, stood a huge Eastern-style mansion. Three gigantic bronze statues of wolves stood proudly at the centre behind the gates. Each of the statues represented the identity of the Clan: Honour, Discipline and Power.

The Clan, known as the White Wolf, is generally divided into two: the Main House, which is the home of its Heir and Successor and the Branch Houses, known as the pillars that support and protect the current heir and successor of the Clan.

Exotic jade eyes scanned the magnificent view of the garden before a soft sigh escaped from her lips while she sat on the polished bamboo tiles, overlooking a magnificent view of the garden.

Bestowed with a sophisticated beauty; silky Byzantium hair was braided neatly into a lovely bun, and clothes were made in Eastern-inspired traditional style clothing using the finest qualities of silks: shades of purple with pink in an abstract floral pattern, matched perfectly with her status as a highborn.

“Peace, at long last,” Suzumi Karou sighed.

The ladies-in-waiting who were also her dearest friends would usually keep her company. Even so, they have a tendency to get carried away at times. Normally, Suzumi would only listen to their chatters and gossip with only half an ear. However, the news that they had informed her earlier, caught her immediate interest and attention. This brought her back to the current situation.

Inhaled deeply, Suzumi stepped forward until she reached an Oak shelves where she kept an unfinished red scarf, when a sharp pain suddenly assaulted her head.

Teeth gritted and sweats formed quickly on her forehead, Suzumi dropped onto her knees in a loud bam, while clenched her head. Jade eyes and Byzantium hair turned white as snow whilst pieces of events filled her mind in seconds before they all vanished into a black void.

“Lady Suzumi? Pardon for the intrusion,” The wooden paper of the sliding doors abruptly opened by a female guard.

“What happened? Are you alright?”

“Y-Yes…” Suzumi replied, in between her heavy breathing. The guard assisted the lady back on her feet.

Still clenching on her head, Suzumi asked, “Have you seen my brother?”

“Lord Shinji is currently in the kitchen, preparing meals for lunch. Should I go and fetch him, Milady?”

“No need, I’ll go to him. Thanks for your help. I’m fine now. On another note, can you relay a message to Lady Hiira and let her know that lunch has been cancelled. Let her know that I will come and see her after I have a little chat with my brother.”

“Of course, Milady.”

Suzumi walked staggeredly toward the exit after the guard left. Her mind filled with numerous things but her target remained clear: she need to let him know as soon as possible.

* * *

The strong delicious smell of sizzling meats hit her nostrils the moment Suzumi reached the hallway leading up to the kitchen. The first thing that she noticed was the sight of the kitchen servants with guilty faces, gathered aimlessly behind the kitchen doors.

One of the servants, a young boy, noticed her presence and quickly flushed.

“M-Milady! What brings you all the way to our humble kitchen?”

Suzumi folded her arms. “I see my idiotic brother has locked everyone out of the kitchen… Again.”

Another servant, an older looking boy, stepped forward with a shrug.

“It’s not his fault, Milady. The outcome from the meeting must have been too much for His Lordship to bear. Still, no matter how many times we’d offered to let us assist him, eventually, he’d locked us out…”

It might be of a shock for the new servants to learn and adapt, but to the people in the Clan, it was a well-known fact that the Lord of the Clan and his family were very close with the people working for them. From the lowest-ranked servants up to the highest staff, everyone treated each other like one big family.

Suzumi stared at the kitchen’s doors, sighed, and then back to the servants.

“I’ll make sure to have a word with him. In the meantime, since my brother has relieved you all from your duties, please feel free to rest up until tomorrow”

The servants’ faces immediately lighted up.

“Thank you very much for your kindness, Milady. Truly!”

Suzumi watched the servants leave the kitchen in good spirits before placing her right palm onto the door. A bluish light mysteriously glowed at the door with ancient text known only to the family members of the Clan.

A recognition seal.

Easily pushed the door, Suzumi entered.

Her eyes travelled to the back of a tall, slender muscular figure dressed in a black sleeveless tight-fitted mock turtleneck shirt. His forest green hair, which he inherited from their late father, tied in high ponytail.

The sound of chopped onions are put into the oil pan. The sound of sizzling onions in the oil pan filled in the silence. Plum coloured eyes finally glanced up at her.

“I don’t trust them to go anywhere near the fire without supervision. In case you’ve forgotten, the kitchen almost blew up last summer because somebody forgot to distinguish the fire properly. Also, Nobu’s daughter has a fever.”

“I know. I’d treated her earlier,” Suzumi cleared her throat. “Did the Elders give you a hard time today? Even after you’d made a big commotion – disappearing in the heat of the moment last time?”

“Bunch of hard-headed longevity old geezers,” Shinji muttered lowly. “They won’t stop nagging me unless I get wed and conceive the next Heir.”

As the young Lord, Shinji had proven himself countless times his capabilities to run the Clan just as skilfully as his predecessors and suppressed even greater than them. Under his leadership, he had urged the Clan members to be more open-minded and mingled with society while keeping the Clan safe from any threats.

While the younger Clan members had welcomed his decision with open arms, the Elders were not very pleased with his decision as it clashed with the former traditional beliefs that were set by their past predecessors: The Clan must be kept away from the public’s eyes at all cost.

Shinji lowered the fire on the hot pan, and then turned to her with a questioning look.

Cleared her throat, Suzumi looked at him straight in the eyes.

“I had a vision… A little while ago.”

The annoyance on his face earlier disappeared. Shinji reached out and held her arms.

“Are you okay?” asked Shinji, concerningly. He knew very well the visions that his sister received at time greatly affected her mind and health.

“I’m fine. But the vision: I saw her, Shinji… She’s in Andania.”

“What are you talking about? Who?” Shinji frowned deeply. He tried to recall if there was an errand that required him to pick up someone but none came to mind.

“Fool!” Despite their height differences, Suzumi effortlessly yanked her brother’s collar down to her eye level.

“What the hell, Suzumi? Ouch!”

“Don’t you tell me you’ve forgotten all the efforts that you’d put into keeping her safe after all these years?!”

Shinji’s eyes suddenly grew as the words slowly digested in his mind. A soft gasp escaped his lips. Slowly, he unclenched his sister’s grip on his collar, turned his back at her to turn off the stove.

Silence filled in the air for a while.

Hastily, Shinji made his way out of the kitchen.

* * *

THE Town of Andania, a small yet prosperous town surrounded by nature and filled with good-hearted people. The town has a famous monument; shaped of a that has an overlooking view of the entire town. The monument, created by the founder of the city, Lord Ezkamen Lut Andania, with assistance from a group of Witches, cast a strong invisible barrier into the monument that would act as a shield to protect the town from threats.

“They say the barrier still lingered until today,” Luna pointed to the tall monument with one finger. “It’s such a breathing view, isn’t it?”

After being appointed as the Captain for the mission last night, Luna could barely sleep due to excitement. Though anxious, she vowed not to disappoint anyone, especially Commandant Grants, and determined to prove to everyone that she was just as capable and responsible to handle the duties of a Captain just like her older brother, Guy – who showed great potential as the future Master Commandant each day.

Mika took a step forward from the swords filled heavy cargo and approached her Captain.

“It is. I’ve never been outside of Luyas castle, so this is incredible!” Mika smiled gleefully, inhaling as much of the fresh air as much as her lungs could take.

“I remember Guy used to take me here whenever we visit. I thought maybe you’d appreciate the view too.”

“That’s very considerate of you, Captain. Thank you,” Mika smiled gratefully.

While enjoying the view, Luna couldn’t help but say something that has been nagging her for a very long time.

“…It must have been hard on you. Not being able to remember anything except for the last six years ago since you’ve come and lived with us. I don’t know how you could live with it. If it was me, I’d have gone mad. Losing one’s memories – It’s a very terrifying thing.”

A soft breeze kissed their faces.

“Not really,” Mika stared at the horizon. “What’s done is done. I’ve accepted it a long time ago.”

“But don’t you want to find out what happened? I mean why are you the only one that was found out of the blue in Fulaina? Maybe there were others like you but somehow you got separated from them? They could be… your family, perhaps?”

“Even if I wanted to, I can’t. My past is a complete blank and my future is only tied to the Kingdom of Luyas. To Lord Ranfel. Without them, I am worthless. I will not be able to survive out there without being hunted down like prey for what happened in the Great War. Besides, not knowing what had happened in the past may be a frightful thing, but personally, I feel it’s better not knowing than knowing the so-called ‘family’ who’d abandoned me in the first place.”

Mika placed a firm assuring hand on Luna’s shoulder.

“I am happy right now – well, as happy as I can be.”

Though it wasn’t the answer that the young heiress was looking for, Luna decided it was enough for now.

“Speaking of memories, do you remember that one time when the two of us tried to sneak out of the castle at night for the festival in the town? Halfway there, we ran into Guy who had been sneaking off to the kitchen for late-night supper.”

“The one where you’d threatened to expose Guy’s late-night snack habit to the Commandant if he refused to help two young trainees escape to the festival? Do you have any idea how much cleaning we ought to do afterwards when we got caught at the entrance of the festival by the Commandant?”

Luna fondly chuckled. “Guy refused to speak to us for two whole weeks after that incident, even after we’ve apologised to him countless times.”

While the two knights reminisced old memories, a few persistent coughs interrupted them. One of the veteran knights, an elderly man named Lee, approached them.

“Pardon me, Captain Luna. We really should speed up our journey as it is close to noon.”

Luna nodded. “Very well. Let's us pick up the pace.”

* * *

CLAIRE BOYCE found herself in a great distress situation, while she glared annoyingly at a male trainee with his jaws dropped in front of Master Commandant Grants’ office.

Veins popped on her head as she recalled what happened few minutes ago:

A true soldier to the core, Grants Rogue has proven himself countless times to be a strict and always kept a cool head under the pressure in most difficult and tough situations. Because to his no-nonsense personality, he quickly earned a nickname from his subordinates as ‘Cold-Blooded Commandant’ due to his gruesome training regimes.

Many Knights, young and old, have swore on their lives throughout their services as the Knights of Luyas, that they had never seen their respectful Commandant Grants Rogue looked anything but just as he described.

Imagine what an incredible shock for Claire when she’d knocked on the Commandant’s door to check upon him only to found his office was in a chaotic mess – as if a beastly creature has been unleashed and created havoc in the office. Halves of paper stacks on the desk fell on the floor. Scrolls and emptied Rum bottles scattered everywhere.

Grants Rogue barely touched alcoholic drinks with an exception on social occasions, let alone caught red-handed in broad daylight.

“Commandant!” Claire rushed by the Commandant’s side who laid on the couch with a bottle of half-emptied Rum. “Are you alright, Sir?”

Grants refused to respond, aside from a few deafened murmurs. Decided that her commanding officer had enough drinks, Claire took the Rum bottle away from his hand when Grants suddenly snatched it away and took a one big gulp after another.

“Commandant, stop! You need to stop drinking right now!”

After a moment of struggle, Claire’d managed to grab the Rum away from him. Sighed deeply, the Vice Commandant got on her knees and moved toward the exit to lock the door when she stopped at the sight of a young trainee gawked at the sight.

“For the last time, the Commandant is not to be disturbed for the rest of the day unless it’s an emergency.”

“B-But Vice-Commandant Boyce! What’s happening to the Commandant? Why is he–?”

“Trainee Signer,” Claire unshealth her sword. “Unless you think you can defeat me in one-on-one sword combat, I suggest you forget about what you’ve witnessed here. A trainee who neglects his duties will be punished with sword practice until dusk.’

Without further hesitation, the young trainee left in a hurry with a tail between his legs that it was almost too comical to see.

Claire pitched the bridge of her nose. Today, by far, has been the worse day of her life. Her superior had been in a foul mood ever since Captain Luna’s Team left for Andania earlier in the morning, and she hadn’t gotten any clue of why.

Locking the office’s door, Claire glanced at the Commandant who had moved to a sitting position: head on knees with hands clasped behind his head.

“Perhaps a tea and light snacks should make you sober at the very least,” Claire pondered aloud. “And a bottle of Snow Teal to cure you of your dizziness.”

The grandfather's clock in the Commandant’s office struck at eleven-twenty, forty minutes before afternoon.

Claire served a tray contained a bottle of Snow Teal, a cup of herbal tea and a small plate of biscuits.

“I hope you don’t mind the lack of snack variety. Those were all that I could grab in the kitchen.”

Grants coughed, wetting his dry throat. “Thanks. I greatly appreciate the efforts.”

Gulped on the Snow Teal, Grants wiped his mouth with his sleeves and waited for the medicine took over.

Claire picked the herbal tea cup and handed it to him. “Drink this one too.”

Grants accepted the cup and drank.

“Thank you. I needed that.”

Claire nodded. With her hands clenched in front, she looked at the Commandant in the eyes with a serious concern.

“I trust you must have your reasons for behaving the way you did, Commandant,” Always straightforward as ever — those were one of the many qualities that Grants greatly appreciated about his subordinate.

With a heavy sigh, Grants walked toward his study desk.

“Perhaps it would be better if you take a look at it yourself. Please, have a seat.”

Obeying her superior’s order, Claire took a seat on the opposite side of the desk.

“Has Captain Luna’s Team returned home to safety?”

“Not yet. Though one can’t help but to wonder what’s taking them this long for a simple errands to a neighbouring town.”

Two scrolls with the Heartlet’s seal in big and bold CLASSIFIED letters printed in the front, being placed before her. She gazed up to the Commandant who nodded for her to read.

“Normally… I’ve absolute faith in any team that been assigned for this type of mission. Nevertheless, since this is a special request from Lord Ranfel who wanted his daughter to be promoted to a Captain rank as soon as possible – even though the young lady is clearly not ready for the position – I’ve no choice but to place veteran knights to go with them.”

“Only experienced Knights are handpicked for the Captain Examination as it requires special training for certain period of time to prepare themselves for the examination. Lalla Luna just graduated from the Academy not long ago, hence, certainly does not qualified for the Captain Examination preparation at all. Lord Ranfel must have known about this and yet…”

“Precisely. Read the next one,” he pointed out the next scroll.

Claire’s eyes carefully take in each words in scroll. As the wordings in the scroll went on, she suddenly felt a knot at the pit of her stomach.

“These are reports that came from the Knights of Eden who had patrolled the area near the Northern Borders, a few days ago. An unknown large group had been sighted in the Northern lands and the Knights that were stationed there were murdered. What’s more alarming was they way they were murdered – more like slaughtered by wild beasts. The attacks moved swiftly from the North and most recently, they were sighted near in the East continent – close to our borders. Lord Eden immediately sent out warnings to other Kingdoms to take precautions of the mysterious intruders. Andania is the closest town in the North-East, the possibility of these intruders slipped in the town is dangerously high. Hence –”

“...The sudden increase of guards assigned in Andania and frequent patrol around the area. That explains why the sudden needs to place a large for weapon…”

“Correct. Lord Ranfel and Lord Andania have agreed that only few selected people knew about this in order to avoid chaos and panic amongst the people. The scroll that was assigned to Captain Luna’s team was the latest prevention plan and it must reach Lord Andania at all cost. I’ve ordered the veteran knights to send secret messages every hour for our updates on the situation.”

Claire stood up abruptly, visibly worried as she looked at the Grandfather’s clock now fifteen minutes before noon.

“Commandant, the last update that we’d received was at eleven o’clock. What if something happened to them in the middle of returning home? Or worse…”

Grants sighed deeply as he rose from his seat and headed to the door.

“Gather all available knights to the Hall Room, Vice Commandant. We’ll instigate Immediate Rescue Operation at once.”

“Understood, Sir!”