Chapter 7:

Before the king

The Ghost of OtherWorld Vol. 1: The Flame Knight of Ember Palace


"Commander!"

Tidis, looked up from his desk to see a common guard had entered his office. The commander feared that the king was requesting another audience, however that was not the case, which he thanked the gods for. Tidis was on the verge of death due to the last meeting between himself and the king. The last thing he wanted was to go through that again.

Sighing in a somewhat heavy relief, he set down his quill and stopped his writing, intertwining his fingers on the surface of his mahogany desk. It became almost immediately clear that this man was part of the raiding squad.

A simply armored knight approached him, being the Imperial Commander and leader of the current capturing, Tidis understood a few things, and the most important one was that he couldn't return to the king empty handed. He needed the princess, but equally needed this boy, Souta Okada, was that his name?

"What's your status?"

The knight saluted and began his report. "The royal brigade has the Okada residence surrounded. From what we understand the boy and the princess are inside. We are waiting for your orders."

Tidis smiled at such positive news. There was no way they could fail now. The princess had fled from the royal brigade some weeks ago.

She is aware that she cannot defeat us all, and this boy should pose no threat.

Tidis glanced down into the shining red wood and saw his reflection. Fixing his crimson ponytail he said; "Then I believe it's time that we go and retrieve the treasonist."

Tidis stood up from his desk. "You have transportation ready?"

The solider nodded. But his expression wasn't so sure. Tidis could read all his men like children's books. He knew something was bothering the man.

"Before we go, what is it that's bothering you?"

"Eh?..." The solider seemed surprised that his commander would ask such a question.

"Well? Spit it out."

"I..I could be executed for my words, it is best that I do not speak my thoughts."

"You will not," Tidis had closed the distance between himself and the man, and gave a firm clamp on his shoulder. "I will keep whatever secrets are spilled."

The solider hesitated, but finally said, "Sir, with all due respect! I do not think of the princess as a terrorist. I don't see that she has committed treason!"

The commander was quiet for a moment, then his quietness was converted to laughter. Tidis burst out into an uncontrollable laughter that lasted far longer than it should have. Especially for such a serious topic as this was.

"My boy," Tidis said finally, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye, "That makes two of us."

"Huh? You mean you don't think the princess is a treasonist?"

The commander shook his head. His gaze was shifted to the large window that was placed behind his desk. He examined the outside. When he glanced towards the sky he saw darkness. The sky that remained forever black. The other surroundings was that of magma, sun stone, embers and brimstone. He admired how ember palace was built into the side of a volcano. It really gave it's name a colorful story.

"Technically," Tidis said, "Princess Harada has committed treason. But morally, she's as free as a bird with wings. What she did was wrong only to the corrupt of our kingdom and systems. The princess was doing something to better our home. But, I cannot go against the king. Not at this moment."

"Sir..you know what will happen once we capture her, don't you?"

Tidis nodded.

"If I'm to assist in this operation then I must know, what will become of the princess?"

"She is to be executed, "Tidis said gravely. "But it is my place as commander and head knight to stop that. I will not have my pupil executed."

The young solider nodded, "Thank you, commander. The circle is ready, so let us go."

Tidis nodded, and let the solider escort him to the area of transportation. As they walked through the large halls of the palace, Tidis wondered of what was to come. If this boy really was an Aalok then he should posses great power, if he could use it was the question. Kazami had made an attempt to fight him and failed. This thought was troubling for Tidis, but another thought soon surfaced. Was Kazami serious about that fight. It wouldn't have surprise Tidis if he had just played for a bit.

"How many men have been deployed?" Tidis asked the young solider as they entered a large and dark room. The only source of lighting was the orange glow of the magical circle that covered the majority of the flooring. If not for that, it would have been pitch black.

"Twenty men have successfully surrounded the residence. As of now our two targets are the only ones there. If we move swiftly it should be no problem."

"And what of the surrounding residents?" Tidis and the solider centered the magic circle.

"We have two warlocks that will deploy a barrier. Anything that happens once it is active will be unknown to the outside world, the same goes for the outside to the inside." Tidis couldn't help but smile. Things were going almost perfectly, and that was what scared him. Things were never this easy, especially with such a delicate operation. Tidis could afford to make no mistakes, and he wouldn't.

"Very well, let us go. The Mortal Realm awaits."

***

"Okada! Are you home?"

The comment followed several knocks, and was followed by several more.

"Hey, Okada! Its noon, you can't expect me to believe you're asleep!"

Souta was close to the door when this began. He was standing over the stove as he prepared breakfast for himself and Harada.

Harada!

"Oh, Yuriko!" Souta said loud enough for her to hear. "I'm cooking, give me one second!" Quieting down his voice he gave Harada a frantic look. "Go up stairs!" he demanded. "She can't see you!"

Harada gave a confused look, "Why?"

"Because how will I explain your being here to her?! I can't tell her the truth. Please, go up stairs long enough for me to get rid of her."

Harada's expression said that she still didn't understand, but she did as Souta asked, and made her way upstairs. As soon as Souta saw that she was out of view, he made an attempt to fix his hair, then with a smile, opened the door. Yuriko stood at the doorstep with a bright smile, her hands behind her back, it was clear she was holding something.

"Okada," she smiled. "Its been a little while, hasn't it?"

Souta nodded, and with a smile stepped to the side so that Yuriko could make her way inside. She did so, and leaving her shoes at the door journeyed into Souta's home. Yuriko, being his childhood friend had spent plenty of time in Souta's house. They used to meet up everyday after school, whether it was to study, or just to play together. But for reasons neither of them knew, soon after high school started, that stopped. Yuriko hadn't actually been inside in, what was it? A year?

But today she was here with purpose. Two of them actually. One of which, she held in her hand.

"Hey, Yuriko?" Souta had shut the door behind himself and was standing a few feet away with curiosity in his eyes. "What's that paper you're holding?"

"Eh..?"

Yuriko had almost forgotten that she was holding her award. She was more fixated on the cleanliness of the house. For such a big house, and Souta being a boy, she was surprised at how spotless it was.

"This?" Yuriko held up her sealed document.

Souta nodded.

"Well...do you remember the time we spent together on school's last day, when Kaito and I were making fun of you for doing nothing all summer?"

"Yeah," Souta said with a bitter tone. He remembered all too well.

"Well remember how I said I was taking part in a writing competition?"

Souta nodded, then took a moment to think. His eyes widened when he realized that what Yuriko was holding was an award.

"You won?!" He asked with a smile. When Yuriko confirmed it, his expression was excited enough to say that he was the one to win.

"I won first place in the LF category!" she said with a smile.

"LF?" Souta asked, as he'd never heard that type of category, and certainly never read a book under that category before.

"It stands for 'Life Fiction' " Yuriko said. "The name is pretty self explanatory, but it's basically a fictional approach on the writers personal life."

"You didn't really need to explain," Souta said with a dull expression, but it quickly altered itself when a question surfaced in his head.

"What exactly did you write about?" Souta asked.

At his question Yuriko's face became instantly flustered with crimson and she was forced to break her eyes contact with Souta. Holding her envelope to her chest she said; "O..Okada, you pervert!"

"Huh?!" Souta was baffled on how she could call him perverted when he only asked a simple question.

Yuriko's reasoning behind this was, well what exactly she had written.

Calling Souta a pervert wasn't necessarily part of it. More or less it slipped out. Thinking to herself, she recalled the contents of her story. The epic romance between Yuriko, and her senior Okada. The charming and intelligent upperclassman that had a secret rough and dominating side to him.

Shaking her head, repetitively in a no motion she made an attempt to clear her blush.

"Well never mind," Souta said. "Just let me read it sometime?"

"Okada?.." Yuriko looked up at her senior, still a bit of blush on her cheeks, she looked puzzled and yet amazed. "Y..you want to read my story?"

"Well yeah!" Souta said with a smile. "Please let me." With his words he gave her a pat on her ebony haired head.

"So, Okada!" Yuriko took a seat on one of the two identical white couches. "What have you done this summer?"

***

Harada swung her feet in mid air as the hung off the edge of Souta's bed. She was like an impatient child waiting to receive something that she strongly desired.

"So, Okada! What have you done this summer?"

Harada sighed to herself and lay back onto the bed. She lay there pouting as Souta was talking to that Yuriko girl downstairs. Harada could hear the entirety of their conversation from the spot she was currently at.

Who is she to him? Harada thought to herself. And immediately as she did so, she received her answer. In the form of a vision, she saw several events that took place through the length of most of Souta's life. In all the images that played Souta stood with the same girl, in each passing picture they got older and older until they reached current age. Yuriko was Souta's childhood friend.

It was while this timeline was being played to her that one event caught her attention. It was an older event, when they were around the age of eight. Souta was standing in between Yuriko and a man with a gun. They were in a classroom of some sort and it appeared they were the only ones there.

He had saved her.

[M'lady.]

Ambriel had spoken, But Harada hadn't heard him.

He's her hero.

[M'lady Harada.]

Is she in love with him?

[PRINCESS HARADA!]

The memories of Souta were wiped from her vision and her ears were filled with the loud tone of her spirit. She jumped up from the bed and looked around.
The sun was gone..or rather being taken away.

"Ambriel," Harada said. "What's going on?"

[It would appear that the palace is making another attempt to bring you home.]

Harada rushed to the window and saw that the sun had set in almost an instant, even though it was mid-day. The moon had risen, taking the place of the sun, continuing to emit the same rays and light as if the sun had never set. It was a symbol of a magical teleportation used by ghost to enter this realm. To mortals it was known as..the Moonlight Miracle? Harada wasn't sure if that was what Souta had called it.

"Ambriel, can you tell me how many?" Harada was frantic and frustrated. She feared what was to come. And knowing her father, it could be anything.

[No, But I can sense Commander Tidis on his way. Knowing that, I would make the most logical assumption that he's brought his brigade with him. I'm afraid it is no longer safe here. Princess, we must go.]

"And what of Souta?!" Harada demanded. "We can't leave him at my father's mercy. If he learns what Souta is he'll surely be killed!"

[I understand your feelings, but I'm afraid that as of now your safety----]

Ambriel was cut off by a massive tremor that shook the entirety of Souta's house as if it was nothing more then a child's rattler.

Harada grit her teeth together in frustration. "They're here." she said.

[Quickly! Get to the boy, with Gadreel's help I can make a jump for all of us.]

Harada nodded, and emerged from Souta's bedroom, without a moments hesitation she rushed down the staircase.

***

"Really?" Yuriko asked. She almost sounded impressed that Souta had managed nothing. "You know Okada, if their was an award for most boring person, and I'm sure their is, you would definitely win."

Souta chuckled. He would have agreed with her a few prior, but now. He was anything but boring. Not that he could explain that.

I really wish I could explain without seeming crazy. Souta thought to himself.

It was true, he couldn't explain that he was a healer and had given parts of his soul to the woman upstairs, which she didn't know existed, who was also training him to master his true powers. Oh, and the supernatural battle he'd lost consciousness to! How could he leave that out?

Yes, there was no way to tell his friend the truth without being considered insane.

"Say, Okada, didn't you make that deal with Kaito? The whole getting a girlfriend thing?"

Souta bit at his bottom lip as he recalled the details.

"Well I just need to prove that I've done something with my time. We never brought up me dating."

That wasn't entirely true. If he recalled correctly, Souta had claimed he'd start dating a girl over the summer.

"Well that's good, it isn't like you'd be able to accomplish that anyway!" Yuriko stuck her tongue out at Souta.

So blunt! He thought.

"Say, Okada," Yuriko asked.

"Huh?" Souta said. Just realizing their conversation had carried them into the kitchen.

"Why do you have two sets of food made?"

"Eh..?"

Souta realized that his food, along with the food Harada didn't finished was still on the table.

"I..uh..well..."

"..."

When Souta looked up Yuriko was staring him down with a blank expression.

"Did you have company today?"

"No! No! No!" Souta was quick to deny that true statement. "I just uh..I've had a big appetite recently!" Souta patted at his stomach.

"...if you say so."

Souta was relieved that Yuriko had bought his obviously fake story. Things might have been okay, he might have gotten Yuriko home without revealing Harada to her, if only she hadn't rushed down the stairs in the most frantic matter.

Yuriko and Souta were at the door when she said, "Okada, you know what today is, right?"

Of course he did. He'd had that reoccurring replay for the past two weeks. He knew that today was that anniversary.

"Well of cour--"

His words were cut short as Harada seemingly threw herself down the stairs.

"Souta! We have to go!" she called.

After he didn't say anything to her comment it got terribly quiet.

He found that Yuriko stood on one side of him, and Harada on the other, making eye contact with each other. Yuriko's expression said that she was utterly confused and she simply stared at Harada.

Harada didn't say much for a moment, until Yuriko broke the silence saying, "Okada, who is this girl?"

He only looked between the two, as if not able to understand that they were in the same room, looking at each other, wondering about one another.

Maybe he would have answered, if his door wasn't kicked opened.

The front door to Souta's home was kicked inward. The door thrown from its hinges, it flew forward and would have hit Yuriko. However, Souta was able to help her. Maybe it was thanks to Harada and her training, but he was able to dash forward, he wrapped his arms around her and put his body in between her and the projectile that was a door.

Yuriko was left unharmed, but Souta was put in a scene of intense pain as the door slammed into his back.

"Okada!"

"Souta!"

Both Yuriko and Harada were at his side as he was forced to kneel from the blow his back had taken. But Souta didn't have time to focus on his pain, he had to focus on the large amount of men that spewed into his home. He counted seven men in thick silver armor, all holding deadly sharp blades that surrounded the three. All of them bore the same symbol on their chest. It was a flame with crossing swords behind them.

They all readied their swords but didn't move. Instead they waited for a man to enter in. He stood out being the only one that didn't have a helmet on. His long red hair was tied back, and he was devilishly handsome.

"Tidis!" Harada cursed. "So my father had you come for me to!"

"Please princess. I don't want anything negative to happen. I'm here to bring you home, you and this boy."

It was then Tidis noticed the other girl. He mentally cursed to himself. He was told no one else was here. This did complicate matters.

"Okada..." Yuriko's voice was quivering. "I'm scared!" she cried. "Who are these people. What's going on...?"

"Forgive me Yuriko. I didn't want you to get caught up in any of these supernatural matters. I didn't want you to find out this way.."

Souta held out his hand and muttered to himself, Harada recognized the words he was saying were a chant!

So he has been practicing.

Harada couldn't help but smile.

Souta made sure he was in between these men and Harada and Yuriko. Souta called, "Gadreel, I summon your power. Come to me, Thanatos!"

In a flash of golden light, the seal on Souta's Palm glowed brightly and he summoned his weapon.

In a glow of gold Souta held a...dagger?

Unlike all the times when he had practiced with himself, instead of summoning his sword, Thanatos, Souta held nothing more than a tiny gold and ebony dagger.

At the sight, all the royal guards burst into laughter, all but Tidis. He remained serious as he saw that even with his small weapon, Souta was ready to face each and every one of those knights.

Souta readied himself, and would have fought, if Harada hadn't interjected.

"Souta," she said. "Don't, I've decided to go with them. Its the best option."

"Huh?!" Souta demanded. "You can't be serious."

Harada looked forward with a determined expression. "I am. I will reason with my father."

"Then I'm going with you. I won't let this happen without me being there. Whether you like it or not, we're in this together." He smiled.

"I'm glad you have decided to cooperate!" Tidis smiled and with a snap of his fingers, the knights were shackling them.

"Okada.." Yuriko said with tears in her eyes. "W..what's happening?"

"Don't worry," he said with a smile. "I'll explain everything and I'll get us out of this."

Once they were cuffed, Tidis said, "You three will be taken to the Ember Palace of Otherworld. It is there that the king will speak with you. I advise you retain from rudeness."

"Good," Souta said. "I have a few things to say to him."

"Use your head boy. Foolish actions are not taken lightly when they are before the king."