A Knight And A Prisoner

We were walking down the main street of the city, trying to blend in with the crowd at the large feast. As we approached the palace, we noticed an increase in the number of soldiers. They seemed to occupy almost every part of the feast.

Fortunately, Rose was a paladin and held a higher rank than the soldiers. This made it easier for us to pass by them without drawing attention to ourselves. However, I couldn't help but wonder about the large number of soldiers present. So, I asked Rose about it.

"There are a lot of soldiers around," I said.

"For the safety of the King and the people," Rose replied. "These troops extend to the end of the feast."

I understood her explanation, but I had difficulty seeing the end of the feast. It seemed to stretch on endlessly.

"How far does this feast extend?" I asked.

"From the palace to the city, and from the city to the Colosseum," Rose explained. "But don't worry, most of the soldiers here aren't controlling the crowds of people. Their presence is more concentrated in the palace and the Colosseum."

As we got closer to the palace, we could see carriages coming out of the gates. There were many soldiers on the carriages heading towards the road we were on. Suddenly, Rose grabbed my arm and pulled us into a narrow alley.

At first, I thought we were running away from the carriages, but it turned out that they weren't the only reason we were there. I followed Rose in silence until we reached the roof of an empty house. From there, she pointed towards the palace doors.

"There's the entrance to the palace," she said. "But for some reason, it's more crowded than I expected."

Rose was right. There were soldiers everywhere in the palace. We had to get in there somehow, but it wouldn't be easy to do so without attracting attention in such a crowd.

"The palace is blocked off," I said. "The only entrance seems to be the main gate. How are you going to get us in there?"

Rose replied, "I might have an idea."

"Go on," I said.

"The bottom floor of the palace is the custodial section," she explained. "The one above that is the archive section. If I take you there with your hands tied, we can reach the archive more easily without going through the custodial section. Otherwise, I can't let you in at all."

"Can't you just order the soldiers at the gate to withdraw?" I asked.

Rose gave me a sarcastic look. "That's quite a plan," she said. "Only the king can give orders to the soldiers in the palace unless it's an emergency."

"Then there's nothing we can do, we'll go with your plan," I said.

When the coast was clear, Rose handcuffed my hands and led me towards the palace like a prisoner. I kept my head down to avoid being recognized by the people and soldiers. To them, I had to appear like a normal criminal rather than a wanted one.

As we approached the palace, I could see soldiers on the hill pointing their bows at me. There was clearly a security protocol in place. The palace was heavily guarded, with heavy artillery pieces on the corner hills instead of just bows. It was almost impossible to see a bird fly around the palace.

Rose approached the soldier at the gate and began to speak with him while I listened with my head down.

"I've arrested a suspect for causing trouble at the feast," she said. "He'll be in the cell tonight. Maybe then he'll come to his senses."

"Yes, sir," the soldier replied.

Due to Rose's rank, the soldier didn't question her order. He simply confirmed what she had said and turned to shout to the other soldiers.

"Open the gates!" he yelled. "There is a prisoner with Paladin Rose!"

After a short time, the great palace gates were opened for us. The steel of the gate seemed harder than iron, it opened slowly and heavily. Rose turned her head towards me.

"Come on, prisoner," she said. "Let's go."

Now that we were officially inside, our only task was to make our way to the archives and find out what had happened.

I had expected to go directly into the palace, but for security reasons, the main entrance was located behind the walls and down the road. In front of us was a wide, though not long, road surrounded by a beautiful garden.

I admired the craftsmanship of this palace compared to others I had seen. Despite the crowds, it had a spacious atmosphere. There were even more soldiers inside than outside. From the archers on the roof to the guards on duty, they seemed to cover every inch of the palace.

I thought we would make it all the way to the palace without any problems, but soon another obstacle appeared in our path. A woman and a man dressed like paladins were approaching us. It wasn't difficult to tell that they were paladins. What was difficult was trying not to be noticed.

I kept my head down and waited for them to pass us by. I knew that a paladin was more experienced than a regular soldier and it wouldn't take long for them to notice me. I didn't think they would stop for me, but their footsteps were getting closer to Rose. I knew they were going to talk to her and that Rose needed to get past them quickly to avoid being noticed.

When the tall, well-built paladin and his companion, a nondescript young girl paladin, reached Rose's side, the girl spoke up.

"Rose," she said. "You're back. I thought you were on guard duty outside until the feast was over."

"I caught a suspect disturbing the peace of the city," Rose replied. "I brought him here to spend the night in the dungeon."

The girl paladin found Rose's actions strange and replied. "Usually you always delegate these tasks to the soldiers," she said. "What happened? Why are you doing this job yourself?"

"I'm just securing my position," Rose replied. "That's all. What are you doing here?"

"We came to report to the King and Queen," the girl paladin said. "We located one of the wanted girl. It's in the witches' village, but we've come here to ask the king's permission to raid and pursue."

"Just the girl?" Rose asked.

"A girl," the paladin replied. "But she was traveling with a boy. They were probably around the same age."

"Do you know why the king is looking for them?" Rose asked.

"We only follow orders," the girl paladin said. "We don't question them. Remember, you told us that? I don't recognize you today."

While the girls continued their conversation, the other paladin, a large man, was watching me intently. I could feel his gaze on me even though I kept my head down to avoid suspicion.

"Is something wrong, Jin?" the girl paladin asked her companion.

"I feel a strangely powerful energy in this man," Jin replied.

"Yes, now that you mention it," the girl paladin said. "I feel it too. It's quite interesting…"

It was only a matter of time before I was caught. As the conversations continued, it would be inevitable that they would notice me when they lifted my cloak. I was planning to make a run for it when a soldier approached us, shouting from behind.

"Sir," he said. "There was a quarrel at the feast. It is said that the soldiers of the saga were giving the villagers a hard time."

Rose turned her head towards the soldier. "Thank you for the information," she said.

She then turned back to the paladins in front of her. "Kino, Jin," she said. "Can you handle this before it escalates?"

"I guess this is the end of our break," Kino said. "Let's go, Jin."

The paladins hurried off to prevent the situation from escalating. We took advantage of their departure and made our way into the palace. The interior was large and spacious, like any palace. There were fewer soldiers inside compared to outside.

When we reached the stairs, there was no one around. Rose took off my handcuffs when she saw that the coast was clear.

"Did you have to tie them so tight?" I asked.

"Don't be a whiner," Rose replied. "Follow me."

"I didn't know there were so many soldiers in this palace," I said.

"We don't usually have this many," Rose explained. "But because of the feast, we've increased security for the king and queen."

We made our way down the stairs to the door of the archive room. Before we entered, Rose warned me.

"Remember," she said. "You are still wanted. So be quiet and listen while I ask all the questions."

"I'll do my best," I replied.

Now it was up to us to discover the truth behind those doors.