A warrior clad in full-body armor looked around the small house. While the gray skies made the weather quite dull, his silver armor contrasted greatly due to how much it shined like a hand-washed mirror. Some said that he was just a regular foot soldier like any other, while some claimed that he was a waste of space among the army of Gabriel. And in fact, he was just a foot soldier. As much as how much experience he had in combat, his rank defined what he was in Gabriel's slew of warriors and knights.

But whoever called him a coward was considered foolish, as one of the biggest surprises he had in store was his utmost bravery and almost astonishing willpower.

Sir Prize Batt, a knight who was to be the successor of his father, found the helmet he was looking for in a small chest shoved in the corner of his room. His long, black hair flowed all the way to his waist, but not for long. For his ultimate technique in hiding his outrageously long hair was to wear a helmet. His hair seemed to lessen the impact of strikes made on his head.

"Ah ha!" Prize shouted as a large grin appeared on his overshadowed face. "I knew you'd be- er, I knew my helmet would be in this chest! My instincts are stinking awesome sometimes! I wonder why my helmet was even in here, though..."

Just before the knight could further celebrate his discovery, however, he heard his father yell from the kitchen,

"Son! You ready, yet?!"

"Ha ha ha! Old man, I'm always ready!"

He wore his helmet, letting two eyes shine beneath the visor of the armor. Wearing a vibrant orange cape, and equipped with a two-handed sword placed behind his back, Sir Prize left his house, paying his farewells to his family like usual. While many knights and warriors preferred to stay within or at least close to the royal castle to be more effective in their duties, Prize tended to see his family a lot. He was ready for his third week in serving Gabriel, and his motivation remained intact. There was a possibility that he would not meet his family for a long time, so he spent as much time with them as he could.

The knight of Gabriel simply walked his way to the royal castle. His duty for today was to follow a patrol squad to ensure that violent conflicts would not arise within the city. He was told to meet his group in front of the castle. After a fair moment of repetitive walking, he found the gate to the castle. In front of the sealed, intimidating gate were two guards; one of them seemed to be looking down.

Sir Prize thought about what he should do. After mysteriously standing in front of the gate for a fair amount of time, he decided to move out of the path to the gate, wondering where and when his patrol squad would arrive. He was unaware of the fact that he was forty-five minutes earlier than the planned meeting time.

---

Armed and fully equipped, Artemis Idrian moved within the royal castle's grounds. The blonde knight patrolled the castle grounds with a stoic expression on her face. She was one of Michael's knights; one that served with all she had to offer. Regardless of what tragedies would and will occur to her, she was a woman who made a vow to live up to her family name as a royal successor of her once happy family. While she was indeed at a particularly low rank amongst the warriors of Michael, she was one to be taken seriously.

Only when she had the presence of other knights, as well as Michael's royal family members, would she ever stop making that stone-cold face of hers. As the blonde knight continued to ensure that no disturbances were in the castle, Artemis took a quick look at her blade, making sure that it was sharp, before readjusting it in its sheath.

Cold. Freezing. Arctic. Frozen. Chilling

Those were the words that could be used to describe Ash's room. The dark sky loomed over the horizon as the servant's eyes opened, revealing icy blue eyes that marked his curse. Ash sat up in his frost covered bed, the ceilings layered with sheets of ice, the floor slippery with crystalline coldness. The lad slowly got up as he yawned, releasing a cloud of frost from his mouth much to his chagrin. Ash stood up, his bandages tangled and crumpled from the nightmare he had. The lad waved his hand in the air as all the frost and ice lifted from the ground and surged to his palm, leaving the place dry and clean. In a flash, Ash covered his right palm with his left palm, and upon opening it, an ice figurine of an angel appeared.

Ash smirked at the irony. He had created an angel when he was actually cursed by a demon. A fact that he never wished to be discovered. Only just recently, Ash had been promoted to become the personal servant of the princess of Gabriel... a snotty brat she was who dropped all the suitors as if they're scalding. However, Ash liked that quality of hers. She knew what she wanted... She knew that she had a choice.

Ash smiled at these thoughts as he placed the ice figurine on his desk... not that it was going to melt anytime soon... with all that ice compressed into a tiny object.. it would take days or even weeks for it to melt partially.

Ash took off his bandages slowly, one by one. The lad's eyes met the mirror's... The scars were plainly visible all over his body... torso, arms, limbs... lower face. Ash shuddered at the sudden onslaught of memories as he shook all of these off and went to the bathroom to clean himself. He was careful not to let his powers slip while in the tub of water... he didn't want himself to be trapped in a block of ice. Not again.

Ash rose from the water as he wiped himself dry. Slowly, he applied a new set of white gauze, covering his scars again. As he was finished mummifying himself, Ash put on a black servant suit... It was almost time to serve his majesty. By this time, Ash was ready. Mummified, suited, and hair kept a bit rowdy. Just the way he liked it.

Ash opened the door to his quarters, carefully looking both ways to make sure that none would know his secret. As soon as the coast was clear, Ash jogged towards the kitchen, preparing princess Aninesse's breakfast. That royal must be famished by now. As soon as he got the meal, Ash added some tea and cake... and as always, he sprinted up the stairs towards the quarters of the princess. As he reached the door, Ash was confused whether to knock or not... he'd probably disturb her sleep.

Well, it was better for the princess to be disturbed than to have an empty stomach, Ash decided. His wrapped hand knocked softly on the door as his gentle voice called out.

"Milady. Pardon me for interrupting your rest, but I would just like to bring in your breakfast." Ash smiled as his hand was preparing to push the door once Aninesse would give her approval.

Furnia smiled in the vanity as Celeste brushed her hair softly. Furnia was excited. Her husband was said to be coming home today. She looked st Celeste through the mirror with a sense of sadness but also hope. "I am so happy you are here, Celeste." Celeste gave her a ghost of a smile and said "yes, master." Furnia sighed and turned to her in her nightgown. "Celeste, you know we have no need for such formalities! Please, call me Furnia!"

Celeste looked at her in silent surprise. The Queen wants to be on a first name basis with... her? Celeste blinked a few times before saying softly "o-okay, F-Furnia." Furnia smiled ecstatically. "Thank you! Now," -she turned back to the vanity- "tell me about yourself. What do you like to do? How is your family? Things of that nature." Celeste looked at her before continuing brushing her hair. She said after a long, silent second "I do not have a family. I was... taken at a young age, Ma- Furnia." Celeste smiled softly at her. "Do not frett so. I like to accompany you. As for what I like to do, I like to write stories and dream."

Furnia smiled at the young girl. Celeste was no younger than her, but she was still her queen. "I apologize for the past descretions the former king and queen allowed. Sadly, I hold no power in my kingdom." Celeste looked at Furnia with an assuring look. "I assure you, you have more power than you give yourself credit, Your Grace. The nobility may not bow as low as us lower class, but respect is still beating in their blue-blooded veins." Furnia chuckled gracefully. "Ah, yes. Now I understand why you enjoy writing." Celeste blushed a bright red. After that, Celeste said to the young queen "I must do my chores, Ma-Furnia." Furnia looked up at her and smiled. "Yes, yes. Please." Celeste bowed and quickly walked out the room to get to her chores.

Furnia went to sit on her bed with an interested look on her visage. "Interesting girl..."

---

Ani, already awake and in a long, white gown that cascaded from the corset; saw Ash walk into the room. She smiled and said "ah yes! The perfect day for me to play with the children in the village! We must eat quickly if we want to leave before the suitors come!" She collected the skirt of her dress in her arms with a huff. "I cannot stand these hellish things!" She looked up at Ash with a grin. "I also want to ready myself for the pending war. Unless you are not up for the task."

Ani had always been an energetic girl, but this was the first time she had been so energetic in the morning. She needed it. Today was the day her mother died. Her father died soon after. On these days, she was at her most outgoing. She also wanted to leave before the suitors came around. They were so aggrivating! She thought them too proud of their boring lives and they expected her to be a common trophy wife? No. She was going to be her own person.

It was strange how little there was for a prince to do in a castle. Young Arthur had little to do besides reading books, as it was hard for someone like him to find real friends to play with. Right now, he was looking out a window at the training field, watching an odd Knight with a red arm working out. What Arthur found so strange about him was that his eyes saw something no one else did; to him, it almost looked like the red arm was...fighting with the rest of the body it was attached to. Arthur could see colors and gestures that he had long since attributed to rebellion. He had heard stories about this Knight; Sir Baron, not a lot of them were good "it must suck. Having to constantly fight to maintain control over your own body like that." Having grown bored watching him, Arthur decided to try an intercept his sister suitors for the day, to try and get a little insight to their character. Because he could only 'see' the truth, he often had a hard time deciphering what he was seeing, since his sight conflicted with his other sense. However, he was able to tell if someone was lying easily

---

Having to retrain himself to fight with a two handed sword using only one hand hadn't been easy, but he had done it. While his left had was much stronger then his right one, it was also the part of his body that had been cursed by the demon. As such, it was hard to control, and sometimes even started shaking. There was no way he could use a sword with such an unsteady hand. So, he had to start his training over, much to his dismay. However, he was now combat ready. Baron was currently in the training field, giving his sword arm a workout with some practice swings, with sweat covering his body

'Wet, sticky, and hot. Just like blood'

"Gah!" Baron cringed, dropping the sword in shock. "Geez, I didn't think it would get this bad from a simple workout. I've got to learn to keep this under control." Picking his sword back up, he walked to the barracks "I think I'm done for today"

Kyalia was...undecided, as per the normal. It's something every monarch should feel as making any decision because no one knows what the outcome of any decision could be, even for something as small as choosing which fork to use at dinner(you could offend someone and therefore when war comes, you no longer have them as an ally causing you to lose the war...it's no wonder half her ancestors went barking mad). And this wasn't anything small, this was something very, very big. She had been summoned to the Round Table by the King of Raphael. Customs dictate she should go, however, the current political situation makes it likely she'd be dead before reaching the table, let alone going back home. But customs were very important and she considered it unlikely that if he was calling the peace talks that he would kill her but as always there is the Kingdom of Gabriel to consider....and the kingdom of Lucifer. While they were not called on, they had spies and assassins everywhere, or so she was led to believe. And she did, believe it that is, that it existed still. Lucifer was someone people paid to little attention to and got by doing to many unfavorable things but Lucifer was an old wives tale meant to scare children. At the moment, they were not her concern. Her concern was whether or not she should meet the current King of Raphael and she was leaning towards yes.
"Your majesty, the current King of Gabriel is cunning, a liar, and a sneak. He cannot be trusted to follow as custom dictates, while I understand why the King of Raphael would call us, you simply cannot go if the King of Gabriel knows you're coming. There are only so many roads you can take to get there, he will have them all trapped." Her head adviser tried to tell her but she was a member of the Royal Bloodline, like her parents and her siblings, and like them, she was as stubborn as a bull so once she had settled herself to doing something she was going to do it, come hell or high water. Although...that hadn't worked out too well in the recent past...since she was having to make this decision in the first place although she knew her sister wouldn't have been a good Queen...she's too young and hasn't seen the world as it truly is...only as it is depicted in her books.
"I am going...he summoned me and it would be rude not to accept. What would he do anyways? Kill me? It's not really an effective strategy when that is my wish anyways." She said, giving him a tight lipped smile as she stood up.
"I will be fine...there is no way I am leaving this Kingdom to my sister yet anyways. She is not ready to lead so I am not ready to leave. It is as simple as that." Kyalia said as she strode out the room. She was going to be gone for at least a day(more likely more than that) which means that someone needed to be in charge so that might was well be her sister...she can't screw up too much in that short amount of time. She loved her sister dearly, and would die for her(not such a big feat anyways) but she didn't trust the girl. She lived more in the fantasy world than she did in real life...and while Kyalia envied that she knew it wasn't a good trait for a Queen to have...which was her deciding factor in just how much was she willing to go to avoid the throne. And it was a sad factor at that but a necessary one to look at. Kyalia stepped to the door, knocking on it and waiting for her sister to answer.

A dead, cold air flowed around a single being. His rugged armor fit nicely into the kingdom of Lucifer, but his very presence did not. There were times when even some powerful demons moved out of his way, afraid to look him in the eye due to a generic rumor about him. He was not known greatly, but those who knew him took his presence cautiously. Some feared him, while others looked forward to kill and get rid of him. A clear division of thoughts was present amongst those who knew the icy figure: fear him, or hate him.

Yet again, a group of hard-headed, pathetically weak demons went up to the cold figure, who was cornered in a back alley he slept at behind several buildings. They raised a pitchfork or two, one even wielding a deathly large knife, as they swung, lunged, and aimed to kill the icy man.

Sometimes, ice was faster than everything. Reverse psychology made it make sense; instead of being faster than others to win a race, ice slowed others down to beat and pummel them to frozen dust. Even regular ice showed no mercy. But the cold warrior's power of ice was able to freeze the sharpest of hearts. He could bring a violent, cold storm in some of the fieriest warriors alive, and while he certainly was not the strongest, he had the potential to empower his sword to the point where even he would not be able to wield it one day.

Then again, his opponents were not powerful even among fairly strong demon denizens who did not serve the kingdom. No, they knew they were weak, which was why they brought pitchforks and a knife in the first place. Ice, however, took forever to break with several pitchforks and a knife.

After a moment's while of time flew by, he decided to do something. The "Ice Man" first took out the first mob's spine, kindly putting it neatly into the center of the second man's stomach. "Stuff" spilled out, but only a few specks of blood managed to stain his armor, for the contents froze before they even moved an inch closer to him. The third man trembled as he swung his knife at the cold figure, only to feel that his attack felt so much more slower than it should have been.

With a swift strike of his right index and middle fingers, the icy being inserted his hand into the man's head. He felt something particularly soft inside, causing him to shake the dead body off of his hand.

The fourth and last mob opened his mouth to scream in terror, intent on showing what kind of monster he was to the kingdom. But then again, everyone screamed in the kingdom of Lucifer.

And then again, his voice box was stolen by the cold figure. His face still frozen in terror, the dead man's head fell on the floor with a thud, his body following shortly afterward.

Macbeth, the fallen and chosen warrior of his own blade, stood amongst what could be the most lacking of foes he faced so far. Even a fairly bred demon child could have beaten them due to how fragile they became out of starvation. It was a short battle, and he did not know what to think of battles in general. He knew what terror felt like, but he felt none when a blade flew toward his head. There was no specific adrenaline that drove him, either. The Ice Man wondered why he even had to kill them in the first place.

Macbeth, a voice in his head echoed, its tone reeking of a calm lust and hunger. I must feast upon their blood, Macbeth... Let me feast now...

Macbeth nodded, immediately unsheathing his weapon. He then walked over to the first mob's body, his weapon in hand, before simply placing his sword on the ground. Putting one hand over the blade, the Ice Man closed his eyes.

His eyes then opened, cold energy crackling out of his eyes.

Steadily, yet quickly, the blood of the demons slowly oozed toward Macbeth. The demon warrior of ice focused his powers into giving his blade the food it desired. When the demon blood reached the sword, it began to flow into the open-eyed skull design placed on the weapon. The skull growled, indicating that who he had slain were, indeed, demons. Macbeth remained giving his weapon the ability to feast until it was completely done.

Thank you, Macbeth, the Ice Man heard from the blade. Tis' was a pleasurable feast... for the quality in this blood was not satisfying, but there was certainly a large quantity... You may carry on with serving Lucifer, now...

Macbeth nodded, acknowledging his weapon's satisfaction, before standing up again. Flesh and bones remained on the floor, causing the Ice Man to walk up to them and toss them to a nearby corner. He was not good at dealing with the remains of practically anything. With his sword's weekly meal time finished, Macbeth walked out of the back alley, the blood on his armor mysteriously gone. Apparently, he was feeling quite cold today.

The demon warrior of Lucifer walked by the cathedral, intent on receiving more duties from his ever-so treasured king and queen. That is, if they even had any for him. For if he had to take deep breaths while fighting such weak opponents, then he would need some training to harden him with battle experience and absolute power. He needed it for the blade he carried.

Ash smiled beneath his grim visage. This princess was truly something else. The servant approached the table as he set down the tray of food down. Ash's eyes wandered over to the princess' figure as he contemplated the past. He had only seen the princess thrice in his entire life; first, when he was still serving the army, second, when he returned from Michael, and third, now.

Ash didn't expect the young and carefree princess to grow up like this: Hating men as if they were trash.

"Milady. I understand that I was just recently promoted to the post of your personal servant, but, sooner or later, you're gonna have to find someone to share your life with." Ash chuckled as he arranged Ani's bed. "Indeed. The children are very fond of you, milady. However, I'm afraid they're quite scared of me for some obvious reasons. So I'd suggest one of your nicer looking servants would go with you." Ash replied, dusting the bed with his bandaged hand.

Ash breathed a sigh of relief as he finished fixing Ani's room. Every morning he would always do this without fail or without question, and of course, swiftly and hastily. Observing the princess, who was wearing a flowing white gown, again. Ash observed how active the princess was when reflecting about her desire to avoid men. Ash didn't know what had happened with the princess but he was quite sure that her step-parents had something to do with it.

Ash went over to the tray of food as he set it down on a small round table where he prepared the food and plates. Looking over to Ani, Ash called out to the princess to eat.

"Milady. It is time for your meal. The children wouldn't like it if their favored princess was weaker than a twig." Ash smiled as he held out a small porcelain kettle. Ash poured the tea in a porcelain glass as he took a slice of the cake and placed it in a small plate. Everything was ready, finally. Ash took a step back as he gestured for the princess to sit.

"Breakfast is served, milady." Ash bowed as he waited on Ani, as he did everyday ever since he received news of his new challenge to serve Gabriel's bloodline.

Strolling from the hallway to the library and down the bookshelves and back, Adeline indulged herself in the collection she continued to admire and desired to build upon. Every shelf like every tower dangled with different names and engravings on the side. The arrangement of colors lit up the room that remained dim for the books' safe-keeping. To this day she still marveled the sights of knowledge and literature, clutching the book in her hand. They were to grow old one day to history, but to her they will always present something new.

She exchanged books with the library. The large study room had much to explore, but she already had an idea of what she exactly wanted. Setting the book in her arms down by a desk, she wandered over and started to go through the list of many writings of amusement and information. Since her last book five reads were all fantasy of some sorts, perhaps she should pick up something more non-fiction, shouldn't she? She mentally agreed with herself. It would be terrible to wear herself out on the same topic already, no? However, it was tempting, for her eyes peered over the shelf to see the third volume of what she finished reading. While Adeline loved to spice things up, she also liked to keep things continuous, and her mind pondered... But maybe she could have both? A simply solution -- yes, both! She took the third volume nearby and a smaller book nearby and made her exit out of the room with a high neck and smile.

As she departed the library and headed towards her room, she saw a figure at the door. This perked her interest, though her heart sunk at the thought of the figure being another pesky maid, but by her surprise it was her sister! Ah, yes, the glorious queen! And how lucky was she! With a bright smile as a form of comfort, she came up to her sister and greeted her in formal matter.
"Queen Kyalia -- oh, look at you!" Adeline cheerfully spoke as she clung to her books. "You look quite lovely today, though your hair seems darker..." Well, at least from her memory. She couldn't recall much of her sister's appearance from the last time they ran into each other, but she was worse off trying to remember what her own brother looks like. She's not too proud of this trait, but she resumed to the conversation. "How are you on this fine," Adeline asked, but then quickly added, "Queen Kyalia?" Of course, she wasn't used to having her sister being queen; It was easy to call her by her first name and adding the proper title to her name left her puzzled. It wasn't because it was official, but perhaps because it was... unnatural compared to the past years. She dared not let her mind wonder in that direction though and after looking away for a bit, she returned her eyes to her sister. "Is there anything you need or wish to request?"

Kyalia turned to her sister, a smile on her face. While she didn't want her sister to have the throne, she still loved her very much. She missed her family since she ascended to the throne and decided that she would spend more time with her sister once she was returned from her trek to the Round Table. Kyalia embraced her sister after the formal greeting. This was her sister, someone who was family and Kyalia felt should always be such. Formalities are things for visiting nobles of this kingdom and the others, but this was her sister, not a stiff noble.

"Adeline." She smiled, her smile had been genuine since she knocked on her sisters door but became a little less genuine when her own sister addressed her by her title but she pulled back and was still honestly happy to see her. Her little sister had grown up some since she last saw her and that brought Kyalia's smile back full force.

"I am still your sister Adeline, even if I am now a Queen. I am still Kyalia and you are still Adeline, no need for titles." She insisted, as she led them into Adeline's room so as this conversation was not overheard by the ears that seem to occupy even the emptiest of halls in the castle. Kyalia closed the door and turned to her sister.

"How have you been? Have you been keeping up on your studies? Are you still reading good books, or have you read through the entire library already? Any nobles or knights catching your eyes?" Kyalia asked her, a teasing grin in place on her face. She desperately missed this kind of contact, one that doesn't rely on you saying the right words at the right time, lest all Hell break loose. She hugged her sister once more, feeling the full force of how much she actually missed her family.

Following her sister after their small, informal greeting that turned into a private conversation, Adeline was left questioning about a million things. Why wouldn't she want to be titled Queen by her own sister? Isn't it such a pleasing thing to hear? Or was she those types who remained so tender and kind to their lower-shelves that such a high title could be omitted? Surely, she's read something like that once, but she couldn't pin point it. This surprise was carried out as her sister started inquire her, leaving Adeline's previous inquiries behind. So, perhaps they weren't as important, or her sister was caught up in excitement over some news or an idea -- oh, news or an idea! Now that caught the princess's attention. She kept her eyes set on her sister, though she shook her head with a small chuckle at the last question. With a small smile, she hesitated to respond to her sister's fulfilling love and attention, but she managed to give her a small pat on the back. That would due, right? Then, she stepped away to converse with the Queen.

"Well..." Adeline started, her eyes trailing away from her sister, but then back to her. "I suppose I have been decent, but bored. Sure, there are many, many, many books, however..." She paused and looked down on the books she had, placing them on a nearby vanity, "I do feel like I am running out of some. Perhaps I should explore the shelves more -- there was a story where a man pulled a book from a shelf, and it turned out to be magic and led him into a secret, mysterious dungeon! Wouldn't it be funny if we had something like that? I don't think father was one for secrets, but how will we ever know? I think that's the point of a secret and I'm sure if he had one, he hid it very well..." She chuckled a bit to herself, but then came time to address her sister's last question. Now, Adeline was one for detail, so she made sure to respond to every inquiry.

"Don't be silly -- you're being silly!" She smiled, shaking her head as she lowered her eyes down. "Surely, it would be nice, but I have yet to find anyone like the bard's describe. The tall, the handsome, the brave, and the noble... Such qualities are found by knowing someone, though I think tall can be discernible by appearance. Though... I think a few men from the last ball fit the description -- would you remember?" Adeline sighed as she turned away, back to her vanity where she lifted her dress a bit as she sat down. Then, she took the brush nearby and started to tend to her locks.

"Less about me though and more about yourself. Is there anything you need?" Adeline asked her sister again, looking up to her with a curious portrait.

Prize flexed his right arm, looking at it with a critical eye. "My body has grown quite strong these days," he muttered, his helmet completely covering his face. It was ironic, considering how he was wearing full-body armor as he said this, but whatever he usually thinks that anything he thinks of is true until someone showed him the reality of something. But that did not mean Prize was stupid; no, he was just dense in many ways. He had potential for many things, and he decided to go down the path of a warrior. A warrior who would serve the kingdom of Gabriel with a loyal heart! Many things were needed to be studied and learned, and he was willing to learn them all if needed.

As he wondered about how his family would fare while he was gone again, Prize looked over to several of the castle guards standing by the gate. They seemed to be doing a good job, and he was envious of them. Those gatekeepers got to just stand around and do literally nothing until they were given a separate task to do. Oh, how he wanted to try and see the glory of a gatekeeper! He truly wanted to be one- even for one day- and see what it's like to guard the castle. Whatever job that was directly related to the castle, he envied, for he never went inside before. Well, sure, he did once, but only once. He never had the chance to see how awesome the interior fully looked.

Interested in the castle guards, Prize stood up from the ground and walked over to one of them. This one did not seem to look that well, so he decided to talk to him. Why Prize likes to talk to the more quiet-looking individuals remained a mystery.

"Greetings!" Prize said as he walked up to the guard. "I am Sir Prize, a warrior set on patrol duty in the local towns! I have but a simple question!"

He was quite curious. Prize also wondered if the guards had to fight infiltrators and spies alike every day. "What troubles are there in guard duty, might I ask?" Prize asked, his eyes seeming to gleam with a little bit of admiration. "Surely, it must be a great task to guard the royal castle of Gabriel!"

Ani sighed, but sat at the small table with her legs crossed at the ankle. She ate her meal without hesitation, but with vigor. She seemed to be swallowing the meal whole, but her excitement was far too high to eat slowly. As she finished eating she got up and said "now can we-" a maid, one of her aunt's personal ones, arrived in the princess' chamber with a note. The maid bowed and said "I apologize for the interuption, but the queen sent me to give this to you." Ani took the note with a dismissing 'thank you'. Ani looked at the note and read it with a curious gaze.

It said: "Dear Aninesse, you have become a huge part of this kingdom and we apologize for being so hard on you about becoming a man's wife. We need an heir, so please reconsider your choices. Anyway, there is a peace treaty that is coming up. We want you to attend for us. We have other business to attend too, so we give you free reign to do what is needed for the kingdom and our reputation. Thank you, Princess."

Ani sighed and looked up at Ash. "I knew it. Those lazy monarchs!" She huffed in agitation. "I wish not to attend such a thing. It is their fault for this disaster, why am I sent to be the lamb?"

Ash cringed as the princess quickly ate, rather, devoured the meal. Whether she was a princess or a cave woman was something that Ash didn't bother to know. Instead, he silently listened to her rants, all the while observing how quickly she sped through the food. Suddenly, Aninesse looked up to him, apparently asking for permission to now go play with the children. Ash was about to reply as one of the servants burst in and handed Aninesse an official looking note.

The princess took the note with her slender hands as Ash decided it was best to start the cleaning process. The princess began to read the note as Ash swiftly cleaned the table without delay. In a matter of minutes, he was back again beside Aninesse, waiting for her orders. Suddenly, the princess pouted... something she always does when pissed off. Aninesse turned to him, letting out her annoyance.

Ash listened silently as he looked up to her.

"Milady. Utter not such words of disdain against your guardians. They might still be doing something else for the kingdom." Ash smiled while replying. Suddenly, his eyes turned grim as he remembered his past. "Indeed. It was them who ordered the assassination. I was--- I mean, they decided quite rashly." Ash continued as he looked at the princess. "However, milady, think not of yourself as a lamb, but rather, Gabriel's hope for peace. You are far too graceful and beautiful to be just a messenger, you are Gabriel's hope. Your guardians were foolish in making their decisions, and the only right decision they made was to take care of you. Straighten the mistakes that your parents did... Not only for Gabriel, but for yourself. In the event that you build a family, then at least, they will live in a world where there is no fear or hatred." Ash chuckled as he tightened the bandages on his face.

"Besides, a suitor might pursue your beauty around the kingdom. By attending this treaty, you have a reason not to meet them. Wouldn't you like that, milady?" Ash let out a small laughter, knowing the princess' disdain for the opposite gender. "Worry not, I will send the best of guards to accompany you."