Dawn- An age of Darkness

"Entering, the duke of Helsing, the archduke of Alfeim- his Excellency Daarc Green and his retinue!" A voice announced as we entered the throne room: it was dramatic if nothing. I was kind of getting sick of all this. 

Wait, didn't that herald just say 'his excellency?' Wasn't that only reserved for the emperor of Alfeim or were high-born nobles also addressed that way? Alisa wasn't here, so I didn't have any reason to care for all that. 

I had my emblem, the one I'd gotten from Lianne, perfectly visible on my chest. It wasn't glued or anything, so I had to make sure it didn't fall off from my movements. It was mostly just for show though. 

For a human country, it seemed pretty well handled. The throne room of Helsing wasn't even worthy of comparison. I'd expect no less from the strongest of all the human nations.

The city was pretty packed too, and the buildings were kind of like Moire's. The people's faces on the streets were just as bright as I saw back in Dwaram, meaning they didn't care that much about the war. I guess in the end it was the soldiers who'd be giving up their lives and their families suffering. 

I did not like this. 

But wasn't this just one of the capital and not even the central one? Well, my expectations were really high now. 

There were plenty of nobles and soldiers in here. The nobles were seated and the soldiers were standing guard. I guess my arrival was very much anticipated. 

Upon entering, I gave a short standing bow and stared at the man on the throne: I didn't have the time or desire to get on my knees. 

A man of age- close to sixty. His beard was probably longer than my head, quite white. But the sharp look in his eyes made me think he wasn't someone I wanted to mess with. 

But unfortunately, I already had plans. 

Gorgon had entered along with us but he moved closer to the throne and stood right next to the king. He had a grin but his face was rather pale.

"I take it the princess is here too?"

All the men around me were surprised to see me talk with the lonely knight despite being in front of the king. The king looked a bit awed too. 

Actually, on our way here, we talked briefly and I even asked him about a certain village just outside the central capital. The answer was intriguing if nothing else. 

"Ye-yes. We are preparing for an all-out war. B-but it's really great to see you again." He stuttered on more than just one occasion. 

Yeah, I was pretty sure he wasn't that thrilled to see me after what happened yesterday. 

I smiled and turned to the king. He hadn't said a word yet and just stared. "Your majesty lord Alrick Von Meinheiser (III), I believe this is our first meeting. Pardon my unconventional act. I have not adapted to this all royalty thing yet."

I had to grind on this name the entire way here. Like seriously, this was hard! Why would anyone name their kid that? And I really, really hoped I hadn't butchered the pronunciation or something. 

The king chuckled. "You seem a bit younger than what my niece described but I'm glad to finally meet you, Lord Daarc Greem." He said my name wondered for a moment and then laughed. "It's really odd to say a name like that."

Technically, this guy wasn't the king as in the ruler of all the nations. He was just in charge of the north. And the real ruler- Beatrine's brother, was way back in the central, meaning I'd have to do this all over again. 

"I could say the same to you," I mumbled. And not to mention he pronounced it with an M. If a certain bunny girl were here, she'd have wreaked havoc with just this one mistake. 

"Don't disrespect the king now," Ve whispered.

The king chuckled. "I apologize for that." I guess he heard me. "Anyway, you have come to check out our strength correct? If we are worthy, you'd ally ourselves. Am I getting that right?" Well, this guy sure was full of himself. For just being a deputy king and the uncle of the current king, he really was full of himself. 

I'd heard the actual king was kind of young, hence this guy was in charge. But- didn't expect him to say stuff like this outright. 

Then again, the royals and nobles of this world were kind of different from the movies and stories I'd read. Or maybe it was just me?

"You're not too far off the mark." So, I figured humoring him a little, might not be that bad. I was feeling bored of this whole act anyway. 

  All the nobles had this relieved look on their faces. 

Biteria was rather quiet, just hiding inside my cape. Honestly, it felt weird but I didn't really care. 

And judging from the serious stares, people probably didn't care about her either. Though there was that one guy who was with Gorgon before, staring at her a bit too much. I felt like ripping his eyes off, but I had to control myself. 

Gorgon came in front of the throne and bowed before the king. "My lord I beg your forgiveness but I don't think that's what Lord Daarc meant. He isn't like that."

'What the hell do you know about me?' 

He wasn't wrong though. I did have a different plan on my mind. But he just had to come along and ruin my little fun, huh?

I sighed. I'd been seen through. "I expect a brief explanation. After that, I'll let you know my thoughts." I cut to the chase. This was dragging on for too long. 

It was already afternoon, meaning if we didn't hurry up here, I'd have to spend the night here. And I for a face knew, that wasn't the best idea. 

"It began with Prince Verl. He supposedly captured the princess of Dwaram. But if that is the case then where is he? I don't believe the claims of Dwaram. We believe they have kidnapped our prince. Hence the war!" Gorgon began in earnest before the king could speak. The king seemed a little annoyed but Gorgon didn't care.

'And you killed their ambassador too.'

This wasn't that much different from what the king of the dwarves claimed. Perhaps just opposite. But something didn't add up. if both countries were claiming their royals suddenly went missing, then one had to be the liar. And yet, no matter how I looked at it, neither country seemed to be lying. Either these people were better liars than Araan or maybe a third party really was involved. 

Wait, so this prince was older than Beatrine's brother? Meaning, this prince either wasn't their sibling or maybe he was a bad guy who wasn't good enough for the throne? 

Didn't know, didn't care. 

"How pointless." To my words, gasps of surprise ran through the room "I'll be blunt with you, this war's pointless."

And I was disappointed. 

Gorgon looked at me with disbelief but his expression changed into utter seriousness. "I don't fault you for thinking so. I too believe that." I had a feeling he'd agree. 

Even the king was shocked.

Here I thought, the humans were just using this as an excuse to go hunting for power but these morons were seriously doing this for their prince. Though I couldn't just dismiss that possibility either, certainly not because Gorgon just said so. 

"But even so, I don't intend to betray the royal lineage. For my lady and for the country I shall avenge his highness." Gorgon made a fist and looked at me with seriousness. Yeah, he was going to stand in the way. 

"We still don't know if he's dead so don't go about killing him." I looked around. I was getting a lot of glares. I clearly wasn't welcome anymore. "Anyway, why don't we get down to business then?"

"What do you want?" the king asked.

Gorgon moved to the side. 

"Stop the war. You're obviously being played. A lot of lives have been lost over two miserable ones. Don't make ordinary people suffer any more than they already have."

If it was for a shortage of food and all that, I'd have understood. But seriously? Just because two guys went missing? That was all?

The king's teeth clattered. He made a fist and slammed the handle of the throne. "You dare speak that way in my country! I'll have you executed!"

'Technically this isn't your country though.'

"And have another war on your hands? You sure like to waste innocent lives. Tell me, have you ever fought anyone? Have you ever killed anyone? Have you ever been on the brink of death?" My voice seethed with anger. I was thirsty, thirsty for blood. Which was totally an act though. 

And to be clear, I'd never killed humans: at least living humans.. So technically, this was plain hypocrisy on my part.