35 Less-Than-Conventional

I hated this.

The ship was tipping from one side to the other as I tried to read from the large tome I was holding in one hand. I was trying to use the other to work on the automaton I had strapped to the wall. Neither was going very well.

"Prince Gideon, I have your afternoon meal," Alex called from outside my cabin door, and I called for him to come in.

As he did, I closed my book in frustration, putting it and my tools back into my inventory. I was getting nowhere fast with my tinkering, but that was thanks to the near-constant storm that we had been in for the last three days. Thankfully, the food smelled amazing as always. One, if not the only respite on this godforsaken trip!

"How are things going?" Alex asked after setting my cover plate down in the groove of my desk.

I went to the basin to wash my hands but shook my head as I did. "About as well as you would imagine with the ship tossing around and the wind screaming outside," I sighed and dried off my hands.

"I suppose that's to be expected," Alex replied sympathetically as he began to prepare the table for the meal. "Captain Gaius assures us that we'll make landfall in Jagar within three days, though. Just a little longer, my prince."

I managed a crooked smile at that. "Three days until I can stand on solid ground again. I can hardly wait." The smell of the food was comforting in the swaying cabin, a simple pleasure amidst the journey's hardships.

Sitting down to eat, I took a moment to savor the brief sense of normalcy before my mind inevitably turned back to the tasks at hand. "As soon as we arrive, I need to meet with King Michael and assess their defenses. And let's not forget the matter of Princess Lilliana," I mentioned, my voice trailing off slightly at the thought of meeting my betrothed for the first time.

Alex, always the diligent servant, nodded. "The diplomatic arrangements have been made for your reception, Prince Gideon. As for the princess, well, I trust that you'll handle that encounter as deftly as you handle everything else."

I didn't like the way he said that and looked up from my food. "What do you mean? Handle? Don't tell me my father killed this woman's husband-to-be!" I groaned, and Alex chuckled but shook his head.

"No, not at all, Prince Gideon," Alex reassured me with a grin still playing across his lips. "It's simply that Princess Lilliana's reputation precedes her. She's known for her fiery spirit and, shall we say, a less-than-conventional approach for a princess. She prefers the training yard over the ballroom and is rumored to take any potential suitor through their paces in... unique ways."

My interest was piqued, and with it, a sliver of excitement cut through the dismay of maritime misery. "Unique, you say? That sounds refreshingly different from the courtly dances and formal dinners I've been prepared for. Maybe this marriage won't be such a dull affair after all."

Finishing my meal with a renewed appetite—not just for the food, but for the challenges waiting—I considered this unconventional princess. Perhaps my role in Jagar might involve more swordplay than diplomacy, though I would just like to make it out of there with my head. I held no grand illusions about saving everyone. That was not the plan.

"The best I can hope for is that there is not too much messing around and I can get the royal out without a problem. I want to get as many as I can, but I have a hard time believing that the King will abandon his city and people. That, paired with a more than likely stubborn princess is going to make leaving very hard I have to assume," I mused as I went back to eating.

Alex nodded in agreement as he cleared away the finished plates. "It will be no small feat, my prince. But should anyone be able to navigate such troubled waters, it would be you. You've proven time and again that you're capable of the extraordinary."

I appreciated his confidence in me, and it buoyed my spirits somewhat. Yet, deep down, I understood the reality I was about to face. This wasn't going to be simple or straightforward by any stretch. My thoughts swirled with strategies and contingencies, each more complex than the last.

"Get some rest, Prince Gideon," Alex advised, noticing my furrowed brow. "You'll need all your wits about you for the days to come."

He was right. I nodded, feeling the toll of the day's efforts. As Alex left, I lay down on the bed, letting the rocking of the ship lull me into a fitful sleep. In my dreams, I saw the craggy coastlines of Jagar Kingdom looming on the horizon, while the fiery-haired Princess Lilliana awaited, her hand extended not in greeting, but in challenge.

The promise of the days ahead was a tapestry woven with danger, duty, and a flickering chance of something more profound. And I, Gideon, the Master Craftsman, really wanted to go home, but for better or worse, I was going to do my best or run away with a screaming princess on my back.

-Jagar Kingdom- Ten Miles from the capital.

"The capital will be within sight soon, and in less than a day we will have it completely surrounded," King Alphonse said, and the being known as Akasha, The Beast of Destruction smiled over at her puppet king.

Alphonse's once handsome and regal features were twisted into a grotesque sneer, a direct reflection of the malice that now possessed him. It was not as thought the change was that great for a man that had always ruled with an iron fist. For the power hungry king, this was just a chance to take the entire continent, and then maybe the world.

Akasha let out a raspy chuckle that sent shivers through the ranks of the tainted soldiers—her creatures of the night, resurrected through dark magic, fueled by an insatiable lust for conquest and chaos.

"Yes, my dear King," Akasha purred with a voice like silk over steel, her shadowy form flickering at the edges. "Let them tremble before us, for their bulwarks will fall and their spirits will break. Your claim shall be absolute, with me at your side."

Akasha had awoken only 8 years ago, but she had watched this man. No, that was not true. She had been watching the strange first son of his, but she had acted too slowly to take control. Now she was forced to use the boy's father as a puppet.

Yet despite Akasha's assurances, her thoughts lingered on the one who had eluded her grasp—Gideon. She sensed an odd connection to the young prince, an intertwining of fate and possibility that she had not anticipated. However, for now, she focused on the present, channeling her considerable power into Alphonse and the dark host at their command.