Assignment Awaits

When I reach my room, a familiar figure is standing next to the door. The crown prince looks angry, but then again, he always does. Or stone faced.

I barely glance at him as I open the door. He grabs me by the arm, stopping my movements. I stare up at him inquisitively. What does he want now?

"Follow me."

He starts to walk away, and I falter. Taking in a deep breath, I hurry off after the cold man.

The crown prince leads me into his study. At night, the room feels even more ominous than it already does in daylight. The crown prince gestures me to sit, and I take the chair in front of his desk. He drops onto his black office chair before handing me a letter.

Scanning the letter, I hum. It is from the human kingdom. Humans do not take part in the creature's council as they have their own set of laws and morals.

They are taken account for in the Council of Delphi, but there are no humans in the council that keeps both the South and the North together.

Most humans reside in their own kingdoms, but some are in diverse ones. I continue to read the flowery words; the human king is inviting King Zeren back now that he is better, and my mouth tightens.

How could the human king know that King Zeren has fallen ill? The news went out when the kingdom was on lockdown, meaning that either someone in the kingdom is a deceiving us or someone outside the kingdom has snuck in playing the imposter.

I place the letter down in my lap. "What do you want to do?"

"I think that we should pay the human kingdom Illea a visit."

I lift my gaze from the letter to him. Is this why he brought me here? I am a war general now, so does he want my opinion?

"What are we going to do there?" I slowly ask. "We should call the other war generals. I do not think it is best to investigate on our own."

"We won't be. We will be traveling and investigating with the kingdom's enquiry department. They are the best scouts in Arcana. Some war generals are in that department, as well. We have a lot of leads in the human kingdom of Illea. We might as well take a look."

Slowly nodding my head, I scan the letter again. The more that I read it, the more confused I get.

"How could humans even get their hands on a uliope root?"

The crown prince shrugs. "That is the question we have to answer."

The king is recovering fast and has summoned for my presence the next morning accompanied by the crown prince. I am leaving in an hour to Illea, the human kingdom. I did not think that the trip would be that soon, but here I am, ready to go.

In the middle of the night, a maid came knocking to give me the news of the trip happening the next morning. The crown prince definitely moves fast. As he should if he's craving revenge. The maid helped me pack, and I thankfully got a few hours of rest.

The prince and I stride up to the king's chamber, and the guards outside open the heavy doors. I slowly step in behind the prince, not wanting to disturb anyone.

The king is sitting on the bed, propped up on the bed frame, and the queen is seated at her vanity. Their conversation flows to a stop, and King Zeren broadly grins at me.

"Good morning, Lady Ardele."

I send him a timid smile back. Ever since I got promoted to war commander, my title has changed to lady and I am still adjusting to it.

"Good morning, your majesty. How are you feeling?"

"I am feeling wonderful! Now on to business. I heard that you two and the enquiry team are going to Illea?"

"Yes, father," the crown prince answers.

"What did you tell the human king? I suppose you wouldn't randomly show up there."

"I sent him a letter through a messenger bird, letting him know that we will be joining his infamous ball the next day."

A ball? I did not question how we were able to go on a trip so soon, maybe I should have. No wonder everything fell into place perfectly.

The king strokes his chin. "Perfect. He would not suspect a thing. All creatures attend his mid-autumn ball. However, during the ball, I advise you all to stick together. Please do not separate. There is accountability in numbers."

The prince and I both nod.

"Drink the water; the water is purified there. Avoid any liquid meals, though. I cannot guarantee everything in them is safe," the king pauses, before adding, "Also, please do not start a war while I am still on bedrest. Give the old man some time to recover."

I cheekily smile while the crown prince merely shakes his head.

"Alright. I hope you both take my words to heart. Prayers of safety over you all."