9 Rumor

After the delightful breakfast, Alastair had gone to the courtroom to speak to his ministers. They were waiting for him as usual when he entered the room and just like every day, he gave them a curt nod before he went to his throne. As soon as he sat on it, the two torches that were right behind him blazed with intensity for a few seconds before they went back to normal. Although the ministers and the guards in the room were used to seeing the magnificent sight every day, they could still not help but gasp in awe.

They had long known that not anybody could sit on the throne. Only a capable and strong man who was worthy of it could take over the position of a king. Normal people like them could not even approach the throne without their skin getting charred with each step they took closer towards it, sitting on it was far from it.

There was a rumor that had been passed on for generations. It was said that the throne chose the king and it would be only them who were fit to rule the kingdom. Every older member present in the courtroom had witnessed it first hand and the younger ones had heard about it from their elders.

Previously, Alastair's father, Ragnor was the then king's most trusted guard. The king's son was in the order of succession once he abdicated the throne. But the throne had rejected the man right away.

Whenever he took a step closer to it, he would feel pain so intense as though he was engulfed in flames. His skin would be severely burnt and charred. He had tried many times to sit on it, only to meet the same result every time. After that, he had eventually given up when he realized that he was not the one destined for it. Though he loved power, he loved his life more.

The king then had asked all his trusted men to try their luck and the throne had finally chosen Ragnor as the next king, much to everybody's surprise. As soon as Ragnor had taken his position on the throne, the two torches behind it had shone so brightly that the entire courtroom had been lit up with a dazzling light. This had repeated when Alastair had taken over the throne after his father and since then, everybody had come to realize that the throne was powerful and magical. It would allow only the purest and bravest of souls to possess it. Nobody had to worry about the kingdom falling into bad hands as the throne was here to safeguard them from bad people.

Alastair took a deep breath as he reveled in the power he obtained after he sat on the throne before he gave his nod for the session to start for the day. They were in the middle of discussing their plans on how to handle a group of bandits who were robbing the people whenever they traveled on that path, near the jungle when Alastair heard the loud sound of the door banging and he did not have to guess who it was behind it.

He started chuckling suddenly, startling everyone in the courtroom. They were in the middle of a serious discussion when Alastair started laughing out of nowhere. They were shocked beyond words and for a second, they wondered what they had said so humourous for him to find it humorous.

Alastair noticed them gazing at him with questions in their mind. However, he did nothing to clear their confusion as he liked their muddled expressions. He found the situation to be all the more comical. "What are we waiting for? Let's continue." He ordered with an expressionless face, taking the courtroom by a surprise again. The man was clearly laughing a few seconds ago and now he had become serious in an instant. The switch in his personality stunned them, yet they did not say a word. He was the king after all and any word against him meant their heads on the guillotine.

The session went on until lunchtime as they discussed the various problems in the kingdom. As the time approached closer towards noon, the ministers left the room one by one until only Alastair was left with his right-hand man Kenneth and his next trusted man, Cyrus Bradford.

"I have orders for you two," Alastair said as he stood up from his seat slowly, with a calculative yet thoughtful gaze on them. He knew he could trust the two men. They were the only ones apart from his father and him who knew about the birth of an angel. It was they who were searching for her in secret, trying to keep the news as hidden as possible. They did not want anybody else to know about her existence as that only meant more trouble for the throne as well as their king.

"I want you to stop searching for the angel for the time being." Alastair's words confused the two men greatly and this time he cleared their questions. "I want you to search for somebody else instead."

"Who, my Lord?" Cyrus asked, still unable to comprehend why the king had changed his decision and asked them to stop their search for the angel. He had seen how desperate the king was to find her and his new orders now made them all the more perplexed.

"A green-eyed lady."

"A green-eyed lady?" Cyrus and Kenneth were both stupefied by his answer and they stared at the king blankly. It was only when they were alone with the king could they be this brazen. At other times, they did not even dare to meet his eyes for more than a few seconds as it was deemed disrespectful to him.

"Yes. I want you to start searching for her right away and start from Soren."

"Soren?" This time Kenneth was the one to ask the question. The only time the king had visited the village was when he had gone to meet Osiris the previous day. Kenneth could not help but wonder if the king had seen a green-eyed beauty in the village and had taken a liking towards her at the first glance.

Alastair read his thoughts and smirked at his naive thinking. "I want you to search for her as soon as possible." He ordered and the two men bowed in acceptance. The king had given his commands and now the two men had to follow them at all costs. They took their leave from the room and Alastair was left alone.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, only to see the glimpse of the green-eyed girl once again. However, this time the image of her blonde hair flying with the wind as she ran further away from him flashed before him. And just like the previous night, his body jerked as if he had touched something unknown but whatever it was, he felt it to be strong and mighty. And as expected, this incident did not repeat when he closed his eyes again.

Alastair wondered what was happening to him. He was slowly being pulled towards the powerful soul he did not even know and all he could do was wait and watch. All of a sudden, he started smiling like the devil he was before he mumbled softly. "Whoever you are, I'll find you and get all the answers I need."