After getting through the guards at the gate (I had been forced to show them the insignia Xiao had given me in order to do so), we were dragged straight to the royal palace without even a moment to rest. My body, at least, certainly ached, and the toll on my mind was not much better, especially after Meryll. Though the pain from my soul core was gone, I could still feel the lingering dull ache deep within my chest that told me something was wrong.
Hua didn’t seem to be doing much better either. Deep bags had formed beneath her eyes, and her skin was pale. Thankfully, the tournament was a month from now– giving us enough time to rest and recuperate, but I certainly wasn’t ready for a meeting with the royals. Yet, my feelings weren’t considered as we were brought straight to the palace.
The palace was large and decorated, covered lavishly in gold and silver and I had no doubt the inside wasn’t any different. We were brought through a few arches and across a few pathways, Hua remaining silent the whole way. If she had run away, there was no doubt a reason. Her returning here was facing trauma I couldn’t comprehend. So, in order to comfort her, I slipped my hand through hers, forcing a smile.
“It’ll be fine. I’m here, and Isabella is too.”
Isabella had assumed her small form, and with various looks from the guards, she had silently been judged– but she didn’t seem to care, making various comments inside my mind as she normally did. Though she seemed to be unaffected, I could tell that Diana and Meryll’s death, having come one after the other in the span of less than a year, was affecting her just as much as it did me.
I still pondered upon her words. ‘If I were a god, I would be the most useless and incompetent god in the world.’
I clicked my tongue, not wishing to think of it anymore as we faced the large double doors that led into the room where we would be meeting the monarchy– and, likely, her two sisters as well. My fists balled, reminded of Jasper. It was them who had ordered him to do such a thing. He was still to blame, but they were too. Soul energy slowly began to fluctuate around my body, but with a simple pat from Hua, it returned to normal levels.
“Enter.”
A man’s voice sounded through the door, and they opened up to reveal a large, round table, with four people sitting around it. On one side, sat a man who looked to be around his mid-forties with red hair and green eyes, dressed in clothes only fit for royalty, a crown sitting upon his head. Next to him sat a woman with green hair down to her waist, who looked to be perhaps forty, older than I was in my previous life. Her eyes were blue and piercing as she gazed upon me.
On either side of them both sat who I presumed to be Hua’s two older sisters, gazing upon me with smirks on their faces. They both had red hair, however one had blue eyes and the other had green eyes– twins, most likely.
The guards and even Hua bowed to greet the monarchs, but I stood, unbowed under the weight of their presence. My eyes simply regarded them coldly, the king and I sharing a silent battle of wills for a moment before he finally crumbled, gesturing for us both to take a seat. I nodded to Hua, who made her way over, sitting at one of the seats as I sat beside her.
The man smiled. Though, I could see straight through his false politeness. He was a king. And, in my experience, monarchs weren’t to be trusted. He likely intended to bully me into some sort of ultimatum– as I was a child, and he was an adult. If only I were a real twelve-year-old. Then, maybe, he’d have a better chance.
“I am Xing Tiān, and this is my wife, Xing Mei. First of all, I thank you for bringing my daughter home safe and sound–”
“Yes,” The green-eyed twin piped up, “we were so worried about you, Hua!” My teeth gritted. How dare–
“Now, now, Feng,” Tian chided. “You can save your sentiments for later. We have much to discuss.”
The one named Feng sunk back into silence. And the discussion commenced.
—
“Yes,” I uttered in a monotone for what felt like the thousandth time, answering the king’s question about what had happened whilst we were the Lizards. I had remained cordial throughout the entire discussion, but my patience was wearing thin– especially considering I sat in an environment I wasn’t comfortable with.
Isabella sat on my lap as I stroked her fur, attempting to use it to calm myself down as I couldn’t exactly descend into a fit of fury in front of Hua’s parents. As ignorant as they seemed to be, they were still her parents. So, they deserved my respect, until they proved to me that they didn’t.
Tiān sunk back into his chair, pondering for a moment about Jasper. I had given him all the details from how I met Hua, to the Lizards and Jasper’s betrayal, and then about Grandma Meryll and Xiao and my bond– obviously omitting the parts about Diana, Isabella being a dragon, and the mysterious man who had come looking for the ‘Sin’ and killed her over it.
Hua's twin sister's exchanged glances throughout it all, but I did not comment on what Jasper had said about their involvement. Starting a fight here wouldn't be good, especially considering we still had a tournament to partake in. All grievances would be left on the battlefield, and I wasn't going to lose to traitors who tried to assassinate their own sibling purely because they were afraid of losing to her.
“I will be running a full investigation on this ‘Jasper’ as well as the events that transpired,” the king concluded, “but we must also address the Succession Ritual Tournament and Hua's participation.”
“...”
“In order to participate, Hua must have a knight who will participate in the second round, and then fight alongside her in the third. Hua does not currently have a knight, which means she cannot participate according to the rules.”
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Feng, and the other twin, called Yuxi, let out a few giggles. They were undeniably amused by this, and I could feel my bond's emotion slowly seeping into my own. Nothing but pure and unbridled fury flowed through me as my head turned, watching Hua's panic-stricken, pale face filled with worry.
I could almost hear the thoughts running through her mind, wondering if everything we'd been through, everything she’d been through, had all been nothing. And Feng and Yuxi were still laughing.
Knights often trained with the heirs from a young age in order to prepare them both for the tournament, receiving formal training– but because Hua had been forced to flee for the sake of her life, she had never gotten the chance to do so. As such, she was currently knightless.
“I suppose this means the tournament will be just me and you, sister.” Yuxi commented. “Poor Hua. It’ll be impossible to find a knight for you so close to the tourna–”
“I will.”
The whole room fell silent as I raised my hand, eyes staring holes through Yuxi as she glared at me, eyebrows furrowing as her lips turned in disgust.
“Excuse me?”
“I said that I would be her knight for the tournament.”
“But you can't– Father, can he do that?”
Tiān cleared his throat. “He is within his full right to do so. As long as Hua accepts him, then there is nothing stopping him from doing so.”
Her nails dug into the table as I gazed towards Hua, who looked back at me hesitantly. After a moment of holding my breath in silence, she nodded. Tiān snapped his fingers, and a guard approached, holding a large, ornate sword.
“This is used to appoint knights. Normally, you would not be knighted merely for volunteering to help. However, you have saved my daughter’s life on multiple occasions– which my wife and I both believe deserves the title of Honorary Knight of Huāgōng.”
I smiled at Hua, who took the sword from the guard. Kneeling before her, I listened to her speak.
“By the power vested in me as the youngest Princess of the Xīng family, I knight you.”
The sword touched both of my shoulders as I resumed a standing position. Isabella let out a coo, and I watched the two siblings excuse themselves before storming off to places I didn't care to ask about. I had bigger things to worry about than two noble princess brats who believed they could get everything to go their way.
—
From then on, discussions continued smoothly. Without the constant angst between me and Hua's two sisters, the atmosphere was far more amicable and I found myself actually being able to get along with Hua's parents. Her siblings… I doubted we'd ever be able to do so. Especially considering we had various differences in our core beliefs that prevented us from doing so.
I truly hoped, for both their sakes, that we never crossed blades in a battle of life-or-death. The Succession Ritual Tournament was split into three stages, one of which meant we could end up fighting– but that would end in surrender or incapacitating them. The tournament's other two stages were a battle between the three princesses as the first stage, and a battle between the three knights as the second.
The third was a battle between the three duos of princess and knight, aimed at testing the princesses’ skills in leadership and teamwork in battle. Hua was a genius in all other areas of life– however, this would test her ability to keep cool, which would take our full attention over the course of the next month.
My mind drifted back to my life as Xeno ever so often, and I couldn't help but think about how the way I used to fight was different from the way I fought currently. I had used to fight with two blades as opposed to one, making use of my ambidextrous nature.
Yet due to physical limitations on the body I was currently in, though I remembered how to do it, I was forced to stop myself from doing so if I didn't want to destroy this childish body. It would take age as well as time and preparation to be able to use such things again.
Secondly, in my previous life, I had engineered a sword style. That was done in this world as well– by those capable of using soul, yet unable to connect with any elements. That was why there were swordmasters at the pinnacle of combat in this world despite having no affinity for the elements. I had been the same.
Instead of turning to the elements for guidance, I looked deeper within my soul, reaching for strength only I could grasp in order to forge my own path– Eclipsing Heaven.
In order to defeat those who had formal training, I would no doubt have to pick up another blade and use it alongside Requiem. Using one blade alone wasn't going to cut it– I had to be on my A game. Even if it meant destroying myself.
I knew Hua wouldn't agree– but I was doing it for her sake. She had struggled enough just trying to be here, just trying to live. If I had to carry the rest of the weight alone from here on out, I would do it, so she never had to struggle again.
The conversation entered one ear and went out the other, and I only tuned in when necessary. As the discussion neared its end, I felt it necessary to pipe up with a query. Nobody would be able to answer, when it came to the matters of his own country, than the king himself.
“If you don't mind, could I ask for a favour?”
The king turned his gaze towards me, responding with a simple nod.
“Do you know any good blacksmiths around here? I would like to have a sword made.”
“There are, but you'd have to have the material–”
From my bag, I pulled out a few pseudo-soul cores I had saved to absorb later– but it seemed they'd come more in handy now– as well as parts of the titan's weaponry.
“Would these suffice?”
“Pseudo-soul cores and high-class metals…. Most certainly!”
The man handed me a map to the location of the smithy, which I took gratefully.
“Now, we will find you both some accommodation–”
I shook my head. Though the thought of spending a night inside the palace was something most wouldn’t dare to refuse, I already had a home I should have returned to long ago.
“I appreciate the offer, Your Highness. But if you don’t mind I’d like– I’d like to see my family.”
It didn’t take too long, after saying goodbye to Hua and promising to meet her the next day to explore the town with my family, for a carriage to be set up to take me to where my family were currently staying. According to the files the king had so graciously given me, my parents, Caspian and Elizabeth Reyes, were both retired royal knights (I didn’t doubt the fact that Hua likely knew me as a child and unconsciously named me the same due to similarities!) with three children– me, and two younger twin sisters.
The carriage came to a halt in front of a large building, with white steps leading up to the entrance. It was massive, but in comparison to the palace as well as Xiao’s place, I wasn’t too surprised. Whispering a thank you to the driver, I slung my back over my shoulder and approached the door, knocking once before it opened.
“Atlas?”