The new morning of Midlake was welcomed by smog from the burning section of the city under the Temple's control. The crown had to retreat into the inner parts of the city due to the ruthless barbaric charge by the Temple.
The citizens at the fallen blocks were forced into submission by Temple with brutality and savagery. They were stripped of their human dignity and forced into slavery, in exchange for their lives. Most, who did not yield, were burnt alive along with their houses or skinned alive and left to death.
Throughout the night, the forces of Crown and the citizens nearby were haunted by the willowing screams and crackling sound of blazing fire. A soldier quoted his experience_ the hell had reached above.
Anger surged every time Luther watched the scene from above safely behind the castle wall of the palace. "I should have been there." He gritted his teeth while waiting for his King to attend the morning council. He waited outside the royal chamber hoping for his King to come out but he saw only the servants returning. He asked a servant if his majesty needed more time. The servant did not answer and neither did the other servants. They looked confused and frightened.
Luther felt something was wrong so he asked the servants again as he unsheathed his blade. Only then did the servants talk, "We...we can't find his majesty anywhere in his quarter."
For a moment, Luther stood there like a statue. He couldn't process what they meant immediately until he realised Louise was missing.
Luther searched the chamber to every nick and inch. Louise was nowhere to be found. The jewellery box was also missing along with a few clothes from the wardrobe.
The sentries claimed the King never passed the hallway or even got out of the room.
The King disappeared into thin air.
A servant mentioned that the King ordered late-night snacks after midnight. "It was in bulk so it surprised me even. It is unusual for late at night." Although the servant spoke of a large portion of food ordered after midnight, Luther did not find a single crumb on the table inside Louise's quarter. Usually, Louise left food and waste behind even for small portions.
"I don't understand. What's going on?" Luther scratches his head. A guard cautiously approached him, hesitating whether to say it out or not. It annoyed Luther who was already bothered so he told him to let it out. "Just tell me. Stop being back and forth in front of my sight." He yelled at the guard. "My apologies, sir. I was...urm... contemplating. Please remember I have utmost royalty toward his majesty." The guard was still taking the long road even though Luther allowed him to speak out. Only when Luther made a face, the guard skipped to his point. "Maybe... maybe...the king ran away, sir?" The guard expressed his daring opinion.
The others gasped. They looked at the daring guard with a look_ How dare you say such! The other guards arrested the daring guard immediately. The servants looked at them with fright.
Unlike the others, Luther's reaction was lukewarm. He believed it was a possibility. He had heard tales about Kings who left their thrones stealthily, like rats. The scene unfolding in the city which they could see through windows was no flower field but an abomination. They thought they could win but would they? A seed of doubt had taken root even in the most loyal friend like Luther. If the situation became any worse, he would ask Cleo to run away even if that would make her hate him forever.
However, Luther doubted that Louise had already run away: Louise fought Cleo at the council last night and took over the overall authority_ just to run away the next morning. It was ridiculous.
Luther gave a nod to his men and the guards quickly took the daring guard to a dungeon. He also ordered to detain all the servants in a common room and locked them inside.
The palace entered a total shutdown mode.
As it was at dawn when most residents were still in deep sleep, only the prestigious Lords were awake to attend the morning council so Luther managed the situation quickly. The Lords were also cooperative since the chaos would not do any good to them either. They quietly gathered at the war council.
"So, the king disappeared, huh? Have you searched everywhere?" A Lord asked Luther. Luther nodded lowering his head as he was ashamed for not knowing where the King was as a King's guard.
"Pathetic!" Ranted another lord. "The enemies are killing our people, burning our homes but the King run away by himself like a rat? That's why I have never trusted the throne with that boy. I told you we were making mistakes last night." He harshly criticised Louise. He had never supported him anyway.
"What do you mean run away? Who told you that!?" A commander who was a hardcore supporter of Louise fought for Louise's honour. "It is just a rumour which came out from the mouth of a worthless guard. We don't know anything yet."
"And how? The enemies are in the north and east. Riders from Harrimore blocked south."
"Don't you hear that he secretly took a boat into the royal lake?"
"It is a baseless accusation. Only come from the mouth of one porter working at the harbour. How is that possible that only one person saw it but the others didn't?"
The supporters of Louise defended Louise as a few fervent supporters of Cleo attacked their liege's honour.
The morning council which was supposed to unitedly search for an answer to defend their city turned into a dividing argument.
A man with aura stepped forward in a time of division. The grand advisor Arthur. "Let's not go down that path. We aren't here to argue. We are here to discuss the future of our city. The real enemy is at our doorstep, no...inside our home would be more suitable. Divide, and peril we will. Unite, and persist we shall. We need a leader right now, a leader who can lead us in this time of test. I suggest reinstating the princess in the war council to lead us. She has proven to be a great warrior and a brilliant tactician since the start of the war. I believe there is no objection."
Arthur tried to quickly end the argument and bring Cleo back to the council. But the general who swore his loyalty only to his liege rejected Arthur's idea.
"I object. We can't have the person of suspect as our leader," said the General.
"Person of suspect? What do you mean by that?"
"The king disappeared after a day he took power from her. Maybe it was the work of the Wannabe-King princess who made a mess yesterday." The General gave a dangerous remark in a desperate defence of his liege's honour.
The lords burst into rage as soon as he finished. "What are you insinuating, General!? You think our princess killed her own kin!? A regicide? I can take your head for such an outrageous insult!" One of the Lords pulled out his sword and threatened the General to which the General replied,
"Try me."
Even the prestigious Lords, who had always held their utmost dignity, lost their manners under immense pressure. The unity crumbled. They directed the tip of the sword toward their peers instead of toward the enemy.
Luther stepped in before something irredeemable happened. Luther stroked the hand of the Lord holding the sword and knocked down the sword. He quickly disarmed the lord waving the sword.
Although he made it out of his duty, Luther embarrassed the lord in front of the general and commanders. The humiliated lord turned his anger toward Luther who intervened.
"How dare you strike a Lord? How dare you, a mere bodyguard, intervene in the affair of the Kingdom?" The lord threw a cup.
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Instead of dodging, Luther let the cup hit his face as punishment.
Before the council derailed any further, Arthur stepped in again, "What's wrong with YOU ALL!? One is waving a sword at his own man. Another is accusing the Crown Princess without evidence. While the world is ablaze. The enemy is upon us as we speak. Our forces at the front are being pushed back while a thousand of our troops are standing idly at the back awaiting an order from the palace. Each minute we pass, the enemy reaches deeper inside and more of our city succumbed to ruin. We shall see punishment for these indecent behaviours later. Now, we must focus on what matters. This is a test for us. A time to unite. Or we crumble. Be Louise or Cleo, we must stand together behind the Adders, just like our ancestors stood behind Dane Adder. Kingdom come and go. But it must not be today. Not on our watch. We can't let it happen to our names. I can't let it happen. Or I will be ashamed in my grave. So, I ask you_are we on the same page?"
Finally, after a heated argument, Arthur was able to convince all factions: lords and commanders alike_ to stand together.
But there was another group of people, a larger one, in the palace who needed to be dealt with. The servants. Although Arthur managed to rally the lords, he failed to sympathise with the servants.
The servants had a meltdown when their Liege, who was supposed to lead them at the most difficult time, abandoned them.
Due to the risk of rebellion, Luther rounded them up in the giant ballroom and locked them inside. If the news were to escape the palace, the people of Midlake would give up fighting, and it would be the end of the hundred-year-old dynasty.
"Why should we fight for the crown who abandon us the moment they feel the knife near their throats when it is our throats first that are cut off before them? I won't fight!" A young angry servant got on the table and spoke to his crowd. To his speech, the crowd cheered. A middle-aged woman also stood on a stool and spoke, "I turned thirty last week. Since ten years old, when I was this little, I followed my parents to the palace and worked in the kitchen. For twenty years, I worked day and night. I filled their stomachs with my food. I cooked their meals no matter how absurd the time was midnight or early morning. If the taste did not suit them, I cooked repeatedly till the taste satisfied them. All without complaints. And this is what I got in return! A betrayal! So, I denounce them! I denounce my oath!" The woman of twenty service years ranted.
"Oh! Cut the crap. I have forty years serving them; throwing buckets full of piss and sh*t, cleaning vomit and viscous fluid after unspeakable parties. I have served Adders from Balsak the pig, Lupus the drunk, and James the rebellious to these kids. I have done all and I have seen all. Even so, I will still give my life to them if I have to. I will keep my oath and..." An old servant took the stage and stated her loyalty. She drew loud criticism from the opposite party but they did not waver her, "I am proud of it. For who am I without our loyalty to my Liege? For a ragtag servant like me, who owns no valuable possession, this oath is my dignity. This oath is my last pride."
The opinions clashed inside the hall spawning a bigger chaos. "Dog!" Called to loyalists. "Whore's ass!" Loyalists returned the cuss. It, soon, boiled into a fight where they hit each other with whatever they grabbed like a chair, a stool, a cup, or a candle holder.
The guards watching them from above the floor were appalled by the scene. They never thought the servants could be that scary. They saw them smiling and bowing to aristocrats all the time which gave them the idea that the servants were mere harmless sheep. They found out they were wrong. These servants fought like beasts from the deepest jungle.
At that moment, someone barged from outside through the main door, alerting the guards. It drew their attention because if someone were to escape and expose the madness happening at the palace, it would be the end for all.
They dashed to the door to block but when they saw the person, they got on their knees.
"Champion."
Although the guards had submitted to his presence, the servants were still in the heat of fighting. The captain of guards apologised for the unsightly sight.
"Apologies. We will take care of it. BEHOLD! The true Champion of God, the Holy Claymore of Crown, Ethan of the Revenant!"
A guard introduced Ethan's presence to the crowd but the heated fighters did not hear the announcement due to the yelling and screaming.
"Stop this MADNESS at ONCE!!" Ethan shouted. He conjured a blast of wind so strong, it threw the fighting people to the floor. Ethan put the sense back to them by force. He, then, stepped aside from the door for the person to come.
Behind him was Cleo Adder Eclair in full royal armour which her father, King James, once wore. On her head was the majestic purple crown of Midland made of_gold plate from Rode, pearl embeds from Easton, jewel inserts from Sousa, cotton-bed from Westex, fur-lining from Norg and velvet-top from Midlake.
Cleo walked into the hall with her head held high. "I will fight for you this time! I shall ride at the front; be the tip of the spear. So, how about you fight for yourselves?" Cleo passionately spoke to her subjects. "Fight behind me. Not for me. But for you. For your children and your family. Will you fight for yourselves? If so, come to the plaza by the noon in half-stomach. Together, we will drive out the murderous invaders till they crawl back to Gambit," declared Cleo a call for arms to the public.
A few hours later, at noon, the lords and nobles anxiously awaited the outcome of the daring stance Cleo took. From the heavily guarded tower of the castle, they kept looking at the plaza where the people were supposed to gather. They wondered if the people would come to their support even after the news of their King. Or would the people come to kill them all? A bloody revolt!? In the throne room, they gathered discussing their future. Some talked about battle plans to repel the Temple forces. Some talked about running away sneakily just like Louise.
"I heard you ordered the palace guards to ban the travel of all the nobles. It is a great move. But why did you let the servants go? They will definitely tell the public about Louise. They swear to your face out of fear but they will stab your back the moment you turn. They have no honour as we nobles do." Arthur raised his concern to Cleo. He did not trust the servants.
His lack of trust and appreciation for servants angered Cleo. "Stop, Uncle unless you want me mad. It is Louise, a King, who breaks his oath to the people. It was the nobles who ran away first when they heard the Temple marching to the city while those servants and peasants you think little stayed to fight. And they will do so this time as well."
"Do you truly believe they will come to your support after Louise? No. Louise or you; it doesn't matter for people. In their eyes, you two are the same; everyone in the Palace is the same. They will be angry at Louise. They will be angry at you and all the nobles. They will kill us before the Temple even comes." Arthur warned.
The people slowly gathered in groups at the plaza as the promised time approached. The groups then turned into a crowd and the crowd into an army.
"Here comes a newly formed army whose loyalty lies where no one knows." Muttered Arthur.