Franz, Heidi, and their children made their way to the Onyx’s palace. There was a nervous tension radiating off of Franz. Heidi and the two children were so excited. The opportunity to dine with the rules of their nation. This was no small moment. This could be a moment that changes their lives forever. Franz chuckled at how much his family didn’t even know how true that statement was.
“We’re going to see the king,” Milo chanted.
“We’re going to see the queen!” Prada cheered.
“We’re going to see the royal fam-i-ly!” They sang in a sing-song voice. The twins continued this song the whole carriage ride to the household. Heidi smiled and swayed to the joyous tune. Franz smirked, his nerves and thoughts not allowing a full smile.
This plan has to work, Franz thought. This is our only way out… it has to work. It has to work. The carriage stopped suddenly.
“What is going on?” Heidi asked the driver.
“Uhh there is a rather large wolfman in the way, he’s spooked the horses, my lady,” the driver replied.
“A what?” Franz said. He got out of the carriage and saw Cedric. He flashed Franz a predator smile.
“Mr. Franz,” Cedric said. “It seems you had forgotten something that was important for our plan.” He held up a storage bag. Inside the storage bag was an orb of order magic that had a runic formation and was set to release mana in 5 hours. “It almost seems like you are avoiding us. That’s not a good idea, Mr. Franz.”
“We are going to see the king and queen,” Franz said. “I am not a combat magic user who has meditative techniques to call upon whenever I feel anxious. I am a professor who teaches research, my advancement had been through star-tokens. It was a simple slip of the mind.”
Cedric gave Franz an assessing look. He looked as if he was going to lash out at the small human. He didn’t, he smiled cruelly. “Fair enough, Mr. Franz. It was a good thing that I checked your home and found it for you.” He handed Franz the storage bag. “Don’t make another mistake, we’ll be watching, Mr. Franz.”
Franz grabbed the bag and nodded. He made his way back to the carriage without another word. “Mr. Franz,” Cedric called. “We are not your enemies, we are simply here to bring balance back to the world.”
Franz was just outside the carriage door; he turned around to look at the League of Order goon, “you are my enemy. You threatened my family and my life several times. I’m doing what I am told out of the protection for my family. We are not allies, we are not acquaintances, we are enemies. Good day, Mr. Cedric.”
Franz got back into the carriage, and it started moving forward once again. Cedric stepped to the side with a smile on his face. Another being appeared from the shadows of the carriage.
“Back off,” the shadow being said.
“What?”
“That is a man who is back into a corner. You have not been around a lot of humans have you?”
“No Shadrice,” Cedric said. “I have not.”
“There are a few types of humans when they face adversity. There are those who freeze and do everything they are told. There are those who run away right away, choosing death over obedience. Then there are those who are like Mr. Franz, the willing obey for a little bit. Once they get pushed a little too far, they plan on their own and become like a feral animal. Dangerous and destructive. If you continue to push him, ignoring my advice, which we both know you will, he will ruin your plans.”
“You haven’t seen Franz, that was pure bravado. He is a coward stuck in a corner, riddle with nerves because he wants his family to live. Respectfully, I will do what I must with this mission. You may observe but observe quietly.”
“As you wish,” Shadrice said.
Franz smiled as he got back into the carriage; his plan was in motion. Within a few minutes, they arrived at the Onyx Palace. The twins looked out the window of the carriage, enamored by the pure size of the palace. Even Franz had to admit it was an amazing thing to see. Large onyx black metal gates guarded the large complex. There were several buildings behind the complex, each in the same style. They were all marble white with black trim and black pillars. The black pillars had an intricate design, the emblem of the Onyx kingdom.
They were headed toward the largest building. To call it a palace would be inaccurate. It was more akin to a castle, albeit a small one. Two guards draped in black robes with the Onyx emblem on their cloaks escorted their carriage to the front of the castle, where a few servants were waiting for them.
The servants showed Franz and his family the way toward the dining hall, where the Onyx family was sitting, waiting for the company to arrive. Franz had to school himself; this was going to be a big meeting. Cedric showing up was all part of the plan, even if it was still nerve-wracking. Franz had assumed that the dining hall would have rituals that prevented Scribes from listening in on their conversation.
Judging by the fact that he could see the lips of the royal family move yet no sound travelled, he knew his assumption was correct. With an internal fist bum,p he stepped through the door.
“Ahh our guests,” King Leandro said.
“Welcome to our home, Professor Franz and Heidi,” Alessia said warmly. “Children.”
“Hi Queen,” the children responded in unison.
“Our apologies, that you middle child, Anna, will be unable to join us,” Leandro said. “She is on her way back from Qu’ant.”
“No apologies necessary, my king,” Franz said respectfully. He gave a slight bow to the princesses sitting at the table. Franz paused for a moment when a creature he had never seen before sat next to the youngest princess. She caught his gaze and smiled.
“Amazing isn’t he?” Karin Onyx asked with pride.
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“I have never seen a creature like it,” Franz responded.
“It was a gift from a strange man,” Leandro said.
“Oh? Might I inquire what it is?” Franz asked.
“It is a Depths Newt,” Karin said once again, beaming with pride. "His name is Newton.” Newton lifted its head and stared at Franz. An unmistakable aura of power radiated from the creature. Franz nodded at him and returned to his seat.
“Fascinating,” Franz said.
Shortly after, Leandro called in for food to be brought in. Trays upon trays of food were brought in constantly. The table never was devoid of food nor was anyone’s plate. They all ate food and drank tea or juice, enjoying each other’s company. It was a carefree, relaxing affair with little issues. Franz for the first time since the stupid creatures threatened his family and his life, felt free. His wife, Heidi, noticed the tension in her husband’s body release with each passing bite and minute; she smiled and secretly thanked the king and queen for their hospitality.
Alessia, being a magic-user, could see the tension leave his aura, which did make her suspicious. She had explained in great detail what she was expecting from her husband. She had a good idea that something was going on with Franz that was suspicious. She wanted to create a relaxing environment at first to see if there was any changes, this would let us know that there is a potential issue on their hands.
Leandro had agreed wholeheartedly, and he was supportive of his wife and her affairs. He glanced at Alessia, knowing she felt the relaxation take place in the man’s aura. She was right; he was up to something. His aura senses were stronger than his wife and he did notice something else. He couldn’t quite put a name to the emotion, but he understood the feeling. It felt like anticipation mixed with excitement and trepidation. An odd combo but a familiar one. This was something that he felt whenever proposing a potentially big deal to foreign nations.
Perhaps Franz was playing on offering them some proposal, the two of them weren’t out of the woods quite yet. Dinner finished and dessert came in shortly after. Once dessert finished, the children were dismissed, leaving Heidi and Franz with the king and queen.
“What is it that you want, Franz?” Leandro asked without hesitation.
“I have an offer,” Franz began. “Before I say more, is there soundproofing going on?”
“Naturally,” Alessia said.
“Perfect,” Franz said. He took a steeling breath and looked at his wife. She squeezed his hand reassuringly. “The League of Order is trying to kill you and take over the city.”
“What?” Leandro said.
“Please let me finish,” Franz said, forestalling any additional questions. “I have a runic formation that is set to explode with chaos magic in 3 hours but I have already neutralized it. I was approached on the night GuildMaster Rob was killed a large wolfman came approached me. He told me that he had my family and if I didn’t obey they would kill me.”
“What did they want?” Leandro asked.
“To influence the kingdom into joining or allowing the League of Order.”
“The League of Order,” Leandro echoed. “Why would they want that influence in this kingdom?”
“I have no idea,” Franz said. “They didn’t tell me much just things on the outside, basic things. But I have a plan.”
“I’d love to hear it,” Alessia said. She had not moved much since Franz started talking. Her face was neutral, and she hardly reacted to a thing.
“I purposefully left the formation at home expecting my handler to grab and give it to me. I did that for one reason and one reason only… to see if there was another being that was following me.”
“Was there?”
“Yes,” Franz nodded. “Her name is Shadrice. She is known as the Shadow Sneak. She can sneak in and around all shadows, spying on other nations or people of interests. She stopped the wolfman from going after me. Which was wise but it was good to know she had been following mostly Cedric. My plan, your highnesses, is to set the bomb off and ‘die’ but stay here and help you fight the influence of the league of order. That is of course if you accept my proposal to allow us to stay.”
“What do we gain from this?” Leandro asked.
“Information,” Franz said. “I know a decent amount about the League of Order. I am sure if we turn enough stones we can figure out who the leader is, who there ultimate figurehead is. Once/if we can find him then we can start completely dismantle the league.”
“Hmm,” Leandro mused, tapping a finger at his chin absently.
“Your proposal has merit, particularly coming off the reports from my meeting a few days ago,” Alessia said. “I was planning on writing to Anna to see if she has encountered anything like the League but if there are spies there is a great chance that the letter gets taken or destroyed. The one question I keep coming back to is why us? What do they have to gain by completely eradicating the royal family?”
“That has been a question of mine as well, especially since they came to my house and threatened my family,” Franz said. “I am not a big name in this city, let alone kingdom. It made no sense that I was the one to have them deal with.”
“Sure it did,” Leandro said. All eyes turned to the king. “You’re an official within our circle. You have a small voice but a voice nonetheless. You have a family and you wouldn’t be missed as much as GuildMaster Rob if something went horribly wrong.”
“Thank you, sire,” Franz said.
“If I were trying to infiltrate an organization, kingdom, or local authorities, you’d be the prime person I’d go after. Think about it. You have a family with young ones. That tells me that you have something to look forward. You’d be a little more cautious and a little more susceptible to torture or offered threats. Making you someone that could tell us secrets or get us access to someone who does.”
“Well when you put it that way, it seems obvious,” Franz said. Leandro waved a hand.
“Don’t feel bad about it, Franz,” Leandro chuckled. “I am a king of a kingdom, these are things that I need to be aware of. I have been doing this for a long time.”
“I have a plan that could work slightly better,” Alessia said. “But, it will put your family at risk. If that is something you are willing to do, great. If it is not, also great. For the moment you have provided us with incredible knowledge that we could accept your terms and be satisfied.”
“I would like to hear your plan, Queen,” Heidi said.
“Great,” Alessia said. “We send you back with our best assassin guards, they watch from a distance constantly protecting you. This way you can keep working with the League as a double-agent. All while having the assurance that you and your family will not be harmed. We will have meetings very similar to what we had a few days ago, with regularity. That way you can tell us all that the League is up to. We can now be ahead of them and prepare.”
“This would also allow us time for our daughter and her team to return. I am hoping they return in a couple of months,” Leandro said. “I believe they will be able to help us with preparations. It goes without saying, yet I will say it. You and your family will be compensated handsomely. We will make each of your family members magic users. It will be harder for the League to kill them or threaten them if they have magic.”
“Won’t they question that?” Heidi asked.
“Who cares?” Leandro said.
“What my husband means to say,” Alessia chuckled. “They cannot control every happenings of your life. If they want to question why a man, gave his family magic after being threatened, then they are idiots. I do believe that the Shadrice character would place any blame on the wolfman, Franz had described.”
“Correct,” Leandro picked up. “They will likely say that he pushed too hard and that is what caused Franz to be paranoid and act accordingly.”
“I will get magic powers,” Heidi said. “But I am far too old to join a guild.”
“Correct,” Leandro said. “You can do some training here, all you need to do is choose your class. Your children will have the opportunity to attend a guild but they are not old enough.”
“Oh I know what I want to be. I want to be a ranger, like Rob.” Her face was steel, and her voice was flint. She smile,d looking at the royals. “this is all very generous,” Heidi said. “Thank you king and queen, thank you.”
“No,” Alessia said. “Thank you. You could have easily ignored my request, came here and had dinner than left. Franz you decided to fight and that is a level of bravery that deserves to be commended and praised. I believe that we will be able to eradicate the problem that is the League of Order but for once we no longer have a mysterious enemy.”