“Wha- How could I? I mean… yes,” Krista answered reservedly.

Now things started to make sense to Darius. The affluent family, her not wanting to enter New Dawn. It was only then that Darius came to a horrific realization, “I’m just some stranger who randomly appeared in New Dawn with the missing princess.” The guards slowly inched closer. “I’m going to be executed, aren’t I?”

He almost started laughing from the absurdity of the whole situation. With the guard’s spears less than an arm’s length in front of him, his senses from his time as a thief screamed at him to escape by any means possible, even though he knew that would only cause more problems later. Eventually, that pull became too hard to resist, but just as he turned to run.

“All of you back off! I am Kristhalla Knightley, heir to the throne of New Dawn!” She exclaimed jumping in between the guard’s spears and Darius. “I demand you lower your arms, give Darius an audience with my mother and father, and leave me alone!”

Unease floated through the air, none of the guards really knew how to react to Krista’s commands. “Grandmagi Cassandra, how should we proceed?” asked one of the guards.

The old woman, Cassandra, stared at her grandniece with a lack of warmth on her face. A sort of eerie silence occurred that caused Krista to falter slightly, that is until her Grand Auntie said a single word, “Emily.”

There was a loud sound, almost like a crack of thunder, and a large gust of wind. Just for a moment, Darius closed his eyes and turned away. When he looked back at Cassandra, the maid behind her was gone. It wasn’t just him who was surprised, several of the other guards looked around in confusion over whatever just happened.

“Would you prefer her unconscious, Grandmagi?” Emily said with no emotion and an empty smile, one arm around Krista’s neck and the other holding Krista’s arm behind her back. “She is struggling quite a lot, so that would make transport far easier.”

“No, I believe that’s not necessary,” She stared directly at Darius. “Instead, I’d like to hear more from you. Why do you need an audience with my niece and her husband?”

There’s the big question again. In Darius’s mind, Jerimiah’s words echoed in his mind, “Until you’re safe, our identities must remain hidden,” and right now, Darius didn’t feel very safe. “The only reason I didn’t know you is because I’m not from around here.”

“Is that right, then do tell me where you are from?”

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

“Acumenos… that should mean something to you, correct?”

A long silence. Cassandra’s eyes were unwavering as they stared down Darius and decided what to do. Darius didn’t dare speak, not wanting to bury himself further into the whole he had already dug. “The Grayson family, what is your relationship with them, to Jerimiah?”

This was the first time Darius had received genuine interest from Cassandra rather than apathy. Though he hadn’t expected to hear the name of his grandfather, he wasn’t about to miss his chance.

“I am here to request aid! In accordance with the alliance forged between New Dawn and Acumenos, I request an audience with His and Her Majesty. It should be in a safe and secure location since I’d prefer to hide my identity, for fear that the eyes of my enemies may be looking at us even now. Though it should please you to know, the one named Jerimiah is safe and in a secure location.”

Cassandra looked to Darius and smiled momentarily, seemingly of relief. He didn’t know this woman’s relation to his grandfather, but they seemed to have at least been good friends.

"Fine then, allow me to cordially invite you into the palace, to speak with the royal family on matters regarding Acumenos and Shining Twilight.”

“You’re aware of why I’m here?!”

“It was just only an educated guess, but they have been quite the troublemakers in Stellar, too. Please tell us the rest of your worries once we reach the palace… all three of you. Emily.”

She was currently preoccupied with Krista, who managed to get her mouth around Emily’s arm and was trying to bite her way through. “Am I needed Grandmagi? Apologies, this one is more persistent than I thought, so my ability to serve may be hampered.”

“Is this really necessary Grand Auntie?” Krista asked, her teeth lightly caked in red. “I promise to be on my best behavior.”

“This is all necessary because I know you,” Cassandra responded tiredly. “No, Emily, continue to restrain her until we’re home.”

“W-Wait!” Cline yelled. “Those three are with us. I paid to smuggle them in! I am a high-level guild representative, you can’t just take them away from us. At least not Darius and Fierce.”

“Yes, as thanks for doing so, I won’t have you arrested for your blatant crime. Instead, you should be rewarded, how does… nine emerald sound?” With a snide smile on her face, Cassandra let on that she was aware of the misconduct between the guild and the border guards. “Wait, Amelia didn’t enter the border with you. You said the name Fierce, what do you mean by that?”

It was at this moment that Darius was sure that Fierce understood everything said to her. As Cassandra called her name, Fierce jumped from her satchel and stood at Cassandra’s feet. The guards around her reacted immediately, but Cassandra waved them off.

“Her. She’s Fierce,” Darius said slowly.

Even without further prompting, Fierce jumped to sit on Cassandra’s lap, taking all the blades surrounding her in stride. “I have to admit, this was unexpected even from you Krista. I can’t wait to see you explain this one to your parents.”