"Stevar, come on. The king has an important announcement to make." One fellow cried out to his familiar.
Stevar didn't seem all that excited and why would he. As of late, such meetings had been pretentious. Held by the nobles announcing the progress that they had been making as a Kingdom and yet they failed to see it.
They knew that the upper echelon are all their hard earned work and play it off with their trivial excuses thus a lot of people saw such announcements as a waste of their time.
"Did you say that the king personally called out for this meeting?" Stevar's interest seemed to pique as he heard that it was the king holding it.
"Yes now come on." Stevar halted his actions as he made his way towards the main crowd that had been gathering for a while now.
"What do you think this announcement is about?" Such voices rang through the crowd.
"Maybe it's about that mysterious lady. After all, did you see how intimate she was with one of the devilish pair? Rhys I believe." Responses and conspiracies rang through the air.
"Wait! Where are the royal sisters and Zenia?" One pointed out to which sparked another storm of voices and rumors all about.
Solaris wasn't shocked with how fast messages spread as it was normal for the normal human being to socialize and focus on other matters beside their own. Acting as a break and fail to focus on themselves.
It acted as a means of escapism treating their current problems as null and void before the cold harsh reality set it.
Tired with the voices that murmured about, Solaris stood up and took the podium. He glanced at his nobles, his sons and finally the people.
"I am here to inform you all that a war is on the horizon." He started off string making the people burst out into shock and wonder. They all had questions of their own however they could only wait and hear more of Solaris.
"The enemy is that mysterious lady. Her name being Ashley. Along with her fiancée, they have declared war on us." Solaris added which resulted in all kinds of emotions from the public.
They all knew how potent Rhys and Zephyrion were and felt if the king were to engage in a fight with them, then the outcomes would be dire.
However seeing that Zephyrion had already left, then the situation wouldn't be as bad however if Ashley was thrown into the mix, then another problem would arise from it.
"Thus I have to warn you as in the next two days, they will unleash hell upon this kingdom thus I urge all of you to evacuate and leave the kingdom. Aurorise has already experienced such a fate and is now in ruins."
At the time when he heard it first from Ashley, he thought that she was taunting him however with how dismissive the kingdom had grown, he couldn't help but worry that something was wrong.
He had already sent some spies over to assess the situation and they had yet to report but as the hours ticked away, he found himself believing the impossible.
"I am aware that the nearest kingdom is quite far from here thus multiple caravans have already been issued to guarantee your safety." Solaris finished before he stepped down from the podium.
The public were all in an outrage. "But why would they?" Was a question they found asking themselves however there was no answer that came along with it.
Their enemy was right in front of them and they could only watch as they cascaded and strutted without a care.
And with that, the people went back to their houses and started making their own preparations for departure.
Solaris could only grit his teeth in anger as he sat distressed on his throne. It wasn't the same one as the one he had from before.
"It would be an insult for me to willingly give up my throne without a fight." He murmured as his sons could see his worry. To think that they would be plagued by such horrifying presences was something they hadn't expected.
"I wonder how they are going to eradicate the kingdom?" Sirius couldn't help but point out. "Why are you talking as if they will?! We're going to fight for our kingdom regardless of how powerful they are."
"They may be above average but that doesn't mean that they are gods!" Zayne refuted Sirius. "Give me a reason that we can actually win against them. They are already here and they act without a care."
"It's obvious that they have the means to eradicate all of us. I suggest that we should abandon this entire kingdom and leave." Sirius posed once more however Solaris wasn't pleased with this.
His eyes bore deep into Sirius's eyes and he could feel the cold and unrestrained bloodlust of his father. He fell to the floor as he clutched his throat.
"Father, killing off one of your own won't help the situation. I know that this isn't what you want to hear but I do believe that we should leave." Kaissus said as he saw Sirius's face.
It was drenched in sweat and blood was already coming out of his nose. Solaris gave a light sigh as he withdrew his own pressure from his son.
"Haaah!" Sirius greedily gasped for air as he brought himself to his feet. "And next time try to think before you spew nonsense out of your mouth brother." Kaissus's eyes landed on Sirius.
"Nonsense! At this point, it is foolish to think that a confrontation with that bitch called Ashley or her fiancée will result with anything positive."
"She was able to take down Aurorise on her own without that dick and now you think that with him around that it will be easier? You may all try however I am not."
Sirius spoke adamantly as he made his way towards the exit. "If you walk out of that door..." Solaris spoke out with his voice covering the entire court room.
"You don't have to tell me father! You can revoke my privileges as the second prince of Rien." Sirius said as he took off his crown and threw it on the ground.
*BAM*
The doors shut behind him with the three looking at the crown. They all understood why he would do so and with it, they questioned whether it was worth it to confront her.
Sirius did pose important points however how could they simply give it up? Solaris had made this kingdom from the ground up, establishing all form of connections with relative kingdoms, forming enemies and allies alike.
And when push comes to shove, would he simply give it up like that. 'I simply can't hand it over but then again, facing those two is a huge problem in itself.' Solaris mused as he clutched his temple, his palm covering his ashen face.
A servant rushed into the court before taking bowing showing his respect. "My Lord. I've already issued the commands to the army commander."
"Very well." Solaris sighed it off as his head was deep in contemplation. "We are still keeping an eye on the pair and it would seem that they are heading towards the red light district."
"What?!" Zayne shot up. 'Why would they go to a place like that?' He mused as he thought about it. From his perspective, it was Hedon who loved going to such places this hearing Rhys headed there was definitely a shock.
...
The rumored pair that was considered a blight. A tumor that had to be removed were walking ever so casually down the streets before a major building came right in front of them.
The streets were barren making one question whether there was life to begin with. Opening the door, several faces were shook seeing the pair however they had to keep face.
Atara stepped up and greeted the two. "How may I help you?" She was tense and bewildered with their arrival. 'It's not that they would need a room or anything. After all they stay at the most prestigious hotel.'
Her mind couldn't understand why they were here but she still had to serve them. "Where's Sophia?" Andrew asked as he looked around.
"Oh, Sophia is about to serve another customer as of currently-" Andrew's eyes locked onto Atara's. "Just get her here. Now."
"Very well." Atara could only fall silent as she left the room and shortly after, her image appeared once more with a lady behind her. She was barely dressed in her sexy lingerie.
"Rhys!" Sophia exclaimed as she saw him before her eyes landed on Ashley. A tinge of despair played on her tongue as she stood in front of her. She could tell that she was beyond and above her league thus was a little disheartened.
"How may I serve you?" Sophia asked curtly. Andrew looked at her body. He had feasted on jade beauties on the planes above this for him, this could only be classified as substandard.
"It seems that Zephyrion had taken a fancy to you and asked me on his behalf to take care of you. Thus I have an offer for you."
Sophia was baffled as she heard this. 'An offer?' Andrew proceeded. "I want you to work in Sable stone. I'm sure that Sevyn should have a position for you."
"What..." Sophia could barely mask her shock as she heard this. 'An offer from Rhys to work in Sable stone!' Sablestone's rise was something that every other kingdom grew wary of.
It was without a doubt that it would rise and overshadow the rest of the other kingdoms in a matter of time. As for threats, no sane person would be dumb enough to take it head on.
Not only did it have a deep background with Ashley, but also the queen wasn't a simple player either. Not to mention one couldn't tell what tricks and trump cards she would have.
"I accept." She said cheerfully. She couldn't believe that such a feat was happening in her life. "Very well. We'll leave in two days so take your time and prepare."
He shifted his head towards Atara. "Feel free to bring company." He chuckled however the lighthearted atmosphere was shattered by a hot headed idiot.
"What was the reason to have this bitch out here and not sucking my dick?" A man bellowed as he saw Sophia however his face went pale as he saw Ashley and Andrew next to her.
"Who are you?" Ashley asked as her eyes scrutinized his figure. He felt pale all over as he started to subconsciously walk backwards. His words were all stuttery and unclear to make out.
"Mmiiisss!!!! I ddddinnntttt thi-"
*Plop*
"How dare you talk without my permission?!" Ashley mused as his head rolled on the floor. Sophia's smile was instantly wiped of her face. It was now that she recalled why she was deemed a threat by all kingdoms.
To be able to casually kill a tier three expert in such fashion was astounding. Without having to lift a finger made her wary of her.
"I thought that you wouldn't kill anyone." Andrew chucked as he pinched her cheeks. Ashley's daze of aloofness was broken as she let out a short gasp.
"Ahh! Not so hard! You're pinching my cheeks a little too hard." She mused as she tried to break free from his grasp however it proved futile. He retracted his palm as he handed over a key.
"It is for one of the rooms present in the hotel." He said as he placed it in Sophia's hand. Sophia had yet to recover from what had happened. To think that she could kill so casually and brush it off without a care.
'This couple...' She mused in her head as she thanked the two. "I am fully in your debt." She forced herself to muster a smile.
And just like that, the two made their way out of the tavern. "See, I told you that I wouldn't get distracted." Andrew played it off as they made their way back to the hotel.
"Regardless, I still have to keep an eye on you and make sure that no hussies or whores alike steal you away from me." She purred as she buried herself deep into her chest.