THE ALCHEMIST WAS BACK TO WORK, though she did not seem to have the enthusiasm and motivation to finish today’s requests. Something was clearly bothering her but she was fairly sure it was none of her business. Lilla ignored her thoughts and continued writing prescriptions for her patients. She is the Royal Alchemist, nothing more, nothing less.

And yet, her mind kept going back to the mysterious prisoner’s nonsensical story, interrupting her work. A disgruntled groan escaped her lips as she leaned on the spine of her chair. Why was she so engrossed in his absurd story? None of it was logical at all. How can a king from five hundred years ago who was presumed to be dead turn out to be alive today?

Lilla gazed through the window at her right side. The sun’s orange hue scattered over the skies and on the rooves of Cicero. Friday was about to end again, three more days before Viktor’s court trial will begin. She was already sure of the verdict he will receive without it even starting yet. He killed seven residents of Callisto town. Viktor will be hanged. Normally, Lilla wouldn’t care about the Imperial Court’s affairs but something about this prisoner bugged her.

King Viktor Invictus and his royal lineage were never known to be good people. The Invictus kings lead the mass extermination of Moon Children, also known as Phobeans, (now Arcanes) in Styrkeis. His early death was not unexpected; it was a natural turn of events when the oppressed early Zeniths started to rebel.

“Lady Lilla?” A small voice called to her from the hall outside. She immediately recognized it as Prince Kyrie, Princess Kristen’s youngest sibling. His little head emerged from the small crevice between the door and its frame.

“Your Royal Highness? Why are you here? Where is your steward?” Lilla immediately got up and approached him, in case he knocked something over.

“Connor? Dunno.” The prince’s hair bounced when he shook his head. “That’s not why I’m here! I heard Kristen crying in her room and I... I thought she needed your help. You can make her feel better again, right?”

“Of course, Your Highness.” She quickly reassured the prince with a warm smile. Lilla figured Kristen’s usual medication would be enough to calm her down. With the vials in her bag, she held the boy’s hand and let him guide her to the Princess’ quarters.

The way to Kristen’s quarter became longer with the prince’s company. She had to match his tiny steps to avoid dragging him instead and hurting his fragile wrist. The maids had begun lighting the hallway lanterns one by one as dusk was near. Somehow, even though there were people around, the corridor’s dimness made her feel lonely; a certain memory had subconsciously passed inside her mind.

“Prince Kyrie!” The prince’s attendant, Connor, came running to them, a worried expression on his tan face. He bowed his head to Lilla apologetically. “Forgive me for my carelessness, milady. I should have been more attentive to the prince.”

The alchemist dismissed his apology. “Everything is alright. In fact, Prince Kyrie went to me concerned about her big sister’s health.”

“Our Majesty will be delighted to hear that!” The two of them left shortly. It was about to be the little prince’s dinnertime and bedtime too.

Lilla waited until no one else was nearby before she knocked at the door. She could hear Kristen’s faint sobbing from the other side of it. She figured the princess was in no shape to answer her as the sound continued. “I’ll let myself in, Kris.”

A frail figure was slumped on the princess’ bed. She hugged one of her pillows tightly, covering her face with it. Her chest rose and fall as she continued to sob. Lilla went to her side and started rubbing circles on the princess’ back to calm her down. When Kristen slightly felt better, she turned to hug Lilla before crying again, though more lightly now. The alchemist ran her hand through the princess’ long brown hair until her breathing returned to normal.

“Feeling better now?” Lilla couldn’t help but smile as she saw Kristen’s puffy eyes.

She nodded in response before speaking with a nasal voice. “Thank you as always, Lilla.”

Kristen had many duties as the crown princess of Mercurius. A lot of expectations were already thrown at her, being the daughter of the ruthless Empress Katarina Amaris. They believe that she would have the same iron fist rule as her mother. But Kristen was very different from her mother; she was more like her father, forgiving and kind. These same traits became the reason why the princess failed to see opportunists people around her; Lord Raegan for example, however ignorant he is about it.

“You should take your medicine tonight, Kristen. That should restore your energy.” She settled the vials on her nightstand before she heard the princess speaking.

“Lilla, when you were still an apprentice alchemist, was there ever a time you did not actually want to inherit the title?”

I never once wanted it. It was the only thing Lilla knew. Her mentor raised her as an alchemist; it was the only natural profession she could have. Instead, she kept the thought to herself and answered, “I don’t think I ever had the choice. It’s the least I could do for him.”

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.”

“What are you planning to do then, Kris?” The princess could not consider quitting her position as the heir, at least not too easily. Her siblings were not fit nor too willing to replace her. Prince Kyrie was only six years old and Prince Kaydence, the first prince, did not seem to show any interest in their country’s royal affairs.

“For now, I just want to rest.”

Lilla understood what she wished for and unsealed one vial before handing it to the princess. She remained at her side until Kristen fell asleep while holding her hand.

* * * * *

The next morning, Lilla found herself inside Cicero’s Archives, skimming through the records of Nadia. She missed the cozy atmosphere during her past stays at the place. Its peace and quiet had always been comforting to her. She decided to indulge her curiosity for today since it was interfering with her work. Besides, she always wanted to visit the place again and did not have the time for it; now she had an actual reason to be inside the building. She ran her hand through the dusty row of leather books, looking for written records of Styrkean history.

The Kingdom of Steel and Blood: History of Styrkeis

Rulers of the Past: 1300s: Memoires of the Styrkean Monarchs

Life in Styrkeis: The Journal of a Styrkean Soldier

Lilla grabbed those three thick books, disregarding the weight as she carried them to the nearest table. She opened the bulkiest one first which contained the discovery of the Styrkean Kingdom and its fall.

She already had basic knowledge about Styrkeis’ history since her mentor required her to study the countries surrounding Mercurius. The Kingdom of Styrkeis used to be a vast land southeast of Mercurius. The Styrkeans despised the idea of humans possessing magical abilities and treated it as a curse of the moon goddess, Phoebe. The Phobeans, also known as Moon Children and now Arcanes, were ordered to be captured and publicly executed by the Styrkean church and royal family. These genocides were considered an act of purifying the land from the said curse. Then, the Moon Rebellion happened and exactly divided the land into two, giving birth to Nadia and Zenith.

She reviewed the part about the kingdom’s fall regarding the death of King Viktor Invictus listed under the event, The Battle of Sigurd. The Styrkean troops along with their king were ambushed in Sigurd’s Canyon by the Phoebean rebels on the way to a planned siege on Fort Liemdahl. The Styrkeans had the upper hand due to Viktor’s strength and General Corvinus’ strategy until their king’s imminent disappearance happened. He was presumed dead seven years later during The Great Styrkean War; his body was never found.

That’s odd. How can the king just disappear in the middle of the war without his own soldiers knowing? They were also winning. He couldn’t have escaped.

Grabbing the second book about the rulers of Styrkeis, Lilla skipped to the page about Viktor Invictus’ life. She took another look at the photograph of the king’s portrait, studying his features. His portrait looked different from the rest, perhaps because he was the youngest who became a king at the age of eighteen. A large crown sat on top of his head and covered most of his slightly curly dark hair with shorter strands of it reaching his thick eyebrows. The painter also captured the subtle irritation visible in the king’s piercing gaze as if he was forced to be there.

Lilla did not find anything new or different from the first book regarding his death. Hoping she’d finally discover some answers, she flipped the third book open and scanned through its pages stopping whenever she saw the king’s name. Luckily, the soldier who wrote the journal was present and survived the Battle of Sigurd. The alchemist found a rather interesting paragraph concerning Viktor’s disappearance.

A ghostlike figure carried the king to the skies. Shortly, dark clouds formed above and between us soldiers and His Majesty. The clouds made a final whirl before completely disappearing with King Viktor…

“It can’t be...” Lilla muttered to herself as her mind began making its conjecture. There’s only one way to find out.

* * * * *

Lieutenant General Glen Erwood had his usual frowning face while Lilla sat beside him, waiting for their prisoner. The silence was a bit uncomfortable and it relieved her when she heard footsteps approaching behind the dungeon doors. Viktor and two guards entered the room before he was sat down on the chair across them.

Viktor looked worse than he was yesterday, though less agitated. She stared hard at his face, swollen in some parts, trying to see the resemblance from the portrait she saw earlier. His unruly raven hair had reached his back and he had also grown facial hair on his chin and above his upper lip. One very noticeable feature was his pronounced cheekbones which were closely similar to the photograph. She stared right at his chestnut eyes, watching how identical it was to the king’s gaze in the portrait.

The lieutenant general cleared his throat, distracting her thoughts. “Lady Henbur, what do you wish to ask of him?”

Lilla slid another truth serum to Viktor, urging him to drink it. “If you want us to believe you really are Viktor Invictus, I want to be certain that you are telling the truth.”

For a while, he glared at her as if to wonder whether he was being tricked or not. To her relief, he decided to drink the serum without any complaints.

“First, you told us you were in a dark forest for two months. Before that, where were you? How did you get to the forest?”

A grim expression washed over his face. Lilla recognized that look; someone he cared about must have died that day. “We were at war. Phoebeans ambushed us at Sigurd’s Canyon. A woman dragged me up to the sky and sent me to that rotten place.”

“Through whirling dark clouds?” Lilla repeated what was written in the Styrkean soldier’s journal entry.

Viktor nodded, quite surprised that she knew. “How?”

“And you got to Mercurius after that. What happened? The alchemist continued without answering his question. Depending on his answer, it might prove her suspicions to be correct.

“The first light in two months appeared, so I went after it. Next thing I knew, I was surrounded by candles and seven dark sorcerers in a cave.”

“That sounds like...”

“Yes, lieutenant general. A summoning by Erebus cultists. I suggest you send your men back to Callisto and do a background search on the victims.” Viktor managed to kill all of the suspected cultists before the guards arrived and was accused as a Nadian spy.

“Hang on, Lady Henbur.” He fixed his glasses and turned to Lilla with all seriousness. “You’re telling me that you believe this man’s story? That he is the real Viktor Invictus and was stuck in the realm of Erebus for two months and managed to return alive?”

“Lieutenant general,” Lilla gazed back at him with the same intensity. “To not believe him would be the same as doubting my abilities. You are also aware of who my mentor is and I assure you my truth serum is not faulty.”

“I do not intend to dishonor Lord Enkidu’s name, milady.” His eyes shifted back to Viktor, studying him intently. “However, you cannot ignore how outrageous his claims were so far.”

“I believe you were also unable to gather information regarding his background, correct? You can’t send him to the Imperial Court with this situation.”

“What do you plan to do then, Lady Henbur?”

Lilla had an idea in mind but she wasn’t sure about the risk she will have to take in exchange. While thinking, she heard the abnormal and ragged breathing of the prisoner before them. It was too late when the alchemist realized what was happening.

Viktor gagged as his hands tried to reach his throat then started vomiting black liquid. The veins on his neck became visibly black too. The guards and the lieutenant general shook his limp body; he had already fainted.

“Looks like he won’t be heading to the asylum or the guillotine.” Lilla thought about Erwood’s question about how Viktor managed to survive the forest for two months and what he possibly ate to keep himself from dying of starvation. He fed on Thirios, the shadow beasts. “Bring him to my tower at once!”