THE SUPREMACY

A small request

Principal Alora finally arrived at Starfall castle in the evening, she asked a servant if the councillors were still upstairs and they informed her that the meeting was over hours ago, the Lords had left the palace as well

She asked if the King was still around and they told her that he was in the throne room, she sighed and just walked out, she didn't have the energy to face Hector or explain anything to him

She walked down almost a hundred steps as she left the castle, she stopped for a moment to look at it, the megastructure so large and expansive that no other building could be seen around it. She wasn't admiring the castle though, just contemplating if she should go back in to speak with Hector, she did owe him an explanation after all

After a minute of consideration, she decided it wasn't worth the effort, she turned to walk away only to crash head first into Hector's chest

"Ouch!!!" she cried out as she staggered, holding her head and frowning, Hector just stood there, his hands tucked at his back and beneath his purple cloak, she noticed a portal closing in behind him

"You have to stop doing that, it's very unsettling" she said and hissed, Hector tilted his head

"It's very convenient though" he said

Alora stared at him and kept soothing her forehead, he did the same, both of them waiting for the other to say the next word

"How did you know I was here?" she asked, he raised his head and glanced at one of the glass domes on top of the castle, she turned to see what he was referring to

"I saw you from up there, so...with one quick portal trip, I was down here, you see,...very convenient" he said with a smile, he walked closer to her, his hands still tucked at his back

"Where have you been Alora?"

"At the school?..." she replied rudely

"I told you about our council meeting earlier today, didn't I?" he asked, his voice started to become scary

"I know but the whole graduation event took a lot more time than I expected, and you should have told me about it a few days ahead like you did to literally every one else on the table-"

"I am your king Alora" he shut her, "when I tell you to do something you must obey with immediate effect no matter the circumstance..."

"Yeah right..." she said and rolled her eyes "My king, your grace, but I have a school to run okay?"

"A school?" He stopped and laughed sarcasticly, "you run a school while I rule over five different kingdoms, what a joke right?!! five kingdoms!!, I can't imagine how difficult it is to be the Principal of a single school!!!"

"What do you want me to say Hector, I'm sorry?!!, is that what you want to hear?!!"

"I want you to change!, I want you to have more regard for my authority!"

Alora scoffed and folded her arms, "You made a vow to me and my family, you broke that vow fifteen years ago and acted like nothing happened, your words have no meaning to me Hector, not anymore"

"You're still on about that?" he asked, she didn't reply, he walked even closer until he was at her face

"Whatever happened back then, doesn't mean anything anymore, I give you so much leeway because I understand your pain, and you've abused it for far too long, but it ends today"

She looked him in the eyes after that last statement,

"The council men already think I have a soft spot for you, and it makes me look weak, so if you don't start acting right I'll have to do something to remind them of the power dynamics, and you're going to scapegoat, do we understand each other?"

She was silent, turning away from him, he took a few steps back,

"But I didn't come here for that, I've got something else to tell you" he finally brought out his arms from under his cloak and revealed a bouquet of rose flowers, her eyes widened in shock

"What is this?!!...what is this for?!!" she asked anxiously as she took the flowers from him

"I have a small request for you"

Alora raised an eyebrow in suspicion "and...what could that possibly be?"

"Well...Valkori would be going on a world tour starting next week..."

Alora was visibly disappointed as she heard Valkori's name

"....and I want you to be her tour guide, the trip should last anywhere between six weeks to two months-"

"No!, no Hector" she said

"Alora I just talked about this-"

"Your daughter Valkori, she's insufferable!!, I can't be around someone like that for two months, I'll go insane!!"

"Oh, you're such a great school Principal and teacher but you can't deal with one stubborn little girl huh?!, what does that say of your-"

"Maybe she wouldn't be such a nightmare if you were a better parent, have you ever thought about that Hector?..."

Hector got upset

"Mind your language Alora"

"I'm not doing this okay?, I'm not" she turned to leave, still holding the flowers, Hector grabbed her arm and she stopped immediately

"It's not a request anymore, it's a Royal Order, disregard this and I'll have your head for treason"

Alora grinded her teeth enraged, she shook his hand off her body

"Get your things ready, find any staff to take over your duties at the school till you return, I'll send word for the exact date of your departure"

"Yes, your grace" she said coldly, Hector sighed, he placed his hand on her shoulder, again

"I need you for this Alora, stop making things so difficult, you're the strongest sorcerer I could get my hands on and you're very familiar with my daughter. Lord Shiro would have agreed to go but we are preparing for battle right now and I need him by my side..."

He began to rub her shoulder gently, trying to cheer her up, to look at him, to say something, but she didn't budge

"Valkori is leaving the capital and entering the outside world for the first time in her life, and you know very well what is out there waiting for her, Helia is coming!, they're at our doorstep waiting to strike!!, and we can't let that happen, we can't let them get to Valkori, that's why I need someone of your strength around her, do not let her out of your sight no matter what, do not let any harm come near her even if it costs your life"

"I understand, your grace, can I go now?" she asked, no emotions in her voice

"Sure" he said calmly, he removed his hand from her shoulder and she walked away.

He watched her leave, out of the castle gates, he felt bad, he actually did fancy her a lot, he didn't know if he could call it love, the emotions didn't feel that strong or serious, or maybe he just admired her attitude and her resentment towards him, maybe it felt good that she talked to him that way, every other person in the Supremacy bent over in his presence, except her, it was a different feeling with her, and he liked that feeling.

Damian stood in the distance watching their conversation go on, blood ran down from his nose, he wasn't wearing his school uniform this time, just a black cloak that covered his whole body. For some reason nobody that went in or out of the castle noticed his presence, almost as if he was a ghost.

THE ANDOREAN MOUNTAIN RANGE, NORTHERN TREMORE

The full moon shined brightly above the barren earth, several mountains and hills could be seen in the distance. A camp of tents lay over a hill, camp fire lit at the centre for heat and illumination

A few hundred soldiers walked around in and out of the tents and doing various activities, some wore regular clothes, others still on their uniforms; an all black attire with metal plates on the shoulders and waist, and a unique blue cloth belt with golden designs, only a few carried weapons as the soldiers were mostly sorcerers.

The uniforms these soldiers wore had an unknown sigil at the back; two wings with a sword in between them

A horse carriage rode into the camp, the horses neighed and grunted

"Call commander Mich, the boys are here" A soldier told another

The horse carriage rode and stopped in front of a distinctly large tent with two soldiers guarding it at the front, one of them ran inside to alert their commander

"Commander Mich!!" the young soldier called out, Commander Mich was sitting at a table and sipping on tea, the table had a large map of the Supremacy, he was a man in his early forties with short unkept beards and hair and he wore his soldiers uniform as well.

Commander Mich came out of the tent to see the carriage, a few soldiers gathered around as well

The door of the carriage opened up and the boys stepped out, Reece and Derrick, both of them covered in thick fur cloaks as the weather up here was terribly cold especially at night

"Commander Mich" they greeted and bowed in front of him, he looked up to Reece and smiled

"You've grown a lot boy" he said

Reece chuckled, Mich turned to Derrick, who at five foot nine, was very much shorter than Reece, "you...not so much" he patted the boys

"Where's the other one?" Mich asked them

"Damian?...his assignment isn't over yet Sir" Derrick answered

"I know that" Mich said, "He's supposed to report back here about Valkori's whereabouts once a week, he hasn't been here in ten days"

"About Valkori, I have important news, our job is about to became a thousand times easier" Reece said to the commander with a very devious smile.