On a hidden part of the southern end of Archellia near the borders, a shadow is moving towards a hidden cavern. Upon arrival, the shadow created a fire that gave light to the eerie place. An hour has passed when a woman's silhouette appeared and bowed before the shadow.
"How was your mission?" The shadow hissed as he eyed the woman in front of him.
"The plan didn't go well but I got a surprise. I did not think that the heir to throne of Archellia would actually respond to the call," the woman answered while she played with her blonde locks.
"And?" the shadow hissed.
"He has an affinity with light," the woman replied as a sinister grin appeared on her red-stained lips.
"Since he responded to the call assign someone to keep an eye on him, if he is what we think he is, we will let him live but if he is not, let's leave him be but if he proves to be an obstacle to us you are allowed to eliminate him. Keep me informed Valkyrie," another hiss with a growl came from the shadow.
"I understand. Then, what are we going to do now?" The woman sat down on a flat stone near the fire.
"We need to check the other candidates. If we are able to find one that is suitable, our next step is to capture them and bring them along with us," the shadow answered.
"How boring, why did we even accept this job." Valkyrie pouted, she was not happy with the mission given to them. She was looking forward to more fighting and less stalking work but they ended up drawing the most annoying mission.
"It has been decided, your complaints are useless now. So do your job right, if you do that we can return immediately." The shadow answered as he stepped out of the cave and merged with the darkness of the night.
The night was silent while the moon's light gave an eerie glow to the kingdom of Archellia. One man was gazing outside by one of the palace's balcony at the kingdom he rules. He took pleasure in silently staring and observing the place he treasured.
He won't admit it to himself but the events from earlier that day had shaken him, and because of that King Leon was again reminded of the past. Behind the King's strong, cold, uncaring and cruel façade, is a father with a heart that constantly fears and filled with love for his son.
"You need to rest your majesty," a voice from the shadow gently spoke.
"Even if I want to, I can't," the king answered in a somewhat soft voice.
"You are bothered, what it is?" General Reious immerged from a dark corner and stood behind the king..
"I feel like it is happening again, that my fear is slowly becoming a reality," the king mumbled. "Did you find the intruder General Reious?" the king asked as he changed the topic.
"We are still tracking her after we lost her as she entered the Emerald Forest further south," a tall man with big built wearing silver armor with a golden sun emblem embedded at the upper left of his chest that symbolizes Archellia stood in attention. King Leon shut his eyes and inhaled to quench the growing anger inside him before he was able to speak again.
"Report to me immediately if you capture that woman for I fear that there is more to this scheme," the King turned around and faced his loyal and trusted General who was also a dear friend of his.
"I will your majesty," the general bowed after he saw from the king's golden, cold eyes how serious the situation is.
"Are there any other reports you want me to know General?" a moment of silence passed before the general was able to answer.
"I have received reports from the southern patrol that dark creatures have started to gather outside the southern borders of our land," he relayed which only added to the building anger inside the king.
"And where did you say that intruder disappeared to?" the general can feel the sudden change in the atmosphere at the king's question.
"The pursuit team reported that they lost track of the intruder at the Emerald Forest," the general answered.
The king started pacing on the room as he wracked his brain for possible enemies that can be behind everything that is happening. After pacing relentlessly, he came up with nothing.
'Who would benefit from all of this?' he asked himself but no one came to mind.
"General I want you to personally oversee the southern border, be sure to keep those creatures out of our lands. I'll assign General Aries to continue tracking the intruder," King Leon commanded after some thought.
"General Rohan would be back tomorrow, it would be better to assign him to the southern borders. I'd rather stay here and monitor things." General Reious explained to which the king nodded in understanding.
"How about the other kingdoms, are there any movements from them?" Leon once again sat down while waiting for the general's answer.
"None your majesty," he answered. Reious was well aware of what the king was concerned about. They have been monitoring the other kingdom's movements but so far there are no major changes therefore it is difficult to pin unto them the source of problems arising in Archellia.
The king remained silent. So many thoughts passed through his mind and nothing of them sounds good. He was having a very bad feeling about all of this.
"If I may ask, how is the Prince doing?" Reious tried to change the topic and saw the king react to his question.
"He's fine, though I worry that his escapades are getting more and more reckless," a sigh was heard from the king at the thought of his son.
"He is a curious soul just like his mother," Reious commented.
"Yes he is and I do not like it one bit because it only causes troubles," Leon leaned on his seat. He has no problem running his kingdom but when it comes to his son he would always feel lost and uncertain.
He had always imagined how his life would be if the queen was still alive. He knew that if his dear wife was still there he would not experience any difficulty in raising his own son.
"That is why you are there to guide him, as his father, it is your responsibility to look after him," Reious smiled. He could see that the king was in a dilemma. It is not easy to raise a child alone.
"I know but I really don't think that I'm doing the right thing. It seems to me that all I am doing is only making him hate me more," a faraway look appeared on the king's face as he spoke.
It seems to him that every decision he makes that involves his son was wrong. He has no confidence in himself whenever the issue is about the Prince. When the prince was still a child, Leon would be confident in his parenting but now that his son is all grown-up he felt more lost as the days and years passed by.
"Why don't you put a little more trust in the Prince, he's already at the age where he wants to be more involved. It is the age where children want to try anything they took interest in and where they want to be more independent." He smiled while observing the king's growing frown. It was well known in their circle that the king doted on his son and that he is very protective of him.
An audible sigh came from Leon, "you will be a good father in the future Reious and thank you for the advice."
"Thank you, your majesty, but I think I will remain single for the rest of my life, there are so many matters in our kingdom that needs my attention. I'm afraid that I don't have the time to build a family and besides my hands are already full with all the new recruits in our army." Reious shook his head and laughed, having his own family was already not on his priority at the moment he became one of the Generals in the kingdom's army.
General Reious left the king and continued on his task to find General Aries to relay the king's orders. Times may have become peaceful, but sometimes this peace doesn't usually last long. He stopped in the middle of the hallway and looked at the bright moon outside the window. If the king's worries were to come true, their future would definitely be shrouded with darkness. He could only hope that nothing bad would happen.
In the room, the king was also thinking of the same thing. His fear was increasing every moment and it has been taking a toll on his mental health. Running the kingdom and his endless worrying about his son has been wearing him down and now more problems have arisen without them noticing. The peaceful future he wanted to establish for his kingdom and son was becoming more and more out of his reach.