"A castle for a king should be away from everyone else." This was the rules during the construction of the City of Va many years ago. The king back then insisted that his castle overlook the city that stood below, watching the ants get along with their day whilst they aspire to hope one day work behind the castle walls.
As Fishy and Clara were escorted to the castle, Fishy was too busy admiring the architecture.
"It really is like a medieval European castle. I've never seen one in person but it really is like history says… a moat, a barbican, towers and curtain walls and even a keep. It's all here."
Clara listened to Fishy as she had no idea what he was talking about. She nodded and smiled as if agreeing with him. Her worries came in the form that they were about to meet the king and was concerned after hearing about Fishy's viewpoints on it all.
"QUITE!" The guards snapped forcing Fishy to face straight and keep walking. "You are about to be in the presence of the king. Do not talk unless spoken to."
"Yes, sir…" Fishy said reminding him of his school life and feeling annoyed that he had to re-live such a stressful memory.
The two of them were escorted through the courtyard which was nowhere near as pretty as Fishy imagined. He was expecting a flourish of flowers but instead, all he saw was a group of knights going through hellish training, attacking various straw dummies and each other with swords and simple magic, whilst getting hit for each mistake.
They entered the interior of the castle, somewhere not everyone is allowed to go.
The hallways were as clean as one would expect from a place of royalty. No decorations were hanging on the wall as to not ruin the golden pattern that elegantly travelled down the hallways.
"It's pretty," Clara said admiring it for what it was, whereas Fishy was trying to take in notes and work out how he could apply such architecture to his village.
The guards lead them to a large wooden door that seemed to be thick enough to withstand a blast from a large explosive; should the kingdom ever come under attack.
The guard slowly opened the door with Clara and Fishy carefully walking into a room that seemed as if it shouldn't fit into the castle. The ceiling looked endless and the room was wide enough that you would expect every citizen in the city to comfortably sit inside without worry. The light came in through one of the walls which were entirely made of glass, showing a garden that matched Fishy's expectations from earlier.
At the end, sat on a golden throne with the symbol for the city plastered all around him, was King Dean. The man who rules the City of Va.
The King didn't wait alone. As there were several guards around the edges, each wielding large spears and covered in heavy armour. Next to the king's throne was a man that stood out amongst all the guards. His armour stood out from the rest, not only was it a caramel brown it also looked much heavier and the man himself looked as if he didn't need it. His rough face and a cleanly cut beard was enough, but Fishy could tell just how strong this man truly was.
"KNEEL PEASANTS!" A knight said kicking both of them in the back of the legs, forcing them to the ground.
"STOP!" The king said, "These are our guests, don't go treating them poorly."
"Y-yes your majesty… S-sorry… M-my mistake." The guard frantically apologies as the man in caramel armour gazed at him. As if nothing else in the room existed except for that guard.
"You may stand." The king said to which Clara and Fishy were happy to comply. "What brings you here?" he asked.
"Your majesty," Fishy began to speak, acknowledging that he was in front of royalty and not wanting to cause trouble. "We are only here to look for a swordsman and mage. We mean no trouble."
The king listened as if he already knew the reason.
"Why do you need these people?" The king asked.
"I am the chief of a village and we wish to train our villagers to defend themselves. I also wish to learn."
"Ha! Excellent." The king laughed. "It seems we have ourselves a good situation."
Fishy could only laugh at the king's words alongside him. Certain that he had fallen into a trap that was set for him. Fully aware of what would come next.
"That village, although it isn't technically mine, I would like it. And seeing as you also want to learn the sword, how about a fight to see who gets what?"
The deal was one-sided. Fishy was easily aware of this, but he didn't have a choice.
"You will face off in a battle against my general, Vogef."
The man that was standing next to the king moved forward. Each step caused the knights to freeze in fear. Fishy was breathing slowly as to not let himself be overwhelmed whilst Clara stepped back and refused to look at him.
Vogef threw a sword down in front of Fishy who was reluctant to pick it up. But the king's never-ending gaze was more than enough to know he didn't have a choice in the matter.
"Should you win, you keep the village. If you lose, we claim it as our own and you cannot step foot either here or there. Do you accept?"
Fishy looked over to Clara who seemed as if she was about to do something should Fishy not. He smiled at her briefly before picking up the sword and valiantly accepted. Not that he had any other choice.
This was the first time Fishy had picked up a sword. Compared to the Cowsaurs he was tasked with taking a human life. He didn't know how far he could go. With no other choice, his only chance of winning stood on one move.
"Can we use magic?" He asked.
"Of course." The king humbly accepted as if the results were already set.
"Should we go to the training grounds?" Vogef asked. "As to not disturb the cleanliness of this place."
"This place was dirty the second those two stepped in. HAHA!" The king laughed with Vogef following behind. As did Fishy and Clara who joined in awkwardly going along with the joke.
"But let's do it." The king said, pausing his laughter for a brief moment. "Vogef, take them outside and don't hold back. I'll leave this to you."
"Yes, your majesty."
Vogef bowed to the king before escorting the others out, all the guards in the room followed behind as if they had rehearsed this before.