Looking around, the man's eyes light up as he sees Lucas standing next to Sydra, "Ahah! There you are,"
In an instant, the man flashes across the room, and lifts Lucas up into the air, spinning him around faster than a top several times before dropping him back down.
"Oh god..." Lucas says, covering his mouth as he doubles over, "Why have you done this, Uncle Castro?"
Looking at the man, Sydra notices that he closely resembles Kayla, with the same golden hair and energetic personality. However, the man is at least six feet tall, and his golden attire is pulled taunt from his muscles. He also has four golden horns protruding from his wavy hair, giving him a regal appearance.
'I wonder if the horns have any significance,' Sydra thinks as the man looks around the room and notices Sydra.
"So... you must be Sydra, the one Arthur summoned to watch over Lucas and Kayla," Castro says, making his way over to Sydra, "Although you don't seem like much, I'm still feeling a dangerous vibe revolving deep within you,"
About to respond, Sydra pauses when he thinks back to what Castro just said, "Wait, Lucas... and Kayla?"
"Yes? Didn't Arthur tell you about how you would be taking both of them?" Castro asks, confusion filling his face as he glances back at Lucas.
"No... but I guess it makes sense," Sydra says, watching Castro's face become red as he slams his foot down into the ground, causing the palace to shake.
"Why that... Did he really expect my daughter to not need protection too?!" Castro yells, rushing out of the room in a flash, yelling profanities as he raced through the palace in search of King Arthur.
Turning around, Sydra looks at Lucas and Kayla, "Will this palace be safe to stay in?"
Laughing, Lucas pries himself away from Kayla, who had secretly latched onto him during her father's rage, "I'm sure everything will be fine. They were both trained in the proper way to use light aura by the same teacher, and so they have a close bond,"
Heading towards the door, Lucas glances back at Sydra and Kayla, "It's getting close to the time of the ball, so the other Kingdoms should be showing up soon. Do you guys want to go watch their arrival?"
"Sure!" Kayla says, happily following after Lucas, Suil following behind her. Leading the group to a patio that overlooked the courtyard, Lucas calls for a servant to bring them some food.
While they were waiting, a stone-colored carriage rolled into the courtyard, with a dwarf holding the reins to a hairy beast resembling a mix between a wolf and a mole. Stopping the carriage, the driver opened the back door and a massive dwarf stepped out.
"That looks like Duke Rockel, one of the leaders of the Mountain Forge Kingdom," Lucas says, pointing towards the emblem on the side of the carriage, which was a hammer in the shape of a mountain.
"What is that creature pulling the carriage?" Kayla asks, thinking it looked somewhat cute.
Glancing at the creature, Suil thought back to what he knew of the dwarven creatures, "I believe that is called a Howling Digger, and they are known for their incredible digging speed,"
Watching the dwarf make his way inside the palace, Sydra notices three more carriages on their way into the courtyard. One was a carriage decorated with yellow wings, pulled by a horse bristling with lightning. The other was another dwarven carriage, this time belonging to the Cavern Hammer Kingdom. And the last one was a carriage draped in black cloth, and covered in spider webs.
"Hmm, it seems that the leader of the Veiled Widows has come this year," Lucas comments, watching as a young woman draped in a beautiful black-dressed stepped out of the carriage, "They are well known for their expertise in clothing, and actually have businesses in almost all medium-sized towns and up,"
Looking at the young woman, Sydra notices her glance up at him and wink before making her way over to the carriage drawn by the lightning horse. Opening the door, a girl with alluring yellow wings stepped out of the carriage, laughing as she sees the leader of the Veiled Widows.
"That's Rachel, and she is the niece of the King of Thunder Nest. It seems she knows Daphene," Kayla says, envious of how Lucas was looking at the two women.
"Are these all the people coming to the Ashlock Ball?" Sydra asks, wondering why King Arthur would have such a large room set up for so few people.
Turning around, Lucas walks back into the palace, the others following behind him, "No, those are just the people with the most power in the world that are attending. There are a lot more, but they don't have as much influence in the world, so they have to stop outside of the castle,"
"Interesting, I wonder how they feel about that," Sydra says, glancing back as a few people make their way through a side door.
The next few hours are spent meeting new people, and Sydra was able to acquire a few contacts along the way. Eventually, he finds himself standing in front of Daphene, and she seemed excited to meet him for some reason.
"You wouldn't happen to be Sydra Glass, the one who gave my master the Endless Thread, would you?" Was the first question out of her mouth. Leaning forward, she peers closely at Sydra's face, causing him to blush, "You certainly resemble the person master told me about,"
Pulling back, Sydra calms his down as he studies Daphene, "I am Sydra, but I'm not sure who your master is, or what this Endless Thread is, either,"
Smiling, Daphene grabs onto Sydra's arm and pulls him over to the girl with yellow wings, "Look who I found," Daphene says excitedly, causing Rachel to look at Sydra in confusion, "He is the reason your clothes are so durable but still flexible. His name is Sydra,"
"That's not the name you told me when you spoke of your master," Rachel says as she focuses her gaze on Sydra.
"No, Master Pop is my master, this is just the guy who brought him the Endless Thread, which was used in the creation of your clothes," Daphene says, jogging Sydra's memory.
'Is she talking about Pop-pop? I guess he can have a disciple, I mean he is over four hundred years old,' Sydra thinks as he glances at Rachel's dress. She is wearing a frilly yellow dress, with an open back to allow her wings to stretch out.
Turning back to Sydra, Daphene grabs onto his arm again, "You must tell me where you found that spider, so I can get my own Endless Thread,"
"I found it inside the Plasma Ruins, but there was only the one," Sydra says. Hearing this, Daphene's face becomes downcast and she lets go of Sydra's arm.
"That's too bad, I was really looking forward to experimenting with different types of thread," Daphene says as she walks away, leaving Sydra alone with Rachel.
"Well, it was nice meeting you," Sydra says, preparing to head back over to Lucas, who is busy being swung around by Kayla.
"You as well, and if you ever visit Thunder Nest, let me know. I'd be happy to show you around," Rachel says.
Nodding, Sydra turns around heads over to Lucas, who uses his presence as an excuse to escape Kayla's grasp, "Hey, how are you enjoying the party?"
"It's okay, but this is actually my first time as such a thing, so I'm not sure how to act," Sydra responds, noting Kayla pouting at being left, "How about you? I saw you on the dance floor,"
"Yeah, I'm so exhausted from all that," Lucas says, before remembering Kayla is right behind him, "But it was fun, I had a good time,"
About to say something else, Sydra notices several guards enter the room, and head off in different directions. Each one of them passing through silently as to not alert the guests, or cause a panic. Grabbing Lucas and Kayla, Sydra heads in the directions of one of the doors, testing it to make sure they could leave if needed.
"What are you doing?" Lucas asks, confused by Sydra's odd behavior. Turning around, he notices his Father preparing himself for battle, "Oh no, is it happening right now?"
Suddenly the doors on the far side blast open, and multiple assailants enter into the room, each one of them armed to the teeth. Before they can get too far, several of the guests that King Arthur had invited threw off their decorative outfits, showing them to be armed as well.
'It seems that King Arthur alerted some people he could trust, and now they are holding back the assailants,' Sydra thinks as he turns around and opens the door to lead Lucas and Kayla to the room with the gateway.
Rushing down the hallway, the three of them get as far away from the fighting as fast as they can. Whipping around a corner, Sydra prepares to open the door to the secret room, but instead they find their path blocked by a man in white armor.
"I thought you might come this way, Prince Lucas," a man says, his face hidden beneath a helmet, "It's a good thing I trusted my instinct, as it makes it so much easier to get rid of you,"
Looking at the man closely, Lucas takes a step back, disbelief covering his face, "No... Captain Henry?"