Alice and Sami, had reached the royal palace. This was the first time Sami had seen it, the spires pierced the clouds, they had statues of black (western) dragons curling around them, fiery aura ejected from their nostrils warming up the capital in cold autumn.
The statues' gold eyes unnervingly followed the carriage as in went inside the palace. The main building was silver, it shone brightly in the daytime making it look holy. As you came into the palace, you could see a row of bronze statues depicting warriors throughout the ages. At the bottom you could see their stories, they were heroes of Britannia. The pathway was made of black stone, it looked like the night sky. The diamonds inlaid into the road were stars, twinkling playfully.
As they continued to go deeper into the palace they could see glimpses of golden fountains and murals illustrating wars Britannia has fought. On the biggest Mural you could see five people fighting a seemingly endless army, they looked injured and tired but their eyes shone with an indestructible will.
There was an inscription, it read, "Five versus the world, their bodies were battered and broken, their spirits weary and frail but their wills were unbreakable. These five are the heroes of Britannia, their story is legendary and shall be told for all time, their names were Brego, Forte, Heorte, Fyre and ?????"
The last name was violently scratched off, making it illegible. Sami recognised the other four names though It was the surname of the royal families and the three dukes, but who could the forth be.
The Mural quickly disappeared behind them as the carriage moved forward they were almost there. Unexpectedly, Alice grabbed Samael's hand, dragged him out the cart and run towards the palace.
"Before my birthday starts, let me give you tour after all you've never been here before." Alice said as she continued to run.
Sami was yanked by Alice and made to see all kind of miscellaneous things.
"Look this is the armoury!"
A dazzling array of weapons and armour appeared in front off Samael great swords, bows, daggers, hammers, axes and even whips? Looking closer at the whip, Samael realised it was made of dragon scales, what a terrifying weapon.
Using Nihility's Eye he could see many treasures however he had decided he would make the weapon shown in his inheritance, it would grow with him and have the same swallowing properties as his physique.
After the armoury Alice took him to the Alchemist Pavilion, the royal palace has hired dozens of alchemist to make pills and elixirs for them.
Pills, elixirs, equipment, herbs, cultivation techniques and spells are also split into tiers.
Mortal (This basically is for tier 1-9)
Transcendence
Monarch (Represents emperor realm)
Immortal
Law (Dao)
Saint
Tribulation
Heavenly (Eternal)
The higher the tier the higher the cultivation needed to use it.
The pavilion smelt had a strong earthy smell, there was so much smoke it made it hard to see. Their were private rooms for the alchemist to make pills in peace as it takes a lot of concentration to make a pill.
An apprentice saw two little kids and quickly said "Get out, kids are not allowed here if an elder catches you, you'll get in a lot of trouble!"
Samael hastily grabbed Alice's arm and left the pavilion, as they were running away they stumbled into a beautiful garden. Flowers were arranged in rings, the first ring had beautiful white tulips, they looked pure and holy it was gorgeous. The next ring had red flowers, they were hibiscus flowers, the sea of scarlet looked amazing. They were rubies swaying in the wind.
The third ring was purple flowers, the faded purple looked stunning, when you touched them they glowed and released an alluring scent that seemed to wash all troubles away. Blood orange flowers where in the penultimate ring, they seemed to have a warm feeling, like the sun shining on you, it felt like a mother's embrace, they smelt like cinnamon.
In the final ring (which is a circle, geometry guys) were black flowers, they contrasted to the rest of the colourful garden and gave the feeling of death. Dark, melancholic death. In the the middle sat a woman her back facing Sami and Alice.
Before Sami could try to run away, Alice happily shouted, "Mother"
"Mother?" Sami thought absolutely mind boggled.
When the woman heard this voice she turned around, "Happy birthday my sweet child and this must be Samael I assume", she looked at Samael and said "Alice never stops mentioning you, thank you for being friends with my daughter."
As she said this Alice began to blush, "Motherrr!" she whined, "Samael this my mother, Elizabeth"
"Hello, Ms Elizabeth."
"Just call me Auntie" Elizabeth said gently smiling at him.
"Yes auntie."
As Samael walked towards mother and daughter, he got better look of Elizabeth, she was divine. She had black as night hair and emerald eyes. Her skin was like snow, she was jaw-droppingly pale. Her black hair created a beautiful contrast with her skin, but it was harmonious like yin and yang, her beauty was otherworldly.
She had a very mature body, her bust filled out her viridian dress and her beautifully toned legs peaked through the bottom of it. Her body radiated with a motherly aura safe, kind and loving.
"Auntie why are you here and not in the great hall?"
"My body is too weak, I've always been sickly and since I gave birth to my bubbly girl, it's gotten worse."
As Elizabeth explained to him Alice started tearing up, her mother one of the only people who care for her is deathly sick and she can't do anything about it. Her father, even if he gave her mom the title of Marquees, does not care for her at all, she's been neglected by nobles and even maids in the palace due to her background.
All she can do is stay in her flower garden and wait for death.
"Don't cry Alice, when we get stronger we can definitely save your mother and I can ask my father to help her." Samael whispered to Alice.
Alice's tears began to dry up as she listened to Sami, in her heart she vowed to save her mother and free her from the royal family.
"Thank you, Samael"