(Current Location -
Place: Royal Palace of the Winterfrost empire, Northern Continent
Time: Present)
Thousands of spaceships descended from tens of portals in front of the royal palace of the Winterfrost Empire.
The empire was blanketed in snow throughout the year and it's economy prospered due to the abundance of magic crystal mines, because of which the Empire of frost had built some of the strongest mages in the whole of Bellatrix.
Tens of thousands of soldiers exited the spaceships, safely escorting their princess back to the royal palace. She was accompanied by Mark, who had always been an inspirational figure for her and the person who had trained her to fight.
Luna was one of the rare geniuses with incredible battle awareness and razor-sharp reflexes who were born once in a thousand years. She could single-handedly fight four basic tier beasts at the tender age of 13, which was equivalent to the ability level of most 17-year-olds.
She was the chosen avatar of the goddess of ice, 'Khione', and thus had a greater affinity towards the ice element in addition to her battle skills.
As soon as her feet touched the grounds of Winterfrost, she touched her necklace once and her hair and eye color transformed to a mesmerizing midnight blue.
She entered the throne room, which was constructed entirely of aquamarine blue crystals. Even the throne was composed of sapphire gems inlaid in the same hue. Mark had gone over to report on his time at Goliath.
A lady, perhaps in her late thirties, sat on the throne at the far end of the chamber. A majestic aura encircled her, and a stinging chillwave consumed everything in her path. She was the Queen of the Winterfrost Empire, 'Athena Ann Polaris'.
On either side of the throne, 3 people each, 2 males and 4 females were seated who appeared to be the people governing the empire.
The throne room, as massive as it was, was surrounded by royal knights, both male and female, who zealously guarded the monarch. Their abilities were not to be underestimated.
Many nations from the Central Continent had attempted to conquer this frosty kingdom, believing that a female-led nation might do as an easy target, but they had all failed horribly, failing even to approach the boundaries before meeting their impending doom.
Athena embodied the ideal of a cold beauty, as if she was a fairy who had descended from the heavens themselves... Her husband and Luna's father was personally executed by Athena herself for providing insider information to the nations of the central continent in the previous war and labeled as a traitor.
She was the only queen ruling an empire in the whole of Bellatrix and being the only heir when she was younger, with exceptional abilities and affinity towards the ice element, she was sure to ascend the throne and so she did.
Her husband's infidelity had hit her hard, and despite never showing any signs of vulnerability, she was nearly broken. Her parents, who adored her, had perished in the war against the nations of the Central Continent while defending the Empire.
When her husband deceived her, she was absolutely heartbroken and the only thing that kept her going was her daughter. She was never once feeble, rather was on her path to becoming a greater being at just 36 years of age!.
With her own individual might along with the massive forces of the Winterfrost empire, she had united the whole Northern continent under her.
Her time had only just begun, and her only motivation for growing stronger was to protect her daughter, who meant the world to her, and her heart nearly shattered when she learned that Luna had secretly traveled to Goliath with Mark and they had been ambushed.
She instantly ordered all of her soldiers to be mobilized and was about to march there with her entire army when Anna Lambert, a childhood friend and current member of the court, persuaded her to keep her calm and not act aggressively.
Every member of the council knew of the Queen's love for her daughter. They knew that the only time their wise monarch would act on emotions instead of rational thinking would be when the matter was related to her Luna, and from past experiences, they had learned better than to stand in her path, especially when the person in question was the princess.
Anna was not just her childhood friend but also an elder sister figure to her. Her being one of the few individuals whom Athena deeply trusted and thus after much protest, she settled on sending the whole Beta squad to Goliath.
The Winterfrost army was split into four squads,
- The 'Alpha' squad constituted the empire's main force against external invaders.
- The 'Beta' team, was tasked with carrying out objectives ordered by the ministerial council.
- The 'Delta' unit, was entrusted with keeping the empire's internal security in check.
- The 'Royal squad' consisted of the most talented troops who formed the queen's personal army.
The soldier standing watch at the throne chamber's gates proclaimed the entrance of princess Luna Ann Polaris in the throne room.
Luna felt a shudder go down her spine as her intuition shouted the word 'TROUBLE!' at her. Athena, though deeply pleased on finding out that her daughter was safe, now showed an extremely stern expression.
With a furiously agitated face, she spoke, more like roaring, sending shivers down the spine of everyone present there, "Princess Luna, where are you returning from?".
Luna, who was a genius in centuries, unfazed by none, was shivering in her place as squealed like a squirrel, "Mark wanted to take me to train for real-life experience, so I naturally agreed to my teacher".
Hearing this, the queen shifted her eyes to an approaching Mark, who had just returned from reporting the events on Goliath, including the 'World Quiver,' clueless to his coming destiny.
Mark noticed the queen's fierce look pointed at him and a guilt-faced Luna averting his sight as soon as he entered the throne room, which he found exceedingly suspicious.
The queen once again roared out loud in a far more intimidating voice than with Luna, "Leader of regiment 5, Mark Talen, is what my daughter saying the truth?"
Mark had no clue what narrative Luna had told the queen while he was away, but he did know that his disciple had completely betrayed him. Mark wanted to speak but couldn't because of the queen's overwhelming presence, making him feel like a cub in front of a lioness.
When the queen didn't get a response, she spoke up again. "I wasn't expecting this from you, Mark. For the past ten years, you've been in charge of Luna's education and training. How could you have made such a blunder?"
Mark could see a giggling Luna in the corner of a room as the queen was lecturing him in front of the entire council, and he was frustrated thinking about how the tiny child had duped him.
"As a sentence for endangering the princess's safety, regiment leader Mark Talen's pay will be cut for the next six months," the queen added.
The council members sat bewildered; they had most likely assumed this was their final chance to meet Mark and had begun mentally drafting speeches for his burial.
Whereas everyone else was assuming that Mark had gotten away with little to no penalty, Mark was crying in his head, his heart had totally collapsed when he learned that his pay would be slashed, and that also for six months!!!"
Mark enjoyed making money, and Athena was well aware of this, and she had purposefully handed him the most appropriate penalty for his transgression.
Luna couldn't stop giggling from the sidelines because she knew her mother better than anyone else, and even if her mother didn't realize it herself, she could tell her mother was developing feelings for Mark, and Luna relished the opportunity to play matchmaker.
Mark had taught her everything since she was a youngster, and she had always admired him and would be delighted to have him as her father, which also provided her with an excuse to avoid her mother's wrath.
Anna, who sat in one of the seats closest to the throne, had begun to pick up on the clues as well, and she just prayed in her heart that her friend would find the happiness she deserved.
The queen, with her keen instincts, heard her daughters giggling and turned to glare at her, but Luna was no less. Sensing the impending peril, she immediately changed the topic, "Queen of Winterfrost, I believe I know the cause of the waves earlier".
Hearing this, the entire council went on high alert; things were about to become serious. The commander of the Beta squad, Wolfard Maximillian spoke out, "My Queen, the 'World Quiver' has alarmed the whole of Bellatrix and all the major powers are scrambling to investigate the cause. If the princess has adequate information, it would significantly benefit the empire".
Athena nodded, allowing Luna to continue, "While we were ambushed in Goliath, I was chased by a dozen basic tier beasts when Mark was buying time for me against an intermediate tier beast and many more basic tiers."
When Anna saw her best friend's rage building, she quickly used 'Thought transmission magic,' saying, "Don't make a fuss right now, Athena. First and foremost, pay attention to what Luna is trying to say. This is an issue of vital significance to the whole empire "..
"While fleeing the beasts, I had discovered a tunnel, and with my vitality fast dwindling, I opted to take the chance of approaching it," Luna added.
Athena facepalmed herself in her mind, furious at her daughter's folly, but she listened to Anna's instructions and remained calm.
Luna went on, "As I approached the tunnel, I recognized my blunder, and I suddenly felt weakened and tripped, either due to all the breathlessness or perhaps because I watched my final hope drifting away. I was virtually convinced I'd die when out of nowhere, he..."
Luna came to a halt, her cheeks flushing slightly as she recalled what she was going to say in front of the whole council.
Her thoughts ran wild thinking...
I can't just tell them that I fell to some stranger's embrace?
I don't even get a glimpse of his face, much less learn his name!
I can't just tell that a small boy's stare created a global catastrophe. They'd all think I'm crazy.
But I was certain I saw him do it because I sensed the energy he sent out. It had an unfathomable power.
But what am I meant to say about it?
Luna was completely oblivious to the fact that her cheek color was becoming redder by the second, until it had converted into a blush.
Despite the fact that this little feature was simple to overlook and miss, not one person present in the throne room had missed it.
Currently, the Winterfrost empire was led by the Queen, along with the 3 commanders of the three squads, and the 2 ministers of external and internal affairs (Anna).
But this wasn't the problem, the issue was all of these people were highly possessive of Luna, whom they viewed as the charming little girl who constantly addressed them as grandpa or grandma.
And like a volcano about to erupt, the Queen's rage had reached a boiling point, with only one thought running through her head, 'Which BASTARD , son of a *!#%@$%#...!!!'.
There was an unsettling stillness in the whole chamber, to which Anna could only shake her head at because she knew there was nothing more she could do but pray for that poor soul would never repeat this mistake in his next life.