"My lady"
Kharis slowly opened her eyes, her eye lids still felt a bit heavy and she felt tired for some reason. However, she would rather be awake than remain trapped in a nightmare.
"what's the matter"
She lifted her head off the pillow and sat up, the day was only just beginning but she already had a bad feeling about it.
"Lady Kharis, you have been summoned by the Emperor"
As soon as she heard the title attached to the summon, she frowned. Her hunch was right, it was truly going to be a terrible day since she had to see the face of the one who summoned her.
"I guess the bastard is still going around calling himself Emperor"
Aria could only smile at her words, she was used to her lady saying such things about the Emperor. Aria didn't know the specifics of what happened between them but it was obvious that they had quite a sour relationship.
"The title is still getting to his head"
Kharis turned her head towards the window, the sun had barely made its first appearance to signal the start of another day. She remained quiet for a moment before speaking again.
"Why has he summoned me this time"
"It's anniversary day lady Kharis"
Kharis tore her gaze away from the window and looked at Aria.
"It's that time already"
"I could've sworn that it wasn't for another month or so"
This was the usual occurrence that happened on most anniversary days so Aria wasn't the least bit surprised. Her lady tended to lose track of time when it came to the anniversary celebration.
"The carriage taking you to the capital city will arrive soon"
Kharis turned back to the window and tried to distract herself with dawn's first light.
"Well then, you know what to do"
"Of course my lady"
Aria bowed before proceeding to leave the room.
"The bastard is afraid of my power and yet still uses me as a tool to keep the forces under him in check"
Her words were no louder than a whisper but Aria could still hear them. Even then, she left the room without asking any questions.
Aria had long realised that there was something wrong with the situation her lady was currently in. The one hailed as the hero of the New Empire was trapped in a castle, surrounded by a forest in the middle of no where. The nearest signs of civilisation was a small village right beyond the forest and then there was also the barrier. The barrier not only restricted entry and exit but also any connection to magic which would leave the white witch at a terrible disadvantage as mages heavily depended on their connection to magic energy. Despite being lavish, the castle was more of a cage than a place where a hero should be staying, it was practically deserted since there were so little staff available and there wasn't even a single knight in the vicinity other than Aria. There were too many things that just didn't add up including the fact that the Emperor had ordered for Kharis to be closely monitored, it was to the extent of asking for reports on her activities. Aria had grown to respect the lady she served and she found herself being uncomfortable with the orders she was given but she couldn't disobey them. She wasn't extremely loyal to the the emperor in the first place, she was only given the task because of her brother. As she was now, there was nothing she could do, she was still one of the chess pieces on the Emperor's massive board.
Aria had guessed the fact that her lady had been betrayed but she never summoned up the courage to ask the questions that would confirm her suspicions. She just continued to serve her lady to the best of her abilities, convincing herself that it wasn't in her place to pry into the truth.
"It's that stupid dream again"
Kharis sighed and stared at the ceiling, her eyes focusing on nothing in particular as she allowed her thoughts to wander. The day was going to be as horrible as always and it irritated her.
"Zarel..."
She uttered a strange name in an oddly reminiscent tone...
"Lady Kharis"
She adorned her white cloak and held her mask in her hands.
"Yes"
"The carriage from the imperials has arrived"
The self proclaimed name of the self proclaimed Emperor's household. Each time Kharis heard it, she could feel the disgust festering in her heart.
"Let's go"
She put on her mask as her gaze grew cold and her movements gained a sense of regality. Kharis prepared to immerse herself in the persona of the white witch.
Waiting in front of the main entrance to the castle was a beautiful carriage, exquisitely designed to suit nothing less than royalty.
Alistair patiently waited for the honoured guest he was charged with to arrive. Very few knew of the location he was currently in as it was the best kept secret of the New Empire. The resting place of the white witch was quite beautiful but it was quiet and desolate. The staff in the castle could be counted on one hand without much effort, that was exactly what the emperor wanted. Other than the guardian knight, the other people in the castle were placed under spells that would immediately alter their memories should they ever step out of the barrier so as to ensure secrecy. All of this was was done to keep the white witch under the control of the empire, she was too much of a threat to be left alone.
Slow footsteps echoed across the empty hallways, Kharis made her way to the main entrance with Aria not far behind her. Silence reigned between them which was unlike their usual interactions.
The first thing that caught her eye wasn't the fancy carriage but the golden emblem representing the Andrius family or rather the imperials on it. The emblem this time was a lot bigger than the one on the last carriage, they seemed to be trying to show off the power gained by the name of the imperials that they claimed.
"Greetings lady Kharis"
Alistair bowed to the approaching figure but recieved no answer.
Kharis was in no mood for hypocrites and their greetings. She walked past him, ignoring his outstretched hand that suggested his intention to help her into the carriage and simply went in on her own, blatantly refusing his help.
Alistair didn't think much of it since he hadn't expected her to accept his hand anyway.
"Greetings commander"
Aria performed a knight salute along with a simple greeting. She didn't say much to her brother after that, she would rather not speak to him but she had to give him at least the bare minimum level of respect as her superior. She followed her lady in to the carriage, secretly dreading the fact that she had to sit next to her older brother. It was an unspoken rule for a knight to never sit on the same side as their charge.
The journey was uneventful with not so much as a word being exchanged. Kharis spent most of her time staring out the window, it had been quite a while since she was permitted to leave the barrier. She could only go beyond the barrier if the emperor permitted her to do so or that was what it seemed like, it was another one of his attempts at controlling her.
Kharis glanced at Alistair or more specifically, the talisman in his possession, it was one of the keys that could control the barrier. A powerless mage was only slightly stronger than a normal human so a knight could easily overpower them that was why the emperor felt confident enough to give a key to some of his most trusted subordinates. While mages focused on their connection to magic energy to create a physical manifestation of the energy flow, knights lacked the level of connection to perform such feats but they were able to make use of magic energy to enhance their bodies. Mages focused more on absorbing the magic energy to store it within their bodies as magic power that could be manifested in different forms such as healing magic, elemental magic, attack magic and defense magic so they were outclassed by knights when it came to physical capabilities. A mage that is unable to manifest their magic power could never be the opponent of a knight and the emperor clearly knew of this fact.
After passing through a small village, they reached the teleportation circle in no time and were immediately transported to the gates of Dremos, the capital city. With the emblem on the carriage, they were able to easily gain access into the capital.
The carriage sped through the busy streets of the city. The emblem of the imperials ensured their smooth passage since no one would dare to block the path of an imperial carriage. People stared in awe while trying to guess the identity of the person being carried around in such a fancy carriage. The capital was in a festive mood as it always was at this time of the year. The anniversary of the victory of the Andrius household now known as the imperials was always a big celebration. It was the first step that led to the establishment of the prosperous New Empire or at least that was what the celebration was made out to be.
Grisha Andrius had built a palace in the central city of the lands of Andrius to signify his new reign as an Emperor and made Dremos which was only a central city of Andrius at that time, the capital of the New Empire. The imperial palace was where the main event of the celebration hosted by the Emperor would be held and it was also where the carriage was currently heading.
As they approached the palace, Kharis felt all the alarms in her head ring out causing her to look at the palace in front of them with a bit of wariness. She could feel the nearly undetectable dangerous aura that surrounded it. Others didn't notice the change but she could feel that the natural energy in the surrounding area was twisted. Whatever it was, it was definitely not a normal occurrence. It was obvious who was responsible, she didn't even need to think about it.
"You fail to realise the consequences of involving yourself with powers you don't understand"
Her words drew the attention of the other two people in the carriage who didn't quite understand what she was saying.
Her thoughts went to only one thing
'What did that madman and the sorceress do this time'.