Once I got ready, I went to meet up with the rest of the crew.
"Ashen are you sure about this?" Calvin asked.
"Yeah, we just need to be set if things go south" A few moments later, around five people wearing uniforms appeared from a distance while seemingly approaching us. They were most likely sent by the king.
When they reached us one of them stepped forward and saluted us, and then started speaking.
"Mister Ashen, we were sent to escort you and your people, please follow us we will lead the way" The man said, I nodded in agreement and then we set off.
After around 15 minutes of walking, we made it to the palace. The area was bustling with soldiers and people were coming from every direction, they were the nobles of this country.
I turned to Calvin and Ken and said "Let's try to stay out of trouble for now" they both agreed, and we made our way in.
At the gate entrance, one of the guards asked us to see the invitation before we could enter, I reached my pocket and brought it out.
"Here you go" I handed it to him. He Checked it for second then he gave it back to me with a smile.
"Welcome Mister Ashen" he said, addressing me politely while pointing with his hand inside the palace.
We slowly made our way inside while observing our surroundings in awe.
'What a sumptuous decoration' I though while looking in admiration. After a few seconds we arrived at throne hall where the feast was held.
The doors were open, and the place was crowded with people, everyone was wearing fancy clothes and busy talking to each other that no one noticed us when we entered.
"I feel out place" Ken said while looking around nervously.
"Relax, they are just a bunch of spoiled brats" Calvin said to Ken.
"We are not here to have fun, we still don't know what the king wants from us so let's be extra careful" I said, then when I shifted my gaze, I saw the king sitting on the throne with three people occupying the sits beside him. Two beautiful women on his left side, one of them looked older than the other and a young man on his right.
He was talking to a tall man standing behind, when he noticed me, we locked eyes for a second before he gestured with his hand to me with a smile.
'What does he want?' when I turned to Calvin, he gave me the puzzling look before he scratched his head.
'I guess I don't have a choice' I sighed in discomfort as I made my way to him, walking slowly through the crowd. Once I arrived, I gestured with my hand while casually greeting him.
"You must be the king…Alfred, isn't it?" I casually said while keeping eye contact with him.
"INSOLENT! HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO THE KING LIKE THAT!" The man standing behind him shouted in anger which seized everyone's attention.
The silence surrounded the place as everyone's attention poured on us. The king then lifted his right hand in a sign for the man to stop.
"Stop it, William! He is my guest!" The king declared.
"But your highness-" The man was interrupted by the king "He is also a pirate".
"We all know them very well, most of them aren't educated on etiquette" he said then added "Mesagi is also a living example of that" after he finished speaking, he turned his head back to me with a cold look in his face.
'Is he trying to make fun of me?' I was starting to get pissed at the situation.
"He said he is a pirate…" I began to hear people whispering behind me.
"He looks familiar…"
"I think I saw him on the newspaper before…" everyone kept gossiping behind my back after what they heard.
"'Demon of The Sea' Ashen, your reputation truly precedes you, you and your crew have caused quit the trouble back in East Blue" Everyone was surprised when they heard the name.
"I guess I have become the center of the attention after what happened"
"Anyway, do you know why I invited you here today young man?"
"I was going to ask you that"
"Hahaha, I believe you've already met Mesagi, he is one of my trusted subjects"
"You mean the blonde guy?"
"Indeed, you two will get along well since both of you are pirates" The king said with wide grin in his face.
"Get along?" I was confused about what he said until I suddenly saw Calvin standing Beside me with a twisted smile. The king didn't mind him and carried along.
"I will be straight forward…I would like you to work for me"
I didn't grasp what he said at first as it took me by surprise, but a moment later I quickly realized what he was up to, which made unconsciously shout at him in anger.
"WHAT?!!...Why would I?" the king flinched for a second and looked irritated while the audience around him was in shock and silence, but even after that he still insisted.
"I invite you to not be hasty and think about it rationally, you might regret your decision later" I could feel he was tense and agitated on the inside, but he didn't show it on the outside.
"The last thing I would do is to work for a tyrant oppressor like you… a usurper who stole somebody else's throne" I slowly walked up to him.
"HOW DARE YOU!!" He immediately stood up and called the guards while William the man behind him quickly moved between us.
"You made a big mistake…"
*FOOTSTEPS- FOOTSTEPS*
*FOOTSTEPS- FOOTSTEPS*
*FOOTSTEPS- FOOTSTEPS*
Everyone in the room left in hurry, and the guards quickly filled in the place in dozens circling us with their weapons drawn.
I was standing in the middle with Calvin on my right while Ken was hiding in the back.
'Shit! I let my guard down!' I quickly scanned the place and assessed the situation. They were around thirty of them.
"That went well" Calvin said sarcastically while lighting a cigarette.
"You seem so calm about the situation" I said to him.
"*PUFF*…I expected something like this to happen"
'The guards look well trained, probably stronger than your average marine in east blue' While I was immersed in thought I heard a familiar voice coming from across the room.
"Hahahaha…how funny, I knew you weren't the type to submit to other people" A tall blonde man was laughing hysterically. He was approaching us with dozens of more people with him which made the situation worse as we were vastly outnumbered without having any information about the enemy's power.
"But I never though you would be this stupid…trying to attack the king you've got some balls" he said then he turned to him.
"Misagi! you came at the right time!" The king spoke in relief.
"Your highness, leave this one to me…I will deal with this situation"
"I'll leave it to you Misagi!... William, escort my family to a safe place"
"As you wish your highness"
"Father! I can't leave you, I must stay in case something happen" The young man who was standing beside him said in worry.
"You're not needed here, look after your mother and cousin"
" You shouldn't have invited a dangerous person like him father!"
"Charles, you dare question my decision?!" The king scolded the young man who turned out to be his son.
"Charles you should listen to your father and stay silent!" The older women beside him also joined in.
"But-"
"Charles!" The young man couldn't argue with her and complied, they immediately left after that.
"Now now…let's get down to business" Misagi said then he pulled out his large weapon.