"Tweet, tweet, tweet," bird noises.
"What is making that noise?" said Kratosus as it had woken him up in his old room.
It was coming from the bathroom. He gets up from the bed and opens the bathroom door and sees a yellow plush bird inside a cage.
"What is a bird doing here?"
Crying started to be heard outside of his room.
"What is happening?" cried Kratosus.
He goes outside his room and sees Yara walking straight into the darkness of the corridor.
"Why do they hate me?" she cried.
"Why do they keep tormenting the small me when they are so big?" she cried.
"Yara, I am sorry! You don't have to come with me. You can just rest here. Please, don't leave!"
He runs to her and turns her to see her face.
Her face had become mortified; from her eye sockets, big worms came out.
"...Come in..."
"Agh!" screamed Kratosus.
"Can I come in? Is everything alright, my king?"
It was a nightmare.
"Yes, please come in."
"Your Majesty, did something happen?"
Kratosus: "..."
Kratosus: "Good morning..."
???: "..."
"Yustina. Yustina White. I am sorry for being so slow."
"Good morning, Yustina White."
"Your Majesty, I hope that you had a good sleep."
"Can you bring me a cup of water, Yustina? And can you just call me Sir?"
"Yes, Sir. Right away, Sir."
She brings a cup of water to Kratosus.
"Where is Ysabel? I don't see her."
"She was busy, so I volunteered."
"Volunteered?" Kratosus was shocked.
"I didn't mean anything bad, Sir."
"Explain."
"The head servant couldn't come because she is busy in the kitchen right now, and I..."
"Well, you see, Sir, I couldn't take a good look at you yesterday, and I wanted to see you."
The girl, no older than the king, with wavy sky-blue hair and round sapphire-colored eyes, with a small nose and colorless lips, dressed in a maid's costume that fitted her tightly, had a round face with freckles and a straight posture. You may say her vibe was too lively for the morning.
Kratosus: "..." He just gave a small smile for approval.
"Well, show me how the rest of the days of working together are going to be."
"Right away, Sir."
*****
Morning Ritual
Kratosus starts the day by being washed by his servant, but he only allows Yustina to wash his hands and feet, and then he washes himself.
*****
Clothing and Dressing
After washing himself, he had Yustina bring new clothes for him: a white shirt, a pair of pants, boots, and a blue coat. Still, he didn't allow Yustina to help him.
*****
Morning Meal
After getting dressed, Yustina brought Kratosus a simple but substantial meal with bread, meats, eggs, and wine. The king started eating his meal accompanied by Yustina.
*****
Prayer
After finishing his meal, Yustina told him that now they should go into the prayer room to pray to the god.
Kratosus wasn't a big believer in God, but he knew how much it meant to the common folk, so he acted as a believer.
After finishing the prayer, he asked:
"Do you know that I will be leaving for the city of Ra?"
"Yes, I know, Sir. I will be coming with you."
"Ok then. I have a wish I want to make."
"Of course. Your wish is my command, Sir."
"Where is a piece of paper and a pen?"
"Here, Sir."
Yustina took a piece of paper and a pen from her pocket.
Kratosus writes something, signs it, folds it, and gives it back to Yustina.
"Can you deliver this letter to the head priest for me?"
"Yes, Sir. Right away."
"Thanks. Now go."
Yustina leaves.
*****
The time had come for the king and his team to leave his city. Lots of people had gathered to say goodbye to the king.
When Kratosus arrived, everybody was already there, even the lord commander of the King's Guard, the priest, and the Hand.
He meets the Hand of the King.
"Whose idea was it to bring the priest and to bless the ships in front of the eyes of the masses?"
"My idea," said Kratosus.
"A very good idea. You did well."
"Thank you."
Then the King's Guard came and bowed immediately.
"I am so sorry, my king, for not being there at your coronation and not being able to stop what happened that day. I deserve every punishment you give me."
The Hand talked about how he had to send him away. He said, "To win them over—for the military—so I could be crowned king."
"I think crowning me king is enough of a punishment."
Then Kratosus moved past him and started to wave back to his people before getting inside his ship.
The king set sail with two ships. The ships were white with three masts (a mast is a pole that rises vertically from a ship and supports the sails) and a large bowsprit (a horizontal mast at the front of the ship) in the shape of a muscular man. The ships were crewed by 30 sailors. The king stayed on the first ship with his servant and three Kingsguard, while on the second ship were the master of the ship and the master of coins.
As for servants, Yara, Yustina, and two others came right after the king. For Kratosus, it was the first time he had seen Yara today. She had red markings in her eyes, indicating that she had cried before coming here.
Kratosus wanted to speak to her, but they went immediately below deck.
The king went straight to his cabin to get a bit of sleep. It would be a long journey for them.
The priest started blessing and spraying holy water on the ships, and people started cheering.
The masters boarded the second ship with their teams of people.
The ships set sail.
*****
The first day at sea wasn't anything special. Every servant girl got seasick, so they weren't of any help to the king, even though they were supposed to be the best fitted for long voyages.
Kratosus, even though he had never sailed, didn't get seasick. That allowed him to get to know the Kingsguard who came with him better. They mostly spoke about how it was to serve under Kratosus's uncle.
*****
They could see the city of Ra on the horizon.