by Arantes
“Yes, I know. It’s Aleister; he’s wanted by all the monarchs,” said the King.
Sonia held the picture and studied it. It was a picture of a man, about the same age as Albedo. He had long white hair. This young man had evil in his eyes. The colors of his eyes were different from each other. A chill went through Sonia’s body. She had remembered Albedo had mentioned someone who looks like him when he had his nightmare. It can’t be him, it’s just impossible, thought Sonia. Long white hair, red and blue eyes, it can’t be him, she continued on thinking.
“Aleister is known for being an outlaw. All six of us High Kings have tried to capture him, but none of our men know of his where about,” said the king.
“So you do intend on going after him,” said Angelione.
“This is the first picture we have in almost forty years,” said the King earnestly. The King showed them an older picture of Aleister, which about every warrior throughout Nacune has. In the old one he had short red hair instead of long white.
“My lord,” said Sonia with a shaky voice. “They say that he’s one of them, one of the five Kings of Awakening!” She trembled and embraced herself fearfully.
Angelione felt the wind rushing through the windows, as if death itself had come. “Those
are just rumors that started a long time ago. The five Kings of Awakening are sealed away. I refuse to believe that Aleister is one of them.”
The King tightened his grip, wondering if the world was ready for their returns.
The five Kings of Awakening are known to be the most powerful Purebloods to ever breathe. For fifty thousand years they had been sealed away, but they had promised their returns one day.
“What made you decide to go after him now? The other five High Kings have given up on finding him?” asked Angelione.
“His activities have been increasing lately. If he’s truly one of them, then he must know the others will awaken soon too. If we can manage to slay just one of them, then we’ll have a chance against the rest,” said the King.
The last time the five Kings of Awakening took control of this world they brought chaos with them. All who denied them were hung; their abilities and power were to be reckoned with.
“This is our chance to bring him in. Our chance is now. The others have not awakened yet, they’re still sealed away!” said the King enthusiastically.
“But even if he’s alone, he’s still very strong. A King once sent five hundred bounty hunters after him, in less than one day, all were killed,” she pauses. “It will not be easy for us to catch him,” said Sonia with unease.
King Victor knew the risk of sending them after Aleister, but this was a chance he was going to take. “Aleister was spotted in Odeon, King Henry’s kingdom,” said King Victor.
King Henry was also a High King. The previous High King of Atnius was Victor’s father who had been at war with King Henry for almost three hundred years. After King Victor’s father died, Victor became King and convinced the other High Kings to join forces with him to prepare for the return of the five Kings of Awakening. Knowing this, King Henry had no choice but to join the alliance. The other Kings had threatened him to join or their alliance will march for war against him along side King Victor. Keeping the Kings of Awakening from returning to this world was crucial.
The King said, “I asked King Henry permission to let you in his cities to search for Aleister. He has agreed as part of the alliance.”
“King Henry is not known for being nice, I wonder why he would let us in,” asked Sonia. She was concerned about Henry’s generosity and sincerity. She had every right to be, the man was known for being sinister.
The King called to them, “Angelione, Sonia, I wish you a safe return.”
***
As Sonia and Angelione were leaving the castle, two young men approached them on the bridge. It was Dante alongside another young man. They both looked infuriated.
“Master Angelione, Master Sonia, going somewhere?” said Dante with suspicion.
Angelione responded, “Dante, Axil, it’s you two.”
Next to Dante was Angelione’s other pupil Axil. Axil was different from Dante; he had dark skin and short silver hair and silver eyes. Part of his hair was pulled back in a ponytail with the top of his hair loose. Sonia always thought the two of them were very alike. Both were about Albedo’s age. Axil was a bit taller than both.
“Master Angelione, we’re tired of training. When are we going to go on a real mission?” asked Dante with impatience in his voice.
“When the time is right,” said Angelione.
“All we do is train, I think we’re ready for a real mission,” said Axil.
Sonia watched them pleading with their master, she wanted to burst out laughing. “I remember when the two of you started training here, and now you’re all grown up.”
The two looked annoyed as Sonia continued on teasing them.
“Keep doing your training, I’ll be back in a few days,” said Angelione with a grouchy look.
Axil and Dante moved out the way to let them through.
Sonia and Angelione left to go after Aleister. Both had on their black cloaks and their red masks. Angelione had his big sword on his back as they rode their horses. Sonia wondered how he carried this heavy thing. She had her chains around both her arms. The Black Reapers of the night were feared by the greatest warriors. Any man would fear them if they crossed their path. King Henry’s kingdom, Odeon was located south of the border.
As they rode their horses, Angelione looked to his right and asked Sonia a question. “You find this strange don’t you Sonia? I know exactly how you feel,” said Angelione, “But sometimes we have to trust our King.”
Sonia looked at him, “You trust things too fast you know that. For all we know, this could be a trap. Think about it, we are one of the King’s best warriors. If Henry manages to kill us, that’s a fatal blow to Atnuis’ defense. I know they have a peace treaty. But how long can King Henry really honor that?”
Angelione thought about what she said, she did have a point. The wind started moving across the ground covered in snow where even the footprint of a deer could be seen. They felt the chill at the back of their necks. The closer they got to Odeon the fiercer the wind and the colder it gets. Sonia remembered why she hated Odeon. Out of all the Kingdoms, Odeon was the most hated by Sonia, always cold and unpleasant.
“I can see the gate!” shouted Angelione.
There were so many warriors guarding the gate from far ahead.
Sonia quickly spotted something in the sky, “Angelione, look up now!”
Angelione looked up to see the arrows flying towards them.
“I knew Henry could not be trusted!” said Sonia angrily.
Angelione removed his giant sword from his back, deflecting the arrows that came his way. “Sonia, wait!’
Sonia went further ahead. As she was getting closer to the gate, her horse got struck with an arrow. She jumped as her horse fell to the ground, at the same time avoiding an arrow that flew by her face. She took out the two daggers in her back pocket. One by one the arrows started hitting the ground as she deflects them. Their arrows were fast, but Sonia’s speed was faster. Her years of training had paid off; her vision enabled her to see each one coming.
“We have permission to be here! We are the Black Reapers!” yelled Angelione as he got closer to the gate.
One of the warriors stepped forward, he ordered his men to stop. The arrows had stopped but Sonia was still in fighting mode.
“Put your weapons down and remove your masks at once!” One of the guards ordered.
Sonia was not going to take orders from a foreigner. She held her daggers tight.
Angelione put his hand on her shoulder and gave her a nod. As much as she hated it, he was right. She put the daggers back in her back pocket. They removed their masks to reveal their faces. The warrior who yelled for them to take off their masks walked toward them and verified that they were the Black R
eapers.
“Don’t take it personally; we had to make sure it was really you. My name is William and I am the head of security inside this wall.” William’s physical appearance intimidated his men, he was a giant compared to them.
Angelione had heard rumors of how strong he was. Behind the wall of Henry, his name was legendary. His strength was not one to be underestimated.
“Next time, tell your men not to be so jumpy,” said Sonia with an angry look.
A man with a creepy smile on his face with a white pair of gloves walked toward her. “Forgive us, milady. With the recent activities of Aleister inside our wall, we had been very ‘jumpy’ as you say.”
“And you are?” asked Sonia with her arms wrapped around her chest.
“My name is Samuel, please to meet you.”
She held out her hand for his kiss. Samuel also had a pair of glasses on his face that seems to keep falling off. His body resembles Angelione.
“Samuel is second in command, my right hand man,” said William.
Samuel gave Sonia a warm smile. “Should we go in? I hate the cold.”
It was the first time in a long time that any outsider had been allowed to enter King Henry’s castle. It was different than Atnius. Inside, the city was covered in snow. The houses inside his Kingdom felt like prisons, all built on top of one another. There were guards on each corners of the street. Although that’s how it is in Atnuis, it was different here; these guards had an intense look upon their faces.
“It’s pretty late, so we have to continue this in the morning. Tomorrow you will meet the King. Samuel, go show them their inn,” said William.
They had been riding for almost a day and needed some rest. Samuel took them inside their inn.
Sonia was amazed at how beautiful it was. This is fit for royalty, she thought. But of course this was something she was used too; working for King Victor had its perks. It’s a good thing I’m in a High King’s kingdom; they have electricity here like Atnuis. The bed was well made; the sheets covered the bed perfectly. The window was cracked just a bit to let some breeze in, but Sonia quickly closed it because she hated the cold breeze.
“If you need anything, just tell me, milady,” said Samuel with another one of his smiles.
Angelione noticed how much Samuel liked Sonia. He thought to himself, this guy is not her type.
As Samuel was about to leave the room, Angelione spoke. “Tell me how did Aleister managed to sneak inside your gate with all those guards around the castle?”
“Ah,” he responded. “A very good question indeed. Regrettably we don’t really know,” said Samuel. “All we know is that he’s been spotted all over the city. Finding him is nearly impossible. It’s like a cat trying to find a smart mouse.” His expression now changes, he grimed a little as he fixed his glasses “But I believe it’s the other way around, Aleister is the cat and we are the mice. He is an outlaw, a very intelligent one; as far as his past tells us he’s a canny one. If we knew about some of his abilities maybe we can come up with a plan of some sort.”
If Sonia and Angelione were not paying attention, they sure were now.
“When the Five Kings of Awakening were sealed away, all information about their abilities and personal backgrounds were destroyed. I myself am not certain that he is one of them as the rumors said.”
It was very late; everyone needed their sleep for what was coming the following day. “Goodnight, milady,” said Samuel. He left the room.
Sonia looked out her window and watched the snowfall. It had been so long since she seen the sight of snow. She didn’t really have anything against the snow, she just hated that it snowed too much here.
“Let’s get some sleep. We will figure all this out tomorrow,” said Angelione.
Chapter 6
White Flames
A new day arose and the hunt for Aleister was getting closer. Sonia woke up with an uneasy feeling in her stomach. The bed was cold, despite the fire in her room that had been burning all night. She had a thick sheet covering her body from the cold, rubbing her feet together to keep them warm. Her socks had done nothing to keep the cold from getting to her feet. She got up in frustration, why is it so cold this morning? She put on her slippers and looked outside the window to find the snow coming down. The teapot started whistling outside her door. She walked in the kitchen to find Angelione making tea.
“’Morning, Angelione. I see you’re up early as usual,” said Sonia with a drowsy face.
He poured her a cup and she drunk it with no second thought. The heat from the tea entered her body and warmed her up.
“Are you feeling apprehensive about meeting with the king?” asked Angelione as he watched the snow from afar.
“Not nervous, curious. I only heard stories about him. I’ve been to Odeon before when I was a small child. It was a long time ago with my father, I don’t recall too much what happened that day,” said Sonia.
“I see,” said Angelione with a dull face. She never mentioned her father to me before.
Sonia continued on drinking her tea, and thought about Albedo. Thinking about him only made it worst, why am I thinking about him so much? She quickly came up with a conversation to avoid thinking about him. “Tell me about the Numeral Society. I don’t really know much about them.”
Angelione himself did not know too much about them either. “Why do you want to know such a thing?” he replied in a dull tone as always.
“Just wondering, them and Aleister are up there as the world’s most wanted,” said Sonia.
“The Numeral Society is the largest syndicate criminal base in this world.”
As she was speaking a servant knocked on their door and brought them supper. Sonia waited less than a second after she left the room to start eating. They were presented with fried pork, eggs, and biscuits. There was also orange juice, which Sonia loves, and sweets, plenty of sweets for her to eat.
“I myself don’t know too much about them,” said Angelione. “I’ve been a Black Reaper a bit longer than you so I can tell you this. They’re very dangerous and, as order from our king, we must stay away from them. They lurk in the shadows and only come out when they need something from the world. We know nothing of their existence, how many there are or their abilities.”
Angelione fixed his glasses from falling. He joined Sonia and sat across from her and made himself a plate to eat. “Sonia, before we became the Black Reapers. Dragan and Cecelia were the ones doing what we’re doing. I’m sure you know of this.”
She nodded yes.
“Before you came along I was training under them. It was during the Alvichi war, a war to take back its power. We encountered a member of the Numeral Society, not just any member, one of their elite. That day I learned something. I was young and naïve. Master Dragan was so strong that I thought no one could match up to him, but I was wrong. A man by the name of L had set up a trap for us. The mission was nothing but a lie, a way to lure us in. Dragan and L clashed fists. The two were so strong that you could actually feel the ground shaking.”
“What happened, did he lose?” asked Sonia.
“No, we had no choice but to flee. Hundreds of their soldiers surrounded us. Master Cecelia had no choice but to convince Dragan we had to go. That day I saw an intense look on my Master Dragan’s eyes. Once he unleashes his full power then there’s nothing that can stop him from fighting. But somehow Cecelia reminded him of something, and his senses came back to him. I don’t know how strong Aleister is Sonia. I don’t know if he’s truly one of the Five Kings of Awakening. But know this for a fact; you must be prepared to die to face either him or the Society,” said Angelione.
”So they’re that powerful huh,” said Sonia.
***
Samuel knocked on the door to let Sonia and Angelione know the King was available to see them. He stood on the side of the door crossing his arms.
“Are you ready, milady? It’s time for us to go.”
Angelione and Sonia got ready
and were on their way to leave.
“Here put this on, it will keep you warmer,” he presented them with a new outfit.
The chill wind would sneak into their black cloak easily, but this white outfit felt different. It was a long white heavy pant body-suit with attached cloak that matched their heavy boots. The white matched the color of the snow. Sonia and Angelione changed. This outfit was much warmer. Sonia however hated it; she now dresses as one of them. Outside, their horses were waiting with guards surrounding the area, waiting to lead them to the castle.
“Did you sleep well, milady?” asked Samuel.
He gave her a hand getting on her horse; she thanked him and smiled. As they rode around, Samuel, Angelione, and Sonia rode in front, followed by guards behind them.
“So you are the famous Black Reapers. I heard stories about how vicious you are and now I’m standing face to face with one of you!” said Samuel with excitement.
The first thing Sonia would’ve done was tell him to shut up, but his men were there. The last thing she wanted to do was embarrass him. Instead, she nodded her head and pretended she was paying attention. She could be very rude when the time presented it itself.
She started thinking, I know the guy likes me but does he have to talk so much. She noticed he never keeps his mouth closed, which started bothering her.
Samuel’s men watched in curiosity, wondering how long Sonia would pretend to pay attention. They hardly heard what Samuel said, their eyes steadily fixed on Sonia. Her beauty had caught their eyes.
At last, they made it to the castle. Sonia felt a relief. It’s early in the morning and this man had been talking none stop in her ears. She looked to see the castle. King Henry’s castle was different; it was made of all white bricks, as big as Victor’s. It had tall windows through which nothing was visible.
William, head of security, joined them. He had been waiting in front of the castle. “Morning, I hope your stay was a pleasant one.”
