Chronicles of the Red Sovereign

FIVE YEARS PRIOR…

The day after Luna left, or rather whisked away by Sun Wukong under the orders of her sister…

Thomas was making his way to the mansion of the Celestine Family in Azte. Apart from a few trusted aides of the archduchess and the members of the family itself, Thomas could come and go whenever he pleased inside the mansion. He was usually the one to wake Luna up on the weekends when classes were still going on. He was very surprised when he was met with Archduchess Zaira before he could even go up the stairs.

“Good morning milady.” he greeted and bowed.

“Hello Thomas. Are you here for Luna?”

“Yes milady. We were supposed to help out with the renovations of the Imperial Academy.”

“Ah, right. Well, I suppose there was that. Why don’t you wait in the living room Thomas? I have invited a few of your friends as well. I have some things to announce.”

Thomas was a bit confused and reluctant but he agreed anyway and made his way to the living room. About ten minutes later, the door opened and the faces of his friends greeted him. They made their way inside the living room, all with confused faces. Even Freya was present and she wasn’t even part of their band of friends.

“What’s going on?” Charles asked the moment he took a seat.

“I’m not really sure.” Thomas answered, his face also filled with uncertainty.

“I was really surprised when my parents told me the Archduchess invited me here!” Andrea quipped excitedly, almost bouncing on her chair. “There was even a carriage waiting for me outside our house!”

The last ones to arrive were Kai and Peter, both mirrored their confused looks. Kai gave them a questioning look but most just shrugged and shook their heads.

Moments later, they were offered refreshments, which they happily took.

Zaira strode inside the living room with confidence. She eyed the group of teenagers present in their living room. She couldn’t help but smile a little.

‘I’m glad Nyxie was able make some friends in the Imperial Academy.’

She had always been worried that her sister was too introvert and too dense to actually her own circle of friends. When Nyxtriel lived her life as Luna Hysi, she was too focused on hunting and training that she rarely interacted with other people or her peers. Sure there were her adoptive siblings, but siblings were different from friends.

Zaira was really worried at one point. But seeing her sister’s reliable friends, she couldn’t help but be proud and happy.

“Thank you for accepting my invitation children. I have some… things to say.”

“Archduchess, where is Luna?” Peter asked, eyeing the young-looking archduchess as she made her way to the remaining seat and took a sip from her cup of tea.

“Let’s start with that then. Luna… Luna has left Praiji and she won’t be back for a considerable amount of time.”

Gasps and expressions of shock and surprise were evident on the faces of the teenagers. They couldn’t believe their friend left! Without telling them nonetheless!

“But milady, that’s-“

“Well she was forced to leave actually, by yours truly.”

“”Why?””

Zaira just sighed. She already steeled herself when she decided to tell Nystriel’s friends about her… situation. But still, she was dealing with teenagers. They weren’t exactly the easiest to deal with.

“As you are all aware, the demons have made their move. Majority of them might be trapped in the White Seal for now, but it’ll only last for about more or less ten years. Luna… Luna has a major role in the incoming war against the demons. I’m afraid if she continued staying here and training here, she won’t be strong enough.”

“Are you saying we’re holding her back?” Trent asked, a little on edge on what he just heard.

“Hmm… Sort of.” before the others could argue, Zaira already beat them to it. “But not specifically because of ‘you’. I meant Praiji in general. This nation does not have the means for her to reach her full potential. And neither do I, unfortunately. Luna will have to follow her own path. And so should you.”

Bernard, who technically already worked for the archduchess and the Dark Palace, somehow became nervous at the choice of her words. If there was one thing he was sure, she usually got what she wanted.

“Archduchess, are you going to-“

“Send you away? Of course not. You lot are probably the least to worry about that. Two are princes, two are nobles, one is under the protection of one of the founding families, another is a representative of his village, and two are commoners who have people looking out for them. You’re the sort of people who can’t just vanish.”

“And what if people ask where Luna is?” Bernard asked.

“As far as everyone knows, Luna was heavily injured during the previous… disaster, so she’s away to recuperate. How long? Not sure. I just hope she’ll be ready before the ten-year limit is up.”

“Excuse me your excellency,” Andrea called. “But what exactly is your relationship to Luna? You seem to… know her.”

“She’s one of my heirs Andrea.”

Queue the shocked faces of everyone. Apart from Thomas, Bernard, Kai and Freya.

“Figures. And what of us?” Freya asked, sounding uncertain.

Zaira only grinned. She already prepared an answer to that question ever since she decided to send Nyxtriel away.

“Now you… you will be the loyal companions of Luna, the future Red Monarch and leader of the Red Faction. You can’t fall behind. I will be taking charge of your training and let you develop your own… specializations. Of course, this path is only available if you agree to it, if not you won’t even remember being invited in this conversation, or even the conversation at all. Now, deal or no deal? That is the question.”

Bernard, who somehow found the last couple of sentences funny since it were familiar to him, couldn’t help but stifle a chuckle. Of course, it went unnoticed by the others since they were too focused on making a decision.

“Do I have to make a decision?” Bernard asked the archduchess. “Don’t I already work for you?”

Everyone perked at the question with wide eyes.

“Hmm… At the moment you’re an officer of the Dark Palace, but this decision is regarding your roles in the future by Luna’s side.”

“Are you going to bring them in to the Dark Palace?”

“Maybe… Probably as temporary agents considering the situation. They only need the training.”

“Won’t that be unfair for you?”

“No it won’t.”

“Why not?” asked Kai who already knew of the Dark Palace and the archduchess uncanny relationship with her ward.

“I’ll do anything for her. I’ll even destroy Afasia and its three realms if she wants me to.”

They did not know what to say. They also seemed quite conflicted. On one hand they wanted to support Luna (yes, even Freya, she ‘is’ her therapist), and on the other hand, they did not really trust the beaming archduchess in front of them.

“You don’t have to trust me personally, just trust my methods.” said archduchess answered as if reading their minds.

“Isn’t that the same thing?” Thomas asked.

“Not really.”

“If I said yes, will I be reunited with Luna?” Trent asked. Zaira nodded as response. “Then I will accept the training. A Knight is loyal to his master, and my master is the queen of the Lyxi Clan.”

That got everyone’s attention but it also pushed them to say yes to Zaira’s deal.

“This is fantastic! That went well. Although, I think we might have a lot of things to discuss.”

Nobody really argued.