Way of the Knights

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*Cough* *Cough* *Cough*

"Your Majesty!!"

Everyone became extremely alarmed when Alexander suddenly broke into a fit of coughing. As expected, even though he didn't fall from the mind control, the poison is still harming him. 

Raven was already by his side at this point, he used all means he could to suppress the poison from acting up along with the help of Richard and Jacob. As they healed him, the King suddenly held Raven's arms and talked to him.

"Please, Child." He said in a weakened and exhausted voice, "If there's anything you can do help her, do it. I don't care what you do, just please bring her back. I know at least a part of her is still in there, suffering through this pain. Please, save my Queen."

Raven fought back the tears by biting his lip. He forcefully nodded his head and asked Richard as well as Jacob to monitor the King's situation. He then moved on the other side of the bed and checked Lucy's - no, Elizabeth's body in order to see if there's anything he could do.

That being said, Raven is still confused. How in the world did their enemy turned into their Queen? Why did Raven had no recollections of her or whatsoever? Why did Luna never told him about her? How come she ended up in the Black Curtain Guild? And why does it appear like she doesn't recognize any of them when Raven and the team brought her back here? 

Still, Raven had to try his best. He then looked at Alexander and said:

"What can you tell me about her, Uncle? Because quite frankly, I really have no recollections of her. I didn't even know that the Queen is still alive, I assumed she was dead since none of you talked about her before."

King Alexander was silent for a bit, he then sighed and said: "I don't know how she managed to do it. But we can assure you that she really is Elizabeth Greenwood, the Queen and Mother of my children."

Raven remained silent and allowed the King to recount their story.

"I still remember, during our youth Alastair and I were close." The King stated in a melancholic manner, "We were almost inseparable in a sense. We cover each other's back in our escapades just so that our parents won't scold us for being disobedient children."

"All changed when we showed signs of being able to cultivate. It turns out that Alastair's potential was greater than mine. Our parents tried to prevent any sort of discrimination from happening but alas, the people around us were determined to get into his good side just for the smallest chance that my brother would remember their kindness and lead them to greatness."

"Nonetheless, I didn't mind that Alastair was better than me. In fact, I was happy. At least I won't be the one to inherit the throne, and I could live a peaceful and satisfying life. I just wanted a simple life. But fate has other plans."

"We watched in awe as Alastair breezed through the Cultivation Realms like they were nothing. Meanwhile, there I am, extremely left behind. Of course, comparisons are bound to rise and because we are born in a Royal Household, the difference became even more glaring. But I didn't mind this. I stayed true to what I want and maintained a close relationship with my family, though even I could tell that Alastair was changing right before our eyes."

"He became more…aloof." The King continued, "I remember him being just as active and talkative as I am but he gradually change up until the point where I don't even know him anymore."

"Our closeness eventually disappeared and we started treating each other indifferently, almost as if we didn't know about each other anymore. Just as when I was starting to feel loneliness, that's the time when she arrived."

The King went silent for a bit before eventually continuing: "She came from a povertized family. She was soft-spoken, a crybaby, and a very innocent lady. She was completely unaware of who I was, nor most of the things around her for that matter. At first I thought she was weird and tried to avoid her but fate keep on crossing our paths, and eventually we grew close to each other."

"As our friendship grew deeper, the more I realize that she's an amazing woman. She might act like an idiot for most of the times, but the purity of her heart was unmatched. So much so that she even managed to tame the most fearsome delinquent lady of our batch and make her a bodyguard."

Raven heard a snort on the side coming from Leona, which gave away the identity of the said delinquent.

"She inspired me and made me into a better man. Just like many others, she wanted to achieve greater things and bring peace to the kingdom and it's citizens, not even realizing that a prince was literally beside her."

"With her beside me, I felt like I could be anything. Her love for the Kingdom rubbed onto me and I started acting like a proper prince. And of course, with how much influence she has on me, it was extremely obvious that I am determined to chase after her. Thanks to a certain delinquent lady, she found out about my feelings for her and my true identity."

"Well, she was aware of the former and not the latter. She asked my why I hid my true status from her and I told her it's because I wasn't a proper prince back then."

"Eventually, we grew up and Elizabeth returned my affection for her. It was at this point when I felt like my life was at its peak. I am incredibly satisfied with everything I have and couldn't ask for more. The only thing that's left, is to start a family with her and enjoy the rest of my life with her."

"Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be." 

The King's face started changing as he continued with his story: "It was during his coronation as the official Crown Prince. I brought Elizabeth and my friends to attend the ceremony. My plan was to introduce her to them and later then tell my desires to marry her. I am confident that my parents won't oppose it, and assumed that Alastair wouldn't either since he's living a better life than I have. I was wrong."

"It was right after the ceremony when I introduced Elizabeth to them. Nothing seemed wrong until after I sent Elizabeth home and I told my family about my plans of marrying her. As expected, my parents were happy for me and supported my decision but all of a sudden, Alastair objected and also expressed his desire of marrying her."

"I was shocked. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect that such a development was possible to happen. My parents was just as puzzled as I am but it was my father who asked for Alastair's true intentions. Alastair never knew who Elizabeth was prior to this but he insisted on marrying her, which irritated my father. In the end, he declined Alastair's proclamation and told him to reflect on how he's acting."

"I guess, Alastair didn't take that kindly. He left without saying a word and cannot be found after the following days. I thought that was the end of that but it seems not. Sadly, my memories after this point are somewhat blurry…"

"All that I could remember is that me and Alastair fought a lot. I lost many times but I forced myself to be stronger after every fight. Our parents passed away due to the stress of witnessing their children trying to kill each other and quite frankly, my memories about Elizabeth were practically nothing from this point onwards, all I could recall is that she is by my side throughout every battle. And as I grew stronger, I eventually managed to defeat Alastair in battle. The injuries I dealt to him was great that he was forced to leave the kingdom, but not before swearing vengeance to me and my people."

"I took the throne and became the next King. I could still recall wisps of memories about Elizabeth at this point. I remember the joy we felt when we first held Balmung, but I didn't realize that my memories about her was fading."

"Upon Luna's birth is when I don't remember anything at all." The King stated, "Everything about Elizabeth was gone from my memories. In fact, I can only tell you about our past since I just recalled everything myself. I'm sure that there are still more that I fail to remember but I am certain that Elizabeth must've been the one who caused this to happen."

Raven was silent throughout the whole recollection of the King, listening intently to the story and searching for clues. He looked intently at Elizabeth, trying to figure out who she truly was. It was then that he suddenly recalled the strange energy she released back then. After analyzing it, Raven's eyes gleamed and everything made sense to him. 

"So she awakened the Druid's bloodline…"

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