Chapter 2: A Special Encounter

"We will be going to the royal castle tonight," chanted the teenager with enthusiasm. "I have to dress myself up properly, at least."

Glidas stared at his own reflection on the surface of the long standing mirror. He didn't know he had already grown this tall – around six feet tall at the age of seventeen. Long blonde hair was curved about his face, but in comparison with his father's, his was brighter, smoother, and silkier. Glidas took off his leather jerkin and revealed his white padded shirt with black lace-up strings. Raising a hand up, he folded his sleeves one layer up and took a second look at himself in the mirror. Much better, he noted.

In fact, Glidas thought his shirt was more than enough for the event tonight, but still, this was his first visit, so he felt a little bit nervous in regards of his clothing. Slipping to his cupboard, he found and slipped on the black coat his father bought for him, fastening the buttons and a large belt over his waist to complete his attire. Once done, the teenager overheard his father's voice calling from outside, "You ready, son?"

"I am. And how about you?"

"Done. Let's head to the castle now or else we'll be late," Varlek said from a distance, and quickly, Glidas hurried out from his room.

"Wow, we're both wearing the same coats," was the first line that came from his father. Glidas looked at Varlek; indeed, they wore the same attire. Both were black in colour. Both were long sleeves. And both of them were stunning.

"Anyway, while I was waiting for you, I thought over our previous fight and came up with a conclusion," Glidas had no response to this revelation; he waited for his father to continue. "Just a quick recap: I forced you to use your right hand in the fight, and as a left-hander, to get this close to me," Varlek held his thumb and index finger an inch apart to demonstrate his point, "and to pull out a few successive attacks in a row proved that you're one step nearer to ambidexterity. There are currently not many people with such a capability, but you're on of them, my son. I'm really proud of you."

"T-Thanks," Glidas replied with a hint of shyness in his voice.

"No problem, let's get going."

Glidas nodded. As they moved downstairs and were about to leave, a voice boomed over the living room hall and reached into the ears of the duo.

"Get back here you two. Nobody's leaving until you've finished your dinner," it said.

Varlek frowned as he looked back. "Not again," he sighed and walked a few steps back. "Resha darling, I'm sorry but we're really in hurry-"

It was then Varlek saw his wife's shadow rose threateningly over his tiny figure. Apparently, even the most beautiful maiden had a fierce side. "It isn't going to work this time, my dear. Now sit down," she beckoned at the dining table, which had all sort of dishes served. "And finish everything on the table."

While the knight was still busying flirting with his wife, Glidas had already got himself seated. He knew Resha was nice, but once provoked her temper was legendary among the precious few who had witnessed the cold wrath she was capable of. And speaking of the devil, his mom was already dragging Varlek by the ear and forcing him to sit down obediently beside him. This so-called 'Varlek-taming-move', a twist on the ear, was a renowned skill in Agathos. Even the king had to admit the spectacular capability of such move in pacifying the almighty Sir Varlek.

"You must understand that a lot of effort is placed on the preparation of these foods," Resha instructed, and like a deer caught in the headlights, all that Varlek could do was nod his head. Over and over again.

By watching his father and mother taking their own sweet time, Glidas found himself absorbed into the warm embrace of family love.

Ahead of Glidas, sudden and brilliant in the evening sun, was Ouranos.

Even now, in the evening hours, there was activity. Smoke rose from evening fires, and already people were clotting in the taverns and inns. There was a flicker of flame far from his right, possibly from a forge. Farmers headed out of the dark gray walls for the neat, ordered fields that spread out from the city's walls like skirts, and back to their homes. Small rivers deviated from their courses and eventually tunneled to processing areas where coal and iron mine workers filtered and selected the stones. Before heading back home and calling it a day, they got themselves a refreshing shower in the same, cold water.

Ouranos was the greatest city of all, and at its heart was Agathos' castle.

The castle was much larger than Glidas expected upon closer inspection. The dark stone wall glinted in the sunlight. The wooden drawbridge was drawn down and beyond it was the outer courtyard where some of the hardworking knights and soldiers were still engaged in their daily trainings. Several of them took note of Varlek's arrival and greeted at him with manners, to be returned by a kindly smile from their leadert. It was just a matter of time before they arrived at the inner ward of the castle.

"Here we are now, in the Path of Honor which will lead us into the Great Hall," said Varlek. He noticed his son wasn't listening, so he decided to give it a harder try. "Are you still listening to me?" he mentioned it with a slap on his son's shoulder. That brought Glidas out from his contemplation.

"Sorry," Glidas said as he stared at the floor, the dusty tiles suddenly becoming rather interesting.

"It's fine. You must be pretty amazed since this is your first visit to the castle."

Glidas nodded. Resting along the path was red and yellow embroidered carpet and beautiful wallpapers were embedded on the wall. Along the walkway, life-sized statues of remarkable warriors from the past were lined side-by-side, and their presence eventually brought the visitors upon a large door. A steward, in his formal black and white shirt, invited them with a warm welcome.

"Good evening Sir Varlek and…" he paused deliberately and shifted his attention to Glidas.

The teenager grew uncomfortable under his gaze. Quickly, he answered, "Glidas Ariston, son of Sir Varlek."

Glidas took the gloved hand of the steward for a shake "Greetings, Glidas," he said, and turned back to Varlek. "And Sir Varlek, please proceed to the Great Hall as his Majesty is expecting your arrival." The steward pressed his hand on the large door and it creaked open to reveal the thunderous crowd inside. Varlek smiled, and replied with a simple thanks before he made his way inside

The Great Hall was no ordinary ballroom. Thousands of glittering shards floated overhead, and showered the hall with golden light. The dull yellow paint of the wall was vanilla no more under the adornment of its beautifully dressed guests. Glidas' dark gaze soon found a large portrait, framed in a golden border and hung in the midst of the far northern wall – it held the sketch of a handsome man, golden jeweled crown perfectly befitting his ash-yellow hair. His long robes shone brightly along with its rich blue silk and golden trim.

"He is King Reliard, the ruler for both Ouranos and Agathos," explained Varlek as he took note of his son's interest.

Glidas always heard of tales that the country thrived out to be the best and richest country of the continent under King Reliard's ruling. Stories circulated around the city about how beautiful the children of the Leonidan family were.

Through the dense crowd, Glidas was able to make out the tall visage of King Reliard, minus of his royal crown. Keeping the steward's word in mind, Varlek made his way to the king dutifullym, with Glidas hot on his tail.

"Thank you for joining us this evening, Sir Varlek," the king said as he spotted his friend. He stretched out his arm and took the knight's proffered hand for a shake.

"My humble apologies for my late arrival, your Majesty-"

Before Varlek could continue any further, the king gestured at him, "Please, my dear friend, there's no need for such formality for we are good friends." Varlek offered the king a smile and allowed him to continue. "Is that your son?"

"Yes, he is," reassured Varlek.

"Glidas. You certainly remind me of my son, Seraph," the king said as he pondered for a while, "He's around your age and is also an aspiring fighter, especially in term of unarmed combat. I can see the same fire burning in your eyes."

Glidas blushed. "Thanks for the compliment, your Majesty," he said, feeling the weight of the king's eyes pressing on him. He prayed that he didn't make a fool of himself.

"Seraph isn't here, but I'd like introduce him to you if opportunity permits…" Halfway through, an old man in a white robe who seemed to be a magister, interrupted them. He whispered words in the king's ear, and then the king made a stern face at Varlek. "My friend, may I have a word or two in private with you?"

Varlek shared an exchanged look with Glidas before glacing back to the king. "Of course." Glidas understood the situation and retreated to leave them for a moment of privacy.

The king's expression turned serious once Glidas was out of sight. "I'm going to be completely frank with you, my friend. I'm concerned with the lack of progress that has been made towards the investigation," he paused casually, spared a look at his friend, and waited for his reply.

"Rest assured, my king. We understand the necessity of securing the safety of our country, but it wasn't an easy task to track down this group of mysterious people," explained Varlek as he accepted a cup from the waiter and took a sip of wine.

Reliard did not allow his expression to change, but something in his bearing indicated he was preoccupied. "I understand increasing the amount of patrols might help, but in fact, I've a favor to ask from you."

Varlek paused and asked, "And what sort of task would it be?"

The king cleared his throat and started," These groups of people claimed themselves to be the Soulseekers and they are working secretly with an unknown organization. Just recently, we found them roaming in our country's woods without any apparent intentions. Some of our guards confronted them and then lost track of these people. They described them as deceivingly frail and cunning, but so far, no one has ever been harmed by them."

Varlek caught a hint of discomfort in his friend's tone and saw him scrunched his nose. "Is there anything that worries you?"

Reliard sighed, "Few days ago the emissaries from Nekilin enlightened me with the newest update of their status. Apparently, the Soulseekers were harming their people."

"Harm? What harm did they caused?" said Varlek as he paid extra attention.

"So far they've mentioned that people started disappearing from the woods mysteriously. The worst part was that…" Reliard was hesitant at first, but dismissed the thought when he saw the serious look on his friend. "They found a shocking clue from a man's remains. The corpse was hollowed and sucked dry when discovered."

The news forced a gasp from Varlek, but he kept it down since this was talk which shouldn't be leaked. "And… they suspect this is the doing of the Soulseekers?"

"Precisely," answered the king swiftly.

Varlek frowned as he looked down at his scabbard, a symbolic of his status, as the single line dividing his eyebrows evinced his displeasure. "If that's the case, I will personally lead the investigation and make sure they would not do harm to our people."

A relaxed smile spread over Reliard's face. "Thank you, Varlek. I'll assign a few officers to accompany you throughout your investigation."

"I'll be leaving tomorrow's morning and head towards Coalstrife Forest," the knight stated dutifully.

"Do your best, but… be careful my friend. Our country couldn't bear to lose a great knight such as yourself." Varlek simply smiled at that. "But please bear in mind that this is a highly confidential investigation, and the less people know, the better off we'll be. I don't want this incident to reek havoc upon my city and cast fear into the heart of the citizens."

"I understand, my king. I will not fail you."

"Some additional information," Reliard took a sip from his glass and beckoned at his friend to come closer, adjusted his tone to a whisper, "I think it would be better for you to rub off those lip-stains on your cheek. It's quite distracting."

Apparently, getting kissed by his wife in the morning had its price.

As Glidas snaked his way through the forest of people, he began to get irritated by the jostling and shoving of the crowds. "I'm going outside to catch some breath," said Glidas to himself. He was never fond of people and communication, so his only choice was to head towards the western exit to the royal garden.

The garden was quiet, notwithstanding the evening melody sang by the birds. As the wind blew across the field, it sent tiny leaves and flowers rising up and down in gentle cadences, as if they were beckoning in a friendly manner to their guest. The air carried the smell of flora and fauna to Glidas. This was what he was looking for. He preferred to spend his time alone, and this part of the castle seemed to prove perfect as his sanctuary.

It stayed that way until a humming tore through Glidas' peaceful state of mind. The voice wasn't noisy like others – it was liquid like honey and wove serenely through his head. Such an angelic voice, said Glidas to himself as he wandered subconsciously towards the source of the melodious tone.

There, he spotted a young maiden standing by a bed of roses. She was dressed in a beautiful, white gown made of rare silk from the far north. Her silken hair danced in the wind like a flowing waterfall, and even the brightest star was no match for her twinkling eyes. Her full, red lips made him wonder unconsciously if they tasted as sweet as they looked. Her skin, smoother than the silk of her gown, was as pale as ivory. Everything about this fair maiden reflected perfectly the garden behind her. The flowers were all being well taken care of, and it didn't take a genius to realize out who was behind this act of sincerity.

She's as beautiful as an angel, Glidas told himself even though he hardly knew how an angel was supposed to look like. She, however, was certainly the most beautiful maiden he had ever laid eyes upon in his life.

"I've got you," the surprise came from behind, but not before Glidas was shoved to the front. He was dumbstruck at first, but his attention refocused as soon as he caught sight of the rare beauty ahead of him. She was, indeed, even more beautiful closer up. Her smile took his breath away.

"Good evening," the fair maiden said, with one corner of her lips higher and dimples complimenting her bright face.

The short moment of awkward silence was broken by the blue-haired teenager beside Glidas. "Good evening, fair maiden. I am Ranoth, the only son to Sir Lerhk from the Royal Order of Agathos," he introduced himself and offered a handshake.

In return, the fair maiden took his hand and replied, "It's my pleasure to meet you, Ranoth. My name is Shyves," and then her eyes shifted towards the dumbfounded Glidas. "Is he a friend of yours?"

Ranoth seized the moment of distraction and winked at Glidas before he turned back to the fair maiden. "Yes, Glidas' a friend of mine, and guess what? His father, Sir Varlek, and my father are actually lifelong buddies."

Glidas wasn't really sure what he saw from her face now. Was it surprise, or was it pure innocence? She stared at him with her big, sparkling eyes and there was no way of escaping falling into these beautiful orbs. Suddenly, his world narrowed into the girl before him, and all that mattered was her radiant appearance. Nothing else.

"Glidas," she called but received no response. She repeated again, "Glidas, Sir Varlek is your father?" Still, the dreaming teenager was lost in his own world. Ranoth narrowed his lips into a fine, thin line of frustration, and only until he sent an elbow to Glidas' side, did he choke a quick response – a simple, but affirming nod. Shyves graced him with another kind smile, and continued. "I am so glad that I met you today. Sir Varlek has always been a fatherly figure to me. He is always taking care and looking after me."

"Yeah," was all that Glidas could've managed. His mind was just too preoccupied in hiding the red that was surely spreading across his face. He froze and his eyes immediately found those of her necklace. It was a jasper necklace with a knot, its dark red jewel burning passionately. Through coincidence, both eyes, hazel and hazel, happened to meet at a single point. Only when Shyves noticed that she was entranced by those beautiful, swirling orbs, she quickly forced her own gaze away and her face began to show the slightest hint of glowing pink. A rosy blush, too, bloomed over Glidas' cheeks as he realized he was actually staring at her.

Fortunately for Glidas, the conversation was cut short when a servant made her way towards them, lifting her skirt up just below her knees as a sign of courtesy before shifting her attention to Shyves. "His Majesty seeks an audience with your Highness, Princess Shyves," stated the servant in a calm manner, but little did she know, her one sentence would hold such power over two teenagers.

"Princess?!" came the first, surprised response from Ranoth. He didn't see this coming, and having not showed formality towards the royalty means a certain death. Keeping that thought firm in mind, he remedied the situation by bowing low and saying, "Please forgive us for our rudeness, Your Highness… or errr… Princess Shyves. We didn't mean to intrude your rest here."

The servant beside the princess tried her best not to laugh but barely managed to keep it as a giggle. Ranoth caught a glimpse of the giggling servant, and under his breath, he cursed, "It's all your fault!"

"Oh please, don't call me princess. You guys can just call me Shyves," she said.

Colours went back to Ranoth's face upon the enlightenment of those words. Quickly, he responded, "The pleasure is mine, Shyves. It's nice to meet you." Realizing the direness of the situation, Glidas added in his own line.

"Nice to meet you, Shyves," he stated simply.

Again, the servant almost laughed. Ranoth felt like slapping his friend on the face. And as for Shyves, she gave Glidas an apologetic look. "I would like to tell you more about the story between me and your father…" she pressed a finger against her lower lip and blinked her eyes once. "but I'm sorry, Glidas, I have to leave for now."

Glidas merely nodded. The princess retired to the Great Hall with her servant. This left the two friends in the royal garden.

"Glidas," Ranoth said, and that grabbed the attention of his friend, "I didn't know that you'd be so bold towards the princess."

"I-I was actually studying her necklace. There was no other intention!" Glidas said in his own defense.

Ranoth grinned at the revelation. "Nevermind about that. I have a feeling that the two of you will make a great couple."

"Are you mad or what? I still haven't paid you back for what you did just now." Glidas flexed his right hand and raised his elbow.

"What?"

"For embarrassing me in front of the princess. Eat this!" The blonde teenager threw a sphere of light at Ranoth and Ranoth dodged it. "Don't run. I'm going to skin you alive, you idiot!"

"Wait, wait, wait!" Ranoth waved at Glidas as he motioned for him to stop in front of the window. They halted. By watching through the window of the grand ballroom, the teenagers paid notice to the midst of the crowd. One person stood out to be different – it was a teenager with a beaked mask. His masquerade mask was simple yet elegant, and it hid the owner's identity well beneath its long, white beak. The remainder of the mask was painted in black and had white stripes all across its surface. Two glowing orbs, sea-blue and carrying a universe of unexplored emotion, were the only revelation of this person to the outside world. He carried a long cape across his shoulder, down from his evening wear down to his dark-coloured pants. However, being masked wasn't the only part that caught their attentions.

"Hey, Glidas, don't you think that the thing on his left hand is quite similar to yours?" asked Ranoth while he looked down at his friend's gauntlet.

"Yeah," the teenager confirmed it by comparing them visually – sharp metallic finger-heads and layers of tempered steels. "Our gauntlets look pretty much alike, but his… is newer?"

"Did both of you buy the gauntlets from the same blacksmith?" That earned Ranoth a stare from Glidas for stating the obvious. He always knew that other than being a gift from Varlek, he didn't know where exactly his gauntlet came from. The only hint was that it was made by a faraway and skilled master and from some very rare materials. "I think you should take a look at this," Ranoth gestured at his friend. "He's heading towards your lover."

This was why finding a reason not to smack Ranoth in the face was virtually impossible. He always annoyed people to no end, especially Glidas.

The man with mask walked to the side of the king and the princess, bowed and pulled down his hood to reveal his ash-gray hair. The king acknowledged him with a dip of the head and proceeded to introduce him to Shyves.

Glidas was suddenly lit up by the curiosity of who this guy was, so he looked at his friend in the search for an answer.

"'Hmm… if I didn't get it wrong, he should be the youngest bodyguard for the king. So far no one has ever seen his handsome face beneath the mask, and it has remained a mystery until today," stated Ranoth. They both looked intently through the window and saw the teenager take the princess by her hand and planted a gentle kiss. The same moment Glidas' heart began to ache uncontrollably. He felt throbbing pain in his chest and had to clench his steeled fingers around his chest to stop the pain.

"Are you feeling well, Glidas?"

Supporting himself with one hand against the wall, he replied, "I-I'm fine… just a sudden pain on the chest…" Glidas was too concerned with the scene before him to pay attention to the searing pain. Then, he saw something beneath the person's mask as he turned towards the window.

He smiled at him, a cold malice that Glidas lacked.