The Storm King

“So, how should we do this? What are your expectations?” Leon asked as he looked at Valeria from across the table. They had only exchanged a few blows during their sparring session, and since they were clearly not going to continue, they had put their weapons away and went back out into the living room to continue their discussion.

“I… suppose I don’t really have any,” Valeria admitted.

“So your offer to become my knight was made out of a sense of obligation?” Leon asked, annoyance creeping into his voice as his golden eyes narrowed. He hated negotiations like these, even though he’d never really participated in them before, and he wasn’t about to enter into a negotiation like this if Valeria wasn’t willing enough to commit to the arrangement.

“I suppose that wouldn’t be too unfair to say,” Valeria admitted. “However, I will follow my word. If I swear to fight for you, then fight for you I shall.”

Leon unenthusiastically stared at her and sarcastically said, “Splendid.”

“You don’t want me as a knight?” Valeria asked with a tone that was almost teasing, taking Leon completely by surprise. Now that the two were alone together, they were much more relaxed around each other than they had ever been in the past, but this attitude was something that Leon would’ve never expected from her, and from the way her cheeks began to redden, it was something that Valeria herself wasn’t expecting to say, too.

“Don’t take it personally, I’ve never seen myself as a leader of knights. Or of anyone else, for that matter.” Leon accompanied his statement with an almost dismissive wave of his hand. “If this arrangement is going to last, though, then I need to trust you. I don’t know you well enough to trust that you’ll have my back in battle, but at the very least, hammering out what this employment contract will look like will be a step in the right direction.”

“I see,” Valeria said as her face settled back into its typical icy expression. However, her body language betrayed her enthusiasm, with her leaning forward slightly and her sapphire eyes locked onto Leon’s gold, almost to the point of making him feel uncomfortable.

The two sat there for a long while, both waiting for the other to begin. Leon ran out of patience first, and he exasperatedly said, “Well, I suppose we should keep this simple. We lay out what we want from each other in terms of duties, compensation, and guarantees. I’ll start by saying that I don’t need any personal work from you, meaning my personal affairs will remain my own. If I have any work for you, it will most likely be of the violent variety.”

“How about any leadership roles?” Valeria asked, her eyes sparkling at the thought of being the second-in-command of a rising knightly retinue rather than a low-ranked rookie knightess in a largely ceremonial position guarding the Royal Harem.

“I wasn’t planning on adding any more people to my retinue… Certainly not so many as to even warrant the use of the term ‘retinue’, but I suppose I can say that if I ever do need such an expansion, I can formally place you above them in rank, at least in some capacity. You’ll have to reach at least the fifth-tier to be above them in all capacities, though.”

“That works for me,” Valeria said with a smile. She loved training and had been devoting more and more time to it of late as she felt herself sliding further and further behind Leon’s own rapid advancement and in quiet horrified anticipation of all the political instability she’d heard about over the past couple of years.

“How about expectations on your end?” Leon asked once more. “Any thoughts on salary? Length of employment? Guarantees for leaving employment under good circumstances, or protections against being fired unjustly?”

“As I said, I trust you,” Valeria told him. “I don’t think I’ll need most of that. I suppose I’ll need a salary, though… How about five thousand silvers per month?”

“Only that much?” Leon asked. Five thousand silvers was a decent middle-class wage, but he was not only quite wealthy in his own right thanks to the frugality and foresight of his House, he was also romantically involved with the daughter of the spectacularly wealthy Heaven’s Eye Tower Lord. He had the capacity to pay Valeria ten times that much fairly easily.

“It will do,” Valeria said with a sly smile. “I would also like a room here.”

“What?” Leon flatly asked.

“It’s traditional for knights to live with their superiors, isn’t it?” Valeria asked, her smile widening.

Leon blinked in confusion, his mind locking up from the surprise of her demand. This was not the Valeria he knew, though to be fair, she had just lost nearly everything in a matter of days.

“That’s… um… not a tradition that’s really followed much… anymore…” he mumbled, but Valeria’s only response was to stare at him in expectation; she had denied the need for most other standard requirements for such employment contracts, so she wanted this one to be met.

[Just say yes,] Xaphan whispered into his mind.

[This, coming from someone who once demanded that I keep my distance?] Leon asked in abject disbelief. [Now you want me to share a roof with her?]

[Of course, I do, we just went over this! She’d make an invaluable asset against her father and keeping her close would make her defection to you so much easier!]

Leon shivered in disgust, again silently vowing to himself to never be that manipulative. That wasn’t to say that he was about to tell Valeria the truth of his identity, but… well, he wasn’t sure what he was going to do on that front, yet.

[Keeping her here would also make it much easier for her to stab me in the back,] Leon replied to his demonic partner.

[You’ve already accepted her service as a knight!] Xaphan protested. [If you were more than the man you are, you’d take this opportunity to add her to your harem. See, what you need to do-]

[Yeah, I’m done talking to you right now,] Leon interrupted the demon and turned his attention back to Valeria.

“W-why do you want to move in?” he hesitantly asked.

“Other than the fact that I don’t really have anywhere else to go? I had a place in the barracks, but that’s gone from me after being removed from the Royal Guard. I could continue to stay with Asiya as I’ve been doing, but that would be… awkward for us both, given our now separate positions…”

Leon stifled a groan of understanding. It would be awkward for Asiya to be living with a fellow guard who’d been removed in disgrace, even if that disgrace was Justin’s and not Valeria’s. It could throw her standing into question.

“You have nowhere else?” Leon asked.

“Not at the moment,” Valeria said. “Thus, the room.”

With a growing scowl and knowing that he couldn’t now turn her out onto the street since he’d taken her into his service not even an hour ago, Leon stiffly nodded his assent. “You… can stay, at least for a while… Elise will have to sign off on it, too…”

The last part he added just to make noise since Elise’s friendship with Valeria and her attempts to get them to hook up practically guaranteed in Leon’s mind that his lady would give her own assent to allow Valeria to stay with them without a moment’s hesitation—and probably for longer than Leon intended since he was hoping Valeria would take the time to find her own place.

“Sir Leon,” Valeria said, leaning forward and resting her elbows on the table, then her chin in her hands—and looking damn cute while doing so, Leon had to grudgingly admit, “You have been attacked once already here, would it not be prudent to keep your first knight close just in case it happens again, especially with all that’s happened recently? Prince Trajan was killed in the streets, and it looks like Prince August is being set up to take the fall. Were I in Prince Octavius’ shoes, after getting rid of my opponents, I would purge the Kingdom of August’s most ardent supporters. I’m not sure if you would make that list, but surely you’d be in danger of some kind of reprisal from Octavius, no?”

“You… may have a point,” Leon said, though he had great confidence not only in the defenses he’d constructed around his home but also in the reputation of Heaven’s Eye that somewhat extended to him through Elise. He wasn’t too worried about Octavius coming after little old him if August lost the power struggle, as seemed likely.

Valeria nodded, her smile now growing into one of unabashed joy as if she had just been stranded at sea for days and only now had a rope been thrown to her from a passing ship.

“Thank you! You won’t regret this!” she boldly declared.

‘I hope not…’ Leon thought to himself, certain that he made a grave mistake.

Out loud, however, he said, “I know I won’t. I’ll have a contract with these terms drawn up fo-“

“That won’t be necessary, I trust your word,” Valeria quickly said.

Leon cocked an eye at her, and when she didn’t back down from her statement, he simply shrugged and moved on. It was a sentiment that he understood and even appreciated.

“Now…” he said, “how about what I asked you to do? Will you do it?”

“I can ask Asiya and a few other people I know, but there are no guarantees,” Valeria said, her smile quickly straightening out until her expression was all business. “Obviously, I’m not in the Princess’ guard detail anymore, so I can’t do anything myself. Had I not been kicked out, my chances of success would be much higher. As it is, if it’s your intent to press forward with that plan, then getting Asiya on board would be your best bet.”

Leon nodded. “Can I ask you to do this for me? Go and talk to her?”

“I can do that,” Valeria said with confidence. “I have to go to her family’s estate to collect my things anyway.”

Leon twitched, suddenly a bit scared that her intent to stay in his villa was for a longer duration than he thought it would be. Perhaps wisely, though, he decided not to press that issue right now.

“Then do so, please. I have some other business to attend to…”

Valeria nodded, then made for the door where Leon quickly instructed her on how to use the controls for the gate. Once that was done, she departed for the Samarid estate.

Leon, on the other hand, returned to Anzu and took flight. His destination was the Royal Palace for the second time that day. There were a few people he hoped to speak with regarding the current situation.

---

Leon walked into the old Assembly meeting hall on the north side of the capitol island where Lapis had been allowed to stay since arriving in the capital. The stone giant had barely moved since Leon had last visited to inform it of Trajan’s death.

“Leon,” the giant murmured, the quiet rumbling completely at odds with its size and usual cadence. “It’s been a while.”

“It has,” Leon admitted. “A lot’s happened since Trajan’s death. Prince August has been arrested, and Prince Octavius is probably going to try and seize power here in the Kingdom after August’s trial. I’m expecting violence to break out.”

“Then, do you have need of me?” Lapis asked.

“I probably will,” Leon replied. “August’s trial will be in two weeks. If violence does break out, it will be after then. Can I count on your assistance?”

“Always,” Lapis replied.

---

Leon’s second destination was the forest that contained the King’s private villa where he lay in a coma. However, he wasn’t even close to being high-ranking enough to enter the forest on his own; he was stopped at the forest’s edge on the road leading in by the Royal Guard.

“Halt!” one of the guards shouted. He was of the fifth-tier, as were most of the other dozen guards who were stations at the checkpoint leading into the forest. Among their number were three sixth-tier knights, who were clearly wary of Leon since his power equaled their own, and yet he himself was unfamiliar to them.

Leon willingly complied. He wasn’t here to cause trouble, and if they weren’t going to help him, then he had no other recourse than to try and risk entering the forest on his own, which would likely end in disaster for him.

The guard who called out to Leon to stop quickly ran forward out of the checkpoint to identify the young golden-eyed knight, and he almost did a double-take when Leon presented the fifth-tier knight with his Heaven’s Eye ID. The guard hadn’t been disrespectful to Leon, but he hadn’t been entirely respectful, either. However, with that ID in his hands, he looked at Leon a little differently.

“What is your business here, Sir?” the knight asked as he returned Leon’s ID and backed off a little, giving Leon a little more room to breathe than he might’ve given someone else.

“I need to speak with the Bronze Paladin,” Leon explained.

The guard raised an eyebrow in interest, and he waved to one of the sixth-tier knights behind him, who quickly approached and asked the same question, to which Leon repeated his answer.

“I can’t let you in to see the Bronze Paladin, Sir, I hope you can understand,” the knight replied.

“I understand, simply passing him a message would be sufficient,” Leon said.

“That would depend on the message.”

“Tell him that Sir Leon is here to see him, and he’ll come out to speak with me,” Leon said.

The knight looked at him in both confusion and suspicion. He wondered who Leon was that the Bronze Paladin would come to see him, leaving the King’s side. Of course, with the Penitent Paladin still there and the King still conscious as far as the guard was aware, he didn’t think too hard on it, so he nodded and had the message passed along.

“Wait over there, please,” the sixth-tier knight said as he led Leon into the checkpoint and pointed to a spot in the corner where Leon could be watched by the guard detail.

Fortunately, about twenty minutes later, the Bronze Paladin came strolling out of the forest, letting those who were watching Leon relax.

“Sir Leon!” Bronze shouted in greeting as he rushed forward and pulled Leon into a great bear hug, practically pressing the shorter man’s face into his thick and ancient bronze armor.

“Sir Bronze,” Leon replied.

Bronze let Leon loose and pulled him away from the checkpoint, correctly assuming that Leon’s presence wasn’t about something that others should hear.

“So, how have you been holding up, lately?” Bronze asked as he and Leon walked back down the road away from the forest, stopping once they were out of earshot of the checkpoint.

“As well as can be expected,” Leon answered.

“Good. These are trying times, and I’m sure that even worse is just around the corner…” Bronze’s tone was hesitant, and he anxiously shifted his weight around a little.

“How are you doing? I know you and Trajan were close,” Leon courteously asked.

“Could be better,” Bronze candidly replied, but he was an old man and by now, he was used to losing close friends. He felt monumental grief with Trajan’s passing, but in the weeks since, he’d gotten his grieving done.

“Didn’t see you at the funeral,” Leon said with some accusation in his voice, his eyes narrowing a bit.

“Couldn’t get away from His Majesty for too long,” Bronze explained. “One Royal was dead, we can’t be sure if His Majesty might be attacked or not. Even now, I’m not certain that His Majesty isn’t still at risk.”

Leon frowned a bit. It seemed clear what the answer would be with that statement alone, but he had to speak his piece anyway. “Sir Bronze, I have seen some evidence that Prince Octavius and the Earthshaker Paladin were to blame for Prince Trajan’s death.”

As he said this, Bronze’s armor locked up in shock and he almost reached for his weapon on instinct. There wasn’t the slightest sign that Bronze didn’t believe Leon’s claim.

“Now, Prince August has been arrested and blamed for the deed. Dame Minerva and I, along with the Brimstone Paladin and Roland Magnus, hope to do what we can to bring Prince Octavius and Earthshaker to justice. Is there any way you could lend us your support?”

The Bronze Paladin was silent for long enough that it started to get awkward, but Leon wanted a proper response, so he waited for the old knight to speak before saying anything more.

“I…” Bronze began before catching himself. His aura was chaotic, and his voice was suddenly hoarse. Leon could sense a few wisps of killing intent leaking out of his body, but they were quickly locked down as Bronze regained control over himself. After taking a few more seconds to steady himself, Bronze spoke again. “I can’t assist you, Sir Leon, as much as I might want to.”

Leon felt no surprise. Bronze had been his best hope for support, but the Paladin’s duty was to guard the King. Even when the King was safe, he couldn’t justify leaving for more than a few hours for anything less than an existential threat to the Kingdom itself, as was the case with the invasion launched by Prince Owain of the Talfar Kingdom, or without an order from another member of the Royal Family, as was also the case with Talfar’s invasion.

Still, Leon had hoped that treason would be enough for the Bronze Paladin to make a move, but he was disappointed.

“I understand your disappointment, my boy, believe me, I do,” Bronze bitterly said. “However, with Trajan now dead, I can’t leave the King’s side. To so boldly kill Prince Trajan… His Majesty might be next.”

“So neither you nor Penitent Paladin will act on this?” Leon asked.

“I don’t think so, not with the King’s condition unchanged,” Bronze replied, though from the way he was flexing his hands, it seemed clear to Leon that he very much wanted to act.

“That’s unfortunate,” Leon slowly said, giving Bronze plenty of time to back out of his decision and make a new one.

“… It is,” Bronze agreed. “But trust in the courts, Sir Leon. I…”

Bronze couldn’t think of anything else to say. His decision was made, he wasn’t going to act.

Leon sighed. “So be it,” he replied, a hint of venom in his voice that Bronze felt was justified in this situation. “Good day, Sir Bronze, I hope I wasn’t that great a disturbance. I will no longer take up any of your time.”

Without waiting for a response, Leon turned around and started walking back toward the palace. Bronze wanted to call out to Leon to wait, he wanted to tell Leon that he wanted to see the evidence against Octavius, he wanted to tell Leon that he would personally hunt down Trajan’s killers and take their heads, but in the end, Bronze said nothing.

Instead, as Leon walked off into the distance, Bronze forced himself to turn back toward the forest, where he slowly shambled back to the villa. His duty weighed heavily upon his shoulders, but it wasn’t something he could now shirk.

---

Leon was profoundly disappointed in Bronze, but the trip hadn’t been wasted. Lapis was just waiting for his word, and now he had Valeria on his side, working to help him get Princess Cristina and August’s mother out of the harem. He’d done what he could, and now he could only wait for August’s trial to begin.