Princess Eralis

Prologue - Part Two

"She...she doesn't have an Imperia? What is the meaning of this, Esquire? WHY DOESN'T MY DAUGHTER HAVE AN IMPERIA?" King Gregory boomed. His face was red with rage, like a tomato about to explode. This outburst was accompanied with the audience following in his outcry, shouting, "Improper Princess," "Good for nothing brat!"

Eralis waited for some mistake to right itself. She knew she had an Imperia, she had felt it course through her veins multiple times. Maybe during the selecting, she had mistakenly deemed an Imperia wasn't hers, but it actually was.

No, no, no. This can't be happening. I am not a disappointment, I'll prove to them I have an Imperia. Maybe we just need to go through all the Imperias again, Eralis thought to herself.

The Esquire was about to faint when he had a sudden epiphany. "S-sir," he mumbled. No one heard him, so he tried again, "YOUR MAJESTY! I HAVE A SOLUTION."

All the outcries stopped and heads turned to look at the portly man. "I—" the Esquire cleared his throat, "maybe she has one of the Caligo powers. It has...never happened before, but it's worth a try."

Eralis's heartbeat sped up. Truly, could she be connected to the night? Oh, this was great news. She looked towards her father and her excitement faded away. Instead, she started to dread what was coming next.

The King stared at the Esquire. The type of stare people has before they go into a full-on rage. "ARE YOU CRAZY? The Princess of Lumen is NOT going to have dark powers. Why—" The King was stopped short.

"Gregory, please, now is not the time. Besides, not...all the Caligo Imperias are horrible. She could be an icer. God knows this Kingdom needs to cool down every now and then," Queen Alice lowered her voice so only the King could hear, "we could forge a marriage alliance using Eralis between the two Kingdoms. Either way, we are bound to find out her Imperia sooner or later. Better now when we are prepared."

King Gregory did not stop fuming, but reluctantly sat back down on his throne and motioned for the Esquire to continue.

Queen Alice did not regret saying the things she said or acting the way she did towards Eralis. She truly did try to love her firstborn daughter, she truly did. But, every time Alice looked towards Eralis, all she saw was a disappointment, a Princess without a crown, the downfall of them all.

The Esquire sighed in relief as he continued his explanation. "In order for the Caligo Imperias to come, we must call in the Esquire from their Kingdom and—"

King Gregory got up from his throne again. "Call them into my home, my territory? No, this is going much too far. I will not allow—"

He didn't get to say more, as just then, lightning cracked through the sky. The Hall turned deathly silent and turned to look at the windows. Just moments ago, there had been beautiful, cloudless skies. Instead, there were now furious storm clouds swirling through the atmosphere and booming cracks of thunder lighting the sky.

A final thunder cracked and in came the Royal Esquire of Caligo.

The entire Hall was in total chaos. Parents started the gather their children in their arms to shield them from the Esquire.

The Esquire of Caligo seemed to be the exact opposite of the Lumen Esquire. Where the Esquire of Lumen was portly with graying hair, the Esquire of Caligo stood at least 7 feet and had flowing navy blue hair.

As the Esquire of Caligo strolled menacingly down the aisles to get to the center stage, Royals started getting up and punching or even trying to kill the Esquire. Every time they did, however, their fists and blades were met with a pool of nothingness, as if he were simply a ghost.