"Alan!" I heard someone boom from the hallway. I rolled my eyes as I heard angry footsteps stomping towards me. Romand, Caiden, and I managed to make it back to the room where we first had the strategic meeting with the other mages. Slowly, outside, the mages were clearing up the dead demons and then going back to the island to write up reports about what had happened. It was mainly a precaution because Romand knew what happened, but he wanted to hear what occurred from everyone's point of view so they would write up their individual reports. The only mages who would stay on the ground were Drac, Nene, Lucy, and Akan; mostly because Romand and Caiden were having a conversation, and they needed to be in on it too. I, unfortunately, had to stay as well, since I was also the focus of the conversation.
Drac burst through the doors with a glower on his face with Nene, Lucy, and Akan trailing behind. I watched as Lucy lightly closed the door behind a storming Drac, whose face changed dramatically as he was met with Caiden.
"My apologizes, King Caiden," Drac murmured, stooping low into a bow. Caiden stood beside me facing the door with Romand standing directly across from us. Caiden had come back to the castle and put his robe and crown back on, only a formality since he was going to be in the company of the mages.
"It's alright," Caiden murmured in response, lifting his right hand to tell them to stop their bows. The four of them came forward, Drac a little sheepishly as Nene slapped him in the back of the head.
"Report," Romand commanded Drac and Nene. Drac preceded to tell his side of the story, where he and I both encountered a wolf demon and he defeated it as I ran off to another destination. Nene stated all she knew was that there was chaos in the center, and she didn't find any traces of demons near the castle. So, she felt it would be fine if she and the others left to go and help the growing number of demons in the center since Romand, Akan, and Lucy were watching over Caiden.
"You are always supposed to stay in your patrolling area," Romand growled, a frown deep on his face. His cat ears set low and back on his head, revealing his anger. "If you were still patrolling the grounds, we could have seen what happened to King Caiden." Nene's head hung low as she nodded and listened to Romand's words. None of the others dared to make a noise to comfort Nene, and instead, they all listened to Romand; because everyone here knew that a mistake such as Nene's was dire. She was meant to protect the castle, and instead left her grounds and risked the lives of everyone inside. I wouldn't be surprised if this caused Romand to demote her. Caiden cleared his throat to break the silence.
"What happened was a great error, but I understand that there are some things that we have to risk. Additionally, I am back safe and sound thanks to Alan, so there is nothing else that there needs to be said about the matter." Romand seemed to be chewing on the inside of his lips and turned to Caiden with a nod.
"I understand, King Caiden. I apologize once more for the screw-up my team has created. Thank you for your leniency." All of them bowed at Caiden and he nodded in response. Then, they turned to me.
"Now, we also need to discuss what happened in order for you to find him, Alan. Did Iban do anything?" Romand asked. I frowned and sighed, crossing my arms over my chest, and shifting my weight.
"Well, I just saw him in the square and followed him."
"Why did you chase him?" Romand asked. What is so unique about familiar is that they have the ability to hold in your magic for you, and when you call for them, they will come to aid you. Iban was different, however. I had no control over him. Yes, he was my familiar, but he was his own independent being, I couldn't call for him nor could I control what he did and when. If he wanted to give me power, he would. Luckily, I wasn't a mean mage, and I didn't really care to call Iban whenever he wanted, so I allowed him to do so without frustration. The main reason I chased him was simply because:
"Well, it'd been a while since I last saw him. And so, I thought he wanted me to follow him." I shrugged. The room went silent at this. It was true, I did feel a slight pull towards him as I did the first time I had met him, and I knew that he wanted me to follow him. But I could have ignored all of that if I wanted to. I simply followed him because I thought it would be interesting to see what he wanted after not showing me his face in a couple of weeks other than to sleep beside me. It wasn't like I was bored with the current situation at hand, with fighting the demons and all. I mainly thought that Iban had something much more interesting to show me, so I went. However, now that I was standing before the group explaining myself instead of going back to bed to sleep while Iban was off dancing wherever, I regretted not forcing him to come back with me.
"You followed your familiar, whom you are supposed to summon and is not supposed to have a physical form until you summon him, because you wanted to?" Romand asked. Of course, he already knew that Iban rarely came towards my calls, but he honestly thought that was because I wasn't able to command him yet; because he was just that powerful. However, at the mention that I followed him and instead of asking him to help me out, he could not comprehend the idea.
"Why not?" I responded. Romand, at my statement, seemed to want to strangle me. However, Caiden spoke up in return.
"Is there something wrong with that?" he asked. Romand shook his head.
"Typically, familiars are supposed to be summoned, they don't have a physical form in the world unless their mage calls for them. Alan is... a curious case." Romand spoke like he typically did, no longer weary around Caiden, as if he accepted the fact that Caiden was now the king, but still didn't know as much as he did. I frowned at the thought that I was a "curious case", but let it slide as Lucy spoke up.
"Sir, I understand that Alan's case needs to be discussed, but I am curious about what happened to King Caiden as well and how so many demons managed to be in the square despite the large among of mages present." Romand nodded and scratched behind his head.
"Of course. Did anyone before departing mention anything about how the demons first spawned in the square?" Lucy shook her head.
"After asking everyone before departure, no one mentioned anything about how they spawned, it was as if they came out of thin air." Romand sighed and nodded. Caiden frowned, confused once more, and Lucy seemed to notice this and shyly spoke up. "Demons can only be created if another individual allows themselves to be the portal for the demons." Caiden frowned once more but nodded wearily as if saying it was over his head.
"I need to look into the traces left behind, plus everyone's individual account on this before anything else can be done. We just simply have no idea how this could have been possible." Romand spoke. The other's nodded and Romand turned to Caiden, once more bowing his head. "King Caiden, I would recommend that one of ours stay with you at all times. Unfortunately, because we don't know how this occurred, we need to be as careful as possible. If you would allow it, any one of us in this room would be best suited for the duty. Of course, we would be among the knights and not disturb you, but it is just a precaution." Caiden stood there, staring at Romand for a few moments as if pondering over the situation. Then, he nodded and cleared his throat.
"Of course, that is the safest possible answer." Romand nodded in response. "But, if only Alan gets to stay." At this, everyone's eyes grew, and they glanced between Caiden and me incredulously. I frowned and slouched, furrowing my brows as I tried to make myself invisible. Caiden, wanted me to stay here with him and guard him? Why? That seemed like an awful amount of work if I am being honest, something that I really didn't want to deal with. Romand cleared his throat to get rid of the shock that bubbled forth.
"King Caiden, this was Alan's first mission, we all have more experience than him–" Caiden shook his head.
"As true as that may be, Archmage Romand, Alan was the only one who managed to find me even though you couldn't. I think it would be the wisest option to have him guard me in case something like this happens again." Romand gritted his teeth, unable to say anything against that argument. However, that didn't mean he was done, he opened his mouth to protest once more, but Caiden held up his hand and shook his head. "I stand firm in my response, and ultimately, I believe the decision is up to Alan." Then, Caiden turned to me. I stared at this man, and for the first time noticed that he was a good few inches taller than me, probably around 5"11, and he had a light scar that ran from the left corner of his lip to his left ear lobe. His eyes, additionally, seemed to have a slight twinkle in them, as if he already knew what was going to happen. "Alan, is it alright?" I turned to look at Romand briefly, who seemed still pissed at the situation, before turning back to the glint in Caiden's green eyes.
"If I gotta."
~~~~~
Hello everyone! Saph here! A decently early chapter! Haha, if you know me then you know that I usually update late at night but I did one kinda early today.
Anyway, I hope you're enjoying my story once more. Be prepared for more Caiden and Alan relationships in the future! As you can see, Alan will now have to protect Caiden! But, what does this mean for the future I wonder...
As always, don't hesitate to tell me how you feel about the chapter and if there is anywhere I can improve for the future! If not, I'll see you next time!