Opportunity

Thyme Castle , a fortnight later…

Sweet music filled the air as Lobelia strummed her lyre. Her melodious voice drifted to the air coaxing her audience to follow her very command.

My lord, please grant me the honor of bearing the key.

No harm will befall you as long as you surrender it to me.

But instead of giving her the key that she desired, the man ignored her and almost walked away from her.

"How can you still resist? That was the strongest obedience spell that I have given and yet you still dare to defy me." Putting her lyre down, Lobelia narrowed her eyes at the sovereign before her.

He was still able to oppose her despite her spell.

Panting and all the while resisting the command given to him, King Bryce seethed. "I will never bow down to the likes of you."

Though he was exhausted, he still fought the witch's spell. His irises were switching from its original teal green to pitch black as he struggled through the spell with sheer will power and determination.

Huffing with impatience, the woman decided to threaten the king to make him give up. "Very well... If you won't cooperate, I'll just have to kill you and take the key by force."

Instead of feeling threatened, the re haired king gave a mocking laugh.

"Do you think I believe a word you said? I am more useful to you alive than dead." He taunted.

Lobelia's lips thinned. "I can always find a way to extract that key."

She waved her hand and a blade made from coagulated mana appeared. Then in a just a matter of seconds it passed through the king's throat and severed his head.

***

La Vervain Dungeon….

"So, what are our plans?" Blaze asked his companions.

"For now, we will have to wait for the perfect timing." Aliester answered the prince. "please be patient, your highness."

"I think we should-" Blaze stopped short as he felt a sharp burning sensation in his chest. With the increasing pain, the red haired teen fell down.

"What the hell is going on?" Vince asked as he eyed the commotion on the other cell. Though he wanted to help the young prince, he could not do so.

Conrad and Daxton helped the prince and laid him down the makeshift bed. Blaze kept on tossing and turning while trying to rip his tunic.

"It hurts!" Blaze cried out.

Using the small amount of limited power he had left, Conrad cast a low level spell in order to diagnose the prince.

But that simple spell left him wasted from the strong backlash. Ignoring the fatigue he felt, he continued checking the young prince's vitals.

"His breathing is labored, pulses are erratic and he seems to be burning up." The mage muttered. When he ripped the prince's tunic open, his eyes widened.

At first there was this faint golden light glowing below his left pectoral. Then suddenly a tiny dot appeared and gradually it formed into a reddish mark. The mark of the Enclave from Thyme settled itself on his chest.

"How come you became the next king?" With his eyes widen in shock, Daxton asked Blaze.

After the completion of the circular mark, Blaze had finally calmed down.

Groggily sitting up, he eyed the mark on his chest with confusion. "I am the third son and child of a concubine. Definitely, I am not the crown heir. And yet…"

"The most probable cause of this must be the death of the King and your older brothers. That is the only explanation I can come up with." The mage said.

"So, what happens now?" Daxton asked.

"I think it is finally time for us to put our escape plan in motion." Aliester said with a devious grin.

He had been watching the commotion earlier and that was when Zarame gave him the signal.

[Notice: A new king is being selected. You may use this opportunity to break the curse on the others.]

"We need a king's command in order to break the limiting spell that the queen had cast." Aliester said to his companions.

He had already explained the loophole he discovered from Caramel. While the others were reluctant, Conrad was willing to take the risk.

"I will not be able to use high level magic unless the spell is broken." The mage contemplated for a while. Then, he finally made up his mind. "I will do it."

Aliester turned his attention to the youngest king in Enclave history. "Will you accept, Your Majesty?"

"Just Blaze will do." The young king said bashfully. "I will do my best."

"Wait up. Conrad, you are from Verbena. I thought that only a Verbenian ruler will be able to give you a king's command." Vince interjected.

The earl was quite perplexed about the whole thing. As a Verbenian nobility, giving one's vow to another monarch would mean treason.

"If I form a temporary contract, acknowledge Blaze as my ruler, and become his subject, he will be able to give me a king's command." Conrad simply explained.

"but…" Vince wanted to argue.

Aliester decided to butt in. "This is the opportunity that we got to break the curse. Plus, this is temporary."

"My mother is from Marjoram, but we immigrated to Verbena after she eloped with my Thymian father." The mage said. "Although, I became a noble for becoming a court mage, I would rather choose to serve a master who could be trusted than rot here and wait for death."

"I would rather serve someone who could help us than that witch." That was the final blow that the mage delivered. The other people in the cell kept quiet.

Conrad proceeded with the initiation of the contract.

"I am Conrad Marker, a caster of Verbena. I pledge my loyalty to his majesty, King Blaze Harrison of Thyme." Kneeling down, Blaze kissed his new king's hand.

A golden pentagram formed on the floor and the contract was completed. "My lord, you are now my king. Command thy servant as you wish."

"I, Blaze, the king of Thyme, command you to use your full potential as a caster to assist me." With Blaze's command, his mark began to glow and a reddish gold pentagram formed destroying the spell that limited the wizard.

With those lights, guards were drawn to their prison cells, but they managed to silence them.

"So what comes next?" the king asked.

After a moment of respite, they were able to lay down their plans.

"I could not cast a high level magic in this cramp up space. I think the best area to do a transportation magic is on the prison grounds." Conrad said after their little discussion.

"We can go there during that time." Aliester suggested.

"but the guards will closely watch us. Not to mention the warden himself surveys the area." Daxton pointed out.

Vince then gave his own suggestion. "What we need is a large scale distraction. What say you about a prison riot?" he finished with a smirk.