-Chapter Ten: The War Room-

Once separating from the group, Leo Percy couldn't help but giggle to himself as the group of young bachelorettes gather around Jack. 𝘐𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸. Leo Percy thought to himself sneaking behind one of the large columns that held the dark castle up. Once leaving the ball room and into the hallway, Leo Percy sighed as he looked around. "Great now what?" He said to himself before noticing the only bright light came from the reflection of the candles from his suit. Making a conscious decision, Leo Percy walked into a room filled with coats and gloves belonging to the royals and visitors of the other kingdoms then removed his armour to reveal a formal attire with Asterian colours. He rhetorically thanked Beatrice as he examined himself in a mirror real quick seeing a baby blue bishop sleeved shirt and a high waisted, beige, slim fitted pants.

Before deciding to walk aimlessly to find the war room, Leo Percy knew he needed a full thought-out plan of how to get from point A to point B without getting caught. Lilith's words clouded his thoughts: "𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭, 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘫𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘧𝘧 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦. 𝘌𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘖𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳'𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦." How could Leo Percy possibly know who's on whose side? He also wondered why Vulpecula couldn't have done this mission instead of him, she would have gotten way more information instead out of them too. The brunette carefully opened the closet room's door and peeked his head out of the opening to make sure that the coast was clear.

Leo Percy compared the castle in the clouds to the burning castle, hoping that they would have any type of similarities. To his satisfaction of being right; there was none at all. The corridors were just irregularly long and drawn out. There weren't a lot of doors that lead to places, but when there was a door it usually had some sort of significance. Leo Percy was actually surprised when he peeked into a room cautiously and saw that it was a storage for plates. All different kinds of plates: gold plates, silver plates, iron plates, sparkling plates, seasonal plates, and so on! "What a dumb room." Leo Percy scoffed before closing the door.

At this point Leo Percy found it helpless to continue searching every room on the first floor, so the first staircase he found he would take to the second floor to continue his search. There was a hidden staircase, one that was down a narrow hallway wedged between two doors. It was mostly used by castle staff, however, as Leo Percy cautiously made his way up the spiral staircase, all he could think about was how the staircase could have been used for trickery and evil. A chill crawled down his spine as he thought about how vulnerable Jack is right now to Asterin's most powerful rival. Many thoughts started to race across Leo Percy's mind as he made his way to the top of the stairs and made his way down to dark, grim hallways.

𝘔𝘢𝘯, 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦? 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘵𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩. 𝘋𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰𝘰. 𝘖𝘩 𝘮𝘢𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘓𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥? 𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘓𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘢. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘴𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦? 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘓𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘖𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩. Leo Percy's thoughts were cut short when he finally opened one door revealing a decently big room with a table in the middle and tons of shelves and cases filled with rolled-up scrolls full of passed plans that lined up the walls. All the chairs were facing outward from the table rather than facing inward towards the table, but that was pretty common in many war rooms throughout the nation (depending on how formal the king is).

As the brunette entered the war room and closed the door behind him, he was quite intrigued while he strolled over to the head of the table. The scent of the ageing paper, dimmed room, and wasted dark fabric covering the ceiling made Leo Percy feel like he was in a forbidden library, which technically for being an Asterian he was. At the head of the table there was a map, a scroll, and a notebook. Leo Percy sat down at the head of the table and analyzed the map of the nation. He looked at Findara and then to Asterin, noticing it was shaded in their respectable colours. The rest of the nation was coloured the same way; pointing out Findara's and Asterin's allies. The young guard carefully unraveled the rolled-up scroll and examine the writing:

- 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐋𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐡'𝐬 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐥, 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐬 𝐚𝐠𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝.

- 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐝𝐨𝐱 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐬 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝟑𝐱 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐞, 𝐚 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭.

- 𝐑𝐮𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭, 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐎𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐮𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐥𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐧.

- 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐎𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦 𝐍𝐨 𝐌𝐚𝐧'𝐬 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐚 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡. 𝐈𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐲 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐆𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐝, 𝐑𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐚, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐀𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧.

- 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐍𝐢𝐭𝐚 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐀𝐜𝐞'𝐬 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦. 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐎𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬.

- 𝐊𝐢𝐤𝐢 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐀𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐀𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐚𝐧. 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐍𝐢𝐭𝐚 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐬 𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐀𝐜𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐲 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐚. 𝐀𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧, 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐎𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬.

- 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐎𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐊𝐢𝐤𝐢 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐍𝐢𝐭𝐚'𝐬 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚.

- 𝐈𝐧 𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐀𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧, 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬, 𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬.

The emotions going running through Leo Percy was sickening. His stomach did flips that hurt and he felt like he was going to pass out. 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘈𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘢𝘯? 𝘏𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘓𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘩; 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘏𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘪𝘯 𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘱𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘥𝘰𝘮𝘴? 𝘐𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘥. 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘓𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘈𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘧𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘦? 𝘛𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴? 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘥𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘣𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘚𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘢. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘭-𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘢. 𝘐𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘢𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘥𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘥𝘰𝘮𝘴, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴 𝘈𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘥𝘰𝘮𝘴. 𝘈𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘳 𝘪𝘧 𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘢𝘯.

Before Leo Percy could touch the book, the door to the war room opened up making him frantically roll up the scroll and try to place everything to its respected place then instantly leapt over to the closest wall and pretend to admire it. "What are you doing here?" A voice sternly said, catching Leo Percy's attention. Leo Percy looked over to the voice displaying a helplessly clueless expression, but he found it hard trying to keep this hopeless expression as he looked at the figure. "I'm only going to ask one more time; what are you doing in here?" The tall, tan guy said as he slowly entered the room letting Leo Percy examine him better.

"The washroom on the first floor was occupied so I tried to find another one, however, I was swooned over by the mysteriously, alluring interior design of the castle." Leo Percy said trying to sound like an Elite.

"Hmmm. Right. You know if you want to make a pathetic lie, try wearing makeup to cover the scar on your face to make it move convincingly. No Elites or high class has a presentable scar on them." The tall guy scoffed walking closer to the brunette. "I will ask one more time; what are you doing here?"

𝘋𝘢𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘘𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘓𝘦𝘰. "I never said I was an Elite or part of the higher class. I said I was looking for the washroom and then got lost due to the castle's designs." Leo Percy restated before noticing how close the tall guy was to him.

"So, you're committing treason instead of looking for the washroom?" The guy asked standing right in front of Leo Percy.

"Then what are you doing here?" Leo Percy gulped, starting to get intimidated by the guy.

"What am I doing here?" The guy smirked. "I'm Xavier, a personal staff of King Oliver and the protector of the war room, but I guess I slipped up because you're in here."

𝘟𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘳? 𝘟𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘳! 𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘥. Leo Percy thought as he backed up away from his towering figure but only hit the shelves of scrolls behind him. In fact, he was so deep in thought that he didn't heat Xavier talk at all until he caressed Leo Percy's cheek. "Are you deaf? I'm really tired of repeating myself." Xavier said sternly. Leo Percy couldn't help himself stare at Xavier and how he stood so confidently. His dark, tan skin made him look like he was raised in the western nation. His heterochromatic eyes themselves were stern, captivating, and soft all at once. Leo Percy's focus was out of the world as he stared at Xavier, but quickly snapped back to answer his question.

"No, I am not deaf. You're just very intimidating to a guest of the kingdom." Leo Percy answered as he crossed his arms and locked eyes with him firmly.

"Okay good. So, who are you?" Xavier asked once again as he placed his hands on either side of the shorter boy's head.

"Leo... Leo Percy." He stammered as Xavier smirked.

"Leo. What a cute name for a pretty boy." Xavier whispered, making Leo Percy's heart drop out of his butt and onto the floor, but quickly returned to its rightful place as he got mad again.

"It's not Leo. It's Leo Percy." He corrected.

"Nuh uh. Leo brings out your warmth and, what seems to be, your love for the outdoors whereas Percy signifies a more ocean loving side of you. And no offence, but it doesn't look like you know how to swim." Xavier said leaving Leo Percy shocked.

"Hey! At least I don't give off the 'I'm going to steal everything you have, get on a boat, and sail the sea' vibe." Leo Percy huffed.

"Oh, so you're saying I look rebellious? Are you into rebellious guys Leo?" Xavier asked as he placed a finger on Leo Percy's chin and tilted his head up ever so carefully, making him blush.

"I- What- Wait isn't hitting on the same sex against the law here? And for the last time it's Leo Percy. I don't care if I look like I cannot swim." Leo Percy yelled as he pushed Xavier ever so slightly away from him.

"Never said the rules applied to me, but it looks like I have gotten to your head. Plus, I like 'Leo' on you better. I will be using that instead of Leo Percy." Xavier said as he winked at Leo Percy.

𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵. 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘱 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘰𝘳 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘥𝘥𝘴 𝘐 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯? Leo Percy thought as he stared dumbfounded at Xavier. "Well hopefully I never see you or this dumb castle again." Leo Percy said out of pure confusion before realizing he messed up.

"Finally." Xavier smiled, noticing his slip up.

"No, don't 'finally' me. There's nothing to be 'finally' about. Now if you don't mind, I would like the directions to the washroom." Leo Percy said as he started to walk towards the door.

"No, no. Please stay and talk about his dumb castle." Xavier assured as he twirled his pointer finger, instantly making Leo Percy sit on a chair. Leo Percy instantly looked at Xavier, shocked that he revealed a small use of his magic to him just now. "So, let's try this for the final time or I will find you. What are you doing in here?" Xavier asked again, placing his hand on the arm rest of the chair so Leo Percy could stand up once again.

"I will scream wizard right now if you don't let me go." Leo Percy threatened as he glared at Xavier.

"You're so cute. I dare you to try. I will instantly change our position so you would be sitting on top of me. You do understand how that looks? A guy from a nonconformist kingdom dominating a helpless Findarian guy against his will." Xavier smirked as he leaned in closer to Leo Percy.

"Dammit. You got me there." Leo Percy scoffed as he looked away.

"So please, tell me, what are you doing in here?" Xavier asked and before Leo Percy could give the exact same answer for the millionth time, a ginger popped his head into the doorway.

"There you are sir! I gave you the wrong directions. Xavier could you please stop harassing our guest. I thought Oliver would snap more sense into you by now." The ginger said as he pushed Xavier away from Leo Percy, then grabbed Leo Percy up from the chair.

"What are you doing here Chester? You're supposed to be by Ace's side." Xavier spat.

"I could say the same for you, you're supposed to be by Oliver's side." The ginger named, Chester, retorted. This made Xavier scoff as Chester began to walk towards the door with Leo Percy following close behind him. It took everything in Leo Percy's will to not look back at Xavier, however, he couldn't help himself as he felt the burning sensation of his stare. After leaving the war room, walking down another long corridor, and descending a flight of stairs, Leo Percy found himself in a warm environment. The walls were an off-white colour, the floors were covered in rosy red tiles, the plants that decorated the whole area brought livelihood, and there were veins that dripped down from the ceiling. It made Leo Percy think of a cottage he would some day love to live in.

"Chester is it?" Leo Percy asked as the ginger nodded his head. "Where are we?" He asked.

"Well mister I roam other kingdoms' castles for a death wish, you are in the basement. Also known as the servants' quarters." Chester answered as they entered a common room filled with people who were talking amongst themselves.

"It's actually just Leo Percy. Wait a minute... it's Cain and Silas!" Leo Percy exclaimed as he waved at the two Findarian guards.

"There is the little mouse." Cain said as he hooked hands with Asterin and brought him into a hug.

"We were waiting for you so we can talk about what you probably saw in the war room and to give you back your armour." Silas said as he handed the gold armour back to Leo Percy, who thankfully took it back and wore it once again.

"Well Leo Percy, welcome to the Defiance. We are a small coalition trying to rebel against the horrible ideals of Findara and kingdoms alike. Hence the name Defiance. Our leader, Prince Ace, told us to find you and the rest of your pals before getting a death penalty." Chester formally introduced the coalition.

"I didn't think I would be meeting all of you today." Leo Percy said as he looked around him.

"This isn't all of us. Some of us are just taking our brakes, others are guarding the walls, while others are at the ball." Cain corrected as a few people nodded their heads in agreement.

"Ah, well I've heard about the Defiance through Lilith and how Prince Ace is trying everything in his current power to help out! This even got Prince Jack to grow out of his prejudicial attitude against Findara." Leo Percy exclaimed as it brought smiles to everyone's face. Knowing that Prince Jack is willing to trust Findara is a huge help.

"Alright, we don't have much time on our hands before you have to go back to the ballroom... especially with your run in with Xavier-" "You had a run in with Xavier and didn't die?!" A loud voice interrupted Chester.

"Yeah Beatrice. He had a run in with Xavier, and by the looks of it I think we might have dirt against him." Chester confirmed.

"I could have died?" Leo Percy asked as his eyes widened.

"Technically you could have died several different ways today. But that's not the point. Clara could you please pass me the paper?" Chester asked as a lady with long, wavy brown hair stood up and handed him a folded-up paper. "Here take this and don't bring it out until you are back in Asterin." Chester said clearly as Leo Percy nodded his head, taking the paper and tucking it safely into his armour.

"Wait, did you just place that very important paper into your armour?" Cain asked as Leo Percy nodded his head.

"Our armour has pockets!" Leo Percy smiled as Cain and Silas rushed over to his side, admiring the built-in pockets.

"Alright boys come on; he needs to go back to the ballroom." Clara said, breaking up the trio.

"Thank you so much for everything!" Leo Percy said as he bowed his head in respect.

"Hey it's no problem! It's the least we can do for our ally!" Chester grinned as he patted Leo Percy on the back. After saying their goodbyes, Chester led the stray Asterin back to the ballroom where they found Ace and Jack talking to one another... unaware of what happened earlier.