5 One Foot In

The Empire's soldiers started to surround the walled city later that day. The king had attempted to send messengers to neighboring kingdoms, but they had been slaughtered by the blockade. Trade caravans were also being raided and used by the invaders. The bloodlust was unquenchable.

Inside the city, fear strangled hope with a noose. Nobody knew what was going on, why the Empire had decided to attack them after many years of peace, or even what the plan was. The blockade was going to strangle this kingdom if not wipe it out. New Haven was caught severely off-guard by the ambush.

As Emily watched the massive discussion in the keep of how to solve the crisis, she felt that fear wasn't a very accurate term for this. It felt more chaotic and paranoid as naturally calm and collected men broke down.

"How on heaven and earth are we supposed to beat THAT," one of the nobles cried. "It's impossible! Merzog would have at least given us the chance to prepare!"

"Merzog would have gutted us either way," Emily heard her father's voice reply. He was a nice man, but he was serious when it came to business. "Are you saying you would prefer to be butchered by one rather than another? You're getting cut up either way."

"Of course not," the noble responded, flabbergasted at such a response.

"Well, you'd be a prized porker if they did," another noble spoke up. The room seemed to light up in fury and frustration. No one knew what to do and no one had any answers.

After a few moments of argumentative chaos, a new voice yelled, "SILENCE!"

The court, now silenced, turned their heads to the source of the voice, King Thomas. He looked like he was losing years at the end of his lifespan since he had returned from the negotiation. He had been very open with what had happened during the negotiation. Of course, this was nothing new to Emily. She had watched the whole thing with Nalazak next to her.

Speaking of Nalazak, she turned around to see if the foreigner was still there. He was, albeit looking extremely uncomfortable. He didn't want to be there and had tried to avoid coming here. It was too late now. When he saw Emily, he gave her a shy smile. She smiled back.

Nalazak had an aura of wonder and mystery around him. He was pretty supportive of her and pretty vocal about some things and she was thankful for that, but he seemed to seal his personal life up like a bank vault. It was very hard to get him to talk about home. On one hand, it was a little concerning, but on the other hand, Emily loved a good mystery.

"We already have an army outside our walls waiting to kill us," Thomas' voice shook her back to reality. "I don't need clever insults doing the job for them. I know we do not have a lot of options, but we need ideas, anything that can help."

"We could try reaching out to Riverside or even Brookhollow," one voice called.

"We haven't spoken to either of those kingdoms in at least five years," another noble replied. "I doubt they would jump at the opportunity to help us."

"We can still try," Thomas replied. Turning to a group of men in tan leather armor, New Haven's messengers, he ordered, "I want some carriers sent out tonight. Send them in groups at random times."

Nodding, the men left the court. Their work was boring, but saved lives in times like these.

"Anything else," Thomas asked, desperation stealthily entering his voice.

"Raids on the camp," another noble asked.

"Lose too many people," Lord Allison replied.

"And their soldiers are insane," Thomas added.

One second turned into many. Emily watched the court go silent as none said a word. It was saddening to watch. She wasn't in any position of power to try anything and it was expected for her to stay silent. Still, she couldn't help but ask herself if hope was this dead.

"If it comes to it, then," Thomas sighed, "we'll have to fight tooth for tooth and pray for a miracle. Hopefully, one of those two kingdoms still has some moral compass."

"Wait," Emily spoke up, thinking out loud. The entire court heard and turned towards her, waiting for her response. She felt alone and scared, but how could she forget? The answer was right there.

"Emily," her father asked, disbelieving what he just heard.

Emily took a deep breath, nervous but confident, and said, "What if we tried finding the Thunder Staff?"

Every noble looked at her in amazement before breaking out in laughter. The king looked a little puzzled at the idea, while her father did his best to hide his increasingly red face.

"The Thunder Staff, are you serious," a voice jeered among the laughter. "No one has seen that thing for hundreds of years. It's a myth!"

"You're letting your girl read too many books, Allison," another called. "Get her in a dressing school and out of a book!"

Emily felt herself turning red. This was a mistake. She turned around to Nalazak, who wasn't laughing, but was wide-eyed, which didn't help a lot. Emily felt like running away and crying, to curl up in a ball, and pray for the world to ignore. She remained determined, however.

After a while of laughing, Thomas lifted his hand up for silence. The court obliged, although some snickering could still be heard. Turning to Emily, he asked, "Princess Emily, we appreciate the suggestion but, as mentioned, no one has seen or used the Thunder Staff for a very, very long time. Unless, you have something-"

"I do," Emily replied quickly, remembering the foreigner behind her. Some scoffs, some oh boy's, and some gasps of silent surprise followed. Even Thomas was a little impressed.

"Bring it forward then," Thomas said, a little intrigued himself.

Emily turned back to Nalazak, who was shaking his head very rapidly.

"Princess, no," he begged quietly.

"Please," Emily asked. "This is our one chance."

Nalazak timidly followed Emily to the middle of the court. They both felt the multitude of eyes following them as they walked, eyes of judgement and wonder.

"This is Nalazak," Emily started, pointing to her paling friend.

"What kind of name is that," someone whispered as a small, whispered discussion rippled.

"What hole did you pull this boy from," another voice sneered.

Ignoring the talk, Emily continued, "Nalazak has a map to find the staff."

"Hello, Nalazak," King Thomas replied, his eyes a little wide with surprise. "Is what your friend says true?"

Nalazak abandoned all hope of escaping his doom and timidly nodded. He didn't want this, but he didn't have a choice now.

"Then, Nalazak," Thomas replied, "for the sake of our survival, will you produce your map to assist us?"

Nalazak quickly opened his satchel, digging through documents and small items until he found a light brown piece of parchment. His hand shaking, he held it up. Thomas signaled for a guard to check the map.

Emily held her breath for a second. She realized there was a possibility that Nalazak could be lying, not just to her, but to everyone he has come into contact with. This last straw of hope could be burned just as quickly as it was introduced.

After a few tense moments, the guard, who was accompanied by some academic scholar, finished looking at the map and looked to the king.

"This is legitimate," the scholar said, wide-eyed. The room's collective jaw seemed to drop. "Based on the material used, it appears to be around 350 years old. The last mention of use from the staff was dated around this time."

So, it did exist. A relic capable of wielding the elements not only existed, but was attainable. They could use it to ward off Skriven and the Empire.

"I want a small party assembled for the quest," Thomas ordered. "We also need Nalazak to help. He would probably understand the map a lot better than us."

"Then I'm going with him," Emily announced. The court gasped. There were already too many bombshells to digest, but this was a gut punch.

"Princess-" King Thomas started.

"Your Highness," Lord Allison spoke up, annoyed, "I need to speak with my daughter."

Emily gulped as her father marched toward her and directed her to a private room. Her father wasn't a bad man, but he could get scary when something was up. She had no choice but to follow him to the room.

Going in and shutting the door behind them, Emily could see her father's large figure exhale, as if trying to get as much steam as possible out of his system.

"I don't know what you think you're doing," Lord Allison shakily said, "but it's not funny."

"Dad," Emily started.

"You are encouraging too many people with this nonsense," her father continued. "It could be fake or outdated or something worse!"

"Dad, please-"

"And you dragged that poor boy into this mess with you! He looks absolutely terrified there! No clue what he's doing whatsoever! Why? Why would you do this? Is this a game to you?"

"No!"

"Then why would you do this to these people?! Why can't you be like every normal princess?!?!"

Lord Allison seemed to bite his lip, immediately regretting what he said. Emily was used to that, so she didn't do or say anything. She just looked up at her father, who was breathing heavily. He could have a panic attack at any moment.

"Even if it was real, I can't let you go," her father finally said. "I'm sorry, but I've already lost your mother, Em. I can't lose you too."

Emily put her hand on her father's heaving shoulder, tears in her eyes.

"I know," she said.

"Then why are you doing this to me," came the question.

"Because you know I can't stay here, Dad," Emily replied. "You know that. You've been trying to do that for a while now."

"I wanted you to get married, grow old, give me some grandkids even," her father whispered. "I didn't want you to follow people like me. I didn't want what happened to happen."

"But it did," Emily replied.

"Yes, it did," her father added, nodding. "I guess we were never meant to be normal."

Emily shook her head.

"There will be challenges out there," Lord Allison suddenly said. "Men with no morals, monsters with bloodlust, and harsh circumstances few can bear. You will have to fight at times against foe and friend. You will feel heartache and you will face choices that will shake every piece of your core. Are you willing to go through all of it? Is this something you truly want to do?"

Emily almost answered immediately, but stopped cold. She had read about the challenges of heroes, the failures, the heartbreak. Doing this would mean being exposed to all of it. Thinking for a second, she finally and quietly replied, "Yes. If it means saving our home, I will do it."

"Then I can't stop you," Lord Allison replied, smiling.

The two embraced each other closely, tears streaming down both of their faces.

"Thank you," Emily whispered.

"You have so much of your mother in you," Allison muttered.

After a while, her father released her. He then turned around, wiped off his face, and opened the door back to the court.

There had been some discussion outside, but went quiet as the father-daughter duo walked forward back to the center where Nalazak was.

"Everything okay," he whispered to Emily, who shushed him as King Thomas started to speak.

"Is everything alright, Lord Allison," he asked.

"Yes," Allison replied. "I've talked to her about it and I believe she may be the best one to talk to our friend here. He obviously trusts her more than any of us."

"So, you're letting her go then," a noble spoke up.

Allison looked at his daughter, who gave him a small but loving smile. He smiled back and replied, "She knows the risks and she knows what will be involved. I allow her to join the quest."

Thomas nodded and said, "Very well then. We will have three men head the party to find the Tower of Tempests. Princess Emily and Nalazak will accompany as guides and navigators. The small group will be able to navigate stealthily through the blockade and get that staff. We are going to get out of this!"

Most of the court applauded. The plan was good, albeit unlikely to succeed. They were willing to use anything that could get them out of the predicament.

"Sir Brandon will also be leading the party," Thomas added. While more cheers seemed to echo, Emily's heart sank. She had to deal with him?

She spotted him looking at her from not very far away. He raised his eyebrows in a flirty manner and Emily couldn't help but roll her eyes.

She wasn't sure what was going to be worse: the danger ahead or the knight leading them there.