1 A long time ago, in an universe far, far away…
Turmoil has engulfed the Kingdom of Graycastle. It was the 5th and the final year before the Battle of Divine Will. The formation of the final plan was in great peril.
Hoping to resolve the current matter with his formidable enemy, Roland Wimbledon of Graycastle, presented it with a candy and a battleship toy.
"Release that, Kid". Roland said, his enemy not paying him any attention.
While the group of nearby Union witches endlessly debated this alarming chain of events, The Supreme Chancellor Wendy had secretly dispatched a witch under her command to deal with the situation.
"Gotcha!" yelled Nightingale, holding papers above the kid.
While Roland was acting as a diversion with the candy and the toy, Nightingale under the command of Wendy, approached the kid from behind hidden in her Mist and snatched the papers away as soon as the kid let down its guard.
With everyone present sighing in relief, Roland said.
"That was close. My heart almost stopped as soon as I heard the shuffling of the papers." Working for the last few days without any breaks on his plans, Roland was very glad to see the situation resolve without any problems.
"You shouldn't have something as important as that lying around." Wendy reprimanded him.
It all started when Roland's Chef knight, Carter Lannis who had been summoned to the castle was not able to find a babysitter that would look after his kid. Considering that the king was not the person to mind etiquette much, Carter, after much consideration, brought the kid with him to the castle, hoping he could ask of His Majesty to have some maid take over while he finishes his business.
As he expected, His Majesty, upon seeing that scene, just gave a hearty laugh and moved on with the agenda. However, what he did not expect was for Roland to propose to leave the kid with him as he was close to finishing his work and had some free time on his hands. Unable to refuse, Cartis gave in and went to do what Roland asked of him.
However, what was beyond Roland's expectations was how active the kid was. He assumed it would be enough to leave the kid in a closed space without any sharp objects around while he brings his work to an end but the kid ran all around the room, tried to climb on everything that was possible to get on. At one point, when Roland finally found some peace, he continued with his work, in deep concentration. Little did he know that his enemy was even more formidable than he expected. The kid managed to sneak next to him and grab the papers that were close to the edges to play with.
Leaving his chair, Roland went right in front of the kid and not knowing what to do, he entered a staring contest. One wrong move and his enemy might rip all his hard work apart. Meanwhile, Wendy, Scroll and few other witches who had some official business with Roland were greeted by this strange scene when they entered the office. Nightingale who had gone to the kitchen before this joined them right after without saying anything.
"Know thy self, know thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories. I remember Your Majesty saying this once before." Scroll with a slight smile on her face teased Roland.
"This was such a huge overlook on my side."
"Imagine my surprise when I entered just to find you crouching down in front of a kid I had never seen before, all serious. Also, Nightingale, that should be enough. " Wendy added.
Nightingale, while lying on a sofa, laughing and holding her stomach said, "The great king of Graycastle, known for defeating all his enemies, got outdone by a kid."
Walking up to the kid and rising him up to his eye level, Roland said, "Oh mighty foe, you now have my full, undivided attention. I wonder what I should to do with you to keep you entertained."
Everyone chuckled. Immediately after, Nightingale said "You seem to be very awkward with kids. Just imagining you as a father taking care of his kid for some reason makes me laugh."
Upon hearing this, Roland and few witches had bitter smiles on their faces while others expressed their agreements. Nightingale noticing that some of them acted a bit weird confusedly asked them what was the matter but no one said anything in return.
****************
Outside the office, stood a single person. Holding a hand above the doorknob, as if frozen in time, unmoving.
"Oh, if it isn't Miss Anna, it's a surprise to see you here around this time."
Turning around startled, Anna saw an elderly man some distance away, going towards her.
"Minister Barov, good afternoon."
"Do you have some business with His Majesty? I could wait for you to finish if needed."
"No need, I just remembered something urgent that needs my attention so I must leave."
"Well, in that case, don't let me take up your precious time."
Passing next to him, Barov followed Anna with his gaze. Even after she turned around the corner, Barov still stood there, looking in the direction where Anna had just gone. Usually, he would not be bothered by something as trivial but he could not help but wonder why someone as inexpressive as Anna would make such a sad face.
