THE BLOOMING WARRIOR II

The king appeared from the same entrance a few minutes later. Alicia was too preoccupied with assessing the remainder of the group to note his arrival. She just turned her head to the right after hearing Reene freaking out beside her and the other knight guards kneeling. That's when she saw the king approaching them, chewing off huge chunks from an apple he was carrying.

His dark hair swayed precariously as the gleaming crown pressed against it. It was slightly turned to his right, almost leaning on his ear for some unexplained reason. He had a cheeky grin on his face. His brown glinting eyes matched his hair color, a well-formed jawline, and a grin that would make any girl want to marry him at first sight. Alicia bent her head and knelt on one knee.

While respectful acts such as these were expected to be conducted in the king's presence, the king himself did not like it when people knelt and bowed before him as if he were some deity. He was one of those people who never followed what society expected of him.

On most days, you'd see him strolling around the town market, stopping to talk with the vendors for hours. He'd finally end up purchasing something he'd never need. He once purchased a broom and returned with it to the castle, for some unknown reason.

For most days, he was never in his castle, preferring instead to walk the streets and go wherever his adventurous nature took him. Finding him in his palace was challenging on most days, but finding him seated on his throne was almost impossible.

Word would have gotten out one night that he stayed in a church east of town, and on other days that he was seen weeding a vegetable garden for a children's home deep in the valley. People respected him because of that.

As if to test his reflexes, Drom threw the half-eaten apple at his spokesman, but Harmel caught it in mid-flight. As it juggled on his hands, it took him a moment to get a grip on it. Drom gave the kneeling knight guards a puzzled glance.

"Get up, it's your ceremony, not mine!" "Why are you making your clean robes all dirty?"

He spoke quietly to the knight guards who were kneeling. He went up to them quickly and started shaking their hands one by one. The knight guards were perplexed at that moment, picturing some grumpy man in their minds. They knew the new king was young, but they had no idea he'd be so animated.

"How are you doing?" "Nice to meet you, my name is Drom, and how are you doing?"

"uh uh My name is Dr., and yours is Dr... Sir, my name is Reene! Sir, it is a pleasure to see you!"

Renee's shoulder was tapped as the king shook his hand, sending a blast of electricity into him.

"There are no formalities required. Aren't we all about the same age here, brother? You don't have to get worked up over it; just call me Drom. Reene, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Sir, the pleasure is all mine!"

"May I inquire as to your age?"

"Sir, I'm twenty-one years old! I said Drom, sir, Drom... I'm sorry..."

"Relax,"

Drom said. He said this while attempting to keep his chuckle at bay. He bent in close to Reene and whispered childishly into his ear.

"See, I'm twenty, but big brother, how about we keep it a secret?"

Reene laughed, slightly nervous.

"All right, sir."

The king then went on to welcome the rest of the visitors. He approached the throne. There were two other seats beside the one large thrones in the middle, one on the left and one on the right. He took a seat on one of the armrests of the throne in the front.

"Now, where were we?"

Before taking the seal off the scroll, his spokesman rubbed the Apple stains on his hands against his coat before handing it over to him. Drom then cleared his throat amusingly and addressed the knights.

"Now, what a prestigious honor, let us see..."

He rolled out the scroll before the paper came loose from the handle. The knight guards looked confused.

"You know what, I don't need to remind you how much you've progressed because you all know how much it costs to become an Honorary State Guard, right? I'll let you speak for yourself and make your own vows because it's your ceremony, right?! So, let us begin with the only lady among us, to whom we must, of course, extend the courtesy."

Everyone in the room was looking at Alicia, she thought. She despised being thrown into a situation like that, particularly because she had very little to work with.

"My name is Alicia Iko. From Iko's household. I'd like to express my appreciation to the commander for acknowledging my effort and giving me this opportunity to serve as an honorary State Guard. I pledge to protect the people of The Independent States with my life!"

"Oh, that's fascinating, a part of the Iko family!"

Everything about Alicia saying her family's name ignited a thought within Drom's cheeky brain, and he wandered away for a brief moment. He shook himself back to reality and started before anyone else noticed.

"All right, Reene, it's your time now."

Reene enthusiastically responded to his greeting.

"Hi, sir!"

"Again, where did you say you came from?"

"Sir, I'm from the village of Sals in District Dark!"

The two knight guards on the other end kept whispering to each other at often giggled as they cast glances at Reene. When the king saw them, he turned to face them.

They resembled each other in every way, from height to facial features to haircuts. It was certain that they were twins.

"Excuse me, but if you have anything to say, don't whisper it to each other like a bunch of children; instead, come out and say it, because, as I said, we're all of the same generation."

"Excuse me, but if you have anything to say, don't whisper it to each other like a bunch of children; instead, come out and say it, because, like I said, we're all of the same generation."

"Excuse me, but is this some kind of joke?"

One of the twins asked. The other knight guards were shocked, and their minds scrambled to find out where they got their audacity. The spokesperson approached them, enraged, with a half-eaten apple in his hands, ready to dismember their mouths.

"You dullards... Keep your mouth shut when you're referring to the King of..."

"No, no, it's all right," the king said, "but may I ask why you think this is a joke?"

One of the twins took a step forward, indicating that he would be the one to answer. His gait was obnoxious as if he were adding a little bounce to assert his vanity. He styled his hair in an uncommon way. A strand of his hair was stretched over his brow as if a flower was dying and wilting on his head. His other duplicate of a brother looked at the rest of the knight guards with disdain as his copy started to talk.

"Come on, this has to be some kind of entertainment or presentation for the ceremony. A girl knight guard from the House of Iko, a lousy commoner from District Dark, and, most importantly, you!"

He indicated to the king with his finger. Every word that came out of his mouth was irritated by his accent.

"You're barely my age, so you can't really be a king. This little play of yours is quite funny, I must confess. My name is Salron Carter Portriese, and this is my twin brother Valmon Carter Portriese. Please excuse my lack of etiquette. We are, as you might have inferred, from the prominent Portriese family."

He took a pause in his speech to solicit feedback from the audience. Some looked at him with contempt, while others felt ashamed on his behalf.

"And may I point out that this is not a palace... let alone the palace of the King of the Independent States; it is very small for a king's palace, don't you think?"

"Of course, our dining room is much bigger and fancier than this! Just look at the floor!"

"When are we going to the real castle for the real ceremony?"

He finished with a high-pitched giggle as if a squirrel was being strangled and wailing for assistance.

The king smiled as he stood in his chair for a few moments. His laughing became increasingly louder until it was interrupted by a cough. He thumped his chest before he could utter something.

"I'm sorry, I got carried away there." I assumed it was a Portriese. There's no reason to be concerned; I've had to deal with a lot of Portriese brats since I arrived. One of them was present at my first knighting ceremony as a king, I recall. As the two of you, he was all posh and sneered at everyone. I was sixteen at the moment, but I wasn't as stable as I should have been. I had a minor underlying condition known as anger. As a result, I became enraged and punched him in the face, leaving him with a fractured nose and four missing teeth. But all of that is behind me now. Commander Alvatrone saw something about you that he didn't see in others, and that's why you're here. Since you two never seem to shut your mouths, he thought you'd make fine bait for the Vurhans in the near future..."

The whole room erupted in laughter.

After that, the king rose from his armrest and crossed over to the two brothers. He came to a halt a good distance away from them and gave them a long look, slightly squinting his eyes. The two brothers sensed a feeling of unease rising inside them.

"Now, how many months, no, make those weeks; in fact, since you two are certainly bigger brats than the ones I've seen before, I'll give you days. Days before this act of yours teaches you a lesson about how things work around here; where you're going after this is not back to your luxurious fancy homes to rest; instead, after you become Honorary State Guards, you'll be surrounded by these so-called commoners."

The two brothers, who had been cocky minutes earlier, looked uneasy, and the sweat dripping from their brows exposed their apprehension.

As soon as the king returned to his chair, his expression suddenly reverted, and he was back to his vibrant self, as though nothing had changed.

"All right, then, can we proceed with our introductions, where were we?"

The other knights introduced themselves, and as time progressed, their nervousness dissipated, and they began conversing openly with the king as if they were a group of teens hanging out.

The king then proceeded to knight each of them one by one. The independent States honoured Alicia Iko, Reene Pangos, Salron Carter Portriese, Valmon Carter Portriese, Robert Towndsdy, and Carrs Armani as Honorary State Guards.

When the king decided to leave, it was past midday.

"All right, everybody, I'm afraid I'll have to leave because I have an important meeting coming up in a few hours." However, you are welcome to stay as long as you want. Really, the residents of the town were expecting to hear from you today. They'll be here real soon, so if I were you, I'd be practicing my speech. Anyway, I'm leaving; I hope to see you again soon.

Reene returned her attention to Alicia and continued their previously disrupted conversation.

"I didn't expect the king to be as great as he is. He addressed me as big brother! And to consider that a man like him is the most powerful being on the planet today, I'd love to see his might sometime."

When Alicia turned to face him, she said,

"Actually, he's not the strongest; I read that the Dark Bender possesses the most powerful type of magic."

"Oh, you mean god magic, but given that no other known god magician exists and that the last Darkbender is no longer alive, I suppose it's fair to assume Shai magic is actually the most powerful type of magic."

"I almost forget about that,"

"Speaking of this, have you ever had the opportunity to visit him? I mean, the Dark Bender?"

"His son. Isn't it true that Hashi already gave him the power? Don't get me wrong, I'm a bit of a magic fanatic. I used to fantasize about being a magical scholar when I was younger. I suppose I grew out of that fantasy. Yet I've always desired to see god magic in practice, and I think I'll never get my wish."

"What happened to him was awful. To pass away at such a young age Since his mother is a neighbor of my mother's, we celebrate his birthday every year together, lighting up the whole street with candles and all. She lives with us in Heagen city."

"That's a sad way to go down. The most powerful role in all of the Independent States reduced to a folktale. I hope the Elder Brother gods would have done something."

"... I guess some things are just inevitable."

The ceremony came to a close, and it was time for everyone to return home. It signaled the start of something extraordinary, cementing not just friendship ties but also their potential mission. On the same day, a king's messenger from long ago reappeared, as if to reawaken long-forgotten memories hidden deep within the king's memory. The king's messenger had returned with good news, but he needed to move quickly.