Minus One

The pink sky was silent. Wind whistles through the grasses that surround an erected tombstone in a small hill outside the imperial city.

Three shadows knelt on the ground before the stone. Neither one of them was making a sound.

"Father why is it like this?" Yrah's white eyes were looking at the ground. Days have already passed since the Empress of the North Kingdom has died. And four more people died along with her.

Remember how your mother loved both of you. That's how she will want us to think of her right now. Nothing else." Theoden traced his fingers on the letters carved on the tombstone. Naia Saber.

Tears silently rolled down Yllana's cheeks as she listened to her father and sister. There was a dejected air hanging about them as the sun started to set down the horizon. Soon the light grew dim and the three of them vanished from the little hill.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"The number 1 Holy knight was alive. The magical insignia on her armor will forever be engraved along with the symbol of the North Kingdom which she had pledged allegiance to. If the council wishes to reclaim the position, we could ask for the mages to undo the seal on her soul." Elder Arod looked around the council and to the girl with black hair standing in front of them inside the royal court.

"No," her sweet voice reached their ears. "This Empress orders all of you to respect my father's decision over that matter."

"But Your Majesty-" an elder spoke quickly to rebut but the Empress quickly shushed him.

"With her as the Number 1 Holy Knight and her ties with our kingdom, we will be protected in the days to come." Sharp dark eyes scanned the old men. The previous Empress's crown sparkled on top of her short curly black hair as she spoke.

"Elder sister!"

All heads inside the room turned at the door. The young man about fourteen years old broke into the royal court.

"It is Empress now, Prince Devon. Please remember it."

"E-Empress...Since you have ascended the throne, may I know where does that leave me and my mother?"

Empress Blanche just looked at the young man before her. The yellow hair and sea-green eyes reminded her of the concubine her father took to the palace two decades ago. Since this prince hasn't harmed her in any way for the previous years, she never thought of doing anything to him and his mother. But that doesn't mean that she won't raise her guard against them. Knowing concubines' ambitions, she knew she would soon be challenged by the mother and son pair.

"If you want to know where the sisters went, you should start packing. This Empress heard that they would be going somewhere." Yrah Saber, one of the kingdom's archers caught the prince's fancy so she might as well use this card to make him busy for a while. Empress Blanche smiled.

Prince Devon immediately disappeared from their sights.

Elder Arod heaved a long sigh. "Now that that's settled, we have to think about the recruitment of our knights."

Another elder spoke, "True, it may seem we are protecting our women by not letting them into the ranks because we don't want them going to wars. That was years back when the population in the kingdom declined due to abductions from the demons. But who would have thought that two of our ten Holy Knights would be girls?"

"We allowed them to hide their identities through their masks, but that doesn't mean that we have to abolish that law. It's time we let the women enter knighthood if they want to."

"True, we could find other talents then."

"Elders..." Empress Blanche looked at the window. "This meeting then concludes letting the women enter the knighthood but still the privacy of their identities will be kept. If you still need this Empress's audience, you can call for me later today. Dismissed."

The elders dispersed one after another until only one remained.

"Elder Nemfreil, do you have something on your mind?" Empress Blanche looked inquisitively at the white-robed elder.

"Your Majesty, it is about the Noble Consort. I don't know what you were thinking letting them stay as they were. Aren't you afraid that they might cause trouble for you in the future?"

"What do you mean elder?"

"The Noble Consort of your father was merely a palace maid a few years back."

"Tell me what happened."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Where is she?" Lucien asked around the Saber Estate. Since the death of Yllana's mother has spread, the Saber Estate has been receiving numerous guests everyday who pay respects to the bereaved family. The news about the Holy Knights rebellion against the previous Empress also reached the community but no one dared to raise rumors.

"Surprising...you're not calling her 'that'." Midel snorted while flinging his slender arm onto his back. His silver robe swayed at his elegant movements.

"She was by the hill since this morning." Shiiba popped out from Midel's back like a blue ball bouncing out and about as she pointed at a small hill behind the Saber Estate. "She's doing some kind of magic seal in her mother's tomb."

Lucien's eyes shot wide as he dashed to the direction of the small hill. A magic seal? What could Yllana be thinking? What magic seal could she plant in a tombstone? Whatever it was, he was sure what kind of magic could be placed in a dead human's resting place.

"Midel, why is that idiot so worried about? It's not like she could bring the dead back to life, right?" Shiiba scrunched her forehead and scratched her head at her thoughts.

"She can't. That would be impossible. But something tells me that there is more that he knows. He is a powerful mage than her after all." Midel turned back towards the estate and called Shiiba to come along.

~~~~~~~~~~

There was no light in her red eyes. No happiness. Blank. Her face was blank. Ever since the death of her mother, Yllana heard a voice inside her head. She couldn't understand the language but she was sure it was the same as the one whispering spells to her. It was a faint voice that only belongs to a woman. And somehow she recognized it was her mother's when she heard her before the previous Empress killed her.

"Mother...I was too late." Yllana released a sliver of red and white light from her palms towards the stone. She uttered a few words and the stone was enveloped with the lights.

"Idiot!"

Yllana jolted as two slender arms hugged her from the back. She was familiar with who those arms belong to. The lights faded. She felt her mind clearing up bit by bit as the light started to return to her eyes.

"Lucien...why are you here?"