Chapter 12 - Level 3 Access

She says, "I'll have to have a word with the king about this false promise, first. Then only he will provide you with an audience. He will test you if you're worthy of the knowledge and how much knowledge. It might get very serious if he doesn't believe in us."

He agrees with her decision and he also worries about meeting the King of this nation. They talk more about their plan to persuade the King. They think carefully about what to say to the King when they meet. After the talk, Alex goes back to the place he was staying at to bring back his luggage and shifts at the guest house of the princess.

This is the first time the princess has brought a man and a request for the king. The King is suspicious of the new man who has enticed the princess to open up the royal door. There are strict rules in the palace for who comes into the palace and goes out. Everything is recorded. The king knew about everything, he had gotten the information on all the activities of Alex they could find. The King sets up a date to meet Alex the day after tomorrow. This gives them enough prep time to get their lies straightened out and not get caught.

The given time was utilised by the princess and Alex. They devised a plan of all their backstory about meeting and discussion on books and literature and science and inventions for the betterment of society. They covered every topic that could help them not get caught. Alex talked more about her new powers, if she could feel and develop it more. She said that she couldn't test it under the prying eyes of the palace. If anyone knew it could bring her more trouble. They didn't talk about that topic anymore. The princess spent most of the time with him learning new things about him and herself. She could imagine a new life away from this palace; away from the grasp of the king. She felt happy that her dreams of breaking the chains of this palace and running away might come true. Their stories were perfectly matched and mixed with truths and lies. A perfect balance to avoid suspicion.

They enter the hall of the King, There are no subjects present. Only The King and his counsellor. Alex walks calmly while the princess gets nervous. To get rid of her nervousness, He walks quickly and bows to give respect and greets The King. The princess follows suit. He looks up to the king and sees the majestic aura from him. The King has worn a mantle with a sceptre in his one hand. His other hand gripped to the finial of the throne. The beard on him looks like it's crafted by a sculptor to show elegance in each strand that stands testament to his years of rule. The different shades of colours showing the wisdom of his.

Alex is star-struck by the king. The King observes carefully while listening to the counsellor. The counsellor is a timid man with an expression that shows that he knows everything. He is the man with the utmost knowledge in this palace. All the pride he holds in his knowledge is seen from his expression and the lights that reflected from his plain glasses. The King says, "Do you know the value of what you ask?"

He says very confidently, "I was awarded by the princess herself. I am sure she rewarded me accordingly."

King checks him out and says, "I can't take back her words. So I'll give you access to the library but it will be limited to the 3rd level. It's the first time she has brought an outsider. I had a lot of questions but I'll skip them for now. If any suspicious moment is seen from you; You will die. I suggest you take every step in this palace with great consideration."

He makes a bow and thanks the king. He is relieved that there was not much questioning. But the warning from the king made him worried about kidnapping the princess later to take her to the Wild Kingdom. He knows once he takes that step. There won't be any turning back. He needs to gather more knowledge about the kingdoms and fulfil his mission. Princess also bows to thank the King.

The counsellor who had been quietly standing says, "I have informed the staff in the library, you can go read from now on. The staff will take care of your needs."

They leave the throne room in relief. They had a lot of planning done for this. They wanted to show a worthy side of Alex, so the King could approve his access to the library. She wonders why did the king go easy on them. She was sure that there would be a lot of questions for this. She is not sure why it was approved quickly but she was relieved that it did. He can now read at the library while they make the plan for their great escape from this place. To the new adventures that await them.

She guides him to the library. He is astonished by the size of it. The books' racks were arranged in parallel to each other. And the racks just go to the end. He could barely see the end. She tells him that the end of the hall is the end of the 3rd level. The hall extends more to the 9th level. She tells him that she hasn't even gone beyond the 5th level. There is also a 10th level where only the King and his successor can go. No one else is allowed. He is intrigued by all the levels he was hearing of. But he is only allowed to the 3rd level. So he forgot about mysterious further levels and just started browsing through the books that he can read. She leaves him to his own demise in the library.

Alex reads through a lot of books and gains much more knowledge on how magic can work more fluidly and smoothly. There were books by many scholars that explored the basics of magic. There were also books of adventure around the continent. Many unsolved mysteries and magical places that have been found. He learns about other cultures and animals and beasts. He found himself in a river of knowledge about this country and its neighbours. All of this reading made him more intrigued about what's beyond the 3rd level. He keeps researching about this new world and new information he can find that can help him in his mission.

He has been in the library for a few weeks. The staff are incredibly helpful in providing him with daily necessities. Princess visits the library every so often but isn't able to communicate with him. This time she came prepared to take him away from the library.

She takes a few minutes to find him in the long hallway. She sees him searching for some book. She quickly stops him and makes his all attention gather on her. She says, "I have dinner tonight with my fiance. You have to join as well. I got the King's permission."

She leaves him quickly without telling him any more details. He is weirded about it but continues with his reading. He is more concerned about how to kidnap her and not die. He is trying to prepare himself for everything. He couldn't find any detailed information about the Wild Kingdom. Now he has a chance to speak with the King, maybe he can tell him more.

A servant comes in the evening to provide him with proper clothing to attend the dinner. He gets ready for it. He just has a rough idea about the princess' fiance. He does not worry about it much. He thinks that he will just concentrate on his food and subtly ask about the Wild Kingdom.

The dinner was set in a room with a round table. He was the first one to arrive. He was then made to sit on the chair pre-selected for him. He waited and after a while two people joined in. It was the fiance and his father. The guy looked dashing with royalty dripping from his expensive cloth and hair do. He had a round face and a bulky physique. He looked very strong. The father was bald with a big moustache which he kept stroking. Making the moustache twirl more curly. They both were also assigned their respective chair.

They were all sitting quietly and Alex was thinking to introduce himself when the big door flung open. The King and the Princess by his side entered the room. Everyone stood to greet the king and then after the king sat everyone else resumed their work and sat at their position. The fiance greets the princess separately to gain her affection and even after sitting you can see him stealing glances at her as if he is completely smitten by her beauty. The princess was no ordinary beauty, this situation was nothing new to her. Alex was only interested in the food that the king eats. He thinks the food would be expensive and will have transcending taste. It's the food the King eats, it will be anything but normal.

The fiance says, "I Marquis Aaron Pegasus, am honoured to have been considered as a suitor for Princess Of Dracus, Cecilia."

His father the Duke also joins in and says, "I Duke William Pegasus is also honoured to have the holy matrimony between my house and the Kings."

King speaks, "Very well, Aaron you have been very successful in the army. I've heard you are commanding your troops well and have achieved great feats with them. Your team is now an elite carrying out difficult tasks over the border. Keep improving like this."

He thanks the king for commending his achievements and tells him that he will keep on bringing better results. That he is still improving and has a lot to achieve as a person. The princess also commends him on his achievements and he gets shy. He was proud when the king complimented him. The food is brought in and served in a few minutes. There are a lot of different types of food. Many vegetables and meat are cut in various ways. King is served food first on his plate. When the King starts eating, others can start eating after that. Alex enjoys his food, he was fatigued by a lot of reading in the past few weeks. He remembered he hadn't said anything at this dinner. He cleared his throat and thanked the king for giving him an opportunity to read at the library. He also mentioned he had learned a lot from the past few weeks. His thank you speech went a little long. He cheered for the King's kingdoms and drank the wine.

King says, "It seems you really enjoy reading. The princess's decision to reward you with access to the library was right."

Marquis Aaron adds, "My fiance Cecilia has the kindest heart of them all. And she knows how to find kind souls through her kind heart." He adds more comments about how impressive the princess is.

Alex thinks Marquis is trying to impress the girl and ignores his remarks. Considering it to be the mumbling of a buffoon in love.

Princess also ignores his remarks and says to the King, "Your Majesty, Thank you for believing in me. I have learned to reward only worthy people and to reward what I am capable of giving."

The princess had gotten a lesson in "Rewards and Punishments". While Alex was studying in the library these past few weeks. The princess was getting the lesson engraved in her about how she should carry out giving rewards and punishment to the general populace or her aids. She had learned the proper way and was overeducated on this topic.

The King looks at Alex and says, "We should set up a meeting in the next week. I can impart some knowledge as well. I've heard about your high intelligence. You could be of some help to me as well."

It was a perfect opportunity for him. He agreed right away. He now doesn't need to interrupt this dinner to get information about the Wild Kingdom. He can ask it in a much more safe space(could be highly dangerous as well).

After The King's appetite was full, he left the table. But before leaving he said to the Duke to push the ring ceremony date further. That this wasn't a good time. The Duke happily agreed as if he knew the circumstances and had huge respect for the King's words. The Marquis Aaron looked sad but bowed respectfully to the King. The princess also followed the King.

The Duke, The Marquis and Alex remained on the table. Alex introduced himself formally and told them about his story and how he met the princess. He told them about his reward. They talked a little. Marquis kept praising the princess even in her absence. He was totally in love. Alex felt sad for him as he was praising the princess, he felt that he was stealing someone's love. They talked for a while and began to like each other. Marquis felt he had made a connection with someone who respects the princess as much as he does. Alex was praising the princess a lot for rewarding him with a great opportunity. The Duke shakes hands with him and invites him to visit whenever he is in their territory. Alex thanks them for a great talk and leaves the room with them. They go their separate ways.

Alex went back to the library to read some more before the face to face meeting with the King.