The Test

NOWEL

A small sigh escaped my lips as I stared back at my reflection in the mirror. I can't believe that it's been two years now, and today is when Gorgeous gets to have his final training or test. If he succeeds, then he will be given the Golden Phoenix badge and become an official knight of Andromeda! So exciting, isn't it?

"My princess, which corset would you like to put on today?"

I examined the corsets in her arms closely, deciding on which one would be less suffocating.

"The blue one or the red? Which one do you prefer, my princess?"

Hmm...Interesting. Which one do I prefer?

"The red one." I decided.

"Excellent choice my princess! Your gown would be ready in five minutes, and-"

"I want it blue." I cut her off, causing her to blink her eyes at me as if I had grown four heads.

"Excuse me?"

"I want my gown to be blue today with a matching red shoe and corset." It took her forever to recover from what I dropped on her. When did blue and red become my favorite dress code?

"But my princess, you wore that combination yesterday and..."

"Do you have a problem with that?"

"No! Not at all my princess! I'm just...never mind."

She hurried off to get my gown.

Am I being weird by choosing to wear that color almost every single day? I shrugged.

The Hall of Grace was full as today is a special day. Today is the day the soon-to-be official knights of Andromeda are given a task that they must accomplish. Whoever succeeds would be proclaimed a knight of Andromeda after two years of rigorous training.

This is the time we put what they have learned for two years to a test to determine how worthy they are to be part of Andromeda's knight squad. Whoever fails would be sent home and suffer years of embarrassment throughout his lifetime.

Being regarded as a knight, especially in Andromeda is not easy. The training is bearable, but the test is unbearable. Only the fittest and the strongest pass the test.

I sat on my throne and wore my crown with the help of my royal maids. Royal Consort Avana sat by my left and her three daughters: Juliet, Hannah, and Hilde sat comfortably by my right. All of them married the richest lords, knights, and councilors in Andromeda. Only the crown princess is opportune to marry royal blood or a prince. Anything besides that is stepped on.

"You do need to upgrade your fashion sense Nowel. You are becoming worse at it every day." She commented.

"Do you need a tutor on that or what? I believe the crown princess should always look her best even if she's asleep."

"Pardon me, Royal Consort Avana, but I believe that those who dress only for comfort are the ones with the best fashion sense. I don't need to adorn myself with gold and all the treasures of the world to look my best. I am okay with the way I dress as long as I am comfortable with it."

She laughed.

"I just hope that the way you dress gets us a deserving king as soon as possible."

I gave her a small smile and nodded. It would give me a good husband and a deserving king for my country. That, I am sure of.

The double doors opened as Master and about one hundred and nine trainees entered the Hall of Grace. The members of the Team A training squad.

"Greetings to the entire members of the royal court and the Crown Princess!" He bowed three times after saying that. "I hereby present to you the first team of my students! Who have no other dream and purpose in their life but to aspire to serve Andromeda to their last breath!"

No... other... purpose? What's that supposed to mean?

"A wonderful job you did here Gaius! One hundred and nine for the first batch is quite impressive. You shall be rewarded for this!" Illinois congratulated.

"Shall we now begin with the distribution of their various tasks at hand?"

Master nodded for Illinois to continue. Illinois stretched forth his hands and the silver papers were handed over to him. That's where the royal court decides what their various tests would look like. Even I'm curious to know what horrible fates in disguise of an adventure these young men would have to go through to become honorable knights of Andromeda.

"Team A shall journey through the valley of fire in the Eastern part of Andromeda, through the whispering forest, and pass the devil's den to conquer those who practice and follow in the footsteps of the old religion and the adornment of the once ancient dragon lords!"

Woah. That seems easy. I wonder what Gorgeous and his team would have to face.

"Weapons of various types, sizes, and techniques would be awarded to you to make it easier. Horses for easy transportation and limited medical facilities. Your task is to conquer those who practice the old religion of the adornment of the ancient dragon lords. The ones that shed more blood and have the heads of their victims as a testimony of their strength and valor would be awarded honorable knights of Andromeda, thirty crowns of pure gold, and forty barrels of salt to celebrate their victory.

Whoever doesn't make it back alive would be buried in the most dis-honoring way. Whoever sheds the least blood would be sent home and never have the opportunity to be tested again! He would be regarded as a failure throughout his lifetime on earth as well as ostracized. Are we clear on that?"

They all nodded. I shifted uncomfortably in my seating position as Team B arrived. They were smaller in number and made it easier to spot Gorgeous.

"I hereby present the second team of my students! Who has agreed to their dangerous calling to be a knight, and to defend their country!" He announced.

I tried my best to stay calm as Illinois was presented with the second silver paper to determine the fate of Team B.

I heard rumors that this silver paper is drafted by the royal wizard himself. Which is not good. I pity the members of this team, especially Gorgeous.

Illinois cleared his throat as he began to read out the frightening fate of the members of Team B.

"I am happy to announce that the members of Team B shall journey to the Isle of Moriah and through the flames of Gondor to the holy temples of the monks to fight with the ancient...creatures of hell. The wraiths."

I froze, as everybody gasped in horror!

What the hell?

.

.

.

"This...is simply outrageous!" Royal Consort Avana interjected angrily. "Are the members of the High Court this merciless?!" She stepped down from her throne to face Illinois. Even I was surprised to see Illinois shocked at what he just read out loud. I could see the fear in the eyes of the members of team B. Gorgeous, as usual, was indifferent.

"What kind of injustice is this?!" Royal consort Avana cried.

"I couldn't agree more to this Illinois, Is this a test or a death sentence?" Marcus questioned.

"We all know that the wraiths are immortals. They simply can't be murdered by a bunch of amateur knights! They are indestructible creatures that the gods created to torture the sinful immortal monks that mated with all kinds of ungodly acts." Adranus explained.

"I would not allow this nonsense to prevail on these poor young men. What kind of righteousness does this portray of us?" She said while putting her feet down. "Unbelievable!"

Illinois sighed as he dropped the papers on his lap. This is so frustrating, I know.

"Who drafted such an abomination amongst us? Who?!"

Nobody moved as no one was ready to take responsibility. We all fell silent as we stare at each other.

"Answer me! Or am I speaking to a bunch of heartless, dead royal idiots?!"

Honestly, I wondered the same. Who else could draft such a heartless task if not the devil amongst us? I glared daggers at him as he sat comfortably in his seated position. He has no sign of remorse on his face or pity, nor does he feel repentant at all.

I frowned.

Why in the world would someone be so. . .Oh, I get it now. He is not only being heartless and unreasonable. This is just him being an opportunistic bitch to eradicate the demon amongst us. What a brilliant move I must say. But I won't let you succeed in your dubious plans, Elys. It's time I make my move and put an end to his sneaky attempt to hurt Gorgeous.

I closed the door gently as I entered Illinois chambers. My heart broke as I met him seated by his balcony on a soft golden Arabian pillow. The silver papers were in his hands as he rubbed his forehead again and again.

For a moment there I pitied him.

I mean, You can't be working with the devil and wonder why you're in Hell.

I sat down on the golden pillow facing him. I placed a cup of water in front of him. He stared at the water for a long time before he dropped the silver papers on the table with an exhausting sigh. Even in the moonlight, I could see that he is overwhelmed by what happened in court today.

I guess that being the head of an entire court filled with vipers and demonic-obsessed freaks under the canopy of patriotism is not as easy as I thought it would be.

"What do you want?" The sound of his voice alone is enough to break my heart. Sometimes, being good is not enough for you to be noticed as a good leader. You need to be good and surrounded by good associates as well. It is a vain government if only the head is righteous, and those that rule alongside him are...you know, corrupt.

"Michael to be transferred to another group," I said, and he scoffed.

"You know that is not possible,"

"Can you at least try?" I begged.

He shook his head.

"I'm sorry Princess." He muttered as he emptied the cup in his hands. "Being a leader does not mean that I should be unrighteous. I have to play fair."

But the person that drafted those tasks isn't playing fair! I wanted to scream out. Instead, I looked down and realized how selfish of me to want to involve Illinois in this and ruin his reputation. I stared at the silver papers on the table and an idea crept into my mind.

"Who drafted these papers?"

"The white wizard. Why?"

Oh. So it was that son of a witch. The rumors were true. What part of staying away from my demon, does he not understand?

I guess that action speaks better than words. I smirked.