Old Friends (1) -Edit -

4019, Same day, Mist Kingdom. 3:00 PM

There was no reason in particular for him to rush to the Mist Kingdom. However, his selfish idea of wanting to see her brushed aside. He had a bad omen. While he usually doesn't believe in such things, the contents of the other letter bothered him greatly. He marched towards the gate, despite his hood covering his cape and his carriage bearing no mark of his Kingdom.

"Open the gates, the King of Wind is coming through."

Allen raised his eyebrows in amusement; it had been quite some time since he last came here and yet the guards still knew of his existence. Perhaps it was because of the lasting effects of their long engagement. "Where is the Queen?" He asked calmly.

"Well..."

The massive gates opened, and he spotted her standing by the orchard tree in the center. She spun around, eyes bright. There she stood, the woman who is his former fiance from birth. The woman who he also had to let go.

"Allen! "she greeted with a bright smile.

"It's good to see you."

"Yes."

It's been quite some time since he last saw her, but the woman had grown increasingly more beautiful than before. She must have waited here for him. Allen got off his horse, brushed any signs of dirt away from his clothes.

"There's time before the tournament start. Do you wish to take a stroll with me?" Lyn asked.

"It would be an honor," his lips curved to a smile. He turned to his guards, "Leave us."

The guards looked at him puzzled, "Huh? But sir..." Allen frowned, why are they protesting? Do they think Lyn will harm him? Indeed usually one should be wary when meeting the ruler of another Kingdom, but Lyn is his former fiance.

"It's quite alright." The voice belonged to the mist kingdoms head advisor, "The two are old friends."

"Is—it that so?."

Pupillam nodded.

............

Of course, people of their position could not take a peaceful stroll without being stopped.

His gaze lands on the Queen of Mist Lyn; currently, she spoke with the Elders. From this distance, Allen could see her expression changing every so often - perhaps because of the shift in topic from one elder to another.

She has changed a lot. Allen could no longer see any distinction of the girl he once knew. Though it had only been a year since he last saw her, she's changed a great deal. Lyn had now transformed into a beautiful young woman with long jet black hair and crystal blue eyes. He always found there to be something interesting about the girl's eyes — something about them that reminded him of jewels.

At first, it appeared as if she had a meek and obedient character. Later on, Allen learned that she had a strong and honest personality. Lyn did not hold back expressing her displeasure on the ways of the elite and treated everyone, even those without rank equally.

Allen discovered this during the night of the banquet during their first formal meeting. From the looks of things, it appears to be the case still. However, there was something about her that seemed different compared to before, though he can't exactly put his mind to it.

"Carlo, What have you been looking around for aimlessly for a while?" Allen finally asked his bodyguard.

While he wanted to take a peaceful stroll with her, his stubborn second Knight followed him.

"That is ...don't you think it's strange? The Queen's number of guards. ...."

Allen glanced over at the guards that hovered not too close to Lyn but not too far. From where he was looking, he could only spot 3 in contrast to the 5. He heard that her head knight and mage, and the 7-10th knight were not around. But still, the security appears very relaxed.

"...Izumi-san isn't here." Carlo commented.

Izumi Kyouya. The guy reeked of suspicion to him. Perhaps it was because of his eastern origin. The unusual hair color aside there was something about those eyes that reeked of evil. Yet when he questioned her about the grey hair guard during the earlier stages of their meeting. She merely laughed it off and told him not to worry. She's a reckless woman, though he aware of that, even he knew that she wouldn't keep someone dangerous by her side.

"Carlo Do you know how they chose the royal guards for the Queen," Allen asked. His guard shook his head, and Allen continued, " Its different from the usual procedure. Sure there is still the test of bravery, strength and nobility rank. However, the girls family requires one other requirement. A certain jewel must be engraved in a visible area of their bodies."

Carlo caught on immediately and frowned, "But Izumi-san doesn't have..."

Allen nodded, " Which is why I regarded him as suspicious at first."

Carlo raised his eyebrows, " Not anymore?"

"No I do still see him as suspicious, " he said, his guard looked puzzled. But Allen didn't feel the need to explain it. Indeed he still saw the guy as suspicious. However, as long as Lyn kept him by her side, then Allen wouldn't question her. Yet the second that there's an opening to investigate, he wouldn't hesitate at all to do so. Besides, the one that is most suspicious now is that young girl. He recalled the contents of the letter for him. He better keep an eye out on her during his stay.

Lyn made her way over to him, " Sorry about that. I didn't think they'd take that long to speak with me."

"It cannot be helped. The two elders haven't seen you since the first banquet and a good deal of time has passed since then,"

"That's true." she trailed off, "It was exhausting."

Allen noticed that Lyn was unusually sweating a lot, he took out a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to her. " If you are tired tell me. I can bring you to your chambers."

Lyn shook her head, "It's almost time for the jousting tournament. I wanted to walk with you, but I guess there's not much time."

"We can take a walk when you're free. I'll be staying for a few days."

"Really? Then, I'll take you up on that invitation."

Seeing the girls gentle gaze, he smiled. It's been quite some time since he was last able to spend time with her like this.