Let's make a deal

"Question: Is the enemy of my enemy, my friend?"

…

"What's in it for you?" Alexander asked. "Surely you want something in return, right?"

"No it's not like that… we just want to help you, or do you want to go to prison for disturbing the peace with that incident from last night?" Heather tried to play it off but ended up indirectly threating him.

"So than… it's like that?"

The meeting took a different turn for the worst. Alexander was beginning to piece everything out. On the other hand, Katherine felt like she made a mistake trusting Heather. Quincy stay out of the discussion, because it didn't concern him at that moment. Since Heather retired from being the Queen, she had more time on her hands. Apart from teaching at the academy, she keeps an eye on the kingdom.

"Last night you spoke with Hunter?" Heather asked trying to avoid Alexander's question.

"And how would you know that?" Alexander dodged her question. "Unless you already knew he was there."

"If I did, what use is it to you?"

"Then you know the reason he was here?"

The conversion started to feel like a game of chess. Nobody was getting any straight answers, both of them kept avoiding the question. Heather and Alexander fired of questions at each other, but no one was losing face. Tension was raising, both of them wanted answers. Quincy and Katherine watched awkwardly at the two as they went back and forward. This went on for over 20 minutes, and the two were still going strong. Finally, Quincy clapped his hands interrupting the two, he suggested a short break to allow Heather and Alexander to calm down.

"Heather please tell us what's going on? If we know was the situation is maybe… maybe, we could help?" Katherine suggested after the two calmed down.

"We are getting nowhere. At least we could try that Heather, don't you think?" Quincy added.

Heather took a deep breath before explaining the reason behind everything. "It won't hurt to tell you. The Kingdom of Samar as well as the Kingdom of Narvarh have been trying to find something in my Kingdom. The two kingdoms have sent their spies to infiltrate my kingdom." Heather began to explain. Alexander and Katherine glared at each other as if they wanted permission to speak.

"Okay, Hunter spoke about King Samar's legacy, but he didn't say what it was." Katherine recalled the incident from the previous night.

"It's safe to say that item is powerful. Powerful enough that they are willing to risk coming here… but I have notice a lot of enemy activities just outside the academy. It's safe to say what they want, is rumored to be here." Quincy added.

Alexander sat quietly biting his thumb, as he was lost in thought. It was if he was having a conversion with himself. 'I know Hunter, and he knows me. It's safe to say he doesn't know what he is looking for? He probably wants me to find it… which means it's something that can tip the balance of power. If that's the case, then surely the Kingdom of Narvarh would want this too. They might send Ericka, I'm smart but not as smart as her. She the opposite of Hunter and might have a better shot at finding it, but she may pay us a visit sooner or later. Maybe she's already at the house… speaking of the house?'

Katherine notice Alexander was not paying attention. She shook him to get his attention, but instead of saying something smart, he asked the most random question imaginable. "Your place is way too fancy, who's paying for it?" That's took everybody by surprise.

"It's technically… not mine." Katherine answered awkwardly. "It's one… of the Queen's houses."

"Damn, she basically played you."

"Well I wanted to help her, then I heard your name Alexander." Heather added. "Now start talking before I kick you out."

Alexander began talking about the previous night and why Hunter came after them. He told them about the King's legacy that Hunter wanted. He also mentioned why they may be looking of it.

"You know I can here to forget about the war, but it seems to be following me where ever I go." Alexander explained.

Heather remained silent for the time being. She missed her opportunity to speak with Hunter herself, but he managed to escape before she got to him. Heather began to explain her side of the story.

"Okay here is the deal. Someone informed us about you two." Heather pointed to Alexander and Katherine. "So we knew you were heading to Valentia. Meeting Katherine was a coincident, and since you two were a team, I know Alexander was not far behind."

"So you blacked mailed her?" Alexander asked slamming his hand on the table.

"Yes, but also I needed some strong mages for something. My kingdom is under attack from both sides and these… shadows… are hiding in my kingdom. They want something here and I want to know what it is?"

"Let's make a deal, a new deal. Something we could all be satisfied with." Alexander raised a new idea.

Alexander suggested to help the Queen find what the other kingdoms are looking for. In return they drop any lingering threats they might use against them. Heather thought about it but before she could answer Katherine interrupted. "What about teaching at the academy? Is that deal off the table now?" she asked.

"Well you still lack experience." Quincy explained. "But it's still too early. One of the instructors is retiring at the end of the year. So the instructor position will be opened then, but that doesn't you can simply apply.

The Queen tried to convince the head master to reconsider. She would teach them the basics for one year, and let them take the instructors exams. She also tried to convince Quincy by using Alexander's sword.

Heather thought over Alexander's idea, it almost felt too good to be true, but deep down she didn't want to rely on two outsiders. On the other hand, she was curious about the magic abilities of Katherine and Alexander. A girl with infinite supply of magic and a boy who could cut down magic. These two mages shatter all logic and reason with their abilities. She wanted to know more about this rare couple, but the other thing is that she felt a strange aura about the two. For the time being Heather agreed on the new deal, keeping them close would be beneficial for Valentia. Alexander and Katherine could both train under her and continue living at her house, if they agreed on the terms for the time being.

Their meeting finally came to an end, but the tension from earlier still linger on. It's late evening and one of the two suns was setting. The sky was bright orange making it look like it was on fire. Heather and Quincy walked ahead of Alexander and Katherine as they made their way out.

"Are you sure about this?" Katherine whispered, hoping Heather and Quincy would not hear.

"No! but if it means one less kingdom to deal than it okay." Alexander replied.

"But are you okay with that? Working for another kingdom I mean?"

"Technically we will be working for the Queen. We could still run away if things go south. Maybe find an island next time?" he laughed silently.

All four made their way out of the main building of the academy, but Heather suddenly stopped in front of the gate. She felt something off but could tell what it was. Everyone else stopped as well, not knowing what was happening. Alexander picked up on something faint, he looked back at the main building but saw nothing, until he raised his head up. At the main building of the academy, there was a huge clock with a bell under it, and on top of the clock was a shadowy figure. Alexander turned everybody's attention towards the shadowy figure, it turned out it was a man judging by his body. He was wearing all black clothing, and judging by his appearance he was a spy for one of the other kingdoms. While everyone was distracted but the man, 4 more shadowy figures with the same clothing appeared and surrounded them. At that point it was clear that they were mages sent by someone.

Suddenly a huge magic circle appeared under everyone's feet. One of the shadows was kneeling down cast the magic circle. Before anyone could react, they were caught in a second spell which paralyzed them. Alexander was too slow and couldn't draw out his sword, he could have use it to stop the spells. The spell on the ground was finally complete and it teleported everyone who was present. The magic circle opened up again at a different location, but instead of teleporting them to the ground, the dropped all nine people from the sky.

Everybody fell into a forest just a few kilometers outside Valentia's capital city. Inside the forest more of the shadow mages appeared surrounding Alexander and everybody else. At that point Alexander and the rest were outnumbered and left with no choice but to defend themselves.

…

"Question: Is the enemy of my enemy, my friend?"

"Answer: No. the enemy of my enemy, is just another enemy."