GOLDEN

Admission

- 1 month earlier -

A loud roar of people erupted in the stadium as yet another two opponents were taken down with ease.

Another victory for the two stars, the Twin Flames! Theyre onto the last pair, our kingdoms strongest fighters, the Gladiators! The crowd boomed as the two women looked to each other, linking their pinkies together.

"Shoot for the moon," Abel began as they linked hands," And even if you miss, youll land among the stars." Akira finished. They smiled at each other and turned to their opponents Orcs.

After a long, hard fought match, Abel assisted Aki in defeating the other orc. With that they stood on their large knocked out bodies in triumph. Akira and Abel looked onto the silent crowd.

"A-and the winners are the Twin Flames! Lets hear It for the new Champions!" With the announcement of their win, the stadium burst into loud cheers and encouragement for them. Akira and Abel high-fived and left the stadium to receive their cash prize.

Throughout the day, the commoners congratulated the two on their victory as they walked around the village running errands. Akira and Abel spoke in calm conversation before being, almost rudely, interrupted by a man aboard a royal steed. His broad stature suggested he was a royal guard.

"Are you those who go by the names, 'Akira Solaris' and 'Abel Nightshade,'?" He questioned, his low voice rumbled. The two looked toward each other in shock. The surrounding villagers once loud bustling voices came to a soft, taunting whisper that only who they were spoking to could make out.

"Yes, we are. What business do you request of us?" Abel answered, her posture shifting into a tall proud one, the shorter of the two followed suite.

He pulled out a scroll from his mulberry coat, opening it and reading it aloud, "A formal request of the king has been released to retrieve the persons, 'Abel Nightshade of the Nightshade clan' and 'Akira Solaris of the Solaris clan' for an audience with the king before the sun sets on this present day. Signed, Vincent Orchard and His Royal Highness." He completed reading off the scroll and rolled it, placing it back into the pocket he pulled it from.

"Have we done wrong by the king?" Akira asked, lightly worried and confused.

"That is for his royal highness to preach, now, you will report to the castle 3 hours before sunset, as stated in the scroll. You will not be a moment later, or you will face possible consequence. You will have royal escorts at your respective homes an hour before your arrival time. Dress accordingly." With that final statement, the royal guard lowered his read respectfully before taking his leave.

"What could King Rowan possibly want with the likes of us, Abel?" Akira asked as they walked together briskly back to their respective homes, which happened to be not far from one another.

Abel shrugged, adjusting the bag of grapes in her right hand to be more comfortable as her pace quickened, "I don't have a clue. I mean our clans are respectable but other than that, we haven't had an audience with the king since her royal highness's passing." Akira nodded and stopped at her house, bidding farewell to her oldest friend.

Exactly as promised, the two arrived to seek the audience of the king at the given time, their bottoms in light pain from the unfamiliarity of horse riding. They both wore their respective clans dress uniform meant for important meetings, such as this.

Abel, representing the Nightshade clan, wore a black, mid thigh length straight dress, cinched around the waist by red buckles. She had a black, collared dress trench coat draped over her shoulders with various earned ribbons and gold chains attaching to the shoulder plates. Her clans crescent moon pin on the center of her dress shone proudly in the sunlight.

Akira, representing the Solaris clan, wore a crimson, mid thigh, skintight collared dress. The slit in the right thigh gave clear to the Solaris clan's emblem that was attaches to the top of the slit, the gold chain that hung from it was attached to a red thigh strap. Draped over her shoulders was a white dress trench coat with collar devices on the shoulders. The left of her chest was decorated in earned medals and ribbons from her clan. Both women were dressed out to impress and proudly show off their clans.

Upon meeting the king, he greeted them formally before getting straight into business.

"Abel Nightshade of the Nightshade clan from the Land of the Moon, and Akira Solaris of the Solaris clan from the Land of Eos. I have heard whispers about you both throughout the castle, I must say, you two have out done yourselves. Truly, you have my praise." He nodded to the both of them. Akira cleared her throat.

"Oh, we didnt mean for that, my lord, we just love a challenge." Abel stated before Akira spoke, flustered by the king's praise.

"If I may, my lord, what is the meaning of this meeting, surely you didnt call us in for us to talk about our fight?" Akira asked, earning a stern look from Abel. The king shook his head and smiled.

"No, of course not. Your mentor had given me a thought a while back and now that Ive finally seen you two in action, I have a proposal. I propose that you two become personal bodyguards for two of my sons." The two women were stunned by that proposal. Surely he wasn't serious, two women becoming royal guards? It's unheard of outside the Orc kingdoms.

"Im not made to be a body guard, respectfully, but I am good at strategy." Abel responded, choosing her words carefully.

"Same here, but if I may, whats in it for us?" Akira asked, shifting her weight to her right heel.

"Wealth, status, and your families will no longer suffer for as long as this kingdom stands. Although your families are both well respected, it is no secret they have fallen from their glory days. You could return that glory. So... what say you?" The king finally asked. With that, the two women thought, not for long, and agreed.

Now, following one of the royal guards into the cellar of the Warlocks, they began their month long journey to becoming Royal Guards.