Regent Witch

Chapter One

A grim silence consumed the lobby. Sir Lucas stared at the fireplace, watching the flames slowly devour the black kindle. There was a stern frown on his face, one that could have been permanent if he didn't change his expression any time soon. However, doing so wasn't that easy. In his many years of serving the king, never in his lifetime did he expect this to actually happen. Were they this desperate for hope that they had to resort to such actions?

Pressing the bridge of his nose, Sir Lucas swallowed and turned to the others in the lobby. Four of the king's chief advisers and a few royal knights were present. They either sat on the cushions, or leaned back against the walls. Judging by the looks on their faces, they shared Sir Lucas's thoughts on the matter.

"She's been in there for too long," Sir Lucas suddenly spoke. The other men turned their heads towards the aged knight. "I'm going to check his majesty."

Sir Lucas traveled across the room and went straight for the door to the king's bedroom. He grabbed the doorknob, but before he could twist it, another knight jumped in and grabbed his shoulder.

"Sir Lucas, wait," Sir Gregory, a knight of equal rank and status, said. "His majesty told us to not enter, until she was done."

"Done doing what?!" Sir Lucas hissed. "Wait until she is done poisoning our king?!"

"Sir Lucas, I know you're upset about this arrangement," Sir Gregory replied. "I don't like what is going on. None of us do. However, his majesty summoned for her and commanded us to wait, until she was finished. Do you intend to disobey his majesty's commands, especially in his current state?"

The aged knight frowned even harder. His eyebrows looked ready to fall from place. He looked down at the doorknob and saw his hand throbbing to twist it and open the door. As his hand remained fixed on the doorknob, he soon heard the sound of metal clunking behind him. Sir Lucas didn't need to turn back to inspect where the clunking sound was coming from.

Including Sir Gregory, there were four other knights quietly waiting in the lobby. Were they planning to restrain him? They were welcome to try. Pride and experience whispered in his ear, telling him that he could have easily taken all four of them down without much difficulty.

His hand took a slight turn. The clunking sounds turned into footsteps. Sir Lucas felt Sir Gregory's fingers press on his shoulders.

Grinding his teeth, Sir Lucas loosened his grip and released the doorknob. With an aggravated sigh, he shoved Sir Gregory to the side and sat on one of the cushions. Bending over, he stared at the ground and pressed his forehead.

As much as he wanted to check his king, as well as close friend, he was still a knight and bound by oath to follow whatever order was given to him, even if he didn't like it.

Frederick Argos, ruler of the Runega Kingdom, was gravely ill and he only grew worse with each passing day. The finest doctors, healers, alchemists and even sorcerers were called across the land to cure him, but not a single person has even come close. Then one day, the king called for one last person. She was a woman of the forest, who dabbled in curses and dark spells - a witch. She was the kind of person Sir Lucas and the other knights were ordered to hunt and execute. Why would the king summon a witch, of all people?

Time slowly passed by. Seconds felt like minutes and minutes felt like painful hours. Sir Lucas quietly watched the fireplace, until most of the kindle was nothing more than pile of soot. Just what was going on in there?

Sir Lucas was ready to stand and make another attempt to inspect the king. However, just as he stood up, the doors slowly creaked open. The witch stepped out of the room, cleaning her hands with a brown cloth.