Castle Crashers: Journey

Introduction

       "How are you enjoying the party, my darlings?" the aged King Bertrand asked his four daughters. It was each princess's birthday, though they were not the same age. The four adopted sisters Katrina, Eva, Maria and Eleanor were seated at the head table with their foster father, the king. And believe it when you hear it, none of them were your conventional real life middle ages princess.

       Katrina was a redhead, and her personality fit her hair colour like a tight glove. Unlike most princesses of her era, she was not interested in embroidery and that dreadful lot of things. She was a warrior to be feared, efficient in all forms of combat. Her younger sister Eva was not so terribly different.

        Younger by only two years, Eva had always looked up to Katrina, and she also was well suited for combat. She was blonde, but her personality was more like Katrina's: intense. And despite popular belief, she had more brains than brawn. She was very skilled in politics and espionage. She could talk her way out of many a situation.

        Maria was more of a strategist than anything. Dark skinned and dark haired, the fair maiden was not a warrior, but a sage. She loved science, but was not an atheist. Very modest and quiet, she was an accomplished chemist, astronomer and physician. She would have made an excellent queen, but that title would not fall to her. Well... maybe it would, depending on the situation...

        Eleanor was the youngest of the four, and she was quite the person. If there was an unconventional princess of unconventional princesses, it would be her, despite her elegant name. She was both a prankster and comedian, but would fight to the death to protect her own. She dyed her hair purple, and despite their slightly opposing personalities, she and Eva were closest to each other.

       The king had invited five very important guests, four of whom hadn't entered the great hall just yet. The congregation was waiting to welcome the members of the order of the Knights of the Crown in full.

       Sir Hawkin, a former knight and the kingdom's current royal blacksmith, had seen their faces, for he trained them himself, and knowing them, he knew they would have arrived in the night to hide their weapons in case of attack and only pretend to be late. Most of the knights had done this, as usual.

        Hawkin was an older knight, who served under King Bertrand in the wars before the Knights of the Crown became established. He was such a formidable knight and good friend of Bertrand, the king allowed him to wear the royal colour purple. Eventually, his wounds began to catch up with him, and he retired from service on the field, but still aided however he could.

       Lady Jesmayne may have been the newest of the order, but she was the oldest and only female out of the five members. Not by much, mind you. She had watched the order of the Knights of the Crown be established, and had trained hard to join them. Although, she was unaware of the original four's customs, and was thus on time. She had already taken her seat, but was itching in lofty suspense, just waiting to find out what secrets the order held, for she had been kept in the dark. Her magic was odd, but very effective. It revolved around, of all the bloody things, love. She did fancy one of the order, but for some reason unknown to her, he was immune to her devices, magical or otherwise.

        Back at the present moment, the sisters nodded in response to their father's question with differing levels of smiles on their faces. Each was enjoying the activities and food.

       There was an unintelligible announcement from the door, causing the crowd to steadily silence themselves.

       Then, four trumpeters entered the room, each dressed in red, orange, blue or green, and in unison, each played their lord's anthem, resulting in a glorious melody. The hall was dead silent in rapt attention. All eyes were on the massive doors...

       Which remained shut.

       The herald in blue shook his head with an amused smile plastered on his face. The one in orange, probably new to the job, actually looked behind him, concern evident on his face.

        And finally, they entered.