Against the Shadows|| A Zodiac Story

Two

"Their king has recently come back from war conquering four kingdoms in only five years." One of the heads of the higher nobles' family leaned closer to the table as he pushed the idea further.

"If we can get them to join our kingdom, we can be unstoppable." He continued.

"We agree on this idea, Your Majesty. They'll be able to lend their power to our kingdom and strengthen our military even further." Another noble spoke up with the other nobles at the table showing their support to the idea as well.

"And since he hasn't really been ruling the kingdom since his coronation five years ago, we can use that to our advantage. We can offer help and control the kingdom in the shadows." The duke smiled wickedly as he eyed the king sitting silently on the other side of the table.

"That won't do. He has experience in leadership and has been commanding the kingdom's military for years. There's also that royal adviser who is rumored to be a political prodigy." The king's adviser, who is standing behind the king, spoke up. His disagreement with the duke made the latter scowl.

"Even if we manage to bypass him and help their king in ruling, we would have a major problem once our intentions get revealed." The adviser continued ignoring the duke's eyes on him.

"He is right. It's a risky move." The king finally spoke up looking in the duke's direction with a cold gaze.

"But if he manages to fall in love, we will have him in our hands like a puppet." The adviser replied with a malicious grin.

"That will be up to the seduction skills of the princess..." The marquess replied showing the same wicked grin.

"This is what's best for the kingdom, Your Majesty." The adviser suggests and with a moment of silence, the king finally responded with an equally evil smile.

"Bring the princess to my study. And all of you are dismissed." The king stood up with a greedy smile that reached from ear to ear making some of the nobles shudder in fear.

The king marched to his study and after a few minutes of waiting, he was alerted by a knock on the door.

"F-Father? It's me." The princess' voice sounded on the other side of the door.

"Enter." The king coldly replied.

"You've asked for my presence, father?" The princess shifted her weight from one foot to the other as she stood in front of her father.

"You are leaving in two weeks to marry King Scorpio of Calaestia, the neighboring kingdom." The king indifferently announced while the princess froze in her place upon hearing his words.

"I've already sent a messenger to Calaestia so after we hear from him, you'll go and marry the king. That's all. You are dismissed." The king continued as the princess tried to process what he just said and what he was saying. 

"I said, you are dismissed!" The king repeated himself in a dark tone forcing the princess to exit his study.

"Princess Pisces! I-I heard the nobles talking just now. Y-You are getting married?" A young maid approached her as she walked away from her father's study. She followed Pisces while catching her breath from running around the castle.

"Yes... The king told me." The princess responded still wrapping her head around the news of her marriage.

"I bet he is one handsome king! And with your beauty, your highness, I'm sure he would fall straight in love with you." The maid giggled. "I'm sure you would make a great couple." She added but Pisces stayed silent and continued walking.

"I want to be alone." She told the maid as they arrived in her chambers. Without waiting for the maid's response, she entered the room and closed the door behind her.

"The princess must have been devastated... Marrying someone she hasn't even met." She heard the maid speaking on the other side of the door. "I should have been more careful talking about it. I can't believe I spoke so insensitively."

"Mary! You spoke with the princess?" Another voice appeared.

"AH! Anne and Erika, you two are here," Mary said upon seeing the two maids who approached her.

"I heard she was marrying the red king-- I-I mean, King Scorpio. Poor girl." One of the newly arrived maids said.

"What why?" Pisces heard Mary exclaim.

"From what I heard from the travelers in the market, he was a bloodthirsty monster. He led his army to conquer kingdoms and slaughter people mercilessly." Pisces' face twisted in horror as she leaned closer to hear them from the door.

"I heard his eyes turned red because of his unquenchable thirst for blood. He also beheaded all the kings of the lands he conquered and killed all the remaining royal families." The maid continued.

"T-T-That's scary..." Mary's voice quivered as she heard more about the King.

"Exactly! They call him 'The Red King' for that very same reason." The other maid interfered. Pisces, finally having enough, walked away from her door and sat down on her bed processing her new reality while maids continued to whisper to themselves.

-+++-

"Enter." The king of Novael coldly commanded as the knight knocked on his study.

"Your majesty." The knight bowed his head deeply as he entered the room and made his way in front of the king.

"You look... young. I heard from the commander that you are the strongest warrior in the kingdom. State your name." The king frowned slightly as he studied the knight before him, who seemed to not be what he was expecting.

"I am Saggitarius Fletcher, Your Majesty." The knight proudly introduces himself but the king doesn't seem to be that much interested.

"Listen here, Saggiteets, I have a special mission for you." Saggitarius frowned upon hearing the king call him a different name but chose to not bother correcting the king since he is known for his bad temper.

"I want you to go to the Kingdom of Calaestia as a civilian. Scout the kingdom for weaknesses or its strongest forces. I want you to report to me everything that is noteworthy." The king ordered with a wicked smile plastered on his face.

"If I understood it correctly, my king wants me to serve as a spy and infiltrate the kingdom for its strength and weakness," Saggitarius asked for clarification from the king.

"Yes. Report everything to me so I can use their weakness against them and eliminate their strengths." The king replied with a psychotic look in his eyes leaving Saggitarius speechless. He then lowered his head in front of the king.

"U-Understood, Your Majesty." 

~xxx~

WC: 1077

Two new zodiacs have joined! What do you guys think of:

Pisces: The Princess of Novael Kingdom and a possible Fiance of The Red King and,

Saggitarius: The Strongest Warrior ordered to become a Spy.

Also thanks to all the awesome people who voted for the previous chapter. You guys are the best!

Stay tuned for the next chapters and introduction of the other zodiacs! Cya~