The Lion and the Brave

Chapter one

A few weeks ago :

The night was peaceful and everyone seemed to be sleeping. The few guards standing in front of the King's room were slowly falling asleep despite their duty. The only light in the corridor came from the slits in the window's blinds, letting the city lights pass through the glass. Suddenly, the sound of someone running woke the guards up and they clutched their rifles, ready to shoot if the danger was real. But it wasn't a threat that came to them, it was Níniel, the maid who was in charge of the prince. The woman was quite elderly so the fact that she ran to them definitely set the guards off. Something was very wrong.

" The prince is gone !"She was shaking now and her feeble hand was holding onto one of the guards' shirt. "I need to tell the King ! His son has disappeared! "

The guards looked at each other for a moment then they put both of their hands on the dark orbs at each side of the doors and, with no sound but her panicked breath and footsteps, the maid went inside.

Now :

Kynth Llew

"Another one for me please !" I yelled from my table, the most isolated one, in the very back of the tavern. I had been waiting for my employer for almost an hour and I was trying to occupy myself with the only thing to do in a tavern, drinking beer. I had a whole bunch of colorful names I would have loved to call Mr.Saeros but sadly I feared that if I ever dared to do so, I would never see the money he was supposed to give me an hour ago. This is the reason why I hated working for new clients, they thought that hiring a mercenary was the same as hiring a private detective except they killed your husband if he was indeed cheating on you. That was rubbish ! My primary job was to steal information from one company or person, even if it needed the use of brute force. And, sometimes, I was paid to accompany a group of people craving adventure in the countryside, where the monsters and dark magicians roamed almost freely. Mr. Saeros was the latter. I had to accompany him while he went looking for some ugly moonstone in a very moist cave, avoiding him getting killed by a bunch of very wild shrimps fort he most part. And now the man didn't even bother to pay me ! I was about to get up from my seat when a stranger brought me my drink. I was pretty sure that this man was no waiter, he was wearing a long black coat with a small dark blue insignia on his left shoulder. I would have recognized this insignia anywhere. Before I could protest the man sat down next to me and asked in a whisper :

"Are you Kynth Llew ? The mercenary who's been kicked out of military school ?"

I looked at him dead in the eyes and replied with a snarl. "I don't work with the King's dogs."

The man smiled and, with a swift gesture, pulled a dagger against my throat : "Then you shouldn't worry, since this is the King's direct request."

I felt my bravado fade away and swept his hand away from me before I got up with a resigned sigh : "Well, in that case we better get going before we displease the King."

*****

The main office of the King's tower was impersonal to say the least. It had an entire wall made of what I guessed was enchanted glass since it showed the latest news on the transparent surface. The man sitting in the chair in front of me was flanked by at least a dozen guards and there were even more posted at each side of the door. The man in front of me was wearing a very fancy suit that appeared to be made of reddish leaves which seemed impossible but beautiful.

"Well well, miss Llew, I have heard some things about your work. Apparently you never even finished your military formation ?" The King's voice sounded like thunder and inspired fear to anyone who listened to him even though I suspected he used magic to make that effect.

"Yes sir, I guess I needed more danger and adventure in my life." My throat was dry and aching as if I hadn't swallowed properly whatever I ate this morning.

"Well this is your lucky day since I, Bëor Elemire, have a mission to offer you." He stopped a second, gauging my reaction. I had to admit that I impulsively leaned closer, my interest growing by the minute. "I have appointed several mercenaries, soldiers and detectives on this issue. And the one to succeed will be copiously paid."

"How much are we talking about?" I asked, more intrigued than I had been in what seemed like forever.

"Several billion." The King's face remained expressionless, as if this amount of money was nothing at all (maybe it actually was nothing considering the fortune he had in his possession).

"What kind of mission is this exactly ?" Now I was getting cautious because it most definitely wouldn't be an easy one.

"All I am asking from you is to find my son and bring him back. He ran away three weeks ago. I want you to search for him, stop him and bring him back before his birthday in seven weeks."

I had to think fast, this mission was risky, not because of the difficulty of it (finding a runaway has never been that hard) but because of the high risk of failure. If any of my rivals were to find him before I did who knew what could happen to me or anyone else hired by Bëor ? But if I did find the prince first... Then I would be rich and famous and I wouldn't have to deal with clients like Mr.Saeros ever again !

"I accept this mission but I have one condition."

"Very well, tell me what you need and we'll see what we choose."

 "My condition is for me to be accompanied by an old friend of mine, actually he's more like a mentor. I want Jierda Einar by my side to find the prince."