King Guardia XXXIII turned around from his bedroom window, his red robe swishing behind him, and faced his daughter. He was only in his forties, but his forehead was creased with lines due to his constant worrying about his kingdom. "Yes?"
Princess Nadia stood in front of him, dressed as casually as a commoner. She wore a simple light green dress with a white tunic over it and a pair of boots. Around her neck was a glowing pendant of dreamstone. She was carrying a small suitcase as well as her crossbow. A quiver of arrows rested on her back. It still astounded the king that however much his little girl resembled her mother, her actions were certainly nothing like her mother's, or those of any other queen or princess in the history of Guardia for that matter. While other royal women were content to spin on their spinning wheels for a hobby, Nadia happily played with a crossbow, and by now could outshoot most of the soldiers in the Guardian army, and give the others a good run for their money. He had always been overprotective towards her and never used to let her out of the castle, but he couldn't help it; she was all he had left after his wife died. But on the opening day of the Millennial Fair three years ago when she ran away, she'd proved that she was quite able to take care of herself, and others as well.
Another figure with thick spiky red hair, Crono, stood behind her, carrying a few more bags. His rainbow-colored katana was sheathed at his side as always. Even after she'd helped to save the world, King Guardia still wanted her to have a bodyguard for extra protection, and so her heroic boyfriend Crono had been employed in that position. Neither complained about the arrangement.
"We're leaving now for Lucca's," Nadia said to her father. Lucca was her other friend that she'd met on their little adventure to save the future. Lucca had invited the princess over to her house in nearby Truce for a month, and Nadia had accepted the offer.
"Have a nice time, okay?" King Guardia said.
"I will," Nadia promised, dropping her suitcase and giving her father a big hug. "Bye, Daddy!" She kissed his cheek, then picked up her suitcase and, with a final wave, left the room.
"Crono, keep an eye on her," the king reminded him with a knowing smile.
Crono nodded, returning the grin. "Yes, your highness." He winked and followed Nadia out the door.
When they were gone, the king chuckled softly to himself. The week before, when Nadia was up in her chamber, Crono had approached him and asked for permission to marry her. King Guardia had grown to like the young man and knew that he would make his daughter happy, and so had agreed to his request. Crono had said that he was going to present her with a ring and propose to her some time during this upcoming vacation, and was very much looking forward to it. I remember when I proposed to Aliza… so long ago… the king thought, fondly remembering when he, too, was young and in love. Memories of his younger self courting his beloved Aliza passed through his mind.
Just then, the chancellor, a small nervous man with a long white beard that nearly touched the ground entered the bedroom. "There are two men here to see you, your highness," he announced. "They are waiting in the throne room."
"I'll be right down," the king said. He followed the chancellor down the four flights of stairs leading from his chamber to the throne room.
One of the men waiting for him there was in his twenties and had thin brown hair that tumbled into his face. His suit bore a symbol that King Guardia recognized as the crest of the neighboring kingdom of Valdir. The other man, who was older and balding, wore a green uniform and matching cape. "King Guardia XXXIII?" the younger one asked.
"Yes," he said. "What can I do for you two gentlemen?" He held out his hand toward the men before him.
Neither accepted the friendly offering. "I am Damien, king of Valdir," the younger man said. "This is Cedric, king of Fortran." He indicated the man next to him. "We have a... proposition for you."
The look on his face did not look like he was about to begin discussing pleasantries, and King Guardia was certain that he was not going to like the upcoming discussion. But he gave an affirmation anyway. Cedric gave the chancellor a glance suggesting that he leave the room. The chancellor glanced at his king, who nodded, and left the room, leaving him with the two visiting monarchs. Then, Damien locked the doors to the throne room so no one could enter the room, now empty except for the three kings present.
The other kings approached the throne where King Guardia was sitting and knelt down next to it. "Now," Valdir's king said in a fierce whisper, "in case you didn't know it, we're both armed, so just sit there and be quiet!" They both opened one side of their coats, each revealing a sharp-edged sword hidden within.
A nervous feeling was building up in King Guardia's gut, but he said nothing. He simply nodded silently, wondering why his guards hadn't prevented these weapon-bearing men from entering the throne room.
"One month ago, I took the throne of Valdir after my parents'… death, and the kingdom has bowed down to me. But I'm not satisfied with that. Do you know why?"
"Because he wants more territory, of course!" interrupted Cedric, before King Guardia could attempt an answer.
"And guess what kingdom I wish to conquer first?" Damien asked. The ends of his lips pinched up in a wicked grin as he brought his face closer to King Guardia's.
King Guardia gulped. "Um…"
"Yours!" Damien interjected with a snap of his fingers. "Fortran and Valdir are now allied, and our armies have combined into one gigantic unit. Together, we can destroy your kingdom."
"B, b, but my country has an army, too. And they're strong!" King Guardia protested weakly. He had heard a rumor about the strength of Valdir's army under the new king, but he hadn't believed them. Now, he knew his original belief never had any merit.
"But," Damien said, a sudden look of feigned kindness on his face, "we will take pity on your kingdom. We won't destroy it." He paused slightly. "If…"
"If… what?" the king of Guardia was dreading what these men were about to propose.
"If you give us your kingdom quietly, we won't destroy you and your puny army," Damien said.
"Hey, I bet this guy doesn't even lead his own army!" said Cedric with a laugh.
That was true, but King Guardia had no intentions of admitting it. And he was not about to give his kingdom to these two men, either. "I don't believe you two!" he said with as much force as he could muster under the nerve-racking conditions.
Damien removed his sword from his jacket and held it up to King Guardia's neck in one swift movement. "Oh, we're very serious. And our armies will annihilate this entire kingdom until we own every last acre of land here. So, you can either pass the crown and the kingdom over to me peacefully, or we will declare a merciless war upon your kingdom! It's your choice…"
Cedric nudged Damien as though he had forgotten something. "Oh, yes," Damien added, lowering his sword. "I got a glance of your daughter as we arrived at the castle. She's a cute little thing. She comes along with the kingdom as my wife!"
King Guardia was horrified. Demanding my kingdom is bad enough, but not Nadia! "No!" he cried. "Anything but my daughter! You didn't… do anything to her?" he whispered frantically.
"No," Cedric answered, "but I think the first person to go when we take over Guardia will definitely be that punk with the red hair!"
The seriousness of this situation was much more than the king of Guardia had expected. He wanted to cry out to his guards who were waiting outside the throne room, but he knew that any sound he made would mean an instant beheading from the two other kings.
Damien returned his sword to King Guardia's neck, and Cedric took out his own sword as well. "Now from those suitcases she had, I'd say she was going away for some time. We will return in three months' time, and we expect you to have a ceremony ready to marry me to your daughter and to declare me the new king of Guardia. If you do this, we will spare the lives of your army and your people, and maybe even your own. But if either of those is lacking, we will declare war on the spot! Remember, three months…"
With that, the kings of Valdir and Fortran unlocked the front door of the throne room and strode confidently out. After a moment, the chancellor quickly came in. "Your highness! What happened? You look pale as a ghost! And you're shaking!" When the king didn't say anything, he added in a conspiratorial voice, "The guards were all fast asleep as though they had been knocked out when I went out there. I got nervous and tried to get back in, but the door was locked!"
King Guardia was lost in thought. He had no idea what he was going to do. All that he knew was that he couldn't tell Nadia that she might end up with a power-hungry pig like Damien. This kingdom might be lost, as well as the lives of many. Nadia, please, don't come home. Go far away from here and stay safe with your friends. I don't want you involved in this horrible mess...