The courtroom went silent as this esteemed young princess in revealing cloths and armored jewelry chimed in.
Captain Belle of the Golden Rose Knights, or rather, my princess, now stood before the courtroom where I had been on Trial. Though… did she really just call me "boy"?
"Release the Black Wolf to me. I will take him from here," she announced once more. Dressed the same as always, half naked and barefoot, skin—light, fair, and rosy, layered in rose gold jewelry and off-white cloths that only—barely—covered her breasts and private area. This time, however, she did not wear her usual sheer drape over her head. The floating rose gold tiara she only wore inside the Kingdom was hovering over her head, and her long, silky platinum white hair flowed like small waves down to her legs, just past her hips. Her eyes, a deep, deep blue that could be seen all the way from where I was, were floating on a pedestal in the middle of this huge courtroom. I thought I could see my reflection in those eyes even from this distance. She was more beautiful than the first time I met her, perhaps because she lost the head drape. She truly was a sight to behold—I had almost forgotten where I was.
"I am sorry, Captain Belle, but we are in the middle of an important Trial against a direct criminal suspect of the Kingdom. No matter your rank, you cannot simply come in here and end it because you 'say' so… If you wish to do such a thing, you must have a certain decree of release, and it must be signed prior to—"
Interrupted by Captain Belle's change in movement, Alphonzo stopped mid-sentence as he and the rest of the room looked intently at the badge she now flashed to the whole court. The jury chattered loudly amongst themselves when she did this.
"What about this, Alphonzo? Is this decree enough for you?" Captain Belle voiced sternly with a dead stare. A rhetorical question toward the end.
The badge that she held was her brand-new license after being promoted. A certified rank SS Captain of the Valley Kingdom. Captain Belle of the Golden Rose Knights had not only just been furthered in rank to SS but was now only second to the Arcane King and third to the Royal King. So, aside from the King himself, she outranked every single person in this room. And with her new title, she now embodied every law without the need for a decree or warrant within Kingdom walls.
For Kingdom Guilds and knights, ranking was everything. The higher ranking you were, the more authority you possessed. Though this authority had a huge penalty if misused or abused. In this moment, she was already testing its limits soon after receiving.
"According to Kingdom Law, if a Rank SS or higher declares a cease, you must abide. That is why the Royal King is present here as well—in case something must be dropped immediately, regardless of reason—is that not the case? Or shall I start reading our Kingdom's constitution as well?" The same stern tone, dead stare, and rhetorical once again from her. Metaphorically placing a stamp on her case with a slight kick to the nuts. She continued, "And if you refuse this order, then…"
At this moment, five Golden Rose Knights appeared on the podium. They dashed from the entrance Captain Belle had entered and landed there with us, each behind their own W.M.A. officer. Two of them I recognized.
Once this happened, one of the W.M.A. officers on my right flinched and raised his gun at the golden knight that appeared behind him, his finger on the trigger.
"Move that finger, and that'll be the last thing you'll ever use it for," a Golden Rose Knight male intimidated. His ears were gauged with golden locks, hair a shining blond, slick back, and had loud hazel eyes.
"Well, if it isn't the Golden Cockblock Vice Captain of the—"
"Shut your mouth, heathen. I'm only here because our Captain ordered it. If it were up to me, I'd leave you to rot with whatever sentence they had in store for you." Vice Captain Lance sneered at me after my comment.
"Oho, big words from a big man. But at least you do as you're told like a good boy when it counts. 'Cause even without any pants, princess over there still wears them for you," I continued to tease.
"If you don't shut the fuck up, I will cut out your tongue along with this officer's finger. Don't make us regret coming here," he snapped as the officer winced at his words.
I looked over to my left, and there was a girl who had purple hair with blonde ombre, wearing armor only on her breasts, waist, and on her boots. Her gloves were brown leather as she nervously held her golden-hilted sword at the other W.M.A. officer who was there too.
I didn't say a word to her as my lazy black eyes locked with her's after my brief back-and-forth with Lance. At closer inspection, her eyes were a light lavender, and when our eyes caught, she squealed in a cute manner and looked away nervously. She might have been my next target if I weren't so devoutly interested in her Captain. But now was not the time for those thoughts.
The Royal King faced Alphonzo and simply nodded. Then, without a word, Alphonzo undid his Measuring magic on me and Syemore at last. Shortly after, the floating podium with the five W.M.A. officers, Golden Rose Knights, and I began to descend back down to the ground below; even the W.M.A. themselves were at her whim within the Kingdom walls.
As we made it to the ground, she commanded the W.M.A. to release the cuffs on me. They did, and I shook off my hands, throwing them in my recently tattered jacket pockets.
I was too busy staring at Captain Belle's beautiful face and body that I barely realized that Lance had pushed me over to her direction. I looked back to him and snickered, slightly baring my sharp teeth at him. He gave a simple "Tsk" in response to that.
As we went to exit the room, I looked back to where Syemore was and found him staring in my direction—as if he was challenging me. I met him back with a wry smile. Sirus, in my peripheral, to Syemore's left, giving what seemed like a relieved look on his face. And lastly, Alphonzo, emotionless, standing next to the Royal King just behind Syemore, giving me a look I could not read.
Captain Belle and I began to make our way to the double doors, but before we had left, Alphonzo spoke out to us, "I hope you know this only prolongs the inevitable, Greed. The Kingdom WILL win."
I turned and faced him, acknowledging his parting words, and replied, "Yes. Yes, it will." I then faced Syemore one last time afterward to glower at him for a good ten seconds. Captain Belle pulled my arm at this time, her delicate hand on my bicep.
"Hurry up," she whispered in my ear. And we left the courtroom.
***
The weather was nice today. Neither hot nor cold. There were only a few clouds in the sky, but it was mostly blue. Just like her eyes. I had known I would see her again. I just hadn't expected it to be this soon… or in this way.
Belle walked just a bit ahead of me as I strode casually behind, my eyes dancing all over her smooth, rosy skin all the while. We had just stepped outside of the castle corridors now as her knights stayed behind, still inside the castle and just outside the courtroom.
Without the drape that she usually wore, I stared at the back of her as she strolled along with nothing but a white thonged undergarment that still exposed her cheeks. The only thing in the way was her glimmering platinum white hair as it swayed to and from, blessing my eyes with windows of opportunity with each step she took. Cheeky.
"Thanks, princess," I said to her coolly, trying to spark up some kind of conversation.
"Don't get the wrong idea. I didn't do that to save you. Rather, I have a few questions of my own that I need answered—and depending on how you answer them, I might either let you go or eradicate you completely." Even though those were her words, her tone had changed with me completely. It was as if she were reading off a script, and that wasn't really what she had wanted to say.
I was fairly keen to read between the lines. Judging by the way she spoke to others versus the way she spoke to me, I could tell there was more than just the surface level we were communicating at. I, too, had a few questions of my own…
"Also," she added, "please stop staring at my ass. Pervert."
As she said this, she grabbed a strand of her white hair and started twirling it. She faced away from me, and her eyes met the ground. I swore I just witnessed her blush.
I chuckled and shrugged my shoulders with my hands up. My eyes closed for a brief moment cheerfully, and I respectfully turned away, no longer fixating my eyes on her.
At this time, I heard a young girl's voice from seemingly out of nowhere…
"Yeah, you perv."
I opened my eyes in question when I heard her. In an instant, I was in another place standing on air. When I looked around, everything around us—the blue sky, the castle behind us—it was all gone. Everything was just… Pink.
I knew that voice. And I knew this place.
"Pipsqu—… Alice?" I said, surprised at the young girl who now stood just behind Captain Belle, who stood in front of me with her arms crossed, leaning back on one leg.
Alice huffed in response to me and crossed her arms, pouting with her eyes closed as she faced away. She was wearing a white collared blue dress that stopped just above her knees, thigh-high white socks, and glossy black Mary Jane heels. Her blonde hair was in pigtails this time with pink bows on each side, and her short bangs hung just above her eyes, which were a baby blue color.
"You two know each other?" I asked curiously. Why, out of everyone I knew, were these two girls here in this moment?
"Alice is my younger sister," Belle said casually.
I stood there, genuinely stunned. "No way."
"Your sisters with the hot goldy princess?! Damn, if I knew that, I would have been way nicer to you!" I shouted at Alice.
Still facing away from me with her eyes closed, she began to charge her pent-up aggression, then snapped at me, finally looking at my aggravating face, "IS THAT ALL YOU CARE ABOUT?! I CAN'T BELIEVE I AGREED TO HELP YOU AGAIN IF THIS WAS THE REACTION I WAS GONNA GET! YOU MEN ARE ALL THE SAME!"
"You? Help me? Didn't know the bar on what people consider 'help' was set so low."
"Here you go again, you condescending asshole!" Alice went on.
Belle, on the other hand, stood in between us with a bland look on her face, as if she wanted no part in this. So she stuck out a hand and pulled out a white, elegant country metal chair and a small white, round patio table out of nowhere and sat.
She poured herself some coffee and sipped on it calmly with her eyes closed as Alice and I continued to bicker. "Are you two about done?" she asked with a sweet disregard, sitting there with her legs crossed, sipping from her cup so elegantly.
All I could focus on were her pretty feet as one of them dangled off. She had a rose gold anklet, intricately connected by small chains onto her middle toe ring on that foot, and her toenails were all painted a soft, sparkling pink. They were clean and taken care of despite the fact that she walked barefoot all day. I questioned myself if she had actually been touching the ground at all with how clean and soft-looking the bottom of her soles were.
"Alice, be a dear, and let me say my peace first, please."
"Yes, sis."
Even as calm as she was, Belle was able to quiet Alice in a matter of seconds. I stood there observing the two, and though I had admired her beauty, I also admired her serene grace and her ability to compel people. Before I realized it, she was speaking to me. "First off. I want to thank you for saving my little sister. I had wondered where she went, and by the time I had finished my duties at the Desert Kingdom, I was only notified of the details afterward when she had made it to my quarters with her magic. You have my deepest thanks."
"Don't mention it," I replied.
"Now for the interrogation," she casually said as I blinked. What had she meant by that?
"According to Alice, there was a Vice Captain of the Blue Phoenix Knights there. Seems he was responsible for two things. Number one, kidnapping her. And number two—" she paused before continuing, and I kept shut, "—taking the soul of my master, former Captain Friera of the Snow Lily Knights."
I had remembered. Not only that, but Snow told me at the Kingdom's Guild meeting that Belle had been a member of the Snow Lily Knights back before she became the Captain of her own Guild, the Golden Roses. I knew where this was going.
"I had wondered why even Captain Friera was absent at the Kingdom's Guild meeting. She's normally present to those, and the mission she took was a simple overnight mission, yet she was gone for longer than that and with no communication other than that Vice Captain Sylva had notified Sirus of her absence." She sighed. "After hearing that she had passed and her spirit was used to power a mechanical puppet… it makes sense now."
She was silent again after she had finished her sentence, as if paying her respects to her dead master. Or perhaps it was something else. The whole time she was speaking, there was something off in the way she did. It was as if that was not really what she wanted to say. Like she was holding something back, or something was holding her back.
I stayed quiet for a little longer before talking. After what seemed like thirty or forty seconds, I took the lead. "I fought her vessel, another former Captain of the Silver Sharks, and the former Arcane King last night. And it was Terek of the Blue Phoenix Knights who was controlling them and who was responsible for the incident and more."
"According to the Trial, Vice Captain Terek was disbanded from the Blue Phoenixes and joined you in your rebellion against the kingdom." Not a question, a confirmation. I could never sense mana aura, but for some reason, I could with her. It felt very familiar. Like she was shouting at me with her aura, but I couldn't quite understand what she wanted me to hear.
I looked her directly in those deep, sky-blue eyes and answered, "I'll tell you right now, and you can believe me or not. That's up to you. Terek never joined the Black Wolves, and I am not rebelling against the Kingdom. If that was true, I wouldn't have been fighting against him to save Alice. And you can ask her yourself if you haven't already." I knew she did.
"The Angels of Justice say otherwise. And I'll give Alphonzo one thing with his magic—those Angels are never wrong."
"In matter of fact only," I responded, then continued—seeing that she allowed me to interject. "Those Angels only sense the fact of the matter, but not the truth of the matter. I was struck down because my truth was different than what was an apparent fact. I didn't know Terek was disbanded from the Blue Phoenixes just a day prior, and frankly, I doubt he even knew it himself. According to him, it was all part of some plan called 'Hunt the Wolves.' And when I brought it to light, he refused to answer for some reason."
"And what do you suspect he's planning?"
"I don't know fully, but I do know it starts with pinning the blame and attention on the real Black Wolves and then getting rid of us for some higher purpose… At least, that's the conclusion I came to with my Vice Captain the other day."
She was silent again, and she closed her eyes, pondering. She was probably silent for a good minute and a half.
The whole time, Belle had been dancing around her words. The conversation at hand was a front to what she really wanted to say. I knew that now, but I just didn't know how to bring it up. It was like we were having two conversations—the obvious one that she knew the answers to already, and the secret one I was trying to unveil. When she finally answered, it was only because I could sense that she knew I at least acknowledged the aura she was emitting to me.
"I believe you," she finally said, and I got goosebumps from the mere sound of those words. It felt like my face had flushed. "However," she continued, "what of these other Black Wolves?"
A fair question. Not many knew they were not the real Black Wolves aside from my crew and Ryo. So, I let her in on it.
"They're fakes. And we have reason to believe that some of them are also Blue Phoenix Knights, especially after last night." I said plainly. "There are only eleven official members of the Black Wolves, including myself and our… well… wolfdog," I ended purposely. If she were like most girls in this era, she liked either wolfdogs or lioncats. It was a fifty-fifty chance to get a reaction other than that serious tone she took on this whole time.
When I said that last part, I saw her face light up for about half a second. I was lucky I caught that look.
Alice raised her eyebrow as she stood next to her older sister, giving her a peculiar look that she knew all too well. Alice seemed to be more of a lioncat-type girl. She looked like she even felt bad for the one that Star beat up last night. Yet, paid no attention to Yuna, who was there in the background. I bet if I had asked her about it, she wouldn't have remembered our wolfdog was there at all.
Belle composed herself, slightly blushing, then raised a hand to her mouth. She ate it up. I had gotten my princess in this moment.
"You said… wolfdog?" She hesitated and said in almost a whisper, "Boy or girl? What—What's their name?"
I raised my eyebrows playfully, but before I responded, she coughed and changed the subject immediately.
"Never mind… I've heard quite enough," she said, fully composed now. "If you were lying, I'd turn you into ashes right here. In a place where no one will ever find you. But you're lucky I believe you." A bluff, but that was okay with me. She can say whatever she wants to me at this point.
I put my hands in my jacket pockets and tilted my head to the side, my dangling cross earrings chiming as I did. I closed my eyes and half smiled almost coquettishly to her. I knew she was paying attention to every little movement and detail about me, but I acted as if I didn't notice. When I opened my eyes, I nonchalantly asked, "Well, I'm honored, princess. So, what do you plan to do with me now?"
***
**Somewhere within the Valley Kingdom**
A young male with orange hair lay passed out on a gray, modern couch. His arms were tied behind his back, and he was passed out. As he slowly woke up from what felt like a long nap, he witnessed two people talking in front of him.
"Ugh… I didn't even get to change yet. I'm still in my house clothes, and I didn't bring shoes, huuuu…" A young female voice pouted, wearing a white cropped tank top that stopped just above her belly button and black thongs and nothing else.
"You call those house clothes? You're basically naked," another younger male responded to her.
"It's more than I usually wear, you know…"
"You're right, you're usually completely ass naked after spending the night in his room."
"Oho… Is that jealousy I'm hearing?"
"Hardly. And I have a girlfriend. Between her and a hag, I think the choice is obvious."
"You have a girlfriend? That's the first I'm hearing about this. Is she real? Or maybe it's one of the animals that Star tends to bring home from time to time? Hmm… I think I can believe that second one more."
"Oh, shut the fuck up, Ophy—"
At that moment, the young male with the orange hair was fully awake.
"Havoc, Ophelia!? What the hell happened?! And why am I tied up!?" Ryo exclaimed as he burned the ties behind his back.
"Well, so much for that… He wasn't even knocked out that long. Havoc, did you even hit him hard enough, or are you just that weak?" Ophelia jabbed at him.
"It's Ryo, what do you expect?" Havoc dispassionately responded, slouching in a chair where he sat across from Ryo.
"How long was I out?" Ryo questioned.
"I'd say about less than an hour," Ophelia replied.
"I thought I knocked you out harder than that, considering that I hit you from behind at seventy-five percent strength," Havoc said, scratching his head.
"You hit me!?" Ryo exclaimed again, but then composed himself just as quickly. "Where is Greed?"
There was silence between the three of them after he said that. Then Havoc said, "Well, he was at the main Valley Castle Courthouse, but after that, I lost track of his scent. And we're pretty nearby, considering we were supposed to keep you away from there. You know what they say, no better place to hide than right under your nose… something like that…"
Ryo looked around the room. It was bright, and the furniture and fixtures were modern. The windows wrapped around half of the room and were basically the walls themselves as they went completely from the ceiling to the floor. The view was amazing. Considering where the horizon was, they were pretty high up. The three of them were in Ryo's quarters at the Crimson Dragon's castle.
"We have to go to the courthouse then," he said, getting up and heading to the front doors of his quarters.
Havoc stood up and casually stepped in his way from around where he was sitting. "Sorry, Ryo. I can't let you leave this room. Not until I get word from the Cap."
"If he's in trouble, how would he give word? You just said you lost his scent. Get out of the way, Havoc."
"Nope. Can't. If you resist, I'll trash this room and that will be way more of a mess to fix than the one he's in right now… Cap's orders." Havoc said in a disregarding manner.
"So you're holding me hostage in my own home?"
"Doesn't have to be that way if you just sit back down and we can come up with a better plan rather than waltzing into the courtroom where you'd be walking right into where they want you."
Ryo stared at Havoc for a long time before submitting. When he turned around, he stopped just before the living area of his big modern room, where Ophelia was still sitting, legs crossed, slack and picking on her nails.
"You have one hour," Ryo said plainly, facing away from Havoc, who still stood by the doors. "Any longer than that without a plan, and I'm going. Regardless of what you do."
Havoc agreed silently, then sighed. He then took out his comm and checked on a few messages he had sent out earlier to someone who had still not responded.
"Come on, Nash. Today's the day, right?"
***
**Back at the Wolves Den**
A girl with pink hair and dark gray horns was out on a stroll wearing a pink cropped tank top and an oversized Black Wolves jacket that hung below her shoulders. She had a black ribbon-like choker around her neck that had a small bell in the front of it, chiming softly as she walked. Her charcoal jean short shorts were tattered and ripped at the hems; they were so short her cheeks peeked from underneath them, along with her black thong that was visible over her hips. Her nails were pointed and colored red. Her sneakers were some brand of black and white high-tops with white ruffled socks that poked out just above them. And she was accompanied by a large lioncat.
"Okay, Leo. It was fun, but here's where we part ways. Teddy doesn't want you in the Den, and between you and him, I will always choose him first. But when I need a temporary sparring partner, I'll be sure to find you again someday," Star said to the lioncat.
It whimpered as she released it back into the wild just a little past the Wolves Den in a forestry area. The lioncat peeked back a couple of times, as the girl kept shooing it away, before it finally disappeared into the wild.
After having released her temporary pet, she heard a noise in the area that sounded like a moan. She hopped into a fighting position and surveyed the area.
"What's this? An enemy? Perfect. SHOW YOURSELF, YOU MONGREL!!" she shouted.
The moaning continued until she realized it came from a tree just a few feet behind where she was standing.
"Star!" a male voice hauntingly said. "Star… Help…" it went on.
As she went to investigate, she was startled by what she found. "Wha— Brand, what are you doing here? And why are you through a tree?"
Star had found Brand shot through a tree with his grungy gray head and mask sticking out from one end and his feet sticking out from the opposite end. His torso, arms, and legs were concealed inside, through the tree itself.
"I'm stuck…" Brand said shamefully.
When he said this, Star burst out laughing hysterically.
"Stop laughing! I didn't do this on purpose! And at least I didn't fly into the tree backward, I'm not an idiot!"
Star held her laughter in for a moment, but could not contain it as she lost control. "What does your flying forward or backward into a tree have to do with anything? You're still stuck in a tree! HAHAHAHA!"
"I SAID STOP LAUGHING, YOU BITCH! GET ME DOWN FROM HERE IMMEDIATELY. I'VE BEEN STUCK HERE ALL NIGHT… and… I really need to take a piss!"
Star's laugh had gotten to the point she could no longer breathe. Her eyes almost popped out of her head as she looked walleyed all the while—unable to contain her vicious cackle. After a while, she finally decided to help him out of his curious predicament, but not without letting him suffer there for a little while longer.
***
Back at the Den in a hallway that few seldom pass through, a door creaked open. A large figure passed by as a stack of plates that were by the door shifted off balance slightly from his heavy footsteps. The large figure made its way to the bathroom a few feet from the room where it came out of and was in there for a good while, up until Star and Brand got back. However, the two weren't the only ones in the area. There had been yet another that made his way back before them.
Outside, a tall male figure stood at the clearing where our ten pillars were lined up, leading to our giant double door entrance of the Wolves Den.
He wore a blue cloak with golden seams, his pants were baggy and cuffed with gold just above his ankles, and he wore black monk shoes. His hair was medium length, black, and he had eyes that were gray with dark bags under them. He wore a tired expression as he looked at the humble abode and gave a heavy, disinterested sigh.
"So, this is where you dogs live…"