Chapter 4. Grandiose Funeral

Madeline's POV

“That was a bloody epic,” the prince said, so I glared at him. 

He chuckled. “Come on. Don’t look at me like that.” 

“How could I not when you are joking around when we are having an important mission?” I asked bluntly and stashed the dagger inside my sheath. 

“We must go before we get caught by the royal guards.” 

“Would not disobey you, my lady.” 

We both pulled up our black masks in our faces as we escaped from the king’s chamber. The king’s body was now on the ground, lifeless and dead, after I murdered him. The prince and I tiptoed through the dark hallways of the palace silently and carefully. We were vigilant to the surroundings, trying to look for the royal guards. 

“Psssttt!” 

I almost shut my eyes in annoyance when I could hear Arthur hissing at me. I looked at him and I could see through the darkness that he was going inside a room that was barely illuminated by some small light. 

“What are you doing? Don’t go there! We must go now!” I whispered loudly. 

“Come on, Madeline. You have to see this,” he urged me. I groaned in frustration before I followed him inside. 

If I find out that it is only a stupid reason for him to invite me in, I swear, I would fucking kill him. But all of my deadly thoughts were merely obliterated when my overall attention went to a magic ball flying in the air at the center of the room. Prince Arthur was in front of it, watching it with a playful grin, while I remained austere and curious at the same time. 

“What is that?” I asked him and went beside him. 

“The sacred ball of crystal,” he answered simply and placed both of his hands on his hips. “Only royal families know about this, so you must keep your mouth shut.” 

“Tss,” I hissed. “Since when have you seen me talking about secrets to other people? You know that I don’t like socializing with the others in town. They are all hypocrites.” 

He chuckled and ruffled my hair. “I know,” he agreed and nodded, now his eyes drifting on the magic ball of crystal. “Do you want to know an amazing fact about this crystal?” 

I furrowed my eyebrows and looked at the magic ball at the same time. It was navy blue, its aura was pristine and beautiful. If I would compare it to a thing, it looked like a star from the night sky. But this time, it is near to me. I could even feel its energy within me, as if it is calling me. 

“Yeah,” I found myself answering. 

“This ball of crystal was made by the gods before. This is to protect mankind and their nature from the evil creatures lurking in this world,” he started the story of it with an ominous tone. “A specific man protected this ball of crystal and was tasked by the gods to guard it, so it could prosper mankind. However, people being people like him, he used it due to hunger for power and greed…” 

“Really? And what happened to the ball of crystal? How did he use it?” 

“He summoned all of the demons to live with the mortals. Now you can guess where the witches, werewolves, and vampires came from. When you use this magic ball of crystal for a good purpose, you can engender good results and prosperity. Otherwise, you’ll create catastrophes and chaos,” he elucidated and sighed. “The guard of the crystal dominated the world. He was the darkness himself that he went against the gods using the ball of crystal.” 

“That is horrible.” 

“I still don’t know how the evil creatures went extinct. I just heard that they just disappeared because of this ball of crystal,” he continued and gazed at the side of my face. 

“If this ball of crystal is that powerful, everything you do to it is established effortlessly?” 

“Precisely.” 

“And what if I use this to summon back the evil creatures, would I be able to do that?” 

He frowned at me. “Do you want to end mankind? Are you that hateful to our own kin?” 

I rolled my eyes. “I am just curious-“ 

“Who are you?! What are you doing here?! Intruders!” 

We were alarmed by the sudden barge in of the royal guards coming into the vault room. I cursed out of my breath and withdrew my dagger. Prince Arthur unsheathed his sword and immediately attacked the royal guards. I also did not waste time and jumped on one of them. One tried to stab me with a sword, but I prodded the center of his neck with the point of my dagger.

When another was attacking me from my back, I unsheathed my other dagger and sliced his face twice before coldcocking him with a high kick. I cracked my neck as I went to another one who was going to stab Prince Arthur. I broke his neck by hopping high and choked him with my knees. The royal guard tried to shout as we were on the ground, but it was too late for him to ask for help because I had ended his life. 

“Thanks,” Prince Arthur said coolly, grinned at me, and finished the three royal guards attacking him in synchronicity. It was an effortless fight and a clean mission since we danced in darkness. Dispatching the dead bodies of the royal guards was also a piece of cake. What Prince Arthur and I made sure of is that if the sun rises, the king’s dead body will be conspicuous and huge news to the whole kingdom. After that, we rode our house back to our own kingdom. 

“You almost got your neck broken back there,” I teased while fixing the reins of my horse I was mounting. “If I was not able to save you, Your Highness, you might be having a grandiose funeral tomorrow.”