The first day of traveling to the Freedom Legion hideout had come to a close after the events of Mia's surprise attack. They had pulled over for the night to camp out, and Ezekiel showed Mia how soap worked. Mia's eyes widened with delight at the simple wonders of soap, with the bubbles it made and the clean feeling it left behind. She was also impressed with the Lad Steak and the shrimp tacos that Ezekiel was able to make for everyone. Even General Alexander, who still considered Ezekiel's party to be his enemies, had to admit that Ezekiel made some badass food after eating his fill with his hands still tied, although he would never admit it out loud.
After sleeping the night away, the party set out again after Ezekiel cooked up some more soufflé pancakes, which Mia and General Alexander loved. Kairi was staring at the map and suddenly said, "Hey! Can we make a pit stop in this kingdom? I know the royal family of this kingdom rather well, so we might be able to get some comfortable lodging!" Tokuda immediately said, "Nope. We can't do that. Me entering a kingdom is a big risk to everyone here, especially when we have a general of the human army in tow with us." Bear grinned and slapped Tokuda on the back, saying, "Aw, come on! Don't be such a party pooper! Right, little bro?" Bear looked at Ezekiel, and Ezekiel replied, "Tokuda does have a point, but I've got a solution. Tokuda can stay with the cart and the general, and the rest of us can chill in the kingdom. How does that sound?" Tokuda looked at Ezekiel, then at General Alexander, and asked, "You're joking, right? I have to stay with this asshole?" General Alexander chuckled and said, "Just like old times, right, buddy?" Tokuda immediately grabbed his sword with his mouth and put the blade of it right to General Alexander's face and said, "Call me buddy one more time and I promise you'll meet the gods by the time I'm done with you." General Alexander then calmly said, "I wouldn't mind meeting the gods." Bear held up his hands, saying, "Dudes, chill out! Tokuda, will it really be that bad?" Tokuda stood still for a bit, silently holding his sword up to General Alexander's face, until he said, "I suppose not, but don't be surprised if he's dead by tomorrow," and lowered his sword. "We do have a bit of time to spare since we did leave earlier than expected, so consider this a free day, I guess," said Tokuda. Kairi smiled and said, "Excellent! It's a wonderful kingdom, and we're almost there actually!" Ezekiel sighed and asked, "You were planning on going there with or without our approval, huh?" Kairi giggled devilishly and said, "Maybe, maybe not!"
In a very short time, the party soon saw the kingdom of Valan in sight. Before going any further, they decided to proceed with the plan that they had come up with earlier, leaving General Alexander and Tokuda behind to watch the wagon. The rest of them, being Ezekiel, Bear, Suko, Rina, Aqua, Kairi, and now Mia, carried what they could for a day and entered through the gates of Valan. Before them was immediately a shopping district filled with music, laughter, and lots of activity and life. The streets were rather crowded at this time of day, so moving by everyone was quite a hassle, especially for someone as big and burly as Bear was. Kairi was in front, doing her best to guide everyone to the large castle that stood atop a hill, overlooking all of the kingdom.
Once they pushed their way through the crowds, it was almost smooth sailing from there. A few people that recognized Kairi approached her and either wanted an autograph or for her to try out their food. Kairi, wasting no time, signed papers faster than she had in her life and promised to check out their shops and test their food as soon as she could. Bear mumbled to Ezekiel, "Must be hard being famous, huh?" Ezekiel chuckled, saying, "You can say that again, man." Once the small crowd was satisfied, they dispersed back on the streets. Kairi sighed in relief and said, "Sorry about that, everyone!" Then, the party continued up to the castle.
After about another 5 minute walk, they had finally reached the front gates of the castle. Two guards stood outside, but they seemed bored out of their minds. That was until they noticed Kairi, and their faces turned from zombie-like to full of life, as they smiled brightly at Kairi and both said, "Welcome back, mistress Zessid!" Kairi nodded and smiled at the two guards as they asked, "Are they all with you?" Kairi said, "Yep, they're all with me!" The two guards then let Kairi and the girls pass first. The guards then stepped in front of the guys, not allowing them to pass just yet. They then looked at Bear, Ezekiel, and Suko, asking, "Oi, you haven't done anything with the mistress, have you?" Ezekiel, scratching his nose and acting uninterested, said, "Nah." Bear shook his head, saying, "Human women aren't my type, man." The two guards looked at Suko, walked up to him in a menacing manner and said, "How about you? Eh?!" Suko smugly said, "Well, there was that one time I saw her in the bath..." The two guards immediately went to town on Suko, beating him to the ground and Suko screamed out in pain, saying, "Okay, okay! I'm sorry! I won't ever do anything like that again!" The two guards then said, "Not good enough! Scum like you who don't even deserve to be within the vicinity of mistress Zessid should die!" After a bit, the two guards finally stopped beating up Suko, and Suko was laying there, dizzy from being beaten up. The two guards then flashed Kairi a bright smile and said, "Mistress! We've beat up a suspicious person for you!" Kairi laughed and said, "Good job, guys." The two guards were excited to hear that, as they both blushed intensely Ezekiel laughed as the guards continued to keep beating up Suko and said to himself, "I guess anywhere you go these days, there's always gonna be simps. And man, these guards are true simps."
Once the guards let them pass and Suko was healed by Aqua from being beaten up, they all entered inside of the castle. It seemed that word of their arrival was sent to the king and queen rather quickly, as someone was sent to fetch them from the castle entrance. The party was then led to the grand hall, and once the doors opened, the grand hall was no joke. In front of them, at the very end of the massive hall, was one throne, occupied by a man who was in his fifties. As the party was led closer and closer to where the man was sitting, Ezekiel got a better look at everything. This man wore a crown on top of his brown hair, red robes, and one could instantly tell that he was the king. A beautiful blonde woman who seemed very mature and composed stood behind the throne a little bit, and the woman was dressed in light blue robes and wore a small tiara. Ezekiel assumed that she was the queen. As they walked down the red carpet laid before them, Ezekiel noticed that some people were forming a pathway for them to the king and queen, and Ezekiel assumed that they were retainers or high-class nobles in service to the king.
Once in front of the king and queen, Kairi kneeled before them both with her head down, and the others followed suit. The king then said, "Raise your heads, everyone! Especially you, Kairi! I've told you countless times that although I am a king, you don't have to treat me like one all the time!" Kairi chuckled, saying, "I'm sorry, it's just out of habit and respect." The king then took notice of the people behind Kairi and asked, "Are they friends of yours?" Kairi nodded, and the king said, "I see. Well, any friends of Kairi are friends of mine, as they say." The king stood up off his throne and said, "Welcome to my kingdom of Valan! I am the 15th king of Valan, Anton Hayes. Just Anton is fine when addressing me inside of this castle, but King Anton is fine as well if addressing me just as Anton is a bit strange." King Anton then pointed at the beautiful woman behind her and said, "And this is my wife, Laycie." King Anton was about to sit down when Laycie suddenly began emitting a murderous aura, saying with a smile on her face, "Oh my, oh my. Just 'my wife, Laycie' is all, dear? Are you sure you're not forgetting anything else, DEAR?" King Anton immediately stood back up, his whole body stiff as a pencil and sweating profusely, and nervously shouted out, "A-And this is my BEAUTIFUL wife that I LOVE VERY DEARLY. I'm honored that she is the queen of this great land, and I am the luckiest king of them all to have someone as great as she by my side. Always, ALWAYS refer to her as Queen Laycie. Shit, even I have to!" Queen Laycie suddenly got close to King Anton and asked with a smile and in a calm voice, still emitting a murderous aura, "What was that, dear?" King Anton immediately said, "Nothing, dear!" Goddamn, women are fucking scary, thought Ezekiel. Queen Laycie smiled at him and his party, but without the murderous aura enveloping her this time, and Ezekiel nervously gulped.
King Anton sat back down on his throne and sighed in relief, looking worn out from that ordeal. King Anton then cleared his throat and said, "So, Kairi, what brings you here today?" Kairi said, "I honestly just wanted a place to sleep that isn't the ground or the carriage this time. Can you spare a few beds?" King Anton simply said, "Of course! We have a few beds to spare. Oh! That actually reminds me. The kids, Mari, Alton, and Tom wanted to see you today. Would you be so kind and humor them for a little bit while my servants prepare your beds?" Kairi smiled and said, "Of course! That would be fine!" King Anton smiled, saying, "Well, I guess that concludes our little talk for now. You're all dismissed. Feel free to wander around the castle, and a feast for lunch should be ready soon." With that, they all got back up onto their feet and they left the grand hall.
Right when they got outside of the grand hall, they were greeted by three kids. One kid was a young boy, around 8 or 9 years of age based on what Ezekiel could gather just from looks alone. Another was a boy that seemed to be around Ezekiel's age and was rather good-looking, and the last was a cute girl that was about 14 or 15 years of age. They were all dressed nicely, and all three of them simultaneously said, "How do you do?" Kairi then exclaimed, "Alton, Mari, Tom! It's been so long!" Kairi then proceeded to hug them all at the same time. Ezekiel, based on who she looked at when she said their names, assumed that the younger boy was Alton, the girl was Mari, and the older boy was Tom. Kairi then let all three of them go, and took a step back, introducing everyone. Kairi said, "Everyone, from the left to the right, this is Alton, Mari, and Tom. They're all the kids of King Anton and Queen Laycie. I used to play with them as kids a long time ago and visit them occasionally now." Kairi then looked over at the three siblings and said, "From the left to right, we have Bear, Ezekiel, Suko, Rina, Aqua, and Mia." Tom walked up to the three girls that were just introduced and exclaimed, "Marvelous! What beauty you three have! Please, allow me to make your acquaintance! Surely I can show you a better time and lifestyle than any other man could!" Pfft, what a fucking playboy, thought Ezekiel, who already didn't like Tom due to his natural flirting nature. Alton seemed a little shy, as he hid behind Mari and said, "T-The only beauty we need is from our sister, Mari! N-No one is as beautiful as she is!" Oh great, now we've got someone with a sister complex, thought Ezekiel. Mari then said, "Hmph! Why did you bring these peasants with you? We only need you, Kairi! Begone elsewhere, peasants!" Ezekiel sort of felt ticked off at this comment, as he especially hated people who thought they were above everyone else simply due to their "status" or wealth. Kairi got rather serious and said, "Now, now, Mari! They're my friends, and I won't tolerate behavior towards them like that. Don't judge them solely based on their status! You might actually enjoy their company as I do." Mari then pointed at Ezekiel and said, "If that's the case, then I already don't like you. Ezekiel, what a stupid name! Hmph!" Mari folded her arms and pointed her nose upwards as if looking down on Ezekiel. Ezekiel was pissed at this point and was about to say something to her, but Kairi intervened once more and said, "Don't talk to Ezekiel like that! You'll respect him as you respect me!" Mari seemed confused by why Kairi would defend the lowly peasant but still gave Ezekiel a dirty look.
Kairi then walked off with Mari, silently muttering something to her, and Alton followed close behind Mari, lightly clinging to her dress. The three of them left the others behind, and Ezekiel turned around and noticed that Tom was still flirting with the three girls, but he seemed mostly interested in Rina. That was probably due to her being an elf, and Ezekiel's guess was proven right when Tom suddenly said, "The legend of an elf's beauty is no legend indeed, for it's true that your beauty rivals no other. But alas! I say that all three of you are beautiful in your own right." However, Tom's charms didn't seem to work on Rina, Aqua, or Mia, as they seemed to sort of acknowledge his existence but weren't falling in love with him as Tom thought they would. Aqua was the one to speak up first, quietly saying, "U-Um, t-thank you for the compliments, b-but I-I love someone a-already..." Aqua snuck a quick glance at Ezekiel, who didn't notice. Rina then said, "I'm to marry an elf, someone that can live as long as me." Mia simply said, "You're just gross." Tom, surprised at this, exclaimed "Impossible! No woman can resist my charms!" Rina shrugged and said, "It is what it is, Tom." Tom then said, "Surely you could reconsider! I have wealth, power, and I can provide all you need!" Aqua, Rina, and Mia shook their heads at this offer once again, and a defeated Tom quietly said, "I see." However, he wasn't sad for long, as a true playboy like himself quickly said, "Well, time to go visit my other ladies," and walked off.
At that moment, Kairi, Mari, and Alton came back and they passed by Tom. Kairi then stopped in front of Ezekiel and said, "Yo, Ezekiel, I think Mari has something she wants to tell you." Ezekiel raised his eyebrows in confusion. Mari came out from behind Kairi, nervously stepped forward, took a deep breath, and said, "I apologize for my rude behavior earlier. As you are a valued friend of Kairi's, I should have treated you with more respect." Mari bowed her head and said, "Please forgive me." Ezekiel smiled, happy that Kairi seemed to be setting Mari straight, and said, "It's all good." Kairi then suggested to Ezekiel, "Hey, Ezekiel! Why not show her the magic of soap?" Ezekiel then pulled a bar of soap from his pocket and tossed it to Mari, who was surprised and fumbled the soap but caught it in the end. Mari studied it and asked, "So, this is 'soap?' What the hell kind of name is 'soap?'" Ezekiel grinned at the Modern Warfare reference once again. Ezekiel explained, saying, "That little bar is quite impressive once you know what it does. Do you have a bathroom or something around here?" Mari then said, "Yes, there's one rather close to here." Ezekiel then said, "Good, we need water for this to work properly. Can you take me there so I can show you?" Mari nodded, and the two of them left to go to the bathroom.
Once there, Ezekiel was quite surprised. It wasn't a typical bathroom that you'd find inside of an American household, but it was instead a giant bathtub, sort of like the hot springs behind The Crimson Tankard Inn. Ezekiel noticed that there was hot water already inside of it, so he said, "This'll do. Now, wet your hands and rub the soap on them." Mari didn't understand what he meant, so he sighed and said, "Here, lemme show you." Ezekiel grabbed Mari's hands, which surprised Mari, and she blushed heavily since she wasn't expecting it. Mari then pulled her hands back instinctively as she exclaimed, "S-Stupid peasant! How dare you touch me like that?!" Ezekiel realized what he had done and said, "I'm sorry! I wasn't thinking!" Mari, a little calmer now, blushed a bit more and said, "J-Just be careful next time! Hmph!" With that, Ezekiel decided to show her how to do it by him actually rubbing his own hands instead of touching hers. Mari then copied what Ezekiel had done, and she was amazed at the feeling of the soap on her hands when wet, the feeling of the bubbles that formed, and how clean her hands felt afterward. Mari looked happy, and to Ezekiel, who noticed her smile, the girl who seemed very proper and uptight seemed much better with a genuine smile on her face.
Ezekiel sat back, and Mari suddenly asked, "What kind of magic did you have to do to make this 'soap?'" Ezekiel's face lit up with a grin as he said, "That wasn't made with magic. It was made with science." Mari then asked, "Science? What's that?" Ezekiel responded, "Magic is when something amazing happens and you don't know why. Science is the process of discovering why it works the way it does. It's the culmination of thousands of years of human progress and development, and I'm simply using that knowledge to make things like soap." Ezekiel then looked at her with a wide smile, saying, "Of course, I plan on doing bigger things than just make soap. I plan on reinventing this world into what my old world used to be like." Mari stared at Ezekiel with admiration, admiring the fact that Ezekiel had goals and seemed dead set to accomplish them. Ezekiel then noticed that Mari was gripping the bar of soap and said, "Oh, you can keep that if you want to. I've got plenty, and I've also got more being made as we speak." Mari blushed, nodded, then said, "M-Maybe I misjudged you, peasant. Perhaps not all peasants are bad." Ezekiel chuckled, saying, "I guess not, but labels don't make the person. And I do have a name, you know, and it's definitely not 'peasant.'" Ezekiel then stood up and said, "How about we start over with introductions?" Ezekiel cleared his throat and said, "My full name is Ezekiel Clark!" Mari blushed a tad bit then said, "O-Okay, Ezekiel. I'll call you that from now on." Mari then cleared her throat and said, "My name is Mari, daughter of King Anton and Queen Laycie." Ezekiel smiled and said, "Good!" Ezekiel then extended out his hand and said, "In my world, clasping hands is a way to greet someone." Mari's heart then skipped a beat as she said, "I-I'm only allowing this to happen once, p-peasant! I-I mean, Ezekiel! N-No more after this! T-This doesn't mean I want this to happen more!" Ezekiel smiled as she extended out her hand and grasped Ezekiel's hand. Ezekiel noticed that her clean hands felt better than before, and the two of them stood there for a moment, both of them happy that their relationship was now squeaky clean as if the soap had washed away any malice between them.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUSMmIdPSW9
