[The Noble District Of The Capital]

Nicer houses surround the intial path into the district while guards seem to be a bit more equipped for any problems. There also appears to be numerous banners outside of the homes that all lead up to the main stairs.

Stairs to what? Stairs to the actual castle itself where the king resides along with his whole family.

This place is definitely not what I expected from the moment I got here but it is proving to be quite interesting in many different ways. People along this road also appear to be dressed up a lot nicer as well, all of it makes sense regardless.

"Admiring the nobles?" Lia teases.

"I think humans are interesting with how they go about their social classes," I respond quietly.

"Was it different for you?" She questions.

"We were all equals for the most part. Some families had stronger bloodlines but it didn’t mean anything. Everyone still watched out for one another," I answer calmly.

"That’s how it is back at my village," Lia says.

"Why’d you leave your home behind?" I ask while we walk.

"To explore the world and find out what really is out here," Lia answers with a bit of excitement noticeable in her voice.

Yet she ended up traveling with me instead of following what she set out to do, how interesting. My goals haven’t changed since I left months ago... Just I met her and have been figuring out the path.

Strength is the most essential thing for me to find while everything else will come along naturally as I continue forward.

My people will eventually have their chance to make something of themselves again. Walking this path isn’t going to be easy in the slightest, that is something I have to accept if I want to keep going.

Sparing people like I did isn’t going to do me any good either. They’ll just make the dumb decision to follow us again until I do finally kill them.

Because why would anyone make a smart decision when you know someone is stronger?

Bump!

Someone bumps into me, knocking me out of my thoughts.

As I come to I realize that it is a girl with short red hair that just barely reaches her shoulders, wearing a dress with a golden pendant that resembles a bird. Her eyes are crimson red and she is a bit short.

"I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to bump into you," She says in a panic with a nervous tone.

"Don’t worry about it, it’s completely okay," I assure her with a polite tone.

Behind her a personal guard keeps a hand on the hilt of his sword as he looks towards me. He doesn’t look like any standard guard, but a person one at that.

"I just don’t pay attention to where I’m walking sometimes," She says with a nervous tone still in her voice.

"Just have to look in front of you more," I reply with a smile.

She seems as if she freezes the moment I say that, but after a few seconds it is back to normal.

"R-Right. I’ll be on my way then," She says while walking past me.

"Lady Amelia wait up!" The guard shouts as she begins to run off.

Amelia huh? I’ll have to make sure to remember that for later since she could be one of the royal family members I’m looking for.

I don’t know what they all look like yet but I won’t forget her face or her name. It’ll be important later on when I speak with the king, if I speak with him.

I’m just a commoner for all he knows at the moment.

"Mesmerized by another woman?" Lia teases with some curiosity in her voice.

"She is beautiful, but I can’t risk anything with a human... Let alone a royal one," I respond while continuing to move towards the stairs ahead.

We have been walking around this district for quite some time now so I’d think this has to be the end of our walk. It leads all the way up to the castle itself.

Guards don’t seem to be at the bottom of the steps... Feels a bit odd to me.

"Heading up to see the king?" A guard asks from behind us.

"Yes," I answer without hesitation.

"Is he expecting you or is it a matter that you wish to discuss with him?" The guard questions.

"It is an important matter that I felt is urgent. It is to be discussed with the king only," I respond while putting on more of a serious look.

His heartbeat picks up for a moment before calming back down. He was definitely considering his options before deciding on what to say.

"Go on ahead then. Just know we aren’t dumb," The guard says with a serious tone himself.

With that I lead the way up the steps as Lia follows behind me. The view is starting to look better and better as we get closer to the top of the stairs as well. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

It makes sense why he probably enjoys the view up here so much, he can literally see everything and anything from here.

I stop at the top to look back at everything below; Admiring the capital here for what it is and looking at the distant lands outside of the walls.

You can even see the forest we came from originally... So this place really couldn’t be caught off guard.

"It is quite the view," A deeper voice speaks up.

I turn around to see who’s speaking, only to be surprised by the person standing in front of me.

"Your majesty it isn’t a good idea to just be out here without having us check things first," A guard interrupts with concern in his voice.

"I can handle stepping outside of my own castle to see my city," He responds with a bit of frustration.

"You’re right your majesty," The guard says before going quiet.

I wasn’t expecting to see the king this quick.