After Claire had been freed from her room, they got something to eat in the mess hall. There, surrounded by the many robed mystics of her order, she told Otto the full story of being taken. Otto was relieved that everything weird she had done lately had actually been the shapeshifter. It meant their fights had not really been Claire, that she wasn’t really changing into someone else because of the shift in their relationship.
But it also meant that Otto hadn’t yet told the real Claire that he still wanted to go on quests. As he caught her up on what happened while she had been missing, he had to admit the truth to her.
“Going on quests is a part of who I am. I can’t give it up, at least not until I’ve completed the task my father set out for me before he died. He sent me off to the Midnight Tower to get back the princesses. But there’s one left I haven’t saved: Amethyst.”
Claire made an ‘oh’ but then repeated the same thing she’d said last time he had addressed these concerns. “As long as I know you are mine, I will wait for as long as I need to.”
After she said this, she kissed him, and despite the distress of the last two days, everything seemed to be okay again.
Eventually, Claire was recovered enough to go back to the Sisters, and it was time for Otto to return to the Council Chamber. Gathered around the table with many of the other Paladins, he rested in his chair as he heard everything that had happened from Willis, Gregorro, Emelia, Toby, and a sorrowful Jerald.
“I almost lost it all,” Jerald said. He finished his side of the story to Otto once he returned to the Council Chamber. “The order, my brothers, all of it.”
Otto smiled. “You managed to convince the older generation to fall for it.”
“But not the young.” Jerald sighed. “I’m not cut out to be the captain of the Paladins, not if something like this could happen so easily.”
Otto frowned. “What, are you saying you don’t want the easy life of the leader?”
“Maybe as the second-in-command.” Jerald shook his head. “But as the leader? I’m not cut out for it.”
Willis clapped Otto on the shoulder. “That leaves only one person to fill the position.”
Otto shrugged his old teacher’s hand off. “But I don’t want it either. I can’t both be the captain and go out on quests.”
“But surely one of you has to be the leader,” Toby said, ready with a quill to write down the name of the first one to relent.
“I’m willing to lead the men when I’m here, lead meetings, see men off, go on domestic raids if need be, but I’m not willing to give up questing,” Otto said.
“And I’m willing to cater to your questing, but I’m unwilling to lead,” Jerald continued, voice trailing as though he was slowly coming to a solution. “Although I don’t mind the administrating and planning for different quests. It’s what I did for you father, after all.”
Willis shook his head as though it should have been obvious. “Well, you did suggest I be his second-in-command, didn’t you, Otto?”
Otto nodded. Willis already had most of the respect of the younger Paladins because he was the one who trained them.
“Then why not a three-way leadership instead of a two-way one?” Willis shrugged. “That would prevent a divide in loyalties, and if you two get into an argument, which is bound to happen, I’ll be the third party to mediate the discussion.”
Gregorro frowned. “Three? Isn’t that too many leaders?”
“It’s not without precedent,” Toby started. “There have been leaders in the past, who, like Otto, wanted to continue on their adventures, and so set a replacement captain in charge—usually the second-in-command. I don’t see why a three-way leadership couldn’t work out like that.”
Willis grinned and put one hand on Otto’s shoulder. “You will be the captain so long as you’re here, but if you are ever called away to quest, old Jerald can be the captain in your stead.” He put another hand on Jerald’s shoulder, who was sitting on the other side of him. “And if there’s any dispute between the two of you, it’ll be my job to moderate. After all, I can’t both train the new recruits and be in charge of administrative work. It’ll be too much, but as you say, Jerald, administration is your specialty. Does that sound good to everyone?”
It did, and Otto had to admit he was regretting Willis himself wasn’t nominated in the election. But with everything said and done, now there was a captain representing each generation: Otto for the younger Paladins, Willis for the more experienced, and Jerald for the veterans.
Emelia shook her head as she listened to the back and forth. “As long as I don’t have to do it, I don’t care.”
“So, does that mean this whole thing is settled?” asked Albert.
The villains had been captured, and those they had taken the identities of had been rescued. Trust was restored among the Paladins, and at the end of it all, their new leaders were ready to rise. Otto nodded. “Seems we can finally draw this election to a close.”
“About time,” Gregorro called. He patted Otto on the back and made to leave the Council Chamber. “With all these new recruits, there’s training to be done.”
Otto smiled and rose. “That sounds like a good idea. I might watch.”
Toby cleared his throat. “Actually, as leader, you should be catching up on the work that has been backing up, not to mention writing a report on the shapeshifter.”
Otto rolled his eyes.
“I’ll handle that,” Jerald said and jerked his head to the door. “Go see your new recruits. I did most of the paperwork under your father, and I see no reason why that has to change.”
Otto gave him a friendly salute. “I have no issue with that. Do you, Toby?”
Toby shook his head. Otto grinned and then turned and left with Gregorro and Willis, with some of the younger Paladins in tow.
In no time at all, they were out of the Tower and walking out onto the training yard. Gregorro went about fighting the young Paladins one by one. He sparred with a dozen young men and women, each more determined than the last. Even so, Gregorro won every match. It was an amusing sight, and Otto didn’t notice that Princess Sapphire had been watching from the sideline until she walked up next to him.
“Are you going to be another one of Gregorro’s victims today?” he asked.
Princess Sapphire grinned. “Why do you think I’ve come only now? If he wears himself out with the trainees, I might have more of a chance to win.”
“A cunning strategy, Princess,” said Otto.
Gregorro caught sight of the Princess and strode over. “Yesterday you said tomorrow, Princess. Is it not tomorrow?”
Princess Sapphire nodded and stepped forward. “It is. Shall we begin?”
Gregorro bowed, swishing out his sword. “Gladly.”
They stepped into the cleared area of the yard, and Princess Sapphire drew her sword. The trainees gathered around to watch.
Gregorro breathed out a joyful sigh and stepped back. “I have been so eager to see what they have been teaching you princesses in those halls.”
Princess Sapphire grinned and extended her stance. “My father made sure I had only the best trainers.”
Otto stepped back, shaking his head at the sheer nerve Gregorro had to challenge the princess. At the same time, Princess Sapphire was dressed for such a challenge, and he had seen her hold her own against worse monsters than Gregorro.
Gregorro began by offering taunting jabs, never extending his arm to its fullest but twisting his chest and shoulders as though he was. Princess Sapphire didn’t hesitate. Using the advantage of her armor, she dashed in, getting a few scrapes and then swinging her blunted sword straight for his head.
Gregorro ducked, but with Princess Sapphire up so close, he couldn’t use his hidden reach to his advantage anyway. Either Princess Sapphire had heard of his reputation or was eager to beat him quickly so she could go find Aelyph.
The fight between the princess and one of the Paladin’s best swordsmen intrigued Otto. He watched, transfixed, as Princess Sapphire lay into him with her practice sword.
Using a move Otto had never seen before, Gregorro extended his long limbs and spun like a merry-go-round, forcing Princess Sapphire to back off in fear of being hit at such speed. Gregorro stopped spinning, staggered slightly from dizziness, and then went on the attack.
Now that Princess Sapphire was on the defense, she no longer looked so confident, and only narrowly managed to block Gregorro’s jabs. She slashed away one blow, and then went to attack, but couldn’t get close enough before Gregorro’s blade hit her breastplate.
“One touch to Gregorro!” Gregorro called.
Otto smiled, seeing that Gregorro was true to his word. Even against a princess, he wasn’t taking it easy on her.
Princess Sapphire panted. “Best of three, then.”
“You have not had enough yet?” Gregorro hooked a thumb at himself and took a fighting stance again. “Very well. We continue.”
They went for two more rounds, making it best of five rather than best of three, but each victory went to Gregorro, and eventually Princess Sapphire conceded defeat.
“I see your reputation is not without warrant,” she panted.
“You’ve heard of Gregorro?”
Princess Sapphire smiled, sweating in the sun. “Why else would I choose to spar with you?” She wiped her forehead with the arm holding her buckler. “The next time we fight, I will not be weighed down with armor—then it will be an even playing field. I’d hate for you to keep that advantage.”
Otto grinned, seeing how Princess Sapphire was deciding to play it to keep her pride.
Gregorro beamed. “Next time we fight, we both wear armor. How’s that?”
Sapphire smiled back. “Deal.”
Otto’s victory over the shapeshifter had removed the most persistent threat in the Castle, but it did nothing to solve the mystery of who had been poisoning the king. This was made clear when, even after the shapeshifter had been locked away, the king’s illness persisted. The seriousness of it ebbed and advanced every couple of days.
Many doctors and mystics offered their services to the king to try and rid him of the illness. Only one made any headway, an old mystic with greying hair who claimed that the king had been cursed and that only avoiding proximity to others could help him recover.
Princess Sapphire introduced the mystic to Otto after he walked her from the training yard to the king’s chambers. They had just come from another sparring session—the princess was getting better and was almost a match for Gregorro’s skill. Just as they were coming into the large bedchamber doors, an old man emerged, wiping his hands with a glowing rag.
“Ah, that’s him.” Sapphire pointed to him down the corridor. “Otto, this is the mystic who’s been helping my father.”
Otto stopped when they reached him and nodded. “Thank you for all you’ve done.”
The old mystic said, “The magic that was used to poison the king is a very toxic substance. Not only does it suck the energy from the one it affects, but it can also affect those who are close by. We must make sure that the king is in quarantine in his room so that no one else will catch the same cursed sickness. I’m sorry, Princess, but you and your sisters will not be able to visit his bedside until he is well.”
Although Otto was skeptical of the mystic at first, he was glad the princesses were being careful. The kingdom couldn’t afford to lose all of them at once.
The doctor had requested that he must have full control over the room, claiming he would bring his food to him from the door, change his bedding and bathe him. “Only the king and I can occupy his chambers. Otherwise, the curse will leave him in a worse state than he currently is.”
“Nothing else has worked,” the king called through the door. “We must trust this man. He’s a funny old codger, but we cannot argue with his results.”
Given the rapid decline of his health before then, it was a relief to hear the king back to his old jolly self. Though she could only speak to her father through the door, Princess Sapphire’s face seemed brighter than it had in a while as she updated him on her progress training with Gregorro.
After a long sleep, Otto went about seeing to the duties of a Paladin leader. Willis’s idea to make the leadership a three-way deal turned out to have added benefits, for most of the more trivial duties had already been taken care of by Jerald.
He met the older Paladin in the Council Chamber after their morning meeting.
“Your father had me doing these for him for years anyway,” he said when Otto asked if he could have a look at the order’s roster and the list of new quests to send Paladins on. “I think I’m going to take Toby under my wing for these kinds of jobs. That young man has a propensity to be very organized with the paperwork.”
Otto found he couldn’t disagree. He nodded and left the table.
“Before you leave,” Jerald called. “Have you thought about what I said about organizing a raid on the Underbelly?”
Otto stopped and recalled what he had seen while down there, the hundreds of people from black market traders to dissidents to potential followers of the Dark Consul. “Presently, that’s not a beehive I would want to kick. We must be at the same might we were when we fought at the Nether Rifts if we are to control such a conflict within this city and not risk casualties.”
Jerald nodded. “That sounds fair.”
Otto left the Council Chamber. Muscles still aching from everything that had happened the previous evening, he descended the stairs, crossed the training yard, and made his way through the Castle corridors. Oddly, the place was empty, save for the few people who were running toward the main entrance.
Otto frowned and asked a nearby runner, “What’s going on? Are we being attacked?”
“You haven’t heard the rumor,” the noble cried back. “It’s being spread all through Castle town: the identity of the Midnight Queen. The king’s seneschal is addressing the people.”
Sudden terror rose up in him. “What?”
Otto had heard nothing about such an announcement. He rushed with the rest of the people outside and over the drawbridge to see a crowd of townsfolk all gathered at the base of the stairs leading down to Castletown.
The seneschal was standing above them on the steps. Otto hadn’t seen him since the previous day. His captives had starved him in his cage, but he looked like he had gained some of his color back.
He turned and called out to the commoners. “My people, I have something to share with you. The king ordered me to spread the news of something that has been resting on his conscience for too long now!”
Otto gasped. He hadn’t expected the king to reveal their secret to the people so quickly. The seneschal pulled out a piece of parchment and began reading it to the crowd.
“These are the king’s words,” he said. “Ahem . . . ‘As you already know, the Paladin Otto took the Midnight Tower and saved two of my daughters, Citrine and Ruby.’”
There was a cheer from the crowd that was soon hushed as they seneschal lifted his hands.
“‘But there is one discovery that they did not tell you. One that I’m sure will chill your very bones and may bring despair into your hearts. It is a truth so horrible . . .’” The seneschal grimaced then and trailed off.
Otto frowned. If the king intended to tell the people, Otto didn’t know why he had written this announcement to be framed in such a horrible way. If the seneschal was about to reveal that Princess Amethyst was the Midnight Queen, surely the voice of the king would want to soften the blow to the commoners. He was suddenly suspicious again that this wasn’t the seneschal at all, but another shapeshifter. However, the confused look on the seneschal’s face told differently. He rolled up the parchment, revealing himself to be just as surprised by the king’s words as the crowd.
Instead of continuing his reading, he continued in his own words. “I’m sorry. The king is saddened that, in his bedridden state, he cannot tell you himself. Alas, some of you have heard, and so it’s only fair that you should all know the truth.” The seneschal paused as silence filled the streets. “Princess Amethyst, I grieve to say, is the Midnight Queen.”
The crowd gasped, hands covered mouths, and others shook their heads in disbelief. Groaning and crying soon followed.
Otto was shocked. Isn’t this what he had wanted? Why did it feel so wrong?
But at least now the truth was out, may the Goddess save them. However, considering truth was the way of Goddess, Otto didn’t think she had any good reason to forsake them. Even should she, Otto wouldn’t give up. He would climb the Midnight Tower and knock on her door again should he need to. With the Tower now in the hands of Crystalia, he imagined it wouldn’t be as hard as it was last time.
Since returning, he’d only been dwelling on the negative consequences of that mission—his father dying, his reputation being blown out of proportion, Princess Amethyst being revealed as the Midnight Queen—but at least now the home of the Goddess was no longer shrouded in darkness. And Otto had it in good faith that the Goddess would return the favor by helping them rid the darkness from their home and bring in the light of truth.
It was only fair, and fairness was her will.
