Chapter Six
Eastvale, Blackwell Cabin - October 4, 6:30 a.m.
Dawn arrived too soon for Orin and as abruptly as his cell phone alarm went off at 6:30 a.m., he jumped out of bed. Birds chirped outside and it drove him batshit, they were too cheery for him at this hour. Despite his cranky attitude, he wanted to know why the Queen had Minette call him out of urgency so fucking early in the morning. What was that all about?



Orin rummaged through his dresser for traveling clothes so he could blend in with the rest of the Arborview citizens, just as Minette requested. A rush came to his head as his lips paled. His mind throbbed. Oh, damnit. Here comes the hangover.



"I look like shit," he muttered after noticing his reflection in the mirror on the way out, the dark spots beneath his eyes.



Whatever. What would they expect? He locked the door behind him.



The morning light woke Orin but the grogginess didn't go away so easily with the hangover. He stared at the sidewalk, trying to avoid the sun that made him feel even worse. He tried not to think too much about his 7 a.m. briefing, thinking made his head pound and his mind rattle. Soon enough, Orin looked up and his eyes met fellow knights of the Whitemoor Manor.




Eastvale, Whitemoor Manor - October 4, 6:56 a.m.
"Hey, man. What's up?" Orin nodded to one of the knights he had worked with before.

"Same old, guarding royalty."

"I hear you out on that."



Entering the manor, Orin knew not to expect a warm welcome from a servant who would have pleasantly guided him, he wasn't considered one of the Queen's guests but a servant to royalty as well.

He walked toward the military chamber alone. It didn't matter anyway, he knew where the military chamber was like any other royal knight in Eastvale.



"There will be fresh croissants with jam on the table, Sir Blackwell," chirped a servant in front of the military chamber door.



He spotted Minette, the Queen, and the Prince at the lengthy table - oh, that damned pompous Prince he loathed so much. What an asshole, Orin thought.

The Prince wasn't a bad guy, he was harmless, but Orin disliked how he flaunted his royal status yet did nothing to earn his title, unlike Orin. He was pretty wishy-washy too from being born with a proverbial silver spoon in his mouth.



"Pleasant morning, Sir Blackwell," Minette beamed at him. She could tell he wasn't in the mood to be there.



"Yeah - I mean, good morning Overseer." Orin stepped toward to the Queen and kneeled. "And your Majesty." He ignored the Prince's presence and as a result, the Prince made an offended expression. The Queen appeared so underdressed for the briefing but the tiredness in her eyes explained it all.

Orin sat down at the long table, he had never seen it this empty before.



"Sir Blackwell, we have an urgent task to ask of you and the Queen has specifically selected you for your nobility, swordsmanship, and quick thinking," Minette started. The Queen sat quietly, listening to the presentation.

"You may have noticed that there aren't any other knights or military members present. We would like to keep this task a secret, Royal Knight of Eastvale."

"Okay," Orin nodded and bit off a piece of croissant. So yeah, this must be pretty important.



"The secrecy is due to the nature of this rescue and those who it concerns," Minette continued. Orin coughed on his breakfast - rescue? Seriously? "I know you must be thinking 'Overseer, why did you make me get up for an urgent rescue versus any another knight?' The rescue isn't for just any man or woman, but the shadow elemental."

The Prince's eyes widened, clearly he hadn't known what this briefing pertained to. Orin too appeared both shocked and overwhelmed, assigned such a responsibility over his peers. The hangover subsided. Oh, shit. He dropped his croissant.



"As everyone knows, the shadow elemental has been missing for quite some time and we've finally located his whereabouts. If word gets out about this too soon, we may have others to compete with in this rescue. You know that the power of darkness is strong and tempting - so tempting that one of the witches from the Dark Council has been selfishly hiding him in Arborview since his birth for her own dark magic." Minette looked to the Queen who exchanged nods with her, an approval of her presentation.

Orin had been told of the Dark Council often, most people feared them and everyone felt relieved as soon as they were banished from Eastvale about twenty years ago. Orin was too young to remember any aspect of the cult but had heard anecdotes from older knights. Some had speculated that the witches would find a way to return, or would find a way to make their strong dark magic work outside of Eastvale, and now their speculations were confirmed.



"Go on," Orin said.

"That's all we have to offer." What the fuck, Overseer? "As the Queen and I are not military experts and this is clearly not a typical military mission, we are allowing you to decide how you would like to rescue this shadow elemental, Sir Blackwell."



"Remember, we selected you of all the other knights and expect you to bring the shadow elemental to Eastvale, his rightful home," the Queen added. Way to put even more pressure on me, Orin thought.



"...Could I at least have an address?" He was pissed off. He'd always been given orders and now he was assigned the most significant of tasks with no plan.



Minette slid him a piece of paper across the table. Remi and Ines Mermier, 7172 North Fairhill Trail, Arborview.

"And remember, please walk along the road instead of taking a vehicle. If one of the witches discovers our intentions, I would rather have only you in combat without any innocent civilians involved. These women are ruthless and quite addicted to dark magic." What the fuck, seriously? Arborview was around sixty miles away from the outskirts of Eastvale. There was no way in hell Orin would walk the entire way.



Orin looked annoyed and it was quite noticeable. "And thank you, noblest Sir Blackwell. You will most certainly get recognition for this important deed for the rest of your life and after. Your bravery will never go unnoticed," Minette and the Queen smiled at him.



The Prince, meanwhile, continued to read the Eastvale Times' sports section despite the significant discovery of the shadow elemental. That asshole, he has the attention span of a two-year old.



"Thanks. I will be on my way," he sat up and tucked the parchment into his pocket. At least he would be able to flaunt his noble deed to the rest of the kingdom afterward. No one would fuck around with Orin Blackwell ever again in a tavern. Orin walked to the door and headed toward Arborview.

I can't believe I'm doing this. I can't believe I'm about to go rescue the shadow elemental on my own.