Sam, Taurtis, Grian, and Isabella stepped into the throne room. The king sat on the throne, as per usual. He almost never left that seat. Two guards flanked the pedestal the throne sat on. To the king's right sat his son, Ralph. To his left was his court wizard Wilfred the Wet, also known as the Blue Wizard. Grian admired his six-foot indigo staff with envy.

  "Remember the story," Taurtis whispered to Sam and Grian.

  "What story?" Sam whispered back.

  Grian sighed. "Just let Taurtis say it," he said.

  "Okay."

  They walked farther down the hall. Suddenly, Grian stopped.

  "Oh no..." he mumbled.

  "'Oh no' what?" Isabella asked.

  "Look who Buford's talking to."

  The three of them turned around. Standing at the edge of the throne was Emma, her hood still down. She was talking patiently with the king, nodding every other sentence or so.

  The king looked up and noticed the four standing there. Isabella hid a grimace. King Burford was surprisingly skinny for his hunched appearance, but he had an abnormally large head with very little hair. When his mouth was closed, you couldn't see his snaggletooth, but when he spoke, spit went everywhere. Though he was very perceptive, his eyes were never focused. They were a periwinkle color and very misty, almost like he had no iris at all.

  "There you are," he said. "Was your mission successful?"

  Emma turned around. Seeing that it was them, she shot Grian a look and stepped aside, right next to one of the guards.

  The king gave the three a stern look and beckoned them forward. Isabella stayed behind the boys as they stepped up.

  "So?" the King asked. "What happened? Who's this girl?"

  "Your majesty, that's my, uh, acquaintance," Emma said.

  "Acquaintance?" Isabella muttered, looking offended.

  "She knows one of these boys, so she tagged along with them when they were coming back from their...mission."

  The king nodded. "I see, I see. Anyways, did you kill the Yendervale king?"

  Taurtis stepped forward. "Well, what happened was—" he started. He was interrupted by Sam.

  "We didn't complete the mission!" he yelled. "We couldn't even get to the king's kingdom! We got lost in the woods, so we had to turn back and now we're here and we didn't do anything!"

  Taurtis and Grian gave him a look, which made the hybrid shrink back behind them. "Heh heh...heh...heh...heh..." he said, cowering.

  Emma silently giggled. Sometimes the most naive ones were the funniest.

  "Hmm," said the king, "I thought so. I just got a letter from the king this morning."

  "You–You did?" Taurtis asked.

  "Yes. He invited me to play chess."

  "Oh."

  "Is there any way we can redeem ourselves?" Grian asked.

  "You've already tried to redeem yourselves..."

  "Yeah..."

  "...But, there might be one way you still can."

  The boys' faces lit up. Sam's ears shot up towards the ceiling. "Really?" they said in unison.

  "Follow me for redemption."

  The king then slowly stepped off of the throne. He started walking toward the door to his left. Prince Ralph, the guards, Wilfred, and Emma stayed close by him. The boys and Isabella followed.

  Taurtis snorted at the king's walking. Since he was a hunchback, he had a very slow walk, which consisted of his shoulders bouncing up and down with every step he took. His head bobbed as well, and Taurtis couldn't contain himself. Sam slapped him.

  "Don't laugh at the king!" he whispered angrily.

  "Are you laughing at my father?" Prince Ralph said, turning towards the two of them with wide, knowing eyes. In front of him, Burford and Wilfred had stopped walking.

  "No, no!" Taurtis said, trying to not laugh again. "I was just, uh, thinking of a joke from earlier. Sam, tell him the joke!" He gestured to the hybrid, whose eyes widened.

  Sam looked from Ralph and Buford to Taurtis and back again. He relaxed his shoulders, turning to the two royals. "So, uh, two guys walk into a bar," he started. "One of them is a king, and the other isn't."

  There was a moment of anxious silence. Finally, the king nodded his head slowly. "Yes, yes, very hilarious," he said with a faint grin. He turned around and began walking again. The matter seemed to be resolved; however, the guards shifted their armor and tilted their weapons' points ever so slightly in Taurtis' direction.

  They continued walking. They trailed up stairs until they made their way onto the roof. Burford slowly headed over to the balcony. The boys walked over to him.

  "See that in the distance?" the king asked, pointing vaguely to a greyish structure that stood on the brink of their eyesight. The boys nodded. "That's where my dwarf drinking pals live. I haven't heard from them in a while. I want you to go check on them."

  "Um, okay...?" Sam said. "What's the catch?"

  "I'm sending the girl and Emma with you."

  Everyone was speechless.

  "No way!" Emma said. "I'm not going anywhere with him!" She pointed at Grian.

  "Ahem," said the king. Emma lowered her hand.

  "Fine. But only this once."

  She shot a look at Grian. It was only for a split second, but it seemed that her eyes glowed blue.

  "Wait, I just came to tag along," Isabella said.

  "And tag along you will," the king said. "Now go; there's someone who will meet you at the gate."

  "What does he look like?" Sam asked.

  The king hesitated. "I do not know." The boys exchanged glances, but the king continued, "I am blind."

  There was a silent Oh between them all.

  "What does he smell like?" Taurtis asked after another silence.

  "Like rum. And sorrow."

  "Just like everyone else here," Isabella whispered. Grian stifled a snort. Her and the boys turned around and headed down the stairs without any more words. Right before Emma could leave, Buford walked over to her.

  "Yes, your majesty?" Emma said.

  "Emma, please, watch over the boys," said the king. "They are all weak and naive, not to mention gullible. I know you are much stronger than they are. Please, just don't let them get hurt. I know they have a bigger part to play in this kingdom's story."

  Emma nodded. "I will." She headed down the stairs quickly, following the rest of the group out of the castle.