"You can't be serious. We are not letting him anywhere near Princess Lina."

Sal continued to glare at the Peninsula Royals seated around the table, focusing on the King of Ferodite. Knowing Mathias was of the same opinion made Sal feel stronger than he knew he was.

Ogre had delivered his ultimatum with the kind of finality that made Sal's insides dry up. The monster had then proceeded to laugh and inform them he will take his leave.

According to the fiend, it was in the Peninsula Kingdom's best interests to use this time to come to a decision.

Mathias cleared his throat before neatly folding both hands on the table. He made sure he had the room's undivided attention before he spoke.

"I understand we are in a difficult position. There is a lot at stake. While a war with Ogre doesn't mean defeat, it does mean millions of causalities in each of our respective domains. Hence, avoiding such a war is our highest priority. That being said, we cannot trust the likes of Ogre. Giving in to him now would be a mistake. It would not only fail to satiate the monster's greed, but it'll also serve as a sign of weakness to our people."

A silence settled onto the room as each Royal digested the truth behind Mathias' words. It was the Queen of Grinlo who spoke first.

She glanced at Lina and frowned, her thin eyebrows furrowing in sorrow. In this manner, with her petite frame enveloped by the pearls and silk of her dress, the Grinlo Queen resembled a broken China doll. Delicate.

"I'm really sorry love."

The words were directed towards Lina, who was not expecting to be addressed directly. Lina simply nodded, but Sal knew the bravery and calm was a front. Behind the smokescreen was a girl frightened out of her wits.

The Queen of Wisp adjusted the collar of her regal military coat before clearing her throat. She tilted her head back slightly, letting her copper curls fall over her shoulder. Her black eyes were trained on Mathias, holding the kind of wisdom one wouldn't expect from her age.

"With all due respect, your Majesty, if we do not accept the alliance there may not be any people left to look weak to. This is not the time to worry over whether we look weak or not. The lives of our people are more important than the reputation of our armies. However, on the topic of trust, I do agree with you. But Ogre did agree to bind himself into multiple magical oaths, so at this point, it matters not if we trust him. Additionally, there is no issue of age. Ogre agreed to wait four years until Princess Lina is 18."

She paused, her gaze briefly darting toward Lina. The Wisp Queen's face softened slightly.

"It's unfortunate. This was not something any of us planned for. I know if it was my sister in her place..."

Mathias tensed. His jaw locked as he refrained from directly speaking the profanities that flooded his brain. He had to play his cards right if he wanted any chance of keeping his Princess safe.

But Lina took action before either Sal or Mathias could. She slammed both her fragile fists on the oak of the table and stood up.

"No more. Father, I know you want to keep me safe but I agree with Her Majesty. This arrangement is the only choice we have. I agree to it. In fact, I believe it is necessary. I... I agree wholeheartedly."

Sal saw how Lina's little shoulders shook even as she spoke such brave words. It broke his heart, knowing her fate was sealed.

What good was an ocean of mana if it couldn't even save one princess?

A low whistle came from across the table. The King of Yisteria grinned, a mischievous twinkle in his mossy green eyes. With painfully dashing good looks and physique chiseled enough to make Queens swoon, Yisteria's King was the very definition of promiscuous. His popularity amongst the populace was only boosted by his status as the youngest of the Peninsula Royals.

His blond hair practically glowed under the sunlight peeking through the narrow window slits and the very sight of him annoyed Sal endlessly. Even now as the King began to speak, Sal worked to stifle a groan.

"Princess, you'll make a fine Queen one day. Fortunately for you, I have good news. Fortunately for all of us actually, the tension in here is not good for our skin. Right Wispy?"

Aside from a minor eye twitch, the Queen of Wisp ignored him completely. The Queen of Grinlo blushed when he winked her way, and the King of Ferodite looked semi-intrigued.

"Your majesty, what good news could you possibly have?" Sal asked, proud of himself for managing to properly address the nuisance before him.

"So glad you asked, love. I'll tell you. This arrangement is not only going to keep our Kingdoms safe, it will also allow us to rid ourselves of-"

Before the Yisteria King could continue, Sal sealed his lips shut as quick as he could with binding magic. All heads turned to Sal in confusion.

"My sincerest apologies your Majesty, but if you're going to be speaking along those lines, it's necessary for me to do a sweep of the room first."

As understanding settled over the Royals, each nodded in agreement. After Mathias' signal, it only took Sal ten minutes to completely scan the entire conference room for any variation of tracking magic. Any traces of lingering spells that would allow Ogre to listen in.

Once Sal was sure there was no possible way for Ogre to eavesdrop, he nodded towards the Yisteria King. The King smiled brightly and continued from where he was before.

"This arrangement is the perfect opportunity to slay Ogre."

The Queen of Wisp clucked her tongue and turned to face him directly.

"If you're expecting that little girl to take a knife to Ogre's neck once she's by his side, you're more of a loon than I believed you to be."

The Yisteria King laughed, shaking his head.

"Wispy, you underestimate me."

From the corner of his eyes, Sal caught Ferodite's Archmage shift uncomfortably. The man, a renowned mage known as Maven, was an oddity to Sal. He was the sort of man who would scorch his own mother if it meant an extra bag of gold.

Sal couldn't understand for the life of him why a man such as that chose to become the Archmage. He also knew that Maven had quite an impressive reputation in the criminal circle as a 'trickster'. Everyone knew never to let Maven near anything valuable because the man had an unmatchable technique in sleight of hand.

Maven's presence added to Sal's discomfort and Sal wished once more for this entire mess to be over soon. The King of Yisteria, however, took his sweet time before elaborating.

"There's mage back home who goes by the name of Elizer. Elizer is our Royal Archmage, actually. He spent the last decade developing a very powerful weapon in the hopes of taking Ogre down. Of course, as you can guess, he was never able to perfect it. But he came close enough. From what I've heard, Salvador, you're the greatest mage we've ever seen. Better than Elizer himself."

From beside Sal, the King of Elm gasped. King Eric, who had taken over after King Wistari passed, looked furious.

"I thought you had genuine news for us. This is not the time to further your own agenda!"

The smile that had previously lit the Yisteria King's face faded, replaced by irritation.

"Use your head. If we can perfect this weapon, take it to a point where anyone can use it, then it can help us fulfill our goals. The princess can use it to slay Ogre once she's close enough. If anything, it can at least keep her safe! We have four years, I'll be damned if I let the Princess walk in unprepared. If the six Kingdoms of the Peninsula gather their brightest mages, maybe we can complete the weapon in time."

Sal felt numb. He wanted this to be over, but everything was moving too fast, slipping out of control. Through his confusion, he managed to mumble, "there're a lot of ifs in your plan, your Majesty."

Mathias finally spoke up, his voice hoarse.

"But it's the best plan we've got so far. I propose the research be done in Calnoiva. Our magical facilities are some of the most advanced in the Peninsula and its Sal's home. Considering the duty of finishing Elizer's work now rests in Sal's hands, Calnoiva should be the base."

So many thoughts flew through Sal's head, he was ready to pass out. He had to finish a weapon Lord Elizer had concocted. He had to make sure it was infused with Lina's essence so no one could misuse it. He had to make sure it worked, that it could keep Lina safe.

The King of Ferodite glanced around the room, scanning for hesitation. Once he was satisfied, the burly King spoke.

"Then it's settled. We'll send our best and brightest to Calnoiva by the next moon. I will personally send Maven."

/\/\/\***/\/\/\

One more part, then the SalMat arc is over! We'll be returning to the main story soon.

Question: Do you guys like the King of Yisteria?  

P.S Mathias is the third youngest (35) of the Pensinula Royals, the Queen of Wisp is second (30) and the King of Yisteria is first (26). 

P.P.S Wisp and Yisteria are neighboring Kingdoms who've been at peace for over a century. Therefore, the current Queen of Wisp and King of Yisteria practically grew up together (which is why he's so informal with her, hence the 'Wispy') 

Chp pic: a lovely cover made by my best friend PurplePizza. She's hugely talented, both as a designer and a writer :) [the pic isn't up right now, there're some technical difficulties, I'll try to get it up as soon as I can]