After the rabbage had been skinned of its fur and leaves, it got disemboweled. Keylla stored its organs in a glass jar while Gemma cooked the meat with her pyromancy. It served as practice to control her powers while she cooked the dead critter.

The treasure huntress checked the inventory; what she had collected so far was the elixir she stole from the guard back in the cave, a potion, four glass jars she stole from David's house, and 38,561 gil. Keylla opened the glass jar to store the organs which she wrapped it with the leaves she skinned.

"Are you done cooking yet?" Keylla hollered while she closed the jar.
"Almost." Gemma responded as she watched the rabbage meat burn.
"You better not burn it to a crisp like you did with the other one!" Keylla warned.
"I won't!" Gemma hollered before Keylla stored the items she collected in her inventory.

After the rabbage was cooked and served, they ate it along with some of the leaves that came with it. Keylla uncorked an elixir and shared some of it for Gemma to drink.

Within the fortified walls of the bedchamber, the monarch slept beneath the layers of bed sheets. Once the matron had ran the velvety curtain, the sunlight sneaked into the cobblestone and mortar walls to land where his concealed face laid. "Nana, close the curtain." Roni raised his arm to shield his face before the elderly matron closed the curtain, then she approached the king before he irritably rose from his cozy resting place with his frazzled auburn hair loose around his shoulders, his bedroom eyes bored languidly towards his matron before she curtsied.

"Your Majesty--"

"Stop that! I forbid you to curtsy and call me majesty." Roni reminded her, "You of all people should know that I find these titles unnecessary."

"That may be, Roni, but there are traditions that cannot be altered." The matron reasoned with him despite that he was a full grown man, she still saw him as a child.

"I should consider making a decree to end these protocols." Roni murmured.

"Kings don't mumble." Nana corrected him, she was a matron wise with age, she started working as the milkmaid back when Roni's predecessor was an infant.

"Enough of that rubbish, leave the curtsying to the nobles and the rest of the subjects. You are part of the family." Roni insisted just as he cupped the cheeks of his mother figure. The matron signalled the ladies-in-waiting to run his bath while the cooks and bakers prepared the dishes.

The monarch entered the lavatory and paced to the folding screen to disrobe. His silhouette could be seen while he removed his chemise and his under garments before being thrown in a basket. Roni entered the bathtub and immersed himself in the water while the amnesiac and the treasure huntress reached the desert.

Gemma followed Keylla and tredged for miles while they headed to Vigoreaux. The rays of the scorching Sun started to take its toll on them. "How much farther until we find the castle?"

"We are not lost! We're almost there!" Keylla barked at her while they were sweating under the cruel heat.

"Keylla," Gemma rasped, "Do you think the king would be kind enough to give us water?"

"Yes, now come on! We're close! I can assure you." Keylla walked back to grab Gemma's wrist and urged her to move quickly. "The sooner we get to Vigoreaux, the sooner we'll get some water."

The desert teemed with an immense heat wave, the Sun radiated with such intensity while the ones beneath its UV rays scorched the acrid kingdom. The solar panels that were encased in a laminated glass on the tower roofs, railings, mosaic-like shingles and rooftops of the castle; absorbed the sunlight making mockery of the vegetations' natural photosynthesis. In a kingdom which contains hectares upon hectares of sand, its inhabitants needed technological advancements to accomodate the needs of many to create a massive castle to lodge 92.6% of its population with a stronghold that could rival the infrastructure of ancient Babylon and the tower of Babel combined to create a castle with the capacity to bury itself underground and transport them to its sister state below the mountains of the Alpacines and Goattes to arrive in Southwest Vigoreaux and back. The Castle was designed to not only as a dwelling, but also as a machine that could transform itself as a fortress to protect its inhabitants from intruders.

Keylla and Gemma found Vigoreaux Castle in all its splendor. Gemma was dehydrated from walking in the desert for nearly an hour. If not for their need of sustaining themsleves with elixir and water, they would've been at the mercy of desert rats and scorpions as their next meal. Two guards stood by the entrance of the castle, one of them spotted the trail-worn women from afar.

"Wait! Hey! Don't come any closer!" One of the guards ordered as he brandished his lance before he recognized Keylla. "Oh, it's you proceed."

Halt! State your business," another guard declared, this one rode on his steed to approach them, his slate eyes glued to Gemma.

"I have business with his grace, the king." Keylla replied.

"And this one?" the guard gestured at Gemma as he spoke.

"She is my ward, sir."

A third guard took a swig from his steaming mug, eyed them some more, and waved his free hand to the men on the battlements above. Then, the heavy gates swung up with a loud grinding noise that Gemma was surprised couldn't be heard when the caravan went through before them earlier.

"Proceed, I'll send word to his grace." The mounted guard replied in a displeased tone as he tugged the reign, signalling his steed to walk away.

Keylla nodded and pulled Gemma along into the gatehouse just inside the castle.

The entryway was large enough to accommodate several hundred people, and tall enough to allow high topped caravans and wagons to enter without getting stuck.
There were four circular stairways leading up to the top of the gates, two on each side of the large room, and several doors leading to who-knew-where. Gemma wanted to see where these doors led, but Keylla kept walking through the gatehouse at a swift pace.

A set of tall wooden doors at the end of the gatehouse led to a courtyard with merchant stalls being set up for the day along the walls. Even though it was still early in the day, there were people milling around with shopping baskets haggling over the prices of fruits and meats.

"Must have been a new guard captain, pah." Keylla grumbled under her breath, heading towards the opposite wall where another set of double doors lay.

"Do the guards normally not act that way towards you?" asked Gemma, unable to keep her eyes off the merchants setting up their stalls with embroidered fabrics and shiny trinkets.

Keylla looked at Gemma, "Not usually." The main gates are normally thrown open for all to enter. "Yeah, the guards keep an eye on people, especially dodgey lookin' ones. But I'm a face they see nearly every few weeks."

A merchant had brought a cistern full of water to sell. Gemma saw the merchant pour out a glass of water. The more she looked at it, the more parched she felt.

"So either that guy was a rookie, or Roni's gotten wind of something brewing. With all that's been happening as of late, I'd bet my jacket it's the latter." Keylla added before she saw the amnesiac wait in line for the water. The treasure huntress put her fists on her hips and shook her head in disbelief.

The servants prepared breakfast for the king; oatmeal, dried fruits glazed with honey, and coconut milk while the monarch rested on the porcelain bathtub. Roni was inmersed in his thoughts, considering which technological device he should implement in order to increase the production with the crops and the imported soil. "Perhaps I should install a conveyor belt to transport the waste to the annexed greenery for compost."

As the king bathed, one of the ladies-in-waiting was trying to take a peek through a slit from one of the glass windows high above while the other three were whispering about him.

"Have you seen how smooth his skin looked?" Sinead, the main lady-in-waiting queried.

"Mmm, like caramel. I'm sure." Guinevere replied as she longed to taste actual caramel for breakfast.

"What I'd give to touch his skin." Liesserl sighed dreamily.

"How about his gorgeous green eyes?" Sinead suggested as she smirked.

"Like two fresh olives." Guinevere commented, thinking of eating an appetizer.

"I would get lost in an oasis with eyes like his." Liesserl held back a squeal to prevent from getting caught.

"And his luscious auburn hair." Sinead insisted.

"Red like strawberry jam, mmm-mmm." Guinevere licked her lips in the hopes of getting a jar full of the mouth watering marmalade.

"I'd love to caress his tresses any day." Liesserl said as she fantasized of touching Roni's hair and kissing him.

"Would you keep quiet? I'm trying to concentrate." Irene, the lady-in-waiting who was peeking through the slit requested as she eyed the bathtub while the monarch moved his free hand to wash off the suds from his forearm. As Roni continued to wash his other extremities, the other ladies-in-waiting resumed with their hushed banter.

"How long are you gonna stand there? It's my turn!" Liesserl half-whispered, half-sneered as she shoved the curly haired blonde out of the way for her to take a peek.

"I don't get what the big deal is? He's just taking a bath." Half of the ladies-in-waiting sniggered at Irene's statement before the Sinead laid her hand on the blonde's shoulder to enlighten her while Guinivere was none the wiser.

"Clearly you haven't seen the king at his fullest like I did." Sinead replied while Liesserl leisurely bit her bottom lip and ogled at the king as he rose from the bathtub.

"It's huge!" Liesserl gasped before covering her mouth.

"See? I told you." Sinead stated while Roni covered himself with the bathrobe. The gluttonous one of the four had absconded from the premises once she got a whiff of pancakes, blueberries and cinnamon wafted in the air and followed the scent leaving the other ladies-in-waiting. "And you thought I was lying."

The curly haired lady-in-waiting made a hasty retreat when she spotted the matron approach.

"If the king has it big, imagine his--"

The matron had heard her, "Is that anyway for a lady to speak?" Both of the ladies-in-waiting turned pale before the matron chasitised them.

Roni got properly dressed as he wore a royal blue tunic with a golden sash tied to his waist with a white belt, a brooch with the royal crest of two headed lion with the letter V below, black boots with golden accents and wore a silver plated crown embedded with sapphires and gold accents.

Keylla finally brought a glass of water for Gemma to drink. "Thank you." The girl took the glass and drank it.

"Keylla, what is the king of Vigoreaux like?" The amnesiac asked her, worried that he may despise her the same way the others do because of her powers.

"Well, he's one of the nicest men I know." Keylla assured, despite this, the news of the imperial officer's disappearance had reached Vigoreaux Castle. Not only the travelers had caught wind of the news weren't, some of the commoners from the castle were also talking about it. While the king was eating breakfast, the cooks and bakers whispered about it in the kitchen when Guinevere had heard of the news.

She grabbed a plate of flapjacks when she heard the news of the imperial officer dissapearing after invading the city-state of Gelid. Guinevere, being an anxious eater, she wolfed down the flapjacks in less than ten minutes then headed off to the corridor and once she caught up to Irene and Sinead, she told them what she had heard.

"You are not gonna believe this! The imperial witch has gone missing!" Guinevere spoke between breaths.

"What else is new?" Sinead asked sarcastically.

"Don't you get it? She could come here any day now! If the rumors about her are true there is no doubt that she'll burn the castle with us in it." Guinevere warned.

"No she won't," Sinead refuted, "the king and the Empire are allies."

"The alliance is a farce. It will only be a matter of time before they turn their backs on us like they did to the other states. Nearly the entire Eastern continent has been taken over by the Erthilean Empire. For all we know, that imperial witch could be a spy to gain intel." Irene surmised.

"The witch is here." Liesserl sprinted, warning them. "I just got word from the ward that the witch is here." They gasped in unison as they saw a silhouette approach their peripheral vision.

Keylla paused to open the door for Gemma, and resumed talking once they were past the pair of guards standing at the entrance.
They were now in a long corridor with many side halls splitting off into different directions.

The corridors were decked with marble and mortar as they neared the foyer. Keylla's suspicions caused a wave of worry to rise up in her throat. Maybe King Roni heard about the Imperial soldiers patrolling the valley between the Gelid mountain ranges. Gemma hoped that the king wouldn't turn her over to the Empire.

Without paying any attention to where they were headed, Gemma blinked and suddenly found herself outside of what had to be the throne room. Keylla stopped a few paces away from the intricately carved marble doors flanked by guards in full armor with crossbows strapped to their backs and spears in their hands.

Keylla leaned down to whisper in Gemma's ear, "Don't you worry about a thing, okay? I got this."
"Alright," Gemma replied, though wary of what was to come. Keylla's warnings of the king when they were traveling echoed in her mind.
"Gentlemen," Keylla addressed the guards, "Can you request an audience with the king for me?"
The guard to the left came to life with a thin smile that vanished as he went into the throne room for a few moments. The ladies-in-waiting watched from afar.

"Is that Keylla?" Irene queried inaudibly.

"Why is she doing here?" Sinead surmised, "Hadn't she gone off gallivanting for treasure?"

"Who's that? I haven't seen her around here before?" Guinevere asked.

"Who, Keylla? That sneaky rat had been scurrying around the castle for treasure. It was a good thing one of the guards have stopped her last time." Liesserl commented as she eyed the treasure huntress.

"I meant the other one." Guinevere said.

"I have no idea." Irene admitted.

"She's not from around here. I can guarantee that she is the spy sent by the Empire. I bet my gil on it." Sinead prompted.

Muffled speaking could barely be heard outside of the marble doors, and within another moment, the sentinel returned.

"His grace will see you now, Mrs. Robberts," he held the door open for Keylla and Gemma, and carefully closed it behind them.

The walls were lofty and had tapestries depicting battles scenes, portraits, and what she assumed to be the Vigoreaux flag sewn into the thick fabrics. Stained glass windows rested near the smooth ceiling, and gave the room a warm feeling as sunlight filtered down into reds and greens on the gray stone floor.
A narrow red carpet ran the length of the room and ended at a pair of thrones on a raised dais. Four more guards stood along the walls of the room at attention.

Both gold embellished thrones were empty, and upon realizing this, Gemma shifted her gaze downwards a bit before noticing the man sitting on the short steps leading to the thrones. In his hands was a little hunk of metal with cogs and gears on the surface and a long screwdriver, and he was seeming to ignore the oil dripping from the thing onto his finely tailored black trousers.

The auburn man looked up from his tinkering at the sound of the door shutting and gave the pair a big smile.

"Roni! How's it goin'?" Keylla called as she walked up to her ally and reigning king.

"You're lucky you showed up when you did, or else you would have had to wait while I finished up repairs down in the engine room." The king rose and stretched like a cat with his hands high above his head. He sat his bit of machine and tool down on the step before pulling the thief into a tight hug that nearly hauled Keylla off her feet.

From over Keylla's shoulder, Roni saw Gemma silently approaching. Roni motioned for his guards to leave the room with his hand.
"Would this be the young woman I've heard so much about?" he asked, to which Keylla nodded as she pulled away from the embrace.
"Roni, this is Gemma." Keylla gestured to her as she spoke.

Before Gemma could speak, Roni dropped to one knee and took her right hand gently in his, "My lady, I am pleased to make your acquaintance. I am King Roni of Vigoreaux, and I offer you my castle as refuge." He accented his little speech with a kiss to the back of her hand before rising from his knee. She did not notice Keylla stifling a giggle at this display.
"Thank you, your grace," she replied, trying to keep the surprise out of her voice. Her worries of being thrown into a dungeon faded after receiving such a cordial greeting. Surely a king wouldn't throw somebody into the dungeon right after kissing their hand.

"I wonder if it's normal for a king to drop to his knee for a lady..." Keylla teased. The king still held her hand as she gazed at Gemma's golden eyes. Keylla moved to remove the bandana Gemma borrowed earlier from her hair.

"Hey, Keylla, don't-" Gemma protested for fear of the king reacting negatively, but Keylla's hands undid the knot quickly and she plucked the bandana from her head.

Roni's light viridian eyes widened upon seeing her hair as it flopped back to where the curls naturally rested, but instead of the reaction she had expected, he took a curl from the long bangs framing her face and examined it in awe.

"Arcel wasn't kidding..." he breathed so low that she could barely hear the words.

"Yep, she's the real deal, Ron."

Roni dropped her lock of hair and hand, and put his hands behind his back as he took a few steps away, "So, you're an Imperial soldier? Worry not! My kingdom and the Empire are allies." His demeanor changed so abruptly that Gemma blinked hard a couple of times to be sure that she was still looking at the same tall, auburn king from before. He was now all business as he whispered something to Keylla with a sidelong glance at Gemma.

Keylla nodded briefly and grabbed Gemma's hand, "Well, now that introductions are outta the way, how's about you and me go find some grub?" Gemma nodded vigorously despite herself. Losing his air of all business, Roni stepped closer again, "I think that was an enthusiastic 'yes,' Keylla. I'll join you two as well. Breakfast should be ready by now." Gemma gave Roni a sheepish smile as she agreed to their plan.

Roni flipped his long ribboned ponytail over his shoulder and offered Terra his arm as the trio set off down to the double doors.
"Perhaps eating in the private dining room would be best for us. What do you think, Keylla?" the king opened the door for them with his free hand and led the way into the grand hall.
"Yeah, we have some things we need to discuss, your majesty." Keylla humored, Roni supressed a defeated sigh at being called by his title.