The meeting had been due to start half an hour ago by the time Gabriel and Anita arrived at the castle. Luckily for them, when schedules concerned the nobility they rarely began on time.
"I will see you in the conference room when the meeting begins," Gabriel informed his assistant as they pulled into the expansive castle parking ground.
"Off to see His Little Highness?" The car door clicked shut, "I'll be rather lonely in the lobby without you sir."
That was a lie, one that Gabriel did not believe seeing as Anita's sociability was something to be envied. "Then keep yourself busy." He chided while walking towards the castle's hulking figure.
The Castle of Edenea was a monumental piece that sat tall upon a hill just north of the city center. Its exterior stood true to its ancient majesty in reverence of long-standing traditions and values. It had long, thin arched windows and statuettes of the Cerulean Saints stood guard around thick stone walls. The historical appearance was, of course, a mere front, because no royal or noble dared live within a stony prison without the modern comforts of magitech. Not to mention, a building that was purely historical would pose a serious threat to security.
After parting with Anita, he made his way to the westward garden. Thick hedges with heavily perfumed flowers towered to form a maze. Opinions of its designed often divided between charming and ominous but Gabriel could only feign to care. If anything he could at the very least appreciate the false sense of privacy the tall shrubs presented.
Tucked away within the labyrinth was a small pavilion at which a young man sat. From a distance, the scene was akin to one plucked from a classical painting. A young prince dawning traditional silks and velvet beneath the shade, with pale fingers curled around the handle of a delicate gold inlaid teacup that he brought gently to his lips. It took a moment before Gabriel's presence was registered. Emerald eyes widened at the High Paladin.
"Gabriel! When did you arrive?" The prince stood from his seat a bit too hastily and almost toppled over the entire table. Cheeks flushed, the young prince fussed over the tea set, his clothes, as well as his hair as he greeted the knight, "Please forgive the mess. I'm extremely happy that you made it to see me before the meeting. I can't begin to express how relieved I feel."
His smile was shy, almost painfully sweet and Gabriel had to hold back a sigh as he straightened into a salute. "Your Highness, please be at ease, it's only me."
His attempts of calming the prince were unfortunately in vain as red deepened upon the young man's face and ears. "Oh, yes of course, sorry I'm just nervous. Please sit."
"There is no need to apologize."
Prince Kaighle was the younger of the two main candidates for the imperial throne. Born with a frail body and tender heart, Kaighle was raised with loving care within the castle walls. Though he had a superior heritage compared to his older brother, Kaighle had no great achievements, nor outstanding talents to boast. Instead, he was kindhearted and naive without ambition or romantic ideals. This was the man that Gabriel vowed to one day see on the throne.
He allowed Prince Kaighle to prepare him tea, knowing well that the routine helped His Highness reign in his nervous fits and composure. "I got these leaves from Uncle Ludiz. They're from the far east, beyond Aspira's borders. They're a little different from what you usually get in Adros but I really enjoy the exotic fragrance and," He paused before slowly setting the teapot back upon the table, "of course, I know you don't really care about this kind of stuff. But, I think, uh, the tea is quite nice. I hope you think it's nice too."
In all honesty, Gabriel cared as much for luxurious tea flavors as much as the bitter coffee he used to drink from the cheapest shop. And while he wasn't the type to enjoy entertaining such frivolities, he took a sip from the steaming porcelain nonetheless. The meeting could wait. "Not bad. There's an interesting spice that I have difficulties placing but I can't say that I mind."
A smile lit up the prince's face, "I'm so glad you noticed!"
Gabriel set the cup upon the table, where it would sit till they left for their official affairs, "What has been troubling you, Your Highness?"
The prince's bright expression faltered. His hands immediately going to fiddle around the fabric of his sleeves, "I'm just nervous."
"What is there to be nervous about?" Gabriel failed to understand for this was hardly the first time Kaighle attended a conference. He'd never been great at speaking during but with time and practice, Gabriel believed that the prince had the potential to improve.
"I don't know, I guess it'll be different without Aryon. I'm not as…well you know. He handles the situation with much more skill than I can."
Gabriel took a moment to gather his thoughts, he placed his arms across the table and intertwined his fingers, "It's hardly a bad thing that Prince Aryon will be absent." He paused to appreciate the young prince's wide-eyed innocence. "He won't always be around to help you, Your Highness. It will do you well to be able to handle affairs on your own."
Slowly, Prince Kaighle nodded, accepting the logic that Gabriel spun. Gabriel encouraged him with a smile, hoping secretly that it wasn't too stiff, "Of course, if you're feeling unsure of yourself, please remember that I will always have your back, Your Highness."
Prince Kaighle's face brightened, "Yes…thank you Gabriel. I truly rely on you dearly…"
Their peaceful tea party ended with Gabriel's phone ringing a generic sound. Anita called for them their presence, the meeting was finally due to start.
The conference room was on the north side of the castle, nestled deep within the confines of magically reinforced pillars and walls decorated with grand towering paintings of historical figures long past. A long, oval table stood at its center like an immovable monument itself, magicite trimmings glowing from its base to the delicate swirls embroidering its edges.
"Saved you a spot." Anita winked as she motioned towards the High Paladin's assigned seat. Brushing aside her cheekiness, he sank down into a velvet cushion and surveyed the room.
Of the Thirteen Noble Adrosian Houses he counted eight representatives total, among them, were several headache inducers. He bit back a heavy sigh and waited for the representatives and officials to settle into their respective places.
With the pretense of decorum, the room was devoid of chatter, eyes watched with intent as the young prince took his place at the head of the table. While his back was held upright his head remained slightly bowed and it was impossible to miss the way his hands tugged repeated at the sleeves of his shirt. Gabriel nodded when emerald eyes flitted his way.
Prince Kaighle cleared his throat, the sound echoing in the wide-open space. "The Council gathers here today to discuss an important matter at hand…" He glanced down to a splay of paper documents scattered across the table, "I'm sure you are all well aware of-"
"The absurd reports of demon sightings, particularly of Voracious Eaters. Yes, Your Highness, we are well aware." A low resounding voice cut through the room. All eyes fell upon Lord Dasden who sat tall in his seat, undeterred by the wrinkles and silver telling of age. His posture was one without weakness, arms crossed tightly in front of a broad muscled chest.
Kaighle, whose eyes now blinked like two wide saucers intelligently responded with, "Um…" before being promptly cut off once more.
"By the way, where is Prince Aryon anyways? I thought he was in charge of dealing with these incidents." A younger noble spoke up. What the leader of House Morme was thinking when sending his youngest son to represent his House at the Council was something that Gabriel found difficult to understand unless the disrespect was meant to be purposeful. All things considered, that could very well be the case.
"I've heard word that he's currently occupied with negotiations concerning Guild affairs." A lady spoke while she inspected the state of her fingernails.
The entire Council erupted into chaos, nobles chattering over each other over a variety of petty affairs. Kaighle found himself standing watch over it all, with lips trembling and glassy eyes. Gabriel couldn't say that he didn't foresee this coming.
Thunder roared, a single loud drum that deafened the entire orchestra of madness. The nobles quieted, some stunned, some fearful but for the most part, they were on the edge of their seats clenching their teeth. The atmosphere was thick, and Gabriel knew that any misstep would result in these high strung fools transforming into rabid beasts, eager to unleash their magic to boast of their power. It was only a thin veil of pride that stopped them from full-blown savagery that Gabriel had little choice but to take advantage of.
"Pardon my rudeness," He said without a hint of sincerity, "But perhaps we ought to listen to what His Highness has to say first."
Laughter resounded across the place, Lord Kristo of House Kasroi was reacting a little too gleefully for Gabriel's liking but it worked nonetheless, "You amuse me, boy!" Though Gabriel was hardly a boy at the age at 28, he supposed he was still rather young in the older man's eyes, "Well! We all heard the High Paladin, time to quiet down like good little civilians and listen to His Royal Highness."
Kaighle visibly gulped, still stealing glances in the High Paladin's way, perhaps to seek out answers that Gabriel couldn't give. "A-as I was saying…" His voice trembled as he looked down, scanning the rows and rows of reports splayed out before him, "There have been reports of strange occurrences… As Lord Dasden mentioned, it has resulted in an abnormal spike in the appearance of Voracious Eaters. If that wasn't…" He faltered and took a breath. For once, the Council practiced patience, "If that wasn't enough, entire towns have fallen victim to catastrophic earthquakes. Huge pockets of land have simply…fallen away and left behind caverns of unmeasured depth. At first, we'd thought it simply a fluke of nature being whimsical but now… There's been a total of twenty locations all across Adros, with seventeen of them consisting of populated areas."
The Council was if only briefly, silent with thought. A lady, Lorelei of House Emeralda if Gabriel remembered correctly, said while inspecting the state of her fingernails "Perhaps it is simply retribution from the Earth God."
"Do not speak of such blasphemy!" Someone cried in response.
Lord Dasden grunted and cut into the discussion, "I have something important to ask of His Highness."
"Yes…? What is it, Lord Dasden?"
"What exactly would our next course of action be to deal with this situation? Do you have a plan?"
"Um…"
Before the prince could formulate an answer, someone else spoke up, "Do you have any idea about the cause of these occurrences? I have a feeling you're trying to suggest they're happening deliberately."
Kaighle's mouth opened, then closed. No words came out.
Gabriel supposed now was good as time as ever to take the reigns, "Gathering from investigation reports, there are no conclusive answers to the reason behind these disasters."
Julion raised a brow, "I heard that it has something to do with the appearance of all the Voracious Eaters."
"While the two events do appear to be correlated I have yet to see evidence that one is the cause of the other."
"I can't believe that the Knights still don't have a clue as to what's going on, hasn't it been months since these things have been happening? Just what are we even paying taxes for?" Another lord spoke out.
Gabriel ignored the fact that the person who was complaining was, in fact, the Minister of Finances and answered without betraying any signs of emotions, "It is rather regrettable that nothing has yet to be determined. I will do everything that is within my power to procure adequate results, even if it should mean that I must do the investigating myself."
The response came in murmurs before Lord Dasden broke through the disjointed buzz, "We can't have that. The High Paladin should remain in the capital and maintain order here."
Gabriel could barely suppress a chuckle, "That is hardly an issue. There are still many capable men and women within the Imperial Knights that are here at the city's beck and call. Is your own son not among our ranks, Lord Dasden?"
"I certainly wouldn't trust the city in that idiot boy." The old noble grumbled with surprising honesty. Gabriel wouldn't either, but he was also certain that the knights weren't about to get any worse than they already were without his presence.
"It will only be for a few days, at max." He continued to reassure with a voice steady and confident, "And aside from Clovis there are many veterans around who have gathered more experience than even I."
Agreeable nods broke out across the Council, and just to drive his point farther, Gabriel addressed the prince, "What do you say, your Highness?"
"Huh pardon? Oh yes! Of course, I trust you, Gabriel." The prince's honest smile made his little blunder of calling Gabriel by his first name in front of the Council easy to forgive.
And with that, the meeting was adjourned.