Blade was visibly impressed and excited about the instant teleportation, and even more excited when he saw Storm. “He looked so strong! Can I really fight him?!”

  “Soral?” Storm asked somewhat warily, "What is this?”

  “This is Blade. I need you to take care of him for a while and teach him how to survive,” Soral explained, “Would you be willing to do that for me?”

  Storm grimaced, then looked Blade over. “Very well. It is about time I take on an apprentice.”

  “Thanks!” Soral told him, giving Storm a box of goodies before vanishing again. Soral had long since discovered he could get away with most anything with Storm as long as he placated him with delicious treats. Now all he had to do was deal with that king.

  Just in case he was angry, Soral approached and unlocked the door as quietly as possible. Of course, the lock itself had never been designed for silence and immediately gave him away with a loud clack. As it did he heard two voices simultaneously in his mind.

  "You have returned at last!" The king booked from the table still half laden with delicious treats. At the same time Soral heard the whispers of the king's inner thoughts. 'So he really did return before I finished my meal. Impressive.'

  Before Soral had time to process either of these, the king stood and approached with rapid speed. "Just where did you acquire such delicacies?" he demanded.

  "I made them?" Soral answered, still confused by the duality of the king's thoughts.

  'He made them?! I've never heard of heroes or rogues that can cook like this.'

  Soral tried to ignore the insulting thoughts. They weren't meant to be heard in the first place. "If you are finished with your feast I can take you back to your kingdom now," Soral told him. It was probably best to keep things moving. He had a feeling this was going to take a while based on the king's stray thoughts of rewarding or trapping Soral. For some reason, both sounded incredibly dangerous.

  "Very well," the king reluctantly agreed, "However, we are already within my kingdom. This may be the outskirts, but this is still part of the Kingdom of Vista. I am King Glen, the proud twenty ninth ruler of this small nation."

  "I am Soral Voila, businessman, mercenary, and hero," he replied in turn, "I will return you to your castle and remove this place from the Kingdom of Vista once and for all."

  "How exactly do you plan to return me?" Glen asked.

  'The kingdom might be small but the castle is a great distance from the outskirts. I should have at least a day or two to convince him-'

  "By teleportation, of course," Soral answered, cutting off whatever the end of that thought might have been, "All of your troubles will be over in a moment."

  He didn’t give Glen a moment to think up a plan before he placed a hand on his shoulder and teleported to the castle, as promised. Now all he needed to do was make sure the king was safe there. He would be a failure of a hero if he returned a royal home only to leave them in the clutches of some unfortunate political plot. Soral would quickly come to regret his moment of hesitation.

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  They had appeared in a large room with a domed ceiling and a throne set before a stained glass window like the star on a stage. For some reason, this room was filled with people, and a young woman jumped off the throne and rushed to greet them.

  “Father!” You’re alright!”

  “Sierra,” Glen called, pulling her into a hug, “How I have missed you. This young man rescued me from a terrible fate and defeated the evil that held me captive.”

  “Does that mean we are free now?” Sierra asked, shocked, “But even when we sent all of our armies we could not defeat the terror that held you captive. I believed our kingdom lost forever.”

  “It very well may have been,” King Glen told her, “If not for him. He is Soral Voila. He shall forever be revered as the Hero of Vista. I cannot let such a prestigious hero leave us unrewarded.”

  Soral was getting an increasingly bad feeling, and he only had a moment’s warning from Glen’s thoughts to stop his wicked plan. “I don’t need any rewards,” Soral broke in quickly, “Everything I do is for my beloved partner, to become worthy to stand by her side.”

  ‘What a shame. He would have made the perfect husband for Sierra.’

  That was way too close. Soral let out a small sigh of relief. He was glad he had been able to turn down the offer before it was spoken. Rejecting a princess he just met seemed a bit harsh. However, what he had said was not a lie. Ruena was the one who had pulled him off the streets, from the life of a criminal. She was the one who had shown him the wonders of the world. It wouldn’t even be a stretch to call her the center of his reality.

  “If what you seek is worthiness, we may yet be able to help you,” Sierra offered, “An official title perhaps? It might not mean much coming from a small kingdom on the verge of collapse, but surely a royal title is a royal title nonetheless.”

  “A royal title?” Glen repeated, dazed for a moment as an idea sprung to his mind. Soral wasn’t quick enough to stop this one. “What greater title is there than that of King! I have thought long about stepping down from the throne after causing such trouble with my capture, and our only princess, Sierra, has no thoughts of succeeding me. What do you think, hero?”

  This was a disaster. It was definitely easier to reject one princess than an entire kingdom. A quick check of Sierra’s thoughts confirmed the king’s words. She really wanted nothing to do with the throne. Since there was no real way to word such a rejection delicately, Soral decided on direct truth.

  “Sorry, but I don’t have any interest in ruling a kingdom either,” he refused, “Being king requires more time and effort than I have to spare.”

  An audible gasp filled the room, and a scowl formed on Glen’s face. His thoughts suddenly reminded him of the tone Densooth’s took and Soral had a strong urge to flee.

  “I have allowed your rude behavior thus far on account of being my savior, but there are things you need to learn about royalty,” King Glen chastised with a voice full of authority, “It was a mistake to even offer you a chance to share your opinion. Soral Voila, whether you like it or not, I will leave the kingdom of Vista in your hands. Should it fall and the people suffer in despair it will be on your head. You can take my offer happily and be worthy of this beloved partner of yours, or you can abandon Vista and become a coward who stood by and watched his kingdom fall.”

  Yep, just like Densooth. “Fine,” Soral relented, understanding form his and everyone else’s thoughts that he was completely serious, “If I take the throne then what happens to you?”

  “You needn’t worry about that,” he assured, “Vista is yours now, King Soral Voila. Do with it what you wish. Just be aware that there are watchful eyes everywhere.”

  Even without hearing their thoughts, Soral knew he had been given a hopeless crumbling mess of a kingdom. However, they were correct about one thing. Being a king, regardless of how he became one, would definitely make him worthy of Ruena. That is, if he had a kingdom that was intact.

  But no, he couldn’t settle with just barely being worthy. He needed to become an unstoppable force so that no one else dared to try to take his place. Only then would he ask for Ruena’s hand. Until then, instead of complaining about the workload, he should take this opportunity with open arms. After all, Glen had told him that he could do whatever he wished with Vista.