A New Kind of World

"Can he do it?" She asked "I mean magic, can The King do magic?" Because in the way he had spoken about his fascination for magic it didn't sound like he could. His father had been driven mad by a warlock's spell - or so had Adam told them -, and Elisa wasn't all that sure she'd be that fond of magic if her father was cursed. Then again, magic didn't exist in her world, they thought differently there.

"Me?" Elisa said, taken aback by his question and even more by him offering to teach her. It was just ... hard to picture herself doing it. Sure, now that Rebecca could, maybe Elisa would be able to do so as well, but it was still unlikely in her mind that she could. "Oh, I don't know. I'm not that sure I'd be able to do something like that, and I wouldn't want to trouble you with such a request" Perhaps, more than anything she was afraid that if she tried to, she'd fail.

"I don't mean to offend any of you ladies, but women sure are difficult to understand" Adam commented, and Elisa turned her head back to look at him and Rebecca, who was by his side. "Good morning, Elisa" He added with a smile as he took a seat on their table. First, he had seen the redhead attitude last night and that very morning, and now she was being all nice and attentive.

"Morning" She said and her gaze trailed to her friend, brow raised ever so slightly.

She noticed it. If there was one thing Elisa was, it was being observant. She noticed the change in Rebecca's face, and Adam ... well the knight was practically radiant. She gave Rebecca a look, half-questioning and half-knowing.

"No offence taken" Elisa smiled "Though why do you say so?" She asked, as she turned her face to the knight. She was dying to ask Rebecca, but it wasn't something she wanted to bring up with the four of them present.

"The red haired lady" Adam replied, but paused for a moment as the woman approached them to give Adam his breakfast and Rebecca her glass of water, which caused for him to eye the white haired girl in concern. He didn't say anything, though, because she had already told him before she wasn't hungry. He thanked the waitress before he continued "I mean, it's really nice that she doesn't seem to hate us anymore, which I'm thankful for, but this morning she was still so ... " He shook his head once, he wouldn't want to speak badly about a woman behind her back. Instead, he turned to look at Victor "Okay, what did you do now?"

"I didn't do anything either" Adam shook his head when he caught Victor's look. At least he didn't think he had ... He had been nice and polite to her before he exited the inn, but he had swore he'd like them even less when he had just left without warning. Oh well, the thing was she was being nice now, that didn't hurt anybody.

Elisa found it funny how the two knights 'blamed' one another for the redhead's change of attitude. Of course, she was not going to admit she was at fault. So she simply remained quiet until Victor confirmed her previous thought on The King's thoughts regarding magic. His statement made her frown.

"But didn't you say he was fascinated by it?" She asked, puzzled. "And why do his knights use magic then?" She shook her head "That's not right, sending men and women to their death only because they can use magic. Yeah, his father was cursed by a warlock, and of course he'd be angry, but it was one warlock, not every magic user. How's the death of those people gonna bring his father back to life? Or how's that supposed to compensate the warlock's crime? Adam, you told be he was a fair man, but it doesn't sound like it" Elisa didn't get it. She knew it was war, and if those magic users had decided to go to the front line out of their loyalty to their King she'd have understood, but a man who sent people to their death, innocent people, for the sake of his own vendetta made her feel disgusted.

"Woah, woah, calm down, Elisa" Adam urged her, and she looked at him with her brows knitted together. She had been raising her voice, and caught some people's attention, which was no good considering that it was their King who she was talking about. "Yes, it wasn't the right thing to do, but King Johannes was barely eighteen when that happened. He was angry and wanted the warlock to pay for it, but he was never found. He didn't know that a warlock is different from must magic users, they, like witches, have demon blood. It was later known that King Stephen was behind all of that, that he had paid the warlock, and that's when this war broke out. The King just wanted someone to pay for it so badly, and that's why he did what he did. But he has grown, he does send mages to the front line now, but not because he wants them killed, not anymore, but because he knows they'll be much helpful there than here. He also believes that those who can practice it ought to be trained, which is why he takes them in. He is indeed fascinated by magic, but that doesn't exactly mean he has to like it, more like, he wants to understand it. He's not a cruel man, Elisa. He was just a wounded kid"

"Still ... That's horrible" And Elisa lowered her voice, but still looked displeased.

"The point is," Adam raised his voice just a bit, so that the attention was back on him "that everyone makes mistakes." Elisa shot him a mild glare, ending people's lives were not 'mistakes'. The knight realised his mistake and cleared his throat "I mean, The King was despairing, and didn't know any better. Believe me, he doesn't feel particularly proud about it. Though he still takes people away from their family when it is known that they could use magic, he has them go through training, but does not force them anymore. If, after their training they want to leave, they are allowed to do so. You'd both be surprised of how many people stay behind to serve their kingdom"

"Okay, fine. Supposedly, he's all that good and everything now. As Rebecca said, why doesn't look for the warlock instead of investing time and people's lives in this war?" Elisa knew she'd better follow Victor's advice, but she was struggling to understand. Which is why she was careful to lower her voice this time, so that no body else could hear their conversation.

"Because if a warlock doesn't want to be found, he'd most likely not. The King refuses to ask for the help of other warlocks to do the job. After all, they lie and only do favours to those who can pay the highest amount. Besides, that's not the point here, the point is that King Stephen was the one to hire the warlock who cursed the previous King, and therefore broke the alliance" Adam stated patiently. "He knew King Johannes was too young, and believed that'd make this kingdom an easy target. The King's decisions, though harsh, kept this kingdom safe when he sent the mages. If he hadn't sent them more people would've died, and this kingdom would've been invaded"

"So that justifies it? Do you agree with what he did?" Elisa demanded.

"That's a touchy subject" The blonde could feel the strain on his voice "I'm loyal to my King" When Adam saw her opening her mouth to reply, he cut her off "This is war, Elisa. In the first days of war King Stephen's army burnt the villages which were nearest to the border. Many lives were lost. With the mages on the front line they managed to stop the destruction. They were mourned, and their bravery was well known all over the kingdom. They helped to avoid more innocent deaths, and are remembered and respected for it" And Adam knew about it, oh, he did. He'd always remember when his aunt's son was taken away, when they were notified of his death. Adam had looked up to him ever since he was a little boy. And that's why he'd always remember his aunt's words as well, and why he understood The King and now stood proudly by him.

Elisa heard pain in Adam's voice and her mouth snapped shut. She could complain all she wanted, but she didn't know how it had been for them, for the people of that world. Besides, things had happened that way because the author had wanted so. They couldn't have happened any different.

Adam's stare had inevitably turn harder at the reminder of war. If there was one thing that could affect him in that way, it was definitely that. When Rebecca approached him, though, and he caught the anxiousness on her gaze, his eyes grew soft and he felt some of the tension leaving him "You'll be alright. Besides, The King wouldn't have the right to send you away. You're not from this lands" He reassured her, before he helped her into the horse so that they could resume their march.

The knight couldn't say he didn't understand what the blonde lady was trying to get at. He couldn't understand King Johannes reasons in the past either. Because the main branch of his family had had enough power to avoid for him to be taken away when he had turned sixteen years old, but his cousin hadn't been as lucky. But years had passed and he had witnessed many things. He was someone who had seen war and had experienced it, and someone who believed in the man who now wanted to keep his people safe. He believed in King Johannes honour, and was willing to serve him until his death. That was the oath he had made when he became a knight.

Elisa remained silent as they continued with their way. She had read many books in her life. She had cried her favourite characters, even when she knew they weren't real. Their deaths somehow hurt. But now she wondered, even if it sounded impossible, where all books like that? Did the authors knew that their poured their imagination into these kind of stories and they came to life in one way? Did that mean that her characters had died for real within a world she couldn't yet understand and the rest had mourned their loss? Books weren't no longer just books.

Perhaps it was silly to think about all those things, but Elisa had never been in a war. Losses pained her, even when she heard about genocides in history class. Now, it felt so real and she was growing afraid. Adam's words playing in her mind 'This is war'. Did that mean that they could get killed while they were there? Could Victor and Adam? She shivered. She was beginning to dislike the story they had fallen into.