The Rise of The Knight King, Chapter 2: My Wife?

"Victory", came a shout that nearly made Gregori jump out of his skin. The Knight King had been staring at the ring for about a minute expecting his vision to fade and his character to be logged out. It was the end of the world after all, but then something strange happened.

"What the", spoke Gregori in confusion as he stared at the source of the sound. There celebrating before him was Hilda, his Knight Queen. This was ... well impossible. Yes the Npcs in the gamer were well made and crafted with extreme care, but they did not move on there own. Well to be exact they did not move on there own will. Every action was programmed and precise.

"I knew you could defeat him honey", exclaimed Hilda as she walked up to Gregori. In a single fluid motion she lowered down and locked lips with him. A sudden sensation flowed though Gregori's body as tong and lips intertwined into a very intense kiss. This was not normal. This was not what the game could do.

Gregori immediately broke away in a panic. What in the world was going on? Why did she ...

"pshaw, shy now are we", chuckled Hilda as she stared into his bewildered eyes. "Look I know a king is suppose to hold a certain level of dignity, but there is no one here to see us. We might as well ...", Suddenly she stopped. "Where are we?" Hilda began to look around there surroundings bewildered by the sudden change in the area. Gregori would have joined her, but he was still in shock from the kiss.

This sensation, he thought to himself. It was not the first time he had been kissed by a maiden, but it was the first time he felt such a reaction inside of the game. Not only that, but the air around him felt a bit chilly and the smell of rotting flesh permeated the wind. These sensations he was feeling, they were not normal. Yggdrasil did not have these kind of settings, or better yet it could not have these kind of settings. There were strict laws in place limiting what could and could not be felt inside of a virtual world. The fact that Gregori was feeling all of this tipped him off that something was wrong.

"Look out", came a cry as Hilda shoved him to the side. A arrow flew by his head and landed into the dirt. Immediately the ground began to hiss as if it had been hit by acid. The shock form hitting the ground shocked Gregori back to reality. The warrior jumped up almost immediately and branded his axe like a dog bearing its fangs.

Looking where the arrow had come from Gregori saw a skeleton holding a bow. Its expression was blank, like all bone base monsters, and its arm covered in tattered clothing. Its bow was of poor quality clearly crafted from some type of standard wood. Its string was also nothing of note. From the look of it the creatures weapon seemed as if it lacked significant draw power. A result of it being made entirely of bones no less. It was clear to him that it made up for this deficiency by using poison on the tip of its arrows. A excellent combination if the concoction was potent enough.

"Undead! That makes no sense, we are in the middle", Gregori stopped for a moment when he noticed the change in scenery. The brilliant sea of grass that he and his rival had done battle in before was now gone. It was replaced by a baron landscape covered in decaying corpses and torn banners. A valley of rusted swords, was the best way to describe it.

"What in the Nine Heavens", he started, but the creature had notched another arrow and fired at the shocked warrior. Before Gregori could even react Hilda's sword was already in motion. A swift swipe of her blade cut the arrow clean out the air.

"Be careful there arrows are tipped with poison", shouted the maiden as she looked down at her blade. The black poison seemed inert on her sword. That was to be expected since it was made of Celestial uranium. Most potions would have no effect on the holy ore. However the top tier poisons, well they were a entirely different ball game.

"Pshaw, pointless", roared Gregori as he pulled back on his axe. The maiden clearly did not know all of his passive skills. Gregori was immune to poison.

"Boomerang Axe!" Gregori moved to toss his weapon at his opponent. he exptected it to fly out of his hand and turn the walking pile of bones into a cloud of dust. However fate was not happy with him. Suddenly Gregori froze in place and a red aura wrapped around his body. At first Gregori though the creature had used some kind of spell.

"Damn Skeleton mages", he complained , but the magic held firm. It was then that Gregori remembered the skill he had just activated before. Of course he could not make a attack. God Breaker was still in effect.

"I can't ..."

"I know, don't worry about it", she responded as she called upon the power of the light inside of her. "Brilliant Slash!" A crescent of holy light rippled from her sword and slammed into the creature. The bones vaporized in a brilliance unequal to any light created by both man and machine. It was truly a attack of the divine.

"That should ...", she started as a spear slammed into her back. The tip of the weapon hit the white plate armor that enveloped her chest. The weapon broke against such a sturdy defense.

"There seems to be more of them", responded Gregori as he began to look around. In all directions more and more creatures started to appear. They first began by climbing out the ground and then they began to move in there direction. Though the field was covered in a misty haze Gregori could still see the creatures shuffling in the fog. They were surrounded.

"Brilliant", Hilda was not going to let the spear toss stand, but Gregori knew better. It would be a waste of both skills and Mp to let Hilda slash away at all of them. By the looks of it there were over a thousand of them moving in on them.

"Hold a moment", commanded the Knight King as he stood to his feet. Hilda stopped in her tracks.

"King and Country, summon Castle", shouted Gregori as a sudden light rolled over him. The ground itself began to rumble and the skies trembled. From the sky came a mighty lightning bolt that ripped the earth apart For a brief moment the world became white as light from the lightning bolt blinded all who could see. When vision was finally restored there was no more Gregori or Queen Hilda. There was instead a magnificent Citadel surrounded by a sturdy and dependable wall.

The skeletons who were too close were blown to tinny bits by the power of the Lightning Bolt. Those who did not die from the summoning of the Castle were smacked around by the rampaging Castle walls that moved into there place.

"Knollington Castle", whispered Hilda as her eyes stared at their grand home. The marble walls were lined with fancy banners and magical torches. Soldiers ran about screaming out orders and moving objects. Walking down a long stair case was a female knight wearing shinning armor. Behind her was several other knights, but there armor lacked the luster or awe of their captain.

"Lady Hilda and Lord Gregori", cried out the Female Knight as she reached the last five steps.

"I see you have already gathered the knights", spoke the Knight Queen as she walked up two of the last steps. Gregori however sat around staring at the grandness of everything around him. Sure he had seen this place before, it was his player home after all. However there was another aura to it now. In the game one could not smell the air and feel the aura of the place. Now, well now it was a bit overwhelming.

"Scatter the carvery and put a end to these unworthy adversaries", shouted the queen. The knights slammed there fist onto there plate armor and marched out the main keep and into the stables.

"So, when do I get to show my stuff", spoke a voice on the right of The Knight King. Gregori turned his head to see a man clad in rather shabby looking armor with a blue overcoat. Following normal standards one would think that this was a low ranking knight, but in this case one would be wrong.

"Warg", chuckled Gregori. Warg was his favorite Npc in the castle. His perfect Sain expy.

"That is my name, don't wear it out boss. So, can ..."

"No you may not", roared the Knight Queen as she turned and looked at the knight. A look of disdain crossed her face as she stared down at him from the stair case.

"The Calvary will ..."

"Exuse me my queen, but if I remember correctly I asked the king." Warg gave off a grim smile, but his face was hidden by a helm. "I am a knight of the King after all. My orders ..."

"As the king's wife we are one", stated Hilda. Her expression was stern almost as if the fact was unchallenged. Her confidence brought a shutter down Gregori's spine. She was his wife. That was a ... very important bond. There was a lot of implications and there was to much going on at the moment.

"When I make a decision ..."

"Warg, stand down for a moment", spoke Gregori. He remembered that Hilda personality would not mix well with Warg. The knight was a flirt and according to his lore he has flirted with the queen on more than one occasion. Considering her noble christian settings, yeah this was going to be a long argument.

"As you desire your grace", spoke Warg as he took a bow. " I wanted to test my spear a bit, but I guess I can use the time to entertain some ..."

"If you enter the maid's quarters again I will have you flogged", spat Hilda as she stared at the knight with disdain.

"Whoa! My queen ..."

"Don't even dare, Warg", she growled.

"I am jsut saying. You kind of jumped the gun there. I was not going to invade the living area of the fair maidens of our humble home. I was going to simply see if any of them had any time for tea. After all a knight ..."

"Fights best when he is in love", came a voice from there right flank. Walking from the gate was a man clad in leather armor and wielding a sword that was as long as himself. The blade was single edged and slightly curved. The Washing Pole was its name, a Japanese relic and a favored of the Knight King.

"Lancelot", questioned Warg. "I thought you would be ..."

"I was", he interrupted. "However once the knights came rushing out on there steeds I took the moment to step in. The heavy guard is currently holding the gate. I wanted to ask our lord a very important question."

"And what question would that be", spoke The Knight Queen. Her voice did not have as much venom as it did with Warg, but there was clearly some left.

"Ah, forgive me my Queen. I should have been more specific. I meant to ask ..."

"That is going to have to hold for a moment Lancelot", spoke Gregori. "I ... I have some buisness to take care of in my quarters. I need a moment to lie down. After that I can answer any questions you have."

"Very", stared the Knight, but Gregori had already started to walk off. "Well, your grave", finished the solider as he watched his king leave.

"Alright I am out to check out the ladies", declared Warg as he departed from the gate.

"Wait, honey", started Hilda as she turned toward the Knight King.

"I wish to be alone", stated Gregori cutting off the conversation before it began.

Without missing a beat Gregori stormed into his room and shut the door. The moment it was closed behind him he slid down to the floor and began to simply stare at the wall. "What in the hell is going on?"