Chapter 40: The Price of a Princess

"She left this morning?"

The King’s face drained of color, a cold certainty settling in behind his eyes.

"Bring her back. Now." His voice cracked out sharp and immediate.

"Invent whatever reason you need to I don’t care what it is, so long as it doesn’t tip our hand.

And if she resists, restrain her and drag her back regardless."

"At once, Your Majesty."

The captain of the guard bowed and strode from the hall without another word, already barking orders to his men before the doors had swung shut behind him.

Only then did the King turn back to Kael, something warm finally breaking through the fear still lingering in his expression.

"Young hero if not for you, we would never have caught this in time. My daughter’s life, my kingdom’s safety, quite possibly the fortress itself. Name your reward. Whatever it is, it’s yours."

"Main Quest Progress: The Long Frost Stage Complete."

"You have restored Elara Winters to her rightful place as Princess of Winterhold. A reward from the King awaits your request. Choose wisely."

Kael’s pulse ticked up. An open-ended reward no fixed payout dictating the terms, just whatever he had the nerve to ask for.

Main quests really do come with better terms.

For half a second, the thought of asking outright for the throne crossed his mind, mostly for the sheer entertainment value of watching the King’s face at the request.

He let the idea go as quickly as it arrived. Some jokes weren’t worth the diplomatic incident.

What he actually needed was simpler, and far more useful long-term.

He bowed, keeping his tone modest. "Your Majesty is too generous. I’m nothing more than a traveling adventurer no titles, no great ambition. If it pleases you, gold would more than suffice."

"Just gold?" The King let out a booming laugh, waving a hand with easy generosity. "Let’s start with one million, then."

To an ordinary player, a million gold represented a fortune that would take years to touch, if it was ever touched at all and even with the Ring quietly stacking odds in Kael’s favor, it would still cost him days of relentless grinding to match that number honestly.

Still. Not quite enough, given what he actually had planned.

Kael kept his expression neutral and shot Elara a brief, meaningful look.

She caught it instantly, latching onto her father’s arm with a theatrical pout. "Father. This man saved my life. Is that really worth only a million?"

"Well" The King hesitated, visibly recalculating. "...Two million, then?"

"Do you have any idea what they did to me in that tomb?"

"Three million."

"Father, forget me for a moment do you understand what would have happened to this entire kingdom if the plot hadn’t been caught in time?"

"FIVE million. Is five million still not enough for you?!"

The King’s voice cracked with something between exasperation and genuine offense, staring at his daughter like he no longer recognized her.

Whose side are you even on right now?

Elara read the room perfectly, sensing exactly where the ceiling sat, and let the haggling drop before it soured entirely.

She looped her arm properly through his instead, tone shifting to something warmer.

"Father, speaking of loyalty my previous captain of the guard never even noticed I was missing for three straight months. Useless. I need a replacement."

A small, knowing smile. "I think Unrivaled would suit the role perfectly."

The King considered it, and found the logic sound enough on its face.

He turned to Kael. "You heard my daughter’s recommendation. What do you say would you accept the post of Captain of her personal guard?"

Ascension allowed players to fold themselves into NPC power structures exactly like this one, and Kael recognized the opportunity immediately for what it was.

Elara being his companion wasn’t something he could exactly announce to the court.

Given the gulf in status between a princess and an adventurer, casual access to her would otherwise be next to impossible to arrange she wasn’t like his other companions, free to simply tag along on every grind session.

This solved every problem at once. Legitimate access, whenever he wanted it. And, not incidentally, whatever authority came bundled with command of her personal guard.

She thought of this faster than I did.

Kael shot her an approving glance, genuinely impressed.

He pressed a fist to his chest and bowed. "Your Majesty, Princess I’m honored. I’ll guard her safety with everything I have."

Something in Elara warmed at the look he gave her, small and quiet and entirely genuine the particular satisfaction of having done well by someone whose opinion mattered more to her than she probably should have admitted.

The King, blissfully unaware of the deeper current running beneath the exchange, simply nodded, pleased with how neatly the arrangement had come together.

"Settled, then. From this day forward, you serve as Captain of the Third Princess’s personal guard."

With the appointment formalized, he called for Archmagister Vale, and the two of them swept out of the hall together, already deep in urgent conversation about containment and next steps.

Before leaving, the King left one final instruction neither of them was to leave the palace grounds until the situation stabilized, for their own safety as much as anyone’s.

Then it was just the two of them, alone in a hall built for far more people than currently occupied it.

Kael glanced over, a faint smile tugging at his mouth. "So. What exactly does a Captain of the Guard actually do around here?"

"My lord is teasing me." Elara crossed to his side, voice soft, easy. "The title’s mostly ceremonial I’ll have the actual duties handled by someone competent. You’re free to come and go as you please."

She hesitated a moment, color rising faintly in her cheeks. "Whenever you’d like company, you’re welcome to find me. Any time at all."

"Then I’ll call you Princess when it’s formal, and you’ll keep calling me my lord otherwise."

Kael let out a short, satisfied laugh, more than pleased with how completely, effortlessly loyal she’d turned out to be an asset in every sense of the word.

Back in reality, Ironclad’s offices had gone from quiet concern to full alarm.

When neither Cynthia nor Ryan surfaced by morning no messages, no check-ins, nothing the remaining staff exchanged one uneasy look and made the call themselves.

Within the hour, uniformed officers filled the building’s private wing, breaking down the office door and beginning a slow, methodical sweep of the scene.