A few weeks ago, before Prince Alexander's departure, while Prince Henry was still in Arendelle.
"Have you gathered enough information? How is it?" Sitting behind his desk, Alexander stared at the kneeling hooded man in front of him.
"We have found many who fit your criteria, My Lord. Here is the list." Standing up, the man took out a stack of papers beneath the robe and placed them on the table.
Alexander's eyes lowered on the pile and carefully went through them one by one.
His eyes landed on the first on the list. A detailed sketch of a man with a dark red wrapped turban with a single piece of jewel in the middle, a red parrot sat on his right shoulder, "Jafar. A Vizier to Agrabah's Sultan. Known as a capable sorcerer, rumors suggest he has dealings with dark magic."
Alex frowned, "Agrabah is too far from my Kingdom. Besides, a man of his stature wouldn't easily submit to my rule considering his status in Agrabah. Not him." He discarded the paper and plucked another one.
"Morgan Le Fae. The half-sister of the famous Wizard Merlin, dabbles in dark magic and has a few extraordinary feats." His eyes then landed on some interesting information, "Oh what's this? A rumored member of a mysterious group of dark witches? Interesting."
But still, he discarded the paper to the side, "It's a bit unfortunate she has been missing for years. It would be a waste of resources to search for her. Let's make her a second option."
Another parchment followed, "Horvath and Balthazar. Two out of three among Merlin's apprentices. Been following their teacher's footsteps from the start. Considering they're serving as Merlin's student for years, their loyalty would be hard to earn." Paper discarded.
"Circe. Not much information is known aside from the fact that she has been turning men into animals. There are rumors she's connected to some gods. Too dangerous, hard to control. I don't need someone like her." His eyes landed on some surprising information, "Once affiliated with Master Elias? Is there a connection between these two? Interesting."
He decided to set the paper aside. Might prove to be useful in the future.
"Medea. No known information about her. Nothing except for the fact that her name is included among several records in history. No one knows who she is or where she is. Useless."
Finally, she was on the last piece of parchment in her hand, "Everything has been useless to me so far. Let's hope this is the one."
"Maleficent of the Moors. An enchanted forest filled to the brim with fascinating creatures. Once a protector now an avenger. Harbors deep resentment toward the neighboring Kingdom, Ironmere. Inflicted a deep curse on the King's daughter who is now destined to sleep forever after prickling her finger on a spinning wheel and die on her sixteenth birthday."
The moment he finished his words, Alexander's eyes were filled with excitement, startling the hooded man who had been watching him from the side for a while.
"This is it!" He clutched the paper with a wide grin, "Just the exact person I needed for my conquest. A master of curses, commands of an army of creatures, and harbors resentment that I can easily solve in exchange for her loyalty." He raised his head to his hooded servant, "Ready my horses and a band of knights. We're venturing to Ironmere Kingdom!"
The hooded man failed to respond at first, "Are you deaf?!" Only for Alex's growl to snap him back to reality.
"Y-Yes, My Lord!" After nodding several times, the servant rushed out of the room to relay the information.
Alexander stared back at the paper in his hand, "Maleficent. You want revenge? I'll help you get one. But after that, you shall swear loyalty to me for eternity."
"I hope you won't disappoint a Prince."
As the prince left his room, he failed to notice that someone had been eavesdropping on him from the start.
Above his room was where Master Elias's study room resides. The old man has been sitting while scribbling on a piece of parchment, all while listening to Alex's mutters and plans from beneath his floor.
He clicked his tongue and shook his head, "What a foolish little boy. If you wanted to replace me that much, you would've gotten a higher chance by finding Morgan than by thinking Maleficent would submit to your whims."
There was a flash of bitter gleam in his eyes, "A Dark Fey is, after all, not the kind of person that would serve others they consider weaker than them."
All of a sudden, the gloomy expression on his face faded away, replaced by something casual, "Speaking of Maleficent. Is she still on about getting her revenge for having her wings ripped? I once offered to regrow them back but she refused…What a troublesome little lass."
There was a hint of melancholy in his eyes which disappeared just as fast as it appeared before shifting his focus back to scribbling on the piece of parchment.
———
Back to the present. A day has passed and instead of the usual sunlight greeting him awake, a heavy weight suddenly slammed into his chest.
Bam!
"Gakh!" His bloodshot eyes snapped open and he quickly felt all the air in his lungs wheeze through his open mouth and nostrils.
"Wake up Henry!" It was Rapunzel, straddling his six-pack abs with her hands pressed against his chest. Her face was full of a smile and her hair was still as straight as silk, albeit scattered all across the ground.
When Henry finally got his bearings, he pulled himself up, wrapping his hand around Rapunzel's hourglass-like waist so she wouldn't fall off while sitting on him, "Is that really how you wake people up? Usually, when doing so, one would part the curtains open so the sunlight would do the job."
Rapunzel simply grinned at him, "That sounds boring! Hurry and get up, we have places to be before you leave!"
Henry groaned and asked, "What sort of places?"
Rapunzel excitedly wiggled, accidentally making Henry shift uncomfortably, "I'll show you around the garden! Mom told me she has been working on it so one day when I return, it would be her present for all the days she missed my birthday."
To make things worse, she even innocently started humping up and down, "And now's the time, so let's go!"
"A-Alright! Alright! It's just…Can you get off of me just for a while? I'll…fix myself and join you outside."
Albeit confused by Henry's expression, the woman thankfully nodded her head and slid off to the side, "I'll wait for you outside!" She waved her hand at him before leaving and closing the door.
Henry stayed lying on the bed for a good few seconds, at least enough time for a chicken to calm down.
Once it did, Henry sighed in relief and jumped out of the bed. Thanks to a certain blessing, Henry found out that he no longer needs to do his daily routine of cleaning himself.
His body automatically cleanses itself whenever it is exposed to sunlight. Perhaps the only downside that is barely worth mentioning is that the cleanliness perk doesn't extend to his clothes, so he still needs to change.
Fortunately, the servants of the castle are mindful enough to leave a set of proper clothing in the closet.
After changing, he left the room where Rapunzel greeted him with a fabulous smile, "Looking good! That outfit suits you so much! Anyways, let's go! Mom's waiting for us." Without further ado, she grabbed his hand and dragged him across the hallway.
They passed by a few servants who stepped aside, bowed, and greeted them with the utmost respect. Though there were a few teasing smiles as soon as they walked past them.
When they got to the garden, Queen Arianne was already there, drinking a cup of tea while sitting on a birch wooden bench.
As soon as she saw them, she flashed a smile, "Rapunzel, Prince Henry. You're finally here." She gently placed the teacup and stood.
"Come look around. Each of these plants and flowers is personally tended by me." They followed her as she showed them around. Rapunzel's eyes were excitedly glittering at every flower they walked by.
"Do you know, Rapunzel?" Arianne's tone suddenly took a mysterious turn.
"Yes, mother?"
"I always had this feeling, like a mother's instinct that you like flowers. And that you'll come back someday." She then turned around to face them, whereas they finally noticed the teary eyes and quivering lips.
She approached them, more specifically Rapunzel before pulling the princess into a hug, "I never gave up hope, even when the others told me that I'd no longer be able to embrace you."
Rapunzel unconsciously reciprocated the hug.
"Yet here I am, hugging you with my arms. You've proven them wrong, Rapunzel. You came back." Once she said those words, she shifted her attention to Henry who was awkwardly standing on the side, "And it's all thanks to you, Prince Henry."
"It's my pleasure to do what's right, Lady Arianne. I believe your daughter is very special, hence why she managed to survive and come back stronger."
Arianne couldn't agree more with what he said, "You're right, Prince Henry. That's why my husband prepared one last gift for you. He's currently in the meeting room with your father, you should leave us for a while and head there."
Knowing it'd be better to give the two some mother-daughter time alone, Henry nodded his head in agreement. Besides that, he's also curious as to what kind of gift King Frederick prepared for him that requires a meeting room.
Thankfully, a servant seemed to have been informed about it and gracefully led him through a series of turns and stairs before eventually arriving at the highest floor of the castle—no hallways, no pottery plants, just a single door where a faint conversation from inside can be heard.
The servant swiftly left after, knowing full well it's not her place to eavesdrop in the meeting room.
Meanwhile, Henry was the one who did so. His sharp hearing unconsciously picked up the chat inside.
"This is outrageous my lords! If the other Four Great Kingdoms hear of this, a possibility of another great war might ensue! We must think wisely about this!" The first voice belonged to an old man, an unfamiliar one to Henry.
The next one however, was the opposite. The voice obviously belongs to King Frederick, "Are you saying you, as my advisor, are wiser than us, your Kings?"
"N-No my lords. I was just stating my opinion regarding the matter."
King Frederick sternly replied, "I appreciate your opinion but keep it to yourself for now. I brought you here not to go against my decision but to help me settle this matter in the best way possible."
There was a sound of a loud gulp and a scrape of a chair, the old man definitely sat his arse down, not daring to argue anymore, "Y-Yes Your Majesty."
"You're quite harsh a bit there, my friend. Let's just wait for Henry so we can finally start this meeting." This voice belongs to his father of course, the casual tone and his familiarity with the voice give it away.
Henry took this as his cue to knock.
Thud! Thud!
"It's me, Henry."
"Ah! Speak of the devil! Come in lad!" King Frederick's booming voice replied from the other side.
When Henry opened the door and entered, he saw four people in the room, sitting around a round table. King Frederick was sitting opposite to his father, while two old men in fancy garments were sitting on each side of Frederick.
There was an empty chair beside his father, so Henry sat on it, "So, what did I miss?"
Maximus was the one who replied, "Quite many, son. But to summarize it for you. I explained to my good friend here about our Federation.", his next words made Frederick chuckle, "I barely even made an effort to convince him and he already wants a seat in the Federation."
'So that's what they've been arguing about earlier.' Henry realized.
"So welcome our first and newest member of the Lioncrest Federation, Corona Kingdom."
"Lioncrest Federation? That's the name?" Frederick laughed, "Quite a bit selfish considering the plan to include many other Kingdoms, no?"
His words might sound offensive to someone, but to Maximus, his closest friend, he found himself chuckling, "Well we've never given time to think of a name for it. There aren't even any other members aside from you, though you just recently joined."
Frederick snorted before turning his attention to Henry, "Well lad? You're the one who made this Federation in the first place. So how about you come up with a good name for it?"
Now that he was pulled into the conversation, Henry fell into a deep thought.
'Right, I forgot to make a name for it. What should I name it then?'
After a good minute of contemplation, to which the two Kings patiently waited, Henry finally lifted his head.
"I'll name this Federation…"
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[Sorry for being unable to publish a chapter last Friday. The day was too hectic, especially the weekend. Can you imagine, our math professor just told us to write a 10-page reviewer for our final exam, HAND FUCKING WRITTEN! He's a goddamn devil!
Now don't get me wrong, I'm sure some of y'all had it much worse, I'm not trying to make it seem like I had the worst of all. Anyways, it's a miracle I was able to write, especially with the upcoming final exams this week Tuesday to Friday.]