Chapter 006: The Lionhide Attacks

Caroline ran over, grabbed Carter’s hand, and yanked him towards the door. “Let’s go, Camille!” said Caroline.

“Oh, yeah, Camille, the chicken,” said Carter under his breath.

Princess Caroline let out a small chuckle as she pulled Carter down the stairs and into a large, lighted-up ballroom. There were hundreds and hundreds of people dancing on the giant ballroom floor. He moaned as Caroline pulled him over to a table and pointed out a chair to sit in.

“I’m her living doll,” thought Carter. He was appeased by seeing her sweating as she tried to drag him everywhere.

Carter looked down at the long, wooden table and saw the white-haired Queen smiling back at him. The King was busy staring and clapping at the semi-naked women dancing around the room. Carter noticed that the performers were barely dressed, wearing only small clothing to cover their private parts. Carter observed the dancers for what seemed like a moment. The movements and gyrations of the scantily clad performer were mesmerizing to him. Their breasts were unusually large and were held down by a small amount of material.

Caroline tapped him on the shoulder and snapped him out of it.

"You're just as bad as the King and those other women," she castigated. Carter was confused and didn't understand the meaning of what she said."Just as bad doing what?" thought Carter.

She put on a smile and started pointing at all the other people who were sitting down at the tables.

“Of course, you know my half-sister, Mary,” said Caroline as she pointed across the table. Mary stuck her tongue out and said, “I’m surprised you got her to sit.”

"Shut up, Mary," Caroline said as she leaned across the table, trying to smack her hand.

Mary shook her head and said, “I don’t have to listen to you, Caroline, you're the younger princess!”

The Queen was about to say something but just looked at Caroline and shook her head.

“What? She started it,” said Caroline. She ignored Mary and pointed to the person sitting next to the King.

“That’s Mary’s mother, Eris, the 1st Queen Consort,” continued Caroline.

“Consort?” questioned Carter.

“You don't know what a consort is?" questioned Mary with a look of superiority.

"Mary, if you can't be nice, just leave!" shouted Caroline.

Mary's face turned into a grimace as she stood up. "Fine!" she screamed and then stormed off.

Princess Caroline smiled as if she had just won a contest and continued her teaching lesson.

"The King has many wives; it’s the nature of our world. Only one can be the queen, while the rest are called consorts," said Caroline.

"Women rule most kingdoms. Rare is the kingdom with a male King. I only know of three: our King, the King of the Capital, and the King of Chronos,” added Caroline.

“How many does your father have?” said Carter.

“Wives or Children?” asked Caroline.

Carter shook his head, and Caroline decided to answer both. “He has only fourteen wives. He has over 35 children who live here. I am the first child of the Queen but second behind Mary for the crown,” said Caroline as she waved her hand regally.

Carter let out a little laugh. Caroline ignored his laughter and started labeling more people at the table. He noticed that Regent Blackmore, the defiler of his chest, was not attending this affair.

“What is the party for?” said Carter.

Caroline stopped pointing at the guest, blushed slightly, and said, “One of the King’s mistresses, Raven, is having a child. This party is to ask nature to make it healthy and, with luck, a boy.”

Carter remembered that she had told them outside already. He wasn't listening to her then. “How many boys have the King sired?” said Carter.

“Look at you, using big words,” said Caroline with a smile. Carter liked it when she smiled; she was beautiful. Her smile turned back into a frown as she said, “He has sired none.”

A smiling, red-haired woman placed a plate of food before him. Carter noticed that the girl was pretty and was wearing very seductive clothing. He remembers seeing pictures of busty bar maidens in an old dungeon and dragon book with their cleavage sticking out of their clothes. She was dressed that way, as were all the serving women. Caroline noticed him looking at the serving woman’s cleavage and said, “They dress like that to attract the King’s attention.”

“Does it work?” asked Carter as he was still staring.

“Sometimes. Helena over there was once a serving wench, and now she’s number 13,” said Caroline as she pointed across the table at a blond-haired woman laughing with the other women.

Carter began eating while Caroline commented on the attire of those around them. Carter observed that some women were dressed conservatively, others were covered in armor, and the rest dressed provocatively. Almost as if they are assuming roles with their clothes. His conversation with Tain about the number of males in this world was correct. The only male Carter could see was the King; everyone else was female.

“How many males are in Dale?” said Carter after he swallowed a large amount of meat.

“We have three. The King, Cardinal Ubel, and Major Sykes. Sadly, the King is the only one who can reproduce now,” said Princess Caroline.

“Are males only good for reproducing?” said Carter without thinking.

“That is their number one duty. Most males are taken to the breeding farms in the Elves' territories in the north. After they have produced enough children, they are let go into this world so the lower castes can have...” said Caroline. The princess trailed off mid-sentence and began to whisper to herself after mentioning "children."

“What?” asked Carter, trying to bring her back to the conversation.

She looked back at Carter as if contemplating whether to say anything.

She leaned over to Carter and whispered into his ear. “Unlike your world’s females, the Cambian female has a driving force to procreate. It’s an instinct, almost animalistic. A human once called it a ‘lust,’” said Princess Caroline with a thousand-mile stare. Carter was physically advanced for his age in height, weight, and mental capacities but never lust.

He saw the giant bust of the serving lady across from him again and decided maybe that wasn't the case.

Carter took a few more bites of his meal when a sudden pain shot through his head, only to disappear a moment later. He grabbed his head, and a painful expression crossed his face.

“Are you feeling ill?” said Caroline, placing her hand on Carter’s forehead.
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“No, just a small headache,” said Carter as a smile blossomed back.

Caroline smiled and continued with her biology lesson. “From Queens to peasants, it is the dream and drive of every person to have children. When a person finally has a child, it’s a time of celebration, like tonight’s party.”

She looked off toward her father, the King.

“I probably will not have a child in my lifetime. The only male I know is my father. The price for an attempt at pregnancy is thousands of gold coins at the capital of Elves. That price is way out of reach even for royalty,” said Caroline with a sad look.

Carter took another bite of his dinner when he heard a loud noise from the doorway. Everyone else stood up, including Caroline. They all let out a collective gasp in that direction. Carter stood up to see what the problem was. A group of women surrounded a single woman with something in her hands.

Each woman wore a red garment that covered her body. The crowd erupted with cries of "It's a girl!"

“My sister came early,” said Caroline. A smile returned as she watched the group circle the room, the mother proudly holding up the child.

“Bring her to her father,” said the King. The King took the baby into his hands and looked down at her. The crowd started to chant “Name the baby” repeatedly.

The mother smiled as the King raised the child and said, “Princess Catelynn, eighth in line.”

The cheers grew deafening as the child started to cry. The King tried to console the child but couldn't do so with all the noise. He carried her towards a room at the back of the ballroom. The mother followed, as did the group of women surrounding the mother. The Queen stood up and said, “Three cheers for Princess Catelynn.” The crowd roared.

“Was that a roar?” thought Carter. He took his eyes off the queen and looked towards the doorway. A giant beast, at least 10 feet tall, stood at the entrance, covered in blood. The crowd stopped cheering and looked towards the giant monster. They panicked and ran towards the small back room where the King was.

"Tell me that's a pet," said Carter.

Two armored soldiers held their pike spears tightly pointed at the monster, holding the creature back.

Princess Caroline stood up, screamed, “Lionhide!” and ran towards the beast. Her hands extended outwards as she started chanting, just like the Regent had. The tone of Caroline’s voice got louder and louder as she labored under some unseen force, saying the same words repeatedly. Carter could tell she was putting her all into whatever she was doing. Her hands were covered in green energy as a giant ball of wind flew out of Caroline’s hands, hitting the Lionhide in their dead center. The beast flew back fast and hit the back wall with a crushing sound. The excess wind deflected off the Lionhide’s body and pushed the two guards across the room from where they stood. The impact of the force caused Caroline and Carter to take a few steps back. The two guards scampered back in front of Caroline and pointed their spears towards the back wall, not being phased by the spell.

The cracked wall where the beast had hit had created a dust cloud obscuring the beast’s hopefully dead body. A roar came from the beast’s direction, signaling that he was still alive. The Lionhide strolled out of the cloud and shook its fur as if nothing had happened. It looked at Caroline with a sneer full of teeth and a lust for her death.

Having a better view of the creature now that all the people were out of the way, Carter saw that it looked like a lion with wings and had long bird legs that ended in razor-sharp claws. The Lionhide had long arms that lifted the front part of its body higher than the back. The Lionhide also had thick, dark fur covering its body, making it hard to see in the dimly lit ballroom. As it moved towards Caroline and the two guards, Carter saw a relatively bright glow around the beast’s neck, possibly a collar. Oddly enough, Carter wasn't that scared of seeing his first monster.

The Lionhide jumped forward and attacked the two guards with one swipe of its claw. Both guards went down to the ground and passed out from the impact. Blood dripped out of giant gashes on their arms.

Caroline, panicking, turned to run, but Carter knew it was too late. He stood up and started to bring his fire spell towards the surface of his body. The world slowed down as he walked towards the snarling Lionhide. Carter tried to keep the feeling of dread from overwhelming him and canceling out his concentration. Caroline saw him walking towards the beast and waved her hands to stop him.

“Run!” she screamed.

Carter could have launched his fireball from the table, but he needed to save Caroline and gather enough firepower for his spell to hurt the beast long enough for everyone to get to safety. Carter could feel himself draining of magic as he started to scream. The beast stopped chasing Caroline, disturbed by the yelling, and watched, perplexed at the small enemy approaching him.

“No, you fool,” said Caroline, turning around and initiating another spell. The sweat dropped down her nose as she knew it was too late. She had exhausted her mana with the strongest wind cantrip she knew on her first attack. This next cantrip would burn her out and not be as powerful, but she had to help Carter and bring the Lionhide’s attention back to her.

Carter stopped screaming and allowed the spell he held back for what seemed like an eternity to come out. The fireball was the size of himself as it flew out from his body, knocking Carter backward. He slid along the floor and stopped under the large table.

The eyes of the Lionhide went wide as the fireball hit him from the front. The creature instantly vaporized into nothing as the rest of the fireball made its way to the back of the room. The fireball dissipated on the back of the wall, leaving the wall covered in burn marks, a burning tapestry, and an outline of the creature in white.

Caroline stopped her spell and stood paralyzed, trying to analyze what had just happened. “The human can use magic. That is unheard of! Impossible! ” thought Caroline.

Carter had fallen back and passed out on the floor, hidden by the large communal table. Another loud noise came down the hallways as a legion of guards ran through the door.

“Princess Caroline! Where is the monster?” asked Cern loudly as she looked around the room. Many of the candles had been blown out from the fire and wind blasts, making it dark in the room.

“Is the King well?” said Cape as the guards bunched at the door.

“The beast is dead,” said Caroline through a haggard voice.

“Dead? The King or the monster?” asked Cape.

“The Lionhide,” replied Caroline as her knees buckled. She kneeled on the floor, her torso rocking slowly back and forth.

“A Lionhide? Really?” questioned Cern as she looked around and only saw Caroline.

“Your magic?” asked Cern.

Caroline was about to open her mouth and say something when she blacked out. Cern caught her before she fell to the floor. Cape ran to the closed room in the back and pounded on the little room's door.

“It’s clear!” she shouted.

The door opened, and the Queen popped her head out. “Is the beast dead?” asked the Queen.

The King pushed his Queen out of the way and exited the door, holding his ornamental sword awkwardly. He looked around and saw Caroline lying in Cern’s arms on the floor.

“Not my Caroline!” said the King, running towards her, dropping his sword.

Cern looked up and said, “She’s okay. She just exhausted her mana.”

“Princess Caroline killed the beast with her magic?” asked the King.

"Looks like it," said Cern.

The Queen walked up behind him and said, “Brilliant!”

The King smiled at his Queen and stood up. “Come, guest, we have much to celebrate! Not only do I have another child, but I also have a brilliant wizard heir!” said the King, holding his hands in the air.

“We also need to celebrate that we are all alive,” said one of the guests.

“That too,” said the King with a smile.

“It’s not every day that one survives a Lionhide attack,” said another guest.

“We were lucky we had Princess Caroline and the guards,” said another guest.

The King looked at Cern and said, “Can you bring her to her room? I think she needs a good rest.”

“I will, my King,” said Cern.

“Are any of the guards hurt?” said the King.

"About a dozen, sir. But, there were no deaths," responded Cern.

“Thank Mother Nature! Please tell the Regent about this attack and have her look into how it got into the Castle,” said the King.

Cern shook her head up and down and then helped Cape carry Princess Caroline out of the Ballroom.

A few guests were looking at the silhouette on the wall and shaking their heads. The King looked over and frowned a little bit. His tapestry on the back wall, woven by the seamstresses of Chronos at an excessive amount of gold, had burnt in half, and the other side was still burning. Lionhides were rare, and few have ever been seen outside a dungeon.

“Do they breathe fire?” thought the King.

The Queen shouted him back into reality, and the King started dancing towards his drink on the table, forgetting all about the attack.

"Hello, little one. That was quite impressive," said a melodious voice from the darkness.

"Turn around and let me read your status," added the voice.

"Venus?" said Carter.

"Yes, my little lord. Lift your shirt so I can read your power levels off your back," said Venus.

Carter turned around and lifted his shirt.

"Level 1 - Fighting. Level 2 - Mage. Level 2 - Cleric. Mana: 200," read Venus out loud.

"What does that mean?" said Carter, pulling down his shirt and turning around. He was then hugged by a naked Venus as he became smothered by her breasts. He wrapped his arms around her and felt safe.

"It means you have a long way to go," said Venus.

Carter woke up a few hours later with a feeling that he was being kicked all over his body. It was dark, and he went to get up and hit his head on something.

“A table?” thought Carter. People had forgotten all about him and left him passed out under a side table in the ballroom.

“What am I doing here? What happened?” said Carter as he felt another foot kick him in his side.

They were still kicking him. He crawled towards the end of the table and pulled himself to the wall. He leaned against it and took an inventory check of all his body parts. None of them were gone or mauled. He had bruises from those kickers and a mean magic hangover, but he was okay.

He stood up and surveyed the mess he had made. "Looks like a tornado went through here," said Carter as he left.