"No, Get Away!" A female voice shouted in anger, catching Will's attention as he walked past the ally. Will turned down following the deluge of shouts.

"Do you know who I am? If you touch me..." The choice was cut off by the sound of flesh hitting flesh, and just as Will turned a corner in the ally he saw three men standing around a young woman burst into laughter.

"If you touch me." One of the men said in a poor mockery of the young woman's voice.

"Now I don't think she sounded quite like that." Will said, the deep vibrato of his voice causing all three men to jump and turn around. The young woman, to her credit, took the opportunity to scramble between two of them and hide behind the wall of muscle that was Will.

"Why don't you hand over that sweet little thing, and we let you walk out of here with all your fingers still attached to your hands, and not shoved down your throat." The largest one of the three said, a dagger that seemed to emanate a faint light, indicating enchantment, spun into his hand.

"Hmm, well that is a tempting offer, but I think I will have to decline. Have a good day gentlemen." Will said, placing one large hand on the young woman's shoulders and practically pushing her over as he moved her towards the mouth of the ally. As they approached the turn that would put them in sight of the mouth of the ally, three more men came around the corner.

"See, the problem with you refusing is that this ally, and all of whittlers end, is our territory." The man with the enchanted dagger said, his group of three coming to complete the circle around Will and the young woman.

"Well, I was hoping it wouldn't come to this." Will said shaking his head.

"Come to wha..." The mand with the dagger said, but he was interrupted as Will's fist impacted his jaw with an uppercut that lifted the man three feet into the air.

Without stopping, Will caught the arm of the man to his right by the wrist in his left hand. His right arm swung over the far shoulder of the man and grabbed the man's shirt back. At the same time, Will's Right leg stepped behind the man, and with a rapid twisting motion, Will heaved with his body, sending the man who he had ahold of catapulting over his hip, and into the man to Will's left.

Quicker than most could follow, Will delivered two quick strikes to the head of the man directly behind, and with equal speed, drove his stiffened fingers into the throat of the next man, and leaped into the air, plating both his feet into the chest of the final man standing, sending the poor being catapulting into the brick wall to hit with a solid crunch.

The young woman who had watched all of this was shocked. She had never seen anything like it before. In just about thirty seconds, this massive brute of a man who she had never met, had disabled six men with brutal efficiency.

Will turned to the young woman. "Well, I guess your good to go. Have a nice day. I'd recommend getting out of here before any of them come around enough to do anything stupid."

The young woman nodded still shocked and followed him from the ally. Will turned to check once more that she had made it out of the ally, and then smiled and turned to leave.

"There she is!" A gruff voice called out, and Will turned to see the Royal Knights rushing forward, and the young woman walking towards them. He shrugged and moved to leave, and was suddenly slammed to the ground.

"Try to kidnap the princess and think we will let you walk away?" A man wearing a robe that marked him as one of the King's High Wizards said to Will.

Will tristed a ring on his hand that was his only memento of his family, and stood, smiling at the look of shock on the Wizard's face. "That's not very nice. Have a good day."

Will just wanted to leave. He despised the King, he despised the Royals, and most of all he despised Wizards. When he turned once more to leave though, he found his way barred by two knights with blades drawn. He knew that he could get past them, but he also knew that would mean marking himself as an enemy of the crown.

Will turned to the young woman. "Can you please call off your guard dogs I want to get back to the festival?" Will asked.

"You will address her highness as befits her station!" The wizard nearly hissed, spittle flying from his mouth as anger filled his voice.

Will felt the ring on his finger grow warm and knew that the Wizard had tried to cast another spell on him. Will moved, grabbing the wizard by the neck, slamming him into the wall of the nearest building.

"Listen here you piece of refuse." Will said his tone dropping to something between unbridled rage, and sheer wrath. "I hate wizards. It is because of wizards, and the King that my father is dead, maybe it was you who betrayed him, maybe it wasn't, either way, I hate you all. Try to cast magic on me and I will knock every one of your teeth out and use them as jewelry. Do you understand?"

The Wizard looked as if he was about to spit out a snappy retort when Will saw his eyes dart to look at someone who was behind him. Tossing the wizard to the side, Will turned his arms retracting into a ready stance, playing on laying out whoever had approached in one hit. He froze though when he saw the young woman.

"I am sorry for how they have reacted." The Princess said and bowed slightly to Will. "If you wish it I will have them punished for it. I will also allow you to leave now. However, if you are amicable, I would very much like to reward you for your efforts, and the success in which you defended me."

"What do you mean?" Will said, thinking quickly. Thus far this woman had not wronged him in any way, other than being a royal. And the reason that he was attending the festival was to compete in the feats of strength and win the money he needed.

"Well firstly I would like to attend the festival with you, and then after I would offer you a reward, Gold or something else, we will have to see what is available at the palace." The Princess said.

Will thought for a moment more and figured that he could still compete in the feats of strength and slip away later if he had to. "Verry well, but he has to leave." Will said gesturing to the wizard.

"Verry well." The princess said turning to the Wizard who was massaging his throat with one hand. "Alkard, you are released for the day, please return to the palace and assure my father that I am fine."

"You would have me leave you with this peasant!?" Alkard demanded, his voice strained from the abuse that Will had put on his throat. "I am sorry but we can not leave you with him, your highness." He bowed to the Princess.

"Not the knights." Will said before either could speak. "I have never had an issue with the Knights, they are generally fair and good men, I just hate wizards."

"There you have it Alkard, the Knights will stay with me and you will return to the palace." The Princess said with a nod.

"Your Highness..." Alkard began to speak but was cut off by the Princess raising her hand.

"Let me rephrase that Alkard. I am ordering you to follow these instructions. If you fail to follow them I will have you stripped of your standing in court." The Princess said her tone had changed from a simple young woman to that of an icy noble who expecting nothing but the utmost obedience.

Alkard's mouth seemed to work silently for a moment before he bowed deeply. "Yes, your highness." He glared at Will as he moved off through the crowd towards the palace that rose into the sky a distance away.

"Now then," The Princess said turning to Will with a smile and a tone that gone back to that of a simple young woman, "let us be off to the harvest festival." She set off leading the way to the city square.

The rest of the morning and the beginning of the afternoon were smooth. Too smooth Will thought though he assumed that it was because the seven knights that seemed to perpetually float around the princess and himself warded most people away. As second bell rang from the temples of various gods, they had made their way, at Will's request, to the center of the square where the feats of strength were to be held.

Will caught the captain of the knights eyeing the completion. "Why don't you come and join in?" Will asked as he stretched as his father had taught him.

"I couldn't possibly, not while working." The captain said, his tone revealing how much he wanted to.

"Sir Balefor, please go ahead." The princess said, smiling at the Captain.

"But Princess." The captain was clearly torn between duty and his personal wish to compete.

"Captain it is the harvest festival, for all, not just the Royals, not just the Commoners, please go." She said in a reassuring tone. "I can make it an order if you wish?" Her tone was serious with a hint of testing.

"Very well your highness." Captain Balefor said, and one of his men stepped forward to help him remove his armor. Once out of it the knight went and registered.

Moments later Will, Sir Balefor, and seventeen other men all stood in a line to the cheers of the crowd. It was only then that the Princess realized just how massive Will was. The captain was a mountain of a man, standing at six feet two inches, and weighing nearly two hundred pounds of pure muscle, and had nearly three inches on every other competitor except for Will.

Will stood nearly six inches tall then the captain, and while the captain looked as if he might fill a doorway with his broad shoulders. The Princess had to admit that Will looked more likely to break the walls to either side of the door with his shoulders. She wondered who he was, and how he had learned to move so fast despite his massive frame.

The competition began with tossing barrels filled with rocks. Half the competitors were unable to throw past the line that had been drawn in the dirt. The second event was bending iron bars of various thicknesses, both the Captain and Will made it look easy. It went on like this until only Will, Sir Balefor, and one other man remained.

A cart bearing a massive log that had a shoulder-shaped depression carved into the center with iron handles nailed to it, the log was set into two massive iron stands by a team of ten men. And roughly twenty yards away another set of stands. The announcer explained that the contestants would take turns carrying the log from one set of stands to the other, he advised the contestants that if they could no longer carry the log, teams of men would help.

They began, the third contestant going first, then Will, then the Captain. They went ten times, then the third man laughed, shaking his head, and bowed out to cheers. The Sir Balefor and Will continued, for many trips, until finally, the Captain fell to one knee halfway between the stands. The teams of men that were lining the course moved and before they could do anything, Will who had been following behind leaned over and lifted the log away from Sir Balefor, placing it on his shoulders, still having the strength to keep the log balanced with one hand and reach down to pull the Captain to his feet with the other.

Will walked the log the rest of the way to a raucous upheaval of cheering and dropped it into the stands. The announcer declared him the winner and handed him a purse of fifteen gold. The third contestant walked over and congratulated him, as did the captain.

The princess walked over and congratulated Will and the Captain after the crowd had subsided, most heading off to get ready for the feast that would be held at sunset. "It seems that I am in the company of the two strongest men in the kingdom." She said smiling at both of them.

Sir Balefor smiled and bowed his head as the knight who had been holding his armor and weapons helped him don them once more. "Thank you, your highness."

"Thanks, I guess." Will said, his hatred of Royals waring with his maners.

"Shall we then proceed to the palace?" Sir Balefor asked once he was properly fitted back into his armor.

"Is that acceptable to you Will?" The Princess asked.

Will flinched, he had hoped to get out of this without them learning his name, but some of the villagers knew him and had called out congratulations to him and encouragement during the completion. "Yeah, I guess."

The walk to the palace was uneventful. As they approached the gates, a guard called down for the gates to open and they slid open silently. Will walked with the group, feeling incredibly out of place, and feeling anger begin to well up. "Not now, Will," he berated himself mentally, "get whatever she wants to give you and get out. Now is not the time to try and fight the entire Royal Guard."

They finally entered the palace, where the princess was announced. "Her royal highness Ilicia Ter Koltshelg, Princess of Kolt." The Royal Crier broadcast to the room of nobles, and other dignitaries who were engaged in their own pompous variation of the harvest festival. Will followed the Princess, who lead him directly to the King and Queen, and the wizard from earlier.

"Father." The Princess said with a smile, "Mother." She curtsied slightly to both of them.

"Ah, here she is!" The King said smiling widely at his daughter. "Alkard was telling me that you found something interesting, and had a run-in with some unsavory types." The King cast appraising eyes that seemed to radiate dislike across Will.

"Yes, I did." Ilicia said. "Lucky for me Will here was nearby and quickly dealt with them."

"Yes, Will." The King said, looking like he had just swallowed an egg that was several years out of season. "I can't help but notice that you have not offered the proper greetings or manners, young Will."

Will's mind was working a million miles an hour, and before his mind could make any decisions, his mouth made one for him. "Well, like my father always said, Walk like you are the king, or you don't give a fuck who is." The words left his mouth, and his mind felt like it was beating him up from the inside as the entire room, and hundreds of royals and their guests went quiet.

"I'm sorry, but what did you just say." The king said, his tone was strange.

"Father, Will is tired he competed in the..." Ilicia said, silenced by her father raising his hand. Guards had quickly moved to be closer to the King.

"Say it again." The King said.

"I said like my father always said, walk like you are the king, or you don't give a fuck who is." Will said doubling down on his own stupid mouth, and quickly looking over the room, noting exits, guards, cover, anything else that he could absorb quickly.

The King looked at the Queen who nodded and then the King shouted at the top of his lungs. "Everyone out!"

Without a moment's wait, the entire room minus the royal guards, the King, the Queen, Ilicia, Alkard, and Will moved for the nearest exit. After a few moments, the formerly bustling room was silent.

"Will Garrow is your full name then I take it?" The King said his tone and body language much more relaxed than it had been moments ago.

"Yes." Will said hesitantly as he had no idea how the king knew his name.

"Your majesty," Alkard said stepping forward and bowing, "this is just another example of what I was explaining earlier. I think that you should..."

"Silence Alkard, you should thank the Gods that he let you walk away." The King said, glaring at the wizard. "Have a seat everyone, Sir Balefor, you can dismiss everyone but yourself."

The Captain nodded confused but did so. The King gestured for everyone to sit, and Will did so hesitantly. "So, Will, Alkard here tells me you hate Royals, you hate me, and you especially hate wizards. Is that true?"

Will ground his teeth together. "Yes."

"Why?" the King asked looking directly at Will.

Will could not contain it any longer, he slammed both his fists into the surface of the table as he bellowed at a volume that made everyone at the table jump. "Because of you, my father is dead! It is your fault! And the filthy slimy wizard that abandoned him. I should kill you now!"

With those last words, Sir Balefor stood drawing his sword and focused on Will.

"Sir Balefor, please sit," The King said calmly, "if what I know of this boy is true, you would prove to be little more than a minor inconvenience before he beat me to death."

The knight captain looked shocked but bowed to his King, sheathed his sword, and sat.

"Thank you." The Kings said and then took a deep breath seeming to deflate. "Will, you are not wrong, but I ask you to hear me out."

Will simply nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

"Your father, Brock Garrow, was a friend, he told me after we summoned him here from the other world and he defeated the black dragon Julxion, that if I were ever in need I could call on him." The King sounded as if he were half the man he had portrayed when Will first walked in. "When my eldest son, Kale, was captured by the remnants of Julxion's forces, I sent hundreds of knights to retrieve him, none ever returned, so I finally called upon your father."

Will knew the story, the King could tell him nothing he did not know.

"Your father came without question, and when I told him the situation he left immediately with one of the court mages." The King continued, pausing for a deep draft of wine from his cup. "He was gone for two weeks, and finally he stumbled into this very hall, supported by my son. He handed me two letters and the ring that you now wear if I am not mistaken, before dropping dead at my feet. The first was to you, his son. The second was to me, he told me that you would probably seek me out for revenge and that if ever you should appear in front of me and give me a chance to speak I should tell you the family passphrase so that you would know that I was not responsible."

Will had frozen, the only people who he knew that knew of the family passphrase as his father had called it, were his grandmother and grandfather on his mother's side, as they were the only family that he had that was still alive, but they lived many months of travel from the kingdom.

"The passphrase, though I have no idea what it means, is marines don't die, they go to hell and regroup." The King said and saw some tears spill from Will's eyes as the boy chuckled. "He also explained that he had taught you everything he knew and sent you to live with your grandparents who no doubt taught you even more. He assured me that you were probably the most dangerous being in the Kingdom and he asked a favor of me besides delivering the ring and the letter to you. He begged that if ever you showed up at my kingdom that I take care of you, and ensure that you could live your life."

The King stood and gestured for everyone to follow him. Will stood and seemed to move in a fog as his brain worked overtime to process all of the information. The King led them to a door that had guards, the door was marked with the King's seal, and when they opened, they revealed the King's private garden.

The garden was beautiful, but that was not what Will saw. What he saw was a statue of his father, in one of his favorite fighting stances, a smile plastered across his face. The plaque on the statue made him burst into tears.

Ilicia read the plaque. It said, here lies Brock Garrow, A hero summoned from another world, a true friend to King Argont the fourth, master of combat, and Marine. May all those who follow know and aspire to be a man like Brock. She glanced at Will who was wiping tears from his face.

"Your father was my dearest friend," The King said, reaching up to gently place a hand on the gain Will's shoulder, "he is the reason that I met my wife and the reason that this kingdom is as prosperous as it is. I would never intentionally send him into a situation that I thought would get him killed. I understand your anger, and if you still feel that I need to pay for his life with mine, I will not resist. I only ask that you leave my family unharmed."

Will, his eyes red from crying, looked down at the King. "You may not be to blame but the wizard, who is he?"

"His name was Viltar, when my son relayed how Viltar had betrayed us and left Kale and your father to die, I put out a reward anyone who brought him to me would be rewarded with 10,000 gold. But so far none have been able to. He was, unfortunately, the most talented wizard we have ever seen."

"Very well." Was all that Will could bring to mind.

"Will, I intend to make good on the favor requested by your father, and the reward for protecting my daughter. If there is anything you want please tell me." King Argont said.

"If it is okay with you, I would prefer to speak of this tomorrow, I will come back from the inn I'm staying in. I need time to process this." Will said.

"It is fine but, please I insist, stay in the rooms that your father used whenever he visited." The King said.

Will nodded and the King showed him to a room, where Will cried a little more for his father, before falling asleep.