Now, not like the journey was completely smooth. I mean, they came across wild animals and needed to battle them, but not coming across a single magical beast made things easier.

Battling a magical beast would take time, especially the highest rank. But not coming across them made the journey faster.

..And by now, they had already arrived at the Tuvalon Kingdom.

As they were riding their horses on the road, people were glancing at them. And do you know what was running through their minds, 'They're back'.

Yes, all of them knew they went to pay tributes, and seeing them now means they've been able to deliver the goods and arrive safely.

They were able to do it again, none of them died, they all came back alive. The people of the Tuvalon Kingdom were glad. But they didn't know about the things that took place in the Chuvulan Kingdom.

..They might soon find out.

They kept riding their horses until they arrived at the king's palace. The king was so glad when he set eyes on them, they had been able to do it again. They paid tributes and arrived safely again.

But he didn't know they brought some news for him, news that wasn't that pleasant. The moment he saw their horses arriving in front of his palace including the ones that had carriages attached to their backs, he began walking out of his palace.

He couldn't even wait for them to come meet him in the palace, he wants to be the one to go meet them outside. The moment he arrived outside, all the knights and warriors had already come down from the horses they were sitting on.

And they immediately bowed their heads a little while voicing out...

"Your majesty".

A smile appeared on the king's face at that moment, a broadened one. He was expecting the normal report. Yes, they delivered the goods safely to the Chuvulan and Mepaidian Kingdom which was true.

According to what he was seeing, none of them died, they all arrived safely. But he didn't know they had other news for him apart from the normal report that they delivered the goods safely.

There were some knights in front of the king's palace currently, and there were also some knights in the palace standing beside the king's throne.

They just stood and were looking, they weren't part of the knights that embarked on the journey of paying tributes...

"You guys should come inside". The king said to the knights and warriors as he began walking back into his palace.

The knights and warriors glanced at each other before they began walking into the palace as well following the king from behind.

******

"What! The king of the Chuvulan Kingdom said he wants double of the goods from now on?". The king of the Tuvalon Kingdom voiced out with a bewildered facial expression.

"Yes, your majesty". Ethan responded nodding his head a little.

They had already dropped the bombshell by now, they had already told the king what the king of the Chuvulan Kingdom wanted.

"He didn't change his mind at all, he just stood his ground, he was even ready to fight. At that moment, if a fight had ensued, we would have lost to them 'cause their knights suddenly increased,

And we do know they are stronger than us, so we just had to leave and bring the news to you. The king was pretty annoying, he suddenly changed". Another head warrior voiced out.

The king shook his head a little with a kind of annoyed facial expression, and this was the next utterance that flowed out of his mouth,

"Did he say the reason why he wants the tributes to be doubled from now on?".

"Yes, he said something like the previous ones aren't enough anymore, he wants more from now on. He said something like he's been collecting the same amount of tributes from us for years now. Now, he wants more, was that too much to ask for?

My king, he was pretty annoying, I don't know what came over him". Ethan's voice resounded again.

Then a certain knight spoke, "And he said we should advise you to agree to his request, if not, things would happen".

"Is he nuts? What's the meaning of all these?". The king voiced out once again, he was really worried now.

..If a war was to occur, their kingdom would definitely be victorious over theirs 'cause they were mightier.

That's one of the reasons why they were even paying tributes to them in the first place. War isn't an option 'cause they'd definitely lose.

And doubling the tributes wouldn't be that easy, this was what was troubling the king. His voice resounded,

"Why did he suddenly decide to do this? He just wants to disrupt the peace that has been taking place between our kingdom and theirs for years now. Who gave him the right to be doubling the tributes?".

..He was pretty distressed, this was definitely unpleasant news for him.

Ethan and the rest of the other warriors and knights just stood there glancing at him without a single word flowing out of their mouths.

The king sat on his throne for more than a minute without uttering another word, a lot was running through his mind at that moment. He was cracking his brain, he was contemplating.

Then he finally spoke, "I'd have to think about this before concluding what we'll do, I need to think this over. So you guys would do me a favor of going back to your different families,

You've tried as usual, I'm glad all of you came back safely. When I've concluded, you guys would hear about it".

"Yes, your majesty". Their voices resounded in unison.

All the warriors would be going back to their different families. But as for the knights, some would be going back to their families in the meantime, while some would be staying with the king.

All the knights and warriors had evacuated the king's palace by now except Ethan. And this was what the king said to Ethan,

"Your family was well protected by knights during your absence".

A little smile appeared on Ethan's face at that moment as he voiced out, "Thanks your majesty. About the current situation, please, don't overthink it, just take it slowly".

The king nodded his head a little and voiced out, "Sure".

..And with that, Ethan began walking out of the king's palace.

Getting out of the king's palace, he mounted his horse and rode off. As the horse was moving on the road, he was thinking about his family.

But then, another thought took over, he began thinking of the current situation, yes, the king of the Chuvulan Kingdom wanted the tributes to be doubled from now on.

He remembered thinking if the paying of tributes was gonna go well while they were on their way to both kingdoms. Yes, it went well in one kingdom, but didn't go too well in the other.

He had arrived home by now, and his family was so happy to see him. He arrived home to meet two knights there, but they left after seeing him.

Everyone was at home apart from Hazel, but she'd soon arrive home from work. As said, they were happy to see Ethan, it was a joyous situation.

******

The news spread around concerning what happened during the paying of tributes...the king of the Chuvulan Kingdom wanted the tributes to be doubled from now on.

And if it doesn't happen, there'd most likely be trouble. Yes, many citizens of the Tuvalon Kingdom had heard of the news, news like this doesn't waste time to spread.

And many of them were angry, they considered the king of the Chuvulan Kingdom a greedy man. The king of the Mepaidian Kingdom received the tributes without requesting anything else.

He even gave them food and shelter for that night. But the king of the Chuvulan Kingdom was requesting for the tributes to be doubled when next they come to pay them...

..What suddenly came over him?

Some of them couldn't just understand why he suddenly wanted the tributes to be doubled...thinking about it was only making them angry and confused.

The officials of the Tuvalon Kingdom had heard of it too, and they were feeling the same way as the natives of the Tuvalon Kingdom.

..The king might call for a meeting soon 'cause he might not be able to decide on this alone.

He might need the suggestions of the officials to decide. The Dankworth family had heard of the news as well, and they couldn't help but question Ethan a lot.

They were all sitting in the living room currently, and it was nighttime. Emma was present in the living room, Hazel was present as well, Aiden was present, and Lydia was present.

They were all sitting on different chairs, and Ethan was giving answers to different questions.

"I don't know what came over him as well, I mean, everything has been going peacefully. And now, he's choosing to ruin it". Ethan said.