Tonight was going to be a long night here at Fort Solaire. We had successfully transported a large group of refugees who had fled from their hometown after an attack from the gods. Our new challenge was to accommodate everyone. The smell of damp soil and blood wafted through the air as the open hall was being filled to the brim with townsfolk, war doctors, and soldiers.

I was assigned to gather the children to the mess hall so they could eat. They all had been crying since they entered the fort. I wouldn't blame them. Being this close to losing their lives, with some of them even witnessing the deaths of their loved ones, they all had gone through something that no kid should ever experience.

Knowing me, I wouldn't be able to rest easy unless I cheered these kids up, at least for a moment.

I spread my arms in a stupidly extravagant fashion. "Ok, kids! Who wants to hear an epic tale of action, suspense, intrigue, princesses, swordplay, and arranged marriages?!"

~ P ~

Once upon a time, in our very own land of Palmyna, a fleet of ships, led by the devious and conniving prince of the Eastern Isle, landed near the shores of the Palmynian capital. The prince sought an audience with the king and queen. Boasting his prowess with the sword, he wagered that if he could defeat all of the knights within the Palmynian Knighthood without losing, he would take their exceptionally beautiful daughter's hand in marriage.

The king and queen were in a sticky bind. Refusing the wager might harm the kingdom's relations with the Isles, which may lead to the Palmyna kingdom's downfall in the future. On the other hand, they risk losing their daughter to a heartless and conceited man who obviously only wanted the kingdom's huge tracts of Palmynian land.

Rising from her throne, it was the princess who spoke up. She took a quick glance at her mother, who nodded reassuringly. The princess then looked straight into the prince's eyes. "I accept your wager."

~ P ~

Clouds had gathered in the afternoon sky. Everyone had assembled at the open field just outside the Palmynian Knights' training quarters. From the tent of the Eastern Isles emerged the armor-clad prince. With his great sword in his hands, he entered the battlefield and called out for the kingdom to send out his first victim- I mean, opponent.

Just as he had wished, a simple knight, with a great sword in her hands, entered the field. She was clad head-to-toe in the knights' standard issue armor. Even the great sword she wielded was of little value. The only defining features that peeked out of her armor were her long, pink hair and her crimson eyes, the same fierce eyes that glared right back at him back at the throne room.

Boy, the prince was in for a big surprise…

~ P ~

"His first opponent was the princess, wasn't she?!" one of the young boys exclaimed.

"That's right!" I said as I pat the little boy's head, messing up his hair as I did so.

A little girl then raised her hand. "Does that mean the princess was also a knight?"

"Why, yes, she was a knight." I leaned in forward and whispered to her, "A very skilled knight. A very brave knight…" I paused. "… And a very noble one, as well."

The little girl looked at me with sparkling eyes. "She must have been amazing!" Indeed she was, right, commander? Ahem-ahem…

~ P ~

The prince eyed the woman before him. "What is the meaning of this?!" Did they take him for a fool? Did they really expect the prince to fight the woman he's supposed to wed in a sword duel? "I demand an explanation!"

The princess pulled down her mask as she replied, "I am an official member of the Knighthood. I have undergone the same form of training as the other knights." Resting the tip of her sword on the ground, she set her hands upon the blade's hilt. "As we have agreed, you must face each and every knight within the Knighthood. Such a matchup between us cannot be avoided."

"But why put yourself in harm's way?! Send in another knight to fight in your place!"

"One of the tenets of the Palmyna royal family is to uphold honor above all. I was the one who accepted your wager, and thus I will honor our agreement until I fully complete my role." The princess held herself back from saying that she had absolutely no intention of being married to someone as dubious as the prince. "If you want, you may choose not to face me; however, if you do, then you forfeit the match, the wager, and the prize you seek to claim. I believe that is not what you want."

The prince was fuming. Who did this woman think she was? He could tell from her eyes. She was looking down on him. He wasn't going to have any of it. He decided he was going to teach this woman her place. "So be it," the prince said as he took his sword.

~ P ~

"And then, they fight!" cried the little kid in the back.

"No! Not yet!" I cried as I held up my hands. "First, they exchanged witty pre-battle one-liners!" I outstretched my hand, pretending to be the prince. "As the prince of the Eastern Isles and the next in line to the head of the House of the Isles, I will not fall to the likes of you!" I then took a battle stance, pretending to be the princess. Merely glaring at her opponent with her fierce, yet beautiful, eyes, the princess said not a word.

"And then, THEY FIGHT!" cried the same little kid yet again.

"No! Not yet!" I raised my hands once more. "Next, they had the overly dramatic, ultimately fierce, and totally necessary stare-down! Gold eyes met crimson eyes as the two combatants stared each other down, trying to read each other's motives and to psyche each other out! It was an epic stare down of epic proportions which took up the eternal entirety of a minute. This mesmerizingly mesmerizing spectacle was broken when the judge finally gave the signal!"

…

…

"… Now? "

Smiling, I merely nodded.

"AND THEN, THEY FIGHT!"

~ P ~

The moment the signal was given, both knights rushed in. The prince lunged forward with a strike to the princess' right, but she parried the strike just in time with her own blade. Then, within that slight moment, she thrusted her blade and struck the prince right in the chest plate.

The prince only had a short moment to react to the princess' next strike, which was aimed right for his left. The princess used that strike as a feint, immediately swerving her blade to attack his lower right, but the prince was able to block her attack in time. He quickly shifted his great sword to land a cut to her head, but the princess ducked just in time. Then, with the aid of her rising body, she went for an upward cut, which the prince immediately intercepted. They both then leapt backward, moving away from their skirmish.

They circled each other, locking their eyes while keeping a safe distance between them. When the time was right, they both lunged at each other. The prince went in for a thrust to the princess' helm, but the princess ducked in time once again and went in for an upward thrust. Taking a step back, the prince leaned back to avoid her blade. Shifting his footing, he circled to her side and went in for a strike to her lower body. Quickly shifting her body, the princess swung her sword downward, parrying the prince's attack and beating sword away. With a swift leap to reposition herself, she went in with a strike to his armored stomach.

The two leaped backward once again, only to lunge at each other immediately after. A resounding clash was heard when the two combatants locked blades, attempting to push each other away. Locking eyes, the prince said, "You are much better than I thought; however, as I've said, I will not fall to the likes of you. I always get what I want!" Gritting her teeth, the princess replied, "I have something I must protect. As long as I draw breath, I will make sure it will never fall into your hands!" Unamused, the prince countered, "So be it!"

When the prince jumped backward, his great sword began to glow. With one, strong, horizontal swipe, he created a shockwave of air that headed straight for the princess. The princess rushed toward the attack head-on, performing a dodge roll under the shockwave at the right time. Once she was back on her feet, she continued to charge toward the prince. The prince also charged ahead, dragging his sword against the ground. With a powerful swipe, the prince sent a column of flame-shaped earth right at the princess, but she quickly dodged to the side. Then, with a swift twirl to the prince's side, the princess struck her now glowing blade earthbound, sending strong seismic waves towards the prince.

The prince leaped away from the attack, then fired off three air shockwave attacks in rapid succession. Instead of avoiding the attack, the princess rushed towards it, penetrating the attack, yet also taking the full brunt of its damage. Her resolve did not waver as the princess then jumped into the air, aiming to strike the prince's helm from above. The prince blocked her attack with his blade and swatting her backward.

"IT'S TIME TO END THIS!" The prince cried as he jumped high into the air. He then fired off a barrage of shockwaves toward the ground, aiming to cut the princess down. This didn't dismay the princess, who rushed into the prince's barrage. She did not falter as she dodged every attack that came right for her. When the prince's barrage ended, he fell to the ground, aiming to deal one, final downward strike. The princess charged toward the falling prince, readying her blade to thrust the prince one last time…

~ P ~

We had just finished the story when Commander Edea arrived. The kids wanted to hear more stories, but it was getting late, so we had to bring them back to their parents. Aawwwwwww…

Edea, the children, and I arrived at the main hall where the townsfolk were staying. I watched as the kids reunited with their parents, who gladly thanked me for watching over them. Looking at the smiles on their faces, I couldn't help but smile as well.

Sigh… Life begins to suck when you grow up. You're exposed to war, greed, and corruption. Even the gods you once worshiped could betray you. I guess that's why I like making people smile. There were already too many things that spread sadness in the world, so spreading a bit of happiness could go a long way.

Before heading back to my resting quarters, I said good night to the kids, who waved back at me, their Big Brother Dean. I promised them that I'll tell them more stories tomorrow. Maybe my next tale will be about four warriors of light.

As I walked towards the doorway, one of the little girls quickly walked up to me and whispered into my ear. She asked if the pink-haired, red-eyed Commander Edea was the princess in the story.

I said nothing. Wink. Shhhhhhhhhhhhh…

A/N:

I wrote this last July 2015, back during the coming of Edea's 7* form, Flora Aegis Edea. I felt compelled to write a fanfic about her.

For this piece, I wanted to highlight her skills with the great sword, so for the fight scene (at least for the first half), so I browsed a few great sword combat videos on Youtube. At times, I even had to get off my seat and try to choreograph the moves/attacks myself, all while Tales of Xillia boss music was playing on my cellphone music player.

I picked Dean to be the storyteller because it fits with his 4* lore, which says that he's usually the one who livens up the group, even during their low times.

For the title, Palmyna Tales, I wanted it to be a reference to the Canterbury Tales. Geoffery Chaucer wrote the Tales some time during the Hundred Year's War, and the Tales was a story of a group of pilgrims who told stories to each other on their pilgrimage to Canterbury. I guess that was also the reason why I made Dean tell the story to refugee children.

Well, I hope you liked it as much as I had fun writing it.