The Knight and the Missing Princess
"Come on, come on! Tell us the story again," Sora begged his mother, as she tucked him into his bed for the evening. The six-year old pouted as his mother draped the blanket over him, "Please, mom. Please!"
"Kids, it's late and it's already past your bedtime," the mother tried to reason with her two twin sons. She pushed back her long, brunette hair and made her way over to her other son's bed.
"But a story always helps put us to sleep, mommy," Roxas said, rubbing his eyes tiredly.
"You're practically already asleep," his mom chuckled to herself.
"No, I'm not," Roxas said, letting out a large, sleepy yawn.
"Come on, mom!" Sora excitedly sat up in bed with a sparkle of excitement in his eyes. "Please!"
Their mom sighed to herself and smiled, taking the chair that had been placed at their desk and moving it in-between her two sons' beds, a telling move to both Sora and Roxas that their mom was going to give them a story, just as she always had done. She placed the chair down and sat, looking at her two sleepy sons. "Okay, what story do you want to hear?"
"Hmmm..." Sora thought to himself, rubbing a hand through his spiky-brunette hair before laughing. "I don't know! There's so many good ones..."
Roxas nodded, "Not the one about the princess and that stupid pea again. Or the one about the three bears!"
"Okay...okay..." the mother laughed. "Then, what?"
A story clicked in Sora's head and he smiled wide at his mother, "Tell us the story about the prince and the princess! That one's the best!"
"Yes, yes!" Roxas cheered on his brother's suggestion, "But...hm, was he really a prince? Wasn't he just a knight?"
"Oh, yeah..."Sora said, tilting his head. "And was she really a princess, too? Didn't she leave her kingdom? Hmmm...how did the story go again?"
Their mother laughed to herself and losely placed her brunette braid over her shoulder, playing with the strands. "You sure you want to hear this one? I've probably told it to a hundred times."
"Yes, this one!" Sora exclaimed.
"This one's the best!" Roxas agreed.
She smiled to herself and looked up at the doorway to the bedroom, spotting her blonde, spiiky-haired husband leaning against the doorway, flashing her a warm and loving smile before taking a bite out of an apple.
She smirked, returning her husband's gaze. 'Guess the kids aren't the only one who love this story...'
She cleared her throat before she began, delicately trailing her fingers through her long strands of hair, re-braiding it as she told the story to her children and husband again.
"Once upon a time..."
The Kingdom of Gaia was a beautiful realm on the edge of a vast ocean. At the very heart of the realm stood a beautiful, ornate castle surrounded by a thick forest and mountain range that stretched far beyond the eye could see. It was in this castle where the royal family, the Cetra as they had been called, had reigned for many years - honored and repsected by their people for their kindness and compassion; their good hearts.
The King and Queen of the kingdom would one day have a little girl - named Aerith, for wherever she would go, she would bring goodness and light to the earth. She, like her parents, was beloved by the kingdom and even from a young age, was a princess to her people, only for her people - not ruling over them, but walking amongst them as one of them.
But then, the happiness and light from their land faded...the queen had died.
Aerith and her father were heart-broken over the death of her mother and his wife. Even as the years passed, the scar on their hearts was never truly healed.
Aerith, now a young woman in her early twenties, had grown into the role of being a real princess, but never once lost her goodness or her kindness to others. As the people had said, she was the 'light to their kingdom' and as long as she kept her will strong, they'd survive whatever crossed their paths.
It wasn't long then when darkness struck the kingdom again, when a new queen waged war on the kingdom for dominance and power. In the midst of the war, the queen had waged war with realm after realm, kingdom after kingdom, increasing her power and her dominance over as much of the world as she could claim. The queen was evil, but those that dare spoke it were surely slain and disposed of, as if they were meaningless and never should have existed.
It was in this war over the KIngdom of Gaia where the King, Aerith's father, had been killed, leaving Aerith the last of the royal family, the last of her kind - the last Cetra.
Before the queen could destroy her life or anything else she'd held dear, Aerith fled from the castle grounds, leaving her kingdom, her home and her people behind...
She'd never be seen by her kingdom's people again...until one day...
The knight rode across the stone drawbridge on the back of his horse, as its' feet met with a loud thud as it galloped across the stone landing.
The knight looked up in awe at the castle before him. It was regal and beautiful, the towers and walls built from the finest stone, finished with golden engravings and beautiful blue spires. Even someone used to the royal lifestyle of a prince or nobleman would have been impressed with the grandeur of such a monumental structure. It was unlike anything the knight had ever seen before.
The royal knight looked forward, watching as the castle's gates were lifted, allowing him passage inside. Once at the royal courtyard at the steps of the royal castle, the knight stepped down from his horse, his fitted-armor shifting over his form as he moved. He watched as one of the castle guards dressed in entirely black armor approached him.
"What business do you have here," the queen's guard asked.
"The queen has requested an audience with me," the knight said.
"Oh, so you're the one who's been called upon to do the queen's mission," the guard smirked. "Better you than me, I suppose."
"Right," the knight said, raising an eyebrow at the guard, even though his mask covered his face.
"I'll show you to the grand hall. The queen has been expecting you there," the guard said, leading the knight up the stone steps of the palace and into the large hall.
The hall was supported by pillars on both sides, it almost seemed like an ancient temple of sorts, as discs of fire flickered against the walls. On the far wall before the knight, a stained glass circular window stood, letting the light shine through, reflecting against the floor of the castle hall in a colorful splash of light.
But there, beneath the glass window, masked by the patterns of colored light, a regal golden throne stood - where Queen Jenova awaited the arrival of the knight.
The knight approached the throne, stepping beneath the light from the window and stopping just before the altar at which the throne stood.
"Remove your helmet," Queen Jenova spoke sharply to the knight.
Without a word, the knight looked up and removed his helmet, his blonde, spiky locks of hair being revealed as he dropped the helmet to the ground. His bright, blue eyes sparkled against the light above.
He took in the Queen's appearance then, never having met her and only knowing of her reputation through stories and legends told. She had a stern and rigid cold face, thinned lips as if the life had been sucked out of her. She looked even colder by the pale color of her skin, which was so lost of color and life, it nearly looked blue to the surface. An ornate set of jewels sat across her head in a disarranged pattern and her regal, black robes seemed to flow from her body and pull around her throne.
"So, you're the one who can do what I need," Queen Jenova asked, lifting herself from her throne and walking a few steps towards the knight.
"Right," the soldier nodded. "You need me to find someone?"
The queen smiled, wickedly, "Oh, it's more than just that. I've tried many times searching for this girl. I've searched myself, but I've found nothing. I've sent my guards, but all of them failed. What makes you any different?"
"I'm not a guard, I'm a knight," he said, before replying boldly. "And I won't fail."
"Hmph, quite confident, are you not?" Jenova sneered and turned her back to the knight, tossing her robes behind her. "But finding this girl is only just the beginning of why I hired you to do this...'little task' for me. After all, you are the most trained swordsman in all the kingdom, are you not?"
The knight quietly stood there, wondering what the queen was getting at and what more there was to do for her.
The queen reached down towards her throne and retrieved a torn paper. She showed the image on the paper to the knight. It was a missing person's image, where one of the nobleman had drawn up an image of the missing princess by hand. The knight had recognized the image, as it had been plastered all over the nearby towns and forests, but he never actually got close enough to discover that it was actually about the princess.
He looked over the image of the princess' face. She had long, chestnut brunette hair and sparkling, emerald eyes. Her face was innocent and beautiful, at least that what he could make from a drawn image of her. In his eyes, she was everything he'd expect a princess to be just from the first time seeing her as a quick, detailed drawing.
"The princess?" He looked up at the queen from the poster. "She's gone missing?"
"For some time now and for good reason, too..." Jenova began, looking down at the knight, coldly. "The former King and Queen of this realm - she's the responsible for the death of them, her own parents."
"What?" The knight looked down at the missing poster, down to the image of the princess. She couldn't be responsible...for that?
"Yes. She'd ordered them killed, so she could ascend the throne herself," said Jenova, sharply, without a trace of remorse or sympathy. "Even now, she's fled her kingdom, not being able to cope with the guilt of the darkness she wrought upon her own kingdom before I stopped her. She's already planning on doing the same to whatever kingdom she travels to next."
The knight looked up at the queen, "What do you want me to do? Find her?"
"No, my royal knight," Jenova stared him down. "I need you to kill her."
The knight remained silent, a lump forming in his throat at the idea of killing someone who looked so pure and so innocent. "She's...really caused so much destruction? Her?"
"Indeed. Appearances can be deceiving, after all...and she's been lying to her people since her birth," Jenova pitifully shook her head. "She must be destroyed. Do this for me and I will ensure that you will want for nothing for the rest of your life. I will supply you with enough to treasure to live out your days, happily and content...as long as you do this simple task for me. Do you understand?"
The knight still didn't speak a word, he barely breathed. He closed his eyes and bowed his head.
"You are dismissed," the queen waved him off, warning him. "And do not fail me or you shall face a most terrible punishment."
"Of course," the knight said with a hint of uninterested sarcasm in his voice, before turning from the throne and making his way from the grand hall.
With the image of the missing princess in his hand, the knight stared down at it, taking in the appearance of the young woman. He didn't think he could bring himself to harm her if he even tired, let alone do anything beyond that, even if it meant defying the queen's order and facing a 'terrible punishment'. There was something about that...that Queen Jenova...that felt incredibly off, something he couldn't trust and didn't trust.
He placed the image of the princess in his satchel and decided the best thing he could do was at least seek the princess out and uncover the truth about her.
As he left the castle grounds, rising onto his horse, the prince thought to himself.
'Now, if I was a missing princess, where would I be...?'
In the ruins of an old castle that had toppled over and sunk into the earth deep within the forest, a sleeping figure was cuddled up against a pile of stone and debris. As morning light had shown down upon her from above, her emerald eyes opened.
It was the missing princess and this, these destroyed ruins of stone, had become her home now, if she could even call it that. It was a place she could stay under the veil of safety, before someone was clued into her whereabouts and she needed to make a run for it to find a new safe haven to call her own.
She looked like a princess no more. Her face has been patted with dirt and her hair hung down her back, loose strands of hair on both sides of her head, tied back in a messy braid. With the clothes she had worn now, she looked more like a hunter than a princess. A fitted long-sleeved shirt kept her warm underneath the leather and wool vest that has been fastened around her. Her long brown pants covered her legs all the way down to her clunky boots. It wasn't the most appealing ensemble to wear, but when she had stolen her garments from passing caravans, she could only do so much. Though, it was appropriate and useful, as she nearly blended into the wood around her, making it easier for her to hunt for food successfully.
She had learned to live and survive off the earth and what it had to offer on her own, without even having a roof over her head, which was far more than any other royal could say for themselves.
This was her life now and as long as Queen Jenova reigned over her kingdom, this is how she would have to live it.
The sudden sound of a branch snapping from the wood made Aerith shoot up, instinctively reaching for the dagger she kept on her utility belt. She quietly approached the direction of the sound, unsheathing the dagger.
As she grew closer and closer to the sound of twigs snapping, her breath grew still, ready to attack the intruder. She rushed forward, dagger in hand.
"Relax, Aerith. It's only me!"
Aerith breathed out, relieved. "Tifa..." It was Aerith's royal handmaiden and close friend back when she still was a princess. She realized then she still had a dagger pointed at her. She sheepishly shook her head and put the dagger away. "I'm sorry. Living out here on my own has made me very cautious."
"I can see that," Tifa said with a smirk, before handing Aerith a basket of goods she had collected from the town. It was filled to the brim with fruits, breads, cheeses and vegetables, whatever she could get her hands on to help the princess out. "Here you are, I got what I could find. Thankfully, I made it here without anybody catching on. I got the letter you sent me from the bird a week ago, but it took me some time to find exactly where you'd be."
"No, thank you, Tifa," Aerith said, taking the basket from her. "I'm surprised you came so soon, actually. I didn't think I'd see you until the summer."
Tifa's face fell serious when she looked at her friend, "Aerith...it's already been three months since you left the kingdom."
"Has it?" Aerith looked down, surprised and saddened. Out there, in the middle of nowhere, with nothing else but solitude to keep her company, she didn't know how time passed by. In the blink of an eye, an entire season was gone and she didn't know the difference.
"I see you've really let yourself embrace the solitude out here," Tifa said.
"It's what I need right now. To be 'away'," Aerith sighed and looked up at Tifa, concern in her eyes, which seemed to glimmer with tears. "Tell me - where did they bury him? My father."
Tifa closed her eyes, her own sadness over the destruction of her kingdom in her heart. She realized then that Aerith had left the kingdom right as her father, the only family she had then, had died and she never even got to say goodbye or mourn her loss properly. She spent all this time out in the woods alone, never knowing where her father was laid to rest - and that must have been a difficult burden to bear.
Tifa felt a tear drip down her cheek, "He's been laid to rest in the outer gardens outside of the town, next to your mother. They're surrounded by beautiful flowers, Aerith. He has a great view of the mountains and forests."
"He would have liked that," Aerith finally said, overcome with emotion as tears streamed down her cheeks when she thought of her lost parents. She sighed sadly, "I thought being out here, away from everything, was going to make it easier to hear it when I finally did...but it doesn't. I think it's time...I left this place, too...move off to someplace where I don't have to worry about the queen ever coming after me again..."
"No, Aerith, you can't leave," Tifa pleaded with her friend. "We can talk to the villages. We can tell them the truth about everything. They'll believe us."
"No, they won't. They'll only turn against you, too," Aerith said quickly back to her friend. "Amd with the queen in power, she'll kill anyone who decides to help me. I can't let you, Tifa, for your own safety."
"Aerith...but, this is your home..."
"Home is where your family is and right now, I have neither thanks to the woman who's trying to kill me," Aerith replied sadly.
The princess picked up a few of her belongings, making her way from the ruins and down the forest path between a row of trees.
Tifa went after her, "But Aerith, the people respect you...like they did before the war happened."
"Really? They respected me...once, but my family and I couldn't protect them, anyone, not even themselves," Aerith turned back to her. "Things have changed, Tifa. I don't know love now. My father loved my mother...and look what happened. Love wasn't enough to keep her here with us."
Tifa looked at her friend, sadly.
"My father loved me and now he's dead, too. See, love isn't enough sometimes, not when everyone I loved has been taken from me. I can't afford to believe in anything else and as long as I'm in this kingdom, the things people love will be taken from them, too...and I'm not going to let that happen. I have to leave - for good."
Tifa quickly walked up to her friend and wrapped her arms around her, hugging her closest friend tightly, as they had a tearful goodbye.
"Goodbye, Tifa."
"Be careful," Tifa pulled back from the hug and stared at her friend. "Maybe one day we'll see each other again."
"Maybe," Aerith said with a sad frown, trying to change it into a light smile, but it never happened. "Goodbye."
Aerith turned from her friend, her kingdom, the only home she'd ever known, ready to do whatever it took to get as far away from her realm as possible, set on never returning again.
Tifa watched with tears in her eyes she she watched the princess, her best friend, walk quickly down the forest trail, away from her and everything else that was her life.
She wished and prayed with all her heart that what she felt wasn't true - that she'd never see Aerith return again.
On the back of his horse, the knight made his way through the forest, searching between the trees and open clearing for any sight of the missing princess. He'd been at it for about an hour now, setting off far across the realm, but he found nothing. With an entire forest to search, it seemed nearly impossible to find one small princess.
Nearly.
He hopped down from his horse and stepped foot on the dirt path, deciding that maybe a more thorough search could prove useful to his quest. He looked for a sign of anything - torn clothing, snapped branches or downed plants, fresh footprints in the dirt, anything that would give him a clue to find the missing princess.
Sure enough, he'd found a set of footprints, fresh ones that had led down through the wood. He quickly followed them, his walk soon turning into a sprint, following the footprints with every step. It wasn't long before he was led down to the ruins of a sunken castle, where from what he could see, it looked like someone had made the ruins into a makeshift temporary haven, a campsite of sorts.
'Odd,' he thought to himself. 'But on the right trail...'
He quickly made his way back down the forest trail, where a line of trees stayed in a row and saw that a few fallen tree branches had been snapped and stepped on. Along the dirt path ahead, another set of footprints, a different set, continued down the trail. It was another clue that caused him to quickly make his way back over to his horse and continue in pursuit after the footprints, weaving through the trees, dashing through the enchanted woods.
The horse suddenly reared to a stop at a mossy knoll, where it stood on the edge of a precipice. The knight looked down at the horse, confused. "What's wrong, boy?"
The horse neighed in response and shook his head, as if saying that is refused to travel any further and had had enough for the day.
"I guess that's as far as you'll take me, isn't it," the knight said, before hopping down and continuing on the path before him. The footprints had vanished now. "At least, you got me this far. I must have somehow made it passed whoever was leaving those footprints..."
The knight trailed a little bit more forward towards the mossy knoll, still speaking out to the horse who he knew wouldn't respond back to him. "Seriously, how far can a princess ru-"
With a shout, the knight was flung upward, as he stepped right into the noose of a rope, which fastened around his ankle, stepping right into a trp. He was shot up dangling a few several feet upside-down. He struggled, trying to shake himself loose, but he was caught tight. He tried to reach for his sword, but the damn thing clattered to the ground with his satchel, beyond his reach.
"Damn it," he grunted out, before he slowly spun around to his horse, who neighed in response to him. "What the hell are you looking at and go get me some help?"
The horse trotted through the forest, without a care in the world, leaving the knight suspended there in the middle of a cluster of trees, upside-down and starting to not feel too well.
"Would someone please get me the hell down from this thing," the knight said to himself.
"And why should I do that?" A light voice said, as suddenly a figure appeared from behind one of the trees. She tilted her head as she looked up at him.
"Y-you!" the knight said, recognizing the person instantly. It was the princess! Though, her clothes looked entirely different than what a princess would wear, but he knew it was her. Even from dangling upside-down, he could tell that the drawing of her didn't do the princess any justice and she was...she was breath-taking, far more beautiful than he could ever have imagined or believed, even with a face patted with dirt.
Though, his current predicament seemed to take him out of being captivated by the princess, especially when he saw her reach for her belt to retrieve a dagger.
"Careful! H-hold on," the knight said, struggling against his binds with newfound vigor. "I-I'm not going to hurt you!"
"Really?" The princess questioned, reaching down to what she saw poking out of his satchel, pulling out the missing poster of her, one she'd seen far too many times plastered around the woods. "Then, how do you explain this?"
He dangled there, without a word to say in response, as she presented the image of her to him. "I...uh...um..."
"She's after me again, isn't she," the princess asked, almost innocently. "She sent you to try and kill me, just like the other guards, right?"
The knight huffed up, still struggling and not offering her an answer.
"Right," she questioned louder, more aggressively.
The knight gave up his struggles and just dangled there, "Right...but-but I wasn't going to go through with it! I swear!"
"And yet, you were so determined to find me..." She crossed her arms and tilted her head, "You came all the way out here. You were determined to capture and kill me."
"No, no, I wasn't! I was just trying to find you and...meet you, try and understand why the queen would want you dead in the first place," the knight explained. "I wasn't going to hurt you, I promise."
"You could be lying. No one would defy the queen like that," the princess said.
"I would," the knight scoffed. "I don't really give a damn."
"How do I know I can trust you," the princess asked.
"Maybe cut me down and give me a chance," the knight quickly said back.
The princess stepped closer to the hanging knight then. In the goodness of her heart, she knew, even if this was someone out to hurt her, that he could be telling the truth, he could be someone who reaslly wasn't out to hurt her, but by the way her life and family had been torn apart, she was more cautious than anything to let anyone in or trust anyone.
She reached for the knight's helmet and carefully unlatched it, slowly pulling it down from his head, revealing a handsome man with a fully head of spiky, blonde hair and what were the most gorgeous, mysterious blue eyes she'd ever seen. She let the helmet fall to the floor with a clatter as her emerald eyes stared into his, both their eyes meeting at the same level.
It only occured to the both of them how close they actually were to one another, as her eyes stared directly into his for what seemed like an eternity. It felt as though the air around them grew lighter and time stood still when they truly saw one another for the first time.
The knight, now with his helmet removed, fully saw her for the first time. He'd known this before, but seeing her so close to him now, she had the most impressive, emerald eyes he'd ever seen. He felt himself staring into them so deeply he might have drowned and he was completely content with that. She had light pink lips and a face that was, although covered in dirt, absolutely beautiful and stunning. He felt his cheeks burn brightly when she stared at him, as he'd never been this close to a woman before, let alone a princess.
She stared at him. He was truly handsome, unlike anyone she'd ever seen and she couldn't deny that, nor could she ncessarily vocalize it either since she had essentially become his captor. There was a quiet, determined subtlety in his eyes, one that showed courage, respect and even...trust. She couldn't even understand it herself yet, but when she looked in his eyes, it's like she instantly trusted him.
It took her another long moment to actually break away from their eye contact, as she reached down for her dagger, Skillyfully, she aimed the dagger up through the air and threw it, slicing through the rope that dangled from the tree above.
With a surprised yelp, the knight came crashing down to the ground and landed in a patch of flowers and moss. He uprighted himself and rubbed his head, where a bump had already begun to form.
The princess smirked and collected her dagger, "You're just lucky the flowers broke you're fall...I could have set this trap over a thorn bush."
The knight continued to rub his head, "You set these traps yourself? Why?"
"Why else?" The princess continued, "The queen kept sending her guards after me. It was the only way I could stop them to give me enough time to escape."
The handome, blonde knight raised an eyebrow at her, "They've...they've been coming after you for a long time, haven't they?"
"Hmm, it hasn't been easy and none of them are nearly as...'kind' as you are," the princess said, watching as the knight got up to stand.
The knight scratched a hand through his hair, "Oh, I'm not one of the queen's guards. She hired me to do work because of my good record with missions, but no...I'm...I'm not that special. I'm just a knight from the village."
"Oh, I understand," the princess said, before giving him a smug smile. "Well, looks like the queen gave you a mission you're going to fail then. I hope, at least."
"I already told you. You can trust me, I'm not going to hurt you," the knight said.
The way he spoke to her, it made her heart almost instantly believe everything he was saying was true. But she knew the kingdom too well, she knew royals and guards and deceit too well and she kept her guard up.
"So, why is the queen so determined to kill you," the knight asked. "She said that...that you were responsible for the death of your parents? Is that true?"
The princess began to lead the knight through the woods, walking between the trees as they made their way through a clearing, the princess pointing out all the traps the knight should evade to avoid falling into one of her unseen traps. The knight smirked each time she pointed out another well-hidden trap.
The princess went on to explain, "What the queen tells the kingdom are all lies. She's placed images of my face all over the towns and villages and forests, hoping that someone would turn me in, but no one's found me yet...except you."
"I'll take that as a compliment then," the knight chuckled to himself.
The princess shrugged and shook her head, "I never killed my parents. I loved them more than anything. They were great parents...and great leaders, until the queen brought her war upon my people. She killed my father, took his throne."
"And you fled while you still could," the knight surmised, putting the story together in a way that made much more sense, a way that he believed.
The princess smirked, "Hm, been hiding in the forest ever since, trying to keep to myself, away from the rest of the world. Trying to escape to someplace beyond my kingdom, where the queen could never find me. Or anyone, for that matter. A little corner of the world just for me."
"A little corner of the world just for you?" The knight raised his eyebrow and frowned, "Sounds...lonely."
"That's the life you live when your entire village is willing to hand you over for rewards and riches," the princess frowned and moved past the knight, continuing to walk down the forest path.
"Where are you off to now," the knight asked.
"Anywhere, really. Anywhere where I can get away from it all," the princess said. "I don't have the money, but I'll find a way to survive."
Just the sound of that made the knight's heart hurt. Here she was, living out alone in the world for months and she lived her every day life just 'finding a way to survive'. It seemed unfair and cruel that she seemingly had the entire world piited against her and now...here he was in the middle of it.
"I want to help you," the knight blurted out suddenly before he could stop himself.
The princess turned to him, curious. "Hm?"
"I...I want to help you, I want to get you wherever you want to be going to," the knight finished.
"You want to help me," the princess repeated, as if she misheard him.
The knight smirked and smiled handsomely at her, "Well,...yeah, it's the least I could do after taking that stupid mission from nthe queen in the first place."
She raised an eyebrow at him, curiously. "I don't have any money. I can't pay you."
The knight shrugged, "Then, we can think of something else..."
The princess' eyes lit up then as she dug around her utility belt. "Oh wait, here. I might have just the thing," she said before pulling out a small golden emblem with the royal family insignia on it. "This is the royal crest all royals receive. It's a renowned mark of royal status. With you, you'd essentially be treated like a prince should you show it to anybody. You'll have a castle built for you in days. I sometimes don't understand how these things work..."
The knight looked at the jewel and then back up at her, conflicted. "You'd...you'd give up your royal status so easily?"
"A title's a title. I'd rather be happy and free and safe than be a princess," she said to him, before reaching out to his hand and placing the golden emblen down in it. Their hands met for just a brief moment before she pulled back. "Help me secure safe passage out of the kingdom and you'll want for nothing with that emblem. Deal?"
"Deal," the knight smiled at her, not really needing anything in the first place. He was more than happy to help and would probably hand the emblem back to her once they said their goodbyes anyway.
"Good," she smiled at him. "Now that I think about it, we don't know each other's names, do we? I'm Aerith. It's nice to meet you."
He smiled when he heard her name. It was pretty and unlike anyone else, just like her. He crossed his arms and dissolved into a cocky stance. "Cloud, Cloud Strife."
Aerith smiled at him, "Well, Cloud, we have an evil queen to escape from..."
"And you have your own little corner of the world to find..." Cloud finished, before the two of them made their way through the quiet afternoon woods.