Hello! This is my 2018 Nano project. Flip and both doing fantasy AUs. Mine has a little magic and focuses on Lisa while hers focuses on Sayo. Please bear with me, I will try my best.
Conisbrough is a quaint and peaceful kingdom. It consists of a few cities, but mostly is filled with thick forests and wildlife. Their main crops are wheat, asparagus, and onions. A spindly river runs from east to west and establishes their northern border with Cadeby. They also share borders with Denaby in the east and New Edlington in the west. It takes approximately half a day via horse to get from any border of Consisbrough back to the centrally located castle. Lisa Imai finds herself experiencing this journey. She's currently riding on horseback from the New Edlington border, returning home from a mission with her unit.
As it stands, Lisa is a squire for Conisbrough.
She moved into the castle almost 8 years ago and had been swept up in a whirlwind of activities since then. She first served as a page, but after proving she could hold her own in basic combat was finally promoted to be a squire. As a page she served Sir Enkelton, and boy was he a grouchy one. He always asked her to fetch him this and fetch him that and scolded her if she wasn't fast enough. Still, Lisa has learned to love him over the years. Enough so that she was overjoyed when they announced she'd stay with him through her time as a squire.
Even now, at the age of 18, Lisa is happy with serving him. He's calmed down and become much kinder with age. He's much older than the knight Yukina was assigned to, but he can still handle himself in battle and treats her well.
That's right, Yukina entered the castle with her. They both served Knight Enkelton as pages, but then when they became squires Yukina was assigned to one of the newer knights in the kingdom. Sir Alianor turned 20 just last year. The size of his ego was only matched by his mouth. Still, Lisa found him entertaining even if he occasionally tried Yukina's patience. The four of them made up her current unit, which was called Mace.
The mission was a simple one. There was a report from a citizen of a murder in a small village on the edge of the kingdom. The king tasked Sir Alionor and Sir Enkelton to investigate and bring back the culprit. The investigation went smoothly, but unfortunately by the time they found the culprit he had committed suicide. With that settled they decided to head home.
Lisa glances around at the trees as they blur past. They've been riding for a couple of hours now, it should only be a handful more until they're home. She's riding in the back left corner of the group, with Yukina's horse trotting to her right. She takes a moment to check her weapons. Squires don't get the first choice of gear, but she thinks she managed to snare a couple good ones. She has a long sword resting in its holster at her side and a bow slung across her back. Her quiver is still full, which is great since sometimes arrows get knocked out from the bumps of horseback riding.
If given a choice Lisa prefers archery first and sword fighting second. It's the opposite with Yukina, so the two of them make a good combo. Yukina doesn't even carry a bow, just a short sword and shield.
"Lisa." A soft but urgent voice interrupts her weapons check. She glances over and Yukina's golden eyes are looking over Lisa's head, into the forest behind her. "Did you hear that?"
Lisa twists her shoulders to the left and peers into the forest. She hadn't heard a thing. She turns to look behind them as well, but everything seems to be silent. The only thing she can hear is the sound of their horses trotting along the dirt path. "No, sorry Yukina." She shrugs and smiles, "I didn't hear anything."
Yukina grumbles something unintelligible and keeps looking around.
The next minute feels like it's going in slow motion. Lisa's attention is drawn forward when Sir Enkelton's horse suddenly rears, letting out a loud whinny. Lisa pulls on the reins for her own horse to stop, and her eyes widen as Sir Enkelton slides off the back of his horse and flops into the dirt in front of her. One arrow is protruding from the side of his neck, his eyes still wide open. "No! Sir…" The words die in Lisa's throat. Her chest feels heavy and her heart pounding rings in her ears. Suddenly it's hard for her to breathe.
"Lisa!" Yukina's voice echoes loudly in her ears. The silver haired squire is off her horse already and tugs fervently on Lisa's right arm. "Get down!" Desperation seeps into her voice, and this awakens something in Lisa. She pulls her feet from the saddle and slides off her horse.
Her senses are still hazy as her feet hit the ground. She realizes a couple of large looking individuals are pushing through the trees to her left, but what can she even do if they've killed her master?
Lisa's right next to Yukina now, and the smaller squire acts quickly to place her shield between Lisa's back and her attackers. Lisa's knees shake as she tries to think of a plan, but her mind is completely blank. She glances down, and all she can see are Yukina's golden eyes peering up at her. That's right… Yukina is here; so close she could caress her cheek; and right now she's protecting her, shielding her from whatever danger is approaching.
Lisa draws in a shaky breath and exhales.
She can hear the footsteps now of the individuals nearing. They're stomping down the path without a care in the world, and she hears one gleefully roar to the other about their easy prey.
"There are three of them." Yukina speaks quietly so they won't be overheard. "Two swordsman and one archer." Yukina pauses for a moment and listens as the footsteps grow louder. When she speaks again, her voice is clear and her eyes are focused. "I'll leave the archer to you."
Lisa's heart swells at the confidence Yukina has in her. That's right, if they work together they can do anything. She nods and reaches for her bow, her knees finally stilling as she crouches and prepares for their next move.
Yukina's lip twitches up slightly, and then she's off running towards Sir Alionor who is already engaging with the two swordsmen.
Lisa suddenly feels exposed with the shield missing, but she takes the chance to dash around the back of her horse and into the woods. Knowing where Sir Enkelton was shot should help her to pinpoint the location of the archer. She shudders as she thinks back to the body she just left behind. The arrow was in his neck on the left side, and he was riding his horse about 20 paces ahead of where she is now.
To her right, she can hear Yukina's battle cry from entering the fight, and she uses the opportunity to move deeper into the forest. After about ten paces she turns right and starts to sneak her way forward. She keeps her eyes trained on the ground as she steps, careful not to crunch any twigs or leaves. After about 10 steps she turns back towards the path, and sure enough she can see a small girl sitting in one of the taller trees. The girl's about halfway between Lisa and the path, and her attention is wholly focused on the battle. Lisa can't tell who her next target is, but she's got an arrow notched, and she looks about ready to take aim.
Lisa doesn't think she's drawn and notched an arrow more quickly in her life. She hastily raises the bow, her heart pounding when the attacker does the same. Lisa draws back the string and forces herself to even her breathing. She thinks back to her archery teacher's instructions and counts down with her breaths. Inhale, exhale, inhale, then fire! Fortunately, she gets her arrow off first and it finds it's mark, burying itself cleanly in the back of the girl's head. Lisa can't help but flinch as she falls from the tree, her final arrow never to be fired.
Lisa quickly hurries back to the battle, keeping her eyes peeled for any additional threats. There don't appear to be any, and when she breaks out onto the path both swordsmen are lying dead on the ground. Yukina's sword is covered up to the hilt in blood, but thankfully she doesn't appear to have any injuries. She looks over as Lisa steps out of the forest but says nothing.
With the threat gone, the whole situation replays in Lisa's mind. Her shaky knees from earlier return, but this time they buckle, and she finds herself kneeling in the dirt. Her armor will probably need extra cleaning because of it but she can't help herself. Tears well up in her eyes and she doesn't even try to stop them as her heart tightens in on itself. She drops her bow and buries her face in her hands. She sobs loudly, collapsing when Yukina kneels in front of her and draws her in to her arms.
"We are gathered here today to recognize two squires for their action in battle." The king of Conisbrough gestures to Lisa and Yukina who are kneeling before him. "These two have shown battle capabilities beyond that of mere squires, and they are ready to become knights."
There's no response, which makes sense since the only other person in the throne room is Sir Alionor. The King motions to him, "Could you please share you experience with these fine individuals?"
Sir Alionor was lingering in the back of the room, and he clears his throat as he steps forward. "Of course. Yukina has been under my tutelage for the past 2 years and I have had the pleasure of seeing Lisa in action as well. Both have displayed the skills necessary to complete the day by day requirements of being a knight. They have also proved themselves in battle today, single handedly defeating a group of bandits." Sir Alionor draws in a shaky breath. "It's too bad that Sir Enkelton couldn't be here to see this. He'd be so proud."
"Thank you." The king steps down from his throne and first approaches Yukina, who is on Lisa's left. She bends her head down as he raises the ceremonial sword. "Do you, Yukina Minato, agree to accept the role of knighthood and uphold the highest standard for the kingdom of Conisbrough?"
Yukina responds confidently. "I do."
The king taps her left shoulder with the flat of the blade and then the right. "Then I hereby knight you to serve Conisbrough as long as you are able."
He moves to Lisa next. The king has watched over them since they first came to the castle and she can see pride glimmering in his eyes. She lowers her head as he begins to speak. "Do you, Lisa Imai, agree to accept the role of knighthood and uphold the highest standard for the kingdom of Conisbrough?"
"I do." Lisa feels a gentle tap on her left shoulder, followed by her right.
"Then I hereby knight you to serve Conisbrough as long as you are able." The king turns around and climbs the couple of steps back up to his throne. "Please rise."
Lisa feels a rush of joy as she lifts herself to her feet. They did it! She glances to her left and catches Yukina's eyes. She wants to leap over there to celebrate, but that will have to wait until after the ceremony. For now, she shoots Yukina a warm smile. Yukina gives her the smallest of smiles back, causing Lisa's heart to flutter.
"Now that you are knights, it is your responsibility to protect this kingdom." The king has a small scroll sitting on the table next to his throne. He places the ceremonial sword down on the table and picks up the scroll. "As you know, our knights work in units ranging from 2 to 4 knights plus their squires. I'm placing you both in Roselia, reporting to Sayo Hikawa. Alionor, you will be placed onto Spider effective immediately." The king holds out the scroll and motions for Lisa to come get it as he continues to speak. "Roselia received a mission early this morning. This scroll has more details and needs to be delivered to Sayo. She's waiting for you in the armory." He hands Lisa the scroll with his final words, "Good luck to you both, I'm sure you'll be fine knights.