A/N I have moved all the stories from my previous account to this one, to make things a little easier for myself. I created a second account due to loosing forgetting my original's log-in information for a long time but have figured it out. I deleted the original of this entry and have re-posted it here, and plan to re-edit most of my stories soon.
Let me know what you think! I love hearing through reviews or PMs. Also 'Winter's Ice' thanks for your review so quickly on my AmberxLest short fix, it's what prompted me to get to work on this right away. I love RF4 and I hope all of you readers do as well.
Oh! Slight spoilers I guess, it's not too many though.
Disclaimer: I do NOT own rune factory 4 or any of the lines that I pulled from the game for this fic.
A Knight's Pledge
The stars looked beautiful through the open window, each one shining in its own way and brightness. Maybe he used to know the names of the stars or what they meant as some of the others in the village of Selphia did but as hard as the young man tried there were no memories that came to him. What had he been before this, maybe a farmer? The tools did seem to feel quite natural in his hands; whether it be a hoe or hammer he could use them as he needed. Or maybe he was a warrior, a knight? He seemed to be gifted with any weapon he could find. A fisherman? A hunter?
Lest let out a long sigh as he leaned back away from the window; nothing seemed to make any sense anymore. Was somebody looking for him in another land? Did anyone even care that he was gone? When Venti had originally stated that he was a prince Lest felt a sense of meaning, a purpose. But once Arthur arrived that was proven false even if he was acting as the prince. "Did I leave any loved ones alone back home?.." The young man stepped back further from the window and moved to sit on the edge of 'his' bed, leaning over and placing his head against his open palms in a position of defeat.
The room was amazing, Lest had his own forge and crafting station alongside his own personal pharmacy and kitchen. Just outside was a massive farm which was also under the care of Lest, however no matter how amazing all of these things were none of it actually felt like it belonged to him. Deciding that there was no way to fall asleep Lest stood up and walked to his dresser to change out of his pajamas and into the casual clothes that he usually wore.
After attaching all the pouches to his belt the young man smiled happily, wearing the clothes he woke up in always made him feel a little bit better. Even without the memories of his past Lest knew that he had chosen these clothes and they belonged to him. After getting ready Lest grabbed the 'defender' blade he had crafted as well as his turtle shell shield and set out. The platinum blonde had no idea where he was going, just that he needed to leave this room.
Stepping into the town square Lest quickly looked around to see if anyone else was out and about but saw nobody; He was alone in the darkness to wander as he pleased. The large torches and moon were the only sources of light but even so Lest could see fine and decided to take a walk down to the lake. The soothing sound of its waves crashing against the beach could push all the other thoughts out of the young man's head which is exactly what he needed.
As he began to walk Lest thought back to his last journey into the ruins that Dylas was trapped in. Of course at the time Dylas wasn't exactly himself but instead a massive steed bent on ending the blonde's life. Compared to Yokmir forest which hadn't really proven to be challenging in any way the Water Ruins had tested Lest's strength and abilities around every corner with deadly traps and even deadlier monsters. If not for the ridiculous amounts of health potions he had stocked up on Lest knew that he most likely would not have made it.
"They're getting stronger..." The young man whispered to himself as he reached the other side of the town square and begun down the stairs. "I don't know how much longer I can take the fight to these monsters on my own.." Lest had been told by many of the villagers that if he ever needed it they would follow him into the dungeons but he knew that that would be the equivalent of a death sentence. The people of Selphia were just that, villagers. Porcoline had even insisted on following Lest into battle wielding only two large ladles! Only few of the Selphians knew how to fight or were armed to do so but even so Lest wouldn't risk losing them to the creatures from the forest of beginnings.
"I don't know how much longer I can continue to help Venti if I can't defeat the enemies in my path.." Lest looked up to see the Armory called "Meanderer" which also doubled as Bado's house. Bado was a lazy man but when it came down to Lest needing equipment Bado was the first one he'd go to. Maybe to older blacksmith may be able to wield a blade at Lest's side but if anything happened to the man Lest wouldn't be able to live with himself. The young man shook his head softly as he passed the armory and turned to pass the small bridge over the stream cutting the block in half.
Next he passed the medical clinic called 'Tiny bandage clinic' owned by Jones and his wife Nancy. Lest could remember waking up in there a few times after passing out from exhaustion working on his farm, but doubted that the nice couple would be too useful if he managed to pass out from exhaustion out in the wild. Nobody would be able to find him even after they noticed he'd disappeared. At this thought Lest swallowed hard, how long would it be until his fears came true?
The Platinum Blonde continued down the path smiling at the flowers that were growing to each side. Once Amber had awoken and became part of the town she and Illuminata spent a few days planting seeds all over the place. Amber always complained that the city was too boring and needed more life. And the green-haired girl was right; ever since their flowers began to sprout Selphia looked alive and was even beginning to attract more tourists.
Finally Lest reached the bridge that led over to the lake, it was a quick walk over but none the less beautiful. Now without the light of any torches or lamp posts the moon's light reflected off of the water's surface and everything else it touched creating a indescribable glow. As the young man reached the other side and took the first step onto the lake area's ground he heard something that usually would not be heard at this time of night.
Heavy breathing followed by a short battle shout and a loud thwack of metal hitting wood. Lest stood still and silent as he listened; quickly deducing that it was a woman's cry. "Who.." Lest began to step towards the open area by the lake slowly, not wanting to startle whoever was attacking the poor piece of wood being used as a dummy. Lest had a good guess though as there was only one girl in Selphia who would be out practicing with a weapon this late, or really at any time.
Finally in the clearing Lest spotted her by a tree at the end of the lake, her bright blonde hair flying behind every time she took a swing with her zweihaender. Forte, the one girl in Selphia whom had caught Lest's eye multiple times stood continuously assaulting the tree even though she seemed exhausted. The girls's metal forehead protector and feathered headband seemed to hold her hair back fairly well but still if flew with every strike.
Forte was wearing her usual dragon knight armor, it seemed that she always wore it whenever stepping out of her house. She was always ready to defend everyone no matter when or where. The armor was a shiny silver, although only on the more vulnerable area like her body, legs, and forearms. The girl's upper arms and legs were simply covered by a thick dark blue cloth which Lest assumed ran under her entire armor set and to top it all off a bright blue cape attached to her chest plate made Forte look like a true knight. If there were one person that Lest would feel comfortable bringing into the dungeons with him it was Forte, however the thought of losing her was still too much to bear.
Lest began to move towards the Dragon Knight, she still had not noticed his footsteps over the sound of waves crashing on the sand. Lest knew better than to get too close though, as he'd made that mistake a few times and it always ended in her zweihaender coming a little too close to the young man's neck. Lest stopped a few swords lengths away, holding his shield up in front towards Forte before shouting "Forte!"
Instantly the girl swung around, somehow closing the gap between the two and bringing her sword down over Lest's shield; halting it only inches from the blonde male's neck. "Who goes there!" She shouted, but quickly Lest saw her bright blue eyes widen. Lest stood in shock, not comprehending how the woman had managed to get over his shield and scared to move before identifying himself.
"Uh- It's me.. Lest.." Before he was finished Forte had already withdrew her massive blade and stuck it into the ground beside her, the handle resting at hip's height.
"Lest! I'm sorry!" She shouted, quickly moving closer to inspect the boy's neck. "I didn't cut you did I? I've told you not to surprise me like that!" Forte got a little too close, managing to squeeze her way past the young man's shield arm just as she had done with her zweihaender.
Lest stumbled away and nodded quickly replying "Yeah I'm fine Forte. And I thought I was far enough away this time.. you are terrifying with that blade of yours.." At this comment the female knight seemed to go silent, curling her arms into her body in embarrassment.
"I-I'm sorry… I didn't mean to attack you it's just habit.. I have to always be on guard to protect the citizens of Selphia." Lest had heard this before, every time he accidentally prompted the knight's blade against himself. And every time, she would curl into herself and apologize.
The platinum blonde smiled to try and ease Forte's embarrassment and stated "Forte it's alright. Everyone here depends on you to defend them so you need to always be on guard. It makes me feel better knowing that someone as strong as you is watching over us." As he finished the female knight's cheeks seemed to flush red but in the moon's light Lest couldn't be sure.
Forte took a step back as if she were trying to hide her face, but replied "Lest it's not me defending this town but you." This came as a bit of a shock to the boy, Forte was always speaking of defending Seplhia as its dragon knight. "You're the one going out and fighting the monsters. You're the one bringing new members to the village that everyone seems to love. You're the one who maintains Selphia's economic standing by running the farm. I could only dream of presenting myself for selphia in the way that you do."
At first Lest took the comments as a compliment however as Forte finished her short speech the boy found himself frowning. He turned away from the knight and towards the beach, looking down at its waves. "Forte.." He almost whispered, causing the girl to step closer. "You speak so highly of me… but truly I'm so afraid. I almost died in that last dungeon." Although Lest didn't look towards Forts he could tell she was upset with what he had said. "The monsters are getting stronger, and smarter. There were goblins that would plan ambushes or line archers just out of my reach."
Forte said nothing, but in the corner of his vision Lest noticed her armored feet come into view as she stepped even closer. He continued, "You depict me as the protector of selphia yet I am frightened to venture forth towards the west where Ventuswill has tasked me to go. Even with superior weapons and shield to you I can't defend myself, what if I run into monsters that have equal abilities to the Dragon Knight of Seplhia?
There were only moments of silence before Forte's voice cut through the sound of waves like a sword through the wind. "Lest! You idiot!" Lest turned to Forte quickly in shock, he'd never heard her yell before. "You stupid idiot!" Forte stepped forward with her hands clenched into fists and lifted both arms, forcing Lest to raise his turtle shell shield as she pounder her gauntlets onto it.
"F-Forte! What are you-" He was cut off by the girl slamming her gauntlets down again, but instead of shouting Lest heard the knight begin to choke up. She wasn't mad at him, she was.. sympathetic… the girl left her arms pressed against the shield, using it as a brace to stay standing. "Forte…" Lest whispered softly, not knowing what to do as the girl continued to choke on her breath. Finally he made up his mind and turned his shield carefully as to catch the knight as she fell and lower her to the ground.
Lest sat down as well, both now with their knees curled up against their chests. They sat in an awkward silence as Forte regained her composure, the young man having no idea what to do or say. Finally he found the words to put to his lips, "I'm sorry that I made you upset Forte.. I'm just stressed and I don't know what to do anymore.. I don't even know why I'm here, or where I belong.."
Almost instantly Forte replied while keeping her blue eyes glued to the waves before them. "You belong here.. Everyone in Selphia cares for you Lest and we would all do anything we can to help you." Lest nodded softly, he knew that the villagers all cared for him. But the Dragon Knight continued, "Y'know Lest, before you got here the shops didn't have sales. Now they seem to have a sale any time you step through their doors."
Lest looked up to her at this comment, a little confused but before he could say anything she kept going. "Before you got here, everyone was afraid of approaching Ventuswill but now we all bring her gifts and tell her about how the village is thriving. Before you got here development was non-existent and tourists never came to visit." Lest sat in silence and listened to Forte go on, strangely it was making him feel better. Everything he'd done since ho fell in on Venti had made such large changes, larger than he could have ever hoped.
"Maybe…" Lest whispered and Forte leaned closer once again, trying to hear the Lest's timid voice over the waves. "Maybe I truly do belong here.. I can't remember my past but.. Everyone here welcomes me in as one of their own.." The platinum blonde looked up to the stars one again, with a slight smile playing on his lips. "I'll become stronger so that I can protect everyone and maybe even save others. I'll become stronger so that I can live up to all of your expectations of me."
Looking over to the blonde-haired girl beside him Lest saw that she was smiling as well. The female knight spoke up happily "Lest you are truly amazing. And I have no doubt in my mind that you will become whatever your dreams may believe. And Lest… If you ever need any support out there against the creatures.."
Lest cut the girl off as he quickly stood to his feet, turning away so he wouldn't have to see her expression. "Forte.. I appreciate it but.. I can't imagine the thought of losing you. I can't imagine the thought of losing anybody. But if I go down out there I can't take you down with me, Selphia would be defenseless." He stood in silence for a few minutes, expecting Forte to reply sooner but her voice simply didn't arise. Eventually Lest turned back to her, and saw the blonde curled up with her face against her knees.
As if on cue she finally spoke "Lest.. If you were to go down out there and I wasn't at your side I don't think I could live with myself.." This put the boy at a loss for words. Twice in one night he had seen the strongest women in Selphia become as timid as any other. "Lest, you have to understand.. I am here to protect Selphia and that involves you now." Forte suddenly pushed off the ground and to her feet, spinning to face Lest.
Her beautiful blue eyes suddenly looked fierce as any knight's would and Forte brought one fisted hand up against her chest plate as she stepped her legs together in a salute. "I, Dragon Knight Forte of Selphia hereby pledge to place my life on the line to protect the life of our prince; Lest. From here on I shall act as his sword and shield so that no harm may come his way before it goes through me."
Lest stood at a loss for words, the woman before him looked absolutely beautiful under the moon's light and the fierceness in her eyes and stance caused him to almost stumble back. Forte's armor seemed to glow and every detail of the girl's figure as well as face seemed to block out everything around her. Less had no idea what to say, it felt like hours as the seconds ticked by yet Forte kept perfect posture. "Forte.." He finally managed to speak. "You truly.. Want to put yourself in danger to help me?.."
The female knight didn't move, standing still as a statue but Lest knew that that meant she was serious. "Very well…" He whispered as the young man finally accepted that he needed help. And out of everyone in Selphia Forte was the only one that Lest felt safe standing beside. As the girl continued to hold her salute Lest's eyes began to wander, he'd never really had a good look past the girl's blade.
"You truly are.." Lest whispered and Forte raised a brow in confusion. However as he finished his statement with "Beautiful.." The girl suddenly lost her posture and stumbled back a little, her cheeks glowing bright red.
"W-W- What?" She yelled loudly, for a second Lest was concerned that she may wake someone but couldn't stop the knight before she shouted again. "W-What are you talking about!?" Forte's face now looked flushed even under the moonlight and as hard as he tried Lest couldn't get the girl's blue eyes to meet his own.
"Forte." Lest spoke, suddenly very stern as he took a stance similar to her earlier one but with both arms at his side. "I will accept you as my partner in the dungeons and out in the field, but only on one condition." The Blonde male took a pause to see if she would respond but she didn't, simply waiting for him to continue. "I wish to become closer to you Forte. I know that I can trust you already, but I don't think I could fight alongside you with these hidden feelings.."
Again a silence fell over the two but this time it seemed like they couldn't even hear the waves nor the bugs. Nothing phased their concentration on each other until Lest finally spoke "I love you Forte."
"Huh?" Forte suddenly flinched, not exactly the reaction was Lest was looking for. "This.. this is a joke right?..." She asked and suddenly seemed worked up. The Dragon Knight's face was still flushed but she seemed to be trying to hide it behind her gauntlets.
"No," Lest took a step towards the girl and smiled softly. "I really love you Forte. This isn't a joke I'm completely serious."
The girl still stood defensively, but peeked out from behind her gauntlets towards the man in front of her. Lest's bright purple eyes looked more serious than she's ever seen and suddenly she realised that he wasn't just messing around. "And this isn't a dream either?.." Lest barely heard her soft voice but once he'd processed what she said he felt his heart beat hard in his chest. The blonde knight had never been so cute, but he knew this wasn't just a reaction. It was a hidden side to the once fierce woman.
Trying to hold back a laugh to Forte's previous question Lest smiled and shook his head, replying "No this isn't a dream Forte. I'm being completely open with my feelings. You are the most beautiful woman I have ever laid my eyes on and even though I can't remember the majority of my past I feel that that's okay. I can just work on creating new memories and a new life here. Now, do you have a answer for me?"
"…" It looked as if Forte were going to speak up a few times, but each time she opened her mouth she quickly closed it again. Until finally she looked up and blue eyes met purple. "Yes." She spoke firmly, but then looked away in embarrassment again. "Please don't laugh okay Lest?"
"I won't." Replied the boy trying to make eye contact again. He took another step closer, now within arm's reach of the other.
"I've actually been thinking about it very hard." This came as a surprise to Lest, the female knight had been thinking about him as well? All this time he assumed that he was the only one sneaking peeks at her; and trying to see her whenever he could. "To be honest, I'm not terribly knowledgeable about these kinds of things. S-So I'm not sure if it is wise of me to answer just off what I'm feeling."
Lest nodded slowly, he understood and realised that it was unfair to suddenly spring this on the female knight. "I'm sorry Forte, I-" But he was cut off as the blonde cut in over his voice.
"It… It's odd." She spoke, looking up once again to make eye contact. Lest noticed that the girl was fidgeting with the two belts wrapped around her lower armor as she spoke. "Simply looking at you is enough to make my heart start racing. And spending time with you is always fun, no matter what we do. I even enjoy when you take me to see your farm, I always wish that I could help out on it.." Lest couldn't help but smile at this, he had always noticed Forte eyeing his watering can or hoe whenever he'd place them down. However the knight would try to keep her composure and pretend to not notice.
"And… Thinking that you might not be looking at me is very disheartening. Sometimes unbearably so." Forte continued to speak and even though Lest wanted to cut in he let her finish. The young man felt that it was important for her to say all this. "So when I heard what you had to say, I was elated! I was so happy, I felt like I could jump for joy!" Thinking back Link chuckled to himself, realizing that her curling up was just to prevent doing as she'd just said. "But… Then I realised that what we have between us now might change.. And that… Frightens me a little.."
The last of the knight's comments made sense to Lest, he felt that way all the time. Scared to get too close to the villagers; in fear that they may wind up going into the field with him and getting hurt. But this was different. "Forte.. I'm a little scared too." He began, inching just a little closer and smiling softly to try and comfort the girl in front of him. "I had no idea what I would do if you turned me down. I mean, if you did, we couldn't go back to the way we were. Not really.."
The two sat in silence for a moment, it felt like this conversation was getting more and more awkward as it went on. Lest continued anyways, adding "But… I still wanted to be closer to you. I want to hug you and hold you. That kind of feeling means you're in love right?"
Forte nodded slowly, the moon's light still working magic and causing the knight to glow. "You wanted to be closer to me?.." Lest simply smiled instead of speaking, and reached his hands out with his palms open and facing up. Forte looked up at Lest's eyes again before looking down to his hands, moving to place hers above his. Much to lest's surprise the girl's hands were soft and warm. Even though she would train to no end Forte still felt as feminine under the moon as any other.
The Dragon Knight took a moment of pause as she simply looked at their hands before whispering "I… I… Yes, that's it. I will protect the whole lot of it together."
Lest now raised a brow in confusion at this as to him it made no sense what Forte was saying. "What?" He asked as the female blonde continued to look down.
She continued though, "Our relationship.. This feeling of wanting to be closer.. I can protect it all by keeping you safe prince." Lest smiled at this, it seemed like the girl whom he'd laid his heart out for was beginning to accept it. "And to keep you safe, I'll need to be by your side. Always."
Lest had to keep himself from grinning at this statement, she was so close to accepting his feelings. Just a little more. "Then.. Your response?.." He asked slowly and Forte looked up with a smile on her face.
"Yes." She said firmly, pulling her soft hands back and placing one in a fist against her chest just as the knight had before. "Lest I am not the most skilled person in any means other than my abilities as a knight, but I still hereby pledge my loyalty to you. Although I still serve Selphia I will act as your personal knight and help in any duties inside and out of the village's walls."
Lest had to think for a second before replying, but finally spoke "Uh, Forte? I think that's not the right pledge for this kind of thing.." The young man moved to scratch the back of his head and chuckled a little. Forte looked surprised and confused, so Lest continued "But it's very like you, so I don't mind."
Again the knight lost her posture, her face flushing red as the young woman tried to hide her expression of embarrassment. "Oh.. That's good.. So well.. What do we do now?" Lest didn't know how to reply and simply stood in confusion until forte added "I-I mean, um! What, ah, what shall we call each other now?" The female knight was obviously struggling to piece together sentences as she got worked up.
Lest however thought it was adorable and held back his laughter while replying "You want to give each other special nicknames?" The platinum blonde couldn't contain it any longer, beginning to laugh which caused Forte to scowl at him.
"W-well, not like that! It, ah, it's just a symbol of our new relationship together!" Lest quickly composed himself, smiling back to try and show his support to the idea. "So, erm… If there was anything special you had in mind…."
"Like what?" Lest had no idea what kind of nicknames they would use, was it normal for couples to use nicknames? He couldn't remember but wanted to trust Forte that this was normal.
"Oh, uhm… I don't know.." The knight stepped a little closer, looking down at the ground and she began to list off some options. "Well I could call you darling.. Like Jones and Nancy do… Or, I could call you prince.." Lest smiled but felt like just using their normal names would be fine. Before he could say so though, Forte continued. She was obviously getting very nervous. "Or.. I could call you honey, or my love, or…."
The young woman took a moment to pause. She seemed to have one more idea but it was really tugging on her. As much as Lest felt like he should cut her of there he kind of wanted to hear the last nickname. Finally Forte slowly looked up to make eye contact, and never before had the young man seen her face so red. Her lips were almost trembling as she whispered "I could call you.. Master?.."
At this Lest's face went bright red as well, he had no idea that Forte could say something like that! It took him a minute to respond as thoughts raced through his head but he could tell that Forte was uncomfortable too so finally spoke "I think that just our names will do. And if in the future nicknames just happen we'll let it happen. Okay?"
Forte nodded quickly, obviously embarrassed that she had even brought up the last choice. "I, uhm…" The Dragon Knight took one final step closer so that she was standing almost pressed against the man in front of her. "I love you Lest!" With this the female knight threw her arms around Lest's waist, and he had to hold her as well just to keep from falling. But once he had his balance he continued to hold his knight just for the sake of feeling her close.
"I love you too Forte."
The two stood in the moonlight on the beach, basking in each other's company for a while until Forte realized something. Pushing away from Lest she looked composed again, back to her usual knightly self. "I need to go get my things from my house! I'll meet you back at your room okay?"
To this Lest's eyes widened and he quickly cut in "W-What? What do you mean? You're coming to live with me?"
Forte grinned at the blonde's confusion and gave a little wink before saying happily "Of course! After all I did pledge to always be beside you." Lest grinned, still feeling that the young woman before him was the most beautiful thing in the world. All of his earlier worries had melted away, Lest finally felt like he belonged here. And it didn't matter what he did before his memories were lost, all that mattered is what he was now. A citizen of Selphia, and one day a loving husband.
A/N: So there it is :) I hope you enjoyed, it was over twice as long as my AmberxLest fic but I might go and write another for them. I'm thinking of doing a fic for each pairing with Lest and Frey, but I don't know where to start.
Leave a review to let me know what you think! Also if you'd like to see another couple before the others let me know through a review or a PM.