Knight of the Wind
Chapter 1: The Mysterious Lady

A young yellow fox was happily strolling back to his shop carrying new material in his arms that he just bought from some merchants not too long ago. The young boy was excited because he would soon be able to forge wonderful blades, armor and shields once he returned to his shop. He was a brilliant blacksmith, so brilliant in fact, that the Black King would summon him whenever needed his services.

While heading back to his shop, he noticed some WANTED posters on the stone walls he occasionally passed by. He stopped in his trail to look at them, even though there wasn't anything special about them. Soldiers of the King posted them up often for the citizens to keep watch of the criminals. From the looks of their condition, they were recently posted, but nobody ever really paid attention, there were too many of the delinquents to keep track of.

It was quiet as he continued down the road, until he spotted a group of townspeople gathering in front of an antique shop. The twin-tailed fox tilted his head in curiosity as he walked over to the group and made his way to the front. When he reached his destination, he blinked when it was another WANTED poster. The abnormally large price printed was the most eye-catching of the poster. Now averting his bright blue eyes to the picture, he instantly understood why.

The picture was of a man cloaked in white with a scabbard strapped around his chest area. His entire face was painted black due to the lack of knowledge of how he looked. The man always had his hood over his face, which prevented others from catching any sort of glimpse of it. Eventually, the kitsune's attention diverted to a conversation that took place behind him, silently listening in on it.

"Who is this guy?" asked a traveler. Judging from his worn down attire and the amount of luggage he had strapped to his back.

"He is our hero! The most wonderful man that this God forsaken kingdom could offer!" exclaimed a townsman. His outburst had caused the crowd's attention to turn on him. "He had saved my family and others countless of times from the greed of the Black King."

"What do you mean he's a hero? He hasn't done anything but cause trouble to the Black King and the Church, hence why they can't be able to get anything done around this city! With that freak ruining his plans, how is the kingdom going to prosper?" exclaimed a woman.

"Well, if he hadn't stopped the King's plan to just wipe off our village for his own unnecessary needs, we would be gone by now!" shouted another townsman.

"Ah, quit your yapping. You and your village probably didn't do much good to the kingdom, that's why the King decided to wipe your homes off the map," sneered another.

"You take that back!" the villager cried as he was deeply offended.

"Why should I? You know it to be true."

The other growled lowly as he lunged at the arrogant man before him. As the conversation between the townspeople escalated, a fight broke out in front of the antique shop about the hooded vigilante.

Having heard enough and not wanting to get himself caught up in the fiasco, the two-tailed fox decided it was time for him to go home, and he was getting tired of lugging his things around. For the rest of the way home, he rushed back, and once he entered, startling his friend along the way, he ran to the back and placed his things down. Then, he darted back to the front where his friend was waiting.

"Arthur, you wouldn't believe what I just saw in front of Lady Vanilla's antique shop!" he exclaimed to his hedgehog friend.

"It must've been something exciting if it's making you so jumpy this morning. What did you see, Smithy?" Arthur asked as he turned to look at the other, having been disturbed from almost dozing off.

"S-Stop calling me Smithy! I-I have a name, you know?" Smithy protested.

Arthur just grinned, "But you are a kid, Smithy, and a talented and smart blacksmith. So I think 'Smithy' would fit." The kit tried to glare at the other, but it only looked like he was giving off upset puppy eyes that amused Arthur very much.

"You're more of a kid than I am," the kid pouted, a cute frown finding its way on the fox's face that made the teenager laugh.

Smithy sighed in annoyance. "But what I saw earlier was a WANTED poster, and this time, the knights, soldiers and other state officials will be looking for you!" Smithy informed. His aqua eyes showed concern for his older friend. "They want you for a very high price." Despite Smithy's obvious concerns, Arthur was the complete opposite.

"Well, about time! I was beginning to wonder when that bastard would want to catch me. If I waited any longer, things wouldn't be as fun as I thought it would be," Arthur simply said as he leaned back into the chair he was situated on.

"Arthur, this is serious!" the other desperately pleaded, "Knowing the amount of money that the Black King is willing to give to the person who manages to successfully catch you, someone will catch you. I don't want anything to happen to you!"

Arthur chuckled, "Do you really think that someone will be able to catch me? Tell me, how did the poster look like?"

The kitsune blinked as he tilted his head at the sudden question before he recalled the painting of the wanted man. "Well, of course you were adorned in a white cloak with the hood over your head, hiding your face—"

"Exactly! Nobody knows how this random guy running around really looks like, so there are probably going to be many false accusations going around the city in the next couple of days," the other cut in with a smile still on his face.

"B-But you weren't there! You didn't get to see how the townspeople just went off on each other just talking about you. There were so many different views about you and the King, but eventually, their greed for that money will win them over and—"

"It's not going to happen. The people of this city are suffering enough just trying to get back on their own two feet. I know I can be able to deal with anyone that comes my way."

Honestly, Arthur was too carefree for his own good. Smithy's concern for his dear friend grew the more reckless the other became when he dealt with the matters of the Black King and the Church. Even though he had known Arthur for the longest time, he did not want him to go into deeper trouble than he already was.

"Arthur..." Smithy called out solemnly.

"What?"

"Just be careful out there, especially when you're going out in that outfit..." Smithy muttered. "You never know if even the closest of your comrades will betray you...you know?"

The older of the two could only smile softly. He appreciated his self-proclaimed brother's concern, but nobody really knew who he was—other than the people in their little circle.

"It's alright bro, I'll be fine. Besides, I've got connections and my own brain to think of something fast if I'm ever in a tight situation," Arthur snickered and grinned toothily. "So don't worry about me, I've got speed on my side which most people don't."

Smithy sighed once again, giving into Arthur's idiotic but optimistic assurances.

"Council Charles won't always be able to come up with an excuse to save your hide, you know that right? The rest of the council members are becoming suspicious of your uncle, Arthur. You have to be careful for his sake! Please?"

Arthur turned to Smithy. "Alright, if you're that concerned, then I will be careful next time," the blue hedgehog groaned a promise.

"You better because I don't think the Black King is soft on those who oppose his ways," Smithy proclaimed.

With that said, Smithy decided to get back to work with crafting weapons, armor and so on, for whoever wanted to buy his masterpieces. "Oh, and you can go back home, my shop isn't busy on days like this."

"Are you sure you won't need any of my help later today?" Arthur asked just to make sure.

Smithy chuckled, "Don't worry Arthur, I have everything under control. Besides, I don't want you helping me whenever I'm working."

"Ugh, I only messed up that one time!" the blue hedgehog cried out as his cheeks flushed embarrassingly as he recalled the last time he'd tried to make something out of the many different metals that Smithy's shop provided.

The kitsune laughed happily, having completely forgotten his troubles from earlier, which immediately calmed Arthur; he never liked it whenever Smithy was upset.

"Anyway, since you said you're not busy, I'll be out of your way," Arthur said as he backed out of the small shop, bumping into someone who seemed interested in Smithy's work that was placed behind the window. "Whoa, sorry, milady," he apologized not waiting for a reply as he wanted to start towards home, but his wrist was firmly grabbed at before he could run off. Arthur looked at the hands that had grabbed him and noticed the clean, white cotton gloves that reached up to the woman's forearms and the silk velvet cloak, covering her figure.

"Uh...can I help you?" the confused blue hedgehog asked as he looked back and forth between the gloves and the area where the woman's face was supposed to be, trying to figure out who she was.

"I apologize for my rude behavior," the lady's voice was soft spoken, and it was then that she removed her grip on Arthur's wrist, "but I'd like to have a talk with you in a more private place if you wouldn't mind that is."

There is certainly something strange about her...

Arthur believed that he'd seen her somewhere, maybe in a dream, at a ball? He tended to flirt with girls whenever he was bored, but they were usually maidens that he knew and ones that didn't mind his teasing. In addition, he couldn't quite remember who this particular woman was, and he usually remembered the faces of the people he had talked to.

"Well, if you want to talk, I guess my place could do," Arthur said politely as he concentrated on the stranger's features, hoping that something would give away her identity. "My uncle isn't home most of the daytime due to meetings he has to attend to, so it's pretty quiet at home."

The women sighed and shook her head, "This is an important matter. Your home is an obvious danger as to what we'll be discussing. Let's head into the Deep Woods, where the lake is. There, we can have a nice talk along with some fresh, hot tea." She seemed very happy when she mentioned tea and just eager to talk to Arthur.

"Deep Woods, huh? I never knew there was a lake in Deep Woods..." Arthur's voice trailed as he tried to remember a lake in the woods. More or less, why have some tea party near a lake in the middle of the woods? He didn't know anyone who would plan to have tea in the middle of some place as dangerous as the woods.

"Do you mind waiting here for a sec? I have to gather a few things so we'll have some protection if we ever run into some wild animals or danger of any sort," Arthur stated. "And it won't take long either, I'm super fast."

"I agree, and I'll be waiting here until you get back," she said, smiling.

Arthur chuckled, "Maybe you could go inside and wait, it's a lot cooler, and you wouldn't be catching a whole lot of attention either. I'm sure my friend wouldn't mind you being in there."

"I-Is my presence really a bother to the townspeople here?" the women asked in slight concern.

The teenaged hedgehog's ears perked and jumped into a defensive position, hoping that he didn't upset the lady. "N-No, that's not what I meant. It's just that the way you're dressed... It's...really nice, and the people here don't really like nobles or anyone of high class around this area," Arthur mumbled as he ended his statement, looking to the ground. "We stick out like a sore thumb."

Only then did the lady realize why the young noble would say such a thing to her. She smiled warmly as her eyes softened into admiration when she looked at Arthur. "May I ask you something?" she asked softly.

"Sure, I guess. Fire away," he mumbled again, his eyes moving to look at her again.

"You seem to care about what others really think. Do you care for the people in this kingdom? Do you care for the kingdom itself?" she asked softly.

Arthur was taken aback by the sudden question as he stared at the other. "Erm...what? I haven't even got to know you for more than ten minutes, and you're asking me this?"

The young maiden's smile grew in amusement, her face brightening more as Arthur said that. "You speak as if you don't know what you want but know what you need to accomplish," she just couldn't help but giggle. "Still, you're very young, and you don't know much of the true ugliness that the world inhabits."

"Of course, I do!" Arthur hissed in anger as his fists clenched. Hearing those words just made him feel...anger. Being told that he didn't know a lot of the world and its true ugliness was almost an insult to him after everything he had to go through to become stronger for himself and everyone else around him. "I have seen and heard enough just from being in this kingdom... It's horrible..."

The other blinked in surprise. She certainly didn't expect to be shouted at, but she understood, nonetheless. "I am sorry to have upset you, though I will not take back what I said. It is true that you have seen darkness in the land of Camelot, but you have not yet even tried to see the darkness in yourself. You are still very inexperienced and naive of what goes on in the world, young 'un."

Arthur growled as he thought, "What makes her think that she could just walk up to me and tell me what I do and do not know?"

But the lady continued her briefing, "Still, you are one who surprises me, I really like you, and I'm sure that the citizens of Camelot will love you, too. Now then, why don't you go and gather your things so we could talk and have some nice tea."

He couldn't help but smile and nodded immediately, turning around and rushing off home to gather his things for the trip into the woods.