PAIRING - implied King/Steve
WARNING - None
POV - Alex
The new recruits this year may bumble around like headless chickens, but a couple of them show some real promise. Mary Anne wields a sword like she was born to, using it in all the right ways and never falling out of sync with the instructor's demonstrations. Allan can switch so seamlessly between a bow and a sword he makes it look like liquid. A dangerous foe, one talented with a bow and a sword. Alex like to think she's like that too, though she'd choose a bow nine times out of ten. She's decent with a sword, having been brought up under the tutelage of the royal guard, but her prowess with a bow is something she's always working to hone to its fullest capabilities.
So if Mary Anne and Allan are the star pupils of this year's volunteer pool, Timothy and Nolan are the stragglers, the unfortunate weak links that will likely be cut at the end of the summer, at least from the knight track. She feels a little bad for them, but they have her respect. They'd chosen this life, after all, willing to lay down their lives for their King and Kingdom, should they make the cut and become royal guards, one step up from a castle guard, who have futures protecting the castle but are satisfied never rising to the rank of Knight. Alex herself is the King's Knight, a coveted title sought after by many and bestowed upon one. She'd crawled, outwitted, and fought her way into the King's good graces before defeating her fellow knight in training in a grand tournament and earning the right to serve by her King's side. She'd been invited to live in the castle and was given the title Sir Alex Brookstead, which she wears with honor.
She's easily the most dangerous and well respected individual in the Kingdom, second only, and rightly so, to the King himself, who's swordsmanship is legendary across the land.
The four volunteers are paired off and begin sparing. Mary Anne makes quick work of Timothy, giving him the opportunity to make the first move before disarming him and knocking him off his feet, thereby winning the match for herself. Alex is pleased when she offers a hand to her fallen comrade and Timothy accepts the help. This is a display Alex loves seeing in new recruits. Mary Anne clearly has superior skill in combat, everyone can see that, and yet she treats Timothy as a fellow student and not as a joke. She'd waited to evaluate his technique before developing a counter and ending the match cleanly. A smart girl who will become a skilled and deadly knight some day.
As Timothy had been the least trained in combat, Nolan proves a fair bit harder to beat for Allan. Unlike Mary Anne, Allan knows he's better and flaunts it. He's cocky, teasing Nolan with parries and blocks to baits him, to run his temper up and force him to slip up, and that's of course when Allan disarms Nolan and ends their match as well. Fortunately he too is not unkind at match end, shaking Nolan's hand in a show of good sportsmanship and offering him pointers on blocking without being overly smarmy about it. Two highly promising candidates this year for the knight track, and two more guards to protect the castle. She feels comfortable letting the safety of the castle, the castle grounds, and the castle gate in the hands of such capable warriors.
As their instructor gives them some final words and dismisses them, Alex pushes off from the corner of the wall she'd been observing from and approaches. Mary Anne notices her immediately and bows respectfully, holding her sword in a variation of the classic pose taught in towns farther North of the city. That explains it then; a lot of talented warriors hale from the North of the Kingdom. The others follow suit, though Nolan does not know the appropriated bow and so chooses the more common and much simpler one, but she thinks nothing of it.
"I saw you sparing match." They straighten on her command and she smiles at them, Mary Anne and Allan in particular. "You two show great promise. I'm impressed."
"Thank you Sir," they recite in unison. She turns her gaze to Nolan and Timothy, who try to look attentive and not downtrodden. Timothy is doing a poor job of it.
"You cannot see the future if you stare only at the ground," she comments, reaching out a hand and lifting Timothy's chin so he has to stare up at her and not the dirt. "Do not think yourselves lesser. You have not the skills but you will, if your hearts are true. It is no small feat to become a guard for your King. As long as you put your faith in him, he will put his in you. Don't give up. I hope one day you impress me as well."
She bows to them and they return it before leaving to the barracks. A few years ago she wouldn't have been able to speak words like that. As a lass she'd been brash and rough around the edges. She'd spoken her mind and done so without care or concern for the consequences. She's still like that, but now she has humility and respect and knows well the concept of working both as a single piece and as a small part in a bigger design. Trust between knights has saved lives before.
A courier runs up to her and bows, holding out a letter. She takes it and nods to him, allowing him freedom to deliver his next letter. She does not hesitate to open the letter when she finds the King's seal on the back. She reads it quickly before rushing to the throne room. Something has come up, and the King requests her presence.
Though in a rush, she can't help but admire the castle's beauty, despite having done so countless times before. She'd grown up in this castle, she'd explored every room, every nook and cranny, every twist and turn. She'd seen all the castle has to offer, and yet still her breath is stolen from her. The architect had outdone himself.
The throne room door is one of her favorite pieces. The dark oak wood that accents most of the rest of the castle is heavily implemented into the design. Almost no stone is included except for in areas that lend brilliant contrast. The King's crest had been centered and carved straight into the wood, outlined by polished andesite and painted using flower dyes. A diamond sword and a diamond pickaxe, crossed opposite each other and over a golden apple. A symbol that's become peace and safety for the residents of the Kingdom.
Beyond the impressive door is an even more impressive room. The throne room, the most decorated and astoundingly beautiful room in the entire castle. A long gold-lined cyan carpet leads any visitors to a grand throne made from carved quartz from the hell region, the Nether. There's a rumor that the King had retrieved the quartz himself. Alex isn't so sure, but she's come to trust her King's abilities. She doesn't doubt that if anyone can survive an expedition there, he can. The arm and back rests have diamond accents, and a complete diamond block rests on the very top. The throne itself is half the value of the castle.
The King is not sitting on his throne, instead standing with his back to her. His hands are folded behind his back, yet Alex can see his tense shoulders and wound muscles. He's agitated by whatever he's called her here to discuss; he's angry and worry all wrapped up in one.
She kneels respectfully and awaits his acknowledgment. She doesn't have to wait long.
"A troubling matter has been brought to my attention," he begins. There's a pause and Alex looks up. The King is frowning down at her. "One of our own has been taken, and I want you to retrieve him."
"By whom, my Lord?"
He grinds his teeth and turns back to the window, nodding to the structure out in the distance. "The dragon that plagues us. It's gone too far this time and I want you to kill it."
"If I may...?"
He waves his hand and she stands, coming to stand beside him by the window. "Who was taken?"
"Someone important to...the castle." The 'to me' is left unsaid but she can hear it loud and clear. "Our lead miner. I've been told the dragon approached them during an outing this morning and he volunteered himself in place of the others. From what they've told me he went willingly and in good health." He sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose in exasperation. "I can only pray he is still in good health."
"Ah." Alex knows well the man he's talking about. The castle's lead miner and expeditionary, Steven, has always been a bit of a martyr. "And you want the dragon dead?"
"Yes." He squares his shoulders. "If you can bring him back without killing it, do so. He is to be your first priority. But I want you to lead a party out and slay it. I will not have it endangering my kingdom any longer."
"Yes Sir." She's never fought a dragon before, but she's looking forward to fighting one. Though already well known for her bravery, having a dragon under her belt wouldn't hurt. "Will that be all Sir?"
He nods curtly. "Yes. You are dismissed."
As she walks out of the throne room, Alex can't help noticing how much this is affecting him. As a confidant of sorts to the King, he's told her all manner of things he'd hate to let the public know. For a King to deny a queen...there are already rumors surrounding his validity. She's known of his affections but not that they run this deep, nor that he'd let them influence his decision making. Killing a dragon is hard but doable. If anything, she's honored he thinks her strong enough to pull it off.
Whether or not he's in the right frame of mind to be making these decisions is not her call, however, so she dons diamond armor, mounts the fastest horse they have available, and heads out to the dragon's keep.
A few centuries ago, when the Kingdom had been new and huge, a series of watch towers had been erected to scout for danger. They've long been abandoned, since the Kingdom has shrunken significantly and there are no dangers worthy of such defenses. The towers are now home to bandits and thieves, and dragons too, sometimes. If not driven away, the resident dragon will start snatching livestock and treasures, and on the rare occasion, people.
She wonders what made it grab someone now. Little is known about dragons. They're strong and smart, and they can communicate with people if they desire to, but the reasons why they feel the need to steal from humans are still a mystery. The one thing that is known for sure is that ninety percent of the time they're hostile towards humans and each other. The other ten percent? Well, there have been tails of dragon and man working together, though she's not willing to bet on the truth of those stories. Glorified rumors more than anything.
The ride is short, thankfully. The midday sun is roasting her alive in her armor, and she's itching to face this dragon. All her life she'd been told and read about stories of epic battles between mighty warriors and fearsome dragons. She wants the glory that comes with killing one.
The watch tower had once been strong and formidable, but the cobblestone has degraded severely over time. It looks like she could push it over by prodding it with a stick. Most of the cobblestone is cracked, and a part of the base has crumbled in on itself. The tower must still be supported well enough. How else is a dragon living in it? Surely the weight would have toppled it long ago, so she deems it safe.
But should she scale it from the outside, or the inside?
The inside must be trapped. She'd be shocked to find a pleasant walk to the top awaiting her. But the sun will surely torture her if she tries to climb the wall. Sun or traps?
...Honestly? She's feeling a little daring.
She steps under the entrance arch and squints into the darkness. There are a few windows, spaced periodically and strategically around the wall. With light filtering through the iron bars, she can see mostly dust and spider webs. She can't hear a zombie's groan or the rattle of skeleton bones. No shuffling from creeper feet and no hissing from a spider. There's an enderman someone, but they're hardly a threat or deterrent. She's stupefied that, despite the ample darkness, there's nary a mob in sight.
Maybe the dragon's being there has scared them all away? Whatever the reason, she's not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. She'd actually been a little worried that getting to the top might be harder than facing the dragon. Fighting one mob is easy. Fighting a horde of mobs? No thank you.
Unfortunately, as she takes the spiraling stairs up, bandits must have ransacked the place. There's nothing left of value from when the tower use to be occupied, which is a damn shame. She's always appreciated the history of things. How horrible that some people don't feel the same.
She treads lightly as she approaches the top, placing her steps carefully and crouching as the floor of the top level comes into view. And as her head finally pokes past the floor and she's able to look into the room, her widen in shock.
She truly did not know what to expect when she arrived. The bodies of past victims surely, maybe some animal carcasses as well, and while there are some skeletons, they don't appear to be human remains and are instead the archer mob. Definitely treasure, of which there is plenty, but this? She'd have thunk the chances of the King willingly laying down his crown had a higher chance of occurring.
To see a dragon and a human interacting so casually...just what is happening here anyway?
"Well if you'd just hold still," Steve's saying, stepping back from the dragon and putting his hands on his hips. "I can't help you if you whine and pull away like a newborn babe at every twitch."
The dragon's laying on its side, its wings splayed carelessly across the floor. One of its hands rests facing up in front of Steve, and Alex can see several thick splinters sticking out of it. It'd taken someone...to pull thorns out of its hand? It makes a rumbling noise in response and turns its head away, in what appears to be petulant flippancy.
"What did you even do to cause this?" Steve takes hold of one of the thorns and prepares to pull it out, but stops to gawk up at the dragon. "Then I don't see any reason to be helping you. If anything this is what you deserve, attacking a village like that. Were they even armed?
Is the dragon talking to him? It snorts and Steve scowls in disgust. He turns his back on it and crosses his arms. The dragon whines—actually whines, like a dog—and lowers its head to rest on the ground. Its next rumbles mean nothing to Alex, who is flabbergasted at this display, but obviously means something to Steve, since he turns around and sighs.
"Alright." He puts a hand on the dragon's snout and Alex is floored that the dragon would allow such a thing. "But you must swear on your pride to never do something like that again."
It whines again and blows a puff of smoke at him. He smiles and holds his hand out. "Now stop being such a baby and let me finish."
As the dragon leans up again it finally notices Alex. In her defense, she's way too distracted to focus on being stealthy. It roars and becomes defensive, stretching its wings out to threaten her. It doesn't work well, as Alex fearlessly unsheathes her sword and steps fully into the room.
"Alex!" Steve gasps in surprise, running over to her. There's no time for pleasantries as he grabs her hand, the one holding the sword, and yanks it down, putting his own hand up towards the dragon. "It's okay, she's a friend of mine. She won't attack." She feels a squeeze on her wrist and while she's no less tense—and like hell she won't attack—she does relax a bit. If Steven, a simple miner, can be calm in the face of such danger, she can be too.
There's a charged silence where Alex hardly breathes. She gets the feeling Steve and the dragon are talking, however that works, so she feels completely out of the loop. Every once in a while the grip on her wrist tightens.
She misses when Steve talks out loud, to her. "What?"
"Drop your sword." He doesn't look away from the dragon while he talks. She wonders if that's playing a role in keeping the dragon from attacking them. "Let go of it and kick it away."
"But—!
"Please Alex." Steve's tone implies that now is a no nonsense time, and while Alex is reluctant to drop her first line of defense, she does so anyway. The sword clangs horribly as it hits, and then slides against, the stone ground. She glares at the back of Steve's head.
"Are you out of your mind?" She whispers harshly, not sure what might trigger the dragon to attack. Smoke is billowing steadily from its mouth. "Now what?"
"Just be patient," he whispers back quickly, and then there's silence again.
Okay, this is getting annoying. She yanks her hand out of Steve's grasp and crosses her arms. The dragon's eyes slide to her and stare menacingly, but she holds her own unflinchingly.
Steve sighs and turns to face her, a weary smile on his face, and the dragon, like her, remains tense but relaxes the slightest bit. The smoke ceases.
"It's good to see you again."
"I wish under different circumstances," she comments dryly, nodding to the dragon. "Care to explain?"
He rubs the back of his neck. He knows this doesn't look good for him. "Well I, uh...I don't really know what...to say?" He shrugs. "Just helping someone in need."
She raises a brow at that. "You expect me to believe that?"
"You'd do well to believe the truth, wench. Distrust is not an honorable trait." The voice is rough and throaty, and spills into her thoughts so naturally it takes her a moment to realize she hadn't thought that. She glares at the dragon.
"What did you call me?"
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves here." Steve, ever the voice of reason and understanding. "There's no reason to fight."
"Oh there's plenty of reasons to fight. I've been ordered to kill this beast, and I intend to do so." So she's a little cocky. Like hell she's going to let an overgrown lizard intimidate her.
"You can try. I will paint these walls with your insides." It growls and shifts.
"Is this really necessary?" Steve looks between the two of them, quite literally the middle man. "I get it okay? Everyone gets it, your kind hates each other." He frowns then. "Did the King really order its death?"
"Yes. I am to bring you back then return with force and slay the beast." She smirks at it. "And that'll be easier than I initially thought."
It roars and stomps the ground, shaking the tower in the process. "How dare you speak to me with such a tongue! I await your return so that I may rend your head from your body."
"Guys, please." Steve turns to her. "You can't kill it."
"I have orders from the King—"
"I'll deal with him." If there's one person who can talk back to the King, Alex knows its Steve. She wonders if he'll be able to convince the King to let the dragon live, though she has her doubts. He'd seemed pretty angry. "Just let me finish up here and then we can go."
Alex does nothing but cross her arms. "Hurry. I want to leave before dark."
"I'll try." Steve walks back over to the dragon, which gives Steve its hand so that he can continue to pull the large wood shards out. Alex taps her foot and glares at the dragon. Sheesh. You'd think a dragon would be capable enough to pull splinters out of its own damn hand.
When the last wood splinter is pulled from the dragon's skin, it stretches its hand and rumbles low in its throat. She thinks it weird that it can control who hears its voice, because she hears nothing as Steve smiles up at it. "You'll honor our agreement?"
Alex perks up at this. Had Steven stricken a deal with the beast?
"Wait, you should tell her too."
Both Steve and the dragon look at her and she frowns. "What?"
Had the dragon normal facial features, she gets the feeling it'd be grimacing. Probably at the thought of talking to her again. "I am in his debt, and to pay it I must now leave for a new home." It swings its head to Steve and once again lowers itself to his eye level. "I honor out agreement. Thank you."
"You are certainly welcome. And thank you as well."
The dragon nods and stands, giving them both one last look before flying away.
Steve comes to stand by her as they watch it disappear into the horizon. Coming out of a reprieve, Alex slugs Steve on the arm.
"Ow! What was that for!"
"What were you thinking!" She punches him in the arm again for good measure.
"Ow! Hey, stop it!"
"You deserve it you bastard."
"I wasn't going to let it take one of the others," he defends, trying to justify what happened. "You weren't there, you don't know the circumstances."
"Pray tell."
Steve falters, deflating a bit. "W-Well...you see—"
"Nevermind." She holds her hand up. "I'll let the King deal with you." She picks up her sword and sheathes it. "Gods, what am I going to tell him."
"He doesn't have to know everything?" Steve suggests, following her down the stairs and out the tower. "Maybe you can tell him that you wounded the dragon and it retreated?" Alex gives him a deadpan stare.
"You think he'll believe that?" She's skeptical. The King is no fool, and does not take kindly to being lied to. Not only that, but Alex is loyal. It feels wrong lying to her King.
"You know he'll still want you to track it down right? He'll waste resources on a pointless quest."
Well he's not wrong. The King can hold a vendetta, and absolutely will want to send scouts out to look for where the dragon could have gone to. Maybe Steve can convince him otherwise.
She unties the horse's reins and climbs atop, waiting for Steve to join her before starting the trek back home.
"Alright, I'll leave the King in your hands." She's bitter about it though. "Thanks for ruining my chance at slaying a dragon."
He laughs. "I'm sure you'll get another chance someday."
They arrive swiftly at the castle stables just before nightfall, thankfully. A lone stable hand takes the horse and Alex leads Steve to the throne room, where the King undoubtedly awaits word of her return. He'll get word of something alright.
A royal guard stationed outside the doors lets them in and they walk up to the throne. Like before, the King is facing the window. Alex kneels as she's been taught to but Steven hesitates.
"I've returned successful, my Lord," Alex says. With her head bowed, she can't see him nor Steven. Several quiet seconds pass.
"Stand. And what of the dragon?" She obeys and stands. Steven has moved to stand at the King's right hand side, and they both watch her, the King with stern eyes and Steven a little apologetic.
"I wounded it but it retreated. I failed you."
Much like with the dragon, Steven and the King have some form of unseen communication. Eventually some decision is reached as the King sighs and walks up to her.
"You did not fail me. You have brought Steven back and that is all that matters right now. Rest now, for you deserve it."
She bows her head. "Thank you for your kindness, my Lord."
She pauses and looks back at the throne. They've moved closer, and Steven appears to be insisting upon something. His safety, perhaps? The King takes his hand and she turns away, unwilling to see more.
Ignorance is bliss, and the less she knows about the King's weaknesses, the better. Besides, her bed is calling her name, and she knows no good reason to deny it.