"Oh come on!" goaded Moon, "No one will notice." She waved a hand dismissively, stunning the boy next to her.
"No one will- Moon!" Sun exclaimed, "I think that it's pretty obvious when one of your nights suddenly has a significantly higher voice!" Moon sighed in annoyance, slouching over.
"Do you have any idea how boring it is to be a woman," she groaned, "Sun PLEASE I would like to do one thing besides learn how to knit and milk cows for the rest of my life. Besides, YOU were the one who was complaining about how dangerous it was." Sun sighed, grabbing one of his rapiers and passing it to Moon.
"I don't want to fight but I don't want you to get hurt, either," he said, "you've got to prove to me that you can fend for yourself, at least a little." Moon sighed, smiling affectionately at her brother.
"Alright, Sun," she said, "just make sure to say uncle when you've had enough." They each bowed and then began the duel that was customary of their kingdom. Moon waited for Sun to make a move, immediately countering it and dipping forward to touch his stomach with the tip of his rapier. She smiled smugly at him.
"T-touché," he said, standing back. Moon smirked, then flipped her rapier around in her fingers like a baton until she almost sent it flying towards Sun.
"Just be careful, alright?" asked Sun. Moon nodded.
"Good now gimme your clothes," she said. Sun sighed and made a hand motion for her to turn around, getting out of his armor and sliding it across the floor before pulling on some day clothes. Moon beamed and took the armor, slipping it on. It was fortunate that Sun was her twin brother, as the armor fit her almost perfectly, save for being a little tight around the chest.
"How do I look?" asked Moon, smiling and holding up her rapier in what she hoped was a majestic fashion. Sun chuckled.
"Like a knight," he said, dipping down to slip something out from under his bed, "but you're also gonna want this." He held out a sheathed sword and Moon got excited, moving to take it from him and secure it around her waist. She unsheathed the sword and held it out, almost cutting Sun's cheek in her excitement.
"Woah!" she exclaimed, "It's heavy!" Sun grimaced, holding out his hands in front of him as if they would protect him if he got hit.
"Hey! Be careful with that!" he exclaimed. Moon nodded and sheathed the sword, smiling sheepishly.
"Sorry, I'm really happy that this is really happening," she said. Sun nodded breathlessly, before there was a loud knock at the door.
"Sun?" called a deep voice. Sun jumped up and ran into another room, whispering,
"It's for you!" at Moon before vanishing. Moon felt a tightness in her chest, suddenly more awake than she had ever felt before, walking to get the door. A knight looked down at her, grinning.
"Are you ready for your assignments?" asked the knight. Moon nodded, and the man started walking.
"Alright, come with me then!" he said. Moon followed closely behind, closing the old wooden door to her house and stepping into the streets of her village as a man. She made sure to keep up to the knight but couldn't help looking around, surprised by how different it felt. No one was looking at her and scolding her for being on the streets all by herself, and she felt significantly more independent. They passed the gaggle of boys that usually bothered her and none of them even batted an eye. With that, Moon walked confidently, almost tripping over her heavy armor in her enthusiasm. When they finally arrived at a grassy clearing, there were no other knights there. Instead, the Lord Hala sat on a small throne in front of an old wooden table, on top of which sat three eggs that were easily larger than a human head. Moon's eyes widened, and she stepped forward.
"This is the young lad?" asked the Lord Hala.
"Yes, your lordship sir," said the knight that had brought Moon forth. The Lord laughed boisterously but in a way that was not unkind.
"Bring him forward, let's see if he has it in him," said Hala. The knight nodded and brought Moon forward, towards the table that held the eggs. Moon looked up at the Lord, wondering what was supposed to happen. He nodded to her and she stared at the eggs. The one in the middle seemed to be pulling her towards it with an almost magnetic force, making it impossible for her not to reach out and touch it. She removed her glove, setting her hand on the top of the egg and feeling its warmth, signifying that something was living inside of it. For a brief second, nothing happened. Then, suddenly, she gasped, feeling a strong heartbeat emanating through the entire thing, shaking the table. Hala chuckled and leaned forward in his seat, but Moon was only focused on the egg. Suddenly, the egg itself shook and a claw broke through, cracking a small portion of the shell. The thing inside slowly began to break away the rest of the shell, releasing a wave of extremely hot air, until it was finally revealed to be a small red dragon. Moon stood there, shocked, and looked down at it. It looked back up at her, and she felt the pull again, offering her hand and placing it right above the dragon's head.
After a moment's thought, the dragon pushed its head against the palm of her hand and made a noise reminiscent of a cat's purr, and Hala let out a cry of victory.
"We've found one!" he exclaimed. The knight behind moon let out a small grunt of approval. Hala stepped down to come look at Moon, nodding.
"You're the one," he said, "I can see it." Moon eventually tore her eyes off of the dragon, glancing up to Hala.
"What do you mean?" She asked. Hala's eyes widened.
"You're an awfully young lad, aren't you?" he asked. Moon nodded, realizing that her voice was not the most masculine.
"There is a quest that we have been waiting to assign," said Hala, reaching into a leather bag on his hip to reveal a wrinkled scroll.
"It entails the Headless Knight," said Hala. Moon gasped, feeling a pang of fear for the first time in a while.
"It was foretold that one would be able to awaken the dragon from its slumber, and that the person would then move on to defeat the Headless Knight and offer victory over the Skull Kingdom," said Hala. Moon's eyes widened.
"Hell yeah," she muttered, quietly enough so that Hala couldn't hear.
"You must set off on your journey as soon as you can," said Hala, "but first, I must knight you and give you your title." He removed his own sword from its sheath.
"I know that I am not king, but I will carry news of this ceremony back to him, I swear it," he said, touching each of Moon's shoulders and then her head with the sword. He dubbed Moon, fittingly enough, knight of the Moone. She thanked him in the deepest voice she could manage and picked up the dragon, letting it latch onto her back and stay there. The thing was already big enough to stretch the length of Moon's spine, and when it extended its leathery red wings, it looked as if they belonged to the knight herself. She giggled, before coughing and pretending that she was clearing her throat. It was at that moment that Hala spotted something behind her and sighed affectionately.
"Hey!" called the breathless voice of a young man, causing Moon to turn around and see a green-haired man running towards her, stopping a few feet in front of her to catch his breath, "I said I wouldn't-" he paused to pant, "be late, but the bakery had some fresh crepes…" He caught his breath for a moment, noticing the dragon on Moon's back and opening his mouth wide.
"Woah!" he exclaimed, approaching her and looking at the dragon, "You really were the one! And the one time I was late, too…" Hala chuckled at the blatant lie.
"And you're going on the quest, right?" the boy continued, looking excited, "Please let me come along it sounds so cool!" Moon turned to Hala, who smiled warmly and took a step forward.
"You haven't even introduced yourself yet," he said, patting his grandson on the shoulder.
"Oh, right!" the young man scratched the back of his head, "My name is Hau, and I'm a bard!" Hala shook his head affectionately as Hau excitedly pulled his banjo off of his back, holding it and playing a few out-of key notes. Moon smiled.
"Thank you," she said, trying to sound as masculine as possible, "but I don't think this quest is safe." Hau's face fell, but he immediately came up with another idea.
"That's why we should go together! Two is always better than one!" he said, before acknowledging the dragon, "well, okay, it'd be three." Moon saw herself in the boy, but knew that it would not be safe for him to come along to fight one of the most renowned knights in the kingdom.
"I'm sorry, but I really think you could get hurt," said Moon, "I'm not taking you with me. Besides, this dragon can't carry both of us yet." Hau sighed in defeat, stepping back in a relaxed pose with his hands behind his head, before perking up.
"I'll just meet you there!" he said. Moon rolled her eyes, chuckling affectionately.
"Alright," she said, "good luck finding me." With that, she felt her connection with her dragon coursing through her veins. She could feel its warmth and intentions, and urged it to fly. With a strong swoop of its wings, it launched them both into the air. Hala looked up, surprised.
"I was just going to give the lad a horse."
Moon figured out how to fly the dragon while in the sky, almost crashing into a number of things before slowly getting the hang of it. They approached the skull kingdom and suddenly she saw a dark knight riding on a dark horse, which always signified the bad guy. She nodded and swooped down, landing with a thud in front of the knight and feeling the dragon fold its wings.
"That was so cool," she muttered to herself, internally celebrating as she stood up and watched the knight come to a stop. He looked down at her, scowling and slipping off of his horse.
"Let me guess," he sighed, "another knight coming to ask me about my intents."
"Uh-yeah!" said Moon, realizing that she actually had not been told why she was supposed to duel the knight, "and we're gonna bring you down!" she got out her sword, her dragon opening its wings in an act of intimidation. The headless knight, who surprisingly had a head, noticed the dragon and smiled.
"That's good," he said, "I don't have to go easy on you." He whistled and a young black dragon the size of a horse landed behind him, arching its white spines aggressively. Moon stepped back a little in surprise, and her dragon made a sound of assurance.
"We got this?" She asked. The dragon made a clicking noise, looking determined, and Moon smiled.
"We got this," she said. Her dragon launched itself off of her back at her command and sprinted towards the black dragon, who whipped its spade-like tail.
"Dodge it!" yelled Moon, causing her dragon to jump at just the right time.
"Now use-um-an attack!" she yelled, her dragon spat fire, singing the other one, which crouched back and hissed.
"Go for its crest!" yelled a familiar voice, and Moon turned around to take note that somehow Hau had managed to find her. She couldn't take the time to worry about him and instead, as the black dragon coiled back to lunge for her partner, she jumped at it and seized the small golden crest that it wore upon its chest, ripping it off and tumbling to the ground. It burned her fingers and she hissed, but she held it up, and the knight gasped.
"I…Impossible," he said, calling his dragon off. Moon stopped hers as well, confused.
"I suppose that I have no choice but to tell you…" he muttered. Moon had no idea why she had won, but she decided to keep her mouth shut. He sighed sadly, leaning on his dragon, who cooed in an attempt to reassure him.
"My name is Gladion," he said, "I work as a knight under the skull kingdom because I lost someone close to me. She's almost certainly in danger and I can't sleep at night knowing that, so I've been searching for her." Moon frowned.
"Wow," she managed, "that's rough." The knight nodded. Moon looked at her dragon, who was beaten up but looked happy, and furrowed her brow.
"This…" she muttered, thinking seriously for the first time in as long as she could remember, "this isn't right. This isn't what I wanted." She looked to Gladion, smiling.
"I'm a bit of a joker, I'm not meant to be a knight. I think I'm going to set off on my own for a while, but I have one request, given that I am the victor of our duel."
"What is your request?" asked Gladion.
"I want you to take my bard, Hau, on quests with you" she gestured behind her, to where the young man squeaked excitedly, "he deserves a good knight who knows what he's doing."
"No!" exclaimed Gladion, "I am the headless knight, I work alone, it's my thing!" Moon looked at him.
"I still won the duel," she said, smirking. Gladion sighed.
"Fine," he grumbled, getting onto his horse and shooting a glance at Hau, "get on." Hau's eyes widened and he ran forward, hopping up onto the horse behind Gladion.
"We can go on quests?" he asked excitedly. Gladion nodded, sighing again.
"Yes," he managed, wincing as Hau threw his arms up in the air in victory.
"Let's go," muttered Gladion, bringing his horse to a gallop and running past Moon towards his original destination. His dragon launched itself into the skies, vanishing above the clouds. That left only Moon and her dragon, who climbed onto her back. Moon looked at the dragon, which eyed her with curiosity. Closing her eyes, Moon took a deep breath, ignoring the sudden feeling of being alone in the middle of a foreign land. When she opened her eyes again, she was ready, and she plastered a small, confident smile onto her face.
"Alright… Let's see what happens next."