The Crimson Knight
By: Myaru

Prompted by Mark of the Asphodel for my improvised food meme, and I chose to use a different epithet for Minerva because I like it better this way.

…

Archanea's species of oak was much different than Maria expected when she walked to the perimeter of camp to search for one. The wide trunk, the geometric pattern of the bark, the wide branches bigger around than the trunk of a solid pegasus - it looked like a tree straight out of a fairy tale, and she had to crane her neck back to see it all. Yellow touched the edges of the leaves like frost. Deep gold sunlight shot rays through the big dome of the canopy, where the sun was setting and turning the westward sky orange and pink. The day had felt more like the height of summer rather than the beginning of autumn; sweat still slicked the back of her knees and made her habit feel moist around the sash and sleeves. She kicked her sandals off and balanced on a root, wobbled over to the trunk where she pressed her hands flat and felt for hand-holds. Clusters of nuts beckoned, just out of reach; Minerva might have been tall enough to get one, or maybe to grab onto the nearest branch and swing up, but Maria was too small - and didn't seem to be getting any bigger, no matter what her sister promised. No, she had to climb like a monkey.

She was almost there, her sweaty feet braced on the bark and her fingers clinging to a dip in the wood, when she slipped and slid all the way back down to fall flat on her back- and right smack on a root.

"Ow!" A few of Minerva's choice curses came to mind, but Maria never could have said them out loud. She rolled onto her side and scrambled up with a hand on her back. This was all Michalis's fault for not letting her climb trees. Of course she was going to fall - the idea was to learn how to fall, wasn't it? She remembered watching when he taught Minerva exactly that. And if her sister could learn it-

Maria was grabbing her first hand-hold again when the sound of hooves finally registered - someone coming near, signaled by the clank of armor and ring of chainmail. She leaned against the tree and glanced over her shoulder.

Patrol. She recognized the blue and gold sash, even if the woman who slid from the saddle and removed her helm was a stranger. An Archanean by the look of it - short blue hair with a slight wave, blue eyes, that patrician, pointy nose that Michalis always made fun of. Maria was small, tiny beside her, even more than when Minerva was in full armor.

"Are you well, sister?" the woman asked, a faint line between her bold brows. Her eyes flicked right and left, up, looking for something. Her mount lowered its head to sniff the grass, jingling slightly. "I saw you fall- is there something in this tree you need to retrieve?"

Maria's face warmed, and she was already hot enough after trying to climb. She lowered her gaze and focused on a knob of root. "No, that was just me being clumsy. They said it was safe, so I..." She clenched her fingers together, resisting the temptation to reach for her hair. What if there were leaves sticking out? What if it was dirty? Her habit was wrinkled, and now it was dusty - she must be a sight. "I'm sorry I worried you." Leaves crackled between her toes.

The knight made a soft I see noise and spared Maria her gaze, instead looking at the branches again. "Since I'm here, is there something I can help you with? Together we might be more effective."

Maria's cheeks burned, even though the woman's smile appeared sincere. "I just wanted some acorns." Her fingers were knotted together so tightly they'd never come apart again. Couldn't it have been Minerva to find her? Her sister would understand. She would laugh, but it would be a nice laugh, and she was strong enough to swing Maria up to the branch just like their brother used to at home.

It would be nice to go home again. She knew all the trees there - the forest near the aerie with its tall, skinny oaks and the white spears of asphodel gleaming in dappled bits of sunlight. The memory made her chest feel tight.

"Sister?"

"Um, no, it's okay." Maria smiled at her, then jumped off the root to collect her sandals. Rocks jabbed at her heels. "I'll wait until my sister comes back from patrol. They were for her anyway." She balanced on one leg to shove her foot into a sandal and wrap the ties around her ankle.

The knight offered to escort her back to camp, even though it was within sight - the barricade was only a sprint away, guarded by the boy who'd told her the monster she was trying to climb was what oak trees looked like here on the continent, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Maria walked with her sandals flapping, grass flicking her bare calves, and asked if there were many women in the ranks in Archanea, because she'd heard girls joining the knighthood was rare. It was one thing on Michalis's long list of detestable traits belonging to Archanea that made Maria glad the plan to marry Minerva off to one of their dukes never went through. They wouldn't respect her, brother said; they would try to dress her up like a doll and lock her in a room. Maria couldn't imagine anybody succeeding in that, but it made this knight beside her unusual - and interesting.

"No," the lady knight said, her chin tilted high to look at the sky. Three white birds flapped across the expanse above the meadow, keening. Her horse plodded behind them on the reins, head tilted down. "Very few women walk this path. There are still insinuations as to my lack of femininity - just not within my hearing."

"That's terrible." Maria spun around to walk backwards and face her. "I hope that means you give all those naysayers a beating if you hear them."

The lady knight laughed, the skin around her eyes crinkling. "What about your sister? She must meet the same difficulties."

She turned around again, weaving her fingers together behind her back. The barricade was close, within shouting distance. Maria could take herself back the rest of the way if she had to - it wasn't like she needed an escort for such a short distance anyway. "No, it's more common at home. She didn't get any grief for taking up a weapon." Still, her shoulders hunched slightly. She shrugged them to loosen the knot, looked up. The sky was clear, empty - her sister was their only flyer besides the Talys princess, so they must be elsewhere. "They call her the Crimson Knight," Maria said. "Everyone at home is proud of her, of her strength and honor- but especially me."

The silence that met her statement could have been normal - it could have just meant the lady knight was taking in a breath to respond, but to Maria it felt like there was a stare all of the sudden boring a hole in her back. This lady was Archanean. She would hate Minerva. Everyone looked at her warily, like they expected her to betray Lord Marth and make spears rain down from the sky on the League. They had no idea - they didn't know anything.

Minerva would never do that. She was as much a knight as the lady behind Maria right now, maybe more.

But it wasn't right to make that judgment, since she didn't know this person. So before the lady knight had a chance to form a response, Maria said over her shoulder, "Thank you for escorting me. I can make it back on my own now," and ran. Grass whipped her legs and left itchy scratches; her breath came hard, because she hadn't had the chance to run in months, maybe a year. How long was she in Grust?

Too long. And she wasn't going to give anyone else a chance to insult her sister. Not ever again.

.