Chapter 2 The Knights
Knights, they were the main piece that kept the nation together. They upheld honour, as well as the reputation of their nobility as they charged into battle, should it be war, or a simple joust. The title of knight often went to men and boys. It was a rare occasion when a female be titled a knight, but it has indeed happened in the past. Men who were determined to become knights in their future were trained since early childhood, in the art of fencing and chivalry.
The title of knight had its rankings. Newbie men, who had just 'graduated' from school were the lowest of the ranks. They were normally looked down upon. The second class knights were slightly more experienced, who occasionally get assigned small tasks, such as going on rounds through villages. The third rank knights were by far the most experienced. They were respected, as well as expected to accomplish great feats. The fourth rank of knight was reserved for knights who serve the royal family. It was the highest honour, and there weren't many knights who possessed enough skill to obtain the fourth ranking.
The palace itself was the home to all English knights, as well as the training ground for knights. Each knight possessed his own little room within his respective rank's barracks. Every day, every knight was to arise at the crack of dawn and begin their training before the day actually began. Said training was very tedious and tiring, but every single man upon the training grounds were more than happy to oblige if it meant serving important, wealthy nobles and glory on the bloody battlefield.
The day was still a bit early, though the sun was reaching higher and higher into the sky. All the gentlemen were up, dressed, fed and ready for their daily training. The training grounds were divided so that each of the four rankings was grouped together with their respective rankings. So far, the teachers and tutors were tardy, arousing a few complaints here and there, especially on the third-ranking grounds.
A raven hair coloured teen, perhaps roughly twenty, groaned as he threw his hands behind his head, "Where the hell are those stupid teachers? It's been, like, forever since the time they said they'd arrive."
His hair was as dark as the midnight sky, without the round moon and glittering stars, spiked to defy gravity. He glanced up towards the sky, squinting his eyes when they accidentally fell upon the impossibly bright sun.
Another teen, possessing long shaggy, bright orange hair, covered with a dark red hat of cloth, sighed, "Stop being so whiny, you big baby. You're always slacking off during training anyway, so why are you complaining?" His tone showed authority and demanded respect from all those who heard it.
"But, we were supposed to have an exam today, remember? To test our skills, seeing if we were ready to graduate." A younger boy with a shock of pure blond hair spoke up. Though he was a knight, it was pretty obvious to say that he didn't like people fighting when it was unnecessary, especially when it was over something so trivial as time.
"What he said, calm down, the both of you. It's probably something that happened with the upperclassmen and has nothing to do with us. And, the test is two days from now, not today, dear little brother." A fourth young man, with dark brown hair, spoke up from his sitting position on a random barrel.
The four brothers were considered prodigies, due to how they elevated in the rankings in such little timing. They began their training as first rankings just three years ago, and now, they were already third ranking knights, and occasionally, should they apply all their skill and put their mind to it, any one of them could overpower a fourth ranking knight.
The ravened boy was named Butch, and he was the oldest of the Rowdyruff brothers with his 20 years. He possessed spiky, gravity-defying hair, as black as night itself, without the white moon, and his eyes were a stunning and handsome forest green, similar to bright and full trees within the palace walls. He was indeed tall, almost as tall as their teacher, but just over towering him at a 6'4, his skin beautifully tanned, similar to polished gold, and his body frame was handsomely ripped, leaving no room for weakness. The ravened knight was the strongest of the four brothers, and the most blood-lusting. His brute strength alone was enough to scare most people away, very, very few men wanting to challenge him and those who did found themselves in the hospital with a fractured arm or a broken leg.
The orange-haired teen was named Brick, and he was the second born, he was 20 years old too, and considered the 'leader' of the Rowdyruff brothers due to his high intelligence. His shaggy hair was as bright as the ripe oranges hanging from the orange trees within the orchards, tumbling all the way to his lower back, with the top of his head covered with a deep crimson cloth cap, and his eyes were a deep, dark crimson, the colour of spilled blood from the dead or dying, exactly the state any of Brick's enemy wind up in. He possessed a height of 6'2 ½, deeply sun-kissed skin, due to all the training under the blazing sun, and his frame was as muscular as it was lean. As the 'leader' of three other strong brothers, the orange knight dominated them all by his strategies in sword-fighting, as well as one-to-one combat, no weapons. His strong gaze, his unwavering certainty, his strong, confident spirit had lowerclassmen knights respect him and look up to him as their mentor and idol.
The brunette knight was named Bruiser, and he was the fourth born, of his brothers at the age of 20 years. His dark umber brown hair was well taken care of, being pulled back in a loose ponytail with a simple piece of string, cascading all the way to his hips, and his eyes were a fierce, piercing violet colour. His height was just slightly shorter than his elder brothers, at 6'1, his skin evenly tanned, like golden bronze and his body frame was strong with firm muscles, yet lean, with room for gentleness, for taking care of any 'damsels in distress.' Bruiser was one to never allow someone else's opinion to hinder his actions. Though he listened to recommendations of others, and occasionally heeded them, he never cared what others thought of his actions. His raw instincts were his path to survival. Without even that, the young brunette would be completely handicapped. But Bruiser had a sad past which will be touched on further along the story.
The blond young man was named Boomer, and he was the third born of all his three brothers being as well 20 years old. He possessed curly locks of pure blond hair, carefully framing his face, and breathtakingly deep blue eyes, similar to the sparkling blue sea. He, being the youngest Rowdyruff, was also shortest, going to a 6'0 flat, his skin several tones lighter than his brothers, due to the fact that he started his training just a tad bit later than his older brothers, but was still beautifully sun-kissed and his body frame was equally muscular and lean. Boomer was considered the 'sweetest' of all his brothers. He never liked to resort to violence and preferred to talk things out, if possible. But, of course, being a knight, and a proudly fierce one at that, he knew when simply talking wasn't going to work and he had to draw his sword, especially when he was to protect someone.
As the four brothers talked, keeping their voices low, they happened to overhear a small little conversation with several other third-ranking knights.
"Did you hear 'bout the new?" The first knight asked another.
"Yea, I did!" The second knight confirmed.
"Can you believe it?" The first one asked again.
"I know, it's totally awesome!" The second knight said excitedly.
Their curiosity peaked, and the four boys made their way to the grouping, "Hey guys, what's up?"
"The four princesses of the Royal family are gonna choose a knight, one each!" Leonard Grace said. He had shaggy brown hair and coal black eyes to match. He wasn't that strong as the other knights.
"Okay, what's so special about that?" Boomer asked confused and looked at Leonardo confused.
His brothers silently agreed by nodding their heads. The grouping fell silent, everyone appalled and shocked by the young knights' ignorance.
"Of course buffoons such as yourselves wouldn't know of such beautiful vixens such as the four princesses of Britain, especially the princess of hair of bright orange flames and eyes as rare and beautiful as a pink diamond."Kevin another second rank knight said he has poufy dirty orange hair and dark, polluted navy blue eyes.
"Ignore him, he's obsessed with the eldest of the four Utonium princesses. Anyway, the four Utonium princesses are the pride of all of Britain. Blessed with the beauty of the gods and goddesses themselves, and just as intelligent and talented." James, with sun white hair and light blue eyes, rolled his eyes.
"I wouldn't mind meeting these princesses if they're as pretty as you say," Butch said impressed from just what he heard.
Markus, possessing grey hair and dark mud brown eyes.
"You wish, Butch. Unlike all the whores who throw themselves at you and your brothers, the princesses are also notorious for rejecting all sorts of men, no matter how powerful or good looking." Markus said chuckling.
"Well, that won't stop Butch. After all, he's gotten several girls who've played hard to get before. This should something of a milk run for him." Bruiser smirked good-naturedly.
"You got that right. I mean, look at these babies. What woman in their right mind could resist this?" Butch said flexing his strong muscles.
"Probably ones who have higher standards than a third-ranking knight who draws in girls like flowers draw in butterflies." Brick said grinning.
The raven and the orange clashed eyes, the tension rising. When it looked like a fight was about to break out, the blasting sound of the attention horn was heard, meaning that there was going to be an important announcement.
Filing into their respective lines, along with the rest of the third-ranking knights, the Rowdyruff brothers remained silent as Vincent Stalking the VI, one of the elite fourth-ranking knights, as well as one of the big-time captains of the Royal Guard, stepped out onto the stone balcony which overlooked the entire knight training ground. He possessed light chocolate brown hair, which fell in long, thick waves down his entire back, and bright lime green eyes. He was indeed very handsome, and the fact that he comes from a very prominent family didn't help keep the ladies from eating him whole.
Clearing his throat, he spoke up, his noble tone booming throughout the entire training area,
"Attention, knights of all rankings. The King Utonium has just announced this morning that his four daughters, Princess Blossom, Princess Bunny, Princess Buttercup and Princess Bubbles, are to all choose a knight, as for safety. He has chosen a selected few he deemed worthy of protecting the princesses. Here they are:…."
"Hey, do you think we might get onto the list? I mean, it would be great if we got to protect the princesses of Britain." Boomer asked in a whisper ton.
"Get real, Boomer. We didn't even know who these 'princesses' were, you actually think we would make it onto the list?" Bruiser asked scoffing.
The blond simply shrugged and continued listening.
The listing was fairly short, considering that there were more; first and second rankings than third and fourth rankings, and there wouldn't be many first and second knights who have enough brains and skill to defend the future of the nation.
"…Brick Rowdyruff, Butch Rowdyruff, Bruiser Rowdyruff, and Boomer Rowdyruff. All the men I have just read off, you are all candidates in automatically becoming part of the honoured Royal Guard. There can be no higher honour than protecting one of the five members of the Royal family. Carry your sword with pride and dignity. Tomorrow, all of you shall report to the main entrance of the castle, where we shall lead you into the Throne Room. Prepare yourselves, for this, is a once in a lifetime opportunity." Vincent read the last out.
With that, the brunette elite disappeared back into the room beyond the balcony.
"What was that about not getting onto the list, Bruiser..?" Boomer asked his older brother with a smirk.
The brunette scowled at his smirking little brother, then turned to Brick and Butch.
"How's this possible? I mean, we're good and all, but c'mon…" Bruiser asked pretending to sound upset.
"I guess skills and brains are all that they're looking for. You could be completely ignorant of the royal family, and still, get chosen to serve them so closely." Brick said as a matter of fact.
"Yea, we struck in with luck," Butch said chuckling.
Just then, a shrill whistle was heard, meaning that all knights were to return to their barracks and rooms.
"Good timing, I was going to go for a nap anyway." Brick said stretching out and yawning.
"You're so lazy, I don't know how you manage to stay so fit," Bruiser asked chuckling.
"That's for me to know, and you to never find out, 'kay, lil' bro?" Brick asked annoyed.
That only earned him a slap upside the head, as the other two laughed.
Quanktumspirit: "I still don't own this chapter. But please review it. And sorry that I re-uploaded it, some of the knights in this story are going to get a new roll in the story."
