Clank!
Clink clank!
The loud sound of metal clashing with metal awoke a young blonde woman from her slumber. She groggily opened her eyes, revealing her unmistakeable sea green eyes. From the other side of the room, her trusty Pokémon partner had also been awoken from his slumber, much to his irritation. The woman yawned before sitting upright and pushing aside the curtain from the window next to her bed. Now, what could all this noise be?
"Hey Soul, mind checking out what all that noise is and shut it up?" the grumpy Gallade asked.
"Fine, I'll holler if I need you," the woman, Soul, mumbled as she got up from her comfortable bed. "Now go back to sleep."
Gallade did not argue and happily obliged with her order.
Soul's Gallade was rather a strange case, what with him being skilled with telepathy. He learned to communicate through telepathy two years ago when he was still a Kirlia. It was hard, but he eventually managed to get the hang of it. Soul was able to understand him because he sent his thoughts directly at her using his Psychic abilities. After a while, he unconsciously allowed his connection to expand and reach everyone, allowing them to hear him.
After putting on her shoes and wrapping her black cloak around her body, Soul pulled the hood over her head before going out to check what all the noise was. The small morning breeze blew the blonde stray hairs away from her face. As she arrived at a clearing, the young woman scanned the area. They landed on two figures: a human and a Pokémon both panting hard and each one holding a weapon.
The human was a male who was a year older than Soul. He had spiky dark blue hair and dark blue eyes that held so many mysteries, none that she was able to solve. He wore a blue tunic with the sleeves grey, blue gloves with a stone on the back of the hand, grey trousers, blue boots, and a black cape. On his head was a black hat with the top part having a blue fabric with the kingdom's symbol. This person was once Soul's mentor, but now a fellow knight and friend: Aaron. The Pokémon was Lucario, an apprentice to Aaron.
A disappointed sigh escaped Soul's lips. She was very aware of how early they train and how late they stayed up from training. The blonde woman was almost positive that neither of them had taken a break since she never saw them in their room before she left. She really wanted nothing more than to scold them for overdoing it again!
"Hey, you two!" She called out loudly as she walked over to them, hugging the cloak closer to her body. They both instinctively stood in a defensive stance. Once they saw it was Soul who called them, they let their stance down, sighing afterwards.
"Soul, why are you up so early?" Aaron asked.
"I heard noises outside which woke me up, so I went to check out what was going on and found you and Lucario... training," she explained, letting out a slightly edgy tone at the last word.
"I apologize for waking you up, Lady Fraverden," Lucario apologized and did a bow afterwards.
He, just like Gallade, knew telepathy. Soul recalled the day Lucario almost lost his marbles when he found out that Gallade could also speak telepathically the day they first met. She, along with Aaron and Gallade, were very close to Lucario, but he still had a tendency to speak formally to them, almost as if he were talking to an elite figure.
"Lucario, I told you that you don't have to be so formal toward me," Soul mumbled, giving the Aura Pokémon a casual look. "Besides, you shouldn't have to apologize to me. What you and Aaron need to do is stop your training and rest."
"Gallade told you to shut us up, huh?" Aaron questioned in the form of a statement. Soul nodded her head at him.
"Pretty much," she confirmed. "You know how he is when he doesn't get his sleep."
Gallade was never much of a morning person– er, Pokémon, which was one thing Soul had to burden herself with when they were still training with Aaron. He often complained to the point where she had to drag him out of bed or dump cold water on his head.
"Yeah, don't remind me." Aaron chuckled. "We'll just move our training somewhere else then."
"No way," Soul spoke sternly. "You and Lucario are going to bed, now."
"C'mon, let us continue our training for at least one more hour?" Aaron plead. The blonde woman sighed and wrapped the cloak around her tighter.
"As long as you two get rest, then I suppose it's fine..."
That was the last thing she said before going back to her room and returned to her slumber.
It didn't take long for the next day to arrive, much to Soul's dismay. The sun's bright rays fell through the small crack of her curtains, hitting her eyes. She furrowed her eyebrows before slowly opening her eyes, revealing those sea green eyes of hers. With a small yawn, she rolled over and closed her eyes momentarily. Oh how much she wished to just go back to sleep!
As if Arceus was depriving the woman of her wish, a knock on the door kept her up. Soul sighed before getting out of her bed and made her way over to the door. She passed by her sleeping Gallade, who wasn't fazed at all by the knocking. Soul placed her hand on the doorknob and opened it, revealing one of the many maids that worked in the castle.
"Good morning, Lady Fraverden." The maid bowed. "The Queen sent me to notify you that there is a meeting scheduled for this afternoon. She expects your presence, for this is a rather serious matter."
Soul blinked in surprise. "Do you know what it is about?"
"Unfortunately no." She shook her head. "Well then, that is all I came here for. Good day, Lady Fraverden."
With that, the maid left. Soul closed the door, her hand lingering on its mahogany surface. Questions ran through her mind about the meeting coming up. Typically all meetings were scheduled ahead of time and the people attending are notified ahead of time, days being the least prior. Why was a meeting set up for this afternoon? Who would be attending? What was it even about?
Soul shook her head, her blonde locks swaying with her. Whatever the Queen had planned, she best be prepared. There was no time to be suspicious and cautious right now. All she could do was wait for the answers to come to her.
Gallade, unhappily awake, sat up from his bed and peered at his master with tired red eyes. A small yawn escaped his lips before he blinked a few times.
"What was that all about?" he asked.
"From what I've been told, there's a meeting this afternoon," Soul replied. "I'm going to start getting ready for the day."
Gallade fell back against the mattress, mumbling that he was hungry. Soul rolled her eyes before leaving to the bathroom to begin running a bath. As she was getting undressed, her eyes landed on a scar that began on her collarbone and ended toward her shoulder. She brought up her hands and traced the broken skin, biting her lip when bad memories began to resurface. This scar constantly reminded her of what happened not too long ago.
Soul dropped her hand to the side and completely undressed before going into the warm bath, soothing her nerves.
It didn't take too long for her to get ready for the day. Despite being the only woman among ranks of men, she was a pretty powerful knight. The uniform she wore practically screamed power, but she knew better than to use it to her advantage. It was hard enough for her to make something out of herself among these ranks, imagine the nasty rumors that would brew if she used her power irresponsibility. Greed was the greatest sin in these times.
Soul's specific uniform consisted of black trousers with a sewn on sword belt, but her long-sleeved collared shirt was white instead of blue. Over it, she had to wear a navy blue blazer-like coat. She considered it a blazer because it was made of polyester and she also considered it a coat because it went past her mid-thighs.
The coat had the kingdom's insignia on the right shoulder sleeve, just like the normal navy blue long sleeves other soldiers wore. Soul also had to wear a black neck tab and a white and black combo cover that also had the kingdom's insignia. This unique uniform was specially requested by the Queen to differentiate her from the knights.
After putting her blonde locks into a ponytail, Soul grabbed the sheathed sword and clipped it onto her belt before leaving her room. Her grumpy Gallade followed her because he was complaining about being hungry. Once they entered the corridors, they split up. Gallade went straight to the dining table and Soul went down the hall that led to the lobby.
As she turned the corner, she sensed an aura coming her way. Out of instinct, the blonde woman placed a hand on the hilt of her sword. Something her mentor taught her was that there were no bounds when trying to be cautious. When she noticed the familiar face of the Head Knight, Soul released her grip and allowed her hand to drop.
"Good morning," the knight greeted. "How are you this fine morning, Soul?"
"I am well, Roman," she replied. "Though I can't help but wonder about the meeting scheduled for this afternoon."
"Ah, so I see you received the message as well eh?" He put a hand on his hip. "Well, I should've known better. You are a rather important soldier among ranks."
Soul couldn't help but smile a little at the comment. Roman was one of the few supporters she had in ranks. He knew she earned her spot as a higher-up, which unfortunately didn't sit right with the other soldiers. The way Roman saw it, she was a knight, woman or not, and she deserved the same respect a man received. Not only that, but she had the talent and strength to uphold her position in power.
Roman ran a hand through his dark brown locks of hair, a yawn escaping his lips. He adjusted the sword that hung loosely off his sword belt before his caramel optics met Soul's sea green eyes.
"Do you by any chance know what the meeting's about?" Soul asked.
"Based on what General Hayes told me, it has something to do with foreign affairs." He crossed his arms over his chest. "Our allies are not getting along with each other."
"That can't be good," she expressed. "Hopefully we find out more this afternoon."
"So do I kiddo, so do I." He dropped his hands to the side and gave Soul a smile. "Well then, I should get going. I have a new recruit who still needs help with drill."
"Good luck with him then." Soul smirked. "I'll see you later."
Roman placed a hand on her shoulder for a moment before taking his leave. What he said about the meeting remained fresh in her mind. So foreign affairs was the topic, but why? Hm, there was nothing she could conclude from something so vague.
Shrugging, Soul continued her way through the corridor to get to the lobby. She stopped when her eyes caught sight of a familiar room. The blonde woman peered through the crack of the door, finding Aaron knocked out on his bed. He was clearly exhausted, meaning he overdid it during last night's training with Lucario.
Shaking her head, Soul entered the room and grabbed a blanket that laid on a chair. She walked over to the bed and draped it over Aaron's sleeping body. She couldn't help but notice how peaceful his facial expression was, despite all the hard responsibilities he undergoes. He trained her and Gallade for four years and then trained his Lucario afterwards. Then adding on his job as a knight, he had so much going on.
A smile made its way onto Soul's lips as her gaze soften at Aaron. He really was one hard working man. In fact, he was more of a man than the majority of these men who had the arrogance to call themselves knights.
The blonde woman did the same for Lucario and covered him with a blanket. The Aura Pokémon flinched, but relaxed and moved into a more comfortable position. He's also a hard worker; always training on his free time and whatnot. Not much was known about Lucario, despite him being close with the aura guardians and Gallade. Still, he was considered a friend among them.
Taking one last look at the two, Soul walked out of the room with a small smile on her lips.