"Are we there yet?" Brandon groaned. They had been battling the murky swamps for the greater portion of the day. Their boots were muddy and their clothes were soaked. Needless to say, the twins were exhausted.

Aria squinted at her soggy map and eyed the compass. "The town should around here, I mean we're walking the correct direction at least."

"Are you sure you're even using the compass correctly?" Brandon muttered darkly. He savagely pushed a hanging vine out of his path and stomped on the undergrowth.

Aria stopped in her tracks and swiveled her head to face her brother. "What did you say?"

"Nothing," Brandon sighed. "Can we stop for a bit?"

"Fine, but only for a little while," Aria relented. "It's getting dark."

The twins sat down by a nearby tree. The Marsh was a difficult place to trek, and they were anxious to see the light fade. In the distance, they heard Lurkers splashing in the swampy depths. The weary travellers left the monsters alone, and in return, the monsters gave them no trouble. Brandon massaged his sore calf.

"Hey Aria," he started.

"Hm?"

"Are you...nervous for school?" He said nonchalantly as if the question was trivial.

Aria pondered the question. It was the first time the twins had any sort of formal education. At home, their grandmother taught them how to read and write; it wasn't as if they needed to know much else. The only other social interaction they had with children their age was the occasional visit from travellers passing through. Yeah, she'd say she was very nervous for school.

Brandon stammered on. "I mean, it's only school. I'll probably make some friends and if they don't like me I'll make new ones or-"

"Brandon," Aria cut off. He met her intense eyes and saw nothing but seriousness. "No matter what happens, we have each other, right?"

Brandon flushed at the statement. "Of course, right. I uh just forgot about you...as a friend."

Aria laughed. "Oh wow, I'm so hurt!"

Suddenly, Brandon stiffened and his face froze. Aria failed to notice and chirped breezily,

"Oh wow look at the sky. We better get going."

As Aria reached for her backpack, Brandon roughly grabbed her arm. When she gave a surprised yelp, he cupped his hand around her mouth. Aria struggled to break free from Brandon's firm grip.

"What the hell are you-" Aria sputtered.

"Shhh," Brandon shushed tensely. "I hear something."

The twins held their breath and listened to the swamp ambiance. The Lurkers had long sunk under the surface for the night, and the swamp spirits danced on soggy logs.

Clop clop clop

"Oh my god what is that?" Aria whimpered. The sounds were getting closer.

Brandon's face was as pale as his hair. He shifted his gaze towards a large stick a few yards away. He silently grabbed it, and pressed his face through the bushes next to a nearby tree. Through the darkness of the leaves, Brandon could make out a lone figure pacing back and forth. Aria looked fearfully at him with a bewildered look on her face.

Clop clop clop-

"HIIIIIIYAHHHHH!" Brandon screamed as he leaped through the bushes and slashed the stick at the opposing figure. The figure jumped in shock but side-stepped Brandon's audacious attack. Brandon landed ungracefully on the ground with his breath knocked out of him.

"WOAH THERE KIDDO," the figure yelped. "What's your problem?"

Brandon blearily opened his eyes; as they focused, they registered a man with blonde hair and suited with shining armor. Brandon quickly scampered away and into Aria's worried arms.

"Who are you?" Brandon angrily demanded. The man grinned at the embarrassed look on Brandon's face.

"Well, I might ask you the same thing, Mr. Person-who-just-tried-to-kill-me," the man shook his head mirthfully.

"You have no right-" Brandon shouted, but was cut off by Aria.

"I am sincerely sorry about my brother's outburst," Aria threw a fierce look at her brother. "Our names are Brandon and Aria Charles. We're travellers trying to get to the next town, could you point us in the right direction?"

The man crossed his arms in mock sternness. "Well miss, I'm not sure if I can help you. Especially since your brother rudely decided to attack me for no apparent reason."

"You were clomping your shoes and scaring us!" Brandon shouted. Aria harshly elbowed her brother and he whimpered as he cupped his ribs.

"Sorry sir, we'll leave now," Aria apologized.

"Wait don't go," the man exclaimed, "I'm not even mad!"

"Brandon, get up tosser!" Aria hissed.

"Why do you need to get to the next town?"

"We're trying to get to Swordhaven," Aria answered with suspicion. She pulled Brandon up from the ground and started walking back to where their bags were. The man excitedly ran after them.

"Hey...are you two enrolled in Swordhaven's hero program?"

Brandon's head swirled around in shock. "Yeah! How did you know?"

"Because I graduated from the program!" the man said proudly. The twins stopped in their tracks and stared with awe. With a closer look, the twins found his armor to be of good quality and his study sword was at his side. They also noticed the royal crest engraved on the hero's chest plate.

The man continued to brag, "In fact, the eldest princess was so impressed by my skills that she requested me to be part of her personal escort." He added after a pause, "It was also probably because of my good looks."

"Wait..." Aria's eyes widened. "Does...that mean that you're part of the Royal Escort?"

The man grinned. "Paladin Julio DeGalarce, at your service!"

"No way," Brandon gasped. He had always dreamed of becoming a Paladin, and there now there was one right in front of him!

Julio quickly appraised the two in front of him. The girl was lanky and thin, but seemed to have a good head on her shoulders. The boy, on the other hand, seemed a bit slow but plenty fast when trying to hit fellow Paladins with a stick. He grinned happily, these kids brought back memories that were forgotten in the recesses of his mind. He was so deep in his thoughts that he almost didn't hear a man shout from a few yards away.

"Julio! What's taking you so damn long?" a man called. Aria and Brandon looked up at Julio with apprehension.

Julio laughed at the twins' expressions. "Don't worry kiddos, that guy is part of the escort too." With a louder voice he yelled back, "Gederick don't worry! Go back to camp before your shoes get wet!"

With that, Julio beckoned the twins to follow him. They hoisted their heavy bags on their backs and determinedly summoned any remaining resources of strength to walk. The three made their way through the swamp with Julio in the lead.

Brandon quickly caught up to Julio and questioned, "What was that all about?"

"Oh Gederick? Well, we were tasked to survey the area to catch any intruders that may harm the Princess," Julio answered.

"Sorry, I actually meant to ask you...why did you tell Gederick to go back to camp before his shoes got wet?" Brandon corrected himself.

Julio gave the boy a long look before looking over to Aria and asking, "Is he always like this?"

She chuckled and replied, "Always."