Here's Chapter Two. Thanks to ShiverIntheLight and ancazur for reviewing! :)

Chapter Two

As always, the interior of Crimea Castle was ornately decorated, from the thick blue carpet on the floor to the enormous paintings hanging from every wall, so there didn't seem to be an inch of grey stone visible. Several statues adorned the hallways, made of pure gold and encrusted with multi-coloured gemstones. The soft, flickering glow from hundreds of candles lit up the narrow corridors, driving away the darkness that filled the castle after nightfall.

But today was different. The castle looked incredible even by Queen Elincia's standards. It looked as though she had spent every gold coin in the royal treasury on decorations, and the castle servants had probably all been killed by exhaustion from the amount of work they had done. Not a speck of dust was to be seen anywhere, not even on the frames of the old paintings that covered all the walls. Presumably, Elincia had wanted the castle to be tidy when her guests arrived, but this was a bit of an overreaction in Stefan's opinion. Judging by the startled looks on the faces of the Royal Knights walking behind him, this was the first time they had seen the inside of the castle looking so... tidy.

The Swordmaster glanced back at the group of Royal Knights clunking along behind him in their heavy armour; the noise was slightly distracting. Also, the stiff posture of the blue-haired Commander was all too familiar to him. 'General Geoffrey,' he said simply.

'Sir Stefan,' Geoffrey responded with a quick glance in his direction. 'Is there a problem?'

Perhaps I should ask him why Elincia wanted the castle so heavily decorated today, Stefan thought, but quickly dismissed the idea and replied with his usual formality. 'Of course not, General. I was simply... thinking.'

All of a sudden, the Royal Knights stopped dead in their tracks and nearly collided with each other, except for Geoffrey. He dropped to one knee, bowed low and said, 'My Queen! We were just coming to search for you.' Stefan turned slowly to see who Geoffrey was talking to, although he already knew who it must be. Only one person could cause such a strong reaction among the usually-calm Royal Knights.

The emerald-haired Queen Elincia stepped over the threshold of a nearby doorway and came into the room. 'Geoffrey, please stand up,' she said softly. 'There's no need to be formal with me. It is a special occasion today, after all.' As she spoke, she shook out her sleeve to hide the small dagger she kept hidden under it. Even when she wasn't on the battlefield, she obviously liked to have a weapon on her for safety – a precaution Stefan approved of.

Elincia turned to the Swordmaster she had not seen in nearly five years, and a small smile lit up her face. 'Sir Stefan, it's an honour to see you again. So you decided to accept my offer, I take it? You never replied to my letter that I sent last week.'

Stefan nodded slightly. 'I did. I intended to tell you before coming here in person, but unfortunately I had no way of responding to your letter... it's difficult to send letters from the middle of the desert,' he added with a chuckle. 'I wouldn't be here at all if Haar hadn't been passing by at the time.'

'Actually, I asked him to fly over there just in case... I figured that you would require some form of transport to get all the way over here,' said Elincia. She waved a hand lightly, indicating the rest of the room. 'I suppose you saw my decorations.'

'I must say, the castle is rarely this... tidy,' the Swordmaster replied.

'Well, I wanted everything to be perfect; you're not the only visitor coming today and it would be nice if they saw something other than dust and ancient paintings.'

'So, why exactly did you make this offer, Your Majesty? As far as I know, you have a very powerful army already. Besides, there is little need for soldiers in this time of peace, isn't there?'

'Perhaps. But I always like to be prepared. After two wars I've started to believe that my country is simply a magnet for trouble.' She smiled a little sadly. 'With Sir Ike long gone I need to build up my army in case of another attack. This is why I offered you a place as one of my soldiers. I also sent similar offers to a few of the finest warriors around Tellius, but only one of them agreed; luckily he's a very skilled fighter.'

'...And who might he be?' the green-haired Swordmaster asked just as the door behind him creaked open.

Elincia smiled again and waved a white-gloved hand at the green-haired, squinting, perpetually cheerful Paladin coming into the room. 'This is Oscar, the newest member of the Royal Knights and one of my finest soldiers. If we are ever attacked again, you will be fighting alongside him in the army.'

Haar awoke, an hour after his arrival at the castle, to the sound of shrieking. He leaned against his Wyvern and glanced up at the overcast sky, tilting his head sideways so he could see out of his good eye. The sky was empty and silent again. 'Funny. I'm sure I heard something.'

The black Wyvern growled in its throat and pointed its tail at a particular spot directly above them. Haar followed the beast's gaze and spotted a large, dark shape in the sky, circling slowly without flapping its wings. It was too big to be a bird, but he couldn't think what else it might be. A wild Wyvern, maybe?

'No, that's stupid,' he yawned. 'Haven't seen a wild Wyvern in years, they're probably extinct.' But he continued to stare at the dark shape circling the skies high above him. It moved so smoothly and gracefully that he thought it might be a Hawk Laguz; but no, it was the wrong shape for that. He noticed his own Wyvern watching the creature very intently as though he knew exactly what it was.

Haar yawned and looked back up again, but the creature was gone. It had disappeared into the clouds, leaving nothing behind except a few strands of... '...Smoke?' the Wyvern Rider said aloud. 'Now that's worth reporting to Elincia about... Come on, boy, we've got a job to do.'

The black Wyvern gave a surprised yelp as Haar leapt into the saddle and took the reins one-handed. 'Don't worry, boy. We can both have a long sleep after this...' Without being asked, the Wyvern spread its dark wings and leapt into the air towards the castle. Somehow – and it could be blamed on Haar's drowsiness – neither of them noticed the long, black scorch mark, a sign of fresh fire, that scarred the side of the castle wall.