So, here we are. Over a year later and I've finally updated this thing. Rest assured, it's not dead, and neither am I, I'm just really, really, slow. I wish I could provide a reason. School's been killer this year, and ive had a ton of stuff going on, but I can't really make excuses, the truth is, I'm just super lazy. With that said, I hope you enjoy, and think that this chapter was worth the wait. Reviews are appreciated as always.
DISCLAIMER: Everything belongs to Nintendo, you know the drill.
Princess Caeda woke up next to her fiancée, in his bed in the royal apartments. She smiled sleepily as she looked at his soft, sleeping features. She had fallen in love with Marth for many, many reasons, and although it wasn't the most important reason, the fact that he was incredibly handsome certainly helped. Of course, her lover's handsome (some would say pretty) face was not the only attractive thing about him; his time in the war, and his continued training, had given him a very attractive physique. Which she had been able to appreciate very intimately in recent times.
Her smile widened as she recalled the previous night. Feeling bold, she decided to place a kiss on her fiancée's lips. Marth returned the kiss, and after a few seconds, they drew apart as his eyes fluttered open. He smiled at his soon-to-be queen.
"I must say, that is a very nice way to wake up," he said sleepily.
Caeda grinned in response. "Well if you'd like I could wake you up like that every morning," she said slyly.
Marth took her into his arms. "Don't make a promise like that if you don't intend to keep it," he teased.
The royal couple lay in each other's arms for a while. Caeda looked up and saw that the prince's demeanor had turned serious.
"Is something wrong?" she asked, her voice tinged with concern.
Marth was snapped out of his thoughts and looked down at her in confusion, like he had forgotten where he was.
"No, everything's fine, my love. I was just having a very strange dream," he answered with a reassuring smile.
It was odd for Marth to dwell on his dreams, unless they were nightmares, but he had told her that his sleep had been peaceful as of late. Caeda decided to test the waters a bit.
"I hope I didn't interrupt anything by waking you," she said gently.
Marth smiled at her. "Believe me, my dear, no dream could be as sweet as waking up next to you."
That earned him another kiss. One of the other reasons she had fallen for him was that he was very, very charming.
After resting for a few minutes, Marth slipped out of her embrace and began dressing himself. Caeda stared at the ceiling, deep in thought. To think that just a few years ago, the thought of marrying Prince Marth of Altea seemed like a young girl's idle fantasy, and now here she was, lying in his bed, and engaged to be married. Caeda felt a small twinge of guilt as she thought about how what brought them together was a war. Was that the price for her happiness? Looking back at her fiancée, she decided that it was well worth it.
She sat up and stretched, covering herself with the sheets.
"I don't suppose I could tempt you to stay in bed a while longer?" she asked playfully.
Marth smiled. "You certainly could, but I'll have to ask that you refrain from doing so. I have a busy day ahead."
She giggled. "Yes, I suppose you're right. I should also stop lounging around, I have work to do as well."
The prince raised an eyebrow. "Oh? I wasn't aware you had any duties to attend to," he said curiously as he adjusted his tunic.
She got out of bed and began dressing herself. "Didn't I mention it? It must have slipped my mind. I signed up to help test some of the squires, I also asked Ogma to lend me some of his men to help out; Jagen mentioned being understaffed so I offered to assist him," she explained.
"Thank you for that," he said gratefully.
Caeda smiled at him. "It's no bother, Altea is my home now, too. If I am to be its queen then I should help the kingdom in any way I can."
After putting on her tunic, Caeda rummaged around for her old armor. Behind some of her dresses sat a chest, sure enough, her armor sat there in perfect condition, a testament to how well-crafted it was, and how well she took care of it.
After putting it on, she turned around to see Marth staring at her wistfully. She blushed and fidgeted. She had assumed that after being engaged she would stop blushing like a little girl when he looked at her, but he still brought out that side of her.
"What is it?" she asked, toying with a lock of her hair.
"Seeing you like that brings back memories," he answered as he stepped forward to wrap his arms around her.
Caeda smiled as she raised an eyebrow. "Oh? I never expected you of all people to be reminiscing about the war," she said, returning his embrace.
Marth's smile never left his face as he rested his forehead against hers. "The war was a terrible time, to be sure. But it did bring us together, and for that I will always be grateful."
Caeda gave him a peck on the cheek. "It's funny, I was just thinking about that."
After a moment, she spoke up again. "Marth?" she started uncertainly.
"Yes?"
"Would you give up being with me if it meant that the war never happened?" she asked.
Marth chuckled, much to her chagrin.
"What's so funny?"
"There'd be no need to give you up," he answered.
"Huh?"
"Even if the war had never happened, you and I would've been together, its fate."
He kissed her deeply. He really was quite the charmer.
As they kissed, the two royals both thought the same thing.
I've been blessed.
Eine awoke with a start as Luke kicked her door open.
"Good morning Ms. Tactician! I hope you got a good night's sleep because we have a long day ahead of-"
Before he could finish his sentence, Luke was interrupted by a punch to the face from Rody, which left him lying on the floor and clutching his nose in pain.
"Luke, if you ever wake me up like that again, I will throw you out a window," he growled dangerously.
Katarina groaned as she got out of bed and stretched. "I think I might help you with that."
Luke cursed as he got to his feet and rubbed his nose. "It's not my fault you two overslept! Geez, you'd think the kid and I would be the one's getting scolded for being late. You really need to work on your sleeping schedule, partner."
"My sleeping schedule is fine, Luke."
Before the two could continue their argument, Katarina shut her door. After a second, she decided to place her chair under the knob to prevent any further intrusion. She was fairly certain that Rody would stop Luke from kicking her door down again while she was getting dressed, but she didn't want to take any chances.
As soon as she was done getting ready, she opened the door again to see Luke and Rody still in the middle of an argument. The fact that these two were supposed to be partners did not fill her with hope.
"Excuse me?" she asked, interrupting their argument. "Where's Kris?"
Luke looked away from Rody to answer her. "Oh, our fearless leader was the first to wake up, he got me and Ryan out of bed and went outside to prepare, he asked me to come get you two."
"I suggest you talk to our leader about sending Luke to do anything important ever again, Katarina," Rody added, half-jokingly.
"Oh, ha-ha, very funny!"
Katarina sighed. If she hadn't seen for herself how capable these two were she would've already given up hope of making it to the end of her training.
"Shall we get going then?" she asked. The two boys nodded in reply, and they headed outside to see Kris and Ryan in the middle of some exercise. Their commander's face lit up as he saw them approach.
"Ah, Katarina! There you are, I was just helping Ryan here warm up for today," Kris said cheerfully.
Based on Ryan's state, their exercise looked more like a marathon than a warm-up. The poor boy was redder than a tomato, and he was breathing so hard that Katarina feared for the state of his lungs.
"Uh, leader, you might wanna take it easy on the kid, we need him alive for the tests," Luke joked.
Kris raised an eyebrow, then turned to look at Ryan. His eyes widened in alarm as he noticed the boy's condition, and scrambled over to place an arm on his shoulder.
"Oh, sorry Ryan, I didn't notice you were in such bad shape," he said sympathetically, wincing with concern.
Katarina bit her tongue to stop herself from commenting on her leader's lack of tact. If Ryan noticed the insult, he paid it no mind.
"I'm…fine," he said in between breaths, steadying himself and looking up at Kris. "If I can't make it through this, I'll just slow you all down later."
Kris smiled. "I like your resolve Ryan. But take a break for now, I don't want you dying on us," he said as he patted him on the back, causing the poor boy to wince in pain, which went unnoticed by their leader.
Ryan was about to object, but his aching muscles convinced him otherwise. He headed back to the fort and collapsed on one of the chairs, while Kris spoke to the rest of the team.
"He's right, though. We all need to be in top shape if we're going to become knights, so from now on we're all going to work on our endurance."
Katarina noted again that Kris was adapting well to his role as leader, while Luke smiled fiercely.
"Alright! By the time this is over, we'll all be walls of muscle and manliness! Right guys?!" he cheered, raising his hands up for Rody and Kris to high-five him. His partner shook his head before half-heartedly slapping Luke's hand, while Kris matched his enthusiasm and eagerly returned the high-five.
"That's the spirit, Luke! From now on, we'll be doing daily endurance training. We'll begin with some laps around our fort, keep up with me everyone!"
With that, Kris led the team on a run, setting the pace for all of them. A few hours later, the squires, sans Kris, were all sweating, panting, and bright red with exhaustion, on the verge of collapsing. Kris stopped to wipe some sweat from his forehead when he realized that he was running alone. Kris turned around and quirked his head at his teammates, confused.
"Geez, sorry guys, I guess I got carried away. Take a break everyone, I'm gonna go check on Ryan."
Before leaving, Kris stopped to check on Katarina, who looked much worse for wear than the other two.
"How are you holding up Katarina? I know this is all new to you," he asked, his tone tinged with concern.
Katarina nodded in reply, before wiping some sweat off her forehead. "Thank you, I'm fine. Like Ryan said, if I can't keep up with you, then I'll just hold everyone back," she answered after regaining her breath.
Kris smiled warmly and put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't run yourself ragged, I'm going to need my master tactician by my side if I'm going to become a knight, after all."
Katarina turned even redder when Luke raised an eyebrow at their leader's choice of words, then nodded silently.
Kris turned around to address the other two members of the platoon. "How are you two holding up?"
Both of the cavaliers were bent over and seemed ready to drop dead, but Rody just said he was fine while Luke wordlessly raised a thumbs-up in response, Kris smiled before heading into the fort to check on Ryan, promising to bring back some waterskins for all of them when he came back. As soon as he was out of sight, the three of them gave in to their exhaustion and collapsed.
Luke moaned. "No wonder we couldn't beat him. This guy's not human!"
Rody nodded. "A knight's body must always be in peak condition, he's probably been training for this all his life, we'll all reach that level eventually, he just got a head start on us," he replied, sounding less sure of himself than usual.
I thought I was in good shape. Eine thought. But if this is what it takes to be a knight, then I don't know if I'll survive. I thought Lady Eremiya's training was intense, but this is a whole other level.
Katarina was jolted from her thoughts as Luke called out to her.
"Hey Ms. Tactician, do you know what exactly our fearless leader does to get all that endurance? Did he sell his soul or something?"
Katarina briefly entertained the idea, before realizing how ridiculous it sounded; she decided to humor her teammate, however. "If he did, he must have sold it a while before I met him. I've only known him for a day longer than you two," she replied.
"Huh, I guess you have, now that I think about it," replied Luke after a moment.
She blinked. "What do you mean?"
Rody answered for him. "Well, it seems like you two have known each other your whole lives."
Luke chuckled. "That's one way of putting it."
Katarina was about to ask what he meant, and Rody was about to scold his partner, but both were interrupted by their leader returning with some waterskins for them, followed by Ryan, who winced sympathetically once he saw the state that the rest of his team was in.
"Hey now, there are better places to take a nap than on the ground, you know," he said jokingly as he handed each of them a waterskin, which his teammates drank from greedily.
Katarina swore she read that line in a book somewhere, but disregarded it as she sat up and accepted the waterskin, drinking from it and feeling some of the energy return to her body. Kris offered her a hand, and she took it and got to her feet. As soon as she stood up, however, her legs wobbled and she almost fell over. Kris caught her, and laughed.
"Maybe I went at it a bit too hard, huh?"
Katarina blushed at the closeness, before getting to her feet and giggling nervously.
Luke smiled and looked at his partner, who glared at him.
"Not one word, Luke," Rody growled.
"Oh come on, the joke writes itself!"
Kris quirked an eyebrow, but ignored them, already accustomed to the pair's bickering. "Okay everyone, I think that's enough for today, you can all go and rest until we're called upon for the official start of our training. If anyone needs me, I'll be out here practicing my swordplay."
With that, the three exhausted squires headed inside, while Ryan decided to follow their leader's example, and began practicing with his bow, taking careful aim at the targets they had set up outside the fort.
Inside the fort, the trio collapsed on the leather chairs, sinking into the comfortable seats and feeling their exhaustion begin to fade.
The three sat in silence for a while. Katarina was the one who eventually broke the silence with a whine, when she realized that her clothes were beginning to stick to her skin.
"Ugh, I feel like I need a bath."
Any other time, Luke would've made a lewd joke, but he was too tired to deal with Rody's scolding. "Then go take one, I'm sure we have time," he said.
As if on cue, Ryan came in holding a piece of paper. "Hey everyone, a messenger just came by to deliver this. It says we have to report to the courtyard for our training in two hours, and to bring our weapons with us. Kris says to get ready by then."
"See, two hours is plenty of time," Luke said with a shrug.
Katarina briefly weighed her options, and decided to go head over to the baths.
A few minutes later, she was soaking in warm water, and let out a sigh of relief.
"Oh, I think I'm in heaven," she whispered dreamily.
"Mind if I join you?"
Eine practically leapt out of the water and shrieked. The sound most likely would have attracted the rest of the platoon, had Kleine not covered her sister's mouth with her hand.
"Shhh, you're supposed to be undercover, remember?" she said, smiling wickedly.
Once Eine caught her breath and was confident that she wasn't having a heart attack, she glared at her sister.
"Why are you here?" she hissed, putting her ear to the door to make sure no one had heard anything.
Kleine's eyes narrowed dangerously as she leaned in towards her sister. "Don't be so rude, little sister. I know you may feel emboldened because Lady Eremiya chose you for this mission, but if you forget your manners, I'll be sure to grind them into your little head."
Eine cringed and shrank back. "S-sorry, sister."
The assassin smiled and backed off. "That's more like it. Now, I know you're undercover, so I'll make this quick. First of all, I got your progress report and I sent it to Lady Eremiya, I'm sure she'll be pleased to hear that everything is going so well."
The tactician breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Kleine."
Kleine winked at her. "You're very welcome, little sister. Secondly, Legion and I have already rounded up some local brigands, so expect to hear news about border raids in the next few weeks," With that, the archer headed to the window and began to climb out.
Just as Katarina was returning to her bath, her sister called out to her.
"One more thing, Eine. Try not to have too much fun with your new toys."
She whipped around in shock.
"E-excuse me?!"
Kleine smirked, before her expression became serious. "I've been on undercover missions before, Eine. It can be fun to manipulate people, intoxicating even, but don't forget what your purpose is. You're here to do a job, and once you've done it, and you will do it if you know what's good for you, these tools of yours will need to be discarded. Understand?"
Eine trembled, but soon composed herself, and nodded.
"Yes. I understand," She was proud of herself for sounding as certain as she did. She only wished she could have felt as sure as she sounded.
When Katarina returned downstairs, she saw that Rody was preparing supper, with some help from Ryan.
"Hello, Rody. I didn't know you could cook," she said as she entered the kitchen.
Ryan and Rody turned around to greet her before resuming their work. Rody did most of the actual cooking while Ryan went around gathering the ingredients the older squire asked for silently making note of everything Rody did for future reference.
"Well my family isn't exactly well-off, so we all have to pitch in. I just happened to get stuck with cooking duty, and I developed some skill at it," he answered without taking his eyes off his meal.
Katarina looked around and spotted Luke laying down on one of the seats in the living area, feet propped on a table, but saw no sign of Kris.
"Hey Luke, have you seen Kris? We need to be reporting for our training soon," she inquired as she walked over to sit down on one of the couches.
Luke rubbed the back of his neck before sitting up to answer her. "Yeah he's still outside working out. He said he wanted to squeeze in as much training as he could before we had to head out. I was out there for a while too, but that guy's a maniac. It's a wonder he doesn't run himself ragged," he grumbled.
Katarina frowned and was about to head out to check on her partner, but before she could he walked into the barracks, shirtless, drenched in sweat and drying himself off with his shirt.
Kris let out a satisfied sigh. "I love the feeling of finishing a workout, it's the most relaxing sensation I've ever felt," he said with a grin.
Katarina found herself staring at her partner, but before she could jolt herself out of it, she was brought back to reality by a whistle from Luke.
"Man, our fearless leader is ripped. You've got the body of a true knight, Kris the Terrible, not that I'd expect any less," he said with a chuckle.
Kris looked at him in surprise, as if he hadn't realized he was there. "Oh, sorry, I forgot I don't live alone anymore," he said as he put his shirt back on. "Oh, that smells good. Thanks for the food guys!" he called out into the kitchen as the two squires finished up their meal.
"Kris, remember that we need to report for our training soon," Katarina reminded him, still a bit flushed.
"Of course," he replied. "I'm going to go up to the baths and wash myself off, it wouldn't do to show up for my first day of training sweating like a pig."
Once he was up the stairs Luke turned to Katarina. "So, did you enjoy the view?"
Instead of answering him, Katarina decided to grab the first nearby object she could get her hands on, which happened to be a book, and threw it at his face. While Luke rubbed his head and cursed, Rody walked in and chuckled.
"Well, I see you've already learned how to deal with Luke, Katarina. That's good to know," he said with a smirk.
Katarina smiled. "Well, I learned from the best, Rody."
He made a show of bowing deeply. "Oh, you flatter me, milady."
The two laughed while Luke grumbled something about payback.
"Anyway, Rody, is the food ready yet? I'm starving," Luke whined.
Rody sighed. "Yes, the food is almost done. But we're waiting for our commander to join us before we begin our meal. Manners, Luke."
Luke rolled his eyes. "When we're at war, I don't think our manners will be the difference between victory and death, man. I'm sure our tactician here agrees with me, we should eat as soon as we can to get our energy up, right?" he said, looking hopefully at Katarina.
The tactician fidgeted nervously. "Um, well, you do have a point, Luke, but we're not really at war right now," she replied.
Luke sighed. "Yeah, but that's what we're training for isn't it? What's the point of having knights if we're not going to be fighting?"
Rody glared at his partner. "Are you wishing for a war, Luke? Knights have many important duties outside of wartime, like keeping the peace and guarding the people, not to mention defending the royalty and nobility," he explained.
"Yeah, but if that were the case, then the current knights and guards would be good enough. Why would the kingdom be recruiting new knights now if they weren't expecting there to be a fight soon?" the squire pointed out. "Eventually, we're going to have to go out there and prove our mettle. And I don't know about you guys, but I'll be ready when that time comes," Luke finished his speech by pounding his fist into his seat.
Rody lowered his gaze. "You have a point, Luke, but still, we should hope that it doesn't come to that. War means death, and I don't particularly fancy the thought of dying while I need to provide for my family."
Katarina felt a twinge of sympathy at the brunette squire's predicament, while Luke smiled confidently.
"Die?" he said cheerfully. "Don't be ridiculous, you're not gonna die while you have the great paladin Luke, watching your back!"
Rody let out a chuckle. "Well, I suppose I have nothing to worry about then, partner."
"You're damn right! And you better be watching out for me, too!" he said with a laugh.
Katarina smiled. "Well, that was very inspirational, Luke, but we should probably worry about finishing our training before we start thinking about fighting a war."
With that, the squires sat and chatted comfortably. Katarina decided to head into the kitchen to check on Ryan, who was placing their lunch, a nice stew, into bowls.
"Oh, wow, that looks delicious, Ryan!" she said excitedly, feeling her stomach start to grumble at the sight of food.
Ryan turned back at her and smiled bashfully. "Oh, I didn't do much, it was mostly Rody who did the work."
As he finished pouring their food into the bowls, Katarina noticed that Ryan looked somewhat solemn. "Is something, wrong, Ryan?" she asked, concerned for her teammate.
Ryan looked up at her, jolted out of his thoughts. "Huh? Oh, it's nothing, really," he said, although his tone betrayed his true feelings.
Picking up on this, Katarina decided to keep pushing. "Are you sure? You know you can talk to us, right? We're your teammates," she said, hoping to reassure him. Eine had often been the one to welcome new members into their family, so she was used to playing the role of a comforting older sister. She quite liked it, in fact.
Ryan looked up at her, again, and after a second of contemplation, decided to tell her what was on his mind. "Well, I heard what you guys were talking about back there, and I was just thinking…" he stopped to gulp, and Katarina noticed that the boy's hands were shaking. "If we have to fight a war, I don't know if I'll be ready."
The tactician smiled and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry Ryan, I'm sure you'll become a great knight. And we'll be here to support you, too. So you have nothing to be afraid of," she said with a warm smile.
"Well said Katarina," said their leader as he walked into the kitchen, fresh from his quick bath. He had already dried himself off for the most part, but his hair, lowered from its normal spikiness, was still soggy and stuck to his face. Kris pulled out his hairpin, stuck it in his hair, and it returned to its usual shape, throwing off most of the water in the process. He smiled once his hair was out of his face and he could see properly once again.
"So that's how you get it to look like that," Luke called as he entered the kitchen to pick up a bowl of stew and a spoon, followed by Rody.
"It was a gift from my grandfather," Kris replied nonchalantly, before spotting the food and smiling.
"Oh good, I was getting hungry, let's eat up and head off for our training. Thanks again for the food you guys," he said cheerfully as he picked up a bowl, ruffling Ryan's hair and placing a hand on Rody's shoulder along the way.
The platoon ate quickly; most of them practically inhaled the stew after the grueling workout their commander had put them through. Once they were done, the team headed to their rooms to pack up their gear. Kris, Ryan and Katarina finished faster than the two cavaliers due to their lighter equipment, and awaited the duo outside the barracks.
Ryan fidgeted nervously with his bow, Katarina took notice and placed a reassuring hand on her friend's shoulder, while Kris stared off into the distance, uncharacteristically pensive.
It's odd. Thought the young swordsman. I can't shake the feeling that something bad is about to happen.
His grandfather had always told him to trust his instincts. Strategies and thinking were what won wars, but in battle, when your life was on the line, it was your instincts that kept you alive. Kris wasn't particularly bright, he had already come to terms with that and admitted it to Katarina, but he was no fool, either. Rationally, he knew he had nothing to be worried about, all that was happening today was a simple training session and probably a test; the worst that could happen would be that their test would go poorly, which would be bad, of course, but far from a matter of life-or-death.
So why do I have this sinking feeling in my gut telling me to run away?
Katarina turned to her partner to ask him something, and noticed that he was scowling. "Kris?" she called out tentatively.
Emerging from his thoughts, the squire shook his head and smiled at his tactician. "Yes?"
Katarina hesitated for a moment. "Is something wrong? You seem worried."
Kris shook his head. "No, it's nothing, don't worry about it."
Although that seemed to satisfy her, Kris really wished he could follow his own advice.
Back at the castle's armory, Jagen was sending out the knight instructors and assigning them to the platoons they would be training. By the time he was done, only he and Cain remained in the room. Jagen turned to address his fellow knight, who looked at him in confusion.
"Sir Jagen? Didn't you say you had an assignment for me?" he asked.
Jagen sighed before answering. "Yes, I do, however I feel that you should know something about this platoon I'm assigning you to," he said before picking up a roster and handing it to Cain.
"Huh?" Cain looked over the names on the roster.
The Seventh Platoon: Kris of Sera (Commander), Katarina of Knorda (Tactician), Rody Arbeit, Luke Edelson (Cavaliers), Ryan Verdant (Archer)
Cain looked back up with a confused look on his face. "Sir, I'm afraid I don't quite understand what you want me to see here. Wait, Verdant… isn't that Gordin's little brother?" Perhaps the senior knight wanted him to pay special attention to the family of one of their comrades? It would make sense, but the elder knight shook his head.
"That is correct, Cain, however, the name I would like to direct your attention to is the commander of the platoon." Jagen said before pointing to the name in question.
Cain furrowed his brow, running the name through his mind a couple of times and seeing if anything came up, but he couldn't recall anything about it, although he vaguely remembered having heard it recently. Just as he brought his head up to ask Jagen what he was talking about, realization struck him.
"Wait a minute, I heard about him the other day. Isn't he the squire who defeated you in the combat test?" he asked. Cain had heard the rumor while dining with his fellow knights the night of the first test for new knights. At first, he didn't believe for a second that a knight-trainee could defeat Sir Jagen of all people, but when he asked him about it later that night, the senior knight had confirmed the rumors, even adding that he had done it single-handedly while his partner provided advice from the sidelines. Cain wasn't sure if Jagen looked proud or ashamed.
Jagen spoke up. "That is correct. Cain, you are one of Altea's finest knights, there is a reason I assigned you to training this platoon. I hope that under your tutelage these young squires will grow to become some of the finest knights Altea has ever seen," he said as he placed a hand on his comrade's shoulder.
Cain smiled. "You have my word, sir."
At that moment, Princess Caeda entered the armory with a smile. "Greetings, my friends. Jagen, I believe you had an assignment for me?"
The two knights bowed respectfully before their soon-to-be queen, and Jagen answered her question while Cain looked at him in confusion.
"Yes, my sincerest thanks for volunteering to help us with training the new squires, your highness. I would like you to assist Cain here with testing the Seventh Platoon," he answered, handing the princess a copy of the roster.
Caeda studied the roster, and her brows furrowed. "Wait a minute, isn't this commander the squire that everyone is saying defeated you? I honestly don't know how such an odd rumor came about." However, when she looked up at the two knights, the expressions on their faces, a barely suppressed smirk from Cain and a tired sigh from Jagen, told her everything she needed to know. "You're kidding. He actually defeated you?"
Jagen nodded stiffly. As glad as he was to see such a promising recruit, it was getting rather bothersome to keep hearing about his defeat, which did not help his bruised pride. "Yes, your highness. As you can imagine, I have high hopes for this team, which is why I am asking you, two of the greatest heroes from the last war, to help forge them into the great knights they have the potential to be," he answered seriously.
Caeda and Cain both nodded their assent, and picked up their weapons before leaving the armory alongside Jagen. The three heroes got on their mounts and began riding (and flying) towards the training area. Along the way, Cain beckoned the princess down to speak with her. Caeda lowered her pegasus so she was at eye-level with the red knight.
"I'd like you to handle today's test. Since this is their first official test after being accepted as squires, I'd prefer it if you could take it easy on them," he said.
Caeda smiled. "Understood, I look forward to facing the squire who defeated Jagen in combat," she said cheerfully.
Cain sighed. "Please remember that even though they may be strong, they are still just trainees. I'd prefer it if we didn't need to send any of them to the healers by the time this exercise is done."
Caeda giggled. "Please, Cain, there's no need to worry. I'll go easy on them," with that, the princess rose up on her pegasus once again, but not before adding, "Mostly."
Cain sighed, and once he was sure the princess was out of earshot, he muttered, "Good luck with that one, Prince."
Jagen caught this and let out a small chuckle in spite of himself.
Later, the Seventh Platoon arrived at the training area to find Sir Jagen and Sir Cain waiting for them atop their horses. Behind them stood two burly looking soldiers, who did not seem to be knights judging by their attire, which consisted of plain clothes and light armor. The squires all lined up and bowed before their seniors, the two cavaliers dismounting to stand next to their teammates in a line.
The two knights returned their greeting with a nod, before Jagen spoke. "Greetings, young squires. The Seventh Platoon and its commander, Kris, are all present and accounted for, yes?"
Kris hesitated for a moment before realizing that as commander, he was supposed to speak for his team. "Yes sir, we are all here and ready for our first test."
"Excellent. From today forth, you will be training together in your bid to become fully-fledged knights. The first half of your training will focus on developing your practical skills in combat. Without further ado, I will introduce the senior knight who is to be your instructor." Jagen nodded at Sir Cain before taking a few steps back, while the red knight stepped forward.
"I am Cain, the knight in charge of your practical training!" he announced in a booming voice. "To hone your skills, you will go through several contests in the form of armed combat. You may notice that you were asked to bring your actual weapons to this training session; that is because you will be expected to use them, as will your foes. You must not let your guard down during these exercises, if you do, the injury to your pride may be the least of your warriors," he said sternly, his horse slowly moving up and down the row of squires as he inspected the platoon.
The squires' reactions to this announcement varied wildly. Ryan gulped, Rody narrowed his eyes, Luke's face bore an uncertain grin, Katarina fidgeted nervously, and Kris' expression remained neutral.
Jagen approached atop his horse. "Cain is one of our finest knights, one of the strongest men in all of Altea. If you can become strong enough to earn his approval, then you will be worthy to serve Lord Marth."
With that Jagen nodded to Cain and rode off, leaving the squires alone with their instructor. "Very well then," he said, "Let's begin today's test! Your enemies during your training will consist of Altean knights and soldiers, as well as brave warriors and heroes whom I am proud to call friends." The crimson knight's booming voice carried an air of authority, commanding awe and attention from the assembled squires.
So, thought Kris, this is what a knight of Altea is like.
"Your opponents will be determined by the ability of each platoon. 7th Platoon, since you have managed to impress Sir Jagen, today you will be facing…"
As if on cue, a cry rang out from one of the nearby forts, causing the squires, sans Kris, to jump and look in the direction of the sound. They saw a pegasus flying away from one of the forts, and speeding towards them. In the blink of an eye, the steed and its rider crossed the distance and flew above them, circling around like a hunter inspecting its prey, before touching down with a gust of wind that nearly toppled Ryan over.
Princess Caeda sat atop her pegasus, Anri, a picture of grace and beauty, lance clutched in one hand, with the other pressed to her chest. "Brave squires, I ask that you please go easy on me."
Cain rolled his eyes and muttered underneath his breath, "Show off."
Luke turned to his partner. "Talk about making an entrance!" he whispered.
Katarina pulled on Kris' sleeve to get his attention, awestruck by the display. "It's Princess Caeda! Prince Marth's fiancée! She really is as beautiful as they say…"
Katarina hesitated for a moment, "I can't believe we actually have to fight her."
Kris smiled reassuringly at his partner. "Don't worry, we'll be fine."
Despite his words however, Kris felt doubt gnawing at him. There's that feeling again. Is this… fear?
Caeda turned to her fellow knight. "Cain, you can leave the rest to me."
The red-haired knight nodded and rode off, leaving the squires alone with the Princess and the two mercenaries standing behind her. The pegasus knight addressed the trainees.
"Now, before we begin, we shall have a small test of your abilities. You shall face off against Talys' mercenaries first." With that, she nodded to the men behind her, who picked up their weapons and approached the squires as their employers took to the skies and flew away.
The squires scrambled to prepare for battle, drawing their weapons and mounting their steeds, as the two burly mercenaries drew closer.
"Alright kids, let's see what you can do," said one of the men as he hefted his weapon, a large axe, onto his shoulders. His partner, a swordsman gripped his weapon with both hands and grinned.
Katarina wasted no time in taking control. "Alright, we'll split up and deal with them in pairs! Luke, Rody, use your mounts to separate the two of them and deal with the swordsman. Ryan, help Kris take down the other one. Kris?"
"On it," the commander dashed off towards the larger of the men, brandishing his sword. The two cavaliers followed behind him, Rody sweeping his lance forward to push the two men back, before he and Luke started circling around the sword-wielding mercenary.
While the swordsman deflected attacks from the two riders, his partner clashed with Kris, attacking the squire with wide, heavy swings. The mercenary had strength behind his blows, and Kris found himself forced back every time he tried to block. After a few swings, Kris thought back to his first fight alongside Katarina, and instead of blocking the next attack, he ducked under it. The mercenary's axe went wide, and he stumbled forward, leaving him wide open. Kris slashed upwards at his opponent's weapon, knocking his opponent of balance and pushing him back as his axe nearly flew out of his hands. Before the man could recover, Kris kicked him in the chest, nearly knocking him off his feet, and then swung at his axe, knocking the weapon out of his opponent's hands. Realizing that he had been beaten, the man raised his hands in surrender, acknowledging defeat.
"Not bad, kid," the man said with a smirk.
Kris smiled and looked to his teammates. At around the same time, Luke parried a blow from his opponent, leaving him open for Rody to knock him off his feet with a swing of his lance. Rody smiled as his partner raised his weapon up with a victory cry. Kris turned to look at Katarina and saw her smiling as Ryan let out a sigh of relief. As the two mercenaries walked away, they heard the flapping of wings as their next enemy approached them.
Princess Caeda smiled. "I see you know how to fight. Very well, I shall be your next opponent," she said, brandishing her lance as her pegasus whinnied.
Katarina began giving out her next set of instructions. "Alright everyone, we outnumber her, so let's use that to our advantage! Luke, Rody-"
Before she could finish, Luke was already riding off to meet their opponent, his partner riding after him with a grimace.
"Dammit, Luke! Stop going off on your own!" he shouted.
Luke smirked. "Don't worry, we've got this!"
Princess Caeda smirked, drawing her pegasus back before circling around and flying forward to joust with the squires. The two cavaliers got in formation and drew their weapons back. As the princess drew closer, she spun her lance in one arm before swinging it forward in a wide sweep to clash with the two squires. Her lance went right past Luke's sword, nearly knocking it out of his hand, and swung over Rody's lance, smacking the brunette in the face and knocking him off his horse.
"Rody!" Luke stopped his horse and turned to look at his partner, who was rubbing his face and getting to his feet to calm his mount. Before he could express his concern any further, he saw that the princess was already flying towards him for another bout. Luke grit his teeth and dashed forward. As his sword met the princess' lance, his weapon was forced from his hand and he fell off his mount. As Luke rubbed his backside and calmed his mount, Caeda's pegasus floated a few feet above the ground, gleefully leaning in as his rider stroked his mane.
Caeda smiled. "Your skill is lacking, but your resolve is good. If you approach with fear, you will only lose, you must approach your opponent with confidence and the intent to fight," she instructed.
The rest of the platoon watched this in silent awe. Ryan gulped and looked to Katarina for instructions. The tactician nodded her head and turned to her partner. "Kris, Ryan will cover you from afar, but other than that, it looks like you're on your own for now. Do you think you can handle it?"
The commander narrowed his eyes and nodded, his eyes never leaving his opponent. "Definitely." With that, he brandished his weapon and charged forward, leaping into the air to strike at the airborne rider with a downward slash.
Caeda grinned and blocked the blade with the shaft of her lance, her eyes meeting with Kris' golden gaze.
"You have the look of a warrior in your eyes," she said as she swung her lance out, pushing Kris back to solid ground. "I wonder if your skills are as great as your determination."
"Greater," responded Kris as he landed, quickly returning to his battle stance.
The pegasus knight's smile widened at his response, and she flew higher into the sky before dashing back down to clash with the swordsman. Kris met her charge with his own, and parried her strike. The two warriors clashed for a few more bouts without either warrior gaining the advantage. As Caeda prepared to strike again, she was interrupted by an arrow from Ryan, which she swatted aside with her lance.
"Clever. A pegasus is vulnerable against arrows, but you need to work on your timing if you want to catch me off guard," she said to the two younger squires from afar.
"We already have!" As soon as the princess turned to address his teammates, Kris leapt into the sky once again to attack. Caeda could not react in time to block, but the swordsman's shout gave him away, and she drew her pegasus higher into the air, leaving her just out of reach.
Kris landed on the ground and turned to face the princess, back in his fighting stance. Meanwhile, Katarina turned to their other teammate. "Ryan, do you think you can get in another shot?"
Ryan shook his head sadly, readying another arrow and taking aim. "She just moves too fast for me to keep up! By the time I've lined up a shot, her pegasus is already halfway across the field."
Katarina bit her lip and looked back at her partner, who had already gone back to jousting against the princess. Each clash was punctuated by the sound of steel crashing against steel, and a grunt from Kris, who was breathing heavily, while Caeda was still as composed as she had been at the start of their match.
So this is the strength of the Altean knights… Eine thought, grimly.
Caeda thrust her lance, forcing Kris to halt his attack and deflect, then she drew back for another strike, but was interrupted by the swordsman dashing forwards to slash at her. "You know…" she began as she parried a blow from Kris and counterattacked. "That surprise attack probably would've worked if I'd been riding a horse. Mobility in battle is a definite advantage, but you're quite skilled with that sword of yours."
Kris didn't answer, instead he continued deflecting her attacks while raining down on her with his own. Both combatants fought fiercely for the advantage, but they were locked in a stalemate, neither one on the offensive, as each strike was either deflected or interrupted by an attack from the opponent. The swordsman's breathing was growing heavier, and even the princess was beginning to tire, the fight had become a battle of attrition, both sides waiting for their opponent to make the first mistake.
"Pardon me sir, but have I insulted you, somehow? You've been awfully quiet, and you're fighting rather fiercely for a training match," the princess inquired, partially out of curiosity and partially in an attempt to distract him.
"No offense," responded Kris as he parried another blow and responded with his own, "But I can't really afford to lose in my first real test as squire. Nothing personal!" He punctuated his last word with a fierce slash, which the princess blocked with the shaft of her lance. As Caeda pushed him back, Kris spotted the chance he'd been waiting for.
Letting the force of the rider's lance push him back, Kris used the momentum to leap backwards, crouching down as he landed, preparing himself for another leap. Mustering all the strength he could gather, the swordsman leapt into the sky once again and brought his sword down on the princess. This time, Caeda shook from the force of the strike as she blocked it, and even her pegasus was pushed back. Sensing that the battle had shifted in her opponent's favor, Caeda chose not to try her luck in a contest of strength, and instead directed her pegasus to fly away, putting distance between them and her opponent. In spite of her situation, the princess grinned, causing Kris' eyes to widen in surprise.
"Not bad, not bad at all." With that, Caeda's pegasus turned around and flew off into the sky, until it was nearly a spot in the distance.
For a moment, the 7th Platoon merely exchanged glances, wondering if their test was over, but Kris soon realized what was happening, and adopted a defensive stance. The truth of the matter became clear to his teammates as Caeda and her pegasus turned around and began picking up speed as they charged directly towards their commander. With his blade gripped with both hands and held behind his back, Kris gathered his strength and planted his feet firmly into the ground. For a second, the squires wondered how long they would have to wait, but the pegasus soon began picking up speed, and crossed the distance in a matter of seconds. Before Kris had even realized it, his body moved on instinct; the moment his eyes saw the pegasus draw near, he swung his sword with everything he had, and his blade met with the tip of Caeda's lance. Time seemed to slow down as Kris' legs buckled under the strength of his opponents attack; his body told him that he would lose this bout. Then, Kris' eyes widened in surprise as he looked at his opponent. The princess was smirking.
Before he realized what was happening, his blade swung through the air, as Princess Caeda's lance went flying out of her hand. The pegasus knight flew up into the sky and looked down at her opponent with a gentle smile, there was no trace of the knowing smirk that Kris had seen a second ago. Before he could even say anything, Cain rode into the training area with a smile on his face.
"Well done, squire, an excellent showing," he said, stopping his steed right in front of Kris.
Princess Caeda also landed nearby still smiling. "Well done, I did not expect to be bested in combat by a squire, you are truly skilled. I ask that you please use your power to protect Marth. I look forward to seeing you all become knights." With that, she bowed slightly, and took off on her pegasus, flying off into the distance.
Cain nodded at the assembled squires, who were lined up in front of him. "Well done, all of you. You are dismissed for today, get some rest to prepare for tomorrow's test," he instructed before leaving as well.
Once the knights were out of sight, the 7th Platoon began congratulating their commander with a loud cheer.
"You did it Kris! You won!" Katarina shouted, hugging her partner, only to quickly realize what she was doing and take a step back, blushing madly. Fortunately for her, the rest of the platoon was too preoccupied to notice.
"Way to go, Kris the Terrible! I knew we could count on you!" Luke said with a grin, putting an arm around Kris' shoulder.
"Yes, if it weren't for you Luke here might've doomed us all," Rody grumbled from beside him, arms crossed.
"Hey man, don't spoil the mood, besides it's not like you lasted any longer than I did!"
Before Rody could continue the argument, Ryan stepped in between them. "H-hey guys, let's not fight. Besides, what's important is that we passed the test, right Kris?" he said, looking up hopefully at their commander.
Kris did not answer. He was still staring off into the distance, in the direction where Caeda had flown away. The feeling in his gut was gone now, replaced by something else.
"Kris?" Katarina asked curiously.
This seemed to get his attention, as he blinked and looked back at them, smiling. "Yes, good job today, everyone. Let's get back to the barracks and get some rest, we've all earned it," he said as he began walking away in the direction of the barracks. His teammates looked at him curiously before following after him.
While Luke went to fetch their mounts, Rody, Ryan and Katarina approached their leader.
"Kris, is something wrong?" asked the tactician.
"Yeah, you don't seem too happy about winning," added Ryan.
"I'm fine," Kris responded without looking back at his teammates.
"Kris," said Rody, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You just defeated a veteran of the war in combat with very little help, you should be proud."
This finally got Kris to stop. The commander looked back at his teammates with a frown. "This was just a test," he said plainly.
Ryan blinked. "W-well, of course it's a test. And the fact that you beat her means we passed, right?"
Kris shook his head. "That's not what I meant. We were being toyed with."
Luke approached atop his horse, handing Rody his own. "Oh c'mon, you mean to tell me that the princess took out the two of us while holding back? Give us some more credit, Kris the Terrible!"
Kris looked back at him silently, it was clear that he wasn't kidding around. "During that last bout, I caught a glimpse of her true strength. Her lance should have gone right through me, but instead she let go of her weapon; she let me win."
This put a damper on Luke's mood. Being beaten in battle was a disgrace, but he could at least bear it if it was against a knight as skilled as the princess, but if his opponent was holding back…
"Well, she was probably taking it easy on us because it was our first test," Katarina pitched in, trying to cheer up her partner.
Rody shook his head. "I'm afraid that doesn't make much sense, Katarina. During our initiation test, none of the veteran knights held back on us, the point was to test the limits of our abilities, if they didn't hold back then, I can't see why any of them would hold back now that we're all in training to become full-fledged knights."
Kris nodded. "You could see it in the way she fought. The fight may have seemed even, but that last attack was meant to end the match, one way or another. She could have done that at any time."
Luke frowned. "And she still took me down in two bouts," he grumbled.
"W-well, even if she was holding back, what's important is that we passed our test, r-right? Even Sir Cain and Princess Caeda congratulated Kris," Ryan added nervously.
"That's not quite the point Ryan. It'd be one thing for the knights to hold back on us, it makes sense for them to do so, at least if they told us so. But for them to hold back on us while letting us believe that they were giving it their all is distasteful," responded Rody. "What's really troublesome, is that as knights, we'll be expected to defend Altea against enemies of the kingdom, and what we just faced is a perfect example of someone who's done just that. If that's the sort of power we'll need to become knights, then it's plain to see that we're not even close."
Kris nodded in agreement. "We're still not strong enough. Come on everyone, let's get back to the barracks, I want to get in some training before dinner," he said as he turned around and began walking again.
Luke followed closely after him. "I think I'll join you."
A few moments of contemplation later, the rest of the platoon followed. Despite the low mood, Rody was smiling to himself. Meanwhile, Katarina had a look of intense worry on her face. Despite their differing feelings, the same thought ran through their minds.
It seems Kris is more perceptive than I thought.
Back at the castle, the knights were putting away their weapons, chatting amongst themselves about the results of today's test.
"I think we can expect great results from these squires."
"I wish I could say the same, the Fifth Platoon looks like their already about to drop out."
"The Ninth isn't doing any better, except for their commander, she shows great potential. It's a shame she's being dragged down by the rest of her team…"
Meanwhile, Cain turned to Princess Caeda, who was about to leave the armory and return to her royal apartments. "Princess, what are your thoughts on these squires?" he asked.
The princess smiled. "I think we can expect great things from them. They did better than I expected against the mercenaries, and that tactician seems to know what she's doing," she responded.
"And what of their commander?"
Caeda smirked. "I think he has a bright future ahead of him."
Cain crossed his arms. "Tell me the truth, just how much were you holding back during that test?"
"Well," she responded. "Less than I should have, to be honest. I might have overdone it with the two cavaliers, but I wanted to teach them not to break formation in battle, and I didn't want to let that archer hurt my pegasus."
"And what about their commander?"
"I let that fight drag on a bit longer than I should have, I'll admit."
Cain smirked. "Except near the end, correct?"
She smiled. "Yes, I was satisfied with how much I had seen of his abilities, so I decided to put an end to the test," she answered.
"And yet you still threw the match, how kind of you," Cain said.
"Well, even if I did let him win, I was very impressed by that squire's swordsmanship. I'd like to see how he fares against Ogma."
"Well, I'll see if I can arrange that," responded the red-haired knight.
The princess bowed gratefully. "My thanks, Cain." As she turned around and began to leave, the knight called out to her once again.
"Pardon me, Princess, but do you think they knew that you were holding back?" he asked.
Caeda thought about this for a moment, recalling the look on the young squire's face during their last bout. "I don't doubt it. I hope they don't take too much offense to it. Good night, Cain."
"Good night, milady."
Later that night, in Marth and Caeda's bedroom, the princess sat in front of her dresser, brushing her hair in front of her mirror as she prepared for bed. The sound of the door opening told her that her fiancée had entered the room, and a few moments later she heard him dropping his royal regalia on top of their bed. She smiled as Marth wrapped his arms around her from behind.
"Why, hello there," she said, smiling at him through her mirror as he rested his chin on her head.
"Good evening, my love," he responded, planting a kiss on her hair, letting his lips linger.
"You seem tired; did you have a lot of work today?" she inquired.
The prince released her and sighed, walking back to his bed to fetch his regalia and put it away properly. "Just a lot of documents to sign, mostly getting things in order for the coronation ceremony."
The queen-to-be got up and wrapped her arms around her fiancée. "Is there anything I can do to help you rest?"
He leaned in, their faces so close that she could feel his breath on her skin. "I'm sure we can think of something…"
Back at the barracks, the 7th Platoon was eating dinner. Unlike the previous night, there was very little conversation. Kris and Luke were both uncharacteristically pensive as they ate, Rody sat silently, and the two younger members of the team were too scared to break the silence. The peaceful mood disappeared when Luke suddenly slammed his cup down on the table, eliciting a jump out of everyone at the table.
"This is ridiculous! Why are we so down? We won, didn't we?!" he exclaimed, getting out of his chair.
Rody looked up at his partner. "Probably because it didn't feel like we earned our victory. If you can even call it that, you and I barely even got to fight against the princess."
"Probably because you didn't listen to me…" Katarina muttered.
"Th-that's a bit mean, Katarina," Ryan piped up from beside her.
"She's right, though. If we had faced her all at once, we probably would've performed better," replied Rody.
Next to him, Luke sat down, deflated, incapable of forming a retort. Much to everyone's surprise, it was Ryan who broke the ensuing silence.
"W-well what does it matter if they were holding back?" he exclaimed, surprising everyone at the table who had never heard the boy speak so loudly. "We still won, and even Sir Cain said that we did well!"
"You're missing the point kid," replied Luke. "We're training to become knights. That means it'll be our job to protect the royals. If they're that much stronger than we are, then we're doing something wrong."
Ryan looked down, understanding his point. Across the table, their commander spoke for the first time since they started their meal.
"I'm going to sleep. Tomorrow we resume our training. As Luke said, it's clear that we're still not strong enough to become knights. We were naïve to think otherwise, but that's why we're squires. We still have until the end of our tests to train until we reach that point. Good night, everyone." With that, he left the table and went up the stairs.
Once the rest of the team finished their meals, they followed suit. Unlike the previous evening, they were not in the mood for conversation. The squires all went into their rooms and went to sleep, or tried to, at any rate. Despite their best efforts, all of them laid awake for some time.
Luke stared up at his ceiling, an intense look of determination on his face. His partner's words ran through his mind.
She's right, though. If we had faced her all at once, we probably would've performed better.
Luke reached out towards the ceiling and clenched his fist. "I didn't come here to be a burden," he said to himself. "I will become a hero."
In his own room, Ryan clutched his sheets as he tossed and turned in his bed.
I'm no help to anyone right now. He thought. I'm an archer, I should've been our best fighter against a pegasus knight, but I only fired a single arrow during the entire test, and I didn't even hit my target…
He thought back to what the princess had said during the test.
If you approach with fear, you will only lose, you must approach your opponent with confidence and the intent to fight.
Fear. The more he thought about it, the clearer it was to him that it was his main weakness. His aim could be better, his timing needed work, and his arrows didn't fly as far as his brother's, but his real problem was his hesitation. So long as he cowered behind his team, he would never be worthy of becoming a knight.
"Brother…" he wondered aloud. "Can I live up to your legacy?"
Rody lay on his side, trying to sleep. Alas, no matter how hard he tried, sleep would not come to him. Despite his outer calmness, he too was worried about his future as a knight. His thoughts turned to his family. He wondered how they were getting along without him, he knew a few of his siblings had taken small jobs, but he doubted they were making much money. With a sigh, he sat up on the bed and stared out his window, finding solace in the starry night sky. His family hadn't always been poor, they had never been rich, but their real problems had only begun during the occupation of Altea by Gra. He remembered his old childhood home, and how happy his family was as farmers. He never imagined he would be anything other than a farmhand, helping his father and eventually inheriting the farm, but then the foreign soldiers came, ruining the land and driving out the people from the countryside, ostensibly in an effort to weaken their enemy, but Rody suspected it was mostly out of cruelty. He remembered the fear he felt, he remembered his mother's tears, his father's rage. He decided then, that no matter what happened, he would, become a knight. Not only to provide for his family, but to protect them. To make sure that nothing like that ever happened to them again, or to anyone else.
The platoon's commander paced back and forth, too anxious to sleep. For the umpteenth time since he had gone to his room, he contemplated going outside and training some more just to work off the stress. But he knew that even he had his limits, and if he continued to train after exhausting himself, he would just end up hurting himself. Unfortunately, since the rest of the platoon had gone to sleep, this left him with nothing to do but walk around his room and think, which he wasn't too fond of doing, truth be told. He much preferred to act. Especially when the thoughts that occupied his mind were unpleasant.
This was, sadly, the case for him now as he remembered his childhood. He didn't remember his parents, or anything about the first six years of his life, all he remembered was that one day, he had been found by an old man who called himself his grandfather while wandering through the streets of Sera village, dressed in rags and on the brink of starvation. Maclir had taken him in, nursed him back to health, and told him about what had happened to him. Apparently, he had sent his daughter, Kris' mother, away to Archanea, to live with her husband's family, hoping that she would be safe during the coming war, but she had been killed by bandits on the way there, and Kris had been left behind. Although he didn't remember any of this, he understood that his grandfather had saved his life, and he was eternally grateful to him. From then on, his grandfather raised him as his own. They were the only family the two of them had left.
From time-to-time, Kris wondered about his past, and he considered asking his grandfather, but decided against it. The two of them lived quietly for some time, until one day, Kris came across an old chest hidden in his grandfather's attic. Curiosity got the better of him, and he opened the chest to find an old suit of armor, worn and covered in dust, he took it out of the chest (which was no easy feat considering how much it weighed) and found a sword underneath it, sheathed in its scabbard. He pulled it out and stared at it, gazing in awe at his reflection in the blade. A few minutes later, his grandfather rummaging around in places he shouldn't be and scolded him. That night, during dinner, he asked his grandfather what the suit and sword were for. Maclir sighed and explained that he had once been a knight, before retiring. When asked why, he told him that he had been an injured, and forced to give up his knighthood. Seeing the sadness and regret in his grandfather's eyes, Kris made a decision: he told his grandfather that he wanted to become a knight.
At first, the old man looked shocked, but then, he beamed with pride, and agreed to train the boy. His grandfather had warned him that it would be a grueling, difficult task, and that he would have to be absolutely sure if he wanted to become a knight, doubt would not help him. Fortunately, Kris had no doubt. He knew, deep within his heart, that he needed to repay his grandfather, and the only way he could think to do that was to carry on his dream for him, to become a knight in his place. From that day forth, that dream had become his singular goal.
His grandfather's training pushed him to his limits, and he demanded that Kris become the very best knight he could possibly be. Kris didn't give too much time to anything else; education, cooking, friends, love, his grandfather's training did not include those things. Aside from the occasional errand he ran for his grandfather and some meetings, he rarely interacted with other people.
His entire life had been dedicated to becoming a great knight. Fighting was all he knew.
But now I can't even do that. It was clear to him now what he had been feeling earlier that day. Some part of him understood that he would be facing an opponent far out of his league, and wanted to avoid that. But he had fought anyway, and even though he had won, he might as well have lost for how he felt afterwards. Fear was not foreign to him, he had been afraid for his life on more than one occasion before, during times when he overexerted himself in his training, and he knew that fear could be useful in battle, as it played a vital role in keeping him alive. Anger, however, was new to him. Irritation, annoyance, frustration; he understood these things, and had felt them before, just like anyone else, but for the first time in his life, Kris felt burning rage. And the worst part was that he didn't even know who he was angry with. Was he angry at the princess for holding back on him, angry at himself for not being strong enough, angry at his grandfather for not preparing him to deal with such a feeling? He had no idea.
Kris grit his teeth; this was obviously getting him nowhere. He decided to head outside and train for a bit to work off some stress.
Katarina walked down the halls of the barracks. Personally, she didn't really understand why everyone was so worked up about the fight. Perhaps it was an ego thing, or maybe she just didn't care as much because she didn't have a personal stake in becoming a knight like everyone else did. Regardless, she felt compelled to check on Kris. She had never seen him get so upset before, and it made her feel sorry to see him like that.
She stopped by his door and raised her hand to knock, but hesitated.
Why am I doing this? Eine thought to herself. He already trusts me, it's not like I need to do this… but I still want to.
Tossing aside her doubts, Katarina decided to knock on the door, only for it to open up before she could, startling her. Her partner looked down at her, surprised.
"Oh, hello Katarina. Is something wrong?" he asked.
She shook her head and smiled at him. "No, no, I'm fine. I actually came here to check on you."
Kris blinked in confusion. "Me?"
"Yes, you seemed upset about what happened today, so I wanted to see if you were okay," she replied.
Kris sighed. "Thank you. I'm… not really sure how to feel about all this," he said as he walked back into his room.
"Actually," he said as he stopped in front of a wall. "That's a lie. I know how I feel."
"How do you feel?" she asked curiously.
Suddenly, Kris turned around and punched the wall hard enough that she heard one of the bricks come loose. Katarina jumped in fear as she saw her partner's usually calm face form into an angry glare, baring his teeth.
"I feel angry," he said. After a few breaths, he calmed down and looked at her. "I… I'm not exactly good with things like this," he admitted. "Most of my life has been spent on training to become a knight, so things like friends and emotions are out of my depth. I'm not used to being manipulated, or lied to, so this is a new experience for me, and I've come to realize…" he paused then narrowed his eyes dangerously. "I don't like it."
Kris sighed, then approached Katarina and wrapped her in a hug, causing her to let out a small squeak of surprise. "Thank you for this, talking with you puts me at ease," he said, before releasing her and smiling.
"G-good night, Kris."
"Good night, Katarina."
As soon as Kris closed the door. Eine's legs gave out and she fell to the ground, gasping for breath. Katarina was entirely prepared for the fear rushing through her, what she was not ready for, was the white-hot guilt bubbling in her stomach.