Chapter 04
Evlor

Niki-Haru got up the next day and dressed in a daze. She only realized when she found herself trying to put her shin armour on the wrong way round, and decided to take a shower first.

The cold water woke her up, and she was out within fifteen minutes. She went down to the large common room of the Chivalry, where she could easily head off to her home room anytime if she had no lessons.

She was still a rookie, after all. Day after day she took lessons and had swordsmanship practice, fighting techniques, history of Rune-Midgard, classes on different dialects of New Runic...and she wondered why she was learning them. Although she knew Valkron had utilised these - and much more - on his travels, she also knew he had learned all of what he knew outside the Chivalry. It was hard to find a knight who could speak grammatically correct Morrocian; the only knights she knew were Saladin and Enriel.

She wasn't surprised that Saladin knew, since he came from Morroc and had a family of rogues behind him. Enriel needed the language to communicate in order to gather the information he needed. But that was it. She herself was learning from Kyo, so that whenever they were in the Chivalry together they could speak Morrocian without being eavesdropped on.

But she went through the lessons. She visited the Geffen Magic Academy library often - it had more interesting books on history than the Prontera Library or the Chivalry Students' Library, which was pretty pitiful in her opinion. She tried magic, but it didn't really make sense to her. She did what she wanted to do - and always longed to be better than Valkron.

Always.

She wondered if, one day, someone would tell her that she was as good as him. It was a bore, living through a life dictated by others. Until she graduated, there was no way she could break free from this routine.

Her first class was History of Rune-Midgard. She absently doodled during the lesson, not really listening to the teacher as he rambled on about the Chivalry of the Old Empire. She knew about it already - in fact, she knew everything about the kingdom. Not just the official records from her books, but as well as every single scandal that happened, every single war that was covered up; she just highly doubted her teacher would approve of it.

Niki-Haru strolled across the Courtyard of the Eagle to get to her next class, Chivalry Ethics. As she passed through, she looked at the tree in the middle of the courtyard. No matter what time of the day the tree gave shade to those who sat beneath it. She knew Valkron spent a lot of his free time under that tree, for some odd reason.

In Chivalry Ethics, she doodled again, on the same piece of paper she had used during History of Rune-Midgard. Chivalry Ethics didn't make sense to her, and she also saw no future in it. She intended to be a mercenary, and apart from the usual sense of duty and honour a knight had she didn't think she'd need anymore.

During break she spent her time sitting under the tree in the courtyard reading the book she had borrowed from the Geffen Magic Academy Library. She never spoke to anyone, because she was different. Other people didn't like different people.

Niki-Haru spent another one hour doodling during War Strategies, and would have completed whatever she was drawing if the teacher hadn't spotted her.

"Niki-Haru!"

Several people jumped. The knight looked up at her teacher, who towered over her.

"Yes, sir?" she said calmly.

"What are you doing? Give that to me this very minute!"

Niki-Haru looked down at the paper. She looked back up, folding it at the same time.

"No, sir," she replied.

There was an audible gasp from somewhere in the room; the others around whoever it was shushed him.

"Why not?"

Niki-Haru looked at the folded piece of paper in her fingers. "Because it's mine."

The teacher snorted. "Huh! Just like the teachers at the Swordsman Academy said! A problem child and nothing more!"

He reached out and snatched it from her. "This is going straight to your tutor, you understand? Pay attention!"

He strode back to the front of the class, letting Niki-Haru see that everyone else was sniggering at her. She sighed and sat straight up in her seat, looking straight at the board.

She was like that for the rest of the lesson, and the teacher approved of it. He just never knew she hadn't been listening to him anyway.

Niki-Haru sat alone in the courtyard during lunch, reading her book under the tree. She wasn't too bothered by anything these days, and wasn't about to start at this moment in time.

Shoes stepped onto the gravel in front of her. Niki-Haru looked up to see four girls, grinning down at her.

"Yes, Angelica?" she asked politely.

"I'm amazed," said the foremost knight, who had red hair. "You just got told off and that whatever taken from you and given to your tutor, and you can still sit here and read?"

Niki-Haru shrugged. "It's not a big deal."

"Not a big deal?" Angelica snorted. "It goes to your record, didn't you know that? At the end of the year--"

"I know."

Her voice was quiet, but it made the redhead bristle. "Are you trying to smart-mouth me?"

"No."

"Be polite to your senior!"

"I won't be polite if you aren't."

The older rookie fumed. "How dare you talk back to me! I'm going to tell your tutor!"

"Go ahead." Niki-Haru shut her book. "I won't be around to hear you, though."

"Hey, where are you going? You stop there right now! Did you hear me, Niki-Haru? Your tutor's not going to like this! NIKI!"

But the blue-haired knight was completely ignoring her. Angelica gritted her teeth - only for a second. She suddenly smiled smugly.

"Yeah, she always never cares about other people," she said. She raised her voice.

"Fine then, Niki! Go wherever you want! You keep running away like that, you'll always be the problem child you are!"

Heads turned. Niki-Haru continued walking towards the stables as if she had not heard what Angelica had shouted out. Around her people whispered behind their hands, glancing at her as she went past.

She found Evlor contentedly nosing the straw in his stable, squatting quite happily on the floor. Niki-Haru put her book down on a nearby upturned crate and pulled out a piece of food for the peco. Evlor watched her eagerly, but opened his mouth and let her drop it onto his tongue instead of snatching it from her.

"You're lucky, you know," she said to him, watching him gobble it down. "You don't have people laughing at you just because you're different."

Evlor turned his head to one side and looked at her as he gulped down the last of the food. Niki-Haru reached out and stroked his smooth head.

"It's so hard," she said softly, more to herself than him. "Being someone different in a world where people want you to be the same. Just because they can't cope with non-conformists. It's so depressing."

Evlor stretched out his neck to rub his beak against her face. She stopped him and got to her feet. The peco did the same, grunting softly.

"You're so lucky."

She rubbed his beak. He closed his eyes and honked quietly in enjoyment.

Niki-Haru suddenly stopped rubbing his beak. In her mind she could see Valkron rubbing Evlor's beak the same way as she was doing now, talking softly to the peco as he patted the colourful beak.

She felt sick. The ache in her heart that she had been ignoring until now had surfaced. There was no other word for it. She felt tired, unhappy, lonely and upset - all in thirty seconds.

Evlor opened his eyes just in time to see Niki-Haru throw her arms around his feathery neck. He looked down at her as she sobbed into the feathers.

--

The knight who was Niki-Haru's War Strategies teacher met her tutor in the staffroom during lunch.

"Hey," he said, "I caught your student doodling in class."

"Really? What did she do?"

"Well, I'll leave that to you." The teacher handed over the paper and left.

Devar looked down at the folded piece of paper. He then unrolled it carefully so as not to smudge the pencil scribbles.

Chivalry Ethics is boring. It doesn't matter when you're a mercenary.

War Strategies is boring. You need hands on experience. You learn faster that way.

History of Rune-Midgard is boring. I know all the unofficial and official accounts. Don't care if they're approved or not, this world is full of lies anyway.

Language classes are stupid. We should get out there and learn for ourselves, not let some boring old codger teach us the verbs.

Swordsmanship and techniques are boring. I don't want to learn them in a crowd! Hands on! Hands on hands on hands on hands on!!!

There was a rough sketch of a peco after that, with the caption "Evlor misses him" next to it. Then there was a sentence,

I learned more under him than under the teachers here.

and right after that

I want him back.

and then

Dad. He's not, really, but I want one.

A few lines down she had been in the process of drawing the phoenix emblem of the Raulus, with the word "Home" next to it.

Devar lowered the piece of paper and sighed. It had been hard to deal with her when she had come in from the Academy, but he knew why she was so...dead to the world. Kyo had taken him aside and spoken to him about it as well. He remembered the assassin's worried face as Kyo had asked him to take care of her.

And she had told him how she had sought for Evlor and bought him in order to save the bird. He knew how much she missed them, because in one of his drawers there was a little pile of folded pieces of paper, all having been confiscated by teachers, and each of them having similar tones. An atmosphere of loneliness and sadness, a hint of longing, the yearning to belong somewhere...she wrote down whatever she felt, and he could understand why.

Very quietly, the head of the Finance Department tucked the paper away in the drawer and locked it, and then took a piece of paper and scribbled the words, "See NH" in pencil on it. He put it on his desk and looked down at it.

"Valkron," he said to himself, "you taught her the way you lived. You know what's worse? You're right."

After Chivalry training school had ended, Devar went to find Niki-Haru. He eventually located her in the stables with Evlor, who was nosing her as she stood next to him.

"There you are, Niki," he said. "I know the last lesson today was Peco Management, but that doesn't mean you should stay here. You have other things to do."

Niki-Haru kept quiet. She was still stroking the bird's head. Evlor had turned his head to one side and was now looking at her as if she needed to listen to him.

"Come on." The older knight held out a hand to her. "I need to talk to you."

She did not move, only gave a look at Devar's hand. The knight eventually realised himself and put his hand down.

"Niki-Haru," he said.

She looked up at him. Devar wondered how a twenty-four year old rookie knight could look so tired. He was about to ask her again when she lowered her hand and went over to him in complete silence.

Devar walked off, knowing that his student would now follow him properly - and she did. He initially aimed for his own office in the Finance Department, but as he passed the Courtyard of the Eagle he suddenly decided to sit under the tree with her. Although it was out in the open the chance of people eavesdropping was lower than it would have been if they had gone to his office.

The leaves of the tree rustled gently in the breeze as the two of them stood under the branches.

"Niki," Devar said gently, "you need to talk to me about yourself sooner or later. You can't keep getting into trouble with the teachers just because you're writing down what you feel during lessons. I know you're braver than this; you can just directly talk to me instead."

Niki-Haru scraped the tip of her shoe on the ground, not looking at him. The older knight sighed.

"You're twenty-four, Niki," he said. "It's time you behaved your age."

He did not mean to be harsh, but Devar was tired and it had been a long day. However, he did not manage to stop himself in time. He waited, apprehensive, for Niki-Haru's reply.

Eventually she looked up at him. "You're right," she said.

Devar was taken aback.

"Wait, I thought--"

"I'm sorry for always getting you into trouble," said Niki-Haru. "It's usually my fault."

"Niki, I'm not really bothered," replied Devar. "What I am bothered about is that you always seem to hide yourself away from people. You're different, I grant you that, but if people can't understand why you're different you're not going to get anywhere. Much."

"Nobody wants to listen," she whispered.

There was a silence. After a few minutes Devar said, "I do."

There was an even more awkward silence. Eventually, Devar reached out and patted her on the shoulder carefully. He had no idea why the higher ups had made her his student - usually girls had female teachers.

"You've got the strength to be yourself," he said. "I believe in you. Now get going and remember that those notes in my drawer will eventually have to go and you will need to start talking to me."

Niki-Haru nodded. Devar smiled briefly at her, and then walked off, his shoes crunching on the gravel as she watched him leave.

In the warmth of the stables, pecos honked and squawked contentedly as they waited for their feeding time. Eventually the helpers came and began throwing pet food - usually dried lizards - into the stables; they left soon enough, complaining about the smell of the stables as usual.

Evlor quietly picked up food and swallowed without any fuss. He was the only peco that had not made any sound, not even in anticipation of his food. After scratching the straw away from around where the helpers had thrown his food and making sure that he hadn't left any bits, he settled down where he had made something like a nest out of straw and closed his eyes.

After a short while, he opened them again and got to his feet. He padded over to the door and looked out, while the other pecos honked, either challenging others or advertising for mates.

There was an urgent look in Evlor's eyes. He gazed out of the open doors of the stables until the helpers came to shut them, honking quietly from time to time in a disconcerting way.

A helper noticed this odd behaviour - pecos didn't generally care about anything - and thought about reporting this to his owner. However, it had been a long day for the helpers, and no one was about to go scouting off for "those high-and-mighty snobs" in the Chivalry barracks, so he left it as was.

He didn't know what Evlor knew.

Kyo paid Niki-Haru an unexpected visit the next day. He met her during lunch, in the entrance hall.

"How are things?" he asked her. "You look a bit tired."

"I'm fine, don't worry," replied the knight. "You're really making use of your week off, huh?"

"It's rare to get a week off in the Assassins' Guild. I've told you this before. It's hard work."

Niki-Haru snorted. "That's a bold thing to say for a rookie assassin."

"I get a lot of missions, you know." Kyo sighed and ran a hand through his white hair. "Even if I'm a rookie. It doesn't matter to our clients what rank we are. As long as we're good, as long as people refer us...but never for the money."

"I know that, too," said Niki-Haru.

"You haven't answered my original question."

"Oh, do you really need to know?" Niki-Haru yawned lazily.

"Most people say that assassins and knights live completely different lives," said Kyo, a little severely. "But we both know that's not true. Doesn't that answer your question?"

"I wasn't implying that."

"Yeah, but you tend to complain about the fact that I wouldn't know what you were talking about." Kyo was giving her a pointed look now.

Niki-Haru gave up. "I got scolded yesterday for doing my usual note."

"Well, you would be if you did it during the class. Like you always do."

Niki-Haru gave him a sour look. "I don't really care about classes, they don't have anything of any real value. They might teach you how to think and be independent, but the real world isn't going to be padded when you get out there."

"Looks like you really were bothered about it. Okay, I won't ask." Kyo smiled at her expression. "What, you want me to ask?"

"No, no, it's okay."

"So where do you want to go? You've got the most of an hour."

"Well...it's not much time." Niki-Haru shrugged, secretly glad that she didn't have to tell him what happened the previous day. "I'm eating lunch at the cafe--"

"That place again?"

"Yes. Why are you giving me that look for? Just because its Morrocian menu doesn't meet to your tastes doesn't mean I'm going to stop going there."

"No, it's just that...what, is Chivalry food that bad?"

"Kyo," sighed the knight, "that's one thing I can't describe to you, and one thing you can't experience unless you're a knight."

"Okay, okay, I get your point."

He followed her, a tad reluctantly, to the little cafe she had mentioned, and chose to have a glass of water while she had a slice of phen pie and a side serving of pasta.

"Later on could we have a walk around Prontera?" he asked, as soon as they were out.

The knight sighed. "I can't stop you, can I?"

"Well, all you have to say is no," the assassin replied. He grinned sheepishly at her.

She sighed again. "If I had the heart to, I would have done it already. Okay, Kyo. I'll see you later."

He walked with her to the Chivalry and watched her until she turned a corner and he completely disappeared from sight. Niki-Haru shook her head, but it wasn't because she was annoyed at him.

This was just one of the many things that had people sneering or joking about her. Niki-Haru disliked the girls in the Chivalry, who disapproved of her relationship with Kyo. What did it matter to them that she was going out with him? Their opinions didn't have any bearing on her life.

She spent the rest of the day extremely bored, although she resisted the temptation of writing notes again and waiting for them to get confiscated. She simply read through the entire textbooks of each lesson while the teachers taught the rest - it was boring because she had done it before, but there was nothing else she could do.

Eventually the last bell rang, and everyone streamed out of the Chivalry and into the streets, talking with excitement and laughing raucously. Niki-Haru watched a group of young male knights, fresh from their training, make their way to the Crown and Axe for a drink.

Before she went to meet Kyo, she went to get Evlor. He had not had a good walk for several days, and was chomping at the bit to walk when he saw her. He did seem strangely enthusiastic and active to her, but she dismissed it as pre-walking zeal.

She fitted his reins and his saddle on, with some difficulty. Evlor was so eager to go that she was being dragged around as he tried to get out of her grasp. It took her some time, but she eventually stopped him from shooting out of the stables and managed to get his gear on.

"Don't do that, Evlor," she chided him, giving a sharp rap on the beak. "I'll be late for my meeting with Kyo if you keep struggling."

Evlor padded out meekly with her. Niki-Haru led him to the statue of Odin in Prontera Plaza, where Kyo was waiting for her. When at work he wore his fox mask over his face; when lounging around or relaxing he wore it tilted on one side of his forehead. It was what made him so recognisable, even in a crowd. She had never asked where he got the mask.

"Sorry," she said, when she reached him. "Evlor's being a nuisance again."

"You love him to bits, though," Kyo remarked, laughing.

Niki-Haru gave him a half-hearted glare. "Come on, let's go. Where do you want to walk?"

"I was thinking maybe somewhere quieter than here." Kyo shrugged. "I don't know this place as well as you do, so do you know where would be an ideal place to go?"

Niki-Haru curled a lock of her blue hair around her finger. "I don't know a specific place in Prontera, but I know that North Prontera's always quiet. It's a good place for thieves, pickpockets and muggers, though."

"Do you think I'd let you get thieved on?" asked Kyo. "Come to think of it, do you think you would let yourself get thieved on?"

"Not everyone fears knights."

"No, but people have a good reason to fear you."

Niki-Haru gave in. Kyo could always corner her whenever she was trying to make excuses. "All right, then. North Prontera it is."

Evlor honked happily as she led him through the crowds, with Kyo on tow. A few people pointed at him as they passed, but no one else gave them a second glance.

They reached North Prontera soon. Niki-Haru was right. There was almost no one save for the usual citizens, who were all migrating to the south anyway. Eventually they reached a quiet place where there was no one but them.

"This is a nice spot," Kyo remarked, looking around the place. "You could tie Evlor to the bench and we could sit down."

"Tie him to the bench?" Niki-Haru laughed. "Evlor is too well-behaved for that sort of thing. He knows who his owner is. I usually let him free; he'll stay next to us the whole time, believe me."

The assassin shrugged. "Up to you, he's yours."

She released the peco's reins, letting them fall to the ground. Evlor honked in gratitude and followed her over to the bench, where he positioned himself behind it and picked away at the grass under the bench.

Kyo and Niki-Haru sat down on the bench and stayed silent for a long time. Niki-Haru leaned against him, and felt his arm go around her. She half-closed her eyes; it was rare to get such a peaceful moment such as this in her hectic life. It felt as if she hadn't been with him for a long time, even though she had just seen him for the past few days; somehow he was the only person with whom she felt at peace.

She felt him lean his head on hers; his warm breath made her feel even more comforted than ever. As he nuzzled her hair, she drew even closer to him, so close that she could feel every muscle of his pressing on her and that his warmth was hotter than she could have ever imagined.

Her subconscious made a remark about how fast they had grown up. Niki-Haru went to shut it up, but decided not to. Besides, it was telling her the truth. It would have been what the older members of the Raulus would have said.

She buried her face into his chest, and heard his beating heart as his ribs gently rose and fell with every breath he took. It felt good to be with him again.

And yet the warmth was so...unfamiliar, so alien.

Evlor scratched the grass behind them, completely uninterested in what the two were doing. He honked softly from time to time, nibbling at the weeds and being a peco--

Suddenly he looked up. His suddenly alert eyes reflected the light of the gibbous moon; he looked around as if he had detected something nearby - something dangerous, perhaps.

He honked loudly.

Niki-Haru sat bolt upright and spun around. "Evlor! Shh!"

The peco snorted and shook his head. He honked again, even louder. Niki-Haru leapt off her seat, causing Kyo to nearly lose his balance, and ran forward to grab him by the reins.

Evlor took it into his head to abruptly break into a run, away from Niki-Haru and towards the direction he was already facing.

"Evlor!" Niki-Haru shouted. The peco was fast disappearing.

"I'll help you find him," said Kyo, getting up from the bench. "It'll be quicker by running across the rooftops."

"Just go! I can't afford to let him turn into a meal!"

Kyo leapt up onto a nearby rooftop and dashed off. Niki-Haru set off in the direction Evlor had gone, running at full speed.

But even with her speed she only managed to catch the peco's short tail whipping around corners. She saw Kyo leap from rooftop to rooftop deftly, but he didn't look as if he was catching up either.

Ahead of her she could hear Evlor's thumping feet on the cobbles, and the urgent honks he made. The sounds were the only way she could tell his direction from, and the sounds echoed all over the place. Soon enough she had lost him.

She came to a stop to catch her breath. As she doubled over, panting hard, Kyo dropped down in front of her.

"Where's he gone?" he asked breathlessly.

"How am I supposed to know? I lost him!" Niki-Haru looked up irritably. "You'd have a better view from the roofs!"

"You think it's that easy, huh?" asked Kyo, equally irritated. "Come on, we've got to find him. I'll carry you--"

"Don't you dare."

They ran along the street they were on. Here the houses were silent; most of them did not have lights on. Some were clearly small pubs, where people were talking loudly and bawling out tuneless songs on the street while still trying to quaff from their tankards. Some were shady-looking inns that had suspicious characters lurking around the doors...

Niki-Haru suddenly halted. Kyo ran into her back. There was some muffled swearing before they managed to separate themselves.

"If this sort of thing ever happens, say when you want to stop," grumbled the assassin, straightening his fox mask. "It gets really bothersome trying to get out of a pile up...hey, are you even listening?"

She was staring down a small street branching off theirs. Kyo followed suit to see what she was staring at.

There was an inn at the end of the street - an inn that looked decent, for once. In front of it Evlor was honking happily and nosing someone.

Someone who was not his owner.

Niki-Haru stepped forward, her jaw open and her eyes wide with shock. Kyo took a closer look at the person.

He was not very tall, and was talking softly to the peco, smiling a little. Evlor opened his beak in delight and let the man scratch his chin.

"You haven't changed one bit, you," they heard him say. "Hm, Evlor? It's been a long time."

Kyo's eyes were drawn to the way the man's white hair spilled over his shoulders. It did not stick out, nor was it bushy - it seemed longer and straighter. The man was wearing labourer's clothes, but there was something about him that told them he was more than just a labourer.

Evlor pushed his beak against the man, making soft cooing sounds. The man laughed a little and moved the beak away.

"You've missed me, haven't you?" he said, ruffling up the peco's head feathers. "I missed you too, Evlor."

Niki-Haru took another step forward. The sound of her shoes on the cobbles made the man turn his head slightly in her direction. Then, quite casually, he turned his head around to show a questioning look on his face.

But it wasn't his expression they saw first. Just one look at him, and they saw everything that they had not seen for ten years. Mixed emotions rose in both the young adults' hearts. The hope that they were right, the overwhelming sense of relief from a longing that had lasted for as long as they could remember, and yet...the possibility that everything would go wrong at the slightest touch.

"Impossible..." Kyo's voice trailed away.

Niki-Haru half-reached out a hand, as if unsure if this was the right person or not. But the next thing she said, the next thing that the two of them had been thinking, was the one thing that stopped time that day.

"Val...kron...?"

I will leave it on that note. Don't expect me to update for the next few weeks. Too busy with work - and RO :D - at the moment.