Notes: A chapter introducing young Nile, as well as other main characters and some OCs (although the girl with a Growlithe is based on a minor character from the SnK manga).


Star-Crossed And Fate-Bound II.

The Royal Heiress & The Loyal Knight

She was standing on her two feet again, the youth blinking his dark eyes in confusion, as if he had forgotten about his purpose of wandering the corridors at such a late hour. His outstretched hand fell to his side again, finding rest on the hilt of his sword. She recognized its colours, as well as the crest on his uniform and realized that he was no stranger to the Palace. Still, he appeared too young to be a member of the Royal Guard.

"Pardon me. I believe I got lost on my way to the kitchen," he finally admitted, shifting in his arms what appeared to her at first glance as a rugged lump of rock, until it let out a sharp, plaintive cry.

She started, then laughed out, relieved for the turn of events that allowed her to be the one offering assistance, as she had known the place better than anyone else, the Palace being her home her whole life. She was relieved, and happy for the company she did not realize she had been missing far too long…

~AoGM~

FIVE YEARS PREVIOUS TO THEIR ENCOUNTER

836: Trost – Trost Training School

Five years had passed since the day the young members of the 89th Trainee Class were accepted into the renowned boarding school for monster tamers. Finally, after five years of living and learning behind those impressive walls, they were ready to cast off their dreary brown school uniforms like a worn, grown-out shell, and don their sky blue dress uniforms instead.

The great mess hall had been specially decorated with banners and flowers in preparation for the evening ball. The ground on the training fields had been smoothed out, and that was where they had stood in neat lines early in the morning, listening to Instructor Keith Shadis deliver a less than heartening speech about their prospects for the future. On that point, his opinion apparently hadn't changed much since his welcoming speech, even as he had went on to announce the names of those who had excelled in their training. The man had never been much of an optimist.

However, the final ranking – the order of names coming up in the Top Ten – had certainly contradicted his most adamantly voiced predictions…

~AoGM~

"I honestly believed he had more sense than to stick to his impossible plan till the very end. I never expected him to actually pull it through…"

Having the room all for himself, the dark-haired boy was sitting on the edge of his bed, shirt still hanging unbuttoned from narrow shoulders. A trunk was propped open at the foot of the bed, gaping like a hungry mouth, waiting to be filled.

"But the worst thing is that now I came to realize how we'd been made to play right into his hands. And he'd been playing us for fools all along."

Surprising his azure-blue partner, he abruptly snatched up a pillow and tossed it across the room, aiming for the bed opposite, which was stacked with books and rolled-up maps, in addition to being loaded with an untidy collection of miscellaneous items. However, he soon found that allowing himself to act upon an angry impulse did little to help his mood. Never in his life had he felt so shamed before.

Second.

In spite of his best efforts, he had only come second in the ranking.

"I don't care if he's fool enough to give up his place, being content with ranking third," he went on, retrieving his pillow and attempting to repair what damage it had caused. "What I don't understand is, rather, whether the amusement he finds in embarrassing others is really worth going to such lengths."

Those were his thoughts of a certain someone he once believed to be a friend, but yet again, he had been made to question the sincerity of that friendship. Had 'he' been the one to best him, though, he could have born it with some sort of dignity. However, the blow to his pride had unfortunately been delivered by a girl. A girl one year his junior. A parentless foundling. Someone who shouldn't even supposed to attend a school so prestigious, and certainly wouldn't, had she not happened to be the protégé of the distinguished General Smith, and the man generous enough to finance the girl's studies.

"Perhaps it's only due to favouritism that she managed to win her place at the top." But even voicing his thoughts aloud brought no relief to his frustration. "Otherwise, she's really nothing special, just a little-"

"Nile!"

Someone opened the door on him, interrupting his solitary grumblings. Not even until the last day could he get used to the fact that privacy was as good as non-existent in the dorms, not to speak of polite manners. As he hastened to button up his shirt, a girl's sullen face poked through the opening, her cheeks sprinkled with more freckles he cared to count. He had to suppress a groan of extreme displeasure.

"Everyone's already down in the ballroom, hoofin' it like crazy," the girl spoke reproachfully, folding her thin arms over shiny red silk. "Are you gonna lead me in, or not?"

Nile sent the girl a dark, disapproving glower, not failing to take notice of the knee-high military-issue boots she was wearing to her formal ball gown. Her feline partner was sporting a matching deep red ribbon. Another creature, a lavender-coloured moth, was hovering over her bare shoulder.

Ilse 'Longboots' Langnar – a gentry's illegitimate daughter with delinquent tendencies, she had only barely made it into the Top Ten. And if he weren't already feeling like the victim of a bad joke, Nile was obliged to show up at graduation ball with such and unlikely partner by his side. Unfortunately, he had made a promise, and since a true gentleman always kept to his word – a principle he was careful to uphold, and in turn found it held up against him on numerous occasions – he suppressed a sigh, straightened his tie, pushed up his glasses on his nose, and grudgingly offered his arm to the grinning girl…

~AoGM~

During dinner and dance, the talk was all about the Explorers – in the past five years, the most notoriously unpopular division had experienced a sudden, drastic increase in appeal among the trainees, which was in no small proportion thanks to the tireless efforts of a boy with highly charismatic eyebrows, and a girl with rather untamed charms.

However, like always, Nile kept his distance from their talks with a kind of well-practiced haughtiness he refined through all those years, dismissing their enthusiasm.

"What is so glorious about voluntarily becoming food for the Giants, about seeking a better world Outside, when all humanity ever needs is to be found right here in the Fortress?" he would argue, aware that his words alone would never have an influence on their decision, but served rather to reaffirm his own. Exploring unknown lands while defeating man-eating monsters, all for the sake of humanity's advance towards some vague ideal called 'freedom' – his concept of heroism differed greatly from such childish pipe dreams.

Nile had made up his mind long ago, and would not be converted…

~TRAINEE PROFILE~

NILE DAWK of the Tiger Lilies

from Karanese, Eastern Verity

Gender: Male

Age: 11 years

Skills: simultaneous command over multiple creatures

Favourite type: not partial to any

Aspiration: Military Police

The following day – the day of the choosing ceremony – he stood in line with the other trainees and their creatures before the great crests representing the three divisions of the military, his resolve as unfaltering as it had been the first day he entered Trost Training School with Licorne by his side.

After listening to the recruitment speeches delivered by the three Commanders, Nile's gaze remained impassive as he watched his fellow trainees sifting towards the podium of their chosen branches. A handful of them were already standing before the banner painted with the red and blue rose-heads of the Rangers. A crowd was gathering before the fluttering canvas with the black and white wings of the Explorers.

Nile fixed his gaze steadily on the crest adorned by the dark silhouette of a unicorn head, ignoring the feeling of being left behind as he walked against them, as if against a tide, towards the podium welcoming new recruits to the Military Police.

Standing on the raised platform and accompanied by a drill-horned creature with gleaming golden armour plates, Supreme Commander Darius Zackley took in his lonesome figure.

"Well, this is indeed unprecedented," he remarked, his cold grey eyes briefly sweeping over the groups of fresh recruits of the other two divisions, before settling back on the boy. However, there was amusement, rather than disappointment in his voice. "Your name, son?" he asked.

"Nile Dawk, sir."

"And your partner?"

"Nidoran Licorne, sir."

"The odds of finding 'the one' are certainly favourable," the Supreme Commander murmured to his partner, then turned to Nile again, a smile of satisfaction spreading on his face, his grey eyes warming up with anticipation. "Nile and Licorne," he said. "I welcome you to the Police Brigade!"

~AoGM~

What few belongings he intended to bring along to Stohess – to the station he had been assigned to behind the innermost wall – he had already gathered neatly. With his back to the now vacant bed opposite to his own, he was packing his things away in his traveling trunk.

A Moon Capsule – he would have Licorne by his side during the journey, to keep him company.

A Sports Capsule – as a freshman, he had managed to trap a strong bug type to show off for a class competition, and named it Hercules for its strength. However, it was a bitter reminder: of the first time he had been coaxed into renouncing victory to accept second place instead. He tossed that one to the bottom of the trunk.

A Net Capsule – another bug type, but this one he had acquired through trade. It happened when, after his Cavalier had engaged in a fierce battle with the opponent's Läufer, both creatures had evolved and gone through such peculiar transformation that it had been difficult to tell which one was which. After some persuasion, he had agreed to the trade, which had initiated friendship, but not quite smothered the flames of rivalry.

A Dusk Capsule – he was quite proud of that catch, considering that he had so mercifully rescued the poor bat-creature from a tangle of messy blonde hair. It had occurred during another challenge, he remembered. That time, a test of courage: he had been made to tag along to an exploration of a dilapidated mansion in Stohess Forest, abandoned by the living and haunted by the dead. The memory sent a chill down his spine, but he reminded himself how he had stood his ground and proven before those two than an aspiring guardsman would not be scared off by creatures of the hereafter.

"What's up with all these trials of bravery, anyway?" he wondered aloud again. "As if every living moment were an invitation to another challenge, an opportunity to show off fortitude, to prove one's skills against all the rest. But aren't those just rowdy games and risky gambles?"

He wanted to have no part in that. Not ever. The Prism Scale he was holding gently in one hand was another reminder. He slipped it carefully between the pages of a hefty volume and was about to put the book away when Licorne turned his head pointedly towards the door, which was standing open to a crack. Nile became aware of the shuffling and hushed voices outside on the corridor – voices he recognized as belonging to the very two from his school memories.

"Is it really all right?"

"Just go on ahead."

"Nile!" The blonde girl pushed the door fully open. She was wearing the forest green cloak of the Explorers, which was hanging loosely like a tent around her small frame. A tiny flower-creature was nestled in her hood, and when she spoke to him, her voice somehow sounded both excited and plaintive in one breath, "We're heading out soon…"

"Well, I hope you'll have an agreeable journey," Nile gave her a stiff reply, stuffing the book into his trunk and slamming the lid shut. Hastily he snatched up his own royal blue cloak, feeling a sudden urge to be on the way.

"And I really hope it's not the last we see of you." A tall boy was leaning against the doorframe, wearing the same forest green cloak draped around one shoulder, and a pair of travelling sacks flung over his back. He was holding his partner in his arm like a stuffed teddy. Although his voice indicated nonchalance, his eyes told otherwise.

Nile gave them a sweeping glance. From the look of them, the boy and the girl could have been twins but for the two-year difference in age. Or, elder brother and younger sister in the least, only as far as Nile was acquainted with their family history, there was no shared blood between them, one being of noble descent, the other of dubious origins.

'The one worried should be me,' he thought to himself, 'about never seeing you back… alive.'

The words were on his tongue, but he never spoke them out loud. He gave a curt nod instead, intending it to be farewell.

"We'll miss you so terribly, Lapin!" The girl was crouching and – much to Nile's horror – squeezing his azure-blue partner to her chest, while the flower-bud was bouncing beside them on two little legs.

"It's Licorne." For the hundredth time, Nile was compelled to correct her mistake, and he was already tired of having to repeat himself all the time. He was tempted to give a girl a smack on the head, but said instead, "Learn to remember at last."

With a mischievous little giggle, the girl sprang up, and Nile was just as quick to take a step to the side, wanting to avoid the embarrassment of being recipient to a parting hug. Without another glance at them, he walked right past, Licorne following obediently. The carriage to take them behind Wall Uxie was waiting. He had no time to spare for useless sentimentality.

"We'll send you letters, so let's keep in touch, okay?" The girl's voice followed him all the way down the corridor, but he never looked back.

That day, walking out the gates of Trost Training School, he was supposed to feel content, elevated – instead he was feeling empty, hollowed. Of all the fears he had managed to conquer, there still remained some he had yet to face, and one of those was loneliness. Far from being indifferent whether he would see them again or not, he was rather afraid of exchanging promises.

Afraid that it would be them eventually unable to keep to their words…

An enemy yesterday is a friend today
So goes the old saying…

~AoGM~

Behind Wall Uxie lay the Acuity District, home to the five grandest cities of the Fortress. Stohess was the one located to the east of the Capital, neighbouring the amiable city of Hermiha, through which they travelled until the carriage entered Stohess Forest. He strained his eyes against the dusk among the trees, wondering whether he would catch a glimpse of the mouldering walls of the abandoned mansion, but all he could see was darkness and shifting shadows. He sank back on his seat, and only looked again when the woods began to thin and light came through the windows: he could finally see the setting sun gleaming off golden roof tiles, reflecting on the waterways like molten gold. On a hill stood the gigantic bronze statue of a dragon, watching over the city…

~AoGM~

836: Stohess – Military Police Barracks

Early next morning, Nile was standing at attention with Licorne by his side, waiting for a senior officer to begin their briefing. Meanwhile, the other cadets were leaning against the wall, making loud conversation with one another.

"Hey, look!" One of them pointed a finger to where another of their peers was descending the staircase with a sour look, balancing a small doll-like creature in one arm. "Seems like Sleeping Beauty finally decided to stop waiting for a wake-up kiss."

Laughter erupted in the hall. Nile did not join in – it was far from him to find amusement in such petty derisions.

"Shut up, all of you," the cadet – who, in spite of his looks, turned out to be a boy – replied with an offended sniff, while trying to shrug into his jacket. He touched a hand delicately to one cheek, which somehow had more colour to it than the rest of his pale complexion. "That was a Wake-Up Slap, and it did hurt, you know."

All too innocently, his partner was blinking big blue eyes on him from behind a curtain of bangs. The creature had blonde bob-cut hair on its round head, and big pursed lips. If it hadn't been for the unusually pink hue of its skin, one could easily have mistaken it for a human baby.

Falling in line with the others, the latecomer stood right next to Nile, so that he not only had the opportunity to make closer observations on his creature, but on the boy's attire as well.

"Your uniform is inside-out," Nile pointed out to him, only to receive a glower from a pair of disdainful dark mauve eyes.

"So what?" the boy replied, his voice carrying an unfamiliar, distinct accent. He carefully placed his partner on the floor to smooth out the deep purple lining of his jacket, then proceeded to tug on a pair of white gloves. "What if I prefer it that way, glasses boy?"

Nile regarded him with matching contempt, then faced forward again. "Then I think you're even more stupid than you look," he said.

'Here we go again…' Licorne sighed, beginning to realize that his Master's first day at Stohess was turning out eerily similar to his debut at Trost. Making friends had never been his strongest point, so it had always fallen on Licorne to make up for Nile's shortcomings in socializing with his peers. As an attempt to improve the situation, he sent an apologetic glance towards the other boy's partner, who answered with a sullen pout.

The boy was about to pin his long hair to the sides, but stopped to glare at Nile, white-blond strands falling untidily into his face. "And you know what you look like to me?" he asked, his voice quivering with repressed rage. "An arrogant prick who-"

But he never got to finish the insult: the officer and his partner finally appeared, and the cadets all napped into salute.

"Take it easy, now," the man waved a hand, fumbling with a stack of dog-eared papers. "So, you're the fresh recruits, huh…"

Nile did not think much of that man, either – the days-old stubble on his chin he kept on scratching absent-mindedly as he rattled off names without even bothering to take a proper look at whom they belonged to; the crumpled shirt of his uniform which hung untucked at his waist; the creature looking like an enormous tangle of thick blue yarn, complementing its human partner's unkempt appearance.

"Anden, Evelyn… Dawk, Nile… Gonzo, Ralph… Harleck, Quin… Sanes, Djel…"

Somehow, the things he was now seeing with his own two eyes were so far from fitting into the picture he had of the Military Police that for a moment, he was almost overwhelmed by disappointment – if only he could have shared all these new experiences with someone he regarded as worthy company, then perhaps it wouldn't have been so terrible. But then he cleared his mind of such thoughts, reminding himself that he wasn't entirely alone: if no one else, Licorne would always follow him, no matter what path he chose to take. At least his faith in his partner brought some comfort.

"Well, the numbers are not much this year, but don't worry, there's plenty of work, so we'll find use for you all," the officer assured them in a bored voice, as if he couldn't get rid of them soon enough. "If there's no question, then you're dismissed."

Releasing a collective sigh of relief, the cadets were about to dispense when Nile spoke up, "I have a question, sir."

"Yeah, go on."

"Who is going to supervise our training?"

"Who?" the officer asked back, sounding as if he found the question a personal insult. "Now look here, we senior officers are quite busy with other stuff. We haven't the time to babysit you. I presume you can find your way to the training grounds, so just go and play around until you're called to complete more important tasks."

"Are you telling me, sir, that there's no-one in charge of training us and our partners any further?" Nile asked, not bothering to hide how appalled he was for receiving such an off-hand reply.

"That's what I said, no?" The officer exchanged a glance with his partner, then narrowed his eyes on Nile in scrutiny. "You must be the one from the Trost school. That bunch always puts on such superior airs, thinking themselves so educated…"

A snort of laughter came from the boy standing next to Nile, but he kept his dark gaze steadily forward, even as the officer's attention was momentarily distracted from him.

"I don't see anything funny here besides that misshapen thing you're having on your feet," the man said, inspecting the cadet's pointed boots. "Did you escape from a circus or what? And your uniform is all wrong, do something about it."

Nile suppressed a content smirk – perhaps there was some amusement in derision, after all.

But then the officer turned back to him, and said, "In fact, I've just decided to put you in charge of training, along with clown boy here." He flicked a thumb towards the eccentric standing next to him, before addressing the rest of them, "Everyone, say goodbye to your idle moments, thanks to these two. In a week, I'll personally test your progress, and if I find it unsatisfactory… Well, I guess you'll see what happens then. "

A growl of discontent rose in the hall. Nile ignored it – he couldn't care less whether he would become unpopular, or even hated, for standing up for what he felt to be right. He didn't care if he was practically alone in it all.

"Now, go and practice on the fields," the officer finally dismissed them with an impatient gesture, evidently eager to have them off of his hands. "Don't be a nuisance. As I said, we're quite busy here at the Military Police."

As his creature opened the door for him with a vine-like arm, loud, boisterous voices filtered out onto the corridor, along with the rare smell of roast meat and fruity red wine.

"Sorry for the wait. Whose turn is it?" the officer said, his voice muffled by the sound of laughter, before the door slammed shut with a bang, leaving the cadets in bewildered silence.
"What a bummer," the white-blond boy complained, suppressing a yawn and giving Nile a pointed look. "And here I was, hoping to catch a nap. Way to ruin a fellow's plans."

"You all heard what the officer said, don't you," Nile spoke to them in a calm, indifferent voice, disregarding the hostile glances directed at him. He began to walk towards the door leading out to the inner yards.

"Thanks, mate, but I'd rather pass," the other boy said around a couple of hairpins he was holding between his teeth, still trying to fix his long hair.

"It is your responsibility as much as it is mine," Nile reminded him as he pushed the heavy double door open and stepped outside, not really concerned about whether the cadets had decided to follow his lead or not. After all, it served their own good to keep on honing their skills, even after they had been accepted into the Military Police. He thought them stupid if they couldn't realize that for themselves.

'Well, being put in charge of supervising training is certainly an improvement over having to clean bathrooms,' Licorne remarked perkily, following his Master to the training fields, which turned out to be abandoned and in a bad need of maintenance.

"Chassoir… Hercules… Läufer." One by one, Nile released his creatures from their capsules, and they stretched their limbs and wings, content to be called out to the open air, and did not protest when he said, "Let's warm up for some exercise."

The other cadets were mostly just loitering about, some of them stealing envious glances at the boy with so many creatures to command, others minding their own business and playing games with their partners or sitting down on the mouldering stone steps. In better times, those steps served as seats for a grand Colosseum – now, the pavement was cracked, covered in dirt and overgrown by weeds, so that it was impossible to make out the field markings anymore.

The strangely dressed boy, who was supposed to take charge of the training as well, was especially conspicuous with his efforts of trying to avoid any sort of exercise.

"Fools," Nile said with a dismissive sigh, deciding against wasting his breath on them anymore.

"I don't think you're wrong to believe that it's still important to keep up with our training," someone spoke, and Nile turned to see a girl with hair in long braids walking up to him. She had a partner with thick orange fur and black stripes: a fire-breathing female guard dog. "You've made quite an impression back there."

"You don't say," Nile replied with a trace of sarcasm.

"For me, it was a good one," the girl went on. "I think I'll keep on believing that. Unless, of course, it turns out you're all talk, and share his level of determination." She gestured towards where their supposed 'comrade' had in the meantime found himself a comfortable resting spot under the shade of a tree, snoozing away like he had no cares in the world.

"Don't even mention me on the same page with the likes of him," Nile snapped, his pride pulled to the surface.

"I do think you're different." The smile spreading on her face could have been friendly, but Nile thought she was still taunting him, and so it made him perplexed when she added, "We don't mind following you."

Nile looked back into her bright grey eyes, but they did not answer his unspoken question. Instead, the girl threw her ginger-blonde braids over her shoulders, then nodded to her partner. The creature stepped forward and took on a battle stance. Turning to Licorne, Nile signalled form him to do the same

"It would be a pleasure to learn new lessons from someone who ranked in the Tost Top Ten," she said. "Please, teach us through a battle."

~ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MONSTERS~

GROWLITHE, the Loyal Puppy (Basic)

Element: fire

Power: Intimidate – Lowers the opponent's attack power. / Flash Fire – Flames give power to its fire-type attacks.

Its fiercely loyal nature makes this creature a favourite guard dog among the nobility, as well as a reliable and powerful partner for soldiers of the Military Police.

"Wendy, use Agility!" the girl commanded, and her partner began warming up with rapid motions, significantly increasing her speed.

"Licorne, Focus Energy." The poison type concentrated his energies on raising the likelihood of doubling the damage of his subsequent attacks.

"Now, Fire Fang!" The dog lunged forward in a blur of orange and black, breathing fire from between bared fangs. Licorne took the first hit as the creature chomped down on one of his sensitive ears, making him flinch and momentarily lose his balance.

Attempting to take advantage of the opponent's close proximity, Nile quickly gave the next command, "Poison Sting."

Wendy made a swift retreat when a barrage of venomous needles shot out from the spines on Licorne's back, but by then a needle had already lodged deep into her tender paw. She staggered, the poison instantly taking effect.

"Wendy, are you all right?" the girl called to her partner in a worried voice. The creature answered with and affirmative bark, facing her opponent with burning determination. "Hang in there!" she encouraged.

"Focus Energy," Nile murmured to Licorne, content to know that the poison was steadily depleting their opponent's Hit Points, and the more she moved, the faster. "This shouldn't take too long," he said with confidence.

"Iron Tail!" Wendy charged again, her speed unaffected by her ailment, her normally fluffy-looking tail was now taking on a steely glow. Predicting the attack, Licorne jumped aside and evaded the blow.

"Finish with Horn Attack," Nile told his partner, feeling absolutely sure about their victory.

That is, until the girl called for a move he did not expect.

Agility. Fire Fang. Iron Tail… Of course, there had to be a fourth command, and he had overlooked it.

"We still have some fight left! Use Reversal!"

His confidence suddenly shaken, Nile watched as Wendy gathered her remaining strength, preparing for what he realized would be an all-out attack. With the creature's Hit Points already so close to hitting zero, Nile calculated that such an attack successfully delivered would indeed turn things around: what with the injury Licorne had previously sustained, he would surely be knocked out.

"Licorne!" All he could do was to wait and see how things would turn out, gritting his teeth, while his partner shifted priority from attack to evasion.

However, the energy that had been gathering around Wendy's form dimmed abruptly, and her attack faded into nothing: the poison kicked in again, eating up her last Hit Point and making her unable to continue the battle.

"Wendy!" With an alarmed cry, the girl ran to her fainted partner's side.

The tension which had been keeping Nile in a tight grip suddenly released, and he let out a small, relieved sigh.

Grudgingly, he admitted to himself that his opponent was better than he had first given her credit for.

"Here." Nile held out an Antidote to the girl. He always had a few of those on him as a precaution: poisoning was a dangerous status condition, and could become fatal if not cured in time. "Make sure the poison won't get to her Life Points."

"Thanks." The girl accepted the syringe and applied it on her partner right away, then used a Revive to restore Wendy to consciousness. Once on her feet again, the fire type winced in pain as she put a paw on the ground, and the girl examined it closely, detecting the needle and removing it as gently as she could. Wendy barked and licked her Mistress' face affectionately, and the girl nuzzled into the creature's thick fur. Finally, she stood and turned to Nile, extending a hand towards him. "So that's how a Trost graduate battles. Thank you for showing us the level of your skills and determination."

Nile was eyeing her outstretched hand in apparent indecidion when there came an unexpected intrusion.

"Not half bad, glasses boy." The boy from before suddenly appeared between the two of them, facing Nile with eyes wide and awake. "How 'bout fighting me and my sweet Rosalice?"

Deciding to ignore him, Nile went on to search for a Sitrus Berry in his item pouch, then handed it to Licorne.

"Well?" the boy pressed with annoying insistence.

"If watching us battle so kindled your fighting spirit, then why don't you just go and challenge one of the others?" Nile told him. "After all, you've also been charged with taking care of their training."

"Since it's been the two of us singled out to become instructors in place of our rather inept superiors," he replied with a contemptuous grimace, hooking an arm around Nile's stiff shoulders, "don't you thing we should first give them a demonstration? Just so that they know what to expect once we get real serious on them."

"Fine," Nile conceded, just so he could extract himself and get as gar from him as possible: he returned to his side of the field, while the other boy took the opposite.

"Ready?"

"Go ahead."

"My, aren't we polite," the boy mocked, making a flourishing gesture with his gloved hand. "Show him how we chill out, 'Alice. Powder Snow."

"Horn Attack." Licorne leapt forward, his horn glowing as he prepared for assault. However, he failed to land a hit on his opponent: frost flowers were blooming thickly on his Wide Lens, obscuring his view.

"An ice type?" Nile watched closely as the creature called Rosalice blew out a chilly gust through her puckered lips, calculating their next move. "Attack with Poison Sting."

But this time, the poisonous needles missed their target completely, shooting past Rosalice and going straight for her wide-eyed Master, who ducked to the side in alarm.

"Watch where you're aiming, mate!" the boy exclaimed, straightening his attire. "Or perhaps you should consider having another pair of glasses prescribed for your defective eyesight. The both of you."

Nile clenched his fists, not allowing himself to fall for the taunts. "Double Kick," he said.

"Not so fast! Confusion!"

"What?"

Ears twitching, Licorne picked up a faint sound: it seemed to be coming from no identifiable source or direction, throwing off his senses completely. Out of nowhere, he was struck by a weak telekinetic force.

"Try Double Kick again!" He heard his Master's command, but could not carry it out properly, and in the process, hurt himself badly.

"Use Powder Snow, my baby!"

There came another flurry of snow, and the world around Licorne faded into white…

~FORTRESS FACTS~

While each individual magical creature is capable of performing a variety of moves, four is the limit tamed ones may perform on command.

"What a sorry performance." The boy was looking down his nose at where Nile was kneeling beside Licorne's sprawled form, shaking his white-blonde head in apparent disappointment. "I expected you to be way more entertaining than that, glasses boy. Your attacks might be powerful, but even that level of strength is insufficient to make up for your shortcomings – or, should I say, short-sightedness?"

"I am perfectly aware of our weaknesses," Nile replied, managing to keep the tremors of frustration from his voice as he gathered up his fainted partner. "And I won't let those get the better of us."

After calling back his other creatures, Nile left the training fields, shutting out all the voices, ignoring all the stares…

~CREATURE SCOPE~

LICORNE the Nidoran

Gender: Male

Nature: Modest

Characteristic: Alert to sounds.

Ability: unidentified

Move-Set: Focus Energy / Poison Sting / Double Kick / Horn Attack

Held Item: Wide Lens

Partner: Nile

Trivia: Got his nickname 'Lapin' from Nile's friends.

"This time, luck wasn't on our side," Nile said with a melancholy sigh, but trying to make light of their defeat did nothing to convince himself to really feel that way. It did matter a lot, especially since the two of them were now officially training to be members of the Military Police, which meant that there was no room for the slightest mistake, but – as he could see now – plenty of room for training yet.

When Nile removed the Wide Lens secured around Licorne's right ear, the glass was still fogged by condensation. He turned the object around in his hand, recalling the day in came into his possession…

"Are you sure this is going to work?"

He was standing in a crammed workshop at the back of a tailor's boutique in Trost, having let himself be dragged there by Erwin, who insisted that he should meet 'someone who might be able to help'.

Nile soon found out that one of the downsides of befriending the boy was that he would have to put up with his proletarian acquaintances and their undisciplined manners.

That time, too, that particular friend Erwin had in mind turned out to be a noisy tomboy of a tailor's apprentice, who apparently liked to spend her free time hoarding up and tinkering with all sorts of items.

"There's nothing I cannot fix!" the girl with the messy brown ponytail and thick spectacles claimed proudly, trying to bend the handle of a Wide Lens, only to have it snapped in half. "Oops…"

Nile let slip an annoyed grunt. Licorne, who had been put on display on top of a nearby workbench, was perking up his ears curiously.

"No worries, we didn't really need that part, anyway," the girl reassured them, removing the broken handle and tossing it away into a pile of assorted junk. She began fumbling with the glass instead.

It was painful even to watch, so Nile turned his gaze to the side, only to catch a wide cat-grin from the blonde-head, who had in the meantime put on some silly glasses. Erwin chuckled at her, but Nile wasn't amused at all.

"There! It's done!" the brown-haired girl suddenly exclaimed, holding out an item miraculously transformed into a rather stylish monocle.

"Wow," the blonde-haired girl gaped in awe. Even Nile was slightly impressed, but he would not let it show. Not when Erwin was wearing that smug smile he usually put on when he had been right about something, and was only waiting for Nile to acknowledge it.

"I do hope it's not just a useless accessory," he said.

"It should have the same effect as a regular Wide Lens, only now it's specially fitted for your lovely Lapin here."

"Licorne," Nile corrected her, watching with wary eyes as the strange girl patted his partner on the head. "And be careful with his poison spines."

"Oh, then perhaps it's better if I let you equip him with this dandy little thing," the girl giggled, and Nile took the monocle from her, carefully pulling apart the metal wire until it fit around Licorne's right ear. The creature blinked his rust-brown eyes quizzically from behind the round piece of glass.

"Aw, isn't he cute?" the blonde girl chirped.

"Looks like a proper gentleman," the other girl nodded in agreement.

"Due to the effect of the Wide Lens, your chances of successfully landing an attack has improved," Erwin said.

"That might be," Nile replied without much enthusiasm. "But we are still 10% short of the average, and that puts us at a disadvantage."

"I'll keep my eyes peeled, see if I can get my hands on another Wide Lens, so that I could make a pair for you to increase the accuracy," the tailor's apprentice offered helpfully.

"Even like this, you're still strong enough to fight," Erwin went on, meaning to be encouraging.

"What use do we have of such great strength when we have to depend on blind chance to utilize it?" Nile countered.

"Are you that afraid of taking chances?" The look in Erwin's cold blue eyes hardened into ice.

"I'm not like you, Erwin."

"You're right," the older boy replied with a haughty scoff. "I'd never be such a-"

"Erwin, don't say it," the blonde girl told him sharply as she appeared between the two of them.

"Right," Erwin said, looking past her and keeping his cold gaze fixed on Nile's own. "I don't have to. We all know it, anyway."

"Huh? Am I missing something?" The tailor's apprentice whipped her head around, watching Erwin stride out to the front of the shop in confusion.

"I think this should suffice," Nile said curtly as he pulled out a small pouch, tossing the payment on the workbench before turning to leave.

However, he didn't even get as far as the threshold.

"Nile." When the girl called to him, her voice sounded unusually serious, making him stop in his track. "Lapin is your best friend, and I can tell how much he wants to be by your side, through thick and thin. That's what you want, right?"

"Of course, but…" His throat was becoming tight. He could feel a hand on his arm. He did not turn to face her.

"It's not just you," she told him in a whisper full of understanding. "Rosie and I are facing difficulties as well." Her fingers tightened around his arm, her voice becoming resolute, "Maybe the best we can do is to cover up our weak spots, but that's still a hundred times better than giving up."

Nile understood what the girl implied, and deep down, he agreed with her. No matter what, he would never give up on Licorne…

~FORTRESS FACTS~

Those creatures that exhibit a high level of potential, but for some reason fail to pass the military aptitude test, are separated from their partners and taken into custody by the Scientific Association. Thus, as subjects of research, they continue to serve the purpose of humanity's advance.

"It's not your fault. I underestimated our opponent's skills. I let myself be deceived by its doll-like looks." Nile realized that his mistake was the same he had made with Erwin, assuming that a creature like that could do little harm, and he berated himself for that. "But I've never seen a creature like that before. It used a damaging psychic-type move against us, yet it can't possibly be a psychic type. Those are supposed to be under strict control, not in the hands of some misfit brat."

"Don't be so upset about losing. It was only one battle." Nile looked up to see the girl and her partner standing some steps above him. She was offering him a handkerchief to clean the glass, and Nile took it from her with a thankful nod.

"I'm not upset," he said, making his face unreadable. "I'm merely intrigued by that unusual creature he has."

"I was trying to ask him where he caught it, but he just wouldn't tell." She came down the steps to sit beside him, stretching her legs in front of her. "Still, we might find something about it in the library. I learned he comes from a village in Northern Valor."

"It's not a bad idea to do some research," Nile agreed thoughtfully. "After all, the best strategy for defeating an enemy is to find out about them as much as we can."

"Mind if I tag along?" a voice with a strange accent asked unexpectedly.

"Quin." The girl turned with a sigh, noticing the white-blond boy leaning against one thick leg of the dragon statue. "Speaking of the Devil himself," she said to Nile, not quite under her breath.

"No need to be nasty, 'Lyn," the boy said with feigned indignation, his lips curving down unhappily "'specially after you beat us up so badly."

Mildly interested, Nile gave the girl a questioning look. In answer, a proud smile was forming on her lips.

"A win and a loss each," the boy said, settling down comfortably on the other side of the girl. "Now the three of us are all even."

Nile listened in silence as the two of them went on bantering. Until then, he had not realized that they had already started making friends with one another. He had never really made an attempt to do so: looking back at his days in Trost, it had never occurred to him to see his classmates as comrades. It was as if he had always known that in the end, he would be standing alone under the flag of the Military Police.

And even though he wasn't the only one now, Nile was somehow aware that this boy and girl would never be a replacement for the other two he had left behind some twenty-four hours ago: he found himself already missing their company, and hoping that someday the three of them would meet again.

However, he did not suspect yet that their subsequent reunions would be under less felicitous circumstances…

A friend today is also a friend tomorrow
And so on, for eternity…


Next Chapter

She was running barefoot across the lawn, dark against the midnight garden but for her long hair trailing behind like moonlight. A small flower-creature was following her, barely able to keep up, stumbling on knots of grass and roots. The girl only halted when, concealed by the shadows of the grove, a large brown bear stepped out to her path. She recoiled, the keychain in her hand jingling like bells of alarm.

"You have to help me," she spoke to the bear, looking up straight into its fierce eyes. "Please."

Iron claws pried open the locked door of the monument, and – in spite of the flower's protests – slid the stone cover from the grave, revealing the man lying stiff inside, his eyes closed in eternal sleep. The girl put her hand on his motionless chest and wept, her fingers searching crisp fabric but finding neither the faintest beat of life, nor the precious keepsake he would always wear close to his heart. She drew back, sniffing the close air of the tomb: underneath the heavy perfume of flowers, there was a faint smell – not of death and decay, but something subtle. Something familiar.

With trembling fingers, she reached out again to examine the deceased, her grey eyes hardening to steel as she discovered the puncture mark on the soft skin just above his collarbone.

And then she knew with grave certainty that the father of her dear friend had been murdered, and that she would have to live with this terrible secret without breathing a word, for fear of losing that most important person to vengeance…

Star-Crossed And Fate-Bound III.

The Royal Heiress & The Loyal Knight