After the Lake Kawaguchi incident, things had settled down somewhat in to some semblance of order in the palace. Euphemia and Ciaran still spent their time at her desk going through paperwork, although every now and again, Cornelia would drop by to "check up on her younger sister" as she said it. The visits were unannounced (with one memorable visit resulting in the confiscation of Euphemia's hidden ration of biscuits, much to the young pinkette's chagrin). Although they were a shade better than when Lady Nonette dropped by unannounced, which usually resulted in both young people being flustered and red-faced after no small amount on inappropriate touching on the older woman's behalf.
But this annoyance was nothing compared to the feelings that were swirling around in Cornelia's mind. Sitting at her desk, she drummed her fingers in an irregular tattoo. The fact that her younger sister had been taken hostage at the hotel just proved how truly lacking Euphemia's current protection was. Looking down, her eyes ran down the page in the open folder before her. The piece of paper contained a list of various people, all people from a military background or a background in the police. All people Cornelia hoped could protect her younger sister.
"Your tea, your highness." Guilford's voice drew her attention, as her Knight placed a saucer and steaming cup of tea on the desk next to the folder. Looking over, the bespectacled knight let out a light sigh.
"Think I'm going too far, Guilford?" Cornelia asked, bringing the cup of tea to her lips but not taking her eyes off the folder before her.
"It's ultimately your choice, your highness," Guilford said with a shrug. "Although I do not really think she would appreciate being followed by someone twice her age."
Cornelia nodded softly at her knight's logic: practically all of the men and woman in the folder were at least ten years her senior. Granted, Euphemia could get along with practically anyone, but Cornelia knew she would still feel uncomfortable around that person if they followed her everywhere.
Suddenly, a thought popped in to her mind.
"Guilford?" Cornelia asked, reclining in her chair. "Do you know where Lieutenant Forsyth is?"
"I believe that General Darlton was taking him to the garage to give him training with the Knightmares, your majesty. I know the general and Lady Dorothea have been discussing it for a while now."
Cornelia nodded as she took another sip of tea. "It seems that Darlton has been stepping up our young friend's training, no?"
Guilford nodded in reply. It was true that after the hotel incident that the General had started increasing his amount of time training with Ciaran, shifting from simple firearms drills, to exercising in various equipment, laps and so forth. He had even built a small obstacle course in a quiet corner of the garage for the young man to train with.
"A bit early for Darlton to be training him on the Knightmare though, don't you think?" The princess asked.
"I would agree with you, your highness," Guilford replied, inclining his head to the side, "I did suggest that they first use the simulator, but Darlton was quite insistent on teaching him with the actual machine instead."
Cornelia let a fond smile come to her face. "Darlton has always had a very hands-on approach to training."
"That he has, your highness." Guilford nodded in agreement, as the princess finished her tea quickly, setting the empty china cup on it's saucer before closing the folder. As she stood, Guilford hurried to fetch her cloak, which she donned quickly.
"Come along, Guilford." The Princess said, walking around her desk before striding towards the door.
"May I ask where we're going, your highness?" Her knight asked as he came up beside her.
"To make sure our young friend does not get too seriously injured." Cornelia said with a small smirk.
Standing outside one of the changing rooms in the garage, Darlton was leaning beside the door to one of the rooms. He had changed from the uniform of Cornelia's Royal Guard to his pilot suit. While it was more simple than his guardsman's uniform, the general's pilot suit was still elaborate enough to mark him from other pilots: dark maroon, with black segments on it's chest and sides with similar gold filigree down his arms and on his chest.
Turning slightly, he rapped his knuckle against the door.
"You nearly finished in there, Ciaran?" He asked.
"Almost, sir." The young man replied, his voice slightly muffled by the door. "Just... just having a wee bit of trouble getting it on, sir."
Darlton couldn't help but chuckle as the sound of grunts and what could only be described as a bad attempt at tap dancing came through the door, before an exclamation of "Got it!" sounded, soon followed by the sound of the person inside stepping out of the room.
Turning around, Darlton couldn't help but smile. Standing before him in a drab green and black pilot suit, he had to admit that the young man looked more the part of an old tank crewman than a Knightmare pilot. Even if Ciaran's head only came to the general's shoulder, his stocky build coupled with his wild head of curly, dark brown hair and seemingly permanent dark circles under his eyes gave him an slightly unpleasant image, he had to admit, but the young man's round face and bright blue-green eyes, coupled with his pleasant demeanour, made him easy to get along with.
Fixing a pair of gloves over his hands, Ciaran gave the general a wry smile.
"What's so funny?" The general asked, cocking an eyebrow.
"Nothing, sir," Ciaran replied, letting his hands drop to his sides as he shook his head, "It's just that I'm glad that I got the suit I did. I don't think I could deal with wearing something like what you've got on, especially when it's as tight as it is."
Darlton chuckled at that as he nodded his head. "Yes, they are a bit uncomfortable the first few times. You'll get used to it, I promise." He gestured down the hallway behind him, before the duo made their way down the corridor to the garage underneath the Viceroy's palace.
Walking in to the garage proper, Darlton and Ciaran passed many of the technicians and mechanics as they made their way through the large area. As they passed them by, the tech crews gave the former crisp, sharp salutes while they exchanged friendly hellos with the latter. Rank aside, Darlton knew that the duo had been down to the garage enough times, and that Ciaran had managed to talk to many of the various technicians enough that they were comfortable around the young lieutenant.
"What you up to, lieutenant?" A mustachioed engineer asked as the duo approached him and his crew members.
"Going to have a go in a Knightmare." The lieutenant said cheerfully, slamming his right fist in his open left palm, which caused a small ripple of laughter from the surrounding mechanics.
"General? Any chance you can not do too much damage?" Another engineer asked, smiling at the giant of a man.
"No promises." Darlton said with a sincere smile as he and his training partner walked past towards the group to the parked Knightmare frames.
"So which frame am I going to be using, general?" Ciaran asked as the duo approached the rank of parked Sutherlands and a small selection of Gloucesters.
"We'll start with the Sutherland," The general said, "Technically, there's nothing truly different between it and a Gloucester with regards to the control layout, although the Gloucester is made more of close-quarters combat, so it's made for pilots with a faster reaction time. So you'll be starting off with a Sutherland, just so we can get a handle on how good you are."
Ciaran nodded in understanding, before his eyes widened as a technician ran up to them.
"Hello?" Darlton heard the young man say to himself quizzically as the man came to a halt before them, saluting the pair.
"General, sir. We have a problem." The man said, red faced and out of breath.
"What do you mean?" Darlton asked the man.
"It's lady..." The man began before he was interrupted by a sound that made both officers' backs go rigid.
"Well, hello." Nonette's distinctive voice purred out, a sultry tone added to her voice as she appeared from thin air behind the technician. Both Darlton's and Ciaran's eyes opened in surprise at her outfit: it was a white pilot suit, with a large black segment that went across her chest and ran down to her naval in a vague 'T' shape. The forearms of her sleeves were the same purple as her cloak and, to neither man's surprise, her holster was belted to her hip.
"Can we help you with something, Lady Enneagram?" Darlton asked, his posture remaining rigid as the Knight of Nine advanced towards them. Shifting his eyes quickly, Darlton mentally swore at the technician who had stopped them for running away so quickly.
"Well, I might have heard you talking to Dorothea about training our... young friend here," She said, fixing Ciaran with half-lidded, sideways glance before continuing, "And I thought to myself, 'I think I'm getting a bit out of practice'. So, I invited myself along." The last part of the sentence was said with such a cheerful attitude, Darlton couldn't help but roll his eyes.
The general knew that just trying to force Nonette to back down was next to impossible. The woman had a stubbornness that would have even made Prince Schneizel back down. But you don't get to become a general by exclusively using brute force.
"Lady Nonette," Darlton said, putting a placating tone in to his voice. "I appreciate the gesture, and I'm sure Lieutenant Forsyth does as well. Right?"
Ciaran nodded his head vigorously.
"Right," Darlton continued, "But as I'm sure you heard with my previous conversation with Lady Dorothea, this will be his first time in a Knightmare. And, I'm sorry for being blunt, but you do have a tendency for going a bit over the top."
The champagne-haired woman just rolled her eyes at the general. "Oh, you sound just like Dorothea and Nellie."
The Knight shifted her posture to put her weight on her left leg, which tilted up the right side of her hip, where she rested her hand on, before fixing Darlton with a bored expression.
"I'm sorry, my lady, but it's true," The general said with a hint of sadness in his voice, although anyone who knew the man well would know that mentally, he was punching the air in joy. "Now if you'll excuse us." The man began walking forward. But he didn't expect his progress to be stopped by a white gloved hand inches from his chest.
"Hold it, Darlton," Nonette spoke up, her voice still cheerful, but also with a hint of force that Darlton would have to be deaf not to miss. "You know I'm a Knight of the Round, right?"
"Of course." The general replied, praying that his conversation was not going where he thought it was going.
"And I have been given power by the Emperor himself, right?"
"Of course." Yes. This conversation was going exactly where Darlton thought it was going.
Sighing, Darlton put his hands against his hips before turning to look at the young man beside him.
"Sorry, Ciaran," He said apologetically. "But I can't go against orders from a Knight of the Round."
Ciaran looked between the general and the Knight before him before he sighed himself and shrugged.
"Ah, well. It happens," The young man said with a smile that surprised the general. "Besides, who knows? It could be fun."
Darlton did his best to suppress the grimace that was coming to his face. The lad had no idea what he was getting himself in to.
"All right then," General Darlton said, inconspicuously managing to restore his stern demeanour. "Ciaran, you'll find your Sutherland down in Bay Six. The one with all the tech crews on it."
"Bay Six. Got it." Ciaran said with a nod before setting off towards his destination.
As he passed Nonette, Darlton was certain that he saw the woman lean down and turn her head slightly as the young man walked away. The general's suspicion was confirmed as Nonette pulled herself back to her full height with a devious grin on her face.
"I do so love the fact they make these suits the way they do."
Darlton could do nothing except let his palm collide with his forehead as the Knight of Nine walked away to her Knightmare.
Walking quickly, Ciaran weaved his way down the alley way of parked Sutherlands until his saw his destination, Bay Six. True to the general's words, the Sutherland parked there was swarming in orange coated tech crews, many of them clambering over the platforms holding up the unit, while some were huddled around a small computer bank. All had their backs turned to the young man.
Feeling like indulging his devious side, Ciaran took a deep breath.
"Atten-SHUN!" Ciaran roared, letting his voice carry to the crowd a couple of yards in front of him.
Almost in an instant, the men snapped out of what they were doing, the ones huddled around the computer bank turned to face him while the ones on the platform stopped what they were doing, all snapping quickly to attention and holding their hands in a salute. Soon though, the men relaxed as Ciaran drew closer.
"Well, it's good to see you guys are on your toes." The young man said with a smile, causing a ripple of laughter from the assembled men as they turned back to work. Coming closer, one of the crews detached themselves from the crowd and came up to him.
"Morning, Derek." Ciaran said with a smile as he held out his hand with the man took. Derek was a tall man, not as tall as either Guilford or Darlton but Ciaran still had to raise his head slightly to look him in the eyes. Pale-skinned, with blonde hair and green eyes, Derek looked like the quintessential Britannian, but he was a kind hearted man.
"Good morning, Lieutenant Forsyth," Derek replied, letting go off Ciaran's hand before directing him to the computer bank. "We've just finished installing your information in to the activation key, and your Sutherland's all set up for you and General Darlton to have some fun."
"General Darlton will not be joining us today," Ciaran said in a slightly melancholy tone. "Lady Nonette kind of barged her way in."
The technician sucked air in through his teeth. "Yikes."
"Yep," Ciaran replied before clapping his hands together. "Still, no use crying over it. Let's get this beauty started up!"
The assembled men gave a small cheer, Derek walking over to the desktop and disconnecting a small device that looked like a USB to Ciaran's eyes which was soon handed to him.
"All you have to do is plug that and enter the code, FD34C9Q1."
"That's quite a thing to remember," Ciaran said as he took the key before turning it over in his hand. "Any chance of being able to replace it with something a bit more memorable?"
"No problem, sir," One of the technicians replied, "But for technicality's sake, you have to start the Sutherland up with the code you've got."
Ciaran nodded his head as he made his way towards the platform around his Sutherland. It looked exactly like all the other Sutherlands in the garage: purple and black armour, with it's strange crested head, but the idea that he would be the pilot of this particular unit made him feel almost giddy.
He scaled the ladder quickly, the technicians already on the platform moving aside as the young man made his way up to the platform. When he reached the open cockpit, Ciaran climbed in and strapped himself in as the cockpit slid in to it's housing block, surrounding him in darkness. Soon, the darkness was replaced as small internal lights switched on, before he entered the key and punched in his activation code. Shortly afterwards, the various on-board screens came in to life, bathing the insides in harsh, artificial light.
Cracking his knuckles, Ciaran put his hands on the control sticks, pressing the buttons in the sequence that Darlton had shown him multiple times. Looking through the central view screen, he saw the technicians move out of the path of the Sutherland, taking their equipment with them.
"Disconnecting scaffolding platform." A disembodied voice came through in to the cockpit, followed by the machine shuddering as the surrounding platform was moved away.
"Lieutenant Forsyth," Derek's voice came through in to the machine, "You are clear to move out. Good luck, sir."
"Cheers, Derek." Ciaran chimed in. Taking a deep, steady breath, he rolled his thumbs over the control pads on the joystick. A small heads-up display bleeped, telling him that his landspinners had been deployed.
"All right then," The young man said to himself. "Let's dance."
Standing in the control room over looking the garage, Darlton could do nothing except look out from the large window in front of him, down in to the wide expanse below as he watched the various people in the garage quickly clear the area. Around him, various technicians sat at computers as they checked various screens and readouts. He was still wearing his pilot suit, but over it he wore the jacket of his Royal Guardsman uniform, letting the jacket hang open.
"All crews have reported in, and they are at their designated safety points, general." A female officer said, not taking her eyes off the screen before her.
"Good." Darlton said, as he walked forward to a nearby terminal. Pressing a small number of buttons in to the keypad, the screen flashed to life, revealing a screen split in two, showing a man and a woman's face, Ciaran on the left and Nonette on the right.
"The area's been cleared, so you two can make your way in to the centre of the garage."
"Copy that, general." Ciaran replied smartly.
"Yay! Let's get his party started." Nonette said cheerfully.
Darlton let a small smile come to his face as the screen switched to standby mode and took a step back. Looking out of the window, the sound of squealing tires drew his attention as he watched a Sutherland wheel into the room, grinding to a halt in the middle of the garage.
"Very smooth," a voice said behind him, "You've trained him well, Andreas."
Turning, Darlton smiled as the Knight of Four came to stand near him. Like before, she still wore her blue cloak over her white Knights of the Round uniform.
"It's just the basics," Darlton said, shrugging, "Besides, you can see that's he taking it slowly."
Dorothea nodded. "I don't think he'll be able to take it slowly with Nonette around," The Knight admitted, letting her head drop slightly. "I'm sorry I didn't do more to stop her."
Darlton didn't say anything but offer her a wry smile. The man knew that Dorothea had tried her hardest at keeping Nonette in check during their holiday.
"And here comes the devil herself." Dorothea said dryly. Looking across, Darlton frowned as Nonette wheeled her Knightmare in to the empty garage, executing a dramatic spin before she drew the machine to a halt. It was a Gloucester frame painted in stark white, as befitted a Knight of the Round, with purple and gold highlights along the baroque styled armour plates. The 'head' of the unit had the traditional Gloucester head replaced with a something more akin to a stylized version of a sallet helmet, with a single, large eye on the right side of the head.
Dorothea sighed, while Darlton merely let his head drop. The Bedivere, Nonette's personal Knightmare. Gloucesters were meant to be specialised for close combat, but as befitting their status as Britannia's elite soldiers, the members of the Knights of the Round were allowed a large degree of personality for their units and Darlton knew that Nonette's frame was designed to facilitate her skill and fondness with long-range weapons.
Focusing on the small screen, the general spoke again. "Okay, listen to me. This was just going to be a small training drill. No guns, no blades. Just stun tonfas and slash harkens. Those were the original parameters I had intended to use, and I still intend to use them. Is that clear?"
"Crystal clear, sir." Ciaran replied smartly.
"Oh, you're no fun, Darlton." Nonette moaned, sounding like a spoilt child.
Darlton rolled his eyes. "I mean it, Lady Nonette. I don't want anyone dying out there. Understand me?"
If he was watching, Darlton would see Dorothea give him a small smile at how forceful his voice was.
"Okay." Nonette drawled out, the chance for her to have some fun being snatched away.
"Glad that's settled then," Darlton said with a smirk, "The training will begin when I say it does. So get ready, you two."
Down on the garage floor, the two pilots pressed buttons on their joysticks and, almost simultaneously, two pairs of large, rectangular bars, each the size of a man's torso, flipped outwards from beneath the hands of each Knightmare. The Sutherland took a stance similar to a boxer's, holding it's fists in front of it's face and chest at an angle, while the Bedivere set it's legs and arms wide while tilting it's body down and forwards.
"How long do you think he'll last?" Dorothea asked, worry in her voice.
Darlton didn't say anything, before opening his mouth.
"Begin."
For a few seconds, neither Knightmare did anything except stand there, sizing each other up. Then, with a squeal of tire on concrete, the Sutherland shot forward, it's right hand held in front of it, stun tonfa held ready to deliver a straight forward punch to the Bedivere's chest.
Dodging to the side, the Bedivere swung it's right arm in an arc, aiming for the Sutherland's head. Turning quickly, the Sutherland dodged the swing, pushing itself back out of the reach of the swing, before rushing forward, it's right arm held ready for another attempt at a punch. Coming close, the Sutherland dodged to the left before bringing it's left arm up in an uppercut.
Bedivere had other plans though, as it fired one of it's shoulder mounted slash harkens at the offending limb, a pincer tipped cable shooting out and connecting with the approaching arm before it connected with the Gloucester's body. The transferred force, while not breaking through the Sutherland's armour, did buckle the purple armour and sent the Knightmare reeling back.
In the control room, Darlton couldn't help but give a small fist-pump at what he saw.
"Come on, Ciaran!" He cheered, not caring that the other people in the room heard him. Beside him, Dorothea was leaning forward to get a better look out of the window. On her face was plastered a mix of surprise and joy.
"He's actual got Nonette on the defensive," She said in mild shock, as she watched the purple Sutherland circle the Bedivere, it's damaged left arm held across it's body in a cross-guard while it's right arm was held close to it's chest.. "I thought you said you only taught him the basics?"
"I did," Darlton replied, not taking his eyes off the now circling Sutherland. "The little bastard's just improvising."
'And that's dangerous', Darlton thought to himself, as Ciaran's Sutherland stopped it's encirclement and sped forward again. Again, the Sutherland's right arm was poised ready to deliver a punch to the Bedivere.
Inside her cockpit, Nonette grinned broadly as she saw Ciaran's Sutherland launch itself forward. He was going for the straight forward punch to the torso again. It was a good try the first time he tried it, but now it was just cute that the young man thought he could try the same thing again. Pulling on her control sticks, the Bedivere moved backwards and to the side, avoiding the punch with an almost lazy air. Flicking forward, the customized Gloucester struck at the Sutherland's unprotected right side, landing two solid blows with it's stun tonfas to the shoulder and upper arm of the unit's arm, denting the armour but not rendering the mechanisms useless.
"Having fun yet, lieutenant?" Nonette called out over the open channel as the Sutherland rolled back to a safe, but close, distance.
Through the mic, she could hear the young man grunt before he spoke. "Best fun I've had for a long time, my lady."
Wrenching the sticks to the side, the Bedivere avoided the slash harken that had been fired at it, the pincer tipped cable going wide as it flew through the air where the Bedivere's head would have been.
Nonette grinned again as the cable withdrew to it's housing on the Sutherland's chest.
"So you want to play rough then?" She called out. "Let's play rough then."
Rolling forward, the Bedivere closed the distance between it and the Sutherland. Up close, Nonette fired off both it's slash harkens. The distance and speed of the cables did their job as Bedivere latched itself to the opposing Knightmare by it's right shoulder and left forearm. Widening the stance of her Knightmare, the champagne-haired woman flicked open the video-link to Ciaran's Sutherland. The confused look on the young man's face made Nonette laugh loudly.
"Ready to give up yet, Ciaran?" Nonette couldn't but grin as Ciaran fixed her with an impressive scowl.
"Not a chance." Nonette rolled her eyes at the reply.
"As you wish." The woman replied before pulling her joysticks, which brought Bedivere into a slow spin. "I want you to know that this hurts me more than it will hurt you. Well, just a little bit."
The swearing that came over the mic was soon transformed in to a scream of surprise as Nonette increased the speed of the spin.
Stepping out the elevator, Cornelia was surprised that the back of everyone in the control room was facing her. All present were solely focused on what was going on on the other side of the large window. Looking around, her eyes settled on the forms of Dorothea and Darlton, both standing in the middle of room. Unlike the others, they weren't staring out of the glass. Instead, both had either their head in their hands or just refused to look up.
"Darlton, Lady Ernst," She called out, walking over. "What's going on here..." Her words died in her throat as her jaw dropped at what she saw: Nonette's white Knightmare spinning a Sutherland with enough speed that the purple machine was lifted off the floor.
"Who is in the Sutherland?" She asked.
"Lieutenant Forsyth, your majesty." Dorothea replied resignedly.
The mention of the young man's name caused Cornelia's head to snap around, a look of shock and confusion on her face. Pulling his hands off his face, Darlton leaned down and activated the small screen before them. Flickering in to life, the screen filled with the images of Ciaran, his eyes screwed tight and his teeth set in a grimace, pressed tightly against the back of the cockpit chair, along with Nonette's face pulled in to a lackadaisical grin.
"Nonette! What are you doing?"
"Oh. Hi, Nellie!" Nonette replied, looking through the screen. "What's up?"
"What are you doing?" Cornelia repeated sternly.
Nonette shrugged, seeming to pay no attention to the fact her Knightmare was spinning round so quickly. "Just having a bit of fun."
Glaring at the woman, the princess all but snarled. "Let him go. Now." Instantly, she regretted her choice of words, but there was nothing Cornelia could do about it as Nonette fixed her another grin.
"Anything you say, princess."
With a scream from the other pilot, Nonette stopped her Knightmare and detached her slash harkens. The resulting spectacle was the purple Sutherland sailing through the air before crashing heavily in to a wall some twenty meters away, it's right side slamming in to the wall with enough force to cause the control room to shudder slightly. The entire room rose as one before rushing to the window, seeking to get a view of the crashed Sutherland.
Looking quickly, Cornelia focused on the screen before her. Currently, it was filled with static which soon faded to reveal the inside of the Sutherland's cockpit. The pilot's head was slumped down, but he was plainly breathing.
"Lieutenant. Can you hear me?"
At the sound of her voice, the young man gently shook then raised his head. Looking in to the screen, he gave a soft smile at the sight of the princess.
"Your majesty." Ciaran nodded.
"How are you feeling?"
The man opened his mouth to speak, before a confused look came to his face. He suddenly closed it before swallowing.
"Ciaran, are you all right?" Darlton asked, leaning down.
The pilot's response was lost as he bent over and vomited in to the bottom of the cockpit, causing all gathered around the screen to groan out loud in disgust, while Nonette simply howled with laughter.
Sitting on a upturned ammunition crate, his pilot suit hanging off his shoulders to dangle around his waist, Ciaran clutched the bucket he'd been given more tightly than he should have. Next to him sat a bottle of water. Looking around, he saw the Sutherland he had piloted mere minutes ago sitting in a docking bay. The once smooth purple armour had become completely buckled and broken down the right side of the machine, while it's left forearm was equally buckled and bent.
He couldn't help but grimace as he saw the technicians bring up the second bucket in five minutes as one of the men cleaned out the cockpit.
"I still can't believe that happened." He heard Darlton above him speak, looking at the technicians, before clapping the seated young man on the back. "Guess this means you won't be going on any roller-coasters any time soon, eh? Uh-oh."
The slap had caused Ciaran to gag, feeling that he was going to vomit again. Thankfully, it just resulted in a slight coughing fit, causing the young man's eyes to water.
"Bloody hell." The young man swore hoarsely, wiping the water from his eyes, before leaning down and picking up the bottle, taking a swig of the cool liquid.
The sound of footsteps drew his attention. Turning, he saw Lady Dorothea returning, another water bottle held in her hand and apologetic look on her face.
"How are you feeling, Lieutenant?" She asked as she drew close enough to hand him the water bottle which he took with a smile.
"Better than before, thank you."
Nodding, the dark-skinned woman reached under her cloak before withdrawing her hand. "Here." In the palm of her hand, she held out two pale, rectangular biscuits. Ciaran couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the sight.
"They'll help, trust me." The woman said, smiling slightly at the man's skepticism.
"She's right, you know." Darlton chimed in, crossing his arms over his large chest.
Taking the food from the woman's hand, Ciaran bit into the food. He chewed the food appreciatively, even though there was no taste to the biscuit, it still made him feel better.
"Well? What do you have to say for yourself?" The stern voice of Princess Cornelia drew the trios attention. Looking up, they saw Cornelia, along with Guilford, standing in front of Nonette. The parallels that could be drawn between a head-master and a problem student were obvious to all present: Cornelia's face set in to a scowl, her arms crossed across her chest while Nonette simply had a small smirk on her face. .
Nonette was silent for a moment before she simply shrugged. "I don't know."
"How is that an answer?" The princess roared, unfolding her arms. "Do you know how close you were to killing him?"
"If I wanted him killed, you know I could easily do it," Nonette replied, the smirk dropping from her face, "Besides, it was just a bit of harmless fun, Nellie."
"Do not call me that! And how can you call it harmless fun?" Ciaran couldn't help but notice that Guilford had taken a couple of steps backwards which filled him with worry. "Why were you even training with him in the first place? General Darlton was the one who was supposed to be training him."
"I... may have ordered him to let me take his place." The young man couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at this turn of events: was Nonette sorry for something she'd done? The admission did not help Cornelia's mood however.
Taking a deep breath, Ciaran prepared to do something that was even more dangerous than his duel with Nonette.
"Princess Cornelia?"
"What?" Cornelia snapped, turning on the young man.
"I think that you're being a bit too harsh on Lady Nonette," He continued, trying his best at keeping his voice level. Behind the princess, he could see Guilford motioning for him to stop talking, but he kept going. "I will freely admit that Lady Nonette's treatment of me could have been... somewhat softer, but I did agree to train with her."
By now, Cornelia's focus was solely on Ciaran, leaving Nonette free. Even as the angry princess advanced on him, he still kept talking.
"While you feel that the blame should be solely on Nonette, I feel that you are being unfair. I am as much to blame for the situation I'm in as she is. If not more so."
By now, Cornelia was standing directly in front of him looking down at him, the scowl still plain on her face. Soon, her face softened in to a more neutral expression, until it became a soft smile. Sighing, Cornelia ran a white gloved hand through her hair.
"You just had to say something like that, didn't you, Ciaran?" To which the seated young man only shrugged as Cornelia turned to look at Nonette. "I'm still not happy with you, Nonette, but consider yourself off the hook. For now. Come along, Guilford."
As Cornelia left the room, Ciaran let out a shuddering breath. "That. Was horrifying."
"I can only imagine." Darlton said, chuckling softly.
Ciaran opened his mouth to reply, but all that came out was a startled cry as he found himself smashed in to the softness that Nonette's chest again. Wrapping her arms around his head, the champagne-haired woman rocked her whole body side to side.
"I don't know whether you are brave or stupid," The Knight said happily, "But next time you feel like pulling a stunt like that, tell me next time!"
Ciaran didn't, or rather couldn't, give a reply as he began softly beating a fist against Nonette's upper arm, causing Dorothea to roll her eyes at the display, while Darlton merely laughed.
Walking down the hallway to the elevator, Cornelia tapped her fingers against her forearm as she and Guilford neared the entrance.
"Well. That was certainly unexpected." Guilford admitted after a while, to which Cornelia merely nodded.
"The woman nearly kills him, and he defends her," Cornelia mused out loud. "I can't tell if he's insane or just a fool."
Guilford didn't give any reply except a nod. When they reached the elevator, the man reached forward and pressed the 'descend' button.
"What do you make of Lieutenant Forsyth, Guilford?"
The bespectacled man's eyebrows shot up in mild surprise, before he fell in to thought. "The incident at Lake Kawaguchi not withstanding, he seems to be a man who can keep a cool head, stay focused and, as we saw before, he was not above putting himself in harms away to defend someone. Why do you ask, your highness?"
"No reason, Guilford," Cornelia said, a small smile on her face as the doors to the elevator opened with a ding. "No reason at all."
AN: Boy, this took me a while. I've had this sitting on my harddrive for well over a week now. I haven't been able to get it out sooner because of several circumstances beyond my control, plus it went through several rewrites because there were certain things I wasn't happy with, and writing Knightmare on Knightmare combat is hard if you're a guy who's mainly been writing about gunfights and shit. Still, you live and learn, eh?
Still, I think I'm proud of myself for (nearly) managing to bust out a chapter a week for you guys. Seriously, the fact you guys are liking this story so much and are giving it so much love is brilliant. Thank you.
So, as I've said before, and will say again many times in the future: read and enjoy.