"No!"
I woke up from bed with my hand extended forwards to stop them. I found myself reaching for the ceiling of my bed.
Those nightmares again. Once that I've been having recently. And frequently.
I was feeling very warm. I moved one of the blankets off me.
*knock* *knock* *knock*
"Princess Weiss?"
Advisor Iago. I was already up, and decent. "C-come in!"
The advisor opened the door. "Good morning, Princess Weiss."
"Good morning, Iago."
"You'll be glad to know I gave you an extra thirty minutes of rest today."
"Really? Sorry."
"Not to worry, Princess. You'll need it for Captain Hans' sparring practice you promised him today."
It was today? Uh-oh. "I almost forgot!" I quickly removed the sheets from my bed and made my way over to the dressing screen to get out of my night clothes and into my armor.
"My apologies, Princess, but I checked on you during the time that you were dreaming. Are you doing alright?"
"Yes, Iago-" out of my night clothes"-just that same nightmare again." into my regular clothes.
"Hum…do tell, for the twentieth time." Another entry for the dream journal he keeps for me.
I finished donning my cuirass. "It was strange…It's like all the dreams I had the last time, combined into one dream." Greaves and gauntlets on, I told him how I was wearing enemy colors, but fighting alongside my brothers, and everything that happened in that dream.
A few hastily sounded scribbles from Iago. "That's the fifth time you've had that dream. You must have added another blanket too much in your sleep. It could've been that."
He was right. I was really warm when I woke up from it. An afterthought now-I was in my armor, and my sword was on my waist.
"You look so cold in that armor."
"I'll be fine, Iago. You have me for the rest of the week after today and this training."
"Take care, Princess Weiss. I think you'll enjoy what I have to share this week."
I was off.
"Don't forget your shoes!"
...
The courtyard of the Northern Fortress.
"Haaah!"
*tok*
"Hhngh!"
*slap*
"Oof!"
*thud*
This early morning was personal training from Captain Hans. I was on the ground for a third time. Block-!
"Dead."
Too late. Captain's wooden axe was breathing just before my neck.
"When you are on the ground, move away from me!"
I closed my eyes and bowed my head. "Yes, Sir!"
"Did that wake up you, Princess?" His tone lightened up.
I shook my head. "A little."
"You've been a Sergeant of the Guard nearly two years, and yet you still have not made full use of what's available! Get some water from the fountain, and then face me again!"
"Yes, Sir!" His guard tone came back, if being on the ground wasn't enough to wake me up.
I stood up and backed away from our sparring area and to the fountain. While keeping and eye on Captain and my surroundings, I pulled my gourd and drew water with it from the fountain. I drank and refilled again.
I was refreshed and aware. Return to the sparring area.
"Well done. Ready?"
I pointed my sword at him and nodded.
"Engage!"
We continued sparring. I went with something basic to warm me up even further and keep Hans guessing.
"It's getting boring. Give me something interesting."
A dream started playing, one that had me fighting Hoshidan shinobi and kunoichi. While I couldn't emulate their speed, the second one of them ended up close to me, I knew where they would need to land in order to maintain their balance.
Press an attack with blades locked. Sweeping kick and under swing.
Captain manages to dodge it by pushing back, but barely. "Caught in me that, but keep pressing!"
Another dream started to play. I was without a weapon, and I found myself using items other than my sword to fight.
Use the water from my flask to bring him off balance!
*splash*
Press the attack and push him down.
Right on his butt. Gourd in the right hand. Sword in the left hand, and blade at his neck. "Dead!"
"Underhanded!"
Captain grabbed my blade and tried to take it away from me, but I pulled it and myself back from his reach.
"That little trick of yours only works once! Again!"
Even it it was an underhanded win, the motivation behind it would be just enough, but Captain's anger from my actions would heighten after that.
Another dream started to play. This time, a strange abomination towering over my being was fighting me. While it had power, I had speed. Getting around it and nicking it with multiple hits would be enough to go in for a kill.
But this wasn't a dream, and I needed to end it in one blow. Use Captain's rage to my advantage. Time the dodge-
*Hiyah!*
Dodge! Heelkick to back!
"Oof!"
He's off balance! Tip of the sword touching the left side of his back! "Dead."
He held his hands up in arrest. "Impressive! Well done!"
The first word meant nothing, but the second word meant that sparring was over. Sword sheathed.
"It took you three times to get back. This is an improvement over five."
"Yes, Sir."
He stepped up to me. "Let me see your hand."
I showed him my left hand and he grabbed it by the wrist. "This hand is becoming more and more of one that I can rely on." His eyes shifted away from me. "What do you think, Old Man?"
"She's grown a lot in your station, Hans. Added onto it, even."
That voice. Gunter. Never a moment he wasn't in his armor, ever since I was stationed here.
"Gunter! You're back!"
Captain let go of my hand and smiled. I went over to Gunter and I hugged him.
"It's good to be in the company of familiar faces, after some long talks at Castle Krakenburg. I rode on ahead to bring you good news."
I stopped embracing Gunter and stood a few steps back. "Camilla's coming?" One of my sisters. She's been keeping a special eye on me ever since I was stationed here.
Gunter nodded. "She has some news to share once she arrives."
"Sergeant Weiss!"
I returned to Captain and stood to attention. "Captain!"
"You have served as a Sergeant of the City Guard for some time. How would you feel with a higher level of duty placed upon you?"
As Gunter stood beside Captain, I looked at both of them. "...You're promoting me?"
"Don't be too alarmed, Princess. Years ago, I was surprised when he stepped down as Captain and exchanged positions with me. 'Old Man is getting up there in age."
Gunter was looking older. It was a hard thing to think that he might just pass away. "I'll do my best, then, Captain. Gunter."
"To your duties, then, Sergeant."
"Yes, Sir!" I saluted Captain and Gunter, and I was off to the town.
- Author's Notes -
I made sure to read the terms on how to do this, so my notes are going to be here, at the end of the chapters I make. Then again, these are sections of a Prologue, so might as well label these as a prologue, and then a chapter section once I hit that mark.
I was assuming this to be two sections published for two days, but it felt lacking with the first section-Weiss waking up and being greeted with Iago.
As I mentioned before, this part of the game/story/whatever-this-will-become will be updated daily, if not often. In relation to the game's prologue chapters, this shouldn't warrant too much thinking. I'm also giving myself a upload time of 1200 with a 10 minute window before hands.
On a note of the characters used here, not everyone has to be inherently evil, starting with Hans and Iago.
