IM BACK AT IT AGAIN, BOYS!

I have successfully defeated my old enemy, The Blank Word Document, and churned out another honey mustard covered chapter. (Buns not included.) Also, huge thanks to all you guys that PM'd and review to tell me to stop overthinking things so much.

Hope you guys all enjoy the read.

Warning: Due to Supreme Gamers ongoing conflict against the ghost pirate's loitering in his driveway, this chapter may or may not contain the wailing voices of the damned. Supreme Gamer takes no responsibility for readers who get possessed because you believed the big tittied ghost when she said she loved you. You have been warned.

There was a certain sense of eagerness in Velka's footsteps as she made her way through the castle and towards the courtyard. Much like a hunter that was closing in on its long-sought prey.

"Heh, someone's in a hurry. It's not as if he's going to disappear before we actually get there, you know." Ciaran said in an amused tone as she matched the quickened footsteps of her friend.

"Why risk giving him the chance? Besides, I want to be down there when he opens his eye's. Really get that "Oh no!" look humans always get when their backed into a corner. You know the one." The goddess said with a smile, not at all trying to hide her disposition on things.

"Wide eye's, followed by open mouthed sharp gasp and then immediately looking for a place to run. A classic." Ciaran chuckled at the thought, the levity in her tone showing just how entertaining she believed the scene would be.

With that, it didn't take long at all for the two to navigate the halls and make their way down to the courtyard. Neither of them believing a second that the human would die from his injuries. For even if they were life threatening, it wouldn't be long before a cleric was rushed in to heal him. There was nothing to worry about really.

Such was the joys of having dedicated and studied "Miracle Workers" on hand.

However, as they finally made their way down to the open courtyard, the two abruptly halted in surprise as matching looks of deep confusion and befuddlement crossed their faces.

For currently within the courtyard, there was now six individuals. The still unconscious Smough, two standing Silver Knights, Ornstein…..

….and Princess Gwynevere, who was currently kneeling and allowing an unconscious Kaylen to rest his head on her legs like a pillow.

"My lady, I thank you for the assistance, but I must insist that you not coddle the new recruit. Someone of your statues need not bother yourself with such matters. Not to mention that your dress will be tarnished by such a position on the ground." The captain stated respectfully.

"Oh, tis not a bother at all, Ornstein. The young human was clearly in dire straits, so twas only natural that I step in. After all, what sort of royalty is above offering a hand when needed?" the Princess exclaimed with a kind smile on her lips.

"The sort that have responsibilities to take care of." Ciaran chimed in with a calm, yet stern tone. Causing to the princesses' shoulders to roll her eye's a bit as the two goddesses made their way further inside. "If my memory of today's timetable is correct, you are supposed to be at a charity right now to bless water and pray with the citizens. Yet here you are performing a service some might label as "inappropriate.""

"How wonderful, tis Ciaran. Always nice to have thee watching over my shoulder and ready to deliver a lecture." The Princess said with clear sarcasm as her gentle smile remained true. "And honestly, "inappropriate"? Thou art certainly reaching with such a proclamation, don't you think?"

"As I'm sure you're aware, your majesty, you draw a great of attention from others. To be seen granting a human trainee such leeway as to lay upon your person could spark all manner of rumor and gossip." The blue clad assassin said as she casually raised a finger to point over her shoulder to the windows surrounding the courtyard. Not even needing to actually look to know that there had to be servants not so subtly taking in the sight of the Princess and the human laying in her lap. Which there were. "Perhaps you'd receive fewer lectures if you refrained from putting yourself in such positions and acted with a bit more maturity. In fact, I'd have thought those assigned to guard you would specifically work to keep you on schedule and out of trouble."

At this, the two accompanying Silver Knights both stiffened and perked up as the Lord's Blade looked directly at the both of them with a clearly displeased look in her eye's. One that came off far more intimidating when paired wore the porcelain mask she wore.

Though Gwynevere did not seem to share their disposition on the matter, as she did not lose her composer for even a single moment.

"Hm. Immature, am I? Heavens, is that how thy truly feels, Ciaran? I cannot hazard a guess as to why. I'd certainly never wish do anything that might spark any such rumors." Gwynevere said innocent manner as she placed her hand upon Kaylen's cheek in a blatant show of suggestive affection. "My, but this one is quite something, isn't he? Young, strapping, not afraid to get a bit roughed up. Why, I may just fall head over heels for him."

Knowing that the young princess was only saying and doing such things to spite her advice, Ciaran gave a small sigh at her little act. If you asked her, Lord Gwyn had spoiled Gwynevere a bit too much and it made her somewhat arrogant. The assassin knew for a fact that it was anyone else pulling such a stunt, Lord Gwyn aside of course, Ornstein would have their head in a heartbeat.

However, the two women, as well as the each of the knights, were currently so focused on one another that neither of them noticed a very small detail regarding the human's body. That detail being the very subtle twitch of his face that occurred when Gwynevere touched placed her hand on his cheek.

Fortunately, or rather unfortunately really, Velka was keenly focused on Kaylen the entire time and caught small movement the moment it had occurred.

She needed but a single moment to understand exactly what he was doing.

"Yes, he's definitely a sly little human, I'll give him that." Velka said as she narrowed her eye's and placed her hands behind her back. "However, he should really work on staying still if he wants to try playing dead."

FWWISH-THWICK

"NOOO!" Kaylen screamed in a panic as what can only be described as an ethereal blue blade manifested directly above him and proceeded to be willed into shooting between his legs, striking the earth directly below his crotch. Though it came more than close enough to cause the human to bolt upright and frightfully grasp hold of his manhood.

It was only after confirming with absolute certainty that she hadn't pierced his most valued body part; did he slump his head back and release a deeply relived sigh.

"What a surprise. He's wide awake." The Goddess said dryly as she slowly began to approach the human with her eye's trained directly on him. Not unlike a predator moving in for the kill.

"V-Velka." Kaylen said with newfound fear in his tone as he quickly stood to his feet just as she made her way directly in front of him. Even though they were relatively the same height, he could definitely tell there was a lot of anger behind those golden split eyes. "U-Uh, hey. Good to see you again…in this very public setting full of witnesses."

"Indeed." Velka said with smile that did not reach her eye's. "You know...it's not polite to leave a woman all alone at night. Especially after giving such a grand performance. How's your sister, by the way?"

Her words came off with just the right amount of underlying animosity that it could only be picked up by both the human himself and Ciaran. As such, Kaylen paused for a few moments to carefully select his next words before speaking once again.

"Heh, well, I've been meaning to talk to you about that." Kaylen said in a somewhat casual tone, as Princess Gwynevere stood to her feet and, much like Ornstein and her two guards, held a look of deep interest and curiosity at what was happening. "Things definitely got a lot more…hectic than I wanted them to be. And I just wanted to say-"

Kaylen's words were cut short as Velka took a single step forward, getting very close and personal with him, before placing a very firm hand upon his shoulder.

"Heh, heh, it's okay, Kaylen. No need to explain. We both said and did a lot of things that you're going to regret." Velka said with friendly tone as Kaylen noticed that her hand was dangerously close to squeezing his throat, causing the human to force a smile on his lips as he screamed internally. "Ciaran tells me that you've earned yourself a very important position here."

"Well…did Ciaran also tell you that it was entirely her idea? I'm what some might call an "Unwilling participant"." Kaylen said nervously, shamelessly trying to shift a bit of the blame o someone else.

"How very odd." Ciaran chimed in happily as she placed a hand to her mask in mock thought as a humorous idea came to her mind. "If I recall correctly, you originally came here seeking Velka out on your own. Meaning to settle your confrontation with her."

""What?"" Ornstein and Gwynevere exclaimed simultaneously as Kaylen threw a dirty look towards the masked woman's way for suggesting something like that. Though this only seemed to spur her act on that much further.

"Oh, and good job on your spar, by the way. I was surprised that you'd let Smough's beating go so far. But then again, he's not the one you have you sights on, so I suppose you have little reason to put forth real effort. Though I must say it is quite tasteless to be so lazy in your training." Ciaran said, only just barely containing her laughter at the shocked look on everyone's faces. Save Velka, of course, who knew for a fact that she was talking him up for a laugh.

However, for everyone else, the misunderstand of Kaylen's character silently grew.

Ornstein came to the conclusion that this must have been why Lord Gwyn wished for this human to be trained. He'd engaged with battled Velka and seemingly gotten one over on her. Something like that is no small feat and more than enough to gather Lord Gwyn's attention. Though to have done something like that, the human no doubt must have a checkered past of some sort.

Gwynevere, for her part, was positively beside herself with surprise and intrigue. It seemed that the human wasn't kidding when he said that her father had chosen him for a reason. If what she was hearing was true, he was more dangerous than she initially gave him credit for. To overcome Smough was an amusing enough to garner a bit of her interest. But to overcome Velka? Now he had her attention.

Quickly glancing at the gods around him and noticing their focus gazes, Kaylen was quick to respond.

"Ciaran, you have a really bad sense of humor. No one with half a brain would come looking to fight Velka." Kaylen said pointedly to the goddess, rebuking any such accusations claiming he was holding back.

"Maybe not from the front. But as we both know; you work better when no one realizes what's happening at all until it's too late." Velka said in an accusatory tone, further adding to the surround onlooker's bewilderment. "I found your little hideout in the woods. Filled with all your little blades and poisons."

For the first time, Kaylen's expression turned from one of suppressed fear to one of visible shame and discomfort.

"That was private." He said as he turned his gaze away from the winged goddess.

"Oh, I bet it was. I'd think someone of your profession would prefer it that way. The state of your weapons and the toxin's coating them tell that you aren't a novice at what you do. Not to mention that you seemed quite comfortable fighting Smough. Being human, I doubt anyone would have blamed you for curling up and surrendering to a man of his size. But you wore him down and specifically targeted parts of his body that you knew would be effective. That tells that you're no stranger to combat and thinking on your feet." Velka said, putting further pressure on the humans' thoughts. Though what she did not see was the disapproval that was beginning to form in Ornstein's eyes. "I can already guess that you've killed before. Odds are you're a pathetic assassin, waiting to jump at the first coin offered to you. So tell me, do you preferably kill for pleasure or do you simply tell yourself "A jobs a job"?"

At this, Kaylen's brow furrowed somewhat as he turned an agitated look towards the goddess.

"It's not like that, alright."

"Then exactly what is it like? No need to be shy. I want to know all dirty little-"

The goddesses' words were abruptly cut off as none other than Ornstein stepped forward and placed himself directly in between the two of them. Even going so far as to remove, the goddess's hand from the human's shoulder.

"That's enough, Velka." The captain declared aloud.

At this, Velka's eye's narrowed as a small layer of anger entered her tone at being interrupted so blatantly.

"What are you doing? Did you not hear anything I just said?"

"There are no clean hands here, Velka. The human is a recruit under my command and until such time as he chooses to be otherwise, that is all he is." Ornstein responded firmly to the goddesses' words, before turning his head towards the man in question. "Boy. Do you have any intention to bring harm to those within this castle?"

More than a bit surprised to hear the captain sticking up for him, Kaylen hesitated for a moment before replying.

"No, sir. No one at all."

"Then report to Andre from your measurements and remember what I told you of your duties before bedding down for the day. First formation is same time tomorrow. Don't be late. Dismissed."

Without another word, the captain turned his back on the human as a show that the conversation was now over. Taking a moment to fully accept that Ornstein truly was backing him on things, Kaylen moved to do exactly as he was told and made to leave the courtyard.

However, as he walked onwards towards the only exit available, two things happened in tandem.

The first was that while Velka and Ornstein were busy staring one another down, Ciaran kept her eyes on Kaylen the entire time as he walked away. With sight that was second in the entire kingdom only to her longtime friend Gough, it took her but a mere two seconds to spot a very striking detail upon the humans back as he walked away. One that managed too actually shock her a great deal.

But no matter her surprise, Ciaran kept her composure in full, immediately internalizing the information for Lord Gwyn's ears only.

The second thing that happened was that Smough regained consciousness. After sitting himself up and brushing away the minor daze the lingered across his mind, his gaze immediately fell upon Kaylen as he was making to leave.

Without wasting a single moment, the heavy-set man released guttural snarl before raising himself up from the ground and storming towards his unsuspecting foe. Intent on wringing his neck for daring to humiliate him.

Unfortunately, before he could get very far…

"Stop him." A feminine voice ordered calmly, prompting the two Silver Knight to immediately spring into action and charge forward.

Before Kaylen could even turn around to realize he was in danger, the knights were already on top of the target and showed unprecedented teamwork by emulating the attack the human had done before. With one striking out at Smough's knee with a punch to throw off his balance, and just as he was about to release a cry of pain, the other leapt forward and delivered a devastating elbow directly to the giant's temple.

In the span of mere seconds, Smough had once again been knocked unconscious.

"What the...?" Kaylen said deftly as he turned to see the two-knight standing over Smough. Each of which who were quick to give a small nod of acknowledgment to the young human.

Turning back towards the others, Kaylen saw that Princess Gwynevere was currently smirking and waving at him. It seemed that Ornstein wasn't the only one watching out for him. However, in her eye's, he could see a silent message being conveyed. One that he received loud and clear.

"We'll be discussing this later."

Having had more than enough dropped on him today, Kaylen gave a small to inform her that the message was received, before turning to leave the courtyard at last. Meaning to think over his next move.

"So we sympathize with murderers now?" Velka questioned as she watched the human leave.

"Hm. Should I take your vexation to mean that what Ciaran said holds at least a grain of truth then? You and the human have history." Ornstein questioned in a none too perturbed manner. "No matter. My orders are clear on what is to be done. Unless he wishes to speak it himself, the human's past is his own. Not to mention that you know as well as I that, if he were to step out of line, I'd be the first person there to deal with him."

"Apologizes, Captain, but that would actually be me. All the better to have the strike quick and unseen to minimize any damages or risk." Ciaran chimed in as she placed her hands behind her back, equally as unbothered at the declaration that if Kaylen became a problem, she would be there to kill him. "Also Velka, what happened to giving things a chance? We don't have all of the information, so don't you think throwing around accusations of murder is a bit premature?"

"I said I'd decide only after I've had my say. Never once did I claim he wouldn't be questioned."

"Goodness. I can definitely see why you're primarily not given assignments that require thorough investigation." Ciaran exclaimed with a sigh, earning a sharp look from her friend. "If your aim was to interrogate him for answers, then you've gone about it in a very counterproductive manner."

"Oh, right, I should have simply played it your way and been all chuckles and innuendo's." Velka shot back.

"No, of course not. But empathy can be a powerful tool. You should have come off as more reasonable to get him a bit more comfortable. It wouldn't have been hard. He's human and you're a goddess, so he would have generally been focused on one thing once he thought he wasn't in danger of harm. Then just let him interrogate himself. Let the human ramble on at first and give you his false statement about things. Lock them into a lie, then start to pick it apart piece by piece. Sometimes catching a suspect in a lie is just as good as a confession. With the information available, you could have at least bluffed him into a slipup and found a trail to track." Ciaran explained, much to the Velka's annoyance and Princess Gwynevere's interest. "Bu~t now he has plenty time to come up with a convincing cover story, which will be easy since you've revealed the extent of everything you know, and he has very little incentive to come clean about anything. So nice work on sabotaging yourself."

"Hmph…Lady Gwynevere's right. You could learn to cut back on the lectures." Velka said responded irritably, unwilling to admit that she might have made a bit of a mistake.

SLAM

"It's alright! I've returned with-" Artorias, now dragging a healer with him by the scuff of her collar, started before completely cutting himself off as he saw that not only was the injured human gone, but Velka, Ciaran and Princess Gwynevere were all here together now. "Uh…what did I miss?"

NOW HOLD ON A GOD DANG MINUTE! I GOT PARTING COMMENTS TO SAY!

Firstly, this time around, I kept things a little bit further on the shorter side. Simply to better set myself up for the next chapter. I was gonna keep things going, but with the things I wanted to add on, I felt it would be better to just make the rest its own chapter.

Secondly, I really wanted to show a bit of what it's like when God's like Ciaran and Gwynevere are around one another. Establish a bit of a relationship, while introducing a bit of an outside element in Kaylen. So hopefully things came off as a bit entertaining for you guys.

Thirdly, I had a TON of fun introducing a bit more questions to be thrown Kaylen's way. Really get the ball rolling that there are a ton of things that just don't add up and to show that the gods really don't know a single thing about him beyond the sprinkles of clues he's left behind. Not to mention it was fun getting to show a bit of the "Mentor standing up for the student" angle in Ornstien.

With all the gods and established Lore behind Lordran, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited to write out Kaylen's actual reasons for things alongside other events like the Occult rebellion and rise of the Darkwraiths. Not to mention how vastly I could change the outcomes or effect characters like Gwynevere and Gwyndolin.

UUUGH. God dang subtle character and story progression always keeps me away from the good stuff. ;-;

But anyway, I hope this chapters been a fun little read for you guys.

As always, feel free to leave a review and tell me what you guys thought about this chapter of the story. Was Velka a bit to forceful for it to be believable? Was Gwynevere a bit too childish? Was the gods interaction with Kaylen a little to forgiving and lax?

Honest opinions are always appreciated as I'm always looking to improve my style of writing to make this story a bit more interesting for you guys. so don't be shy in telling me your thoughts about how things are going so far. Outside opinions will have a huge effect on how this story will play out.

This is Supreme Gamer, Signing out.

P.S. I know I really shouldn't get ahead of myself, but I'm reeeeally eager to to write about Gwyndolin. There's just something about his charecter and powers that just get the imagination gears rollin for me.

P.P.S. And before anyone says it, yes, I did give Kaylen a quality Gwynevere lap pillow for a second there. And if you didn't imagine a huge pair of breast hovering over him the entire time, you Sir/Madam, are simply uncultured.