A hard knock on the door signals bad news. What greets the woman on the other side is her daughter, and an angry official to report yet another incident involving petty theft and arson. Though she is familiar with the trouble her daughter is always getting up to, the mother takes her child in with a serious warning in full view of the official, who takes it as a sign that the daughter is bound to learn her lesson. Once out of sight, she softens her tone to address the young woman in her usual demeanor. "If you keep causing trouble like this, the authorities here will take away the good life that's been given to us." The daughter didn't like that answer. "The good life that's been given to you! Did you ever consider that I might have wanted more out of life than a nice mansion, and a job making clothes?!" The mother shakes her head. "A wise man once said there's nothing wrong with a quiet life. If you want my two cents," she stated. "You'll think very carefully about what exactly it is you want from your life, and why." The daughter stares at the ground for a moment, then turns to the door. "I want to be free."
"What that means is up to you…"
…
Ruairi sits against the wall in front of the fire, half-asleep with hunger. Eventually, he notices a plate full of a hot meal sliding across the ice floor and stops in front of him. Slowly, he looks up towards the same person he's been putting up with for the past few weeks. "Seems the old Fomorian King has made his comeback. And I'm not talking about Cichol, either." A moment of silence passes before Ruairi utters the name 'Balor', which genuinely surprises her. "So, you already know about him?" He returns his gaze to the food. "The Fomor King was slain by Lugh Lavada's sword in the War of Mag Tuireadh. That was one of the main stories that inspired me to become a warrior." A light smirk grows on her lips as he mentioned the name of the Knight of Light. "Didn't that man become a Dark Knight, and then tried to take over the kingdom?" Ruairi was caught off guard.
"H-how do you know about that?!" Though she never really asked any questions herself, this girl already knew more about the goings-on than she naturally should. "I've had plenty of time for research. I know about the Shadow Realm; the Other World; the City of your so-called 'gods'…" She turns away from him as she slowly walked around the room. "I even know about a certain Milletian that you've encountered. I've been hunting him down myself, and…" She slowly turns back to look at him, and Ruairi waits for her to finish. "Interestingly… It seems he's become a Dark Knight, too."
"W-what?! Impossible! He would never do such a…" She cut him off mid-sentence. "Morgant… No. Lugh told you before that Humans are only motivated by irresponsible standards set for themselves, did he not?" Ruairi just couldn't believe what he was hearing. After everything that's happened, he just couldn't see the Milletian taking such a curse upon himself; going down the same dark path that he himself took. After spending what feels like hours trying to wrap his head around the thoughts spiraling in his mind at that point, Ruairi eventually settles on wanting to know why the Milletian himself would become a Dark Knight.
It seemed like his warden was going to leave without answering, but she didn't change her pattern and answered. "I think a better question would be… why did you become a Dark Knight to begin with? Did you truly believe that what you were doing at the time was a better kind of 'justice' than what the Milletian believed in?" The thought never seemed to cross his mind, and Ruairi had no answer. "Hmph, just eat your food. You don't want to go to sleep in a cold place with a stomach that's either empty, or just as cold as everything else here. Believe me."
Tomorrow begins another week, and Ruairi still doesn't know who she is…