When one's father dies, it is oft' accepted that one will mourn for months before returning to his duties, but I was not one of those people. My place is too important for mourning or hesitation. When my father—the late king—passed on, I was immediately crowned the new ruler of my people. It was assumed that my father's cabinet would truly rule the people as I aged and found a husband to be called king, but I refused to be treated in such a manner. Only I held my father's royal blood, and as such, no one I could ever marry would have the endowed strength to rule my kingdom. Mere days after my father's death, I appeared in front of the council and demanded my rightful position as lone ruler. The objections were of shock and anger. Many said that no woman could ever rule a kingdom, others said that I was too young, but one—the eldest and greatest knight from my father's table—Gawain, silenced the council.

"You may all have your objections, but you still speak to the Princess whose father I devoted my life to. She is the new king, and as such, none of you shall continue to speak to her in such a manner, lest I bear my sword once again. She has given her orders, now follow them."

None objected to Gawain's words. So I ascended the throne, at a mere age of ten, and began to change the kingdom forever.

When I was sixteen I allowed my childhood friend, Luciella, into my royal army to become a knight. The objections to my decision were horrendous. I heard many similar objections I heard when I was ten: "Women cannot be knights! They are too frail and lack the courage of men! She is not fit to do battle with enemies of the kingdom!" However, I stood my ground. Panic began to break out amongst my advisors.

I silenced their terror with a promise: "Should Luciella not surpass every male knight in my royal guard, I shan't allow for any female knights." And I stayed true to it.

Such a promise did not shake me, as my intentions were only to learn of the world outside the palace walls. I knew I could not trust any knight other than Lucy to give me the whole truth about the horrors she encountered as she lived her dream as a knight. However, although I assumed the worst, reality was even more so. I heard tales of wild Dragons that burned down houses and villages while plundering the livestock for food; tales of Ogres whose love for my people's flesh was unrelenting; tales of Succubus killing men whose families were left to fend for themselves; and tales of witches and mages who summoned demons to terrorize my people if they did not pay their "safety fines." The more tales of injustice I heard, the more I felt that my duties were misplaced.

"You know, Lucy, nothing is going to change if I just sit here in the palace. I need to protect the weak and walk in the path of truth and justice! Why can't I be a knight and a princess—because if I were to die my people would be consumed by chaos? They are already consumed because of my complacency! I have to do something!" I said as I talked to my finest knight.

"Angie, you know you can't just walk out on the battlefield like the rest of us. You'd be a target, and if you died we will have all failed our duty. I know this is all a problem, which is why I am your knight. I am an extension of your power. I am meant to be your sword. Send me with an army of other knights to uphold justice as you see fit. We don't just have to defend the kingdom from other kings and tyrants; we can also defend it from within," Luciella replied.

So I made a new royal army of knights, led by Knight Luciella, to enforce the laws and cut down monsters that attacked my people. Lucy brought back with her many stories, all with great successes and little or no casualties. However, she always neglected to tell me about a warrior she secretly allowed into her army at her right hand. The other knights never told me until the day before they attacked an underground conjuring stronghold, telling me they feared he was a demon and would betray them, since he never showed his face and carried a spear infused with strong magic. I trusted that she would never allow a demon into her army, but I knew if the knights' feared him, they would not perform as well. I could not allow anything to jeopardize this important mission. I confronted Lucy with the knights' objections and she agreed to ask him to stay behind for the mission, but the fear never left the knights' hearts. They believed that since this warrior was a demon, he would be there for the battle against the cultists and would betray them and kill them all.

The mission was carried out, but the knight's fear proved tragic. The warrior stayed behind, as he was asked, but the cultists summoned a demon with similar armor that caused all the knights to retreat—all but Lucy. They returned with her bloodstained sword, and from that moment, I knew she was dead.

She had outperformed every male knight, but despite her victory over fear I could not help but cry for her.

A few days after the tragedy, the warrior came to me and asked to become a knight, as Lucy would have wanted for him. However, he told me he wanted to carry out justice alone, in the night, and without any specific orders.

"I assure you, Princess, if you accept me you shall not regret it." He said as he removed his helmet to reveal his face. "My name is Astolfo." He had a long golden horn pointing from his right temple. "I loved Luciella. She was my closest friend and ally. I could not live with myself if I did not pick up her sword and continue her fight." He paused for a moment. "I know that I appear demonic to you. It is only because I am a warrior who fights in the night when the moon is at its brightest. I have been exposed to so much dark magic in my time that I have grown this horn; however, I have learned to use it to harvest the power of the moon. My spear, my armor, even my entire body is infused with lunar magic. It makes me powerful and gives me the cleansing powers of the moon's glow. It is a pure magic, even if my horn makes it appear otherwise. Please, you must—" I raised my hand.

"I need hear no more, Lunar Knight Astolfo. If Luciella trusted you, then so shall I. I will allow you to be my knight, but what shall you do if I have given you no orders as you ask?"

"I… I have a friend who has been consumed by dark magic—powerful enough to even consume souls. My friend has survived complete possession, but… My friend is not in control anymore. My friend has been using dark magic to spread evil upon your kingdom, and I must fight against that. I want to combat that evil while attempting to expunge the demon from my friend." He said.

"I wish you the best in your battles, Lunar Knight. But every morning, when your battles are done, I want you to report to me, just as Luciella did."

"It would be an honor, Princess."

Astolfo became my greatest knight as quickly as he had appeared, and I began changing the kingdom. After losing Lucy, I gathered all the promising female warriors and brought them into my royal army. Astolfo taught me his many sword techniques and I became as skilled as a knight. Once I was able to duel with Astolfo as his equal when I turned twenty-five, I knew the time had come for me to take up my father's sword and fight alongside my knights and become my people's Hope.

I refuse to rely upon the ancient legends of valiant knights and complacent princesses any longer! I must use the strength within me to protect my people—and this world—from evil. Watch as I change the world!

-Princess Angel, the Hope of the World

Cards in this chapter: Princess, High Princess, Princess Knight, [Hope] Princess Angel; Knight Luciella; Astolfo+, Astolfo++, [Lunar Knight] Astolfo; [Sworn Knight] Gawain; Ogre; Dragon; Succubus; and High Witch.