Delilah, revealed to be the princess of Konohal, Alaby, led her party deep into a densely-packed forest in the heart of her country, where they encountered a wandering professor. The man begged her and her friends to aid his travelling party in escaping from the clutches of a rogue army called the Twilight Army. She accepted and, with time, drove off the vile forces that were pressing down onto the party. While in battle with the villains' leader, Delilah's identity was discovered by her companions, and now, she must explain to her army why she has been in hiding all this time…
Chapter 7: Under the Night Sky
When the day had ended and the sun had set down beyond the horizon, Ed and Eddward had led the party to a far part of the woods, close to the summit that would lead them up and out of the valley. Delilah had spent the trek in a glum, speaking to no one, not even Eddy, who was becoming increasingly distressed over the leader's lack of orders. He might not have shown it, but he was more worried than Eddward on an average day.
The cool night air caressed the tired bodies of Delilah's party as they sat around their campfire and patiently waited to hear their leader tell her tale. Delilah had been twitching with anxiousness, and only Eddy was keeping her composed. She paced back and forth around the fire, wording and rewording her explanation, so that she might not come off in the wrong way. At last, she could take no more of the awkward glances from most of the party, and she turned and came forward.
"Well," she said, "by now, most of you know who I am. I am Princess Alaby of the land of Konohal. My father is King Lorence and my mother is Queen Gertrude the Wise."
"Why did green-hooded Delilah run away from that fancy-schmancy life?" asked Rolf. He had been the quietest out of the whole party, mostly because he was unsure how to carry himself around royalty.
Delilah sighed and looked up to the stars. "I…I left because I sensed that there was something going wrong in the palace. No, I knew that there was some foul play amidst the counselors and the royal family! It all began when my sister, Philomena, fell ill one day. She and I were playing in the middle of the castle garden, and…and then she began to cough up blood…there was so much…so much blood…"
Johnny, who was sitting upon a tree stump, leaned forward and told her, "Maybe she just became sick. Could be the plague making a comeback."
"No, it wasn't…I know it wasn't a normal illness because when the physician came to check on my sister, he whispered something to my parents. My ears only caught a few words: "poison…deceiving…counsel…" I desperately wanted to help my sister, but there was little I could do in the palace, so I ran away. The cure lay outside the castle walls, I did not want to stand around and wait for the counsel to come after me."
Delilah took a deep breath to compose herself, and then she bowed her head. "I'm sorry," she said to all the party members, "all of you, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for you to get caught up in all of this."
"What're you talking about, yer Highness?" Eddy asked in a sarcastic tone. "We, yer beloved countrymen, would risk life and limb to make sure that you arrived at the palace safe n' sound."
"Don't mock me, Eddy," Delilah growled, though she almost seemed on the verge of tears.
"For once, I think the dork is right," Kevin said as he pushed himself off the ground. "You didn't do any wrong here, Delilah. You're just trying to save your sister. So you lied to us…what does that matter in the grand scheme of it all?"
Eddward got up and put a consoling hand onto her shoulder. "Delilah," he said softly, "when we see you, we don't see some high and mighty princess. We see a friend, someone who is like us commoners."
"Edd's right!" Nazz exclaimed as she wrapped an arm around Delilah's shoulders. "We're your friends, and that's not going to change just because you told a white lie."
For the first time since earlier that morning, Delilah smiled. Knowing that all of her friends would stay by her side was a pleasing feeling for the girl. She couldn't remember the last time anyone had been so kind to her, nor when she was surrounded by so many well-wishing people.
"Thank you," she said through teary eyes. "Thank you, each and every one of you. I cannot begin to tell you how happy I am…thank you…"
She walked away from the fire and said, "I would like to be alone for a while. Please, no one disturb me." The dark-haired girl crept away through the dark trees, heading out to a clearing not far from the camp. Out in the clearing, there is a large gap in the trees where the evening sky shined through, illuminating the forest with twinkling starlight that lit up Delilah's pale skin. In the white light, she was almost glowing like a forest nymph of legend.
"Mena," the princess whispered, "are you watching the night sky? Can you see these stars? Can you see this moon?"
***
In the capital city of Konohal, in the magnificent palace that towers over the land, in a lonesome room along the eastern wall, a young girl with bright blonde hair looked out her window and gazed longingly at the stars. They, the stars, were so far away, so out of reach, but she knew that someday, she would reach those celestial gems. She would reach them, and she would pull one down and give it to her older sister.
"Alaby," she cooed, "I hope you are safe."
There came a knocking at her door and a rough voice. "Philomena?" the voice asked softly. "Philomena, are you still awake?"
The little girl quickly walked over to her bed and said, "Yes, father, I'm still awake."
Her door opened and in walked King Lorence, the ruler of all Konohal. He was a burly man, tall in stature and broad in figure, who was known for having slain over a hundred men in battle, or so the legends said. The king carried an air of authority wherever he went, and he never dropped his façade of a gruff warrior unless he was around his wife or his daughters. That evening, the king was wearing a forest green robe that was wrapped around his hardened body by a white cloth belt, and a pair of soft shoes that made nary a sound on the wooden floor of the palace. The king smiled through his thick beard of corn-yellow hair as he crept into the room and over to Philomena's bed.
"I'm sorry I couldn't tell you your bedtime story earlier," he told the little girl. "That fool of a counselor was keeping me tied up with documents all night long."
"That's okay, father," said Philomena, "You are a very busy man with a very busy job."
"That's right, I have a very, very, busy job," Lorence said with a chuckle.
"And one day, Alaby and I shall have that job," Philomena replied with a toothy smile.
The king paused and frowned for a moment before smiling again. "Yes," he said, "but let's hope you can find a suitable prince for that job! Now, what story would you like to hear tonight?"
"Tell me the one about the brave knights who come to rescue the girl in the forest!"
"Again? All right, if you insist, little one..."
Lorence cleared his throat and then began to tell the fairy tale to his daughter. "Once upon a time, there lived a brave and handsome knight in a cottage just on the edge of the forest. He would often spend his days in the woods, looking around for something, not really knowing what he was looking for, till one day, he stumbled upon a nymph on a quiet, moon-lit night…"
***
While Delilah sat there in the clearing, staring up into the night sky, there came the sound of horse's hooves against the forest floor. She turned to her left and saw a knight clad in blue armor ride up to her, and she immediately smiled, for this was a man most familiar to her.
"Elijah!" she called out. "Elijah, is that really you?"
"Princess Alaby!" the cavalier exclaimed as he dismounted from his horse. "I thought that was you! How long has it been, Your Majesty? Two months? Three months? More?"
"Oh, I should say more like half a year!" said Delilah as she got up off the ground and wrapped her arms around the cavalier's torso. "It is so good to see a familiar face again."
"Indeed. And it is most good to see you alive and well, princess," said Elijah as he lay his head upon her shoulder. The two of them stood there in silence for a brief moment before a knife whizzed through the air and stuck itself in Elijah's right hand.
"YEEEEAAGGHHHHH!" the cavalier screamed in agony. He let go of Delilah and pulled the knife from his hand before clutching it to his chest and wrapping it in white cloth from his tunic.
"Elijah, what happened?!" Delilah asked worriedly.
"I'll tell ya what happened, love."
Delilah turned and saw Eddy leap out from the shadows of the trees. His face was contorted in great fury, and his glare was directed at Elijah, who had just finished tying his hand up in cloth.
"Eddy, what is the meaning of this?!" Delilah screamed.
"Look behind you, Delilah," growled Eddy. "He was meanin' to kill ya!"
Delilah turned and looked at the ground. There, lying at her feet, was a dagger that was painted with a green substance that emitted a foul odor. The dagger was coated with poison, and it belonged only to the knights of the Konohal Army.
She glanced back and forth between Elijah and the knife. "This…this cannot be happening. Elijah…tell me you haven't betrayed my family!"
The cavalier smiled weakly, as in defeat. "Sorry, Alaby," he said, "but the Twilight Army makes a good point. They're going to change the world, make it a better place."
"And what happens when they kill us all, Elijah?!" the princess cried. "That's what they mean to do! They mean to murder every one of us!"
"I wish I could believe you, princess," the knight said nonchalantly, "but after my brother was sent to the frontlines to fight in some meaningless war, I'm not entirely I give a damn any more what's right and what's wrong."
Elijah mounted his horse and brushed back his amber hair from his eyes. "I have my men surrounding you and your little friends, Alaby. This night shall be your last!" His warning delivered, the cavalier rode off into the depths of the forest.
Delilah's knees failed her, and she crumpled to the ground. Eddy was right by her side not a moment later. "How?" she asked. "How could this happen? Has the counsel's decree spread into the ranks of the knights? Am I not safe from anyone?"
"Yer safe with us, love," said Eddy as he picked her up off the ground. "Now, I think it's time we got out and prepared ourselves for battle, hmm?"
The thief girl dried her eyes and nodded her head. "You're right," she told him, "we need to prepare for war!"
***
"…the knight found the fairy to be most beautiful," said Lorence to Philomena, "and he knew, then and there, that he was destined to be her protector. He would keep any harm from befalling her."
"But then what happened?" asked Philomena, even though she had heard the story many times before.
"On a moon-lit night many days later, the knight went out to see the nymph again, but when he got there, he only found ogre tracks leading into the deepest necks of the woods. The knight became dreadfully angry, and he swore he would save the lovely nymph before the ogres could lay a single finger on her fair head."
"And did he win?"
"Well, listen to the story, you little rascal! So, the knight marched into the woods all by himself, armed only with his broadsword and a silver lance…"
***
"Is this really necessary?" asked a knight in violet armor to a knight in green armor. She sat atop her black horse, armed with her lance and sword, but the young lady was most uncomfortable. When she became nervous, she began to chew on her long, rose-tinted hair.
"Of course it's necessary, Sarai," said the man in green armor. He was riding a golden-brown horse, and he whipped his sword through the air to test his arm strength. The battle tonight did not matter to the grizzled veteran. All that mattered was that he do as he was told.
"Abram, I don't want to kill the princess!" cried Sarai as she sheathed her sword.
Abram slid his hand across his bald head and sighed. "You've always been weak of will, Sarai. Don't expect me to carry you through this!"
"This isn't right!" said Sarai. "I…I think Captain Elijah is wrong…"
"Truth be told," the bald cavalier said, "I believe that he is wrong also. But I follow my orders, and you shall too."
***
Once Eddy and Delilah had made their way back to the camp, they explained the situation to the party. There was not a single person there that night that said they would not help Delilah to fight against the rogue knights of Konohal. Each person in the camp quickly prepared themselves for combat, each one feeling that this battle would be different than the ones they had fought before. Poor Eddward was shaking from head to toe as he flipped through the pages of his shamanic tome, searching for a spell to use in combat. Nazz saw him and she walked over and placed her hand upon his shoulder.
"We'll be all right," said the archer to the shaman. "I know we will. We haven't found an enemy yet that can best us in combat!"
"Th-Th-That's true," Eddward replied, "b-b-b-but I can't help feeling like we're d-d-d-doomed…"
"Don't think like that, Edd!" said May as she lifted her iron lance into the air and twirled it about her head. "We're definitely going to make it through this!"
"Yeah!" Ed exclaimed as he bounded through the camp, two swords strapped to his back. "We are the champions, my friend!"
"Listen up!" Delilah shouted as she stepped in close to the fire. The rest of the party circled around the flames and listened intently to her orders. "From what I understand, our enemy has got us trapped. There is little we can do to avoid fighting them at this point. I had Sarah do a quick reconnaissance of the enemy numbers, and they are all positioned to the east and north of us. We are outnumbered, as usual, but we are not beaten! For now, we are fighting with a purpose: we are fighting to free Konohal from the grip of tyranny and darkness!"
"FOR KONOHAAAAAAL!" cheered the party.
"FOR THE MOTHERLAAAAAAAAND!" Ed shouted as he boldly charged into the woods.
For a brief time, there was little action, as the party spread out to cover more distance and dispatch more enemies. Eddy and Delilah were working together, and they had Eddward, Nazz, Ed, and Lee to back them up. Kevin and Rolf were pressing through the woodlands side by side, each one talking excitedly about who should earn the most kills. Johnny, Sarah, May, and Jimmy brought up the rear, since they were not as powerful as the rest of the group. Their positions fixed and ready, Delilah gave a signal and told everyone to wait for the enemy to come to them.
The moments ticked away as the sound of foreign feet and hooves stomped through the forest, alerting the party to the locations of Elijah's rogue army. Delilah flicked her hand at Eddward and Ed, and told them to go quietly to the west. Nazz followed shortly thereafter. In the darkness, Ed couldn't see much, but he could hear just fine, so it was with his ears that he was able to avoid the lance that burst out of the trees. The tall boy stumbled backwards and drew both his swords in anticipation for the enemy's next move.
While the cavalier righted himself, Ed charged forward and slashed at the rider with his twin blades, breaking through the armor and cutting deep into the man's torso. His strike was back up by two arrows from Nazz, and then the enemy was finished with a blast of darkness from Eddward's hands.
"One down, who knows how many more to go," mumbled Ed as he ran deeper into the woods, Eddward and Nazz fighting to catch up to him.
***
"Proceed with caution, everyone!" whispered Delilah to the party. She softly stole through the inky darkness of the woods, keeping an eye on the nearby enemy forces, until she saw an attacker coming out from the trees. A mercenary smashed into the ground with a giant sword, easily the length of Delilah's body, and he snarled wickedly. One slash from Lee's lance was all it took to silence the man.
"Yer pretty tough now," Eddy mumbled to Lee.
"Thanks," she purred. "I've had practice."
The small party continued forward through the trees, stopping once to deal with two cavaliers that had come riding forward. Both the cavaliers wore dark grins on their faces, as if to say they knew what they were doing, and whole-heartedly agreed to the deed. One charged at Eddy with a steel sword, but the small boy was too fast for the horseman, and he leaped out of the path of the blade and jumped up onto the enemy's horse.
The bewildered enemy cried out, "What th-?!" but he was cut off by Eddy, who pulled the rider's head close to his face.
"Ye should've used Pythagoras' Theorem, cur," he hissed as he shoved a sword straight through the man's head from the bottom. Eddy snatched the steel sword the cavalier was carrying and swung it about him. Compared to an iron sword, it was heavier, and required more skill and strength to wield. Right now, however, this didn't matter to Eddy. All that mattered was finding that dog, Elijah, and making him pay for trying to kill Delilah.
He didn't notice the other cavalier until he felt the man's sword come down across his back, cutting him open like a fish. Eddy stumbled forward and fell to the ground, but Delilah and Lee were there to keep the cavalier from striking at him a second time. Lee used the butt end of her lance to knock the rider off his horse, and then Delilah shoved two swords straight into the man's belly, pinning him to the ground.
"There," she snarled, "that oughta hold you!"
She stole the cavalier's iron sword and ran deeper into the woods, her mind gone into a white rage. The family had been betrayed. Her knights, the royal knights who swore to protect her, were now under the grip of an enigmatic enemy who wanted nothing but to kill her. Delilah couldn't focus, but she snapped out of her trance when a lance cut into her side.
The thief girl looked up and saw that she had come across another pair of cavaliers, although these were more familiar to her. One on the right had rose-colored hair and one on the left was bald. Both were her friends at one point, or so she had thought.
"Sarai! Abram!" she called out to the two. "Why are you doing this?! Why attack me?!"
"Alaby, forgive us!" cried Sarai. "It is because Elijah threatened to bring harm onto our families if we didn't side with him!"
Abram grunted, "I did what my captain told me to do, plain and simple."
"Again with your following orders!" screamed Delilah. "Break the rules for once, Abram! You know this is wrong, yet you still refuse to back down and fight for the noble cause, the one you think is right!"
"I cannot ignore my captain's orders!"
"Then will you listen to mine?!" Delilah begged. The bald knight looked quizzically at her and then nodded.
"Of course," he said, "I shall do as my princess tells me. There is not a higher order in the land!"
Sarai glanced back and forth between Abram and Delilah and smiled. "Finally, we're reunited!" she exclaimed. Instantly, it seemed like they were different people, as though the malice and hatred from the enemy army was swept from them and replaced by the good will Delilah felt around her friends.
"Okay, let's move out!" she shouted with a smile on her face.
***
While Delilah and her group were moving through the woods, Kevin and Rolf had remained planted in one spot, drawing out all sorts of enemies from the necks of the woods. At the moment, they were surrounded on all sides by cavaliers, mercenaries, and fighters, each and every one of them rogue soldiers of Konohal, bearing the sacred crest of the royal family. The enemies all had a hungry look in their eyes, betraying their civilized appearances.
"So, Rolf," said Kevin to his shepherd friend, "you want to take the ones on the right and I'll take the ones on the left?"
"Yes, horse-riding Kevin boy," the blue-haired man whispered as he swung his axe in his hands.
"Okay, let's do this!"
Both men ran forth into the enemy fray, Kevin knocking a few away with the help of his mighty steed, Rolf blowing back his foes with his sheer brutality. Kevin stabbed his lance through the chest on a mercenary, and then he beat gouged the man's head with the weapon. Rolf was just as blood-thirsty, and he tore through his opponents with more reckless abandon than his friend. The son of a shepherd brought his axe down into the head of a fighter, and then he lopped the man's head off his body. Blood flew everywhere, and, then and there, the rogue knights swore that a demon had entered the world.
"You shall not take the son of a shepherd!" cried Rolf as he blocked a lance strike from a cavalier and then smashed his axe into the rider's side. The cavalier fell from his mount, and the horse, panicking, turned tail and fled into the forest, trampling over his master. Another cavalier attacked Rolf, with a sword this time, and he delivered a slice to Rolf's torso, cutting deep into his brown flesh. Rolf growled and grabbed onto the cavalier's arm with one hand, making sure that the cavalier could not pull away, and he raised his axe high over his head and tore off the soldier's arm. The enemy screamed and wailed in agony, but he was silenced by Rolf, who tore into him with his giant axe. What enemies were still there decided to all charge at once, but the young man just grinned mercilessly and tore into the enemy force.
Kevin, meanwhile, was faring well against his opponents, nimbly dodging blows left and right and then attacking without any mercy when he got the chance. He kept this attack pattern up until he was assaulted by a large fighter with a giant axe, who cut Kevin's lance arm. The boy cavalier growled in pain and dropped his lance to the ground.
"For you," he said, "I got something special."
The boy pulled an iron sword from his belt and swung it at the fighter, cutting him across the chest. His blow wasn't powerful enough to slay his foe, but he made sure to cover that when he attacked a second time.
***
May and her group were the only ones having some trouble getting through the forest, mostly because there were no flying enemies in the nearby area for the pegasus knight to combat. Since she was grounded, the only thing she could do was watch after Jimmy, who was the only unit that couldn't protect himself against the opposition. Sarah and Johnny were tearing into the land-bound enemies they came across, but May knew that they were getting tired. It wasn't very obvious, but Sarah was becoming slower with time, and Johnny was beginning to have trouble dodging attacks from his opponents.
"Jimmy!" said May. "Go to Sarah and heal her!"
"I'm on it!" the little boy cried as he ran across the battlefield to his friend, who was busy holding off a fighter who had just appeared. He touched Sarah's shoulder and chanted the healing spell, rejuvenating Sarah and allowing her to move speedily once again.
May was glad that they were able to fight once again, but she felt utterly useless in this situation. She felt like there was nothing she could do to help, and that's when the sound of large wings beating against the air greeted her ears. The blonde girl flew up above the trees and saw that there were some pegasus knights flying around an area where there was much shouting. A familiar howl of pain reached her ears, and May knew that she had to go and fight these rogue knights, for they were bringing harm to her beloved Ed.
"No one hurts Ed while I'm around!" she screamed as she flew through the air and struck one of the pegasus knights in the side. The blue-haired woman riding the winged horse toppled off the white steed and fell to the ground below, breaking her neck in the fall. May was attacked by another one of the knights, but Marigold, her horse, dodged away from the lance and gave May a clear shot at her opponent. She took a shot with her lance and managed to graze the enemy, but her lance fell from her sweat-soak palms and fell into the trees. Her opponent smiled cruelly and moved to attack May, but she only struck Marigold with her lance, because May had leaped from her saddle and landed on the back of the enemy's winged horse. The blonde girl winked and then punched her opponent in the face, and then threw her from her saddle.
This left just one knight left, and this woman was riding a horse that was twice the size of Marigold. May jumped off of the enemy horse and onto Marigold again, and she flew down to where her lance had landed and snatched it from the tree branches. She flew back into the air and immediately blocked an attack from the sole pegasus knight, who tried to impale May upon her lance. May was quicker, however, and she stabbed through her enemy's chest. The large woman on the large horse gasped for air and then died, the blood flowing freely onto her black horse, who flew into the air and away from the battlefield.
With all her enemies defeated, May smiled with pride and flew back to her group. She had stood by her man.
***
It wasn't long before Delilah made it through the forest and came to the area where Elijah was waiting. He had wrapped his hand in white cloth, but he did not seem any worse off. In fact, he seemed almost content with his situation. The dastardly traitor sat there, on his horse, smirking at Delilah and her friends, all of whom had finally congregated in the field where Elijah was.
"This is your last chance, Elijah," Delilah growled. "Reject the Twilight Army and join the side of justice once again!"
"No chance of that happening, love," the proud cavalier said. "Sarai and Abram, you two are hereby excommunicated from the Konohal Army. Your deaths shall be your final compensation."
"Damn you, Captain, sir!" Abram shouted at the young man. "You cannot do this!"
"I can, and I shall."
Delilah sighed in sadness and gripped her iron sword tightly. "Well, then, you leave me no choice. I shall have to-"
"He's mine!"
Eddy ran forward and slashed at Elijah, who tried to dodge the swift attack but only managed to get away with a tear in his armor. The short thief growled in fury, like a wild beast. "Nobody try n' help me!" he shouted to the party. Everyone nodded and decided it would be best to leave Eddy to his devices.
Elijah chuckled. "You…you honestly think you have a chance against me? I am the greatest swordsman the kingdom of Konohal has ever known!"
The cavalier began to circle around Eddy, moving faster than Eddy could react. Elijah drew his lance and attacked the boy with a fearsome blow that impaled Eddy. His attack had just barely missed his vital organs, but there was still a hole, the size of a fist, in his chest.
Eddy howled in agony, but got up and moved to attack again. This time, the feeling of wanting to protect Delilah was all that he felt, and he leaped into the air and spun around in a circle before setting down on the ground and striking at Elijah. His strike tore into Elijah's armor and left him with a giant gash across his chest.
Elijah began to cough up blood. "How…" he wheezed, "How are you…so strong?"
"I…got somethin'…worth fightin' fer," Eddy replied.
"Oh…" Elijah fell from his saddle and landed on the ground, face-first. He was dead before he even hit the dirt. As the blood pooled around him, Delilah walked over to the body and knelt beside it.
"Elijah," she asked softly, "why did you have to do this? Why…why did it have to be like this?"
Nazz put a hand on Delilah's shoulder and told her, "We can bury him, if you want."
The princess dried her eyes and said, "Yes…I would like that very much."
***
"The knight fought bravely against the massive ogre, but he managed to triumph over the foul beast and rescue the nymph from her wicked captor. And the two of them lived happily ever after."
Lorence sighed with happiness and looked down at Philomena. She was sound asleep. Her light hair fell upon her pillow in a mess. The good king's face crinkled into a smile and he brushed his daughter's hair away from her face. He then took her blanket and pulled it up to Philomena's tiny chin and gave her a kiss upon the forehead.
"Good night, little nymph," he said as he got up from her bed and made his way to the door. Before he left, Lorence blew out the candle that flickered beside the bed. He shut it softly, so that Philomena's rest need not be disturbed.