Hey people! Just a quick little one-shot for you all, which completes the sudo-trilogy I've been doing with the last few one-shots. This one is also to sort of celebrate 'Love is in the Air' and focused on FrozenShadow. Hope you enjoy!
My Knight of Darkness
It was late afternoon in the grand city of Stormwind. The sun was slowly beginning to disappear beyond the horizon, tinting the sky and all that it looked down upon a shade of amber. The same shade of amber that currently scanned the pages of an old tome, clutched in the hands of a certain feline faunus.
It had been an overall good day in Blake's opinion. Nothing of particular excitement had transpired, and honestly that was just the way she liked it. She could certainly use a break from the craziness of the last few weeks.
Unfortunately for Blake and her plans to read for the rest of the afternoon, the peaceful atmosphere that surrounded her was soon shattered when she herd a soft knock against the door which separated her guest quarters from the rest of the castle.
"Who is it?" She asked, bringing her eyes up from the dusty old book as she began to list off potential suspects in her head. Anduin and Ruby had disappeared into town earlier without telling anyone, Varimas was off in the mage district doing who knows what, and Yang had mentioned wanting to take a nap. That only left...
"Wrath. I was wondering if-..." Wrath's voice filtered from the other side of the door. He sounded extremely nervous about something. "Can we talk?"
Blake quickly marked her place in her book before tossing it onto her bedside table and jumping onto her feet, making for the doorway. When she opened the door she could not hide the small smile that appeared when she noticed Wrath's hood was down around his shoulders, with his unruly black ponytail hanging freely down his back.
"So... What's up?" Blake asked, leaning on the doorway.
"Oh Uh... Can you just follow me into town for a bit?" Wrath asked as he rubbed the back of his head, turning his head away from Blake in order to hide the blush on his face. Why did this have to be so hard? "I just wanted to show you some stuff."
Blake noticed the blush of course. Only someone recently suffering a brick to the head would have missed it. She kept silent on the matter though, instead giving the elf a nod. "Sure, I'll be out in a minute."
"So why'd you want to bring me out of the castle?" Blake asked as she and Wrath strolled down the packed streets of Stormwind. They were headed towards the Trade District, at least if that map in the library that Blake had taken the time to memorize was at all accurate.
"Well there's this 'thing' going on right now. Its a celebration of sorts." Wrath muttered as he glanced away from Blake, clearly embarrassed at the situation. Blake grinned. Wrath was cute when he was flustered. "Anduin is taking Ruby and I figured that you and I could go... Maybe... If you want..."
"Wait a minute..." Blake asked as a spark of hope twinkled when she realized exactly what Wrath intended by bringing her out here. It had been months since they had last discussed it on the grounds that Wrath was not ready. "Are you saying this a da-..."
"Blaaaake! Wrath! Hey guys!" Ruby's voice bellowed out from the crowds of people swarming the streets, breaking Blake off mid-sentence. A moment later a little red hooded figure broke away from a particular large clump of people before running over with Anduin and several guards tailing closely behind, all out of breath and sweating profusely.
Not one of them looked like they had been prepared to keep up with Ruby.
"I see you're already well decorated with the spoils of war." Wrath said as Ruby halted in front of the elf and faunus. True to his word Ruby's outfit was decorated with all manner of different trinkets and tokens from wherever she had been. All of them were either pink and red or in the shape of a heart Blake noted.
"You know it! That festival is awesome!" She cried as she began to hop in place, the various pieces of holiday paraphernalia jingling around loudly with every hop. How she was able to outrun Anduin and several royal guards was completely beyond Wrath.
Blake did not seem to pay attention to the ridiculous amount of trinkets attached to Ruby's body though. Her attention was turned towards small groups of people glaring at Ruby for standing so close to Anduin, and even some people staring at her in disbelief for being so close to Wrath.
"Anduin, why don't we go see what we can find for dinner?" Wrath spoke up, redirecting Blake's attention back to the elven Death Knight. His hood was still down even in the streets she noticed, something he never really did. "You two'll be fine for a few minutes right?"
"Yeah, go ahead." Blake reasoned with a dismissive wave. She needed to talk to Ruby anyway.
Wrath nodded and turned away from the two huntresses, dragging Anduin towards a particularly packed area of the district, presumably where the food stands were set up. The guards followed of course, though none of them looked as if they knew what to do about the Death Knight dragging their prince around by the collar.
"Hey Ruby, did Anduin happen to mention to you what this holiday was called?" The faunus asked once she was sure everyone else was out of earshot, causing Ruby to poke at her own cheek with her finger in thought.
"Yeah, I think he said it was called 'Love Is In The Air'." Ruby remembered. It had taken her a second, since she did not particularly care what the holiday was. Any excuse to visit a festival with this much fun stuff to do was more than enough for her. "Why?"
Blake gave a calm smile to her younger teammate in response. "No reason."
"Thanks for today. I had a lot of fun." Blake said as she and Wrath arrived at the bedroom door of the ninja.
It had been a rather interesting evening. Soon after Wrath and Anduin had returned with food Ruby had scoffed her meal down in record time before sprinting back to the festival. This of course made Anduin eat all that much faster in an attempt to keep up with his hyperactive crush. The moment he was finished his own meal Anduin and his guards also left in search for Ruby, leaving Wrath and Blake on their own.
Neither was about to complain about the situation they had been put in however.
"Good to know." Wrath replied before he began to rub the back of his head awkwardly again as the heat rushed to his face, tinting his cheeks a hot pink. Blake was beginning to think 'someone' had a pretty obvious tell when it came to being embarrassed. "Sorry about the whole Uh... Perfume thing..."
Blake smiled and shook her head, dismissing the Death Knight's apology. "Don't worry, I'm fine. You might want to check on poor Vengeance though, I think she took a direct hit."
Blake and Wrath had been riding on Vengeance near the end of the evening due to the increase of people milling about in the streets, and unfortunately an overeager salesman had gotten just a bit to close to the Deathcharger with a large bottle of perfume.
That situation of course ended up with Vengeance getting quite a large amount perfume all over her and her armor and the merchant ending up with a large bite mark on his shoulder.
"She'll get over it." Wrath laughed as he placed his hand on Blake's head and began rub her exposed ears softly. It was something he had only begun to do recently, and though Blake would never publicly admit it, she loved the feeling of his hand on her ears. "Try to get some sleep, I'm sure Ruby'll have us on our feet all day tomorrow."
"You too." Blake replied as she enjoyed the ear massage for a few more moments before she unlocked her door and stepped inside, though not before glancing back and giving Wrath another smile, a genuine smile. A smile that had been so hard to make for a good portion of her life. "Goodnight..."
Once her door was shut Blake quickly changed into her sleepwear before crawling into her bed. It was only a single sized bed, but it suited her purposes well enough. It was honestly the most luxurious bed she had ever really slept in.
Of course as she lay there in silence her thoughts were not on the bed she lay in, but rather the elf who she had spent the evening with. Eventually she was able to drift off to sleep with a small smile on her face.
"Adam, please just listen to me!" Blake cried as she backed into her tent, with Adam hot on her heels, his teeth clearly bared. He eventually stopped only a few inches from her face, his hot breath against her face.
"No, you listen to me Blake!" Adam yelled in response, accidentally spitting on Blake's cheek, though if he noticed he certainly did not care to mention it, much less apologize. "If I EVER see you protecting a human again-..."
"They didn't deserve what you did to them!..." Blake interrupted, her trembling fists clenched against her sides. She knew what would happen if she even thought about unleashing that anger, and that thought alone was enough to make her stay her hand. "They didn't deserve to die... Not like that..."
"Of course they did!" Adam hissed, turning around and throwing his arms up in the air in frustration. It had been the same story recently with what he used to consider his most trusted ally and lieutenant. Every recent op always seemed to end this way, with Adam dragging Blake back to her tent, screaming obscenities at her while other White Fang members stood and watched.
"Why?" She asked, refusing to meet his eyes that peered out from behind his mask.
"Because they were humans Blake!" Adam replied in exasperation as if it were the most obvious thing in the entire world. To him it probably was honestly. No need to think about the innocent lives stolen when you deny their worth as anything more than bugs after all. "All humans deserve what they get!"
"So we're just supposed to harm them because of their race?" Blake asked, crossing her arms as she gave Adam a glare that was filled with spite. And then she said something she would come to regret moments later. "How does that make us any better then the people we're trying to stop?!"
The White Fang guards standing just outside of the tent jumped when a loud smack came from the tent, causing them both to cautiously peer inside. They found Blake stumbling back holding her cheek with shock written across her face. Adam was standing only a few feet away massaging his hand.
The guards wisely returned to their posts before either Blame or Adam turned around.
"The level of sympathy you're showing them boarders on treason!" Adam yelled, unaware of the audience they had gained for that brief moment. Drawing close to Blake he lowered his voice to a dangerously low tone. "We wouldn't want that would we 'my love'?..."
Blake's breath hitched in her throat as she backed away slowly and looked up at the man who had just struck her as tears began to well in her eyes. He had never done that before. Ever. He promised he never would. But he did. "No..."
Adam sighed as he watched Blake shrink away from him. "See what you caused Blake?..."
Blake only stood there silent, refusing to respond to the man who had just struck her. Adam quickly realized this and let out an audible growl, jabbing his finger at the ground.
"Don't even think about leaving this tent." He ordered, his soft gaze hardening once again. If only she listened he would not have to become so angry with her. Or at least... That was what he told himself. "We're carrying out that train robbery tomorrow. Be up and be ready, got it?"
"...Got it..."
Adam left only a moment later, and without even bothering to remove Gambol Shroud from her back, Blake stumbled forwards towards her sleeping bag and fell onto it face first with a soft thump, letting the tears she had been holding back fall unabated.
She was no freedom fighter. She realized she had lost the right to call herself that long ago. Now she was just a prisoner. A prisoner that had to break away...
As Blake pried her eyes open slowly, her faunus eyes quickly focused to the darkness that dominated the room. Only moments later she spotted a hooded figure kneeling next to her bedside, it's hand laid on her shoulder which was covered by her sleeping robe, gripping her ever so gently.
"Blake? Blake wake up..." The figure asked, concern clear in his voice. Blake did not need to have enhanced vision to see that the figures eyes were giving off a soft blue glow. Those eyes seemed to pierce through the darkness like a lighthouse through fog.
Eyes that were the source of such fear for so many. They were her light.
"Wrath?... What happened?..." She asked quietly, still groggy from dragging herself from her dreams. Why was Wrath here? She was sure she saw him leave after they had bid each other goodnight.
"I'm not sure, a few guards, Eren and Marco I think, came up to get me... They said you were thrashing about in your sleep..." Wrath explained, causing Blake's eyes to widen in realization. That had been a nightmare. That shock was quickly replaced by a look of slight embarrassment as she glanced down to the floor, her head never leaving her pillow.
"I'm-... I'm fine..."
"No... You're not..." Wrath insisted. Blake knew he was right. He knew her way too well at this point. A moment later Blake felt the bed shift as Wrath sat on it's side, his hand never leaving her shoulder. "Tell me what's wrong..."
"I just had a nightmare... Just a nightmare..." Blake muttered dejectedly, refusing to look up at the elven Death Knight.
Blake was not exactly sure what she was expecting Wrath to respond with, but all the tension in her entire body was released at once when he began stroking her head in response, letting Blake's ears fold between his fingers as he softly brushed through her hair. It was a comfort, not because of how good it felt, but because she knew she could relax. She was safe.
Once Wrath thought that Blake was fast asleep he silently brought himself to his feet and turned to leave only to freeze in place when he felt a hand grasp his own tightly, restricting him from advancing any further.
"Please don't leave..."
When Wrath glanced back he saw a pair of amber feline eyes staring pleadingly into his own. This sight swayed his decision in only a moment, though he stood frozen for a moment, unable to break his gaze away from her. "...Alright."
And so Wrath stood at her bedside for the rest of the night, his drawn sword in one hand, with his other clutching Blake's. He never let go, even when he was almost positive that she had fallen asleep.
Blake never fell asleep however. She was content spending the night watching Wrath stand over her as she rested. The guardian now standing over her was no jailor. He was her light in the fog. Her bulwark against the nightmares...
'My Knight of Darkness...'
Thanks for reading! More to come soon! Let's see how many of you picked up that reference I slipped into the chapter!