Disclaimer is on chapter 1

~#~#~#~

Doubt

~#~

While the guards posted at the gate entrance to Avalonia knew to expect Sabre to return, they were honestly expecting him to return sometime once the sun had reached its peak and begun descending to the west not while it was still rising in the sky above them.

He had not passed through these very gates and disappeared over the hill to the north only a couple of hours ago yet could easily be recognised as he returned victorious over Sir Worthington. Even from this distance, as the young swordsman began crossing the great stone bridge towards them, they could discern the undisputable air around him telling them of his accomplishment. The son of Claymore had left Avalonia at dawn as a boy and had returned now as a man.

Wasting no time, Sabre made his way back to the castle to officially end his Walk of the Worthy in front of the Queen- or in his case, Minister Misericorde seeing as Her Majesty was still unwell enough to honour him with her presence.

"An exemplary demonstration of the very finest execution of what can only be described as…as…Well done!" The Minister exclaimed eventually. "Custom dictates that Her Majesty the Queen would now congratulate you, but, as you can see, she is…er…elsewhere at present"

No matter how skilled he was with a blade or quiet and, at times, unyielding in his composure, Sabre was still just a kid and was disappointed that Her Majesty had to be unwell during his Walk of the Worthy even if he did mask it well enough that no one would see it. All he could do was accept the words of praise Minister Misericorde would say in her place no doubt having foreseen this happening the moment His Highness had told him of the swordsman's special day.

"You were stonking! You now rank amongst Avalonia's most valued knights. Today, you have taken- nay, earned your place as one of the worthy protectors of our great realm!" Misericorde proclaimed proudly meaning every word of it.

Having now finished the matter regarding Sabre's trial, the minister turned to another matter that was just as important as its predecessor.

"I don't suppose, if I may be so bold to inquire, that you happen to know the whereabouts of Prince Anlace?" He asked hopefully. "He was sent into something of a flap by Her Majesty's abrupt departure"

Having come straight here upon his return, Sabre had no idea where His Highness may be and had no recollection of seeing him at all since meeting in the castle foyer this morning. More importantly however, was the fact that Her Majesty, while unfit to see him, had ventured outside of the castle herself.

"He did not take too kindly to being told he was not to accompany her, you see. He is a fine young man, but when it comes to his mother, he can be somewhat…wilful" The minister remarked although wilful was just a mild way of saying that His Highness, Prince Anlace, could be rather rash at times when in regards to his mother, the Queen.

Just like it was known that the hero Claymore had a habit of trying to blow up his son with magic whenever he had one too many skinfulls, there was not a soul in Avalonia who was not familiar with Prince Anlace's change of character whenever something had happened to his mother the Queen. When Her Majesty has sprained her ankle that one time a few years back during the months of Spring, his Majesty had declared that the entire town of Avalonia be covered by a brick roof to prevent her from slipping ever again.

And that was just one of his better days…

~#~

With naught to do about the presumably missing prince, Sabre bade the Minister and Colonel farewell and headed off towards his own abode after making a quick stop at the blacksmith's to drop of his shield and sword for a repair and tempering respectively. By the time he had reached home, his father had just sat down himself for an early luncheon upon his arrival.

"Done already, lad?" Claymore asked sounding mildly surprised himself over how quick his son had been. "So, how did it go? You reported back to Her Majesty, I hope"

Not replying vocally, Sabre dropped himself into the empty seat across from his father while looking him in the eye. As if by magic or some father-son mental connection, Claymore picked up instantly what his son was saying where others would more than likely be flummoxed.

"She wasn't at the castle!? Then where's she gone?" Claymore asked only to receive a shrug in response.

While indeed worried about Her Majesty's health after recent findings, Claymore decided the wise thing to do would be to tuck in to the, hopefully, delicious stew he had cooked up before his son finished it on his own. Sadly, both were to be interrupted in their meal by someone rapping against the front door.

"Who's that banging on the door at teatime?" Claymore grumbled before perking up at a sudden possibility of who it may be. "Hey! Maybe it's that lass I was getting to know better at the pub last night"

"It is I, Prince Anlace!" The visitor declared as he allowed himself into the abode of the hero Claymore completely unaware of the hopes he had just dashed in said hero's mind.

Despite the disappointment at it not being that pretty young maiden he had met over at the pub, Claymore still rose to greet the prince.

"Forgive the intrusion, but I must ask a favour of you" The Prince explained as he bowed both in greeting and in apology for just barging in on a mealtime.

"Well, this is an unexpected pleasure but not an unwelcome one. Good to see you're looking well, lad" Claymore greeted cheerfully despite still feeling crushed over his hopes being dashed.

"I am far from well, sir! I fear for Mama! She has been behaving most uncharacteristically of late" Anlace explained worryingly. "Were her aloofness limited to her public demeanour, I should not be so troubled, but she is as a stranger to her own son- her very flesh and blood!"

And so, the topic was once again concerning Her Majesty, the Queen. While probably not as drastic as how Prince Anlace described it to be, it was still cause for concern, especially to someone who was a friend Her Majesty's late husband King Excalibur.

"My boy here was just telling me how she wasn't at the castle when he came back from the Walk…" Claymore said while scratching at his beard all previous thoughts gone from his mind to focus on the growing concern for Her Majesty.

Perhaps, had the matter at hand not been of great importance to him, Prince Anlace might have forgotten about why he was here as he tried to imagine the silent swordsman actually speaking. There was probably not a soul in Avalonia who had ever heard a word slip from his lips, other than his parents perhaps…assumingly.

"Quite so! Mother has ventured off to Galantyne Glades, of all places! She is on her way there even as we speak!" The Prince urged.

"Galantyne? There's a hot spring there that caps them all, I hear" Claymore remarked now that he thought of it.

The Galantyne Glades were a vast forest that covered a vast portion of the southern part of the island Avalonia was a part off. While famous for its lush greenery and a hot spring said to revitalise you from the brink of death, it was also abundant in monster ranging from tiny slimes and bats to towering spear wielding orcs.

"I'm terribly worried. What if Mama is unwell?" Anlace asked in a small voice clearly upset at the thought of losing his other parent not long after losing his father not that long ago. "She absconded with barely a manservant in attendance. Such clandestine behaviour is most perturbing! And so I…I have resolved to pursue her!"

With that declaration, Claymore had a good grasp as to what His Highness was about to say next.

"Which brings me to the favour I wish to ask. Will you escort me?" The Prince inquired of the hero who fought alongside his father.

Claymore refrained from nodding his head in case the prince thought of it as a reply to his request. While his suspicions were indeed on the money over why he had come here, he still had a question or two of his own to ask before giving his reply.

"You said Her Majesty had left in secret, right?" He asked receiving a curt nod in reply before continuing on. "Well, she's not daft, lad. She had her reasons, I'm sure. I really don't think she would take kindly to being stalked even if it is for her own safety"

"You mean to say…you refuse me?" Prince Anlace asked in disbelief.

"Aye. I'm sorry, Your Highness" Claymore apologised although it was for the prince's own good.

"And I cannot persuade you to reconsider?" Anlace pressed only to receive a negative response.

Admitting defeat, Prince Anlace accepted his loss and bid Claymore and his son farewell before departing. Waiting until his Highness had vacated from their home, Sabre looked at his father with an obvious question in mind: Are you sure that was wise?

"I dunno!" Claymore admitted. "That lad's always been a sight too worried about his mum if you ask me. Aye, I remember it landing him in trouble before now…"

Regardless of the past, Claymore was still a tad worried both for His Highness and Her Majesty although at present it was more for the former. There was no doubt in his mind that Prince Anlace would continue to search for someone to aid him in his quest or possibly go it alone which may be likely.

"I tell you what, why don't you give the Prince a hand, eh, lad?" Claymore suggested to his son. He was a man now after all one his own father could rely upon when the need arose. "Anlace is a stubborn one. He won't give up now the idea's in his head. But we can't let him go to Galantyne alone"

Sabre silently agreed and made his way to the door leading outside when his father called out to him again.

"You'll need your strength for this, lad" Claymore advised as he tossed a few rolls at his son. "An I don't mean for just the monsters"

With the house all to himself again, Claymore sat down hoping to finally have his meal before nipping down to the pub to see if that lass from last night was there again.

~#~

Anlace stared dejectedly into the small fountain near the steps to his home. He had thought and hoped that, as a friend of his late father, Claymore would have wanted to come along if just to make sure his mother, the Queen did not meet the same fate as Avalonia's King. Regardless of his unsuccessfulness, the Prince was not about to dither about while his dear mother was out with no one to protect her. If no one was going to assist him on his quest, then he would just complete it by himself.

With his resolve hardened, Anlace turned to face the gates of his kingdom only to jump slightly at the sight of Sabre standing before him. Just how long had he been there?

"Ah…it's you. I hardly need mention how downcast I am about your father's answer" He muttered hiding the surprise of the young swordsman successfully sneaking up on him without him knowing.

It was then that lightning struck the Prince. Not the real or magical kind, which would have been fatal to any recipient, but the metaphorical lightning one gets struck by when an idea or realisation suddenly emerges within one's mind without warning.

"Being refused by Claymore hardly precludes my asking you" The Prince stated upon the stroke of luck the Goddess had granted him. "Will you accompany me to Galantyne Glades?"

It seemed rather obvious what Sabre's answer would be seeing as he had searched for the Prince while quickly scarfing down the rolls his father had given him. Despite this, the young swordsman nodded his head answering the question.

"Thank you! Knowing I shall have you by my side raises my spirits no end" Anlace proclaimed indeed feeling so much better now that he had someone with him who knew how to wield a blade. And with the monster that bided within Galantyne, someone of Sabre's calibre would make his trip that much safer.

Once returning from the blacksmith with his hastily repaired shield and sword, Sabre and Anlace made their way to the front gates where the guard was surprised to see Sabre again today and accompanied by His Highness no less.

"Off on an adventure with Prince Anlace, are you?" He asked of Sabre assuming the young swordsman was only doing so to distract His Highness from his mother, Her Majesty, temporal bout of being under the weather.

"Keep the Prince out of harm's way!" He called out after them before closing the front gates to prevent monsters from coming in.

~#~

"We must make haste!" Anlace urged as the two entered the forest where sunlight could barely penetrate the foliage leaving the surroundings in a perpetual state of darkness regardless where in the sky the sun was. "We can ill afford to tarry if we are to have any hope of finding Mother"

He may have been too hasty in his mission to find his mother or perhaps just careless and emotional to have let his guard down. Whatever the case or reason, Anlace suddenly found himself being pulled back by the neck of his jacket before two arrows shot passed him from the left to score two hits on the tree to his right.

"Archers!" He wheezed massaging his throat while the second volley of arrows was directed right back to their senders by a single blow of Sabre's blade.

It became quickly apparent that the monsters of the forest were aware of their visitors. With every step further into the depths, new monsters came to greet them.

Scores of green and purple bats that swooped down on them from the branches above; strange mushroom creatures that remained motionless until after they had walked passed and struck when least expected; miniature knights riding large green slime creatures attempting to catch them by surprise; towering orcs wielding primitive but deadly spears that would no doubt have killed either of them with a single skewer and even undead creatures that tried to cover them in some poisonous slime.

With each new score of enemies attempting to kill them, the Prince and the swordsman found themselves getting into a rhythm for taking on their opponents. While Anlace took down the weaker enemies with volleys of magical fire, Sabre took out the harder foes as they came within range with Anlace sometimes adding his own impressive swordplay to the mix.

As the two took a quick pause to catch their breath in the lull in combat, Anlace, having been staring down at his feet in disgust at the mud at grime clinging to his shoes noticed a set of tracks that lead further into the forest that looked to be quite fresh after Sabre had taken a look. Assuming the tracks to be that of Her Majesty, the two began following the tracks further into the forest in the hopes that they lead them to the Queen.

Eventually, the two could see a break in the trees up ahead indicating that they were approaching on of the many glades Galantyne was known for. Perhaps, Goddess willing, they would have the fortune of coming upon Her Majesty.

The sudden rumbling and appearance of a large brick golem dropping in on them from above however told them that they were not out of the woods just yet- if one would pardon the pun. Standing up so that it now loomed over Sabre and Anlace, the golem's beady yellow eyes focused on the two as if attempting to identify them to see if they were friend or foe.

"This…my garden. Trespassers will be…persecuted" It declared telling them of its intentions towards them. "Though…the organic female…escaped…you….will…not"

At least this told them that Her Majesty had indeed passed through here not long ago. The only problem now was the creature before them whose thick fists looked to inflict grievous pain on anyone misfortunate to be within range.

"It appears we have no choice but to go through this beast, comrade" Anlace declared as he drew his rapier and levelled it at the golem. "Let us make quick of it and hurry after Mother. En garde!"

Charging forward before Sabre could even get out a word of caution, Anlace nimbly dodged away from the brickstone fist hurtling towards him and delivered a swift riposte to the golem's vulnerable front only to nearly jar his wrist from the force of the collision. Realising that the stone creature lived up to its name, the Prince wisely decided to fall back swiftly moving away before the golem brought both its fists slamming into the ground where he had been standing.

Before the golem could remove its arms from the ground, Sabre took this chance to charge in and try his hand at the creature by himself. With sword ablaze with fire, Sabre sprang from the golem's fists towards its face and swung his sword with all his might. The direct attack on the golem's eyes had the desired effect, causing the golem to stumble back while clutching at its face leaving its middle vulnerable for a flurry of sword strikes from Sabre who wisely stopped and backed away himself after seeing the minor damage he was causing.

Enraged by the assault the golem swatted at Sabre with both arms forcing sabre to back away while blocking the blows he was unable to avoid with his shield. The force behind each blow was strong enough that it caused him to skid back several feet at a time.

With its attention fixed solely on Sabre, Anlace was given ample time to get behind the golem and begin unleashing a barrage of fireballs at its unguarded back. Upon realising it was being attacked from elsewhere, the golem turned in time to receive a fireball right in the face. With a single bound, the golem was suddenly upon Anlace who began to retreat realising he had just invoked the creature's wrath upon himself. Easily catching up to the Prince, the golem made to strike him down when Sabre unleashed an attack of his own against its unguarded back once more with an ice elemental Master Stroke sending sizable chunks of ice crashing against its stone hide.

"Sizz!" Anlace called out while the golem reared up in pain summoning a line of flames to rise at the golem's feet that rose to above its middle.

Stumbling backwards, the golem had no time to prepare for Sabre coming at him again and plunging his sword into its hide that had been softened by the fire based attacks Anlace had launched earlier and his own attack. Defeated, the golem broke apart and crumbled becoming the very rocks it once was before being summoned together with magic leaving the Prince and swordsman as the victors of the battle.

"Praise be to the Goddess!" Anlace sighed now that the creature had finally been defeated. He would have liked to commemorate his escort for such fine swordsmanship but more pressing matters had to be attended to first. "Come! We must make haste! If what that beast says hold truth, then Mother surely cannot be much farther up ahead!"

Hiding whatever fatigue he may have gained from their battle just now, Sabre quietly sheathed his sword and followed after the Prince catching up as a small hut could be made out in the distance between the trees.

"Someone must surely reside here" Anlace mused out loud as they got closer. "But we must approach with cau-"

The sound of the door to the hut opening alerted both of them that someone was coming out causing the two to quickly move behind the nearest tree to avoid being seen in case whoever it was was foe and not friendly.

Emerging from the shadows of the hut, a woman in royal splendour made her way from the hut into the foliage of the forest with not even a glance at her surroundings to see if she was being followed by anyone- including her son.

"Mama!" Anlace cried out breaking out from his hiding place to catch up to her only to lose sight of his mother, Queen Curtana, by the time he had reached the treeline she had just passed.

"Did you see her mask? She has been wearing it of late. No matter how many times she is asked, she will not be drawn on why- even to me" Anlace explained to Sabre once the swordsman had caught up to him referring to the strange head piece Her Majesty had been wearing as she left the hut. "What business could have brought mother to this lowly lodging? Come. We must make our presence known"

"Who are you?"

It appeared that there was no need for Anlace and Sabre to make themselves known to the hut's resident as she had apparently heard the ruckus from inside and had come out to see what was going on herself. Hence, when the two turned to face the hut once more, they saw a girl perhaps no younger or older than Sabre in the strangest of garments to have ever been seen on the island quite possibly having come from overseas. Never the less, the girl's grey eyes coolly stared from Anlace to Sabre and back again showing that she was not in the least bit intimidated by them.

"We mean you no harm!" Anlace assured her. "We merely wish to enquire as to the affairs of your scarce-departed visitor. What brought her to your shack, Lady?"

"That is none of your concern" The young lady replied flippantly as she brushed a lock of her blonde hair behind her ear.

While Anlace seemed to be taken aback at being brushed off like a mere commoner, Sabre was suddenly finding himself hard pressed to keeping a straight face having found the scene quite amusing to his eyes. Perhaps he may have allowed his lips to curl up slightly at one corner as the girl gave him a sweet smile before facing the Prince one more having finally composed himself.

"Forgive me, Lady. I have not yet introduced myself" He apologised and Sabre could clearly hear the restraint in his voice signalling that he was very insulted by her words. "Anlace, Prince of Avalonia, at your service"

If he was attempting to intimidate the young woman, or at least get her to apologies profusely for her earlier words, Anlace failed as the young woman stepped closer to him seemingly interested in something he wore.

"Ah, oui? Yes, I had in my mind that I had seen you before. My name is Fleurette. Enchantee" The young lady greeted before recognising something else on the Prince. "Your earring, it is the work of the great jeweller, Ricasso?"

"It is. A present from Mama, in fact" Anlace stated proudly his eyes misting over as he remembered the day he had been given it.

It was almost too much for Sabre seeing the Prince, who had until now been focused solely on finding out about his mother, becoming side-tracked by a few well-placed words by this young lady. He knew, without a doubt now, that she was merely doing this in the attempt of getting a reaction out of him as she had glanced in his direction before Anlace could compose himself again after realising he had been side-tracked.

"That is by the by. I command you to tell me why my mother was here!" Anlace demanded of her now in no mood for any more games.

Perhaps he had been a touch harsher than necessary, as Fleurette's mood seemed turn sour as if upset greatly about something.

"My brother, he was one of the heroes who defeated Xiphos. Ever since then, he has been suffering from a malady. I tried to help him but…my magic was useless" She told them sadly as she stepped away from them hanging her head in shame. "He left me alone. I do not know where he has gone"

"Forgive me, good lady, but I believe you misheard me. I enquired of my mother, not your brother" Anlace said not quite understanding how rude he was just now for brushing off the girl's problems to find out about his own.

From where he stood, Sabre reckoned that this had to be the first time he had ever wanted to harm someone of royalty for the way Anlace had just treated Fleurette's dilemma. He himself felt sorry for the poor girl and yet, while not given a name, he was sure that he had known of her brother at one point if going by what she said about him being one of those who fought the Deathbringer. Anlace too seemed to be coming to this conclusion.

"Are you the sister of Aruval?" Anlace inquired recalling the monk who had fought alongside his late father and Sabre's father, Claymore, against Xiphos.

Seeing as both Anlace and the quiet swordsman seemed to be picking up on things much quicker than she had anticipated, Fleurette decided to come clean with them about her visitor.

"Her Majesty came to meet my brother. She was on her way to the healing hot spring" She explained to them. "When I told her that my brother was not here, it did not seem to surprise her"

"And!? Is there nothing more you can tell us? Nothing unusual you noticed about her? Did she look well?" Anlace pressed getting closer and closer to the young lady that she was soon forced to take a step back before he invaded her space.

"Well?...Oui. Though that hideous mask made it hard to tell" Fleurette admitted as she tried to recall her meeting with the Queen or more specifically the mask she had been wearing. "Who is the designer? Someone famous?"

Sabre and Anlace shared a look one that confirmed a shared suspicion that the mask itself was possibly the sole reason as to why Queen Curtana was acting unlike herself as of late. Fleurette seemed to have caught on to what they were thinking but could not help but think that she had seen the caprice somewhere before as well when she was younger like perhaps at the town market when she still lived in Avalonia with her brother.

"In summary then, we know little more about my mother's intentions other than that she was on her way to a hot spring famous for its healing properties" Anlace voiced on which the other two quickly agreed on.

"Then there can be no doubt- Mama is unwell!" Anlace declared turning to his escort. "Forgive me, but I dare not tarry. Good day!"

Without another word, Anlace quickly made his way along the beaten path that was sure to lead out of the forest. If he was unable to catch his mother while she was in Galantyne, then he would return to the castle and await her return where he would undoubtedly find her then tend to her needs personally.

Completely oblivious to the departure of the two males, Fleurette's memory of the mask suddenly came back to her.

"I knew I had seen the mask before!" She muttered quietly to herself before realising she was not as alone as she had first thought.

Whether he was staying behind to check to see if she would be alright or even just stunned and perplexed at the Prince proclaiming that he was going back to Avalonia alone, Sabre was now looking at Fleurette curiously evidently catching what she had just said and now silently asking what she was going on about if she was reading his eyes correctly.

"I assumed it must have been the work of a famous designer, but non…It is the mask I once saw when I was lost in the mountains. At Arondight Heights, I believe" She explained to the swordsman. "I was just a young girl. I remember only that I found the mask so frightening. Why would the Queen wear such a mask?"

Sabre was curious about that as well yet only Her Majesty was the one who could shed some light on that mystery. Whatever the case, Fleurette was now sure that the Queen being unsurprised upon learning of her brother's disappearance to be of coincidence and was quite sure that she knew something about the malady that infected him.

"I will go to the castle, and I will demand from her the truth!" She declared out loud startling Sabre once more as she marched off after the Prince leaving Sabre to wonder just what was going on before following after her as well with a strong feeling that this day was not going to be over for a long while to come.

~#~#~#~

Master strokes used: Searing Slash, Cold Fission

~#~

As you can probably tell by now, I have decided to update this one along with my still on-going HP fic & one other which I will hopefully have updated by the end of the month. Last chance for anyone wanting to put their input into what Fleurette's nickname for Sabre will be, folks .

Review if possible & until next time

Watch this space & peace out!