It wasn't long until Guinevere was able to stand again, and not long after that she was able to walk without pain. As soon as she was out of her bandages she was almost jumping for joy.
"Finally, finally!" she said, her small tail wagging fast enough to paddle a small boat. "Now we can go and become squires! Come on, Draco, let's-"
"Now hold on, Guinevere. I'm just as happy as you are, but you shouldn't push yourself. You're out of your wrappings but you're still healing, and if you aren't careful you could end up back in that bed for Morrow knows how long."
That quickly curbed her excitement.
"R-Right… Thank you, Pa." Then she turned to the Riolu, "Come on, Draco!"
The two went out of the house and into the city, the midmorning light hitting their eyes as they made their way past the various buildings of Heliond. Merchants sold whatever they had in stock, seamsters put scarves and other accessories in various colors on display to catch the eye of any interested passerby, and bakers set out loaves of bread to cool, filling the air with a sweet smell. Draco stopped to look in the window of what looked like a bookstore, with numerous Pokémon inside looking for something new to read.
"Come on! We don't have all day!"
He blinked and snapped out of his trance, running after the Rockruff that yelled to him. Eventually, the two made it to an area close to the massive castle that looked like a training field. The ground was mostly made of dirt that had been compacted by numerous generations of knights in training, with patches of grass surviving on the outskirts. Training dummies made of straw were set up in certain areas, meanwhile, a significant portion of the field was filled with log structures being used as an obstacle course. The area was filled with quite a few different kinds of Pokémon, from stout Munchlax and Mudbray to graceful Hattena and nimble Ponyta. Around the field were several small huts, as well as one larger wooden building further back.
"Whoa…" they both stopped, looking over the field. There were so many different kinds of Pokémon there…
Guinevere was bouncing out of excitement. "Oh, my heart's beating so hard right now! I don't think I can wait any longer! Come on!" She giggled and hopped off towards the field, with Draco right behind her.
Among the Pokémon in the training field were quite a few that stood out. While many of the Pokémon there wore leather armor, perhaps as a kind of uniform to keep track of everyone, some wore armor with steel plates over them, their almost silvery sheen glistening in the sunlight. It gave them an almost regal air, but also an imposing one, as if they could use their very presence to keep order.
There was no doubting it. These were the knights.
While many of the senior knights appeared to be training small groups of younger Pokémon, a few stood by to keep watch over the field. One of them, a taller figure covered in green chitin with ivory claws emerging from their forearms, noticed the Rockruff and Riolu enter and stepped closer, calling out to them.
"Hold there!" The Scyther called out with a noticeably feminine voice. "What brings you two here?"
The two stopped and looked up at the bug type before looking at each other. "We're here to become squires! Are you the Pokémon in charge here?"
"Am I-" the Scyther suddenly snorted, holding one of her bladed limbs to her face. "Hah. No, not me. I just watch the field to make sure no one sneaks in. I'm Sir Beckett."
Guinevere tilted her head at the name. "Sir? But aren't you…"
Sir Beckett nodded in understanding. "You're not the first one to be confused by that. Sir is the title given to the knights regardless of gender, you see. But enough about me… you said you two were here for squirehood?"
They both nodded.
"Hmm…" The Scyther looked over the two, thinking to herself. "I think Steele might have room for one more team. I'll go find him and ask if he'll take you in. Can I trust you to stay here while I do that?"
"Of course! We'll stay right here, Sir Beckett!"
"Great! Don't get into any trouble, now!" The Scyther nodded and walked off toward the small huts, leaving the two Pokémon alone.
As Sir Beckett walked away Guinevere's tail only wagged faster, the little Rockruff's excitement growing by the moment. "We're here… we're finally here! We're going to become squires!" She laughed excitedly. "Haha, nothing can ruin to-"
"Hey!"
Guinevere went more still than a stone when she heard the voice call out to her, eyes widening as she immediately recognized who it was. She and Draco turned to look in the direction of the voice, the Rockruff silently cursing herself for tempting fate.
Approaching the two was a Zangoose followed by a Trumbeak and a Pignite, all wearing the same leather armor as the other squires. The Zangoose stepped closer, arms crossed with an annoyed look on his face. "What do you think you're doing here?"
"I-I… we…" Guinevere couldn't even manage to speak, hiding behind Draco's legs out of fear.
Seeing this, he knew he had to take charge of the situation. "We're here to join the knights. Who are you?"
The Zangoose raised an eyebrow as he examined the Riolu. Eventually, he gave his answer. "Gris Von Stemon. Who in Morrow's name are you? I haven't seen anything like you before…"
"H-He's a friend!" With Draco backing her up, the small Rockruff had enough confidence to stand up to Gris. "His name is Draco. He agreed to make a team with me!"
All three of the Pokémon on Gris' team stood there for a moment in stunned silence. Then, they all started to laugh. "Oh, Morrow help me… You finally found someone as gullible as you are, Guinevere!"
The Rockruff cowered behind the Riolu as the three continued to laugh. Draco looked down worriedly at her… but then it slowly dawned on him. The way the three were acting, how scared Guinevere was…
"Hey!"
Gris' laughter winded down as Draco got his attention, looking down at the Riolu.
"Are you the ones that beat up Gwen?"
The Zangoose's eyebrow raised again before he sighed. "Oh, of course," he said, putting his claws behind his back and stepping forward. "She was a thorn in my side that needed to be taken care of. She wouldn't listen to reason, so I had to give her a reason to stay away."
A small growl escaped Draco's throat as Gris got closer, his paws curling as he started to become irritated. Seeing this, Gris smirked and leaned closer to the growling Riolu. "But, what's done is done. So why don't you two run back home?"
Not even a second later, Draco's fist connected with the bridge of Gris' snout, making the Zangoose stagger back as the field went silent. Their argument had drawn the attention of a few surrounding Pokémon, but now all eyes were on them. Seeing what had happened, the other members of the Golden Claws stepped forward for payback.
But then, Gris held out his arm to make them stop.
"No…" he said, turning around to look at the Riolu, his paws and the lower half of his face stained red from his broken nose. "He's MINE." Then he stomped over to his adversary and raised his claw for an overhead slash. "You need to learn your place, bastard!"
Draco raised his arms to protect himself from the attack, but as the strike fell, something neither of them expected happened. What could only be described as a dark blur appeared between them to block the slash, making a loud clang ring out from the point of impact.
Both of the Pokémon looked up at the figure, confused by the sudden interruption. What they saw was a tall, avian Pokémon covered in almost completely black feathers and metal plates, with a redundant steel plate covering his chest. He turned to look at Draco, his crimson eyes boring into him for a moment before he turned to look back at Gris, parrying his slash with one of his steel wings and sending him back.
A few of the other knights around the field approached after, with a Stoutland stepping forward to ask his questions. "What's going on here?!"
Gris continued to hold his snout, managing to point his other claw at the Riolu. "He punched me in the face!"
And as all of the knights looked in his direction, Draco immediately realized what was happening. He lowered his paws, nervously fidgeting as he looked back down at Guinevere.
"Morrow damn it…" the Stoutland huffed, turning to his fellow knights. "Does anyone know why this… miscreant is here?"
The Corviknight standing in front of Draco looked toward the Scyther he and Guinevere had met earlier, who glanced back with a look of disappointment. Then, after looking back at the two, he finally spoke. His voice was low, yet it had a tone that commanded respect.
"I know," he said, folding his wing back. "He and the Rockruff are my newest squires. I apologize for his behavior, and I'll make sure this doesn't happen again."
Draco looked up, stunned. As he did, Guinevere finally stepped out from behind him, a few surprised murmurs echoing through the crowd from Pokémon that didn't notice her until now due to her small size. "Did… did you just say…"
"Oh, so they're yours? I see… I'll hold you to that, Steele. There better not be any more trouble from them."
The Corviknight nodded. "I assure you, there won't be." He then looked at the crowd of Pokémon that had gathered around. "All of you, get back to training!"
There were a few more murmurs before the trainees obeyed, Gris and his team included, and the field quickly went back to being as lively as it was before. After everyone had dispersed the Corviknight gave a small sigh. "That was too close. Von Stemon's tongue may be sharper than his claws, but they're still nothing to scoff at." He turned to look at the two, who were still stunned by the statement he used to de-escalate the situation. "Now then… who are you?"
"I-I…" She still couldn't believe her ears, but the little Rockruff stammered out an answer. "G-Guinevere Siara, Sir! A-And this is Draco!"
"I see…" the Corviknight unfurled a wing and put it to his beak. "Lucia told me that you two wanted to become squires… and I can see potential in both of you. But I haven't introduced myself yet. I am Sir Steele Goodwind. A pleasure to meet you both. Tell me, what is your team's name?"
"Our… team's name?" Guinevere frowned, tilting her head to the side. "I… didn't think of that. Um…" She looked at her companion, hoping he could help.
"Uh…" Not expecting to be put on the spot like this, he began to think, looking around for ideas. He blinked as the sun reflected off of a knight's chestplate, briefly looking up and thinking to himself about how bright the sun was.
How bright… the star was…
Draco's eyes widened and he looked back at his partner, kneeling and whispering something to her. After hearing what he had to say, the small Rockruff smiled and nodded. "It's perfect!" The two turned back to the knight that had decided to take them in. "We've decided! We're the Brightstars!"
Sir Goodwind chuckled at the name. "Alright, then, Brightstars. From now on, you two are my squires. It won't be easy, I guarantee you. But if you're willing to see this through to the end, I promise that great things are in store for you."
The two newly-made squires nodded, hearts pounding with excitement.
"Now come on. Before anything else, you should get acquainted with your training partners."
Guinevere frowned a bit. "Our… training partners? But we just made our team."
"Indeed, you did. As squires, you and the two other teams under my leadership will train together until you are knighted, at which point you will become separate. But even after becoming knights, the both of you will remain a team for as long as you serve the kingdom. But for now, I want you both to focus on training with the rest of the Pokémon under my care. Don't focus on the future. Just do as much as you can right now. Do you understand?"
The both of them nodded again. "Yes, Sir!"
"Good! Now then, let's not waste any more time." He turned and the three of them went off towards the huts in the distance, where the rest of the Pokémon that would train with the Brightstars waited.
