Hello everyone, QueenNox here! Here is the next chapter! A look at the life of the Paladins in the Citadel!

As always, let us know what you guys think in the reviews.

NOTE: All Paladins that appear in this chapter are made by QueenNox27 and RevolutionaryCleo

SUBMISSION NOTE: We've decided to change the Submission due date. Submissions are now due on SUNDAY, MARCH 2, 2025

2. Life In the Citadel

Ace Kingdom

Royal Court

The Citadel

Kleoné trudged through the dining hall doors, rubbing sleep from her eyes, the clanging of the summoning bells ringing sharply through the air, signaling that breakfast would be starting soon.

A familiar, booming laugh sounded behind her, and suddenly, a large hand smacked playfully into her back, causing her to stumble. "You need to get more sleep, Sister! You look pale!"

Grumbling, she glanced back to see a towering mountain of a man standing behind her; he was tall and broad-shouldered, with rough, rich olive skin. He also had short, messy blue hair buzzed short on the sides and happy reddish-brown eyes.

His sleeveless slate blue tunic barely seemed to fit, the shirt stretching over his well-muscled frame. He wore baggy dark gray pants and thin, dark brown sandals instead of close-toed shoes.

"I couldn't sleep because of you, Brother. I heard your snoring from the other room, " she grumbled. It was half true when Rehan snored, it sounded like he was in the same room as her, even if there was a thick wall between them. She also had trouble sleeping because of her conversation with the Queen a week ago. Third Unit Captain, the anxiety from the new station still made it hard for her to sleep. She couldn't help but be worried that she was the wrong fit.

"Do you want a sleep tonic from Brookes? I'm sure he wouldn't mind." Mykel fussed, he was standing next to Rehan, worry in his green eyes.

"I'm fine, there's no need to bother him over this," Kleoné said quickly, not wanting to be a nuisance to one of their healers.

Her brothers exchanged an unconvinced look, and she felt herself bristle. She hated being ganged up on by her brothers, but it was a constant thing. Sometimes, it felt like they thought she was helpless.

"Hey! You three! Don't hold up the line! Breakfast will get cold!" Ramses "Remy" Sherazi's voice called to them.

She glanced up and saw him looking at them from behind the serving counter and scoffed when she saw him. He had smooth, olive skin, artfully tousled black hair, and eyes the color of burnished gold, well, eye, his right eye had a constant eyepatch over it. He loved to look 'Cool,' but he certainly didn't right now. He was dressed in a black tunic, a brown leather jacket and dark gray slacks, which wasn't odd, but over it, he had on a frilly light blue apron and light pink oven mitts. He looked ridiculous.

"Sorry," Rehan laughed, nudging his siblings forward when he realized that they were holding up the line like Remy said.

Once they reached the part of the dining hall where breakfast was served, Kleoné quickly grabbed a tray and looked uncertainly at the spread: wheat-grain pancakes, different kinds of sausages, eggs in different variations from scrambled with cheese to sunny-side up, fruit bowls, oatmeal, toast with avocado spread across it topped with cherry tomatoes, muffins, and more...

Why did Remy always have to go all out?

"Here," Remy put a stack of pancakes on her tray, followed by a fruit bowl, oatmeal, and cheesy scrambled eggs. "It's good to eat a nutritious breakfast at the start of the day." He grinned. "Come back for seconds if you're still hungry."

"Isn't it already too much?" She asked. It was certainly more than she'd ever get herself.

"Nope." He laughed, adding a lemon muffin onto her tray before she escaped the food line and settled herself at an empty table with her brothers.

"He's right; you need to eat more, you're too skinny." Rehan laughed, quickly gulping down his food. His tray was overflowing with meat, fruit, and eggs.

Mykel, who had a normal-sized serving of pancakes, fruit, and oatmeal, frowned at his brother, handing him a napkin to wipe his face. "Are you still worried about your new placement?" He asked, spearing a strawberry with his fork.

Kleoné choked on her juice, trust Mykel to get to the heart of the matter. "It's hard not to. I don't even know the members... what if no one listens to me?"

"If they want to stay in a Unit, they'll have to," Mykel pointed out.

"Trust in yourself, Sister," Rehan advised, "You wouldn't have been chosen as the Third Unit Captain if Her Majesty thought you weren't able to handle it." he took another large bite of sausage, "And relax, the members of your Unit haven't been decided yet. There's no need to worry if they'll like you until your members are named."

"Which isn't going to be until after the Exams if the rumors I've heard are right," Mykel nodded. He nudged her pointedly, and reluctantly, she took a bite of her eggs, cherishing the cheesy flavor.

"I guess you're right," Kleoné sighed, relaxing and starting to eat her breakfast. "What tasks do you two have today?"

"I've got border patrol to the southern borders, so I'll be gone until tomorrow," Rehan said.

"Communications Room with Quinn for me," Mykel said. "It should be busy with all the applications coming in."

Kleoné nodded, "I'm on cleaning duty, I've been assigned to fold the laundry today." In her opinion, it was one of the easier tasks, and she enjoyed its repetitive motions.

For the rest of the meal, Kleoné listened as Rehan and Mykel discussed their week and the antics their friends had engaged in. When they were finished, they all rose from the table and went about their duties.

"Stay safe on patrol Brother!" Mykel said, waving as Rehan left the dining hall.

"You too! I'll be back before you know it!" Rehan said jovially, excitement sparking in his eyes, "Don't slack on your training!"

With their brother gone, Mykel turned to her, "See you tonight!" He smiled kindly before hurrying to the communications room which was no doubt overflowing with Paladin applications and letters that needed to be read.

"See you," she said back, watching him disappear before heading to the laundry rooms.

"Man... why is there so much?" A young man complained he had short, extremely messy pale orange hair and deep blue eyes. On his head, he had on a pair of blue goggles, and he wore a nicely knit dark blue tunic under an orange vest and dark brown slacks. Castor de'Sauveterre, one of Idalia's younger half-siblings and the more troublesome twin in his pair. He was far too much like Idalia for her liking, but she did see his point...

She glanced around them and saw the stacks of white linens that surrounded them, the stacks towering over their heads and they still had more to fold. "We should be done soon,"

She then glanced over at the third Paladin, who was working in silence, his face blank and his eyes disinterested. He was working methodically and quickly, which she appreciated. He was Amir Sherazi, Remy's younger brother.

He had smooth olive skin, a shade darker than Remy's. His dark brown hair was shaggy and messy, reaching the nape of his neck, and he had bright, intense amber eyes. He wore a white tunic under a black-and-red jacket and black trousers.

It surprised her a bit that he was Remy's brother, Remy was friendly and social, with a ready smile on his face. Remy was always one of the first to welcome Paladins back if they were on missions and patrols. But Amir was quiet. He stayed away from others and constantly said he didn't need friends, he even ignored his brother and cousin often. Heck, Kleoné had even seen him punch his cousin in the face when he wouldn't leave him alone.

"What is it?" Kleoné jolted when he spoke, his voice deep and disinterested, but those bright amber eyes were on her now, causing a blush to spread across her face.

"N-nothing!" She immediately said, tugging her hood down to cover her eyes.

"Hmph," Amir just went back to folding the bed sheets, and Castor laughed quietly when he saw the blush on Kleoné's face but didn't say anything else.

The three of them continued to work, the silence only being broken when Castor couldn't stand it anymore and tried to start idle chatter with his two companions; Amir ignored him completely but Kleoné would try to answer now and again, pitying the other Paladin, Castor was as social as Idalia, he was probably finding it crazy to spend hours with two of the most introverted and loner Paladins.

When they were done, Castor hopped to his feet and stretched. "Great! Looks like we're all finished here!" The relief in his voice was unmistakable. "I'll see you guys later!" He was about to escape the room when Kleoné stopped him.

"Don't forget, we have the second load to fold after lunch." she watched him deflate, grumbling about how it drove him crazy to fold all the bed sheets and clothes.

"... don't worry, I won't forget. I'll see you after lunch." He mumbled, escaping from the laundry room before she could say anything else.

Kleoné stared after him before turning her gaze to Amir, jolting when she realized that he was already looking at her silently.

She blinked. He blinked. Neither of them moved. Neither of them spoke. They just blinked and stared at each other. This strange staring contest continued for a long time, becoming more and more uncomfortable with each passing minute, but she didn't know what to do.

Should she excuse herself? Make conversation? Thankfully, she was saved by deciding by a newcomer.

"Uh… what are you doing?" She jumped at Mykel's voice. He was looking between the two of them, uncertain, a frown on his face.

"Nothing," Amir said he stood without another word and left the siblings in the room, causing them to blink at each other in confusion.

"I thought you were in the communications room?" Kleoné finally asked her brother.

"There's a message for her Highness, I was going to drop it off," Mykel explained, holding up a thick, creamy envelope with the Wizard Kings' stamp on it. "Do you think you can do it instead? We are pretty busy in the Communications room, so I don't want to leave them to deal without help for too long."

"I can." She nodded, taking the offered envelope. "Don't forget to eat."

Mykel laughed, "I should be telling you that, I'll see you during lunch! Thanks again, Sis!" He quickly walked out, making his way back to his post and Kleoné began the long, maze-like trek to the Queen's office.

The Citadel

Queen Inara Dragomirnova-Ace's Offices

With a sigh Kleoné knocked on the doors leading to the Queen's office, "It's Kleoné," she said softly.

"Come on in," Inara's voice answered. She did as she was told and immediately regretted it; Inara wasn't alone in the room. Nox and a woman with creamy fair skin, long black hair, and mischievous light silvery-purple eyes were in there, sorting through a large stack of mail.

The woman was Eirene Amaterius, the Captain of the First Unit until three weeks ago. She had vacated her position and recommended Idalia to take over when she returned from a three-month mission, much to everyone's shock.

"What can I do for you?" The Queen asked kindly. Her eyes shot over to Nox when he grumbled something, roughly tossing away an Application to the Paladins.

"A letter from the Wizard King of Clover," Kleoné mumbled, keeping her eyes on the ground as she handed the letter to Inara.

"Thank you, Kleoné," Inara smiled. "Hopefully it's his response to my invitation."

"To allow a few of the Clover Magic Knights to apply as Paladin?" Kleoné asked, remembering what Idalia had told her last week. The news had quickly spread through the group and there had been many mixed reactions.

Inara nodded. She was about to say something, but Nox interrupted, sounding frustrated. "Forgive me, but I still don't agree with your decision, your Majesty." He stood up, holding a handful of crumpled applications in his hands.

Inara raised a brow, looking amused. "Why is that, Nox?"

"Because we can't even trust the applications we have!" He said, voice coated in frustration as he wildly waved the crumpled applications in his hand, crinkling them further. "Look at all the fake letter recommendations we have! It's dishonest! Can we trust any Magic Knights from the Clover Kingdom?!" With his free hand, he started to pull at his hair, and she noted undeniable exhaustion in his eyes, "If I read another, repetitive letter I'll go hunt down the forger myself! Who the hell is paying for a forged letter anyways?!"

Eirene looked up at Nox, laughing at his frazzled state. "I think it's your nap time, Noxxie. You'll rip out your hair at this point."

"No one asked you!" Nox snapped, "And don't call me Noxxie!"

Eirene hummed, "I think people put too much emphasis on the letter." She was flipping through her stack of applications. "I think their military service history is more important. After all, if they don't have provable service records, we can't trust their skill."

"Fake letters are a sign of dishonesty." Nox argued back, "All they have to do is ask for a letter from their commanding officer if nothing else. Having forged letters from people they are unrelated to isn't good either."

"Actions speak louder than written words," Eirene hummed. "Don't you agree Kleoné?" She turned to the brunette who had been silent.

"... I don't know. I did both." She said uncertainly. She had joined the military because Rehan had when she was fifteen and in turn, he joined the Paladins when she did. They only had letters because of a well-known merchant. Mykel joined them a few years later.

"You're supposed to do both," Nox said. "Even Idalia and I had to serve the military in our respective courts for four years and have a letter of recommendation before even dreaming of being a Paladin."

"Which is good," Inara spoke up, looking at the Paladins in the room. "It shows that the High Noble families can't just push their way into any position they want, no matter the status."

"It's good that everything here is fair," Eirene smiled, stretching out her back. "Do you want to take my place Kleoné? If Nox isn't going to nap, I think I'll take one."

"Don't you dare!" Nox shot her a glare, "No throwing your duties onto someone else like your Captainship!" He sat back down and scowled. "And Kleoné has her own duties she has to finish."

Kleoné kept silent, Nox was right, she had a second load of laundry that she had to fold, but after her staring contest with Amir, she wasn't sure if she could show her face to him.

Inara nodded, "You're dismissed Kleoné, please make sure to take care of yourself."

"Of course," Kleoné bowed before she hurried out of the office, she knew that Nox and Eirene were bound to start bickering again soon and she didn't want to be around for it; she didn't know how their Queen could keep her patience, listening to the two constantly bicker. Maybe she zoned it out? Or perhaps she had the patience of a saint. Either way, Kleoné didn't want to know.

Kleoné sighed as she walked out onto the veranda, glad to escape Inara's office; she swore it felt like she was getting dragged to her office more and more in the past week... was it because she had accepted the position of Third Unit Captain? She hadn't officially started, and didn't even have a team... they should leave her alone until they assigned her one. Or maybe, she didn't have one yet because they quickly realized she would be a horrible leader; she wasn't worthy of leading a unit of Paladins. Were they waiting to break the news to her? She was comfortable enough in the First Unit.

She was walking without any destination, too lost in her dreary thoughts, so she was caught completely unaware by the icy water that shot into her face, causing her to splutter in shock.

As she wiped at her face, a familiar laughter filled the air. Kleoné blinked and saw Idalia standing near the veranda, with a hose in her hands and green eyes bright with mirth. "Sorry, Kleoné, I didn't see you standing there."

"... It's alright." She muttered, pushing her wet bangs out of her face as she looked around. She hadn't realized that Idalia was on field duty. She looked out at the fields, seeing other Paladins hard at work, pulling root vegetables from the ground or collecting juicy-looking berries. Some were also at the tomato plants, pulling vibrant red tomatoes off their vines.

Everything almost looked normal; the only oddity was the medium-sized blob of water that hovered over a row of crops, raining down droplets of liquid as it floated down the row. For a moment, she thought she was hallucinating things until a bell-like laugh reached her ears. She sighed, then looked to her side where a beautiful woman with flawless fair skin, long, wavy light blue hair, and lake blue eyes stretched out in a chair, enjoying the sun.

The woman wore a white-and-blue crop top with gold accents and short blue pants, an overly large straw hat on her head to protect her skin from burning. Meeting her eyes, the woman sat up and smiled. "You should take off your hood, Kleoné, and enjoy the sun."

"I'm not listening to you; your hat is ridiculous," Kleoné muttered. "And what is that?" She pointed at the blob of water that still floated over the crops, meticulously watering them while the owner of said magic looked like she was about to fall asleep. "You should take your work more seriously Mira. How will the recruits feel about you slacking?"

"I'm working!" Mira defended, though she didn't look bothered by the accusation, she laid back down in her chair, closing her eyes. "I'm just multi-tasking."

Kleoné looked at her in disbelief before another shot of cold water hit her in the face. When she looked at Idalia accusingly, her friend just laughed, the hose dripping water onto the ground. "Lighten up Klee-Klee. A Captain should know how to have fun too." She squirted Kleoné again much to her annoyance.

Kleoné opened her mouth to complain about the water and nickname when two familiar voices further away caught her attention, and she made the mistake of looking away from Idalia to the source of the voice.

"Hey, stop that!" Kleoné spotted the last two members of her unit... or her previous unit? She was still technically with the First Unit until her own formed.

Kamelia Desrosiers and Aella Lásková. The contrasting shades of their hair stood out in the fields' plain brown, making it easy for her to spot them further down the row of crops.

Kamelia was a young woman with fair skin, thick, wavy, brilliant rose-colored hair in a ponytail, and pink eyes. She wore a white sleeveless tunic under a two-toned pink vest, dark brown trousers, and soft brown flats.

She was crouching by the berries, a large sun hat shading her face as she looked over the strawberries with critical eyes. She soon spotted a plumb bright red berry and shoved it into her mouth, letting out a pleased hum at the taste.

"Stop eating all the berries! Remy will get annoyed at us again!" Aella said, looking exasperated.

In contrast to Kamelia, she had fair skin, straight dark purple hair that went just past her chin, and electric blue eyes. She was dressed similarly, though, in a sleeveless black tunic, a blue-and-purple vest, and black trousers with black flats.

"If I have to do field work all week, I'm going to enjoy the fruits of my labor." Kamelia huffed, plucking another berry and eating it. "It's ridiculous... how did we get stuck with field work all week? It's no good for my skin or nails..." She looked at her fingers in distress, the nail polish having been chipped off.

"We're stuck here since you switched our schedules to not do field work for five weeks! A week of straight fieldwork is our punishment" Aella scolded. "Why'd you drag me down with you?!"

"That's what partners do. Stick together." Kamelia smiled easily. "Now say, 'Ahhhhh.'" She held up a large strawberry and held it to Aella's mouth.

"Hey! Don't just-" Aella tried to complain but Kamelia shoved the berry in her mouth before she could.

"How is it? Sweet?" The Pinkette asked.

Aella nodded, trying to choke down the berry.

"Really? Let me try too." Kamelia laughed.

Aella grew flustered, face burning red as Kamelia leaned down, hands firmly planted on her shoulders as she took the other half of the berry into her mouth and broke it before pulling away.

She laughed at the red blush on Aella's face as she finished the berry before leaning down again to kiss her, "You're too cute. Why don't you show me more of that expression when we're alone?"

"KAMI!"

Kleoné sighed as she looked at their antics, why was no one being serious?

"Hey, Klee," Kleoné turned around at Idalia's voice, forgetting for a moment that the orange-haired terror still had the hose in her hands. She expected a face-full of water but it never came. What came was worse, the water would have been better.

Idalia quickly threw something at her, causing her to flinch as it exploded midair, showering her with bright silver and red, sparkling glitter.

All she could do was gape at Idalia in surprised silence as she laughed at her predicament, the glitter stuck to her face since it was still damp from the water.

"Ida!" Kleoné's face burned red as Mira joined in on the laughter.

Idalia laughed, "Surprised ya!" She smiled happily at Kleoné, her green eyes bright and glowing with mirth as she looked at the brunette.

There were many things Kleoné wanted to say about Idalia's antics, but she ended up just sighing. It was annoying, but since this was Idalia's first prank on her since getting back, she guessed she could let this one slide.

After all, though Kleoné would never admit it, she had missed the trickster when she had been gone the past few months.

Neutral Zone

"Man! What are these? They just won't stay down!" A man with fair skin, messy white hair, and amber-gold eyes panted. He wore a loose white tunic with a navy-colored sash around his waist, and baggy dark gray pants that were tucked into black leg warmers that had accents of gold and black, thick-soled sandals. Over his outfit, he had the standard Silver Eagles robe, though one side was ripped and stained with blood due to the current battle.

"Mitra! What do we do?!" One of his squad members, Susie asked, fear in her brown eyes. Her left arm was practically mangled and useless, blood dripping from her fingers. "How do we fight our way through?"

He cursed under his breath, looking at her and then the rest of his team, Rigel and Ithan; the other squad members were also heavily injured. Rigel had a pretty nasty head wound, the blood dripping into his eye and there was a nasty gash on his back that was soaking through the back of his clothes. While Ithan could barely stand due to the gash on his leg, the glasses he usually wore cracked and discarded a few feet away from their group.

He wasn't doing any better, he had a pretty deep cut on his left side, he could see the bright red stain getting larger by the second and he had three claw marks against his right shoulder. If they didn't get out of this situation soon, they'd be goners.

He then turned his gaze back at the enemies, they had never seen them before, they were grotesque monsters with pale, corpse-colored skin, and glowing red eyes, black mist covering their bodies. He had no clue what they were, and what was worse, their magic didn't seem to have a lasting effect on them.

He laughed then, taking in as much air as possible despite the deep cut against his side. When Nozel had tasked them with the mission to investigate an anomaly in the neutral zone, he never thought they'd run into unkillable monsters. Man, what a letdown, he had been so eager to show Nozel that he could rely on him. He had wanted to show that he was reliable and that Nozel could trust him to help with the squad. He wanted to prove that he wasn't just a goofball looking for the next thrill like his Captain had claimed him to be. He had honestly thought he could prove himself and then this had to happen. Getting his team wiped out would be the exact opposite of what he was trying to prove.

"Mitra?!" Ithan looked at him as if he'd gone crazy when he heard him laugh, blue eyes narrowed.

"Sorry, sorry, this isn't the time to be laughing, is it?" Mitra laughed, wiping at his eyes, "We'll attack the left side all at once, it should give us enough time to force our way through," he said once he regained control of himself. "On my call…"

"Yes, Sir." His squad members said, though they all seemed uncertain, and he couldn't even blame them. They'd either escape or be slaughtered.

He was about to give the order to charge when new voices cut through the air.

"Ora! Ora! Ora!" A female voice cried, and Mitra saw a ball of lightning shoot from the side, piercing through one of the monster's torso and ripping a good chunk off its side. When the lightning dissipated, he saw a woman around his age dressed in a sleeveless, high-collared light blue-and-purple tunic and close-fitting black pants and black boots; over the tunic, she had on a simple black cuirass with silver lining and matching gauntlets and greaves that covered her arms and legs. "Got ya good!" She smiled, easily adjusting her grip on the falchion she held.

"Hey! No fair!" Another woman joined the fray jumping into the air and stabbing one of the larger monsters through the back and piercing through its chest. She pulled the sword out and flipped off the monster's back, blood spurting through the air.

She was wearing a long black coat with polished gold buttons that went down to her calves, the cuffs of her coat were magenta. She also had on a black vest with gold buttons, close-fitting black pants, and boots with two-inch heels. Wrapped loosely around her neck was a magenta scarf, the tail ends fluttering down her back.

"W-what?" Susie gaped, the two newcomers had dealt with the monsters easily, slicing through their flesh as if they were nothing.

"Hey! Kamelia! Aella! I thought I told you guys not to rush ahead!" A woman with fiery orange hair scolded. She was wearing a deep crimson cloak-like jacket that almost seemed too big for her smaller build, the edges of the robe reaching her mid-calves and the sleeves oversized and flaring out when she moved her arms. She had a crimson tunic and over it a dark brown metal waist cincher with gold trimming around her waist, and she wore knee-length dark brown boots that had dark gray greaves to protect them. She also had on dark brown fingerless gloves and gauntlets.

The long sleeves of her jacket fluttered through the air as she twirled around, her oversized silver, black, and crimson scythe whipping out, bright orange flames covering the deep crimson metal as it sliced through the neck of another monster.

"Aw, give me a break!" Kamelia complained, "This is the most action I've seen all week! I need action, not fieldwork!"

"Harvesting the crops is good, it helps keep the Citadel fed." A man with an eyepatch chided. He wore an expensive black three-piece suit; the jacket, shirt, and pants were black, but the vest he wore popped out, being a rich maroon instead. He also had polished black shoes and black gloves and had a thick shoulder pauldron on his left side.

When Mitra saw him, he had to do a double-take, elaborate clothes seemed out of place on the battlefield, and he looked more like a host than a warrior.

"I'm not like you Remy! You may like being in the kitchen almost every day, but I need change!" Kamelia argued. "Staring at dirt for a straight week is torture! And I still haven't gotten the dirt from under my nails!" She pivoted on her foot and swung her estoc out, slashing another monster. "These Blights are endless!"

"What? Now you're complaining that the enemy is too much?" Aella laughed, crazily stabbing a Blight through the chest. "That's just like you, never satisfied."

"I'm just saying, this deep past our borders… aren't the numbers rather large?" Kamelia asked. She looked a bit disgusted that Aella was turning the Blight into mush before it dissipated into black smoke.

"Blights?" Mitra asked, looking around, there were other fighters now, cutting through the creatures with various weapons, flashes of their magic lighting up their surroundings. He was amazed to see that they weren't having nearly as much trouble as his group had been.

"The creatures you're fighting, they're called Blights." A soft voice sounded beside him, causing him to jump. He regretted it a second later when he felt pain shoot through the side where his gash was. He looked to his side to see a woman in a tattered burgundy cloak standing beside him, the hood shadowing her features as she observed the others fight beside him. When had she gotten there? He hadn't even heard her sneak up on him.

Under the cloak, she wore a low-cut, long-sleeved dark gray blouse and a sleeveless dark red mesh shirt under a black-and-red lined lace-up corset. She also had on a black pleated skirt that was split at the side, had a small brown belted strap across the gap, and gray shorts under it. On her arms, she wore black bracers with large brown buckled straps around the wrist and black fingerless gloves; on her shoulders, she wore dark gray pauldrons. She had on brown stockings and thick-soled black military boots with red laces.

"They have especially tough skin, if the magic isn't concentrated it's hard to pierce, so fighting with a blade usually helps. Though depending on which type of Blight you're facing, it can still be hard to cut them." She continued, pulling the hood tighter over her head when she noticed him trying to get a good look at her face.

"Hard to cut? You guys are making it look easy!" Mitra said, unable to tear his eyes away as the youngest member of the group, a young man with chin-length silver hair and deep purple eyes, jumped up and stabbed a short sword through a Blight's head. He was wearing a deep navy-blue uniform that had silver trimming with a white belt along his waist and a black pauldron and a matching black gauntlet on his left shoulder and arm.

"Hmmm," The woman suddenly jerked, looking at him intensely, her gray eyes vibrant despite the hood of her cloak casting a shadow over her face. She then looked at his other squad members, who had similar stunned expressions on their faces. "Your wounds need to be tended to."

"Just wait a minute!" He protested, feeling a migraine starting in, or maybe it was the blood loss, like she said, they were all badly injured, and his white clothes were probably more red than white now, "Who are you, people?!" He may know what the monsters were, but he still had no clue who these mages were.

"We're mages from the Ace Kingdom." She said, looking away when he tried to make eye contact.

"The Ace Kingdom?" He asked in disbelief, his eyes immediately shot down to her grimoire and that's when he realized something… it wasn't out. She had a rapier in her hands, but the grimoire itself wasn't out, still neatly tucked into the holder at her side.

He then looked at the new combatants as a whole and saw that none of them had their grimoires out. He could tell that they were using magic; the woman with the scythe had bright orange flames constantly covering her blade and Aella had lightning crackling across her body… but how was it possible that they were just using the basics of their magic to fight these Blights off? Especially when his team hadn't been able to damage them? Now he felt even more pathetic.

"Hey," The woman with the scythe stopped in front of them, green eyes going to the growing stain of red on his white clothes as she twirled her scythe carelessly through the air, "What's up? Bet we surprised you, huh?"

"You..." He stared at her, surprised was one way of putting it. He never expected to see anyone from the Ace Kingdom here. He wasn't expecting to see such a difference in power either. "How are you guys beating them?" He tried to focus on the two women in front of him even though it was becoming harder and harder, black stars starting to fill his vision.

He blinked, trying to clear his gaze, and maybe he was starting to hallucinate because he swore that the ground behind the two women was starting to freeze over with glistening, swirling black-white ice. He watched as the ice started to climb the legs of the remaining Blights, freezing them completely over before shattering them into thousands of tiny pieces, leaving no trace of the enemy.

Now, that had to be a spell, but when he looked at the Ace mages, he saw a look of surprise on all of their faces, and all their grimoires were still in their holders… was it not one of them? Where was the caster, then? Damn, he didn't need any more surprises today. The only one who didn't look shocked was the woman with the scythe, her face carefully blank, brows furrowed as she looked at the remnants of the ice magic.

He took a step forward, planning to investigate himself, as if he wasn't currently bleeding out from the cuts on his body, but he didn't get far before his legs gave out from under him, he would have fallen to the ground face first if the bright orange-haired woman hadn't caught him.

"H-hey!" She said, shocked, lowering him to the ground and the last thing he heard was her calling for one of her allies to help.

"-take the Clover Mages to the edge of the border tomorrow morning," Inara was saying through the communication screen. "A team of Magic Knights will meet you there to take the injured team home."

Idalia stood in the center of a large tent, talking to her Queen through the use of communication magic. To her left were the four Magic Knights, all unconscious on bedrolls, their injuries tended to. But, man, the Blights had done a number on them, if her unit hadn't gotten there when they did, the Magic Knights would have been wiped out.

"Understood," Idalia said back, looking at Inara through the communication magic screen, seeing the worried frown on her face. "Is something the matter?"

"... I just don't understand how the Blights got so far past our borders..." Inara said, looking troubled. "I know we're trying to prepare the Clover Kingdom, but... I never expected any of their mages to fight them yet."

"You may be able to sense where the Blights will appear and when, Your Highness." Idalia said softly, "But even you can't stop them from manifesting." She finished glancing back at the Magic Knights. "If it helps, they were deep in the Neutral Zone, I doubt the Blights intentionally sought them out. It's just a case of wrong time, wrong place, what can you do?"

"That doesn't help," Inara sighed before giving her a small smile, "Thank you for your hard work. Get some rest and I'll see you tomorrow."

Idalia nodded; the communication was going to be cut off before she remembered something: the magic that destroyed the last of the Blights. "Thanks for sending Eirene to help. We didn't need it, but it's good to know she'll always have her old unit's back. Could have said hi though,"

Inara blinked back, brows furrowed in confusion and concern, "... I didn't send Eirene after you. I thought she was still at the Citadel."

There was a beat of silence before Idalia smiled, but it was different from her previous ones; it was clearly strained, "Well..." Her voice was forcefully light as she spoke. "I guess she's still being mischievous..."

Now it was Inara's turn to look uncertain, and Idalia forced herself to keep the smile on her face even though she couldn't shake the feeling of unease that was building in her. "Don't worry too much about it, Your Highness, I'm sure everything will work out."

"I'm sure," Inara smiled back, "Take care, Idalia." She said before cutting the feed.

Idalia sighed and sat on the stool that was next to who she assumed was the leader of the unit of the Magic Knights. He looked rather noble with his fair skin, fine features, and tousled white hair. "Silver Eagles, huh?" She looked at him thoughtfully before sighing. She leaned back in her chair as she started to get lost in her memories and worries about Eirene.

Solar Court

Helios Castle

Nineteen Years Ago

A nine-year-old Idalia was sitting by herself on the porch of the castle, staring out into the garden with a bored look on her face. She could hear the maids and butlers whispering behind her back, saying that she was so cold and disinterested that she was damaged goods, but she didn't care. No one made the effort to spend time with her, so why should she put in effort if they didn't?

"What are you doing here by yourself?" A musical voice asked.

She blinked, looking up to see a girl a few years older than her, she had creamy fair skin, thick black hair, and strange light silvery-purple eyes.

"Enjoying the sun," she said, turning her gaze away from the girl. There was a pause, and then the girl sat next to her on the porch, a serene smile on her face.

"It is a nice view," The girl laughed. "The de'Sauveterre has always had a beautiful garden."

Idalia just looked at her in surprise; it took her aback that the girl was deciding to stay. "... what are you doing?"

"Enjoying the sun, it's a warm day after all." The girl said, smiling at her. "And the company isn't bad either, don't you agree?"

Idalia scoffed, staring at her hands, "I don't even know who you are."

"Eirene Amaterius, from the Royal Court." The girl introduced, holding out her hand for Idalia to shake. "Let's get on from now on."

"Are you sure? Haven't you heard? I'm cursed and bring bad luck to others." She muttered.

"I've been told I'm extremely blessed and lucky," Eirene laughed lightly, "Maybe I'll cancel that curse out?"

"Doubtful." She huffed, the only people who interacted with her were her family, and that was because they loved her. Apparently.

Eirene took her hand, shocking her even more, and shook it, "We'll never know if we don't try, right? I'd like to be your friend!"

"Why?" She asked uncertainly, she'd never met anyone who smiled so much or looked so serene.

"Because you interest me, Idalia de'Sauveterre."

Solar Court

Helios Castle

Seventeen Years Ago

An eleven-year-old Idalia clumsily thrust a practice sword at Eirene, who laughed, elegantly dancing out of the way before swiftly disarming her and holding the point of the wooden sword at Idalia's throat.

"I win," Eirene sang gently poking Idalia in the chest with her practice sword.

Idalia scowled, swatting the wooden sword away with her own, "Again! I'll win this time, Eirene!"

She didn't even allow the older girl to get ready; instead, she leaped forward, pivoting on her foot and swinging out at Eirene with the sword. The sound of wood hitting wood sounded through the training room as Eirene easily parried the blow.

Eirene laughed, "Were you trying to surprise me?"

Their blades locked, and Idalia met Eirene's eyes, "Are you surprised?" As she spoke, she ducked down and kicked Eirene's foot out from under her, causing the black-haired girl to stumble.

Idalia watched Eirene fall back, thinking she'd won this round, but her mouth was left hanging when the older girl planted a hand on the ground, flipping backward to regain her footing. Eirene then took advantage of her surprise and struck out with her sword, hitting Idalia in the side and knocking her over.

"I win again!" Eirene grinned, laughing when she saw the pout on Idalia's face.

"That's not fair!" Idalia complained from her place on the ground, "Flips aren't allowed."

"Of course, they're allowed. Everything is fair in war, Ida." Eirene said, twirling the wooden sword in her hand. "Want to go again?"

Idalia hopped back onto her feet energetically, "I'll win this time!" She swore, charging at the older girl and tumbling to the ground and face-planting when Eirene easily tripped her because of her lack of awareness.

"Eirene!" She complained, rubbing her face.

Eirene's laughter filled the room as she looked at the younger girl. "You have to be more aware of your surroundings."

"I wasn't ready!" She complained.

"You're the one who charged at me." The black-haired girl smiled. "Now, shall we go again?"

The Citadel

One Year and Four Months Ago

Idalia wandered up to Eirene, who was staring up at the crescent moon, a contemplative look on her face. "You look troubled, Eirey,"

"I'm just thinking..." Eirene sighed, giving Idalia a tired smile. "Sometimes I just wonder... will this war ever end?"

"It has to eventually." Idalia shrugged, also looking up at the moon.

"But at what cost?" Eirene asked, "So many have died already, many families have been broken due to the Hyberion Kingdom's attacks. It needs to end."

"Maybe the ending will surprise us," Idalia murmured.

"Hopefully, it surprises us in a good way," Eirene sighed, "At the rate this war is going, we'll lose more friends before the end."

"Well, they were lost protecting their allies." Idalia said, staring at her feet, "All we can do is live for them and protect what they wanted to protect."

"I don't want to lose anyone else..." The black-haired Paladin murmured.

The Citadel

Three Weeks Ago

Idalia sat in Inara's office, her clothes covered in a thin layer of dust and dirt. "I'm back, Your Highness!" She smiled happily at the Queen. She had been on a solo mission for the past three months and it was nice to be home, even if she did miss Adriane leaving for the Clover Kingdom.

"Welcome back," Inara smiled kindly at her, "Thank you for your hard work."

"Anything for the Kingdom." Idalia laughed easily before looking at Inara, a cautious look in her eyes even though a smile remained on her face, "How is Eirene doing? Has she been causing a lot of mischief while I've been gone?"

There was an uncomfortably long beat of silence, "Eirene has resigned from her position as First Unit Captain and recommended you to take her place."

Idalia stared at her in stunned silence before sighing, "... I'll talk to her…"

"She's on a week-long expedition," Inara said, "Will you not accept the position?"

Idalia laughed, "Man, I just got home and already you're putting me to work. Of course, I'll accept."

Present Day

Neutral Zone

"I still haven't had a chance to properly talk to her..." Idalia mused.

It seemed like the older Paladin was actively trying to avoid her. Or their conversations were forcefully light and surface level lately. She just didn't understand what was going on in Eirene's head lately.

"You like to do things by yourself, and you never share your concerns with anyone. You always shoulder your burdens alone…it's not a good way to live, Eirene," Idalia murmured before laughing softly, "But I guess I can't talk since I'm the same way…"

A groan broke through her contemplation, and she turned to see one of the Magic Knights start to stir. With a shake of her head, she pushed her worries to the back of her mind; it was time to get to work.

Mitra groaned as he came back to consciousness, the first thing he saw was the ceiling of an unfamiliar tent. He slowly looked around, seeing messed up bedrolls and used blankets, but there was no sign of anyone else, not even his squad members. Panic seized him at that moment, and as he started to push himself up an unfamiliar face shot into his field vision with a loud shout. "Boo!"

"Wha-?!" He startled, flinching and falling back onto the mat he'd been on, his head especially hitting the rocky ground hard. A sharp pain shot through his side and shoulder at the sudden impact, even though he wasn't that far off the ground, and he let out a curse.

"Shoot! Sorry! Are you okay?" The person who scared him, a woman with fiery orange hair and green eyes immediately knelt next to him, making sure that none of the wounds reopened.

He stared at her, memories of the battle flashing through his mind, he recognized her as one of the Ace Kingdom mages who had come to help him and his team… his team! "My team! Where are they?!" He demanded, shooting up into a sitting position despite the protest of his body.

"Outside… you're the last one to wake up. Remy is making some soup for us all to eat." The woman explained steadying him when it looked like he was about to fall over. "Are you okay?"

"Where are we?" Mitra asked his own question instead.

"We're still in the Neutral Zone, about an hour from the border of the Clover Kingdom. The Magic Knights will come for you tomorrow morning so you should rest up for the night."

"And the…. Blights?" He asked, somehow remembering what the monsters that had completely overwhelmed his team were called.

"All taken care of," she said with an easy shrug and smile. She started to properly check his injuries, fingers gently brushing against the bandages that covered tender skin. He allowed it for now, taking the opportunity to ask questions.

"Why don't the Magic Knights come to pick us up now? Or why didn't you guys just drop us off at the village on the border?" he asked. It was odd to him that these Ace mages would make camp near the border but not take them to the Clover Kingdom.

"We were ordered not to step foot into the Clover Kingdom by our Queen. And Remy, being the worrywart that he is, didn't want you guys out of his sight until he was sure you were all awake and had something warm to eat." The smile was still on her face, but there was a hint of annoyance in her voice.

"But… aren't our Kingdoms in an alliance?" Mitra asked confused, "It's a new development but Adriane Valeryon is there and the Magic Knights plan to accept any mage from the Ace Kingdom who would like to join."

"All valid points… but we're just doing as our Queen directs. Though I'm sure her promise to a paranoid, over-protective older sister influenced some of her decisions." The woman said.

"Older sister?" Mitra asked.

"She's crazy but well-meaning," The woman laughed, finishing her inspection. "Looks like you haven't reopened anything, would you like to go outside and join the others?"

He nodded and she helped him up, "Thanks… erh…" He looked at her questioningly, realizing he never learned her name.

"Idalia." She supplied.

"Idalia." He smiled at her, "Thank you for helping us."

"Just doing our job," She shook her head, leading him out of the tent and to the rest of the group.

Everyone was situated around a campfire, a large pot of soup warming up over it. He had to admit, it smelled delicious, it carried the smell of something rich, meaty, with hints of spice.

"Mitra! You're okay!" Susie ran over to him when she saw him, arms flying out so that she could hug him. She moved back immediately when he flinched. "Sorry!" She said guiltily.

He laughed, hugging her back, "It's fine. I'm glad to see you're all okay too."

"Good to see you up, Mitra," Ithan smiled, though he looked uneasy at being around so many unknowns. Mitra couldn't blame him; the mages from the Ace Kingdom had helped them, but that didn't automatically make them trusted allies.

Rigel, on the other hand, looked comfy with the group, talking eagerly with two women, one with pink hair and the other with purple hair. Susie also looked a bit more comfortable; after she had hugged him, she had wandered over to the pot, watching with interest as the man with the eye patch constantly stirred the contents, his visible eye never leaving the pot.

The younger man with silver hair was also helping, slowly pouring cut vegetables into the soup.

The woman with the tattered cloak just stood off to the side, watching the others interact but not joining in.

"Whose she?" Mitra asked Idalia, nodding in the cloaked woman's direction.

"That's Kleoné," Idalia said easily. "The two by the pot are Remy and Cepheus. The one with pink hair is Kamelia and the other is Aella."

Mitra nodded silently, he took stock of his team again, making sure that they were at ease before making his way to Kleoné. "Yo!" He greeted, trying to put an easy smile on his face. It may seem odd, but seeing her put him at ease, after all, she was the first one to approach him, even if he had been all banged up. "Thanks for your help back there."

Kleoné looked surprised that he came up to her. "... I was doing my job." Her voice was reserved, and she looked away as she spoke. "Your appreciation is not needed."

Mitra blinked, taken aback by the dismissal. His words had been simple gratitude, but with the way she was acting, you'd think he was trying to praise her to the world.

"Don't be like that, Kleoné," Idalia scolded. "You did a good job. You should stand up taller as a future Captain."

"I barely did anything." She shook her head. "Stop praising me, Idalia."

Mitra looked between them, unsure what to say, thankfully, she was saved from saying anything when Remy called them to the fire, yelling that the meal was ready.

"Great! Let's eat!" The fiery-haired woman said cheerfully.

"I'll eat lat-" Kleoné tried to say but Idalia dragged her forcefully along, leaving Mitra to trail behind them. What an odd duo.

It didn't take long for them all to be situated around the campfire, a steaming bowl of meat and vegetable soup in their hands.

Mitra looked around, waiting for the members of the Ace Kingdom to eat first, he didn't think it was poisoned, but it never hurt to be cautious, while he liked a good thrill, there had been one too many unpleasant surprises for one night.

He only relaxed and started to eat when Kamelia started to gobble down the still-steaming soup quickly, coughing a second later. "It's hot!" She complained as she leaned against Aella, "Blow on it for me?"

"Blow on it yourself." Aella huffed, pushing Kamelia off her and eating slowly but neatly.

Remy laughed, "It's good to eat it when it's still hot, but you should be more careful." He started to eat himself before checking in. "What do you guys think?" He asked, his visible eye eager when he looked at the Clover Magic Knights.

"It's good," Mitra confessed. The meat was surprisingly tender after only having been cooking for an hour, and the vegetables still had a crunch. The broth was surprisingly flavorful, with balanced spices and a hint of sweetness.

"Do you always bring this much supplies for missions?" Rigel asked, "From what Kamelia told me, you guys were expecting to be home by now, not camping out."

"It's good to be prepared," Cepheus spoke up, his voice polite but not the cool reserve that Kleoné had when speaking. "Ramses always has rations stocked for missions."

"It's good to have a balanced nutritious meal every day, even on missions," Remy said happily. "And Cepheus, I told you to call me Remy."

"Agreed. Though most of the Magic Knights wouldn't be so prepared. The only exception I can think of is Miss Charmy, but she always has food." Ithan said.

They ate the rest of their meal in relative silence, and it wasn't until the bowls were collected and the pot put away that Mitra asked a question that had been bothering him, "So… the Blights, how did you defeat them without spells?" They fought the Blights off without any complex spell from their grimoire and they had all made it look so easy.

"Years of experience for one," Remy said after a pause, "Everyone here has at least been a Paladin for four years, we're veterans in the Ace Kingdom."

"But even then, we used some of our strongest spells on those Blights, and they were still coming at us." Ithan protested. "We're veterans too, you know."

"The Ace Kingdom, like the Heart Kingdom, is a country surrounded by powerful natural mana," Cepheus said, "We've created techniques to absorb the natural mana around us into the most basic form of our magic, enhancing and strengthening it without the use of spells. Of course, any spell we use with our grimoire will be stronger and help us, but the default of most Paladins is to fight without an open grimoire, especially the older veterans,"

"But to choose to fight without your grimoire open even when you have one…" Susie laughed nervously, "I could never."

"Don't be mistaken, there are still a good number of Paladins who actively fight with their grimoire open and use the spells found in them, we'd be idiots not to. This Unit specifically is comprised of mages who don't rely on their grimoires being out most of the time." Idalia said. "Most born into noble houses train extensively with weapons and without the use of magic growing up in preparation for being soldiers if we know we'll join the military."

"Why's that?" Susie asked.

"The war with Hyberion has taught us that our magic can fail at the worst of times. You experienced it with the Blights just now. In any case, if we're cornered, and our magic fails us, we still have a fighting chance with the weapons we have and hand-to-hand combat training." Remy explained.

"Though if we're cornered, we'd still most likely end up dead, even with magic." Kleoné sighed.

There was a long stretch of silence at her words before Kamelia shrugged, "We all went into being Paladins knowing we'd have a high chance of death. At least our deaths would mean something."

"No use complaining about it now, huh?" Aella agreed.

"That's certainly one way to look at it," Mitra said after a moment. He didn't know what to think about the sudden turn in conversation. Worst yet, he didn't know how to feel about the blasé attitude these Paladins felt about their death. Glancing around, he saw that his squad members also looked a bit uncomfortable; none of them wanted to die, and these Ace mages made it sound like it happened every day.

Sensing the shift in the atmosphere, Idalia jumped to her feet, a smile on her face, "Well, it's pretty late! Why don't you guys go to the tent and rest? Big day tomorrow! I'll take the first watch!"

Her words got the Paladins nodding and moving towards the tent, eager to get some sleep for the night. After a moment of hesitation, the Magic Knights followed them.

"Man! I'm beat!" Kamelia said, stretching out her body. "Hey, Aella, lend me your pillow."

"No way! I won't have any then!" She argued, sounding exasperated.

"Please? How am I going to get my beauty sleep without an extra cushion, the ground is too hard." The Pinkette complained.

"That's too bad." The purple-haired woman laughed.

Mitra watched to make sure his squad members got to the tent safely before turning to Idalia, opening his mouth to offer to take the first watch, he felt a bit useless, the least he could do was help watch their camp.

But he froze when he saw her; she seemed like a completely different person now that she was alone. She wasn't looking at him but at the moon. The constant smile that had been on her face had vanished, replaced by a deep frown, her brows furrowed. But it was her eyes that took him back the most; they had been filled with mirth and warmth earlier, but now, even without her looking directly at him, he could tell that they were filled with a strange sadness and loneliness.

He was about to ask if she was okay when someone suddenly pulled on his arm, getting him to move towards the tent.

"Don't mind her," Kleoné said softly, and Mitra realized that she had also been looking at the other woman, it was the first time he heard a semblance of concern in her voice. "She'll be fine in the morning."

"Shouldn't we keep her company?" He asked quietly. "Or shouldn't you? Aren't you friends?"

Kleoné hesitated, glancing back at Idalia, who hadn't moved. "I'm not the one who can help her." She sounded dejected and conflicted, but still, she dragged him into the tent without another word without protest.

Mitra got settled for bed without another word, but he couldn't help but think that the alliance with the Ace Kingdom was going to bring the Clover Kingdom more trouble than any of them had expected. He only hoped that they could weather the storm like the previous ones.

And that's the end of chapter two! What do you guys think of Citadel life? Let me know what you guys think of the Paladins that appear in this chapter!

As always, let us know what you guys think in the reviews!