The Knight and His Queen

I hovered above the archer’s corpse, glaring at the tall man in front of me. A few soldiers surrounded me and pointed their weapons. The family that failed to escape was huddled behind them.

They can’t do anything to me, but that family’s lives are at stake. Maybe I can override the knight…

“I see your intentions. I know that you possess those you touch, like a ghost.”

“Well, your boss did call me a specter— or wait, you probably never received that letter?”

“You’re attempting to mock me… Nevertheless, you should know that the Queen made my body incorruptible. Attempt to possess me and you will find yourself severely disappointed.”

The knight’s large, dark gray cloak covered the majority of his body. It swept beside him as he walked, and I could see the dark crystalline texture of the body hidden within it. He halted beside me, and his cloud-like mass of hair slowly fell beside his face.

The knight’s eyes, which appeared to have no light within them, tilted downward in the direction of the cowering family. His left hand, which looked like that of a charred and fossilized corpse, came out of his cloak and rested on the medallion at his clavicle. The silver medallion bore the symbol of a moon with a four-pointed star made of gold at its center.

“From what I observed, you cannot harm us in your ghostly form. This family, however…”

He stepped toward them, the cloak barely moving in the wind. He took a sword from a nearby soldier’s hands, the blade making no cuts on his crystalline hand as he tossed it up to grab the hilt. He approached the woman who looked to be the mother of the family, swept behind her, and held the blade to her throat.

“Stop—“ I moved forward and held out my hand, but the knight’s piercing cold gaze made me freeze.

“It is unfortunate that the rebellion found you first. My mission is now harder than it needed to be.”

He pressed the blade against her throat, and her family screamed and begged. The woman tilted her cut neck away from the blade, her eyes closed and teeth gritted.

“I know what you want. Please, let them go. If you let them go, I’ll follow you wherever you want. Just let me see them get away.”

They can’t hurt me, and I’d rather not find out what protection the Queen put to keep the knight ‘incorruptible.’ As long as the rebellion is safe, I can run away whenever I need.

“Very well. You will see them leave. You will follow us. You will speak to the Queen.”

He threw the woman into the arms of a nearby soldier with dark hair, who then bound her arms with rope. The other soldiers pointed their weapons at the family, ordering them to flee. The knight placed the sword in the hand of the soldier holding the woman.

“What are you doing? This isn’t what I asked for. The whole family gets to go.”

“No. The woman stays. Once we arrive at the gates, she will be released. I will make no exceptions.”

Tch, I should’ve seen that coming.

“Fine. Once her family is out of sight, we can leave.”

The knight nodded at the soldiers standing near the family. The children, a young boy and girl whose hair color matched their mother’s, called out for her and cursed the knight. The father placed them into a wagon and pushed it into the forest with his head hung low.

Children should never be separated from loving parents. I’ll make sure of that.

I turned to glare at the knight, who stared back at me with indifference. The dark-haired soldier pushed the woman forward, his sword pointed at her back. The knight tilted his head, motioning for me to follow. I floated beside him as we traveled behind the dark-haired soldier. The rest of the soldiers followed behind us, their weapons ready to attack at a moment's notice.

We walked through the forest into a wide stretch of grass. I could hear the crackling of the fire spreading in the forest. I looked to my right at the rising smoke, the orange glow of flames emanating from the treetops.

The forest… will the fire stop on its own? How much will be destroyed because of the Queen’s desire for control? The rebels have lost their home now, too. I hope they find a new one… somewhere safer.

I stared at the knight from the corner of my eye. His lifeless eyes snapped in my direction, and I felt a chill down what would be my spine.

What’s up with this guy? He barely moves when he walks— his footsteps don’t even make any noise. I don’t think he even breathes? Maybe he was already dead before the Queen did… whatever she did to him.

“The Queen wishes to know where you arrived in her kingdom, as well as when.”

“Hah? Oh, I’m guessing she can hear or see through you?” I peered at the knight, looking for any sign of weird magic light in his eyes.

The knight refused to respond and only reacted by narrowing his eyes. His gaze remained fixated on the plains ahead.

“Mmmkay, I’ll take that as a ‘maybe.’ Well… the truth is that I have no idea when I arrived. I, uh, accidentally possessed someone when I got here, and woke up in her body a few days ago. Ever since then, I’ve just been looking for…”

Wait— what am I saying? Too much, definitely too much… I need to be careful about what I say next.

“I’m just trying to find my way home.”

The knight gave me a single unreadable glance before looking away again. I turned to view the plains ahead, where the moon was rising. Directly beneath the moon was the needle of light I’d been searching for.

“You act as if you’ve seen something important, Miss Velda. The Queen wishes to know what it is.”

“It’s— what did you call me?”

“Miss Velda. The Queen states it is your ‘username,’ and I should address you as such.”

Right. So if the queen knows that, it means she must be another player. Unless there’s another reason? I’m hoping it’s the former, seeing as how I really need a real person’s help right now.

“How does the queen know that, anyway?”

“Her Highness wants you to be at ease. She declares, ‘A friend from beyond will recognize their fellow man.’ I suggest you refrain from asking questions only the Queen can answer.”

“I see…”

“Returning to our previous topic, what in the distance has caught your eye?”

If this ‘Eris’ lady is one of the other beta testers, she should know the way to the Welcome Hub. But does that mean I should trust her?

Taking over a whole kingdom and altering the world is… cool… but also seems excessive for a beta tester. Maybe she’s just a try-hard.

“It is something I need to speak to the queen about. No questions only the queen can answer, right?”

The knight narrowed his eyes for the umpteenth time since we met. I mentally high-fived myself as he turned away his gaze.

“The Queen agrees. She anticipates your arrival.”

“Likewise.”

So far, Eris seems… friendly. Unluckily for her, I met the people who hate her first. I’m not really sure where I stand, but it’s definitely closer to ‘The Queen is Evil.’

The pale moonlight stretched across the plains. Beneath it was a large kingdom dappled in lamplight. The castle was clearly visible from that distance, warm light shining from a few gaps and pane-glass windows. The needle of light hid behind the castle, barely visible between its tallest tower and the moon above.

“Lunagard, the kingdom blessed by the moon goddess Matriluna. Queen Eris, one of her divine children, invites you to her home.”

The knight spoke in an emotionless voice as the gate of the kingdom came into view, the looming walls on each side creating dark shadows on the dirt path below them. Two bulky guards stood on either side of the door, which was lit by human-sized wall lamps.

Divine children… This lady must have a huge ego. First sign of trouble and I’m out. Now I just need to decide: to the light, or back to the rebels?

“Welcome, divine sister. Just as I was bestowed upon this world to ease the late King’s suffering heart— by the great Goddess herself, so have you been sent to find Me.”

A loud voice came from above the door. From a short distance, I could barely make out a shrouded figure standing in the darkness. Her voice sounded sickeningly familiar to me, but the sharp stinging pain that coursed through my strange body forced me to ignore my memories.

“Enter the gate, moonchild, and we shall speak in My glorious throne room.”

I heard a cough from the figure above us, before the fading sound of receding footsteps.

Is she going to head back to the castle and wait there? Seems awfully unnecessary, when she came all this way just to greet me. Haah… I just hope I don’t end up glitching again when I see her. This body doesn’t seem so stable when it comes to remembering things.

The guards pushed open the large door, and wind from inside blew past us. I saw the swordsman at the front turn his face away from the cold, and the hair on the heads of those around me moved with the wind.

“Let us continue inside.” The knight moved forward, followed by the swordsman.

“Wait, we had a deal. The woman goes, then I follow.”

The knight nodded at the swordsman, who then cut the rope binding the woman’s arms. She turned to me, muttered a word of gratitude, then fled into the plains behind us. As I hovered there, watching her retreat, the other soldiers made their way around me.

I hope she finds her family soon.

I closed my eyes for a moment before turning back to the door. The knight stood at the entrance, his eyes focused on the plains behind me. As I moved through the entrance, he turned to lead me. I watched his eyes move away from the world outside.

If his eyes didn’t look so unnerving, I’d believe he had some concern for that woman. Maybe Eris will tell me who he is, or was. He just… doesn’t look like someone who belongs in this world.

I followed the knight as we headed to the castle. The kingdom was filled with silence, occasionally interrupted by a metal clink or sound from an animal. In the moonlight, every building seemed to be covered in a deep shade of blue. The orange light of an occasional wall lamp clashed with the blue world, giving the kingdom an eerie atmosphere.

This place feels… lonely.

“We’ve arrived.”

“Oh.”

The knight came to a short halt before the castle. As he neared the steps, I admired the castle’s exterior. The clean walls, made from tightly packed stones, were adorned with long black banners. Each banner bore the symbol of Lunagard, the same one I had seen on the knight’s medallion. Thick strips of gold thread lined the banners, standing out in the darkness.

I looked back at the knight, who waited for me at the top of the steps. I mentally prepared myself and floated up to the castle door.

Okay, Velda. It’s time to have an audience with the Queen.