Knight’s Duo

Gentle rays of sunlight tickled Rionara’s face as she ever so slowly blinked awake. The soft mattress beneath her body and the warm blanket covering her small body felt straight out of a dream as she groggily pushed herself to sit upright.

“Mmm…” She rubbed her eyes before glancing on the other side of the bed which was empty. “Ah…”

‘She must have gone to the guild already…’

There was a sense of calmness as she recalled Priscilla’s words from last night.

“You don’t need to prove yourself to me. I just want you to be prepared. Anything can happen out there, to you, to me.”

She took a deep breath and clenched her fists close together. A new day was starting and that would be yet another opportunity for growth.

Without wasting any time, she hopped off bed and put on her leather boots. As she tied the shoelace a faint smile started to curl up on her face as she stared at the tip of her boot.

“Is this the meaning of being a knight…? Someone that helps the weak?” Her shoelaces were awkwardly tied as she couldn’t remember the last time she wore proper shoes. “Maybe then… even I might have a chance of becoming one…”

She grabbed her white poncho and threw on top of herself. Once her head had slipped through the collar hole, she was pretty much ready to head outside.

Upon turning the doorknob, she noticed a certain resistance when she tried to pull it—it was locked.

“Huh…?” Her head tilted slightly to the side as she inspected the doorway. Her eyes naturally veered downwards as she noticed the key in between her feet. “Ah.”

She picked it up and unlocked the door before stepping outside. Her first instinct was to glance to her left, once she made sure no one was in the hallway, she turned around and locked the door—pocketing the key shortly afterwards.

Heading downstairs—the main hall was practically empty. Aside from Karla and Gerolt cleaning the tables to start the day, there was no one else present.

“Oh.” The innkeeper noticed her come down from the second floor which made her smile faintly. “Good morning.”

Rionara stopped in the middle of the staircase and timidly raised her hand.

“G-good morning…”

Karla smiled calmly as she pointed to the doorway leading to the kitchen.

“If you’re looking for Priscilla, she’s in the back talking to some woman.”

“Talking to a woman?”

“Yeah, she came looking for her. I got your breakfast ready so if you want to bring it to her as well it would help me out greatly.”

Rionara’s face became flustered as she wasn’t sure what she should do which made her instinctively avert her gaze and speak softly.

“A-ah… mhm.”

Karla on the other hand raised an eyebrow as she stopped cleaning for a brief moment.

“Hm? I didn’t catch what you said. You’ve got to speak up, girl.”

“I-I will do it!”

The innkeeper smiled as she continued cleaning.

“That’s a good girl. The tray is on the kitchen table, don’t touch the other food or I’ll have your mother pay extra for your stay.”

“Y-yes!”

She hurriedly descended the staircase and made her way through the hall to the kitchen. Gerolt looked at Karla and sighed with a faint smirk on his face.

“You’ve got to be more kind with the kid.”

“Kindness isn’t my thing, Gerolt.”

“I figured as much.”

She turned at him while flicking the wooden club back and forth.

“Want another beating?”

“I’ll pass.”

Once in the kitchen, Rionara noticed just how packed with things it truly was. Meats were hanging above a fire clay stove to dry, herbs were neatly arranged in different glass jars on the far wall and butchering equipment were stored in racks with a variety of blades of different lengths and sizes.

On the central wooden table there was a lone tray with a smoked meat platter, bread in a bowl and three tankards of water. Rionara gingerly grabbed the tray and looked around the kitchen. There were two other doors, one right across the doorway she came from and one directly behind her across the table. She was about to go out and ask Karla for directions but Gerolt popped on the doorway while carrying a bucket of water.

“Take the door behind you. Your… mom, is there.”

“Ah, t-thank you.”

“You’re welcome, Lass.”

Rionara felt a strange sensation growing inside her chest. Mom, it was a word that carried much meaning even in a world as corrupt and bleak as hers. She couldn’t remember her own mother’s face, but the fact that both Karla and Gerolt had the impression that Priscilla was her mother—it gave the young woman a much needed warmth in her heart.

She walked closer to the door and without knocking, grabbed on the knob. Upon turning it and opening the door, she was met with a blade the size of her arm looming just slightly above her head.

There wasn’t even time to react or to be surprised as a cloaked figure towered above her with two thin rounded blades.

“Ah!”

Rionara tripped backwards but a hand quickly caught her back, preventing her from falling over. Priscilla was right beside her.

“Sorry, Rio.” She spoke with a faint smile on her face. “You caught us a bit off-guard.”

Seeing how Priscilla had her back to the individual wielding a dagger on each hand, Rionara figured she wasn’t an enemy. Her eyes could only see the slender frame of the person’s mouth as she spoke with the cloak covering most of her features.

The cloaked figure straightened her back before sheathing both weapons. Her voice was calm, yet there was a hint of hostility in it.

“Spellknight, is that the kid you spoke about?”

Priscilla chuckled nervously.

“Yes, Dame.”

“I see…”

After making sure Rionara was okay, Priscilla closed the door behind her and put the tray of food on the small table in the room. It was a quiet place, much like the room in the guild. It had four wooden chairs, a small table on the far wall and a window that was currently closed.

Priscilla pulled the chair near the wall out from underneath the table and offered it to Rionara, who quietly sat without looking at the cloaked figure across the table.

The knight sat beside her and grabbed one slice of smoked meat and a loaf of bread. The other presumably royal knight also grabbed a portion for herself as well as the tankard with water. Although none of the two directly addressed her, Rionara could almost feel tension in the air.

“Ah… um… s-should I really be here?”

At that moment Priscilla placed her warm hand on her left shoulder and squeezed lightly.

“Don’t worry. This is one of my fellow royal knights, Dame Phoebe Hawkeye.”

The young woman’s eyes widened as she looked straight underneath the cloak. Beneath the cloth she noticed two striking deep blue eyes staring back at her with a sharp gaze.

Unlike Priscilla, she didn’t even wear chainmail under her clothes, she was more of an assassin than a knight in her eyes.

Without moving her head, Phoebe glanced at Priscilla and started to question the fellow knight.

“So? Am I to believe that you are taking care of this child while also taking charge of her majesty’s orders alone?”

There was an ever so slight frown on Priscilla’s brows, not enough for Rionara to notice, but just enough that Phoebe would catch on it.

“Yes. Do you doubt my capabilities?”

“Considering you are the youngest of us, yes. Quite so.” She bit a piece of the smoked meat without averting her eyes from Priscilla’s. “It boggles my mind as to why she left you in charge of this mission.”

“He is my father.” The spellfencer took a bite out of the loaf of bread without averting her gaze from the assassin’s. “If something happened to him or if he turned sides, then it is my responsibility to take care of it.”

Rionara swallowed dry. The tension was palpable at that point, two legendary knights were practically facing off against each other right before her eyes. In the stillness of the room, she could almost ‘see’ the two knights pulling out their weapons from the pressure they exuded. But what followed it seemed just as surreal as the conversation before.

Phoebe’s sharp glare softened as she leaned back against the chair and took a chug out of the tankard of water before slapping it on the table.

“Well… if you are confident enough then it should be fine.” She smiled quietly. “The Queen chose you to be part of the royal knights, after all.”

The way the assassin pivoted from murderous intent to casual conversation made Rionara blink a few times in shock. Priscilla also smiled warmly as she let go of Rio’s shoulder.

“Haha, Dame Phoebe, you should really stop doing that in front of others.”

“Huh? Wha…”

Rionara looked at them both, quite lost in the conversation.

“Sorry if I scared you.” Phoebe said, apologetically as she grabbed on the side of her hood and pulled it back. “That was, sort of the point of the act.”

Aside from the striking blue eyes, she also had short jet black hair tied in a modest high bun with her long, thin ears sticking out of her side bangs. Her face was slender and her fair complexion made her figure look straight out of a fairy tale.

For a moment Rionara didn’t know what to say until she noticed Priscilla’s confused gaze directed at her which prompted her to stammer her words as she tried to get them out.

“U-umm… D-Dame Phoebe, so… you aren’t here to p-punish Pris, right?”

The woman raised an eyebrow at her.

“Huh? Punish? Goddess, no. If I could punish her directly that would make me queen instead.” She chuckled as she took a sip of the water and another bite of the meat. “I’m just another knight of the trio. I’m here simply because I was passing through the town.”

Priscilla glanced at her with a genuine look of worry on her face.

“Are you going to Astera?”

Phoebe shook her head.

“Nara. I need to meet up with my sister.”

“Ah, Dame… Kaeli, correct?”

“Mhm.” She took another sip of water. “That fool decided to stay there for another decade instead of coming to help Arcadia rebuild.”

“What about Londria?”

“Already taken care of, I’m sure you must have heard the news.”

“Ah… the open borders then…”

All the back and forth didn’t make much sense to Rionara, but she couldn’t help but keep looking at Phoebe. Something about her mesmerized the young woman’s senses, she couldn’t quite understand why. It was like she was in a trance, a fuzzy unfocused dream grappling her mind in an unescaping daze.

“Hey. Kid. Oiii.”

After hearing her voice and noticing Phoebe frantically waving her hand in front of her face, Rionara finally snapped out of it.

“Huh? Wha…?”

The assassin raised an eyebrow as she stood up from her seat and walked around the table, standing beside the spellfencer.

“Excuse me, Pris.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I think the kid you adopted is a high elf.” Priscilla stood up and got out of her way. As she stood beside Rionara, she arched forward and gently held her face in place. “Hmm…”

There was a faint glint of mana under Phoebe’s irises and in the moment she focused her senses there was a recoil as the assassin flinched back and blinked a few times. Priscilla looked at Phoebe and asked with a tinge of worry in her voice.

“What did you find out?”

“She’s a high elf, no doubt about it. Her ears aren’t developed yet which doesn’t make sense given her age…” She blinked a few more times to shake off the unpleasant sensation she had just felt before focusing on Rionara’s eyes as she continued. “Where were you from?”

“L-Londria…”

That made the older high elf step back and cover her own mouth with her own hand—lost in thought while muttering under her breath.

“A high elf in Londria?”

“What’s wrong with it?” Priscilla interjected. “Aren’t high elves hard to come by just about anywhere?”

Phoebe turned to Priscilla.

“Well, yes, but remember that Londria used to be ruled by an elf.” When she mentioned the word ‘elf’ there was a clear, unfiltered sign of disgust coming across on her face. “He wouldn’t just let high elves live there in peace.” After taking a short breather she turned her attention back to Rionara. “How did you manage to come here? Londria didn’t have open borders for trade until a few months ago.”

She averted her gaze while her hand clenched into a fist near her breast. Hesitation was clear in both her eyes and body as just remembering the days of traveling were enough to make her entire body throb in pain.

“I…”

Rionara was feeling the world weighing on her shoulders before she felt a gentle squeeze from Priscilla as she walked beside her—she had a faint smile on her face as if to reassure her.

“You don’t need to force yourself to explain it.”

“But I… I don’t want to be a burden to you, Pris.”

Phoebe glanced at her fellow knight with a serious gaze.

“Depending on who her parents are, you could end up dragged as a victim.”

Priscilla frowned her brows as if she heard the most incredulous thing.

“Victim? Victim of what?”

“Politics.” Phoebe leaned closer as she whispered. “Imagine a royal knight of a foreign kingdom kidnapping the daughter of a prestigious Londrian family. Londria could clearly declare war under those terms.”

“What?!” Priscilla flinched as she raised her voice with widened eyes. “That is ridiculous!”

Phoebe raised both hands and shoulders while shaking her head.

“Such is politics. The public won’t care if you indeed saved her or not.” Her gaze then fell on Rionara, who instinctively shrunk within her own arms. “What matters is how we should proceed with this. If she truly is the daughter of some influential noble in Londria then we must return her there.”

That sentence made Priscilla step forward with her eyes narrowed into a sharp glare.

“We are not taking her back. You haven’t seen what has been done to her, even if her parents are nobles… no, even if she is from Londria, treating her with so little regard to her well-being is not right.”

“And so you would sacrifice your title, your kingdom and your Queen for some girl?”

“Yes.” There was a fire of determination in her eyes as she brandished her right arm outward. Phoebe only knew one more person that was capable of saying such things with zero hesitation and that was her Queen. “We protect those who cannot protect themselves. If my Queen were to tell me that my decisions thus far have been wrong, then she is no Queen of mine!”

There was a silent grin curling on Phoebe’s face as she looked at Priscilla dead in the eyes.

“Oho? Do you think yourself above Her Majesty?”

Sparks were flying under the tension in the room. Priscilla knew she wouldn’t be able to win if a fight were to break out in such a closed space. Every single fiber of her being was screaming of danger as Phoebe’s deep blue eyes stared her down not as a fellow royal knight, but as prey.

Blades were sure to be drawn, until a faint and timid voice sounded from behind Priscilla.

“...Arc. M-my name is… Rionara Arc.”

Phoebe’s confident grin suddenly darkened as both of her arms lost their tension as she was about to pull out her half unsheathed daggers.

“What…?” The assassin stepped forward but Priscilla got in her way. “What did you say?”

“I’m… Rionara Arc.”

“Ha… haha… no, that’s impossible…”

“Dame Phoebe, I suggest you don’t step any closer to Rio.”

“Or what, Priscilla?”

“Or I’ll have to resort to force.”

“Hmph.” Her gaze then focused on the young woman beyond the spell fencer’s extended arm. “Rionara, are you truly Jakob’s daughter? You aren’t using his last name for convenience, are you?”

“N-no… I know what it means to be the daughter of that… thing.” That made Priscilla feel a sting in her heart. For someone to call their parents a ‘thing’ could only mean one thing. “I… I fled Londria long before you and your Queen killed him.”

Phoebe closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them again.

“I see… that would make sense then.” With a distinct clink, she sheathed her daggers which made Priscilla relax her shoulders as well. “Rionara. You are Londria’s rightful ruler, do you understand what that means?”

She shook her head with her small hands still trembling.

“N-no… but… I don’t wish to rule or become someone as revered as your Queen… I just want to live beside Priscilla.”

“...very well.” Phoebe glanced again at the spell fencer, this time with a cautionary gaze, uncharacteristically of the dame known for being the most aloof amongst her peers. “Careful with your words Dame. I might be lenient enough to let it go but if commander Leonard were to hear you say those words, you wouldn’t even be standing right now.”

“...I will keep that in mind.”

“D-Dame Phoebe.” Surprisingly, Rionara spoke up as she walked up beside Priscilla. She attempted to see the high elf eye-to-eye but nervousness was getting the better of her as she averted her gaze to Phoebe’s collar. “How… how was my father in his last moments? Did he repent?”

The assassin looked at her and shook her head.

“Both the commander and the Queen dealt the killing blow, not me.” She had a bitter smile on her face as she spoke. “In fact, if not for them, I wouldn’t be here in the first place.”

The young woman fell silent, seemingly disappointed, but deep down she was satisfied. There was a sense of closure in her heart which made her look at her again and bow her head.

“Thank you, for saving Londria.”

“I did no such thing.” She shrugged off. She wasn’t used to people thanking her, even less so when it was about taking lives. “Save your thanks when you go back to Arcadia with Priscilla.”

She had a faint smile on her face that wasn’t obvious to Rionara at first but it was obvious to her fellow royal knight which prompted Priscilla to smirk and chuckle shortly, causing the assassin to frown her brows towards her and ask.

“What?”

“No, nothing. Pardon me.” She placed her left hand behind Rionara’s back and bowed slightly to Phoebe. “Thank you, for allowing me to continue taking care of her.”

“You shouldn’t be thanking me.” Phoebe turned around and glanced over her shoulder at the spell fencer. “Thank her for telling me her name. Otherwise we might have crossed blades here.”

With a final smirk, she opened the door and quietly left the room. Her footsteps quickly vanished into the kitchen behind the closed door.

At that moment it felt like the entire world was lifted off Priscilla’s shoulders as she let out a long, exasperated sigh. A first for Rionara. The young woman looked at the knight with worry clear in her eyes.

“Pris… are you alright?”

“Y-yeah… it’s just… Dame Phoebe is quite the difficult colleague to work with.”

She reached for her own left shoulder with her right hand to massage it while turning her head around lightly as if to relieve the tension. Seeing her that way for the first time made Rionara wonder.

“If the two of you fought, who would win?”

“Hm?” She turned to her and chuckled nervously. “I wouldn’t even stand a chance.”

Rionara’s eyes widened as she flinched back.

“Really?! But Pris… you’re so strong…”

“Yes, but Dame Phoebe was trained in the high elven arts of killing. I’m more of a… common knight. Besides using magic, there isn’t anything peculiar about my fighting style.”

Unconvinced, Rionara turned to her with her eyes almost sparkling from awe.

“Wouldn’t you win if you were far away? She only had two daggers.”

“Haha, that is what she wants you to think. She always carries a hand crossbow with her.”

“A hand crossbow? What is that?”

“Don’t you know what it is?”

“Nuh uh.”

Priscilla scratched the side of her head before asking.

“Have you seen a bow?”

“Yeah.”

“Imagine a bow that can fire arrows using mechanisms instead of a person’s arm like huh… a fusil.”

“Are those things that go boom and then it fires a pointed piece of metal?”

“Yeah, those.”

“Aaaah… I see. I understand it now.”

“Glad to have helped.”

She smiled. But deep down she was still feeling the weight of her conversation with Phoebe. The way the high elf mentioned her commander felt surreal.

‘Leonard… he was very kind to me when I was a squire… but the way Dame Phoebe spoke felt… strange…’

But before those thoughts could cloud her mind, she chose to forget about them for now and focus on the present.

The knight looked at the wooden tray and then turned to Rionara once again.

“Should we take this to the main hall and have some breakfast?”

“Ah, yeah.”

“Okay, I’ll grab the tray. Open the door for me, please.”

“Alright.”

Without wasting any time, they both exited the side room and proceeded to the main hall through the kitchen where they saw Gerolt wearing an apron over his bare chest while he was in the process of cutting a large piece of smoked meat with a cleaver.

“Oh, fencer Lass.” He spoke upon noticing Priscilla come out of the room. “Lucina wanted to see you.”

“Lucina?”

“Something about the guild probably. She’s waiting in the hall.” He then leaned backwards while glancing into the room she just left and raised an eyebrow. “Where’s your acquaintance?”

“Oh, she already left.”

“Huh… didn’t even notice her leaving. Anyway, it seemed like she was in a hurry to talk to you.”

Priscilla gave a short nod and ushered Rionara to keep up with her once she closed the door.

“I’ll head there, thank you, Gerolt.”

“Aye.”

Stepping through the doorframe to the main hall Rionara noticed a familiar young woman wearing casual clothes that consisted of a simple raw cotton shirt, dark green trousers and thick leather shoes meant for farm work. Her short silver hair stood out amongst the farmers and other workers that were steadily filling the main hall to get breakfast.

“Miss Priscilla, Miss Rionara.” Sitting by a table near the wall was Lucina. Supposedly on a break by the rather simplistic attire. She waved her hand with a faint smile on her face. “Good morning.”

Priscilla approached her before settling the wooden tray on the table to greet her.

“Good morning, Miss Lucina. What are you doing here?”

“Today is my day off. I thought I’d catch you two if I stayed here but apparently you wake up even earlier than I do even on the Day of Radiance.”

Rionara approached the receptionist and bowed politely.

“Good morning, Miss.”

Upon seeing her up close with new clothes—Lucina’s smile widened as she instinctively patted her on the head.

“You look so adorable with those new clothes!” She then turned at Priscilla with seemingly stars in her eyes. “Did you custom order these?!”

The knight smiled awkwardly while leaning backwards ever so slightly as she was caught off guard by the receptionist’s sudden enthusiasm.

“N-no, not really. Your acquaintance had spare clothes for children and she happened to like these.”

“Haha, I knew it. When it comes to clothes, Jean won’t disappoint. But I have to say…” Her gaze then turned at Rionara once again, who—once noticing it, decided to look away in embarrassment. “She looks just like a little adventurer… you aren’t considering bringing her with you into the dungeon, right?”

Priscilla vehemently shook her hand in front of her body as she took the seat across Lucina.

“Goddess no. I-”

Before the knight could offer an explanation, Rionara stepped forward and raised her head to face Lucina, who turned at her with widened eyes of surprise.

“I-I… I wanted these because they don’t stand out…”

She smiled warmly while gently patting her on the head again.

“You’re a great kid Rio.”

Rionara smiled quietly before taking her seat beside the knight—who was in the middle of grabbing a piece of smoked meat and piece bread. She did the same by taking a modest bite out of the smoked meat and bread loaf.

Priscilla started to talk all the while grabbing another serving from the tray after she had gulped down the previous one.

“So, Miss Lucina, did you need something from me? I doubt you’d want to spend your day off with an adventurer.”

“Oh, that’s right.” She reached for her pocket and pulled out an envelope. “Captain Rhys wanted me to give you this.”

The knight raised an eyebrow as she put the bread on the table and grabbed the envelope with her right hand.

“A letter?” She put the smoked meat between her teeth and started to open it. “What is this about?”

“A promissory note. Captain Rhys gave it to me the night before. I thought I could hand it to you at the evening but with that brawl that happened yesterday-”

Her eyes veered off the note with a raised eyebrow towards the receptionist.

“A what?”

“Promissory note. You weren’t paid for the claimed bounty. You can redeem this letter at either the barracks or the guild to get the reward or you can also save it for later, coins are heavy so it’s not a bad idea to have someone else hold it for you.”

“Huh… interesting…” She took a cursory glance at it and nodded to herself. “This doesn’t exist back in Arcadia…”

“Pardon?”

“No, nothing.” Without explaining further, Priscilla folded the paper in half and pocket it inside the inner breast pocket of her jacket. “Thank you for bringing it to me.”

“You are welcome. Now…”

She stood up from her chair and lifted her hand which prompted Karla to approach the table.

“Good morning, Lucina. You’re up early.”

“Quite so. I had some business to attend to but now I’m free.”

“I see. Will you have the usual?”

“Yes! Please.”

“Aye, coming right up.” Karla turned around and shouted towards the kitchen. “The usual for Lucina!”

“The usual?” Priscilla muttered while munching on the piece of meat. “Do you eat here often?”

“Yes, it’s what I look for on my day off.”

“Hmm… interesting.”

They remained quiet for the time being with Lucina looking around the hall as she waited for her order. The sound of knives clattering against wooden plates and chit-chat amongst the other customers made Priscilla feel a bit homesick as it made her remember her days amongst the squires in Arcadia. It was a memory she looked back upon fondly.

‘Who would’ve thought I’d become a royal knight…’

She subconsciously smiled to herself. However her thoughts were cut short the moment she heard Rionara start coughing beside her, making her ask.

“Are you okay?”

“Y-yeah, I just choked a bit.”

“Here.” She grabbed the tankard of water and gave it to her. “Drink some.”

“T-thank you, Pris.”

Her small hands could barely make the entire circumference of the wooden cup which made the knight’s heart flutter.

‘How cute…’

Loud footsteps grew closer from behind Priscilla which made her look over her shoulder. Her eyes widened in awe as she noticed Gerolt carrying a tray twice the size of the one she had on the table.

“Here’s your order!” The man almost slammed the entire thing on the table as it was extremely heavy. “Enjoy your food.”

Lucina smiled as she replied with excitement clear in her eyes.

“I most certainly will. Thank you, Gerolt.”

Priscilla had a calm expression on her face as she looked at the tray meant for Lucina. Her faint smile slowly turned into shock. Before the receptionist wasn’t a normal breakfast, it was a feast.

One plate had six glazed chicken drums, another had three steaks the width of her thumb, one smaller plate had a portion of shredded lettuce with bacon on top of it with steamed cabbage, a large bowl of soup, another of porridge, two roasted corns on cobs sitting on the side alongside five loaves of bread and three tankards full to the brim with beer to top it all off.

“Holy f-” Priscilla had to hold herself from swearing as she saw the staggering amounts of food in front of her. “Is… is this all to you, alone?”

Lucina was putting a napkin in the collar of her shirt as her eyes looked up to the knight with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah? A little day-off indulgence is part of why I work in the guild.”

From the next table a farmer called out.

“Hah! She’s new eh—Lass, that is Lucina’s breakfast.”

His friend nodded while laughing.

“Legendary breakfast. I’d say she’s part demon.”

The farmer looked back with a wide grin.

“Demon? Dragon, more like!”

“Hey, it’s rude to call a lady a dragon.” Lucina replied while pouting. “I don’t have time to eat proper meals so I have to make up on my day off.”

Rionara on the other hand was staring with her heart fluttering near her throat at the sight of so much food—more than she’d ever imagined in her life. As if sensing her gaze, Lucina lifted the plate of drumsticks with a grin and dumped them atop the steaks before picking one of each food and putting it on the empty platter. She then slid the platter in front of Rionara.

“Here, you should eat some more as well.”

“Ah, no I…”

She averted her gaze—flustered. Priscilla on the other hand was about to reach for her coin pouch.

“I can pay for-”

“No, please.” Lucina smiled and motioned to the food. “I insist.”

With such kindness, Priscilla ended up folding as she leaned back on her chair and looked at Rionara with a faint smile on her face.

“Rio. You should eat.” The young woman looked at her. “Make sure no food goes to waste.”

The knight could see stars in her eyes as her uncertain expression soon changed into a smile as she turned to Lucina and bowed her head.

“Thank you!”

“You’re welcome.”

Priscilla smiled as she stood up, prompting Rionara to look at her with inquisitive eyes and ask.

“Where are you going?”

“To the barracks.”

“Ah, going to redeem your reward, are you?” Lucina spoke after gulping down another bite of the bread she had on hand. “Captain Rhys should be at his office processing the paperwork about the Black Assassin.”

“Thank you.” She briefly turned to Rionara with a warm smile. “I’ll be back soon.”

“Mhm, take care, Pris.”

Without wasting any time, the spell fencer stood up and made her way out of the inn. The morning street life was quite peaceful, there weren’t many people and the ones that were walking around that area were farmers heading to get some food at the inn or workers hauling goods to the more commercial area of the central square which was incidentally the way she was heading.

Individuals carrying wooden crates, sacks and carts filled her view as she kept a brisk pace to keep up with the influx of people. Footsteps and chatter grew louder as she approached the central square. Once again, adventurers and dungeon explorers were lining up at the guild with the scent of soot, gunpowder and oil filling the air. Merchants lined up around the guild with tools and supplies like smoked meats, pemmican, makeshift gourd canteens, flint and steel, tinder pouches, lanterns and all manner of tools for mining.

Looking around, she wasn’t sure where the barracks were, but considering the influx of people coming from the west entrance and south residential area, she could roughly guess it was to the north.

‘Maybe closer to the noble’s district…?’

It made sense in her mind. After all, keeping those that keeps the city running safe seemed like the priority for a commercial city such as Arivaul.

“Alright…”

She was going to make her way to the north of the city when a familiar gruff voice came from her right.

“Ay, Lass!” Upon turning her head she noticed it was Geralt. He wore the same stained brown apron and was carrying his usual cross-pein hammer. “Where ya headin’?

“I’m looking for the city barracks, why?”

“Atta girl!” He raised his hammer with an unfiltered smile on his face. “Ye crossed blades with ‘em Black Assassin an’ lived to tell the tale. Outstanding if I do say so meself.”

That made her flinch back with a raised eyebrow.

“Huh? How’d you know?”

“Eh? Ye the talk of town. Even ‘em criers are talking about ye exploits.”

“Huuuh?!”

Her surprise was soon drowned out by the faint clinging of a bell in the distance with the muffled announcement becoming clearer with each passing second.

“Hear ye! Hear ye!” The same town’s crier from the day she had entered the city was at it again, but this time in a more cheerful, if not exaggerated, tone of voice. “Infamous Black Assassin taken out of the streets! Copper adventurer Priscilla Avellion brings justice to Arivaul! Hear ye! Hear ye!”

Priscilla could feel an intense heat of shame boil from her gut up towards her face. There was just something out of place about hearing her name in the mouth of a town’s crier.

Geralt didn’t seem all that bothered as he nodded to himself as he made his way towards his shop. He turned around and pointed the hammer at her and shook it twice.

“Be proud o’ yeself Lass. Ye did good to this city. Next time ye need repairs on ye blade, bring it to good ol’ Geralt. I’ll ‘ave it fixed in no time.”

“Huh… thank you, Geralt. I’ll… I’ll keep that in mind.”

Her mind was spinning.

‘Someone must have ordered for the bounty to become public… but why…? Wasn’t the guild avoiding publicly publishing bounties in the first place…?’

That bothered her but she decided to focus on her mission first. With disciplined steps, she set forth towards the north district.

Once she made her way out of the central square, the streets became gradually more patrolled by guards. They walked in trios close to each other with their halberds at hand—a sight for sore eyes, if they were present in or around the slums, but that was just wishful thinking on her part.

“Excuse me.” Priscilla said as she stopped one of the guards leading the trio. “Where are the barracks located?”

The young middle guard looked to both of his colleagues before turning to her with a raised eyebrow and a scoff—an attitude unbefitting of a town’s protector.

“Who wants to know?”

The knight narrowed her eyes as she said with full confidence in her voice.

“Copper adventurer, Priscilla Avellion.”

That made the guard flinch while the others looked at him with a similar shocked expression. His smug face turned into a mix of acknowledgement and respect.

“Oh? What a hero like you is looking for in the barracks?”

“Payment.” She took out the promissory note out of her jacket’s pocket and shook it in front of herself. In truth she wanted to ask Rhys some questions but that wasn’t a necessary detail to mention. “So, can you point me to the barracks?”

He turned around and pointed to a building with a pale blue wall. Its painting was somewhat faded which made it stand out not in a good way.

“There, just ask for the captain. He should be around.”

She gave him a short nod and said.

“Thank you.”

Without wasting any time, she pocketed the paper, walked past them and continued on. The trio behind her started to whisper amongst themselves.

“Is she really the one who killed that guy?”

An even younger guard questioned the one leading the group with an obvious nervous tone in his voice.

“With a rapier in a narrow alley in the slums? No way she could’ve done that much damage to him.”

He replied while shaking his head. The other older guard looked over his shoulder at Priscilla’s frame before commenting himself with a hushed voice.

“Maybe she’s the real deal, you never know…”

The middle guard cocked his head back and shook it in disbelief.

“Yeah, right. A woman. Must I remind you how many women we have as guards in this town?”

The older guard motioned with open palm as he inquired.

“Have you never heard of Eleonora’s exploits? The strongest Knight Queen?”

“Because she was the only queen they ever had. Who holds the title for strongest knight of the realm again?”

The youngest one nodded while muttering.

“Isn’t that Leonard? One of the royal knights serving the current Queen of Arcadia?”

“That’s him, alright.”

They continued talking amongst themselves while walking towards the noble’s district. Priscilla on the other hand was already by the barrack’s gate. She caught a bit of their conversation and it left her a bit annoyed.

‘Gender has nothing to do with might.’ She looked at her own open right palm before closing it tightly into a fist. ‘A blade’s just as deadly in my hands as it is my commander’s.’

She softened her grasp as she walked through the open metallic gate. The front of the building was mostly empty. Only two guards were posted right outside the main entrance with halberds at their side with the occasional distant metallic clink of metal from the back of the building which Priscilla surmised it was where the guards trained.

As she approached the building itself, the right-most guard walked forward and extended his open left palm—stopping the knight in her tracks.

“Halt. What business do you have here?”

“I’m here to collect a reward.”

She once again showed the promissory note, which this time the guard actually grabbed from her hand to check it. He seemed old, a bit too old for being a town’s guard but the ease of which he moved while wearing armor made her think he wasn’t past his prime.

“I see.” He folded the paper and handed it back to her. “You may enter, but I’ll have to ask you to leave your weapon with me.”

“My weapon?”

“I can’t have you go in armed to see the captain. Barrack’s rules.”

“Oh… I see.”

She turned to her side and started to unfasten the belt that kept the rapier in place. Her pulse quickened a bit as it reminded her of one particular spar she had with her commander.

‘Being caught without a weapon… this always makes me uneasy…’

Trying to not show hesitation, she wrapped her rapier in its own belt and immediately handed it to the guard.

“Here.”

“Thank you.” He bowed slightly before stepping to the side. “You may go in. I’ll keep your weapon safe until you come back. The captain should be in his office, it’s the first door right in front of the entrance.”

She nodded and after a curt ‘thank you’, headed inside. Inside, she noticed there were empty weapon racks on both sides of the entrance and many other guards walking around without armor but with swords sheathed by their hips.

‘There are even more guards here…’ Her eyes darted quickly enough to not be noticed as she headed towards the closed door in front of her. ‘Did Rhys say he was having trouble with manpower just for show…?’

She kept that thought in the back of her mind as she knocked on the closed door twice. Not long after there was a faint reply from the other room.

“Come in.”

She grabbed on the door knob and opened it. Inside was a simple office room. A large wooden desk, two chairs for guests and a mountain of paperwork. Rhys was sitting behind the stacked papers with the window behind him slightly ajar to cool down the otherwise sweltering room.

He was writing something on the paperwork before his eyes eventually glanced upwards towards her.

“Oh? Priscilla. Come for the reward, have you?”

“Yeah.” She replied before closing the door behind her. “I have some questions too, if you don’t mind answering them.”

“About what?” He returned to doing his paperwork as he spoke to her. “If it isn’t confidential matters about the city, I may be able to answer them.”

“It’s about my father.”

At that moment, his hand stopped before his gaze met hers.

“What about him?”

“You spoke as if you knew him.” She walked closer and pulled one of the chairs back before sitting down. “Were you two close?”

“We were good friends, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Then… you would know if he was planning to go into the dungeons, correct?”

He chuckled sourly.

“I’m a town’s guard captain, not a guild leader—if I were to police every adventurer that wants to risk their lives in the dungeon-”

“Rhys, please, this is a matter of utmost importance. If my father is in danger, I must go to rescue him.”

“Look, Priscilla, I know you are a royal knight, but I can’t just make things happen just because you are his daughter.” He put his fountain pen down and leaned backwards against his chair before clasping his hands together. “He spoke about going in the dungeon before, that much I can tell you, but we haven’t spoken with each other after it.”

“But did he tell you anything? Anything that might point me in the right direction?”

He tilted his head slightly down before shaking it slightly.

“All he said was that he was looking for ‘the Tears’. I don’t know what that meant but that is all he said.”

Priscilla’s eyes narrowed as she glanced down with a pensive expression.

“The Tears…” After a while she took a small breather and looked back at him. “Thank you, Rhys.”

“I did nothing.” He extended his right hand forward while pulling out a small sack of clinking coins from beneath his desk. “Here, this is the reward for the scum from the other day.”

“Ah, right…” She pulled out the promissory note from her jacket and handed it to him. “Sorry for taking your time like this.”

“No, no, it’s alright.”

As she exchanged the note for the sack of coins, Rhys grasp tightened slightly which prompted her to look at his eyes.

“Priscilla, I say this not as the captain of this city’s guards, but as a friend of your father. Don’t go around poking your nose into other people's businesses. The man you captured was dangerous but there are even more dangerous people than him in this city.”

She nodded quietly.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” She slowly stood up and was about to leave before she turned her head around and asked. “And what happened to the Black Assassin?”

“He will be dealt with in the near future.” He replied without looking at her and instead focused on writing on the paper left in front of him. “Most likely to be executed.”

“I see…”

Satisfied with his answer, she made her way out of his office. Rhys on the other hand let out a quiet sigh before massaging the space between his eyes.

“So she isn’t here for the city, but her father instead…?”

Outside the building, Priscilla had her weapon returned and while she was fastening her belt—a thought occurred in her mind.

‘The Tears… Father mentioned it before to the Queen… something about it being a relic of the past.’ After adjusting the sheath on the side of her hip, she made her way out of the barracks. Despite being close to the noble’s district, there was nary a soul in sight. ‘Why would he come here alone to retrieve it if it’s supposed to be a powerful artifact…?’

The more answers she sought, the more questions started to arise. So much to the point she was left with a tingling headache. She took a deep breath and started to make her way back.

By now the streets were mostly occupied by stewards, housewives and maids looking to buy fresh ingredients in the central square.

Once she was there herself, she noticed a peculiar duo stand out from the rest of the people around them. A tall knight clad in full plate steel armor and a blonde haired woman wearing a kettle helmet, white gambeson, puffy brown trousers and leather straps wrapped around her feet to serve as makeshift shoes.

“Is that…?”

Priscilla squinted her eyes as the knight removed his helmet, revealing it to be Reinhardt—the man she met from the night before. The pair would then keep walking to the east district of the city while conversing amongst themselves.

“Hmm… he did mention something about not going after ‘Father’s’ bounty.” She looked at their backs before they vanished into another street. “Did he know all along…?”

She shook her head.

‘Well… it doesn’t matter, even if he did…’ After one deep breath she prepared herself to go back. ‘This city… why did my father come here…?’