Arise you fallen knights

“Are you alright?”

Teiran rushed to my side and put his hands on my shoulders. His eyes scanned for any visible wounds. I reach out one hand and touch his forehead where there is a bleeding cut.

“I am, but you seem to be injured!”

“This is just a scratch, don't worry.”

“Wait shouldn’t we incapacitate that man right there?”

“Don’t worry since I turned him to ice he won’t be able to do anything anymore."

“But why did it take you so long to come here? With your Ice ability you could have frozen him a lot earlier, couldn’t you?”

“For some reason, the arrows seemed to block the use of my abilities only when he stopped chanting it unfolded.”

“But a type of ability that could suppress the abilities of others could only mean-”

“That’s right, it was forbidden magic.”

“I thought so too!”

“You don’t seem shaken?”

“Oh well, that was the only thing that could be possible right, although it’s forbidden magic that shouldn’t exist…”

I mean I couldn’t tell him that I had this little sweet spirit that was born from my powers and told me the whole thing. That would be a bit too much to explain out of nowhere. Rusha nodded, seemingly agreeing to my thoughts.

“Normally one would assume that dark magic would have dissolved centuries ago. But it seems even in our time there are still people capable of using those forbidden powers.”

“And if he weren't the only one, then the enemy could be an even bigger one than we anticipated. Perhaps, the one who framed me and killed everyone could also belong to that group.”

“A group?”

“I know it’s hard to believe me but I think we are dealing with an even greater force than we imagined until now. In one of the houses there was something engraved. A warning! Someone desperately tried to warn us! He said they want to kill us. The forsaken ones, if you see this, run! They are monsters! Don’t trust anyone!”

Also his presence wasn’t the same I felt back at the estate.

“That’s right Sherya, this isn’t the same person that hit me on my head. Otherwise he would have sensed my presence” Rusha whispered into my ear. I gave her a slight nod, only for her to see.

“To me this man seemed more like a marionette. As if someone was controlling him. Just think about it, Teiran. Why would someone go through such a trial, knowing damn well that you, one of the strongest Knights in this empire, is present. Also his expression was, rather pained”

“You mean to say that it was a voluntary death?”

“It has to be. The preparator still has to be out there. We need information.”

“For now let’s wrap this up and talk about it later. There still might be eyes watching us from a distance.”

“We also have to deal with the aftermath of this fight. A lot of the knights got injured, perhaps some might have- ”

“If we lost any men, we will take them back home. We won’t let their blood dry on the ground. I promise whoever was involved in this will pay the price!”

“But what about the man in black, are we just letting him stand there frozen? We should take him with us at least!”

“That’s not possible anymore. Once frozen completely, there is no way for anyone to survive the ice of Vermonde. He is already a dead man. Normally I would have taken him alive to get information out of him. Since his ability however was far too dangerous, I couldn’t take the risk and had to freeze him completely. It wasn’t the best outcome.”

“You just did what felt right to you at that moment. More than anything the lives of your comrades was what you wanted to protect so you shouldn’t feel bad for your decision.”

“If you say so”, he smiled in a slightly painful expression, as if there was more to the man he froze, as if there was something deeply buried in his heart that he couldn’t talk about. One day I hope I can be a shoulder he can lean on too. I think I'm slowly starting to get used to him, to all of them.

“Well, should we go now Teiran?”

“Yes, let's take care of the injured!”

We sprinted back towards Karkava. When we arrived the sight that enfolded before our eyes was majestic. A thousand bubbles flew through the town slowly dropping down on the wounds of the knights creating some sort of coating?

The one who created these bubbles was none other than the young knight Luca Alvernetti. The bubbles seemed to stop the bleeding but not cure the wounds, however the men could stand up straight and move around.

“These bubbles, do they act like a painkiller, like a sedative?”

“That’s right Sherya, as expected you realized it at first glance right. Although Luca sometimes acts like an uncontrollable whirlwind, he is the one of the most capable and trustworthy members in this knight squad. His special ability are the bubbles that help to suppress the pain that was conflicted for a few days. After that the effects were off and the knights would still have to be treated regardless but his ability allows us to buy some time, especially for the critically wounded.”

“That’s amazing! Also you do seem to like Sir Alvernetti a lot.”

“Don’t tell him that I praised him, otherwise he will keep on pestering me about it.”

“Sure, if you say so”, I can’t help but chuckle at the thought of Sir Alvernetti circling around his beloved Captain and reminding him of his praises.

“Is it really that funny Sherya?”

“I’m sorry, just imagining the situation is just so, I can’t help but laugh. Sorry sorry!”

“I will turn a blind eye this time since I would love to see your smile more.”

You want to see what? Why does he keep on hitting me with phrases that could make me misinterpret his intentions? I know Teiran is just being kind as he is to everyone. That’s just his nature. He is just trying to be considerate. There couldn’t be more to the words he just said right? Feeling my cheeks flush, I start to become even more cautious. I should take care of this heart when I am alone with Teiran. It could one day be the death of me.

“Ah, I am beaten, it took me more bubbles than usual”, Sir Alvernetti exclaims, seemingly exhausted after the use of his powers. It’s thanks to him that all these men could move and could get their treatment once we arrived back in the capital. I am not sure if the words I wish to offer could give him some burst of energy but I finally made up my mind.

I took some steps towards Sir Alvernetti, Teiran closely behind me.

“Oh, my lady, you are safe! I was already worried that you might have gotten hurt too. Don’t worry, for some reason the arrows didn’t hit any critical parts of the body. We have no losses.”

“We didn’t lose anyone?”

“Not a single soul.”

“Thank you for your hard work! It’s all thanks to you that everyone survived! Also… thank you for the shoes! They fitted perfectly. Thanks to them I was able to run and be of use. I am really grateful, Luca!”

“M-my l-lady, did you just call me Luca? Did you hear that Captain, she called me by my name! I am not hallucinating right?”

“I think you have a severe fever and are making up things.”

“Captain!”

“Just kidding”, he softly patted Luca’s head. “You did a great job. Really!”

“Captain! For you to offer me such kind words. Did the day finally arrive where you realize and cherish our friendship? My greatest Captain, I will follow you until the end of my life!”

“Yeah, yeah sure you will, now rest up we will be moving in ten minutes.”

“Ten minutes! Captain I take it all back, what do you mean in ten minutes at least give me twenty more! Do you know how exhausted I am after using such a huge amount of magic!”

“I did tell you to work on your stamina, you didn’t listen to me. Ten minutes no longer!”

“Captain!”

And so they went and ended up bickering again. Will this peaceful time remain even when we make it to the capital? I sincerely wish for that but I know better than that.

The time to step into the lion's den will arrive sooner or later and I have to be prepared. For the ones who try to kill me and the ones who want to use me.