Part 3 - The Dark Knights

Sventlina let out a sigh, stretching her arms. It has been two months since she first met Marē, and she still couldn't believe how she became close to the odd knight. Unlike Sventlina's other friends, Marē cared not for any kind of noble standards. She only showed respect to King Aden, and not to anyone else. Not even the princes. At first, it was weird hanging out with such a carefree girl. Marē showed some respect to Sventlina, but only respect one would have towards a friend. She didn't make appointments nor ask any servants for anything. If Marē wanted to find Svenlina, she would find her.

Sventlina couldn't do the same for Marē. If Marē was gone, it was impossible to find her. The two times she did manage to track the knight down she was in the most absurd of places. The first time was outside of the city gates, standing out on a large sandy hill watching the sun. Sventlina saw her from her own window.

The second time she was located in the catacombs. What she was doing there wasn't clear as the moment Marē saw one of Sventlina's maids coming towards her, she locked the door behind her. Sventlina tried to look into what was behind the door but, whatever was behind there it was only for King Aden and Marē to know as she was blocked at every attempt.

Today, Sventlina found Marē in the cafeteria where soldiers and the servants eat. She stood out among the people eating there with her height and black armor. Marē noticed Sventlina too and waved at her as she approached.

"You hungry?" Sventlina asked, eyeing what the cafeteria was serving.

"Yep! Gettin the stake and bread," Marē answered, leaning down so Sventlina wouldn't have to strain her neck looking up at her, "What about you?"

Sventlina looked at the meals and couldn't help but admit that the steak smelled tasty. Still, she wasn't here to eat.

"No thank you," Sventlina politely declined, tearing her eyes away from the steak, "I'm just here looking for you."

"Well, what'd ya need?" Marē asked, tilting her head.

"Nothing really. It's just that my nanny is coming over and she can be a lot to handle," Sventlina explained in a soft voice, "and I thought I should spend some time with you until she comes since, even though I still don't know how to feel about you, I can't deny that you're good company."

Marē's cheeks flushed for a couple of seconds as her eyes widened in surprise. When she recovered, she did an awkward little nod that Sventlina found adorable.

"O-oh. Th-thank you," Marē got out before standing up and looking away from Sventlina. The term gentle giant came into mind, as well as big old dog.

Sventlina eyed the line Marē was waiting on and let out a small frown. It was going to take a while before it was Marē's turn to get her meal.

"I'll go get a table. When you're done, come find me," Sventlina told Marē, not having the patience to wait in line with her, "I'll be by the doors that lead to the hallway by the flower garden."

Marē watched her go out of the corner of her eyes, her smile becoming a little wider. It felt nice to have a friend like her. Most of her friends were made through the bonds of fighting and, to put it frankly, she doesn't quite feel remotely the way she was feeling now near them, even outside of war time.

Since Marē was watching Sventlina, she saw a maid walk up to her the moment she sat down. On the maid's back was a crest of a noble family Marē has not seen before, which meant none of they went into battle or took part in strategic meetings to discuss plans for war.

Sventlina saw the maid and, upon realizing she was heading towards her, let out a small groan. She knew who the maid worked for.

"Second Princess Sventlina Flos," The maid greeted, bowing before continuing, "Duke Trace has come to see you."

"Where is she?" Sventlina asked, trying her best to mask the annoyance she felt.

"She is waiting outside the cafeteria," The maid answered, pointing towards the doors Sventlina was by.

Sventlina wondered if she should tell the maid to tell her nanny to come meet her inside the cafeteria instead of getting out of her seat and going over to her but decided against it, knowing that if she did, she would never hear the end of it.

"Alright, let me just-" Sventlina began, getting up from her seat, her eyes scanning the line where Marē was. Instead of seeing Marē on the line, she saw Marē standing right behind the maid without any tray with food, looking at the crest that was definitely on the back of the maid.

"Oh! Why'd you get out of line?" Sventlina asked, confusing the maid. It took the maid a second to realize that Sventlina wasn't talking to her and turned around. When she did, she leaped back in fright at seeing Marē standing only a couple of inches away.

"I saw the maid and figured something interesting was happening," Marē told Sventlina, ignoring the maid that she had just scared.

"Well, since you're off the line, do you want to meet my nanny?" Sventlina asked stepping over to grab Marē's left hand, trying her best to ignore the metal claws on Marē's armored left hand and started walking towards the doors where her nanny was waiting behind.

Marē blinked in surprise but allowed herself to be led towards the doors leading out of the cafeteria that was near them.

Sventlina opened the doors, not even waiting for the maid to open it for her. The moment she peaked her head through she was attacked. Two arms wrapped around her arm and pulled her into a warm embrace.

"Ooh, hello there my little Flos!" An energetic yet old voice spoke out, hurting Sventlina's ears from how loud it was. After struggling to escape the weapons all old people with grandchildren have, Sventlina was finally released and got a good look at her nanny.

Her nanny was still larger than her despite being old. She was wearing a green and yellow dress that one would wear at a dance with dark brown hair ending halfway down her back. A few strands of her hair was grey in color, showing her age. How much of her hair was grey, Sventlina doesn't know as she was positive that her nanny dyed most of them. Even old, her nanny still cared about her appearance.

"Hey, Nanny T," Sventlina greeted, doing a small bow which her nanny returned.

"How is my little Flos doing?" Nanny T asked, a bright warm smile on her face that somehow managed to make Sventlina fee uncomfortable.

"Oh...I-it's....um," Sventlina began before stopping herself so she doesn't embarrass herself.

She turned her head to look at her feet, struggling to think of an answer. Seeing this, her nanny planned to reach out and pinch her cheeks. However, before she could move her hands forward, a shadow fell over her, causing her to look up.

Standing behind Sventlina was Marē. Marē's eyes met Duke Trace's and recognition flashed through their eyes. Marē has a great memory, and, even though Marē was wearing full body armor back when the two first met, Trace still recognized her as a Dark Knight. To make matters worse, she also recognized the towering height, the stainless steel hilt of her sword, the clawed gauntlet, and the tiny white flower tied into her hair.

She recognized Marē as the Commander of the Dark Knights.

Marē started to raise her right hand to wave hello to the nanny when she saw the color drain from her face. Then, her hands dart towards Sventlina's hands just like years ago, intent on pulling her away.

Marē's face changed within an instant. Her smile turned to an open-mouth frown and her eyes slightly narrowed, showing no emotion in them. The cold dead stare was enough to freeze Duke Trace. By the time she recovered, Sventlina had stopped staring at the ground. Seeing the looked of terror on her nanny's face, Sventlina followed her gaze upwards and looked at Marē, whose smile and bright cheery eyes returned just before Sventlina could see the expression that is normally on Marē's face before they met each other again.

"Oh! Yes, I made a new friend!" Sventlina exclaimed, grabbing Marē's armored hand and pulling her forward.

"Hello there, madam!" Marē greeted, ignoring the stunned expression on Duke Trace's face.

Trace did not say anything for a long time, causing Sventlina to sense that something is wrong. Before she could make any kind of guess to what is wrong, Duke Trace did a bow before turning around.

"Unfortunately,I have to cut our meeting short as I have somewhere to be," Duke Trace informed Sventlina, "Hopefully we'll meet later,"

Sventlina reached out to stop her nanny but stopped herself before she reached her.

"Sure thing, Nanny," Sventlina agreed before turning around and walking away, taking Marē with her.

After listening to Sventlina's footsteps for a while, Duke Trace turned around and saw that Marē had turned her head to look back too. It may have been just a trick of the light but, in the dim hallway, Marē's eye glowed in the dark.

After their eyes met, Marē turned her head back around and didn't look back, walking out of sight behind a bend with Sventlina.

Part 3 - The Dark Knights

Sventlina brought Marē to her room, not sure how to feel. Something about Marē scared her nanny, and it couldn't have been her size. Marē was tall and can certainly be imposing but seems harmless overall. No. Sventlina was certain that her nanny recognized Marē. However, Nanny wouldn't say. At least, not within earshot of Marē.

Sventlina looked at Marē who, in return, gave her a beaming cheery smile. Over the past two months Marē always seems to smile when near Sventlina. Honestly, it made Sventlina a little uncomfortable. She couldn't get why Marē was smiling when around her. Sventlina felt kinda bad about it. Marē was always so kind to her yet Sventlina doesn't even know how to feel about her. Should she like the knight? Should she trust her is an even better question.

But, is it fair to think that? Marē has done nothing but trust anything that Sventlina said. She doesn't even frown when Sventlina refuses to go along with her, instead just asking what she wants to do instead. Yet, the look of fear on Duke Trace's face filled her head. She had to know why. Why was her nanny so afraid of Marē?

"Hey, Marē. Do you know my Nanny?" Sventlina asked, standing in front of her bedroom doors with her back turned to Marē.

"Yep! I remember her from when she was younger. About twelve years ago to be precise," Marē responded without the tiniest hint of hesitation, her voice as cheerful as ever.

Sventlina didn't need to turn around to know that Marē was giving her a cheery smile. Marē isn't afraid of Sventlina knowing who she is, is she? But, if Sventlina did learn who she was, would she be afraid of Marē? Would she, some way or another, hurt Marē if she found out?

All of these questions and doubts ran through her head until, finally, Sventlina decided she needed a distraction.

"Hey, Marē. Do you know where the Dark Knights are located?" Sventlina asked, still not turning around so Marē doesn't see her worried face.

"Yep!" Marē responded once again without any hesitation. "Same place as before."

"Can you...take me to meet them?" Sventlina asked, suddenly remembering that supposedly the Commander of the Dark Knights had tried to kill her back when she was much younger. Still, the reason she decided to ask anyway was because of Marē. She had a feeling that Marē was quite a bit better in terms of skill than a knight was. Hopefully, she could protect her if anything happens.

"Sure! When do you want to go?" Marē asked.

Sventlina turned around and looked Marē over. As expected, she was still smiling, though it seems that she is standing a bit more upright, like a soldier would be.

Sventlina's eyes locked on to the white flower in Marē's hair. It looked so familiar and, after closer inspection, Sventlina was sure that the flower had light and life magic in it, the light magic to make it glow and the life magic to make sure the flower lasts for a long time. Whoever enhanced that flower must be very skilled in both arts as the dark and death magic Marē has would make any tiny flower she comes into contact with for too long wither and die.

Sventlina closed her eyes and focused on Marē and the flower she has. Using her royal magic, she used a simple spell called magic sense which allowed her to see magic. The spell worked and Sventlina saw what she expected to see. A figure of black and fleeting streaks of silver and, on the figure's head to the right there was a bright white light in the form of a blurry flower.

For some strange reason, Sventlina thought it looked beautiful. It reminded her of something her mother told her.

'Even the dark needs a light,' Sventlina thought, shaking her head slightly.

"Sventa, are you alright?" Marē asked, tilting her head.

Sventlina quickly got out of her spell and nodded, embarrassed. To Marē, she must have saw Sventlina staring at her without saying a word.

"Yeah, I am," Sventlina said quickly, hoping to get Marē's mind off what Sventlina was sure a stupid sight, "We can go now."

Marē nodded once and spun around on her heels. Before she took a step forward, she looked back, making sure Sventlina was following her. Upon seeing Sventlina walking towards her, Marē let out a little hum before she started walking forward.

........

Marē led Sventlina all the way to the catacombs, stopping in front of the door that one of Sventlina's maids found her at before and the one Sventlina failed to get any information about. At first, Sventlina was confused. She wondered if the door was some kind of secret passage that led to the barracks where the knights are located. She quickly learned that wasn't the case.

Marē waved her hand in front of the door and tendrils of dark magic seeped out of her hand and into the door handle. The door handle flashed gold for a second and, after eight seconds of nothing happening, the door handle flashed black and silver. before opening. Marē wasted no time and opened the door, gently grabbing Sventlina's hand and pulling her along into the room.

"Co-" A voice started before stopping. Sventlina blinked her eyes a couple of times, trying to get adjusted to the lighting inside the room. The catacombs were dark so the sudden introduction of a light caused Sventlina to be temporarily blind. When her eyes adjusted, Sventlina looked around the room.

The room was a large one with many different smaller rooms with open doorways and no doors. The stone bricks here were reinforced and darker in color unlike the ones in the catacombs. In front of Sventlina in a little rectangular dip in the floor was a large wooden table with twelve chairs. Standing around the table with a few sitting in the chairs were knights dressed in black armor with some decorated spikes. Some of them had long black swords while others had polearms such as a halberds, though Sventlina was sure they weren't halberds. The axe part was too large.

One of the knights, the one closest to Sventlina and Marē, was an oni much to Sventlina's surprise. As the silence went on, more heads popped out from the different rooms with all but the room to the left, Sventlina noted, had large wooden tables with twelve chairs. A few of the newcomers wore dark silver armor with similar weapons. It didn't take a genius to realize that these were the famed Dark Knights.

Sventlina couldn't believe her eyes. The famous Dark Knights of Alsmar were located here, in the catacombs of the palace instead of in some kind of mansion or barracks. Another surprise was that none of them looked even remotely emotionless, staring at Marē and Sventlina with surprise and, surprisingly, warmth.

"Here you are, Sventa!" Marē suddenly said, causing Sventlina to jolt and the sudden break in silence, "Meet the Dark Knights."

Upon hearing Sventlina's name, the Dark Knights seemed to jolt a little. Then, they all got up and started gathering in front of Sventlina and Marē, though Sventlina saw four walk away into the rooms presumingly to tell the others. After all, there is supposedly around two hundred Dark Knights.

The ones that gathered took a knee, their eyes at the ground except for two, both of which wore black capes. One was a male with long brown hair and the other was the oni. If Sventlina had to guess, those two were Captains.

More and more Dark Knights gathered in the room, a few with their helmets on while most did not. Like the oni and the other Dark Knight with a cape, the ones with cape looked up at Sventlina and Marē and those who did not have capes did not look up.

After studying the Dark Knights, Sventlina came to a realization and quickly looked at Marē. Marē's armor was black and extremely similar in design to the Dark Knights. Sure there are some differences like the clawed gauntlet and the fact that Marē wasn't wearing what could be called knight armor but, besides the hilt and serrated edges on the sword, Marē's sword was exactly like the sword the Dark Knights had.

"Marē, are you a Dark Knight?" Sventlina whispered, standing on her toes to get closer to Marē's head.

Marē met her eyes and nodded once before looking back at the Dark Knights, a flash of something in her eyes.

Seeing as Marē's attention was on the Dark Knights, Sventlina decided to focus back on them too. When she did, she noticed that there had to be more than a hundred kneeling now, taking up every empty space there was...except for one. One of them was standing in the back.

The one that was standing was a woman with long black curly hair and glowing purple eyes, her pupils long and circular, like a cat's pupil. Her skin was light brown and, like Marē, her sword was serrated. Unlike the other Dark Knights, her cape had red highlights and her armor was more detailed. Hanging from her waist was her helmet, black in color with a single red streak underneath the left eye hole. Her arms were crossed and her eyes were narrowed, a slight scowl on her face. Whoever this Dark Knight was, she wasn't happy to see Sventlina.

'That must be the Commander!' Sventlina realized with a shock, reflectively taking a step back. This caused the Commander's eyes to narrow even more.

'I guess she still remembers me...and I guess the Commander is a she too.' Sventlina thought, remembering the rumor of the Commander being tall and muscular.

'Though, she isn't as tall as I thought she would be. Marē is taller.'

"We greet the Second Princess, Sventlina," The Dark Knights said unanimously. Once they said that, the Commander stomped her foot. After hearing it, the Dark Knights stood up and started going back to whatever it was they were doing before. Only a few, mainly the Captains, stayed, including the oni and the Commander. The Commander walked over to the oni and whispered something in her ear. Upon hearing it, the oni nodded and walked off to the right, opening a door which Sventlina had not seen before. On the other side was an armory. If there was something else in the room Sventlina couldn't tell as the room was too dark to tell.

After the oni closed the door behind her, the Commander walked up to Sventlina. Even if the Commander was smaller than Marē, she is still taller than Sventlina. That and, well, the words Ruby told her still rung in her head.

"Greetings, Marē and Sventlina," The Commander spoke, an arm against her chest in some kind of salute, "I am Rōma, but you can just call me Rome."

"H-hello, Rome. Sorry if you didn't expect a sudden visit," Sventlina got out, hoping to calm the Commander down.

"Oh, its not big problem," Rome said with a sigh, shaking her head slightly, "It's just that today may not have been the best time to come visit."

"May I ask why?" Sventlina asked, curious yet trying not to be rude.

"Well, our Commander just came back and I learned something rather disappointing," Rome admitted, her eyes glancing at Marē for a brief second.

"Wait, you're not the Commander?" Sventlina yelped, doubt in her voice.

Rome's eyes widened in surprise and she looked at Marē again. After staring at each other for a few seconds, Rome seemed to nod in understanding and look back at Sventlina.

"I am the right-hand of the Commander, but not the actual Commander," Rome explained, turning around and walking deeper into the room. After a moment hesitation, Sventlina and Marē followed her.

Rome walked through two different rooms, one of them having an open doorway to what looked like a brewery. When she finally stopped, she was at the end of the large area the Dark Knights were located. On the wall was a glass panel with a view of a small pine forest located behind the palace. To the left was a door with a dark silver name tag with the name Rōma on it. To the right was another door but, unlike the one with Rōma's name, this door seemed to have been in use, the lights on inside. Above the door was two silver silver longswords crossed over a black shield, one of the symbols of the Dark Knights.

"So, is the Commander in there?" Sventlina asked after taking the two assumed offices in.

Rome glanced at Marē again and nodded before turning to face Sventlina.

"Why, you have already met the Commander, Sventlina," Rome told Sventlina, her arms crossed across her chest.

"Huh? What do you mean-" Sventlina began before she stopped, a realization dawning on her.

"The Commander of the Dark Knights, Marē Dune," Rome said, confirming what Sventlina thought, "is the Dark Knight standing right behind you."

Sventlina turned around and stared at Marē, who only scratched behind her head nervously.

"You can tell by the silver handle on the blade and the clawed gauntlet she is wearing."

Sventlina didn't respond. Instead, she just continued staring at Marē. After a long silence, Sventlina shook her head and walked past Marē.

"I...I need some time alone," Sventlina called out as she walked away. Marē's eyes flared and she reached towards her but stopped before she reached Sventlina.

Marē and Rome watched Sventlina leave through the door and enter the catacombs in a hurry. When the door closed behind her, Marē's arm slumped in defeat.

"I told you that she is afraid of you. Even if she knows you, it seems that fear won in the end."

Marē gave a small nod but didn't turn to face Rome. After a couple of seconds of silence, Rome let out a sigh and took out a key from her pocket and opened the door to her office. Once in, she closed the door behind her, leaving Marē standing in the hallway alone.

(Sorry for not posting this. I had this posted a while ago on another site)