The Small Shining Knight

This time, he didn't come home skipping. Although his heart still raced for Aria, his mind was focused on his project, which, upon reflection, he would only dedicate himself to because of the girl's support.

He arrived home with a message from his mother, once again saying she would be late. Not only that, but she would also be away on a business trip for the whole weekend. As he grabbed something from the refrigerator, Niko, the imaginary cat, rubbed against his legs.

"And how was your day?" the animal asked.

"Intense. I have to participate in a contest now, even though I had decided never to do it again."

"And the girl?"

"Why do you think I'm doing this? Now come on, I need your help," the boy said, running upstairs to his room.

At his desk, he gathered all the material he had created for his story, both his sketches in his school notebooks and more finished pages, and, as he looked at them, he disapproved.

"This isn't enough for the contest; they need to be redone."

He crumpled several pages and threw them in the trash, grabbing a new sheet and sketching characters.

"Why did you do that? You could have salvaged some!" the worried cat said.

"It wouldn't work; besides, I need to redesign the sorceress. She looks too much like Aria, and that would be strange."

The cat looked sadly at the trash can while wagging its two tails. Ren ignored it, wanting only tips and opinions as he worked on the new female protagonist.

He tried long, curly blond hair, added scars, and even gave her an eyepatch, but it still didn't feel right. None of the new designs made sense to Ren. The only one that felt right was Aria.

"Having trouble, buddy?" Niko asked.

"Yes, it would be awful if Aria saw the drawing with her face, right?" Ren asked, already knowing the answer.

"If you want to participate in the competition, you need to do what's best for your work."

Ren agreed with the cat, after all, it only voiced what was going on in the boy's head. He tried one more design, improving the original with Aria's features, and nothing seemed more suitable for the story than that.

He reviewed his story sketches, named the sorceress Vanat, and began drawing from scratch, ready to create the final work. Of course, there were many stages in the drawing, but he had time to do everything calmly.

In the story, the dmall shining knight felt useless. The sorceress Vanat led the knights to bring hope back to the world, and each warrior had unique abilities and years of training.

Only the small shining knight lagged behind. Until Vanat talked to him. She seemed to believe in the knight and gave good advice about what really mattered on the journey.

Then they reached the first great challenge. A magical creature similar to a sphinx that would devour anyone who lacked faith and tried to surpass it. All the knights tried to confront it, but it was futile.

It wasn't about who was stronger but about who believed enough in themselves to continue the mission. Some knights failed, while others crossed with Vanat, who hadn’t any problems. In the end, only two were still facing the beast.

The small shining knight thought there was no reason to continue. He wouldn't have the strength to face the creature, and he didn't trust himself enough to pass the challenge.

Until he felt lifted. Lionheart, the biggest and strongest of the knights, lifted his friend onto his shoulders and began to traverse the territory of the creature. The small knight asked Lionheart what he was doing, to which Lionheart replied that he wouldn't leave him behind. If the knight didn't have enough faith in himself, Lionheart would have enough for both of them.

Impressed by Lionheart, in the middle of the path, the small shining knight let go of his companion, deciding that they would face the challenge side by side until the end.

As he drew, he thought of Aria. Remembering that the girl existed completely changed Ren's rhythm. Not only did he feel warmth within him, but he also felt calm as he work. He couldn't explain the feeling, so he called it magic.

"But hey, the competition is cool and all, but... what about the girl? When are you going to ask her out?" Niko asked.

Although the cat was imaginary, the question caught the boy off guard, and he started to blush.

"I don't know what you're talking about..."

"Come on now, I'm really glad you're drawing for real again, but it's not just about that, is it? You like her, don't you?"

"Well, she's very kind, and I love her enthusiasm, but... isn't it too soon?"

The cat placed its paw in front of Ren's pencil, preventing him from continuing the drawing until he listened.

"Listen here: there's no such thing as too soon! You know there will always be an excuse to hinder you. You need to take a risk! Thanks to her, you started following your dream again! If you want my opinion, you should take a chance and go out with her!"

Indeed, thanks to Aria, he regained the spark to pursue his goals, and even if he lose the competition, she was literally the girl of his dreams. He couldn't miss this chance.

"Maybe... at the end of the year? After all, I need to focus a lot on the manga to participate in the competition."

The cat's fur stood on end, and it took an attacking position, trying to make Ren take it seriously.

"You have time to do both! I'm trying to help you, Ren. You're my friend, and I want to see you happy."

Ren also wanted to be happy, and he definitely wanted to go on a date with Aria, but did he have the courage for it?

He spent the whole weekend either drawing or thinking about how he could ask Aria out when he saw her again at school. Until he had no more time to that.