Knight

by RA. Gil

  “You mean you aren't the only one doing this kind of thing?”

  “I'm not.”

  “Anyway, aren't you going? Your business is done here, right?”

  “Didn't I promise that I'll help you find a summer job?” She reminded, her brows furrowing.

  “Oh, right.” Valeriana sighed. “But you don't have to do that. I'm sure you're pretty tired running around that Horror House killing demons.”

  “You are, as well.”

  “Thanks, but you really don't have to. Just do me another favor and don't ever make me help you hunt those demons again. It's really too much for my poor heart.”

  Seraphina couldn't help but chortle at her statement. “I'm sorry for dragging you into that. I've . . . gotten you involved in something you didn't want to be a part of. But I've already done a few things that I think I shouldn't have done. I really don't know what to do in this world.”

  “What do you mean by done a few things I shouldn't have done?”

  “When I came here, I got arrested by a man who calls himself a police for pointing a sword to a man who was yelling at a poor woman.”

  “You what?!”

  “He took me to a jail, but I escaped.”

  To say Valeriana was shocked was a total understatement at the moment.

  “Afterwards, I wandered for a few hours but saw no sign of what I was looking for. Before I know it, night had come. I knocked on the doors of a few houses to ask to stay for the night, but doors closed on my face and I had to sleep outside.”

  “You are . . . oh, gosh. No wonder you asked for my help.” She muttered. “Are you hungry, though? Have you eaten anything?”

  “A kind woman gave me food this morning.” Seraphina replied. “I'm really sorry. I wouldn't have asked for your help if I didn't need it.”

  “No. No one else would've understood you if you asked them.”

  She nodded. “And I thank you very much for what you've done today, for helping me hunt those demons down and buying me that treat. I'll try not to rely on you when I need to find them shall I have to do it later on.” She then flashed her a grateful smile.

  “I can't believe I'm saying this but . . . let me know if you need help.”

  They shared a genuine smile.

  She sensed Seraphina watching her as they continued to travel down the same path.

  “How were you able to predict that the demon was coming from behind me?”

  Valeriana didn't know the answer herself. “I just . . . knew, I guess.”

  “Perhaps my hunch is right.”

  “What hunch?”

  “Your sensitivity.” She told her. “You can sense demonic presence.”

  “I can what?” The girl turned towards her, unable to believe what she just heard. “Maybe you're just exaggerating things. That's impossible.”

  “Believe me, Valeriana. You are far from what you consider normal.” Seraphina made special emphasis on the last word as she watched Valeriana walk away from her with a heavy sigh, walking through a row of trees that led to a grassy field. “Listen, seeing and hearing demons is not something humans can typically do.”

  Suddenly, the lady knight stopped. Her expression turned hard and her body went rigid. “Valeriana, you have to go.”

  “What?”

  “Hide somewhere. Now. Better yet, go somewhere else.”

  “Is it another demon? Where is it?”

  “Just do it!”

  “Alright, um . . .” She spun around and walked ahead when she suddenly collided with a hard chest. Staggering back, she looked up and met chocolate brown eyes boring into her own.

  This man was similar to Seraphina in a lot of ways. The same style of uniform, but of different color. He had light-brown hair with a matching pair of eyes that seemed to glow in the dark. His gaze was sharp and cold, like it saw right into her soul.

  Valeriana jumped and stepped back.

  “Celeste Emmett? What are you doing here?” Seraphina asked, stiffening when the said man took a step forward.

  “On a mission myself. A new batch of demons descended.”

  What in the world is going on? Valeriana asked mentally.

  Emmett narrowed his eyes as he stared down Valeriana. “Do you know this girl, Celeste?”

  “What are you talking about?” The face the lady knight had on her face was stoic and devoid of emotions. “I don't know her at all.”

  “What?” Valeriana turned towards Seraphina with wide, confused eyes.

  “I was just asking her about important matters.”

  “Is that so?” His face held suspicion. “I saw a small demon around this park. I was chasing it down since a while ago.” He then turned towards Valeriana, raising his voice purposely. “Perhaps you saw it?”

  She looked at Seraphina, who gave her a pointed look.

  Valeriana did not know what to say. Seeing how this man was looking at her, she was starting to panic. So instead, she laughed. “Haha! That's ridiculous!”

  “Quit bothering the girl. She doesn't know anything.”

  “Do you take me as a fool? I heard you talking to her.”

  Seraphina mentally berated herself.

  “And you're saying she can see demons?” He continued to advance, causing the two to walk backwards even further. “If Lord Aeron knew about this, he will—”

  “If you're planning to tell the Court Leader, I cannot allow it.” She stepped forward and pushed the girl protectively behind her.

  “You don't know what you're doing. The Court must know. We have to take her back with us.”

  “No.” The lady knight ushered the girl away forcefully before running forward herself with her weapon drawn. “Valeriana, run!”

  “But I—”

  “Just run! Get somewhere far from here!”

  Stumbling on her own feet, Valeriana speedily took off running as fast as her feet could take her. The man glanced at her direction but had to divert his attention to Seraphina for her incoming attack.

  Emmett pulled his own weapon free swiftly and parried the blow skillfully with one hand. “What are you doing, Seraphina? You are raising your sword against a fellow comrade. Do you intend to betray your own kind because of that human?”

  “I need you to not tell the others, Emmett.” She told him. “The girl deserves to be able to maintain her current way of life. To tell the Court would mean to destroy what she has. She had already gotten into enough trouble as it is.”

  “That is not for you to decide.” Emmett replied. “Besides, I do not think she can ever go back to the way her life was even if you try to save her now. You've already gotten her involved.”

  They exchanged blows, their blades ringing noisily with every clang. Sparks would also occasionally flash before them as they fought, momentarily lighting up their surroundings.

  “Perhaps that is my biggest mistake.”

  “That girl can see demons. That is not something a normal being of her kind is capable of!”

  “No.”

  Seraphina took a swift turn, her feet shifting while she put in her whole strength in one swing. The clang was almost deafening as their blades clashed, sending waves of vibrations that stopped immediately as their weapons were pulled back as fast as they were swung.

  The woman jumped back before rushing forward once more, determination burning in her vibrant blue eyes. Her strikes were quick and simple. Still, Emmett managed to either fully elude her attacks or parry her blow.

  He wasn't serious by the way he was moving. The fact that he was staying defensive the past minute that Seraphina was relentlessly attacking him made it obvious to the woman that he wasn't taking their fight seriously.

  His eyes gleamed with no emotion, as though it didn't affect him. Seraphina, with great effort, was slowly pushing him back. She truly did not know what she was going to do if the Celeste before her decided to go all out.

  “Lady Seraphina, you are serious about this?”

  “I am more than seri
ous.”

  Emmett then stepped forward, bringing his blade to willfully clash against her own. He gripped it tighter and skillfully struck from above, leaving Seraphina to defensively bring her sword forward to protect herself.

  They both paused from any further actions as the man began to press down hard, letting a battle of strength to take over. He knew that Seraphina made up for lacking in that particular area with her speed and techniques, so if things were to last any further, her body would give in from the strain.

  The power behind Seraphina's blows mostly came from her movements. But if raw power was going to be discussed, she would immediately lose. The woman was stronger than average females, but compared to Emmett, she was nothing.

  She knew he was targeting her weakness. Gritting her teeth, she nimbly slid off the disadvantageous position and struck him from behind with the back of her sword. Emmett grunted from the blow but turned to his opponent.

  Emmett struck down at her hard. With a clang, her weapon came flying, landing on a bush nearby.

  -*-

  Although Valeriana had that nagging feeling eating away at her guts that said something bad was happening to Seraphina, she couldn't stop her feet from running. She didn't know what happened right after, but she just suddenly found herself lying on the bed of her room, covered in sweat and panting like a dog. She didn't know how long she was trying to get away, but her lungs burned and her knees ached.

  “Valery! I have your dinner in the microwave! Just eat it when you feel like it!” Her mother's soothing voice echoed from downstairs.

  “O-okay!” She answered back.

  Her chest rose and fell and beads of sweat traveled down the sides of her face. She couldn't believe Seraphina was willing to go that far to protect her. How was she supposed to feel about that?

  Although Seraphina was a particularly strong warrior, her new opponent had a fair share of that confident air about him. No doubt he was just as experienced as she was, maybe even more.

  “Ugh.” Filled with frustration, she fell face first on her bed and muffled her moans with the sheets. “I'm a coward.”

  Should she have stayed? Even though she wasn't probably going to be much help, the overwhelming guilt she was feeling wouldn't let her rest easy anyway. She might've gotten out of that safely with the woman's help, but if something happened to Seraphina, she would carry that guilt for the rest of her life.

  She sat up and paced about the room. “Gosh. I don't know what I'm supposed to feel about this.”

  What exactly was happening to her life anyway?

  She jumped back to the mattress, closed her eyes and tried to drown out the thoughts.

  What she didn't expect to happen was falling asleep.

  When she did open her eyes, the first thing she did was jump out of the bed. She glanced towards the clock and saw the hands pointing at four in the morning. It was still dark out as well.

  “It's a dream . . . it was a dream.” She muttered to herself before raking her hands through her hair and climbing out of the bed.

  That was when she realized she was still in the same clothes as before. However, the comforters were pulled over her body and her shoes were removed. She suspected that this was her mother's doing—who else would've done it anyway?

  “What the . . . I guess it's not.” She padded her way towards the window, feeling curious about what happened between Seraphina and that Emmett guy.

  Should she it out? The park wasn't that far from her house.

  Rubbing the crust out of her eyes, she took a deep breath and thought for a moment. She had to go back. She just had to know.

  Making her way downstairs, she made sure that she wouldn't wake up her mother or Jareth. Quiet as a rat, she climbed down the staircase and winced at every creak it made. After finally reaching the landing, she made a dash for the door and rushed out of the house.

  Valeriana did a quick jog towards the park and arrived there only to find it deserted and void of any two, strangely dressed weirdoes fighting with swords. In fact, it was painfully quiet that it was disconcerting. It made her feel disappointed somewhat, but maybe that was to be expected.

  She quietly made her way towards the spot where she last saw Seraphina standing and looked around. Aside from a flickering lamppost, a few bushes, and small trees, there was nothing at all to be seen. The skies were dark and covered in clouds, but the moon and stars occasionally peeked through and shed some light.

  Valeriana took a step back to leave when she found nothing, only to have a glint catch her attention. Although it could've been just a piece of broken glass, it still made the girl curious. Perhaps it was something that could serve as a clue of what happened to the woman.

  Until now, she couldn't help but still feel guilty of running away.

  Yet, what she found lying among the bushes made her heart jump.

  It was a sword.

  Valeriana only saw it a few times, but she was sure that it belonged to Seraphina. It was the weapon she used to fight those demons with. She slowly reached for it, wrapping her hands around the hilt.

  “So you came back. How convenient.”

  She jumped from where she was crouched, dropping the weapon back where she found it. “Sweet baby Jesus!”

  She turned to the familiar voice and saw Emmett. “You . . . stay away from me!”

  Emmett's eyes were trained to her, as if she was the prey and he was the hunter. “You're coming with me.” He advanced towards Valeriana in long strides and grabbed her wrist. Instinctively, she tried breaking free.

  “What did you do to Seraphina?” She was then caged in his arms.

  He didn't answer.

  Sure she might've not had the luxury of taking karate lessons from a pro, but her father taught her a thing or two about defending herself. Despite having an outrageous potbelly, he was far more experienced in fighting than anyone expected.

  She stepped harshly on his foot and took the time crushing it under the bottoms of her feet. She could hear the grunts of pain erupting from the back of his throat but she still didn't feel his hold loosening. Given no other choice, she swung her head back and repeatedly started hitting him—head to head.

  Luckily, before she started feeling dizzy about smashing her own head against his, his hold finally slackened. She took advantage of this opportunity and elbowed him on the ribs. Valeriana managed to slip away. However, he recovered quickly, so she stepped away and threw her fist forward, hitting him square on the face.

  He stumbled, and at the same time, she screamed, “Bloody murder!”

  Her fingers ached from the impact, her hand losing all its strength from the strike of pain. She dismissed that, even so. She ran away as fast it her feet could take her while he was still stunned—though she knew it wouldn't last long. Her blood pulsed through her veins, the rush of adrenalin being pumped into her blood.

  “That's it,” the man said as he struggled to stand back up on his feet. He massaged his lower jaw and spat on the ground. “I am done playing games.”

  With a flash, he shot off from his position, running so fast that he caught up with Valeriana with not much effort. When he reached near her, he stuck out his first two fingers out of a fist and jabbed Valeriana on a nerve point located in her neck. This caused her to collapse and lose consciousness.

  He paused on his tracks, dust fogging the trails he left behind. He placed a hand on the protesting muscles of his stomach and frowned. A loud sigh escaped his tight lips as he gazed disappointedly at Valeriana, who was lying on the ground knocked out cold.

  “How passionate. Very brutal.”

  Emmett took a deep breath and turned to meet the owner of the voice. “Lord Aeron.”

  “Never mind. I've had my fair share of sightseeing for tonight.” He waved his hand dismissively. “So this is her?”

  Aeron walked forward, his hands buried deep in his pockets. He slowly made his way towards Valeriana, who Emmett gathered in his arms. The girl was deeply unconscious
. He leaned forward and poked Valeriana's cheek.

  “We should go.” Said Emmett.

  “Do wait a moment.” Aeron fished something out of his. The object glinted when it hit the light and Emmett could only squint at the sudden flash.

  He clasped a necklace around her neck and smiled. “Now we're ready to go.”

  Chapter Five ♣ The Court's Trial

  Valeriana's head felt heavy. Her head was spinning and she couldn't quite think straight. Her mind was all mixed up, thoughts scrambled.

  “Wake up, human.” A voice boomed.

  Her eyes fluttered open. Her vision, first blurry, adjusted to the dim-lighting of the room she was in. She looked around her and tried moving but then discovered that her movements were tightly restricted. She diverted her gaze down to her body and discovered that from her torso right down to her ankles were tightly bound by thick ropes.

  “What the hell!” She exclaimed, struggling to sit up. “What in the world is this?”

  “Keep it down, now.” She paused as the command resonated throughout the whole room.

  Valeriana fixed her gaze to the sound of the voice. She was lying on the center of round, dim-lit chamber of some sort. The walls were made up of brick of rough, pale-grey stones with a domed ceiling and candles which served as the wall-lighting. There were elevated seats behind a long, curved table in which five, cloaked figures, sitting distantly from one another had positioned themselves.

  “I am the Court Leader, Lord Aeron LaVallene. Here with me is Sir Berias, Lady Aleara, Sir Zeke, and Lady Josephine.”

  Their cloaks were the color of silky white, trimmed with gold. Silvery threads embroidered patterns onto the cloth, making them look domineering and . . . formidable. Valeriana silently huffed at the train of thought, but at least they weren't brown.

  She cautiously stared at all of them. “You guys look like you're a part of a cult.” She commented straight on.

  Hearing this, the cloaked figure at the very center started laughing. Throwing her gaze around some more, she discovered that Seraphina was standing a few steps away from her, head hanging low with her hands bound by a rope together in front of her. Her hair blinded her face, so she wasn't able to see how she looked like.