Magic and Chivalry

The castle was bustling with movement. It was a busy morning obviously, but still. I finished throwing in an extra pair of nightwear into my luggage. I checked to make sure all of my extra essentials were also packed; extra daggers in case mine break or gets lost (for whatever reason), extra gauntlets, an extra map (cause Kirsch is great and all, but he always ends up getting us all lost), and some extra snacks for the road. Satisfied, I head over to my armor stand within my closet. I pull out my breast plate and helm, setting them on the bed. I then put on my boots and strapped on my greaves, finishing them off with a tasset. I always preferred to wear light armor, with my height and all. I got suited in my breast plate and gauntlets and figured that should be enough for now. I packed away the remaining parts of my armor, and headed down to the common room.

There, I could see knights of varying experience also begin packing for their individual journeys like they do most mornings. I notice Perry walking in with my horse’s rein in hand, and I immediately walk towards her. “Morning Per!”

“Good morning dear. All rested up and ready to go?” She handed me the reins and gently brushed over my horse’s mane. “Cause Etienne sure is.” Etienne, my horse, was a slick golden-brown stallion. He was practically built for long endeavors.

“Thanks Per, and good morning to you Etienne.” I patting him on the snout like I usually do whenever I greet him. He was a gift when I got knighted, and was with me ever since.

“Well if that’s all, I guess I should hurry to make sure you have your lunches ready!”

“Perry, we’re going to be gone for two weeks.”

“Exactly! I had a bunch things prepared. Well, ‘prepared.’ You have to get Kirsch to actually prepare the meals. The boy isn’t always the sharpest tool in the shed, but he sure knows what he’s doing in the kitchen.”

“Alright, I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.” I chuckled at the thought of Kirsch preparing meals over a fire, but the thought suited him. I guess everyone has their hidden talents.

“Oh speaking of, Kirsch is over in the dining hall with Danny packing some other essentials for the trip.”

“Oh that’s great.” C’mon Laura…ask her about Carmilla. “Oh, by any chance do you know where Carmilla is?” Perry perked up and gave a slight concerned expression.
“Carmilla?” She asked.

“Yeah, she’s the assigned sorceress to accompany us for the next two weeks.”

“Oh dear…Well um…” Perry looked off towards the walls for a moment before returning to face me. “I don’t know who exactly Carmilla is but I did see a new girl walking towards Lafontaine’s chambers.”

“Oh, you don’t know who-”

“Oh! The meal preparations! I must be going, don’t want you starving on your journey. Well I’ll see you all in a little while okay? Tell Lafontaine I said hello, okay dear?” She patted my shoulders and started walking in the direction of the dining hall. Okay…Perry’s being weird too. I didn’t bother with it anymore as I started walking past the main staircase to Lafontaine’s chambers. I ask a knight in passing, Aaron I think his name was, if he could watch over Etienne as I searched for someone. He gladly took the reins and walked off towards the other knights. I love how nice everyone around here is, but why is everyone acting so weird every time I bring up Carmilla? I mean seriously she has been here not even two full days and she already has a name for herself. Typical. My thoughts were interrupted by a conversation I heard as I walked closer to Lafontaine’s chamber doors. It was crept open and I decided to knock. “Hey Laf-Oh.”

Yup, there she was. Miss “broody and poofy” in her purple cloak shrouded over what seemed to be black laced attire. If not for her cloak she would’ve looked like a sea pirate. The wavy locks of hair resting over her shoulders as well as the side swept fringe complimented the idea perfectly. She turned and our eyes met, and she sent me a smirk as well. Typical…

“Well I can see that you two have gotten to know each other, yeah?”

Lafontaine, by the cauldron as usual, spoke up first. They seemed to be mixing a purple hinted liquid. “Actually, she came to me and asked if I could make something for communication back to the castle in case things got intense.”

“Oh?” I turned my direction towards Carmilla who just shrugged.

“What? I can’t be too careful can I?” She said.

“Oh. Well what did you think of Laf?”

“Well I thought since Carmilla here has some tricks up her sleeve, I figured I can give her a potions book and some runes. She can totally just conjure this up and I’ll feed directly into this…” They threw vial into a slightly smaller pot and it puffed up in blue puffs of smoke. “…yeah, it’s pretty awesome. I’ve been working on it for a while and I finally got it. I just forgot to add an enchanted mushroom.”

“Wow Laf that’s amazing!” I stared in awe until I looked over and noticed Carmilla’s shrug. Lafontaine then walked towards me and handed me a whistle. “Uh…Oh!”
“Gee Hollis, didn’t think you’d forget about Falco.” They said, feigning a hurt expression.

“What’s Falco?” Carmilla asked.

“Who you mean,” Lafontaine answered, “Falco is the name of a messenger falcon that the specialized Hollis guard uses for emergencies. Specifically for bringing messages back to the Castle. She’s a rare sight, and only the most important and high ranking knights get to use one of the few whistles, mainly for emergencies too. It shouldn’t be taken lightly-” Lafontaine was interrupted by the sound of a shrieking whistle.

In no time at all, a mirage appeared in the middle of the air, glimmering and blurred. Suddenly a figure of a bird materialized out of the mirage and before I knew it, a familiar golden falcon was perched on my outstretched arm. “Falco!” I cried as I ruffled her feathers. She nuzzled my arm and cried out slightly.

Carmilla, baffled by what she just witnessed took a step back and got into what seemed to be a defensive fighting position. “Taken seriously huh??” She said to Lafontaine, who just chuckled.

“To everyone aside from Laura here,” they said as they reached out to pet the bird. “She was always an exception.”

“I can’t help it! She’s so adorable!” I ruffled her feathers again, feeling the silky smooth texture. “Well I know I can’t keep you long, so I’ll see you later Falco,” I said to the bird, who caw-ed back in response. I lifted my arms up and the falcon spread her wings and flew up, materializing into the blurred mirage once again when she met with the wall. The mirage eventually faded away and I took the whistle and wrapped it around my neck. “Thanks Laf!” I exclaimed as I encompassed them in a tight hug. Carmilla, who still seemed to be tense in shock, just rolled her eyes and settled back into normal a normal stance. “That…was something,” She said, patting down her robes.

“Well that’s all I have for now,” Lafontaine said as they folded their arms, “Good luck you two, and if you need any more help, you know where to find me.”

“We will Laf, I’ll see you in a month or so, stay out of mischief!” I cried as I walked out the door. Carmilla followed slowly after.

“It was a pleasure to meet you Lafontaine. Thanks for the items.” She said, and nodded in their direction.

“Likewise Karnstein.”
I couldn’t help but notice the familiarity of the exchange, but it was probably just Lafontaine being personable with everyone. I walked down the hallway with Carmilla slowly following behind. “So Princess, you ready for the ride?” I kept walking, and Carmilla sped her pace to catch up with me. “I am actually,” I replied.

“Great.” The brunette said. I never really paid much attention until now, but she carried herself with such ease. Swaying her arms as she walks, throwing occasional glances my way like she can’t afford to look away. I don’t understand why she’s so interested in keeping me company and I also don’t understand why I can’t keep myself from looking at her either. Do I just like looking at her? Do I like her? But she’s…her. This all seems too foreign to me, yet strangely familiar. She just seems…off. Like she’s not telling me everything. Granted, she hasn’t told me anything at all, but still.

We both continue towards the common room in silence amidst all the noise of clanking armor and chatter throughout the castle. Horses trotting everywhere, knights running about passing on a message from one to another, the Zeta’s beginning their trials supervised by experienced knights, teams heading out, it was a busy morning. The common room was even more packed since I came here earlier, more horse drawn wagons and gifts from other kingdoms were left by the front. I peered around trying to catch Danny or Kirsch in the middle of all these busy-bodies. I couldn’t find them, but I did find Aaron however, still with Etienne by his side. “Aaron!” I started walking towards him through the crowd, waving to get his attention. “Oh Laura! Hey,” he called back as I got closer to him. Carmilla struggled to keep up through the crowd, but managed to make her way towards us as too.

“Thanks for watching Etienne, sorry for that short notice.” I let out a slight breath and brushed over Etienne’s mane. I overheard Aaron talk under his breath but couldn’t make out what he said.

“Huh?”

“Oh, um…I just said how beautiful Etienne is,” Aaron replied sheepishly, a slight blush forming on his cheeks.

“Oh thanks! He is isn’t he? He’s great with his endurance and speed. He’s really special to me…” I looked up and realized Aaron was staring at me and looked back at Etienne. “I’m glad you like him,” I said to Aaron. He gave me a smile and walked towards the middle of the crowd.

“Well, there’s two possible explanations for this,” Carmilla said as she walked over to Etienne. I didn’t realize she was watching the exchange between me and Aaron.
“One, you’re completely oblivious to his feelings,” she said as she patted Etienne’s mane. “Or,” she stepped closer to me and I couldn’t help feeling flustered by the sudden movement, “you are aware, but refuse to acknowledge them.” She smirked and took a step back into a more comfortable distance away from me. “What? No…no…I mean he’s really sweet and all…” I couldn’t help but stutter. God I hate it when this happens…

“Ah, so you don’t return his feelings,” Carmilla raised an eyebrow and I felt flustered all over.

“It’s not that…I mean it is, but-“

“Hey Laura!” I turned to see I was interrupted by Kirsch, who was walking over with a bag slung over his shoulders.

“Oh, hey Kirsch. Where’s Danny?” I asked, probably still flustered by Carmilla’s previous comment.

“She’s just finishing up some last minute packing. What about you? All set?”

“Yup, just chatting with Carmilla here,” I gestured towards the brunette who seems to still be amused.

“Oh! The sorceress yeah? Nice to meet you, Kirsch extended his arm to her, “I’m Kirsch, one of the knights.” She shook his arm and replied, “Oh, the early bird? I heard you graduated a year earlier than most of the other Zeta’s.” He smiled and just shook his head, “I mean yeah I did, but I still have loads more, like, experience to catch up on, y’know?”

“Well, I see everyone’s situated alright.” We all turned to see my father coming towards us with loose armor and his sword by his side. “Alright kiddo, I guess it’s time for me to see you off.” I rushed towards him into an enveloping hug, “You be safe okay?”

“I’ll try my best, but no promises,” I replied, breaking away from his grasp. “I’m going to help the others load up now. Wish me luck! I’ll be back in two weeks, tops.” He gave me a quick nod and watched as I run back towards the group. “Seeing his princess off? He must be worried sick.” I heard Carmilla say as she threw her bags onto the cart. “He’s just protective is all, he’ll be fine,” I reassured her.

“Hey Laura, I’m gonna head to the kitchen and see if I can grab some more bread okay? Okay cool!” Kirsch yelled as he ran towards the dining hall. I giggled quietly and attached my spare journey bag to Etienne’s saddle. Danny was already finished with her preparations and was mounted on her horse Chestnut, named after the color of her mane and her favorite snack apparently. She trotted over to speak to the head guards in front of the main gate. I hopped on (with a lot of effort I might add) Etienne and slowly trotted towards Kirsch’s horse Alpha, who was going to pull the cart on our journey. He was a large, brown bulky stallion with a rigid mane and a white stripe running along his face. Wait a second. I turned to Carmilla who was still loading her bags onto the cart.

“Wait Carmilla, where’s your horse?” I must have caught her by surprised, cause when she turned to reply her bag slipped from her grasp and fell onto the floor, spilling out a few runes and other stones from the bag. “And…are you packing stones?”

She sighed angrily and rushed to pick them and throw them back into the bag. “Runes and Emblems princess, and as for my horse…” She finished throwing the stones back in and tossed the bag onto the cart. “…I should be expecting her soon.” Giving her a confused look, I just shook my head and went along with it. Why so mysterious, it’s just a question gosh…

Carmilla seemed to notice my slight irritation and just rolled her eyes and put her hands to her mouth. Before I knew it she let out a sharp yet thin whistle that echoed throughout the common room. Servants, knights and others alike stopped and looked in our direction. Suddenly aware of all the eyes on us, I turned away quickly and pretended to be busy. When I glanced back at Carmilla, she smirked and tilted her head. “Don’t like attention Sundance?” I could feel a blush rushing to my cheeks as I opened my mouth to reply, but was cut off by a sound of hooves coming from the main gates.

I turned to see a black horse galloping down the brick entranceway towards the common room. The horse wasn’t as large or bulky as Alpha, but it sure was quick-galloping down the entrance in no time at all. The horse slowed down to a trot towards Carmilla once it passed the archway. “Creampuff, Midnight. Midnight,” she turned to face me, “Creampuff.”

Midnight trotted over towards me and Etienne, who let out a whiny and began trotting in place. “Wow I guess they get along quickly. She’s beautiful Carmilla.” She just sent another smirk my way as she mounted on her horse. ‘Well that’s everything for me. Shall we head on our way?”

“Kirsch isn’t back with the bread yet and I think Danny is still speaking with the guards over there.”

“Ugh. Can they hurry the hell up? I just wanna get this on with.”

“Oh lighten up, I think I see Kirsch coming over now.” Yup, sure enough Kirsch was speedwalking out of the dining hall with baskets upon baskets of bread and other pastries in his arms. He didn’t even seem to be fumbling with all the baskets as he made his way over to the cart. “Danny! We’re ready!” I yelled over to Danny, who replied with a nod. I smiled as we all get gather to leave the gated entrance of the castle.

“Okay team, let’s get this show on the road.”