Lionarch Castle
Tomorrow was the day. That time of the year where all the finest and exceptional squires of Lioness Kingdom would prove themself to be worthy enough to represent the kingdom and to participate on the Knight Tournament.
At the moment, the palace was hosting a few of the nobles' squires, those who wished to be known by the king. Only noble families of the highest rank were invited to this private gathering hosted by the royal family.
Currently, the king could be seen sitting on the throne accompanied by a beautiful girl. Emerald green eyes, long blonde hair that curled at the tips and a gorgeous tiara on her head. Princess Gwenneth.
The two of them were sitting down, watching the procession, while an aide of a noble family would approach in front of the king and introduce their family.
"The Acton Family!"
A thin-looking boy was seen walking to the front of the throne and bowing before the king.
"Your Majesty, this is Lord Acton's third son. He's just turning 16 this year." said the king's aide.
Hearing it, the king unexpectedly frowned as he eyed the kneeling boy before him.
"He looks too small to be 16. Are you sure?" The king asked as he gave his aide a side glance.
Receiving the look from the king, the aide could feel sweats rolling on his back.
"Y-Yes... That's… what it says here, Your Majesty." the aide answered after he looked back at the parchment, which contained a list of names, in his hand.
The princess chuckled, "Father, I think he can wear a dress a size smaller than me. Look at those arms! What a man!"
The king and the aide could definitely taste the sarcasm on Princess Gwenneth's words.
The king was silent as he heard his daughter's remark. Then, he quickly made a gesture with his hand.
Seeing the gesture, the king's aide immediately instructed the kneeling boy to return to his place. In panic, the boy almost tripped himself over along the way.
The next noble's heir was quickly being introduced by their aide, this time he was too fat. Seeing the kneeling human blob, the princess once again commented.
"This one is quite good! Maybe you can approve of him, father. I mean, he looks healthy... That's an important quality of a man." the princess said, nodding her head over and over.
Looking at his daughter's antics, the king shook his head and continued with a smile when he said "Don't worry daughter, There are still many more lining up to see you."
Hearing that caused Princess Gwenneth to puff her cheeks, "Father, this isn't a matchmaking event for me! Why did you make it sound like that? They don't come for me! They all want to be knights, don't they?"
The king responded calmly, "Might as well, my daughters. These are all youngsters, heirs of nobles of the kingdom who are your age. Who knows, there could be a fine suitor for you."
The princess could only sigh when she heard her father's words. She truly couldn't handle this side of him. Hence, she turned her head to the side trying to find reinforcement.
"Sir Yvain, can you please remind my father about what this knighthood is all about?"
"I am sure Your Majesty knows extremely well about it, Princess Gwenneth." replied the knight with white armor and red robe that stood next to the throne. He was one of the three guardians of the Lioness Kingdom, the Knight of Lion, Sir Yvain.
When most kingdoms would find this yearly event, the Knight Tournament, to be one of the most important events of the year, unfortunately, the same could not be said for the Lioness Kingdom.
The Lioness Kingdom was known for a lot of things: its beautiful land, its mesmerizing Lionarch Port, its abundant riches, and so on. But sadly, home for talented knights wasn't one of them.
When other kingdoms would birth a few famous knights every year, the Lioness Kingdom had to do the opposite, which was bringing famous knights from out of the kingdom to their services. Eventually, years of failure on the Tournament made this yearly event less about knighthood and more about currying favor of the king.
The king once again released a long sigh.
With apparent exhaustion in his tone, the king spoke, "Is this all the future of the Lioness Kingdom, Yvain?"
The king said each word clearly, not hiding his obvious disappointment.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. I am sure this year there will be a few worthy youngsters able to get their knighthood." Sir Yvain calmly said.
Not long after, a group of people suddenly walked into the hall. Within them, everyone could see there were several men cladded in black armor.
When these people arrived, the atmosphere in the hall seemed to change significantly, turning gloomy. And with the changes, so did the king.
The ones who just came were two of the most influential figures in the Lioness Kingdom. One was Fantumar, the king's right hand man and minister, while the other one was Sir Breunor, the one people called the Dread Knight. The man was cladded in dark steel armor with a black coat as its ornament.
This particular knight was one of the three guardians of the Lioness Kingdom and was known for its notorious deeds, which made him receive the title from the masses. If Bagdemagus was known as the most veteran of the three and Yvain was acknowledged as the young rising star, then this man Sir Breunor was the strongest among the three.
Now that the old knight has passed away, this black knight has become the most prominent figure of the Lioness kingdom.
Fantumar walking together with the Dread Knight somehow gave a proof of power to everyone. The sight of them walking side by side caused murmurs and whispers to occur around the people in the hall.
This highest ranking noble in the court gave the king a slight bow and said, "Your Majesty, I am here to happily announce that this year my son Abe will be joining the tournament. I am sure he will make the kingdom proud and bring glory to all of us."
Following Fantumar's words, a young man came out of the group. Seeing the current appearance of Fantumar's son made the king and princess both surprised. They didn't expect the past fat, ball-looking Abe would have turned into a muscular young man.
Abe walked forward with confidence until he reached the point he had to stop. He bowed to the king and gave a smile while glancing at the princess.
"My King, my princess. I am sure to bring honor to the kingdom this year"
The young man's particular glance toward Gwen somehow made her uncomfortable.
When the gathering was over, Princess Gwenneth immediately retreated back to the royal palace and changed his sophisticated dress into something casual. She then walked out of the castle accompanied by Sir Yvain and several royal guards.
At the moment, the royal princess was walking through the streets of Lionarch City during the night, cloaking herself with a piece of robe. She wanted to hide her prestigious identity and for tonight, her anger as well.
Right beside her, walking at the same pace as her, was Sir Yvain, who had changed to casual wear as well. Even though he no longer wore his armor, the demeanor the man showed proved he wasn't ordinary.
"Do you see that, Yvain?! That Fantumar dared to show off in public, in front of the royal audience! He no longer has any respect for my father!!"
Upon hearing that, Sir Yvain stayed quiet and only nodded his head.
Receiving no response, Gwenneth continued her babbling, "We know he was involved in Sir Badgemagus' death. The old knight was killed while investigating him. Heh! Too bad we have no evidence to prove that."
The princess took a deep breath to calm her emotion down before starting to do what she came to do.
Princess Gwenneth occasionally walked around the streets at night and gave care to the hungry and impoverished people of Lionhart City.
This act of hers would sometimes ease her anger towards the drama that's happening in the court.
After handing out dozens of bread to the people herself, Sir Yvain couldn't help but ask, "Princess, pardon my disrespect, but I'm curious. Why do you insist on giving these yourself when you have so many servants to help you."
Hearing the question, the princess was silent for a moment before answering,
"This… this is so I can remember their faces, Yvain. ...this somehow reminds me who I am… and what is my duty" answered Princess Gwenneth, as she suddenly turns a little gloomy.
Deep down in her heart Gwen wishes to just run away from all of these. She always wishes for a carefree life but she now understands that those things are not for her.
A boy who looked no more than 6 years old approached her, bringing Gwenneth out of her thoughts. She quickly handed a pack of bread to him.
Receiving the bread with a smile, the boy said, "Thank you, fair lady!"
The boy then ran towards the darkness of the night.