Chapter Text
The problem with being a proper knight, Faris thought as he ran frantically away from a evilly chittering splatypunk, was that you couldn’t just run away when things started getting tough!
He was a man of many finely tuned skills! It was just that those skills were more along the lines of running, hiding, and pleading for others to bail him out rather than things like fighting and heroics.
To be fair, it wasn’t all bad. It turned out that the strategic mind that he had used to spend the last decade thinking up ways to avoid responsibility wasn’t too difficult to dedicate to coming up with battle plans and tactics instead. A general desire to avoid getting hit translated into a decent ability to dodge attacks. And his natural charisma and flair for spinning situations in his favor was always a boon when he found himself needing to explain why he was suddenly struggling with monsters that he had previously claimed would be trivial to him.
Unfortunately, none of that was particularly helpful when he was trying to fight in the rain, as it was growing dark, and down his sword after a lucky swing from a monster had knocked it from his grip and he was unable to retrieve it. He had just resolved himself to retreating and returning another day, when-
“Hey there! Need a hand?”
Faris looked up from where he was cowering-er, strategically withdrawing, and spotted an unfamiliar face peeking out over a ledge.
“O-of course not! A true knight never-” He cut off as three muddy hands burrowed their way up from the ground and started approaching. “Well, maybe just a tad.”
The face grinned at him before pulling back, and then a figure launched itself over the side to land in front of him dramatically. There was a metallic whizzing noise as a dagger zipped through the air, cutting through the hands and causing them to collapse into inanimate muck. She then spun on her heel and threw the dagger past him, embedding it squarely in the splatypunk’s ribs. It let out a howl of defeat and toppled over, dissolving into purple mist. She looked around for a moment, waiting to see if any more monsters would appear, and then strolled over to retrieve her knife when none did.
Faris was overcome with admiration for such a dazzling display of competence. “That was incredible! Simply marvelous!” He exclaimed, clapping his hands fiercely.
The girl preened. “I am pretty awesome, aren’t I?” She said smugly, flicking her braid over her shoulder.
“You certainly are! I owe you a great debt. But I must admit, I am curious…what are you doing up here?” Faris asked.
“I’m…” She hesitated for a moment. “I’m an adventurer! Yeah, a brave adventurer who goes around slaying monsters and saving people in distress! Like you!” She grinned at him, and even though Faris suspected he should be insulted he couldn’t find it in himself to be annoyed. He had always admired strong, confident people. After all, they were the most reliable ones when you needed something important done.
“I see! Well then, brave adventurer, my deepest thanks for your services!” He swept forward into a courtly bow that had been ingrained into him since childhood.
“Aww, knock it off!” The girl said, blushing slightly but not seeming too upset by the praise. “What about you? What’s your name?”
“I am Prince Faris of Gallopolis! The heir to the throne, champion of the people, and a knight of valor and chivalry!” He declared, pointing a finger high into the sky.
“Woah, a real live prince?” She looked suitably impressed by his title. “I didn’t know they let people like you out of the house without a parade of guards watching and helping you.”
Faris wasn’t quite sure how to explain the fraught history behind any answer to that statement he could give her. That that was the usual way of things and he had been quite happy with it until recently, and the fact was that only reason that he didn’t have his traditional entourage with him was that he had been inspired by the Luminary to attempt to do things own his own after decades of relying on others to do everything for him. Or that a whole battalion of knights were still waiting for him back in Gondolia, and he had been loaded up with a dozen chimera wings that would whisk him off to safety if he really got in over his head since even though his father encouraged his new sense of responsibility he still worried endlessly about Faris’s safety. He settled for shrugging and saying “It does happen, from time to time.”
“Huh. Neat.”
Faris searched his brain for a change of subject before the silence became awkward. “Would you, perhaps, like to come back with me to Gallopolis? I would be honored to show you around, as a reward for your assistance.”
The girl blinked a few times, obviously stunned by such a generous offer. Then she started nodding so fast her head was nearly a blur. “I would love to go back to your kingdom with you! In fact, we should leave as soon as possible.” She said firmly. She reached out and grabbed his arm and started tugging him back towards the city, seemingly intent on taking him up on his offer right away.
“Wait, wait, we can’t leave yet! I am here on a Quest. And a knight cannot leave a Quest unfinished!” Faris said urgently.
The girl groaned, but stopped pulling on him. “Alright, so what’s your ‘quest’ then?”
“It is a request from Lady Colina, one of my mother’s dear friends. She’s having her annual tea ceremony later this week, but thanks to the increased monster infestations in the area none of the merchants have been able to bring her lavender lilies she always decorates the room with. Naturally, I had to offer my aid! So I offered to find a few cuttings to bring back to her.” He said.
“Your grand ‘quest’ is to help a lady find some flowers? Lame.” She snorted.
Honestly, it was a little silly. But secretly Faris was glad to have started off with a mission that wasn’t a matter of life or death resting on his shoulders, at least until he had trained a little more. Still…“Does that mean you aren’t going to help?” Faris asked tentatively.
“Pfft, of course I’ll help! It just means I’m gonna complain about it the entire time.” She said cheerfully. “Come on, let’s go save that lady’s tea ceremony or whatever.”
Faris let out a sigh of relief, only barely muffled at the last second. It wasn’t quite the same as finishing his Quest by himself, but inviting a fellow adventurer to join him was surely different then calling for his knights to assist him. Wasn’t it?
He started guiding her to the spot that had been marked out on his map, but paused as he thought of something. “Oh, I nearly forgot. What is your name, my daring hero?”
The girl hesitated for a moment as if she was mulling it over, then answered him. “Mia. My name’s Mia.”
---
Mia loved her brother, she really did. But sometimes he could be a total jerk.
Instead of taking her on their epic treasure hunt to end all treasure hunts after the Dark Whoever was defeated, he’d wheedled her into going to some stuffy Academy. When he’d dropped her off at ‘L’Academie de Notre Maitre les Medailles’ he’d really laid it on thick. He’d talked a big game about this school giving her new possibilities for her future, and new skills that would put her ahead of the curve. But after a few weeks of boring coursework she knew why he’d really ditched her here: to get her out of the way while he went off and had cool adventures with his new friends!
The mini medal searching was pretty cool, she had to admit! But everything else could be a real drag. The other girls were nice enough, but joining in the middle of the semester meant they had already formed friend groups and she always felt like the odd one out. Plus, like ninety percent of them came from rich families that probably hadn’t had a chipped nail for at least five generations. She’d quickly learned to avoid telling any stories about her childhood if she didn’t want to see politely hidden horrified looks directed her way. And most of the stuff they taught wasn’t useful to her at all! Every teacher wanted her to be quieter, or neater, or less rude, or more gentle. The endless lessons on posture, manners, and refined grace…
Nope, not her style at all! It was like Erik didn’t even know her anymore!
(Maybe he didn’t. Maybe after so many years apart he’d forgotten what she was actually like, and replaced her with a completely different person in his head.)
Anyway! She decided to ditch that snorefest, and get out and see the world now that she wasn’t beholden to a bunch of Vikings or stuck as a golden statue. All she had to do was fake a letter from her brother saying he’d changed his mind about enrolling her and she was free as a bird! She’d left her last hidden away gem with the one girl she’d made kinda sorta friends with (a mischievous succubat who loved to swap adventuring stories) in exchange for giving her a heads up if anyone got suspicious, hopped on the first boat she found that was heading across the sea in exchange for hauling cargo, and before she knew it she had disembarked in Gondolia. After picking up a few supplies and a decent dagger with the handful of gold coins she had stashed away she’d floundered a bit there wondering what to do next, but luckily she’d stumbled onto someone who definitely could use her help.
This Faris guy was alright, she guessed. A little full of himself at times, but at least he was willing to recognize how awesome she was and give her a ride out of Gondolia where she’d be less easy to track down. She’d been a little hesitant to give him her real name at first, but he seemed harmless enough. What were the odds that he would know her brother, anyway?
At least he was a decent companion, despite being kind of pompous and self-absorbed. She’d had her doubts about whether or not he would actually be any use or whether he’d just end up cowering behind her while she did all the work. But it turned out he was happy to lead the way, and was alright at spotting monsters. When she asked why he wasn’t fighting them himself he’d blushed and stammered something she couldn’t quite follow about losing his weapon earlier. She’d assumed he was just making up excuses, but when they were about halfway towards their goal he suddenly shouted, “Aha! My sword!” and darted forward and scooped up a fancy looking saber that was lying on the ground in front of them. After that he did actually contribute in any fights they ran across, even though his form was pretty terrible.
Between their combined efforts it wasn’t long before they had gathered up all the flowers they needed, and Faris immediately used a chimera wing to sweep them both away to Gondolia. He had grandly introduced her to the knights waiting for him as a “wandering adventurer that had done him a great service, and that he owed a personal debt of gratitude to.” The captain of the guard seemed somewhat unimpressed by the prince’s words, but agreed to bring her back to Gallopolis with them.
At first Faris seemed like he wanted to stick around in Gondolia for an extra day or two to do some shopping and sightseeing, but she didn’t want to take any chances on getting caught by her brother. Thinking fast she said, “But won’t your mother’s friend want the flowers to be as fresh as possible? They might wilt if they’re not taken care of properly, you know.”
“Hmm…” The prince thought it over for a moment. “Yes, that is true! Very well then, we shall leave for Gallopolis immediately!”
But the absolute best part came after they got back to Gallopolis. They laid out an awesome spread of delicious foods, most of which she had never seen before. Rice with a variety of fancy spices, savory lamb chops, stuffed dates, and a dozen other things she didn’t recognize but was more than willing to gobble up. Faris was happy to expound on each one she asked questions about, and she was pleasantly full by the time dinner was over. Then he escorted her to the private baths, where she got to spend a luxurious hour soaking in a bubble bath with a tub that could practically be a pool! And from the way he was talking, it sounded like he lived like this every day!
Yeah, sticking with Prince Faris was definitely her ticket to the good life.