Work Text:
You let out a yawn as these morning hours still haven't become your norm yet as you tend your fields. Summer has finally taken its leave which now welcomes the comfortable autumn breeze. You stretch your arms above your head as you take the last of your produce and put them in your shipping bin for Balor to pick up, but you notice he hasn’t grabbed yesterday's shipment yet. You found it odd, he’s usually punctual and on time when it comes to doing business. Something must have kept him busy in the early morning you thought to yourself. Deciding to stay put on the farm to do some more maintenance and clean up, you also wanted to catch him and talk to him a little bit to see if he was okay.
When you first came to Mistria, the second you saw him across that broken bridge you were charmed by him. The way he spoke and the air of mystery that lingers around him has caught your attention. Not to mention he was very attractive, it was hard for you not to stare into his eyes longer than necessary. He was also very kind to you, telling you that he was also new to Mistria, it felt like you two were in this together starting new. It felt less isolating then you thought it would be, so you appreciated his company very much.
The whole town was very welcoming to you both, and even though the town knew about your history about being a knight and an adventurer, Balor still lives in a clouded ambiance of uncertainty. You knew never to push him into talking, but you did catch wind that the capital wasn’t fair to him, he had mysterious supply sources and he knew knife tricks that he wanted to teach Maple. The last thought always made you laugh, thinking about Reina reprimanding Balor for even the thought of it.
As you finish up chores, you see the town’s Dragonguard crossing the small bridge that leads to your farm and waving enthusiastically at you. You send them a big smile and wave back at them, putting away your farming gloves in your back pocket and as you make your way to the entrance.
“I see the town’s children have come to play here today.” Caldarus commends.
You smiled at him and gave him a nod, “I wonder what they have in store for us.”
“Farmer! Farmer!” Luc beams.
“No Luc, today the farmer is going to be our Hero Knight and teach us all the cool sword techniques they know!” Dell retorts.
“Am I now?” you chuckled,” Who told you I was teaching anything? And does your mom know about this?”
Maple gracefully walks ahead of the other two as showing her regal status and stands before you.
“The Queens know we’re here and said it’d be okay! We have an important mission we must do and we need to prepare, that’s why we’re enlisting your services today!”
“Yeah! The Demon Lord’s forces are making their way through the forest and we need to stop him before they reach town! Our bug army need’s reinforcements right away!”
You nod your head in agreement and place a finger on your cheek, emphasizing that you’re thinking hard about their plight.
“That does sound important.” you hummed, “I’ll better teach you what I can before they make their way here!”
The kids cheered as their eyes beamed brighter from your words, you couldn’t help but smile at their enthusiasm and a small chuckle from the dormant dragon statue.
You invite the kids to come more into your farm as you set up little test dummies for each child in a clear field, making sure they each have a safe space to play around and not hit each other by accident. The Dragonguards take a look around your farm and they each pick up a stick worthy of being a sword besides Dell, who is always carrying her trusted (stick) sword with her at all times. As they settle around the dummy, you dig out an old sparring sword that is just made of wood. These are kids after all, they don’t need to be anywhere near your arsenal of swords you keep from your adventuring days.
“Alright, so first things first you must know your fundamentals, and being in the right stance is crucial! Showing confidence in how you stand with your sword can intimidate your enemies which can give you an edge! Let’s start by placing your feet apart like this. Now, let me see what you got!”
The kids all copy your movement with eagerness and concentration as they seem to be taking your advice very seriously. Noting some little flaws, you help them adjust their stances and finally give your approval of a job well done.
“Amazing! Now to show you how to hold your sword. You want to keep your hands set in this position so you can have better control. Make sure your grip is strong, you don’t want someone to parry you and have your sword fly away.”
“Can that really happen?” Dell questioned.
“It happened to me when I was just starting out as a knight, it can leave you open and vulnerable. Don’t make the same mistakes I’ve made in the past, squires!”
The kids cheered and adjudgested their grip on their swords with more purpose than before. You began to show them certain swings and moves, ones that were taught to you when you were just accepted into the knight academy. You also taught them the importance of keeping balance and having a good foothold or the bad guys will come and get you. After you taught them the basics they start to practice their strikes on the poor wooden dummies. You observed their swings, messy but determined and you felt a sort of pride fill your chest.
You hear leaves crunching from someone's footsteps coming towards your home so you turn around to see Balor watching and observing the kids and their lessons. You were about to welcome him to the farm when you heard all the kids gasp and rush towards you. They each hugged either side of your leg and arm as they all pointed at Balor with astonishment.
“It’s the Demon Lord’s highest ranking general, the Dark Knight!” Dell announces to the group. You look at Balor and though he was surprised at first, it seems he caught wind that he has been recruited into their world of pretend. He grabs his cape and flings it apart for a dramatic entrance as he starts to chuckle. Unprompted, he seems to be really taking his role seriously which left you with a big smile on your face. It makes you think about the first spring when you both arrived and how he didn’t understand roleplaying while playing his first session of Dungeons and Drama. Now that it's autumn, it hits you how fast time has passed while living in Mistria.
“My, it seems I’ve finally found the Dragonguard’s secret hideout! If I capture the enemy's territory, we can finally take over Mistria and then all of Aldaria!”
“Not if the Dragonguard is still around! Hero Knight, you must stop him at once as your Queen!” Maple counters.
“No, let me go, Queen Maple! I was born to do this!” Dell insists.
“Dell, you have to protect the Queen! Let them handle this!”
“I’m counting on you to keep them safe Dell! I won’t let the Dragonguards down.” you assure.
They all nod their head in agreement and they stand back as you take out your wooden sword. For dramatics sake, you point the sword at Balor and puff your chest out, showing them the lessons you taught them how it's done.
“It’s not too late to turn back now Dark Knight! Retreat while you’re still able to.”
“I think I should be saying that to you, Hero Knight. If you give up now I’ll think about sparing your life.”
Balor finally draws out his own weapon, a simple copper sword. You weren’t threatened in the slightest, you know you weren’t in any real danger but all the kids scolds the Dark Knight how that is cheating.
“Who says villains play fair?” Balor touts, adding a couple of flashy swings for more dramatic effect.
“It’s okay Dragonguards, this will be over before you know it.”
You and Balor begin to circle one another as you try to build tension with the audience you have. Although it's not like the traditional sense of the word, you two were tangled in a tango. As you stare him down you can’t help but feel a flutter of butterflies in your stomach. His dark eyes pierce you as he watches your every move, and his silky hair flows against the comfortable breeze. As if the queue when he was ready to move, he gave you a wink and charged you with his sword drawn. His movements were slow on purpose so you can easily read to parry or move out of the way. You swords meet in the middle, taking note that his sword must be really dull if it didn’t even cut through your underrated one. You smile as you tell him with your eyes that you’ll be swinging your sword from the right. As on queue he dodges your swing and fixes his stance. You two begin to clash your weapons one after another, making sure to throw in some snazzy spins and over the top thrusts to really get the excitement in the air. Balor matches your pace, grinning as you make sure to sell the show to the kids and be wary of hurting him. He felt the feeling of endearment wash over him how domestic this feels. How playful this situation is.
You hear the children gasp in awe as the duel kept getting more hectic. They would cheer for you to take the Dark Knight down, and even call out moves to watch out for. They were the best little squires you ever had.
“Are you ready to end this, Hero?” Balor warns.
“Let’s put this to an end, Dark Knight!” You retorted with zest.
Now you can tell by your little ‘fight’ that Balor has actual knowledge in swordplay. As you two were going at it you noticed that his footwork was quick and clean, and he was very flexible. You felt if this was a real fight, he would be swift and graceful with his swings. You wondered what a real sparring secession would be like against him, maybe you’d like to find out one day.
As you both deal your final strikes, you deal one strike that was heavier than usual, making him loosen his grip and disrupt his posture. Taking this opportunity, you maneuver your sword to swing upwards, making Balor’s sword clash harshley against yours sending his flying out of his hand and into the ground behind him. He stumbles backwards and lands on his back, groaning at the fake pain and exhaustion he felt in the battle against you. You walk up to him calmly and point your wooden sword at his chest as the ultimate checkmate. The trio uproar in victory as they run up to you both, giving you both praise at how awesome you both were. The illusion was broken but as long as they were all having a great time, that was enough for you.
As you helped Balor off the ground and dusting off any grass and leaves stuck to him, the Dragonguards sentenced the Dark Knight to community service around the town so he couldn’t run and leave town to rendezvous with the Demon Lord. Balor graciously accepts his ‘punishment’ having the kids fill the air with their glee.
Before you knew it, Nora and Josephine came to pick up the children, telling them that it’s time to take a walk towards the Eastern Ruins and to say farewell. Both you and Balor wave your goodbyes to the families, leaving you both alone finally. You face Balor and your eyes both meet causing you both to exchange smiles.
“You make a good Dark Knight Balor, I didn’t know you had some experience with a sword until now.”
“I’m just full of surprises waiting to be discovered.” He winked at you.
Finally your shyness gets the better of you, making you turn your head away from his gaze. You exhale a chuckle at his phasing, ”I’m sorry if this was just sprung on you, I hope it wasn’t too much of a bother.”
“Nah, I pretty much saw everything. I didn’t want to interrupt at first, but I’m glad I did. Getting to fight against the Hero Knight was an experience no one can buy.”
You nudge Balor slightly as his honeyed words, then you remember about this morning.
“So you’re late with picking up the shipment, was everything okay this morning?”
“Yeah, I got caught up with an early business meet up and I was running late. Say, want to help me bring your shipment back to my wagon and then we can grab something to eat at the Sleeping Dragon Inn? My treat?”
You hummed in agreement, setting towards your shipment box to help Balor. You both work efficiently as the comfortable silence sets in. After finishing up, you both walk side by side, your shoulders brushing against each other as you make your way to the inn.
“You know, Josephine and Nora have a beautiful family. It almost makes me want to drop everything and settle down here in Mistria, don’t you think?”
This time you're for sure Balor saw the shock and blush cross your face. Thinking about what a family would be like with Balor came flowing into your mind. If having a family is what anything was like today was, you would also have to agree with Balor on that.