Ridley
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I was allowed to take a small team with me to retrieve the princess. I brought Percival along with two older knights, Thomas and Erica. We had been traveling together for only a day but I had already heard them whispering amongst themselves that it wasn't fair for me to be our leader. They had been knights for years while I had just come out of training.
I tried not to feel too guilty about it. I hadn't chosen this position and I needed to keep my focus. Despite that, I still felt a small stab of guilt each time it was brought up.
At one point, Percival had come up to me, lain a gloved hand on my shoulder and said with a smile, "It's alright, Ridley. Sometimes even being perfect has a cost."
As we continued to walk, I began to notice a slight twist to the trees, the foliage growing far closer together.
Percival glanced at me, arching a brow. "We're about to enter the dark forest. Are you nervous?"
I shook my head. "Not really."
Percival sighed. "I thought as much. Does anything scare you, Ridley?"
I shrugged. "Not being useful...and maybe dying."
Percival snorted. "Maybe dying? Well, I'll take your word for it." His gaze brushed over the twist of vines and roots curling across the narrow path, beginning to overtake it. "Why did they name this the dark forest anyways? Couldn't they have come up with something more original? Maybe the crooked wood or the the archaic acre?"
"I think the dark forest is a perfectly fine name."
"It's Alterians like you who cause us to have such boring and cliche names for everything. Like, is Prince Vandel even known as the Evil Demon Prince of Darkness everywhere or did Alteria just come up with that name on its own?"
He was starting to get on my nerves ever so slightly. I couldn't let that show of course, he was my friend.
Instead, I simply smiled politely and said, "I don't know. Perhaps."
"Just snap at me," he said suddenly.
I blinked, confused. "What do you mean-"
"C'mon Ridley! We've been friends since we were kids. Just act like a normal human for once in your damn life and snap at me. Or...I don't know...actually make a joke, or genuinely smile. Just...shit, Ridley. Give me something."
I was giving him my attention. Wasn't that enough? What else could he want from me?
"Listen," I said slowly. "We really don't have time for this. We need to focus on finding the princess-"
"You never have time!" Percival said loudly. I noted the fact that Erica and Thomas had fallen silent behind us.
I swallowed hard before taking a deep breath. "We need to find the princess right now. Can't we please discuss this at a later date?"
I was hoping by then he would forget about it. I hated dealing with personal problems but I hated disappointing people even more. I just wanted to be a good knight and a person people could like. Was that really too much to ask?
We continued walking in silence and for some reason I felt my mind drifting back to the image of Prince Vandel in the Cathedral. I could recall it so clearly, his coal black eyes burning into my soul like dying embers. He had seen me...hell, he had smiled at me. Recalling that mocking expression made a wave of heat rise up in my chest. I couldn't wait for round two. Then I would show him I was a force to be reckoned with.
Suddenly, a thud sounded from behind me. I spun around, finding Thomas laying on the ground.
I raced to him, offering him my hand. "Are you alright?"
He blatantly ignored my offer of help, scrambling to his feet instead. "I'm fine," he muttered brushing himself off. "I just tripped over a rock."
I glanced to the sky, my brows drawing together. "It's getting dark. We should set up camp for the night."
Everyone seemed to actually agree with me for once. Erica and Thomas began to set up while Percival and I kept a lookout in case a demon or one of the Bone King's monsters showed up.
"Hey," Percival said. "Would you rather face the Bone King in a fight or the Evil Demon Prince of Darkness, Vandel?"
"You could have just said Prince Vandel."
"Answer the question, dork!"
I thought for a moment. "Well, no one has ever seen the Bone King before. All we know is that he sends the monsters. He could be terrible in combat. Prince Vandel on the other hand is known for being a very skilled magician but arrogant and hotheaded which means he has several well known weaknesses which would be easy to exploit-"
"I would want to fight the Evil Demon Prince of Darkness, Vandel," Percival said, cutting me off. "I want to beat that little twerp to a pulp and show him he can't just steal another kingdom's princess. What do you think he even wants with her? Ransom?"
I shook my head. "No, too simple, not worth the risk of entering a guarded Alterian event. He probably wants to marry her."
Percival was taken aback by that, his mouth hanging open. "WHAT?"
I shrugged. "It's an obvious move, really. The demons were probably waiting for an opportunity like this since the princess came of age a few months ago. If he marries the princess he can gain control of the kingdom without even conquering us."
"There's no way we would let him rule us. We'd rebel!"
"But he would still have the legal footing and the upper hand."
Percival ran a hand roughly through the brown waves of his hair. "Well fuck…"
'The princess is smart and brave. She won't let him marry her." Following these words I became painfully aware of just how intensely Percival was staring at me. "Is everything alright?" I asked, unsure if I had said something wrong.
"Are you in love with Annette," he asked bluntly.
I blinked, surprised at the question. "What?"
Percival's eyes narrowed, drawing out the words. "Are you...in love...with...Princess...Annette."
I shook my head, still confused. "Uh...I don't think so…no." Honestly I didn't even know what being in love was supposed to feel like. I just stood there a moment, perplexed. "Why are you asking me this?"
He just shook his head, crossing his arms. "Forget it, it doesn't matter."
I wished I knew what I was doing to upset him so much these last couple days, instead I just shrugged. "Okay."
I guess that wasn't the right response because he quickly turned away from me.
That's when I suddenly noticed a raven. It was staring at me, its head cocked slightly to the right.
I smiled at it, crouching down to be at its level. "Hey, little guy," I said softly.
I liked animals. I could actually understand the way they acted. I dug through my bag, pulling out a loaf of bread I had been saving for later. With a smile I tossed a chunk to the bird who quickly began to nibble on it.
It was a pretty little thing, blue-black feathers glistening in the darkness. It continued to stare at intently with its coal black eyes, as if taking me in. Then finally it took off, disappearing into the ink black sky.
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One more day of traveling passed. Percival seemed to be back to normal, though he tended to quickly change the subject at any mention of the princess.
Night was beginning to fall when I suddenly froze, the other three members of my team slamming to a stop behind me.
"Ridley what the hell...oh…" that's when Percival saw what I was looking at.
A castle made entirely of black glass loomed over us. It shimmered in the moonlight, twisting its way into the night sky. There was something about it that made me shiver, something inherently just... wrong. It was as if the building was formed from wax dripping upwards. The windows were lit but the air was unsettlingly still and the forest was completely silent.
Percival glanced around. "How hard do you think it's going to be to break into there?"
I thought for a moment before I slowly turned to face him. "Extremely."