A clash of steel rings through the town like a church bell. Edin looks up to see a man suited black knight armor with plates seemingly made of fur and leather stitched on the outsides of the arms standing over her, a thick ring of fur on his gorget, and his sword's blade the color of the deep ocean. The Knight looks down at Edin, his helmet looking like a skull within another helmet, giving Edin a rightful sense of both fear and awe.
"Quite a predicament you got yourself into." The Knight says with a slight chuckle.
He looks back at the bandit, his eyes turning from teal blue to a deep blue like his sword. The bandit steps back a bit, his eyes as wide as a canyon.
"Where did you come from?" He asks, surprised.
The Knight laughs more, sheathing his sword.
"Don't ya know? Shadows can appear at any time and place. We're not bound by your physical laws." The Knight walks closer to the bandit.
The bandit takes more steps back, nearling at a jogging pace.
"You-you're the Phantom Knight!?" The bandit yells.
The Phantom Knight appears behind him within a blink of an eye. The bandit backs into him and falls down in front of him. As the bandit scoots away, the Knight throws down his sword just above his head, grazing his skin. The bandit yells in pain and runs away successfully, leaving small dots of blood behind him. The Knight turns his focus back on to Edin, picking up his sword and sheathing it again. The crowd around them backs up with each step he takes forward, some of them outright running away. The Knight holds out his hand in front of Edin, kneeling down to get just above eye level. Edin hesitantly takes his hand, pulling herself up and dusting herself off.
"You've got an amazing spirit little one. I could sense even from the outskirts of the village. If I may ask, where's your family?" The Knight asks, still kneeling down.
Edin starts to stutter with her words. She thought she had given up all feelings of her parents, but when he had asked her about them, she couldn't help but give way to the flood of tears that poured out. The Knight picks her up and wipes her tears away.
"Don't worry little one. You're safe now." He says, walking to the exit of the village.
The Knight turns to the destroyed stand, and the shopkeeper is crying next to it. The Knight digs his hand into a pouch and throws a platinum coin at him, landing perfectly on his nose. The man takes the coin and thanks the Knight, giving him many blessings as he, with Edin on his shoulder, starts the walk to wherever he so chooses. After a few minutes, Edin falls asleep to the melodic clanking of the Phantom Knight's armor just a few moments after walking.
Edin wakes up to some banging pots next to her. Startled, she jumps up, landing perfectly on her feet from the ground. She takes in her surroundings for a moment, noticing she's in a dense forest with bits of light shining through the leaves.
"Well, looks like the little one's awake. How ya doin' sunshine?" A smooth and deep voice inquires behind her.
Edin turns around to see a man as tall as the carriage he's standing next to, reminding her of a man she once knew, with two cooking pots in his hands. While his overall presence gives a chill mood around him, his physical appearance gives Edin goosebumps. His hair is as white as a mid-winter blizzard, his eyes multicolored, the right one green and the left eye red. He wears a black mask that looks like the human face with a blank expression, except the part above the bridge of his nose being completely broken off, appearing to be due to a vicious fight. Although he doesn't wear a shirt, he wears a long, black leather coat that ends just above the ankles, and his leggings matching the coat, in exception to the white leather belt.
"Um, where's the knight?" Edin responds with another examination of the man.
"Not tellin' until you answer my question, sunshine." He responds cheekily.
"First off, my name's Edin, not sunshine. Second, I'm a little irritated that I've essentially been kidnapped." She glares at the tall man, whose eyes have now widened.
"You didn't get kidnapped," The Knight says behind her. "You allowed me to pick you up and take you here." He scoffs.
The tall man bows, his eyes smiling for his unseen mouth. "You may call me Anarchy. I do not have a last name, for I am an orphan." He stands back up.
"You were, until our father adopted you." The Knight chimes in. "You didn't even bother taking the family name." He scowls.
"You don't even accept me as a brother. Why bother?" Anarchy slightly raises his voice.
As he finishes his sentence, a crunch of a branch makes everyone go silent, except for the Knight's heavy breathing, echoing through his helmet. A few moments later, three people walk in the small clearing, another man and two women, one being a child. The man wearing light leather armor and a small dagger in his sheath on his hip. The older woman is wearing a bar maid's outfit, extenuating her fit yet curvy physique, and the child wearing a simple sundress. The little girl runs up to the Knight, hugging his leg. The other woman also by the Knight's side, looking at him with a familiar yet wicked look in her eyes. The man walks over to a small stump in the middle of the clearing, taking a seat without saying a word. Edin looks back at Anarchy, who stares back at her with a little gleam in his eyes. She swears she sees his mask form a smile, but as she blinks, Anarchy has his back to her, grabbing the pots once again and taking it over to the man sitting on the stump. The man grabs a wooden spoon from a wooden bowl next to him, taking a small scoop of soup from inside the pot and eating it, an appreciative smile on his face as he gives Anarchy a thumbs up.
"Alright guys. Soup's on! Get over here Takahashi and Sarah, ladies first." Anarchy says, preparing plates on a small table in front of a few other stumps.
The Knight and the women sit down on the other stumps, only one stump remaining. Anarchy serves the food to each of the hungry adventures, leaving Edin last.
"This is an amazing soup uncle Arc!" Sarah exclaims, happily eating.
The Knight casts a dark glance at Anarchy before returning to his bowl.
Anarchy, without noticing this, takes a bowl that was set aside for himself and gives it to Edin.
"Here, take it." Anarchy says with gleaming eyes.
"No, you take it. I'm used to not eating much anyway." Edin replies, ignoring her grumbling stomach.
"That's probably why you're so short." Anarchy quickly laughs.
Without waiting for another response, he drops it in front of her. Within the blink of an eye, she catches it without spilling any of the soup. She looks back up at Anarchy with a mix of anger and surprise. Though she cannot see his mouth, she can tell he has a devilish smile under his mask. He picks her up and sets her on the last remaining stump with ease, sitting on the ground next to her.
"Why would you just drop the bowl?!" She asks with a loud tone.
"I knew you would catch it." He chuckles a bit. "You've shown only amazing reflexes since you woke up."