"Hyah—!"
Din swung his sword in a wide motion in order to reach Katherine on the other side, but it was no use. By the time the sword reached near her, she'd already stepped back.
They were having their usual sparring match in the middle of the training grounds. Aside from them, I was the only one present, seated on a bench close by and watching as the two trained.
"You have to swing faster than that if you want to hit someone!" Katherine lectured. Din readied his sword once more. Happy to see that Din was improving, Katherine added, "At least you've perfected your stance."
Din charged at a quick pace with his sword directly in front of him, but as soon as he was within her range, she quickly deflected his sword to the side and then pushed him with her other hand as he lost his balance. Din crashed onto the floor in front of Katherine. His blonde hair had dust all over at this point. He looked up to notice that she hadn't even broken a sweat. Seeing his move get countered so easily, he laid there on the ground, accepting his defeat.
"How many times must I have to tell you to stop holding your sword like that? You have to hold it close to your body until you're ready to strike your opponent."
"I just thought I'd be fast enough," Din muttered, "But I need to be even faster when I'm facing a Platinum knight."
"That has nothing to do with it. Even a Bronze knight could've easily knocked your sword away with that form."
"Then how come you used that move during the tournament last week?"
"Din... is that why you're...? Never mind that, the reason why I can move like that is because of my sword. It's a lightweight sword. I wouldn't even be able to hold a regular sword in that form for that long."
She sighed, "You shouldn't try to copy my moves, Din. Your fighting style will be a lot different from mine and the last thing I'd want is for you to hurt yourself copying me."
Din picked himself up before readying his stance once more. "Let's go again, Kat."
"I've told you numerous times to call me Katherine while we're not home," Katherine looked around and noticed that other people were entering the training grounds. Among those was a knight with silver armor with a brown cape hanging behind him.
The knight took notice of Din and Katherine and quickly approached them.
"How goes your training?" The man asked.
Katherine bowed before replying, "Sir Garretson, all goes well. I've yet to finish the papers from yesterday, I'm sorry."
"That's not why I'm here for, Morrison. Today is a day of celebration for you and the moon. Relaxing for today won't hurt you." Garretson placed a hand on Katherine's shoulder, "Let us depart. The ceremony begins at dusk, but there're businesses we must attend to first."
He then noticed Din, who was brushing off the sand from his shirt.
"How goes there, Din? You were in the academy, I believe, correct?"
Straightening his form, he answered, "Yes, Sir Cruz Garretson. I'm in my first year in the academy."
"I hope training has been beneficial to you. I did have a hand in planning for the lessons for this year."
"Yes! I've learned a lot from my classes, thank you, sir!"
"Good, good. Now, I'll need to borrow your sister for the rest of the morning, will that be all right?"
Din bowed.
"Thank you very much. Now, we'll be on our way, then."
Katherine handed her sword to Din. Even with the many battles she had taken that sword into, its silver glow was still present. Just like her short silver hair, everything about her radiated elegance. "Make sure to attend the ceremony later. It'll be at the central stadium."
Putting his sword back in his sheath, Din nodded, "We'll be there, Kat. I'll head home for now though."
Katherine sighed. "How about you keep Lorelei company over there? Poor girl's been watching you train all morning."
Noticing the use of my name, I turned to Katherine. "Oh sorry, did you two finish?"
"Yes, we're done. I'll be heading off now so you two should get going as well. The training grounds are reserved for Gold knights around this time."
"Thank you, Katherine." I bowed as she passed by me.
Even though she acted very friendly and open with me, I knew I had to show my respect towards her. Din, however, felt no need for that kind of formality.
"Lorelei, let's go get something to eat. I'm burnt out, but I want to munch on something before taking a nap."
At the end of an alley close to the training grounds was a small shop owned by a nice old lady. Din and I often found ourselves in this secluded shop after his weekly practice matches against Katherine.
Breakfast after practice was always the time when Din could speak whatever was on his mind. I mostly did the listening while adding my thoughts here and there.
"I still can't keep up with Kat at all," he started. "It's like she sees a few seconds in the future and knows how to act perfectly to counter my every move!"
"That has to come from her years' worth of experience in the battlefield. But I think you've improved quite a bit as well. It wasn't that long ago when she would spar without any weapons."
Din covered his face while letting out a groan. "You don't have to remind me!"
I didn't know what to say to this unexpected side of him.
Din noticed my lack of response, "Can you at least react a bit? It's even more embarrassing when you keep staring at me like that."
"Oh, sorry."
"Don't worry about it. And you know, you're not wrong about what you said. I definitely feel like I've gotten a lot better." Din slammed his fist onto the table as he readied himself to make a declaration. "Two...no, three years. In three years' time, I'll surpass Kat and become an Ace knight."
"Isn't that being too optimistic?" I asked. "You'll have to first become a Silver knight. And even for that, most people take around a year or two at least. Then about two more years to promote to a Gold knight. Then there's Platinum and only then can you reach the rank of Ace."
"I'm almost 16 right now so if I promote to Silver knight around 17, then 19... then... 23! I'll be around 23 when I can become an Ace knight. The title given only to those that are the best of the best."
I couldn't help but to explain how impossible his idea was. "Even if you do manage to reach Platinum rank in a few years, don't you need to make big contributions to the country in order to become an Ace knight?"
He froze. Then, a moment later, he admitted while letting out a nervous laugh. "I actually don't know."
Even though I wasn't the slightest bit tired, I couldn't help but to sigh.
"But don't worry," he added with a confident smile. "I'll learn about it as soon as I become a Platinum knight. I can't let Kat beat me to everything."
"Katherine is a prodigy though. She reached Platinum at 19, making her the youngest knight to reach that rank. I think it was mostly because she was recognized by the other high elites. And in the first place, I think you should just be proud of her as her younger brother instead of competing against her." I knew Din wouldn't listen to me, but I felt the need to say it regardless.
After finishing his plate, Din stood up. "No, that's exactly why I must be stronger than her. What kind of a brother would I be if I can't even protect her? I need to become strong so that if the time comes when she needs my help, I can be there for her."
Din spoke with a bright smile on his face. I didn't know what to say. I felt happy about his conviction, but for some reason, I couldn't bring myself to smile with him.
"I'm so hyped now! I don't feel like lying around anymore. Let's go look around the festival!"
—Even though only a few minutes had passed after his breakfast, Din was already beginning to grab every different kind of snacks and meals from the food vendors.
"Yes, give me that one and two of that one!"
"Here you go!"
"Lorelei! You have to try this."
Din handed me a round fried meat with a stick stuck in it. "What is it?"
With a suggestive laugh, Din offered, "Just try it."
As if to show me it was harmless, he took a great bite from his meat. I was curious as to why he wouldn't reveal what it was but didn't see the harm in trying it. There were others around eating it as well.
I took a small bite. It was quite delicious. "It's good. What is it?"
"Fried goat testicles."
I felt like spitting it out of my mouth, but it was too late. I was already in the process of swallowing it.
"It's good, right? I knew you wouldn't try it if I told you what it was."
With the vile image clouding my mind, I couldn't bring myself to eat the meat any longer. Din gladly took my piece.
"Well, well. Look who's here."
A familiar voice called out to us. We turned around and were able to match the voice with the face. A knight with red hair stood behind us with a proud smile on his face. It was Ray Brenwood.
"Ray! And... who are the other two?"
Alongside Ray was a tall man with a calm expression. He had long white hair that appeared pristine and silky, contrasting sharply with Ray's spiky, fire red. Behind the tall man stood a younger boy with silver hair, someone about our age.
The tall man leaned in towards us before speaking in his soft voice.
"My, have you already forgotten about me, Din? I was also present with Ray during your sister's birthday celebration."
Din tried his hardest to remember, but nothing seemed to pop up in his mind as he just laughed it off.
Even Ray couldn't help but to snicker. With a quick side glance from the white-haired knight, Ray quickly regained his composure. "It's Grayson Moraine. He was the one that tried hitting on Sir Garretson's wife without knowing who it was."
"Ah! Now I remember! I think that was the angriest I ever saw Sir Cruz Garretson..."
With a swift jab to Ray's side, Grayson changed the topic. "Yes, that was most unfortunate how that night unfolded. But nevertheless, Sir Garretson and I are great friends once more. By the by, have you met my apprentice?"
The young man stepped forward. "My name is Aydin Till. It is a pleasure to meet you both."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Din Morrison and this is Lorelei Talus."
"Lorelei... that is a wonderful name, ma'am."
I smiled and gave a slight bow.
"Well then, the three of us are heading to the castle to greet the King before the ceremony." Ray grabbed our shoulders as he walked past us. "I hope to see you two at the ceremony."
"You know I wouldn't miss this event for the world!"
With a wide smile, Ray left, followed by Grayson and Aydin.
I looked up at the sky to notice there was still time before nightfall.
"We still have a while before the ceremony. Are there any other stalls you wanted to try, Din?"
"It's not a stall, but there's a place I'd like to go to."
He grabbed me by the hand and then pulled me forward. "It's this way."
—After walking for a while, we finally reached the west edge of the city. We climbed atop the stairs and then finally reached the top of the wall. It wasn't like Din to pick a spot like this for no reason.
"What're we doing here?"
"I don't know."
"Hm?"
"Kat told me to take you here during sunset. She wouldn't tell me why though."
I got it.
It was nice of Katherine to do as she did, but she forgot one thing: Din was no romantic.
"Well, since we're already here, why don't we just sit over there?" I suggested.
"I don't mind... but doesn't it seem like a waste of time?"
"It'll be fine. We can relax for a bit and then head to the central stadium."
It really was a nice view. After a while, the sun had already set, but the crystal moon was still ascending.
As the moon rose in the sky, we could hear the howls of the wolves within the forest outside the city. I shivered at the thought of encountering one, but I was inside the city and next to Din, so I wasn't too worried.
After some time, the moon finally reached its peak. This really was a great place to view the moon shift.
"Look Din, we can see the moon shift."
Just like every year, the crystal moon began to lose its form. Slowly, the light of the moon faded into nothingness. I was eager to see the bright red glow from the moon. I remembered the day I had met Din. It had been under the same red moon so long ago. I held my breath in anticipation of the moon shift. After a moment of darkness, the moon's light shone brighter than ever, covering farther than the mountains and the lands beyond. But the moon wasn't red.
The moon turned blue.
It was unmistakably blue, the same light blue as the sky in midday. The moon released a wave of light that seemed to pulse before slowly dimming down, marking the end of the moon shift.
Din squinted at the moon before scratching his head.
"Huh, that's weird. Wasn't this year supposed to be red? Blue is next year, right?"
Even Din remembered the shift cycle wrong... or were we right?
"Hng!?"
Suddenly, I felt a massive pain appear inside my head. "Ah—!"
I clutched my head and almost fell to the floor because of the pain. As I was kneeling, Din quickly approached to my side.
"Lorelei! What's wrong, Lorelei?!"
"My... head-!"
It was burning. My whole face felt hot... or was it cold? I couldn't tell anymore. I held my head until the pain finally subsided. Din offered me his hand.
"Are you feeling okay now, Lorelei? Here, let me carry you home."
"Thank you..."
Din carried me to my house in no time. I felt bad having him carry me, but at this moment, all the strength had already left my body. Din knocked on my front door.
"It'll be okay, Lorelei. Just keep breathing."
He gently set me down and then allowed me lean on him.
"First we—"
Huh?
Din stopped talking suddenly. I looked up to see his face, filled with worry.
"What's wrong, Din?"
"Lorelei, your eyes... they're black."
"My eyes have always been..."
"That's not what I mean! Dammit, where is your aunt? Aunty!"
He began knocking on the door once more. At this point, he might as well be trying to break the door down with the force that he was applying. It wasn't like Din to panic. I had never seen him this tensed before. Aside from feeling weak at the moment, I didn't think I had to worry that much, but seeing Din like this was making me scared as well.
"She's probably out shopping." I turned the knob and just as I thought, it was open. Aunt Esmae never locks the door when she goes shopping.
Din helped me onto the couch.
"I-I'll go look for Kat, maybe she'll know what to do. You should just wait here for Aunty to come home."
"You can't tell Katherine, today is..."
"It doesn't matter. We'll find out why your eyes turned out like that. Kat has been to a lot of different places so she's bound to have run into someone with eyes like that before."
"Right..."
Din gave me a confident smile while resting his hand on my shoulder. "We'll fix you up in no time, Lorelei. Just stay here and wait for me to come back with Kat, okay? I'm sure aunty will be back by then so we'll figure something out!"
I nodded. Happy to see that I was willing to wait for Din, he padded my shoulders before getting up.
After Din left, I went to check my eyes in the mirror. I had to lean on the walls as I walked over, but somehow managed to reach the mirror without falling down.
I couldn't believe how different my eyes looked. My pupils, once black, were now a light ghostly color while the rest of my eyes were pitch black. I tried opening my eyes wide and then closing them, but that didn't change anything. I put water in my eyes but that didn't work. I rubbed my eyes with my fingers but it did nothing. I kept trying until finally, my aunt came back home.
"Oh Lorelei, are you already home?"
I headed to the living room, desperate to begin explaining the situation – and hopefully find an answer to all my questions. After I reached the living room, I began to explain.
"Aunt Esmae. My eyes, I don't know what happened to them. Even outside, the moon was—"
But when I looked up, the look on the once warm and loving aunt of mine was now one of shock—of fear. She dropped her basket of groceries onto the floor.
The terrified look wasn't something you'd show to a friend or a family. The look... rather than concern, it was that of hatred. And without warning, my heart, already broken by confusion and neglection, at that moment, shattered completely.
"Demon!"
I was stunned. Was she calling me a demon?
"Huh?"
She suddenly raised her voice. She quickly ran to the kitchen and then came out with a knife.
"You're a demon! Get out! Get out of my home!"
"Aunt Esmae, it's me, Lorelei!"
"You... you're not my niece! You're nothing but a demon! Now get out!"
She was holding the knife in front of her with the tip of the blade trembling. The moment I tried approaching her, she began screaming, running into the corner of the room.
"Get out! Get out of here!"
For a while, I was frozen, unable to comprehend why my aunt would act like this.
"You demon, get out!"
I couldn't take this anymore.
"Aunt Esmae, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Please don't say that! I'm not a demon!"
With tears streaming down my face, I explained myself, but there was no response from her. She began murmuring her prayers while closing her eyes tightly shut.
I couldn't stand it. I ran out of the house. Many people outside had been watching, unsure of whether they should've intervened or not. Most ended up just walking by, ignoring the scene.
I ran towards the central stadium to find Din.
The streets were filled with light in every corner, but to me, it was all a blur. At that moment, I wished I could also become a blur and just disappear from this world.