Walking down the garden pathway behind the Royal Palace, hands held each other as they passed by the green leaves of the bushes, was the pair of a young Lyon and a soon to be Commander Arthur.. Birds were humming as the summer breeze blew against them, the sun was only a few hours away from its peak.
"Commander Arthur. May I ask a question?"
"C-commander?! Lyon, you know very well that I am still just a captain"
"But you did say that sooner or later you're going to be a commander?"
Arthur smirked as he rigorously brushed Lyon's long black hair. Lyon looked at him with a confused look.
"Where are my parents?" he asked.
They paused from walking. Arthur stood still in between two arcs that were filled with vines. Lyon tilted his head as he glanced at the man whose lips were trembling for some reason. Suddenly Arthur started running while still holding Lyon's hand. The child tried so hard to catch up with him but kept tumbling down giving him bruises as he was pulled towards an area that was far from the palace.
Young Lyon didn't notice that they'd already left the capital due to their speed. Looking around he was baffled to find himself in a small flat area surrounded by large trees that had thick branches and green leaves.
At the center was a small mound with two tombstones standing above it, a cross was embedded on the stones with names written below it. Arthur slowly walked towards it, skipping stones that created a path towards the mound while Lyon followed his steps.
"What is this place?" Lyon asked as he hopped towards the bottom of the mound.
"You may be too young to see this… but beneath this place lies the bodies of both your parents…"
Lyon kneeled his legs and placed his hands above one of the tombstones, caressing the cold smooth stone in front of him. Arthur looked at him, eyes filled with pity thinking of what the child was thinking.
"Why did they die?" Lyon asked.
Arthur's body had started trembling, just hearing the poor boy's cracking voice as a strong breeze blew against the two of them.
"They were burned to death. Their bodies could no longer be distinguished, I tried my best to help them b-, but my magic was still too weak back then. I found you crying a few meters away from your burnt house. I was devastated, Lyon. That's why I did my best to become your guardian"
Tears started to fall down from the corner of Lyon's eye. The sky had turned dim as the two of them stayed there. Droplets of water started to drop from the sky. In a few minutes rain was already pouring, Arthur had to use wind magic to create a roofing so that the two of them would not be drenched.
"Who killed them?"
Arthur's heart sank as he heard his question. Biting his lips, forcing himself not to peep out a word. Blood had started to come out of his lips from his bite. But his silence only upsetted the young Lyon.
"Who killed them!!" He asked once more, but this time his voice had gotten louder.
He turned his head towards Arthur, he had a furious look on his face. Flaming red eyes that resonated the fire that was on his hands. Lyon asked for a third time with a voice so loud that birds who were resting on the trees were startled.
Arthur took in a deep breath and pointed towards Lyons hands. Lyon's eyes widened as he realized what Arthur meant. He looked at him and his hands back and forth bewildered about what he understood.
Tears slowly ran down on his puffy cheeks as his face slowly turned pale, he suddenly fainted. His face fell flat on the cold hard tombstone, Arthur lifted him up and carried him back to the royal palace like he was his child.
The day passed by with Lyon forgetting the events of yesterday when he woke up. Alone in his somewhat well lit small room. He sat on his bed and stared at his window that was covered by a thick white curtain, sunrise could still enter keeping it lit. But its heat couldn't.
He quickly stood up as he realized that he woke up late, rushing to wear his uniform and running towards the training hall. As he arrived there, everyone was already starting to spar which meant that the training was nearing its end.
His eyes immediately scoured around as he tried to find Arthur. But he couldn't find him and if he was to face the current commander who was initiating the training then it would be a whole mountain of nagging.
Despite being only a 6 years old, Lyon was treated like a full-fledged adult due to his prowess and ability in fighting may it be weapon, magic or simply had to hand. He was a prodigy until you put him in a situation where people other than him were involved.
Out of nowhere a loud voice suddenly called him. It was the commander, stomping his way to where Lyon stood frozen. Lyon looked terrified as the man that stood before him was twice his size, with a muscular build and a large amount of mana in his aura.
"Reason" The man spoke in monotone.
"I woke up late"
The man took in a deep breath and kneeled to Lyon's height. He leaned forward, their faces only a few inches away from one another.
"You woke up late?! That's the reason you're giving me?!" the man screamed to the top of his lungs getting everyone's attention.
"A Royal Knight is someone who should always be ready for combat even when it's midnight! A Royal Knight who woke up late? Are you mocking everybody here?! You may be a prodigy but I will not tolerate these things. Drop and give me 1000 push ups and 300 laps around the kingdom walls. Pronto!!" The commander screamed once more.
Lyon's heart sank. It was the first time he was late and he was already given one of the worst punishments a knight could have. He sighed as he knew that there was a consequence to his action, but he didn't expect it to be this bad.
The man glared at him with fierce eyes. Without hesitation Lyon laid down facing the ground and began counting as he did what he was ordered to do. No one tried to defend him, they knew how cruel the commander could be. He was alone in that corner, a6 years old child doing 1000 pushups in the corner of an obscurely large room.
People went in and out the training room looking at Lyon as he struggled to lift himself up after he reached 20. They could do anything but cheer him. He continued on for about half a day, no food, no water, and most importantly no rest.
When Arthur had returned to the palace he was immediately told of what Lyon was going through. Like a concerned parent he immediately rushed to the training halls and saw him there. Lyon's body was trembling as he laid on the cold ground of the training hall.
His skin had turned pale, lips dry like sand and eyes looking dull, almost lifeless as he forced himself to lift his body.
"Lyon! Take a rest… stop it!" Arthur said with a concerned look in his eyes.
But Lyon was like a broken robot. He continued on like he was programmed to do it even though his body couldn't keep up with it. Enraged, Arthur aggressively walked towards the commander's room. He passed by a few knights who tried to stop him after seeing the terrifying face he made.
As he reached the door, he could hear a faint noise of moaning coming from inside the room. Without hesitation he kicked the door with his left leg wrecking it completely. It fell on the ground tearing a small portion of the stone wall it was connected to.
Upon entering he was surprised to see the commander laying on his bed with one of the palace maids bouncing on top of him. The two were surprised to see him barge in. Arthur used wind magic to cover the maid in a white cloth placed near the entrance.
He immediately pinned the commander to the bed, pulling the maid out of the way. The bed's legs broke as the weight of air that solidified above it was too heavy. The commander looked dead straight at Arthur.
"I can kill you right here and now, you know" The commander smirked with confidence.
"Likewise…" Arthur replied.
"Why'd you make that child do something like that?" Arthur asked.
"The child was late. You know very-well of the consequences I give to those who have no discipline…"
Arthurs eyebrows almost touched each other as he gave the commander a displeased look.
"Is that so…"
Arthur walked out of the room, but as he reached the door he snapped his fingers. Causing the pressurized air above the commander to crush him. The commander screamed as he felt the pressure of a dozen elephants standing above him.
"Stoooooooppp!!!" He screamed.
Arthur looked at him with such terrifying eyes that the commander shivered in fear. He snapped once more, the pressure disappeared. The commander gasped for air as blood started to comeout of his mouth. The maid immediately aided the commander.
"No one has the right to order that child but me" Arthur looked dead-straight at the commander's eyes with his own.
Knights started to flock around the room as Arthur exited the room. They were shocked to find the commander in such a shape. Arthur returned to the training halls with a few maids by side, their hands filled with herbs and delicious food that was to be given to Lyon.
As he entered he saw him still on the ground arms shaking as Lyon forced himself to lift his body. Without hesitation Arthur striked Lyons' nape with the bottom part of his hand causing the child to faint. The maids immediately took care of him, applying herbs, wiping his body and preparing his food.
In a matter of minutes Lyon had finally woken up and was surprised to see himself in a better shape than when he was pushing himself. He was placed in a foldable bed used by the knights when they wish to sleep outside. Looking around he saw Arthur sitting a few meters away from him, back against the wall as his head wobbled back and forth while he was asleep.
Days passed by and the commander had not once spoken to Lyon again. He was exempted from horrible punishments, but was still placed in cruel training. Most notably the mana training. Where he has to turn a match fire into something as large as a forest fire.
It was extreme as a large amount of mana would be needed for something like that. With Arthurs supervision, Lyon spent most of his time in that rigorous training draining most of his mana everyday.
After months of harsh and draining training, Lyon had finally managed to turn the match fire into a stove fire that was much larger than that of a much. But his goal was still far from being attained.
~~~~~
His eyes widened as he saw a large flame devour the white creature, it caused it to stumble down onto the bleachers breaking a few steps and the wall in the process. He watched as the people around Ursula's water dome began chanting "Mur-der-rer"
He heard the creature laugh as it was burnt to a crisp leaving a huge humanoid mark on the bleachers. The people were also burnt to ashes as he watched them try to walk towards him. Ursula's dome on the other hand had evaporated due to the head but she was left unharmed.
Unable to do anything, Lyon froze as his chin rested on Metoki's shoulder. Metoki's head slowly turned towards him and whispered.
"Everyone knows your a murderer"
Lyon jumped back creating distance between the two of them. It was only a few minutes but everyone in the vicinity was either burnt to ashes or were already dead on the floor. Lyon clenched his fist as he looked at Metoki's eyes.
Chapter End.