Cinder-knight (bxb) ||completed

8th rule| more

It was the day of the grand wedding, signing the crown prince of the land of Ozoo and a deceased viscount's daughter, off in marriage.

While the minstrels played bagpipes, trumpets, drums and flutes, Eric found himself struggling not to puke as he sauntered into the castle's smelly horseshed to find the head stableman.

And he did, smiling once he saw a man with a goatee beard and a large belly petting a foal while scratching his chin.

"Uhm. Sir?" Eric coughed, as the groom turned to him in a quick motion. At the sight of the knight he smiled, stood up from the small chair he had placed in the corner of the stall and let out a yawn lazily. The movement made the foal neigh and roll over the pit of hay as Eric reverted his attention back to the man's face.

"I suppose you're here to get your horse for the parade right?" he asked and Eric nodded in return.

After few minutes of small-talk, the stableman allowed the knight to take a healthy looking mare and gave him few instructions, as this was the first time Eric was given the opportunity handle a female horse.

He had heard from somewhere that mares were much more violent than geldings, and once he saw how the horse in his care whose name turned out to be Avianthan, kept on trying to lunge out of the portcullis when he was taking her to the parade ground, his theory was actually proven right.

'Lucky me I guess' he internally rolled his eyes and ran his hands through the horse's dark mane, which was oddly silky to the touch.

"Look Avi," he started, "If you'll be a good girl and not trouble daddy, I promise I'll loosen your grith by.. A lot." he winced once he realised how wrong it came off, but it was too late, as another knight passing by them winked and sang, "Kinky!"

With a perturbed hiss, Eric continued his day while ignoring how the annoying flutes kept on nagging in his ear. Even when the knights were handing out flags displaying the kingdom emblem among each other, the sound went on like a porche with no breaks.

The noise continued to be parallel as Eric finally finished hitching his flag to a pole before running up to Avianthan. The mare flared up her nose at the sight of the flag and tried to bolt forward, but Sebastian who had been watching over her managed to grab her harness before something disastrous could happen.

"Woah, she's a little bratty I see."

"For real," Eric gave Sebastian an affirmative nod and mounted over the saddle, feeling his body stiffen once he was on top of mare. He bent down to kiss the crown of Avianthan's head, earning a neigh that occurred more like a sound of disgust, from the horse.

"Well at least she hasn't killed anybody yet," Eric laughed at Sebastian's poor attempt to make the atmosphere around them better, yet in truth, the red headed Knight couldn't help but feel a little miserable while looking at the imperial buildings which were decorated in flashy flags and other ornaments.

It was a tradition that the bride must be escorted to the castle from her hometown by a magnificent parade. She should be brought in a carriage of gold while the people of the capital would throw flowers at her prowess, and the imperial army should be the ones to accompany her.

How ridiculous.

But it wasn't like Eric had any other choice.

Currently, the three orders were rampaging down the city street as people stared at them through their house windows, or by the side of the road. Feverish gasps ripped across the crowds and melded into the ocean of footsteps, aggrandizing the power of the imperial army to its pinnacle.

And slowly, the fact that Prince Charming was going to be married today, hit Eric like a truck.

Rule number one: keep your priorities straight. You're a knight, not a princess.

That was what Eric told himself as he guided his horse to follow the path of the rest.

Rule number two: do not cry. It might hurt when he'll kiss her and crown her as his bride, but remember your spot. You're not supposed to cry.

His mind cited as the parade stopped in front of the dead viscount's château. Princess Mary, who was dressed in a dazzling strapless wedding gown, peered under her veil and looked at the parade before smiling. Eric couldn't help but smile too.

She was so beautiful.

But for an unknown reason, Avianthan kept of struggling and trying to run out of there. She was letting out low rumbles, but Eric chose to ignore that.

Rule number three: stop looking at the prince like you're some lovesick puppy. He's engaged, he has a fiancé and you're just his protector; a knight.

Eric told himself when he ended up imagining Prince Charming dressed in a white tuxedo with a satured red bow-tie hung tightly around his neck. He shook his head, and stared at the way Cinderella stepped into her carriage, her glass slippers shining like two bright blue sapphires.

Until the parade was thriving right in front of its origin; the castle, Eric was spaced out entirely. Everything had happened in a flash, and other than the vibrations coming from Avianthan, Eric felt nothing.

It was like.. He was losing himself. Or maybe a part of himself. He couldn't tell.

And when he saw how Cinderella ascended up the staircase so elegantly, like a body made of soft wax, Eric felt his heart squeeze tight. He kneaded at the supple mane of the mare he was on top of, and took shaky breaths in.

He felt so weak all of a sudden as Cinderella disappeared into the foyer of the grand hall where she was yet to say her vows alongside prince Henry.

In onclusion: stop the delusions, Prince Charming is Cinderella's, not yours, Eric-

Avianthan let out a shriek, which came out so suddenly that Eric yelped too. The other knights turned to him, bemused, as Eric struggled to control his horse who was going crazy.

"Avi! Stop it!" he whisper shouted, grabbed at the harness and pulled it back furiously, yet the horse only let out a loud neigh before crashing into the gelding in front of her, making Sebastian fall down to the ground with a screech.

"Eric! What the hell are you doing!? Control your mare!" the commander yelled.

"I'm trying!" Eric yelled back as he tugged the harness desperately. Why was this happening to him? He didn't know. But he was sure of one thing, which was the fact that his job was going to demise after whatever this catastrophe was.

"Avi please!" he cried out and hugged her neck, but in response, all that happened was more horses being toppled and more knights landing on their asses.

The horns stopped blowing, people were frozen to their spots as Avianthan brought caos to the whole parade. Eric wanted to cry, cause now everyone was looking at him. He was going to get fired. He was going to lose the only life-support he had.

"Avi, I-I beg you!!"

And everything halted.

Avianthan went stone. Eric went stone. So did the rest of the three orders and the minstrels who were playing flutes. The drums halted, people stopped breathing, horses stopped falling, people stopped blinking- everything was frozen.

The sky was dark. Thunder cracked.

Yet no one moved.

No one breathed.