Knights of Shadows: Love and War

5

I felt everyone's eyes on me. I payed no mind. Right now what mattered was keeping the king safe. He looked terrified, red punch splattered on his formal attire. "Akito! You must explain this at once!" He said whining. I ran over to him, grabbing Saki, and began wiping his clothing. It'd be a shame for such craftsmen-ship to go to waste. "So... You've figured it out." Princess Mafuyu said glaring at me, her polite facade fading away.

Just like that someone had attempted to take the kings life from behind, I had prevented this from happening by knocking them out. It appeared that everyone in the premises were our enemy. "Waaah! Big brother are you okay!?" Saki said clinging to him. King Tsukasa composed himself. "Of course I ..." I pushed him out of the way of an oncoming knife. "Leave this to me your highness!" I said as I quickly got back up on my feet. King Tsukasa nodded and he and princess Saki hid under the table. I carefully guarded the table. "What is a knight without his sword?" Toya asked as he walked in from the balcony. He looked beautiful in the lighting of the ball room.

I smiled, pushing those thoughts away. "A hero." I said as I began to protect the king and the princess with my bare fists. I moved my fingers, signaling everyone to fight me.  The crowd ran toward me, and began to attack me, creating a cold gust of wind. It appeared they were skilled, every hit had a precise trajectory. However I dodged them easily. I jumped over someone's kick and pushed their head into the person beside them. I felt a drop of sweat trickle down my forehead as someone cut my cheek with a piece of glass on the floor. It was a really deep cut, that would most likely leave a scar. I grabbed the wrist of the woman who cut me and twisted it. After that I knocked her out from my behind. I swiftly maneuvered on top the round table and flipped off of it, giving my legs the opportunity to kick a couple people as I turned. I hopped upright and punched another guy. I felt adrenaline pumping through my veins as cold blood dripped down my head. I was hit in face when I wasn't looking. I felt the soft cloth on the table move and noticed someone trying to get to their highnesses. In response I took the person who hit me and threw them at the person trying to get under the table, this knocked them both out.

As time went on I eventually took out the whole group of people with only a few scrapes and bruises. The only people that had remained were Princess Mafuyu and Toya. "Toya, take him out." She said emptily. Toya stood still. I didn't want to have to fight him. I felt my heart squeeze. Toya silently picked Princess Mafuyu up, to my bewilderment. "Toya! What do you think you're doing! Kill him already! Kill him!" She screamed as Toya retreated out the window. I was relieved.

I removed the white cloth on the table, revealing King Tsukasa and Princess Saki holding onto each tower crying. My eyes softened at the sight. I moved the table, knelling down on my knees to reach over to them. I felt their intense shaking as I put my hands on their shoulders. "The fight is over, you're safe now." I said as they both hugged me. No words were exchanged, they just cried and cried. They were traumatized. I couldn't blame them, people they thought were their friends just tried to kill them. "I swear, as long as I am alive, no one shall harm you or our people." I said as I squeezed them tighter.

//Toya's Perspective

Toya stood outside the window, on the edge of the castle's roof with his princess in his arms. His hand was on her mouth, and she was desperately trying to get Toya to let her down. For some reason, Toya couldn't bring himself to fight Akito. There was something about him... The way he diligently protected his 'higher-up's" was ridiculous. Toya couldn't understand why Akito hadn't just run away. Tiya watched as Akito comforted his king and princess. Toya thought back to Akito's words. "A hero, huh?" He whispered before disappearing with Princess Mafuyu into the night.

He had to get these thoughts of his in a row, and fast. If they were serious about taking down the knights he couldn't hesitate when it came to Akito. Why had his heart ached when he thought about it..? He clicked his tongue, as he made plans for his next move.

// Akito's Perspective

After a while the siblings had fallen asleep on top of me. I sighed. Just my luck. My body was a little sore from the battle and I began to grow uncomfortable. I decided that I would endure it. "You may have been powerless today, but that's all the more reason to keep going..." I said closing my eyes. Those were the words that Ken had told me. Despite resting my eyes, I had stayed awake. I couldn't leave them unguarded. I heard footsteps. I felt relief as I recognized the sound of the boots that belonged to the knights. I opened my eyes. It was An.

"Akito..! What happened..?" She whisper-yelled. She looked around. "Why are all of the guests on the floor!?" I looked to the ground. "He's a monster..!" Someone could be heard groaning. An looked worriedly shocked. "...Huh..?" She stumbled. "Akito..? You did this?" She couldn't believe her eyes. I nodded. "Everyone in here had tried to assassinate the royal family, I did what I had to." I said just loud enough to be heard. An nearly fumbled backwards. "All on your own..? How is that even possible..?" She seemed disorientated. She shook her head. "Haha, guess I underestimated your skill! I guess that's cause you're so dense sometimes it's hard to tell!" She teased. "Hey..!" I grunted. "I'll tell the officials what happened, and we'll get a medical team for you and their highnesses." An said running out of the room.

I sighed. Where things meant to head from here..? Did this mean war? I guess that all depended on the king here... Who laid on my lap beside his sister like a small child. They reminded me of Ena. I remember when we would crawl into our father's lap during thunderstorms. My father never really appreciated it... However, he put up with it. Now I understood how he must've felt. I shook my head. Now isn't the time to be getting nostalgic. I needed to focus on remembering every detail of the night. Whatever information I could gather would help in our conflict with the rival kingdom. I bowed my head in thought as Saki and Tsukasa slept peacefully.