evangelion unit-01 completely destroyed of during the third battle of the twelfth angel, codenamed leliel, shinji would have died with his EVA if not for the quick action of evangelion unit-13, of the parallel rebuild universe, but why was unit-13...
to the princess's surprise, captain lichtenwald had taken two weeks leave after the royal ball, ended, he had gone to what her father called sacred grounds, matthius at her request had brought her there, to find a place that she could only consider as beautiful
it was traditional japanese house, surrounded by a well kept garden
"i cannot take you further, remain on the clear path do not deviate, and welcome to my lord's haven" matthius said, as he turned and left her, she walked up the path to find a door open and the captain overlooking the garden
"welcome" i said
she noticed his form of dress, and was confused having never seen cloths like it before
"are those from your original world" she asked
"everything you see here, is traditional to my native nation" i replied, i gestured to the step that led onto the engawa, which held a pair of geta
"please remove your boots, and join me" i said, she tilted her head but did as she was asked, taking off her boots climbing onto the engawa, and walking into the room before sitting down cross-legged on a cushion
"do you remember what happened three years ago" i asked
"the near rebellion that was quelled by your quick action, in saving both my father and the nation from civil war" she asked, i nodded
"that was the day, that this land became sacred ground, the only place in the kingdom, i was also named your father's executioner that day" i said, her eyes widened
"tell me how much has your father told you about me" i asked
"he told me your an outworlder, and that you earned your title of being one of the most respected and decorated officers in our navy" she said, i nodded
"true, what if i told you, i am also by no means a leader, i am a follower, i take orders better then i give them" i said, she looked towards him surprised
"oh yes, i was enrolled into the academy, in the hopes that i'd gain some confidence in myself, and technically i did, tell me what is the highest praise one can get in the kingdom" i asked
"a recommendation from you" she said
"that is the second highest, it's also the significantly more common, no the highest, is actually getting a member of my crew in your service, if you have done that, that means you have earned my utmost respect and my trust, and by extension that of the nations, how many of my men have been transferred do you know" i asked, she shook her head
"only three, one was transferred to take charge of the heracles, in my stead, one resides with count ducain, and one trains the homunculi, and does other miscellaneous tasks, but she only takes orders from the high-king and myself, do you know why i tell you this" i asked, she shook her head, i stood and gestured for her to follow as we made our way to another room, which held a flag with a symbol upon it
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"i was told to design a banner, for myself, i was given one stipulation, it must be designed according to the practices of my homeland, thus i came up with this, everyone else believes my symbol to be 001, which is painted onto the portside of the reliant, but that is false this is my symbol
"i have yet to raise my banner, for i have no reason to do so, i have no army, despite your father wishing for me to become a king under his rule, i have no wish to do so, i do not wish to go any further up the totem pole, i will do my duty, to my current role, but i am not an ambitious man" i said, as i grabbed a cushion that was at in a side closet and put it on the mat before sitting upon it, she took one and did the same
"so, why are you a captain then, if this is the case why don't you just serve someone else" she asked
"i made a promise" i said
"a promise" she asked
"my father signed me up for rider training, as part of his way to give me more of a backbone, his words, it didn't work exactly how they intended" i said
"aren't you supposed to claim a dragon as part of the requirements to graduate" she asked
"i did" i said, she noticed in that moment his voice lost all emotion
"she dead" i said, after a moment
"i'm sorry" she said
"i was going to marry her, of course i'd release her from the bond first, but i had every intention of making that woman my wife, she made me the man i am now" i said
"what happened" she asked
"the war with the viratians, when those bastards attempted to take our territory, i assume you heard about the massacre that happened in the territory" i replied
"that's extremely classified, you were a part of it" she asked
"a part of it, i was the entire cause of the massacre, or rather my djinn was, they took the woman i loved from me i was going to take everything from them, and i did, it was the first and last time, i ignored his majesties orders, and it was purely out of a blind rage, my punishment was simple, my current assignment is my punishment i was assigned a backwater garrison, and was told to stay there, the problem that no one saw coming, was that to me this wasn't a punishment it was a damn reward, everyone expected the heir of a duke, to be ambitious, and my father believed that i had gained some, with my treatment to syrania, they could be no more wrong" i said
"you truly cared for her" she said
"she was everything i ever wanted and needed, and more, only two people know this besides your father, my XO matthius and his fiance, they continue a tradition among my crew that syrania started, that tradition is why, it is so hard for new officers to find their place on the reliant for more the a temporary posting, matthius uses his authority as my XO to veto any that do not take the initiation" i said
"the initiation" she asked
"i can say no more, part of the initiation is for you to figure out it's first steps, it will be especially difficult for you" i said
"what do you mean" she asked
"why would you wish to be a part of my crew, no you want something else, from me personally, complete the initiation, i cannot, will not claim you as my dragon otherwise" i said
