Chosen by the Sky

Chapter 19 - Trouble

As soon as we arrived back in the Rainbow Kingdom, I bolted to my house.

"Wha- Sabre, wait up!"  M called impatiently, jogging after me.  "I thought we were getting a sword?"

"We are!"  I chirped, leaving the door open as I scaled up to my attic.  Dust and cobwebs had covered this place since I first moved in, and I never had the heart to clean them up.  If anyone noticed, I'd say they added to the aesthetic.  

In the corner of the room were a few chests stacked haphazardly on top of one another.  I didn't have much use for them, as I didn't own much stuff.  After a few paranoid weeks in the kingdom, however, I had bought an extra sword to keep up there, just in case.  In a kingdom full of steves, you never knew when you might need a sword.

I pulled the sword out triumphantly, sending dust flying.  My smile faded, however, when I realized the blade was not only caked in dust, but also seemed to be dull.  It would need a little elbow grease before it was fit for battle.

Sighing, I pulled the sheath out of the chest, slung the sword over my back, and descended the ladder to my room.  I had the supplies for this in the chest by my bed, since I took good care of the sword I usually used.  Still, M might have to wait a bit.  Downstairs, I could hear the Red Steve close the door behind him as he came in.

I plopped down on the floor of my room, beginning to clean and sharpen the sword.  As I scraped a stone along the edge, I could barely hear the commotion going on downstairs.

"Hey!  I don't think you should-  wait!  What are you doing?"

Satisfied, I pocketed the stone, moving on to a thick cloth.  I scrubbed at the flat part of the blade, trying to bring out its natural shine.  The cloth quickly stained brown, and I sighed.  How had it already become so filthy?  I swear the sword wasn't that old.

A hand rested on my shoulder, and I flinched, instinctively raising the half-cleaned blade and swinging it behind me.  It clashed hard against a white shield, bringing me back to my senses.

"Don't do that."  I frowned at Light, who looked mildly amused.  "You of all steves should know not to startle a man when he's cleaning his blade."

"Why do you think I had my shield out?"  The pale steve moved the shield aside, setting it back into his inventory.  "Anyway, I wanted to talk to you."  He leaned in closer.  "Something about tracking down murderous steves on your own?"  I gawked at him.

"How did you-"

"Indigo Leader said you were about to get yourself into trouble."  Light explained.  "He came to tell me about an hour ago.  I heard the lightning, so I figured you were stopping by."  I let out a long, annoyed sigh.

"Tattletale."

Light smirked just as M climbed up the stairs.

"Are you allowed to enter people's houses any time you want?"

Given that M had come into this house several times without my permission, I didn't see why he was so upset that Light did as well.

"Perks of running the kingdom's guard."  Light shrugged.  "Sorry, Messenger, but I'm making sure he doesn't run off and do something stupid."

"Hey!"  I complained.  "Who saved you from Sol, again?"

"So what are you doing?"  He asked, ignoring my question.  "Did something happen to your sword?"

"This is for M."  I said.  "After I clean it up, of course."

"Here."  Before I could protest, Light snatched the sword from my lap and began to clean it himself, working much faster than I had been.  I guess since he trained with Yellow Steves, he had to keep up with them.  While he worked, Light cast a dubious glance toward M.  "I didn't know you could fight."