A different kind of Knight

Chapter 20

I broke under her gaze as I opted to try to convince her instead "I really do mean it! I do, okay! I ask the Emperor to caste me into the fires of the Warp if I ever decide to lie to you!" I waved my flat-palmed hands at her as I tried to sell the fact that I am sincerely amazed by the performance and I do not wish to deceive her. But it seems, that I do not have the makings of a peddler since she seems to regard the words that I am selling as if they were purposely sabotaged. Well, I can accept defeat. Like a cat, she is quite cunning, like a cat, indeed. I lower my head and slump shoulders in defeat. This, is the third defeat that I experienced in the entirety of my life. I await for her to execute my dignity. "Thank you. I guess." Hold on, d-did I hear that? That sound... It is the sound of... COMPLETE! AND! UTTER VICTORY!!! HAH! *Ahem.* I am unfaltering! Undefeated! "Luke?" Oh, Alice ended the celebratory-screeching that was taking place in my honor. Well, at least my hope and determination spiked, too bad it abruptly ended. I do not want my companion to stew in the awkward silence so maybe answer her call. "Yes?" A answer was shot at her as I composed myself with stoicism as if I hadn't had a single bit of joy even though it felt like I had thrown a party inside my skull. "You've been staring at the floor." Then, there was silence. An uncomfortable, lengthy, deafening, and an embarrassingly large amount of silence. That is until I decided that I wished to endure it no longer and speak. "What?" I asked, confusion and bewilderment evident. "Yeeeeeeah. for like. the past five minutes? Is there anything wrong with you? Do you just wanna... I dunno, take a break?" She asked, concerned over my behavior. Her voice is sickeningly sweet as she mocks me. She is requesting me to take a rest? She said that I was staring at the floor for 5 minutes‽ I am a noble! Not someone who would be weak enough to need rests, and definitely not someone who would stare at floors! NO MATTER BEWITCHING THE FLOOR MAY BE! Enough of this! I've greedily consumed those precious 5 minutes without remorse and I'm consuming more by each passing second in silence! I must apologize to her this instant! What more is that she asked if I am in need of a break! I have endured battles that are more grueling than this! "Alice! I am absolutely fine! Although I appreciate you for watching over my wellbeing! So I ask you to continue to give me your interpretation of Trelbjor! And I do apologize for wasting your time by staring at the floor and I will ensure that there will be no more staring-at-floor for me?" I finally spoke, completely evident that a boy raised in a life of constant wars and begging ensures nonexistent or horridly malformed social skills. "Okay? That's, Good I think." She paused for a while, processing the strange and peculiar behavior of the boy. She said, completely unsure how to look at him without further triggering any strange responses. Her commendation contains some surprise, probably due to the reason that I am extremely resilient and responsible. And off she goes to narrate. A few more minutes of her storytelling soon passed by without any sense of urgency as I drank in the details. This dragon was exiled to live inside this cave and Alice does not know. She stated that Trelbjor does not wish to say since it is a bad history. Trelbjor is a dragon who originated somewhere from the North. Although Alice provided a reason that the dragon cannot remember the name of his homeland and just simply calls it "North" since he was banished all the way here for such a long time. She also mentioned that he was nearing the end of his draconic lifespan and he wished that someone would at least remember him. Alice did say that he doesn't wield any weapon which puzzles me on how he was able to obtain and use a sword. Alice did also say that he swore to never harm anything ever again after what he lived through. That is everything that she had to say about him. However, I am still stupefied on how he was corrupted by one of the Dark Gods', specifically Khorne. If anything, I would wish to leave this cave immediately before we too succumb to corruption. "We should leave this place as quickly as we can! Best not to stay here too long, else we might risk becoming like him!" A command was hastily barked as I stood myself up. "NO. Don't use him like that please." She stood up, not to follow my orders to leave, but to disobey mine. I Know her friend dearly means a lot to her. But I will not shy away from using him as an example to save her. Besides, Trelbjor is dead but we aren't and he would surely be glad to save a life at whatever the cost. Much like any fine knightly scions raised properly. And not Just any life but his friend's life. "Alice! Do you know what made him this way‽ What made him into a monster like that‽" I turned around and gave my reasons to her. She faintly uttered something that was inaudible as she stared at the cave floor. A weak gust of wind blows past us, making eerie noises as it slides over jagged rocks and pits. Her loose and worn-out red and blue robe slowly flutters. I must push on, I must do it in order to save us both. "Alice. Look over there." My hands gesture over to the mountain of corpses that we passed by earlier. "Do you know who did it?" I ask her even though the answer is quite obviously lying in halves in front of her. "Don't. Please." Alice pleads, painfully sad at the sight of her dear friend being used as an example of dangerous evilness in contrast to how she remembered him as the example of pure compassion. Fractures slowly start to form between the two of us. She needs not to deceive herself any longer, Truth shall be told no matter how much it hurts. "Trel-" She knew the answer, I knew the answer. But I wasn't able to finish as a shrill noise interrupted me, that shrill noise was a screech of hurt all bottled up then finally released as the meager yellow furred vessel exploded. "AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!! LUKE CAN YOU PLEASE JUST SHUT THE FUCK! UP!" Alice no longer resembles the naive friend that I first met as she stood up and bore her fangs at me. Tears were flowing down from her face as there was a sheen of wet fur under her two eyes. Outside light illuminates the damage I've done to her. Have I gone too far? "You've gone too far." The nobleman spat the answer to question meant for no-one, he re-emerges from the depths of my mind. Why does he fight on the side of the abhuman, am I not the proud descendant of this long dead ungrateful nobleman who insults me? Does he forget the battle recently fought? The threat of Chaos is very much real and my actions are justified! "Well then, show this so-called threat to me!" The nobleman questioned me in a mocking manner, his words stung like needles laced with disrespect. I will show you! I will show all of you how wrong you are!  Listen! Listen to the accursed whispers that are to blame and not me! Silence. Where are the whispers? WHERE! ARE! THE! WHISPERS! My fists slowly clenched and unclenched. Fucking Dark Gods, just when someone goes looking do they suddenly hide. I stood there silently, unmoving, and extremely frustrated at everything as I listened to the one argument for my actions. Nothing, the damned whispers aren't there anymore. All I hear is consequences of actions in the form of a very hurt friend, silent judgemental stares from ancestral eyes that are long dead, and the noiseless flexing of overstressed muscle fibers as my fingers push their nails harder against the metal of the gloves. "It seems that your actions have done more harm than good. Be more observant next time of my lessons, brat." The nobleman says to me not without any care for my suffering as he bid farewell. He could've warned me earlier but he didn't. Was this retribution for that time I refused to listen? An image of an elderly Knight Pilot walking away flashes in my mind. He bears the family crest and has both of his hands behind his back as his spine is bent to look like the typical old man, then he flashes me a grin and off he goes as he marches into the swirling sea of thoughts and memories. The thought of eating a live and primed grenade just to see this bastard ancestor of mine cry for mercy is very... Tempting. And he also left when I needed him the most, leaving me alone with her. What do I do now? She is crying and also angered at me, no manuals or doctrines can help me. Wait, I know what to do now! A memory from ages ago resurfaces. "12 thrones and you can kill anything with yor bare-handses!" A portly beggar wearing tattered clothes offers a shifty orphan left with no family a lesson in hand-to-hand fighting as he was walking around the ill-maintained streets of a hive-world on a quest to find anyone willing to hire a Imperial Knight. The boy, amazed by the beggar's claim, excitedly handed him 12 thrones. The man struggles to stand up as he wobbles left and right, his breath of poorly made amasec. He grabs the boy's shoulders and leans in, his horrid breath and dirty face instills fear into the boy as he begins to try to forcibly pry the rough stained hands to no avail. Sweat pours out and liquefies the grime and dirt on the beggar's face, giving him dirty streaks, then he burps. A gust of vomit-inducing gas blows over the boy's face, he struggles not to vomit. "Olright, so heeerree, IS THE LESSON! Young... Boye." I made the first move, the first step. "First lesson is uhhh. Get close!!" The beggar yells in drunken stupor. *Krsh.* Her focus shifted to my foot, she glared at it. "Don't come any closer." She growls at me. Another step towards her will end in diplomatic failure. Must reevaluate and adjust to accomplish objectives. Suggested course of action: talk. "Alice. Please. Can we talk this over? I want to apologize. " I say to her began to walk towards her. I know that she requested for me to stay where I stood, but I shall make a gamble on this move. Alice notices what I am up to and began to walk backwards. "NO! I told you, do not move!" She yells at one but I stubbornly refuse to follow her orders. I began to walk faster and so did she. Then we began to jog, run, then finally sprint. "ALICE! PLEASE!" I gasped in between breaths as I ran after her. she's slowing down and as the feline's breathing is becoming ragged and noisy. She cannot endure this any longer. And so will I.