(So this story is a secret belated birthday project I'm making for my friend ^.^ It's probably only going to be a few chapters long but it's for him anyways, yeah? x3)
The knight yawned as he sat up, stretching his arms above his head and groaning as he stood. He moved to his small desk, cluttered with coins and odd smallstuff, like bolts and feathers he had collected. He swept them aside and looked at the strange letter on his desk. 'To A Knight,' it began. He raised an eyebrow and opened it up, seeing small tears and stains on the paper. It had obviously been handled before, and poorly at that. He looked at the writing on the paper, smudges from the person's hand messing up the ink.
'To A Fellow Knight,
This is a very serious task. It could mentally scar you, marr your physical abilities, or even kill you. If you don't feel up to the task, do not read ahead. There is nothing for you here. Pass this note along to the next knight you know, and so forth. I am a princess, held captive in my father's castle. He has offered a prince my hand in marriage and I must let you know, I'm only almost eighteen and have no intention of letting him do this to me! So I have decided to send a letter to the king's former kings and knights. I'm due to leave the castle to some hidden place that even I don't know in seven day's time, so I need help as soon as anyone can travel. If you thought you could do this task but know now that you can't, then leave this letter to another knight.
-Princess Niki'
The knight's face was still for a few minutes, but then he smiled slightly, faintly remembering seeing the princess long ago.
'Apprentice Cini, you have deemed yourself worthy to join in the fields and castles as a knight. Do you have anything to add, Princess Niki?" The young girl looked up from her book, glancing at Cini and smiling shyly. "N-no. He's all well."
Cini hummed to himself and stood up, looking around for anything he might need. He glanced at the map on one side of his room, covering the large wall entirely, showing him the island that was called Garrib. He had marked the places he would ever need to know: The king's castle, many villages, and his own house, a small red dot. He nodded as he looked at the map. To get to the king's castle as fast as he could, he would need to head directly northwest, through the uncharted part of his map, only labeled as 'Swamp?', because most people believed it so. He took a nervous swallow, looked at the letter, and took a small bag that he filled with silver coins. Cini went down the stairs, trying to figure out who was still home. He shared a home with two other friends. His 'friend' Adam was a boastful and slightly louder than the average fellow who worked as a merchant to sell people near-useless items. His other friend, D'andre, was hardly ever at home, working from village to village to plan parties and perform at concerts with his musical instruments. Cini was fairly certain that D'andre might decide to leave the town. He sighed at the thought, and then went down. Adam was sitting in the kitchen, his feet on the table while he ate an apple and read a newspaper. "Hey," he began, narrowing his eyes at the letter in Cini's hands. "Where you headed off to?" Cini sighed, tempted to ignore him and walk out. If he did that, however, Adam was likely to follow. "On a knight's quest." Adam let out a huff of laughter. "You're not a knight." Cini turned to face him, annoyed. "Once a knight, always a knight." Adam shook his head. "You gave up on it, didn'tcha?" Cini grit his teeth.
"Once a knight, always a knight."
"Once a knight, no longer a knight."
"Am."
"Aren't."
"Am."
"Aren't!"
"I am a knight! I have never, ever given up on my oath. This means that I am still a knight, however distant. Tell D'andre I'll be back sooner or later." Cini stormed out the door with that, leaving Adam staring after him with a scowl in his face.
(So sorry that's so short, but I've been itching to get this out to people and it'll just let others talk to me 'bout this, x3)
