Author Games: A Knight's Valor

Group Six: Momo Seafare, Alexis Rovel, Oak Agra Kaci

It had gone completely dark that night. There were no stars save for one that was slowly getting eaten by the clouds, and whatever's left of the moon had morphed into a thin smile, barely providing any light for the people beneath it. Somehow, a few torches scattered on the racks, their fire flickering in and out of existence and licking at the air around, aided the competitors.

Alexis took a deep breath and scanned her surroundings. The other competitors stood beside her with anxiety as the announcer started to arrange the groups and their jobs for tonight's challenge. Well, if there was something she was sure of, she absolutely did not want to be tied up. "Momo Seafare as the tied knight, Oak Agra Kaci as the helper, and Alexis Rovel as the blindfolded climber."

Wait, what? Alexis gulped, her fingers twitching. She, however, had no time to react when a large guard blocked her way. "Come with me, Miss Rovel. Miss Kaci and Miss Seafare are already waiting for you."

Of course, they just had to be. Gulping, she trained her eyes on the wooden door that stood on her right. She flinched. "Well, here we go..."

Before crossing the threshold, the guard wrapped Alexis's eyes with a fabric. It rubbed against her pale cheeks, making her scowl in irritation. "There you go, Miss. Just walk straight and you'd be fine."

"Wait! But -" Darkness clouded her vision and Alexis stumbled through the seemingly wide corridor. It seemed out of place, but the thought that had crossed her mind made its way deeper into her brain: There's no use blindfolding me. Alexis huffed, although her voice came out too shaky than how she'd planned it to be. It's already too dark in that clearing. "What the hell have I gotten myself into -" She cursed, slamming into someone. Alexis tripped backwards.

Oak shuffled forward from Alexis's weight, and soon enough she was hoisting the blindfolded girl up. "Hey there," she said, voice soft and cautious as if the littlest sound could hurt the silence. "I'm supposed to help you for tonight. I'm Oak."

Oak smiled, and then shook her head at the incredulity of it all. How could Alexis even respond with a piece of cloth over her eyes?

"Um... hey? Wherever you are, I'm Alexis," the said woman waved her hands up in the air to nothing.

And how could she even be considered a helper, when her main purpose there is to tell lies and do the exact opposite?

When the heavy doors had slammed close and the two were finally outside, Momo, who was sat on top of the rack with rope tying her down, snapped her head up. The night was dark, yes, but it wasn't to the point wherein they couldn't see something from a distance away.

But Momo didn't see the girls until they're well beside the rack.

How could she, when her eyes still hadn't healed completely?

For the time being, she was seeing the world with squinted eyes and a broken soul. No matter how many times she'd tried, she still wasn't going to get used with this form of vulnerability. Momo struggled to stare down when she heard the noises beneath her. Sighting two figures, she swallowed before shouting, "Okay. Just listen to me, Alexis! I'd like you to move left, there's a good hand hold from my view!"

Oak produced a coy smile before whispering into Alexis's ear, "She's wrong. Go right."

Unsure, Alexis turned her head upward in Momo's direction. "Are you sure?"

"I am!" Momo frowned. She knew the three of them were meant to do this trust exercise, but Alexis should listen to her. Knights were meant to be trustworthy throughout their training.

Oak turned to Alexis. "Do you want to listen to instructions from someone way up there or listen to someone who's on ground level?"

Alexis furrowed her eyebrows, wanting to just wrench the blindfold from her eyes and take a better look on who really was telling the truth. Her lips shaped into a thin line, but after pondering for a while, she turned right. Might as well listen to someone who was assigned to be her helper, right?