My Throne of Light (Seven Knights Fanfiction)

Chapter 31: A Noble's Hand

[A/N]: Excuse the massive time skip. I just want to reach their supposed ages when I get to the Lord of Hell part. And I finally got to the 9th territory. I'm scared about my plot lmao. I should stop playing story mode for now?

Days. Weeks. Months. Years passed after the last gathering of the Seven Knights. Their loose yet vast information network fed them nothing but leads to thwart major enemy build up. They pacified the regions before the monsters cause more trouble than usual. They would meet in some missions, but they were never complete.

Rudy and Kris grew stronger than ever. They trained more each passing day, making sure to defend Terra and the Mystic Woods from anything. Commerce had begin to rise again as merchants safely reach and depart from the kingdom. Everything was going too well for everyone, but the Seven Knights still feared the advent of a hidden catastrophe.

However, this fear was not the one eating up Kris' free time. He had to skip missions and monster hunts with his friend for the last few days. Rudy kept on asking, but the noble was excluding the brunet from the situation he was facing. It did not seem to be serious, but the daily headaches and exhaustion was making the other Knight curious and worried. Kris was not supposed to hide anything from him after all.

"Kris!" Rudy greeted his friend at the market place where they happened to see each other. "It's not every day I see you here."

"It can't be helped." Kris answered before a deep sigh. He seemed to avert his gaze from the other, but he did otherwise. "Do you have a moment? I need your help with something."

"Anything."

"Kidnap me." The noble kept a straight face in response to Rudy's confused frown. However, his eyes widened as he caught glimpse of someone in the crowd. He growled at the brunet. "Now!"

Trusting his friend and his reflexes, Rudy grabbed Kris by the wrist and dragged him out of the market place. Seeing the Knights in a hurry made the people make way for them- even to the point everyone was worried what it might be about. It had been a long time since monsters got too near Kingdom Terra.

The two reached an alley far away from the market, leaning against opposite walls. They stopped to catch their breaths, only to laugh all of a sudden. Rudy sighed in relief as he heard his friend chuckle after a long while of frowning and annoyance. Kris noticed the body language, but he shrugged before looking away.

"What is really going on, Kris?" Rudy asked as he moved his head to catch the other's gaze. "Suddenly behaving like that. I thought we're almost adults now according to someone I know." He meant Kris.

"Don't remind me." The noble pressed his hand against his forehead and raked it through his hair. "Thinking about it makes me feel sick."

Rudy paused for a while before asking again. "Your twenty-first birthday is in five days, Kris. Why feel bad all of a sudden?"

Kris dropped his hand and sighed. He looked at his friend's curious and worried gaze. "Marriage. Mother wanted me to pick someone on my birthday. I don't want to pick anyone." He straightened his posture and walked ahead, followed by Rudy. "I don't have time for romance. I don't want to face a day I had to choose between a family and the Goddess' orders."

"Your parents must be so proud of you since you became a Knight of Light." Rudy chuckled. "They can't help but to show off and ask other families to bid using their daughters."

"Are you even listening to me?" Kris stopped and turned to the brunet with a glare.

"I am listening." The other Knight smiled. "Kris, we put our lives on the line most of the time. Having something to protect aside from the Goddess' will rewards us with a lot of things."

Kris only frowned deeper at Rudy. He then sighed and shook his head. "I knew it I shouldn't have talked to you about this." He continued walking. "Let's just talk about something else. What of Evan these days? I heard he wants to be a squire when he's in the right age."

"Well" -the brunet stammered, knowing he disappointed his friend- "yes, Evan did say he wants to be a squire someday. He comes to me from time to time to train with him. He has a big potential; he would be great just like his father."

"He trains with you? Around this time?"

"Are you planning to take it out on Evan?"

"I just need an alibi for disappearing while they shop for fabric." He glanced at Rudy who walked behind him. "I'm not going to hurt a child." He smirked. "I want to see his improvement-"

He was cut off when he felt something was coming from afar. Rudy held his friend's shoulder as if saying he felt it, too. The Knights looked at each other before running towards the post in the Mystic Woods. Did the Darkness make its appearance again after five years?