Of A King's Knight and Tears

A Trusted General

Listen closely, Diarmuid

If you are ever in danger,

Only kill the ones that need to be killed.

Do not kill for power.

Do not kill for authority.

Do not kill to make others fear you.

Only kill if you have to,

For most of the time you can get around taking another's life

The warriors walked up the table, trying to find the card that had their name on it. The table was enormous. It looked as if it could seat a whole village. On it, candles, silverware, and plate mats decorated it. The people, who looked to be from the royal council, looked at them with welcoming smiles as they walked towards their seats. "Your seats are right beside the king at the end of the table", one of the nobles told them. They nodded and made their way to the other end.

Diarmuid paused before sitting in his seat. By the last plate mat on the right side of the table was a small called that had Diarmuid Ua Duibhne written on it in a fancy font. He wondered if someone was fooling with him. Why was he seated beside the king? "Please, take a seat, Diarmuid. Don't worry. That is your seat", Jeanne reassured him from the other side of the table with a welcoming smile.

"But, why am I placed beside the king?" the raven-haired Irishman questioned. Jeanne suddenly giggled, as she took the seat that was placed beside the queen.

"Because, you're her new retainer, silly. You have to sit beside the king, so make sure you get used to it. You'll be doing it a lot in the future", the Frenchwoman giggled. Diarmuid nodded in response, as he sat down beside Cu, who was seated to the left of him. The man who Jeanne called Zoal soon sat down one seat away from Jeanne, leaving a seat open for someone else. It seemed that he had left to go elsewhere for a bit before arriving at the dining room.

"I see that you finally took your cloak off, Zoal", Jeanne stated, as she realized that his face was finally uncovered. Instead, a light brown beanie-hat was placed on his head instead of the hood he wore to cover his head earlier. The man had long, black, fluffy hair and demonic red eyes just as the general he had followed in the chosen warriors' waiting room earlier. "May I ask where Alo made her way to?"

Zoal looked at the blonde. "She told me that she was going out to take a walk through the woods for a bit. She will arrive here soon", he informed her.

"Um, may I ask a question, ma'am?" one of the other male warriors, the one called Weston, spoke up.

"Of course, ask away", the short female nodded.

"Thank you. My question is who exactly is Alodine? I know that she is a general, but what kind of authority does she have? She seems to have quite a bit", Weston said.

"Ah yes, Alo does have quite a bit of authority due to being one of, if not the, highest ranking general here. But as you heard in her and Gawain's little argument, she has restrictions due to not being born in Britain as do I. The only difference between our roles is that I'm mostly here to support King Arturia, while she is here to fight."

"She seems kind of...scary", the knight named Manning added. Jeanne started to giggle.

"I hear that quite a lot. She is very intimidating, but that's one of the reasons the former king, Uther, hired her. She is very good at leading others which is why she holds such a high position in the army. But, it seems for that same reason she is not trusted by some of the royal court and especially the queen. They do not think that her heart is in the right and that she could be a threat to the country which is another reason why she has her limits", the woman sitting across from them responded.