Black Crystal Part 1 - The Origin

Chapter Twenty Two ~ A Knight's Legacy

November 12th, 1809.

Capitol City of Portland, Oregon Province.

They spent four peaceful days in the Castle of Portland. Most of the time, Garen would leave with Lenora and Lucius to sightsee around the massive city, but secretly, Garen was hoping they'd run into Peter somewhere. He had been missing the whole time. Just about every day brought something new for them. Different landmarks, different people, different activities, different foods to try, the list was seemingly endless. But there was one specific thing Lenora would constantly bother Garen about.

"Why don't you get along with my brother?" she asked as she, Garen, and Lucius walked through a quaint park in the downtown area. "Seriously; all you two ever do is argue. It's enough to convince me that you guys are really brothers."

"I honestly have no idea," Garen chuckled. "Xander and I just—we don't agree on a lot of things."

"How would you even know?" Lenora scoffed, gently shoving him. "You guys hardly talk, anyways. I'd be surprised if you even knew what his favorite color was."

"Yes, because that's the true test of friendship, my dear," Lucius replied with an exaggerated and posh version of his English accent. "Once thou knowest the color that appeals to thine friend's eyes the most, then thou art sure to be, what you children call, 'besties'."

"Nobody in this era says that, Lucius," Garen laughed. "Not for another two hundred years or so. I mean, what?" The three of them laughed a bit before their silence returned. Garen was worried about Peter. He's been missing for days, he thought to himself. Where has he gone...?

They approached the Castle once their walk was over, and at the front, King Nohr awaited their arrival with a solemn expression. "We're holding a meeting," he told them. "Could you three please join us?"

Garen, Lucius, and Lenora exchanged glances and followed King Nohr into the massive Castle. The silence was oddly tense, as if everyone had a feeling of concern. Nohr led the group into the throne room, where Maevis, Xander, and Rin already stood. "What's this all about?" asked Lenora. As soon as she asked, Xander crossed his arms and turned his gaze away from Garen. Maevis sighed and put a hand on Xander's shoulder.

"We came up with an idea," she began. "Garen, you'll be living with us now, is that right?" Garen nodded in response, and Maevis continued speaking. "So, we were thinking of sending you on a quick mission."

"A mission, your highness?" Garen slightly tilted his head.

"It's a tradition," Maevis continued. "We want you to become a knight. We wouldn't force you to, but after the journey you went through with Lenora, I have complete faith that you can become one of our greatest knights." She turned around and put her hand on Xander's back. "You'll be going with Xander here on a few missions throughout the next few weeks, and you'll have to work together." The room went silent as Garen and Xander looked at each other. There were sparks flying simply in their cold stares. Maevis chuckled nervously. "So, Garen, would you like to join us as a Knight of the Royal Guard?"

Garen looked over to Lenora as if to see if she had an answer, and she nodded. Finally, Garen nodded hesitantly and smiled at Maevis. "I'll do it," he said. "We'll see how this goes."

"Wonderful," Maevis said with a kind smile. "Now, I hate to ask, but could everyone except for Lenora, Xander, and Nohr leave the room for just a moment? And before you leave, Garen, could you tell us what your surname is?"

"It's Leonhart, your highness," Garen replied. "Garen Leonhart." Maevis went silent and nodded.

"Thank you, Garen," she said. "Alright, the meeting is adjourned. For now, that is. We'll meet back before the start of this coming mission." Everyone but the Royal Family left the throne room, and as soon as the door closed, Nohr immediately broke the silence.

"It's him!" he hissed. "Don't you remember that Anita and John had a son twelve years ago?"

"I knew it," Maevis sighed, pacing around the throne room. "I knew he was carrying Anita's sword, I just knew it."

Lenora and Xander looked at their parents with confusion. "Excuse me," Lenora began, "but could you guys fill us in? What in the world are you talking about?"

"Do you remember Mr. Sleadd?" asked Nohr. "Your mentor? He was married to Anita Leonhart, perhaps the greatest knight that ever fought for our kingdom, and they are Garen's parents."

"That kid?" Xander scoffed with his arms crossed. "There's no way he's the son of Anita. You guys told us stories of the cool things Anita did! How is Garen, of all people, the son of someone so awesome?"

"I'll have you know that Garen saved my life," Lenora scoffed, crossing her arms as well while she looked away from her brother. "Multiple times. Perhaps he's even more worthy of becoming a knight than you are, Xander." Immediately, Xander scoffed and turned towards her.

"Wh-whatever!" he stammered defensively.

"Lenora, Xander, stop it," Maevis said with a stern tone of voice. Once the throne room went quiet, she sighed and put her hands on her hips as she continued talking. "John's been missing for a long time. If we could find him, then we could prove to Garen that he really does have biological family still out there. Xander, you'll be going on some retrieval quests with him starting tomorrow morning."

"But why?" Xander groaned.

"Hey!" Maevis snapped, and immediately, Xander regained a solemn composure. When he did, Maevis continued to speak. "We need you two to get along if he's going to live here, and I'll talk to you about it tonight, Xander, alright?" Xander nodded and sighed.

"Well, what's the first mission?" he asked.

"A pretty simple one," Maevis replied. "You guys are just gonna need to head to one of the residential districts to the south, namely, the Tualatin Villa. There are reports of thefts occurring often in the area, and we need you guys to investigate."

"Not much to go off of, is it?" Xander chuckled. "Do you have any more information you could give us about the situation?"

"Just one. It is said that a group of people often meet in the center of the Villa, talking amongst each other. Some of the witnesses say they've seen those people holding goods that they recognize—stolen belongings from friends and families."

"So, there's a chance we'll have to get into a fight, huh?" Xander grinned a bit. "Well, I guess this is the perfect opportunity to show him who's the boss around here."

"Not so fast," Nohr said, finally chiming in. "This is intended to be a team-building activity, my friend. You and Garen are gonna have to settle whatever animosity you two share for each other and learn to get along, you got that?" Xander nodded, but the room went silent for a bit.

"Did you just address your own son by saying 'my friend'?" Maevis laughed. After a bit of time, the rest of them laughed along.