[Completed] Legend of the Five Knights I: Rise of a Guardian Angel

Episode 66: Distance

[Imperial Palace- Dungeon]

Kiara stared at the sleeping Etsuo. He looked so innocent. It was hard for her to believe that he was their enemy, not to mention that he had come up with the plan to infiltrate the castle in the hope of destroying it from within.

"S-sis, I-I brought you s-some breakfast," Dan said as he came downstairs. "I-I brought him some too, thought that he m-might wanna eat."

"Thanks, lil bro," Kiara said, running over to grab the plate from him. They were pancakes with slices of banana and mango with fluffy whip cream. "I'm sure he'll enjoy this."

"Do I smell banana?" Etsuo said in a sleepy voice as he rubbed his eyes.

"He w-woke up!" Dan said, startled. "W-will he attack us l-like that f-fox." He stared at his hands. They were shaking. Almost getting killed had changed something in him.

Kiara shook her head as she opened the cell and held the plate at the monkey boy.

Etsuo stared at her in awe. "For me?"

"Well, only this one, because this other one is for Dan and me."

The young man snatched the plate from her. He shoved the pancakes into his mouth with his bare hands.

"H-he really is a monkey boy," Dan said with a hint of laughter. He was keeping some distance from Etsuo.

Etsuo stopped. "Why?"

Kiara tilted her head at him. "Why what?"

He closed his eyes in an attempt to stop his eyes from watering further than they already were. "Why are you nice to me? I'm a spy. Shouldn't I have been executed by now?"

The tomboy sat down on his bed and stared at his closed eyes. "Princess Rosalba asked her father to not kill you. It seemed that she wanted to talk to you. I think out of everyone, she was the most hurt."

Etsuo opened his golden eyes. "Rosa did?" A pencil-thin smile formed on his lips. "That naive princess." He locked eyes with her. "You are the same, coming into this cell with your guard down. I can grab you in a chokehold and knock your brother over there and bolt out of this dungeon."

Kiara snickered. "The fact you haven't already do so tells me that you either don't plan to or cannot do so. The latter is especially true since you lack your abyssmal powers," she said, pointing at his wrists. On them were purple cuffs with bits of chain dangling down from them. "I think that I'll be able to knock you out the way you are now."

The monkey boy smiled shyly. "Yeah, probably."

The girl leaned in closer, causing Etsuo to blush. "Say, you are far kinder than your partner in crime. Is Roa a bad influence on you?"

"Huh?"

She rubbed her forehead and laughed. "Silly me, one who is influenced isn't always aware." She sighed and stood up. "Well, I better get out of this cell, I really am letting my guard down."

Etsuo looked back down at his plate and devoured the rest of the pancakes as she had Dan close the cell behind her.

Kiara put her hands behind her back. "You were forced into this war, weren't you? You're just like Dan here, you hate fighting."

Dan nodded as he stood at a distance. "Y-yeah. Y-you don't s-seem like a fighter."

Etsuo nodded. "I won't deny it, unlike my ma and pa, I hate it." He glanced up at the gray ceiling. "I only accepted coming here for three reasons."

"I assume that one of those was because of Roa," Kiara said, looking to the side.

The monkey boy grinned. "Yeah."