The Midnight Flare

Another Start. These Are Getting Old.

The king opens his mouth to speak, but is interrupted by the door opening. A girl about my age comes into the room on horseback. Behind her on the horse is a very dizzy Blake.

"Cecilia," Chris says. "How many times have I told you not to ride that damn horse in here?"

"Aw, c'mon! You said to be back with him fast!" She says in a high pitched voice. Her hair is a pale blue and tied back in a ponytail. Her eyes are pale pink.

"I think my stomach moved in with my heart," Blake says as he dazedly gets off the horse. "But my arm feels brand new!" Sure enough, it looks like he never was even attacked.

"Wait, what had happened to his arm in the first place?" Cecilia asks. "That arm was almost mangled."

"Let's just say, a no good, evil, traitorous, little piece of shit got what she deserved after attacking this guy over here," I say. Cecilia looks at me. Or should I say, examining me.

"When's the last time you bathed?" Cecilia asks. Blake has to cover his mouth to keep from laughing.

"Um, three years ago," I say with a shrug.

"No wonder it looks like someone put you in furnace." I look down at myself. My t-shirt and jeans were originally black, so the only reason I look burnt is because of the burnt away bits towards the bottom. I look back up.

"I see no problem here," I say. "My outfit doesn't really change color often, so what's the problem?"

"You would look a lot better in clothes that looked complete." Demi walks over and stops right next to me. "And your lady here looks like she had a leather jacket, but she walked through a forest of spinning blades with it on."

Demi does in fact have on a leather jacket over a black t-shirt. And Cecilia is slightly right when it comes to the fact that it looks like she's been cut. She has on an intact pair of black jeans.

"Wait, why the jacket?" Blake says.

"Because someone just decided to drop it and I picked it up. I thought it looked good on me," Demi says. Cecilia looks at us in disgust.

"I swear I need to leave before the dirt migrates," Cecilia says before getting back on the horse.

"Don't you dare ride that horse!" Chris yells. "The other two still have injuries! And aren't you a maid? You're supposed to help visitors of the castle. Not judge their appearance!"

"Oh come on!" Cecilia yells back. "You know I don't like helping guys! This one was already a mess, I don't even know where to begin with this one!"

"That's sexist," Blake says. We all look at him. Cecilia glares at him. I just start laughing. When I'm done, everyone looks at me.

"What?" I ask. "It's funny."

"Anyways, I don't even want to begin to help this one," Cecilia says.

"I don't think anyone here gives a fuck what you prefer," Memphis says. "You should do what you're supposed to, not bitch about it."

Cecilia looks around at everyone. "Fine! I'll do it! But someone better pay me extra for this!"

- - - -

I'm taken down one of the bedroom halls, where Cecilia tells me to pick something from a wardrobe. The wardrobe is about the size of a small house.

"Just pick something you like, it's all fireproof anyways, so you won't ruin it," She says in a very annoyed tone.

As I look through the rainbow of outfits, I decide on a deep red shirt, a pair of black jeans, and some black combat boots (what? I love dark colors). As I pick them out, she takes them from me and points to a door.

"Now, go bathe. Your clothes will be out here waiting for you. Fortunately, we have a guest room." I nod and walk into the bathroom.

It's fairly large for a bathroom, though it looks pretty normal. Except for the shower. The shower is almost the size of the room itself. Not to mention the sliding glass door and jets everywhere. There was barely anywhere to step, let alone the many settings for each and every one! I was like I was dodging knives with one setting and sitting in the middle of a fountain with another.

I don't know how long I took, but when I got out, I threw on the clothes I picked out. They fit perfectly. I combed my hair back (as soon as I found a comb that didn't have settings) and walked out. I'm immediately met with Blake.

"Hey, um, I never thanked you," Blake says, scratching the back of his head.

"For what?" I ask.

"For saving my ass from that creepy bitch!" He says, his voice cracking slightly. "If you wouldn't have showed up, I would have either bled out or been gutted. Thank you."

"No need to thank me," I say to him. "Honestly, you were the only one I trusted there. If anything, I needed to return the kindness." He nods.

"Can you teach me?" He asks out of nowhere.

"Teach you what?"

"Anything," He says as he looks down at the floor. "I've always been the one to drag everyone behind. I thought maybe if you helped me, I could do something for once." I nod and motion for him to follow me. We dash to the sparring room. Nobody's inside.

"So, what did you want to learn?" I ask him. He walks in the room and looks over the weapons. He picks up a katana. It looks to be made of steel.

"Swords. Can you do swords?" He asks. I nod and pick up a similar katana, made of steel as well.

"So, what do you know about swords? Mainly, what kind of sword are you using?" I ask him. He stares at the blade for a second before looking up at me.

"This is a katana. It's made to be used with two hands, but can be used with one if handled correctly," He spats out all at once.

"Ok, good. Do you know how to handle it?" I ask. He fumbles around with it a minute before I walk over and show him how to handle it. I teach him the basics of handling and swinging the blade before we actually spar.

"Just know, I haven't used this kind of weapon for awhile. Years even. So don't expect a lot. And remember, no elements." He nods and readies himself. I stretch before readying myself. I motion for him to make the first move.

He dashes towards me, blade at his side. He jumps at me and swings down. I block it with my own sword. We spend a while blocking and deflecting each other's blows. After awhile, I push away one of his blows and knock him down. He drops sword as I put mine to his throat. He nods and I sheath my sword. I reach for his hand, which he takes, and I pull him up.

"You're doing well," I tell him with a smile. "Maybe next time, it'll be different. For now, I should probably see what I'm gonna be doing for the Royalty here. See ya." I wave and leave the room. I walk my way to the throne room.