The Fight To Protect All

Chapter 7

Claire's POV

As I stand in front of the door to Lance's office, I firmly knock on the door. Without waiting for a response, I twist the handle of the door pulling it open slowly.

"Lance," I say barely above a whisper which softly echoes through the office over the shuffling of papers.

"Claire?" He calmly states slowly looking up at me with a look of surprise clearly evident on his face.

"I need to talk to you," I state firmly before walking over to him and placing my hand on top of his desk.

"It has to do with the Magic Tower and Amon."

His face suddenly turns serious as he stops what he is doing and places his papers down onto his desk giving me his full attention.

"You can't fight this alone, we need all the help we can get."

My tone is both determined and pleading, Lance shouldn't have to risk his life fighting a power hungry maniac. If he dies fighting against the Magic Tower, what's going to become of the residents of Red Territory and Cradle who he has fought so hard to protect?

"Let's get the rest of the Red Army and the Black Army to help in taking down the Magi-"

"No!"

He shouts at me slamming his hands against the table making me flinch.

"This is not their problem, we need to deal with this issue ourselves. The secret contract between Amon and myself must not be found out. Innocent people should not be dragged into this mess, I will carry this burden alone."

"You can't do this! What if you don't survive this mess!?! Who will look after the citizens of Cradle!?!"

I snap back, anger reflecting through my blue eyes as I stare straight at Lance.

"You will Claire, you will be the next King of Hearts to lead the Red Army and protect Cradle. I've seen how hard you work, you have the makings of a great leader. Jealousy and greed don't control you, your will to protect others at any cost does. Don't worry if I am no longer standing, Cradle will be in good hands with you."

He tells me this with warm eyes. He put his faith in me from the very beginning and trusted me with all his secrets. What he's saying is from his heart, both as a brother and a comrade.

I flash him both a bright and warm smile knowing that he never looked down on me but saw me as an equal.

"Thanks Lance."

I say in a tone that is both warm and full of confidence. I turn to the door, slowly walking towards it. Before I placed my hand on the doorknob, I gave him my final thoughts.

"Lance just so you know, I will keep the secret between you and Amon a secret...for now. But I under no condition will I allow you to lose your life in this fight, I will protect both you and Cradle with my two hands all on my own if I have to. Have a nice rest of your day, make sure to take care of yourself."

After finishing up what I have to say I quickly push open the door, heading into the hallway and gently closing the door behind me.

Lancelot's POV

After Claire makes her hasty exit out of my office, I let out a small sigh.

"Typical Claire always putting others before herself, unaware of the pain she causes others when she gets hurt protecting them."

I think to myself before reaching out to pick up the papers I had previously placed down and continued working.

Hi, I wanted to say thank you to the comments posted on my last chapter. It brought a smile onto my face and made my day. I really appreciated it. Recently I made an instagram @shizu.chan68 where I will be posting about updates and maybe future stories I plan to write, if you are interested feel free to check it out. Thank you to everyone who has joined the journey with Claire so far as she navigates her way through her chaotic life in Cradle. Hope u enjoyed chapter 7 of The Fight To Protect All, have a nice rest of your day.

-Shizu