Bryson Coldwater sat alone at the large dining room table enjoying his lunch. Standing at the side was Lila Frost who had just returned from the kitchen after stashing away a pitcher of lemon iced tea. As he tucked into his pork sausage-stuffed quail another servant entered the dining hall and whispered to Lila.

Lila’s eyes widened momentarily before bidding her away and turned to the very much distracted Bryson. She slowly approached and cautiously talked to him.

“Did something happen with Kristel yesterday?”

“Your stupid sister forced me to talk to her in the middle of the night.” Bryson said as he took a sip of his drink before furrowing his brow, “Wait why would you be asking?”

“Kristel has requested to be transferred into the royal knight training program.” Lila said.

Bryson looked at Kristel and blinked a few times, not sure if he had heard her correctly. After processing the information he stared back down at his plate.

“What?”

***

“Kristel!” Bryson shouted as he marched his way out of the manor and down to the barracks where Kristel was located. He was still a fair distance from Kristel but even that far away she could hear the roar of his voice.

Kristel stood up and looked completely bewildered for a solid minute before she saw Bryson approaching her. Immediately she rushed over to him.

“Lord Bryson!” She said kneeling down to greet him.

“What is this I hear about you joining the royal guard program at Ulstrin?” Bryson said as he glared down at her.

“Yes, I asked for my transfer this morning and will be leaving next week.” Kristel said standing up and looking at Bryson.

“Didn’t you not want to go earlier?” Bryson asked eyes narrowing.

“I did, but uh…” Kristel gave a small pause and felt the heat rush to her cheeks, “I want to be of use to you.”

“You’re not useless to me.”

“Thank you Lord Bryson, that means everything to hear. But I know I can be more of use to you if I were to properly meet your expectations of me.” Kristel said with a smile.

“You sure? You were crying having to leave not twelve hours ago.” Bryson said not convinced.

“Uh.” Kristel gave a quick pause looking embarrassed, “I know. But I need to be brave. I need to be brave for you. I already asked Her Grace and she set up my departure already.” She added quickly.

“You really bought into the knight’s code haven’t you?” Bryson mused. He then stared at Kristel for a quiet moment before nodding in approval, “Alright, while I can’t say I’m not convinced that you’ll not be a living disaster amongst the royal guards, if that’s what you want then I am happy for you.”

Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

“I’m not that bad am I?” Kristel said her confidence shaken.

“You are a very nervous wreck.”

“Do you like confidence?”

“It is a useful trait yes.”

“Then I will be a confident woman for you when we meet again.” Kristel said her resolve building.

“Hmm, right.” Bryson said having an odd feeling that she meant something more behind that statement, but Bryson couldn’t quite place what. Deciding that thinking about it was a waste of time he chose to move on.

“Have you told anyone else? They might miss your company.” Bryson asked.

“No, I was planning to tell you and the others later today Lord Bryson.” Kristel said, “I am going to miss talking to them. I plan to write to them as much as I can.”

“That’s pretty old-fashioned; why not use a Communicator?”

“I don’t have one.”

“Really? I understand that they’re expensive but both the Frosts have one, so does Marsh.” Bryson said looking surprised.

“Once I become a knight I will get one but as a squire I would have to pay for one myself. Besides, I never really needed to use one before.”

“Is that so?” Bryson mused for a second, “Alright come with me.”

“Lord Bryson?”

“We’re going to get you a Communicator, come on, let’s not waste too much time, I have things I want to do today.” Bryson grunted as he began to walk over to the parking lot.

“There’s really no need!” Kristel said sounding alarmed.

***

“There are so many choices.” Kristel said staring at several different display tables.

“What are you talking about? We already have the Communicator, you just need to pick a case.” Bryson said standing right next to her.

The two of them had been driven into the city and kept a relatively low profile as they entered a popular Aether Store. Bryson had already bought her one of the newer Communicator models and paid for everything, now Kristel just needed to pick a case.

“But it’s a gift from you Lord Bryson, I need to take good care of it.”

“No you don’t.” Bryson said drearily.

“But-”

“Look, just pick something that looks halfway possible.” Bryson said getting impatient.

“What’s this one?” Kristel said suddenly seeing one with a peculiar-looking case.

“Huh, it’s got the Coldwater emblem on it.” Bryson said, “But it’s black. And distorted.” Bryson then turned to one of the workers, “Is there any reason why this case looks like that?”

“Huh?” The worker said looking over to what Bryson was pointing. Studying it for a second the worker’s eyes widened in recognition and nodded, “Ah yes, that’s our special new designs for the Coldwaters.”

“Custom designs?” Bryson asked cocking his head to one side.

“Yes, people have expressed interest in the Coldwater emblem design for the last few years now and we customized them for each respective Coldwater.”

“So everyone from the main Coldwater family has their own customized design?” Bryson asked looking a bit interested.

“Yes.” The worker said nodding his head.

“Whose design is that one then? The warped one.”

“Ah, that would be Bryson Coldwaters.”

“The black edgy one.” Bryson said in a flat voice.

“Yes, it’s based on his dark and dangerous personality. Plus his more chaotic nature hence why not only the colour change but for the warped design as well. The design was changed a couple of times before finally settling on what it is now.” The worker said nodding his head proudly.

“I see.” Bryson said quietly, trying not to show his clenched fist, “Thank you.” He said as the worker left them again.

“I’ll take that one.” Kristel said taking the apparently Bryson Coldwater-inspired cover.

“What?” Bryson said glaring at Kristel.

“It reminds me of you.” Kristel said holding the item up to him with a wide smile.

Bryson gave a sharp exhale and begrudgingly bought the case cover for her. Once everything was set, Bryson typed his number into her Communicator.

“Make sure to only call me when you absolutely need to.” Bryson warned as they headed back to the car.

“Of course Lord Bryson.” Kristel said holding the Communicator close to her chest, “I won’t ever forget.”