Commander of the High Knights of Arcadia, Hawk. He was one of the most important figures in the war against demons as he was considered Eleonora’s right arm for his incredible marksmanship with the musket. Though his weapon was fine tuned for long range engagements, it didn’t take away the considerable skill taken to hit targets beyond any normal man’s reach with a longbow. Leona knew nothing of that, nor did she need to, as his extended helping hand showed just how much he was willing to risk for a peaceful future, one that the Queen fought and sacrificed much for.

“Princess Leona, what do you say?”

His eyes were filled with hope, she knew he probably had heard of her speech about demonkind and what she intended to do once she was the ruler of Arcadia. She closed her eyes for a few seconds and upon opening them, she had already decided on an answer.

“I accept your proposal. My parents also fought to win the war one way or another, I won’t let him squander the sacrifices we’ve made.”

Tension seemed to leave the officer’s face and upon her statement he lifted his right arm, signaling a mounted knight behind him to climb down from the steed; it was a muscular brown skinned horse. Upon doing so, the knight tapped on the horse’s side and handed the reins to Krieg.

“By the commander's orders. Take my steed. She’ll serve you well in your journey.”

The knight’s voice was mostly muffled from the closed helmet but he seemed genuinely grateful for being able to help. Krieg nodded once and thanked him.

“She’ll help keep Princess Leona safe.”

“I took the liberty to add a few provisions for your journey. Please make use of them.”

Hawk explained before doing a short bow before sending them off. Leona was taken aback from how much he was helping and humbly bowed.

“Sir Hawk, I cannot think of a way to express our gratitude…”

“Think nothing of it Princess. After all, you are also helping my family, indirectly as it may be.”

The man’s eyes drifted towards Phoebe who stood in the back, somewhat far from them.

“Family?”

Upon lifting her face and tracing the officer’s gaze, she noticed the elf looking away in a bashful way. The man chuckled before turning around to climb on the horse of the nearest knight.

“Nevermind that Princess, I must go back and report that my knights haven’t found anyone.”

Leona bowed while holding her right hand on her chest.

“We appreciate your kindness Commander Hawk.”

“Godspeed, Princess. We’ll await your return.”

He turned to the knights once again, the one who left his steed behind was instead accompanying him.

“Men! Let us return to Arcadia.”

“Yes, lord commander!”

They responded in unison before taking off in the opposite direction, leaving Leona, Krieg and Phoebe alone in the middle of the road. The rain poured, though much less than before, it was still enough to turn the beaten dirt into mud.

“Shall we continue on as well?”

Phoebe suggested as she turned her eyes away from the knights slowly making their way back. Pondering on what the commander had said and the elf’s sudden change in attitude made Leona realize the family he spoke of was indeed her. The Princess didn’t know much about her while Krieg was adjusting the new steed’s saddle.

“Phoebe, I hope you don’t mind me asking, but how is commander Hawk related to you?”

She seemed a bit awkward at first, seemingly discontent.

“He’s huh… he’s my father. I wasn’t planning to meet him here of all places.”

Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

Leona blinked a few times, her brain had taken a while to process what she just heard. Noticing her spacing out, Phoebe waved her hand in front of her.

“Huh… hello? Princess?”

“I’m sorry I was just… very surprised. I was not expecting you to be the daughter of such an influential figure.”

Phoebe chuckled sourly as she turned around to scan the road ahead of them, her voice filled with melancholy.

“If he wasn’t influential, maybe he would’ve been by my mother’s side when she breathed her last.”

It felt like a bolt pierced Leona’s heart at that moment, she knew how much pain it was to lose someone dear to her, but no matter what happened, someone else was always there by her side, supporting her in that time of need. Before Phoebe walked further away from her, the Princess called out to her.

“Phoebe!”

Stopping but not turning to face her, she replied.

“Yes?”

“I’m sorry, I never thought about your situation with your father, it was… very insensitive of me.”

“Think nothing of it, he is just doing his part. As I shall do mine.”

She continued walking on ahead to scout the area. Meanwhile Krieg had brought the horse he had prepared to Leona. The stirrup had been shortened to more comfortably fit her feet.

“Hmm? What is wrong, Leona?”

“Ah Krieg… it’s nothing.”

She rubbed her right hand against her eyes and as her fingers ran through the skin, she felt it was much past the time for a bath since her face was oily. But knowing they had much more pressing matters at hand, she decided to not say anything and follow her knight’s lead.

With a helping hand, Krieg supported Leona as she clumsily fit her cloth wrapped right foot inside the stirrup before seating herself on the saddle. She noticed her palms covered in dirt as she grabbed the reins. The knight moved the sling of the new acquired greatsword from his back to his usual left shoulder carry. Noticing his preparations, Leona couldn’t help but ask.

“Won’t you ride with me?”

“I need to be able to defend you if something happens. We can’t escape on horseback with all this mud.”

“I see…”

She glanced at the road ahead, a fine brisk rain was falling, slightly obscuring faraway view of the path which led to Akrapocalis. Though never being there herself made her feel a sense of wonder for what kind of city awaited them.

In the front, Phoebe kept a constant watch around the road for possible ambushes, though it was harder to notice any tracks since the rain could have erased them entirely from the soaked soil.

“Hmm…”

The elf muttered to herself as she inspected a suspicious trace forming slight grooves which seemed to appear from the road and headed towards the thicker parts of the forest. Appearing to be recent, Phoebe decided to backtrack to warn the other two of her findings.

Leona’s steed was beginning to steadily walk through the muddied road with Krieg right beside her, the knight was carefully watching the surroundings until the elf made her presence clear in front of them on the side of the road.

“What’s wrong Phoebe?”

Krieg asked as the elf started to walk alongside him. She was fixing the sleeves of her clothing as she replied.

“I saw some suspicious tracks that were still fresh not too far ahead, apparently a carriage of sorts either crashed or was dragged deeper into the forest.”

“I see, thank you for reporting.”

He looked at Leona who heard the whole conversation. She nodded once before giving her answer.

“We should go as fast as we can to avoid possible confrontations, we don’t know if there are any other pursuers after us. Avoiding confrontation should be our utmost priority.”

Both the elf and the knight nodded. Phoebe swiftly stepped away towards the forest and vanished between the trees.

Leona tightly gripped the reins, she couldn’t shake off the nervousness building up inside of her. A shattering cold sensation of dread enveloped her senses, the realization that everything she went through was indeed reality, not just a mere nightmare. Her purpose was to see a world where humans and demons could live peacefully, that one day her mother could be seen for who she was rather than what she was. But what was the point? Living in a world where both of them were gone, with no more reason to fight, why walk such a perilous path full of strife and hatred? She wasn’t sure herself, deep down she couldn’t muster an answer, but upon looking at the valiant knight who accompanied her through all of this and more, it made her feel somewhat relieved, much like a sight of an oasis amidst the barren desert waste.

That was nothing short of a miracle as she tried to think what she would do if she was in Krieg’s shoes. Give it up, that was the first thing that came to mind. It was truly intriguing how he, not even once, had suggested to her to run away from her goals. What she set out to do, no matter how foolish or dangerous, he would support it if he could.

“Krieg.”

She called with a faint hint of unease in her voice, which was just enough for the knight to perceive. He raised his head to look at her, though the closed steel helmet covered almost all his features, saving for the crimson eyes which glinted faintly behind the visor which were various slits carved vertically in the armor.

“Yes?”

His voice was muffled, the rain hitting the metal armor on his body made a faint sound of low consistent thuds.

“I’ve been thinking. What drives you to do what you do for me?”

He turned his head down, taking a few moments to think for himself, before turning to her again.

“It was probably fate. In a moment of despair, utter defeat and disappointment, you and your family had been my guiding light. We shared joy, anger, sadness and happiness. It would not be too far from saying that I saw your family as my own at some point.”

He looked away for a few seconds whilst scratching the side of his helmet before continuing.

“Though the real reason I fight by your side, is to see the world, as wicked as though it may be, change for the better, where we can live our lives to the fullest without fear from tomorrow. That’s why I fought beside Eleonora and now, that is why I’ll follow wherever your path may lead. Princess Leona.”