Despite the moon gently gazing across the polished stone slabs of road, the streets of Bournington had been partly glazed by partying faces. An array of buildings had been lighting the path to the safe haven of the Royal Guard for Alsop and Axel. Taverns, inns and shops were still open with many of them beginning preparations for a treasured day in the calendars of Bournington. At the stroke of midnight, the Festival of Fruit would begin, and so, many people had been preparing.

Now had been no time to celebrate for Alsop and Axel though, as they arrived at the grand doors of the towering Royal Guard. A spectacle for many, the pillar-like building had acted as a spire of light for the finely carved out streets of Bournington. As long as such a beacon had been around, safety and peace were secure.

Safety had been the uttermost concern now for Alsop and Axel, who had immediately sought after any high ranking official within the army, following their recent encounter with a frightening foe. And fortunately enough, they had found a friend with incredible strength. A popular person about the streets, Maxwell McClane had become their beacon of hope. His strong, chiselled build had been inspecting some preparations for the Festival of Fruit, but at the sound of his friends, he had immediately turned to offer them a true, well-hearted greeting. His charming smile had been crafted from the genuine love his followers had given him, and thus he redirected a sense of comfort to his two visitors.

"Alsop, back so soon? And Axel, how great it is to see you!" He joyously said, his body fully turning to highlight his relaxed tone.

"You're quite laid back tonight." Alsop observed.

"I am?" Maxwell sat against his desk as he placed his navy blazer across his chair. "I suppose it's because of the festival." He smiled.

"Oh, I see." Alsop mumbled out.

"Now, how is it, I may be of service to you?" Maxwell asked as he began playing with the buttons on his navy waistcoat.

"I investigated the issue at the slums. Well, we did, rather." Alsop hesitantly slurred out. "What we found wasn't exactly pleasing, Max." He looked to the smile upon Maxwell's face, which soon fell flat.

"I don't expect the stuff there to be pleasing." Maxwell nervously chuckled out.

"There seems to be a ghost haunting the area." Alsop said plainly.

"A ghost with big red eyes!" Axel added.

"And a black robe that seemed unreal!" Alsop furthered the image, to a point where Maxwell had paused.

He had stepped upwards and begun looking at his reflection on a window, his hand loosening his blue bowtie. Now was no time for a celebratory accessory to be worn. He had placed his hand against the glass, in the hopes that he would find some form of harmony in his thoughts. But what followed had been a worry for him.

"Did you apprehend this ghost?" He asked coldly.

"No." Axel miserably said.

"It escaped, slightly injured. I'm sorry to have failed you!" Alsop cried out.

"No, you haven't failed anyone. I'm kind of relieved to even see you two here." Maxwell turned to them with a sweet smile, but there was a certain piece of pain creeping in the corner of his eyes which Alsop had gathered.

"We shouldn't have survived our encounter?" Axel wondered, his ears needing knowledge.

"Well, you two seem to have fought a sin cultist." Maxwell shivered slightly as a howl of wind slammed his window shut.

"A sin cultist? You - you mean the crazy ones who worship sins?" Axel shuddered out.

"Yes, the crazy ones. Which of the Seven Deadly Sins would it have been though?" Maxwell gently pondered.

Sin cultists were notorious menaces around the kingdoms, known for their heartless rampages through small villages, who would be strongarmed into joining their unstoppable force of an army. Despite a variance of appearances and abilities depending on who they served under, sin cultists were human at face value. Their essence, however, had been a devolved level of evil, a level which solely worshipped one of the Seven Deadly Sins. These were the fundamental forces of evil in the kingdoms, as they had amassed a history of pain, struggle and war, but these sins were not unstoppable beings. Their increasing onslaught to power had ceased when the majority of the sins were either captured, cursed or killed by four knights with legendary status: Lux, Grove, Indominus and Thomas.

In particular, one such name had been of particular interest to Alsop. His father had been Lux Buchanan, of which he refused to carry his father's surname through with him in his journey as a knight. Alsop had the sole dream of being a top tier knight, one with heroic stories to tell his later generations, but the expectations with such a legendary family name were too much for him. This, among other issues, had driven Alsop away from his father.

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"If what you say is true, where is the sin it is worshipping? It can't be! My father..."

"Yes, we all know the tales with your father." Maxwell had cut off Alsop with impatience. "But, we also know the sins are incredibly strong. It wouldn't be too much of a surprise to see them roam the shadows once again."

"Well..." Axel gulped. "What if the sin is Greed?" He pondered with a nervous stare to Maxwell.

"No, it is unlikely. My job sees to it that Greed is locked away." Maxwell adamantly said.

Maxwell could rest assured, at the very least, that he was in a safe place with his job. He was a guardian, who had the sole purpose of protecting the Seal of Greed from ever being opened. He was not alone in his role, as three others had covered his position too. In Maxwell's case, he had been titled the Guardian of Wind, for he had amassed an incredible strength with his efficient wind magic.

"So, a sin is at large then." Alsop briefly said.

"I will let some others know, but for you two, you should stay quiet." Maxwell said with composure to his words.

"Are things really good this way though, Max? Should we not let all those people be aware of such a threat?" Alsop guilty said, his eyes gazing across the cheerfulness of the streets.

"You two have done all you can. So, you may rest easy. These people will all be protected. I am a guardian after all." Maxwell smiled, but it had a brief undertone of uncertainty clinging to the edges of his lips.

With these words of encouragement, Alsop and Axel had taken their leave. But in fact, these words had done little to encourage the gauging mind of Alsop, who had been nervously aware of Maxwell's worried tone. He had been so riddled at the thought, he had made his departure from Axel very brief, and his final sight onto his friend had burned a question into his mind.

"Doesn't it hurt you? The fact that the best we could do, was flee an injured foe?" He muttered out in pain.

As Axel had signed himself out of his duties as a knight for the evening, Alsop was alone in the halls of the Royal Guard. And he had almost made the error of not reviewing his mail, as his focus was fully on the terror that was his failure to apprehend the sin cultist. But soon a gentle touch had come from behind, hugging him tightly with a set of luscious, pink lips tingling the hairs on his ears.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" The lips had uttered a heavenly breath of warmth that had instantly flustered Alsop.

A turn was Alsop's next move, but the tantalising queen that had been in front of him soon hit him with a powerful move.

"Checkmate!" Alsop had painfully thought as his attacker had clasped his hands and given him an angelic smile, one which had lifted his mood a thousandfold.

Ahead of his small brown eyes, had been the bearer of a ring identical to his own. Mary Dusseldorf, a pure and perfect creation had been his cherished soulmate. Against the gentle globes of light in the Royal Guard, her dark blue hair had glistened like the seas on a summer’s day, and her blue eyes had sparkled with an intimate tone of pink amidst seeing her lover. Her hair had been styled in a braided manner, going down her right shoulder. While fashionable, this had fit well with her job.

Mary was a knight like Alsop, but her importance came from being the sole archer of Bournington. Therefore, a pouch of arrows had been cast across her back. She did, however, keep a stylish outlook, even in her line of work. A dark blue dress with a puffy skirt going down to the knees had helped to propel her slim body, with a pair of dark blue leggings wrapping around her toned legs. To end her day, her brown belt had been slightly loosened, and her colour matching gloves had been strapped to the side of her curved waistline. Hidden behind the straps of her arrow pouch across her chest, a dried rose had been placed through the golden buttons.

It had been the sight of this that shattered Alsop's sense of hopelessness the most.

"Ah, Mary." He pulled her close. "I'm sorry. It's been a long night." He said.

"Long?" Mary pondered with concern.

"Axel and I, we fought something quite scary today. A sin cultist." Alsop shyly said.

"A sin cultist, huh. How did things go?" Mary asked.

"I failed Mary, I didn't kill it. A hand was all I could hit!" Alsop mumbled out miserably.

"Hey, hey!" Mary had clasped his cheeks and looked into his eyes. "You did well for a knight with just a sword!" She smiled contagiously, with Alsop helpless not to join her.

She had, at the very least, known how life was like for Alsop in scenarios based upon fighting. Despite having water magic, Mary had rarely made use of it, choosing not to explore her surplus. Whether out of disinterest or for a reason relating to her husband, she had mostly fought her battles with just a weapon. And with her understanding level of words, Alsop had become once again calm around his wife.

"Thank you." Alsop said sincerely.

"Now, if tonight was long, tomorrow shall be a very long day!" Mary had smiled as she flapped a letter within her hands.

"You checked my mail again!" Alsop appeared annoyed.

"Oh shush! You always forget to check it." Mary poked her lover with the letter. "Here, your dream, Alsop. Our dream. It's beginning to come true."

"My dream...to be a legendary knight...?" Alsop muttered out.

'To the knight, Alsop Dusseldorf, for the next several weeks your orders are to become a mentee of Captain Alister Sinclair.

- General Isaac Rose.'

Alsop had read the note cryptically several times beneath his breath as he laid in bed that bliss summer night, his eyes relishing the thought of tomorrow. For tomorrow would bring him closer to his goal. Waking up by his side, Mary had hesitantly tapped his shoulder for her lover's attention, which he soon gave.

"Mary?" He had begun to turn, but Mary quickly halted him.

"You're thinking about the note, aren't you?" Mary gently laughed. "I'm sure you will do well, my sweetheart. Tomorrow you will fail nobody, okay?" She squeezed his hand lightly.

"Yes, okay. I promise you, Mary." Alsop had reciprocated her squeeze.

"I love you, Alsop." Mary said.

"I love you too." Alsop thought.