Chapter Text
Once upon a time, there was a land divided into different kingdoms. Despite their separation, they mostly lived in harmony. The land consisted of people who were ordinary and inordinary. Those inordinary people possessed magical powers. Some discovered them ever since they opened their eyes for the first time, some much later, in various ways.
One of the kingdoms was threatened by mysterious forces. In order to protect themselves properly, Kingdom called as far as it could for anyone who would be willing to protect them in exchange for food, shelter, and money.
Most ordinary people feared mysterious forces, and they believed that job should be left to their in-ordinary companions.
At last, that call reached far into even nearly abandoned villages, and that's how (m/c) comes into our story...
She lived an ordinary life with her family, taking care of a farm. But (m/c) possessed something that her family did not. It was a magical power.
With the swing of a weapon in her hand, she was able to create a force that looked like a glowing moon's sickle. It was so strong that it could cut down multiple trees at once.
(m/c) discovered this power accidentally when she was a child, while she carelessly played swordfighting with sticks with other kids in the village. The force of her attack then was nowhere near as strong as it is now.
Some people feared her, and other kids started avoiding her. That's why (m/c)'s parents forbidden her to use her powers ever again.
(m/c) knew they were only concerned, but she knew she was given this power for a reason. During calm nights, (m/c) would sneak out of her room through the window and practice her skills deeper in the forest. Whether it was her magic skill or her brute force, she tried to train herself how she knew.
Still, her father was the only one who also knew these powers weren't for nothing. (m/c) was able to open up to him, and he taught her combat. She still couldn't call herself completely fit for fighting, but the fighting spirit was going through her veins. She wanted to improve.
And one day, with a big announcement from the Kingdom itself, (m/c) saw the opportunity of her life.
She will be able to travel and improve her skills. It was a dream come true.
Her father immediately recognized the special glint in her eyes at the Kingdom's invitation.
He was the first one to talk to (m/c) about it. And the decision had to be made until tomorrow. When it came to (m/c), she had already made her decision. She's going, no matter what anybody says.
The next day wasn't so calm; most people pleaded (m/c) to not go, convincing her she doesn't know what she's stepping into.
But sometimes, things were worth the risk.
A carriage led by two beautiful horses carried (m/c) far from the home and land she knew. With every step, she was more and more in unbeknown territory.
This journey brought her a tad bit of sadness because she had to separate from the only people she knew, yet also excitement to see the world and learn something new. This was her new chapter in life.
After days of traveling through the grass, forests, and mountains, carriage arrived at the Kingdom's gates.
(m/c)'s mouth opened wide when she saw a beautiful castle adorned by many turrets with pointed tops. It was exactly how she imagined the castles from storybooks when she was a child. It was...magical. Perhaps even beyond that. She never saw anything so big.
After a certain procedure, she was able to get inside the gates.
There were so many people working, selling their goods... The deeper they went, the fewer ordinary people there were. At that point, (m/c) could see knights in real armors walking around.
She clenched her chest as her heart started to beat fast with excitement. Soon, and she's going to be one of them.
Firstly, (m/c) was led to her room. It was small but rather neat, and she definitely couldn't complain. It was even in better condition than the room back at her home.
She was following around a man who was some sort of tutor. He was explaining not only to (m/c) but also to all of the other new recruits what their duties were going to be and what accommodations they got.
Months of work and training followed. (m/c) was feeling less lonely with time as she took her role quite seriously. There were also various kinds of tests for all the recruited future knights and knightesses.
Everything seemed harsh and scary in the beginning, but with time, (m/c) was able to see with pride a lot of improvements she made.
Through these months, she got her very own armor, sword, and shield. She got the closest size for her, which was the same for everyone else. Everyone was pretty much wearing similar robes or armors. For those interested inside the Kingdom, recruiters were able to pay extra classes for using other weapons like bows and arrows. That did get (m/c) curious, but she felt as if she wasn't yet ready for that.
(m/c)'s work mostly consisted of guarding the gates or certain buildings in few-hour shifts. Along with that daily training... swordfighting, combat without weapons and armor, attack and defense, and so on...
There were extra classes for those who possessed magical powers.
Some of the teachers kept their eyes on (m/c). It wasn't long after she came that they told her it's as if her magic was made for her to be a warrior.
(m/c) tried to not show too much excitement in front of her teachers; she only stayed humble and thankful.
So, after this brief introduction to the parts of (m/c)'s life, we are getting to the moment of important ceremony, where (m/c)'s life is going to get interwoven with the life of another...
"Father! Which dress should I choose, this one or this one?" Asked the very princess of the kingdom, Aya. She was just a ten-year-old girl, full of excitement and justice for this world. Her ginger hair bounced around her face as she moved around the room, showing dresses to her father.
Her father was, well, of course, the King!
King Bram Stoker!
Despite his serious appearance, he absolutely adored his daughter, and he enjoyed being part of her makeovers.
"I think this is one." He pointed to one of the dresses.
"Yes! I was hoping you would say that!" Aya jumped excitedly, pressing the dress to her chest.
"Do you need help with dressing up, Princess?" One of the female servants asked Aya with a gentle smile.
She followed the princess to the changing room to help her with zipping the dress on the back while the King was busy with some scrolls.
On the scrolls were the names of new knights who would be welcomed as new guards of the castle itself and also other knights with lower ranks. Those names technically didn't mean anything to the king. He never saw any of the recruits, as he rarely watched their training sessions.
All he had was the scroll with names, results, and points from each person on tests and training.
Some of his servants took care of his clothes for the ceremony, as everything was in the final stages.
Once Princess was all done and prepared, King couldn't help but give her a small smile. They walked together, hand in hand, to the main hall, where the ceremony would be held. They sat themselves on the throne, the King on the biggest one in the middle, and his daughter to his left.
On the sides were already the most trusted knights, the very bodyguards of the Princess and King.
With the melody from the trumpets and the ceremonial gong, all of the recruits knew it was the sign to get into a hall.
Among them was (m/c) too. She heard only a little about what's going on. She was confused, yet quiet as a mouse.
She stood straight alongside her other colleagues.
This was her first time seeing the King and Princess. Her heart was beating quite fast. Why was she so nervous?
Well, of course, she can't show herself in the bad light in front of majesties. 'I'm just too worried about nothing,' she thought to herself.
(m/c) took a better look at the most important people in this kingdom.
King was tall and pale, his eyes piercing and red as blood. Long silver hair was graciously flowing behind his frame. Two symmetrical scars adorned his face.
His daughter, funnily enough, didn't look anything like him at all. Her skin was of healthy color; her eyes were blueish, and her hair was ginger. Her smiling face was the opposite of the frowning one of her father.
When everyone was settled, King started giving the speech.
He thanked and congratulated everyone who was standing before him. With that, it was time to read out the names and roles of some certain students who got them. There were still a large number of those who had to learn and train more before they got more serious tasks and positions.
King began to slowly read out the names and positions. Each student would step up and get closer to the King once their name was read out loud.
They had to kneel in front of the King while he blessed them by tapping their heads and shoulders with a sword.
As the ceremony went on, (m/c) couldn't believe that her name was called out towards the very end.
She tried to hide the surprise that appeared in her eyes at the moment. With dignified steps yet humble and polite, (m/c) approached the King and fell on her knee for him.
She closed her eyes as she felt a gentle press of the sword on her left shoulder.
"I'm blessing you as one of the recruiters that's going to protect my castle and my side."
That was the first time (m/c) heard about that title during the ceremony. And the fact that King's words were followed by the biggest applause yet...
(m/c) dared to look up at King in slight shock.
He was sternly looking down at her.
(m/c) deepened her bow even more, closing her eyes shut, and said. "Thank you, My Majesty."
Next was the tap on the right shoulder, and the last one was on the head.
She was able to stand up again and go back among the crowd.
King called the name of one of the knights that were by his throne.
Suddenly, one knight appeared from the shadows. (m/c) eyed him with curiosity.
"Yes, my Lord?" The knight elegantly bowed to the king.
"Can you take on the role of teaching (l/n) (m/c)?"
(m/c)'s heart jumped again when her name was once again mentioned from King's side. She glanced at the knight he was talking to.
A helmet was hiding the upper part of his face, only showing his chin and lips. They were in a slight frown, and she could imagine he wasn't the most excited about King's order. But he couldn't decline it, right?
Knight bowed again and replied. "Of course, my Majesty."
Once Knight started approaching (m/c), King's attention went back to the scrolls in front of him as he continued with reading the names.
(m/c) took a chance to get a better look at the knight who was approaching her. He wasn't tall, and he was rather skinny. He was completely in black, wearing a mix of armor and a coat.
His appearance was showing nothing but mysteriousness and perhaps a bit of elegance.
Underneath the helmet, she could see the bits of his coal-black hair along with longer strands that had pure white ends.
He bowed, this time to (m/c).
"I'm Ryuunosuke, also known as "Son of a Dragon." You may call me by my family name, Akutagawa. From now on, I'll be your tutor."