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“This anger of hers has grown completely out of control!”
Easthies looked at the girl in question. What did he say her name was…? Luluci! That was it.
“She’s angry. Of course she is. Nothing about this is right…”
“She’s throwing an enormous fit over one tiny understanding! From the way she goes about it, you’d think it was the end of the world!”
It was barely even possible to look at the man anymore.
“I can’t keep up with it anymore. I need the knight’s authority. Could you please clear her mind? Just the latest incident. That would be enough.”
“There certainly is a problem here…” Easthies muttered, and then let his voice get louder as he said, “And it has to do with you and this patron of yours.”
Luluci gasped as Easthies thrust his pennant forward. “May the principals be ever upheld… and the pennant’s justice swift upon the guilty.”
The familiar words tasted strangely comforting in his mouth as the long ribbon wrapped around the man. After all, whenever he said them, he knew that a criminal would be put away. What could be more comforting than that?
“What’re you… get this thing off me!” The man exclaimed, “You’ve got it all wrong! She’s the problem here! Haven’t you heard anything I’ve said?!”
“The order metes out punishment to the guilty.” Vinanna said, finally speaking up. Easthies looked at Luluci again.
“And your apprentice… is not the one deserving of blame.”
Vinanna called the guards at the door to take the man away, who continued to protest.
“Are you alright—“ He began to ask, but cut himself off when he saw the young woman’s face. Her eyes were wide and sparkling, and her mouth was practically slack-jawed.
Easthies had never been looked at that way. He didn’t really know how to react.
“Um.”
“The knights put away bad people like him, right?”
“Well—“
“And my master will be… occupied…”
“…Yes?”
“Might I…” She turned to Vinanna, “Might I… be allowed to join the Knights Moralis?”
Vinanna chuckled. “If you think you’ll be up to the task, girl, you’re welcome to join the training tomorrow. Though you may just want to watch for the first little while.”
“Oh, thank you!” Luluci looked… happy. When was the last time the Knights Moralis had really made someone happy? Easthies couldn’t recall.
“But…” She met Easthies’s eyes. “My friend, Eryenne. Please take care of her. I think she would be… too delicate to join the knights with me… but I beg you, make sure she’s safe and cared for.”
“I will.” Easithies said, feeling that he really meant it. This girl was so full of hope. He would make sure that whatever she needed would be done.
He sent her to her atelier to collect her things, and went to prepare her a dorm.
When she arrived the next morning, she was already planning out the organization and decor of her room. Easthies was trying to envision what she was describing when he caught her staring at him.
“Is something wrong?” He asked. Luluci blushed in embarrassment. “I just noticed that your hair was all in tangles… would you mind if I showed you a few ways to style it?”
Easthies eyed his hair. He’d always enjoyed keeping it long, but had never really done anything with it.
“Sure.” He said. Luluci pulled a pearly white hairbrush out of her luggage and motioned for him to sit. He kneeled on the ground, and she sat behind him.
“Now, for hair like yours you would probably want a braid or a side ponytail… keeping it simple is key if you want to have it up every day.” She continued to ramble on about which products to use and how to properly dry it, and soon she was done.
She handed Easthies a mirror from a pocket of one of her bags. His hair was in a loose ponytail over one shoulder. It looked nice.
“…Thank you.” He said. Luluci smiled, and Easthies for once felt like smiling too.