Chapter Twenty-Five - Talk at Dawn

Ailith didn't expect to be woken up one morning by a Knight ordering her to follow him.

She bolted out of bed, fearing the worst and poised for a fight. Instead, she was face-to-face with a blushing Knight looking away from her barely-covered frame while he handed her a shirt from her wardrobe. Not an ounce of shame or embarrassment was visible on her face as she quickly dressed.

''Where are we going?'' Ailith asked, trying to clear her dry throat. She studied the Knight. He didn't evoke any sense of threat or danger.

''Marshal Cadere asked me to bring you to the courtyard,'' he said, keeping one hand gripped tightly on the handle of his sheathed sword.

She blinked quickly and tensed. ''Is something wrong?''

''I can't be too sure. He told me to wait until I started my shift...''

''So there's no rush.'' Ailith affirmed.

Visits from Kuval and Nassandra lifted her heart, but Cadere was another story. Her nerves were on fire and it only worsened when they left her room and marched down the long, unwinding corridors and hallways. To calm herself, Ailith gazed out of the windows. The rising sun was beginning to peer over the horizon. Rays of light grazed the rooftops as far as the eye could see. But, Ailith had little time to admire the scenery before she soon began to recognise her surroundings.

They came upon the balcony and the descending flight of stairs, both hurrying so not to keep Cadere waiting. Walking through the shadowy cloister, Ailith saw the Marshal waiting to greet them. Her escort bowed to his superior. ''I brought her as you asked.''

Cadere nodded to him before setting his steely eyes on Ailith. ''I hope you're not too tired this early in the morning.''

''No,'' she replied and tried to hide a yawn.

''There are three reasons why I asked for you. Don't fret, you're not in any kind of trouble.'' His reassuring words helped to partially calm the concerns festering in the back of her mind. He kept his hands behind his back and his chin held high. ''Firstly, I wanted to apologise to you personally.''

Ailith furrowed her brows. ''What for?''

To her surprise, he let out a small chuckle. ''I thought you'd hold a grudge against me for, to put it bluntly, arresting you after you saved the princess.''

The panic of that moment came flooding back to her. She flinched remembering her plea of innocence going ignored but shrugged it off. ''What kind of person would I be to hate a Knight for doing their duty?''

He quirked a brow and his lip curled upwards. ''You really do hold a high opinion of Knights, don't you?''

''Of course,'' she glowed.

Feeling more at ease, her attention shifted to the scenery around them. The courtyard illuminated in a beautiful mixture of orange, with the shadows created by the rooftop décor painting the walls. It then dawned on her that the damage caused by the training she witnessed prior had disappeared. She then pictured herself, out there, training with the other Knights; training to become the heroes they were.

''Something on your mind?'' Cadere questioned.

''This place is so much bigger when there's no one around.''

Listening to her comment, he glanced around for a moment. ''I've come here so often I see no difference.''

She turned back to him. ''How long have you been a Knight?''

''Since I was a lad strong enough to hold a sword,'' he answered and shot her the faintest of smiles, a genuine one. ''My parents were Knights before me. I'm merely continuing their legacy.''

After hearing his confession, Ailith's heart leapt and her smile almost widened to absurd size...until she fully registered his choice of words. When she caught the distance look behind his slimmer of a grin, her own smile faded. ''They're...'' she lingered, afraid to say anymore.

''It was their first mission,'' he said. ''Only a month after they'd been knighted by King Niru. They never returned.''

''I'm so sorry...''

Cadere's only sign of weakness was a clamped jaw, tightly shut to lock away anything else he wanted to say. Allowing for a moment of tranquillity, with the hooting of nearby owls filling the silence, Cadere turned to Ailith, looking past her sympathetic look. ''Ironically, this topic relates to the second reason I asked for you.'' His gaze intensified. ''Why do you want to be a Knight?''

''It's what I've always wanted...''

''That didn't answer my question.''

The sharpness of his tone caused her to flinch. Ailith stood and gathered her thoughts. ''I want to help people; people who can't help themselves or aren't as fortunate as others. If I see a bully, I fight back. If I see injustice, I want to do something about it. I also want to be remembered. I want people to know who I am and what I can do. You said you have a legacy to carry on, well, I want to create one of my own.''

Cadere's expression softened ever so slightly as he absorbed every word. He tilted his head, looking at the ground, and smirked. ''Fair enough.''

After pouring her heart out, Ailith expected more of a response. She scratched the back of her head and stood in silence, waiting to see if Cadere had more to say.

Thankfully, she didn't have to wait long as he approached her. ''That leaves me with one last message, from the King,'' he said, immediately catching Ailith's interest. ''You've been here for a fortnight...''

''I have?'' Ailith gasped, counting the days gone in her head.

''You've shown no signs of hostility or aggressive, except trying to goad Troy into a duel...'' he grumbled, causing Ailith to offer an apologetic grin. ''But, nothing we've found indicates you in any kind of plot to harm the royal family. There's no reason to keep you here.''

Ailith stood motionless. ''Wait...you mean...''

''You're free,'' he stated. ''After today, you'll have someone escort you back to your family's inn. That's why I called you this early in the day. I'm being sent to the Arsalan coast and I won't be back for a few days. By the time I return, you'll be gone.''

It felt as if a knife had been stabbed in Ailith's back, twisting to drive itself deeper until she was paralysed. ''I can't leave.''

''It's not my decision.''

Desperation overwhelmed her, causing her to rush towards him. Behind her, the Knight readied his weapon to defend Cadere. However, the Marshal simply raised his hand to stop him, and the Knight obeyed.

He stared down at her. ''What do you want from me?''

''A mission...''

''I can't do that,'' he said. ''You're not a Knight...''

''Not yet!'' she snapped, her eyes burning. ''But, if I help with one mission, I can prove myself. I can't come this close to my dream and walk away. Please...I need one chance.''

She waited for him to scold her, or try to blast away her hopes. Already her mind was trying to conjure a new plan. The silence was stretched further, almost reaching the breaking point for Ailith. She was hanging on the edge of a cliff and slowly losing her grip. Somehow, it felt more nerve-wracking than the time she was literally hanging from a cliff edge.

''I can't promise anything,'' Cadere said. ''But, we are low on numbers, especially with our search through the tournament participants. If an opportunity presents itself, I'll endorse you.''

An elated and shaky gasp escaped her. ''Thank you.''

Without missing a beat, he turned to the other Knight. ''You can escort her back to the guest room.''

''Yes, Marshal.'' He bowed and marched over to Ailith.

Before she could be led away, she faced Cadere. ''Wait, why did you call me out to the courtyard to talk?''

''Then I wouldn't be the one doing the unnecessary walking.'' He replied, holding back a smug smile.

Ailith blinked quickly, unsure if she should glare or laugh. Did Cadere just crack a joke at her, or with her? Either way, Ailith's spirits were lifted knowing that she still had the faintest glimmer of hope of becoming a Knight. Time wasn't on her side, but perhaps luck was.

She turned to leave when Cadere suddenly placed a firm hand on her shoulder, forcing her to look at him. His face was partially covered in shadow. ''A final word of warning,'' he whispered. ''If you start down this path, you'll never leave. No matter how much you beg, you'll be committed until death. Depending on how strong you are, there's a high chance it'll be sooner rather than later.''

Locking eyes with him, she smiled confidently. ''Then I'll get stronger.''

A/N: Hi everyone! I hope that you enjoyed this new chapter. What do you think? Will Ailith get a chance to prove herself on a mission? You'll have to wait and see. Thank you once again to everyone reading this story. Before I forget because I meant to post this at the end of the last chapter, I now have a website and twitter page where you can follow me for the latest news about my stories and other things. Until next time, take care.