knightsoflegend | prologue ♔ just a bubble in a perfect paintjob

♬ Weird Friendless Kid - Emiliana Torrini

WHO || Christos La Krail, Primrose Everdeen [Closed]
WHAT || Prim finds a home, when Christos finds a possible connection to his squire's past in her
WHERE || Government-run orphanage in Germany
WHEN || Sometime in April
HOW || Actionspam

[ Veil arrivals are usually left to fend for themselves - to hope to find a kind stranger to orient them to this world or point them to one of the places designed to do so. Even then, they're expected to eventually find their own way. Make a new life here.

Not everyone is capable of that, however, given that the Veil doesn't discriminate by age. Small children, babies, and young adults are as likely to arrive as anyone else, and governments around the world each have their own philosophy with how to treat them.

Prim arrived in Germany, where young amnesiacs with no identification were whisked off to a number of established orphanages, which received very little funding considering the numbers stuffed into them. Prim's life since her arrival has basically been a slightly less hard-knock version of Annie.

Until now. It's lights out by the time the stranger arrives, and the head of the orphanage, Frau Dittrich, ushers them all towards the stairs as there's a knock on the door. Prim's one of the last to head up, and a glance back over her shoulder would give her a look at the arrival: who doesn't look particularly friendly with his hard expression, barely visible below a foreboding black cloak. His skin is an unnatural dark gray, something she still wouldn't have seen up close and personal in this world, even though the orphanage is populated with children of elven, dwarven, or even halfling descent.

She asks him and tells him to wait until all the children are gone, apologizing for the hurry. He says nothing, and his eyes trace up the stairs, landing on Prim. He gives her a long, hard, silver-eyed stare. ]

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[Her fingers fumble to try and cling hold of the woman just a bit longer. She's afraid, nervous, but unwilling to let them show as much as some of the other children would. When she's left standing there alone, she can't bring herself to glance back toward her caretaker one last time.]

We should go.

[It's whispered, more of a request than a demand. She glances up at her new guardian, wondering if that's what he is at all, and then follows him out of the door. It's only after they've walked a good way away from the building that tears start to form in her eyes.]

Who are you, really?

[ he doesn't notice the crying, so intent is he on directing her to where the dark car waits, but he apparently hears them in the slight quaver of her voice, and looks back, blinking as if mildly surprised by either the question or the outburst. ]

I'm a Knight. [ he sounds almost darkly amused by the statement. ]

[She isn't sure if he's joking with her or not, but she thinks that he doesn't seem the type to really joke around, especially not after coming in the middle of the night to pick a girl up from an orphanage. She's caught between a bit of starry eyed wonder and uncertainty, not really clear on why a knight would want to have anything to do with her.]

Why a knight?

[That's not the right way to ask what she wants, so she shakes her head and tries again.]

Why would a knight want someone like me?

[ he frowns deeply, as he moves to open the passenger door. ] Would you rather I go back for a different child?

I didn't say that. [She points it out gently, and looks up at him like he's one of those adults that's too tricky to take your eyes off of. She can tell he's definitely going to be one of those, and she slides into the car to sit down with a concerned gulp.]

It just doesn't feel real, that's all. But not many things have, so that's okay.

[But her curiosity about why a knight still is tugging at her, and she waits until he's inside the car before trying again.]

What are you a knight of? Do you fight for a queen?

No queen, no country. [ he repeats the words like a familiar, ironic mantra. ] I'm a Knight of the Silver Dragon.

[She stares over at him for a long time, completely silent. Minutes pass, probably. It feels like forever, there's so much doubt and tension racing through her.]

Am I going to get to be a Knight too? [A childish question, maybe, but she's curious.]

[ rather than give her a firm 'no', he simply looks over as he drives ] How old are you?

Twe -

[No, wait. That's not right. She's older now.]

Thirteen.

[She looks up at him then, with an expression that dares him to say that thirteen year olds aren't knight material.]

[ his eyes take in that expression, and then he looks forward and says matter-of-factly: ] In three years, Wynn might take you. That's as young as he allows squires.

But what about until then? Three years is a long time, a really long time.

[Her hands clutch at the seatbelt and she gulps. She's not sure she's going to like the answer, but she can't bring herself to look away from him.]

[ after a moment, he looks back at her, thoughtful ] How would you like to live in a castle?

I haven't given it much thought before.

[But obviously, she needs to think about it now. So she does, and eventually shrugs.]

As long as I can make myself useful, I think it could be nice. I've never even seen a castle in person before, so it's hard to imagine myself living in one.

[But castles are so very big, and there's so much space to wander and not do a single thing in, and that sounds like it can get boring very quickly. She's smiling, though. She's definitely intrigued.]

Wynn, the man who runs our Order, sometimes lets those from other worlds live with us, if they choose to earn their keep. You'd need only do what work you feel suits you: cooking, cleaning, perhaps tending a garden.

Wynn.

[She tests out the name, it feels strange on her tongue.]

I can earn my keep, and then some. I'm good at gardening and cleaning. Cooking, too. And I know how to help fix people. [A pause.]

Heal them, I mean. I can grow things in the gardens and use them to make medicine.

An interesting skillset for a young girl.

It is? [She acts like that's news to her, like she's unaware.]

I guess it fits that I'm going to a castle, then. That's interesting too. [It's a bit of sass, but it comes out gentle and soft. There's no bluntness or harsh tones to her words. It just is what it is.]

[ that gets a small snort, almost a laugh of some kind. ] Not an entirely poor argument.

There are plenty of injured who pass through. They'll be glad for another set of hands in the infirmary, if you don't get underfoot in an emergency.

prologue ♔ just a bubble in a perfect paintjob

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