Rescue?

"Huh, it's just another day…" Flare hums as she falls to sleep after one tiring day of learning about manners and seeing cutleries.

The night is the same as always, beautiful, silent, and peaceful, but it will change today.

Inside the palace walls, there is a garden which the previous king cared very proudly of. He would bring in stray cats and dogs outside to let the animals play in the garden. Although the garden is beginning to wilt away from its former glory, several flowers are still blooming despite the night. 2 guards are patrolling the garden. One is walking around with a halberd in hand, while the other is sitting in front of the steps leading to the entrance of the tower. It didn't take long before 3 more guards showed up and joined the other two. Everything went on as usual, until suddenly they saw 3 dogs wandering around the garden, looking at the night-blooming flowers. It wasn't unusual since the garden was a haven for stray dogs before. However, the knights knew that they have to remove the dogs out of the premises, as the current king doesn't like it, and neither do they.

"Just kick them off out, or just kill them," a guard proposed.

"You go, I'm tired…" another guard suggested, before stopping half-way.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing…it's just, I feel like I forgot something really important," the guard answered.

Two guards proceed forward to shoo the dogs away while the other three stayed.

"It's weird, I feel like I've forgotten something."

"…Maybe it's the new plague we have been hearing, the one the king said those magicians and the church discovered after the war," the first guard answered.

"You too…my wife told me that I've forgotten how I usually treat my kid…" the other knight exclaimed.

The other two guards who are approaching the stray dogs began to shout at the dogs, before suddenly, without warning, the dogs somehow used their head to bash it on the two soldiers. The third dog immediately rushed to the standing knight who was talking about his wife and bit his wrist. Before the other two could react, a figure appeared behind them and smacked both of their heads with something hard, knocking both of them out. The last guard struggled to pull himself away from the dog's grip, suddenly passed out and fell to the floor. Behind him is another figure, which looked a lot bigger than the one that knocked out the two guards.

"…None of them died. That's good news," the person that knocked the two guards exclaimed, a bit relieved.

"Yes, it was good, Weiss, but do not let your guard down yet, you're still far from your destination," the bigger knight replied, reminding the other one.

Weiss, the smaller intruder is wearing black leather coat along with a hood covering his head, just chuckled and looked at the much bigger intruder as he sheathes his broadsword back into his leather sheath.

"…But, Uncle Boyd, do you really have to wear that armor every time?" Weiss asked the bigger knight.

Boyd on the other hand, for some reason, during an infiltration, is wearing a complete set of armor from head to toe, apart from the huge piece of ragged cloth that covers most of the upper part of the armor. Other than, the man has two scabbards attached to the back of his armor.

"I never commented on your obsession with leather coats, so, I think we are even," Boyd replied.

Both of them chuckled before pressing forward. Boyd remained behind, guarding the garden alone while Weiss pulled a hook, tied to a rope, out of his book. With utmost confidence, Weiss spun the rope a few times, gaining momentum, before throwing it upwards to the top most balcony, but…he failed. The hook fell on his head instead.

"I'd recommend you release the rope when the hook is pointed a bit forward, Weiss," Boyd suggested in a sarcastic tone.

"Touché, old man."

Weiss tried again, and luckily this time, he succeeded. Without leaving a moment for hesitation, the young man climbed the rope with amazing speed, similar to a monkey climbing a tree to fetch itself a banana. Boyd just stood there, watching the garden, knocking one of the guard's head, who was partially awake, with a brick.

Weiss managed to climb up to the upper balcony, and luckily for him, the guards patrolling the area are looking at the opposite direction. He sneaks inside the palace residence and journeyed around the hallways until he reached his destination. He opened a window and waited for a few seconds until a crow came in with something stuck between its beak. Weiss took the set of keys, patted the crow on the head and opened the door, bypassing through it easily. He rushed upwards through the fleet of never ending stairs, before stopping halfway to take a breath. After a minute, he ventured forth until a door greeted him, along with two guards. Before the guards could alarm the others, again, the agile Weiss knocked them both out with the hilt of his broadsword. He checked their pulses, making sure they are alive before proceeding to open the door.

"…And here I thought that she is living in a hellhole. I mean, look at this place, it has lights, food and all, but…" Weiss spoke to himself.

"I guess those humongous paintings do creep me out."

After a loud click sound, Weiss slowly pushed the door open and peered his head inside, adjusting his eyes to the dark room. Quickly, he tiptoed inside and saw what his objective is, though he does not realize that his objective, a lady, is pretending to sleep with a dagger at hand. The lady, Princess Flare, was a bit afraid once she heard her door opening at the middle of the night, so she grabbed a dagger that she kept under her bed. Her heart is thumping, racing through the suspense of a stranger in her bedroom, something she felt every time when she sees her stepmother. Fear. However, after a few minutes, she realized that there is nothing around her. Not a sound, not a presence. Her fear dissipates, turning into curiosity. Slowly, she stood up and looked around through the darkness. The moonlight is no longer shining into her room, and the door to her room is now closed. Could it be that the intruder has already left? In any way, she felt lucky that she was alive, until suddenly…

"THWAP!!"

She tripped on something and fell to the ground.

"Ouch, that hurts!" a voice yelled at her.

Quickly, she stood back up and lighten up her room with a lantern, with a dagger in her other hand. She turned around, lighting the room only to discover a person rubbing his stomach in pain. She nearly yelled in terror, but before she could, the boy continued on mumbling.

"…Watch where you're going, I was having a nice nap on this amazingly soft fur carpet…" the intruder mumbled, and then Flare heard the boy snoozing inside her room.

Her terror turns into confusion, and soon…turned into irritation.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Flare yelled, smacking a pillow on top of Weiss's head.

"Umph…!!"

...

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--Image--

https://ibb.co/QmksWng - Flare's first meeting with Weiss

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"So, sorry about that sudden intrusion, I simply never slept on quality carpet before," Weiss apologized to Flare.

The princess in now sitting on her bed, in her pajamas, still confused about the ordeal, but she hasn't let her guard down yet, she is still holding firm to the dagger in hand.

"…Name yourself, stranger. My name is…"

For a moment there, Flare is thinking about any good titles.

"My name is Flare Edwen, Captain of the Pathfinder Knights," Flare introduced herself.

"What beckoned you here into my bedroom?" she inquired.

Weiss immediately kneeled in front of Flare with a familiar posture. It was used by previous Pathfinder Knights as they kneeled in front of her father, swearing complete loyalty to him before offering and reporting anything to him. Right now, the boy in front of her, the intruder kneeling in front of her is kneeling the same way the previous knights did to her father. Of course, she was taken aback by this, since she knew that most Pathfinder Knights are missing. Although she did not realize that the man in front of her…is not doing this out of respect.

"Do you think that…?" she asked, but stopped halfway after watching the boy still kneeling in front of her.

She remained silent for a while.

"Very well. I will remain the captain of this knight-less company," she replied with a soft voice, which for a moment charmed Weiss.

"…Oh, so, why are you here?" she asked, putting blind faith that the boy in front of her knows how the Pathfinder Knights operate.

"Yes, Your Highness. My name is Weiss. As a former member of the Pathfinder Knights, I have been ordered to save you…by the orders of the late king," Weiss reported, his terse tone clearly shows that he is doing this simply out of respect…not loyalty.

This puzzled Flare.

"Who?" she simplified.

"I've received a missive from the previous king to save you, as ordered in the contents of the letter," Weiss continued, pulling out a piece of paper.

Flare grabbed it from his eyes and immediately read it, insuring that what the intruder in front of her, saying is true. After a few minutes, Flare handed to letter back to him, but she is still puzzled.

"When was this?" she asked.

"I do not know."

"WHEN IS THIS? WHEN DID FATHER TOOK THE TIME TO RIGHT A LETTER?!" she flipped out, afraid and confused.

"The other fellow guarding the garden below is the one who handed the letter to me. If you want answers, you may ask him," Weiss reported briefly.

"…"

The princess remained silent, confused.

"What makes you different than them?" she asked.

"In all honesty, Your Highness, I don't know why I am drawn here, but I do know how the current royalty is treating you. However, an unexpected twist is that soon after the current king took the monarchy, almost everyone related to the previous king, died of natural causes, except Princess Flare Edwen, the half-human, half-elf lady with golden hair…" Weiss uttered.

"…That is you, Your Highness."

"How…how did you...?"

"I doesn't matter whether you choose to stay or leave, but, I presume the word 'save' inside the missive was meant to save the Edwen bloodline. The contents of the second paragraph clearly states that the previous king cared for you, so it might just be you in particular," Weiss exclaimed.

Flare remained silent, contemplating her thoughts, and the missive she just read. Without a doubt, she recognizes the writing on it, and it is indeed her father's. The boy in front of her is now a Pathfinder Knight, the only knight. All she can do now is either leave, putting her faith on a stranger who she doesn't know to act in accordance with how the previous Pathfinder Knights' act, or stay to talk with her friend, but suffer inside the tower she is slumbering in.

"…I'll follow you."

The lone Pathfinder Knight's eyes opened a bit. It seems he is also shocked to hear that the princess is following her only knight.

"Then, that settles it," the knight bowed once again before opening the large windows.

"That window…" Flare was about to warn him.

"Don't worry about it. My friend has already taken care of it. The barrier is already lifted…which means…" Weiss stammered, as if he forgot something really important.

In that instant, the bell tower rang loud, signaling that the guards are now aware that an intruder has entered the palace. They'll be mobilizing and it will be harder to escape.

"So, this is the only option."

"Your Highness, please, jump to your death," Weiss said with a straight face.

"….."

Silence is the only thing responding to Weiss.

"WHAT?!" Flare flipped out.

Without saying much, Weiss just grabbed her and stepped on the window opening, resisting his captain's struggle to break free.

"What do you think you are doing?" Flare chickened out.

However, with a smile and a warm face, the lone knight looked at his captain with a reassuring face.

"Trust me."

That warm smile and gentle voice just stopped the princess from resisting and just held him tighter.

"One more thing," she added.

"Hmm?"

"Why are you doing this?" she asked.

"….."

"For money, of course!" Weiss smiled.

Without leaving a second to reply, both of them jumped out of the window, straight 30 meters down to the ground.

"Whaaaat?!" Flare screams, echoing their fall.

…..

"Pardon me for cussing, Your Highness, but…are you two idiots?" Boyd asked the two of them as they hid inside an abandoned house.

"You told me to…" Weiss tried to answer, but he got knocked at the head before he could finish his sentence.

"I told you to leave marks to indicate that she jumped to her death, not jump to her death!" Boyd bickered, and again knocked Weiss's head.

"What was that one for?!" Weiss bickers.

"Don't be so selfish! And don't get ahead of yourself!" Boyd reminds Weiss as the two of them are at throats' with each other.

"What?! You did the same thing countless times before!" Weiss flicks Boyd's helmet, hurting his own finger.

"I'm allowed to do it, because I am already old! But you are not!"

"Huh?" Weiss muttered, showing a puzzled face.

Flare, who remained silent before, giggled. At the same time, she is having mixed feelings about the pair she is looking at.

"We can't escape unless we aren't prepared to die, stupid old man!"

"You have no idea what I was thinking. Who's the selfish one now?!" Weiss added.

"Yes, I've no idea, because I am old and stupid!" Boyd chuckles.

"Um…"

Instantly, the two of them turned silent and looked at Flare, looking at her, as if they are waiting for orders.

"I appreciate the help, but…"

"Who sent the letter to you…Mister…" Flare mumbles.

"Boyd, you can call me Boyd," Boyd introduces himself.

Weiss, who is now peeping through a window, looked at Boyd and nodded. Once he did, Boyd, just ignores the question and opened a basement trap door behind him, hidden underneath a rug. Without answering, the two of them entered the basement, leaving the princess alone, still in her pajamas. Angry that she was ignored, Flare jumped down and followed them from behind.

"Come on, move it! Carry your legs," Weiss orders Flare as he disappears from sight.

"Aye…Huh?" Flare murmured, puzzled.

The princess continues to follow Weiss from behind, her head filled with questions she wishes to be answered hours ago. When she followed him, Flare is greeted by an underground passageway in front of her. Inside, there's Boyd at the front, holding a lantern, with Weiss following him from behind.

"There must've been a horrible mistake," she added.

"Keep moving," Weiss says without even looking.

"I'm not supposed to be here. Sure, the palace is a bit…uneasy to live in, but I love the place. Violet's always cranky about manners, but I know she tries her best. So, why would a missive from my brother instructs for me to be rescued?" Flare inquires.

"Many people think they belong somewhere and deserve to be there, and ignore their own safety in doing so. Probably because the ale here is good, or maybe this is a city for dreams to be inspired, or maybe because someone was born into royalty," Weiss chuckles.

"No, no, no, you must be mistaken. I'm Princess Flare Edwen. The one and only half-breed in the royal family and the Captain of the Pathfinder Knights," Flare, for some reason, introduces herself again.

"…Weiss, the Lone Knight of the Pathfinder Knights. The pleasure's all mine. Now, come on! You don't want to be left behind inside here," Weiss reminds Flare as he walks away inside the cramped tunnel.

Flare grew more irritated since her questions are still not answered. She continues to follow the two of them and when she got closer, she immediately grabs Weiss's shoulder from behind.

"I demand an explanation!" Flare threatens Weiss.

"Do I look like the man in charge?" Weiss sasses her.

Then, she realized something. The tunnel they were in…it's now, spacious, and wide. The lantern that Boyd is currently holding is the only light that emanates the dark tunnel. She looked back, and saw the small tunnel that they came from. She dusted off the traces of dirt that got stuck on her pajamas, while at the same time observing the two strangers that 'rescued' her.

"Well, the reports are true. This huge tunnel goes directly under the Whitefall Cathedral, and…there's black puss all over the place," Weiss said.

Flare approached Boyd, trying to ask some more questions, but the fully-armored man just looks at the same direction, which causes Flare to look at it too. In front of her, there's a lump of black sludge, covered with black puss. That scene nearly made her vomit, but the man gently taps her back and reassures her that she is safe.

"Zzz…"

"Hmm…Mmm…"

"Oh, yes…Oh!"

"Pardon me, I was absorbed in thought that I forgot to answer your question," Boyd chuckled.

"…Of all the things…"

"Hmm…Mmm…"

Mmm…Mmm…"

"Just forgive him. He's really slow when it comes down to forming words," Weiss interrupts them.

"…But we really don't have time now. Just hurry up, so we can leave early, Uncle Boyd," he added.

When Boyd is still observing the puss, Flare turned her gaze to Weiss.

"Where am I?" she asks.

"Excuse me, Princess Flare, miss. It'll be not right to welcome you on board on this insane journey in this renowned tunnel of infamy, but I guess you wouldn't know about this since you always sit back on that beautiful palace of yours," Weiss sassed again.

"You know what? What's your problem?" Flare begins to yell.

"Do you two mind?" Boyd utters, looking at Weiss and Flare.

When he did that, Weiss immediately turned silent, and remained that way, which puzzled Flare. She approaches Boyd, who's now, for some reason, is poking the sludge with a stick.

"Uh, Boyd…" Flare called.

"Hmm?"

"I think you should not poke some unknown things with a stick," she added.

"Oh, pardon me, I was absorbed in thought," Boyd apologized, and instantly scoops a whole sludge in his hand.

He then places the sludge inside a ceramic bottle and placed it inside his bag. After that, he pulls out a bottle of water and washes his hands, while Weiss and Flare stares at him, perplexed and amazed by his obliviousness.

"This tunnel, stretches to every village, town, settlement, and other cities, leading to the Cathedral. Inside the missive, there's a line that says you are in danger, correct?" Boyd asks.

"Y-Yeah…"

"The writer clearly has a certain understanding of something we don't know about, but the letter is clearly not meant for you. It's meant to be sent to someone named Mitchel Edwen, your brother."

"It says here that I should be cautious around King Ragnar and Archbishop Lincoln, but what for. I mean, Ragnar's just been cooking cupcakes inside the palace. There's nothing to be cautious about," Flare states.

"Wait, the King's been baking cupcakes?" Weiss asks.

"…In any case, we've been informed by several trusted sources around the Cantor regarding this tunnel that supposedly leads to redemption and forgiveness."

"What do you mean?" Flare asks.

"The religion of the Divine Faith is led by the archbishop, and every month, people from all sides of the continent send their best people to become priests and work inside the cathedral, through these tunnels. But, have you ever noticed, the constant number of priests working inside the cathedral, Your Highness?" Boyd asks Flare.

She just shook her head. Again, Boyd plunges his hand into the sludge, and freaked Weiss out. His squeal made Flare squeal in terror, setting off a chain reaction of squealing. Then, Boyd pulls his arm out, with something in his hand.

"…The applicants, are turned to sacrifices," Boyd said, and shows a skull, completely rid of flesh, leaving only bone.

Flare immediately screamed in terror when she saw that. Her scream echoes through the entire tunnel, and Weiss immediately closed her mouth. Boyd dropped the skull to the ground and immediately tells them to exit the tunnel from the way they came from.

"You, idiot! You've woken him up!" Weiss whispers and smacks Flare's head.

"What? Woke what up?" Flare said, stopping on her tracks.

Boyd and Weiss jumped into the small tunnel. Immediately when they did that, suddenly, mists began to form inside the tunnel. Flare panicked, and immediately calls out for help.

"Weiss!"

"Boyd!"

"Weiss!"

"Anybody!"

Nobody answered, and the mist became thicker. Then, she could hear something approaching from afar. It sounded like something stretching, and galloping at the same time. Flare is unsure from which direction it came from, since the mist blurred her vision and prevents her from seeing anything.

Suddenly, a loud neigh booms through the entire tunnel, and the galloping sound grew louder. There's also sounds of a whip snapping, further panicking Flare. After that, a voracious cry can be heard, roaring throughout the tunnel, but without a doubt it's close. Inside the cramped space, something like that can come from any direction.

"Please…anybody…help me…" Flare cries for help.

"…Weak. I feel so weak. I can feel blood running along my body, but my head feels too heavy to look, and my arms are too heavy to move. Everything's too heavy! Why? Why am I so weak?" she said to herself, panicking.

"…But, I'm standing, still standing. No…everything's just feels so heavy. My entire body is telling me, forcing me to lay down and pray, but I can't…I can't give in. Not yet. Not like this…"

Suddenly, she felt something grabbed her hand and it immediately pulls her away.

"Hmph…!"

Flare was about to scream in terror, only to realize that it was Weiss. His right hand is closing her mouth, and his other hand is placed in front of his face. His index finger is placed on his lips, signaling Flare to keep quiet. Slowly, the two of them tiptoed to the side, eventually stumbled with Boyd, who's waiting inside the small tunnel that they came from.

Suddenly, the neigh became louder, and the whole tunnel begins to shake, as if something fast and heavy is charging at top speed towards them. The sounds of whip snapping became louder. Immediately, the three of them pushed themselves through the tunnel and dashed away. Flare turned her head around, facing the mist, and saw red eyes staring at her. That red-eyed creature then bashes itself to the small tunnel, trying to force its way through. The small tunnel that they came from begins to shake. Dirt began falling on their heads, dirtying their hair, but what matters most is their lives. The three of them managed to outrun the beasts, but then…Flare could see someone, a person, following them from behind.

At first, she thought it was just a silhouette from rocks, until the very silhouette begins to dash towards them from behind.

"Someone…Someone is chasing us!" she screams.

"That must be him! Darn it!" Weiss grunts as they run away.

"Who?"

"Uncle Boyd! I think it's time!" Weiss yells from behind.

The earth wall next to Flare suddenly just bursts into small pieces, leaving a trace of a whip. Whoever he is, the person chasing them is angry, and he wants to kill them, with a whip!

"Oh…okay," Boyd says and puts his hand together.

The man who's chasing them is prepared to lash his whip again, until suddenly, the earth ceiling above him just crumbles down and buried him. While she is running away, she could see the man's arm digging himself out of the soil, but the crumbling sets off a chain reaction, and soon the entire small tunnel caved in, along with the three of them.