Archive 39: A tree without roots II.

Alcyone didn't know what to think after that. 

He felt relief when he found out that lady Esmeralda, as well as the baby were safe but disappointed with himself. 

This whole situation could've been avoided had he not left her side. He knew deep down in his heart that he failed the mission. 

Later that day, he called to his master's room and in there he found Beryus as well as lady Esmeralda. 

Expecting to be told that he had failed, to his surprise, he had passed the test.

"H-how could this be? Didn't I fail?" He asked in bewilderment. 

"If you are referring to the attack that happened, then please disregard it." Esmeralda said. 

Alcyone turned to look at Esmeralda in disbelief. "I apologize for being too forward, but how could I possibly disregard this incident?! You could've been gravely injured Lady Esmeralda. I was unable to protect you so how could I possibly have passed?" 

Esmeralda looked at the boy with sympathetic eyes. She then turned to look at Duke Helio who hadn't said anything since he'd arrived and sighed. 

"This was all part of the test. Of course no one could've predicted that I'd be attacked like that, but you didn't hesitate to come to my aid." She assured him. 

"B-but I left you alone. I should have stayed by your side. I mean, the assailants only attacked when I left. The leader knew that by leaving you alone, you would be vulnerable and an easier prey." 

This assessment made both Esmeralda and Beryus smile. 

"This is exactly the reason why Sir Helio has passed you. Even after the incident, you are aware of its cause and have learned what not to do next time. Also, despite being at a disavantage, you still overpowered your opponents by a lot. The shadow knights didn't even need to step in." 

"And Alcyone, you don't need to blame yourself for leaving. It was a request I made myself and you had no choice but to oblige. Also, don't go underestimating me, I would've been able to subdue them even while pregnant." 

"R-right. I apologize." 

"Alcyone." Helio finally spoke for the first time. 

Alcyone who had relaxed a little tensed up immediately after hearing his name out of Helio's mouth. 

"Yes master." He said standing up right. 

"You know your strong points as well as your weak ones. Being a knight is no easy task and just like you've learned from this mission, you will find yourself in situations where you'll have to make the right calls. In this case, the decision you made to leave Esmeralda alone albeit not voluntarily could've caused her death. Had you stayed at your post, maybe the attack could've been prevented. The only reason you passed was because despite your careless mistake, you did you duty until the end and protected the duchess." 

He paused for a second before continuing. 

"You did a lot better than I thought you would. Anyway, congratulations you are now officially a knight. Do not take this position lightly." 

"Yes I will sir!" 

Alcyone once dismissed made his way out of the room. While walking along the halls, he felt a sense of pride, but a large part of him couldn't shake the fact that he was underserving of his new title.

As he was feeling conflicted, he ended up passing a group of knight trainees. As soon as they spotted him, they got quiet. 

Alcyone didn't pay them any mind and kept walking. Once the group of young trainees were certain that he was out of earshot, they started whispering amongst themselves.

"Can you believe he's becoming a knight just like that?" 

"How is that even possible, I thought he failed since lady Esmeralda was attacked?" 

"Also isn't he too young to be a knight?"

"Ugh he probably thinks he's better than all of us now that he's an official knight. He's always acted so arrogantly acting like he's better than us." 

The trainees kept talking against Alcyone berating him not knowing that the person they were talking about was in fact able to hear everything that was being said against him.

Alcyone had been blessed with incredible hearing so despite being far away from the group, nothing was missed.

Despite the fact that he was being berated, he wasn't at all angry nor insulted. In fact, Alcyone couldn't help but agree with some of their sentiments regarding the situation.

"Hey, that's enough." One of the trainee's who had been quiet finally spoke up. 

His soft voice was clear and unwavering showing no indication of shame or fear. This made Alcyone's ears perk up.

He wondered if he would would talk badly about him as well. 

"Unlike you guys who love to slack off and only do the bear minimum, he works hard. He deserves the title more than anyone here." 

The whispered ceased immediately after he spoke up. 

"Instead of speaking ill of others, maybe you can focus some of that energy for you trainings." 

"Hey, are you talking back to us right now?" One of the older trainees in the group spoke up looking down at the boy.

"You don't think we work hard too? We put in the same exact amount of practice as he does and he's the one who gets promoted? How is that fair?" He continued to say.

"Are you seriously talking to me about fairness right now? Do you even know how much work he puts in everyday? You've seen him during practice. By the time we arrive he's already sweating and panting. He trains before our practices begin and even when practice is over, he stays back and trains some more. Can you really say that he is undeserving even after all of that?" 

This comment surprised Alcyone. He wasn't aware that there was someone who noticed. He peeked his head in order to see who the person that was defending him was. 

The boy was of average height with caramel skin and sticking lavender white hair. his amethyst coloured eyes shined brightly under the light of the chandelier that was hanging down the celling. 

His appearance was eye catching but what caught Alcyone the most about him was how warm the energy exuding from him was. 

"If anything, we should use him as an example and try to work just as hard." 

"Ugh that's easy for you to say Zuri. You were also born talented. You do the same amount of training as we do and yet you are always surpassing us." One of the trainees grumbled. 

"All I am hearing are excuses. Increase the amount of training you do and you'll catch up to me in no time. Who know's you might even surpass me." He chuckled. 

"Yeah right. Whatever let's stop talking about this. I'm both hungry and tired. Let's go get some food." 

"Fine but you should apologize to Alcyone. Talking being someone's back is rude." 

"Like heck I will. That guy is scary. You can never tell what he's thinking." 

"I don't think he's scary?" Zuri said with a confused look on his face. 

"That's cause you're not afraid of anything." 

The group then left the hall while laughing. 

Alcyone was now left alone in silence, thinking about what happened. He didn't realize that standing there, a small smile formed on his lips.