Guardian Knights

The knight's training hall is suspensefully quiet as the knights watch Ruby and Norman intensely spar.

-It's only been a few days, but Lady Ruby's skills are drastically improving- Norman concludes to himself as he pushes Ruby off of him. -She lacks muscle strength but makes up for it with her small body. She's able to quickly slip behind my large body in order to gain an advantage while I'm still recovering. Has she been watching the knights with smaller builds while practicing with me?-

With a quick swoop, Ruby shouts as she mounts onto Norman's shoulders and pulls the wooden sword onto his neck. Norman, shocked by Ruby's performance, raises his hands up and surrenders.

"Lady Ruby, you win. I have been defeated."

The knights roar as they rush up to Ruby and throw her into the air.

"You did it!"

"Princess Ruby beat Norman!"

Frightened by the loud cheering, Diamond hides behind a pillar when she feels a warm touch on her back. She turns around and sees Raynold behind her.

"What is going on to cause such a loud ruckus?" Duke Stoneborne questions, stepping into the training hall. "You are scaring Diamond."

"Ah! Good evening, Your Grace," Norman and the other knights say after immediately stopping what they were doing.

The duke glances over at Ruby who is covered in dirt and scratches. "Ruby, have your practices been going well?"

"Good evening, Father. My sparring match with Norman has just finished, resulting in my win," Ruby explains, approaching her father.

"You won a sparring match against Norman?" the duke comments as he looks over at Norman. "Is this true, Norman?"

Without raising his head, Norman answers, "Yes, Your Grace. Over the last three days, Lady Ruby has improved at a ridiculously fast rate. I would dare say that she is ready to learn more advanced skills as she has proven to have mastered the basic skills."

-She still lives up to the fact that she learns fast- the duke says to himself. -It's not just in swordsmanship practice either. Her etiquette class, Professor Brian's lectures, even the small things I'm teaching her about running the Duchy. She picks up on all of them and remembers it all with perfect clarity.-

The duke smirks as he moves to the side to let Ruby pass. "You are greatly exceeding my expectations, Ruby. I'm very proud. Come, I came to fetch you because you and Diamond are late for dinner."

"Thank you for the compliment, Father," Ruby says, taking her place next to the duke.

As Ruby, Diamond, and the duke were about to leave for dinner, Raynold stops them. "Your Grace, before we head back to the main house, I would like for the princesses to meet their new guardian knights."

"That was quick," Duke Stoneborne mentions, turning his head to look behind him. "I wasn't expecting knights to be announced so soon."

"I was planning on introducing them tomorrow; however, since you are here, I figured that it would be best to show you the knights now for your approval."

The duke glances down at his daughters who are standing next to him. "I guess we should get it over with while we are here so that we don't waste time tomorrow. Show me the two who have won the tournament."

"Norman! Raja! Step forward!" Raynold commands as he makes room for the two knights to stand in front of the duke and his daughters. The two knights step forward and present themselves to the girls. "These are the knights who won, Your Grace. Their strength has been tested, and their ability to keep secrets is on par to how you ordered."

"Ruby. Diamond. You each must choose a knight," the duke orders while lightly pushing them forward. "They will swear loyalty to you and will stay by your side from now on."

Without thinking too hard about it, Ruby immediately makes her choice. "I will choose Norman to be my knight. We have already established a connection, so there shouldn't be any problems with him agreeing. Correct, Norman?"

Norman kneels down in front of Ruby. "That is correct, Lady Ruby. I swear my undying loyalty to the first Princess of Stoneborne. I give you my body and soul to do as you wish."

As Norman makes his vow to Ruby, Diamond and Raja quietly stare at each other. "I… choose… Raja…"

Raja, a man with long midnight black hair, approaches Diamond and kneels down, slightly scaring her. "I, Raja, swear my undying loyalty to the second Princess of Stoneborne. I give you my body and soul to do as you wish."

"Norman. Raja," the duke calls as he glares down at the two knights. "You must stay by the girls' sides at all times and protect them at all costs. If anything happens to them, you will receive the same thing threefold. Their scratch will become your scar. Do you understand?"

"We understand," the two answer, shaking from the chill that runs down their spine due to the duke's menacing stare.

"Ruby. Diamond. It will be bothersome to have them around at first, but you will eventually get used to their presence. Your knight will be at your beck and call whenever you need them, so don't be scared to order them around because there are things that they can do that you can't. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Father," Ruby promptly answers.

"Yes… Father…." Diamond whispers from behind the stuffed bear that the maids gave her.

Duke Stoneborne shifts his gaze one last time to the two knights who are still kneeling. "What are you waiting for?" he asks. "You will immediately move into the main house, so grab your things and hurry to the house. Don't waste any more time that you already have. Raynold will be showing you where you will be staying from now on."

"Yes, Your Grace." With that said, Norman and Raja rush off to their rooms and quickly pack their belongings.

—

Night has completely fallen, so everyone heads to sleep. The house is peaceful until Ruby hears a knock on her door.

"Ruby?"

Recognizing the voice, Ruby gets up and opens her door to find a sleepy blue haired child wavering in front of her door.

"Diamond, it's time to sleep. You have to return to bed."

"But I don't like sleeping by myself," Diamond yawns as she grabs onto Ruby's dress. "Can I stay with you? I don't want to be alone."

"My Lady, is everything okay?" Norman asks, poking his head out from the room across from Ruby's.

"Diamond wishes to sleep with me. Can you help her onto the bed?" Ruby asks while walking Diamond into her room.

Norman quickly obeys Ruby's request and lifts Diamond onto the bed and tuck the girls in. "Is this okay, Lady Ruby?"

Ruby nods her head. "Yes, thank you, Norman."

"My pleasure, my Lady." With hushed footsteps, Norman leaves the room and slowly closes the door behind him.

"Ruby?" Diamond calls half asleep.

"Yes, Diamond?"

"Are we safe here?"

"Yes, we're safe."

"The hunters aren't going to come for us here?"

"They won't come for us anymore. We can sleep peacefully in this house."

"That's… good…"

Dropping her head into Ruby's chest, Diamond falls fast asleep with Ruby doing the same not too long after. As they fall into a deep sleep for the night, a bird made out of crystals watches from a tree branch outside Ruby's room.

"Hunters?" the duke comments while writing down what the girls said. "Why would Diamond ask if they are safe? How does Ruby remember her past when she says that she doesn't to me? What happened to them before they returned to their caves?"

The duke leans back in his office chair and removes his reading glasses. "So Raynold was right when he mentioned about the girls talking about a forest fairy during lunch today. They know something that they aren't telling us, but how do I get them to tell me without it being obvious that I was spying on them."

A knock on the duke's window attracts his attention. He opens it up to let the crystal bird fly through and perch itself in the corner. "It was a good idea to create the looking-glass bird in order to watch the girls today. Let's just see if those knights will also be a good idea."