QueenFrieza

WSA 2025 Entry! 

Excerpt: 
"Are you satisfied?" he asked, walking to the fire where she already sat. "Can you yet call yourself the greatest knight?

"Not until I can beat you," Irene argued. 

Despite how serious he looked only moments before, he cracked a smile. 

"But you saved my life," he insisted.

Synopsis: 
With a second chance given to her after a pathetic ending to a life she didn’t want, Irene Litharion decides that she will follow in her father’s footsteps and become a knight. 

Waking up in the body of her eleven year old self, she’s reinvigorated to follow her heart. She has the rare blood of ancient warriors in her veins and promises to not turn her back to it anymore.

Prepared for the sacrifices she will have to make to live the life she wants, a new challenge is presented when the only way she can become an apprentice knight is to turn her back on femininity altogether. The years she spent being forced to attend etiquette lessons go out the window and instead, daily sword practice takes place. 

Her father does all he can to get her into the knighthood, but it’s up to her to show her strength and skill to stay in it. 

However, it’s different than she expects when the Monster War ravages her homeland, she learns the sting of loss, and secrets of her own blood present themselves the more she leans into the thrill of battle.

I Will Be the Greatest Knight

People kept reading Irene's thoughts that day. She didn't like it.

"Is it that I'm dressed up, or you're under-dressed, Sir Trenton?" the young Duke quipped back.

There it was, that effortless wit.

"We're simply lucky that, despite him being your apprentice, he decided to take after my clothing choices," Sir Alix added his own comment. "I think he looks suitable for the occasion."

Irene had practically only just realized Sir Alix was there. It seemed she did tend to prefer the bulkier, wilder-looking types compared to the refined nature of someone so deeply rooted in nobility. She didn't think anyone could eclipse Alix's appearance until it happened that evening.

She did have to admit that Felix did look nice, though. The silk on his green tunic was of the highest quality. Things that didn't have to matter to a knight seemed to be so effortless for him.

Innocent Curiosity