Chapter 13: Knighthood

Alice gave David some time off to recover from his injuries. David happily obliged and spent his time resting at home. After 2 days Alice showed up for a visit for "official business." Which was her excuse to leave the palace and get inside the door, but truthfully, she just came to play. She spent the time talking with David, looking around the now fixed up manor, teasing David that his garden didn't have flowers, and playing chess with him, which, to Alice's dismay, David was bad at. Eventually dinnertime came and David offered her to stay, but Alice declined saying that she did in fact have work to do back at the Palace but promised to come back again soon. 

Soon enough after another few days Alice came back to play and once again, they spent the day lazing around, talking, and playing chess, which David was surprised to find out just how lacking in games this world was. Still though, they had fun wasting the day away until nighttime came and Alice, once again, had to go home. After a week of time off David had seemingly recovered. He was shocked, his body had been full of stab wounds, cuts, and scrapes but he healed so fast. Of course none of his wounds were all that serious but still, he was wounded, he still had several scars all over his body and he wasn't in top form yet, but he found no issues with moving around or doing normal tasks, so he decided it was time to go back to the Palace. 

Upon entering Alice's office, she was shocked to see David up and about, let alone here in the Palace. 

"What are you doing here?" Alice asked, slightly concerned. "Aren't you still injured?" 

"Well," David began as he looked at his right hand, opening and closing it slowly. "I seem to have recovered." 

"I... I thought you'd be recovering for at least another week." Alice said with obvious disappointment, obviously she wanted David to stay home so she could come play more. Internally she was just secretly relieved that he was doing better, perhaps his wounds weren't as serious as they both thought? 

"You know you are welcome to come over whenever you want, even if I'm not injured." David said humorously as he took a seat on the couch. 

"Ah, wait, wait before you get too comfy, there's something we have to do first." She said as she begins rummaging through her desk

 "I was going to wait a bit longer for you to recover before telling you this, but now will do I suppose." Alice pulls out a thick piece of paper and puts it on her desk. 

"David Lee of the House Williams." Alice begins with a commanding tone. David laughed to himself internally, it was funny hearing his usually childish Alice talk like, well, a princess. Besides that, the whole "House Williams" thing was still weird as well. 

"You are hereby granted the title of Knight and are to enter into the Empire's service immediately." Alice said with a grin. Well this was a shock; he was a knight now? How did this happen? There were so many questions running through David's head right now, but he decided to start asking them one at a time. 

"Wait, how did I become a knight?" David asked, still scrambling to keep up in his head. 

"It's in recognition of your work at breaking the Human trafficker ring." 

"But why me? I'm just a human, I didn't even think that humans could become knights." To David's understanding, becoming a knight in this world was more like becoming an enlisted officer in the army, you had rank and privileges over the standard foot soldiers as well as a command of some kind. 

"Well," Alice said as she put down the paper. "My father... the king prefers to run the government by meritocracy rather than by birth right. When I told him of how you managed to help us take the criminals down, he felt it only right to grant you a position worthy of your skills." Alice said smugly for her friend. 

"Besides it's not like there have never been human knights before, though usually they are just honorary positions, there is precedent." 

This was a bit too much for David, he was suddenly becoming a knight just for saving some people who were about to be sold? He didn't think it was that special. Then as he was trying to organize his thoughts another question came to his mind. 

"If I become a knight, does this mean I won't see you as often anymore?" Alice smiled; she had expected a question like this of course but it was good to know that her friend was just as concerned as she was when she was told about this, worried that they would no longer be allowed to work together. Alice picked the document back up and continued reading. 

"As such he shall be placed under the crown princess Alice Cantora as her direct subordinate, shall report to her, and operate under her. Furthermore, the footmen he recruits under his name shall operate separately from the army at large and instead be a force working for the princess." Alice said, putting the document down again. 

Wait, subordinates? He had assumed, as Alice said, that he would be given an honorary knighthood title, but if he was being given subordinates that just means that this is anything but ordinary. Can the king really just do that? He has never been in a position of authority before! Is he going to be okay? He doesn't know the first thing about being a knight! Alice, seeing the concern on his face, chuckles to herself. 

"Calm down, calm down. It's not like you'll be sent to war or anything, in fact it's just the opposite." She said as she sat down. 

"This whole event has made us realize that we lack any sort of reliable means to gather information subtly, so the plan I worked out with the king is that you will create soldiers to do just that." 

"Wait," David said as he realized what she just roped him into. "So, you're telling me, on top of having to deal with a command, I'm now having to create an intelligence agency? Don't you already have one?" This was crazy. He didn't know the first thing about how to run an intelligence agency, of course he had watched some TV shows and documentaries about them, but he never even dreamed of doing something like this. 

"No, we don't. If we did, we wouldn't be creating a covert squad under you. Besides you've already shown your skill not only in the raid earlier, but also when you were on the run from the entire Velma estate, it's not an easy feat to outrun so many soldiers alone and on foot. You did have the nickname "Ghost of the Forest" after all." Alice gives him a cheeky grin. Not that again. He would have much rather put that whole event behind him. He looks at Alice who is standing there proudly. He clearly couldn't worm his way out of the situation, so had no choice but to accept and deal with the consequences. David sighed loudly. 

"Alright, what do I have to do?" 

Alice smiled knowing she had convinced him. 

"Well first you will need to go to a training session for a month to gain skills needed as a knight and then after that you will need to assemble a group of 50 people and train them however you see fit. After that we will have your group handle tasks we wouldn't have the regular knight core do." Alice stops and then looks a little bashful. 

"But before all that, you need to do the knighting ceremony." David had not even thought of this, he completely forgot. 

"Since I assumed you wouldn't want to go through the tedious ceremony with all the nobles gathered and such, I asked my father to allow me to do it in private. Since you are to be my personal knight, he allowed me to do it as I see fit. So, don't worry, we'll just run through the motions real quick and then be done with it." Alice said as she looked around the room. "I just need a... ah!" She said as she walked over to the wall. She quickly pulls a decorative sword and then walks over to David. 

"You're going to need to kneel for this." She said to David. He slowly gets up, goes over to Alice and then kneels before her like he would see in a movie. "Close your right hand and put it over your left breast." This was different, but he did as he was told. 

"Now," Alice said as she shifted the blade in her hand and cleared her throat. "I Alice De Lugo Cantora, do hereby swear David Lee of House Williams into knighthood." She said as she tapped each side of his shoulder with the blade. 

"Take the blade from me, and say you accept." Alice whispers to David, now holding the sword horizontally in front of him. David does so and then does as she said. 

"I accept." He then pauses, still kneeling. "Are we done?" 

"Almost." Alice said as she shifts her footing from a wide gait to a more centered one. 

"That was the knighting ceremony now you just have to swear your loyalty to me as the princess and then we are done." Alice said as she held her hand out in front of him. 

"Wait so I have to swear loyalty to you forever?" David said now with a cheeky grin. 

"What? You got a problem with that?" Alice said, catching on to the fact he's messing with her.

 "Who knows, another princess might come along and steal my heart away and then what shall I do?" He said laughing to himself lightly. Alice just rolls her eyes and decides to get on with it. 

"Do you, David Lee of House Williams hereby swear to stand at my side as my knight, to serve and protect me from now until your death?" David didn't need instructions on what to say, he understood that much at least. 

"I do." 

"Now just kiss my hand." Alice said. David leans in and then plants a light kiss on Alice's hand. She immediately recoils in surprise. 

"What are you doing?" She said slightly miffed "You aren't supposed to actually kiss my hand, only nobles are supposed to do that, you are supposed to kiss in front of it!" 

"You were the one who told me to kiss your hand." David said confused at what he did wrong. Alice facepalms. 

"I sometimes forget just how much of an idiot you are." She shakes her head. 

"So now are we done?" David said slightly annoyed that he's being yelled at for just following instructions.

"Well," Alice began, now recovered from David's stupidity. "Technically this is the part where the knight offers his blood to the princess to seal the pact between them." She said and then added quickly. 

"But I know that humans don't have the same feelings as vampires do about this sort of thing, and I doubt you want me to drink your blood either, and this whole part of the ceremony is silly anyway, and you already have to give your blood to Maria, and..." By this point she was just rambling, her face bright red from a blush. David just stared and listened to her for a few moments before coming to a decision. He takes a slow breath.

"Okay." David said as he craned his neck to the side. 

"...what?" Alice said softly and tentatively, no longer rambling. 

"I've already thought about this, you have done so much for me already, the saving me from the underground, giving me a place to live, giving me a purpose, you even didn't abandon me when I asked to help you last week with the raid, you could have kept me out of it, but instead you let me help. You knew that I couldn't just let those people suffer like they were going to. You have done a lot for me, and there isn't much I can do for you. But I can at least do this much." He said as he moved the hair away from his neck. He had been thinking about this for a long time. The thought of a vampire drinking his blood still scared him, he still has the image of the soldier in the forest staring at him like he was dinner and opening his mouth with the intent to drain him. It still haunted him. But if it was Alice, his friend, he could do it. He knew that vampires treated blood like a delicacy, so if his blood was enough to satisfy Alice then it would be worth it. Deciding to volunteer himself like this was his way of showing that he trusted her. 

"It's fine Alice, I trust you. This is thanks." He said after a long pause as he senses Alice's hesitation.

Alice had no idea what to do right now, she planned on completely skipping this part of the ceremony. She had barely intended on mentioning it but got caught up in the moment and told him. This is the last thing she expected, it was so sudden for her. To a vampire, offering one's blood is akin to offering subservience, of course there were those that saw it as an entirely sexual act, but it had meaning in noble society. That is why the swearing ceremony included it, as a sign of subservience, the Knight would offer his blood to the one he is going to serve. But when it was with humans it had an entirely different meaning when one offers their blood voluntarily. It usually either means that they have submitted to being dominated, he is propositioning her, or it is a marriage proposal. This whole situation was just so unexpected she didn't know what to do. She knew that he lacked a lot of the sensibilities of this world and probably had no idea what his gesture meant but he was willingly offering his blood to her. His motives were not lost on her, she understood that to him this was an act of trust, he was offering himself as thanks for being his friend, and for being there to help him. But would she just be taking advantage of her friend's naiveté? Was it okay for her to take him up on his offer? She knew that humans, unlike vampires, see having their blood drunk as a taboo. But was it the same for him? He isn't from this world? Does that make it okay? 

Alice's mind was a mess, as she stood there looking at David still offering himself to her, all that could go through her mind was him asking for her hand in marriage. She knew full well that was not his intention, but that was all she could think about. She also knew however just how much courage it must have taken for him to do this, given his past. It was tearing her up inside. She of course had gotten many marriage proposals from a number of high society men. But Vampires live a long time, it was unlikely that her father was going to pass on anytime soon and he was not in any rush for her to have a child. Vampire society in general was not patriarchal, many vampire queens have ruled in the past, so long as she continued the royal line at some point in the future, he did not mind what she did in the meantime. Thus, despite the many offers of marriage she had received in letter and in person, she had turned them all down, wanting to live her own life as her own person. But seeing her friend before her offering himself in such a brazen marriage proposal made her beyond flustered. As a girl with zero experience with love, this was too much for her. To make matters worse, if she accepted this would be the first time she ever drank someone's blood directly, of course when she was young and was teething, she would chew on her maid's arms or on her father when he was around but this and that are different. Even when she was saving his life from the poison in the forest, she was not "drinking his blood" she was getting rid of the poison, it may seem similar, but there was a marked difference between the two. It is the difference between giving someone CPR and giving them a kiss. So, to top everything off, her first time would be with her friend, David. 

David could not see her after he had offered his neck, his eyes were stuck looking at the ground near his foot, but had he been able to see Alice's face he would have seen how her entire face was now red, much redder than before. He had no idea the emotional turmoil that was going on inside Alice's head. He had no idea that his "gift" carried a much greater significance than he could have ever imagined. 

Alice had come to a decision, she had to accept her friend's offering. It was part of the ceremony, and it was his way of thanking her. There was nothing to do with love, he was not asking for her hand in marriage. He was just her friend, and as a friend it was her job to ensure that he is not disappointed in her. So, with that, she stepped forward, kneeled next to him, and bit into his neck. 

The taste was divine, she could not even describe it. Of course, she, being the crown princess, had on many occasions drank blood offered to her in wine glasses from either noble vampires, or humans who were selling their blood for money. The human blood almost always tasted better. However, as she drank her friend's blood, a taste so clean and pure was present. It was overwhelming, it was all she could do just to not lose herself to the pleasure. Has drinking blood directly always been this good? Or is it that her friend has special blood? Even when she was purifying his blood in the forest, even though she wasn't really trying to taste his blood, it didn't taste anywhere near this good. Was it because the poison was ruining the taste? Was it because she was busy then? Whatever it was, the sweet taste of his blood kept filling her mouth as she drank more.

David had braced himself for the worst. Of course, he was aware that there was always a euphoric feeling that followed, but even when Maria drank his blood there was always the fear, the fear of being bit into, the fear of having his blood drained. But perhaps it was because he had offered himself willingly, or perhaps it was because Alice was his friend, or maybe even because of her "special" bloodline, whatever it was, the fear never came. Instead, while he knelt there, Alice on his neck, besides the usual euphoria he also felt something else, a comfort, like he was being bathed in a warm light. While having his blood drunk by Maria gave him a near overwhelming euphoria, with Alice, the euphoria was there but more subdued. Instead he felt almost calm, at peace. For the first time since he arrived in this world, after having his blood drunk so many times, this was the first time he could say that the experience was somewhat pleasant. It's possible that he could feel this way with Maria if he didn't have such mixed feelings about her. But the differences between the two are like night and day. While having his blood drunk by Maria felt like a powerful wave hitting while at sea in a storm, with Alice it felt like the gentle lapping of the waves on a beach.

Still though, as they sat there, each thinking their own thoughts, eventually it came to an end when Alice, who had been overcome with the desire to keep drinking, came to her senses and withdrew. Of course, the ceremony itself only requires that the princess should drink just a small bit of the blood, but since her friend was going so far as to offer it as a "gift" she had already planned on drinking a bit more, if only to be polite. But she had gotten so caught up in the taste of his blood that she forgot herself and went much further than she originally intended. As she regains her senses, she sees that blood is still flowing from his neck and dripping down, getting his clothes bloody. For the briefest of moments, as she watched the blood slowly trickle out of his neck, she had a strong desire to go back in and continue drinking, or at least to lick the blood currently coming out. But she held herself back, David would not appreciate it if she did that. So instead she started to frantically run around looking for a cloth or rag or something to cover his wound with. 

David by this point was feeling very lightheaded, however his head was not pounding, he was not in pain, just tired. He watched as Alice frantically ran to try to find some cloth and smiled weakly. 

"How was the gift? Did it taste good?" He was being sincere, he certainly felt weakened by the whole event, but he was the one who offered in the first place. Seeing her run around frantically like she was made her seem adorable. 

Alice stops when she hears David ask her the question. Of course, it did, it was the most delicious thing she had ever tasted, so much so that she lost herself in the moment and just kept going and going. It was rather embarrassing how she let herself go like that. She couldn't let him know that though, even if she wasn't Maria who carried grace with her everywhere, she went, she was the princess, she had to maintain some respect. So, she quickly calmed herself down and responded in her usual cheerful way. 

"It was exquisite. Thank you!" This also proved that David really didn't know what he was doing, she must have been overthinking it. After all there were other human knights in the past, they probably had their blood drunk as well as a part of the ceremony; it must have just been her not thinking it through well enough! But she still could taste his blood on her lips, she could still feel him trembling in her arms as her teeth sank into him, she could still remember his smell as she stood over him, as well as she still remembered how his body felt as she touched it and how the flesh resisted ever so slightly as she bit in. All of this she remembered as she had just calmed herself down. Now with the memory back on her mind she blushes madly again and then goes about trying to find something for his wound.

David was nearly falling asleep by this point; it had drained him much more than he thought it would. He was barely paying attention to Alice as he crawled over to the couch where he normally sat and pulled himself onto it. 

"I'm just... I'm just going to take a nap." He mumbles as he lays down and then almost immediately falls asleep. 

Alice had finally found something to stem the bleeding, an old but unused handkerchief she had stowed away in her drawer. Immediately rushing over to David only to find him asleep on the couch, his neck and head elevated so that the blood would drip onto him and not the couch or floor. Even when he was this tired, he was still being considerate. Though, not that he would know, the Palace maids were quite adept at cleaning blood and bloodstains. In fact, the whole of vampire society knew how to prevent blood from ruining furniture and carpets because of how important blood was to their race. Still though, the fact that he even thought of that before he passed out made her smile. 

She gently knelt next to him and placed the handkerchief on his neck to stem the bleeding. As she watched him there sleeping peacefully, she got a different kind of urge. She had been so wrapped up in how the blood tasted and the fact it was her gift that she forgot this whole thing was about the knighting ceremony. But as she watched him sleeping on the couch, the bleeding now stopped, she saw not a courageous knight in shining armor who would save her from a dragon, but she saw a man she wanted to protect, a man that had been through a lot and still decided to offer the very thing he was trying so hard to protect. So, as she thought these thoughts she slowly leaned in and planted a soft kiss on his forehead.

"Rest well, my knight." Alice said softly.