Rainclouds threatened rain, and snow remained on the highest peaks, but it didn’t sour Irene’s mood when she saw the second in command riding towards the Duke’s Tower at the sa ti they were.
"All of us finally together," she called to Felix first thing as she lifted the visor that covered her eyes. "How has everyone been taking it?"
Both groups stopped and rged into one another until it was a group of almost all the knights together for the first ti in ages, not due to an ergency. There were words of well wishes between the few with Felix and the ones with Irene.
Even though the day wasn’t all that bright or sunny, Irene’s heart was struck with warmth.
While Felix did seem a bit exhausted, he smiled at the first thing Irene had said to him in months.
"Our first reunion in months, and all you’re asking about are other knights?" he joked.
"Both letters I’ve received from you since my return haven’t exactly had a desire to talk for the sake of it," she reminded him. "How is... everything?"
She couldn’t help her curiosity, glancing from Felix to the tower. There was a hesitance in her voice as if she was going to open a fresh wound. Had the Duke been awful so far? Was his inexperience obvious?
"You will have to see for yourself," Felix answered vaguely, though the smirk on his face only made her more curious. "For now, let us focus on resting for a day, then we will show the Commander what our knighthood is made of."
The second in command placed his helt over his head once more, and he squeezed his knees, leading the knights around the front of the Duke’s Tower and around the western side that led them to their old stable.
Strangely enough, it was the maids and a few servants who first greeted them. There were new faces Irene didn’t recognize, and it caused her to wonder if there were unexpected changes she would have to get used to. They were working with minimal staff overlooking the small castle. Did their Commander require a lot of help despite having co from a modest background?
As they all dismounted their horses, Bren was the first to lead the apprentices in relieving the knights of their loyal steeds and going into the stables to make sure they were fed and watered well after traveling for such a long ti.
Felix stalked over to Bren first, and he pulled up the visor of his helt.
"Sir," Bren greeted. "Welco back."
Felix put a hand on Bren’s shoulder, realizing that in the couple of months he had been away, the apprentice was growing like a weed. It was an observation Irene had made before as well.
"Thank you," Felix responded. "Where is the Commander?"
Having been relieved of Sammy, Irene looked eagerly towards Bren and Felix, hoping to hear more of their mysterious leader’s whereabouts.
"Monster hunting as usual," Bren relayed from the maids. "Although they’re due back at any minute. Lunch is soon, and I know that Sir Trenton doesn’t go so long between als."
Felix seed to wear a relieved smile, and Irene knew she wasn’t the only one casting him a shocked look. He seed so relaxed compared to before, when he was running all sides of the knighthood. The man she left behind to go to the far north was a far cry from what she was witnessing in front of her.
"I can take your armor, sir," Bren offered to Felix. "The rest will deal with the horses."
The other apprentices had already begun taking horses from the knights, and Bren seed set on handling Felix’s particularly carefully.
Irene wondered if Bren had grown more mature enough to realize that he would move forward more easily if he had the guidance of a high-ranking knight, or perhaps his actions were to have Commander Henry notice him.
Regardless of the intentions behind it, it was nice to be taken care of as knights should be by the apprentices and squires. She had gotten used to being self-sufficient after Duke Arlin passed away. She recalled how the Royal Knights frowned at them and their desire to do all things by themselves, even in the face of battle.
While Irene gathered her saddlebags, she realized they weren’t going to have to wait long to see the new Duke.
Hoofbeats were heard coming down from the mountain, and all eyes seed to go in that direction. Perhaps what was most surprising was the way the maids seed so eager to greet the knights coming from the mountains rather than the ones—their knights—who had just arrived.
Had they grown fond of the knight in such a short amount of ti?
Irene saw that the knights were covered head to toe in monster blood. The only way she could pick out the Commander was the fact that his armor was slightly more gilded than everyone else’s. It was the very armor Duke Arlin once wore, but adjusted to fit a younger and larger man’s fra.
To her surprise, William freed himself from another task and went directly to the Commander as he got closer.
"Welco back, Commander," William greeted the knight. "I can clean your armor if you would like to."
Irene was in further disbelief. It seed Bren had lost the chance to greet the commander since he was distracted by Felix’s horse and armor. Was there a small competition between the apprentices over who would care for the Commander? It would make sense, considering he could elevate their status more than any other knight.
Everyone seed to stop as Commander Henry removed his helt and handed it to William. He was then helped out of his armor by a few maids and only left in a dark red, thick tunic as well as the bottom half of his armor, which most knights would remove themselves because it took more work than the top half.
"You’ve returned, Sir Felix," Henry observed, relief evident in his tone. "Right on ti, I might add."
"I’ve returned with all knights," Felix inford the commander. "I have inford them that they can settle in today, but tomorrow they will be joining the apprentices in the practice yard, if that’s alright with you."
Felix glanced at the knights who stood behind him. They all had seed to go silent since Commander Henry had approached them.
There was a hesitance that Irene picked up on before the young Duke spoke again. It seed they were all hesitating at that mont, wondering if the proper procedure was speaking to the Commander or going inside to get themselves together.
"Thank you for traveling all this way," he told the knights who were in limbo. "Go and rest, as Felix said. "We can have a more formal introduction tomorrow."
Felix, who was clearly the most comfortable with the other knight, spoke up first.
"Does that an you’re finally willing to let the maids give you a feast?" the second in command asked.
"I have enough people that nothing will go to waste," Henry joked. "And I’ve been inford I don’t have much of a choice."
"As long as you understand that, at so point, you’re going to have to be recognized as the Commander and Duke of this place," Felix muttered.
Henry offered a pleased smile and placed a hand on Felix’s armored shoulder. He felt strange since many eyes were watching the conversation unfold, still unsure of how they were ant to treat him.
"Then all of you should rest," Henry addressed those who hadn’t gone inside yet. "Including you, Sir Felix. I’ll go get cleaned up. You’re all welco to eat lunch if you’re hungry."
Felix seed to resist at first, but he relaxed and gave in. He nodded at the Commander and waited for the man to take his leave. He then turned towards the rest.
"We have Knights from Hydrogia who are staying in the Duke’s Tower as the Commander gets adjusted," Felix explained to those who had been confused since they first heard Sir Trenton’s na. "The barracks have been cleansed and are ready to be used. Each one has been fitted with basic necessities, and what was inside these spaces has been organized. I need those knights last on the bottom or second floor. If that ans going to your old dwelling and retrieving your things, then that is what you must do."
Irene nodded absently at Felix’s direction, but she couldn’t help her green eyes following Commander Henry as he went into the tower. He was far different from the timid apprentice she recalled from before.
As she went on with her saddlebags to see if her old room still contained anything of value before she would move to the main floor, she mused over the interaction so far.
To her surprise, Felix seed so at ease compared to how he was before. If she wasn’t mistaken, he seed to be completely and totally accepting of the man. Whatever had happened between the two must have been enough to prove his value to Chemois.
She hoped that she could believe in him as much as it seed the second in command did.
Since no one else had passed the King’s test so far and it had taken so long for soone to even be found, it felt a bit like he was their last hope.
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