Star Child

Caelus awoke to the glow of the morning sun filtering through the curtains of his room at the River's Rest. The warmth of sleep clung to him as he sat up, stretching to shake off any remaining drowsiness. He looked to his left, seeing that Mira was still comfortably placed in her bed, snoring softly as she remained in deep sleep, and on his right, Elise's bed was empty—she was probably already downstairs for breakfast.

Yawning, he pulled on a white undershirt, making sure his black trousers were fastened properly but still loose before slipping his feet into simple shoes as he headed downstairs.

The common room was lively but quiet, filled with murmurs accompanied by the rich scent of warm bread and spiced meats. Elise was seated by herself in a corner on a small table, tearing a piece of bread before taking a spoonful of porridge, ensuring it didn't touch the shawl draped over her shoulders. She glanced up as Caelus sat next to her, her face filled with a small look of surprise.

"You're up early," she noted, handing him a plate

"Really now?" he muttered, reaching for a strip of cured meat

As he munched on his food, a soft voice interjected.

"Good morning, Mr Aran," a clerk spoke from behind him, "you have a visitor."

Caelus furrowed his brow and spoke with a full mouth. "Who'd visit me this early?"'

"Um," the clerk spoke hesitantly. "it's Lady Claris—the same one that visited you yesterday."

Elise stiffened slight, her eyes flicking to Caelus.

He swallowed a final time and stood up. "Guess I gotta see what she wants now." he spoke, sighing in exasperation

Still in his nightwear, the clerk guided him outside.

The morning air was crisp as Caelus stepped out of the River's Rest, where Lady Claris sat by the fountain in the town square, arms crossed. Like yesterday's court audience, she was dressed in full armour—the silver and blue plates gleaming under the morning sun, her ponytail minimally swaying in the slight breeze.

"You couldn't bother attempt to dress properly?" she remarked, her sharp eyes scanning his attire.

"You showed up univited," Caelus replied bluntly, "what the hell do you want?"

"Don't play dumb, Star Child. You know what I want." Her voice carried a hardened determination. "I'm giving you one more chance. Come with me and see His Majesty. Accept his offer and fight for our kingdom! For Eldralis!"

Caelus shoved his hands into his pockets, meeting her gaze without hesitation. "Not interested."

Claris' jaw tensed. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"Then you leave me no other choice."

As she began to lift her left hand from her side, Caelus's eyes finally took notice of what lay beyond her person—seven knights sat casually atop the buildings behind her, watching their exchange like hawks. Their positions were too deliberate for anything to be pure coincidence.

Caelus' face quickly displayed growing anger. "So this is how Eldralis negotiates, huh?"

Claris didn't respond. Instead, she clenched her lifted hand into a fist.

At that moment, one of the knights seated atop the buildings hurled a spear straight at his chest.

Caelus moved instantly.

He flipped backwards, letting the spear fly beneath him before catching it midair. Silence gripped the square as he spun the weapon in his grip, examining it before letting it fall to the ground with a dull clank.

"You're bringing this on yourselves," Caelus exhaled calmly, "bring it on!"

The moment the words left his lips, five knights launched themselves into the square from the rooftops, with two still sitting in their spots and observing.

The first, a swordsman with rounded armour and bulky long sword, crashed onto Caelus from the left, bringing down a heavy cleave. He jumped backwards, avoiding the arc of steel, before being forced to dodge downwards as the second, a woman wielding twin daggers, slashed for his back. From the ground, Caelus kicked off, driving toward the swordsman, delivering a strong put into his gut through his armour. As the armoured warrior was winded, Caelus quickly followed up with a swift kick to his helm, sending him crashing into a nearby stall.

"You are not unbeatable!" Claris hissed as she lunged forward

She aimed a precise thrust at his abdomen as his focus was diverged between her and the dagger-wielder. Caelus caught the tip of her sword in between his palms, pressing it with enough strength to render it immobile. As she aimed to sweep his legs, he flipped forward, using the sword as leverage, landing a falling kick on the dagger-wielder's head as she prepared herself behind Claris. She attacked him in her daze, one dagger aimed for his throat and the other his chest. Caelus shifted to his right, easily dodging the blades, then grabbing her left wrist mid-motion once her strike moved past his neck. He twisted—hard. A snap filled the air, followed by a short bellow as the dagger wielder fell to the ground, clutching her broken wrist.

Before he could slightly recover, Caelus was met with a pincer attack from Claris, who charged at him with her sword, and an incoming third knight, wielding a halberd, crashing down towards him. Caelus quickly exploded upwards, kicking off of Claris' sword, landing down on the roof of the River's Rest, with the halberdier soon following suit. Caelus moved forward, into the halberd's effective range, and elbowed him in the face. As blood dropped from the openings of his helmet, he was incapacitated by a swift knee to the stomach.

Three left.

The fourth knight descended, wielding a curved blade, and attempted to land a flurry of swift slashes. Caelus deliberately fell backwards onto his hands, swiftly dodging the attacks while swivelling via the use of his arms. Upon finding an opening in the knight's stance, Caelus brought his heel down down, breaking the blade. As the knight recoiled in panic, Caelus rose and drove his fist straight into his ribs, sending him flying into the stone square below.

"We'll take him together!" Claris barked at the other remaining knight, as she recovered her sword from the stone street

The knight had begun swinging his flail and Claris assumed her stance as Caelus descended from the inn's roof. He looked at them with rage-filled eyes before raising his fists into a combat stance. The knight rushed at him, recklessly swinging his flail with Caelus consistently dodging, keeping up his stance. As Claris ran towards them, her sword ready to strike, using her comrade as cover, Caelus jumped over the knight as he swung forward, grabbing the flail's chain, then using his momentum against him as he dragged the chain towards Claris, sending him crashing into her.

The two collapsed into a heap.

A weakened Claris barely managed to shove her comrade from atop her body, her breath heaving as she wiped blood from her mouth and nose.

"You... you're a damn monster!" she uttered as she looked Caelus in the eyes

"You guys took on me six-on-one and still lost," Caelus cracked his neck, "why not take your loss gracefully?"

She tightened her grip on her blade.

"Stand down, Claris." A new voice rang out, refined, cold and measured

Caelus looked up to find one of the seated knights atop an intact stall, legs casually dangling, a woman in the Order's uniform armour with streaks of deep crimson and a silver sash flowing down her neck, her helmet and a half-eaten apple placed next to her.

"Lady Wess!"

Caelus cracked his fingers, a grin tugging his lips. He could tell this fight would be different.