She walked along side her father. He was so much more taller than she was. Her long blonde hair against her porcelain skin, no wonder they called her the White Valkyrie. She rode around on a white dragon in Elvish etched plate. Even now in her day wear, she seemed like snow. She wore a loose off shoulder white shirt and comfortable pants. Her boots kept her pant legs in as she held her spear.

“Episcia, I have a job for you that Lady Angela wants you to do,” her father spoke lightly as they walked.

“Yes father?” Episcia’s brown eyes looked up at him and he gave a smile at her. “I’ll do whatever the Goddess has in store for me… As is family tradition.” Her family, elves, had been in service to the goddess for a long time. Now was an important time since her domain had switched.

Her father was a tall elf with dark hair. He was tanned compared to his daughter. It served to remind him that his daughter looked like his late wife greatly. A spitting image almost. “She wants you to make company with her son Lucian.”

Episcia’s lips turned into a frown. “I have to go babysit the shut in?” Her words were harsh but she hadn’t ever seen Lucian. There were rumors that he just shut himself inside the study and if not there he was practicing with a sword.

“You are not babysitting. Do not speak ill of the prince Episcia. He wants what you want and that is why Lady Angela wishes for you to… make a friend. You spend far too much time with the knights and not with children your age.”

The halfling’s face frowned even more. “I don’t have time for such luxuries.”

“What a coincidence… That is his attitude. Go make friends. I will not take no for an answer, this is your first mission for Lady Angela do not fail it.”

The squire sighed a bit as she went around to find out where the young prince was. She was having a hard time even describing him because she had never seen him before. It was frustrating to say the least when finally it was his own sister that told her where he was. Why hadn’t she started with the sisters? They always talked big.

She made her way for the arena where many people practiced for generations. This was where Lucian was, he was practicing sword techniques. She gripped her spear and flew in like lightning as he caught her, barely, and parried her off.

“Practice with me,” her words were rough as she wasn’t sure how she was suppose to practice him. “They call me The White Valkyrie, I’m a squire. You are training to be a knight too aren’t you? So, spar with me.”

Lucian knew about this so called “Sheltered Prince” nickname mumbo jumbo that was going around in his mother’s realm. He simply was focused on his objectives, it was not his fault that everyone else was busy seeking out instant gratification instead of living for the future. In many ways, he was like his father- reserved, quiet and no time for other people’s games. It probably drove his mother and siblings completely nuts, but he was who he was. Though it wasn’t to say that he was pleased by such kind words slung about him. But like Raeguel, he too his aggression out in the arena until his body felt too tired and heavy to continue on.

So what if he didn’t go around and make friends? He had no time for such things and even then they would have only take to him simply because he was royalty. It wasn’t anything new to him since he was little and started to recognize that he was being favored more so than his twin sister. One, it didn’t seem fair to him and from there Lucian started to shy away from the limelight, and two it lead to him being torn on who was legitimately concerned for him and who seemly saw him as a means to an end.

Today was no different for him as he practiced in the famed arena. His eyes were closed tight, relying on both his senses and memory as he practiced his sword technique. He imaged his father was in front of him, gorging him on to attack. Father usually starts in a defensive position, waiting for his opponent to fall for his trap. Then his left foot falls further back and he lowers himself a bit, he thought as the vivid image followed suit. Lucian circled around instead of striking immediately. He had done this a thousand times easy, knowing that his father would likely suspect him to do this since the younger swordsman knew not to fall for the taunting and soon shifted into an attacking stance. He’s on the offensive now, this is where he’s equally dangerous….Left! Lucian dodge the sword coming to him before leaping back and intercepted the coming blade with his own. They clashed a few times before he started to get more aggressive, being parried by his father with each swing. There’s gotta be some sort of weakness I’m not seeing..

Raeguel was faster, stronger and more experienced, but even he could make mistakes and he needed to see just one then he could focus on exploiting it. Couching down, he lounged at his imagery opponent, aiming for right side when he heard someone coming towards him and snapped back into reality with eyes open. Growling, he narrowly countered the coming spear and looked to see that it had been some girl that broke his concentration. “Dammit”, he swore beneath his breath as he held his free palm towards his face. He wasn’t sure who she was or where she came from but his current training all but went up into smoke now. Green eyes looked onto her as this White Valkyrie challenged him to spar with her. He said nothing at first but continued to look at her the way his father had looked at others before he changed his ways. It was the other side of the coin when people didn’t revel in him- they would fear that he would be like Nemesis was- distance, cold and unsettling. Without answering her, he lounged out, eyes shifted to the spear to see how she would bring it up. She had the advantage in a fight that revolved around distance, but if he was able to invade her space and turn this into a close combat fight, it would be more of a liability. But he wasn’t going to make so simple, not for this White Valkyrie. Instead he brought the sword up above him with the intention to drawing her out to either block or evade the obvious blow. He had to study and read her movements first before he decided on how to effectively dispatch of her.      

Episcia’s eyes were just as cold as his towards her. They parried and got into defensive and offensive stances. They read each other a little too well, they basically had the same amount of training. They were playing with each other, it was all too readable for outside audiences. Hector and Angela watched on and for a moment Angela thought about inviting Raeguel, but he was out with Melina. The goddess let out a deep sigh as she watched for a long time.

The playing continued until he managed to knick Episcia. The girl looked at her arm and a growl left her lips. It was at that time the playing stopped. They began to exchange death blows the more angry they got. Angela uncrossed her arms and sent Hector away.

Knocking them both down she made her way out onto the arena. She crossed her arms. “You, I didn’t send you out here to kill my son.”

Episcia opened her mouth to argue but Angela cut her off. 

“And you, appreciate I was able to find someone your age to spare with you.” Angela pointed at Lucian. “Your father is going to be out with Melina more often. That is going to leave you needing someone to spare with if you want to take this squire thing seriously. Now, is your arm alright Episcia?” Angela leaned down and healed the wound.

“I don’t want to be here. I don’t want to be friends with people my age. I have a goal in mind and I want to be a knight.” Her words were oddly mocking words Lucian had said many times.

Angela let out a sigh and looked at her son. “You two were obviously raised together without knowing it.” Shaking her head she stared at Episcia. “Introduce yourself proper. Your father was watching that fight and he was disappointed in the way you were acting. You’ll apologize after this to him. And you,” The goddess looked at Lucian, “Your father would be disappointed in how you acted just now. I’ll be telling him about it. You can’t attack everything like that, I’ve never seen you like that before. I understand Episcia interrupted you but please understand why I’m trying to make friends for the two of you.”

Episcia made a frown. “I don’t want friends and most certainly not with him.” She crossed her arms. 

Angela took a sigh and stared at them both. “You two will sit here and talk. I’ll not have animosity in my house. You can’t leave this room and if I have to I’ll tie you down.” Angela left them be and Episcia crossed her arms.

“My name is Episcia, I don’t much care for being forced into things. My father told me to come spare with you.” She turned her head and she sighed. “I don’t want to do either, I just want to spare with the older knights and get knighted. That’s it.”

Lucian didn’t care who this girl was nor where she came from. She had disturbed very sensitive training for gods know what reason and he was overly pissed. But something else was going on inside him, he felt his blood raging and boiling while soft but audible whispers rang in his head. They counseled him and understood what he sought. She’s in the way, in the way of you defeating the traitor. It only made him grow more with wanting to punish her the further their little sparring went to the point where he struck and made her bleed. Playtime had been over long ago and it wasn’t until then that she grew serious and the fight finally grew interesting. There was something about the fight that made the voices echo more and more, as if they were getting satisfaction out of this. He could feel the sharp edge of her spear getting him at times where he was most careless with his actions, but the blood only excited him as he felt it rushing down his wounds. The fun unfortunately ended as he felt something overpowering him and the teen fell down.

Apparently his mother had sent for her to keep him company, something that shouldn’t have surprised him so. Lucian bite his tongue hard as she spoke to him, his temper peaked when it was mentioned that his father wasn’t going to be there as much as he was to oversee his training. He averted his gaze as he cursed fate for the sudden ruining of his plans. “She’s no different from anyone else here. Father was the only one I’m interested in.” The voices seemed to die down but still did their tone rang loud enough for him to understand. He had his heart set on surpassing him, and now he was forced to deal with someone that wasn’t in his father’s league?

Tasting the copper in his mouth, he released his tongue from his fangs and lowered his sword, pointing it to the ground. The scolding made his swordhand tighten a bit but he remained still in his spot. He could have cared less about any of this, it was much more of an inconvenience than anything for him. If father isn’t going to be around as much, then why would he care?, he thought to himself. He had minded his business and was doing just fine- he never asked for his mother to set him up with a play date.

“Then leave”, he said with a shrug before conjuring himself an apple with his free hand and bit down hard onto it. “We at least found something we can agree on.” His blood started to cool down and the voices left completely for the time being as he sat cross legged onto the ground and continued to eat. They were to remain here until they were on friendlier terms; of course he felt it was a ridiculous order seeing how he was usually either here or in his chambers.  

“Yes, mother.”   

Finishing the fruit, he tossed its core away from him and summoned another in its place. After some time of quietly eating, he finally looked up to Episcia without the coldness settled in them. “Lucian. Forced into things is what I’m used to by now.” He wasn’t exactly sure what had came over him before the fight had started, or the thoughts that proceeded afterwards. Certainly he was angered by her intrusion but he had never felt as violent as he had in the sparring. “I’m not thrilled about this either. I don’t see the reason in this at all- neither of us will get much stronger if we simply spar with one another exclusively.” Glancing at her now healed arm, he frowned a bit, “Got carried away a bit, sorry about that.”

Angela looked at Lucian with distinct anger. She had never looked at him like that before. “You’re wrong Lucian. You both are very wrong. When you look at each other and finally understand each other then you will understand why I picked her. Even if she was male she would be here. I’m not playing with fate this time, that is the truth. You two are very alike.”

Episcia frowned a bit and nodded. She couldn’t argue the surface they shared but beneath that what else? She knew nothing about the prince and she had never even seen him before. Angela leaned down and brushed Lucian’s hair. “You will surpass your father but if you keep chasing him right now, you’ll never get there. Knowledge and strengths must be given by all people not just one. You might find a weakness in your father by studying with someone else.”

The White Valkyrie watched the prince and scoffed at him as she began to get up. “Episcia, sit down now,” the large elven male came to Angela’s side and Episcia eeped and sat down. “I will not have you spoil everything your mother has given you. Don’t make me regret choosing you over her.” The words stung as Episcia thought  she felt tears come to her eyes. Angela had a look of disappointment towards her elder knight but let it go. It was not a squabble she wanted to be a part of.

“Hector, we’ll take our leave now. Leave this to the two of them. We can discuss Amelia upstairs.” The elder elf had a look of disappoint, most likely towards himself, but nodded to the goddess. “Make friends, Melina will be in to give you dinner.” 

Episcia held onto herself afterwards, her thoughts were clouded with hurt and judgment towards the prince. It was all his fault her father said that to her, still she couldn’t leave unless she talked. “Me too.” She answered softly as if still stuck on the words spoken to her. They left deep wounds. “Be glad you have both your parents at least.” She offered a sad smile but it was enough to talk as she sat cross legged. She looked at her arm and shook her head. “I’m fine, use to it. I spar with a lot of the older knights because there are no squires my age. I was told you are a year older than me.”

Looking even more distressed she outed herself. “Mom was the head priestess here… the one who trained Melina… Lady Angela left when she was pregnant with me and mom went into labor. There may be a ton of clerics in this place but apparently it can’t stop death. They couldn’t get me out and gave Father the choice, Mom made him promise her that he was going to take me instead. Sometimes he says mean things about it but he is really nice, sometimes he just has a hard time dealing with it.”

He looked with a cocked brow at his mother for a brief moment; she had never spoken to him or Nerezza like that before, as far as he could recall. Then again, he wasn’t too bothered by it, still irked by the turn of events she was putting him through. If he had to go to the tallest building in the whole realm and scream so that everyone could hear to leave him be, he would done so without a wasted second. Though he never suspected that she was trying to set him up with a woman- he was still ticked off over having to deal with this situation.

Lucian merely sighed to show his frustrations over this and that he wouldn’t be practicing with Father as much as they been. Between his plans involving helping to preserve the realm and now Melina, he doubted that he would see much of him. It was pointless to argue with her, he would have to go along with this insane plan. Episcia didn’t seem to happy with him or this situation, but he didn’t care one way or another. This was especially why he wasn’t a people person, no matter what or how his parents would do to try and manipulate those facts. It wasn’t his fault that he picked up his father’s reluctance and trust issues. It was as if it was in the very blood he had gave him. His eyes shifted to the newcomer, having seen the figure in the past a couple of times. When it came out that he was her father, he could see some resemblance though the words he chose to speak with her with seemly unnecessarily cruel. Still, he refrained from speaking of it, it wasn’t his place to and he was still remotely angry with her to defend her. Had she not so rudely interrupted him from his focus and had attempted to approach him in a more friendly manner, then he wouldn’t have been so prone to anger and give into whatever it was he had. The last thing he wanted was to end up the way his father had- becoming someone like Nemesis. There was still some memory of him from his younger years, and other than the times he was gentle with him and Nerezza, none of them were pleasant. Lucian glanced at Episcia for a moment and sighed. This was really an awkward moment they were left in. “I am. I have no problems with either of them other than things like this”, he shrugged and spread out his arms to gesture this situation.

“Uh…yeah. I don’t normally see others around here that train to be around my age. Most of what I see are half naked priestesses around here. I train with my father, or used to anyway.” Getting back up to his feet, he took hold of his sword again and turned around to image him standing in front of him again. He was about to start practicing again when he heard her speak out and halted when the tale shifted to the death of her mother. He turned his head enough to see her with one eye and his shoulders fell limp, the sword pointing low to the ground. “I apologize for what happened to her. Surely it devastated your father as well. Still…he had no right to say such things. The way I figure, you were a birth from her to him and he needs to find some way of coping other than to take it out on you. It only tarnishes her memory by him continuing to do that.” He never understood how some people could treat their children like that- he had been conceived by one of the most wicked men from his home realm and yet he never lifted a finger against the twins, nor badmouth them. If anything, he did all in his power to defend and keep them safe. Saying his peace about the matter, Lucian turned back around and started with some simple stances and sword techniques for a bit to warm up. “Also, I would suggest that if you are going to spar with someone, don’t try and attack them without much warning. Even I know of proper etiquette.”

Episcia stared at him for a moment and shook her head. “It’s better than what most of us with knight parents go through. Most of the knights I know lost a parent here or there, and the mortality side shows through the other. Often regret and hurt rampages and children are the ones who are damaged because of it. You are lucky, your parents don’t love each other so it won’t ever happen to you. Would they fight for each other? Yes, but the death of either or wouldn’t really effect them. When a mortal loses their spouse it can make them go insane and they do things they regularly wouldn’t.” She gave him the same talk one of the elder knights had given her after the first outburst from her father.

Laughing a bit she shook her head once more. “I know what you mean. I am constantly reminded that I do not have my mother’s body, from what the knights tell me. Nasty old men.” She was self conscious about herself but when she heard stories of her mother it made her feel good. Her mother had been a beautiful head priestess.

Epi sat there and drew her knee up so she could put her head on it. “Mother was suppose to be one of the most beautiful priestess they had here. She grew up learning everything from the others. Father grew up with the knights but he was  the same age as her. They grew up together and loved each other from the moment they knew how. It took a long time to conceive me without the help of Lady Angela… I guess that’s why Father dislikes it so much. If they hadn’t asked for help Mother would be alive. She was his everything. I can’t fault him for loving her like that.”

She got up and watched Lucian for a little bit. “Sorry, but I like the act of surprise when going after my target.” She gave him a smile as she came over and kicked his foot a bit. “Your stance is a little off because you are focusing hard on other things.” She was trying to help and she made sure he knew that. “I can help a little bit. Even us squires have things to learn from each other Lucian.” She used her spear’s soft edge to gently tap his foot over more. “We use two different stances but I’ve seen enough of your brother Ash’s fighting style that I might be able to help more. Ash is a paladin, you might want to seek him out at some point. You don’t just have to train with your father, learn from others as well. It’s what I do. Gods know I can’t rely on mine.”

Something, he didn’t know why, but something about her mentioning that of people being driven mad by the death of loved ones brought out a slight cold chuckle. “Oh, I know. I know that my parents can go on with their lives without one another. They are both old enough to know that nothing last forever and had adjusted according. But my father…he wasn’t the man he is now. Long ago, several centuries ago, he was driven mad. First by being turned, and then he…set fire to his home when they threw him out. But the worse of it was what he told me about. There was this woman that he gave his complete heart to, only to have it shattered by jealousy of another. He had been truly happy until that day happened. It drove him into the darkness and until recently he had been considered nothing more than a cruel monster of destruction, wanting to punish a world that drove him to the edge.” He suppose that he said this because he needed not a lesson in that department- Nemesis served as a constant reminder to him of what could happen when one was flung over the edge. “I do not know of Andrea personally, since her passing had been several lifetimes before I was even thought up of. But what I do know was that he couldn’t bring a finger of harm to either me or my sister Nerezza. Even when he found out about my mother being pregnant, he could have killed us or something but he just couldn’t. My mother often told us that when we were born that there was some remnants of happiness that appeared in him. Likely because he never thought that he could have children, seeing that he’s a vampire.”

Lucian grew quiet after a bit and listened to Episcia, all the while pondering if he should have said the next line. “I think…when I attacked you as I had…that was more so a glimpse of a reflection of the man my father used to be- Nemesis. I..don’t know. He told me that he used to hear voices in his head, taunting him and wanting him to do things…” Holding onto his head, he wondered why of all times had he been plagued with something so similar. “I’m already the spitting image of my father in his younger years, at least in looks. Never thought I would start to take in his mindthought as well.” Perhaps he needed to tell his parents of his worries, but for now he didn’t feel like speaking to either one of them in general. He wasn’t too sure why he was telling this to Episcia right now.

“It’s obvious that you love your father and respect him greatly. It still vexes me a little though. I have seen many come to my mother, asking for help to have children. It is a great gift, something that many would kill to have. I don’t know.” The situation was to complex for him to understand; many boys his age wouldn’t be concern with such things. Her father had to learn to deal with this one way or another, it wasn’t fair him, Episcia or her mother if this continued on. He fell quiet about his opinions on the matter and focused back onto practicing. He accepted her apology, though he did shoot her look of annoyance towards the end of it. He ceased his movements as he felt her foot kicking his own and turned to see her nearby. “…What?” Looking down to where his foot was repositioned to, she continued to adjust his stance. “Oye, you are starting to sound like my mother”, he sighed. Perhaps those words had reached her, and would in some way him as well. He did shoot her another look when it came to mentioning Ash. “You do realize that a paladin fights with shield and sword, right? A balance of offense and defense….there is a difference between what he and I acheive… “ He was a swordsman, able to efficiently use his speed where his defense lacked in. But he suppose that he would seek him out, when he wasn’t trying to charm women on his time off that was. Slowly he was growing a bit irritated with having everyone tell him that his father wasn’t the only person he could train with. “I am aware of that, as I had been when Mother said it over and over again. While I can learn from others, it is him that I want to best in.” Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to try and relax. “I’ll do what it is that I have always done, go with the flow and listen. But ultimately he is the obstacle that I want to prove myself to in defeating.” He was a stubborn and hardheaded person, but Lucian was also a focus and self driven at the same time. “If anything, I should show you how to better yourself in close range combat sometime. The way you hold your spear is more suited for distance, which is good, but you should adjust your grip accordingly. I noticed it during our fight…”

Episcia looked on for a moment and nodded. “I can see why he would lose it. When you lose a person you love the worst can become of you. I’ve seen it in my father a lot, he still won’t look other women in the eyes. He once told me it was like cheating on my mother’s existence. He can’t let her go and it makes him so bitter and cold.” There was a bit of sadness in her voice. “You are very lucky to have parents that love you. I was raised by the knights here for the most part, my father is just… he’s just there anymore.”

Making a face she nodded. “I often hear great evil is a thousand voices, maybe you should talk to your mother? Or even your father at that point. I don’t wish to see Lady Angela in pain if something were to happen to you.” In a round about way, she was saying she cared but she was overly stubborn. “I bet your sister has the same thing happen to her, have you spoke to her about it? I mean you are twins, a lot of things are the same about you two.” She had heard a bit about Nerezza.

Epi thought about his words for a moment and shook her head. “No, it does bother me that he is like this… Many people venture to have children and yet he does ignore me. I think my father struggles with something deeper. Maybe if he gets too close to me he will lose me too.” She only had tiny thoughts about it as she adjusted his stance. “I’ve had to listen to your mother speak a lot growing up.” She chuckled.

“A paladin may fight with both a shield and sword but Ash was trained with the knights first. He was also training to be a bard before that. Trust me. Even if it was like that, being prepared in all situations is a good thing.”
 
Episcia moved his feet more and sighed a bit. “And when you finally do Lucian what will you do with your life?” Her eyes lingered on his. “You will have nothing because you have everything. I think that’s what your mother is trying to tell you. It is fine to want to best your father but there comes a time when something like that shouldn’t consume you.” She wasn’t trying to lecture him and it showed on her face. “I tried all my life to try and get my father to acknowledge me in a way that wasn’t just him training a squire. I realize if I spent all that time trying to do that, I would miss out on a lot.”

A frown left her lips. “Even when I swooped into a crowded battle field and saved him.. all he did was scold me. I couldn’t let my father die because if he died I couldn’t ever get my goal. I realized he wasn’t going to change. Your father will get better with age like you will, so you will have to find someway of getting around it. You train using the techniques he teaches but what if you were to learn something he doesn’t know? Or at least doesn’t expect.”

She thought about her spear and nodded. “I’m still learning with the spear. I learned by sword first but it just didn’t feel as natural as this does.” She chuckled a bit as she gave a smile up at him. “I mean it, think about what it is you would do if you completed your task.”

He had considered speaking to one of his parents before, but for one reason or another Lucian had refrained. It had only happened on a few occasions throughout his whole life and typically he would pass them off as merely hearing things and kept it to himself. Today was the first time he had experience his mood, actions, everything changing for the worse. It was also the first time he had exposed it to anyone else. “I guess that I should”, he said noddingly. “The only voices I am sure that she faced was that of our father’s. They kept a constant mental link with one another so that he could be sure that we were safe, and should anything had happened, she would alert him the moment she thought something was wrong.” While both of them could communicate with him, Lucian had preferred to speak with him only if Nerezza couldn’t or if he needed him. His sister was typically the one that wanted to be closer to him, so she would be fascinated by the gruesome images she begged him to show her.

Lucian could see that her situation with her father held more layers than what was on the surface, so he ceased in commenting about it any further. There was no point if nothing was to change or occur from it. Perhaps one day her father would allowed himself some comfort in his mourning and accept that he had a daughter, a child that was his wife’s final gift to him. Perhaps he would allow himself to feel something other than remorse, guilt and anger. “Mother is wise, though sometimes she can go a bit overboard. She means well, I know though.”

He hadn’t planned on arguing about Ash, especially since he already knew all she was telling him. It annoyed him mildly but he brushed it aside for there was no point in getting riled up from that. He kept adjusting his stance accordingly, but was starting to lose focus in that and looked to Episcia with the corner of his lips descending into a frown. “I am not so shortsighted to make it my life goal towards besting him and leave it at that.” He was getting mad and he bit at the side of his mouth in trying to control himself. “Everyone has my best intentions at mind, but I never asked what I think. I am not merely trying to be a knight to surpass him. I want to best him to get stronger, my overall goal is to protect my family and the realm itself. My father is just a step towards that, and yes I know there are many steps towards my wish and I will do everything possible in my being to fulfill the promise I made Mother. She may not need it, but I want to protect her too. Her, Nerezza, my father, everyone I care about.” He broke his stance and started pacing about. He unclenched his jaw from the side of his mouth, leaving it a tad raw but unbloodied. “Why is it that you wish to be a knight? Is it your father? Or did you have a much larger goal as well? I do not wish for distracts and you seem to understand that as well, given what you’ve been saying earlier.” Conjuring another apple, his fangs crunched into its flesh and chewed at it for a while. “A knight’s task is never done. I will merely move onto my next focus.”