The Witch and Her Knight (For Peeker)

[Skull612]

It was a strange sight for the residents of the small village of Whitepeak, to see a knight from the Order Of The Ruby Palm strolling through their ordinarily quiet town. Of course for the occupants of the village, the day had been all but ordinary. Throughout the land of Lycia, there existed individuals capable of awakening to potent magical powers, Witches they were known as. A Witch would gain almost unlimited control over a specific domain of magic, be it elemental or otherwise. Since their first appearances years ago, the land had grown accustomed to their presence, and most Witches were seen in fairly high regards. At least, those who used their magic to aid others. However, absolute power corrupts absolutely, or so they say.

Many Witches do choose to use their powers to help others, however each use of their magic only serves to strengthen their egos. A witch using her magic constantly can easily grow haughty, her temperament growing worse and worse with time unless they are properly dealt with. Thus came the creation of the Order Of The Ruby Palm. Knights of this order were trained specifically to deal with witches, and as such their elite units were often given the nickname of Witch Handlers. A Witch Handler was recognizable by two traits, their crimson-lined suits of armor, and a glowing rune of sorts on each of their hands. The young woman making her way through the village today, to the stares of those around her held both these traits.

The awakening of a Witch wasn't too rare in and of itself, but for the village of Whitepeak it was a first. A young woman in the village had been reported for the use of magic by several of the villagers, understandably startled by the display. The Order had been swift in it's response, sending one of it's newly promoted Witch Handlers to the small village in order to check the claim. This knight was Amelia Crimvelt. Her helmet obscured her face from view, but the plume of her fiery red hair out the back of her helmet was hard to miss. She marched through town as stoicly as possible, stopping only at the mayor's house for directions before finding herself now in front of the home of the supposed Witch. She could barely contain the excitement she felt welling up within her, this was it, her very first task as a full-fledged knight!

How could she not get pumped, getting to meet an actual Witch all on her own? Of course she'd met others with their knights during training, but this was different. The responsibility was all hers. The glowing runes and their power bestowed on her by the head priestess herself were proof of that. With little regard for the usual etiquette that came with these sort of proceedings, she let loose with a loud and boisterous knock on the door, more of a bang really, all the while grinning broadly. "Hellooooo! Any witches in there?" She called out, equally noisy in this regard as well. Tactful was not Amelia's middle-name.

[Peeker]

There was a surprised squeal and an audible chorus of excitable barking which issued from the other side of the door once Amelia finished her pounding at the worn wooden door. Maybe it was the abrupt knock that got the dogs excited, but the squeal was undoubtedly in response to the woman's bold summons. A little girl, no older than eight winters, with long copper curls, pushed open the deadbolt and opened the door, beaming up at the woman.

"Ooooooh! You're a knight! Are you Gail's Knight? She's a witch now! Come see! Come see!"

The girl was wearing a sturdy homespun gown, undoubtedly handed down from a previous wearer, as there was no way one little girl could amass quite that much wear and tear from chores so quickly. The brave little girl reached up and took cautious hold of one of Amelia's fingers, and began to drag her inside.

"Gail's my big sister and she's with Papa in his study and you can't believe it!"

"Jessie, Jessie, who's at the door?" A voice called from just out of sight, as a woman with the same firey mane and an apron over her shoulders stepped into the hall. She gave the young knight an appraising look, a mixture of relief and concern in her face. "Jessie! Here, girl!" the woman scolded, as the excitable girl bound to her mother's leg and wrapped her arms around her waist. "You must be from the Order." the woman sighed, trying to stay brave - but clearly hurt, knowing one of her children was being taken away. "I'm Della, her mother. We- well, come in, I'll take you to her."

Della led Amelia into the next room, where all the sound and madness was coming from. A weathered man sat at a large desk, a shelf of books and legers behind him. A trio of beagles chased themselves into a frenzy, as there was an eternal game of fetch to be played - balled up papers and scraps of notes were circuiting around the room like they were caught in a lazy hurricane - in a little rocking chair in the far corner, sat a slim girl whose braided hair was a brassy mix of her father's dark mane and her mother's copper fire, with round glasses perched on her nose and cheeks full of freckles. When she turned her head to see who was entering, the papers all sunk to the floor with a clatter. The girl hurriedly stood, hands folded tightly in front of her, a hot blush coming to her cheeks as she met the knight's gaze. The beagles all assembled at her feet, baying and yipping warningly at the stranger.

[Skull612]

Amelia hadn't known what to expect when she'd pulled back her fist to knock on the rugged wooden door of the Witch's abode, but she could tell as soon as she heard a response that she needn't worry all that much about any sort of impending threats, unless the Witch's domain was over adorable squeals and equally cute small dogs. The source of the squeal soon became very apparent as a young girl opened the door to meet Amelia. A rather cute little thing, couldn't have been much older than seven or eight by the look of her. Amelia couldn't help but beam with a bit of pride under her helmet at the girls excitement, now that's a response for a proper knight!

"I am a knight!" She proudly confirmed the girls statement, then took a step inside at the girls beckoning. So the witch was a woman named Gail, was it? Definitely not this little one, Witch's didn't typically awaken at that young of an age. "Amelia did pause for a second at the young girls outfit however. Clearly she wasn't the first to wear that gown.

Her thought was immediately confirmed by the girls next statements, identifying her 'big sister Gail' as the Witch she had come to take with her. She chuckled again at the girls excitement, as he allowed her to lead her further into the house by her finger, she was simply infectious with her glee. "Maybe you're the Witch, little one. Because you're just so cute I can't believe it! What's your name?"

Her question was simultaneously answered and interrupted by a voice calling out from a room further in. An older woman appeared, sporting a similar appearance to Jessie's. By the looks of her, Amelia could guess this was her mother. The woman hurriedly called Jessie over to her side, and Amelia watched as she made her way over to hold onto her side. "That's right, i'm here to see Gail, I believe it was. Quite an energetic girl you've got there." Amelia tried to keep the mood light, after all what parent would possibly be comfortable hearing that someone was here to take one of their children away? The woman was clearly trying to stay strong in that regard.

Della, she introduced herself as, soon began to lead the knightess back further into the home, to where the source of the adorable sounding barks were coming from. No sooner did she reach the doorway than did Amelia notice the cause. Circling the room were three small but absolutely adorable little dogs, beagles she believed. "Aww, how cute~!" Amelia sidetracked herself, almost missing the fact that the dogs were chasing other objects for a moment. Then the rest of it all hit her. Her gaze passed from an older man to a young woman sitting in a rocking chair in the corner of the room. Once more, she found it hard to focus on the fact that objects were levitating themselves around the room as she got in a good look at the gorgeous girl. There had always been something endearing to her about a gal in glasses. Add in splotches of freckles and you had the spitting image of what Amelia would refer to as "cute as a button." which she'd always found an odd saying, she'd never found buttons even remotely as cute!

The girl stood with a sudden blush as she noticed the knights presence, leading Amelia to notice her handiwork for the first time as the paper the dogs had been chasing this whole time clattered to the floor. Levitation? No, that would probably be too broad for a domain, it would have to be a force like wind making it float to consider that, and she hadn't felt any wind. Whatever her abilities, Amelia was much interested in the girl herself, than what powers she might possess at the moment. "Wow, you must be this Gail i've heard so much about then, right? I wasn't expecting to find a Witch so cute out here. I'm Amelia, a knight from the order, as i'm sure you can tell." She grinned as she raised both her arms up, gripping her helmet and raising it off her face to reveal fierce emerald eyes. She pulled her hair through its slot in her helmet, letting her fiery red mane settle behind her as she looked Gail over. Twice. Okay and maybe a third. This, was going to be a rather interesting adventure, wasn't it?

[Peeker]

Cassie was going to be so jealous.

Maybe it wasn't the most honorable thought to have, but as the knight removed her helmet the whole world seemed to slow down, as the face that was revealed was strong and fair and completely eclipsing all of her other thoughts except for the fact that her best friend would be really upset that it was Gail who had such a mighty (and pretty!) escort.

The blush on Gail's face continued to grow until it reached her ears, and without a word to the knight she and her mother shared a brief glance: both immediately felt a lot better about Gail being taken away - at least she'd be happy wherever she was going. With that one unspoken communication, the tension in the room seemed to start fading. Gail took a steadying breath, and grasped her skirts, curtsying politely to the knight. "Pleasure to meet you Lady Amelia. Ah, I suppose we shouldn't keep you waiting too long, then... Papa and I were packing my bags a little while ago, I should be ready to travel in just a bit."

Della and Garrel both set about the important work of being good hosts to the lady knight, while Gail and her little sister finished getting her things packed. It wasn't long before the lass had embraced the family in tearful goodbyes with promises to send messages back to the village whenever she could, and been sent off to the wide open road. Such things are a difficult part of any adventure, and are no joyful task to speak of, so it is better to let them pass in their own time before this tale begins properly.

It was a cool day in early autumn, and with her cloak tied loosely around her shoulders, and a warm lunch in her stomach, that Gail found herself, finally, alone with Amelia on the open road. She didn't say much at first - too shy? But was instead happy to just follow where the knight walked, and to let her explain whatever she wanted to. The ways of Witches and the Order were generally understood - a Witch would be escorted to various cities and Circles of witchcraft to train and be tested, with their Knight as their escort and protector on the roadways between those locations. Beyond that, Gail had no idea how those locations were picked, or what she was expected to do - but she supposed she would figure that out when they got there!

[Skull612]

For her part, the knight blinked in confusion momentarily as her charge's face took on a hue befitting that of a roasted lobster. Well, by the look of her, Amelia guessed she was the shy type. Perhaps she was embarrassed to be getting this much attention. Or...just maybe it was something else. A mischievous sort of smirk crossed the knights face, perhaps she wasn't the only one who liked what she'd seen. What an interesting adventure this would be.

Soon, Gail managed to introduce herself, and once more Amelia found herself dwelling over just what a cute little thing she was. So polite and softspoken, really she may as well have been the exact opposite of Amelia herself. "Just Amelia will do, don't think anyone's called me lady before. The pleasure's all mine anyway, Gail.~" She answered the girl in a cheerful tone, she had to admit it was a pretty awesome feeling getting all this recognition from her knighthood! Even though she probably wasn't the typical picture of a knight one would expect. She waved her hand as though to dismiss Gails last comments. "Take your time, i'm in no hurry. Besides, it'll be a while before you get to see your folks again, make sure you're absolutely ready. I...want to get to know these three absolute cuties!" She gave the girl a bright smile before lowering herself towards the floor, her hand extended towards the same trio of beagles who'd been chasing Gail's magic a few minutes prior.

Then, time seemed to pass all to quick. Gail's parents proved excellent hosts, as Amelia provided them with some of the basic information of the Order and where she'd be taking Gail. She could tell they were slightly worried, but Amelia was able to dispel most of their fears. After all, as far as combat practice went, she'd been top of her class. Rune handling...well that had been a bit more of a rocky start, but she'd handled it! Soon enough, Gail had finished packing up her stuff and rejoined them, for the usual sort of goodbyes that were to be expected. It brought a warm feeling to the young knight, watching the happy family around her. "I promise, i'll keep her safe." Had been her last words, before they had taken off for the open road.

It was a short and fairly quiet journey that brought the pair to the edge the that small village. There were some looks as they passed, but for the most part the two young women were left to themselves. Amelia turned to her new companion as they walked, feeling she'd given Gail enough time to settle her thoughts about leaving. "You have a really nice family, i'm sure they're going to be missing you plenty. But don't you worry, you're in good hands with me! You'll see them again, and until then...well it looks like I get to be lucky enough to have such a cute witch by my side." She gave a broad grin and chuckled softly. Shy as she seemed, it was hard not to tease Gail just a bit. Even if she'd been reading into things too much earlier, her reactions so far had been nothing short of adorable. "Ah, right, now that I think of it, I really ought to tell you where we're going huh?" She had almost forgotten that part, in the midst of everything back there. "So, The Order of The Ruby Palm has temples all across the land, as you probably already know. My temple, is the one over the entire area around here. We're trained there, and then when a new Witch is discovered they send one of us out to go and get them. Right now, i'm going to be taking you back to my temple, just so we can get it all officially registered with the Order that you are indeed a Witch and that i'll be your knight, unless you find someone else you'd like of course." Of course, it was incredibly rare that a knight sent to collect a witch did not get along in some regard to her charge. It was almost as if the high priestess always knew exactly who to seen. Amelia and several of the recruits had often chattered about such rumors. Well, she certainly had no reason to complain about this arrangement so far.

"Of course, after we get all this settled then the travelling will really start. You know about the covens right?" She continued her explanation while they walked, Gail was apparently a really good listener. She didn't seem the type to talk much, but then again she hadn't told Amelia she was loud either, which was a comment she recieved often. The covens were fairly known across the land as well, as area's where new witches would be gathered to learn how to control their magic. This could involve anything from practical use, to dealing with tasks from the surrounding areas. A witches journey wasn't considered complete until she had visited each of the major covens across the land. "Well, after we get back then i'll be taking you around to the covens and...yeah, that's basically it! It'll be a grand adventure! But enough of all that borin' explaining, you have any questions for me?"

[Peeker]

"I think I do. I have... well... way too many questions, to be honest! I don't even know where to start! How about.. uhm... how far is it to where we're going first? Your temple?" Gail figured that the instructions made sense - she'd always liked learning, and the idea of visiting witches and learning all about her new powers was definitely exciting! Honestly, the whole thing was exciting - or maybe even scary? But a good kind of scary! Amelia was here to protect her... and to guide her... and also, in a way, to protect other people from her. Sure she was pretty, but she was also a mystery: having to depend on a stranger so completely, like that, was going to be as much of an adventure as all the places they'd go and the people they'd see. Just learning more about Amelia, and getting to know her better, was going to be really exciting!

As the two walked along, she looked over the girl again - that armor seemed heavy, so she must have been really darn strong! Though she didn't say much, Gail's mind was whirling with questions: what was Amelia's favorite food? Did she snore? Did she know how to whistle? What was training at the temple like? Did she know anything about Gail's powers that she could tell her?

That was why she was being so quiet - she could be chatty when she wanted to be, but she had so many questions she didn't even know where to begin!

[Skull612]

The young knight started to chuckle to herself at her companions answer. So many questions eh? Well, she figured that would be natural. This all must feel so new to the bespectacled little witch. "Well, well, you've never been to Heldrose? Most of the villages around here are small like yours, so we see a lot of people coming to our city for trade and whatnot, since it's pretty big. But to answer your question, it shouldn't take us all that long. Just a day or so, factoring in a stop tonight." Her own answer brought her to pause again. She wondered, had Gail ever slept outside before? Or perhaps she should deviate their path a bit to one of the other villages along the way, pay for a room. A room for just her and this little cutie. She suddenly got a mischievous grin as she turned to her travelling companion.

"Weeeelll, if you don't know where to start then maybe i'll start for you, hmm? I would simply love to know every. Little. Thing. About you!" She teased, drawing closer to the girl before laughing to herself and drawing back. Oh what fun she was going to be! "Lets start simple, why don't you tell me a bit about your life growing up in Whitepeak?" A sudden look of realization struck her, and she quickly added to her inquiry. "Oh, and your powers too! I almost forgot, I need you to tell me about when you awakened them and what they are. It looked like you can make things levitate?" She'd almost forgotten one of the most important things a knight needed to learn from a witch, what her magic could do. Well, it was easy to forget, she rationalized to herself. After all, the young witch had given her so many other lovely ideas to consider!

[Peeker]

It was no exaggeration to say that Gail's breath caught, and her eyes nearly crossed as her knight drew closer, laughing and teasing her - every exclamation felt like a heavy raindrop pelting her skin, as though she couldn't be sure if it should refresh or irritate, or simply fascinate - Amelia was so energetic and intense and impossible to anticipate! She did her best to hold the girl's questions in mind, and to answer them though, and her voice, while soft, filled the cool air between them as they continued down the path, side-by-side.

"Whitepeak's nice. I've been to the towns a bunch of times with Papa for market day, but I still like my home best. I know everyone, and the forests are beautiful, and pretty safe - we don't get much ranging around, no bears, just foxes and a wolf pack no one's seen in years." Indeed, while Gail was not packed for living out on the land for any long period of time, she had a bedroll, and knew how to pitch a tent and build a fire, and which things were safe to forage for, just as she knew how to till and harvest and mend worn clothes.

"Yes, but my magic isn't just levitating, though-" Gail added, for Amelia's other question. "Last time I went into town there was a travelling salesman with a great big pile of books and readers - when I saw it, I was so excited - I wished I could read them all! I love stories and histories and learning about far-away places and things - and all the books leapt right up off the shelf and opened up and started to spin around me, like I could read them all at once!" The girl smiled sheepishly. "Best as Mama and Papa and I can tell, anything about books - even paper and ink - and maybe even storytelling? I don't know, but sometimes when I'm in Papa's study, I can tell what he's writing without even reading the page. Or figure out what's written down in one of the books on his shelf without opening it."

What she didn't mention was how mortifyingly scary it had been when the books all leapt up and chased her around the square while she went running for her father to try and figure out what was wrong - and how embarrassing the whispers and gasps and accusations of 'witch' were from the whole village square!

[Skull612]

(Sorry Peeks, I wasn't expecting i'd be busy as often as I was. But I won't be so busy now, so i'll be making sure you aren't left waiting so long.)

Heh, only what felt like a few minutes alone with her, and already Gail was a treasure. Amelia wasn't exactly sure this mood was what she'd expected when she signed up to be Witch Handler, but you certainly wouldn't find her complaining. Unlike her expectations of her first witch, Gail was rather...well-mannered. Like, in such a laid-back and gentle sort of way. If the usual idea she had of a witch was a powerful force, wild and dangerous, then Gail would be more like...a gentle breeze. It was hard not to smile as she listened to her companion speak of her home, her voice pleasant to hear. "Well, that's true, does seem like an awfully safe place. No dangerous wildlife, heck I didn't even get to deal with any bandits on the way here. Ooh, I would have loved to see a bear! They look so big and fluffy, I really want to just jump on one and give it a big hug! Or maybe catch some sleep...hey, don't you think a bear would make for a pretty comfy bed?" Being from the city, Amelia had mostly only seen or heard of bears in stories. It had never occurred to her that hugging something so soft and fuzzy looking might be a bad idea.

Her wonder at fluffy forest animals seemed to fade as Gail mentioned her powers however, the easily excited knights attention growing fully focused on the cute witch. She WAS rather interested in what her travelling partner could do, even if her most prominent questions were aimed more towards Gail herself. She listened with a mix of amusement and wonder as Gail recounted the discovery of her powers, which seemed to revolve around books. Still, Gail was such a cutie. To think she would awaken her powers just by wishing to read all of the books around her, and them wanting to oblige her! She wondered just what sort of face the young witch had made then, she must have been surprised. "Books huh? I mean...well it makes a lot of sense. You clearly seem like the type of gal who likes reading, oh I do too! Mostly adventuring type things though. Not so much the historical texts the order made me study though." She grinned down at the young witch. "So, you can read what people write...well without the need of the reading part? Got any paper on you? I'd like to try!" Her eyes belied further playful mischief, mixed with a hint of curiosity. It was best to do a bit of testing on what Gail could do, right?

[Peeker]

(no problem, Skully~ whenever we get there, we get there!)

While neither of them would know it, Gail made a very similar face to the one she'd made when the books started floating around her during her conversation with Amelia. A sort of befuddled, 'there's no way this is a thing that could possibly be happening, right?' type of face. She made it when the knight mentioned wanting to sleep atop a bear - a very foolish thing to want, as it happened.

One would not expect a bookish girl to be well-versed in trailcraft, but it was clear that between the two of them, Miss Gail was better equipped to live off the land: she knew the mushrooms which were safe to eat and the animals which didn't appreciate being slept upon, after all!

"You want to try it? Uhm, okay-- I think I have some paper..." the girl stepped off the road and took her pack off her shoulder. She dug around in the front pouch a little, and pulled out a teeny-tiny notepad and a little stump of a pencil, holding them out for the knight. "Here we are..!" she said with a proud smile. "It isn't very much, but it should work, I think?"

Gail couldn't really describe what it is that she did, but she knew that whenever she was around the written word, since she came into her power, she felt this little rush of excitement, like she was about to get to work - she itched to use her powers, to get another's approval for having them - and to have the knight invite her to show off was definitely alright with her!