Her Childhood Friend

Earnest Pierce stood feet together, shoulders relaxed, eyes forward, and back as straight as a flag pole, just as he was trained. The commander was seated at his desk across from him, reading a paper that Earnest handed him. The commander slammed the paper to the desk, and immediately began interrogating Earnest.

“What the fuck is this shit? Have you been taking goddamn bribes or has your head turned to mush after sparring too much?”

“No sir, no bribes or anything like that, sir. The reason is what I wrote.”

The commander turned the request form around on his desk, pointing his finger to the section that Earnest was referencing. He spoke slowly and incredulously.

“To check on a fucking friend?”

The commander stared straight into Earnest’s eyes, almost as if trying to bore holes into his skull.

“Kid, I know when an excuse reeks of cow shit. Do you know how many bullshit stomach aches and colds I’ve heard from whiny, weak recruits? I don’t play games, so spit it out before I make you.”

Earnest ’s commander, Roland Betin, was by far the harshest of all. He was the leader of the 7th squad “Ganjo” and ran it with an iron grip. Being the 7th squad, the members sent to him were of moderate talent, but Roland made sure that only those with extraordinary resilience remained. His training and discipline were hellish, and had a reputation of being the most strenuous of all squads’. New recruits would quickly request transfers to other squads or outright leave the knights, as Roland not only required rigorous physical training, but also strict discipline and strong character.

Roland himself was from a commoner background, hence his nickname “Commoner Commander” which was used by both nobles as an insult and commoners in admiration. As such, many commoners moving up in the knights would request to join his squad specifically.

“Sir, it is the truth, sir. I just need to check on her, sir. After she left the capital, we’ve been exchanging letters once a month, but she hasn’t responded for the last four… Sir.”

“Who the hell is this bitch to make you lose your head like this? The knight’s exhibition is the first of next month. Tell me who is paying you off to fuck me over.”

“Sir, it really is the truth. She means a lot to me, sir. She’s the reason that I joined the knights in the first place, sir. She’s a knight too, but was assigned to a remote village by commander Bhuta, sir. This necklace is from her, sir.”

Earnest adjusted his uniform to pull out the necklace that he always wore. It was a smoothed piece of dirty white quartz with a natural hole worn through the middle. While any jeweler would take a single glance at the thing and dismiss it as worth no more than a roadside pebble, to Earnest it was precious.

When Earnest and Rosalind were just children, the stone had caught her eye as they were playing in a river. The two had a contest over it, as they often would for almost anything, and Rosalind won, as she almost always would. The next day, she had it strung and showed it off proudly to anyone that would look. Earnest was a bit jealous of her, but Rosalind surprised him at the end of the day by gifting it to him. It was at this moment that he decided to follow her wherever she went, and to be a worthy match for her.

Roland knew how precious this necklace was to Earnest . When Earnest had first joined the squad, another recruit in the same batch resented Earnest’s quick progress, so he stole the necklace given the rare chance. Earnest raised so much hell looking for the necklace and beat the thief so brutally that everyone in squad learned that he was not one to be fucked with. Roland’s facial expression changed from incredulous rage to serious consideration.

“So that’s what the necklace thing was about.”

Earnest was relieved, as he wasn’t sure if the commander would take him seriously, given the circumstances. He was resolved enough to abandon his duty, if it came to it, but was glad that it didn’t have to come to that.

“If you were such a mad dog about the necklace, I can only imagine what a rabid hellhound you must be for her. I’ve never seen a man as whipped as you.”

“Sir, thank you for your understanding, sir.”

“You’re really fucking me over here, you know? You’re in the dueling section as well as the team battle. I need you to show your worth, or else these lazy, corrupt nobles will be here until the kingdom falls.”

Roland had a personal vendetta against certain knight squads, which would largely be composed of lazy nobles who had gotten in through connections. These knights were only given easy tasks, and compiled military achievements from the backline exclusively. Roland saw them as a cancer to the knights and kingdom, and resolved to fix the problem himself. His plan was so simple and straightforward that it was borderline stupid. He was going to raise knights so great that they would be able to become commanders on merit alone, as he had, and push out the undeserving commanders. Earnest was one of the knights that he had his hopes in, and missing the knight’s exhibition would be a setback.

“Sir, I can be back before the exhibition starts, sir. I counted travel time to and from, as well as a week there to investigate, sir. If she’s fine, I’ll be able to return sooner, maybe with enough time to participate, sir.”

“Get this through your thick fucking skull Earnest. Instead of preparing for your matches, you’re planning on arriving just before the exhibition, exhausted from a trip to and from a trip to the middle of nowhere.”

“Sir, exhaustion is no stranger to me, sir. I need to check on her, sir, even if it’s just to clear my head… sir.”

Roland leaned back in his chair and pondered this. Earnest had been irritable and rash over the past few months, lashing out at the smallest issues. This also affected his swordplay, as his clever, composed demeanor became more rushed and predictable. It would be a gamble to let him leave. If he denied Earnest’s request, his frustration would only increase as his woman failed to answer his calls for attention, making his performance at the exhibition even worse than it was currently. If he allowed it, Earnest might not make it in time for the exhibition at all. Even if he did manage to find his woman, he might not like what he sees. Roland had seen many a knight’s sweetheart turn to another man in their absence. Since she was a knight, the risks only increased, as she could have met her fate with a monster or bandit.

Even after weighing all of these possibilities, Roland still knew that there was a world where Earnest found his woman just fine and came back in time with a clear head. There was a world where the courier that delivered messages to this village just happened to lose the letters, or bandits were holding up the road or something. That world could be this one, and Roland didn’t get to his current position without taking any risks or gambles.

“Earnest, a knight must be strong. Invincible. You can’t have any holes in your armor, and this woman is a giant fucking hole in yours. As much as I’d love to whip this weak shit out of you, the exhibition being so soon means that it’s probably faster for you to just fucking go. I need you to fix yourself up real quick, and expect hell after the exhibition. And don’t come back with a broken heart, wailing in tears if you find your woman sucking someone elses’ cock.”

“Sir, yes, sir. Thank you very much, sir.”

Roland dipped his pen and signed Earnest's request for leave, rolled it up, and stamped his squad’s symbol on a wax seal, finishing the form.

“Sir, Can I ask a favor? Sir.”

Roland raised one eyebrow and looked at Earnest as if he were dressed as a jester.

“What more could you ask for right now Earnest? All the budget to go into a padded coach?”

“Sir, if Rosalind is fine, can you take her into this squad, sir. She is stronger, faster, and a better fighter than me, sir. You won’t be disappointed in her, sir. I can personally vouch for her, sir.”

This proposal caught Roland somewhat by surprise, but it also intrigued him. Ignoring the squad system and poaching a member from another squad would earn scorn from other commanders, especially the one that the knight in question was leaving. However, Roland cared not for other commanders’ opinion of him, past respecting his strength, and cared even less about commander Bhuta’s opinion especially. The prospect of a knight as strong as, if not stronger than Earnest enticed him.

“Fine, bring her back with you, Earnest”

“Sir, yes, sir. Thank you, sir. I won’t forget your generosity, sir.”

“Alright, get out of here you kiss ass.”

Earnest performed a sharp about-face and exited through the office door. Before he was very far, Roland shouted from behind him.

“And Earnest, you don’t have to say ‘sir’ so fucking much.”