I Will Be the Greatest Knight

From up close, the Commander's eyes weren't as dark as Irene was expecting them to be, but they lacked the warmth they usually carried.

However, his proximity was paralyzing to her, and rather than escaping, she merely stared up at him with wide, green eyes. The expression he wore made her think she really might get reprimanded for running into him so abruptly, but the way he had caught her and made sure she didn't fall communicated something else.

It was probably only a second, but it felt like ages before his warm hand on her waist soon disappeared, and coldness took its place. He acted as if she were the flame and he didn't want to get hurt, but the truth was that it was she who realized just how warm he was before it was taken away.

Almost as terrifying as his proximity was his ability to hide away the hurt expression and lock it behind an incredibly fortified wall of self-control.

She realized she had made a mistake, thinking that she was someone who needed to comfort her Commander. It was her he was hiding his expression from, rather than trusting her with it. The urge to come up with an excuse that she wasn't there to see him forced its way through.

In shame, she hung her head.

"Commander, I apologize for having run into you. I was talking to Sir Trenton and thought it would be best to see the status at the mage's home."

As usual, her words couldn't seem to stop when she was in such a situation that caused her nerves to show.

Her gaze was lowered as she hung her head, so she missed his momentary disappointment that she wasn't there for him.

"He hasn't woken up," the Commander explained coldly. "I don't know if he will for a long time. "The mages are doing their best." Her head lifted at this, and he offered a tight-lipped smile that he hoped looked authentic enough to be left alone. He then started walking away. "If that's all, I ought to check on the other knights even though I know Felix has it under control."

Her heart was racing, and she knew that the situation had gotten away from her at her Commander's receding form. She had pushed him away again because it was the only way she knew how to handle someone who caught her off guard the way he did.

"That's not the reason I came all the way out here," she blurted out nervously.

It was enough to stop the Commander. He was mid-step, but he didn't go further; he placed his foot back on the ground. Again, she had his gaze as he looked over his shoulder at her. The expectant look on his face convinced her that it was now or never to try and fix this.

"I just thought that you could use—"

A friend.

Perhaps if she could say that much, then she could repair what she had destroyed when he had been nothing but kind to her, and she was the one who was always strange and resistant.

Unfortunately, what interrupted her was a loud crashing noise that shook the entire forest around them, causing a shockwave to emanate through the entire township. Birds flew, and bugs were silenced. The quiet afterward, Irene could hear only her heartbeat.

Thud!

Simultaneously, the two got into stances typical for knights who braced themselves for another blow. It was instinctual to them both at that point, considering they both had been using swords for years by that point.

Most surprising was the Commander stepping closer to Irene protectively and seeming to shield her from the direction of where the noise was coming from. He had placed a hand on his sword, and his nondominant hand went behind him, silently telling her to stay close so she would be safe.

Irene reached out and gently pushed his arm back down. It seemed she wouldn't be telling him what she wanted to, so she could try and clear the air between them. At least she was more confident when it came to a sword.

"You don't have to protect me," she reminded him as she pulled out her own sword.

He spared her another glance even though his dark eyes were dutifully scanning the area for any sign of what had made such an awful noise.

"My doing this isn't to doubt your abilities," Commander Henry responded. "You're one of my knights. You are my responsibility."

She wanted to disagree, but she knew she couldn't say anything in the face of his authority.

Before she could decide on anything else, someone from the northern edge of Idona shouted, "Monsters!"

The two of them didn't need further instruction on what exactly that meant.

Henry began sprinting, and Irene was close at his heel until they were at the inn, where they went off in separate directions.

Irene went to get her armor on. Even though she knew she needed to gather the apprentices, she would be no good to them if she got injured early on. It was important to prioritize her own safety in situations like these.

After her armor was on, she went to the communal room where all of the apprentices were staying and knocked loudly on the door. It opened almost right away.

"Apprentices, get your armor and weapons, then go to the dining hall! There are monsters!"

There was shuffling as the few who were in the room got themselves together, and Irene nodded before going down to the stables, where there were likely to be a few more apprentices working. She gathered them to go into the dining hall as well.

Surprisingly, the Commander was coming down the stairs at the same time as she went inside, and he was adjusting one of the leather straps on his shoulder armor, ensuring it was covering what it needed to before he set foot on the ground floor and realized Irene was there.

No longer present was the uncertainty the two of them had experienced before, and they both had switched into battle mode.

"I gathered the apprentices," Irene explained. "Shall I send them to the rooftops? Most of them are bow-weilding."

Since he wasn't stopping, Irene was forced to go to the front door with him.

"That would be best," the Commander responded, still rushing forward.

It seemed that Josef was in the same frame of mind as the knights because he was already rushing towards the inn.

"I will bring the knights to the barrier," Henry assured him. "All you have to do is open it and let us attack them. We'll protect Idona, no matter what it takes."

The blacksmith nodded once, and that was his only response before he turned and rushed off to the mysterious mages who controlled the mana stones and dealt with the magical barrier.

Since the Commander was set on continuing forward, Irene rushed back into the inn.

The apprentices she had requested were all there, rushing to get their much lighter armor situated.

"The disturbance is on the northern end, but there should be enough buildings for you to find a high vantage point and use your arrows," Irene directed. "Stay high and out of the way so that you don't get hurt, but this will be an important role. If any knights miss the monsters, it is your job to pick them off so that they don't get into Idona and cause the mages more harm."

"Yes, dame!" the apprentices all responded.

"Then, go!" she shouted. "We will be counting on you from below."

The woman had already tied up her red hair into a braid, so as she rushed through the inn's entrance and to the north where the other knights were already headed, she secured her helmet over her head.

There was another bang at the magical border that caused her heart to race as the thrill of battle rushed through her.

Not all of the knights were there when Irene reached the edge, and she found herself in a place close to the Commander as he stared on in determination. Everyone there already had their weapons out, and those who were just rushing in pulled out their weapons shortly after.

Before them, monsters piled on the outside of the barrier, squishing one another and failing to climb on top of each other as they ran into the barrier and were thrown backwards the way the Commander had been when they arrived. Their disgusting faces showed no emotion, but their urgent screeches could be heard from inside the barrier.

Irene's head turned, and she finally witnessed what was causing the loud noise that had alerted them to the issue in the first place.

A massive ogre raised its long arms over its head and brought a giant wooden mallet down against the barrier. With each impact, a spiderweb of cracks appeared on the barrier. They disappeared within seconds, but each hit seemed to draw more, and they began to disappear less and less quickly.

"You know what we have to do, knights!" their Commander shouted before putting on his helmet. "Let's protect Idona as if it's our homeland!"

There were shouts of agreement at the Commander's impassioned order.

Silence ensued once more as chaos took over the second the barrier was raised, and all the monsters pushing through began to fall forward and move towards the humans.