[Legend of Sun Knight] fic: My Friend, the Pope (in-training) - Part 5: Demos
Title: My Friend, the Pope (in-training) - Part 5: Demos
Fandom: The Legend of Sun Knight
Words: 2,134
Summary: Grisia wasn't chosen as the Sun Knight. This is the legend of the strongest Pope in all history. AU.
Notes: *hugs Demos* I was planning on writing Ecilan next, but then this happened.
Previous part
Part 5: Demos
At first, I only knew of him as a voice from beyond the door of my book cabinet, which was smooth on the inside, cool to the touch and quiet on my ears.
Most book cabinets are like that. I can curl up with the door shut, and no light would reach or disturb me.
No light meant no shadows.
No warmth. No nightmares.
In the absence of sound, I would be alone. Forgotten. Safe. All by myself in my small haven.
Only a sliver of light at the edge of the doors ever hinted at the outside world, at the brightness beyond. I was content to stay in the darkness, amidst the familiar smell of moths. Comforting. Harmless.
Out of sight, out of mind.
Even though I switched from the cabinets at home to the cabinets at the Holy Temple, nothing else changed. I continued to hide and keep to myself. At home, the more my sister worried, the more I wanted to escape. Here, my teacher mostly left me on my own, but I still hid. There was much too much light around the Holy Temple, much too many opportunities for me to accidentally spread my darkness. Only alone in the dark, hidden from the light and shadows, would I feel the safest.
Then came his voice from beyond the door.
He was someone who made me want to hide all the more, to cower from his overbearing personality, but like a moth attracted to flames, I couldn't keep away. I'd read about people like him in my storybooks before. He's someone you would call charismatic. Larger than life. Unreal. He often made me wish I had never chosen to step outside. Why couldn't I have been content with just that sliver of light? I had no need to open the door... but I just couldn't stay away.
My books never told me what to do about someone like him. I reached out. I don't know why I did it.
That day, I was huddled in a small cabinet in the library when multiple thuds sounded, and his young voice shouted out in alarm. He was looking for a specific spell book, but he sounded out of luck. Several books must have fallen to the floor in his search.
Who was he? I wondered to myself, lifting my head from my knees. Not a holy knight. At this time of day, most holy knights would be in training except for the Twelve Holy Knights who had a different schedule. He wasn't from my faction. I would know him even if he didn't know me. Could he be one of the other six? I'd only read about them and heard about them in passing. I'd yet to meet them all. Would any of them have need of a spell book? Maybe the young Ice Knight would?
I traced my finger against the crack between the doors, blocking out the light peeking in as I moved my finger down. From time to time, I would hear his mutterings to himself as he continued his search.
I knew of the book he was looking for. It was a beginner's spell book. He was in the wrong section. When I heard his feet plod away -- perhaps he'd gone to peruse another section of the library -- I climbed out of the cabinet, the image of the book burned in my mind. Without thinking, I practiced the Cloud Steps that my teacher was trying to teach me, drifting to the shelf I recalled, and pulled out the book. I ran my fingers across the cover and flipped open the book. The text inside detailed several spells and the steps it would take to cast them. I placed the book on the table for him to find.
Looking up at the other shelf, I saw that he had replaced the books that had fallen, but they were not in the right place. I pulled over a stool to reach up and reorganize the books, my hand lingering on the velvety spines.
I suppose one thing did change when I came to the Holy Temple. There were many books here, lovingly written with fine penmanship. I could run my hands across the ink all day and never get bored. Worlds upon worlds awaited my exploration, knowledge at my fingertips.
The best thing was, books don't lie. Books don't hurt you, and they can't get hurt either.
"Where in the world is that book..."
His voice startled me. I dropped my hand and stepped off of the stool. I climbed into the nearest empty cabinet.
"Ow! What the, who left this here... Huh? Where did this book come from?"
A clatter, and then a scrape along the floor, like a chair being pulled along. He didn't linger on wondering why the book was there for long. Pages were flipped, and an inhalation of breath followed. "Is this even real language? Nothing makes sense!"
More pages were flipped. I traced the bottom of the cabinet. This one was dusty. Then came, "Ugh, I give up!"
A second later, he already changed his mind. "No, no, I'll show him! I can definitely understand the theory too!"
I tilted my head. Was the book that difficult to understand? It had looked simple enough.
Even though there was no one else about, he seemed to enjoy speaking out loud and treating the book like a foe to be defeated.
He came back often after that. I pulled out more books for him whenever he came, making sure he didn't see a trace of me. It was very good practice for me, and my teacher seemed to be impressed with the result.
Some books were even my suggestions, including a book that had drawings about how magic worked. It would be easier to understand than one without them. Even I was able to understand it better than the other book despite my lack of training in elemental spells.
I still didn't know what he looked like nor who he was. All I knew was his voice, his exclamations, his frustrated groans. He was livelier than I could ever be. I would hug my knees to myself and listen to him each time. It was kind of like consuming a storybook, except this story was being told to me, with his words painting images of a brilliant world outside of mine.
He came for all sorts of spell books. I guessed that he must be an apprentice mage. He had a habit of muttering under his breath, so I'd figured out that his teacher was not pleased with his lack of knowledge of the basics and wanted him to study from the ground up. This was to be his punishment for something he had done, or else his teacher would not teach him further. I had not known we had mages among us.
Today was much the same, filled with his mutterings. I chanced leaving a larger crack in my door to listen to his ramblings. Sometimes, it was mutterings about a spell being incomprehensible. Sometimes, it was complaints about this and that.
Today, it seemed to be the latter.
"No time, he says! How can he have no time when all he does is practice his sword! I just wanted a pie! Is that really so much to ask for?"
I heard huffing, and the complaints continued as pages were flipped. He didn't sound like he was reading the book."I knew it. I knew that Roland's condition would worsen after getting trained by that demon of a man."
Roland? What condition?
It was the first time I'd actually heard a name mentioned. He often used descriptions instead, like "that girly, hair-obsessed fellow" and "mister dark bundle of negativity," conjuring vivid images in my mind.
I didn't need a description for Roland though. He was to be my Sun Knight, and while he could have been speaking of a different Roland, I was sure that I was not wrong, unless there was another Roland out there that greatly enjoyed swordplay.
While I pondered over how they knew each other, I heard him mutter about needing a different book. I knew of this book too, plans of getting the book already forming in my mind. When I heard his footsteps retreat, I emerged from my cabinet, drifting towards the bookshelf that held it.
I never knew that I was walking right into a trap.
I stood on my tiptoes to reach the book. Just as I lowered the book, a hand darted out to grab my wrist.
"Aha! I knew it!" he exclaimed.
Startled, I nearly dropped the book. I had been too distracted by my thoughts. The voice was all too familiar. I never thought he would catch me. Very few people could sneak up on me anymore. I'd made sure of it after being taken away from my sister.
I wanted to melt into the darkness, back into safety, but I was very firmly caught.
As I turned to face him, I found that he looked my age, just like what his voice had suggested. In all the time I spent wondering about him, I'd begun to imagine how he might look like. Perhaps he had curly hair, just as boisterous as his words? Dark eyes, just as stormy as his complaints? I'd gone through several imaginations, never quite able to settle down on any of them.
Although I had imagined a boy my age, I never imagined him with clear blue eyes and long golden hair, like what I might see if I were faced with the Sun Knight. I blinked in incomprehension, trying to meld his appearance with his voice and his personality.
He was too bright. Not at all like what his complaints suggested. I backed up, shrinking into myself.
"Have you been stalking me?" he asked, his free hand propped on his waist in a demanding manner.
"No," I replied. Stalking meant I'd have followed him. I never did. I'd never even seen him before now. In fact, he was the one who had intruded in my space.
He lifted an eyebrow. "You're the one who has been leaving me all those books, aren't you?" he asked curiously.
So he had noticed, after all. What had given me away? Was it too obvious, leaving all those books? Even so, I thought my Cloud Steps would for sure keep me out of sight, and I'd practiced on appearing inconspicuous.
It seemed that I still needed to train more. My teacher would never have been caught.
I nodded.
"Why?"
Why what? Hadn't he been looking for them?
"You were looking for them," I answered in incomprehension.
"Well, yeah, but that didn't mean you had to find them for me," he replied.
I tilted my head. But didn't he want to find them?
In response to my confusion, he looked me over thoughtfully. I looked back at him blankly. Then, he patted me on the shoulder.
When I didn't react, he patted me on the head. He had to reach up to do it.
I still didn't understand what he was doing.
He giggled, his laughter joyous. I wanted to hide all the more. "You're so obedient! What's your name?"
"Demos," I said, not used to not answering people's questions.
"Hi, Demos. I'm Grisia."
When I asked him about Roland's "condition," as it sounded very worrying, he gave me a look. I returned his gaze solemnly. His lips twitched, like he was about to laugh again, and he tugged on my hands.
"Oh gosh, Demos, we're going to have so much fun together!"
I tilted my head, not sure of what he meant by that. Instead of answering, I handed him the book I'd gotten for him. It made him smile brightly, his bright smile making me want to shrink into myself even more.
Somehow, I ended up reading the book to him. When he only wrinkled his brows in confusion, I recited some of the other passages I recalled reading from another book. His eyes lit up, and he patted my hand.
"Wow, that's easier to understand! I think I actually get it! You know so much! What do you know about Lightning magic?"
I rambled off what I knew. His eyes...gleamed? He also lamented that he should have sought me out right from the start when he noticed the stool. Listening to me was so much more interesting and faster than reading on his own. After I stopped talking, he flicked his hand, sparks of lightning curling around his fingers. He tossed that into the air, and like what I just rambled off to him about higher leveled spells, he tossed some more lightning together, creating a denser version of his first spell.
He snickered even as more lightning danced across his fingers. "I am so going to show him! You're the best, Demos!"
Maybe... I had made a friend?
I didn't know why I felt so unsettled at the thought. Maybe it was because I had stepped out of my cabinet, leaving behind the smell of moths to drift towards dangerous light, far out of my comfort zone.
That had to be it.
I didn't know then what I'd gotten myself into.
to be continued
Next part
Fandom: The Legend of Sun Knight
Words: 2,134
Summary: Grisia wasn't chosen as the Sun Knight. This is the legend of the strongest Pope in all history. AU.
Notes: *hugs Demos* I was planning on writing Ecilan next, but then this happened.
Previous part
Part 5: Demos
At first, I only knew of him as a voice from beyond the door of my book cabinet, which was smooth on the inside, cool to the touch and quiet on my ears.
Most book cabinets are like that. I can curl up with the door shut, and no light would reach or disturb me.
No light meant no shadows.
No warmth. No nightmares.
In the absence of sound, I would be alone. Forgotten. Safe. All by myself in my small haven.
Only a sliver of light at the edge of the doors ever hinted at the outside world, at the brightness beyond. I was content to stay in the darkness, amidst the familiar smell of moths. Comforting. Harmless.
Out of sight, out of mind.
Even though I switched from the cabinets at home to the cabinets at the Holy Temple, nothing else changed. I continued to hide and keep to myself. At home, the more my sister worried, the more I wanted to escape. Here, my teacher mostly left me on my own, but I still hid. There was much too much light around the Holy Temple, much too many opportunities for me to accidentally spread my darkness. Only alone in the dark, hidden from the light and shadows, would I feel the safest.
Then came his voice from beyond the door.
He was someone who made me want to hide all the more, to cower from his overbearing personality, but like a moth attracted to flames, I couldn't keep away. I'd read about people like him in my storybooks before. He's someone you would call charismatic. Larger than life. Unreal. He often made me wish I had never chosen to step outside. Why couldn't I have been content with just that sliver of light? I had no need to open the door... but I just couldn't stay away.
My books never told me what to do about someone like him. I reached out. I don't know why I did it.
That day, I was huddled in a small cabinet in the library when multiple thuds sounded, and his young voice shouted out in alarm. He was looking for a specific spell book, but he sounded out of luck. Several books must have fallen to the floor in his search.
Who was he? I wondered to myself, lifting my head from my knees. Not a holy knight. At this time of day, most holy knights would be in training except for the Twelve Holy Knights who had a different schedule. He wasn't from my faction. I would know him even if he didn't know me. Could he be one of the other six? I'd only read about them and heard about them in passing. I'd yet to meet them all. Would any of them have need of a spell book? Maybe the young Ice Knight would?
I traced my finger against the crack between the doors, blocking out the light peeking in as I moved my finger down. From time to time, I would hear his mutterings to himself as he continued his search.
I knew of the book he was looking for. It was a beginner's spell book. He was in the wrong section. When I heard his feet plod away -- perhaps he'd gone to peruse another section of the library -- I climbed out of the cabinet, the image of the book burned in my mind. Without thinking, I practiced the Cloud Steps that my teacher was trying to teach me, drifting to the shelf I recalled, and pulled out the book. I ran my fingers across the cover and flipped open the book. The text inside detailed several spells and the steps it would take to cast them. I placed the book on the table for him to find.
Looking up at the other shelf, I saw that he had replaced the books that had fallen, but they were not in the right place. I pulled over a stool to reach up and reorganize the books, my hand lingering on the velvety spines.
I suppose one thing did change when I came to the Holy Temple. There were many books here, lovingly written with fine penmanship. I could run my hands across the ink all day and never get bored. Worlds upon worlds awaited my exploration, knowledge at my fingertips.
The best thing was, books don't lie. Books don't hurt you, and they can't get hurt either.
"Where in the world is that book..."
His voice startled me. I dropped my hand and stepped off of the stool. I climbed into the nearest empty cabinet.
"Ow! What the, who left this here... Huh? Where did this book come from?"
A clatter, and then a scrape along the floor, like a chair being pulled along. He didn't linger on wondering why the book was there for long. Pages were flipped, and an inhalation of breath followed. "Is this even real language? Nothing makes sense!"
More pages were flipped. I traced the bottom of the cabinet. This one was dusty. Then came, "Ugh, I give up!"
A second later, he already changed his mind. "No, no, I'll show him! I can definitely understand the theory too!"
I tilted my head. Was the book that difficult to understand? It had looked simple enough.
Even though there was no one else about, he seemed to enjoy speaking out loud and treating the book like a foe to be defeated.
He came back often after that. I pulled out more books for him whenever he came, making sure he didn't see a trace of me. It was very good practice for me, and my teacher seemed to be impressed with the result.
Some books were even my suggestions, including a book that had drawings about how magic worked. It would be easier to understand than one without them. Even I was able to understand it better than the other book despite my lack of training in elemental spells.
I still didn't know what he looked like nor who he was. All I knew was his voice, his exclamations, his frustrated groans. He was livelier than I could ever be. I would hug my knees to myself and listen to him each time. It was kind of like consuming a storybook, except this story was being told to me, with his words painting images of a brilliant world outside of mine.
He came for all sorts of spell books. I guessed that he must be an apprentice mage. He had a habit of muttering under his breath, so I'd figured out that his teacher was not pleased with his lack of knowledge of the basics and wanted him to study from the ground up. This was to be his punishment for something he had done, or else his teacher would not teach him further. I had not known we had mages among us.
Today was much the same, filled with his mutterings. I chanced leaving a larger crack in my door to listen to his ramblings. Sometimes, it was mutterings about a spell being incomprehensible. Sometimes, it was complaints about this and that.
Today, it seemed to be the latter.
"No time, he says! How can he have no time when all he does is practice his sword! I just wanted a pie! Is that really so much to ask for?"
I heard huffing, and the complaints continued as pages were flipped. He didn't sound like he was reading the book."I knew it. I knew that Roland's condition would worsen after getting trained by that demon of a man."
Roland? What condition?
It was the first time I'd actually heard a name mentioned. He often used descriptions instead, like "that girly, hair-obsessed fellow" and "mister dark bundle of negativity," conjuring vivid images in my mind.
I didn't need a description for Roland though. He was to be my Sun Knight, and while he could have been speaking of a different Roland, I was sure that I was not wrong, unless there was another Roland out there that greatly enjoyed swordplay.
While I pondered over how they knew each other, I heard him mutter about needing a different book. I knew of this book too, plans of getting the book already forming in my mind. When I heard his footsteps retreat, I emerged from my cabinet, drifting towards the bookshelf that held it.
I never knew that I was walking right into a trap.
I stood on my tiptoes to reach the book. Just as I lowered the book, a hand darted out to grab my wrist.
"Aha! I knew it!" he exclaimed.
Startled, I nearly dropped the book. I had been too distracted by my thoughts. The voice was all too familiar. I never thought he would catch me. Very few people could sneak up on me anymore. I'd made sure of it after being taken away from my sister.
I wanted to melt into the darkness, back into safety, but I was very firmly caught.
As I turned to face him, I found that he looked my age, just like what his voice had suggested. In all the time I spent wondering about him, I'd begun to imagine how he might look like. Perhaps he had curly hair, just as boisterous as his words? Dark eyes, just as stormy as his complaints? I'd gone through several imaginations, never quite able to settle down on any of them.
Although I had imagined a boy my age, I never imagined him with clear blue eyes and long golden hair, like what I might see if I were faced with the Sun Knight. I blinked in incomprehension, trying to meld his appearance with his voice and his personality.
He was too bright. Not at all like what his complaints suggested. I backed up, shrinking into myself.
"Have you been stalking me?" he asked, his free hand propped on his waist in a demanding manner.
"No," I replied. Stalking meant I'd have followed him. I never did. I'd never even seen him before now. In fact, he was the one who had intruded in my space.
He lifted an eyebrow. "You're the one who has been leaving me all those books, aren't you?" he asked curiously.
So he had noticed, after all. What had given me away? Was it too obvious, leaving all those books? Even so, I thought my Cloud Steps would for sure keep me out of sight, and I'd practiced on appearing inconspicuous.
It seemed that I still needed to train more. My teacher would never have been caught.
I nodded.
"Why?"
Why what? Hadn't he been looking for them?
"You were looking for them," I answered in incomprehension.
"Well, yeah, but that didn't mean you had to find them for me," he replied.
I tilted my head. But didn't he want to find them?
In response to my confusion, he looked me over thoughtfully. I looked back at him blankly. Then, he patted me on the shoulder.
When I didn't react, he patted me on the head. He had to reach up to do it.
I still didn't understand what he was doing.
He giggled, his laughter joyous. I wanted to hide all the more. "You're so obedient! What's your name?"
"Demos," I said, not used to not answering people's questions.
"Hi, Demos. I'm Grisia."
When I asked him about Roland's "condition," as it sounded very worrying, he gave me a look. I returned his gaze solemnly. His lips twitched, like he was about to laugh again, and he tugged on my hands.
"Oh gosh, Demos, we're going to have so much fun together!"
I tilted my head, not sure of what he meant by that. Instead of answering, I handed him the book I'd gotten for him. It made him smile brightly, his bright smile making me want to shrink into myself even more.
Somehow, I ended up reading the book to him. When he only wrinkled his brows in confusion, I recited some of the other passages I recalled reading from another book. His eyes lit up, and he patted my hand.
"Wow, that's easier to understand! I think I actually get it! You know so much! What do you know about Lightning magic?"
I rambled off what I knew. His eyes...gleamed? He also lamented that he should have sought me out right from the start when he noticed the stool. Listening to me was so much more interesting and faster than reading on his own. After I stopped talking, he flicked his hand, sparks of lightning curling around his fingers. He tossed that into the air, and like what I just rambled off to him about higher leveled spells, he tossed some more lightning together, creating a denser version of his first spell.
He snickered even as more lightning danced across his fingers. "I am so going to show him! You're the best, Demos!"
Maybe... I had made a friend?
I didn't know why I felt so unsettled at the thought. Maybe it was because I had stepped out of my cabinet, leaving behind the smell of moths to drift towards dangerous light, far out of my comfort zone.
That had to be it.
I didn't know then what I'd gotten myself into.
to be continued
Next part