Indecipherable Looks

Chapter 1

At first she thought he was like any other knight. A man hungry for riches, fame, women, and whatever else he could get his hands on. Then she figured, despite not truly knowing his motivations, that he was easily greater than any other warrior in all the land. Even she, who did not know much, and heard despairingly little of the outside world, soon was enraptured by the tales and embellishments of grand adventure; dragons slain, enemies destroyed, treasures pilfered. It was of course extremely impressive, but to her, the idea of someone possessing that much power was somewhat terrifying.

Her own father had power, more than he needed. And he never did seem to use it well. The Duke's influence was often used to bully someone into submission. If not Maxi, another person, another family, the servants, the poor serfs. She was irreparably ignorant, but she was still certain that her father wasn't a good ruler. Was it possible to have so much influence and still do right?

In the books she read, there were fair and just Kings. The loyal knights, and often the people would gladly give their lives for their beloved leader. She could not see that happening for her father at all. He didn't deserve it, her treatment aside. If...if Calypse had that same might, how would he use it?

Maxi only wondered because she had caught his hardened gaze focused on her more than enough to be coincidence. When they were in the dining hall once, she had looked up from her plate of food to see his eyes on her- but he quickly glanced away, so she assumed it was an accident. Again when they passed each other in the hall, but his expression was anything but happy, so she chalked it up to disgust. After that it was little things, over and over, but she didn't know why she attracted his attention. Did she do something wrong? Was he repulsed by her presence? For a short moment she entertained the idea of some sort of curious interest, but that was quickly shot down by her own self-hatred. A man like him couldn't be looking at her for...that reason. A stuttering, bumbling fool. Especially not when her beautiful sister was nearby.

So she tried her best to avoid him, realizing that she was an inconvenience in some way, though she was unsure of the specifics.

She had failed miserably.

Lately, she had been taking walks in the forest behind the barren gardens. After her father's hunting dog had died, she had been so scared to go out there. But sometimes she didn't care what happened to her. The air was nice; the light poking through the canopy of trees always warmed her face, even in the cold season, and she didn't feel it mattered at this point. Only now and then she felt guilt towards that person who had saved her all those years ago. She wondered what they'd say if they knew what she was doing. But she always rationalized: if I get hurt, it's just another day.

And right now she was cursing herself. She never came out this far before. It was just that, she'd heard the meowing and now, well, she was peeking from behind a tree as the bark dug sharply into her soft hands, watching the dangerous, celebrated, handsome knight stroke a baby kitten. Her heart was racing with the fear of getting caught as she watched his every move, silently praying that he blamed any movements she made before on the restless animals and foliage around them. She expected that he would notice her at any moment, but his posture stayed the same as he rubbed the kitten's belly, a pensive look on his face. The kitten swatted at one of his fingers before giving in to the massage, meowing with delight as it rolled onto its back, basking in the rays of the setting sun.

Maxi unwittingly smiled, taking in the funny sight. He was so gentle; the animal seemed not the least threatened as it yawned and blinked in a sleepy manner.

The Duke would kick such a helpless creature.

She frowned at the thought which shoved itself into the happy picture. But really- it was time to come back to reality. Maxi had to be back in the gardens soon before anyone came to check on her, and she could hardly move before the knight realized she was there. If he saw her, would he be mad? They were all alone, what if he did something? If he told her father what happened, she would no doubt receive punishment for being alone with a man, even on accident. The possibilities were tossing and turning in her mind, making her head spin with worry as her anxiety peaked. She leaned further into the tree, needing to find strength from something, anything at all.

It was just her luck to make eye contact with the kitten then.

It blinked up at her, lazily pawing in her direction, and she felt her heart drop straight to her stomach as it wriggled out of Calypse's grasp and began a slow saunter in her direction.

Now Maxi tried everything she could. She waved her hands at it. She barred her teeth like a bear she'd seen in a nature book once. She even tried to softly stomp her foot so it would think she was angry and go away, but nothing seemed to work. She sent one last prayer into the sky, but it was not answered as the baby cat came clawing at her meek dress only seconds later.

Looking down, she tried to softly nudge it away, a frantic feeling overtaking her body, but the next moment a large shadow covered her, and Maximilian knew she had been found out. Accepting her fate with a fast beating heart, she slowly lifted her head up to meet the sharp, unsurprised eyes of the Remdragon Knight's famous commander. She couldn't even run, paralyzed with absolute terror at the unpredictable situation.

"I-I..." She tried to wrack her brain for some excuse, but none came. The empty silence where her words should be rang out between them, and she could feel herself going red from shame and embarrassment.

Suddenly he moved, causing her to flinch- but he only bent down to take the cat up into his arms.

As he knelt there, she took a deep breath and blinked away her nervous tears. She did not want to be beat today. If it could be avoided, she had to try. Not held in place by his domineering look anymore, she looked shyly down at the dark head of hair below her.

"I d-didn't mean t-to i-intrude sir..."

"No!" He rose up so quickly, the cape billowing like black waves about him, that the sight made her dizzy and nervous, causing her to unconsciously press her back into the tree. It felt suffocating. No? No to what? The confusion caused her stomach to churn. And then he grimaced, which made her feel even worse.

It was still more perplexing to her when he took a swift step back before stiffly bowing, the cat still in hand. She looked on with bewildered eyes as it purred.

"I'm sorry. I only meant I...I am the one intruding, my Lady. I am Riftan Calypse, leader of the Remdragon Knights," As he stood straight again, his cape wavered in the cool wind. It was strange to Maxi that he would introduce himself to such a lowly individual, being who he was, but...well, for once it was nice to be respected as her sister was. "While walking around the grounds I found this creature. It's without a mother." He held it up roughly by the neck, and it was her instinct to take the kitten and hold it against her breast, hoping to warm it up. While the summer days were still very hot, the nights were gradually starting to get colder.

When she peeked up at him again, for once he didn't have that angry look on his face. No, his eyebrows were slightly raised and his eyes wide; his hand still up in the air before he slowly brought it to his side. This movement finally clued her into the brashness of her actions and Maxi hurriedly spoke.

"I-I am M-Maximilian Croix," It was even more difficult to speak when your heart was beating out of your chest. She didn't know if it was from fear or excitement right now, but she wasn't as scared as before. "If S-Sir l-leaves it t-to me, I will g-get it some m-milk." She managed to push out, her tongue stiff and her cheeks ablaze. Her fingers were still warm from where they had touched his.

He nodded then, rubbing his chin as he looked at the kitten, at her, and then up to the sky as if he was saying his own prayer. Maxi couldn't read his expression, but found herself all the more curious about this knight, who had more power than some could imagine, but stood concerned about the fate of what some would call an insignificant animal. Who was this man, who gave her indecipherable looks?