A Knights Tale

Chapter One

Evie's Notes: Happy Saturday! I hope you all are having a wonderful week . I hope that you all enjoy this new story. Thank you for checking it out, it truly means the world to me 💜! Let me know what you think - xo Evie 🌺

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Arc couldn't believe that he had been in Astoria for over a year now. Everyday brought a new adventure for the Phoenix Squad; whether it was battling goblins, trolls and mummies or dealing with Warwick's obsessive crush on the country's princess, who happened to secretly be their friend and squad-mate Ciara.

"Gather round students" ordered Sir Gareth, calling the morning's training session to an abrupt end.

Still smarting from Sage's underhanded kick, Arc limped his way over to where his squad was gathered. Warwick smirked at Arc's struggles and offered his best friend a shoulder to lean on for support.

"You got Saged pretty good bro" chuckled the magic man.

"Yeah, she got lucky," admitted Arc.

"I didn't get lucky!" protested the Kraken Squad leader. "I kicked your ass fair and square".

"As if, we all know you cheated, Sage" snapped Prudy challengingly.

"Yeah, just you wait till I get a rematch" threatened Arc.

"She didn't cheat! She just kept kicking him" giggled Buttercup.

"Oh whatever" grumbled Ciara. "What was it you wanted to tell us Sir Gareth".

"Thank you Ciara, see this is why she's my favorite" remarked their teacher, ignoring the grumbles of his other students. "Please turn your attention to the Dragon Board to find your adversary for this weekend's upcoming Melee in honor of the Late Queen's birthday".

"Queen Aliyah, may she rest in peace" chanted the students respectfully

Scanning the board Arc grinned when he saw that his chance for a rematch was much sooner than he expected.

"Looks like I'll be kicking your ass again this Sunday, Puppy" taunted Sage.

"Hey! I only got turned into a golden retriever one time!" complained Arc.

"Once a puppy, always a puppy" teased Sage with a victorious smirk. "Try not to piss off anymore pixies before I can kick your butt in front of the king. Let's roll ButtyButt"

"OK! Bye Phoenix Squad" cheered Buttercup as Sage led Kraken Squad out of the training yard.

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"Jeffry, please make sure that the vendors have confirmed their attendance for Sunday's festivities" directed Esmerelda as she paced the throne balcony. "It is of the utmost importance that everything goes smoothly for my mother's commemoration".

"Of course your highness. And if I may say Princess, it is wonderful of you to step up and organize the event for the King".

"Awww, thank you Jeffry. Though I truly do not have much of a choice in the matter given that Eliza is away addressing the wyrm dangers on our eastern border. Without Eliza here my father would have had to organize all of the details, but well... you've seen how he gets at this time of year".

"Despite all of that, I have to admire how masterfully you run this kingdom. I am off to check on the final catering details with Creel. Have a wonderful day, my lady" charmed the dark haired servant, before bowing and heading into the castle".

"I don't normally agree with Jeffry... but I'll give him this point. You really are rocking this party set up. Your dad and sister are going to be so proud of you" remarked a familiar voice.

Jumping in surprise, Esmerelda whirled around to find the bane of her existence and best friend casually sprawled across the throne. "What do you think you are doing?" Esmerelda asked, arching her brow.

"Just stopping by for my daily dose of Princess"

"I just saw you an hour ago" replied Esmerlda, rolling her eyes and pushing the knight off the throne.

"No. I saw Ciara an hour ago, I'm still in need of my special Esmerelda time" teased Arc, his blue eyes sparkling with mischief.

"I'm sorry, but I can't hang out today" apologized Esmerelda. "I have way too much to do before this weekend's festivities, especially with my father out of commission".

"I don't mean to be rude, but what's so special about this year's celebration? I mean he was obviously upset the last two years but he seems especially despondent recently".

"That's because this weekend marks the tenth anniversary of my mother's disappearance" explained the princess. "I think his increased depression is due to the weight of this anniversary. It was the same way with the five year anniversary. Eliza was home for that one, but since she's stuck on duty at the eastern border I have to step up".

"How about I help you? Your errands will take half as long if we split them up" suggested Arc.

"Really?"

"Duh, I wouldn't have offered it if I didn't mean it" chuckled Arc, taking Esmerelda's mile long to-do list and began to read over it. "I'll handle haggling with Alfred, we all know how well it went last time you tried to talk to him" teased Arc.

"Oh bug off. It wasn't that bad" sighed Esmerelda, rolling her eyes.

"Princess, you threatened to have him beheaded," scoffed the knight. "I will handle confirming the decoration details with him before heading over to the granary to check on their progress. After that I will swing by the training yard to talk with Sir Gareth about the guard patrol for the ceremony. That leaves you with organizing the children's choir, the king's new crown fitting and whatever Hogancross wants to talk your ear off about today".

"Of course you leave me with Hogancross"

"Sorry sweetheart, but the less time I spend with that man the better"

"He is rather infuriating" mused Esmerelda

"At least you get to tell him to shut up due to your status. I have to stand there listening to him politely while I nod and smile".

"Too true. Being royalty rocks!" laughed the princess.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up" waved off Arc. "With those chores off your list you should be free to join us for supper at the Tasty Trunk".

"Sounds like a plan" grinned Esmerelda. Squeezing Arc's hand gratefully she thanked him for his help. "You're the best Arc! Truly I have no idea what I would do without you"

"Perish the thought Princess, I'll always be here when you call" winked Arc. "Now if you excuse me, I have a decorator to do battle with".

Waving happily after her best friend as he exited the courtyard, the princess turned her focus back to her tasks at hand. How hard could it be to corral a children's choir? The screeches echoing down the castle corridor let her know that it would be very, very hard!

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Evie's Notes 2: I love hearing from y'all! Let me know what you think of the story so far in the comments or my Tumblr Find-y0ur-j0y! - Xo Evie 💖