Arcadia's Ignoble Knight: The Sorceress of Ashtown

The Stubbornness of Youth

The early morning light shone in through the windows of Dorehan Tower.

Having woken up early that morning, or rather, having never gone to sleep in the first place, Erica had decided to pay Caspian a visit. The young man had seemed quite off last night, and so she was taking it upon herself to make sure nothing was wrong.

Upon reaching the door to Caspian's room, Erica found Cassidy, dressed in her maid outfit, standing in front of the door. The young maid was staring at it with an expression that told Erica of her maid's conflicted disposition. Held within her hands was a silver tray containing a bowl of porridge and a glass of apple juice. It was, quite obviously, for the youth currently residing on the other side of the door.

"Cassidy."

Her maid turned to her as she strolled up to the door. From up close, Cassidy's distress was great enough to be nearly palpable. Impossibly wide eyes stared at her with the beginning of tears, and Cassidy chewed on her lower lip in worry. She looked like she might start sulking any second now.

"Mistress Erica."

"Is Caspie brooding in there?"

Cassidy sniffled. "W-well, I wouldn't say he's brooding, but I-I've been asked him to come out several times now and he's not listening to me. W-what should I do?"

Erica carefully pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. It was the day after the battle with those two elven assassins. The damage done to Dorehan Tower during the two simultaneous clashes had been repaired thanks to some powerful Spiritual Evocation, and everything had returned to the status quo... sort of.

As she stared at the door, a tiny frown appeared on her face, causing her lips to curve down. Almost as soon as Caspian had confirmed that she was unharmed, the young man had locked himself in his room and refused to come out. She wasn't sure what was going through his mind, but she would bet her sexy Sorceress ass that it had something to do with the elf he had killed during the attempt on her life.

Killing was, technically speaking, illegal. The act of taking another person's life was a capital offense punishable by a lifetime sentence in Sevizia prison, the place where the most insane and dangerous criminals were sent. Caspian would not be sent there, thankfully, because he had been acting in his capacity as the temporary replacement for a Sorceress's Knight.

The person he'd killed also happened to be an elf. They weren't considered people in human society. Very few people actually cared if an elf died.

Except for Caspian, apparently.

He knew that killing someone while guarding her was perfectly acceptable. Erica had been sure to inform him of this, after all of the other details pertaining to his temporary position had been taken care of. She had even gone above and beyond the call of duty, making sure he understood that no one would hold him accountable for such a crime, least of all her and her staff.

So then, just what is his problem?

"Caspie!" She called out. The frown on her face grew in prominence when no voice spoke up from the other side of the door. From the very moment they'd first started talking in their capacity as Sorceress and Knight, calling the young man by his christened nickname had never failed to get a rise out of him. That he was not falling for the bait now just went to show her how much the events of the previous night bothered him.

Seriously, what is this boy's problem?

Erica turned to Cassidy.

"How long has he been in there?"

"Ever since last night, I assume," Cassidy answered. "He didn't come down for breakfast this morning. Master Caspian usually arrives at the kitchen every morning and eats there while your meals are being prepared." Ho? This was an interesting tidbit of information. Erica had not known that her maid and her temporary Knight had become that well-acquainted. Perhaps she should keep a closer eye on them from now on. "I was worried when he didn't show up. I thought he might be feeling ill or something. I came to check up on him and bring him some breakfast, but he won't answer me no matter how many times I call out to him. The door is also locked."