Chivalry is Dead | On Hold

Chapter One: Who Killed Chivalry?

Three words were all it took to change Arden's life. Three words which made her hands curl into tight fists and punch the man standing in front of her in the face – a decision she soon regretted as pain reverberated down her arm, a small crunch telling her exactly what'd just happened. She'd broken her knuckles. It shouldn't have been that much of a surprise to her. She'd never punched anyone in her life, in fact, she'd never thought about properly punching anyone the way Chivalry had taught her how to until that moment a few seconds ago. After he'd admitted it.

"I killed Chivalry." The smirking man in front of her had said, not even losing his wide grin as his head cracked to the side from the sudden blow.

"You..." Arden pulled her hand away, wincing as she let it fall back to her side. "How could you?!" She stared at the knight, her teeth gritted, her hands shaking. "You're a Virtue."

"And yet I'm human at the end of the day..." He spoke, his voice low and musical, his face unlined thanks to the Blessing of the Stars he'd received the minute he'd received his powers as one of the Virtues.

He was a Virtue, just like Chivalry had been, embodying the name that the Emerald Star had given to him: Mercy. He was a man supposed to give mercy, and yet there he was... standing in front of her, proudly proclaiming he was the cause of her best friend's sudden death at the young age of seventeen.

Mercy's lips twitched up even further, his tone mocking as he spoke. "Haven't you ever heard of greed, silly little Princess?" He stepped closer to her in the large hall, which was empty aside from the two of them. "Chivalry stood in my way... so I got rid of him. Simple, right?"

"So, you killed him for your ambition?" Her teeth ground together, fury written across her face as she stared into the emerald green eyes. Her uninjured hand twitched, her brain slowly processing all the information being thrown her way. The shock of his confession was wearing off, and in its place was a burning feeling building in her chest the longer she stared at his smug expression.

He laughed, his stare boring into her brown eyes dark with a growing hatred. "Of course. Why else would I dedicate myself to killing that pathetic little boy? I do have more important things to be doing, you know." He purred, pushing the girl further and further towards the edge, his smile wide when something inside of Arden finally snapped.

"You've got no honour, have you?" She spat, lunging for his throat, gripping it tightly with one hand. Her eyes blazed with fury, her teeth pulled back into a snarl as she toppled the man over, intent on squeezing every last drop of life out of him. "People like you deserve to be wiped from the face of the earth... and I'll happily be the one to do that."

Her father and brother were out of the country, visiting the other countries they'd formed an alliance with, leaving no one but herself to deal with the man in front of her. Not that they would've dealt with him.

Most people she knew were far too afraid of insulting the Stars to attack one of their warriors... but the man in front of her wasn't one. Not anymore. He'd raised a blade against one of his own. He was a Fallen Virtue, corrupted by the blood of Chivalry he'd spilt only a few days earlier.

The teeth that gleamed white even in the dim blue lighting made her freeze, the hairs on the back of her neck pricking as a hand grabbed at her wrist, crushing it in a firm grip. "Oh dear..." He smirked. "You would dare offend the Heavens by killing me?"

"You're no Virtue!"

"Nope." He chuckled, swiftly reversing their situation as grabbed her by her long mane of brown hair. "But only you and I know that..."

"You can't kill me." She spat, not a single glimpse of fear in her unwavering gaze as she stared up at him, knowing she was helpless to resist. He was far stronger than her. A fact she'd forgotten in her rage.