Twin Glass Blades - The Knight's Academy

Chapter 1 - A Minor Incident at the Southern Gates

By the time Elissa woke up, the carriage arrived at one of the capital's less popular gates, stopping near a drawbridge where a crowd of travelers and merchants were lining up to get their luggage checked for contraband. It was noon, during the height of summertime, and the city guards didn't look too pleased with their postings.

Despite its lack of popularity with tourists, this gate was still quite imposing, protected by massive walls and a seemingly impenetrable steel gate. Elissa couldn't help but be awestruck; the sheer size of the capital city made the cities of her homeland, the Eprana Islands, look humble in comparison.

Elissa went out of the carriage first, stretching her limbs and back to rid herself of some of the weariness from the long journey. Some of the travelers watched her routine; while Islanders were not uncommon in the cosmopolitan capital of the Empire, it was rare to see one wearing such outrageous garb. She wore an open-back dress that is barely covered by long, silky black hair, revealing much of her smooth brown skin. The more prudish of the bunch looked away in dismay, while the more fashion-forward of the travelers examined the intricate crimson patterns of her dress. The scholarly ones even recognized the faint lines of a family crest on her right arm, and in silent astonishment, they discussed in hushed whispers if a certain someone came to visit the capital.

A leather belt on her waist held two curved swords on both of her sides, which scared the absolute wits of one of the younger looking guards. Good-natured tourists usually only had one sword, a rune, or none at all. "H-hey, don't cause any trouble now miss, you hear?"

Elissa finished her stretching, then smiled at the guard. "Don't worry, I won't." She then pointed at a cutpurse trying to pick a merchant's pockets in broad daylight, surprised that no one had noticed him. "I'd be more worried about him, if I were you."

The young guard's eyes widened as he saw the thief. "H-hey, you! Stop that right now!"

The other guards took notice and rushed to apprehend the thief. It was quick work, since he was lithe and not very strong, and he couldn't run fast enough to escape the comical encirclement the guards made in order to capture him. It was so fast that the crowd didn't even have time to panic. The merchant who he was about to steal from even felt a little sorry for how bad his luck was.

A tall man who looked like the captain of the guards stood up from one of the questioning booths. "What's with all the commotion here?"

"Sir! We caught a thief trying to steal from one of the caravans," the young guard said.

The captain sighed, then looked at the thief. "Is this him? He looks quite young."

"Yes, sir!

"Such a shame that youth is wasted on one such as you. Did you really think the proud guardsmen of Caelmere wouldn't have noticed your pathetic attempt at thievery?"

The thief snarled at the captain's patronizing question. "You think your guards are all that? These numbskulls didn't even see me until that girl over there had to go and snitch!" He pointed at Elissa, who became flustered since all attention was directed at her now.

"Leave the Islander out of this, thief. We have heard reports of the Thieves Guild's plan to conduct some sort of raid on the caravans, and I have been ordered by the High Overseer herself to investigate this trifling matter. You don't happen to know what they're planning now, do you? You seem like the type of urchin those brigands would send to scout for them."

"Urchin? I'm 17! And there's no way in the abyss am I working for those assholes! They have it easy. They can just bribe any one of you idiots and they can go about stealing vases and antique dragon dung from some noble's mansion! Why would they stop making easy money and start harassing merchants in broad daylight? It makes no sense!"