You jolted awake and instinctively pulled the blanket around yourself, slightly shivering. Your eyes darted around the room, making sure nothing was in there to harm you. You relaxed a little when you saw no one in the room with you, your grip on the blanket loosening. You looked over and saw that your clock displayed 5:29 in the morning, an hour and a half before you usually woke up.
"God damnit." You grumbled before turning over.
You desperately tried to fall asleep, yet you were unable to do so which made you groan in frustration. Instead of continuing your attempts to stay in bed, you got up and walked out of your room, too lazy to change. Slowly, you walked down the hallway and towards the kitchen to get the coffee machine started earlier than usual.
'Great, my morning is ruined.' You thought bitterly, rubbing your eyes tiredly.
You slightly shiver upon feeling the cold tile floor under your feet the moment you entered the kitchen. You trudged over to the coffee machine and turned it on, grabbing a bag of coffee grounds and made sure it was a flavor you preferred. The machine made a loud buzzing noise as you scooped a cup of coffee grounds out of the bag before dumping it into the machine, then put the bag away. You reached up and opened a cabinet then grabbed your favorite mug before turning your attention back to the coffee machine. A sudden knock at your front door made you pause slightly, head slowly turning to where the sound came from.
You were currently still super tired so maybe you thought you hallucinated the noise, which would make sense.
You shook your head and grabbed the coffee pot, pouring the desired amount of the caffeinated liquid into your mug. The moment you put the pot back on the machine, there was another knock at your door.
"The hell..." You mumbled, walking out of the kitchen.
Okay, you were sure you heard it that time but still being tired proved difficult.
You walked to the living room and heard another knock on your door, making you confused. You glanced over at the grandfather clock seeing that it's currently 5:46 in the morning, and it was still dark outside.
'Who the hell is at my door this early?' You thought with confusion.
You slowly walked towards the door and unlocked it before opening it, not bothering to react at what you saw as you were still tired.
There were three knights, each different in appearance and silently watched as two of them seemed to fight over something, the third trying to get them to stop.
Great, there's more.
"Really?" You grumbled, scowling. "On my damn porch? Do you even know how early it is?"
This made them stop and look over at you, a frustrated look on your face. The two that were fighting split from each other and stood on opposite sides of the third.
'Okay, so Death and Goldie don't like each other.' You thought, observing their actions.
The one wearing a red cloak crossed his arms while the one in gold dusted himself off.
"Bonjour, mademoiselle, we apologize for disturbing you at this hour but-" the middle one spoke with a slight French accent.
You cut him off, "let me guess, you three went to sleep and woke up in the middle of the woods, then wandered until you found a dirt road, which led to this house."
The three seemed to stare at you in shock, as if they weren't expecting you to answer exactly what they were gonna tell you.
"Uh, oui, exactly that." The French one spoke.
You take a slow sip of your coffee before gesturing them inside, stepping aside to let them in. They were eager to come inside and you closed the door behind them after all three were inside, then locked it. You turned to see that the three knightly people were looking around your large house in amazement, much like what Solaire did.
Solaire..... wait, you nearly forgot about him.
"Damnit." You mumbled, placing your coffee mug on a nearby table. "Wait here, please."
You quickly rushed off to the room you let Solaire use, no clue if he was awake or not. You turned the corner into the hallway and bumped into someone, nearly falling but hands on your shoulders prevented you from doing so.
"Miss, I was wondering where you had gone off to." You hear the somewhat worried voice of Solaire.
You look up to see a worried expression on his face, making your face heat up.
"I checked your personal chambers to see if you were awake yet you weren't there." He claims. "I'm relieved to know that you're okay."
He was... worried about you, and it hasn't even been a day since he came here. It made you feel warm inside.
You felt tears blur your eyes and quickly wiped them away, but he noticed this.
"A-ah, did I say something wrong?" He asked.
"N-no, it's just that...." You spoke, giving a small smile. "It's been awhile since I've heard that."
Finally, he removes his hands from your shoulders as he returns the smile, scratching the back of his neck.
"We have more guests, and they're in the same predicament you're in." You explain and turn around.
You start to walk back to the living room and hear Solaire following closely behind. The moment you enter the living room, however, you panic upon seeing the golden knight holding an urn and rush towards him.
"No, please don't touch that!" You exclaim rather loudly, catching the others attention. "That's my grandfather's ashes."
After seeing your panicked state, he carefully puts the urn down and backs away a little.
"I'm sorry, I-" he spoke, but got cut off by the one with the red cloak.
"I told you not to touch anything but you just had to ignore me." He spoke bitterly.
The knight in front of you snaps his gaze towards the cloaked knight and turns towards him.
"You dare-" he started, walking to the other knight.
The French one quickly stood between them to prevent them from fighting.
"A-alright, let's not kill each other, we're guests." He said, calming you a little.
"Yeah, if you're gonna do that, do it outside." You spoke with a little more confidence, making the three look at you. "Now, please take a seat so we can introduce ourselves."
You watch as they slowly sit down on the large sofa, Solaire sitting in one of the matching chairs. You sat in a chair opposite to him and nervously bounced your leg up and down.
No one said anything, so you decided to brave it and speak up first just to get it over with.
"My name is [____]." You said, making the four look at you. "And this is my home, if you couldn't already tell."
Some of them shifted slightly and saw as Solaire leaned forward.
"I'm Solaire of Astora." He states. "And it's a pleasure to meet all of you."
You hear the cloaked knight grumble something before sitting up, and crossing his arms.
"Specter Knight." He introduces bluntly, almost annoyed.
He says nothing more as the French one slightly adjusts his outfit.
"I'm Propeller Knight." He spoke. "I must say, you have quite the home."
You smiled slightly at that then turned your head to the golden knight.
"And I am King Knight, ruler of Pridemoor Keep." He said proudly, gesturing to himself.
You stared at him more, and he seemed to shift uncomfortably under your gaze.
"Sorry to burst your bubble, but a title like that will get you nowhere here." You stated, shrugging your shoulders. "There isn't much royalty anymore."
King Knight seems to have been taken back by what you said, as if he didn't believe you. You said nothing as he slowly crossed his arms, unsure of how to handle the situation. You then quickly look at the time to see it was already 8:37 in the morning, the sun could be seen peeking through the windows just barely.
How did so much time pass so quickly? Well, at least you're more awake now.
"Now that introductions are out of the way," you spoke, standing up. "Who's hungry? I can cook breakfast if you are hungry."
All four of your guests were silent before they stood up and nodded their heads, causing you to smile.
"Alright, follow me." You said, and walked off.
The sound of footsteps ensured that they were following you, the dining room coming into view.
"Solaire, if you could explain the seating to them, I'll get started on cooking." You said, patting his arm lightly.
"Of course, miss [____]." He replies almost instantly.
With that, you left your four guests in the dining room as you walked into the kitchen to get started on breakfast. Picking up the same cookbook from last night, you flipped through the pages before settling on an easy recipe, setting the book aside.
You decided on just making pancakes.
You rushed around the kitchen and grabbed everything you needed before setting them on the counter. After placing the bowl in front of you, you grabbed the box of pancake mix and scooped the amount necessary to make enough that it would feed five people. You dumped the mix into the bowl then measured the liquid ingredients before putting them into the same bowl, then began mixing it together. You stirred it until it was like a smooth paste and there were no bubbles.
You smiled and thought about the guests in the other room, glad to have picked up cooking again when they arrived.
You shook your head and began to hum a calming tune as you took out a pan and placed it on the stove. You turned on the burner as you placed a small slice of butter on the pan, watching as it melted. As soon as it was completely melted, you grabbed the bowl containing the pancake mix and poured a decent amount onto the pan, hearing that satisfying sizzle. You then flipped it over using the pan instead of a spatula, grinning as you caught it.
You've managed to master that trick over time, and it was fun.
You repeated this process until the batter was used up, resulting in fifteen pancakes made with each person getting three. You got out four more plates and evenly distributed the pancakes, each plate holding three. You then began to decorate the food, lightly covering them in powdered sugar, chocolate drizzle, cut strawberries, and adding a final touch of whipped cream on each stack. You quickly put everything away and took out a large tray from one of the cabinets, placing each plate on said tray. You made sure to grab silverware before leaving the kitchen with the tray of food.
"I'm assuming no one here has heard of pancakes?" You asked, entering the dining room.
You saw as three of them shook their heads, all but King Knight.
"My mother used to make them for me." He states, slightly glancing at you.
"Well, I do hope this isn't better than her cooking." You hummed.
You placed silverware in front of each person before placing a plate in front of them, then placing your own plate in your spot. You hastily put the tray back where you got it and sat down in your spot, watching as they stare at the food.
"Well, go on, dig in." You urged, picking up your fork and knife.
"Bonté, it's too beautiful to eat." Propeller Knight remarks.
You lightly chuckle at his statement before he eventually picks up the silverware and begins to eat. You cut into your food and took a bite, sighing at the sweet taste.
You were so glad to have taken a culinary class in high school.
"My, this is delicious!" You hear Solaire exclaim, bringing you from your thoughts.
More words of praise on your cooking could be heard and your face flushed upon hearing them. Time passes and everyone has finished eating breakfast including yourself, being sure to place the dirty dishes and silverware in the sink. You turn to the four knights before clasping your hands together.
"Okay, Solaire, you can explore the house if you want, just please don't break anything." You told him.
He gave a firm nod before wandering off, the other three still standing in front of you.
"I have no idea how long you'll be here, so I might as well give you three rooms, yeah?" You suggested.
They nodded their heads and followed as you walked towards the hallway where there were plenty of rooms. You stopped in the middle of the hall then turned to them, an unsure expression on your face.
"So, do you three want to share a room?" You asked. "Or do you want to have your own rooms?"
They looked at each other before Propeller raised a hand, holding up his index finger.
"We would like to discuss it over, if that's alright." He says.
"Oh, that's okay, take your time." You said.
They turned around and discussed how the arrangements should be. After a few minutes, they seemed to have decided on a decision and turned back to face you.
"What's the plan?" You asked.
Again, they looked at each other before looking back at you, seeing Propeller sigh somewhat nervously.
"Ah, well, we've decided that King should get his own room while me and Specter share a room." He explains. "If that's alright with you."
You watch as he brings up his hand to see that he's holding Specter's hand, your eyes widening in realization.
Propeller and Specter are in a relationship together.
"Oh, that's quite alright." You say, and gesture towards the hall further. "I'll show you to your rooms."
You showed King Knight his room first then brought the couple to a larger room, which held a queen sized bed instead of the normal twin xl.
"I do hope this room is to your liking, if not don't hesitate to let me know." You spoke, smiling.
"Merci, mademoiselle, it's perfect." Propeller said.
You curtly nodded your head and went to turn around before you were stopped, looking up at the knight.
"Is something wrong?" You inquired, tilting your head slightly.
"Our kind of relationship doesn't bother you?" He asked, slightly nervous.
"Not in the slightest, I believe everyone should love who they want."
He sighed in relief after hearing your answer, placing a hand over his heart.
"Merci, for not judging us." He says.
You only hum in response and bid him farewell, letting them get settled into their new room. You then began to search through the house for Solaire, hoping he didn't get lost or stuck somewhere.
You never really liked having guests, since they were almost always rude to you. But these ones might just change your mind.
_____________________
Translations:
Bonjour - Hello
Mademoiselle - Miss
Oui - Yes
Bonté - Goodness
Merci - Thanks/Thank You