Hello, Honestly, I've been super inactive! I'm so sorry! And this story isn't close to making up for that. Plus it's super rushed. But I hope you enjoy!
Word count: 2604
Triggers: None
-------------------------------------------------------
Our story begins where all great ones do. In a small village, where everyone knows everyone, and fields are scattered as far as the eye can see. And in this village, a story is just beginning to take shape.
A small boy walks into a large rustic building. His eyes settle on the large swords and weapons hung on the walls. He adjusts his baggy, worn shirt and pulls up his droopy pants. The small boy couldn't help but notice he was trembling slightly. It felt as though someone had poured cold water down his shirt on a winter day, except it was summer and there was only a slight breeze. The boy jumped when he felt a warm hand on his shoulder, he whipped his head around to see a armoured person sporting a knights helmet. Grian wiggled out of the person's grasp before turning toward them.
"S-sorry Sir, I- uhm, i'm here for the squires training camp" Grian spoke softly.
The mysterious figure laughed before taking off their helmet.
"Who you callin' sir there kiddo?" The lady spoke. Her long brown hair settled around her body. She smiled at Grian, who was both shocked and embarrased.
"I'm Lady Miriam, Head of the Knights of the round table, and in charge of choosing our squires."
Grian buried his head into his palms and then looked up at her.
"I-i'm so so sorry, I was wrong to assume tha-" Grian stuttered.
"Save it kid, It's alright. But you better get going because the camp started five minutes ago" She replied, ushering Grian out the door.
Grian walks out onto a grassy field. It's filled with a bunch of young boys, and one short girl running around with wooden swords. Grian chuckled as the younger girl pinned a much larger boy to the ground. As he approached the group he realized who that boy was. Mumbo. Grian's heart skipped a beat at the sight of him. His hair was messy from being tackled to the ground. A bright flush covered Mumbo's face at the sudden appearance of Grian. No girl could ever compare to how Grian made butterflies form in Mumbo's stomach.
The camp went on as planned, With the best of the best returning everyday, while the weaker children quit and never showed up. Grian wasn't the strongest, nor the biggest, but he had spirit. And smarts. He analyzed every situation thoroughly before deciding what action to take. It was the complete opposite of Mumbo. Who was both strong and much taller than most kids despite being the same age. He ran head first into battle without thinking. Which was strange, considering that in Math and Science he proved himself to be quite the critical left brain thinker. You would guess that those were the only exceptions. Other than that, Mumbo was pretty reckless. The boys' biggest competition though, was the small girl. Grian and Mumbo got to know her pretty well. Her name was Madeline Cardel, but don't let her pigtails and straight cut bangs decieve you, she was the strongest swordsman of the group.
The final day of Squires camp had arrived. Lady Miriam and the Knights of the round table had gathered with all the remaining children to choose their squires. The armoured woman stepped onto a raised wood platform.
"Congratulations on making it to the final day. I'm glad you all showed such dedication. I will now announce the Squires we believe deserve and will excel in this position, and are proper fit to take our positions as Knights upon retirement." She stated "Mumbo Jumbo, Grian Craftsworth, Madeline Cardel-" So on and so forth, until Lady Miriam had named all 12 Squires chosen. This is where our story begins.
The wind blew through Grian's hair as the beat of the dragons wings rang in his ears, Mumbo looked down at the ground below, hanging on for dear life as he tried to control the large red Dragon as he flew beside Grian. How did he make it look so easy? Their quest for today was simple, A mountain troll had been spotted by the village and they were assigned to deal with it. They approach the quaint town, Grian smiles at the familiar buildings and fields. He moved to the capitol kingdom as soon as he was appointed a Knight, and was assigned a partnership with his now best friend, Mumbo. They were mission partners sure, but Grian thought of them as so much more. He wanted them to be so much more. Mumbo had grown up a ton since they started squires camp. He was tall, just over 6 feet. Whereas Grian stood at exactly 5'6 (and a half). Mumbo had grown in a marvelous moustache and constantly wore a white button up shirt when he wasn't in his shiny armour, Anyway, back to the action.
Grian jumped and swung his sword at the Troll, striking it's weak point, the back of the neck. Mumbo charged forward and stabbed his own sword into the trolls knee. The Giant 20 foot tall troll stumbles forward, falling down, but not before grabbing at Grian's arm. It's large claw scraped against Grian's armour, before puncturing it and sinking into Grian's skin. He let out a wince in pain before pulling away from the trolls grasp, causing the sharp claw to run down his arm, making the wound worse. He ran over to a nearby tree while Mumbo delivered the final blow to the trolls head, that way they feel no pain. Trolls aren't part of any particular food chain or anything, they have no purpose except for being violent. So killing them has no affect.
Mumbo runs to Grian, who had shed all his armour and was sitting under a tree. He was still wearing his under layer, which happened to be a red sweater. Mumbo had always wondered why or how Grian never overheated in such attire. There was a large rip in the sleeve where Grian was clutching his arm. No matter how great Grian pain tolerance was, it hurt like hell. Mumbo jogged over to the dragons and pulled a roll of gauze out of the saddle bags before running back to where Grian was. He wrapped up Grian's arm and helped him up, and they started their way down the hill.
"Stupid Mountain Trolls" Grian mumbled.
"They're quite the vermin aren't they?" Mumbo responded, "You think Madeline is still mad at us for being late?"
"Probably, she's pretty strict, I guess that's why she's the head of the round table now. That woman is Sca-ry."
Remember little Madeline? She ended up being the head of the group of Knights. Smart, agile, and strong, Lady Miriam had chosen her as the leader after her retirement. Madeline led the group with an iron fist and she was not someone to mess with. Grian and Mumbo had shown up late to the meeting where they were assigned quests, which is why they were assigned troll duty. The pair mounted their dragons and took off. Somehow, even with only one arm, Grian still flew ten times better than Mumbo did. They approached the capitol, The pair was anxious as to what Lady Madeline would say when she found out that they almost caused the villages destruction by being a bit late, not to mention how Grian had gotten injured the day before the biggest quest on the century. He and Mumbo had been assigned to one of the greatest quests know to knight kind. Rescue a princess. Locked high in a tower, a princess named Malikah Tremayne. She was imprisoned by her younger brother Maverick, who is plotting to begin a war with all surrounding kingdoms. Including their own. The task at hand was to rescue her, and then stop Maverick.
Grian and Mumbo were beyond excited for the task, and had been training night and day for the quest. Grian's injury was just a minor set back. The Pair started their descent into the Capitol. Heading toward Guard Tower One just north of Craftingham kingdom. The excitement and nerve mounted the closer they got. Grian landed his Dragon, Ari, smoothly on the platform. And he watched as Mumbo nearly fell off trying to simply dismount the Dragon, Charrot. Grian pondered how they were named the best knight duo by the King himself.
He guessed they were the perfect combination of Brains and Brawn. As they proceeded down to the meeting room, they were greeted by some friends of theirs,
Iskall-man. Scar. Cubfan. Tango. Cleo. Joe.
And a few others of course. But as soon as they got to the meeting room the atmoshpere shifted Tremendously.
Lady Madeline was sitting at the chair facing directly toward the door. Sonce the table is round, there is mo exact "Head" of the table. Her face looks calm, To the pairs surprise. She started to explain how she didn't want to scold them the day before the biggest quest ever. But if they messed this up she's throwing them out the window. She also got one of the knights, Stress, to tend to Grians wound. And then sent the duo off to bed to prepare for the quest tomorrow. But the two idiots didn't go to bed, instead, they trained. In the dead of night, they snuck out of their quarters and out into a clearing inthe forest for dueling practice.
Grian analyzed Mumbo's movements as they started the duel. They were using practice rapiers (swords) so they weren't wearing their heavy armoured suits. Grian couldn't help but stare at Mumbo's mucles, defined in the slightly too-small long sleeved shirt he was wearing. Mumbo wove left and right on the balls of his feet, clutching his rapier. Grian noticed that Mumbo was leaning slightly on his right foot, indicating he would go left. Ge swung his sword at the exact moment Mumbo started running, Left, just like Grian had predicted. And the smaller man tapped Mumbo lightly. Grian won.
Mumbo sighed.
"You would think after 10 years of training together I could have beat you atleast once Gri-" He stated.
"You're too predictable Mumby Jumby, Maybe try making it less obvious that you would be going left." Grian advised, smiling smugly.
The two started back to the Knights quarters and fell asleep in a matter of seconds. Did I forget to mention the two shared a room? Oh yeah, They did. And Grian got the top bunk on the bed.
The birds sang loudly through the open window. Grian rose out of bed and threw a pillow at Mumbo, signaling him to wake up. Mumbo opened his eyes groggily before shooting up in bed after the realization that today, oh boy, today was quest day. The two threw on their armour and raced down the hall to the stables. Mounting the dragons and flying north, Toward the kingdom of Cardamon. They flew through the clouds, making sure to come into the kingdoms borders silently. As they approached the palace, they heard a bloodcurdling screech. And then, a fireball hurdling toward them followed by a large, horned dragon. The pair scattered, flying opposite directions. The dragon started targetting Mumbo, and to Grians horror, it had spat a fireball straight at the dragon Mumbo was riding. It fell to the ground, Mumbo still attatched to the saddle. Grian instructed his dragon to fire at the larger one, hitting it straight in the head. Grian dove, as fast as possible toward his best friend, unbuckling him just in time. And the pair flew upwards, hiding in the storm clouds that surrounded the dead wasteland of Cardamon.
"Dammit Mumbo don't scare me like that!" Grian yelled.
"It's not like I was trying to! I hope Charrot is okay. Poor ol' Dragon clipped his wing." Mumbo said, his voice shaky.
The pair dove downward silently into the castle grounds, there were no stable places dragons could land on top of the princesses tower. Mumbo started the climb up the uneved brick walls of the tower, Grian following behind him. When they reached the top they stood on the balcony, silently picking the lock and opening the door.
Princess Malikah stood there, shocked at the sight before her. Two knights, here to save her! She slowly walked toward the pair.
"Hello, May I help you?" She asked.
"We've come to save you Princess" Mumbo said before taking a bow.
Grian and Mumbo explained everything to her and they called for the dragons to meet them at the top of the tower, The princess obliged and hopped on. She didn't care who they were or where they were going, she just wanted to get away from her brother.
Mission Successful.
Grian was flying the dragon, so Mumbo and Malikah were forced to get pretty, uh, close together. Grian for the glory of Merlin didn't know why, but this infuriated him. He couldn't be jealous, could he? The three flew back to Craftingham where they were safe and accounted for. And they all lived happily ever after.
Just kidding...
Grian and Mumbo had just finished a practice match when Malikah came to greet them. They had become pretty close since the rescue quest. She grabbed onto Mumbo's arm and hugged it tightly. Grian scowled but turned his head away.
"How about we go out on the town tonight! A double date!" Malikah suggested.
"Sure, That sounds like fun doesn't it Gri-" Mumbo responded.
Mumbo and Malikah weren't dating, They sure were flirty though. And a double date? Who would Grian go with?
That night Grian and Mumbo were getting dressed for the date in their rooms. Mumbo could sense something was off. He just didn't know what. As he slid his arms into the sleeves of his suit jacket, he cleared his throat.
"Gri, Are you okay? You've been pretty irritated ever sonce Malikah showed up. Is it because of our practices, Do you need a better dueling partner? someone that can beat you?" He asked quietly.
Grian rolled his eyes and scoffed, before responding snarkily.
"Maybe that's because you two have been getting pretty, close, and I, well I- I JUST DON'T KNOW OKAY?" Grian yelled.
"Why does that matter? She's just a touchy person." Mumbo responded, suddenly hurt and angry at Grians raised voice.
"Dammit Mumbo! Don't you see that I've loved you since we were 9! And you've never seen it!" Grian cried, tears welling up in his eyes.
Just before Mumbo could respond, there was a knock at the door. Mumbo jogged to open it and his eyes widened when he realized that Malikah was there, arm and arm with...Lady Madeline??
"Hello, I didn't expect to see you here Maddie." Mumbo questioned.
"Well it is a double date isn't it Mumbo! You and Grian, Me and Madeline" Malikah responded excitedly.
Mumbo's eyes widened. Malikah and Madeline are dating??
"You two are together?" Mumbo asked excitedly.
They nodded. Oh wait. Grian's here too. Grian had sat himself down on a small chair in the corner of the room after their fight, his face buried in his hands, not bothering to listen to Malikah swoon over Mumbo.
The tall moustached man walked up to Grian. Lifting his hands off his face.
"You said you've loved me since we were 9 right? Well, I finally win a round, I've loved you since we were 8." Mumbo whispered.
-------------------------------------------------------
Oh hopeless romantics. So cliche, yet adorable. Thanks for reading! ✌🏼