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lucathiaTitle: A Slice of Wedding Cake - Slice 6
Fandom: The Legend of Sun Knight
Words: 4,200
Summary: Sun and Judgment are getting married. The "why" and "how" really aren't that important right now. For this is not a story about their romance; this is the story of us observers. Yes, we, the underappreciated observers of this whole spectacle who did 99% of the work, and only received a slice of wedding cake in return. Grisia/Lesus, Ceo/Roland
Notes: Co-written with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
kiyutsuna! Odd chapters are hers. Even chapters are mine. *hides* (Warning: This is a Metal chapter. You have been warned, hahaha)
Slice 5: All About Balance
Metal
A few days before the wedding, our factions held separate parties for our leaders in a final celebration. When deciding who would organize the bachelor party, I immediately raised my hand and shouted, "Me, me, me! I want to do it!"
Across the conference room, Blaze had also held his hand up, and he'd slammed the table with his other hand, using so much force that the table shook and papers scattered all over.
We blinked owlishly at each other before we flew into an argument over who would organize the party. Obviously, he would not have Captain Judgment's best interests in mind!
While we argued, Storm had snapped awake, his bizarre paperwork senses tingling, and cried out in alarm at all the scattered papers. After Hell helped him gather the papers, Storm crossed his arms. The bags under his eyes were so dark that it looked as if someone had socked him in the eyes. He glowered at both of us, his voice disturbingly calm. "Just hold two parties or something. I don't care as long as I'm not responsible for them."
Under Storm's bloodshot glare, Blaze and I both sat down, duly chastised. Storm was probably way past the point of caring. Over the course of all the wedding preparations, he'd gotten closer and closer to looking like death warmed over. It really wouldn't do for Captain Judgment to have such a ghastly bridesmaid!
Everyone else nodded their agreement, so that was that.
Since Captain Judgment and Sun weren't to see each other during the final days leading up to their wedding, and one was the "bride" and one the groom, two parties actually worked out. Traditionally, the job of organizing the bachelor party (now parties) would fall to the best man, but Hell was much too busy making sure Storm stayed alive. Storm, the bridesmaid, was terrible at taking care of himself and was in no shape to organize the party for their faction either. And so Blaze and I both got our wishes granted.
I hummed to myself as I finished decorating the location of the bachelor party for the "cruel, cold-hearted" faction, putting the last candle in place.
Or wait. Should this be called a bachelorette party instead?
I still found it difficult to believe that Captain Judgment would be wearing the dress. Just how did that no good Sun force Captain Judgment to agree?
In one fell swoop, most of the Holy Temple had become broke beyond broke because of the shocking turn of events, and we all secretly cursed Sun in our hearts. Or not so secretly, especially when our stomachs rumbled. We'd all been so sure. If not for Ice's many trial wedding cakes, I might've starved. My pockets had become so empty that I'd had to borrow money from my vice-captain to finish the preparations.
None of us had seen the dress yet, since Captain Judgment had gone off to get the dress on his own, and then the shop had sent it over all secretive and stuff. I bit my lips. I couldn't say I wasn't curious what he'd look like and what it'd be like to be whipped by him while he was dressed that way.
Mm, sleek black dress, high heels digging into my back~~, sharp crack of the whip, oh~~
I finished setting up the interrogation room with a grin on my face. It was perfect. There were all sorts of different interrogation tools and weapons ready for our use, not to mention candles and ropes as well.
Our party was definitely going to own anything Blaze could put together!
"Tadah!" I said, opening the door to the interrogation room. The six of us piled into the room. The others glanced around, and I thought I heard someone mumble, "Of all places to have a party..."
"Is that a chain whip?" exclaimed Moon.
"Sure is," I grinned.
Ice wordlessly picked up a ball and shackle. Stone inspected the long needles I'd prepared. Hell picked up a set of sharp daggers. Captain Judgment, the star of the party, held a black riding crop. I shivered in anticipation just from seeing it in his hands. The color matched him perfectly.
As he put the black riding crop down, Captain Judgment said, face expressionless, "...You really went all out."
But of course! This is a party for you, Captain Judgment! Nothing less would do.
There was no way I would let our last time together before his inevitable marriage end on a dismal note!
I beamed and pulled out a chair. "Sit, sit! I can't wait until the main event, but food first!"
Everyone sat down, except for Ice and me. I helped Ice bring out all the food he had prepared for the party. We laid out the table. First was the arugula salad mixed with other leafy greens, good for your body and all. Then came the soup, which Ice sprinkled with some kind of weird seasoning that he'd gotten from Leaf. Lately, Leaf had stopped looking like someone had killed his puppy and instead always had on an expression of utter glee. I hadn't known anyone could look that bizarrely cheerful, but apparently, having his pockets weighed down by ducats made him a much more lighthearted man. His situation had gotten fairly bad not too long ago, what with how his wedding had pretty much bled him dry of his savings and his seasonings. Now, he could finally buy more of his favorite spices, and boy did that revitalize him.
Ice had gotten one heck of a deal out of the bet too, which was why we were having such a feast right now. In addition to the soup, he brought out some vegetable courses with some type of melon I couldn't even name, and then delicious meat followed after that. With candles casting a low glow around the room and such a hearty meal before us, the atmosphere couldn't be any better!
After Ice and I sat down, we all began to dig into our meal. As I chewed, my face twisted so much that you probably couldn't tell me apart from some wrinkly old guy about to croak.
Similar expressions were coming across everyone else's faces, even Ice's (hey, you're the cook! It's your own cooking!). Only Captain Judgment remained unaffected, truly amazing, as well as Hell.
Stone chuckled even as he painstakingly lowered his fork. "Wow, you really went all out too, Ice."
Ice had made all of Captain Judgment's favorite foods. Meaning, everything was so bitter I thought I'd die.
After Stone spoke, he moved some of his food to Hell's plate. "Here, have some more salad. It's good for you."
Moon also did the same. I was tempted to foist some of my food on Hell too, but I steeled myself and swallowed my food in gulps while trying to hold my breath. These were Captain Judgment's favorite foods. I couldn't let him eat all by himself, with only Hell to keep him company!
Eyes watering, I hurriedly downed some wine to wash out the taste. At the same time, Ice piled some of his food on Captain Judgment's plate.
I...should have done that too!
As the dinner wore on, we all managed to eat something, but not without our faces twisting horrendously. It was all worth it though to see the small, grateful smile on Captain Judgment's face. It was well known to all of us that Captain Judgment was the farthest you could get from a picky eater. There wasn't anything in particular he disliked, but it just wasn't common for foods that he particularly liked to get made.
Our faces pretty much told the whole story why.
When Ice brought out the cake, I was grateful enough that I thought I'd hug him, but sadly there was cake between us. But! Finally! Finally, here was something we could all eat without being afraid of looking even uglier than rotting undead creatures with our twisted faces! Hell didn't count -- he wasn't rotting.
"Opinions?" Ice asked. He had paper in hand, ready to take notes.
Captain Judgment tried out the cake. After lowering his fork, he said, "You've done a fabulous job, Ice."
Oh how I wish that compliment was directed toward me!
While Ice jotted down Captain Judgment's thoughts about the cake and then went around asking everyone else's opinions, I heard Captain Judgment strike up a conversation with Hell about the food. It hadn't gone unnoticed to either of them that they were the only ones whose faces hadn't puckered up like wrinkly raisins.
Hell said in a serious voice, "It was nothing. It is a waste for me to eat but even more of a waste for the food to go uneaten."
"Nevertheless, thanks," Captain Judgment said. "I'm sure Ice appreciates it. I appreciate it too."
Hell gave a small nod, and then somehow their conversation drifted elsewhere. I'm not sure how talk about super bitter food led to whatever they were now conversing over, something about food and inadequacy, about not being good enough, but that's how it ended up being. Hell lowered his voice, so I couldn't really hear much. They talked for quite a long while. Finally, they stopped whispering all secretively. I was surprised that their conversation turned to "the former Knight-Captain Storm." That totally came out of nowhere. It was true that Storm's teacher had taken to haunting the hallways though, and although he didn't look like someone had socked him in the eyes, like what his student looked like, he often made me feel like his entire family had been slaughtered or something with how depressed he was, red rimmed eyes and all.
"He is truly a..." Hell paused, trying to search for a word to describe the man, "very compassionate teacher."
Captain Judgment nodded. "Indeed. He has helped Grisia and me a lot too. Though I am afraid we gave him a lot of trouble during our marriage counseling."
Translation: We might have traumatized that poor man.
What in the world did Sun do this time? Though I guess I shouldn't be surprised...
Hell murmured, "Ceo has a good teacher."
Captain Judgment lifted one eyebrow. "Oh? So it's Ceo now?"
Hell nodded solemnly. With any other person, they probably would've blushed or denied it. I think his face might be slightly pink, but other than that, he owned up to it right there. Then, he pulled out something from his pockets to show Captain Judgment.
Whatever it was, it made even the other eyebrow of Captain Judgment's shoot up. Hell remained stoic, shoulders tense. But soon after, Captain Judgment gave his eyebrows a rest and smiled a rare, soft smile and said, "Don't worry so much, you're doing just fine."
"But I'm..." Hell began to say.
Captain Judgment interrupted and said, "You're just as human as the rest of us, maybe even more. It's okay, really."
Hell fell silent.
"Things will work out, you'll see."
Captain Judgment was truly such a thoughtful captain, looking out for all of us like this!
My attention was pulled back to the cake when Ice approached me for my opinion. I'd already taste tested several versions of the cake already. This time, Ice had done an even more outstanding job on the appearance of the cake. This one looked so much more impressive than all the others. I looked over the cake and cut a piece from the bottommost layer for myself. Ice looked like he wanted to say something, but before he could, I'd already put the spoon in my mouth (I was hungry, okay?).
Bitter!!!!!!
"...that's Judgment's layer," Ice finally said. "This one is yours."
He pointed at another layer, which I was pleased to see was very close to Captain Judgment's layer.
It really tasted a whole lot better.
As the hour grew later and the candles melted nearly all the way, wax pooling around the bottom, I refilled our glasses of wine and lit new candles. Captain Judgment hadn't partaken in much wine, but he did take a sip now and then for our sake. I raised my glass and said, "To Captain Judgment!"
Then, the rest raised their glasses into the air as well. Captain Judgment also raised his.
Each of us took our turns speaking. Moon raised his glass and said, "To the best leader I could have ever asked for!"
I drank to that wholeheartedly.
Stone added, "To our most dependable comrade, I wish you the best in life!"
I downed my wine and refilled several of our glasses.
Ice spoke quietly. "To Judgment, our brother, our leader. May happiness find you."
I drank to that as well.
Finally, Hell said, "To Judgment, who always believed. I thank you on Grisia's behalf."
We all lifted our glasses into the air. I watched as Captain Judgment took a gulp of his wine, the liquid sliding down his throat. He had been drinking to each of our toasts, but he took the largest gulp with this last one. It was hard to see with the flickering candlelight and how his bangs shadowed his face, but I thought that Captain Judgment's face was starting to turn somewhat red.
I polished off my wine and poured myself some more, suddenly very much wanting to get drunk. Captain Judgment was soon going to get married. Married! To that no good Sun, no less! That super irresponsible Sun who always pushes all of his work onto Storm and Adair and even forces Captain Judgment to buy him blueberry pies like a dog playing fetch. Captain Judgment was no servant of his!
"Will he even treat you right?" I grumbled. "He's always asking so much of you..."
It wasn't that I didn't care about Sun. I did. He was our Sun Knight after all, and boy did it feel wrong when he wasn't around. But he wasn't Captain Judgment, and I'd always felt that Captain Judgment cared a lot more about Sun than Sun cared about Captain Judgment. I knew Sun had a lot on his plate, being the leader of the Twelve Holy Knights and all, and even a huge factor in keeping the world stable, but it didn't seem very fair to Captain Judgment.
Captain Judgment proved to be an excellent mind reader. Even with only half of what I was thinking spoken aloud, he answered my worries.
"Sun asks for favors. Sun makes requests. Sun makes demands." Captain Judgment said.
A whole dictionary could be written just on the nuances among the ways Sun makes people do things! Are you really sure about this, Captain Judgment?!
His smile was wry. "He's someone who will even maneuver me into wearing a wedding dress. But he wouldn't be Sun without his mischievousness."
Even though Captain Judgment hadn't said it outright, I could hear the sappy words, "And I do so love his mischievousness," hanging in the air.
Captain Judgment continued speaking. "He is all of that, but Grisia has saved me much more than the other way around. Those words of his, how we might have our backs facing the darkness, but we will still be walking under the light, have meant the world to me."
I filled in the blanks after that for him. And he is my light.
This, I knew too. Captain Judgment was hopelessly in love, and had been, since forever. It was why Sun had always rubbed me the wrong way. I knew that he'd take Captain Judgment away one day, and that there was nothing any of us could do to stop it.
I poured myself another glass of wine and raised it up, this time saying, "To an everlasting marriage between the Sun Knight and the Judgment Knight! May you shock the world to death!"
Besides me, Moon giggled. "With lightning?"
"At least he's good at that!" I said.
Then, I drank some more.
After we finished eating, it was finally time for the main event. Stone wondered, for a fleeting moment, if I'd hired strippers, to which Ice murmured that Sun would kill us if I did, but all I said in response to that was, "Of course not! Captain Judgment already has Sun!"
Moon giggled some more. "Yes, yes, Sun can strip for him."
Exactly!
Captain Judgment rubbed his temples and looked over at us, face flushed. The wine was really kicking in now. "Let Sun hear that...and...he'll fly into a...rampage."
Moon's eyebrows did a suggestive little dance, like, you know, this crazy wiggle, probably because he couldn't really move his neck, and he said, "Oh come on, I'm sure he's done it countless times for you already in the bedroom! Like, this!"
After he spoke, Moon got up and looked like he had every intent to strip right then and there. Actually, by the time I noticed, his jacket was already on the floor, and he was working on his pendant, but he looked very confused, fingers fumbling. I scrunched up my face and shoved him.
"Hey! We said no strippers!"
He blinked. "Oh, right."
Then, he sat down again. Since there was a glass of wine in front of him, he chugged it down.
His jacket was still on the floor.
Meanwhile, Stone had engaged Ice in talking about the month's patrols where Captain Judgment and Sun had gone out in joint patrols to show off their newly gained understanding of the God of Light's will, that to honor the God of Light was to love thine enemy or all that nonsense that Sun had taken to spouting during the patrols. I couldn't really recall exactly how he'd worded it, but the citizens ate it all up like cake, and just like people high on sugar, they were totally high on all the gossip that resulted.
Seeing Captain Judgment and Sun patrol side-by-side was no doubt an impressive sight. At first, the citizens had been too shocked to react in any sort of way, but then they began clamoring to line up along the streets to catch a glimpse of the soon-to-be-married couple. The streets became so congested that patrolling nearly became impossible, and even Captain Judgment's heart-stopping glare couldn't get the crowd to part right away. The invitations Storm and Hell had sent out came pouring in. Everyone, and I meant everyone, wanted to come to the wedding. This was totally going to blow Elijah and the princess's royal wedding out of the water. The location that the Pope had first secured wasn't nearly going to be enough, but he wasn't complaining at all. In fact, he was downright delighted.
As Stone rambled off to Ice about what the citizens were now saying about the wedding dress, something about how Captain Judgment seemed to like the "latest fashion," Captain Judgment stood up and made his way over to the weapons and tools. He fumbled through them and said, "We should thank Laica..."
Stone stopped mid-speech, shared a glance with Ice, and then looked at Moon, who had somehow gotten his buttons open, and then glanced over at Hell, who looked completely out of it. I grinned and stood up, making my way over to where the weapons and tools where. Stone, Ice, and Moon followed behind me and each grabbed a tool for themselves.
Captain Judgment had selected the black riding crop once more and was lightly flicking it against his palm. How I wished it was slapping against my skin instead, sharp, tingling pain to keep me company! A parting gift, one last one to remember all the lovely times we had shared over the years.
But it wasn't to be, not today, and probably never again.
Captain Judgment murmured, "I probably won't be able to help you as much as before in the future."
I figured. With Captain Judgment's choice to marry Sun, he was definitely going to be on a very short leash from now on. Unless Sun decided to join in... Ahhhh, the lightning~~~
"Thank you," I said. If not for Captain Judgment, I probably wouldn't be at the Holy Temple anymore. I definitely wouldn't be able to enjoy myself like this. Seeing Hell seek out Captain Judgment's advice earlier in the night brought forth memories of how Captain Judgment had settled my worries of inadequacy too. I was good enough. I wasn't a failure.
I slid my finger against the sharp side of the knife hooked by my side. I grinned at the sharp pain.
I could do this.
Just as Captain Judgment went on to explain that while some people might find this "good practice," it wasn't going to help him much because Sun was totally an S and not an M, I cut in and said, "Let's spar."
Captain Judgment blinked and looked up from the riding crop in his hand. "Did you...say 'spar'?"
I nodded. "This is a night for you, Captain Judgment. Let's spar."
The rest were just as puzzled as Captain Judgment. They looked at the tools in their hands, not knowing what to do with them. How little they trusted me! It wasn't like pain was the only thing that was ever on my mind! I knew Captain Judgment! He would like this much more than what they all thought I had planned.
"Since this is Captain Judgment's party, I declare this a test of skills among the 'cruel, cold-hearted' faction! Begin!" I shouted.
Even Hell managed to lift his head from the table when he heard my shout, and he stumbled to get up.
Stone was the first to fight against Captain Judgment, needles against Captain Judgment's riding crop. The rule was to strike the other person three times. Stone was quite steady on his feet while Captain Judgment kind of...swayed. Moon giggled as he flew his hand across the air, copying the trajectory of the needle Stone had thrown.
"Swooosh!" Moon said.
...But maybe we're all too drunk for this. Am I drunk? I'm not, right?
"Are you going to use a whip?" I asked Moon.
Moon ran his hand along the chain whip he had eyed ever since entering the room. "Oh definitely this fine one here."
Oooh, yes, that would feel so good against my skin.
As we watched the battle, Moon rubbed at his eyes. He said dejectedly, "When will I ever get married?"
Ever since he had broken up with his girlfriend, he'd had a difficult time finding a new one. There were few who matched what he required of his lovers in height, and there were even fewer who could handle the craziness that was being together with one of the Twelve Holy Knights.
I blurted, "I hope you never get a girlfriend!"
Moon blinked and then narrowed his eyes at me. "Laica, there's no need to speak poisonously here."
But I wasn't trying to be mean!
If even you're taken... Then what am I to do? Moon is... Moon is...
"Your whip is only meant for me!" I sobbed.
You're my one and only SM queen!
All of a sudden, dark element burst out around Hell. I blinked, my mind still confused because that was certainly no fault of mine...right? My outburst couldn't have been that powerful to even cause Hell to lose control.
I turned to look in his direction. He had taken off the weird, heart-shaped ring he had on his fingers, and now his eyes were blazing.
Oh, and he had wings too.
Not to mention gray skin.
Huh.
"Huh?" Hell echoed my exact sentiments. He gazed at his hand in confusion.
Did he want to join the fight like that or what?
I had no idea what he was trying to do, but he had totally reverted to his death monarch appearance.
Then, he scrunched up his face and... a bunch of undead creatures appeared. From skeletons to spiders to zombies to witches, you name it...
Stone and Captain Judgment both froze. Moon and I also turned our attention to the undead creatures. Ice stood up. We shared a look, and despite being downright drunk, began to dispatch the undead creatures with the tools I had prepared. The undead creatures shrieked. Stone shot needles into their eyes. Captain Judgment dismembered the skeletons with precise flicks of his black riding crop. Moon flayed a zombie until it wasn't recognizable anymore. Ice threw the ball and shackle, knocking over several of them all at once. I threw myself into battle too, grabbing the rope I'd prepared. I grinned when one of the high-leveled skeletons nicked my arm with its blade made of bone.
Suddenly, the door burst open, and outside the door stood none other than Blaze who had his foot raised. We all turned to look at him, well, nearly all of us (Hell was still out of it), and Blaze stared back, baffled. Behind him was actually the entire "good, warm-hearted" faction, minus Sun. Storm was babbling at a high speed, something about how they all had to run away from their party because of how terrifying it was (it really made me wonder what in the world had gone on in that party), but once he saw the state we were in, with gunk all over and corpses littering the floor, he shut up.
Hell finally relaxed his shoulders for some reason. He looked up, saw Storm, and smiled. Despite Hell's alarming appearance, Storm smiled back very easily.
Ah, I thought.
I licked the blood that was trickling down my arm.
"Hi," I said.
Earth threw his hands up. "Is there no one sane around here anymore?"
Still, despite his words, he and the rest of the "good, warm-hearted" faction helped us take care of the remaining undead creatures.
to be continued
Lucathia: I don't even know what I'm writing. /o\ By the way, Judgment is said to "dislike nothing in particular" regarding what he likes to eat. He eats bitter chocolate, but I don't think there's any mention that he likes bitter food. I claim artistic license. =P Why do I feel like I was writing a break-up between Metal and Judgment here...
Kiyutsuna: I don't even know what I'm drawing. LOL. Metal sure comes with his own personal set of ratings... This fanboy is very much special indeed. x)
Slice 7: Explosive Fun! ...Not
Fandom: The Legend of Sun Knight
Words: 4,200
Summary: Sun and Judgment are getting married. The "why" and "how" really aren't that important right now. For this is not a story about their romance; this is the story of us observers. Yes, we, the underappreciated observers of this whole spectacle who did 99% of the work, and only received a slice of wedding cake in return. Grisia/Lesus, Ceo/Roland
Notes: Co-written with
kiyutsuna! Odd chapters are hers. Even chapters are mine. *hides* (Warning: This is a Metal chapter. You have been warned, hahaha) Slice 5: All About Balance
Slice 6: Farewell, Our SM Days
Metal
A few days before the wedding, our factions held separate parties for our leaders in a final celebration. When deciding who would organize the bachelor party, I immediately raised my hand and shouted, "Me, me, me! I want to do it!"
Across the conference room, Blaze had also held his hand up, and he'd slammed the table with his other hand, using so much force that the table shook and papers scattered all over.
We blinked owlishly at each other before we flew into an argument over who would organize the party. Obviously, he would not have Captain Judgment's best interests in mind!
While we argued, Storm had snapped awake, his bizarre paperwork senses tingling, and cried out in alarm at all the scattered papers. After Hell helped him gather the papers, Storm crossed his arms. The bags under his eyes were so dark that it looked as if someone had socked him in the eyes. He glowered at both of us, his voice disturbingly calm. "Just hold two parties or something. I don't care as long as I'm not responsible for them."
Under Storm's bloodshot glare, Blaze and I both sat down, duly chastised. Storm was probably way past the point of caring. Over the course of all the wedding preparations, he'd gotten closer and closer to looking like death warmed over. It really wouldn't do for Captain Judgment to have such a ghastly bridesmaid!
Everyone else nodded their agreement, so that was that.
Since Captain Judgment and Sun weren't to see each other during the final days leading up to their wedding, and one was the "bride" and one the groom, two parties actually worked out. Traditionally, the job of organizing the bachelor party (now parties) would fall to the best man, but Hell was much too busy making sure Storm stayed alive. Storm, the bridesmaid, was terrible at taking care of himself and was in no shape to organize the party for their faction either. And so Blaze and I both got our wishes granted.
I hummed to myself as I finished decorating the location of the bachelor party for the "cruel, cold-hearted" faction, putting the last candle in place.
Or wait. Should this be called a bachelorette party instead?
I still found it difficult to believe that Captain Judgment would be wearing the dress. Just how did that no good Sun force Captain Judgment to agree?
In one fell swoop, most of the Holy Temple had become broke beyond broke because of the shocking turn of events, and we all secretly cursed Sun in our hearts. Or not so secretly, especially when our stomachs rumbled. We'd all been so sure. If not for Ice's many trial wedding cakes, I might've starved. My pockets had become so empty that I'd had to borrow money from my vice-captain to finish the preparations.
None of us had seen the dress yet, since Captain Judgment had gone off to get the dress on his own, and then the shop had sent it over all secretive and stuff. I bit my lips. I couldn't say I wasn't curious what he'd look like and what it'd be like to be whipped by him while he was dressed that way.
Mm, sleek black dress, high heels digging into my back~~, sharp crack of the whip, oh~~
I finished setting up the interrogation room with a grin on my face. It was perfect. There were all sorts of different interrogation tools and weapons ready for our use, not to mention candles and ropes as well.
Our party was definitely going to own anything Blaze could put together!
"Tadah!" I said, opening the door to the interrogation room. The six of us piled into the room. The others glanced around, and I thought I heard someone mumble, "Of all places to have a party..."
"Is that a chain whip?" exclaimed Moon.
"Sure is," I grinned.
Ice wordlessly picked up a ball and shackle. Stone inspected the long needles I'd prepared. Hell picked up a set of sharp daggers. Captain Judgment, the star of the party, held a black riding crop. I shivered in anticipation just from seeing it in his hands. The color matched him perfectly.
As he put the black riding crop down, Captain Judgment said, face expressionless, "...You really went all out."
But of course! This is a party for you, Captain Judgment! Nothing less would do.
There was no way I would let our last time together before his inevitable marriage end on a dismal note!
I beamed and pulled out a chair. "Sit, sit! I can't wait until the main event, but food first!"
Everyone sat down, except for Ice and me. I helped Ice bring out all the food he had prepared for the party. We laid out the table. First was the arugula salad mixed with other leafy greens, good for your body and all. Then came the soup, which Ice sprinkled with some kind of weird seasoning that he'd gotten from Leaf. Lately, Leaf had stopped looking like someone had killed his puppy and instead always had on an expression of utter glee. I hadn't known anyone could look that bizarrely cheerful, but apparently, having his pockets weighed down by ducats made him a much more lighthearted man. His situation had gotten fairly bad not too long ago, what with how his wedding had pretty much bled him dry of his savings and his seasonings. Now, he could finally buy more of his favorite spices, and boy did that revitalize him.
Ice had gotten one heck of a deal out of the bet too, which was why we were having such a feast right now. In addition to the soup, he brought out some vegetable courses with some type of melon I couldn't even name, and then delicious meat followed after that. With candles casting a low glow around the room and such a hearty meal before us, the atmosphere couldn't be any better!
After Ice and I sat down, we all began to dig into our meal. As I chewed, my face twisted so much that you probably couldn't tell me apart from some wrinkly old guy about to croak.
Similar expressions were coming across everyone else's faces, even Ice's (hey, you're the cook! It's your own cooking!). Only Captain Judgment remained unaffected, truly amazing, as well as Hell.
Stone chuckled even as he painstakingly lowered his fork. "Wow, you really went all out too, Ice."
Ice had made all of Captain Judgment's favorite foods. Meaning, everything was so bitter I thought I'd die.
After Stone spoke, he moved some of his food to Hell's plate. "Here, have some more salad. It's good for you."
Moon also did the same. I was tempted to foist some of my food on Hell too, but I steeled myself and swallowed my food in gulps while trying to hold my breath. These were Captain Judgment's favorite foods. I couldn't let him eat all by himself, with only Hell to keep him company!
Eyes watering, I hurriedly downed some wine to wash out the taste. At the same time, Ice piled some of his food on Captain Judgment's plate.
I...should have done that too!
As the dinner wore on, we all managed to eat something, but not without our faces twisting horrendously. It was all worth it though to see the small, grateful smile on Captain Judgment's face. It was well known to all of us that Captain Judgment was the farthest you could get from a picky eater. There wasn't anything in particular he disliked, but it just wasn't common for foods that he particularly liked to get made.
Our faces pretty much told the whole story why.
When Ice brought out the cake, I was grateful enough that I thought I'd hug him, but sadly there was cake between us. But! Finally! Finally, here was something we could all eat without being afraid of looking even uglier than rotting undead creatures with our twisted faces! Hell didn't count -- he wasn't rotting.
"Opinions?" Ice asked. He had paper in hand, ready to take notes.
Captain Judgment tried out the cake. After lowering his fork, he said, "You've done a fabulous job, Ice."
Oh how I wish that compliment was directed toward me!
While Ice jotted down Captain Judgment's thoughts about the cake and then went around asking everyone else's opinions, I heard Captain Judgment strike up a conversation with Hell about the food. It hadn't gone unnoticed to either of them that they were the only ones whose faces hadn't puckered up like wrinkly raisins.
Hell said in a serious voice, "It was nothing. It is a waste for me to eat but even more of a waste for the food to go uneaten."
"Nevertheless, thanks," Captain Judgment said. "I'm sure Ice appreciates it. I appreciate it too."
Hell gave a small nod, and then somehow their conversation drifted elsewhere. I'm not sure how talk about super bitter food led to whatever they were now conversing over, something about food and inadequacy, about not being good enough, but that's how it ended up being. Hell lowered his voice, so I couldn't really hear much. They talked for quite a long while. Finally, they stopped whispering all secretively. I was surprised that their conversation turned to "the former Knight-Captain Storm." That totally came out of nowhere. It was true that Storm's teacher had taken to haunting the hallways though, and although he didn't look like someone had socked him in the eyes, like what his student looked like, he often made me feel like his entire family had been slaughtered or something with how depressed he was, red rimmed eyes and all.
"He is truly a..." Hell paused, trying to search for a word to describe the man, "very compassionate teacher."
Captain Judgment nodded. "Indeed. He has helped Grisia and me a lot too. Though I am afraid we gave him a lot of trouble during our marriage counseling."
Translation: We might have traumatized that poor man.
What in the world did Sun do this time? Though I guess I shouldn't be surprised...
Hell murmured, "Ceo has a good teacher."
Captain Judgment lifted one eyebrow. "Oh? So it's Ceo now?"
Hell nodded solemnly. With any other person, they probably would've blushed or denied it. I think his face might be slightly pink, but other than that, he owned up to it right there. Then, he pulled out something from his pockets to show Captain Judgment.
Whatever it was, it made even the other eyebrow of Captain Judgment's shoot up. Hell remained stoic, shoulders tense. But soon after, Captain Judgment gave his eyebrows a rest and smiled a rare, soft smile and said, "Don't worry so much, you're doing just fine."
"But I'm..." Hell began to say.
Captain Judgment interrupted and said, "You're just as human as the rest of us, maybe even more. It's okay, really."
Hell fell silent.
"Things will work out, you'll see."
Captain Judgment was truly such a thoughtful captain, looking out for all of us like this!
My attention was pulled back to the cake when Ice approached me for my opinion. I'd already taste tested several versions of the cake already. This time, Ice had done an even more outstanding job on the appearance of the cake. This one looked so much more impressive than all the others. I looked over the cake and cut a piece from the bottommost layer for myself. Ice looked like he wanted to say something, but before he could, I'd already put the spoon in my mouth (I was hungry, okay?).
Bitter!!!!!!
"...that's Judgment's layer," Ice finally said. "This one is yours."
He pointed at another layer, which I was pleased to see was very close to Captain Judgment's layer.
It really tasted a whole lot better.
As the hour grew later and the candles melted nearly all the way, wax pooling around the bottom, I refilled our glasses of wine and lit new candles. Captain Judgment hadn't partaken in much wine, but he did take a sip now and then for our sake. I raised my glass and said, "To Captain Judgment!"
Then, the rest raised their glasses into the air as well. Captain Judgment also raised his.
Each of us took our turns speaking. Moon raised his glass and said, "To the best leader I could have ever asked for!"
I drank to that wholeheartedly.
Stone added, "To our most dependable comrade, I wish you the best in life!"
I downed my wine and refilled several of our glasses.
Ice spoke quietly. "To Judgment, our brother, our leader. May happiness find you."
I drank to that as well.
Finally, Hell said, "To Judgment, who always believed. I thank you on Grisia's behalf."
We all lifted our glasses into the air. I watched as Captain Judgment took a gulp of his wine, the liquid sliding down his throat. He had been drinking to each of our toasts, but he took the largest gulp with this last one. It was hard to see with the flickering candlelight and how his bangs shadowed his face, but I thought that Captain Judgment's face was starting to turn somewhat red.
I polished off my wine and poured myself some more, suddenly very much wanting to get drunk. Captain Judgment was soon going to get married. Married! To that no good Sun, no less! That super irresponsible Sun who always pushes all of his work onto Storm and Adair and even forces Captain Judgment to buy him blueberry pies like a dog playing fetch. Captain Judgment was no servant of his!
"Will he even treat you right?" I grumbled. "He's always asking so much of you..."
It wasn't that I didn't care about Sun. I did. He was our Sun Knight after all, and boy did it feel wrong when he wasn't around. But he wasn't Captain Judgment, and I'd always felt that Captain Judgment cared a lot more about Sun than Sun cared about Captain Judgment. I knew Sun had a lot on his plate, being the leader of the Twelve Holy Knights and all, and even a huge factor in keeping the world stable, but it didn't seem very fair to Captain Judgment.
Captain Judgment proved to be an excellent mind reader. Even with only half of what I was thinking spoken aloud, he answered my worries.
"Sun asks for favors. Sun makes requests. Sun makes demands." Captain Judgment said.
A whole dictionary could be written just on the nuances among the ways Sun makes people do things! Are you really sure about this, Captain Judgment?!
His smile was wry. "He's someone who will even maneuver me into wearing a wedding dress. But he wouldn't be Sun without his mischievousness."
Even though Captain Judgment hadn't said it outright, I could hear the sappy words, "And I do so love his mischievousness," hanging in the air.
Captain Judgment continued speaking. "He is all of that, but Grisia has saved me much more than the other way around. Those words of his, how we might have our backs facing the darkness, but we will still be walking under the light, have meant the world to me."
I filled in the blanks after that for him. And he is my light.
This, I knew too. Captain Judgment was hopelessly in love, and had been, since forever. It was why Sun had always rubbed me the wrong way. I knew that he'd take Captain Judgment away one day, and that there was nothing any of us could do to stop it.
I poured myself another glass of wine and raised it up, this time saying, "To an everlasting marriage between the Sun Knight and the Judgment Knight! May you shock the world to death!"
Besides me, Moon giggled. "With lightning?"
"At least he's good at that!" I said.
Then, I drank some more.
After we finished eating, it was finally time for the main event. Stone wondered, for a fleeting moment, if I'd hired strippers, to which Ice murmured that Sun would kill us if I did, but all I said in response to that was, "Of course not! Captain Judgment already has Sun!"
Moon giggled some more. "Yes, yes, Sun can strip for him."
Exactly!
Captain Judgment rubbed his temples and looked over at us, face flushed. The wine was really kicking in now. "Let Sun hear that...and...he'll fly into a...rampage."
Moon's eyebrows did a suggestive little dance, like, you know, this crazy wiggle, probably because he couldn't really move his neck, and he said, "Oh come on, I'm sure he's done it countless times for you already in the bedroom! Like, this!"
After he spoke, Moon got up and looked like he had every intent to strip right then and there. Actually, by the time I noticed, his jacket was already on the floor, and he was working on his pendant, but he looked very confused, fingers fumbling. I scrunched up my face and shoved him.
"Hey! We said no strippers!"
He blinked. "Oh, right."
Then, he sat down again. Since there was a glass of wine in front of him, he chugged it down.
His jacket was still on the floor.
Meanwhile, Stone had engaged Ice in talking about the month's patrols where Captain Judgment and Sun had gone out in joint patrols to show off their newly gained understanding of the God of Light's will, that to honor the God of Light was to love thine enemy or all that nonsense that Sun had taken to spouting during the patrols. I couldn't really recall exactly how he'd worded it, but the citizens ate it all up like cake, and just like people high on sugar, they were totally high on all the gossip that resulted.
Seeing Captain Judgment and Sun patrol side-by-side was no doubt an impressive sight. At first, the citizens had been too shocked to react in any sort of way, but then they began clamoring to line up along the streets to catch a glimpse of the soon-to-be-married couple. The streets became so congested that patrolling nearly became impossible, and even Captain Judgment's heart-stopping glare couldn't get the crowd to part right away. The invitations Storm and Hell had sent out came pouring in. Everyone, and I meant everyone, wanted to come to the wedding. This was totally going to blow Elijah and the princess's royal wedding out of the water. The location that the Pope had first secured wasn't nearly going to be enough, but he wasn't complaining at all. In fact, he was downright delighted.
As Stone rambled off to Ice about what the citizens were now saying about the wedding dress, something about how Captain Judgment seemed to like the "latest fashion," Captain Judgment stood up and made his way over to the weapons and tools. He fumbled through them and said, "We should thank Laica..."
Stone stopped mid-speech, shared a glance with Ice, and then looked at Moon, who had somehow gotten his buttons open, and then glanced over at Hell, who looked completely out of it. I grinned and stood up, making my way over to where the weapons and tools where. Stone, Ice, and Moon followed behind me and each grabbed a tool for themselves.
Captain Judgment had selected the black riding crop once more and was lightly flicking it against his palm. How I wished it was slapping against my skin instead, sharp, tingling pain to keep me company! A parting gift, one last one to remember all the lovely times we had shared over the years.
But it wasn't to be, not today, and probably never again.
Captain Judgment murmured, "I probably won't be able to help you as much as before in the future."
I figured. With Captain Judgment's choice to marry Sun, he was definitely going to be on a very short leash from now on. Unless Sun decided to join in... Ahhhh, the lightning~~~
"Thank you," I said. If not for Captain Judgment, I probably wouldn't be at the Holy Temple anymore. I definitely wouldn't be able to enjoy myself like this. Seeing Hell seek out Captain Judgment's advice earlier in the night brought forth memories of how Captain Judgment had settled my worries of inadequacy too. I was good enough. I wasn't a failure.
I slid my finger against the sharp side of the knife hooked by my side. I grinned at the sharp pain.
I could do this.
Just as Captain Judgment went on to explain that while some people might find this "good practice," it wasn't going to help him much because Sun was totally an S and not an M, I cut in and said, "Let's spar."
Captain Judgment blinked and looked up from the riding crop in his hand. "Did you...say 'spar'?"
I nodded. "This is a night for you, Captain Judgment. Let's spar."
The rest were just as puzzled as Captain Judgment. They looked at the tools in their hands, not knowing what to do with them. How little they trusted me! It wasn't like pain was the only thing that was ever on my mind! I knew Captain Judgment! He would like this much more than what they all thought I had planned.
"Since this is Captain Judgment's party, I declare this a test of skills among the 'cruel, cold-hearted' faction! Begin!" I shouted.
Even Hell managed to lift his head from the table when he heard my shout, and he stumbled to get up.
Stone was the first to fight against Captain Judgment, needles against Captain Judgment's riding crop. The rule was to strike the other person three times. Stone was quite steady on his feet while Captain Judgment kind of...swayed. Moon giggled as he flew his hand across the air, copying the trajectory of the needle Stone had thrown.
"Swooosh!" Moon said.
...But maybe we're all too drunk for this. Am I drunk? I'm not, right?
"Are you going to use a whip?" I asked Moon.
Moon ran his hand along the chain whip he had eyed ever since entering the room. "Oh definitely this fine one here."
Oooh, yes, that would feel so good against my skin.
As we watched the battle, Moon rubbed at his eyes. He said dejectedly, "When will I ever get married?"
Ever since he had broken up with his girlfriend, he'd had a difficult time finding a new one. There were few who matched what he required of his lovers in height, and there were even fewer who could handle the craziness that was being together with one of the Twelve Holy Knights.
I blurted, "I hope you never get a girlfriend!"
Moon blinked and then narrowed his eyes at me. "Laica, there's no need to speak poisonously here."
But I wasn't trying to be mean!
If even you're taken... Then what am I to do? Moon is... Moon is...
"Your whip is only meant for me!" I sobbed.
You're my one and only SM queen!
All of a sudden, dark element burst out around Hell. I blinked, my mind still confused because that was certainly no fault of mine...right? My outburst couldn't have been that powerful to even cause Hell to lose control.
I turned to look in his direction. He had taken off the weird, heart-shaped ring he had on his fingers, and now his eyes were blazing.
Oh, and he had wings too.
Not to mention gray skin.
Huh.
"Huh?" Hell echoed my exact sentiments. He gazed at his hand in confusion.
Did he want to join the fight like that or what?
I had no idea what he was trying to do, but he had totally reverted to his death monarch appearance.
Then, he scrunched up his face and... a bunch of undead creatures appeared. From skeletons to spiders to zombies to witches, you name it...
Stone and Captain Judgment both froze. Moon and I also turned our attention to the undead creatures. Ice stood up. We shared a look, and despite being downright drunk, began to dispatch the undead creatures with the tools I had prepared. The undead creatures shrieked. Stone shot needles into their eyes. Captain Judgment dismembered the skeletons with precise flicks of his black riding crop. Moon flayed a zombie until it wasn't recognizable anymore. Ice threw the ball and shackle, knocking over several of them all at once. I threw myself into battle too, grabbing the rope I'd prepared. I grinned when one of the high-leveled skeletons nicked my arm with its blade made of bone.
Suddenly, the door burst open, and outside the door stood none other than Blaze who had his foot raised. We all turned to look at him, well, nearly all of us (Hell was still out of it), and Blaze stared back, baffled. Behind him was actually the entire "good, warm-hearted" faction, minus Sun. Storm was babbling at a high speed, something about how they all had to run away from their party because of how terrifying it was (it really made me wonder what in the world had gone on in that party), but once he saw the state we were in, with gunk all over and corpses littering the floor, he shut up.
Hell finally relaxed his shoulders for some reason. He looked up, saw Storm, and smiled. Despite Hell's alarming appearance, Storm smiled back very easily.
Ah, I thought.
I licked the blood that was trickling down my arm.
"Hi," I said.
Earth threw his hands up. "Is there no one sane around here anymore?"
Still, despite his words, he and the rest of the "good, warm-hearted" faction helped us take care of the remaining undead creatures.
to be continued
Lucathia: I don't even know what I'm writing. /o\ By the way, Judgment is said to "dislike nothing in particular" regarding what he likes to eat. He eats bitter chocolate, but I don't think there's any mention that he likes bitter food. I claim artistic license. =P Why do I feel like I was writing a break-up between Metal and Judgment here...
Kiyutsuna: I don't even know what I'm drawing. LOL. Metal sure comes with his own personal set of ratings... This fanboy is very much special indeed. x)
Slice 7: Explosive Fun! ...Not
Re: Takes a deep breath and goes on reading
Date: 2014-06-01 08:47 am (UTC)I don't know if his drinking skills were discussed in canon or not, but Neko Kreuz did draw a panel showing Lesus getting drunk very easily (so...possibly canon?). Chinese fandom seems to think of Lesus as a lightweight... definitely fanon, if not canon. (...haha, Grisia, your two best friends are both such lightweights!)
I'm very fond of Lesus with his magical hair. XDDD Bunny!Roland is adorable as well.
Re: Takes a deep breath and goes on reading
Date: 2014-06-01 09:07 am (UTC)Ooooh! Think I know which panel you mean. Well, I think Lesus would be about average for the amount of practice he has... which probably isn't much so even being average would make you a lightweight... ahaha~ I've just got the image of Aivis getting drunk easily stuck in my head because of a fanfic. Which one was it, I don't even remember, but it had the drinking scene from "For You All"...
The magical hair! Of course, how could I have forgotten xDDD
Re: Takes a deep breath and goes on reading
Date: 2014-06-01 02:41 pm (UTC)I will never be able to un-see that (nearly fell out of my chair laughing - I feel like I always am in danger of bodily harm whenever I read this fic). Hahaha awesome job there!
I am now slightly terrified to see what was happening over in the other bachelorette (bachelor?) party :P Considering how this one ended up with a scenario similar to Saw, I can't imagine what pandemonium happened on the other side... Neo what did you do?!
**By the way, what panel is that? Was it in the manhua?
Re: Takes a deep breath and goes on reading
Date: 2014-06-01 07:05 pm (UTC)Next time sit on a soft surface? XD please don't harm yourself!!
I'm pretty sure the panel was just a random spin off page Neko Kreuz drew. It's not an official manhua page ^^;;;
It's on her Facebook (that's where I found it). So yeah, quite some interesting arts there xD