![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
[Legend of Sun Knight] fic: so we can get to know you chapter 6
Title: so we can get to know you - chapter 6: D.eath monarch chauffeur service
Fandom: The Legend of Sun Knight
Words: 2,075
Summary: The Twelve Holy Knights go on their biannual mission outside of Leaf Bud City. They just never thought that some of them would return as toddlers. Roland introduces himself over and over again. "Isn't this great, Roland? We'll get to learn about you and make up for all those years we missed!"
Notes: A slightly longer chapter~.
previous chapter: N.ever too old to be a kid
Just this morning, Stone had turned into a fourteen year old, and I'd quickly teleported him away so he could change. Then, near noontime, Earth shrank as well, I was called, and I hurriedly scooped up a six-year-old Earth into my arms to teleport him. My skills as a death monarch were being put to good use, but even so, someone outside of the Twelve Holy Knights could have seen them shrinking.
It was getting less and less likely that we would be able to keep the situation hidden, especially since we had no idea when one of us would suddenly shrink. I could only push myself to teleport anyone who shrunk as soon as we realized they had shrunk. Sun could also do it, but in order to maintain his appearance as the Sun Knight (who isn't supposed to know magic), I did most of the teleportation. Just in case anyone saw us. After all, the entire continent knew very little about what the Hell Knight was capable of, so it was not unfathomable that the Hell Knight might know teleportation. In fact, thanks to one of Sun's previous stints in the city, it was rumored that the Hell Knight knows how to shoot arrows of holy light... which I could not actually do. I did at least try forming arrows out of dark element. They were adequate though not the right color.
We took to staying in groups of threes to make sure we always had one of the other Twelve Holy Knights near us if we were to deage. Then, one of them could be sent for me, and I'd quickly teleport over. Today, I was in a group with Judgment and Ice.
In the afternoon, when Storm alerted me to yet another one of us shrinking, I immediately made my way over to the courtyard via teleportation, leaving Storm with Judgment and Ice. The courtyard was not very far away, but the sooner we got him away from the public eye, the better.
The moment I reached the courtyard, the sun shone down relentlessly upon me, my surroundings bursting in brightness because of my sudden teleportation. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust. Voices drifted to my ears.
"You can see, Sun?" Leaf asked in a small voice. They were behind me, just on the opposite side of the bushes.
"Of course! Why wouldn't I be able to see?" Sun exclaimed. "Strawberry, has old age muddled your brain?" From Sun's words, I could tell that someone had already explained to Sun that he had lost a few years. Since his voice did not sound overly young, perhaps he had not lost all that many years, unlike the others who had shrunk before him.
I pushed past the bushes, bracing myself to meet this younger Sun, a Sun whom I had not yet reunited with. Leaf's back faced me, partially blocking Sun, but I could see enough. Like I had guessed, this was a Sun I'd never gotten to known. This was the Sun Knight I had always watched from afar during my time as a royal knight. I'd never spoken with him. The most I'd ever seen of him was when he would sometimes accompany his teacher to the palace, and even then, I'd only catch a glimpse of him. He was like a being from a completely different world, one I wasn't a part of. I had dreamed of it, but it was not to be.
Who knew that years later, I would actually get to join that same world of his? I would never have guessed.
This Sun's eyes were very, very blue, his hair a dazzling golden. I knew all too well why Leaf had asked about Sun's sight. If Judgment were here, he would no doubt gaze at Sun's golden hair, recalling the very moment the breathtaking color had faded away into white. I gazed at him, this unmarred Sun, unable to look away.
This was Sun. This was Sun before he had been weakened irrevocably... because of me.
"No, it's just that..." Without completing his sentence, Leaf moved forward. He brought his arms up and hugged his deaged leader. Sun's eyes widened.
"Omph!" said Sun.
"Sorry Sun. I'm so sorry," Leaf murmured, clinging to Sun, hands clenching the back of Sun's clothes that were currently looser on him.
"If you were sorry, you'd let go of me right now!" protested Sun. But even as he said so, he brought his hand up to pet Leaf on the head. "Silly Strawberry. Are you the grown man, or am I? I thought I was the one who shrank!"
Wanting to make my presence known, as eavesdropping on a private conversation was not something a knight should do, I stepped away from the bushes. Seeing my approach through the corner of his eye, Sun complained, "Lesus, just what is going on-"
When he glanced up and actually saw me, he furrowed his brows. "You're not Lesus."
He had probably just had a general impression of a lot of black. Although I was clad in black, I was indeed not Lesus.
Leaf finally let go of Sun. He brushed the corner of his eye. When he turned around, he had a sad smile on his face but had otherwise gotten a hold of his emotions. "Hell, you're here."
"Hell?" questioned Sun. He looked me up and down. Then, he plastered on a wide, beaming smile and said, "Dear Brother Hell, today is a most blessed day for Sun to be able to meet one of his most elusive brethren. The sunlight bathes us in warm camaraderie thanks to the God of Light's generosity. Sun is ever so thankful and welcomes you to share in the God of Light's benevolence, that we may all walk under the brilliant light with utmost confidence and openness."
For a moment, I didn't know how to respond. Sun's words were difficult to decipher, but the content was not of the utmost importance. The fact that he had even spoken in such a way to me spoke volumes.
He considered me an outsider.
I pulled my mask down and deactivated my Hell Knight disguise, letting my natural hair color before death appear. When I blinked my eyes, I was sure they were now back to blue.
"Grisia, it's been a long time," I greeted. I'd gotten used to calling him Sun, but I did not yet have such a bond with this Sun that I could call him that.
Sun blinked. Then he blinked again, as if not trusting his eyes. Finally, he asked, "...Roland? Are you Roland? But... since when have you been the Hell Knight?"
"Since you instated me as the Hell Knight," I responded with a smile.
"I did what?" Sun's jaws dropped. "How did my teacher not kill me for doing that..."
Leaf chuckled.
"Come, we can catch up later, but let's get you out of this courtyard. It won't do for random people to see you like this," I told him.
"Then my teacher really would kill me," said Sun with a dry laugh.
I nodded.
We left Leaf in the courtyard, as Storm and the others would soon come to find him. When I teleported Sun to the room full of clothes, Sun immediately exclaimed, "Roland, since when have you graduated from being solely a sword idiot to even knowing wind magic? This is unfair!"
"You know how to teleport too," I said.
"Really?" Sun's eyes shone.
"Even though you've forgotten how, now that you've seen me do it, I'm sure you've grasped the knowledge of how to perform the spell," I added.
"Huh." Sun tilted his head and began gathering wind element. In the next moment, he vanished and appeared on top of one of the closets. "Whoa! Amazing!" he shouted. "Did you see what I just did, Roland?" He sat down on the closet, legs dangling over the edge, hands gripping the side as he peered down at me.
I craned my neck to look up at him. "Yes, I saw."
He made a face at me. "It wouldn't hurt for you to show more emotion! Since when have you turned into a brick, Roland?"
"Since always," I said.
Sun laughed. "I take it back. You can crack a joke, huh?"
I smiled. Then, I teleported right next to Sun.
"Ack! Are you trying to give me a heart attack or what?" Sun shouted, hands over his heart.
"Maybe." I sat down.
Sun huffed but didn't comment further on that. He looked out at the sea of clothes. It wasn't much of a view, not like watching the sunrise, but I actually liked this view. The others of the Twelve Holy Knights had all left something of theirs in here, and from these clothes that they had brought, such as Ice's "sleepwear" and Moon's tunics, I could see bits and pieces of their past. They had all once been that young.
We sat in companionable silence, with Sun looking this way and that, trying to find something he could wear. He had not deaged as much as the others, perhaps around ten years, putting him at eighteen or so. His build had not changed greatly over the past ten years, so if he didn't want to change his clothes, he didn't really need to.
"Roland, why was Elmairy crying?" Sun suddenly asked. "Does something happen to me?"
I gripped the wood of the closet below me. "You...should ask Lesus that."
I did not know if it was in my place to tell Sun. I did not know if the others would want me to tell him. Sun would not remain this young for very long. There was no need for me to cause him to feel uneasy in this short period that he'd be with us, but the code of a knight teaches that one must never lie.
So I opted to remain silent.
"Not going to answer?" Sun frowned. "Well, then, can you tell me why you're full of dark element?"
I didn't know how to answer this either. He might blame himself.
This Sun, this Grisia, was so young. He had his future ahead of him. It was like we had been given a second chance, a do-over. If we could somehow make it so that Sun would stay this age, I had no doubt that several of us, no, perhaps all of us, would choose to make it happen.
This was Sun, before he'd given part after part of himself away, things he would never recover, to protect each and every one of us.
"Not going to say anything? Then let me guess."
When I still didn't respond, Sun took it as a sign to keep on talking. He muttered, "Deatheo looked very weighed down by his paperwork. Strawberry's face was a lot sharper than I remember. Neither of them look super old, but I'm a hundred percent sure they're both several years older than you, and that just doesn't add up."
"What makes you so sure I haven't deaged just like you?" I asked.
"With that question, now I'm sure you haven't deaged," Sun answered.
I stilled. Then I threw my head back and laughed. At times like these, I half wished Sun weren't so smart. I could never out-think him. I glanced over at him. "You're right, Grisia. I haven't deaged. But I don't really want to tell you why I look like this. You would be happier not knowing."
"Who are you to decide what would make me happy or not?" grumbled Sun. "You should let me decide."
"Grisia," I said, at a loss. "The future is not all that happy a place. You might be happier not knowing about what has happened over the past few years. Staying your current age might even be..."
But even as I spoke, I recalled what Sun had said to Leaf back in the conference room the other day.
The future really isn't bad at all!
Sun glared at me with fierce, blue eyes. "Roland, you think I want to stay this age with no memories of the years we've shared later on? No matter what happened in those years to me, I don't care. I want to be the Sun Knight. I can't be the Sun Knight looking like this now, can I? Besides, how can the future not be a happy place if I've even managed to instate you as the Hell Knight?"
I bowed my head, a smile coming over my face.
Of course Sun would answer this way.
I was wrong. I did know this Sun after all. No matter his age, Sun would always be Sun, and he would always care for us.
I jumped off the closet, willing my wings to appear.
to be continued
Since mini Sun is so prevalent in fanfic (both English and Chinese fic!), I opted to have him deage to a slightly older age. I mostly wanted to explore his memories!
Next chapter: H.ey mommy, can we have potato stew?
Fandom: The Legend of Sun Knight
Words: 2,075
Summary: The Twelve Holy Knights go on their biannual mission outside of Leaf Bud City. They just never thought that some of them would return as toddlers. Roland introduces himself over and over again. "Isn't this great, Roland? We'll get to learn about you and make up for all those years we missed!"
Notes: A slightly longer chapter~.
previous chapter: N.ever too old to be a kid
chapter 6: D.eath monarch chauffeur service
Just this morning, Stone had turned into a fourteen year old, and I'd quickly teleported him away so he could change. Then, near noontime, Earth shrank as well, I was called, and I hurriedly scooped up a six-year-old Earth into my arms to teleport him. My skills as a death monarch were being put to good use, but even so, someone outside of the Twelve Holy Knights could have seen them shrinking.
It was getting less and less likely that we would be able to keep the situation hidden, especially since we had no idea when one of us would suddenly shrink. I could only push myself to teleport anyone who shrunk as soon as we realized they had shrunk. Sun could also do it, but in order to maintain his appearance as the Sun Knight (who isn't supposed to know magic), I did most of the teleportation. Just in case anyone saw us. After all, the entire continent knew very little about what the Hell Knight was capable of, so it was not unfathomable that the Hell Knight might know teleportation. In fact, thanks to one of Sun's previous stints in the city, it was rumored that the Hell Knight knows how to shoot arrows of holy light... which I could not actually do. I did at least try forming arrows out of dark element. They were adequate though not the right color.
We took to staying in groups of threes to make sure we always had one of the other Twelve Holy Knights near us if we were to deage. Then, one of them could be sent for me, and I'd quickly teleport over. Today, I was in a group with Judgment and Ice.
In the afternoon, when Storm alerted me to yet another one of us shrinking, I immediately made my way over to the courtyard via teleportation, leaving Storm with Judgment and Ice. The courtyard was not very far away, but the sooner we got him away from the public eye, the better.
The moment I reached the courtyard, the sun shone down relentlessly upon me, my surroundings bursting in brightness because of my sudden teleportation. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust. Voices drifted to my ears.
"You can see, Sun?" Leaf asked in a small voice. They were behind me, just on the opposite side of the bushes.
"Of course! Why wouldn't I be able to see?" Sun exclaimed. "Strawberry, has old age muddled your brain?" From Sun's words, I could tell that someone had already explained to Sun that he had lost a few years. Since his voice did not sound overly young, perhaps he had not lost all that many years, unlike the others who had shrunk before him.
I pushed past the bushes, bracing myself to meet this younger Sun, a Sun whom I had not yet reunited with. Leaf's back faced me, partially blocking Sun, but I could see enough. Like I had guessed, this was a Sun I'd never gotten to known. This was the Sun Knight I had always watched from afar during my time as a royal knight. I'd never spoken with him. The most I'd ever seen of him was when he would sometimes accompany his teacher to the palace, and even then, I'd only catch a glimpse of him. He was like a being from a completely different world, one I wasn't a part of. I had dreamed of it, but it was not to be.
Who knew that years later, I would actually get to join that same world of his? I would never have guessed.
This Sun's eyes were very, very blue, his hair a dazzling golden. I knew all too well why Leaf had asked about Sun's sight. If Judgment were here, he would no doubt gaze at Sun's golden hair, recalling the very moment the breathtaking color had faded away into white. I gazed at him, this unmarred Sun, unable to look away.
This was Sun. This was Sun before he had been weakened irrevocably... because of me.
"No, it's just that..." Without completing his sentence, Leaf moved forward. He brought his arms up and hugged his deaged leader. Sun's eyes widened.
"Omph!" said Sun.
"Sorry Sun. I'm so sorry," Leaf murmured, clinging to Sun, hands clenching the back of Sun's clothes that were currently looser on him.
"If you were sorry, you'd let go of me right now!" protested Sun. But even as he said so, he brought his hand up to pet Leaf on the head. "Silly Strawberry. Are you the grown man, or am I? I thought I was the one who shrank!"
Wanting to make my presence known, as eavesdropping on a private conversation was not something a knight should do, I stepped away from the bushes. Seeing my approach through the corner of his eye, Sun complained, "Lesus, just what is going on-"
When he glanced up and actually saw me, he furrowed his brows. "You're not Lesus."
He had probably just had a general impression of a lot of black. Although I was clad in black, I was indeed not Lesus.
Leaf finally let go of Sun. He brushed the corner of his eye. When he turned around, he had a sad smile on his face but had otherwise gotten a hold of his emotions. "Hell, you're here."
"Hell?" questioned Sun. He looked me up and down. Then, he plastered on a wide, beaming smile and said, "Dear Brother Hell, today is a most blessed day for Sun to be able to meet one of his most elusive brethren. The sunlight bathes us in warm camaraderie thanks to the God of Light's generosity. Sun is ever so thankful and welcomes you to share in the God of Light's benevolence, that we may all walk under the brilliant light with utmost confidence and openness."
For a moment, I didn't know how to respond. Sun's words were difficult to decipher, but the content was not of the utmost importance. The fact that he had even spoken in such a way to me spoke volumes.
He considered me an outsider.
I pulled my mask down and deactivated my Hell Knight disguise, letting my natural hair color before death appear. When I blinked my eyes, I was sure they were now back to blue.
"Grisia, it's been a long time," I greeted. I'd gotten used to calling him Sun, but I did not yet have such a bond with this Sun that I could call him that.
Sun blinked. Then he blinked again, as if not trusting his eyes. Finally, he asked, "...Roland? Are you Roland? But... since when have you been the Hell Knight?"
"Since you instated me as the Hell Knight," I responded with a smile.
"I did what?" Sun's jaws dropped. "How did my teacher not kill me for doing that..."
Leaf chuckled.
"Come, we can catch up later, but let's get you out of this courtyard. It won't do for random people to see you like this," I told him.
"Then my teacher really would kill me," said Sun with a dry laugh.
I nodded.
We left Leaf in the courtyard, as Storm and the others would soon come to find him. When I teleported Sun to the room full of clothes, Sun immediately exclaimed, "Roland, since when have you graduated from being solely a sword idiot to even knowing wind magic? This is unfair!"
"You know how to teleport too," I said.
"Really?" Sun's eyes shone.
"Even though you've forgotten how, now that you've seen me do it, I'm sure you've grasped the knowledge of how to perform the spell," I added.
"Huh." Sun tilted his head and began gathering wind element. In the next moment, he vanished and appeared on top of one of the closets. "Whoa! Amazing!" he shouted. "Did you see what I just did, Roland?" He sat down on the closet, legs dangling over the edge, hands gripping the side as he peered down at me.
I craned my neck to look up at him. "Yes, I saw."
He made a face at me. "It wouldn't hurt for you to show more emotion! Since when have you turned into a brick, Roland?"
"Since always," I said.
Sun laughed. "I take it back. You can crack a joke, huh?"
I smiled. Then, I teleported right next to Sun.
"Ack! Are you trying to give me a heart attack or what?" Sun shouted, hands over his heart.
"Maybe." I sat down.
Sun huffed but didn't comment further on that. He looked out at the sea of clothes. It wasn't much of a view, not like watching the sunrise, but I actually liked this view. The others of the Twelve Holy Knights had all left something of theirs in here, and from these clothes that they had brought, such as Ice's "sleepwear" and Moon's tunics, I could see bits and pieces of their past. They had all once been that young.
We sat in companionable silence, with Sun looking this way and that, trying to find something he could wear. He had not deaged as much as the others, perhaps around ten years, putting him at eighteen or so. His build had not changed greatly over the past ten years, so if he didn't want to change his clothes, he didn't really need to.
"Roland, why was Elmairy crying?" Sun suddenly asked. "Does something happen to me?"
I gripped the wood of the closet below me. "You...should ask Lesus that."
I did not know if it was in my place to tell Sun. I did not know if the others would want me to tell him. Sun would not remain this young for very long. There was no need for me to cause him to feel uneasy in this short period that he'd be with us, but the code of a knight teaches that one must never lie.
So I opted to remain silent.
"Not going to answer?" Sun frowned. "Well, then, can you tell me why you're full of dark element?"
I didn't know how to answer this either. He might blame himself.
This Sun, this Grisia, was so young. He had his future ahead of him. It was like we had been given a second chance, a do-over. If we could somehow make it so that Sun would stay this age, I had no doubt that several of us, no, perhaps all of us, would choose to make it happen.
This was Sun, before he'd given part after part of himself away, things he would never recover, to protect each and every one of us.
"Not going to say anything? Then let me guess."
When I still didn't respond, Sun took it as a sign to keep on talking. He muttered, "Deatheo looked very weighed down by his paperwork. Strawberry's face was a lot sharper than I remember. Neither of them look super old, but I'm a hundred percent sure they're both several years older than you, and that just doesn't add up."
"What makes you so sure I haven't deaged just like you?" I asked.
"With that question, now I'm sure you haven't deaged," Sun answered.
I stilled. Then I threw my head back and laughed. At times like these, I half wished Sun weren't so smart. I could never out-think him. I glanced over at him. "You're right, Grisia. I haven't deaged. But I don't really want to tell you why I look like this. You would be happier not knowing."
"Who are you to decide what would make me happy or not?" grumbled Sun. "You should let me decide."
"Grisia," I said, at a loss. "The future is not all that happy a place. You might be happier not knowing about what has happened over the past few years. Staying your current age might even be..."
But even as I spoke, I recalled what Sun had said to Leaf back in the conference room the other day.
The future really isn't bad at all!
Sun glared at me with fierce, blue eyes. "Roland, you think I want to stay this age with no memories of the years we've shared later on? No matter what happened in those years to me, I don't care. I want to be the Sun Knight. I can't be the Sun Knight looking like this now, can I? Besides, how can the future not be a happy place if I've even managed to instate you as the Hell Knight?"
I bowed my head, a smile coming over my face.
Of course Sun would answer this way.
I was wrong. I did know this Sun after all. No matter his age, Sun would always be Sun, and he would always care for us.
I jumped off the closet, willing my wings to appear.
to be continued
Since mini Sun is so prevalent in fanfic (both English and Chinese fic!), I opted to have him deage to a slightly older age. I mostly wanted to explore his memories!
Next chapter: H.ey mommy, can we have potato stew?