Defender of the Soul

Chapter 9: Good Company

"By the way, I was really impressed with your fighting earlier. Using a fan of all things to disarm that one guy, and how you used the barriers to hold off the other three was so cool!" Palette looked positively electric as he grinned widely, "Most of the guys were struggling with one or two bandits, but you were holding your own against three for a good minute or two there."

"Ah, that was merely a by-product of the training I received in my younger years," Goth lightly deflected, "As my tutor always taught me, a kingdom needs a strong and quick leader they can trust to protect them. What I did wasn't remarkable; my barriers stalled the enemy, nothing more. You and the other knights were far more effective in driving away our attackers."

"No no no, it was impressive! If the situation wasn't so dire at the time, it would've been really exciting to watch," Palette insisted with a pout; Goth would have laughed if he didn't know his friend was being serious. "Physical strength and sword skills are great and all, but there's only so much it can do against a group. When I jumped in earlier, I had no idea what I was going to do if all three of the bandits attacked together; being able to control their movements the way you did... I need to learn how to do stuff like that."

"Oh, um...," Goth floundered, finding it impossible to argue in the face of their logic; instead, he offered, "if you wish, I could perhaps... share some pointers? Later, when you have free time, of course."

"Really?" Palette's gasped, his expression reminiscent of a child receiving a present.

Goth nodded subtly, focusing his attention on the hands cradling his wrist to keep his composure, "O-Of course; it would be cruel of me to make such an offer if I didn't intend to follow through."

"Stars, that would be so awesome!" Palette's magic faded as he retracted his hands and began bouncing in place, "I can't wait fo-!" he paused mid-sentence, his sockets creasing as he reached forward, "Hey, are you okay? Your face looks really flushed."

A cool hand pressed against his forehead and Goth cursed his infatuation as he scrambled for an explanation, "Ah... the weather, it's quite warm! I'm feeling a tad overheated." Lofting the jacket draped over his arm into view as further evidence, he prayed his friend wouldn't delve further. His sister knowing of his affections was already one person too many; he wasn't sure he could live it down if Palette found out... or worse, rejected those feelings.

Fortunately, Palette seemed to accept his excuse, "Yeah, you did mention that earlier. By the way, how does your wrist feel now?"

Gently flexing his hand, Goth confirmed, "It feels much better now, thank you."

Palette beamed at the news, "Great! Come on, let's find you a shady spot where you can relax." The knight grasped Goth's right hand and began leading him around the corner and toward the exit.

Seeing the impending disaster, he quickly backpedaled, "P-Palette, wait! I must don my jacket first!"

"Eh?" Palette let go and glanced back at him in confusion, "Why? Won't you get too hot if you put it on again?"

"Yes... however, the stains upon my clothing would give rise to many prying questions if others were to see them; that's why I hid myself away to disrobe," Goth explained, plucking at one of the greenish-brown stains on his shirt. The sorry state of his clothing wasn't the only problem, though; a prince holding hands so casually with a knight would undoubtedly bring about dubious conversations as well.

Palette crossed his arms with a sigh, "Yeah, coming out covered in dirt and grass stains would definitely draw attention... and I didn't see any benches or chairs on the way here either..." The skeleton stared down at their tabard for a second before mumbling to himself, then grabbed Goth's hand once more and led him back the way they came.

He kept silent until Palette led him back to the statue and began removing their tabard, "Palette, whatever are you doing?"

The knight didn't look up while turning the clothing inside out and began folding it in on itself, "Since you can't go back to the party like this, I'm making a spot for you to sit and relax until you're feeling better." Setting the folded cloth on the ground, he assessed his work, "Not the best, but the spot's shady enough; go ahead and have a seat."

"Your tabard will get dirty," Goth protested without moving.

Palette only grinned, "That's why I turned it inside out, silly; even if it gets some dirt on it, it'll be on the inside where no one can see it."

"I see...," Goth murmured, finding no other reason to refuse, "then I'll take you up on your kind offer."

Easing himself down onto the folded cloth and resting his back against the cool stone pedestal, he watched as Palette plopped down next to his feet. Leaning back into the bushes, his friend raised their arms for a stretch, "Go ahead and relax; I'll keep a lookout and let you know if I hear anyone coming."

Trusting in Palette's ability, he closed his sockets and sighed, "Thank you." 

The sounds of Palette settling into the foliage were shortly followed by a question, "Hey, you're still wearing a scarf; wouldn't you cool down faster if you took it off?"

Opening his sockets again, Goth looked down at the garment in question. "Ah, this...," he ran his fingers gently over the folds of the cloth draped around his neck, "I would prefer not to as it's a memento from my late mother."

Palette perked up a bit, "You mean King Geno?"

"Yes...," Goth's fingers dug into the fabric, doing little to ward off the sadness creeping in, "he died when I was young, so I have few memories of him... however, I can vividly remember him giving me this scarf..." He smiled as the memory played out in his mind, "He told me that as long as I kept it with me, he would be there as well... since then, I've rarely taken it off outside of washing and maintenance."

"Wow, it sounds really special," Palette murmured.

"It is," Goth confirmed, "It's my most precious possession...," Against his better judgment, he admitted, "It may sound silly... but sometimes, when I'm feeling lonely, I close my sockets and pretend this scarf is him hugging me."

"Aww, I don't think it's silly; I think it's really sweet," the knight wore a cheerful expression that made Goth's soul skip a beat; this conversation was doing the exact opposite of cooling him down!

Clearing his throat, he decided a subject change was in order, "Enough of me; I would like to hear of how your time in the guard has been. It's rare we have the opportunity to leisurely converse."

"Yeah, things do get pretty busy during the day. Let's see...," Palette lolled his skull in thought for a moment before it popped back up, "Oooh, I got a fun one! I only heard about it after it happened, but Terry and Atticus," the monster paused, "oh, they're a couple of guys in the same training group as me, in case you didn't know. Anyways-"

Over the course of an hour or two, Goth's posture grew more relaxed, tucking his legs into his chest and resting his chin on his arms as he listened to Palette regale him in their many daily adventures; some were funny while others were a little more harrowing, but the knight recalled each tale with excitement that naturally drew him in.

It was only when they heard someone coming that they were forced to cut the conversation short and make their way back to the party separately per Goth's request; it would look suspicious if they left the maze together, after all. He was a bit saddened that they couldn't spend more time together, but such was the nature of their stations; it wasn't something either of them could challenge without consequences.

When Elise caught up with him and asked where he had been, he merely stated he had been enjoying some peace and quiet in the hedge maze while conveniently leaving out the fact that he had been in good company; that little tidbit of information would remain Palette's and his little secret.

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Word Count: 1,416