A Knight in Rusty Armor (and in love)

[8] Base Camp

I'm left slack-jawed by what I see when we reach the camp.

Our group, somehow, is the second to make it, and the first one, waiting for us, is the last one I had expected.

"Nice of you to join us," Arthur calls out smugly. Matthias lets out a hoot and waves a mug at me. I think he's already drinking?

"Excellent work, gentlemen!" Elias greets loudly. I'm still stuck in disbelief and can't offer them any words of praise.

"Forget that— how the hell did you beat us here?!" Bartholomew protests. Arthur snickers.

"Guess you were just too slow!"

"Shortcut."

There's a silence as we try to figure out who had spoken, and then all eyes are on the hulking giant of a boy sitting on the grass. Arthur, who'd wanted to pretend to be really skilled, glares at him.

"What was that, Wilhelm of Vrahn?" Elias asks. The giant, whose face I can't seem to see through his horned helmet, nods his head.

"We find shortcut. Get here fast."

Wilhelm. He's the giant. His family traveled here from really far away, from another proper kingdom like this one, and I guess that explains his broken English. I'd already heard that much about the Vrahn family.

"You just couldn't let me have the pride, could you?!" Arthur shouts at him. Wilhelm looks down, and he seems kind of sad.

"...Lies not good."

"I agree!" Elias declares through a laugh as he dismounts his horse. "Honesty is always the best policy, and unwarranted smugness is not befitting of a Knight!"

"Whatever. You're all taking this way too seriously," Arthur grumbles under his breath as he trudges back to Matthias' side. And while I'm not necessarily even in this to win it, I can't help but feel like he isn't taking it seriously enough. People have died for these tournaments. People still die for these tournaments.

I take a moment to survey the camp. To my pleasant surprise, there's a fenced-in pasture here for the horses. Arthur and the rest of his group have already released theirs, and they're happily frolicking around or munching on grass. The rest of the area has a couple of bathroom stalls (modern plumbing! Thank god!) and a little wooden building that, I assume, has some food, or maybe a kitchen. There's a note posted on the front of its door that reads "for this year's tournament Knights".

There's a large flat area for the tents with a fire pit in the middle that's surrounded by a few log benches. That's where the winning team is sitting. Except for Wilhelm, that is— he's sitting on the grass a ways away from the others and fiddling with something I can't quite see.

I sigh. We tried our best, but somehow, the group full of lazy people managed to beat us. ...Well, Arthur and Matthias are lazy. I have yet to properly meet the other three guys.

Wilhelm seems nice enough. His size is deceptive. I release Buttercup into the pasture, and then I walk over to one of the log benches, where a tall and kind of slender pretty boy sits. I take a seat next to him as my team members take care of their own horses.

"S-So we haven't met yet... Tidus Crestfall. And you are?"

I'm expecting for the handshake that I offer to be returned, but instead, the guy sort of sneers at my hand. Like I'm carrying the plague or something, or like I offered him a dead rat. I quickly withdraw it. I'm already not very fond of this one. That might be a new record.

"You don't even recognize me? You must have been living under some sort of rock. ...But, well, you are impoverished. So I suppose it can't be helped."