Knight of Lions | The Assemblage of the Stars - Book 4.5

CHAPTER 1

Regulus blinked open his eyes. The sun shone right into his eyes, and he scowled, sitting up. At once, he stared at his hands, flexing his fingers back to get a look at his body.

Remembering his conversation with Mirfak, he suddenly stared back up at the sky, recoiling ad he could not see the stars and instead the blinding sun again.

He stood up. Around him, smoke barely arose from a crater in the ground.

I assume I caused that... He thought.

As he gazed around, he looked down at himself to get a better appearance. A bright light shone from a necklace that swung from his neck, and neat yet scrappy clothes covered his body.

He took a step forward, getting used to walking, beginning to get a hang of it.

Where will I be able to find Mirfak? He questioned to himself.

As he pondered these thoughts, something wizzed past his head, and he grabbed his necklace and turned defensively, knowing it was the only remains of his star.

"Who goes there?" He shouted, startled at his deep voice.

A small figure suddenly peeped around the tree, and Regulus glared. It appeared to be human.

The human, much smaller than Regulus' tall stature suddenly ran out from behind the trees and fell to his knees.

"Please forgive me!" The human cried. "I was unsure if you were a spy or not, so I took my chances and-"

"Who are you?" Regulus asked. He took a good look at his clothes - the human wore striped, tight and baggy clothes with a theme of blue, a hat with a feather on it, and a bag with various scrolls and arrows in it on his bag, along with something longer sticking out of it.

The human responded quickly, "I am Pip, messanger of King Henry, and I was sent out to check the smoke arising from the forest! I beg you for mercy! I was only following my instincts when I saw you!"

Regulus stared at Pip. This boy was odd, being a practical whining joke on scrawny legs.

"Can that thing kill?" Regulus asked, looking at the device from which he shot the arrow.

"I-I mean, if you hit the target right - not that you were the target!" Pip explained in a shaky voice, still on his knees.

Regulus sighed. "Stand up and tell me where I am."

Pip looked up at him and stood up cautiously. "Y-you're not going to kill me...?"

"Of course not. There's no reason to," Regulus replied, confused. "Now tell me where I am."

"You're in the Kingdom of King Henry," Pip responded in a relieved and cheerful voice. "I am his personal messenger. May I ask what kingdom you are from, Knight?"

"Knight...?" Regulus questioned him.

"Are you... Not a knight?" Pip asked. "Knights usually arrive at scenes like this first. Surely you didn't cause this?"

Regulus looked down at the crater and smoke that he had caused. "No, it wasn't me," he lied, seeing where this was going.

"Then you must be a knight!" Pip replied. "No one else would be brave enough to arrive here. So which kingdom do you arrive from?"

"I am not from a kingdom," Regulus replied.

"But every knight is entitled to a kingdom!" Pip responded. "Knights protect things, therefore protect their kingdom."

Regulus sighed. This boy really wants an answer.

"Fine then," Regulus sighed. "I am Regulus, Knight of Leo."