Garden Of The Abyss

Beaming ever so brightly, the graceful yet headache inducing light of the morning sun woke the slumbering knight up. Awaiting him was the watchful, judging gaze of the beautiful Captain who was still dressed in full armor. As well as she was able to maintain herself, even Getrude couldn't escape the dark bags that filled under her eyes.

"Did you even sleep?"

Damien covered his mouth as a bellowing yawn escaped his mouth, earning a sigh from the maiden.

"Sleepless nights are common for knights of Mastorn, Sir Damien. Maybe the times of peace have softened you into nothing more than a glorified guard."

"Ah, how lucky I am. I know a few guys who would love to be berated like this by a beautiful woman like yourself."

Witty remarks like that were rewarded with a swift side-kick to the stomach. As painful as it was, Damien was always impressed at how flexible she was in that dense steel.

"Yeah, I earned that one."

Damien held his stomach as he slowly got out of bed.

"Time is scarce, get suited--we have an important friend to go meet."

"As you command, Captain."

He let out another yawn as he spoke, sliding himself into his decorated armor. Before he opened the door to welcome the beginning of this new day, Damien paused for a moment.

"What is it?"

Getrude asked from behind him, watching as the man contemplated something before turning to her.

"I mean this is the most non-offensive way possible, Captain, but you...leaving my house in the morning, after staying the night here, the implications…"

"Whoever believes my standards to be this low aren't worth considering."

She stepped past him, swinging the door open as if trying to rip it off its hinges. Damien watched her march into the densely populated streets of the morning for a moment before shutting the door behind him, shaking his head before catching up to her.

"She always knows how to crush a man's dreams…"

Damien chuckled to himself, sliding past a burly demi-human. Through the lively capital streets, the pair set their sights on Veindal Keeps, preparing for a fateful meeting with the mysterious Outlanders, that is--until a certain, unavoidable concept struck Getrude as they made their way through the city.

The lady knight's stomach let out a sharp growl as she quickly placed her hands over her stomach in a futile attempt to hide the embarrassing noise.

"Before business...how about some grub?"

Damien's offer was embarrassing in itself, but it wasn't him that she was afraid of hearing it--rather the thousands of people which travelled down the same streets as them. Although, the very density of the streets worked to her advantage, as nobody seemed to notice through the constant chattering that filled the air.

"--Sounds good."

"Great. I know a great place for breakfast just up ahead!"

Damien marched forward, whistling up to the clouds as he secured himself on what he considered to be a date.

"This is the place--"Meldon's Belly-filling Grub"? This...definitely sounds like somewhere you'd go."

Reading the wooden sign hanging above the open door to the restaurant, Getrude let out a quiet sigh to herself. At the very least, she appreciated the array of flowers that inhabited the front of the tan, brick-built business.

"Trust me, their breakfast menu is unmatched."

Damien assured her, gesturing for her to enter first as if displaying his gentlemanly manner as a knight for a rare occasion.

The moment upon entering the culinary establishment, the stomach-bewitching aroma of fresh out of the stone oven pastries, the overpowering yet welcome smell of various meats—Gertrude felt as if she had entered utopia.

Being seated by the waitress dressed in a uniform resembling a stereotypical maid outfit—it became clear to Gertrude on why Damien loved this place so much as a lecherous look in his eyes glistened as he smiled at the waitress.

"I'll just have some tea."

"Same here…"

Damien was planning on ordering a mug of translucent, crisp beer—but his Captain's choice quickly plucked that idea.

Looking at the menu, she found it to be completely new territory for her—used to the refined dishes befit for her noble status.

"Anything catch your eye? Or your stomach?"

Without checking his own menu, Damien asked as he cooled his searing tea down with a gentle blow of breath.

"—Sir Damien...these items. "Spicy Ground Dragon with pancakes and butter"...I fear my palette isn't prepared for this."

As she scanned the menu over, a visible drop of sweat draped over her forehead as she found the concept of these dishes to be unorthodox—the waitress had returned.

"Are you both ready to order?"

"I-"

"Yes, we are."

With a playful smirk, Damien assured the worker before Gertrude could respond.

The gaze from the hazel-eyes "maid-tress" awaiting the male knight's order brought his response, "I'll have the gambon legs with honey syrup!"

Nodding her head, she then turned to Getrude, who was clearly flustered as she chose her order on the fly.

"I-I'll have the...spicy ground dragon with pancakes and butter."

"Alright! Coming right up!"

The waitress disappeared into the kitchen as Getrude let out a relieved breath.

As unbecoming as the meal sounded, she couldn't lie to herself—it did sound intriguing.

"I can see it on your face, Cap. You aren't scared of hot food, now are you?"

"—Of course not! I can handle food of any degree of temperature, Sir Damien—"

Responding in order to maintain her integrity, she was interrupted by the sensation of mana that had entered the establishment—as if her ears picked up a new noise.

"Ah, as refreshing as ever is it to be in this fine place."

The two knights turned to check who the new customer was—a man with a bob cut and almost overtly large, circular rimmed glasses, holding an unmistakable smile.

"Sir Rouge—?"

Getrude said as she saw the man standing at the entrance of the business.

Recognizing the mention of his own name, the brown-haired man turned towards Getrude with a surprised smile.

"I thought I recognized that voice, but I chose not to believe it! Lady Getrude—in this humble establishment? What a fine day this truly is."

Rouge walked over to the table, wearing a laced, vanilla long-sleeved shirt, with silver breeches. While not outwardly extravagant, it was attire that spoke of wealth.

"—May I?"

The man asked, gesturing his hand towards the open seat at the two knight's table. Getrude and Damien exchanged glances before the maiden hesitantly gave him the go-ahead, "—I see no reason why not…"

"What brings two knights of your caliber doing in a place like this? No offense, but I thought greasy, commoner food like this was unbefitting of a knight's gourmet taste."

Rouge asked, his well-kempt hair bouncing slightly as he took his seat between the two knights.

The waitress approached the table once again, holding the empty, wooden tray she held close to her chest. Before she could ask what the man would like for a drink, he gave the woman his order, "I'll have some red wine, please. Ah and for my meal...hmm. Pancakes with extra strawberries sound delicious to me, so I'll have that."

Watching the nervous, blushing waitress nod her head and leave, Getrude finally responded to the Argonaut's question.

"--I could ask the same of you, Sir Rouge. A man possessing your wealth surely has better options. We were just in a bit of a hurry this morning--so we just happened to be in the area."

"Ah, well, I was not born into wealth or any status for that matter. I've been coming here since the day I started my training in this wonderful city. Actually...if I'm being honest here, I used to clean dishes for this restaurant when I was in training."

"Really? You?"

Damien asked with a smile, sipping from his porcelain cup of tea. The Argonaut nodded his head in response as the waitress for their table returned with the man's glass of wine.

"It's true. Not only did they make us pay a cold, hard fee to enter Argonaut training, they never gave us an allowance of sorts--even for those who passed the entrance exams. The meals they gave us were devoid of flavor, dry and tasteless...so, I found this place upon visiting with my closest friend at the time."

"Was he in training as well? Your friend, I mean."

After realizing the Argonaut well-known for his eccentricity and brutality on the battlefield wasn't as much of an oddity as she thought, Getrude decided to indulge him, if only to get on his good side.

--If Sir Rouge became suspicious of me, nothing would stop him from hindering our plans. He is already a living legend in Mastorn--tales speak of his natural intuition that rivals clairvoyance.

"Ah...yes, Liam was an extraordinary young man and companion to me. When I first came to the Capital, I was alone and frankly, afraid. As a simple boy that was raised on a farm, seeing so many people, hearing so many voices...you could imagine, I was a ball of anxiety."

A small chuckle left the Argonaut's lips before he raised his glass of wine to his lips, letting it travel down his tongue and into his throat before letting out a satisfied sight.

"Is he an Argonaut as well now? "Liam", it doesn't really ring any bells…"

As the question left the aloof Damien's mouth, a sharp kick to his shin from under the table struck him, followed by a swift glare from his Captain.

"--I'm afraid not. Liam was a talented young man, but his heart wasn't in the place it should be for such a profession."

"Do you mind if I ask what happened, Sir Rouge?"

"I--"

Before Rouge could answer Getrude, the waitress made herself present once more, carrying a set of trays harboring fresh breakfast, with an aroma easily capturing the stomachs of the waiting guests.

"One order of pancakes with extra strawberries!"

The bubbly waitress set down the plate of fluffy, triple-stacked pancakes covered in heaps of bulbous scarlet fruit down in front of Rouge.

"Spicy ground dragon with pancakes and butter!"

The plate holding freshly grilled dragon meat accompanied by the complete opposite dish of sweet pancakes, lathered in butter was placed in front of Getrude, who had to hold her stomach back from letting out a celebratory growl.

"And gambon legs with honey syrup!"

Damien rubbed his hands together, licking his lips as his meal was placed in front of him.

It was obvious now that the freckled waitress was doing her best to impress the casual Argonaut, who gave her a smile before setting his scarlet gaze on the likewise pancakes covered in scarlet.

While Getrude picked at her food, eating it in small bites as the fiery spices coating the meat attacked her tongue, Damien displayed no hesitance in tearing apart his meal as if he hadn't eaten in a week.

"Sir Damien…"

A piece of food from the ravenous knight's plate flew onto the lady's breastplate.

"Ah, Lady Getrude, that is the way of establishments such as this! It is an honor for the chefs to see their food scoured down. I'm sure as a knight, Sir Damien can use a moment of absence from the manners forced upon his position."

"--Mm. He's right, Captain. It's tradition to eat like this in Meldon's."

Smacking his steel breastplate to help the whole leg he swallowed to travel down his system, Damien washed down the meal with a gulp of tea that encompassed the entire cup.

--Watching him eat is making me lose my appetite…

Even the refined Rouge wasn't immune from Damien's apparently contagious way of consuming food, as a spot of strawberry juice was apparently on the side of the Argonaut's cheek.

"--Sir Rouge…"

Pointing at her own cheek to point the man towards the obvious mess on his face, he responded with a "Thank you" and a quick chuckle before wiping his cheek with a napkin.

After a few minutes devoid of chatter, filled only with the grating sound of meal consumption, Rouge stood up from his seat after finishing his meal.

"—This was a most unexpected but welcome meeting on this fine day. A morning like this is telling of a great day to come."

"Leaving already?"

It was hard to imagine how Damien maintained his physique holding nearly no fat with the diet he held. The green-haired knight leaned back, placing his gauntlet against his full stomach.

"Ah, I wish nothing more to be in the presence of such acclaimed knights! Alas, I also wish not to intrude on the two of yours plans for this day. So with that said, a good day to you both—we should have drinks sometime."

Rouge waved them off as he left through the front door of the restaurant.

A moment of silence followed before the waitress showed back up at the sight of empty plates, placing the tab on the wooden table.

"—Ah."

"Sir Damien?"

"He didn't leave his pay."

"—"