Soldiers were running at each other down below, tearing each other apart. That did not concern what was happening in the palace as inside the palace, another fight was going on. Soldiers, captains, and even some generals laid dead. Inside was a couple of battered warriors. One of them wielded a giant cutlass in his hand. He was fully covered in full silver-colored armor, a standard knight's helmet on his head. He was the captain responsible for holding the palace. Their forces were cut into two with the main one focusing on the enemies in the city and the smaller army focusing on protecting the palace. Unfortunately, they were outnumbered. Now the smaller force was dealing with around ten thousand soldiers marching in while they only had four thousand. The captain, named Grillant, was a major part of why the defenders were still alive and holding, but it seems their luck has finally run out. They were down to only twenty-four soldiers, and five of them were too injured to go on. 

They managed to hold off this wave by the skin of their teeth. But they knew they didn't get the worse of it. After all, a commander named Sharia was in here, helping defend the palace. She wasn't assigned to defend the palace and weren't the soldiers' commander, but they were grateful and listened to them anyway. They were the reason they were alive after all, and she was the biggest reason why they were holding. She cleared her enemies and left her legion to defend while she went to the palace, realizing that the enemy found a way around the defenders. 

"Tend to the wounded and sound the horn when you spot another wave incoming!" Grillant yelled at his soldiers. They nodded and some went to tend to the wounded while others got ready to defend. Captain Grillant spun around and ran deeper into the palace, climbing higher and higher. He heard the sound of his targets before he saw them. He could hear the clashing of blades and grunts of dying men.

Captain Grillant climbed up the stairs and went through the open throne room door. The King was currently fighting elsewhere and the royal guards were all but killed in the first couple of waves. The other captains working with him were cowards and let the royal guards fight on the front line instead of supporting them. Their commander was also a coward, running away when things got bad. He hasn't seen him in a while so he assumed he got killed. 

Inside the throne room, Grillant saw a massacre. Commanders lay dead and the bodies of soldiers were everywhere. In the center of this mess was the commander, not the one who ran away but the one who came to help. She stabbed a captain with her sword and lifted them up into the air while dodging to her right. She wasn't fast enough and an enemy commander slashed her left hip. She let out a grunt but didn't flinch. She turned around and, with the body still on her sword, tried stabbing the commander. The commander jumped back but was still slashed on her face. Before the commander could do anything, Sharia put her foot on the dead captain's body and pulled her sword out. In a quick move, she parried the enemy's commander attack and hit her on the head with her hilt, which did a lot more damage than it should have. 

Before the enemy commander could recover, Sharia did a fast side sweep with her sword. The commander tried to block it but was sent of her feet by the blow. Sharia wasted no time and stepped harshly on her back before quickly stabbing the enemy commander in the back of their head in one smooth clean thrust. There were only three soldiers left. Sharia turned around, her sword now resting on her shoulder blades, and started leisurely strolling towards them. The soldiers started trembling but before they could think of either attacking or moving, Sharia swung her weapon by the blade. The hilt opened up and out came a black halbert and scythe. The weapon cleaved one soldier in half. Sharia then spun around and sliced right through a soldier's head with her sword. The last soldier started to tremble uncontrollably before freezing. She took a deep breath, then tossed her shield at Sharia. Sharia blocked it with the staff of her extended blade. The lone soldier lunged forward. Captain Grillant praised the soldier for having guts. Sharia waited and instead of killing the soldier outright, she simply dodged all her strikes. When the soldier lunged forward again, Sharia sidestepped her which caused the soldier to stumble. Sharia ended it quickly by grabbing the soldier and punched her in the gut, hard. The soldier fell down, still conscious but in no condition to fight.

Sharia's sword went back to normal with a clicking sound and she pointed her sword at the soldier. After a bit, Sharia let out a sigh and helped the soldier up. The soldier was clearly confused but still wary.

"I must say, unlike the other soldiers, you actually put up a good fight."

Sharia walked around the soldier, studying her.

"This battle, either we win or lose, will be a bloodbath. Join me, and I'll show you a way to increase your odds of survival, to become a true warrior."

Captain Grillant and the soldier were stunned by Sharia's offer. While what she is doing isn't treason, it seems unreasonable during a time like this. Sharia walked over to the soldier's shield and picked it up and, using the claws her armor has, scratched a symbol on the shield. She tossed the shield back at the soldier and kicked over her sword as well. 

"If you decide to follow through, take the path under the bridge to the right of the palace. The path should be clear but if not, fight your way through. If you see soldiers with this symbol, those are mine. Show them your shield and they'll accept you. If you want to continue fighting then go and die on the battlefield. As of right now though, you are no longer my concern."

With those words, Sharia turned around to face Grillant, paying the soldier no mind. The soldier looked down at her shield for a bit before running through another door. Grillant took a few angry steps forward.

"What was that for!" Grillant asked. Sharia cocked her head, amused.

"That was a simple mercy for a warrior," Sharia replied. She was smaller than Grillant and he could tell she was young, but he still knew she could kill him in an instant. So, Grillant let out a sigh and tried his best to calm down.

"What if she goes and attacks our soldiers? What if she doesn't join you legion?"

"Then that is what she chooses," Sharia responded, studying her claws before walking over to a nearby pillar and sharpening her claws on it. "Besides, she won't be able to turn the tide of war. If she does, then bravo to her."

At that, Sharia started giggling like a little kid. Grillant really did start to wonder what age Sharia is. Her attitude and fighting style reminds him of some stories he heard about Warbringers, girls who wield giant weapons and fight just for the hell of it, giggling as they slaughtered. Looking at her more closely, while Sharia is definitely not wearing any shrine-like outfit, she may have been one. Then again, he never heard of a Warbringer going rouge. It goes against their entire belief.

"And if she does decide to join us, then we will have a powerful soldier who may very well grow up to be a commander one day. Besides, we need better commanders. I already took care of one of our own."

Grillant felt a cold shiver run through his back.

"What do you mean?" He asked, fearing the answer.

"If you are hinting that I committed treason, then I already have," Sharia responded, pointing her sword at a body in the farthest corner of the room. Grillant ran over and froze when he recognized the butchered corpse. It was his commander.

"A coward he was. He got what he deserved, don't you think?"

Grillant didn't know what to think about this. He knew Sharia saved him and the palace, at least for now, but she also committed treason and allowed an enemy soldier to escape. He got up and looked at her. She was looking outside the throne room's window, her sword on her shoulder. Captain Grillant walked up to her and saw the view she was seeing. From this angle, it looked like the city below the palace was untouched, with only a few fires here and there. 

"Besides, without good soldiers, we won't be able to have a view like this now would we?"

Grillant didn't answer her question. She was right, yet he couldn't help but think the way she was going about it was wrong. After that, the battle was won and Grillant was promoted to being a captain that served under Commander Sharia. The soldier did end up joining her legion as well and in no time she was a captain beside him. This marked the day where Captain Grillant would learn the ways of the battlefield. This is also where he also learned of Sharia's other name:

 

Sharia The Warmonger.

 

--------

 

Sharia got up out of her bed and got ready to fight in the arena before seeing a note nailed to the wall. She read it and cursed in her mind. She had forgotten that she was now Princess Isalene's personal guard. Still, she decided to get ready to fight regardless. It was a habit of hers and she sees no reason to break it now. With that in mind, after Sharia got ready, she grabbed her sword and put on her helmet. She then left the room. She did not know if she was going to be living in the palace as Princess Isalene's new personal guard so she didn't bring anything. She locked the door behind her and realized that she has no idea what to do. Should she go to the palace or should she wait? 

While Sharia was pondering what to do, Grillant and three royal guards walked into the hallway. The Warmonger turned to face them and Grillant waved at her.

"Lost, are you? Follow me," Grillant told Sharia, teasing her a little. He hadn't forgotten that Sharia can lack common sense at times and can easily be confused. 

Sharia didn't say anything and silently followed them. The walk to the palace was uneventful, with only a few looks their way, most of them on Grillant. That changed when they reached the palace. Now, most of the servants and guards stationed there were looking at her. Whether they heard the news about Sharia being Princess Isalene's personal guard or not didn't matter. It might also be due to the reputation Sharia has in the arena when she was known both as Warmonger and Cruel Knight. Sharia kept on following Grillant until he stopped in front of the armory. Sharia gave him a confused glance. She already has her weapons with her and her armor was tougher than a normal knight's. Besides, she loved her armor's color scheme. If she was going to be told to change, she would flat out refuse. That is where the Warmonger drew the line.

Grillant knocked on the door and an officer opened it. He was in charge of managing the armory. He looked at Grillant and the royal soldiers before his eyes settled on Sharia in the back. The officer quickly opened the door all the way and took a set of keys that were hanging from the wall and ran deeper inside the armory, going out of sight. Grillant and the soldiers walked in while Sharia hung back for a bit. When it was clear that Grillant was going deeper inside, Sharia went into the armory after him.  

"So, you don't expect me to change my outfit, do you?" Sharia asked. Grillant didn't respond but continued to walk deeper. Sharia followed him with a sigh. They stopped when they saw the officer holding a glowing blue key in front of a locked door. Sharia has seen that door before but never knew it was magically locked. 

The door opened and the officer went inside. The inside of the room looked to be a place where mail and files were kept. Grillant and the soldiers waited outside instead of going in so Sharia waited with them. After a couple of minutes, the officer came back out with a package. He handed the package to Sharia who took it and opened it. Inside was another package wrapped in white cloth and a letter. Sharia opened the letter first.

 

"Thought you might need this. You never liked adding to your sword so it fits as part of your cape. Love ya, Ai."

 

Sharia read the letter over and over again before letting out a small chuckle. It's been years since she heard of Ai. She must be sixteen or seventeen, or close to it by now. It's been twelve years since she has last seen her since she's been locked up for that long. She was only with Ai for about two to maybe three years but she remembers them clearly. She put the letter in one of her small pockets around her waist and opened the smaller package. Inside were two red scarf-shaped capes. She knew what they represented.

"Do you have a changing room?" Sharia asked.

 

________

 

Princess Isalene realized that she never saw what Sharia looked like under her helmet. It was tradition for knights to remove their helmets during a ceremony and the princess getting a new personal guard did count as a ceremony. She asked her father why and he told him that Sharia is a special case and, as such, won't remove her helmet. He also told her that he has seen her without her helmet only once before. It seems like Isalene would have to wait a while until she saw the person under the helmet. 

That was yesterday. Isalene couldn't get much sleep because of her thoughts about Sharia. So when she did finally sleep, she realized she slept in late. Isalene groggily got out of her bed and walked over to her window, which viewed the courtyard. A few royal guards were patrolling but that was nothing unusual. Isalene walked over to her dress and got ready for the day. She has been getting ready by herself lately. She wanted to be more independent. Now it was also for a slightly different reason. She didn't want Sharia to see her as a princess who relied on others to get ready in the morning. 

Isalene jolted when she remembered that today is the day Sharia will start her work as her new personal guard. Isalene started to rush to get finished so she can see her. When she was done, she looked at herself in her mirror. Her pale light green eyes didn't match her dress, which was a sky blue color. She quickly changed into a green dress and went back to look at herself. 

'There we go. I'm a little bit rough here and there, but I think my hair is fine otherwise.'

Princess Isalene let out a happy little giggle before grabbing a small leather bag and fitted her hidden knife in a spot where she can easily use it. Once that was done, Isalene did a little twirl and made to leave her room. She opened outside and froze when she saw familiar black and gold colored armor to her left. She turned to look and saw Sharia was standing there, looking down at her. 

"H-hi!"

"...Hello, Princess."

"...."

"...."

"H-how long have you been waiting here?" Isalene asked, her eyes looking down at Sharia's feet.

"A bit longer than if not two hours," Sharia responded in a neutral tone. 

The two stood there for what felt like a long time until Sharia suddenly reached out. Isalene froze as Sharia fixed her hair and touched the bright sky blue ribbon in her hair. When she was done, Sharia patted Isalene on the head.

"There. All better," Sharia said with a smile. She turned and walked a couple of steps forward and Isalene noticed two separate skinner red capes over the normal one she wore. Sharia paused and turned around, offering Isalene her hand. Isalene took it with a small smile, composing herself.

"Shall we go, Princess?"

"Yes. Let's go."