Anything for a Kiss

Naly left her house early morning. She enjoyed watching the sunrise and being prepared for any mishap. As she used to, she watched the dawn shine with all its splendor before setting off in search of an adventure.

Since graduating from the knight academy, with a decoration that few could achieve, her life has revolved around heroism. Her basic needs were too simple for her—defending the innocent, on the other hand, was what Sir Naly came into the world to do.

Her silver armor had to be specially modified to fit her body type. Despite her prestige, it was difficult for Naly to be a woman in a world of men. The locksmith was opposed to making the modifications, but she always found a way to make things work her way.

Today was just another day. The meadows were empty and the people were safe in their homes. Naly rode her trusty steed into the rising sun. She cautiously patrolled the trails until she reached the darkness of the forest.

Multiple reports of bandits in the area caught her attention. All the townspeople spoke of them hiding in shadows of the forest. Naly decided to stay hidden in the woods until she found them.

A little before reaching the main road, she tied her horse under the shade of a tree. The white stallion wasted no time and began eating the wet grass. Naly decided to join him, taking out some dehydrated food from her bag.

Shortly after entering the forest, Naly heard voices in the distance. Wasting no time, she found a path that leads directly to it.

As soon as she arrived…

“Good morning,” Naly said after she was close enough to four men around a maiden. Another man was behind the carriage, facing an old man. “Nice morning, right?”

Trarko, one of the men surrounding the maiden, addressed Naly. “That’s up to you, beautiful!”

Naly felt offended by the remark. “I am one of the King’s knights,” she said.

“That armor says otherwise,” Trarko said, laughing.

The other men present also began to laugh. “Your curves are more pronounced than this maiden’s,” Pelhe said.

“I beg you,” Naly said, “don’t you dare insult a knight’s honor.”

“What are you going to do, beautiful?” Trarko asked, approaching Naly.

The movement was almost imperceptible. Naly drew her sword. When she stopped, she had her arm straight out in front of her.

They fell silent, waiting. Anxious to know what had happened, Trarko’s arm fell to the ground.

The riotous screams of the wounded man made Naly step back. She held her sword in an attack stance. “Anyone else has a smart remark about my honor,” she said, pushing Trarko away from her path with her foot.

“Are you mad!” Pelhe said and drew his sword. The rest of the men also prepared to fight. “You have no idea what we’re going to do with you.”

Naly couldn’t wait to start the battle so she ran towards them. While the armed men waited for her. She stopped and deflected one of their attacks with her sword, then stepped back to defend against another attacker.

“I see you are eager for some fun,” Pelhe said, surrounding her with his companions.

“You have one chance to give up,” Naly said, taking a step back to avoid being surrounded.

“Must you be kidding?” Adrame said with a smile. “You’ll feel better when we’re done with you.”

“You’ve been warned…” Naly said, before attacking.

Adrame fended off the first attack, then felt Naly’s shoulder slammed into his chest. Pelhe received an elbow to the head, followed by a slice of the cold metal of her sword on his torso.

Naly managed to deflect Milko’s attack with her sword. Pelhe sneaked a swing of his sword against Naly’s back armor, causing her to push Milko and impaled him with the sword.

Pelhe looked at Adrame standing next to him.

Naly pretended to attack again but backed off as the two men got closer to her. “Are you sure you want to continue this?” she asked

Adrame charged forward, raising his sword, letting the movement of his arm lead the motion. It was obvious to him that the armored woman would not be able to defend against two simultaneous attacks. Pelhe also attacked when he saw his partner.

Naly spun on her right foot to fend off Adrame’s attack and place him between her and Pelhe. She immediately used her sword again to cut the skin from Adrame’s back as Pelhe watched perplexed.

“You are the only one left, boy,” said Naly. “I will allow you to defend my honor.”

“I’m sorry, King’s knight,” Pelhe said, kneeling.

Naly accepted the show of respect. “Drop your sword and get up. You have a new chance to live, take it.”

Pelhe dropped his sword and ran, while Naly sheathed her own.

Naly approached the old man and the maiden, both of them looked surprised. “I’m sorry I had to behave in this manner with your friends,” she said, once she stopped near them.

“They were bandits,” said the maiden, Celestine. “You have saved us.”

Naly felt Celestine’s thin arms around her neck.

“I’m willing to do anything,” said Celestine, “but I demand that you be my escort.”

“I’m flattered,” Naly said, as Celestine continued to hang around her neck, “but my service is for the king.”

Celestine planted her toes on the ground and moved back to look at Naly’s blue eyes. She then kissed the knight’s lips.

Naly was surprised to feel the maiden’s lips against her own.

“I’ll do anything,” Celestine said, stepping back.