Chapter IV: The Paladin
461 Words
The citadel's labyrinthine passageways mocked their progress. Alice's porcelain heels clicked against flagstones in ever-tightening circles, her royal frustration mounting with each dead end. Moonlight streaming through arrow slits painted ghostly sigils across Vianlis's marionette form - until celestial radiance triggered metamorphosis.
Porcelain joints melted into alabaster flesh beneath Selene's gaze. Raven tresses cascaded over newly-formed curves, the makeshift tablecloth tunic slipping to reveal pearlescent skin. Alice's sapphire eyes widened to comical proportions. "You're... flesh?"
Vianlis cradled the sputtering monarch against her naked breast. "Shall we resume our quest?"
Their ill-advised march through garrison halls ended at a crossguard's edge. The templar's zweihander sang through stale air, its edge halting a hair's breadth from Vianlis's throat. Moonlight glinted off his argent plate as he loomed - not a man, but vengeance incarnate in sacred steel.
"Intruder." The accusation vibrated through his closed visor.
Vianlis's breath hitched. Not from fear, but revelation - this warrior's aura mirrored the star's constellar thrum. Her fingers brushed his gauntlet. "You're hurting me."
The blade trembled.
Chaos erupted. Alice launched herself at the visor slit like enraged hummingbird. Vianlis stumbled backward, crimson tablecloth pooling around ankles. The templar's counterstroke sent both crashing against stone, his armored grip closing around fragile human ribs.
"Heretic." Condemnation and confusion warred in his modulated tones.
The star's warning came too late. Vianlis's transformation reversed mid-struggle - flesh reverting to polished rosewood beneath the templar's gauntlets. Alice's enraged shrieks echoed through the vaulted chamber as both dolls were secured in a reliquary cage.
Dawn found the templar kneeling before their prison, his greatsword lying crosswise in penance. Through barred moonlight, Vianlis watched his armored fingers trace scripture on steel. When Luminara's Grace spilled from his palm to mend her cracked elbow joint, the star hissed: "Sacrilege."
"Silence, apostate!" Alice rattled their cage. "Your false piety insults the crown!"
The templar's helm tilted. "Sentient constructs require annihil—"
"Monarch!" Alice corrected, miniature scepter poking through bars. "Address your betters properly!"
Vianlis pressed lacquered cheeks against iron lattice. "Will you show us the stars?" Her hinged jaw clacked with childlike curiosity. "They sing differently here."
The templar froze. Somewhere beneath layers of blessed steel, a mortal heart skipped its regimented rhythm. His gauntlet hovered over the cage lock, sacramental oils dripping onto sanctified stone.
Alice's whisper carried crystalline malice: "Now, while the zealot's distracted!"
Their escape coincided with celestial phenomena - a blood moon's ascent painting the citadel in slaughterhouse hues. As the templar's shouted orders faded, Vianlis realized three truths: her wooden palms bore fresh carvings in celestial script; Alice's crown now held a templar's feather plume; and far below, Asmodeus's shadow stretched across the courtyard like damnation's sundial.
The star's laughter echoed through hollow chambers. "The game changes, little catalyst."
- Writer
