"Hey, Xavier! Glad you could make it!"

"Aha, thanks, I'm glad I was able to come," he - Xavier - replied. He shook the woman's hand, stepped into the neatly kept shop, and shrugged off his coat. He looked at a nearby mirror to fix his auburn hair. "I absolutely love this weather. It's gorgeous."

"It sure is!" the woman chuckled. "Anyways, Spira and I are so glad to have you!" she said and took Xavier's coat and placed it on a rack.

"Aw, thanks Crito," he repeated.

"It's not a problem!" with her shoulder-length hair hurrying to keep up, she turned around and skirted into the dining room. Xavier followed.

The table, lined with beige tablecloth, was adorned with sandwiches, fruits, and an assortment of crackers. It was a pleasant meal for a pleasant lunch, in Xavier's eyes.

"Hey Spira, how have you been with your new Historian job?" Xavier asked the woman, Spira, who already sat at the table.

"Oh, it's the busiest I've ever been, but it's worth it," she answered. She sighed and tucked away a strand of hair that strayed away from her typical bun. "How about you and your shop?"

Xavier shrugged. "Ah, slow as usual, but my daily customers help me make a living."

"I'd imagine," Crito said. "It seems difficult to keep a regular salary relying solely on mallet percussion instruments. Then again, Chilith is probably the best place to be for that. You can't go two blocks without finding households filled with musicians," Crito laughed as her brown eyes beamed.

"Yeah, I guess I'm lucky," Xavier said. He took a seat when he saw Crito take one herself.

Xavier tried to pay attention to the conversation around him as he started to munch on a sandwich. "So I've heard that the Perissian government had to surrender all the kingdoms they've captured," he said.

"Really?" Crito exclaimed. "That's quite a lot of territory to give up in one lost war. Didn't they take over eight kingdoms? That'd be nine including the peace treaty they've made with Chilith. How many years did it take them to get all of them?"

Spira looked up in thought. "I know they conquered their first foreign kingdom thirty-eight years ago, since I was only six years old at the time..." she thought out loud.

"Jeez, that's - like - longer than you've been alive!"

"Yeah, I know, it's crazy."

That struck Xavier. Six years old... That means I was only five... That was around the same time I met him, right?

He remembered that day like it was yesterday.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Dark clouds casted over the skies above. A faint rumbling bumbled somewhere away. Xavier's nose was stuffy, just like it always was whenever the springtime came. He never liked going outside during the spring, but he didn't have a choice; his older cousin was determined to teach him how to deal with people at the market.

Ew...

His older cousin was ten years older than him and tall (as he remembered it, that is). He was almost as tall as his father, who was a giant in Xavier's eyes. Xavier believed he was short, though his parents always told him he was average for his height. He didn't believe it. Everyone he met was taller than him. Except for babies, but he didn't grasp the concept that babies were also tiny humans. He'd always imagined them as their own species. They were small, plump, and couldn't walk anywhere on their own. They simply didn't look human to him.

"Topol, can you slow the f-word down?" Xavier asked.

"Woah, slow your roll, kiddo, no need to get nasty up in here," his cousin, Topol, answered. "If ya' want, I can carry you on my back."

"Ew, no. Gross."

"Oh, ow. Alright then."

They continued in silence. Xavier's stubby legs scuffed the gravel ground. He looked up at Topol. In a way, he somewhat reminded him of a baby. He was rather plump, didn't have much hair, and was always laughing at everything.

"Why are you like this?"

"Hmm?" Topol looked back at Xavier.

"Why are you the way you are?"

Topol furrowed his brows. "I don't really know what you mean, but I guess the reason of anything I am today is because of my experiences from when I was growing up," he said.

Xavier's eyes were back trailing on the ground. Topol gave him a confused look, tripped on a rock on the path, then resumed looking at where he was going.

In the distance, Xavier could make out the crowd of shoppers, going from stand to stand and sniffing fruits. Xavier always found it funny; they didn't simply look at the fruits, they just had to smell them.

Topol reached for his hand, but he slapped it away. "Oh, ow," He muttered. "Fine then. Don't blame me if you get lost."

"I won't get lost."

"Aha, alright." He wandered off towards this one fruit shop, and - to none of Xavier's surprise - started to sniff the fruits.

Xavier sighed. He knew exactly how this was going to go. Topol claims he's going to teach him how to shop; parents agree; he complains; parents tells him it's a good experience; they go out; Topol completely forgets about him. It's all the same.

It didn't make sense to him why he had to come along. He was always too short to see anything.

In the corner of his eye, he saw a small group of boys tussling around. From all that he had heard, in-town folks tended to be more aggressive than outer-town folks. Although they're the closest to the castle, marketplace, and successful shops, one needs to know what they're doing and how they're doing it. Xavier never thought he'd be able to do it; he's not too good at being in the know.

"Hey, squirt!"

S-word...

Xavier snapped back to reality.

"Ya' want anything?" asked the voice. One of the children caught him unintentionally staring. The kid couldn't be over eight years old.

Xavier looked around to find Topol. He was nowhere to be seen. He looked back at the kid. "No, thank you," he said.

The kid scoffed. "You're on the wrong turf, buddy," he glared, and a handful of his buddies snickered some not-so-clever children comments.

Xavier couldn't find his words. His legs seemed stuck to the ground.

"Come on, guys. He's obviously a country boy," complained a new voice.

The first kid looked over at him. "Oh come on, Gillert-"

"Shut up, Adrian. It's Gilbert, and this kid ain't worth your time."

The first kid - Adrian - stood up straight and stuck out his chest. "I'll have you know, I have a year's senior-ite over you!"

"Yeah, and guess what. My ancestors lived the life of war themselves. It's in my blood, so I'd watch out if I were you," Gilbert smirked.

Adrian groaned and rolled his eyes back. "If war is in your blood, then stop me!" he shouted.

He turned and ran towards the wide-eyed Xavier, who couldn't move. Adrian drew back his arms and pushed Xavier by his shoulders, sending him to the ground. His head bummed against the ground, granting him a pang of pain. Tears welled up in his eyes, but he tried to hold them back.

He looked back up where Adrian was, but he was no longer there. Xavier pushed himself up with his elbows against the gravel. There, he saw Gilbert swing his fist at Adrian's face. He fell back and ended up squatting on the ground. Xavier couldn't make out a lot of the details, but before long, the rest of the group skedaddled. Gilbert was the only one left.

Xavier held the back of his head with his hand. It didn't hurt any more than it did when he did so, but waves of pain still continued to spread throughout his head.

He saw a hand reached out before him. Gilbert was looking down at him with a genuine smile complimenting his sky blue eyes.

"The name's Gilbert, and from now on, I'm your knight in shining armor!"

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"...Xavier, buddy, you all right?"

Xavier looked up at Crito. The two women were eyeing him with concern. "Hmm?"

Crito sighed. "You seemed to be out of it for a while. We tried to bring you back by making fun of your apple juice replacement for alcohol, which usually works, so we were a bit worried," she said and got settled back into her chair.

"O-ah, yes, sorry guys, I got distracted..."

"Yeah, we noticed," Spira commented.

"Look," Crito leaned her arms against the table and locked eyes with Xavier. "I know it's well beyond our power to bring him back, let alone imitate what he brought you, but if you ever need anything, I'll be willing to help you out. I'm sure Spira would say the same," she looked at said woman, who nodded in agreement.

Xavier gave a faint smile. "Thanks, you two. I know you guys are here, I guess it just takes some time...you know?"

"Would you like to go home to think on it?" Spira asked.

"Wouldn't it be better to-"

"Yeah, I think I could use some time to myself right now," Xavier interrupted.

Crito eyed Xavier over once more, then sighed. "Well, I hope you have a good rest of your night, then," she forced a smile.

"And to you too," Xavier said, stood up from the table, then turned towards the door.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Xavier tried to think everything over that night, but only a handful of things lingered in his thoughts.

"Luck? Don't need it; I've already got pure skill, but thanks anyways!"

"Can I stay here for a while? I have nowhere else to go."

"I don't know where I'd be if it wasn't for you... Forget him."

"I'll miss you."

After everything, after all the breathtaking mornings, heartfelt days, long nights, and even the lonely months upon months, he couldn't let go of the very first thing he had said to him.

"The name's Gilbert, and from now on, I'm your knight in shining armor!"