Media: Assassin's Creed 2- Ezio's Family

This isn't something I've done before.

Dedicated to the lovely Beebs, aka labeebakay, the maknae of the squad

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The most respected and revered in the land of Glamaia are the knights.

Every Glamian child goes to bed only after listening in wonder to tale after tale of the epic journey of a knight, squealing in delight when the knight successfully lodges their sword between the scales of a dragon, effortlessly killing them, when they singlehandedly fight a war and come out unscathed, when they fall on top of a blade before it can slit their lovely princess's throat. All of these stories, few in a land of many, sang praises to the protectors of the land.

Little boys and girls grew up with aspirations to become the heroes all knights are, learning the art of swordplay, archery, glaveplay, and more. Others who strive to be the damsels in distress pine over their embroidery, casting coquettish smiles at the most famous and high ranking of knights, regardless of their martial status. It was no secret that knights were celebrated in Glamaia, and for good reasons so.

Ever need someone to kill the ghoul terrorising a village? Get a knight.

A fire spirit is burning down your home? Don't worry, our regal knights will save your house from ashes.

Ball caught in the enchanted fence of a witches home? Never fear, Glamaian knights are here!

There are holidays such Hundreds Day. A day celebrating the victory of Sir Drunmel Hargrove, in the eighteenth year of the reign of the fourth king Vladimir Ulych de Gervais, during the first War of Klyn.

Yet another day for knights is Cleavers Day, commemorating how the royal butcher in the fourtieth year of the reign of the nineteenth king had saved the crown Prince from an assassination attempt by a group of rebels, with his cleaver.

And there are so many more days. And so many stories boasting of the bravery and intelligence, willingness and determination, handsome features and charisma, being said every time of the day.

But wait-- can I make one amendment to all that?

Knights may be respected, strong, and loved.....but terribly stupid.

They are arrogant men, occassionally women, raised at a pedestal merely from the conduct of their predecessors. Some of them may have been trained to be the best in every field of weaponry and tactics, but they've never put them to practice. With their helmets with the black and gold colours of the Glamaian Military and their bronze casted armour not a speck of dust from the dangers of war ever graced their figures and hopefully wouldn't for a very long time.

No one likes war anyway.

If word got out that the fourth princess of Glamaia thought that the nation's finest were the idiotic lot she has had the knowledge of knowing, I am completely positive that there would be a national outrage.

But, my words aren't without evidence.

Because the dumbest of the knights in my own personal squadron did something that, and had I been a lesser woman, I'd have hollered it out to the gossip hungry masses in glee.

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My name is Demetria Mila de Gervais, the fourth princess of Glamaia.

In my incredibly short life of sixteen years, living in a home with mischievous younger siblings, an unsurprisingly sadistic older sister and her twin, the perfect lady in the making, and lethargic brothers, it is safe to say that not much surprises me anymore.

Explosion by my eighteen year old sister Freya was a frequent occurrence, since she had developed an interest in alchemy, which she later used to make some of the more...chemical explosions for the army. She had a calm demeanour, but was wild with her experiments. The Northern wall has been replaced so many times, and while father did get angry a few times, knowing she was doing it for a "good cause" was why he waved it off. I don't think I'd bat an eye if she did burn the don't palace down.

Then there my dear brother Eliot, who's a year younger than me, and has a problem keeping his mouth shut. There has been ambassadors who have left Glamaia extremely offended because of the teen's cruel words. Once, the duke of Curren, a province in the country westward to Glamaia, Turmand, actually tried punched Eliot in the face. Thankfully father was there, and said something that caused the arrogant noble back to his nation without fault. Eliot wasn't spared from his wrath but he didn't care as usual.

But the youngest members of the family didn't cause much civil unrest. See, there were worse cases.

For example, my eldest brother, one year junior to the eldest daughter of the family, is a known rake amongst the nobility. Many a time has a noble come forth claiming to bear a heir to the throne-- dear brother Gavin isn't the heir, contrary to popular belief though-- but as usual, our brilliant Dark Lady Harmonia, the resident witch, is able to refute their desperate attempts to snag a crown.

Knowing my flirtatious brother, if he got some poor girl pregnant, it wouldn't be an outrage in our family as it would have been to the rest of the nation.

While there were things I was desensitized from, there things I didn't quite like. And as I had said, the knights, no matter how brave and charming, were some of the people I didn't like.

On this particular day, I was sitting on a red armchair, my fingers curled around a warm cup of hot chocolate, I looked up at one of the said knights through my lashes.

When we come of age, which is sixteen in this country, the royal members of the nation chose up to five knights that vow to serve and protect them. The bond between the royal and her knights are fashioned through magic, extremely strong and impossible to break. Glamaian knights, whose loyalty to the country stem from the magic binding all citizens together, are stronger than most knights from other countries for these reasons.

My sixteenth birthday was six months ago. With full trust in father, I let him chose my knights for me. He was the king, and never let me down before, right?

Right.... I suppose.

Sir Hamilton van Eyke, a distant member of the dukedom of Xenith, the eastern province of Glamaia, shuffled restlessly under my gaze. He stood with his back straight, arms firmly by his side resting beside the black metallic scabbarb holding his blade. Although he was at least a foot and a half taller than me, this eighteen year old handsome man was nervous to see the response his younger, much shorter lady would provide with the news she was just given.

I stifled a smile, until his words hit me.

"What?"

Hamilton cleared his throat. I was trying to figure out why he was chosen as my bodyguard knight, but when I asked, father had waved his hand saying I'll figure it out later. I still haven't figured it out.

"Milady, um, uh..." he bit his lips, hazel eyes darting everywhere but at me. "It... Shouldn't be an issue?"

"Please be straight. In fact, why not repeat what you said a moment earlier?" I frowned.

"Uh, how it shouldn't be an issue?"

"Before that."

"Good morning, milady?"

"Dude, that was hours ago."

Hamilton didn't want to repeat the words, words that disgraced him even though he wasn't the one doing it. It wasn't something you told your mistress, especially the youngest princess. It defaced the name of Glamaia and was a violation of the Knight's Code.

I wasn't surprised usually, but there are exceptions. Not that this wasn't a delightful surprise.

"C'mon, Ham, its not anything wrong on your part. Just say it again. What's there to lose?" I stared at his face blankly. "Other than the honour. I'm kidding! No one's gonna get shunned. Besides, hopefully no one else other than the two of us kn--"

"Lady Demi!" ame a shout from the doorway. A tanned dark haired man ran into the room, slamming the door behind him but not before screaming, "Sir Jacob has been enticed, ravaged, and taken by a siren!"

Oh no. I looked back at Hamilton who seemed to be boring a crater into his lip. Seems like we weren't the only ones who were aware of the situation.

Welcome to "The Stupid Knight"! A tale of quests, love, and stupidity. Let's see how far I can get with this.