She hated him. He hated her. It was a mutual feeling based off the same sensation every time they saw each other. She really felt it this morning. Her beloved brother, Gulcasa, the Emperor of Carnage, as some have rudely dubbed him, had called them all to the throne room that morning. She had remembered being very excited; wondering what was going to happen with a ferocious appetite that better suited Leon.

They had just started the war against Fantasinia a while ago, and Gulcasa wanted to make a closer-knit team, so he was going to award titles. Emilia was never going to be close to that blood-thirsty monster masquerading as a knight (most people called him "Leon"), but she'd try her best to be happy.

First up, per her brother's orders, was Baldus. He walked up, a little nervous, and kneeled before Gulcasa. Gulcasa smiled and put his hand on his shoulder.

"Baldus… You shall be The Shield of Bronquia. Please keep protecting our nation as you always had."

"I'm honored, my Emperor. I won't disappoint you." He stood up, considerably taller than Gulcasa, and saluted, then walked back to the others, glowing.

Emilia was even more excited now. Titles! She hoped she got a cool title, too. She looked around, seeing who else was here. She saw Baldus, now the Shield of Bronquia, standing with pride, to his right, Leon, then her, and some man with purple hair she didn't quite recognize.

She had heard of him and knew he was Fantasinian, but didn't quite know the circumstances he joined under. His eyes were red—a little scary, she'd admit—but they looked drowned in fear and uncertainty. He looked more on the quiet side and gentle to everyone… So, like anti-Leon.

Leon liked to call people like him "pansies".

A man like him, one who was sweet, gentle, a little shy, and loving, was guaranteed to be taken. He was such a tasty catch that some woman was bound to have already claimed this handsome young man as her husband.

She couldn't quite remember his name, though.

Gulcasa looked at him next, "Russell."

Oh, yeah… Russell. What a cute name! It sounded so… Protectable. But if he was here, he was far from weak.

Russell swallowed nervously. He walked up, a little stiff, avoiding eye contact with the young emperor.

Leon leaned over to Baldus, "God, he's terrified. You'd think that red-head's gonna eat him."

"Red-head"… Even now that's he's emperor, Leon still uses that. It doesn't annoy Gulcasa any less, either, but "Emperor" would just be strange. He'd adopted that name from the former Emperor of Bronquia, as a little remembrance to the old days when they fought to get the title for him.

Russell tried to bow like Baldus, but it looked more like he just fell to his knees. He still wouldn't—or maybe couldn't—look at him.

Gulcasa continued on, "You… Shall still be known as the Astral Fencer… But now, of Bronquia."

Russell flinched slightly, looking even more terrified. He slowly rose to his feet, still shaking. "T-Thank… T-T-Thank you… Sire…" He stammered so quietly that Emilia could barely hear him.

He was so scared… How could be at the same level as Baldus? He looked like he wouldn't hurt a fly…

Emilia looked around again. No Eudy, no Aegina… What made this petrified little Fantasinian so amazing? He slowly returned to his space to notice that it was already re-filled. Emilia looked over to see Nessiah standing in his place, not even bothering to look at him.

Now, here's how you could tell he was a Fantasinian. Now, if it was anyone else here in this position, it would be different. Leon would have said something along the lines of "Get the hell outta my way, Shorty!" while Baldus would say something like, "I do say, young sir, I believe you are in spot!". Emilia would have been more straightforward and just swung her arms around, yelling "Get out! Get out! Get out…!"

Russell just nodded and moved to the side next to Baldus.

You see, Russell, had one thing that a majority of the Bronquian royal army lacked: Basic problem solving. The Bronquian way was also called the "kill your way though" way. Gentle Russell, however, could just slink away to the sides, trying to remain unnoticed in the strange and uncertain environment.

"Nessiah…" Gulcasa smiled.

Nessiah looked up, but he didn't bother walking up or bowing. He only stood there. Emilia thought it was a little disrespectful, but Nessiah and her brother had a very… Uncertain relationship.

"You shall be—"

Nessiah interrupted, "I know what I am, thank you."

Gulcasa nodded, not surprised in the least. Leon gave a shrill whistle and Emilia stood there, open-mouthed. He was bold, that one. Maybe the stories of him being able to see the future were more than just stories.

"Alright, then…" Gulcasa looked up, "Leon!"

"Hell yeah!" Leon said, strutting up like he had won the lottery.

"Hey, Dummy!" Emilia frowned, "You realize everyone here has gotten a title? It should be no surprise that your name was called!"

Leon spun around and smiled evilly, "Oh, I'm sorry, Emilia, but do you have a title?"

"She's getting one." Gulcasa said with a frown.

"Ah," Leon said, "but I'm getting one first!" He shot one last glance at Emilia before turning to Gulcasa once again, "Now, what's my title? Make it good."

"Black Knight." He said quickly.

"Huh?" Leon said, slightly taken aback. Leon was expecting something lame, like the Astral Shield of Something-quia or the like. But "Black Knight"… It had a dark ring to it. He could hear that name making the stomachs of weaker men twist. It was a name that makes people afraid.

It was a name he liked.

"I'll go with it." He said with a toothy grin, "It sounds… Dangerous!"

Gulcasa smiled, "I hoped you'd like it. It was hard thinking of something that'd you'd approve of, but I thought this was a good title for you—Dangerous enough to fit your personality without making people think you're going to break into their houses and murder them during the night."

He smiled, "I won't make any promises about that last part, but I like the name. Good job, Red-head."

Gulcasa gave a weak smile as he watched Leon walk off back to his spot. Emilia moved over a step, taking his spot much like Nessiah did to Russell. Leon walked up right in front of her and stared down at her sternly.

"Move," He said sternly, frowning.

Emilia looked up innocently, "…Hmm? What are you talking about?"

Leon snarled, "I mean it, Emilia. I'm not feeling playful right now."

"You just got promoted five seconds ago!" Emilia said, angry, "What could have possibly ticked you off in those five seconds…!"

Baldus stepped forward, "You both are acting like children—especially you, Leon. You're twenty-two. Start acting like it!"

"You're like a million, old man!" Leon said, annoyed, "Fall down some stairs or something."

Gulcasa looked at him, "Leon!"

Russell moved away slightly, a little afraid of the ferocious-looking young man. He seemed to be in more than a little bit over his pretty little head.

Leon frowned and reached down to grab Emilia underneath her arms, lifting her up. His powerful hands easily wrapped around her arms and lifted her up to his face level. He looked at her square in the eyes.

"I said… Move." Leon said, tightening his grip around her.

"A-A-Alright… Alright!" She said, wincing. Leon's twisting grip was horribly painful, but she couldn't show that. She was too strong to let Leon think he could hurt her with as little as that.

Leon looked a little disappointed and stopped the crushing force on her arms. He gently set her down where she was at first and moved into his spot.

Damn… He thought, keeping his face as normal as he could, I've done it again…

Gulcasa tried to move on. "Emilia!" He called, "Come here, please."

Emilia walked up slowly to him, not looking back at Leon. Her arms really stung from Leon, but she couldn't show that. She walked up to her brother, without even the slightest hint of pain.

"Yes?" She said in a mature voice.

Gulcasa looked at her, and whispered, "Don't be upset. He has a little trouble controlling his anger sometimes. Did he hurt you?"

"I'm sorry," Emilia said, unconcerned, "What did you say my title was?"

He gave a warm smile, impressed by her hardiness, "Ah, yes, Emilia… How about… The Scarlet Princess?"

Emilia gave a mature small but radiant smile, "It's wonderful! I love it! Thank you!" She saluted much like Baldus and walked off, trying to be professional. She smiled hugely the second she turned away from Gulcasa, feeling ecstatic.

Leon wouldn't look at her.

Hours later, she was still feeling that rush. She was about to go to bed, having already gotten into her pajamas and all, when she had gotten out her brightest paints and a little canvas, wanting to illustrate her happiness.

Random things like this often happened to Emilia.

"The Scarlet Princess…" She whispered, as she had been doing for a while, "I want to paint that!"

Now, she just had to remember what color "scarlet" was.

She looked through her colors… Red, blue, yellow, green, brown, black, purple, orange… Which one was scarlet?

She picked up several colors, but nothing seemed to be just right. She kept thinking. Well, it wasn't a shade of purple—it couldn't be… And there really weren't "shades" of black.

Her hand hovered over the paint set, unsure of which one to choose. She was about to pick one when a sudden knocking at her door made her jump nearly ten feet in the air.

"C-Come in…" She said, nervously, not thinking of asking who it was.

The door opened. She was shocked to see Leon standing there, looking a little worn out.

"Can I…?" He said with a hand gesture, not wanting to speak more than he had to.

"Uh, um…" She said stammering, "Y-Yeah… Come in."

Leon smiled as he walked in. He walked right past Emilia without so much as a word or even a glance, much to her confusion, and fell into her pink, canopy bed.

"Uh! I'm so tired…" He said, a little muffled into the pillows.

Emilia sighed a little. She looked back at her colors, not really wanting to deal with Leon right now. He was already here, and he looked very comfortable in her bed, so she doubted he'd move on his own. He was pretty big, so carrying him wasn't an option either. If he was quiet, he could stay, as long as he didn't fall asleep there and his armour didn't rip her sheets. Why he was still in his armor so late when he hadn't even been in battle today was beyond her, but that's what made him so strange.

He decided he wasn't going to make her life easy. Leon looked up from his soft, pillow-y fortress. He frowned a little, unsure of what to say. He sat up, his elbows on his knees, and glanced at her. He looked at her from time to time, but didn't say anything, still thinking.

Eventually, he stood up and walked over. He looked at her canvas and frowned, "It's blank."

She sighed, "I know that! I'm working on a picture."

"Oh," Leon said with a smile, "are you?"

Emilia didn't say anything. She continued looking at the canvas so fiercely that Leon thought she might burn a hole right through it.

Leon didn't know what else to say. He slowly looked at her arms and was even more disheartened to see a black bruise where he had grabbed earlier. He hadn't been able to see that with her normal, fluffy pink shawl on, but in this strapped nightie, her arms were bare and visible.

"Hey, Emilia…" He started, a little nervous. "Let me help."

Emilia looked at him, "You want to help…?" She said, a little confused, "With the painting?"

Leon smiled, "Yeah." He picked up a brush and touched it to his tongue. "Now, what did you say you wanted?"

Emilia looked up at him. He smiled down at her, now much more warmly than he used to. She smiled, "The Scarlet Princess… Something scarlet."

"Okay…" Leon said, dipping his brush into the paint, "That's red. Now," He passed the brush off to her, "what do you want to paint?"

Emilia blinked, "Um…" She pressed the brush against the canvas and moved it delicately, "I'll decide that later. I just want to paint now."

Leon smiled, "Ha ha… That's not a very good plan." He picked up the entire canvas and moved over to the bed, "Let me fix it."

Emilia frowned and stood up, "No…! You're gonna wreck it!"

"No, I'm not," Leon said with a grin as he picked up the paint set and brush and moved them over by canvas. "It'll be better."

Emilia ran over to him, "If you get paint on my bed, I'm going to kill you!"

"I won't, I won't…" He laughed, sitting down on her bed, "Sheesh. Now, go away. It's a secret."

"Harumph…" Emilia grunted as she plopped herself down on the floor, looking up at him with anger, "Fine, I'm not looking."

"Turn around," Leon said, making a little circle in the air with his brush.

Emilia did what she was told, but she wasn't happy. She stood there, facing the wall for a moment. Minutes passed, and she was getting more and more impatient. "Can I look now!"

"Nope." He said, still painting, "Just a minute."

Emilia snorted, feeling very surly. She crossed her arms and waited only a moment longer before asking again, "Are you ready…!"

"Yes, yes…" He stood up and walked to her, "It's right here."

Emilia reached up and grabbed the canvas, looking at it with great anticipation despite the short time it took him. She gasped with disgust, "It's all black…!"

"Yup! Black for the Black Knight. Beautiful, isn't it?" He smiled with pride.

Emilia hit him with the canvas, "It's ugly and all black…! You ruined it!"

Leon ripped the picture out of her hands and scowled, "Ow! No hitting! I'm against violence, Emilia!"

"Since when…!"

Leon smiled deviously, "Well…"

Leon just kept smiling and Emilia calmed down slightly. Well, no one was impaled (so far), so it was one of the better apologies he'd done.

She wasn't happy, but hey, not murderous was good enough for him! But he figured he should make just a little bit more of an effort.

He leaned down to the red Emilia and looked at her with his kindest face—one so out of character it made Emilia a little confused.

He wasn't ready to say it yet, but he could try. No sound came out, so he wasn't quite sure if Emilia could understand.

That might have been for the best.

Leon mouthed the words 'I'm sorry', his hands gently touching the bruise.