“Mom! Ren! I’m home!” I exclaim, running through the main tunnel and entering my cozy bunk. My mom runs in and hugs me tightly. Despite not being my biological mother, she looks a lot like me. Minus the glittery blue horns. She’s wearing her frilly yellow sunflower dress, and her hair is elegantly braided. Usually she doesn’t dress up like this unless it’s a special occasion, so I'm a bit surprised. Until she remarks:
“I heard the news, moon pie! I can’t believe it!”
“That I’m in captain training?”
“No silly, I had no doubt that you could get in. You’ve just grown up so fast! I can hardly wrap my head around it.” The door to my ren’s pottery studio swings open and they swiftly join in the embrace.
“How’s our little knight doing?” The cloud of clay dust that always surrounds them disperses a little as Mom waves it away.
“I’m excited and nervous. What will the other kids think of me? Are they even going to be kids? Will they treat me like a baby?” Mom and Ren both give me a comforting look. Mom lets go of us, and starts walking over to a pile of textbooks on the couch.
“I’m not sure what being a knight is like, but I’ll help in any way I can.” Ren explains. They were originally from the surface, which is something almost nobody in the Warren can say truthfully.
“Munchk-Captain Grant came by this morning. He dropped off these textbooks to get you up to speed since you’re basically skipping a year of class.” I sift through them once she sets them down on our dusty couch. The covers read Spy 101, How To Not Die as a Spy, Lying Through Your Teeth-a Simple Guide to Deception, and amongst them is a script for a musical called Spies are Eternal. I pick it up and a small booklet falls out. It's called The Unofficial Knights Handbook, and before I even open it, I can see that it's filled with post-its and bookmarks. It seems to be a version of one of the official handbooks that has been edited immensely over the years. Each of the five divisions has a captain, a deputy, and a sizable chapter in here. I flip to the spy chapter, skimming along the way. Apparently Tactician Captain Hawley loves salt, and he’ll help you for the small price of a shaker of it. The lazy dragonborn wandering the kitchens and arenas is named Evne and she’ll do practically anything for food, despite being a high ranking member of the knight’s guard.
From what I’ve heard, the guard is a group of the highest ranking members of the soldier class. They protect things, train others in the art of combat, and keep the peace. All of the knight divisions have something similar. Scouts have the patrol, caretakers have the guild, tacticians have the council, and spies have the ring. I wonder how hard it would be to join the ring. It might be just the captain, but I think they can go to the surface! That’s how my parents met. Normally, any surfacer who wanders too close to the Warren’s entrance gets swept up and isn’t let out of the prison until they’re proven to not be a threat, but since Mom was a captain, the admins figured it would be safe.
Unfortunately, bad things happen when anyone else tries to leave. Three years ago, a portal to another dimension was lit long before it was ready. It exploded, collapsing the main sector one tunnel and killing a handful of people. We still feel the ripples today. Since I live somewhat close, the ceilings caved in a little. Worse, the scout captain, Petunia Cheng, was crushed in the rubble. She always helped me navigate, and is the only reason I don’t get lost on the way home. All the tunnels and hallways look the same to me.
“Moon pie, for the third time! Dinner’s ready!” My mom calls from the other room, snapping me out of my head. I see steaming stoneware bowls of my favorite mushroom pasta on the dining table. I always know whose dishes are whose because Ren makes them custom for everyone. Mine are all yellow, of course, and usually have beautiful cyan stars. I sit down and poke my fork through a mushroom. Mom takes out a list and sits beside me. Ren glances over, but keeps eating.
“I have a lot of the things you’ll need already, but I doubt you’ll want my old capelet from when I was your age.” She pulls out a dusty length of denim cloth branded with the knights insignia.
“Lucy, sunny, please don’t get dust on the food! I’d rather not taste yesterdecade’s sediment.” Ren exclaims. Mom drops it on the floor, a gray plume rising up where it lands.
“Sorry honey bun. It's a bit outdated anyways. And you’re probably going to need more pocket room. I heard that you’ll be learning the art of maximizing space in class.” From what I can tell, the spy class covers a lot of bases. As I take a bite out of my food, Mom takes out more things, referencing the list as she sets them on the table.
“We have a lighter, some rope, a multitool, a chalkboard with chalk in ten different colors, and I could probably take you to get the rest after dinner. You’ll need a new capelet and a small practice weapon.” Oh yeah! We’ll be learning how to fight! I’m kind of terrified, but it’ll be nice to know how to defend myself. Thankfully, since the Warren has been hiding us for almost a hundred and fifty years, we haven’t needed to engage in combat, but if we did, the knights are the ones on the front lines. I quickly finish dinner and grab my bag. I don’t mind walking back to the mall, but it's a tad far away from here and I want to go as soon as I can.
“What’s the rush, moon pie?” Mom asks.
“If we want to make it to the Weaponry shop and Julie’s Capelets before they close, we should leave now!”
“Are you sure you want to go to those places? I was thinking we could go pick up a weapon from the arena and get you a nice capelet from Magnolia’s.” Magnolia’s has the fanciest and most expensive clothes in the whole Warren. Getting things from there is a luxury.
“Woah! Yeah, nevermind. I like your idea better.” I slow down a bit, and wait for my parents to get ready to go.
After dinner, we walk over to the shopping district of sector 1 to pick up a practice weapon. Mom says it's important to get it first so I know how much mobility my capelet needs. While Ren picks up a delivery of clay from a nearby store, Mom strikes up a conversation with the owner. I browse the wall of practice equipment for sale. I see small handaxes, scythes, a couple of spears, and a greatsword, but none catch my eye. Until I spot a small iron slingshot. My aim has always been good. I suddenly hear a gravelly voice behind me.
“That one’s a real beauty. Never misses shots and hits like an avalanche.” I turn around to face a muscular gargoyle lady with a missing leg and intricate silver tattoos. I recognize her as Anvil Soka, former captain of the guard. She was injured during the collapse and retired soon after. Anvil grabs the slingshot off the rack and hands it to me along with a packet of pebbles.
“Try it.” I take it. The cold metal handle chills my hands, but I take aim at a small target. The pebble whooshes by and hits smack dab in the center of the target.
“Nice work, moon pie!” Mom exclaims, having turned to watch. “Do you want to get it?”
“The nice thing about slingshots is that unless they break, you won’t have to get another one. The only thing that changes as you get better is the ammunition.” Anvil adds.
“Does it come in gold?” I wonder. She nods.
“Gold plated. Phora’s got one in back.” Phora must be the owner.
“Mom? Can I get it?” She smiles.
“Of course, moon pie! If you want, I could get out my old bow and we could head to the range tomorrow. Ol’ Biscotti has been on display for too long.” She pays for the slingshot and pebbles.
Magnolia’s is not super far, so we meet up with Ren and head over. It’s small, like a lot of the places in Sector 1, but filled with the latest trendy clothes. Magnolia herself is sitting at a desk, sewing something. She has very pointy ears, and bleached hair that is definitely shorter than last time I saw her.
“Macaron, how’ve you been?” My mom asks. She strikes up a conversation, which is unsurprising considering she’s friends with basically everyone she meets. Ren and I head over to the capelet rack and browse.
“See anything you like?” they ask. A warm yellow one catches my eye, and I pull it out to get a better look.
“This one’s nice, but I have too much yellow in my wardrobe. I may like lemons, but I don’t want to look like one.” I flip past a tan one.
“The lace on that one is gorgeous.” Ren’s right, but I don’t think it could handle everyday wear. There's only fancy ones over here, so I head over to a section labeled ‘Knights’. I probably should have gone over there in the first place, but then again, it’s fun to look through the exquisite ones. The knight's capelets aren’t as detailed, but look flexible and comfortable. I grab a few, and take them to the changing room. The first is light pink, but it's a little too long and covers most of my sweater. The second is beige, and the color compliments my hair, but when I stretch my arms, it feels too tight. The last one is also beige and fits perfectly, but the insignia placement is bothering me.
“Find anything you like?” Mom asks.
“This one is cute, but I wish the insignia was on the back instead of the sleeve.” I take it off and show her.
“I can adjust it.” Magnolia answers. She’s already holding a set of patches and a needle. “Is this size good?” She shows me a patch that is slightly bigger and holds it against the back of the capelet.
“That’s perfect!” Everyone smiles. Magnolia takes the capelet and quickly gets to adjusting it. She returns it to me shockingly fast, and I put it on.
“You look amazing moon pie!”
“It really suits you!”
Mom sorts out the payment, and whatever she says to Magnolia must have been hilarious, because she bursts out laughing.
“Your mom and Maggie go way back. I don’t understand their inside jokes, and to be honest, I don’t think I could.” Ren explains. Now it's my turn to laugh.
“All done! Let’s head home, you deserve some rest.” Mom says as she takes Ren and my arms.
“Thank you!” I give them both the biggest hug I can. “I love you both so much!” Mom and Ren look close to tears.
“We love you too, moon pie. We’re so proud of you.”
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