Chapter Text
It was around the time when the war was announced that Sir Kay started seeing the lights. Strange, star like fragments dotting corners near castle walls, under calming trees, and comforting parts of the knight’s barracks. He didn’t know what to make of them. They felt warm, like a blanket in the winter morning; the feeling only enveloping him further the closer he got. Yet, no other person was able to see them nor feel their warmth.
The stars shined for him alone; Sir Kay was sure that it was a sign of his fraying mind. For some reason he had dared to hope that he could serve his early knighthood, at least, during times of peace. Instead, he found himself getting ready to set out on his first mission. He had believed he would never have to lead a group of conscripts down a path of violence. He had pledged his fealty to the king and queen of this country believing them to be fair and just, or at least fairly level-headed rulers. He felt like a fool.
“Sir knight!” The voice came attached to the frantic footsteps of one said conscript quickly approaching. The man stopped in front of him, stiffly saluting his knight general. “All preparations are complete, we are ready to depart, sir.”
“Good,” Sir Kay nodded, eyes lingering on the soldier’s unfitting leather armor with a practiced blank expression. “Tell the others to rest well tonight. We’ll be leaving at first light.”
The man gave an anxious nod and scurried off to tell the others. Sir Kay suppressed a sigh, gritting his teeth as he watched the man disappear into the cold night air. The men under his care could barely be called soldiers. They were mostly conscripts from far off rural towns, forced out of their honest lives in the countryside to join the war effort, and made to be led by himself. He had only been knighted about two months before war was declared. He spent the third month of his early knighthood training his troops before their inevitable departure, and now as the time approached, he felt a pit in his stomach; how many would die because of his inexperience?
Looking around, the barracks were strangely empty this time of the night. Most experienced knights had already been sent out on missions of their own. The others that remained were probably anxiously attempting to sleep, their own orders to follow come tomorrow. Sir Kay gave in to weakness and approached one of the comforting lights situated near a bench. He reached out his hand and attempted to hold it in the palm on his hand. For a moment, the light grew and swallowed him whole, and then everything disappeared.
He didn’t know what he had expected. Some part of him had hoped that his sanity would return to him once he touched empty air, instead he suddenly found himself in a deep and unbearable darkness. Somewhere in the distance he heard the laughter of a woman echoing grimly. Some clarity followed the sound, stone steps appearing before him to be climbed. A stone throne awaited him at the top, something laid glowing upon it. Sir Kay could only climb the steps before him.
The creature sitting on the stone throne was completely white. It looked like a woman, but wings sprouted from her back and feathers stuck out from her hair. She looked at him with an expectant, too knowing smile.
“My cage has arrived!” She clapped her hands together, full of cheer, “was it a hard trip? It took you a while to accept the invitation.”
“… What are you?”
“Right, introductions, I always forget.” She gave a mocking bow, wings flapping slightly with the movement. “I am the Angel of Prophecy; pleased to make your acquaintance.”
Somehow the knight in front of the angel seemed even stiffer than before. “…Prophecy…?”
“It’s not happening now, don’t worry about it.” She stood on her throne and nonchalantly placed her hands on his face, brushing long strands of hair away from his red eyes. “I’m here to offer you a deal! One you won’t be able to refuse~” she sang in his ear. Sir Kay’s skin crawled.
“I’m afraid I am not much of a dealmaker, perhaps you should try somewhere else?” He said stiffly, unmoving. He refused to show weakness.
“Nonsense!” She exclaimed as her too bright face got impossibly closer. “I could smell your fear from the moment my light chose you. I can give you the power you need.”
Sir Kay gently yet firmly grabbed hold of the angel’s wrists and pulled them away from his face before shaking his head. “I have pledged my loyalties and faced my fears before. If I am to die in this war, it is a fate I am ready to accept. I do not need your power.”
The creature in front of him was not deterred however, in fact, her eyes had gained an almost adoring sparkle. “Aw, listen to you! You sound so heroic…” she blessedly leaned back, away from his face “but we both know you are too much of a self-sacrificing idiot for death to be what you fear.”
“…?”
“You fear war, you fear its horrors.” Her tone had changed to something quiet and grim, her expression uncharacteristically serious. “You fear the evils of war and what it will do to those around you; what it will do to you.”
“… That is not a fear I can end by simply gaining more strength. This is ultimately a fate I must accept—”
“No, you don’t! The power I offer is not mere strength, but the power to change that fate.” She offered him her hand, shining with that comforting warmth he had succumbed to in he barracks. “With my power you will be able to go back in time whenever you please, change the outcome of any battle, not even death will be able to stop you. All you must do is accept my deal.”
“… And what is it that you want in exchange for this impossible power you are offering me?” Sir Kay could no longer hide his interest.
“Why, your soul, of course.” Her offered hand moved towards his chest, where a red heart shape suddenly glowed through his armor. Sir Kay walked backwards away from the offending hand so quickly he almost fell down the stone steps behind him. He had never pointed his sword at a woman before this moment, but the blade was out and pointed towards the ‘angel’ faster than he could think. He didn’t notice his other hand clutching at his chest plate with numbing fingers.
“You are no angel,” he spat “and I will not take your deal.”
The glowing creature dropped her arm back to her side and shrugged nonchalantly, “sure.”
“I mean it! you must let me return now or...” he glanced at his sword pointedly.
“Aw, of course you can go,” she giggled while completely ignoring the sharp blade pointed at her. “The exit is just over there.” The angel pointed at a light at the bottom of the stone steps, a light the knight could have sworn was not there just a moment ago. “My lights will be waiting for you if you change your mind though~”
“Don’t count on it.” Sir Kay promptly sheathed his sword and almost ran down the stone steps. He didn’t look back once, her laughter seeming to follow him into the damned light awaiting at the bottom of the steps. He could still hear it echoing in his ears even as the light swallowed him and the barracks burst back into view.
Like a man possessed, he stumbled away from the once comforting warmth and into his cold room. He couldn’t even remember disrobing before getting into bed. Somehow, he was able to sleep dreamlessly, a last moment of peace before the storm.
Kris woke up with a bad taste in their mouth. They couldn’t help but feel annoyed, like somehow the dream they had was just as frustrating as their current predicament. The feeling of muscles stiffening, movement forced upon them against their will, a familiar waking nightmare. The thing puppeteering them walked them to the mirror in the hallway again. It was becoming part of their daily routine now. The thing they call ‘you’ in the mirror, it winked for some disturbing reason.
“Do you remember?” It mouthed with their face. Kris simply glared at their reflection, the dream had been annoying, but they couldn’t remember a single thing about it.