"WHERE WERE YOU?!" Something crashed inside the house. It sounded like a plate.

"I told you! I had to work late!" My dad's voice was high-pitched. He always did that when he was lying.

"You're drinking again! It makes you crazy in the head!"

Another crash. That one sounded like a cup.

Stella's school bus pulled in front of the house. A moment later, she got out. Her head was down.

I stood up off the front porch and walked away from the house. Today was a good day to spend in the woods adventuring.

"And what about the kids? What'll then think when I tell them what a sleaze their father is, huh?!"

"You wouldn't dare. I work sixty hours a week, and that's..." They were too far away, now. All I could make out was the sound of the fighting, not the content.

When I was a few feet away from her, I said, "Hey sis. Want to go on a quest with me?" I offered her my hand, and she took it.

"They're fighting again?" Her hazel eyes met mine. They were always so sad.

"Yeah. But screw them. Who needs 'em?"

"Not us." Her face broke into a wide grin. "Okay, let's go. Today, you're the loyal knight, and I'm the beautiful princess!"

"But you're always the princess. What if I want to be the princess?"

She giggled. "Well, if you're sure you really want to. I bet I'd make a great knight!" She thumped herself on the chest.

"I know you would." I started pulling her to the street. The woods weren't far. "I just realized something, though."

"What?"

"Being a princess suits you. So, maybe you should be the princess today, after all."

Her eyes lit up. "Really?"

I nodded. "Yup. And what does a princess do?"

She puffed up her chest. "A princess takes care of the poor people by giving them bread!"

"Yeah! And, they have the right to ride a horse when everyone else has to walk. But since I don't have one, I guess you'll just have to ride on my shoulders."

"Yeah!"

I knelt and helped her onto my shoulders. Then, we were off to the woods.

This had been our routine for a while. When I turned fifteen and Stella turned six, Mom started drinking again, and Dad started cheating. At first, they both tried to hide it, but I wasn't stupid. Then, after a year or so of keeping it under wraps, Mom got sloppy, and Dad never came home. That's when the plates started flying.

So, Stella and I started going on our quests. At first, we walked the neighborhood, but that started getting boring real fast. So, we decided we'd explore the woods. At first, we stayed within view of the houses, but that got boring, too. So, she decided she was a princess and that I was her knight, and soon enough, we were going as far as we could into the woods on quests.

One time, we found a burnt-out car deep in the woods. Another time, we found a skeleton of some animal. I guessed it was a raccoon; she guessed it was a koala. I tried to explain that koalas didn't live in North America, but she didn't care. We started calling that place Koala Grove. Koala Grove was one of our favorite spots.

But today, we weren't going to Koala Grove. We were going somewhere new.

"Alex!" I realized she'd been calling me. Before I could answer, Stella grabbed my ears and pulled.

"OW!"

"Hehehe."

She always did that evil laugh when she knew she was doing something bad. "You're an evil princess."

"Am not."

"Am too."

"Pffft." Her raspberry sent spit flying on my head.

"Watch the waterworks!"

"Never!"

I squeezed just above her knees, sending her into hysterics.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

"Meany!"

"I never said I was nice."

"But you're a knight."

"An evil black knight!"

Both of us broke out laughing.

I crossed the street and started on a dirt path that led into the woods. We always started here at the beginning of every quest. Right before the tree line, I stopped. "Are you ready?"

"For what?"

"Today's quest is a scary one..."

She gulped. "Is it a dragon?"

"More terrifying!"

"What?" She squeezed my head with her knees.

"We're going after... BIG FOOT!"

She shrieked in that way that only kids could. Then, her tiny little fists pounded at the back of my head.

"Hey, hey! Knock it off!"

"Oops. Sorry."

Taking a step forward, we crossed the threshold. We were on our quest now.

***

"I saw it!" Stella pointed at a bush.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah!"

I walked forward. Looking down, I saw that there was definitely a footprint in the mud. Kneeling, I took a long, hard look.

"Hmmm."

"Well?"

It was a boot print. "Looks like a Bigfoot foot to me."

She gasped. "Keep going."

I followed her orders, and we emerged through the bush into a place we'd never been before. I started looking around for something that we could name the area after. "Let's see..." There weren't any landmarks here. Looking up, I saw some squirrels running across branches, chasing each other. Other than that, there were just lots of bushes and a stream off in the distance. Wait. "Roaring River."

"Is that this place's name?"

"Yup. I saw it on the map." I'd convinced her I had a secret map of the woods.

"Do you see him?"

I pretended to search carefully. "Nope. I don't see him."

"Darn."

"Hey princess, mind if I let you down? I want to catch crawfish, but it's hard to do with a princess on my back."

"Fine." She whined, but she let me put her down.

Walking to the stream, I looked into the water. It was definitely deep enough to catch some crawfish. Sitting on a nearby log, I pulled off my boots and socks. "Want to come in?"

She shook her head. "The water's cold."

"Suit yourself. But any crawfish I catch are mine."

"But you'll share, right?"

Her big eyes always got me. "Yeah. I will." Putting my feet into the stream, I waded forward slowly. The current was stronger than I expected. Once my feet got used to the chill, I bent off and searched under the rocks for some crawfish. We never actually ate them, but she always liked their little legs. Reaching under a large rock, I managed to snag one. "Got it!"

"Wow!"

I pulled the little red critter out of the water and held it up to her. "Look at this sucker! It's huge!" It wasn't that big, but it was fun to gas her up.

"That's the biggest one I've ever seen!" It totally wasn't.

"Oh, that's a shame." I pretended to look it over. "This one's a mommy. If we eat her, she won't be able to take care of her babies."

"Put it back!"

"Yeah, that's a good idea." I put the little thing back into the water. It flipped its tail and disappeared under a rock. Climbing back out of the water, I wiped my feet off and started pulling my shoes back on.

"Hey!" Stella stood up and pointed off into the woods. "Look!"

There, between two trees, I saw an enormous shadow looming. It looked big, like at least eight feet tall. "Uh, Stella."

"Yeah?"

"Is that what I think it is?"

"Big foooooot..."

The thing looked like it stepped closer. Yanking my boots on, I stepped in front of her. No Bigfoot was going to get my little sister. Despite my bravado, I was shaking in my boots.

The wind shifted, and the evening light poked through the trees. Turns out "Bigfoot" was just a long shadow and a thick bush. Deflating a little, I sat back down on the log and pulled my right boot back off. I hadn't gotten the sock on yet.

"Alex..."

I looked up to find Stella standing in front of me. "Yeah, Stel?"

She looked bashful. "If you're my knight, does that mean you'll save me if a bad guy tries to get me?" Her eyes were so serious.

"Of course I will. It's my job, after all. I'm your knight."

"Promise?"

I managed to get my boot on. Standing, I knelt on one knee in front of her and took her hand. "I, Alex Clark, knight of the beautiful, sweet, kind of evil Stella Clark, hereby swear that I'll protect you, always."

She stamped her foot. "I'm not evil!"

"Only a little."

She pretended to pout for a moment longer, but I could see that evil gleam in her eye. "Okay. Sometimes." Her face broke out into a wide grin.

Rushing forward, I scooped her up in my arms and put her back on my shoulders. "Alright, princess. I say we head to Panda Bear Railroad, then let's go back home."

She smacked the top of my head. "No! Koala Grove, then Panda Bear Railroad!"

I laughed. "Okay. Whatever the princess wants."

Alex Clark, American Human Fighter of the Shield 4

Attributes

Strength: 12

Resilience: 15

Agility: 6

Power: 3

Will: 5

Skills

[Second Wind]

Talents

[Adaptable]

[Grit]

[Unbreakable]

[United We Stand]

Quests

[Dark Things in the Forest]

Tasks

American

: [Lead the Free]

Fighter

:

[A Good Fight]

Human

: [Jack of All Trades]

Shield

: [Protect the Weak]

Na-Tristan, Groveborn Human Acolyte of the Tower 3

Attributes

Strength: 6

Resilience: 7

Agility: 8

Power: 11

Will: 11

Skills

[Bless]

[Healing Light]

Talents

[Adaptable]

[Bearer of the Word]

[Blessing of the Light]

[Wind's Whisper]

Tasks

Acolyte (★): [A Guiding Light]

Groveborn (2★): [Nature's Whisper]

Human (★): [Jack of All Trades]

Tower (3★): [Purify the Land]

Quests

[Dark Things in the Forest]

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