Knights, Promises, and Hidden Paths
Everyone moved to the backyard.
"Lia, could you please bring some chairs, tables, and a bit of tea for the guests?" Sally said softly toward a corner.
Then Adrien heard a snap before those things began to appear one by one.
Luther and Arthur widened their eyes with interest, while Adrien shifted his gaze toward a corner where something invisible—something he could feel but not see—seemed to move stealthily.
"Thank you, Lia," said Sally with a smile. She was already used to the house-elf always remaining hidden. It seemed to be a custom of those little servants, with the mindset that a good servant was one who was not seen.
"You're welcome, mistress," came a small voice.
"Please," said Sally, pointing to a chair for Adrien and Arthur, while Harry and Percy quickly led Luther not far away, where there was a large chest. It seemed to be filled with training weapons: wooden swords, staves, weights, and other things.
Percy pulled out a pair of wooden swords and handed one to Luther.
Harry, meanwhile, went to fetch his book. He opened it, looked at the first page for a moment, and then hugged it tightly against his body with one arm.
"Oh, so it'll be two against one. That's fine," said Luther with a smile, shaking the wooden sword lightly as if to get used to its weight.
"You're an adult, so we have to use our full power," Percy said instantly, while Harry nodded seriously.
"Indeed," Luther replied with another smile, taking a guard stance. "Come on, show me what you're made of."
Percy also took his stance before lunging at Luther with his sword, aiming at his calf.
Luther easily lifted his foot and countered with a slow strike toward Percy, but the boy blocked it skillfully. Luther let out an approving "ooh" at the child's speed.
Sally, from her seat, smiled at the sight of everything being fine. Then she could focus on her conversation with Adrien.
"What did you need from me, Mr. Adrien?" she asked calmly.
"I'll get straight to the point," he said, nodding. "As you've surely heard, a few days ago an object very dear to us was stolen by some wizards. That day we entered Diagon Alley searching for information, and we found quite a lot. But we've had some difficulties reaching certain places… hidden from non-magical eyes."
Sally frowned slightly, a bit confused.
"But don't you have that medal?" she asked.
"Yes, well… the medal works to open the way into the magical world, but as you know, we ourselves are not wizards. Our armors allow us to see some hidden things, but in the end, these armors are old—designed to decipher ancient magic. New enchantments for repelling non-magicals or for concealment can affect us. So even if we had the exact map, we could still get lost, not knowing exactly where to point the medal to open the way." Adrien spoke with calm seriousness.
"I see," said Sally, understanding. It made sense: if the armors were old, modern magic must have changed quite a lot, especially the magic to hide from Muggles. That surely had to be constantly updated, since Muggle technology advanced by leaps and bounds. It was only a matter of time before they could find wizards—like with security cameras, for example.
"Then what do you need from me?" she asked, though she already had an idea.
"In fact, we have some wizards who work with us, but not many. You know… the magical world is much more comfortable for them. Right now, we lack enough wizards who can guide us to places that, through their enchantments, force non-magicals to ignore them," Adrien explained.
"Mm… but wouldn't that be dangerous?" asked Sally, aware that they were after criminals.
"Ah, your safety is guaranteed. We'd only need you to point out if we pass by a hidden place, nothing more. Once we know the way, you wouldn't even need to enter with us if you didn't want to. Besides, this is something important that could put all your friends in danger. It would also be a great help to wizards, although they are surely searching for the same thing," Adrien replied.
"Is the magical world in danger?" Sally asked seriously. Not for the world itself, but for her children.
"It's possible. In fact, my direct superior authorized me to extend an invitation to you, along with the guarantee that your family would be completely protected while you worked with us. The other wizards who collaborate with us, for example, were relocated with their families to safe and nearby places," Adrien said quickly.
"Ah… well." Sally was interested, above all, in her children's safety. But after all, they were living right next to the Dursleys for a specific reason.
Adrien noticed her hesitation immediately.
"If not, simply as government assets, we'd increase surveillance in this area. It would be as if you were employed directly by the government or the army. No one would bother you—magical or non-magical," he added.
This, of course, caught Sally's attention. She wasn't entirely sure about accepting yet, but she knew very well the danger her children would be in, and that proposal seemed like an additional safeguard. Something quite tempting.
As she thought about it, her eyes turned again to Harry and Percy, who were fighting against Luther. The knight watched them with great interest. Percy seemed to handle the basics of swordsmanship well, earning him genuine approval. Harry, on the other hand, raised his hand and projected animal illusions to distract him, balancing the fight with intelligence. The mix was perfect; they were brothers, after all.
Of course, an experienced knight wouldn't fall easily. With agile and precise movements, Luther maintained control, while the children, above all else, enjoyed their spar with him.
"Just accept," said Mor, who was seated not far away, watching the children's battle.
Sally looked toward her, while Mor shifted her gaze to Adrien for a moment and then back to Sally.
"It will do you good to go out a little. All that time studying, working, taking care of the children, and then going back to studying for their safety will eventually take a toll on you. Maybe it will help you clear your mind a bit and also gain more experience. Don't worry about the troublemakers, I'll take care of them," she said naturally, watching her intently.
After all, it was true. Sally was giving her all for the future of her children: to see them grow up happy, to see them safe, to make sure nothing happened to them. Since she had discovered the magical world, all of that had worsened greatly. And what was most worrying was that she still knew nothing about the mythological world… In reality, they were living in the worst place possible for two demigods to grow up, surrounded by creatures that only wanted to devour them. After all, this was Europe.
Luckily, Mor had been released from her seal, with the punishment of cleansing this place. She focused mainly on England, since her little ones were there. But as the children grew, those creatures would begin to smell them. And of course, she would take care of keeping the surroundings clean so that would not happen.
If Sally ever found out, she would surely try to do something herself to secure her children's safety. She would go back into that "supermom" mode, which was not very healthy for her.
"Although maybe the knights could be of some use," Mor thought as she observed Luther's sword movements, which seemed strangely familiar to her. "After so many years… those shouldn't be the movements of the knights who once served that man. Instead, they are…" She held her chin for a moment, thinking silently to herself, without speaking aloud.
Sally reflected on Mor's words, especially the part about experience. She was right. Then she looked at Adrien seriously.
"Then I'll accept. But I have several conditions, if you don't mind," she said firmly.
"Of course," Adrien replied with a smile.
…
After a few more minutes of conversation, the three of them left Sally's house. Harry and Percy, still a little sweaty but smiling, greeted Luther and the others warmly, clearly excited from the little battle.
Luther returned the farewell before getting into the car along with the others. The vehicle started up, heading back to the base. The mission would begin the next day; there were still things to prepare.
"Boss, did you notice?" Luther asked with a serious look. "That boy, Percy… his sword…"
"Yes, I saw it," Adrien replied. "And the little wizard is also quite good. His magic doesn't resemble anything we know."
"What are you talking about?" Arthur interrupted, who had spent the whole time sneaking glances at Mor without paying much attention to anything else.
Luther let out a sigh.
"The little Percy has a pretty solid foundation with the sword, but it looks far too much like our own style. That means his teacher is either a retired knight… or someone who learned from the same root," he explained while driving.
"The same root?" Arthur asked, confused.
Luther rolled his eyes in annoyance.
"Kid, how did you become a knight?" he asked with some irritation.
"Well, you know… my father. Like all the others, we inherited our armors," Arthur answered.
"Our sword style comes from two different people. The first was the founder of the order. But after his death, his style slowly faded into the past… until the previous general found another person from whom to learn a more modern and stronger style. And that creator was the same one who killed the founder of the order in the past," Adrien said calmly, looking out the window.
"The one who killed him?" Arthur asked with wide eyes. "But wouldn't that mean he was evil?" he added quickly.
"Fool. It's not about good or evil," Luther replied firmly. "The founder's death came because karma caught up with him. His own vengeance found him."
"Mmm…" Arthur murmured, half-understanding, before frowning again. "But if the founder died a long time ago… and you said it was the previous general, that would be relatively close in comparison. So that person should be very old if still alive, which is impossible."
"Fool. There's an old man in France who's over six hundred years old, and that surprises you?" Luther retorted seriously.
"Ah… then he's a wizard," Arthur concluded.
"No," Adrien answered instantly. "He isn't."
He said nothing more, and not even Luther continued. Arthur sensed the atmosphere and didn't ask again.