(Every character depicted in the story below is a consenting legal adult over the age of 18)

A/N: Camilla!

-x-X-x-

Once more, Camilla finds herself meeting with the Grand Master of her Knightly Order in his office. This time, however, the meeting is just the two of them, Lord Commander Carlile requesting her presence and alone when she finally arrived.

Truth be told, she wasn’t sure how to feel about that, especially since not everything was perfect even with Synestra dead and the existential threat posed by the Rot largely on its way to being vanquished. Why? Because Camilla had heard rumors of discontent coming from the Knights who made up the Order of the Saints. To hear people talk about it, they weren’t happy with how things had worked out…

So yes, suffice to say she’s a touch nervous when meeting with Alfred Carlile. But at the same time, she holds her head high and keeps her back straight along with her shoulders squared.

“You wished to speak with me, Grand Master?”

The Lord Commander nods.

“I did, Dame Camilla.”

His tone is grave, making her tense up a little further. If he was about to take her to task, she was going to be very angry…

“First and foremost… you are now a Knight-Commander of the Order of the Saints.”

Wait, what? Camilla blinks as Lord Commander Carlile leans back in his chair, hands laced across his front. A smirk spreads across his face.

“Congratulations are in order.”

Her mouth opens and then closes wordlessly for a moment before she finally rediscovers her ability to speak.

“I… thank you Grand Master, but… I wasn’t expecting such a promotion today.”

“You’ve earned it, Dame Ackinworth. It and more, frankly. You have proven yourself a dozen times over.”

Flushing, Camilla fidgets a bit… before finally speaking out.

“I’m afraid I don’t really know how, sir… I’ve done everything that was asked of me, true… but I do not believe I’ve distinguished myself any more than my fellow knights. We didn’t get the chance…”

She regrets the words the moment they leave her lips, because that’s the exact sentiment that has had her scowling whenever she’s heard it from someone else in the past few weeks. The war had ended without a single major battle… and a lot of her peers were upset by that fact. They’d wanted to bathe themselves in glory, to fight and kill Dark Elves using the skills that King Thomas had trained into them and that they’d honed for weeks on end.

Unfortunately, none of them had gotten that chance. Synestra’s duplicity and the way everything had been resolved meant that there was never a point where a sizable force of humans faced off against a sizable force of elves on a battlefield. It was leaving quite a lot of men and women… restless as a result.

“On the contrary, I disagree wholeheartedly. You more than distinguished yourself in the past year, Dame Camilla. First by standing by Thomas Marlow through thick and thin while protecting the town of Last Hope with your life… and then by supporting your King as he sought peace at all costs, no matter what it took.”

Camilla blinks, a little caught off guard by the Lord Commander’s opinion. He gives her a hard look then, one that makes her straighten up a bit more.

“I do hope you are not one of those who regrets the lack of bloodshed, Dame Camilla.”

Flushing at the tone of reproach in his voice, Camilla rapidly shakes her head.

“N-No! Of course not! We would have lost hundreds if not thousands if we’d faced the Dark Elves in open battle. In the end… it was better that it was settled this way, with only a few people having to lose their lives.”

When Alfred Carlile nods in agreement, Camilla can’t help but shift from foot to foot.

“I… I must admit though, I am surprised that you are in agreement with me, Grand Master. I would have thought…”

Camilla trails off, not quite sure how to put it without sounding insulting. The Lord Commander arches a brow at her, making her flush even harder.

“You thought I would be as bloodthirsty as some of our other members? That I would be angry with the King for ending things without a single proper battle?”

Camilla hesitantly nods, not trusting herself to speak. With a sigh, Lord Commander Carlile rises from his chair and moves to look out the window behind it, a window that overlooks the Citadel’s massive training yard as well as the city beyond.

“… I have had several knights approach me in recent days who thought much the same. Honorable men and women that I had never thought ill of… until now. They believed that like them, I would agree that we had been wronged in some way… robbed even.”

Wincing, Camilla stays quiet, even as the Lord Commander continues to look out the window.

“I must admit to much disappointment in all of them. Wronged? Robbed? Ridiculous notions. Our King and Queen did everything in their power to prepare for the war they thought we would be facing. Not a war for glory or honor, but a war for survival. That it turned out to take a different form then the one we thought it would matters little in the grand scheme of things.”

Camilla finds herself in agreement… but the Lord Commander is not done.

“We were not wronged by the fact that good men and women did not have to spend their lives in the defense of the Kingdom. We were not robbed by the lack of bloodshed and ‘glory’. I find myself looking at our Order and feeling disgusted by those who would raise complaints with how this crisis was handled. All because they didn’t get to stab an elf.”

There’s a sneer in the Grand Master’s voice by the end there. He sounds angrier than Camilla has ever heard him. Finally finished, he whips back around and looks to her with a determined glint in his eye.

“I didn’t call you here merely to let you know about your promotion, Dame Camilla. I also wished to discuss the future with you. Your future… and the future of this Order. Because quite frankly, I feel like they should both be intertwined.”

Blinking owlishly, Camilla isn’t sure what to say. She’s not sure what he even means by that…

Lord Commander Alfred Carlile proceeds to tell her… and Camilla can’t help but feel a little faint as he does so.

-x-X-x-

“Camilla? Everything okay? How did the meeting with your Grand Master go?”

She’s in a bit of a daze when she makes it back to the Palace. It’s rather serendipitous that the first person she runs into… is Thomas himself. Dragged free from her thoughts, Camilla quickly pulls herself together and gives Thomas a quick bow.

“My King… I am quite alright.”

Thomas huffs and steps forward, grabbing her by the shoulder and straightening her up.

“I think we can dispense with the titles and honorifics in private, Camilla. Haven’t we been through a lot together? Enough that I’d say we’re closer then just Lord and Knight… or rather, King and Knight as the case might be.”

Perish the thought. But at the same time, Camilla can’t help but quirk up the side of her mouth.

“King and Knight-Commander now, Your Majesty.”

Thomas’ eyes widen before an expression of pure delight spreads across his face.

“Camilla! That’s excellent news! And well deserved as well. I’m glad to hear that the meeting with Lord Commander Carlile was nothing too dour!”

Camilla bites her lower lip at that.

“Actually… we spoke about a lot more than just my promotion. We talked about the discontent among the knights who didn’t get to see battle…”

Thomas frowns, having heard plenty of those rumors himself. It’s clearly something that weighs on him and Camilla hates to bring it up… but at the same time, it’s good news.

“We have his full support, my King. The Grand Master does not stand with those who continue to bay for elf blood, nor does he stand with those who feel ‘cheated’ simply because there was no grand battle. He stands with you and I, completely and utterly.”

Thomas looks stunned for a moment before some of the immense weight on his shoulders seems to lift off. He slowly nods.

“That’s… that’s good news as well. Good to hear, really. Some people just want to see death for the sake of death… and if we want the Dark Elves to help us clean up the Rotlands, we can’t exactly start killing them off, be it at the end of nooses or in fighting pits as some have suggested.”

Camilla nods, in full agreement with Thomas on this front. Fortunately, with the Grand Master’s support, those loud voices calling for such things were all but powerless. Nobody with real influence was making such demands and so long as Carlile remained Lord Commander of the Order of the Saints, their antagonism would largely go unanswered.

Though… that did bring her to the other thing she and Alfred Carlile had discussed.

“There’s something else as well, my King. The Grand Master… he… he wished to speak with me about my future within the Order. Specifically, he told me… that he wants to begin preparing me to become his replacement and take over as Grand Master of the Order once he’s gone.”

Thomas’ eyes widen all over again and he’s all smiles for her once more.

“That’s even better news, Camilla! Congratulations!”

But of course, he doesn’t fail to notice her uncertainty and hesitation.

“… Unless you didn’t want it, for whatever reason?”

Camilla bites her lower lip.

“Well… it would take me away from your side my King. I would not be able to stay as close to you as I have been…”

Thomas makes a noise of understanding in the back of his throat.

“I suppose not. But I wouldn’t want you to hamstring yourself just to remain by my side. While I will always be happy to have you with me, I will also be happy to see you rise to greater heights. Achieving the highest position that your Order offers is no small feat.”

That’s the other thing though.

“… I do not know if I’m worthy of such honor either. How can I possibly stand as Grand Master of my Order? How can I possibly fill the position he promises to leave behind?”

Understanding dawns on Thomas’ face and before she knows it, he’s moved in closer and taken her by the shoulders. He leans in and Camilla moves to meet him, their foreheads touching as she expels a long, low breath.

“You doubt yourself, Camilla.”

“Y-Yes. How can I not? Less than a year ago I was still believing rumors and letting the opinions of others influence my treatment of you rather than forming my own.”

“You’ve come a long way.”

Camilla groans at his supportive tone.

“Not nearly far enough!”

Chuckling, Thomas pulls her into a hug. It’s awkward with her armor, but he does it anyways, holding her close and making Camilla blush. If anyone were to see them… but nobody is around. She knows how powerful her King’s hearing is at this point, so it’s fine.

“Listen to me Camilla… you are worthy of this honor. You are worthy of every honor. I’d make you Captain of my Guard if you weren’t being offered this instead. In fact, I’ll still do so if you prefer to turn down your Grand Master’s offer because you want to stay close to my side.”

Camilla blinks at that offer. Part of her yearns for it, don’t get her wrong. But at the same time…

“I can do more for you if I take the Grand Master’s offer.”

Thomas chuckles before gently chiding her.

“You can do more for the Kingdom, Camilla.”

Yes, he’s right. And she can make sure the Order of the Saints stays on the right path, the path that the Lord Commander has already put it on. By accepting Carlile’s offer, she would be able to keep everyone in line… and both the Order and the Kingdom would prosper in the long run.

“I understand. I’ll accept his offer.”

When she tries to pull away however, Thomas holds her fast.

“You don’t need to decide now, Camilla. Sleep on it at least.”

Camilla hesitates… but ultimately nods. Then, she looks into her King’s eyes.

“Will you… share my bed tonight?”

Thomas blinks and then smiles at her, brushing a lock of red hair out of her face.

“Of course. Though before that, Anna had already asked me to invite you to dinner. That’s why I was waiting for you to return in the first place. Shall we?”

Camilla nods, allowing Thomas to lead her down the hall. Her stride is firmer, her back straighter now that she knows what she must do. Everything is so much simpler when she focuses on helping Thomas above all else.

-x-X-x-

A/N: Grand Master Camilla Ackinworth… has a nice ring to it!

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