I entered the Knights den. I only had a few nicks and scratches. But, I managed to take down a great number of orcs in Dalair. They don't call me Prince Knightrc for nothing.
        It was boring. Truly boring. I was decked out in full battle armor. Welded iron helmet, sturdy platemail, iron gauntlets, and high leather boots. At my side, an exquisite rune sword with blood on it, obviously uncleaned. The problem?
        All the orcs were dead. Storming the orc camp in Dalair was fun, as well as the Chaos temple. I even went over to the nearby waterfall fortress and killed the orc shaman. I sold off the loot from the slaughtering and made a nice sum of gold.
        Still very boring though. I groaned in boredom. No one was in the den, so I took a seat in one of the chairs near the fireplace. The donation racks didn't even have a puzzle to slide the time for my amusement. Those things were really great time wasters. The message board had no new message read. It was slowly gaining layer after layer of dust. The only noticeable change in the den was the fireplace cracking and Zarkan coming in every once in awhile and talking about the restless orcs, or what Gilbert was doing wrong now.
        Something I liked to do in my free time was read. So, I had no choice but to read my signatures book. Different inks and handwriting were on every page. I managed to get a nice number of them. Some made me laugh, some others made me sigh, and even others I almost tore out. I just really breezed through them all, until I reached one signature. The one that was Kushana's.
        Her handwriting was very elegant. It had to be gained through years of practice. She wrote "maybe we'll be here again someday.". To the unknowing, they would read that and not understand. But, I knew what it meant. And it brought me back to the day when she wrote that.
        The day of a wedding. The one between Zena and Recluse. I remember Dragonburp holding a rather large club in his hands, another knight whose name I forgot holding a ton of beer bottles. There were a lot of Knights present, but I remember seeing one Scyther sitting a pew way in the back.
        So, ScarecraZy came and went through the wedding ceremony and Zena and Recluse got married. The knight with all the bottles passed them around. Everyone had a few. After some drinking, I requested Kushana to sign my signature book. Her eyes lit up when I handed her the quill. And that's when she wrote it. "Maybe we'll be here again someday."
        The quote stuck in my mind. I couldn't take it out, it just stayed in my mind over and over. There was a problem though, and it involved Kushana. She was missing for a long time. Her prolonged disappearance ate away at my heart like a disease. I was very lonely without her. Not a day went by without me thinking about Kushana. I dragged on, hoping she would be back, in front of the castle gates. It was that hope which led me to get to Princehood.
        I just stayed there, thinking. But eventually, I couldn't take it. I broke down and cried. I got out of the chair and made it into the reading booth. At least I would be able to cry my sorrows out in solitude. My mind noted my sadness and compensated by releasing happy memories of Kushana.
        There was the first time I saw Kushana. In the Haunted Manor just north of Tantallon. She talked over the line, needing a second, or an aide, because she was about to choose a groom for marriage. I heard that while I was working in the Nepeth Training Center. I could skip my training for a few minutes, so I was happy to oblige. So, I made my way over there.
        I stepped inside the Haunted Manor. I wasn't scared of it like before, so I proudly walked over to the bedroom, where Kushana and her prospective grooms were waiting.
        Imagine my suprise when I saw two orcs in the room, and Kushana. I don't really too much about the orcs other than their names, Elysium and Zasz. However, when I looked a Kushana, I had to admit to myself, she was very good looking.
        Boggles the mind, a Knight wanting to marry an orc. Stranger things have happened. Kushana greeted me and started talking to Elysium and Zasz, while I sat in a chair, waiting and listening. As the conversation went on, I learned that the two orcs were in a dead heat about who would get to marry her. I don't blame them for trying so hard, anyone who was smart would try to marry Kushana.
        Kushana asked me to pick one...but I was an impartial guy. I didn't want to get on the bad side of either of those orcs, so I said they were both equally good. So, instead of the two orcs, Kushana selected me to be her groom.
        I fell backwards when I heard that. I had principles. I usually don't marry people I don't know (call me crazy). Kushana just shrugged when I explained I didn't want to marry her. So, she said I could leave, and I did. In the end, no one got married. I didn't know it then, but I was about to go through a long chain of emotions. And Kushana would be the reason for all of them.

Last Updated: October 12, 1999