THE MOMENT
George hopped to his feet in surprise. He searched the courtyard for anyone else that might have seen what he saw; but, he was the only other person out there. Him and the red-haired teenager that pulled the sword from the stone. He strode towards the teen with purpose and he watched him wipe the blade with a white cloth. It was a curious action and George was even more concerned to see the teenager stab the sword back into the stone.
"Young man, what are you doing??" George asked. He grabbed the golden pommel of the sword and pulled; but, it did not move an inch.
"Nothing," the teen shrugged. George grunted as he tugged at the sword with all his might.
"I saw you pull the sword from the stone!" he finally let it go to give the boy his attention. "Why did you return it?" He almost mentioned the prophecy but managed to hold it in. The teen didn't seem to know anything about it. If George could somehow convince him to pull the sword out and give it to him, he could claim the crown for himself.
"It wasn't what I was looking for," the teen shrugged.
"What do you mean? What are you looking for?" George asked.
"What's your favorite number?" the teen asked. He pulled the sword out again as he posed the question.
"How are you doing that??" he asked. The teen chuckled and shook his head.
"It's why I'm here," he said. George watched him wipe the blade with the white cloth again. He thought he saw a faint green glow on the blade for a moment, then the teen sighed.
"Damnit," he shoved the sword back into the rock. Then, George noticed the white cloth disintegrating into powdered nothing. "I only have one left...," the teen mumbled to himself.
"If you need more cloth, I have some to spare...," George tried to be helpful to stay on the kid's good side. But, he shook his head.
"It's a magic cloth made by players," he said. He pulled another white cloth from somewhere under his dark leather armor. "It's made by a tailor and enchanted by a healer," he handed it to George to let him study it for a moment. It was the softest, silkiest cloth he'd ever felt on his fingertips. It was weightless and George felt like he held a handful of solid air. The white cloth shined with faint gold sparkles in the moonlight.
"Why are you wasting such a beautiful cloth cleaning a sword?" George asked. He held it out to return it.
"I got them specifically for this," he answered. "Hopefully, I don't need more though..," he pulled the sword out of the stone again. George was still impressed that someone could do it so effortlessly. He wiped the white cloth along the blade of the sword, then shook his head and grumbled while he returned the sword.
"Alright, I need some more," he said.
"Need something, Keys?" a new voice startled George. He turned and saw a teenage blonde girl in a white robe.
"Hey, Molly," the redheaded teen nodded at her. "Got any Suncloth left?"
"Some," she nodded and produced a single swatch from under her robe. "How many do you need?" Keys looked at the sword in the stone, then he looked at her and shrugged.
"I don't know?" he answered as he took the cloth from her. "Can I get you to hang around a bit?"
"Sure," she nodded and reached into her robe for another square of cloth. Then, she turned and smiled at George.
"I'm Molly, what's your name?" she asked.
"He's a Zero," Keys replied as he pulled the sword out again. George was insulted; but, he was still determined to stay in his good graces. He ignored the comment as he focused on the much nicer Molly.
"Zeros have names too," Molly replied to Keys with a stern tone. George found a smile for her as he introduced himself.
"I'm George," he said. "And, you're Molly?"
"That's right," she nodded.
"YES!" Keys shouted. He held the sword up in the air triumphantly. This time, George thought he saw a faint golden glow around it, instead of the green ones he noted earlier.
"I got what I needed," he nodded at the girl and returned the sword to the stone. "Thanks, Molly," he added as he began to sink into a black hole in the ground. George had no idea where it came from or where he was going; but, he was glad Keys was leaving.
"Bye, Keys," Molly replied. George thought he heard some minor frustration in her voice. He thought she was very nice and he felt annoyed on her behalf; Keys summoned her and asked her to stay for no reason that he could see.
"No offense, Molly, your friend isn't very considerate," he said. She giggled but shook her head.
"Keys isn't a friend, he's just someone I know," she said. "Anyway, now I can get back to what I was doing," she made a gesture at the air next to her with her hand and George saw a black portal open. It. looked like the one Keys disappeared into, except it floated vertically in the air like a doorway. "Good luck, George."
"Wait," George stopped her as she stepped into the black hole.
"Yes?" she asked.
"Um...," George only stalled for a brief moment. He knew what he wanted to ask; but, he didn't have time to come up with a tactful way. He didn't want to keep Molly from whatever else she was on her way to do. "...can you give me that sword?" he asked as he gestured at the sword in the stone.
It was a long shot; but, Keys had managed to do it so casually that he couldn't have been the only one capable of it. He reasoned that since they knew each other, maybe they had enough in common for her to pull it out too.
"Sorry," Molly shook her head as she stepped fully into the portal. "I'm not on that quest."