My Servant Is An Elf Knight From Another World

Amanda spent the rest of the journey attempting to soothe her nerves, all frayed, twisted, and mangled by a severe case of stage fright that was beyond compare. 

Meeting my parents. 

And here I thought I was managing worse. 

You can bet that if this were any other time, any other ordeal, Amanda would have jumped headfirst into the deep fiery pits with a fireproof suit woven out of 100% pure bravado and confidence. It's only when it comes to matters of the heart does she begins to falter… won't dare dip a pinky toe in fear of getting even just the tiniest bit scald. 

The poor girl was trying so hard to shake off her anxieties, internalizing them, burying them, topping them all off with layers upon layers of mirth and humor that she wound up wrapping herself all the way around back to numbing herself into a silent brooding form of hysterics.

As the distance from point A to point B continued to shrink ever so smaller, so too did her composure, her restlessness ravenous, gnawing every bit of it to shreds. 

"They're coming later, right?" she asked, her eyes scouring me intensely. "They won't be there earlier than us? Take me by surprise—nothing like that?"

"Shopping," I said, taking my phone out and brandishing my messages with my dad as proof. "They want to walk around the city first. Apparently, it's been a while since he was last here. They'll come watch later." 

"Okay, well, do you have any tips, at least?" The distressed damsel implored. "Something about your parents I should know to cheat my way into their good graces? Like, what do they look for in a daughter-in-law?" 

Now, I could point out how silly she's being here asking this type of question—an even worse paranoiac than I usually was, but I know from personal experience that doesn't do well to stop an overthinker from doing what they do best.

So instead, I indulged her… trying to form a reasonable answer to such an absurd question.

"I don't think they'd be looking for anything from you, honestly," I told her. "I mean, flashback to a year ago I was still single my whole life. No childhood sweethearts, my only high school romance fizzling out. I think they'd just be ecstatic I actually got someone." 

"No, you didn't just get someone, okay? You got someone-s. Like, plural. Like with an 's' at the end, you got it? And you got four of them!" Amanda said, rising to even greater heights of hysteria. "You know how some parents have secret favorites when it comes to multiple children? Just saying, it'd be quite nice if I were also a little secret to one of them. Both if I can manage it."

"Just be you, Amanda. I promise that's all you'll need to do." 

"I have every intention of doing just that. I'll be me all the way. Me in all my glory…"

"I hear a big 'but' being set up there." 

"But it doesn't hurt to go a little beyond me too, right?" She said, her tone swelling with the notion. "Maybe I can be a bit of them too? Maybe I'm also a big fan of your dad's favorite movie. Or perhaps your mother's favorite food just so happens to be my specialty. Make that lasting impression last just a little longer, you know?"

Of course. Amanda just wouldn't be Amanda without the usual mind games and strategies to deploy. Her reliable sword and shield in the battlefield of love. Alas, for once, I think it'd be nice to see her win a war without any of those things. 

Not because I didn't want her to, or that she wouldn't be able to, but because I knew without a sliver of a doubt that she still absolutely could without. 

"If they're gonna meet you, they're gonna meet the girl I love, not the girl that they might love," I said. "Unless you're implying that you're not gonna be good enough, and in that case, we both know just how I feel when it comes to bullshit like that." 

Amanda blew a long deflated sigh, but ultimately chose to remain quiet—focusing forward to the last few junctions left to turn. I'd like to think she agreed with my sentiments. But for all I knew she's already hatching a million contingency plans in her head to fall back on. 

Either way, guess we'll see when we get there. 

Fortunately, finding a place to park turned out much less a timesink than the congested city streets. When we got out, feet hitting the pavement, I already knew where to go. 

Just like the last shoot I was a part of, I was traversing through familiar territory. In fact, it was as familiar and routine as it gets without it being pretty much held in my own home. 

It's been only roughly a week, and here I was back again, peering through the sturdy iron fences of the park. 

If I strain my eyes hard enough, I could maybe vaguely make out the little patches in the grass where several tents and stalls had been placed, the sea of people brimming within the open field. And if I strain my imagination even harder, perhaps I could also see a bright orange blur still streaking across the open sky. 

"We're late," Amanda said, hooking me by the arm and pulling me to her hurried stride. "Late for the Elidna scene, I mean. Our scene hasn't started yet. Still… the director's really finicky with attendance. Likes everyone there at his time." 

Today's shoot was a two-bird-with-one-stone thing. First Amelia and Hayley would shoot their scene with each other, and right after that, it'll be the pivotal scene involving the full cast exempting Amelia. 

And if nothing else, Amelia still playing ball with this whole thing was the biggest surprise of all. I'm sure this movie shtick had to just be a farce to her. Something she considered to be wholly beneath a being of her stature. 

The more I thought about it, the more unbelievable it all seemed to me… but all I simply took was a single step into the park to remind me how this utter absurdity even came to be in the first place. 

"EY, BIG MAN!" 

Like an echo resonating throughout an extensive valley, Tyler's voice boomed from somewhere unseen as if an apocalyptic warning from the very heavens itself. 

"Is that…? Yeah, that is Tyler, what's he doing here?" Amanda said, furrowing her brows at the figure rapidly approaching in the distance. "I wasn't informed that he'd be here. But hey, he's looking better, don't you think?" 

She wasn't wrong. Even from a distance, the difference from when I last saw him was night and day. The bandages were gone, not a bruise in sight, patient gown replaced by the signature Tyler attire of skinny-ripped jeans and a baggy shirt plugging his own merch. And he's running too. How about that?

Tyler staggered through the last couple of paces, out of breath, and hands on his knees—despite that, his smile still shone through his sweat and fatigue, staring keenly at the both of us. 

"So the two lovebirds finally arrive!" He exclaimed between breaths, slowly rising back up. "Don't even say it—ya'll are surprised to see me here, right? Tyler Leaden making his big Hollywood debut." 

Before any of us could reply though, Tyler followed up on himself, letting out a laugh, and shaking his head at the notion. 

"But fuck no, I ain't here to steal your thunder, don't you worry. Actually, I'm in charge of catering now. Me and my boys. All the food you'd be munching while you're acting—all under my dime. In return, I get to see you all play pretend for myself." 

"You're here 'cause you want to see the shoot?" Amanda said, frowning at him. "You're not even a fan of Asteria. I saw your playthrough—you didn't even get past the prologue! You called it boring, got sleeping, you—! Why would you want to be a part of this project?" 

Amanda's bewilderment about Tyler's intentions was understandable. After all, she didn't know what I knew and all that's happened. 

"Is Amelia shooting her scenes still?" I asked. 

"Still taking takes, yep," He said with one long, desiring breath of air. "My little Scarlett Johansson doing what she does best. Don't know 'bout other folks, but the movie's a 10/10 in my books already." 

"Wait, what? You mean you're here for…?" Amanda paused, her lips hanging open, as the gears in her head turned to the only right answer. "Actually, know what? Story for another time. We're late. I'm late. Still need to put my costume on everything so I'll go on ahead, alright? You two can catch up." 

Then with the quickest peck on my cheek, Amanda hastened onto the set further yonder, leaving me with present, pleasant company to accompany me on the way there. 

"So, Chester, am I right?" Tyler said, scoping every inch of me up and down, nodding, clearly impressed. "Damn, you got the drip, my dude."