#((i took notes on what happened in the battle and discussed them with knight))

[kyogre-blue]

Finally past the Eagle Lion Battle, so we're going into the escalation slope toward White Clouds endgame.

Oof, it took me a long while to keep playing... What can I say, I do not care much about the Eagles or Edelgard. Though I will admit, her B support did make me more interested. It was very juicy.

Moving my liveblogging notes here, since otherwise Tumblr was giving me limit errors.

Edelgard B happens after the Lion-Eagle Battle, after she talks about wanting your guidance even after becoming Emperor, and how she's experienced fighting alongside others thanks to you.

Lots of interesting details here. Edelgard was born with a minor crest of Seiros, but "most" of her siblings didn't have any crest at all. They were imprisoned underground, beneath the palace, so now Edelgard sometimes longs for the feeling of the sun and the wind.

She states that the goal of the experiments was to create a "peerless emperor to rule Fodlan" which... is not likely to be what the Agarthans actually wanted and sure isn't what the prime minister and his gang would have have wanted, but it does provide some insight into Edelgard's belief she is destined to be Emperor, to reshape Fodlan, and just in general that she knows exactly what is the correct way forward, regardless of the cost.

The experiments involved "cutting open their very flesh." There were other subjects involved as well, who were "innocents" different from the siblings. Presumably, they didn't have crests at all? Or were they just not nobles? Or...?

Edelgard blames the prime minister and his "gaggle of nobles." They had the empire under their thumb and her father (heroically) tried to stop them but was ultimately powerless. This is not entirely accurate, since the start of the Insurrection was Hrym trying to LEAVE the empire, which is quite different from the implied noble cabal controlling the empire ruinously. Additionally, since Lysithea was experimented on due to Ordelia trying to help Hrym, which wouldn't align with this nobles vs emperor setup... yup, this stuff doesn't add up if you know the lore already, but it does present a certain image if you're going in blind.

Edelgard also has a second crest, a crest of flames. She again shows it via a glowing sigil in her hand, which makes me wonder what the crest analyzer is for.

Edelgard somewhat makes it sound like she has some survivor's guilt about her family and others having their lives traded for her existence (as the peerless emperor) and that she wants to make their deaths have meaning by fulfilling this purpose and then changing the world so this kind of atrocity will never happen again... but this will not align with her later actions. What she does is attack the church, which is notably absent in this entire discussion.

Note also how she continues to use artificial beasts the entire war through, which are created through human experimentation. All of them are people sacrificed in the same way her siblings were, but Edelgard keeps using them anyway.

Next section is Remire, where I'm curious to see what Flame Emperor says specifically. Like, did Edelgard not know they were going to be making artificial beasts out of people? What did she think the Agarthans were going to be doing with Flayn's blood when she "loaned" Jeritza to them? What kind of support was she expecting from them, given that they are absolutely key to giving her the power to conquer the continent?

Other live blogging notes:

Rhea directly says that the Crestless can still use Relics as weapons, so this point is not a secret.

A lot of Knights are away still dealing with the Western Church, which is why we have to go help with Miklan.

Edelgard plays up that Byleth can now take on the most elite forces of the Empire and the Church, including other Relics.

Edelgard C: We randomly hear her having a nightmare. Why are we walking around the second floor where the student rooms are in the middle of the night? AND if the walls and doors are so thin, that's... gonna be real funny, given how many people have nightmares around here. I wonder if Hilda, who is on one side of Edelgard, polite keeps her mouth shut about the moaning and shouting?

Edelgard being fully dressed here is funny.

tbh I will give them this: I do not recall what Claude's C was about. This is probably more memorable.

Edelgard says she had 10 siblings, eight older and two younger. They all became crippled by disease or lost their minds and died. Now they're all dead.

Edelgard says the nightmares are a reminder to never allow such things to happen again. But note that she specifically continues to use monsters made out of humans all through the war. "Never allow sure terrible things to happen again" but only after you've made all the sacrifices you need to change the world.

Edelgard feels the future of the empire, of "everything," depends on her.

As noted, this is gated to getting the Sword of the Creator despite not having any mention of it (or Arundel/Thales) in the support itself. So Edelgard will only open up to you after you demonstrate your potential as a world-changing powerhouse.

Hubert C: He thinks Byleth would be intimidated? By him?? lol

During Month 8 exploration, one of the knights mentioned that after being dispatched to the Western Church, they're now being dispatched to the Eastern Church in Leicester. But why? He doesn't say. I'm trying to remember, is this the month when Judith shows up to drag Claude off for a bit?

Caspar: "You know what your problem is, Edelgard? You always have to make everything about you." L M A O

Ashe was adopted by Lonato when he was 9 years old. He's 16 now. So this was seven years ago. But from what I recall, this would put it before Tragedy of Duscur, and before Christophe was executed. Hum, I hadn't realized that...

iirc, there was less emphasis on "Crests shouldn't dictate anyone's destiny, forsaken by the Goddess who now demands his execution" on VW.

Miklan has two sets of reinforcements come in, which I guess should indicate that he's smarter than he looks.

I need to psyche myself up to say no to Rhea. I don't even want the stupid lance, but I wanna see the dialogue.

Huh. The dialogue wasn't very interesting, since I have Sylvain. He just steps in immediately.

"Crests are to blame for this brutal, irrational world we live in." Hm. In what sense? It sucked for Miklan, but the only other things we've seen are related to Lonato (no Crests) and the Western Church (Relics, maybe, but no Crests).

"Their power is only granted to a select few, whom we elevate and allow to rule the world." Big hm. Brigit and Dagda attacked the Empire and they have no crests. How do we interpret that?

If we remove Crests, people will "have no choice but to rise and fall by their own merits," but hum, this seems a very isolated issue. I don't think Crest-related shenanigans even came up during VW at all. We're blaming the Church on both sides, but for very different things.

Edelgard says her power alone is insufficient, that's why she's borrowing power from the Agarthans. But if she can get Byleth instead... She wants to reach out her hand :( Still, it's very hard to take her seriously, given that there isn't really a solid foundation underneath all this vague talk.

Hubert directly says he doesn't care so much about obeying Edelgard and will just directly take care of things himself lol. Tsk, tsk, a bad retainer.

Dimitri says he searched the entire monastery already on the first week of explore. He's so diligent...

Battle with the Death Knight after Flayn's kidnapping is where the Flame Emperor first appears to the team and introduces herself. Byleth smiles for the first time after rescuing Flayn.

Jeralt mentions that strange groups have been seen around the monastery and elsewhere since the Rite of Rebirth and that knights investigating them turned up dead. These could have been Agarthans, but I don't get the impression that they travel in groups, and it seems unlikely to be Western Church remnants, since those are talked about more directly. So by elimination, it should be Edelgard's forces?

Jeralt is dispatched to the Kingdom during month 10

There's no direct path between the Empire and the monastery. The only way there is via the Alliance, over the Airmid River, and only then into the Empire. Which makes it even more puzzling what Edelgard spends two weeks doing during the invasion. Does Gloucester let her through...? Believable, given what he's like.

Sylvain's paralogue: His father ordered him to come put down the remains of Miklan's band of thieves, who have been causing trouble in Gautier territory. He was specifically told to go alone with no backup. It's interesting because it's always a bit hard to tell what the in-universe power levels are supposed to be like, separate from the game mechanics where you can do the entire game on solo.

His "hopefully things in Faerghus will get better once we get Dimitri on the throne" reads a bit weird when he's changed houses and isn't even with Dimitri anymore.

Ingrid's paralogue... feels really weird because I have literally never seen Dorothea and Ingrid interact. If they were going to lean into the yuri vibes this much, they should have gated it behind a support rank.

Gronder Field is in Caspar's family territory, and they grow a lot of grain there.

Lorenz charges off to take the central fort, with the archery installation, and the rest of the Golden Deer move to support him. Blue Lions stay put until you approach.

Edelgard jokes about the Empire and the Kingdom going to war, but Dimitri is troubled by the idea. Her overall casual tone about all this is... interesting, given that she's in the middle of arranging the outbreak of war and already tried to have the other two house leaders killed.

After the feast, Edelgard starts buttering up to Byleth, about how she enjoys and desires their guidance.

She sees becoming Emperor as her destiny and is certain that she will fulfill it.

The villagers started acting strangely already in this month, immediately after Flayn's kidnapping.

Thinking of it, the next month being called "red wolf moon" with the description that the setting sun colors the coats of the prowling wolves a foreboding red... sure is evocative. I wish the month names and the calendar in general were better integrated.

[mtap-comics]

Look who is back! Here comes the next fill in for my Bad Things Happen Bingo Card:

Fandom: My time at Portia

Pairing: Arlo x Female Builder

Summary: Elenya never thought she would meet a Knight, let alone fight him. However, she would have gladly done without the resulting compound fracture.

Word count: 8930

Prompt: Passing Out from Pain

Author’s note: I am back! After almost exactly 2 months I finally managed to finish the next story. I'm not completely satisfied with how it turned out and I hope you don't notice too much that I wrote it over the last two months. If you notice anything that doesn't make sense, please let me know!

But now I hope you enjoy reading! Please take enough time for it, that thing has gone off the rails again!

Warnings: Compound Fracture, Mentions of Blood and Bones, Concussions, a lot more Angst than inteded with a good portion of Fluff

Read on AO3: Link

An unfortunate encounter

Damn, she shouldn't be here!

Elenya was in the old ruins on the Western Plateau with Arlo, Sam and Mali, fighting a knight. Something that had not been planned in the slightest.

To catch the thief who was after All Source, she had built a model based on Ack's design to lure him out and a huge trap to hold the thief captive. She was supposed to leave once everything was set up and working, in case there was a fight.

She had discussed this at length with Arlo, her wonderful but overprotective boyfriend. She was by no means helpless! In the almost two years that she had been in Portia, her fighting skills had improved considerably and she was able to hold her own in fights.

But it was a point that Arlo made that convinced her to stay out of the fight. The thief would most likely be human, and she had never had to fight another human before. Monsters, no problem! They didn't want to do her any good either, but humans...

Her stomach had tightened at the thought, but now she had no choice but to fight.

She had barely set the trap when the thief arrived, leaving her no time to retreat. And even though the trap had worked, neither of them had expected to meet a real knight who would just easily melt away the steel bars of the cage.

Thick steel bars! She had been working on this thing for ages, and in a matter of seconds all her hard work had been destroyed!

The four of them had been fighting the knight for over 20 minutes now, but he didn't seem to care in the least. He skillfully dodged their attacks, or when they did hit, their weapons barely left a scratch on his armour.

How could they compete with someone like that?

Exhaustion had begun to spread through her. She was not used to fighting for so long at once. The other three didn't seem to know how to continue either, and there was a brief pause in the battle, which the knight immediately took advantage of.

"Well, I've had enough fun. I must bid you farewell." The knight's distorted voice echoed boredly through the large room and frozen Elenya looked at the knight.

Damn it, they couldn't let him get away!

At Sam's signal, Elenya took a run-up in a last, desperate attempt, pushed herself off the ground and tried to land a well-aimed kick to the knight's head. But the knight effortlessly deflected her attack, grabbed her foot and threw her against the wall behind him.

The back of her head hit the wall hard, the impact knocking the breath out of her. Dazed, she fell uncontrollably to the floor, subconsciously extending her arms. A loud crack was heard when she hit the floor, but her head was far too foggy for her to place the source of it.

Through the ringing in her ears, she could make out sounds of fighting above her, but those were the least of her problems right now. A sudden, excruciating pain shot up her left arm to her shoulder, and with a pained cry she rolled over onto her right side, curling protectively around the injured arm.

Something warm flowed over her right hand and nausea rose up inside her.

Oh God, what was that? She had never felt pain like this before!

Tears welled up in her eyes and she tried desperately to breathe against the pain and nausea. She only noticed her constant, soft whimpering when it suddenly became completely quiet around her.

After a few seconds, however, three voices began to discuss wildly, but she couldn't make out a word. Her brain was overwhelmed with pain and distressed, she curled even more around her arm, stirring it as she did so, sending more terrible pain through her entire body.

Another agonised cry escaped her and immediately the three voices fell silent again. Footsteps hurried towards her, and the voice she heard moments later was one she could finally identify.

"Oh God, Elenya..."

A familiar, warm hand tentatively placed itself on her upper left arm and gently turned her onto her back. She whimpered at the movement and the tears she had been holding back finally ran down her cheeks.

Arlo was here.

Three horrified gasps sounded through the room as her left arm was exposed, and curiously she also risked a glance at her arm, which was now lying limply on her stomach. Arlo tried to stop her, but he wasn't quick enough.

Her gaze fell on her bloodied arm, through which she could see something white flashing. Something white that should definitely be inside and not outside her body.

A new, stronger wave of nausea swept over her and with a groan her head fell back to the ground, aggravating her already battered head. Black dots began to dance in her field of vision and she struggled to take a full breath until beloved blue eyes bored into hers and two hands cupped her face.

"Hey sweetheart, take a deep breath, okay? Everything's going to be okay. I'm here."

Firmly, Arlo held her gaze and with his help, she managed to take a semi-full breath. The black dots in her field of vision dissipated, but tears still flowed relentlessly from her eyes, blurring her vision.

God, it hurt so much.

"I know, sweetie, I know. But we'll get you fixed, I promise."

Oh, had she said that out loud?

She could make out Sam and Mali discussing something behind Arlo, but she was fully focused on her boyfriend, who seemed to be ignoring them as well, instead gently wiping away her tears. The calm and strength in his eyes helped her keep the pain under control. She could see that behind his facade, worry and panic were trying to burst forth, but she tried to ignore that for her own sake.

She needed something to hold on to.

Suddenly, someone gently prodded her arm and with a desperate whimper she tried to look past Arlo to see what was happening to her arm, but he held her head steady.

"Shhh, it's all good. Just look at me, okay?" His voice was soft and reassuring and with a slight nod, she tried to listen to him.

Her arm continued to be moved, though. Gritting her teeth, she reached out with her uninjured hand for Arlo's, which was still cupping her cheek, and held on tightly.

More soothing words left his mouth and desperately she focused on them instead of the nausea-inducing feeling in her arm. She didn't know how long her arm had been manipulated, it felt like hours, even though it was probably no more than a minute, but then her arm was finally placed back on her stomach and she was able to relax a bit.

"Arlo?" Sam's voice was full of concern and without looking away from Elenya, Arlo asked Sam to continue speaking.

"We have to set her bone here, we can't transport her otherwise." Informed Mali's voice then, however, and panic began to spread through her.

They were going to do what?

Elenya could feel her heartbeat quickening, making her arm throb, and horrified, she clung more to Arlo's hand.

They couldn't just...

Sensing her stress, Mali turned directly to her, "I'm sorry, Elenya, but I have to set your bone. Otherwise, the transport will only be more painful and could make things worse. Trust me, I've done this more times than I care to remember."

Mali's voice was calm and collected, and together with Arlo's hand that had started to gently brush through her hair, her heartbeat slowly calmed down again.

"Is that safe, then? Or can we make it worse?" Concern now getting the better of him, Arlo turned his gaze to Mali, who gave him a brief, reassuring smile.

"It's going to hurt like hell, but like everyone else in the Flying Pigs, I have training in emergency medicine. I know what I'm doing."

The two held serious eye contact for a moment until Arlo turned back to her with a slight nod. 

"I'm sorry, sweetie, but you can do this. It'll be over quickly and then we'll get you to Dr. Xu. He'll give you the good stuff, okay?" He gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead and then moved away from her.

The panic returned immediately.

Where was he going? He couldn't just leave her alone!

Desperately she tried to reach for him, but only moved her broken arm, sending a renewed wave of pain through her body. With a pained groan, she tried to curl around her arm again, but two hands quickly placed themselves on her shoulders, preventing her from doing so.

"Hey kid, it's alright. You're not going to let something like this get you down, are you? You can do this." Sam's green eyes appeared above her, her gaze a mixture of assurance and concern.

No, she really couldn't.

Pain was shooting through her body, her head was pounding, and where was Arlo? She needed him.

New tears spilled from her eyes and desperately she looked around for him. The movement of her head aggravated her nausea, but she ignored that.

"Arlo?" Normally she would hate how scared her voice sounded, but right now she didn't care. She just needed her boyfriend back by her side.

"Hey, it’s okay. It's okay. I'm right here. I'm not leaving." A large, familiar hand slid into her right and relieved, she looked up into warm, blue eyes.

"I'm here, sweetheart." Gratefully, her eyes stayed on Arlo, who gently wiped away her tears with his free hand, noticing that he had taken off his jacket.

"Here, to make you a little more comfortable." Arlo let go of her hand again to reach for his discarded jacket lying on the floor beside him. Confused, she followed his movements, not understanding through the haze in her mind what he was up to.

His right hand, which had been caressing her cheek, ran through her hair to the back of her head and then lifted her head slightly. But before he slid the jacket under her head, he suddenly tensed and a low curse escaped him.

"Arlo? What's wrong?" Mali spoke up again, who had been studying Elenya's arm intently until just now, slight concern showing through her composed expression.

Confused, Elenya also looked at Arlo. He never cursed in front of other people.

Instead of replying, Arlo put her head back on the floor as carefully and gently as he could and pulled his hand out from underneath it.

"Shit.", it now escaped Sam too and she started rummaging in her hip pocket.

"Wha...?" Elenya’s tongue didn't really want to obey her anymore, but she didn't have to finish the question anyway, because now Arlo's hand came into her field of vision as well. 

Blood was on his palm. Her blood.

Oh...

That would explain why her head hurt so much and why it was so hard for her to think.

Over the next few minutes, a head bandage was carefully applied to her, but Elenya was purely concerned with not throwing up. With every movement of her head, the world spun around her and desperately she tried to hold on to Arlo's eyes.

When her head was finally bandaged and gently placed on Arlo's jacket, she could no longer tell up from down and it took a long moment before she could again discern Arlo's deeply concerned gaze above her.

But as soon as her eyes refocused, a gentle smile settled on his lips.

"That's it. Just breathe. You're doing wonderfully, sweetheart."

Encouragingly, he squeezed her hand, which he had taken in his again, and placed another kiss on her now bandaged forehead.

After she was able to collect herself a bit and the nausea had subsided to a tolerable level, Sam's hands settled on her shoulders and Mali spoke up again.

"Okay, I'm going to set your arm now. Ready?"

Elenya gave a slight nod, even though she was anything but ready, and clung to Arlo's hand a little more.

She didn't quite know what she was expecting. Maybe that Mali would count to 3 and start at 2 or something like that. But that she would say nothing at all and start right away, was definitely not it.

White-hot agony shot up her arm, reducing her entire being to that one spot. She hadn't thought the pain could get any worse.

She screamed.

She tried to fight Sam's grip on her shoulders, trying to escape the pain, but Sam wouldn't let go. And the longer the pain continued, the more blurred her surroundings became.

First Arlo's voice disappeared from her perception, then his hand in hers, Sam's hands on her shoulders until nothing remained but the pain.

And after that...

Nothing. 

~*~*~*~*~*~

Arlo wasn't quite sure if he was glad Elenya had passed out. The injury to her head meant that she had to stay awake, but he couldn't bear to see her in such pain any longer either.

God, her cry of pain will haunt him for a long time....

With an exhausted sigh, he dropped his tense shoulder and gently wiped the last traces of tears from Elenya's cheeks. 

Sam too carefully released her tense hold on Elenya's shoulder and dropped back onto her heels, while Mali continued to tug at Elenya's arm in concentration.

"Fuck." said Sam with feeling, and Arlo could only agree with her.

How could he let something like this happen?

Elenya shouldn't even have been here when the thief was caught, she should have just installed the trap and then taken a leave. Just because he hadn't expected the thief to follow them directly, his little builder was now badly hurt.

Moreover, the thief also escaped and he had failed all the way.

Deep feelings of guilt spread through him, but he quickly shook them off. He had no time for that now!

Instead, he remembered his training and brought his right hand to Elenya's neck to check her pulse. Her heartbeat was fast but strong, and after a moment's hesitation, he turned to Mali.

Mali just made one last deft movement on Elenya's arm and then leaned back, satisfied.

"There, that looks much better. Dr. Xu will have to take another look, but I think the bone is back where it belongs." 

Arlo inspected the arm intensely, ignoring the slight nausea that came over him again as he did so. He had seen many injuries and monsters in the most horrific conditions in his career, but when it involved a loved one, his stomach still twisted at such sights.

But he had to agree with Mali. From the horrible sight of a bone sticking out of the body, only a bleeding, gaping wound was left. This was still bad enough and his heart contracted painfully at the thought of the pain Elenya was in, but now they could take better care of the injury and get her to Dr. Xu as quickly as possible.

Between the three of them and with the contents of all three emergency kits, they were able to splint the arm and securely fix it to Elenya's stomach so that it couldn't move too much.

Elenya didn’t make a single sound or show any other signs of waking up during this process, and it became increasingly difficult to suppress his rising panic.

What if the head injury was worse than feared? What if she would never wake up again?

He tried to shake off this terrible thought, but Elenya's pale face and blood-covered belly drove even worse images into his mind.

Why hadn't he prevented it? His whole world lay broken before him and it was all his fault.

Deeply immersed in his horror, he didn't even notice how his breathing quickened and he slowly backed away from the body lying on the ground. Only Sam's hand on his shoulder brought him out of his nightmare, and startled, he looked down at his teammate.

"Arlo, come around. Elenya's going to be fine. You will take her to the clinic now and Dr. Xu will patch her up. Before you know it, she'll be running all over Portia again and you'll wish she'd sit still for a minute." A brief pause and serious look. "This is not your fault. Elenya is strong and knew what she was doing, please don't beat yourself up over this."

Desperately, Arlo clung to Sam's words. He knew how strong his little builder was, one reason why he loved her so much besides her unfailing kindness, and he had to hold on to the fact that she would make it. She had a head injury, albeit a serious one, and her arm was broken. It was nothing she wouldn't recover from.

He took one deep breath and tightened his shoulders.

"I'm sorry. I've got myself under control. Let's get out of here quickly."

Sam's worried gaze followed him as he walked back toward Elenya, but he ignored it. It was bad enough that he had lost his composure like that in front of Mali, he couldn't delay Elenya's transport any longer.

Carefully, Arlo pulled his jacket from under Elenya's head and, with Mali's help, draped it over Elenya. Winter was approaching and it was very cold outside, and his jacket was big enough that they could close it over her bandaged arm. That left him with just a thin jumper himself, but there was nothing he wouldn't do for his little builder.

Sam, meanwhile, had packed up Elenya's bag with her tools and her own jacket, and with that they were finally ready to get out of here.

As carefully as he could, Arlo lifted Elenya into his arms. It wasn't easy, as her arm was firmly fixed on her belly, but with Mali's helping hand, he was able to hold her securely against his chest, her head coming to rest on his shoulder.

The familiar weight in his arms finally eased a small part of his anxious tension. His Elenya was safe in his arms and he could finally take her to the help she so desperately needed.

They made their way out of the ruin.

Once outside, he carefully lifted Elenya onto Spacer and then quickly climbed up behind her to press her firmly against his chest, being careful not to touch her injured arm.

With a quick nod to Sam and Mali, he set off in the direction of the city. The two would inform Mayor Gale of what had happened while he took Elenya to Dr. Xu.

The cold wind tugged at his thin sweater, but Arlo hardly noticed. His entire focus was on Elenya and his destination, which was a nearly 30 minute ride ahead of him. She still hadn't made a sound, and this time he had a hard time holding back his panic.

If she had only passed out because of the intense pain, she should have woken up a long time ago. What if her head was the real problem? What if she really wasn't going to wake up and come back to him?

His heart contracted so painfully at the thought that he thought it would give up on him. He quickly remembered Sam's words to put the thought out of his mind.

He was not allowed to think like that!

She'll wake up again, smile at him and rob him of his last nerve, because she wanted to get back to work way too soon. And when the time came, he would finally do something that had been haunting his mind for a few weeks now.

Every time he saw Elenya and could hold her in his arms, to be exact. He simply could not imagine a life without her anymore and the events of today only confirmed this anew.

Subconsciously he strengthened the arm he had wrapped around her waist and finally: A sign of life sounded from her! It was only a soft whimper and his heart tore again at the painfilled sound, but finally she came to.

He leaned forward slightly to see her face and waited with bated breath to see if her eyes would open. Her head turned slightly in his direction and her breathing accelerated, but her eyes did not open and only another unconscious, soft whimper escaped her. Gently, he tried to calm her.

"Shh, it's okay. I'm here. We'll be right there. Just hold on a little longer, sweetheart, please."

His words seemed to get through to her, for her breathing calmed and she lay as lifeless in his arms as she had been before.

Just a little longer, my heart.

~~~~~~

Finally arriving at the clinic, Arlo quickly dismounted Spacer and gently lifted Elenya back into his arms. 

It was late enough that Phyllis was no longer in the clinic, and only Dr. Xu looked up in surprise as he stepped through the clinic door.

"Arlo!" The doctor quickly rushed toward him, worriedly eyeing the unconscious form in his arms. "What happened?"

"There... there was a fight. She was thrown against a wall and must have landed on her arm all wrong." Panic and concern resonated in his voice, and Dr. Xu quickly instructed him to set Elenya down on the hospital bed behind the room divider. Arlo quickly complied and placed Elenya on the bed as gently as he could, being careful not to jostle her head too much.

"God, her arm..." At the thought of her arm, his stomach immediately twisted again and he quickly suppressed all thoughts and emotions behind his Captain persona. 

He couldn't give in to his feelings now. Dr. Xu needed to know what had happened in order to help Elenya.

He swallowed hard and then straightened his shoulders. "Her bone was sticking out of her forearm... Mali set it again so we could transport her, but we don't know what else is broken in her arm. She passed out during the procedure and hasn't regained consciousness since. The back of her head collided hard with the wall and I'm worried she has a severe concussion."

Monotonously he gave his explanation and he knew that the worried look Dr. Xu gave him was meant for him, but fortunately the doctor didn’t dwell on it. Instead, he began to open the jacket to expose Elenya's arm.

Blood was already seeping through the thick bandage and the fear of complications from blood loss joined all the other horror scenarios in Arlo's mind. The tight grip he had on his emotions quickly slipped away and he ran his hands through his hair in a frantic manner.

He had to avert his gaze as Dr. Xu began to undo the bandage. Restless, he began pacing back and forth in the clinic, his thoughts a restless jumble.

"Arlo!" 

Startled, Arlo stopped. The tone in the doctor's voice told him that this was not the first time he had addressed him, and apologetically he stepped back to the hospital bedside. Elenya's arm was now exposed, but Dr. Xu quickly wrapped a new compression bandage around the wound as it was still bleeding profusely, barely closed.

"Yes, what can I do? How can I help?" 

"I need you to get Phyllis for me. I'm not going to be able to do this on my own. She should be down at Central Plaza." 

Uncertainly, he looked from Dr. Xu to the unconscious Elenya. He didn't want to leave her, but he knew that Dr. Xu needed help. He knew the basics for emergencies, but that was the end of his medical knowledge and Elenya needed all the help she could get.

He still hesitated.

"She's in good hands, Arlo. I'll take care of her." Understanding resonated in the doctor's voice and Arlo stepped determinedly to Elenya's head.

"I'll be right back, sweetheart. Hold on for me until then, okay?"

Gently, he caressed her pale cheek and then left the clinic with quick steps. Hopefully he wouldn't have to look for Phyllis for long.

~~~~~~

The next two hours felt like seconds and yet went by far too slowly. After taking Phyllis to the clinic, he was sent out against his will.

The two of them needed to be able to work undisturbed, but he found it hard to stay away from Elenya. 

To distract himself, he entered the headquarters, hoping to find something to focus on. But no matter what he tried, his mind could not be taken away from Elenya. So he finally gave in and just sat down on one of the couches, staring blankly at the floor.

Remy walked through the door at some point, but he couldn't bring himself to greet his best friend properly. The fact that he just dropped down next to him without saying a word and bumped his shoulder in encouragement told him that Sam must have told him what had happened.

They sat there in silence for a while until Remy forced him to at least take a shower and put on some fresh clothes, casting a meaningful glance at the red stains on his clothes. Arlo tried not to think further about the origin of the red stains, instead monotonously going through the motions of taking a shower.

It must have taken him a very long time, or he must have been sitting on the couch for longer than he thought, because not long after he was back in the main room and sitting next to Remy again, Dr. Xu stepped through the door.

He would have loved to jump right up and rush over to the clinic, but Remy held him back with a hand on his shoulder. Reluctantly, he remained seated.

 Dr. Xu joined them and dropped exhausted into an armchair. Without delay, he began to explain.

"So, Mali did a very good job with Elenya's arm. Both bones in her forearm are broken, but the bones were properly aligned and I fixed them with specially designed screws so that they could heal properly. I haven't been able to put it in a cast yet because the swelling is still too great, but I'm confident that, given enough time, her arm will recover completely."

A weight was lifted from Arlo's chest. When he had seen Elenya's arm, he already feared that her forearm might stiffen forever, which would have made it impossible for her to continue working as she had been. And building was her greatest passion! That would have devastated her.

But Dr. Xu, of course, was not finished yet.

"Her head worries me a little more. The impact must have been hard and she has a bad concussion now. If it hadn't been for all the adrenaline pumping through her body, she probably would have passed out on impact. I've cleaned her head wound and given her the strongest painkiller I can make, but unfortunately that's all I can do. I expect she'll have some memory problems for a while and we'll need to monitor her closely for a few days, but I don't think any permanent damage was done."

Oh, my poor little builder. 

"Thank you Dr. Xu. I don't know what we'd do without you here." Arlo was truly grateful. It was never pleasant when Portia needed him, but everyone was in good hands if something did happen.

"You don't have to thank me. I'm happy to help. You can go and see her now, by the way. I won't keep you any longer." The doctor smiled gently at him.

Of course, Arlo didn't let him say that twice, and with a quick goodbye to Remy, he was out the door and back inside the clinic. There, Phyllis was rummaging in one of the cabinets, but Arlo only had eyes for the room divider.

With quick steps he walked around it and finally, after more than two hours, he saw Elenya again. A fresh bandage was wrapped around her head and her arm lay heavily bandaged on a pillow on her stomach. No more traces of blood were to be seen and with a deep sigh he let himself fall on the chair next to her bed.

Gently, he took her healthy hand in his and planted a light kiss on the back of it.

"Hey my sweetheart. Dr. Xu has fixed you up and now you just need to rest. I'll take good care of you, I promise."

~*~*~*~*~*~

A warm, soft voice penetrated through the fog that filled Elenya's head.

Her head felt like it was wrapped in cotton wool, and she couldn't understand what was being said.

Where was she?

Why couldn't she remember what had happened?

Panic began to rise in her and desperately she tried to open her eyes. All that brought her, however, was a sharp pain shooting through her head.

A whimper escaped her and her panic rose even more.

Why did her head hurt so much?! Why couldn't she understand the increasingly loud voice?

She tossed her head back and forth, trying to get a clear thought, but only more pain clouded her mind. Then suddenly a warm, familiar hand cupped her cheek and immediately the panicked voices in her head fell silent.

Arlo...

"Elenya, sweetheart, I'm here. Everything is okay. You are safe. I'm here." Finally she could understand the voice. Concern resonated in it, but it sounded just as soft and warm as it always did when Arlo spoke to her.

Her heartbeat calmed.

"That's it. You're okay. Just get some rest. I'll take care of you. Nothing more will happen to you." 

A rough thumb gently stroked her cheek and slowly she let herself fall back into nothingness, enveloped in a feeling of safety.

~~~~~~

Elenya awoke to throbbing pain in her left arm. It robbed her of her breath and whimpering she tried to curl around the aching limb. She didn't get far, however, because a hand immediately placed itself on her shoulder and stopped her from moving.

Desperately, she grabbed the offending hand and tried to pull it away, but she could barely muster the strength to latch onto it.

"Elenya, sweetheart, what's wrong? Are you in pain? Dr. Xu!" Arlo's worried voice cut through the pain and with another pain-filled whimper, she turned her head in his direction.

Please make it stop!

She couldn't say the words out loud, her tongue wouldn't cooperate, so she opened her eyes with great effort and looked up at him pleadingly. 

"Arlo..." Her voice was hoarse and laced with pain, and immediately Arlo's free hand came up to cradle her cheek.

"Shhh, I'm here. Dr. Xu is about to bring you something for the pain. It'll be better in a minute." No sooner had he spoken the words than the doctor appeared and handed Arlo a vial. Arlo carefully put the bottle to her mouth and she greedily drank the liquid.

It tasted awful, but anything was better than having to endure this pain any longer.

"That's it. It should start working pretty soon." 

Indeed, it didn't take long for the pain to diminish to a tolerable level and her features to relax under the watchful eyes of Arlo and Dr. Xu.

"Thank you..."

"No problem. Do you think you can stay awake for a moment so I can examine you? It won't take long." Gently and also a little worried, Dr. Xu looked at her and uncertainly, she looked up at Arlo, who by now had turned his hand over on her shoulder and was gently holding her right one in his.

Examine her? Why? Why was she even here? How long had she been here? What had happened?

Silently, she tried to communicate her questions, and Arlo seemed to see at least some of her confusion. Soothingly, he stroked the back of her hand with his thumb.

"You've got a pretty bad head injury, sweetheart. What's the last thing you remember?" Concern was written deeply on his face, and straining, she tried to organise her thoughts.

She vaguely remembered a weird-looking model of a robot she had built, but the more she thought about it, the worse her headache got.

Damn it, why couldn't she remember?

Frustration spread through her and tears came to her eyes. Before they could spill over, however, Arlo's face appeared directly in front of hers, his deep blue eyes boring into hers.

"Hey, it's all good. Don't force it. The memories will come back. Just take your time." A gentle kiss on her bandaged forehead accompanied his equally gentle words, and surrendering, Elenya weakly squeezed his hand.

Her energy faded quickly and without her being able to do anything about it, her eyes closed again and she drifted back into nothingness.

~~~~~~

The next time, Elenya woke up much more gently. She first noticed the large hand gently cradling hers, followed by a warm voice that seemed to be reading something aloud, and finally the dim light as her eyes slowly opened.

Slowly, she turned her head to the right to be greeted by a comforting sight. Arlo was sitting beside her bed, his face turned towards her, her hand in his, gently reading from her favourite book. She couldn't help it. An adoring smile formed on her lips.

Arlo was still here with her.

Weakly, she squeezed his hand to draw attention to herself and immediately his voice trailed off and he turned his gaze to her in surprise.

"Sweetheart! You're awake. How do you feel? Are you in pain?" He quickly put the book aside, stood up and gently cupped her cheek. 

Happily, she snuggled into his hand and denied his question. It was still difficult for her to think clearly, but she was not in pain.

"I'm glad. Would you like some water?" Without waiting for her answer, Arlo grabbed the glass of water that was next to the hospital bed and held it gently to her lips.

As soon as the first sip wet her throat, she noticed how thirsty she was, and if Arlo hadn't held the glass, she probably would have choked right away. As it was, however, he tipped it just slightly and she was only able to drink the water in small sips.

"'Easy there, dear. You'll make yourself sick." 

As soon as the glass was empty, he put it back and then sat on the edge of her bed, regarding her intently. Love and concern were written deeply on his face, making her heart clench.

"How are you feeling?"

She would have liked to tell him she felt fine, but since that was an obvious lie, she tried for the truth.

"A little... weird. My arm feels wrong and.... I'm having a hard time... thinking clearly..." Her voice sounded weak and she had to keep pausing to find the right words, which frustrated her immensely.

What was wrong with her?

"I believe you. You took a pretty serious hit. Your arm got smashed quite a bit and you have a serious concussion. Dr. Xu said it'll all go away and it shouldn't leave any permanent damage, but it'll be a while before you feel like yourself again."

That at least explained the woozy feeling in her head. But what was that with her arm?

Slowly, she turned her head to the left to be able to see her arm, which was lying on her stomach with a pillow underneath. The sight called up an image in her head that she could well have done without. Red and white in a place where they had no business being.

"Oh God..." With a groan, she turned back to Arlo and looked at him in horror.

"Yeah, that pretty much sums it up. I'm so sorry my love, but I'm afraid for the next eight to ten weeks your arm won't be usable at all. Both bones in your forearm are broken and Dr. Xu had to fix them with screws. However, with the right treatment, you should get back the full mobility of your arm." Compassionately and as gently as possible, Arlo tried to tell her the diagnosis, but nothing could alleviate her horror.

10 weeks? And a who knows how long rehabilitation? How was she supposed to work like that? She couldn't even make herself something to eat!

Tears gathered in the corners of her eyes.

"Ten weeks? But... how am I supposed to... I can't just..." The tears overflowed and a sob escaped her throat. 

How was she supposed to do anything like this?

Immediately, Arlo leaned forward and gently cupped her face with his hands, looking her firmly in the eyes.

"Hey, hey, hey. Everything's going to be okay. I'm with you. I'll take care of you. You and I can handle this." A soft kiss followed his words, and desperate and full of love, Elenya returned it.

How had she ever deserved such a wonderful man?

Tears still ran silently down her cheeks and Arlo gently wiped them away.

"I will be by your side every step of the way. I will be your left hand. And if you ever can't take it anymore, your right hand as well." He lifted her healthy hand high to his lips and gently pressed a kiss to her ring finger.

"Forever, if that's what you want." He repeated the gesture and it took a moment for her rattled brain to connect the two things.

Had he really just...?

"I'm sorry that I'm just springing this on you while you're hurting so bad, but for a while now I've known that I can't imagine my life without you anymore. I want to be able to see your smile every day, hold you in my arms and fall asleep next to you." He cleared his throat. "The incident two days ago... God, I was so scared for you. When the knight threw you against the wall... I thought for a moment I'd lost you forever." Another kiss to her hand and a single tear actually escaped from the corner of his eye.

Her heart broke at the sight. Carefully, she released her hand from his and instead placed it tremblingly against his cheek, gently wiping the tear away.

"I'm sorry..."

"Don't be. It's not your fault. If it was anyone's fault, it's mine. But don't worry about it. I just need to hear one thing from you." Full of love, he looked down at her.

"I'm afraid I don't have a ring or anything else prepared, but... would you marry me?"

He was really…

Behind all the love in his gaze, she could also find some nervousness and she wondered how he could have any doubts about her answer.

She had never felt so comfortable, loved and safe around anyone as she did with Arlo. As soon as he was near her, she felt better and he was always there for her. They had been together for almost a year now and she couldn't imagine anything better than spending the next few years with him as well.

"Yes, Arlo. Nothing I'd love more." New tears flowed from her eyes, but this time of happiness and a mixture of a sob and laughter escaped her.

Oh God, she was going to marry Arlo!

"Really? Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you! You make me so happy, my heart." Overjoyed, Arlo leaned down to her and engaged her in a deep kiss.

Just as happy, she returned his kiss, but she could not keep her lips moving for long. All the excitement was draining what little energy she had and her concussion was taking its toll. 

Arlo noticed this immediately, of course, and gently detached himself from her.

"I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to spring this on you. Rest now, my love. I'll be here when you wake up. I love you, so much." Tenderly he stroked her cheek and with a happy sigh Elenya leaned into the touch.

She would have liked to return his words, but her eyes closed against her will and she happily fell asleep.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Elenya had to stay in the clinic for a week. Arlo was able to be by her side for the first three days, but then he had to go back to work. 

Sam and Remy were able to cover for him for a few days, but Mali went to Atara with the passcode key and a Knight was on the loose, threatening Portia. As Captain of the Civil Corps, he had sworn to protect his city, and right now it needed him more than ever, but he still would have preferred to stay with his fiancée.

God, his fiancée. He still couldn't believe his luck that his strong little builder actually wanted to marry him! If it weren't for this terrible thing with her injury and the whole mess with All Source, he'd be happier than he'd ever been in his life.

And today she was finally allowed to leave the clinic. He was on his way from her house to the clinic with Spacer, having prepared the last things so that he could stay with her and take care of her. 

Since he was going to move in with her anyway, as soon as they got married, he had pretty much packed up all his meagre belongings and taken them to her workshop. Together with Sam's help, he had then rearranged everything a bit and the house was now ready for the return of its owner.

~~~~~~

As soon as he stepped through the door of the clinic, he was greeted by the gentle smile that had always left him speechless for a moment since he had first seen it. Returning her smile, he approached Elenya, who was lying on one of the beds.

She still felt dizzy easily, so she usually preferred to lie down, although she had hardly done anything else in the last week. He was glad that she wasn't overexerting herself as she usually did, but a deep worry about exactly that plagued him all the time, even if he tried not to show it.

He greeted her with a gentle kiss and brushed a strand of hair from her face.

"Hey, sweetheart. Ready to go home?"

"Hey there. Oh yeah. It will be nice to lie in my own bed again. And wash myself properly, as far as that is possible. I feel really gross." Disgusted, she brushed through her own hair, which lay flat against her head.

The open head wound meant that she hadn't been allowed to wash her hair all week. Phyllis had only ever helped her with a cat wash, to at least give her a sense of cleanliness, but he could understand that she didn't feel comfortable like that. 

"I'll be happy to help you with that later. Dr. Xu said we could wash your hair if we're careful. But first we need to get you home. Do you have everything you need?"

Curiously, he looked at the bag that stood bulging at the foot of the bed.

"Yes, Phyllis helped me pack everything. There are painkillers in there for the next three days. I'm supposed to come back for a check-up after that." 

"Very well, let's wrap you up warmly then. Winter is just around the corner, after all." With one arm under her back, he helped her to sit up slowly.

With a slight groan, her head fell against his shoulder once she was sitting upright and protectively he pulled her to his chest.

"God, I hate this. Can't this go away soon?" Her healthy hand came up to cling to his jacket, and he could actually hear a pout in her voice.

"It will go away. You just have to give it time. You may have a thick skull, but your head has taken quite a blow after all." Reassuringly, he stroked her back until the dizziness subsided and she released her head from his shoulder. 

Together they then dressed her in one of his large sweatshirts, which was no easy task as Dr. Xu had put a plaster cast on her arm up to just above the elbow in order to keep it as still as possible. This left her with almost no freedom of movement and he could already see her frustration at not even being able to dress herself.

He tried to distract her from that with a gentle kiss before putting the sling around her neck that would support her arm.

"Please don't worry about it. I don't mind helping you at all."

"But I haven't even..."

He pressed another kiss to her lips.

"You didn't have to. I can see it in your face. So, please let me help you."

"I will try..." A sigh left her lips and he couldn't help but cup her face gently between his hands and giving her a deep kiss. 

He knew how hard this was for her and he wouldn't feel any different. If he couldn't even dress himself, he would probably go crazy and he vowed to help Elenya as much as he could without smothering her.

His deep kiss left her slightly dazed, a slight blush high on her cheeks and he couldn't help a satisfied smirk. It was nice to see what an impact he still had on her, even after almost a year of relationship.

Quickly he also put one of his jackets on her, leaving the plastered arm underneath, and zipped it up. His clothes almost swallowed her whole, but she was wrapped up warmly and he could finally take her home without having to worry about anything more.

They left the clinic empty. A wave of flu had swept through the school, and Dr. Xu and Phyllis were too busy tending to the sick children to see Elenya off.

The ride on Spacer was quiet, Elenya snuggled up against his chest in front of him, the sky a beautiful evening red, and he thought that Elenya had even fallen asleep. But as soon as they stepped through the garden gate, her eyes opened and gratefully she let herself be helped off the horse.

"Home sweet home." Smiling softly, he looked down at her, his hands still gently resting on her hips.

"Yes, it's only been a week, but it's good to be back." She glanced longingly at her machines and understandingly he pressed her gently to his chest, mindful of her arm.

"They'll be waiting for you, darling. Before you know it, you'll be buried under ores and wood and ash again." A sad sigh left her lips and he just held her for a moment, hoping to comfort her a little.

But then a sudden shiver ran through her body and worried, he quickly ushered her into the house. He thought he had wrapped her up warm enough, but with the sinking sun the last bit of warmth disappeared from the air and her body was not yet fit enough after all the stress to keep her properly warm.

But even inside, her shivering didn't disappear and apologetically she looked up at him.

"I'm sorry. I'm just so cold." She pressed herself a little closer to him and he soothingly rubbed her back.

"No need to apologise. How about I run you a warm bath? Then your arm won't get wet and you can have a good soak." 

Her eyes started to light up at his words and with an affectionate chuckle he set about getting everything ready. He left Elenya in the bedroom, instructing her to make herself comfortable on the bed until everything was ready.

He put her favourite soap, which smelled of lavender and vanilla, into the water and immediately a soothing scent spread through the bathroom. Then he placed a stool with a cushion next to the bathtub so she could rest her arm on it, laid out the fluffiest towels she owned and a large cup to wash her hair.

Now came the trickier part. Getting Elenya out of her clothes again.

"Hey, is the bath ready?" Curious, Elenya looked up at him as he came back into the bedroom and he answered in the affirmative.

"Yup, everything is ready. Now we just have to get you naked." He winked at her playfully, but then carefully helped her out of her clothes so as not to hurt her. When her back was revealed, he couldn't help a soft hiss.

It was covered with bruises that were already turning a sickly yellow and green. The impact with the wall had really done a lot of damage.

With the lightest of touches, he ran his fingers over the bruises, sending a shiver down Elenya's spine.

"I'm okay, Arlo. At least I will be again." With a soft smile, she turned her head to look at him over her shoulder, but he quickly averted his gaze.

Silently, he helped her remove the last of her clothes.

He knew she was going to be okay, yet he couldn't bear to see her hurt like this. Her scream of pain still echoed in his head as soon as she was no longer near him.

Still caught up in his thoughts, he helped her slowly slide into the warm water, making sure her arm rested comfortably on the stool and was about to reach for a soft washcloth when a small hand rested on his.

Green eyes looked up at him pleadingly.

"Can you come in with me, please? I... I miss being close to you."

Immediately his gaze softened.

"Of course."

He quickly undressed as well and slid into the warm water behind her, grateful that she had such a large bathtub.

No sooner had he made himself comfortable than she leaned back and snuggled against his chest with a happy sigh. He quickly wrapped both arms around her stomach so that she couldn't slip down and held her tightly against him.

Her warm skin pressed against his released a deep-seated fear in him and after more than a week, his shoulders finally relaxed.

"This is nice..." Elenya's voice was soft and happy and he agreed with a low rumble.

How much he had missed holding his wonderful little builder, they had hardly had any time for each other even before the fight.

They sat like that in the warm water for a while, enjoying each other's closeness, until Arlo began to gently wash Elenya with a washcloth. Carefully washing her back, taking care not to exert excessive pressure on the bruising, ran it over her stomach down to her toes, requiring a few contortions on her part until each piece of skin was cleaned. He took extra care with her one good hand, massaging it gently, eliciting a sound that almost sounded like a purr from Elenya.

Then it was her hair's turn. He gently poured water over her head with the cup he had prepared, his left hand cupping her forehead to keep the water out of her eyes. Then he began to gently massage the vanilla shampoo into her hair, careful not to touch the wound on her head.

A happy sigh in front of him told him that she was enjoying his massage very much and with a soft chuckle he continued to do so, even when the shampoo had long since been completely spread. She relaxed more and more in his arms and he was just happy to be able to do something good for her.

Eventually, though, he had to stop massaging her, afraid she would fall asleep in the tub. He carefully washed out her hair and then pulled her back to his chest to sit with her like that for a while longer. The water would get cold soon, but until then he wanted to enjoy this a little more.

After a few minutes, the temperature of the water had dropped noticeably and with a soft sigh he addressed Elenya.

"Come on, sweetheart, we have to get out." He spoke softly into her ear so as not to frighten her and, as expected, a sweet pout settled on her lips.

"No, don't wanna..."

A deep chuckle escaped him. "I'm sorry, but the water is getting cold. I don't want you to freeze. We can continue cuddling in bed if you like."

A little reluctantly she agreed, not that she had a choice, and they carefully climbed out of the tub. He quickly wrapped her in one of the fluffy towels and rubbed her dry before quickly drying himself as well.

As best he could, he blow-dried her hair (it looked awful afterwards) and then helped her into some comfortable sweatpants and his old grey sweater, which she had already "borrowed " many times when he stayed over.

By the time they were finished, she could barely stand on her feet and he hurried to get her into bed. He managed to give her her next dose of painkillers and a glass of water, then snuggled into bed with her.

He carefully manoeuvred her until her head came to rest on his shoulder and her immobilised arm on his chest. The cast pressed a little uncomfortably against his skin, but Elenya was comfortable and safe in his arms, and that was the most important thing.

"Sleep well, my heart. I love you." He gently pressed a kiss to the top of her head, but she no longer noticed, exhaustion already having won the upper hand.

[sleepyandunmotivated]

My friend has never seen a Star Wars movie so I thought it’d be funny to write down her reactions:

(P.S. started with the phantom menace)

- she thinks the battle droids waists are snatched

- she actually complimented the special effects which makes me happy

- laughed when Jar jar came on screen (I think she likes him)

- said that the ocean animals are scary and they probably do exist in the deep ocean

- questioned the treaty and trade federation and why they even want to stop trade from Nabor

- said and I quote young Anakin has “rizz”

-questioned why a grown alien was picking on a 10 year old

- I told her that the Star Wars fandom was toxic and the actor playing Anakin in this movie got bullied and she got sad (understandable), after she kept complimenting his performance

- called Obi-wan’s braid a “rat tail”

- during the race, she literally went to the edge of her seat and was getting into it (side note, I forgot that the first half of this movie was about the podrace)

- got really sad when Shmi told Anakin to leave, told him to go back (if she only knew)

- “this dude took forever to find them” (at maul)

- questioned why Samuel l Jackson is in this movie and asked if it was him twice

- at this point, she cannot tell padme is the Queen

- gasped at valorum losing power

- when yoda said his “leads to suffering line” said he was taking it a step too far

- gasped when palpatine became chancellor

- “what about the other dude?” - said when quigon said he’d take Anakin as a padawan

- “what are they going to do with the child?” (About Anakin)

- “what do they even want with this planet? Is it worth it?” (About Naboo)

- “the Queen is intense but nice” she really doesn’t know about padme

- she did ask if obi-wan’s lightsaber would change colors once he became a Jedi knight which you know, is a valid question

- it happened, padme admitted she was Queen and my friend literally said, “what?!”

- “epic!” (When the gungans agreed to be friends)

- Her: “that bodyguard is really putting her life on the line” -Me: “that’s her job” -Her: “I guess”

- “give the 10-year-old a gun” (when they were discussing capturing the Viceroy)

- “green light saber dude should’ve strapped Anakin to his back, why is he there? Couldn’t they dropped him off at a house?” (When the attack begins)

- “the Queen is it it” and yes, she was

- smiled at the wilhelm scream

- “how are these dudes going to fight the yellow dudes?” (Gungans v droids)

- “they really have to assemble the army huh?” (At the droids taking their sweet time to form)

- “he’s more of a liability to his own army” (to jar jar)

- “double sided, not fair” (when maul shows up again)

- “aren’t sith just evil Jedi? Shouldn’t 2 Jedi be able to take the red dude?”

- “Jesus, what is he doing?” (At Anakin when the ship takes off)

- “Is Anakin going to die in space?” (I don’t think she knows that Anakin is darth Vader)

*Next few are about duel of dates

- “where are they? This is not the same place”

- “I want one of them to touch a lightsaber. I want to see the damage”

- “that man is flying” (at obi wan)

*gungan battle

- “how is he not dead?” (To jar jar)

- “boomer”

*anakin storyline

- “he’s not having a good time”

- “I feel like r2d2 should have some weapons on him. Shoot the people”

*back to duel of fates

- “what are these force fields protecting? The core of the planet?”

-“if obi wan really wanted to get in the battle then he could’ve tried”

- gasped when quigon died, “what?! This can’t be it”

*padme storyline

-“everything is going wrong. He died. They got captured.”

- “they just have guns in the chair?”

*duel of fates

- “every time there is evil, the evil is always stronger. Not fair.”

- “kill him. Or at least close to death” (at obi wan for maul)

- I had to explain that jedis Can kill. She thought it was Batman rules

*anakin and gungan storyline

- “Anakin is the only pilot that got inside?”

- “do they run on wifi? They need a better router”

*duel of fates

- “Im telling you he’s flying.”

- “he’s not going to stay dead, right?” (Despite seeing mail cut in half, she has doubts)

- “this doesn’t make sense. He’s an apprentice”

- “isn’t the wound catarized?”

- (when quigon speaks his final words) “No! If Anakin becomes evil, im going to be angry” she really doesn’t know anything about Star Wars

- “this was just one movie, will” asked me his name, “quigon show up again?”

- she hasn’t even noticed palpatine and the chancellor are the same person

- “I hope this guy doesn’t become evil and didn’t use her to become the leader” (about the chancellor)

- “yay” when Anakin become obi wans apprentice

- “they just burn him? What? Do they at least keep his ashes?” (About quigon)

- “is that your childhood crush?” She knows I had a crush on Anakin skywalker it it was episode 2 Anakin (I was a kid)

- “this is sad” asked me quigon’s name a couple more times

- “It’s cool, they formed an alliance but are they not going to crush the orb? It looks crushable” and she was very disappointed when the orb was not crushed

- final thoughts: she liked the characters and the action, next is episode 2

[puerveritas]

Hilbert will literally fight @aeshmedai if he has to.

He really thought that beating N would be the end of it. Zekrom was the one that chose N, after all; wouldn’t it follow that beating him would mean the end of Team Plasma’s goals? 

But no. Although, it made sense thinking about it now; N’s intentions were good underneath it all, so there had to be someone else pulling the strings (so to speak). And frankly...Ghetsis made the most sense. He always gave Hilbert a sort of vibe; not a good vibe or a bad one. He just always had a sense that Ghetsis was someone to watch out for.

At least he was right on the money there; even in this setting, he was downright intimidating. 

Hilbert realized; if he wanted to truly beat Team Plasma, if he wanted to survive...he would have to beat Ghetsis in a battle. And he’s only heard rumors about how strong he is. Hilbert would be lying if he said he wasn’t a bit intimidated by all that.

Still, Garfield’s PokeBall remained in his hand. he wouldn’t throw it, not yet. He figured that he’d wait for Ghetsis to say his piece before jumping into a battle.

[blisschi]

• Cold •

Pairing: Diluc x GN! Reader •

Warnings: Major Character Death,,

Notes: Reader is a Knight of Favonius here! c:

"Diluc, look!" Your cheerfull voice rang across the place, instantly alerting the red-haired winery owner. His head turned towards you, gaze followed your finger that pointed on the huge pool of water. "Such large lake.. so much water!"

Diluc frowned, his eyebrows furrowed. It was barely bigger than the one next to Dawn Winery. What's so special about it?

"I can't believe.. it's such a beautifull place.."

"What's so special about it? It's rather common sight-" Diluc couldn't finish the sentence because of your hand suddenly grabbing onto his wrist. Before pulling him towards the water, all you could offer as apologies was your warm smile. Light reflecting in your eyes, visible happiness that made his heart ache. Beautifull - He thought, before getting hit by the realization what you're about to do.

"Wait-- [Y/N]!-"

"Yahoo!"

SPLASH

Your laugh was muffled by the loud splash of water. While you certainly enjoyed so called 'bath in the lake', Diluc looked more upset than usual. Of course, getting wet wasn't something he found entertaining - by cold water on top of that.

"[Y/N]." His voice cold, tone annoyed. He knew that every member of Knights of Favonius were just as childish as possible, but that outgrew his biggest expectations. During moments like that, he seriously wondered if keeping in contact with you was the best choice. "Do you want to be fish in your next lifetime? Perhaps crab would be more fitting?"

His hand grabbed onto the back of your collar, holding your head right above the water. Your eyes widened as you raised your hands in defense, while explaining. "S-sorry, sorry! That's actually really tempting offer, but I see myself as tiger shrimp in my next lifetime!"

Diluc sighed, letting go of you. He closed his eyes and turned away, ready to get out of the water.

"I love water.." He stopped, hearing your voice. Voice full of emotions, especially longing. "I miss those old days.. my friends and I used to play in the lake all the time.."

The male turned his head towards you. His knees still covered by water as his gaze wandered from your face to your hands with which you collected small amout of water. Your smile never left your face as you stared down at your connected hands, the liquid slowly running down the gaps between your fingers.

"Our parents stood near the shore and laughed.. Water brings back the memories about my friends and family.." Your expression reflected into water surface as you slowly lowered your hands. "Even though it's cold.. I still feel the warmth of those days.."

Why.. those days must have passed away?

"[Y/N]" Your thoughts were interrupted by the voice coming from behind. Diluc already walked back towards you, no more caring about the water. "It's true that times have changed, but only if you ask.."

His hand wandered on top of your head, stroking your hair ever so slightly.

"I can become your family at any moment.. Even though you're one of the knights.. and even though you look stupid."

His hand lowered to your cheek, now cupping it gently. Your surprised expression lasted only mese seconds as after a while, you lowered your head and smiled.

"Thank you.."

Diluc raised his eyebrows as his hand returned on top of your head, fingers grabbing onto your head before he shoved you back down into the water. Surely, he was treating you too well lately. You've made him all wet. Don't think you're not going to suffer the consequences.

"How long do you want to stay in the water? You really want to become a fish, don't you?"

Smile appeared on his face as you desperately tried to push him away.

Warmth, you say?

During your next visit at the Dawn Winery, Diluc welcomed you with open arms. Both of you decided to sit outside the building, sipping on some grape juice while discussing on various topics. Diluc seemed rather calm. Little did he know that your visit wasn't in intention for a simple chit-chat.

"How's the situation at the tavern?" You asked, running the tip of your finger over the glass edge. "Is everything going smoothly?"

"Quite good." Short answer, as usual. Noticing your gaze fixated onto the glass, he clicked his tongue. "There's nothing I'd have to handle on my own."

"That's great.." Was the only answer you gave him. Where was the cheerful voice of yours that brightened his day? Where was your excited expression he remembered, while you talked about what's going to come in the nearest future.

Few moments passed, thus silence began to be rather unbearable. With a sigh, red-haired male decided to be the one to break it.

"What's bothering you?"

His question instantly caught your attention as you lost interest in the glass in front of you. It took quite some courage for you to look up into his eyes.

"You heard about the abyss taking one step closer towards achieving their goal? Our outriders spotted them on the east.. Mages.. Heralds.. Amber told me they intend to eliminate most of our forces by threating to attack citizens and forcing us to--"

"Get to the point."

You broke the eyecontact, surely not being able to look him straight in the eyes while saying: "I've been sent to the front line."

His heartbeat stopped, voice stuck in his throat.

What did you say?

Front line?

"Kaeya decided.. to only send mere part of our forces.. That way we can investigate their strenght from the--"

"I refuse."

Your gaze returned to his face after Diluc raised his voice.

"It's an order I cannot-"

"You're too weak."

Your eyes widened. Did he really think of you so poorly? You've taken care of plenty enemies before, proving your strenght in battle.

"It's my duty to obey Captain Kae--"

"Don't." Diluc glared at you. "Mention that name again."

His brother couldn't even take care of himself during evenings spent in the tavern. What kind of Captain was it? Diluc could bet that his orders are nothing, but decisions under the infuence of the moment.

He won't.. lose another person because instead of taking care of things himself - his so called brother wants to play from afar. He's always been like that.. Sending pawns to battle, while getting his hands on the victory they acquire.

"I want to protect those who cannot defend themselves." Serious tone in your voice. Determination in your eyes as you confidently kept to prove your point. "We can not wait for something terrible to happen.. I swore to protect Mondstadt."

He knew you're not going to listen.

Standing up from the table, your head turned away.

"There's surely a reason for Captain to choose me along with the others.. You know I'm strong, Diluc.."

Strenght goes in pair with Defense.

Defense you were lacking.

"Haah.. Haa.." You panted, looking around the battlefield as the only thing you could see, were your defeated colleagues.

Heavily injured, struggling to keep yourself standing..

Out of pity, smile appeared on your face as tears left the corners of your tired eyes.

Diluc was right..

Falling to your knees, as your legs no more could bear the weight of your body.

"I'm sorry.. Diluc..."

-

"Master Diluc..! Everyone is worried.." One of the maids called after the male. "It's pouring yet another day.. You'll get sick if you keep--"

Other maid interrupted, placing a hand on her shoulder. She smiled at the other sadly, shaking her head before glancing as Diluc disappeared into the forest.

He went to the place you found beautiful.

Diluc sat near the water, letting the raindrops freely wash over his head, back and shoulders. Staring down at his reflection in the surface, he scooped up some water and smiled bitterly.

"I don't understand why do you love it so much.. It's wet and disgusting.."

Clenching his teeth, Diluc tried his best to stop tears from leaving his slightly reddened eyes.

"You brat.. I don't feel any warmth..

It's so cold.."

[masterhandss]

May I ask, what happens in the short stories included in the Hamefura manga volumes? (e.g. highschool AU, kindergarten AU, genderbend AU, etc.)

Well, okay! I'm not good at summarizing stuff, so sorry in advance! I'm also writing these without rereading the Bonus SS so there may be small inaccuracies in these summaries. Some of these are gonna be longer than others depending on how much of I still remember lmao

I still suggest everyone go buy the manga volumes and give them a read, these extra chapters are so fun it makes me wish the anime fillers are always these wacky and entertaining (in fact I had to put writing this on hold because Season 2 adapted one of these, kinda XDD)

// spoilers for the hamefura manga volume bonus ss/special oneshots

Volume 1 - Untitled

Bakarina wakes up and realizes that she has no control over her body. She is confronted with a familiar scene of Katarina bullying Maria in Fortune Lover, and realizes that she's experiencing it from a first person point of view: through Katarina's eyes. She comments on how cruel Katarina is and explains the different ways she'd treat Maria differently, until Keith and Geordo arrive to save Maria. Bakarina feels unnerved and saddened by the angry and hateful looks that Keith and Geordo are giving her (Well it's Katarina, but Bakarina feels like they are look at her), and nervously wakes up from the dream. It is revealed that the dream took place some time before her arrival at the Magic Academy, and that she vows to work hard not to fall into a Bad End so that she'll never receive such hateful looks and be scorned by the otome game characters who she now considers to be her closest friends.

Volume 2 - Doom Route★Private School

Katarina gets awoken by Anne telling her that she needs to get ready to school. Katarina is surprised to find out that she has a school uniform and that she'll be heading to school in a fancy car. Anne tells Katarina that Keith won't be coming with her because he's already at school. When she gets there, she gets greeted by Keith who is part of the School's Disciplinary Committee. She is also greeted by Geordo, the SC President and his twin brother Alan, the Secretary. Keith's job is to check everyone's uniforms, so he reprimands the twins for their custom uniforms. Geordo tells him that he'll just have the rule changed, and that Keith's uptight attitude is why he doesn't have a girlfriend. This is how Katarina finds out that the engagement between Geordo and her is a verbal agreement between families, so she's technically engaged to him but it's not official.

After meeting up with all her friends, Katarina enters the classroom to find it looking just like her old one in Japan. She finds that she had scribbled doom flag avoidance plans on her desk and notebooks, and realizes that she's still in an otome game. Maria then enters and is introduced as the new scholarship student, and Katarina runs out to read her notebook. Everything is the same, from capture targets to rival characters , except the setting is a modern. Katarina finds out that her bad ends only lead to her getting either expelled and transferred or getting a restraining order. Katarina becomes confident in befriending Maria, and enthusiastically plans to enjoy her new life in a modern school. The chapter ends with Katarina buying lots of melon bread from the cafeteria, and wakes up form the dream before she could eat it.

Volume 3 - My Next Life in a Fantasy RPG

Katarina is awaken by Miri, who tells her that she is late and that she needs to eat breakfast. Katarina dresses up and realizes that her clothes looks like a cute outfit form an RPG. After being greeted by her father and being given a simple japanese breakfast (which made a bit emotional), Miri scolds her and tells her to hurry since she and Keith needs to check up on a few things before they leave. When Katarina asks where they are going, Luigi tells her that she and Keith are headed on a journey to become heroes and defeat the demon lord. She is told that they are the two chosen from the village as representatives. Katarina, being confused about being in an RPG-like world instead of an otome-line one, realizes that she is in a dream and is excited to play a heroine role in the fight against the monsters. Katarina is awoken by Keith during their carriage ride, and told that they were at the castle. Despite being representatives of their village, they still need to be selected as a true hero. She asks on how they were selected as the representative, and Keith tells her that it's done by lottery. Katarina admires the RPG-style outfits of everyone in the crowd, before the high priest arrives and announces the details of the selection.

Everyone is divided into small groups and left to face monsters in order to assess their abilities. Katarina, who has never fought before, is scared of the task because she's never fought monster before. Unlike Keith who looked like a knight, her weapon is a hoe. She asks the officiate beside her if she can just eliminate herself and watch from the side, to which Keith sighs in disbeliefs and the man giggles at the confession. As the officiate yelled at the sight of a world, everyone got ready for battle. While Katarina admired the fight from afar, she realized that something else was growling besides the wolf. Timeskip to hours later, Katarina was selected as a hero with the title of "Monster Tamer", and the officiate reveals himself to be Prince Geordo and asks to be a part of her party. As Katarina and her party march on to face the demon king, they encounter a witch, who reveals herself to be Miri with a book of manners. Katarina then wakes up from the dream.

Volume 4 - Dreamland Genderbender

Katarina wakes up to the sight of a male butler waking her up to tell her that she is late for school. When she asks him who he is, he says that he is Anne, Katarina's faithful butler. Katarina realizes that Anne is a man, and that she isn't a she, but a HE! Katarina freaks out at the fact that he is a man and realizes that there is something on his waist that definitely shouldn't be there. Before Katarina could ponder about it for too long, Anne helps him prepare for school. He gets greeted by Keith, and he becomes overwhelmed by how cute (and yet somehow very Keith-looking) she was. When they got to the Academy, Katarina is greeted by Geordo and Alan, who are princesses instead of princes. Due to the fact that everyone's names were still the same despite being gender-switched, she realizes she's in a dream and plays along. Mary greets Katarina good morning, and Katarina notes how gentlemanly and dashing he looked. Katarina was then greeted by Nicol, whose smile was so lovely it made everyone blush. As she pondered on whether the female Nicol was more charming than her male counterpart, Sophia greets Katarina.

On their way to class, Katarina looks into a window and feels bad about how mostly the same he looked despite being a boy. Geordo clings onto his right arm as she tries to lead him to class (emphasizing her chest while doing so, which Katarina notes as being possibly bigger than Mary's), while Keith takes the other arm and gets angry at the princess for her behavior. Katarina is overwhelmed by Keith's adorable height, and lets go of both of them to hug her. Geordo takes a hold of Katarina, vocalizing his jealousy over his touchy-ness with Keith and demands the same treatment because they are engaged and because she is much more attractive than Keith. The argument between Geordo and Keith becomes heated, discussing whether or not a huge chest is much more attractive in a woman. Alan doesn't want to be a part of it, and Nicol stops their discussion as it is embarrassing to hear for the other students. Katarina doesn't know how to react since she is a boy in this situation. When they get to the classroom, they are greeted by Maria, which prompts Katarina to contemplate on what the differences are in the world now that they all swapped genders. When they get to student council room, Katarina compliments Raphael on how small and adorable she looks, bringing back the heated discussion between the girls about chest sizes. Katarina shouts that he has no preference, and then wakes up from the dream.

Volume 5 - Doom Route Kindergarten

Anne introduces herself as a daycare worker at Doom Route Kindergarten, and awaits the arrival of the students. First car arrives with Geordo and Alan, children from a well-off family. Anne is asked to take care of the two, who she nicknames "Sebastian the Butler". Anne notes on how well mannered the two are, and how they are apparently children of a government figure. Next car arrives with Mary, who is a the very feminine fashionista among the children, who loves flowers and fashion. Next car arrives with Nicol and Sophia, who were admired by the staff because their loving parents drop and pick them up from school themselves. Nicol is rumored to be a future seducer by the staff, and Anne notes on how they used to never interact with other children until recently. Next comes a woman on a bike, revealing herself to be Maria's mother who is there to drop Maria off. Despite being the daughter of a normal company employee, Maria was able to enroll into a private kindergarten through a scholarship due to her talent in baking despite her young age. Maria used to have a hard time adjusting to being a school for rich kids, but she had become more enthusiastic about school more recently.

When Maria asked Anne if Katarina will like the treats she made, on cue, another car arrives. Miri angrily drags a half asleep Katarina out of the car, reprimanding her for napping as soon as she finished eating breakfast. Miri apologizes for her daughters rudeness, and Anne replies that she's used to it. Anne tries to wake up Katarina by telling her that Maria made treats for her, which works and jolts Katarina awake. Katarina constantly clings onto Anne and asks her to play with her, while the other children tries to get Katarina to play with them instead. Anne notes how happy she is that Katarina likes her so much, even if she gets glared at by the children as a result. After receiving so much offers of different activities to do, Katarina settles on challenging Alan, which everyone follows them to. Anne runs after them telling them not to climb any trees again. After that, Katarina wakes up from the dream.

Volume 6 - Magical★Girl Flag Breakers

I already made an attempt to translate this chapter, since Manga Volume 6 has yet to come out in english, so I suggest reading it! I'll still summarize it though I guess

Katarina is on her way to school, running with a cucumber in her mouth, until she accidentally bumps into what looks like a small doll. The doll talks back to her, making her realize that it is sentient. Katarina and the doll, who reveals himself to be Raphael the Spirit, have a quick banter that escalates into a discussions about the nature of spirits and the danger that the planet will soon face. As Raphael finishes his explanation, monsters summoned by the evil organization began to attack in a nearby park. Katarina and Raphael checks it, and finds a giant stuffed bear rampaging. Katarina attempts to flee, but Raphael asks her to help him. In a panic, Katarina says yes, and the two form a contract. Katarina transforms into a magical girl and attempts to fight the monster. Despite being confused, she was able to win, and thus beginning her journey as a magical girl.

Timeskip to a few weeks/months later, Katarina mentions that she had found more magical girls among students in her school which includes Mary from the Gardening Club, Sophia from the Literature Club and Maria from the Student Council. The three were recruited by a spirit named Anne. The four are close friends who walk together to school. During one of their walks, they are interrupted by Geordo, one of the Four Kings of Ruin who are part of the Evil Organization. Mary, Sophia and Maria get angry at him for ruining the moment between the girls, and Geordo calls upon his allies in order to be alone with Katarina. From the sky descends the other members of the Four Kings: Alan, Keith and Nicol. Rather than being excited for battle, the three instead berated Geordo for calling them during their free time. Geordo asks them to fight off the other three girls so that he can be alone with Katarina, but instead they interact with Katarina whom they have already met prior. In the end, Geordo is arguing with Mary and Sophia, Alan and Keith are flushed in the corner at the sight of Katarina, and Nicol and Maria are sharing food (since he dropped his pasta after being summoned by Geordo). Katarina wonders if she really is a magical girl since they haven't actually been fighting whenever they encounter each other, and then wakes up from the dream.

Rereading this now, I may have made these summaries a little too long... I hope this doesn't discourage anyone from reading the Bonus SS yourselves!! Please read them, they are so funny and good!!

Detective Katarina's Office isn't available yet, I might edit this post when that drops.

Thank you for the ask (help my fingers hurt from typing jshdfg)

[tachiisms]

okay so I have seen Siri’s cameo in Brotherhood, and while I’m delighted for her to continue to get little crumbs of mentions in new canon books, I’m also a little disappointed that this mention of her seems to do what was pretty solidified for me with the Obi-Wan Kenobi show, which is confirming that they will not be re-canonizing Ferus Olin. (as I mentioned in a previous post: two things can both be truth, 1 that I am enjoying the Obi-Wan show and am glad for everyone who is loving it, and 2 that I am disappointed that they have either fully decanonized Ferus or at least removed his 20 years on Alderaan as Leia’s protector.) 

this is the cameo in Brotherhood, just so you can follow along with my thought process here (probably obvious, but if you have not read Brotherhood and do not want to see anything, please skip this, though there are no spoilers in this since we all know already that Anakin got Knighted after the Battle of Geonosis). 

“...Anakin standing with the rest of the new Jedi Knights while behind them, current Padawans observed. To his left, D’urban Wen-Hurd, the Tholothian notable throughout training for her twin shoto lightsabers. To his right, Keer Stenwyt, Olana Chion, and several others. Across the courtyard stood their mentors, at least the ones available: Moragg Bomo, a Kel Dor with black tunic and blue-tinted goggles, Siri Tachi, Ma-Dok Risto, and more.”

for timing purposes, remember that Ferus resigned from the Order approximately 3 years prior to the Battle of Geonosis, after which it was explicitly stated in Secrets of the Jedi that Siri never took another Padawan. (I’ve discussed before now that it’s notable that this is explicitly mentioned, because Secrets of the Jedi takes place within the first year of the Clone Wars, so Siri has really only been without a Padawan for 3-4 years, and yet we’re directly told that she never took another Padawan, when that isn’t exactly necessary information for the context of the plot, the mission, or even the scene. other Jedi who haven’t taken Padawans -- for example Garen Muln and Bant Eerin, both of whom appear in many of Jude’s books -- are just described without the mention of a Padawan, but never with a ‘they’re alone here because they’ve never taken a Padawan.’) 

so for Siri to be at the Knighting of a Padawan of hers just after the Battle of Geonosis, this would mean that either Ferus does not exist and she never had a Padawan who resigned (which we all know I will not ever do), or it means that she took a Padawan at some point within those three years, but given the timing of the Knighting, it must have been a Padawan who was nearly finished training and whose Master died. 

the second of those two, I could be amenable to, especially considering that one of the Padawans mentioned as being Knighted is Olana Chion. Olana Chion is the baby that Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, Adi Gallia, and Siri went to find on Siri’s first mission as a Padawan in Jedi Apprentice: The Fight for Truth. (and as a side note, Olana Chion is also a named background Jedi extra seen in ROTS that Lucasfilms named after baby O-Lana essentially as a thank you type acknowledgment to Jude for how much she did for prequels era media, where they acknowledged that, at the time, Jude had written more prequels era books than any other individual.) the Brotherhood passage does, whether intentionally or not, match up Olana and Siri: Olana is the third of the Padawans that Anakin lists, and Siri is the third of the Masters that Anakin lists. 

considering that Siri was among the Jedi who found Olana (and, additionally, Siri was the one who Olana’s mother handed her to when both parents had thought it through and decided to send Olana with the Jedi), if something happened to Olana’s Master between the time of Ferus’s resignation and the Battle of Geonosis, I could see Siri being able to be convinced to finish her training. (it would be a very hard decision for her, she feels her failure of Ferus very deeply, and it’s always felt to me like at least a little bit of self-punishment, since all of the textual evidence we see of her as a Master shows that she loves teaching, and is a great Master, but that she felt very responsible for Ferus’s resignation, and never wanted to fail another Padawan the way she failed Ferus.) but for Olana, especially if it was Adi who was asking, I could see her agreeing to finish Olana’s training. 

I also think that Siri would have continued to see Olana as her former Master’s Padawan more than her own Padawan, though that she would have treated/trained/protected/cared for Olana as if she were Siri’s own (if that distinction makes sense) since we know that for a Jedi to be responsible for another Jedi’s Padawan is considered a deep responsibility, as shown in this passage of Jedi Quest: the School of Fear, where Obi-Wan is responsible for Ferus on a mission where the Council is sending Siri elsewhere alone:            "You will be responsible for another Jedi's Padawan," Mace Windu told Obi-Wan.           "You know what this means."           "It is as if he is my own," Obi-Wan said, looking at Siri.

so... tl;dr that’s how I’m going to reconcile this retcon. Siri finished Olana’s training on behalf of her deceased Master, but never took another Padawan of her own.

[raya-rhaenyra-ahsoka]

Why Daenerys Should've Stayed Longer in the North Than Attack Cersei Too Soon (Which is a dick move, really) PART 2

This is a continuation from my other post, as promised. Here’s the link to Part 1 here.

ALLIES FROM THE SOUTH

The Stormlands. With Dany recently legitimizing Robert Baratheon’s last living bastard, Gendry (Yay!), and appointed him as the new Lord of Storm’s End, I think he had pledged his loyalty and full support to her.

Now since the Baratheons are the overlords of the Stormlands, it ultimately makes the Stormlands part of Dany’s new rule in Westeros. And if the Stormmen questioned Gendry’s legitimacy, there are two people who can back him up: Ser Davos Seaworth, a landed knight, and Ser Brienne of Tarth, literally the heiress to Evenfall in Tarth Island. Both of whom are from the Stormlands and have served the late Baratheon lords, Stannis,

and Renly, respectively.

TV show-wise, Gendry had taken over Edric Storm’s plotline. Edric Storm was another one of Robert’s many bastards and it was him who Ser Davos saved from being killed by Mellisandre in the books, not Gendry. Gendry himself was grateful to Davos for saving his life and he sort of stepped up as his own parental figure. I also think Gendry reminded Davos of the son he lost during the Battle of Blackwater Bay.

As for Brienne, she and Gendry never shared a conversation in the show, but in the books, he even saved her life. Brienne came from Tarth, an island in the Stormlands, where her father Selwyn Tarth is lord and one of the many bannermen of the Baratheons of Storm’s End. Brienne came across Gendry in the Inn at the Crossroads while she was searching for the Stark girls. When she saw him, she literally thought he was Renly because of his striking resemblance to his uncle. Their exchange went something like this:

Brienne: Oh my god, Lord Renly?!

Gendry: Uh, what? Lord? Lol no, I’m just a smith.

I wished it happened in the show, it would’ve been funny.

Dorne. There isn’t much plot regarding Dorne in the show. (Again, f*ck D&D for ruining a great sub-plot of the story!) But in the books, the Martell heiress, Arianne was the ultimate feminist icon. She supported and fought for Myrcella Baratheon’s claim to the Iron throne over her younger brother, Tommen, and she hoped that the rest of Westeros would follow after Dorne’s right of inheritance regardless of gender and order of birth. But no! They disregarded that seemingly important plot that even George R.R. Martin was disappointed about the changes. (We hear you, George!) Nevertheless, Arianne would’ve supported a queen, yes. But between Daenerys and Cersei, she’d probably go with Dany mainly because of their family ties. In case you forgot, Rhaegar’s late first wife, Elia Martell, was Arianne’s aunt. Also, because of what happened to Elia and Oberyn Martell in King’s Landing, the Martells practically loathed the Lannisters. In the show, Oberyn Martell’s paramour Ellaria Sand, and his bastard daughters, the Sand Snakes, hated the Lannisters, that’s why they sided with Dany. But with all of them dead and House Martell now extinct, I think the new prince of Dorne would’ve allied himself with a tamer ruler, not one who plays with wildfire. (Note: this is when Dany stayed in the North and did not march south yet.)

Spies. In the Art of War, the use of spies implies gaining knowledge of the enemy, knowing their motive and their next move. With Lord Varys the Spider in Winterfell, who’s still serving under Daenerys, has its advantages. Vary’s networks of spies or as what he called them, his “little birds” are literally scattered across the seven kingdoms.

His little birds are actually children, and appearance-wise, cannot be easily identified as spies. With his intel, they could easily formulate a plan to defeat Cersei.

DEFENSE AT SEA

 If Cersei couldn’t do it by land, she’ll go by sea. Which, Daenerys of course, have the appropriate fleets to defend, covering both the Narrow and Sunset Seas. Here's a map:

(Source: pinterest.com)

Enemies to the East. If Cersei will be stupid enough to attack through the Narrow Sea by sea, Daenerys has the fleets to defend. The Northern fleet, a.k.a the Manderly Fleet of White Harbor and the Arryn Fleet in Gulltown in the Vale will join forces.

Enemies to the West. And if they invade through the Sunset Sea, they’d have to pass the Iron Islands, where Yara Greyjoy’s Fleet will intercept them, with the help of the Mallister Fleet in Seagard.

Who would win depends. The only other person that’s probably as good as Euron at sea is his niece, Yara. The rest of Dany’s fleet would have to get lucky or outnumber the number of ships in a fleet.

At this point, you’ll probably be like, oh, what if they steer clear from the fleets and enter the North’s weakly defended areas? Okay, that job falls to the castles nearest to their borders. The northernmost castle is the Last Hearth, the seat of House Umber, which is practically already deserted. On the south is Greywater Watch, which has the strongest defense out of all four cardinal directions. On both east and west hold the seat of two branches of House Flint, with Widow’s Watch on the east, and Flint’s Finger on the west (Again, refer to the map above). Once they see Cersei’s fleet, they’ll inform the people in Winterfell.

People tend to forget that Daenerys has the only air support with her dragons. So when she hears about this, she’ll easily burn the enemy fleet with one dracarys away.

That is, if Qyburn hadn’t installed that big-ass crossbow in one of the ships, then she’ll have to be better at dodging them. It gets better if Jon’s willing to help her with Rhaegal, but we’ll never know.

OUTNUMBERED AND SURROUNDED

The map shows the Crownlands and its neighboring kingdoms of the Vale, the Riverlands, the Reach, and the Stormlands. (Source: pinterest.com)

Territories. With Cersei sacrificing Casterly Rock to tighten her grip on the Iron Throne, she technically had also sacrificed the Westerlands, which meant everything north of King’s Landing is Dany’s territory now. With Dany’s army and territories secured, the Crownlands, where King’s Landing is, is technically surrounded by the Vale, the Riverlands, the Reach, and Stormlands. I included the Reach because, well, she roasted the Tarlys and took the remaining men to her cause with a choice, bend the knee or die in a blaze of glory.

Armies. Dany has the combined armies of North, Vale, Riverlands, Westerlands, Reach, Stormlands, and maybe Dorne, plus, the Unsullied; fleets of the North, Vale, Riverlands, and Yara’s fleet from the Iron Islands; and the only air support, her two remaining dragons. Cersei on the other hand, just had the army of the Crownlands, King’s Landing’s City Watch, the queensguard, plus, the Golden Company without elephants; and Euron Greyjoy’s fleet.

I think it’s obvious that Dany outnumbers Cersei’s army, by a lot. And at this point, Dany has enough allies to lay a siege on King’s Landing.

DAENERYS VS. CERSEI

Let’s discuss the difference in the personalities and motives of Daenerys Targaryen and Cersei Lannister.

They both have blond hair, are the only girl among three siblings, and are queens in their own right. But that’s where their similarities end.

Cersei currently sits on the iron throne, and she is loving the perks that came with it. Endless Power, which meant she can do whatever she wants and not care about what people think, like sleeping with her brother. With the news of Dany coming back to Westeros, she sees her as a threat and wanted nothing more than for Dany to disappear so she could stay in power.

Daenerys, however, claims that being the queen of the seven kingdoms is her birthright, as it was the Targaryens that reunited the whole continent of Westeros. Of course, it’s still power, but at the same time, she sees it as a responsibility as well. (With great power, comes great responsibility. Wow, I’m quoting Spiderman now.) She believes that as a queen, it’s her job to take care and provide for the needs of her subjects and even makes an effort to hold court as she listened to their demands. She also thinks that slavery is a big no-no, so she freed them.

The key to becoming a great leader is finding the balance between being loved and feared by your subjects. Cersei is more likely feared than loved. She also doesn’t care about her people, a fact that she admitted to her brother, Tyrion once. Daenerys most likely had the scale tips on balance, with her being equally loved and feared by her subjects. She’s loved because she actually takes time to listen to the people’s needs, and feared because she could take you out using her dragons with one word.

If Dany did lay siege on King’s Landing (again, we aren’t counting her major mad queen moment), the only thing Cersei can use against Dany is the people living within the city walls. Cersei might have heard that Dany’s been freeing slaves in the cities surrounding Slaver’s Bay, and figured out that she has a soft spot for the common folk.

In conclusion, if Daenerys had simply waited out and took her time planning and gathering allies and supplies against Cersei, she would’ve been successful in her campaign to retake Westeros. But then again, we aren’t the writers for this show. In the end, they had Jon battling through himself while he chooses to reply with either of his two favorite lines, She’s my queen or I don’t want it. Or that Sansa and Arya doesn’t like Dany at all and think that she’s a power-hungry, dragon-riding bitch. Or that Bran doesn’t give a f*ck about anything. So, yeah. What do you guys think?

[theyscreamjade]

Can you do Kiri, Iida, Izuku, and Bakugo with a s/o who goes deaf from a concussion received during a fight or even training. (I lost my hearing and I haven't seen much done for deaf readers. Thank you so much if you do respond hun.)

Severe Silence

Words can’t describe how I feel for you honey, Trust me, you’re not alone. I’ve always had hearing issues since I was born and they’re stating I may or may not lose my hearing in the future which hurts because music is my life and I can’t see myself without it. I hope this makes your day and if you need to talk, I’m always here.

Disclaimer: Slight Gore, Abuse and Acts Of Violence

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Eijiro Kirishima

* He remembers the whole accident that day because he was the one who carried you to the infirmary.

* It was training to see how you’d withstand during a earthquake and you were one of the following that was instructed to stand in a building.

* Aizawa wasn’t too keen on it but you insisted that you wanted a challenge.

* When the ground started to shake, wood, chunks of cement started tumbling down. You had your practice dummy to your back, running towards the safe exit with Ochacko and Shoji following close behind.

* Apart from the training, a ding would be heard when there’s another victim close by, you guys had the majority of them. Even though the earthquake ended, parts were still falling.

* You handed your dummy off and went off to find another one, and never returned.

* You were eventually sent to the hospital even though Recovery Girl healed you.

* You weren’t heard of for a while which worried your Sharky lover.

* During a free period, Baku-Squad including Deku, Momo, and Ochacko comes over to visit you.

* You were home alone and when you opened the door to see your friends, you couldn’t help but burst into tears because you couldn’t hear their excited voices to see that you’re fine.

* I do see Kirishima as the type to pull out his phone and ask you if you were okay through the notes app.

* You tell them back when you were grabbing the last dummy, you tripped and slammed your head into a large block of cement.

* Being the amazing boyfriend he is, he’s going to learn every possible way to speak to you.

* To sign language to even speaking as slow as he possibly can.

* He’s willing to do everything to make everything easier for you and to keep that gorgeous smile on your face.

* He knows how hard it is to lose something that you’re so used to having and it pains him to see you a tad bit depressed because you can’t hear him anymore.

* Just know he’s going to do anything that would seem impossible to help you through every step.

* This includes training, If you always relied on your ears he’ll help you try to find another way to smell a villain near you.

* He’s going to encourage you to keep going towards your dream and never give up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Izuku Midoriya

* His feet never ran so fast when you were found unconscious.

* During your first internship, You and Izuku were attempting to save Eri that day. Everyone was soon separated.

* When it seemed that it wasn’t going to be well, you sent him to go get Eri while you fought the villains with others.

* The mission was a success but came with painful consequences, You fought with a villain who was a tad bit advanced for you. You fought with all your might while the building warped and swirled.

* The last thing you could remember was the villain's backup appearing behind you and attacking you as everything became black.

* Luckily, One of the pro-heroes rushed over and defended you while their sidekicks quickly took you towards the medic.

* When Deku first found out, not even caring if he was injured or not. He wanted to see you. He wanted to make sure you were okay.

* It took him a while to see you and when he did, he was ecstatic to see you awake and responsive.

* He called your name but..you never responded, which confused him. He had to touch your shoulder, nearly giving you a heart attack as he asked what’s wrong and you just stared.

* Then, he knew..something was wrong.

* Upon finding this out, Izuku being the great and amazing guy he is will also take many precautions to learn to speak to you.

* His sign language is a tad bit rusty and sucks a bit, but give him a chance. He’s trying.

* In each conversation you two have, he’ll always make sure he’s speaking slow and you’re able to see his lips move.

* If he can’t speak or wearing a mask, he’ll either text you or type his words through his phone for you.

* He’s going to tell you that you should keep going on your fight to be a hero.

* Izuku will train with you and see if you two could discover a different method that you could use during battles.

* He will never give up on you and will always help you with your dreams.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Katsuki Bakugo

* Everything happened so fast that even HE couldn’t keep up.

* One minute, You were kicking ass, destroying every villain in your way.

* Even though the attack was extremely random and with the permission from the teachers to fight these villains who interfere with your training for the fifth time in a span of a few years.

* Hell, you had your hero’s license so you had the right to kick their asses.

* You stood up, cracking your neck and fists before punching another villain back to the ground.

* Katsuki saw the purple blur flash past him as a large Nomu appeared to your turned back.

* Before he could even react, his body ran you over. His corrupted face looked down at what he did as Bakugo’s anger boiled over the surface. He grabbed the villain he was originally fighting and launched him into the Nomo before blasting them with his explosion as hard as he possibly could.

* No one hurts you. No one.

* It took Kirishima, Denki, Izuku, and lastly, a time-limited All Might to get him off the Nomo who he SURPRISINGLY knocked out.

* Once he could relax, he walks to your dorm. When he knocks and you don’t answer, it makes him worried.

* He won’t kick the door down..but..knock it off the hinges and discovers you crying on the bed.

* All the banging, knocking he did and you didn’t react while he was standing in front of him, his heart instantly knew that damn Nomu did something to you.

* He already knew sign language, there’s no lie in that.

* He knows it because his quirk has nearly made him deaf at times and it was told that he’d lose it before he would have a chance to be a hero.

* After the attack, he’s always by your side. He corrects people who try to talk to you and demands that they use sign language or their phones. He hates when others talk fast to you as well.

* He’s like this because he wants to help you in every way he can.

* If you decide to be a hero, despite his warnings. He’s going to help you as much as he can. He’ll ask for help from hero’s who has the same disability as yours if not, he’s going to make a method of teaching you with your other senses.

* He may teach you how to use your sight more, smell, or touch to their full potential.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Iida Tenya

* It honestly hurts him every time he thinks about it, It shouldn’t have been that.

* He was supposed to protect you but he was separated from everyone else. You were with one of the members of Wild Wild Pussycats when Dabi attacked with his crew.

* You and Ragdoll were walking back after discussing your training in the morning when everything became extremely terrifying for you two.

* You and Ragdoll fought your best, almost moving in sync with each other Magne knew how to just send you flying into a tree each time.

* He created a negative force between you and Ragdoll when sent you two flying apart at a harsh force as you went flying into the woods and collided with a huge bolder.

* Blood dripped from your head as Ragdoll’s scream came to your ears while you reached out to help. Your knees touched the marshy land while your hand shook, pain rushing through your body.

* When the message came through, you passed out.

* Tetsutetsu and Itsuka discovered you and carried your body to safety away from all the chaos.

* When it was discovered that you were among the ones injured along with two missing individuals, It sent chills down his spine.

* Since you two just started dating and he was sure you and your parents wanted to spend time with each other, he wouldn’t come to see you in the hospital.

* It takes him over two weeks and when Aizawa needed someone to take his homework to your home. He immediately offered himself because he’s been dying to see you again.

* A jump, kick, and step later, he appeared at your door. You were checking the mail as he called out to you from a few feet away.

* You didn’t notice him and walked towards your home, not noticing his presence yet.

* He was taken back by your casualness while you walked to the door until he saw the hearing aid in your ear.

* That’s when he knows now why you didn’t react and just watches you walk away.

* One thing I do admire about this man, he’ll do anything when it comes to you. While he’s taking his brother to the physical therapy sessions for him.

* He’s learning every single possible way to talk to you. I mean every way.

* As strange as this may sound, he loves signing into your hand even though you’re not blind.

* It’s close contact and he adores that with you. For example, private things or him simply saying he loves you, he’ll sign it into your hand while everything else is out to the open.

* He often recommends to others and his friends that they speak slower with you so you can comprehend or try not to speak all at once.

* If you wish to continue your path to being a hero, he’s going to support you but he can’t help but constantly worry.

* The last time he let you go, you became deaf and he doesn’t want anything else to ever happen to you again. He wants to be your knight in white amour but he knows how you like to be independent too.

* Just don’t give this man a heart attack, please.

[yolkyeomie]

The Art of Hearts | Lee Juyeon

summary — trembling hands? flushed face? nervous stuttering? this wasn’t like you, you’ve never reacted like this to anyone before. so why is it that when you were with him you acted this way?

word count — 17.2k words

pairing — juyeon x female!reader (w/ mentions of chanhee, sunwoo, younghoon, and hyunjae)

genre — princess!reader, knight!juyeon, fluff with a hint of angst if you really squint, slowburn-ish, strangers to lovers-ish

disclaimer — mentions of minor violence and sword fighting !! I spent three days writing this through a hyper fixation and I REFUSE to get this beta read, so if u see any errors pretend like you didn’t see it at all 👁 this is also really self indulgent and I’ve never even written for tbz I’m so so sorry if this is extremely inaccurate

I.

You were a little upset with yourself, you weren’t going to lie. For the past few months you had found yourself curiously leaning over your balcony railing, trying your best to catch a quick glance of all the knights in training that were just a few feet below. Eagerly you watched as they honed their skills, determination fueling their bones as they swung, slashed, and clanged their dull and worn out swords against each other in a mock battle.

They fought with all their might to become the next knights of your kingdom’s army or the next royal guards that would patrol the palace with the king and his family. Though, you knew that your mere presence made them strive for their goal even harder than before. Who wouldn’t want to demonstrate their rising abilities in front of the princess of their nation?

Your prying eyes made them itch with anticipation and wonder. Will they get a chance to greet you if they flaunted hard enough? To take your dainty hands in theirs, rough with hard work and tenacity, and place a gentle kiss atop your skin?

You weren’t interested in them, per se. In fact you had never been very interested in the upcoming knights that trained in the barracks below you. Since you were a child, the tiara and gown lifestyle wasn’t really for you, longing to hold the hilt of a long sword within your hands and slash your opponent in one clean swing. You wanted to fight, you wanted to run, you wanted to get rough and dirty with the knights that were sworn to protect your kingdom. It had been your biggest dream and fascination to even sit in on one singular match between the generals and their young and hopeful squires.

However, the amount of times you’ve been scolded for your unattainable dreams was too many to count on one finger. How unprecedented of you to even think such a thought! Young ladies are to never step foot on the battlefield, dirtier their long gowns or scraping their soft skins, that’s what you’ve been told. The swords are for the young men who fight for their country and the women who stay home and wait for them. A sword was to never be picked up by a lady, especially the princess.

But it was so boring! Why must you have to sit and smile like a porcelain doll too expensive to be rough housed with? You could never understand how your mother, how past queens and princesses, could handle such a repetitive job. Smile for the allies, smile for your king, smile for your people, and most importantly, produce an heir that will make the kingdom thrive. That was nothing you wanted to do!

Yet you were the only child of your nation’s queen and king, so that’s what was expected of you. You had no brother to hide behind and force to take the throne. You had no sister you could hide behind and force to smile and wave. You had to do it without any questions and without any backlash.

You’d think they’d at least let you learn to defend yourself since you were the only heir to the throne? Sure you will have royal guards protecting you for a majority of your life but it wasn’t bad to be a little precautious just in case a happy incident occurred.

Just thinking about the mistreatment made you frown, slumping over the balcony railing with a huff and using your hand to prop up your head in annoyance. Not even watching the knights-to-be scramble to display their tiny growing muscles or aimlessly swinging their blades around could make you feel any better.

And then you heard it, a deep and loud horn echoing across from the barracks all the way to the balcony you stood on. It caught your attention almost immediately, standing up straight and leaning over the railing to see what was going on. Unfortunately you hear what they must be saying from the height you were at, but the slow opening of the barrack gates was enough to clue you in on what was happening next.

“Oh, I’m just in time!” A voice chirped behind you, your skin jumping off its bones at their sudden appearance. You turn your head innocently to catch the sight of a fellow member of royalty slinking you to your side, his tiny physique making his footsteps light and silent as he stepped across the marble flooring of the balcony.

“Why, if it isn’t his Royal Highness, Prince Choi Chanhee of Fantasia!” You teased, watching as he rolled his eyes at his formal title. Only recently had the boy been pronounced the next king of his nation and he still wasn't used to the new form of address he had been given. You took this as an opportunity to poke fun at him, knowing all of the times he’s done the exact same to you. “What do I owe the pleasure of seeing his Royal Highness today?”

“You are so annoying,” Chanhee snided, earning a knowing smile from you as he leaned over the balcony railing just as you did before. “My father has come to discuss some important matters with your family, something involving the trading between the two kingdoms. I was forced to tag along being the next heir and I came to give you a bit of company, but it seems as though you’re already a little preoccupied.”

You couldn’t help but scoff at his last words, knowing he was trying to jab right back at you for watching the squires of your kingdom. “Very funny, Chanhee, but I’m not here to watch the scrawny pretty boy’s fight for a simple smile from me.”

“You find enjoyment in their pinning though, I know you do,” He noted, not taking his eyes off the barrack gates. They were completely open now, leading out into the field that was right front of the balcony the two of you were standing on. “You would never give a singular one of these men a chance because the little she-devil inside of you likes toying with their hearts.”

“You describe me so coldly, it hurts,” you laugh, watching a smile etch on the prince’s face at your words. You enjoyed your little banter like this, fighting back and forth like a pair of siblings rather than potential suitors. And let it be known that everyone in the palace wanted Chanhee to be the one who would finally court you, but he didn’t seem too interested in the idea either.

Once again a horn was blown to catch the attention of the people, it’s deep sound resonated across the field and the two of you turned your gazes towards the barracks once more. This is what Chanhee was looking forward to, the weekly evaluation that the knights-to-be of your kingdom endured four days every month. To be honest, you looked forward to it as well, as it usually was used as a way to not only assess the squires but show off the power of the kingdom’s next knights and royal guards.

After a few moments two horses shot out of the barrack gates, galloping across the open field at such intense speeds that if you blinked you would have missed them.

“This week is archery!” Chanhee exclaimed, clapping his hands together in glee as he pointed out the worn red targets that were placed about the field.

You narrowed your eyes as you finally settled your eyes upon one individual, Chanhee’s gaze following the other rider as they rode in the wind. The boy you were watching was riding upon a black stead, the steeds jet black coat nearly matching his slate colored hair. The only reason you could see the boy upon the black horse was because of his contrasting blue tunic and the evergreen colored grass underneath them.

As the two approached the first target, the boy began to rise off of the saddle straightening his back as lifting up a bow and arrow held in his hands. He focused in on the target in front of him, quickly snatching an arrow out of the quiver strapped around his back and nocking his bow. Both you and Chanhee watched in silence as the boys drawed back on their bowstrings, aiming carefully for the bullseye with unheard precision.

Thwish! Chanhee’s boy was the first to release his arrow, the object flying through the air and sinking deep into the plywood of the target. The boy let out a cheer as his chestnut steed began to pick up the page, charging straight for the other two targets that were left to clear. Only a few seconds after the first the boy you were watching released his arrow, stabbing into the target just as, if not harder, into the target than the first.

There was no cheering coming from him, no gesture of victory, not even a hint of an eager smile. He only grabbed onto the reins of his horse and commanded it to continue forth.

After the first moment of hesitation, he was no longer the one waiting for his fellow knight-to-be to make the first move. He surpassed the other boy in a matter of seconds, shooting his arrows deep into the plywood targets in a heartbeat.

“That’s incredible,” Chanhee couldn’t help but comment, reaching out for your arm as he stared down at the field in pure amusement. “Did you catch that Y/N? Each one of those shots, straight into the bullseye? And on the back of horse running at full speed? He’s inhuman, there’s no other way.”

“What can I say?” You bragged, a smile donning in your face as the boy’s horse began to slow into a casual trot. Only then did the remnants of a grin don his face, basking in his easily gained victory. “My kingdom’s soldiers are the best in the region? There is a reason everyone wants to be our allies and not our enemies? The boys from the village could crush yours in a fell swoop.”

The current squires weren’t everything to brag about now, but once they finished training? Ascending to the ranks of knights and royal guards? They were unstoppable, worthy of not only your praise, but the kingdom’s as well.

“That’s so unfair,” Chanhee pouted, stepping away from the balcony to throw a small fit. It was nothing too serious, just blowing off some steam from being the lesser royal member in the room. “You should really send some of your knights to Fantasia once you become queen. We could really use the unstoppable knights of your kingdom to better protect our own.”

You snort at his words, glancing down towards the open field where the targets laid. “Not a chance, your Royal Highness,” you tell him, your eyes glued to the slate colored hair of the squire below you. In a heartbeat he turned his head to the balcony, turning to the side like a dog as his gaze met yours. “Not a chance.”

II.

“Forgive me for speaking out of turn,” you say, your brain barely keeping up with the words that were spilling out of your mouth. “But what? You’re doing what?”

Your father couldn’t help but smile at your confusion, leading you down the busy hallway of the barracks. Any knight or general that would walk the same path as the two of you would gasp and bow before you, letting the king and his daughter pass them before even daring to continue on their way. Squires young and old would all gawk and stare from the windows and doorways of their rooms, their gazes never leaving their sovereign’s side until they were out of view.

You were in the barracks. For the first time in your life you were walking the corridors of the knight’s barracks, their training grounds, side by side with your father’s permission. Sure, you were still dressed in the long feet covering dress and shiny silver crown you had inherited so it meant you were not going to do any sort of fighting while you were here, but they didn’t matter to you. This was a big step for you to be taking in first place! Just walking within the barracks was a simple dream come true.

“Progress has been made,” your father’s royal adviser spoke first, explaining the situation to you as simply as he could. “The general in charge of training the newest squires from around the nation had reported that he believed that some of them were ready to ascend the ranks. So your father is here to judge and give the final verdict personally.”

“You saw the evaluation a week ago, didn’t you?” Your father suddenly asked you.

Your brain was doing marathons around the room as they spoke to you, trying your best to keep up with the conversation. Though the mentioning of the weekly evaluation snapped you back into reality, remembering the talented boy that rode across the field on the black stallion and easily demolished his competition. “Of course,” you responded, a little too fast for your liking. Quickly you added on, “who doesn’t remember the evaluation? Prince Chanhee was so impressed by the skills of our knights-to-be that he begged me to send some to his kingdom.”

“I know,” your father sneering, reminiscing over a memory you hadn’t witnessed. “These boys, the ones I’m going to evaluate, are around your age. I thought it was useful for you to see them personally, as there is a very strong potential that you’ll be growing as the next queen alongside them.”

“So…,” you mumble, stopping with your father in front of the door archway led to the courtyard where most of the knights-to-be were being held. “No training with the knights?”

Your father shot you a glance before laughing to himself, allowing his royal advisor to pass by him and walk out first into the courtyard. “No training with the knights.”

“May I present to you, his Majesty the King and Her Royal Highness, Princess Y/N!”

Both you and your father stepped out into the courtyard, everyone in the vicinity of the two of you bowing in respect. Your father spoke a few words to the general in charge, an exchange of words you didn’t quite catch. You were too distracted by your surroundings to focus on what was being spoken to you.

The ground around the archways was paved in cement, creating a small pathway to be walked on around the courtyard. Yet in the middle courtyard was completely dirt, grass only making an appearance in spotty areas from being traversed on so many times. The dirt stained the hem of your dress with a brown tint, having it been raining a few nights before and the ground hadn’t completely soaked up all of the water that had been doused upon it.

But you didn’t mind, why would you care about your dress when you were finally in the barracks! Your eyes were glued to the more important things, like the targets that were hung up against the walls with arrows puncturing the wood or the many dull swords and swords that were littered across the ground forgotten with the king and your arrival.

You must look like an idiot as you looked around the barracks like it was the most exquisite place of the century. To them squires, it was just another building that barely had anything to give. But to you? This was heaven on Earth, the garden of Eden in a cold and unforgiving world.

“General, please, no need to flatter,” your father’s voice spoke, finally snapping you out of your daydream-like state. When you looked up towards him, he was laughing and smiling with the man over all of the knights-to-be, turning towards the younger boys with an expectant glint in his eyes. “I am here to see the potential we’ve gathered within our ranks.”

“Of course, your Majesty!” He replied in an instant, turning towards the young men as urging a few of them to stand in front of him. It was only three of the boys close to your age that stood before you and king. “These are our finest boys to date, great fighters they’ve proven themselves to be, and hopefully even greater knights as well. Kim Sunwoo, Kim Younghoon, and our prized apprentice,”

It was him, the boy who has easily shot three arrows into a target’s bullseye on horseback. “Lee Juyeon.” You had never seen the boy up close before, you had never seen any of the knights-to-be up close before yet somehow, he made you falter. Your breath stopped upon finally laying eyes on him, unknowingly eying him as you tried to regain control of your brain. You weren’t used to this, being the person who was struggling to compose themselves, it was usually the other way around.

Most knights and knights-to-be were all talk and no bite, carefully trying to court you with sweet words and no skills to back up their courageous attitudes. Not even a single bat of an eyelash could make you want to give them the time of day. Yet Juyeon simply stood there, his head held high with well earned confidence and naturally captivating looks. He knew he was better off than most of the boys that had been spent off to become knights for the king, he must know!

Why else would he drop his gaze from his father to you, unspoken words passing between the two of you before he turned back towards your father. He knew you, he recognized you, and he was simply going to continue about his day. It killed you to know that you had been caught lacking, bewitched by his skills and appearance after being known as the princess who plays with knights for so long.

Was anyone watching you? Of course they were watching you, you were the princess and were standing right next to the king! Everyone must have seen you gawking at the boy before you and who could tell what was racing through their minds now?

“You're the boy from the weekly evaluation last week, aren’t you?” Your father questioned, addressing Juyeon first. You glanced between the two men for a moment, racking your brain around so you could follow along with the conversation. “Mounted archery, black horse?”

“Yes, your Majesty,” he responded politely, his voice making your hands twitch with a sudden spark. Immediately you put your hands behind your back, fumbling and fidgeting with your fingers nervously. How did he do that? The boy said three words and now your body was beginning to lose control!

You pinched the inside of your palm, cursing at yourself for allowing yourself to act in such a way. What was wrong with this? This wasn’t supposed to happen, you weren’t supposed to be reacting this way to a person you had just met!

Your father gasped in response to Juyeon’s answer, not even noticing your change in demeanor. “They don’t call you the finest for no reason then. Truly, your one of the most talented people I’ve seen come into our barracks in years. How long have you been with us, Juyeon? It must have been a year or so, hasn’t it?”

“You flatter me, your Majesty,” he smiled, his ears burning at the compliments given by the sovereign. “It’s only been two months.”

“Two months?” Both you and father exclaimed, sharing nearly identical expressions of shock. You cover your mouth with your hands, not meaning to speak out of turn. Your father cleared his throat not long after, trying to shake off the minor embarrassment from reacting in such a way.

Juyeon didn’t seem to mind though, his smile growing from ear to ear as he glanced over towards you once again. Your eyes followed his as he leaned down just slightly before speaking to you. “Are you okay, your highness?” He questioned, his own hands twitching from their place at his sides.

“Yes, I’m fine, thank you,” you quickly reply to him, cutting the conversation short between the two of you almost immediately. Was your face red? You hoped it wasn’t red, that would have been embarrassing.

The entire courtyard’s breath stopped as they started at the two of you. Juyeon, the finest upcoming knight, and you, the princess of the kingdom, spoke to each other. Out of turn and slightly more casual than expected, none of the knights and squires had ever gotten close enough to even get a decent response from you. Yet Juyeon had not only gotten a reaction out of you, but a flustered response as well!

“Juyeon,” your father called, snapping the boy’s attention from you to the king. Thank the heavens he stopped looking at you, you didn’t know how much longer it was going to be until you melted on the spot. You hated it, the sudden and newfound emotions the squire was putting you through. Your head was going to explode if you shared one more conversation with him, and that was barely a conversation to begin with. “How good are you with a sword?”

“Excellent, your Majesty,” the general cut in, giving the boy a stern pat on the back. Juyeon didn’t move from the position he was standing in, but it definitely looked as though he felt the brunt of the general’s hit. “He probably rivals those of the recruits from last year, already on their level or higher.”

“Perfect,” the king smiled, glancing around the courtyard for a moment. Before turning back towards the general and Juyeon. “Then shall we have a mock battle? If you don’t mind, I’d like to see your skills in action.”

“Of course,” Juyeon responded, “I can do anything for you, your Majesty.”

III.

“What the hell was that?!” Sunwoo yelled, punching Juyeon in the shoulder as hard as he possibly could. The boy winced as a result, numb from the mock battle he had participated in just a few minutes earlier. Though he didn’t retaliate like he should have, slumping into the bed that was provided for all the knights within the barracks. He was exhausted, having to exert a lot more energy than he was used to in order to impress the king as best as he could.

Had he known the king and the princess were visiting the barracks today, he wouldn’t have stayed up the night before.

“I have no clue what you’re talking about,” Juyeon responded, his voice muffled against the worm pillow he laid his head on.

“You know exactly what I’m talking about,” the boy insisted, twirling the dull longsword in his hands by the hilt. He stopped as he pointed the tip at Juyeon’s back, threateningly hovering the blade over him. “You? And the princess? Flirting not only in front of our faces, but the king’s face? Are you crazy or what!”

“I wasn’t flirting with the princess,” he answered, turning to snatch the sword out of Sunwoo’s hands. He wasn’t even supposed to be bringing weapons within the sleeping quarters, all of those were supposed to stay within the barracks army for safety reasons. “I have no reason to flirt with the princess.”

“You were kinda flirting with the princess man,” Younghoon spoke from the other side of the room, glancing at the two boys with a curious glint in his eyes. Juyeon had totally forgotten he was even with them, quietly slinking around the room to eavesdrop on Sunwoo and his conversation. Usually he could tell when the boy was trying to sneak around them, but it seemed as though he was too tired and preoccupied to notice this time. “I mean, what else could that whole situation with you and princess have been?”

“I said like five words!” Juyeon insisted, holding the right amount of fingers up. “Five! How could I have flirted with her when all I asked was if she was okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, leave out the important details like the way you were smiling at her when you spoke to her,” Sunwoo pointed out. “Or the way you specifically were fighting much harder than normal to catch her attention during the mock battle? Huh? How do you explain that?”

“The king!” The boy argued, “the king was right there! Did you want me to slack off right in front of the sovereign of our kingdom and embarrass myself? You saw the way the general and king kept showering me with compliments, I had no choice.”

Younghoon shook his head in disappointment before dropping it up with his arms and speaking. “The princess couldn’t keep her eyes off you man, you suddenly became eye candy for her. And it definitely wasn’t just because your skills were really good, the princess doesn’t know enough about swordsmanship in order to be watching you for your skills.”

“You don’t…,” Juyeon stuttered, trying to find a way to defend himself. “You don’t know that…”

“Yes, I do,” Younghoon confirmed. “Everyone knows the princess barely knows a lick of swordsmanship. She was watching you, Juyeon.”

He knew that, everyone knew that the princess didn’t know anything about fighting in general. It’s the first thing that a person learns upon reaching the barracks from their hometowns, the princess does not know how to fight. She’s tried for years to run towards the barracks to even just watch the knights train their apprentices but every time she’s been denied access to the barracks.

Truth be told, he also knew that the princess was watching him during the mock battle too. How could he not, for every glance he threw the king’s way he would nearly make direct eye contact with the king’s daughter. Juyeon would quickly look away, ducking below blades that were swung above his head or dodging a jab that was aimed directly at his chest.

Everyone wanted to impress the king and the princess now, knowing that it was up to the king to decide whether or not they’d ascend the ranks and become fully fledged knights. The only thing in their way was Juyeon, the two month old apprentice from the more rural area of the kingdom. If they could take down him in a mock battle, or even get a small nick on his body, they’d get a sure fire way into the ranks of knights and royal guards.

The mere fact that the princess was accompanying her father for the first time ever wasn’t really in their favor either. Juyeon knew how much everyone adored the princess of their kingdom, scrambling and begging for just a peek of her from the balcony above the barracks. Now she had been right in front of their faces, breathing the same air as them and watching them carefully for the first time in her life. There could be no mess ups here, for who knew when they’d next see the princess within the walls of the barracks once again.

But it seemed as though Juyeon continuously kept snatching up every little opportunity there was to catch her attention. It wasn’t even on purpose, but his charms and skills stood up more than anyone else who had fought against him.

It’s impossible to catch any woman’s attention when Juyeon stood in the way.

The worst part about it was that he didn’t even mind all the attention he was receiving. Usually he’d humble himself, placing his fellow peers on a pedestal to try and uplift them and provide a source of support and strength for them. Yet the electrifying feeling he got from watching the princess’s face shift from bewilderment to flustered was addictive in the worst way possible, Juyeon almost cracked a smile just thinking about it. His power was truly unrivaled in a way he didn’t even mean for it to be.

Juyeon covered face with his hand, trying his best to conceal the ever growing flush on his face. This feeling… it shouldn’t have been this addictive.

“Either way,” Sunwoo began, cutting straight through Juyeon's thoughts like a sword to the chest. “You can’t be flirting with the princess.”

“Why not?” He asked, responding a little faster than he anticipated. Both Younghoon and Sunwoo gave him a knowing look, as if the boy had confirmed their suspicions of courting the king’s daughter. “I’m not saying I was, god! I’m just asking… why I can’t if I ever wanted to try…”

“Number one!” Sunwoo called out.

“There are dozens of knights trying to court her at this very second,” Younghoon pointed out. “Becoming one of those people will not only give you an unfair advantage but also make you gain a lot more enemies than you think. I’m almost one hundred percent sure you don’t want to mess with the already established and trusted knights within the king’s circle.”

“Number two!”

“She’s a princess, daughter of the king of the entire nation,” Younghoon stated, pointing an accusing finger towards Juyeon. “What are you compared to that?”

Juyeon rolled his eyes at their words, leaning up against the bed once again before answering. “I’m a knight’s apprentice, son of a barely known blacksmith in the rural areas of the kingdom.”

“You’ve got nothing to offer. She’s got a whole kingdom, you’ve got nothing but a sword and your face,” Sunwoo told him, shaking his head in disappointment. “If you’re going to try and court a princess of all people, I think you’d need a decent background to even try. Most of the people who try and flirt with her are people with lots of money, connections, or are just close to the king and his circle.”

“Alright then…,” He mumbled, glancing between the two of them. “What’s number three?”

The two boys looked at each other for a moment, a smile growing on her faces as they turned back towards Juyeon. “We kill you for leaving us behind!”

IV.

“I hate this stupid game,” you mumbled, keeping your head propped up with one hand as you stared down at the chess pieces in front of you. Chanhee had come to visit again, companying his father on legal matters that neither of you could care for. With nothing to do for the day he had offered to play a game with you, a game he was learning to play back in his own kingdom.

You agreed believing that both of you wouldn’t be very good and manipulate the rules in order to play, but that wasn’t the case at all. Chanhee was beating you badly, snatching a majority of your black chess pieces off of the board and assaulting your side with his white pieces. He said he wasn’t good but it seemed as though he was natural at this game. “It’s not a stupid game,” he corrected you, placing his white pawn near your black queen. “This game is all about trickery and strategy, if you can’t do that how will you win a war?”

“There is no war to be fought,” you explain to him, grinning to yourself as you moved your black knight piece and took his white pawn. “Even if there was, I have generals, allies, and a council of people to help win said war. That’s kind of their job after all, planning battle strategies and executing them flawlessly.”

Chanhee snorted at your answer, innocently looking down at the board and carefully plotting his next move. “Thinking like that will make you a weak queen, Y/N. I hope you know that. It’ll make you easy to manipulate if you can’t think for yourself… checkmate.” He stated finally, using his white bishop to move diagonally towards your black king. You curse to yourself quietly as you realized the predicament you were in.

Without knowing, Chanhee had nearly completely surrounded your king. His white chess pieces were all clustered up around your king, his bishop, both his knights, two pawns, and his queen closer to him for backup. “This game is so stupid!” You call out in frustration, moving another the last black pawn on your side to take his knight. Without hesitation the prince moved his bishop and quickly took your king within his hands, replacing your most crucial piece with his mocking white bishop. “I don’t want to play anymore.”

“You don’t want to play because you’re bad at this game,” the prince teased, placing the chess pieces back into their original order as you pushed your chair away from the table like a child. “It’s not my fault you can’t use your brain to its full capacity, my Royal Highness, Princess Y/N.”

“You’re so lucky you’re my friend,” you threatened, mentally wiping that catlike smile off of his delicate features. “Had you been any other person I would have hurt you by now.”

“Oh no!” He gasped, sarcasm dripping off his tongue as he mockingly waved his hands around in fear. “The princess with no fighting experience is going to hurt me! I’m so scared, what will I ever do?”

“Chanhee!” You yelled, jumping out of your chair in a heartbeat. The prince laughed at you as he leaped out of his seat, sprinting out of the room and closing the door behind him as fast he could knowing he was going to be faster than you. While you’ve been wearing fancy dresses and expensive, custom made heels your entire life, that didn’t make it any easier to run in. “Chanhee, you annoying little prince! Come back here and take back those words!”

You grumble to yourself as you kick off your shoes, desperate to catch the boy and give him a piece of your mind. You may have little to know fighting skills, but you didn’t need to know how to defend yourself to choke someone out. In a rush you hurry towards the door, swinging it open with an intense speed you didn’t think was possible only to open it to the face of your father’s royal advisor. “Good day, your Royal Highness.”

“Oh,” you say, trying to compose yourself as best as possible before properly responding to him. “Good day, sir. Is there anything I can help you with today? I’m kind of in a rush right now… his highness, Prince Chanhee—”

“—Can wait,” the royal advisor finished, urging you to open the door wider so that he could step in. Awkwardly push it open a little more, stepping to the side and inviting him inside. He gratefully entered, not hesitating for even a moment to begin explaining things to you. “As you know your father, the king, had decided a month ago to allow a few of the knights in training to ascend to the ranks of true nights and royal guards.”

“Of course I know,” you respond, grabbing the heels you had discarded in your attempt to chase after the Fantasia prince and throwing them off to the side where the royal advisor couldn’t find them. “He told me and my mother about it, he was thinking about adding new royal guards to the ranks since a few of them had notified my father of their retirement from the ranks.”

“Excellent, I’m glad you’ve been caught up that far,” he explained, making you raise a skeptical brow. Caught up that far? What else were you missing? You were the princess, it was rather important that you were updated on things that involved you and your family’s safety and security.

“Unbeknownst to you, the king and queen had sworn in a total of five knights earlier in the day while the king of Fantasia and his family were discussing their own matters of importance.”

“Without me?” You questioned.

“Without you.” The advisor confirmed. “Prince Chanhee of Fantasia had you occupied, and no one wanted to bother you while you were having one of your very few days off within the palace.”

You didn’t know whether you should be grateful for the privacy with Chanhee or upset with the fact that your father and mother did not think to invite you to the swearing in of the new royal guards. “Do not be distraught, your highness,” the royal advisor told you, a small smile playing on his lips as he began to speak. “It was simply a matter of keeping your best interest within sight, you will meet the newest royal guards whenever you feel the need.”

You nod your head in understanding, there was no need to be upset now. The damage was already done and it wasn’t too hard to move from. “Can I at least know who has joined us in the palace?”

The royal advisor nodded his head in response, standing up straight in response as he began to recall the names of all the knights that had joined them. “The most notable names I can recall at the moment are all from the barracks here within the palace walls. Knights Kim Younghoon, Kim Sunwoo, and Lee Juyeon, your personal guard.”

You froze upon hearing the royal advisor’s words, slowing processing everything in your brain as the gears began to turn inside of your brain. “I’m sorry but,” You laughed softly, trying your best to hear correctly. “Can you repeat that one more time? Who is the new royal guard?”

“Of course, your highness,” He agreed, “the new royal guards are Younghoon—“

“The last part! I just need the last part.”

“Lee Juyeon, your new personal guard. He was the barracks finest apprentice, being the most talented and skilled boy we have received in a few years.” Your father’s royal advisor explained, highly praising the boy as he spoke, “your father decided to place him as your personal guard, to protect you from any dangers while your father is away. It’s simply a safety precaution— Princess Y/N!”

It was too late. By the time the royal advisor called your name, you had already thrown on whatever pair of shoes you could find and scrambled out of the door to find your supposed personal guard. Out of all the people the king could have picked to be your specific guard, he chose Juyeon? The one that had made you flustered and fidget? The one that made your face and ears burn with a pinkish hue at just the mere sight of his smile? The talented mounted archer from just a month or two ago? That Lee Juyeon?

You stepped out into the corridor with a disheveled look on your face, your eyes darting around anxiously for the boy. Why him? Why was he popping up into your life again, right after you had gotten over the way you had completely embarrassed yourself at the barracks?

“Princess Y/N?” You sucked your breath as you turned around, coming face to face to the boy you hoped to never see again. He was still just as breathtaking as before, his eyes shining even brighter than when you first saw him full of confidence as his face glowing like the sun rays filtered through the windows was just a simple accessory for him.

Nothing much had changed about him since the day you first saw him, the only difference was now he had a genuine sword held within the scabbard that was hanging from his belt and that he was wearing your kingdom’s crest on the fabric of his tunic. Juyeon smiled at you as he pushed himself off of the wall, taking a few steps in front of you before speaking once again. “It’s been awhile since we’ve last seen each other, hasn’t it?”

You finally exhaled, the emotions tied into your sigh unknown as you worked up the courage to reply back to him. “I believe it has been… Sir Juyeon, I guess I should start calling you? With the whole… rank change and all.”

He shook his head at your suggestion, unable to shake the happy grin off his face as he spoke to you. “No, you don’t have to. I don’t like being too formal, plus we’re around the same age, aren’t we? You can just call me Juyeon.”

“But… you’re a knight now, a royal guard even,” you insisted. “You’ve worked hard to earn this rank, to earn this title even, I should address you the correct way at least.”

Though Juyeon was persistent whether you liked it or not. “Seriously, I don’t really care about titles and things like that. You can just call me Juyeon, it’s fine I promise.”

You nod in understanding, feeling your hands begin to twitch in anticipation once again. How were you going to handle being Juyeon being your personal guard when you could barely keep yourself from nervously fidgeting around? The boy was stuck with you until your father appointed a new guard or took away his knight status completely and you could barely compose yourself just standing in front of him.

You hated this feeling he gave you. It was like he casted a spell on you, where you could no longer think correctly or control yourself upon being in the same room as him. But you didn’t know how you could get rid of it, you don’t know if you could even get rid of it at all.

“I see you two are already acquainted with each other,” your royal advisor noted, smiling at both you and Juyeon. “Perfect this will be a smooth ride from here on out.”

V.

It had been about three months since Juyeon had been assigned to you as your personal guard and you genuinely hadn’t believed things would ever shift between the two of you. Your original dynamic had been stiff and tricky, you were withholding yourself from trying to become close to the knight and he was very determined to get to know you better.

Every time he would flash you one of those dashing smiles of his while the two of you would walk down the hallway you’d have to force yourself to not twitch, hands down at your sides and face turned forward to avoid making eye contact. Though the boy seemed to enjoy your very clear struggle to compose yourself, carefully prying into your thoughts when no one was around and teasing you about how you could never truly look him in the eyes.

For a good four weeks or so, that’s how the two of you functioned. Juyeon would smile, you’d become flustered, and he’d tease you for your reaction.

That’s as far as he’d ever go though, never reaching over boundaries or talking out of turn when he was with you. Because of the clear line of comfort the two of you had placed in between each other, you never thought that you’d become any closer. You put him at arm's length for two months because you were afraid of shaking and fidgeting under his gaze.

But then somehow, he had been able to crack your nervous shell. Juyeon had pointed out one of the swords you had hooked up against the wall, shining in the dim light of your room and covered in rare and bright gemstones. Somehow he had finally found the on switch for you, pressing the button and watching you suddenly ramble on and on about your interest in swordsmanship like no one had even tried to ask you beforehand. It was a little embarrassing to explain your long term obsession with fighting, but Juyeon never seemed to mind.

After that the two of you clicked. No longer was your relationship just ‘Juyeon your personal royal guard and Y/N the princess of the nation’, but Juyeon and Y/N. Two people of the same age that got along like birds of a feather. The palace itself seemed to notice this change the two of you went through, their eyes lingering on the two of you as you passed to try and decode your muffled giggles and his beaming smile.

Though the person who was most astonished by the change was none other than Prince Chanhee of Fantasia.

He hadn’t visited the palace at the same time you had first gotten Juyeon as your guard so he had not first hand experienced your growing friendship with the knight so it was understandable how he was a little confused. “Y/N…” Chanhee began, fumbling with his fingers as he glanced between the two of you. You looked back as well to find Juyeon walking behind the two of you, distracting himself with the walls of the palace to give you and the Fantasia prince some privacy. “Of all the people you could have picked… it had to be the archer from that day?”

“It wasn’t my decision,” you insisted, turning away from Juyeon to walk forward once more. “It was a situational circumstance and it was bound to happen now that we were going to walk the same path as each other, literally walk the same path as each other.”

“I know, you’ve told me this a million times.” He nodded, yet still unsatisfied with the answer you had provided him. Chanhee quickly picked his pace to match yours, not wanting to be any closer to Juyeon than he already had to be. “But I can’t help but… odd about this.”

You raised a brow at his words, letting it sink and marinate within your mind. “You feel… odd about me getting close to Juyeon?”

“Not in a weird jealous way,” Chanhee clarified, “I would never care about you that much. I mean I’ve been noticing your body language when you’re around him. You’re very much relaxed and it’s very clear that you enjoy his company but you have… nervous quirks. When you talk to him your hands shake like a woman with hand tremors and not to mention the way your ears will burn like a night’s lantern at the same time!”

“They still do that?” You whispered, holding your hands close to your chest. You could have sworn that once you and Juyeon had become friends all of your nervous habits stopped. You were anxious around the boy because you barely knew him and the way he made you felt in a crowd of people made you embarrassed, but that should have all ended once the two of you had gotten close! “God, do you think he’s noticed at all? I tried to get over the whole hands shaking thing after our first encounter at the barracks and I didn’t feel my hands shaking at all after I started treating him like a friend.”

The prince had to conceal a very heavy sigh that wanted to escape his mouth, glancing around the hallway for a moment to find a place where the two of you could receive some privacy. Without warning Chanhee grabbed your hand and dragged you towards the study on the right side of the hall. “Juyeon!” You called, allowing the boy to pull you along with little to no effort. “Give us like… five minutes? Stand guard, we’ll be out soon!”

You didn’t get a chance to see or hear the boy’s reaction as you were yanked inside of the study, the door closing behind you as Chanhee finally let go. “What was all that about?” You demanded from him, standing in the middle of the sunlight study with a scowl donning your face.

“I can’t believe it took you this long to realize… it took you three months to realize!” Chanhee exclaimed, shaking his head in pure disbelief as he paced back and forth. “Honestly at this point you’re either completely clueless or stupid, though I could bet it was both at the same time.”

“That was rude,” you bite, slapping his shoulder in retaliation for his harsh words. A smile broke out on the prince’s face for a moment, as if he couldn’t believe you had the utter audacity to hit him. “I don’t understand what you’re saying, Chanhee. Explain yourself.”

“Y/N! Her Royal Highness, Princess Y/N of her nation!” The boy exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air before bringing them down onto your shoulders. “The princess has finally fallen!”

“Fallen?”

“Fallen in love!” Chanhee dodged out of the way of your fist this time, skipping around the room with a spring in his step. You couldn’t believe the words that were coming out of his mouth. You? The princess known to make knights and squires squirm for just a small glimpse of you? Fallen in love?

“No, Chanhee, I haven’t—“ you tried to explain, distracted by the boy’s overwhelming excitement. “—I’m not in love. That’s crazy, Chanhee. Get a grip on yourself, this is absurd!”

The boy turned to you with his catlike grin, refusing to take no for an answer as he began to take light steps toward you. “How is this absurd, your Royal Highness? I mean, does the pieces not make a clear picture for you? You’ve fallen in love with your personal guard, that’s what all these nervous habits you have are suddenly about! Plus the fact that you turn as red as rose when you address him sometimes, there’s no other way to describe it!”

You wanted to fight back the Fantasia prince’s words, debating him on what your true feelings were and that you simply saw Juyeon as a new close friend of yours. But when you looked back on all your memories of him, the ones with the two of you together and the ones where you were alone, your words didn’t match up with your actions. All the tiny stolen glances you’d give Juyeon when he wasn’t aware, the way your heart would accelerate every time you saw him in the morning, the way your hands twitched in anticipation when speaking to the personal guard.

“No…,” You mumble to yourself, standing there in disbelief, before trying to find a chair to sit in. “There’s no way…!”

“Yes way!” Chanhee insisted, almost as if he was reading straight into your thoughts as he walked towards you. “Y/N, it’s time you come to terms with the facts that've been placed in front of you. Your own body is telling you that you enjoy your personal guard’s company a little more than the average person! Face it, Y/N, you like him.”

“This has got to be some sort of mistake, I don’t like Juyeon. Yes, I think he’s attractive, one of the most stunning knights my kingdom has ever seen, but they doesn’t mean—“

The prince let out a frustrated groan, covering his face with his hands as he fell on to a chair not far from yours. “Do you even hear yourself at this point? Y/N, you’re telling me to get a grip, you need to get a grip! How are you going to deny all of the evidence that is right in front of you? What else do you need to confirm my suspicions?”

“I don’t know!” You snapped, a burst of confusion and frustration exploding out of your mouth in the form of your tone. “I don’t want to believe that I’ve fallen in love with Juyeon, do you know how awkward that’ll be for me? I’m with him at every waking moment of day, I’ll never get a moment's rest if I really do like him. And there’s no way I could like him, I’m the one who makes knights and squires swoon, it’s not supposed to be the other way around.”

Both you and the prince sat in silence for a moment, struggling with each other to come to terms with the arguments you presented. The worst part about it is that if you have in fact fallen for your personal guard, you wouldn’t be too bothered by the thought.

Chanhee suddenly spring up out of his seat, a smile growing across his face as his brain began to twist and turn at the new thought that had popped into his head. “That’s it!” He exclaimed, turning towards you with a mischievous look on his face. “I know a way you can figure out if your feelings for the boy are true or not, and you actually like the idea I’ve come up with. It keeps your best interest in mind.”

VI.

“Prince Chanhee of Fantasia…” Juyeon began, peering into the sleeping quarters cautiously to make sure no other knight was inside of the room. The only people inside were Sunwoo and Younghoon, both who had shot up out of their beds at the sound of the boy’s voice. “Who exactly… is he to the princess?”

“You see us for the first time today and all you have to talk about is the princess?” Sunwoo snorted, falling right back into his bed with a huff. That was a fair reaction, seeing as Juyeon spent nearly twenty four hours with the princess on a daily basis. He could at least have something new and different to talk about when he was with his friends. But he couldn’t help it this time, not when he was curious about the prince who had visited for the day.

Both the prince and his father were gone now, sleeping in their giant and extravagant beds of their own kingdom instead of spending the night here. But Juyeon couldn’t help but feel some sort of way about the Fantasia prince, his eyes had been locked into his head since he had first approached the princess when he arrived. Though whether he was watching him out of intrigue or jealousy was unknown to him.

“He’s the princess’s close friend,” Younghoon shrugged, answering for the stubborn boy who refused to give him any sort of help. “I heard they’ve been friends since they were children and many people including those outside of the palace walls thought they were going to be betrothed to each other at one point. It made sense, both of them were of royal descent and have known each other well enough for it to happen. The kings of their respective nations were close to each other.”

“Oh,” Juyeon responded, falling into his assigned bed a little harder than he had originally planned. “That’s good to know.”

“Prince Chanhee has not tried to court the princess though,” Sunwoo explained, staring at the ceiling with his arms crossed. Despite handing over the information he knew, he still seemed upset with Juyeon but the boy was simply stubborn like that. “They’ve been friends since forever and not once in my life have I heard he’s ever tried to make a move on her. As much as the kingdom wants the two to get together, they’re probably just friends.”

A quiet sigh of relief left Juyeon’s mouth as he nodded, covering his face with his hands as he responded in a slightly chirper tone. “Oh, that’s good to know.”

“Hey!” Sunwoo scolded, sitting up at the speed of light as he caught the boy’s tone of voice. “What did we say about the princess?”

He groaned in response to Sunwoo’s words, sitting up out of his bed as he recited, “dozens of knights are trying to court her, she’s a princess and I have nothing to offer, and you’ll kill me if I leave you behind.”

“Exactly,” Younghoon smiled. “I’ll drive a sword right through your stomach and Sunwoo will shoot your heart with an arrow if you even think about abandoning us for the princess.”

“I can’t shoot an arrow through his heart,” Sunwoo argued, shooting a mischievous smile towards Juyeon as he called out. “Not when the princess already shot one in the bullseye!”

“Leave me alone!” Juyeon hissed, ignoring the boys devilish giggles behind him. He couldn’t help himself from being so enamored by the princess’s mere presence, especially when he was around her for the majority of the day.

When he first came to the barracks, he couldn’t have cared less about the royal family’s daughter. He simply there to train as a knight for his kingdom and provide some sort of stability for his family back home. Juyeon was usually the one innocently teasing the other knights and squires for their one siding crush on a person they could not have, but the tides had completely turned on him. Now he was the one secretly pining after royalty.

His attention was caught when he heard soft knocking on glass, turning his head towards the window as confusion crossed his face. Sunwoo and Younghoon didn’t seem to notice the noise as they were too caught up in their teasing of the boys unfortunate feelings so the boy didn’t even bother to alert them at the sudden intrusion.

As swiftly and quietly as he could he slipped out of the bed and peered through the window’s glass, trying his best to see what had caused the sound. So one could only imagine his disbelief when he caught sight of your face in the window, standing in your tiptoes to look inside of the barracks. When your eyes caught each other's, you immediately smiled back at him and confirmed to him that you were truly standing outside of the sleeping quarters. “Y/N?” He exclaimed, a little louder than he originally had meant to happen.

Juyeon turned around and saw both Younghoon and Sunwoo staring at him, unable to comprehend the fact that he had called you by your name instead of addressing you by your full title. “You’re…,” Sunwoo began, struggling to get the words out of his mouth, “you’re on a first name basis with the princess?”

“I’ll be right back, okay?” He assured them, knocking the glass to signal that he was coming to meet you. Immediately both Younghoon and Sunwoo jumped up, scrambling towards the boy with a million questions on their mind. Juyeon just narrowly dodged their onslaught, dashing to the door and closing it on their faces. “Just give me ten minutes! I promise I’ll explain everything when I get back!”

“You’re in a lot of trouble when you get back!” The younger knight whispered, but there was just enough diction in his voice to know that he was threatening him. Juyeon only smiled to himself as he took a few steps away from the door, searching for the nearest archway to lead him into the courtyard. How had you even gotten this close to the barracks? If he remembered correctly, most guards within the palace would have stopped you before you could even get close. Did you really only need to walk inside the barracks once to sneak in for good?

“Want to explain how you got here without getting caught?” He asked you as he rounded the corner, leaning up against the wall with a knowing smirk on his face.

You stood up from where you were sitting on the ground, the white nightgown you were supposed to be wearing to sleep practically glowing in the moon’s light. You hesitated to respond to him as you played with the sleeve of your nightgown unconsciously, though sharing that same smile you had given him earlier in his sleeping quarters as you asked, “did you call me by my first name in there?”

“I did not.”

“You did!” You gasped, pointing an accusing finger towards him as you walked toward him. “I know you did, you said my name without any titles attached to it. You can’t play dumb with me, I knew as soon as you noticed I was there and said something from behind the glass.”

“You’re avoiding my question,” Juyeon pointed out, putting a hand out in front of him to keep a small distance in between the two of you. “How did you get here without being caught?”

“You’re avoiding my question!” You argued. “Did you call me by my first name when you were with your friends? It’s totally fine if you did, you realize this right? I don’t mind if you don’t use titles with me, but I just want you to admit what you said.”

The two stood stared at each other in silence, refusing to let up first and wanting the other to reveal the information they had. Juyeon would have thought you would go on for longer, being the fiercer out of the duo about what you wanted. Though after a few seconds you nervously cleared your throat, stepping back and away from Juyeon to stay out of his personal space. “You know what, forget it, that’s not why I’m here.”

“Yeah, you were just about to tell how you got into the barracks without anyone catching you,” he insisted, watching as you rolled your eyes in annoyance. Despite losing the ‘staring contest’ you weren't about to give away any of your little secrets to him. “That’s a big achievement for you, isn't it? Knowing that you haven’t stepped foot into the barracks since the day you arrived with your father makes it even—“

“I want you to train me, teach me the whole swordsmanship thing,” you blurted, cutting off Juyeon in the middle of his sentence.

Slowly his smile began to drop into a look of disbelief, unsure of whether or not he had heard you right. In a rush, you quickly rambled on, “it doesn’t have to be as intense as your training from when you were a squire! And I don’t need to know everything you know, I just want to be able to fight. You know, slicing and dicing my enemies up in order to protect myself if need be— I know I have you and the entire royal guard on my side but this is just something I’ve always wanted so… please?”

“Why… why me though?”

You froze upon being asked his question, struggling to form coherent sentences to continue the conversation. “Because…,” you stuttered, your ears turning a rosy red hue as you tried to make an excuse. Juyeon attempted to not notice, keeping his eyes focused solely on you and waiting patiently waiting for your answer, but he couldn’t help himself. Whatever you were going to say to him next wasn’t going to be good enough erase the undertones of your silence.

There was a very likely possibility that you harbored the same feelings for him as he did for you, if he was reading the nature of the room right. Of course, there was the offset chance that you were simply embarrassed to give him your real reason, so he couldn’t just put all his money on one option only to be disappointed in the end.

“You’re my friend,” you finally explained. “Not only are you my friend, but you’re my personal guard and the ‘supposed’ finest knight within the kingdom’s men at the moment. So wouldn’t it make sense to learn from someone who is an acquaintance and is skilled in the area I’m trying to learn in? I don’t know, it sounds like logic to me.”

“Right,” he nodded, thought speaking more for himself than for you. Juyeon couldn’t get his hopes up, not when the person he had fallen for was a member of royalty. High hopes would only get him utterly disappointed when everything came back around. “That’s logical thinking, you’re right.”

VII.

Two nights out of every week you snuck out of your room and met up with Juyeon at the barracks. He’d cautiously sneak you inside of one of the very many training rooms that the barracks had to offer with the help of his friends and there he would teach you all he knew about sword fighting. Well… kinda.

It was a very difficult process to endure as you were something less than a beginner and Juyeon was something more than a master. Your varying levels of proficiency made it hard to work together since the personal guard wanted to skip the basics immediately and you had never even touched the basics beforehand. All your experience of sword fighting had only ever come from watching others from afar, so you truly didn’t know anything.

The perfect stance, how to hide your weak points, you didn’t even realize how heavy a genuine sword was! The mere thought that you were supposed to be the one controlling the swords slicing and slashing and not the other way around was astounding to you.

It was embarrassing to know that Juyeon had watched you nearly topple over yourself when you grabbed a sword for the first time, your arms not used to the amount of weight that you were carrying. You could barely pick it up, let alone sling it over your shoulder as the boy did ever so flawlessly. He’d giggle and tease you for floundering all over the ground with the sword in hand, slightly mocking you as he twirled his blade with ease. You’d sit there mumbling under your breath small threats and empty promises as your face would burn in shame.

If anyone had caught you two in the act of training, they would think you were a lost cause at first.

“A quick jab and turn isn’t going to do anything, Y/N,” Juyeon innocently told you, his sun rivaling grin growing across his face as he pointed the tip of his blade towards you. You were on the complete other side of the room, keeping your distance away from the personal guard instead of attacking him head on. “This isn’t fencing, these weapons are made to cut, not poke.”

“I know,” you angrily reply, growing tired with his ongoing cat and mouse game you two played. “You’re just really obnoxious.” You tried to attack him, rushing in with no genuine plan in your head. The dull swords clashed together with an angry metal screech when you swiped your blade at him, your attack quickly being blocked by Juyeon as he lifted up his own sword to block against your attack. Frustrated, you began to press the majority of your weight onto the sword, forcing it to move towards the boy’s torso at a slow pace as he fought against it.

Wordlessly he stepped forward, pushing back against your attack and forcing you to move back with a heavy foot. You yelped when you suddenly lost your footing, the weight you had pressed into the blade betraying you as you hit the ground with an unfortunately loud thud. You stayed down on the ground for a little longer than you wanted, catching your breath and making sure you didn’t potentially crack your head open on the stone floors. The two of you couldn’t train in the courtyard in fear that someone would catch you in the barracks, but now you were willing to risk the chance.

“I’m not obnoxious,” the boy defended as you secretly rolled your eyes at his words. “You’re just bad at fighting and… wildy easy to predict.”

“That’s because someone didn’t teach me the basics like they were supposed to!” You complained, lifting yourself off the ground and pointing an accusing finger at him. Juyeon sheepishly smiled as you continued to call out, “you just threw a sword at me the first day and said hit me! I nearly fell when I grabbed that thing and you wanted me to fight first thing? I thought I already established to you that I knew nothing at all?”

“I know the basics are so boring after you’ve completed it all. If you want someone else to teach you just say so, I’m sure that Sunwoo and Younghoon would kill to be in your presence and teach you how to fight,” Juyeon argued, leaning up against the pommel of his sword and curiously looking down at you. When you didn’t respond to his suggestion, he shrugged his shoulders and joined you in the ground for a moment. “That’s what I thought.”

The entire ‘Juyeon teaches you sword fighting’ idea was all Chanhee’s plan, conjuring up the brilliant idea in a matter of seconds. The Fantasia prince had suggested it as a way for you not only to learn swordsmanship but figure out if you truly held feelings for the personal guard as you would be engaged in a lot more close combat and would be alone with each other for a few more hours within the day. Honestly you think that was the first time you had ever called the boy a genius, mainly for the reason that you would finally dabble in your long term interests.

However instead of falling completely and uncontrollably in love with Juyeon, you just wanted to slice his head off. He was nothing like he usually was when it came to fighting, his condescending smirks and over the top mocking getting the best of him whenever he had fought against you. Though his continuous and annoying teasing only fueled your drive to master sword fighting even stronger than before, so you guessed that was one thing that was working out for you.

Though, if you had to be honest, you did have your moments where you faltered not because of your own lack of skill but because of Juyeon in general. Let it be known that whether you had feelings for the personal guard or not, he was conventionally attractive. Running his fingers through his hair, his beaming smile of knowingness, even the arrogant looks of victory was enough to distract you from your adrenaline fueled drive to stab Juyeon in the chest. Did he even know he had that effect on you?

Maybe it’s best he didn’t know, you didn’t need another weakness to add to your ever growing skill set of cans and can’ts.

“Why didn’t you actually teach me the basics though?” You asked him, catching his attention almost immediately. “I mean… I learned the basics by myself with no help by mock battling you for several nights straight. I’m not the best fighter but I’d at least like to stand a chance against you instead of humiliating myself over and over again.”

Juyeon thought to himself for a moment, staring at the ceiling and anxiously running his hands through his hair. “Is ‘because it’s fun to mess with you’ a valid answer to your question?”

You gave the boy a strained smile and you hissed, “No. Absolutely not.”

“Then i don’t know,” he admitted, lifting himself off of the ground and fumbling around with his hands. Juyeon wasn’t looking directly at you as he spoke, staring off into the void with an unknown emotion swirling around in his eyes. “I’m not that good of a teacher for close friends if I’m gonna be honest. I get competitive, more focused on the fulfillment of my joy and worth than actually… teaching someone how to do a task or skill.”

You nodded in understanding, all of the frustration and annoyance from earlier gone within a flash of his words. What he said was fair, some people just don’t have the ability to teach others and he just happened to be one of them. “So then why’d you agree that night?” You asked him, now trying to wrap your head around that fact. “I mean if you knew you’d have a hard time teaching me how to sword fight, you didn’t have to say yes… you do know that right?”

“I know,” he responded, before turning to you with his signature smile. Your hands began to shake once again at the sight of it, the same exact smile he had the audacity to give you in front of all the knights and squires when he was among their ranks. The one that would go from ear to ear in pure amusement and endearment from your words and reactions. That one, the one that started this mess in the first place. “I know I could have declined if I wanted to but… something in me wanted to help you anyways.”

“And that something was…?” You questioned, your words trailing off just a little as you urged him to explain. You don’t know exactly what you’re expecting for him to say. That he agreed out of obligation? The kindness of his heart? That he simply wanted to spend time with you? Did you even know what you wanted his answer to be? Or how disappointed you’d be if it wasn’t anything that would give you the false hope you were unconsciously reaching for?

He sighed to himself for a moment before shrugging his shoulders. “I don’t know, really. Like… I know but at the same time I don’t? It’s complicated and I don’t really want to bug you with it.” Juyeon explained, glancing down to your nervously trembling hands with a teasing smile growing on his face. “What’s with the shaking hands? When you were holding that sword you were as tough as a rock, feeling a little vulnerable without it?”

“Shut up,” you snapped at him, immediately putting your hands behind your back, squeezing them together as you tried to keep a straight face. Of course he was going to notice that nervous tick of yours one day, it was inevitable especially after the Fantasia prince had caught onto it. Chanhee wasn’t even at the palace every day to even pick up on it, he just knew you well. So why would you ever believe that Juyeon, your personal guard for heaven's sake, wouldn’t have noticed it? “It’s just cold,” you lied, “we aren’t doing anything right now and the night’s cold just gets to me something.”

“Well why didn’t you say so?” Juyeon questioned, earning himself a skeptical look from you. In a heartbeat he reached behind you and scooped up your hand and his, holding it tightly in his grasp with a grin.

You snatched your hand in retaliation, your ears burning the unfortunate rosy red as you shout, “woah! Hold on, what are you doing?”

“Relax, Y/N,” the boy laughed, gently taking your hand back and holding it up for the both of you to see. “I’m holding your hand because you said you were cold, and exchanging body heat might warm you.” His hands were so much bigger than yours, rough and firm from the work he put in as he trained with the other knights of your kingdom. It was a very stark difference from your dainty and softer hands, the only work you had ever done was smile and wave to the people and royals of other nations. Yet somehow, despite these differences, his hands fit perfectly into the gaps of yours.

You wondered how many knights and squires would have ridiculed Juyeon if they could see you two now. The princess of their nation, who was notorious for playing knights like lyres and rejecting their advances, was willingly holding hands with the finest and most favored knight within the palace walls. “Well don’t tell anyone I let you do this,” you warned, relaxing after a moment of silence. “Not even your other knights friends can know I let you do this! I have a reputation to keep up.”

“Yeah, yeah,” the boy nodded, no longer paying attention to you specifically and simply observing the way his hands fit in yours. “I promise I won’t. Your secret is safe with me. I like the way your hand fits in mind anyways.”

VIII.

When your parents asked you if you had found a potential suitor to be your future king, you told them no almost immediately. Your quickness made your father raise a skeptical brow at your answer and your mother nearly fainted in shock, gasping hysterically.

Their daughter, the princess, the future queen of their nation, had not yet found a boy to be her king? Unacceptable, impossible! They couldn’t allow this behavior of yours to continue, knowing how you had played with the hearts of countless knights within the palace walls. So they had decided to take matters into their own hands, they needed to place down a platter of men around your age that you could pick and choose whatever your little heart desires.

A ball, they had told you, they were planning a ball and were inviting all their noble and royal allies to attend. They were going to bring their sons ,have them attempt to court you, and then you would pick one of the boys to be your king. Genuinely, when they first informed you of their plans you thought they were joking. They wouldn’t actually do all of that because you said you didn’t have anyone in mind yet right?

And they did.

Here you were, standing on the ballroom floor with Chanhee by your side with the most bewildered expression your face could muster. You were adorned in a large wine red ballgown, matching your family who wore nearly identical, with jewels scattered across your arms and ears for an extra shimmer to your already extravagant look. Not to forget the most important piece of the whole attire, the signature silver rhinestone crown that identified you as the princess of the nation.

The tiara and grown lifestyle, the lifestyle you haven't been fond of even as a child. You were unwillingly living it.

“Careful,” Chanhee whispered, placing a comforting hand on your bare shoulder. “I don’t need you exploding in front of everyone right now, who knows what kind of scene that’ll create.”

“I might as well!” You snap, catching the unwanted attention of the nobles around you. Both of you turned to them and smiled, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible about your true feelings of the event. When they bowed in greeting before finally turning away from you and Fantasia prince, you were back to being the ticking time bomb you had entered the ballroom being. “You think I wanted to have this event planned? You think I wanted to have this event at all?”

“Of course you didn’t, I know you. You like to horseplay and run around like a little village girl.” Chanhee explained, rolling his eyes at your prevalent attitude. “But you can’t really do that right now can you? One small misstep and you’ll embarrass your parents right before their eyes, you need to keep it together.”

“How?” You asked him, maneuvering through the crowd of nobles so that you and Chanhee could have a little more privacy. Who knew what random noble or king’s son would walk up to you in the middle of your conversation and beg you to have a dance with him? “I don’t feel comfortable in what I’m wearing, I don’t want to be here in the first lance, I’m getting on my last nerves, and who knows when some random boy I don’t know tries woo me into liking him? I might actually lose it here!”

Chanhee struggled to keep up with your demands, trying to think of another quick solution to your problems like he always did. He must have something in that brain of his doesn’t? Or was it all just full of strategies to absolutely destroy you at chess? “I got it! Just talk to me.”

“What?” Chanhee’s suggestion stopped you dead in your tracks, giving him the most bizzare expression you could make at that moment. “Your very Royal Highness I’m sorry to inform you, but people won’t care if I’m talking to you, you understand that right? They know you wouldn’t even attempt to try and take my hand in marriage so they’ll just barge in anyways.”

“I don’t mean like that,” he hissed, softly hitting your shoulder in retaliation. “Talk to me about the personal guard and I’ll lead you away from the party. We just need to super busy in order to pull off the act that we’re walking around and definitely not trying to leave the ball.”

You nodded in understanding, though feeling your face begin heat up and turn into that all telling rosy red color. “Why— why him specifically? Can’t I talk about something else?”

“Where is he now?” The Fantasia prince questioned, holding out his arm for you to take so he could drag you out of the ballroom. “He's your personal guard isn’t it, your Royal Highness? Why isn’t he flanking your every step and protecting you like a dog to its owner?”

The boy snickered at his words until you elbowed his side, stopping both of you in your tracks to watch him crumble to his knees for a moment. Did he really think he could get away with insulting Juyeon like that? To your face no less? “He’s on duty with the rest of the royal guards,” you explained, nonchalantly glancing at your nails as you waited for Chanhee to recover. The boy was all sticks and bones, easy to hinder thanks to his small body. “They’re patrolling around the palace and the ballroom to make sure no incidents occur.”

“Incidents?” Chanhee questioned.

“Like putting the king and queen pieces into checkmate type incidents,” you told you, referencing the game of chess they had played months ago. “Either way, Juyeon couldn’t come with me and enjoy this god forsaken ball with me, but maybe that’s for the best.”

“Is that in terms of you two had a sudden falling,” The Fantasia prince tried to clarify, “or as in you think you’ve finally gotten your feelings figured out?” You grimaced at the thought, unsure of how to exactly answer Chanhee’s question. Did you have your feelings figured out?

Juyeon (with the exception his friends) was the only knight whose heart you hadn’t ever attempted to toy with. You let him get away with countless things: saying your name without a title, holding your hand when it trembled, willingly allowing him to make you flustered and not suffer any sort of retribution for it. On top of all of that, you even enjoyed his company! Juyeon didn’t make you feel like a prize that needed to be one, just made you feel like… you. And you liked it.

At first, you loathed the thought of being in the knight’s vicinity because he made do and feel things you weren’t used to. You thought that maybe, just maybe, he was going to use you in the way that you lead the squires and knights of the palace along. But he didn’t, the only thing he had done to you was send you flying deep into this well of the unknown without even realizing it.

“Oh I hate you,” You mumble under your breath, shooting Chanhee a knowing look. “I hate you so much.”

He blinked a few times at your hurtful words before it finally clicked in his brain, covering his mouth with his hands as he squealed. “You’ve figured it out? You realized that you like him? Y/N I’m so—“

“Princess Y/N!” The two of you turn your heads in alarm at your name being called, the worst case scenario of someone actually having the audacity to stop you coming true. You tense up upon seeing your mother wave her hand towards you, bringing attention to both of the royals from all the bystanders around you. With her was an older man, perhaps around your fathers age, staring up straight and tall with a curious glint in his eyes. His attire for the ball was littered in gold and silver medallions, purposely flaunting all of the achievements you wouldn’t bother to learn.

Though beside the older man was a boy, around your age this time, nervously glancing between the queen and the man who seemed to be his father. He tugged on the man’s sleeve desperately, trying to get him to take action but was ultimately getting ignored due to the adults taking the lead in the conversation. The queen pointed to both the boy and man with an expectant look on her face as she spoke, “please, Y/N, come join us! I’d like you to meet someone.”

“Potential suitor,” you whispered to Chanhee.

“On the count of three, run in the total opposite direction and get out of the ballroom,” He replied back.

One. “This is General Lee from a neighboring kingdom near Fantasia,” your mother explained, quickly introducing the two of you and unaware of the chaos you and the Fantasia prince were about to create.

Two. “This is his son, Prince Hyunjae. The general is the brother of the kingdom’s current king and his son will be taking the throne as the king and queen of that nation cannot produce an heir on their own.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Hyunjae began, awkwardly bowing in front of you now that all eyes were on him. “Truly it is, I’ve heard so much about you Princess—“

“Three!” You and Chanhee split from each other as quickly as possible, darting through the crowd of people in a desperate get away. You could hear the general and the queen call for you, struggling to keep up with your speed fueled by adrenaline but you paid no mind to it. They needed your presence so that you could sit and have an unfulfilling conversation with Prince Hyunjae and you weren’t going to give it to them. No offense to the prince or anything, you just don’t think you could handle that situation knowing your heart had settled on someone entirely different,

It only took you a matter of two minutes to reach the ballroom doors, muttering soft yet empty apologies to everyone you ran into and slipped through the crack in the door.

IX.

“Stupid princess,” Juyeon muttered, charging down the palace halls as fast as his legs would take him. “Stupid Y/N!” One could only imagine his panicked expression when he was suddenly approached by Sunwoo with a nervous glint in his eyes. He was so used to seeing the younger knight’s bright smile that it took Juyeon completely off guard when the boy grabbed him by the shoulders and steadied his footing.

“The princess,” Sunwoo told him, glancing between him and the corridor leading to the ballroom. “Princess Y/N, she ran from the ballroom and no one knows where she went.”

Juyeon thought he was joking at first, brushing off his words with a small laugh and teasing smile. Yet when Sunwoo’s expression didn’t change and the weight of the situation had finally processed in his mind, he shot off like an arrow towards all the spots the princess could have been hiding.

He knew you didn’t enjoy the big fancy balls and extravagant dresses of the royal life, but he thought you were going to be able to stick it out. Every time you had mentioned the king and queen’s wild idea to throw a gathering to find you a suitor, a king of your own, you were relaxed. You weren’t bothered by the thought of all and even joked about it with him every so often, so Juyeon had trusted you to be fine.

He didn’t like the idea of the ball for completely different reasons from you. He liked you, and the thought of your parents sending you off to some noble child or prince he’s never heard of made his blood boil. Because why have a ball to father suitors when he was right there? But the constant reminder from Sunwoo and Younghoon that he had nothing to offer to you and he wasn’t even in the status to even try to become betrothed to you, made him unwillingly back down from voicing his opinion to you and opposing it.

Now he was regretting, because you were missing somewhere in the palace and he didn’t know why.

He wasn’t in the ballroom when it all had happened, instructed to stand guard and patrol around the perimeter of the gathering to protect all the guests and the royal family. Juyeon didn’t understand why he was tasked to do such a thing in the first place, when he ascended the ranks into becoming a knight he was specifically told he was your personal guard. He was supposed to watch over you and protect you, so why did they have him stationed away from you?

It wasn’t until he realized that a majority of the palace, specifically the knights among his rank, had recognized his growing fondness for the princess. If they couldn’t have the princess to themselves, then neither could he.

“Y/N!” Juyeon called, completely throwing out the titles and addressing you by your first name. It’s not like anyone was around shooting him dirty looks for having the sheer audacity to call the princess by your name only. Even if they did, he wouldn’t mind. There were more important things to worry about than what he can and can’t call you. “Y/N, where’d you go? Come on, we can’t play this game of cat and mouse forever.”

He stopped at a door at the end of the corridor he was running down, grabbing a hold of the handle and shoving it open with unnecessary ferocity. Could you blame him for being a little too aggressive? With every growing second you weren’t in his sights the more anxious he was becoming. What if you were hurt? What if you were crying? What if you were—

“Juyeon, right?” Prince Chanhee asked, sitting in a chair with his feet kicked up on top of the desk. Juyeon has opened the door to one of the very many studies within the palace and out of sheer coincidence he opened the doors to the one the princess’s friend was using. Well at least… he thought it was a coincidence. I hoped it was a coincidence.

“Prince Chanhee of Fantasia,” he began, looking the boy up and down for a moment. It didn’t seem like you were with him, not a trace of your existence left in the study. It was possible that you didn’t even come in this room at all. “Where is she?”

“God, you skipped right to the point a little fast for me,” Chanhee grimaced, taking his feet off of the desk and sitting up straight. “Do you have to know where she is like right now? Because I had this whole speech I was going to give you set up and I really wanted to—”

“Prince Choi Chanhee,” Juyeon demanded, putting emphasis on each word that came out of his mouth. He didn’t have time to play around with others right now, as much as he would have loved to encourage him any other day. You were somewhere in the palace, alone, and he had to know where you were and what happened. He needed to know if you were hurt so that he could find the culprit and drive his sword straight into the chest of the wretch.

The boy raised his hands up in defeat, shooting Juyeon an annoyed glare before clearing his throat. “Y/N is at the balcony above the barracks, where the field for the mounted archery evaluations was held months ago.” The memory of the weekly evaluation was immediately triggered in his head, seeing him back months prior to his falling for the princess. The day he had proved to all of the knights and squires around him that he was the best of the best, the day he had first laid eyes on you.

“I know where that is,” he breathed, turning in his heel and getting ready to rush out the door once again. Though Chanhee scrambled out of the chair to catch up to Juyeon, stopping him from moving any further towards the balcony to reach you. “What?”

“Before you go,” the prince began, letting go of Juyeon with the hope that he wouldn’t run off at the sight of freedom. “Please don’t do anything stupid, Y/N is my friend. And as much as I tease her and bully her, I won’t let anyone hurt her. Even if that’s her wildly skillful and kinda scary personal guard.”

Juyeon couldn’t help but laugh at Chanhee’s words, reminiscing on the fact that only a few months ago he couldn’t tell whether he was intrigued by the prince’s closeness with you or jealous of it. “Don’t worry, I wouldn’t dare.”

X.

You leaned up against the railing of the balcony taking night time air with a deep breath. It was hard trying to avoid all the royal guards and knights within the castle, knowing that after the scene you caused they’d be searching for you. It felt like a scene from a fairy tale really, clutching the fabric of your wine red dress so you wouldn’t trip and hastily running up the stairs. Behind you you could hear the calls of all the knights and royal guards of the places looking for you, their boots heavy against the marble floors and their armor clanging against each other.

They were like walking bells, unaware of the fact that their prized armor was alerting you of their position. If the guards were coming up the corridor, you turn around and run the opposite way. If they were going down the corridor, you’d spin on your heels and make a complete u-turn. Sometimes you’d sneak into a room on whatever hallway you were on and wait for them to pass, sometimes you’d just keep running and hope your legs didn’t give out on you knowing you were wearing heels.

It was a little funny in your eyes, but that’s because you were you. You’re almost one hundred percent sure no one else thought this game of cat and mouse you were playing was fun.

“Wait, I should have gone and found Juyeon first,” you realize, shooting up off of the ground. You were so busy with attempting to successfully make your get away that you had forgotten that Juyeon was also one of the knights in duty. He was probably worried about you, searching for you around the palace like all of the other knights within the palace. With no explanation of exactly what went down in the ballroom, he’d have no clue on what was actually going on.

“I should go find him, leaving him with no context will probably drive him insane,” you nod to yourself, marching towards the balcony doors to run back into the palace. Though you stopped once you reached the door, your hands hovering over the door handles hesitantly. You should tell him what happened, it was the right thing to do after all. But were you really ready to face him again?

In the middle of that ballroom, just seconds before you had been involuntarily introduced to Prince Hyunjae, you had a revelation. You liked him. You liked your charming person guard that had caught you weak kneed from the first time you laid eyes on him. No one had ever made you feel the way you felt about Juyeon and he had done it nearly completely by accident. He was trying to court you and you simply fell for him anyways.

His skills, his face, his smiles, his personality, just him a person entirely. You adored it all, you liked him.

Well liked was an understatement now, you had truly fallen deeply in love with him and you just had to realize your genuine feelings in the middle of a party meant to find you a king. Horrible timing on your part but you just weren't sure until then.

So maybe you should wait, wait until you can gather your thoughts and feelings together without fidgeting and shaking in front of him. The nervous habit probably would have increased tenfold now that you realized why exactly you trembled when he smiled at you, and you weren’t ready to watch that whole fiasco go down. How embarrassing would that be? To get completely weak kneed in front of Juyeon without a coherent thought in the brain? Surely you’d like an idiot, wouldn’t you?

“I’ll wait,” you convinced, stepping away from the door with cautious steps. “I’m not even going to be able to look him in the eye if I see him again, I should just wait until tomorrow… but I’ll probably get scolded by my parents for running away during the ball when they had done all that planning just for me. But it’s not like I asked them to throw that ball in the first place, just because I didn’t suggest any suitors I liked!”

You yelped in alarm when the door to the balcony swung with great speed, making you jump out of skin at the sudden intrusion. “Heavens, do you know how to knock?” You asked in retaliation, your heartbeat running marathons as you tried to calm yourself down from the shock. Though when you turned to look back toward the door again, you were greeted by the rather familiar sight of your personal guard, “Juyeon?”

The boy’s eyes widened at the sight of you, as if he couldn’t believe that you were standing in front of him right now. “Y/N,” he said in between gasps, trying hard to catch his breath as he reached his hands out for you. “Y/N, you're okay.”

“Of course I’m okay,” you tell him, unsure of the thoughts that were running through his mind. “Why wouldn’t I be okay?”

Juyeon didn’t respond to your questions, letting go of the door handle before running towards you and scooping you up in his arms. Instinctively you wrapped your arms around him for support, not wanting to fall out of his grasp despite knowing he wouldn’t dare drop you even if he commanded to. “I thought something bad happened,” he confessed, “when Sunwoo came to me and told me you had left the ballroom, I thought someone had hurt you.”

“No, nothing like that happened,” you assured him, urging him to let you go. Just looking at his relieved face made your heart begin to race again, though this time marathons weren't the only thing that it was running. “My mother was trying to set me up with his prince from another kingdom and instead of doing as she said me and Chanhee ran for it out the room.”

“Why would you do that?” Juyeon questioned, stepping away from you in disbelief. “The queen, she’ll be furious when she sees you again. The king— your father, what will father say about you running away?”

“Juyeon I don’t care about what they think, haven’t you noticed by now?” you argued, your hands beginning to tremble at the rising tension between the two of you, “they can’t just force me to pick a boy from that gathering when I didn’t even bother to learn their names. When none of them are you.”

Juyeon thought to himself for a moment, letting your words sink and replay inside his brain. “When none of them were… me?”

“I wish I had realized before they even had a chance to plan the ball but I just have the worst timing possible,” You admitted, thinking back to all the very clear signs of your growing feelings for Juyeon that you had avoided. “I think I fell in love with you, Juyeon. Not think, actually, I know I have.”

“You’re serious?” Juyeon questioned, unsure if he had even heard you right. When you nodded your head to give him confirmation, he pulled you closer to him with warning, his eyes growing wide like the full moon that was hanging above the two of you. “You’re not joking at all, no tricks, no teasing, you’re being one hundred percent serious with me right now?”

“Of course!” You exclaim, grabbing him by the shoulders with a beaming smile etching across your face. “I’ve never been so sure about something in my entire life. Why do you think I asked you to train me in the first place a few months back, because I was just trying to use your skill set to my advantage? I know I have the reputation of being desperate for sword fighting, but Juyeon I was in love with you! I was just using the training as a way to figure my feelings or not.”

“I didn’t want to get my hopes up,” he confessed to you. “I wanted you to like me back, but Sunwoo and Younghoon didn’t want me to get my hopes over a fruitless crush. They told me that pursuing you wouldn’t work, because I didn’t have a decent enough background for me to even compare to anyone else. I mean, you’re a princess! I’m just barely a knight, I’m a blacksmith’s son, Y/N, not some high ranking noble from across the land. I have no connections, no power, no money, nothing to give you in return for your affection.”

“Juyeon,” you respond, confusion crossing your face at his words. Did he really think you wouldn’t like him just because his status was up to the standards of the king and queen? He thought you cared about things like that?

“I have nothing to offer you,” Juyeon whispered, holding your hands in his as gently as possible. It was if he thought he’d let go of you now he’d wake up from this dream like scenario you two were in, where you were no longer in his arms and in a place he could not reach. “There’s nothing I could even dream of giving to you.”

You can’t help but smile at his words, removing your hands from his and cupping his face instead. He didn’t even flinch at your touch, only turning a crimson red at your next few words. “Why do you think that matters? None of that matters to me, it never has. You could be a poor boy from a family of farmers and I’d still fall in love with you.”

“But your parents—“ he tried to argue with you.

“They mean nothing to me,” you assure him, pulling his face towards yours as you whisper, “they may be able to control this kingdom to their will, but they can’t control who exactly I fall in love with. They couldn’t even control my urge to learn sword fighting and that’s an interest I’ve had since I was a child.”

“I hate you so much,” Juyeon laughed, the words he spoke not carrying the same weight thanks to his jittery and hopeful tone. He was happy, happy to know that you felt the same way about him and that you didn’t care for anything of the things that should have been hindering your feelings for him.

“Clearly you do,” you tease in response, “you haven’t even attempted to kiss me yet.”

You didn’t need to tell Juyeon twice. He gave you one small kiss on the forehead, pulling away as fast as he registered what he had done in that moment. It felt illegal to be kissing a princess after being told countless times that trying to pursue you was a horrible idea. Though you didn’t give him any time to try and open his mouth as you threw your arms around his neck and kissed him back, grabbing onto his shirt collar and pulling him close.

His eyes fluttered closed immediately, smiling against your lips as he brushed his thumb against your cheek. “Does this mean I get to become king if I end up marrying you,” Juyeon questioned, his tone lightheartedly as he stopped for a moment.

You didn’t even open your eyes as you pulled him back towards you again, a sly grin prevalent on your face as you whispered to him. “Only if you finish the sword fighting lessons we started,” you teased, “maybe then I’ll consider making you my king.”

[willow-tree-writes]

❀Lady Who’s Waiting❀

Peter Pevensie x Reader

Summary: Marriage isn’t something to take lightly. Especially when it comes to you being offered to marry someone who isn’t the High King himself.

Request: N/A

Author’s Note: This one turned out a lot longer than I originally was going to write it. Sorry if the end seems weird, I really wanted to get this out early today.

Word Count: 2.2k

Warnings: Mention of Arranged Marriage

!I don’t own this gif!

“Where is she?” Lady Rosaline muttered under her breath as she stalked through the halls. She was looking for a certain lady-in-waiting who was late for an important meeting.

You were cuddled up in a corner of the library, dozing off while reading a beautiful romance between a simple maid and a spectacular knight. Time had slipped you by as the story captivated you.

The slamming of the library doors jostled a couple of bookcases as well as jostled you from a state of unconscious consciousness.

“Lady Y/N!” Lady Rosaline practically shrieked upon seeing your startled, curled up figure. “I have been looking for you for the past hour! The Kings, Queens and Prince Rilling have been waiting for two!”

You quickly stood up and placed the book you were reading down. “I am so sorry! I must have lost track of time!”

Before she could say anything else, you bolted from the library and made your way to the main hall. That’s where everyone would be. That’s where you were supposed to be.

You stopped right outside the doors, quickly fixing your hair and dress. Pushing the door open drew everyone’s attention.

The four Kings and Queens were seated at their thrones while Prince Rilling and his parents, the King and Queen of Archland, were standing in front of them. There were a couple knights scattered here and there.

You swallowed your nerves and stepped inside. “I am terribly sorry for my late arrival.” You speak as you walk up to the Kings, Queens, and Prince.

Prince Rilling made a step closer to you, gently taking your hand. “I am just glad you are here.” He placed a light kiss on the back of it.

“As are we all.” Peter’s voice boomed in the large room, causing you to clear your throat a little and take your spot between Susan and Lucy’s thrones.

King Deminon, Prince Rilling’s father, didn’t seem to take his eyes off you. “Now that Lady Y/N is here, I presume we may start talking about our request?”

Peter shifts, as if the topic was one he didn’t want to discuss. “As I’ve told you before, King Deminon, I do not think it is right to marry off one of my sisters.”

Susan and Lucy nod, already knowing that was coming.

Prince Rilling cleared his throat a little, pulling himself into the discussion of his marriage. “I understand your reasoning, King Peter. Might I suggest another candidate?” He looked between his father and Peter.

You shuddered a little at the term ‘candidate.’ It made it seem like a girl was only useful for him to marry. You wouldn’t lie, he was a looker, but your looks had been drawn to a different royal from the moment you stepped into Narnia with him.

Your attention wavered as King Deminon nodded and Peter hesitantly nodded.

You didn’t listen as Prince Rilling made his reasoning for the lady he had in mind to Peter. You didn’t listen as he hyped her up to his father. You did hear as he uttered her name. “Lady Y/N.”

Everyone’s eyes turned towards you once again, while your eyes found Prince Rillings. 

You had nothing against him, but you didn’t want to marry him. You couldn’t marry him. How could you marry someone when you didn’t love them? How could you marry someone when your heart was stolen by another?

You glanced at Peter, catching his eyes. There was a flash in them. A flash you couldn’t quite discern. Could it have been jealousy?

He looked away from you and towards the Prince who was awaiting a response. “I am sorry, but I cannot permit that either.”

“Why not?” King Deminon stopped his son from speaking with his own question. “She is a mere lady-in-waiting. Easily replaceable.”

You tried to keep any sort of emotion free from your face. Partly because you didn’t want anyone to know what was going through your head, but also because you didn’t know what was going through your head.

Peter was about to say something when Susan cut him off. “Lady Y/N is family to us. There has to be another way to form an alliance than through marriage.”

You brushed off your dress a little as you stepped down from your position. “Excuse me. I am just going to get some fresh air.”

You didn’t hear a word uttered as you walked away from everyone and out of the room. You didn’t utter a word or even breath as you made your way out to the courtyard.

It wasn’t until you were there and you knew you were alone when you finally let out a breath. A breath that let so much out of your body.

You knew Narnia and Archland had been working on coming up with an alliance, but you had never been told the details. Everything about this place was still new. Building alliances through marriage was a thing you thought only happened in the Middle Ages.

A hand brushed your shoulder as your mind made its way back to reality.

Your body couldn’t make up who the hand belonged to. Your heart told you it was Peter - comforting you - while your heart said it was Prince Rilling - trying to persuade you to marry him.

My mind had won the battle, as Prince Rilling crossed before you. “I am truly sorry for suddenly drawing you into this.”

You shake your head a little, giving him the softest smile you can muster. “It is quite alright.”

“Lady Y/N,” he lightly took your hand. Your reflex was to pull it away, but you didn’t. “I know we have just met, but I find you absolutely captivating.” That would be the first time, you thought. “And if you will give me a chance, I would love to try and win you over.”

You didn’t know how to respond to him. He truly seemed nice, but you knew you could never bring yourself to feel the way for you to marry him. “Your Highness,” you paused, sighing a little. “I must be honest with you. I-”

You were cut off by the opening of the courtyard doors and two sets of footsteps clicked in.

“Y/N. Prince Rilling.” Susan and Lucy walked over to you and the Prince. “We are sorry to interrupt, but we must be getting ready for the ball tonight.”

Prince Rilling nodded his head and took a step away from you. “I do hope you consider my offer, my lady.”

You already had. Your mind was made up. But he couldn’t know the truth. “Of course.”

----

You felt like you were going to be suffocated with how many people decided to attend the ball. You had been told it would only be a few - a small gathering. If this is what was considered small gatherings, you’d pass on extravagant festivities.

With a glass of wine in hand, you made your way through the sea of people and to the balcony. With fresh air filling your lungs, you’d be able to start enjoying yourself. If you weren’t interrupted.

“Still not much of a party person?” Peter made his way beside you, leaning on the balcony railing.

You smile a little and shake your head. “You said this was going to be a small gathering.”

“I swore it was.”

You turned and gave him a playful, ‘Yeah, right’ look.

He laughed a little. “I’m serious. Susan said it was just to be a few nobles. Not the entirety of Narnia.”

You laughed this time. “She’s just ambitious.”

“That’s one way of putting it.”

The two of you fell into a comfortable silence. A conversation didn’t need to be constantly flowing between you two. It was nice.

Peter cleared his throat a little as you took a sip from your glass. “So, how was your talk?”

Glancing his way, you furrow your eyebrows. “What talk?”

“Your talk with Prince Rilling.” He said as if it were obvious.

You shrug, looking away. “It was just a talk.”

“Nothing is ‘just a talk’ with Prince Rilling.” Peter somewhat grumbled.

His tone caught you off guard. He wasn’t necessarily not the jealous type, but you had never really seen this side of him. There was never any instance where he had to be jealous. He was the High King. Who could be so special to get the High King jealous?

You turn your body to face the king, setting your glass down on the balcony sill. “Peter, are you jealous?” You didn’t really want to ask it, but there was no way around this topic.

He scoffed and looked out at the view. He was avoiding your eyes. The eyes he found himself longing to look into far more often than he should. “Jealous? There’s nothing about Prince Rillings that I should be jealous of.”

“You should let Edmund stick with green, my King.” You grabbed your glass from beside his arm. Drinking up the rest, you started to head back into the party.

Peter’s hand grabbed your arm with a tenderness that had not been previously in his voice. “Where are you going?”

You decided to play around with him. “I am thinking of going to talk to Prince Rilling.” You were probably going to mention Peter’s behavior to Susan. “And accept his marriage proposal.” She and Lucy are really the only people that really know what’s going on inside their brother’s head.

His face twisted, but to what you could not tell. “Don’t.”

“Don’t what?”

You thought he was going to say, ‘Don’t joke with me like that,’ or something like that. But you were very wrong.

“Don’t marry him.”

You froze in your spot. Yes, Peter had declined the offer when Prince Rilling first suggested it, but that was in front of everyone, before anything could happen. Here, now, there was something else in his answer.

You didn’t know why, but you wanted to push him. Not physically, but verbally. “Why?” Why didn’t he want her to marry? Didn’t he want her to be happy? Prince Rilling wouldn’t make her happy in the way she wanted, but he didn’t know that. Peter didn’t know anything.

He was silent. 

He didn’t know how to answer your question, for he wasn’t being honest with himself.

You sighed, shaking your head the slightest bit. “If Susan or Lucy ask about me, tell them I went to retire for the night.”

Disappointment soaked your form as you made your way out of the party and to your bedchambers. The answer you were hoping to get from him failed to be leaked. The answer you knew you’d never hear wasn’t received.

Everything was silent as you changed from an elegant ball gown to the most simple nightgown.

Your bed was warm, a welcoming change from the chilly night air you had to endure while talking to Peter.

Eyes shutting themselves, you expected sleep to take over when a knock rang out throughout your room.

A light sigh escaped your lips as you didn’t care to move. “Come back tomorrow, Susan. I’m quite tired.”

The door cracked open anyways, ignoring your request.

“I’m not exactly Susan.” Peter’s voice grew louder as he got closer to your bed.

You turned in bed and sat up upon hearing him speak. “Peter? What are you doing in here?”

“I came to talk to you.” He stopped a couple feet from your bed. 

You sigh again and get up out of your bed. Walking over to your wardrobe, you pull your robe off it and wrap it around your body. “Now’s not a great time.”

“It certainly can’t wait.” He pressed onward, taking your hand as you started to walk out of your room.

“Peter, please.” I look at him, wanting more than a minute of peace and quiet. “There’s nothing else to talk about.”

He didn’t let go of your hand, pulling you closer with it. “I don’t want you to marry Prince Rilling because he isn’t fit for you.”

“What?” You were more confused if anything right now.

He looked as if he was hesitant to answer that question, as simple as it was.

You groaned, shaking your head. “Would you just spit it out, Peter?”

“You’re not just a mere lady-in-waiting to me. And not because your family, like Susan says.” He decided it right to stop his sentence there. As if you 100% understood what he was talking about.

“Then what am I to you, Peter?”

You expect him to stay silent. You expected him to let go of your hand and walk out. You didn’t expect him to be upfront and blunt. “You are a lady that has found her way into my heart and refuses to leave.”

If anything would knock their air out of your lungs without touching you and causing your face to burn brightly with no fire near, it was that line leaving his lips.

This time, you were the silent one.

You didn’t know how he was taking your silence as he pulled you even closer to him.

You placed your hands on his chest, looking down. “I am a lady-in-waiting.” You pause, looking up at him. “A lady who’s been waiting for you, Peter.”

His serious expression broke into a smile, as did yours.

“Then I better not keep the lady waiting any longer.”

He leaned down, not wasting a moment more to wrap his arms around your waist and give you the sweetest kiss you’ve ever had.

[calboniferous]

In Theory

Work 1 in The Pen and the Sword aka. my jedi and academics AU

A stressed post-graduate anthropology researcher from Coruscant University enters the Jedi Archives for the first time and is promptly taken under the wing of one Master Archivist Jocasta Nu.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/32355310

—

Master Jocasta Nu felt the visitor before she saw them. Stress and a frenetic energy radiated through the force tangled with the unique threads of emotion and colour that made up their signature.

Closing the book in front of her with a soft thud, mindful of its frayed edges, she appraised the blue nautolan hurrying towards her. Their worn brown coat was unbuttoned and struggling to stay onto their shoulders, saved by the strap of the bag hanging off one side which the nautolan had one arm wrapped around. Apparently, the bag’s tie had lost the battle against the tide of flimsy and datapads making the simple bag bulge obscenely.

Ah.

A scholar.

Like the many before them, they had come to Master Nu’s beloved archives in hope of finding salvation in its hallowed stacks. With her guidance, they always did and more often than not, they would return again. And again.

However, this scholar was not one that Master Nu had seen before and as they glanced wide-eyed at the towering shelves, shying away from passing Jedi, she surmised that the Jedi archives were unfamiliar to them also.

They reached her desk out of breath.

“I need books on Kante martial arts and history. Do you have books on Kante? If it has historical martial arts then that would be incredible but I’m setting the bar low. Really, the bar is non-existent. Should I even be setting a bar I don’t know- do you know what the Kante are? Were? They’re extinct”

“Young one, breathe.” Master Nu said, lifting her hand to interrupt the rush of words. Her brow softened in sympathy, “How about you start from the beginning and tell me what your thesis is and then we’ll go about finding resources.”

She signalled to one of the Padawans stacking holopads nearby for them to take over monitoring the main desk and led Tema to one of the many sunlit alcoves tucked between the buttresses.

Settling on a cushion across the low table from the sleep deprived nautolan, Master Nu pulled out her well-worn datapad, ready to formulate a list of texts to recommend for this student’s project. She had gathered quite the collection of such lists over the years and took great pride in curating them. Often, she would continue to add to them in her spare time so that when the person they had been made for returned, it was waiting and ready. And, if Master Nu happened to enjoy the thrill of a hunt for obscure references through her own archives every now and again, that was her own business.

Stylus in hand, she was ready to begin.

“You mentioned martial arts?”

“Right. Yes. I’m studying the fighting style of the Kante people which they used to reclaim their lands 7000 years ago after it was conquered in the Chandrillan Divide. The politics of the reclamation itself have been documented to death but there’s kriff all discussing how they actually fought,”

Master Nu hummed sympathetically, listening as a classic university post-graduate research tragedy poured out in all its glory. The purple shadows smeared under Tema’s dark eyes suggested that more than one night had been lost to this.

It was a credit to her Jedi training and skill as an archivist that Master Nu could write notes, elegant script flitting smoothly across the datapad without misspelling a single title or name, while offering comforting hums and interjecting words of encouragement where Tema faltered.

“So now I need to piece it together myself in order to build a theory on how the Kante people approached battlefield strategy,” Tema finished, fidgeting with their bag strap.

Setting her stylus down, Master Nu surveyed the drafted list with a critical eye. It was a daunting selection. She weighed the situation in her mind and carefully turned the datapad off, placing it down with a muted click of metal on the polished stone table.

“That’s quite the task you’ve got” Master Nu said, “more than an Honours project scope covers.”

She loathed to discourage any scholar but there were limits to the workload that could be shouldered and she had a strict honesty policy. With all her Jedi compassion and experience ad Head Archivist, Master Nu knew how to recognise when a student needed guidance in whittling down their research focus to a reasonable magnitude.

“I know,” Tema sighed, shoulders sagging, “I know but my project topic has already been approved by my supervisor.”

“Dear, your project as it stands is enough to satisfy a PhD and beyond. I can tell you are passionate about it but it’d be a tragedy for you to fail because you tried to complete years’ worth of work in the 10 months you have.”

The blue nautolan wilted a little, head tails curling.

“I don’t see what choice I have. I can’t form a thesis on the merits of Kante strategy without knowing how it worked at the individual level,” they said, resignation colouring their force signature grey with worry.

Master Nu paused, and after a moment spoke.

“Have you considered centring your project on the martial arts itself? At the individual level, as you say. Leaving the rest aside to focus on that should technically be within your project topic.”

Tema blinked, “That’s…that would work. Yes.”

Master Nu watched as they turned the idea over, considering how to approach it.

“Yes. That would make it more of a research-and-reconstruction project. A literature review with practical application.”

They gave a wry smile, “I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before.”

Some of the frazzled emotion of their presence eased and a few threads of humour sparked in its wake.

“I could have saved myself from being sick from worry in the University ‘freshers yesterday.”

They flushed a little darker at that admission and Master Nu suppressed what would have been a rather unprofessional snort of amusement as she clicked the datapad back on. Ah, younglings. They never changed.

“Don’t be too hard on yourself, dear. That amount of stress isn’t conducive to clarity of mind, I’d wager,” Master Nu soothed, deleting a few items from the list with a satisfied air, “You’re hardly the first person’s I’ve known to have an adverse reaction to academic stress. Now, I do believe this list is ready.”

Rising with more grace than her age suggested she was capable of, she smoothed the creases in her cream and straw-gold robes and led the way into the maze of columns and shelves. Tema followed a step behind in a manner that to any observers bore remarkable resemblance to a duckling following its mother – if ducklings were six-and-a-half feet tall, that is.

“Somehow I find it hard to imagine a Jedi getting sick from assignments,” they mused absentmindedly, tipping their head to catch some of the book titles they passed, “all this information – it’d be hard to fail.”

Master Nu chuckled at that, passing through an archway into a side corridor.

“I’m afraid it can happen to anyone. One of my agemates routinely emptied his stomach at the prospect of examinations – that one, in fact,” she said, gesturing to one of the bronze busts lining the hall. The metallic features gave the human man depicted a severe expression. In Master Nu’s opinion, it was rather true to life even if the beard was far to neatly sculpted.

“The poor man. Perfection was as much his vice as his virtue.”

She smiled fondly, crows’ feet crinkling with nostalgia at sharing this particular story – at sharing the humanity of someone so proud and distant both in life and artistic rendition.

Tema faltered and the markings on their head tails blanched light blue.

“Oh, uh, my condolences.”

“Hmm?” Master Nu turned to them, “Oh no, he’s not dead. He’s retired.”

“Oh,”

They blinked, nonplussed.

“This way, dear”

The pair continued on their winding path. Master Nu, frequently gesturing to some architectural feature or other with her datapad, began to explain how the Jedi Archival system worked, pausing every now and then to pull a tome from the shelves.

“It is what many have described as ‘archaic’,” she said, stepping deftly onto the fourth rung of a sliding ladder attached to one of the shelves to reach her next target, “but no one—and I mean no one—has said it is an ineffective system.

“At least not in my earshot,” she said with a laugh, pulling the volume from its place and passing it down to Tema. The rumours the initiates (and fully-grown Knights) liked to spread about Master Nu’s draconian defence of the archives may not be entirely accurate but were taken by most as a warning to avoid slandering the archive in her presence. She knew Tholme liked to stir the pot and recount tales of her lightsabre prowess to the initiates, no matter that the stories were thirty years out-of-date.

“That being said, it can take some getting used to. The Padawans and Knight Archivists are always around and willing to retrieve sources for our visitors.”

Master Nu dismounted from the ladder, blew dust from her sleeve, and turned a critical eye on to the stack of books and datapads in Tema’s arms that had been steadily growing in size. The scholar looked strong enough to take a couple more, taking into account that their bulging bag would not fit anything more inside.

“That’s the last one from this aisle.”

She clicked her tongue and marked a check on her list next to the sources they were borrowing. They were all copies, of course, or volumes easily enough to source a replacement that their loss wouldn’t be abhorrent. Nonetheless, clean records made maintaining the collection less stressful on her soul.

On that note, Master Nu was pleased to feel that Tema was no longer pouring stress into the force like an anxious firehose. And—

She stilled, tilting her head as a familiar presence tickled the edges of her senses.

“Master Nu?” Tema asked, noticing her change in manner.

“Nothing to worry about,”

She once again took the lead. Down the aisle, then one aisle to the left and as they rounded the corner Master Nu smiled at the sight before her.

A little blue and beige figure was hunched over a book resting on the floor, absentmindedly gnawing on her Padawan silka beads and completely oblivious to the world around her.

“Padawan Secura! Why am I not surprised?” Master Nu called lightly and the twi’lek girl jerked, breaking from her literature-induced reverie to scramble to her feet.

“I’m not skipping sabre class again. I swear!”

Had it been any other Padawan of Aayla’s age group, Master Nu would think that emphatic declaration of innocence meant the Padawan in question was skipping class. Skywalker came to mind as a repeat offender of that variety.

Only question was that Junior Padawan sabre classes were always on Taungsday afternoons—this afternoon—and had been since before Master Nu was a crecheling. She hummed, unconvinced.

“Knight Kenobi is doing catch-up lessons this week and he said my forms were good enough to skip.”

That explained it. It seemed only yesterday that he’d been roaming the archives as a padawan himself, tearing through histories of the planets he’d visited at Qui-Gon’s side with single-minded focus. Shame that his lineage had picked him up before her own could. He would have made a fantastic archivist despite his record of being convinced to scale the bookshelves whenever Vos got temple fever.

Well, at least Aayla’s fencing education was in good hands.

Master Nu beamed at Aayla, “Then good work padawan and, as you are free, would you like to join us in gathering sources for Scholar Induri here?”

Aayla brightened, “Absolutely!”

And then, remembering her diplomacy training, bowed to Tema, setting her Padawan beads swinging. “Nice you meet you, Scholar.”

She scooped up the book she had been reading and as she put it back in its slot, Master Nu glimpsed the title.

“Reading Bastilla Shan again are we Padawan?”

The padawan blushed, fiddled with her tunic and handily dodged the teasing with a question of her own, “What are we looking for, Master?”

“See for yourself, young one,” Master Nu passed over the datapad, pointing to the highlighted entries.

Aayla squinted at the handwriting for a second before passing the pad back and running away down the aisle, one hand skimming the shelf labels. Padawans were lovely to have around and, watching Aayla slide 4 meters down a ladder and return to them with a grin plastered across her face, Master Nu wondered if she should take another student. Or, better yet, invite her former Padawans around for tea to see if more Grandpadawans would be joining the lineage soon.

“Thank you, dear,” she gave Aayla a pat on the head, “I’ll leave you to your reading. Just don’t forget to remind your Master that he needs to renew the materials he borrowed last month.”

Then, she turned to Tema who hadn’t made so much as a peep the past five minutes, seemingly satisfied to observe the interaction.

“Let’s get these checked out so you can get to reading them.”

Back to the main desk, the archivist and scholar wandered, and a minute later there was a new name entered into the borrowing database.

“Again, thank you for everything, Master Nu” Tema said, gathering the stack back into their arms. They were a little overwhelmed but they were smiling.

“Dear, it’s no trouble. One last thing, are you planning on enlisting someone practised in martial forms in your project? Or were you aiming for a more theoretical illustration of your findings?”

Tema cast their eyes to one side and shifted their weight.

“Ideally, yes, but I have no idea where to find someone like that so…theoretical?”

They trailed off.

“Good. I’m free to ask around here, then,” Master Nu said, tugging Tema’s bag strap so it was in less immediate danger of falling of their shoulder.

“If you need any help at all, don’t hesitate to send me a message or drop by. My archive is always open,”

At that, she tucked a slip of flimsy with her com code underneath the top datapad in the stack and gave Tema a parting pat on the cheek. With hope in their step, the scholar passed back out the archive doors, into the sunlight of the hall beyond.

Content, Master Nu smiled and watched them go.

“Now,” she mused to herself, opening the roster of temple-bound jedi and beginning to peruse the list, “who to ask…”

Her thoughts turned to the bronze bust of a man whose devotion to esoteric research was only outmatched by his skill with a blade.

His legacy…

Her eyes caught on a name. Yes, that would do very nicely indeed.

In the interest of vetting the source she intended to recommend, Master Nu made a mental note to attend next week’s exhibition tournament.

[musicallisto]

𓃬 — 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 (𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐢'𝐥𝐥 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐧); (edmund pevensie x f!reader)

@blazogirl18 requested: If you still have a slot open, could you do 18 with Edmund from the chronicles of Narnia? Thank you in advance and I love your blog's aesthetic. It's so soothing

song: juro que - rosalia | 𝄞

summary: “King Edmund is taken hostage, is he not? And you will need the help of the bravest soldiers in Narnia, will you not?”

word count: 2.2k

author notes: I feel terrible because this is totally shit but I figured you had waited long enough already. I hope this is still okay?

warnings: incarceration, some fighting/violence

𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐀 feeling something had gone awfully wrong way before High King Edmund the Just’s Royal Guard burst into Cair Paravel’s audience room.

You always got those hunches whenever something was amiss without quite putting your finger on it — an ineffable certitude that tugged at heartstrings like a mischievous devil. The last time it had happened so clearly was mere seconds before Lucy fell off her horse and broke her arm. This time, though, you had tried your best to conceal the upheaval in your stomach; you had meetings to preside over and Narnians to hear, no matter the battles roaring at the back of your mind — or those Edmund was fighting in some faraway land.

But when a bloodied and disheveled cavalry stormed into the room, you thought your heart might burst from the absolute terror of being right.

“Your Majesty,” the knight you recognized as the captain of Edmund’s guard panted once or twice through a haphazardly lifted visor. “Your Majesty, they have... they have taken the King.”

You rose from your throne, whatever prosaic matters you were attending before forgotten already. What tremors your voice hid reappeared in your hands; you balled them into fists to compose yourself.

“Speak fast and calmly. Tell me everything that happened.”

“We were scouting the woods near our camp, early in the morning, when the King offered to join us... it’s a dangerous place, milady, so close to the frontlines... they jumped from behind the cedars and beneath the bushes, milady, and they were twice as many as we were, twenty at least. We fought them off as fiercely as we could, but the King...”

“Saddle my horse and polish my sword from the armory.”

He blinked twice, his mouth an oval-shaped question.

“Majesty —”

“King Edmund is taken hostage, is he not? And you will need the help of the bravest soldiers in Narnia, will you not?”

Your eyes of steel left no room for debate. He nodded.

“Yes, milady.”

“Excellent. Call the High King and Queens and all our generals to the Arms Room.”

You took your crown off your head, officially signaling that polite discussions were over. The shiny silver under your fingertips was almost the same shade as Edmund’s hopeful eyes when he had told you he loved you for the first time — and imagining them in distress was unbearable.

“They will pay before sundown.”

These plains were unknown to you, despite all the colorful atlases you had devoured in the Cair Paravel library; but no Narnian cavalry had ever backed down when facing the unknown, especially not one led by Queen Y/N and High Queen Lucy. You had ridden all morning, to the confines of the realm where Edmund’s army had been fighting off hordes of nomadic invaders, leaving the castle to Peter and Susan’s capable hands. Lucy and you, at the head of the troops, were pensive and focused, plunged deep in a cold seriousness at the antipodes of your habitual cheeriness; and like a somber presage, you hadn’t heard a single bird sing over the lush pastures of Narnia.

There was, truth to be told, little reason to sing that morning.

“Don’t worry,” Lucy’s sunny voice said when you were riding side by side, approaching the troops’ camp. “He’s resourceful and intelligent. We’ll find him.”

You had merely nodded. The rhythmic jolting of your horse was just enough to disguise the trembling of your hands.

You eventually halted when you reached a cluster of makeshift tents and timid fires, desperate to be put in order by some kind of leader. A sense of brooding dread still hung in the air above the idle soldiers when you dismounted, but the sight of you, your commanding posture, and the sigil of Aslan on your blade inspired some hopeful adoration.

“Good morning, brave Narnians —” Lucy commenced as she touched down next to you.

“Long live High Queen Lucy,” a tired murmur fused, bitter with irony, almost indiscernible amidst the crowd.

All ungainly morning activities had come to a halt at the sight of Lucy’s golden tunic. All eyes were on you, haggard and haunted, but just starting to glimmer anew with a renewed, fragile light.

“Long live High Queen Lucy, and if you walk with me, long live High King Edmund,” you repeated to the assembled crowd, loud and composed, chin raised and blade at the ready.

“And long live Queen Y/N, who will lead us into the enemy’s lair and save my brother,” Lucy resumed as firmly as you had.

No one in the crowd picked up the chant, not even your exhausted but unwavering cavalry; but the resolution you read in every soldier’s features, from those in the front row to the shaken tending to the wounded, told you they would follow you into the last confines of the Earth and even beyond Aslan’s kingdom, all for their fair king.

Lucy took your hand in hers, a childhood reflex almost, as you swallowed in apprehension and restlessness. You’d get Edmund back if it was the last thing you did; if you had to claw your way to the Earth’s gut; if you had to defy Aslan himself.

“Remember your places. Harm only if you must. We are here for the King.”

Lucy and the two soldiers who had volunteered to accompany you gave you a curt nod, trying their best to dissimulate the apprehension pulling at their faces. You took a deep breath, a step forward; it seemed as though the world was limited to the toothed silhouette of the enemy walls, black against the blazing sunset.

“For Narnia,” you murmured as sternly as you could, and your words echoing resolutely among the troops were enough to exhilarate you.

The very next moment, you had jumped, steps quiet as a cat’s on the humid grass. The wooden fortress opened like a dark, gaping mouth before you; but you had no choice but to make it out alive.

Getting into the enemy fort was almost too easy; a second of inattention from the soldiers standing guard outside the perimeter and you had slipped inside through a loophole, your sword still concealed in its sheath. Finding the path to the cells all while avoiding the patrols in the dimly lit corridors, though, proved a little more difficult. Still, through the narrow and sinuous hallways, you advanced, the only sound a distant ringing of brash voices and heavy boots.

“We should probably find a way to go underground...”

“Hush.”

You stopped in your tracks, a hand raised next to your ear, eyes wide and pupils flickering like a lioness on a hunt. The voice was unmistakable, somewhere from the entrails of the castle... and the clash of blades and armor too.

“Lucy is in trouble. Follow me.”

Without awaiting her answer, you sprinted down the hallway as a tide of pure fury dabbled in your chest. It was more than enough of them to have taken Edmund — but Lucy...

Your heart was in your throat when you burst into a larger, circular room, bathed in a hellish light by golden torches on the walls; but you ignored it as you raised your sword to your opponents. A speck of terror crossed the two leather-clad soldiers’ eyes, but they only tightened their grips around Lucy and her companion’s throats.

“You’re outnumbered. Let them go.”

Rarely before had your voice been as cold, eyes as stern, lips and brow as twitchy; but your arm didn’t quiver, and the keen tip of your blade hovered back and forth between the two enemies, a few inches from their exposed throats. You crossed Lucy’s pleading gaze, surprisingly calm despite the chokehold and the dagger on the small of her back, but you shook your head. Only a split second of inattention, but enough for a flurry of movement to startle you.

The other nomad, the one holding Lucy’s companion, pushed him away and unsheathed a bronze knife; he jumped at you before you could steady your grip on your blade; but when you expected the blow to hit and cut, you heard the low thud of a weapon hitting the ground; the soldier who had come with you had her foot on the knife and her own broadsword to the now unarmed attacker. You both gulped at the same time.

“By order of a Queen of Narnia,” you reiterated, loud and strong, “let them go and take us to the King.”

Unsurprisingly, the two captors were much more cooperative when they were the captive — especially when they had a sword pressed against their backs.

You led the way with your improvised guide, through countless damp hallways and cobweb-filled stairways, into what could either be the pits of Hell or a well laid-out trap; but you kept your eyes firmly ahead of you. The pounding of your heart got louder with each step you took, closer to the cells, closer to Edmund.

Your prisoner eventually came to a halt in front of a worm-eaten wooden door that seemed to have grappled with darkness and humidity for centuries.

“He’s inside,” he spat in a heavily accentuated Narnian, and as he reached for your sword, maybe thinking you distracted by the change of scenery, you firmly grabbed his arm and pushed him toward his friend, rigidly guarded by Lucy.

“I wouldn’t try anything if I were you.”

Exchanging a glance and a nod with the Queen, you held onto the cell keys you had taken from your adversaries, and pushed the door open.

Complete and unnatural darkness surrounded you as soon as you closed the door behind your back, and, taking careful steps into the obscure cavity, you could feel your vigor abandon you by the second, as though the shadows were born of something alive and truly malevolent, disdained by Aslan’s magic. Gathering your courage, you lit and raised your lantern before calling out:

“Edmund?”

A rattle of chains from the back of the room was your only answer.

“Edmund, it’s me. It’s Y/N. You’re safe. I’ve come with Lucy to get you out of here.”

And finally, you saw him; crumpled up in a crowner, paler than you had ever seen him and a hollow yet characteristically lucid air in the eyes, he flinched at the light you brought before his face fell in utter disbelief.

“Y/N...”

His voice, the one that lulled you to sleep by telling you tales of old and sheepish jokes he made up on the spot; a hoarse and worn murmur... and his hands, firm but delicate, the ones that held books and brushed his horses’ manes; bloodied at the knuckles and tainted with dirt... And still, he looked up at you and your teary eyes as if they were the most beautiful treasure he’d ever seen.

“Oh, Ed, what have they done to you...”

You dropped to your knees, setting your lantern on the ground next to him; he lifted his head as much as his battered body could permit him; but you met him halfway, taking his face in your hands; and only when you pressed your lips to his were you absolutely certain you had gotten him back. You motioned to pull away, but his shackled hands clung onto your arms desperately, as if he were finally breathing easy after a hundred years of apnea; so you forgot everything, the adrenaline and the fear and the cold clamminess of the cell, everything except for Edmund’s erratic breathing and a tear rolling down your cheek, neither entirely yours nor his.

“You... You really came,” he breathed out when you finally broke the kiss.

“Of course I came, silly! Did you truly think I would let you rot here?”

“It seems I have a, ah, propensity to find myself in these situations. Maybe you’re getting tired of it by now,” he reckoned not without his habitual acerbic humor, and you knew all he had thought about in the frozen solitude of this prison was the time, so many years ago, he had turned against Aslan and been held by the White Witch.

“I made a promise when I wed you,” you reminded shakily, wiping away the dirt from his chin and cheeks. “I would save you a thousand times over just like you would save me too. I swore on my life. I’m not about to go back on that.”

And the smile he offered you then could have melted glaciers and put the Sun to shame, and led armies to victory and your soul to heaven.

“Great, I can get captured as many times as I want, then.”

The laugh you let out was stronger than darkness, clear as water and dripping with love. Before he could see the tears pooling in your beautiful eyes, you embraced him tightly, his head to your pounding chest.

Narnia would write countless histories of the many times Queen Y/N saved King Edmund and reciprocally; but all would fail to transcribe the otherworldly peace that washed over the embraced lovers like winged statues of old.

tagging; @softeninglooks @fives-cup-of-coffee (all my writing) ; @bravelittlesunflower @lxncelot​ @swanimagines​ (narnia)

[hannya-writes]

The Promise

Title: The promise

Fandom: Star Wars

Pairing: Obi Wan x Reader

Other characters: Anakin (mentioned)

Category: Romance, angst a bit of drama

Warnings: Angst, Sad, Fear. I feel like this is romance without it being completely romantic, you'll know what I'm talking about if you read. Also there's a probability of me depicting the force in the wrong way, let me know in a comment how wrong am I!

Author's note: I truly don't know how this happened, it started as something light and boom! Drama!

• • •

Obi Wan Kenobi had only one regret, letting you give Anakin lessons when he was way too tired to do it himself. Anakin was his responsablity not yours, but you were so supportive, so caring of him and his lack of ability to teach. You had helped in every step of his way to jedi knight.

There was attachment. Obi Wan noticed it. That made him worry about any of you falling to the dark side, because it could be so easy, so Kriffin easy!

Some nights he even had nightmares where one of you died and the other turned to the dark side as a result. He wasn't sure which of the options was worst, Anakin dying and you turning a sith or the other way around. It made him feel fear, even for only a couple of second before reminding himself that you and Anakin were strong, capable jedi.

— Y/n, may I have a word? — Obi Wan gentle voice took you by surprise, your mind had been entertained with the idea of getting Anakin and Obi Wan to a certain bar in Coruscant to celebrate your last victory in the clone wars. It had took you a couple of days but the outcome had been a win. And that was excuse enough to celebrate.

— yeah, sure... — you stood and walked out of the medical bay putting back on your shoulder plate with the black mark of the blast that had reached you in battle.

Obi Wan followed after you, deciding how to talk about what was getting him worried, after a moment he hurried his steps to walk by your side.

You had a feeling about what was the topic of the conversation: the way you had put yourself in an unnecessary risk in battle. You could almost hear Obi Wan giving you a lecture. He could be a master just like you, but he was part of the council, he was wiser and a couple of years older than you. He had the right to scold you, you were expecting the scold.

Obi Wan had saw you, you were invested in the battle, focused, completely concentrated in taking down the droid army when suddenly you turned your head in Anakin's direction. Your saber felt to the ground, your hands extended in his direction, and for a split second he was sure that your eyes turned golden as the force crushed and ripped the robotic hands of the separatist general.

He had felt your desire to protect Anakin being torn by desperation because Grievous had disarmed him and was getting dangerously close with his stolen sabers. It was like in his nightmares. He was only half concentrated in his part of the fight, too entranced with your form slumping down from effort. He saw the droid army surrounding you before your saber lighted up and the clanckers starting falling again.

It had been the longest seconds of his life. He felt fear of losing you, anger towards Anakin for putting you in danger and finally regret. Because it wasn't only Anakin's fault, it was his. He had let you be around Anakin, let you get closer, get attached to the young skywalker. And in those eternal seconds he saw the golden eyes of a sith in you. You had tasted the dark side.

— So, what is it? — you said so innocently that for a moment Obi Wan thought that maybe he was wrong, maybe he had read your feelings wrong, maybe it had been the sunlight in your eyes.

— it's, it's about Anakin — he clarified nervously as you two walked with no direction. It took you by surprise, it definetly wasn't the talk that you had expected.

— is he ok? Did he got hurt? — you didn't even tried to conceal your worry, your force signature was cristal clear, showing the concern.

— he's perfectly fine — He said putting a hand in your shoulder, which made you smile, you trusted him, he was your best friend in the whole universe.

— then what is it?— as you said that Obi Wan stopped in front of you, looking at you with a serious expression that made you feel nervous.

— are you in love with Anakin? — he asked so worried and in a little teeny tiny voice as if it was something no one should ever discover he had asked.

— What? — you murmur-yelled surprised, horrified by the implication he was proposing — No, of course not! he is like a little brother to me — you scowled, a pink blush appeared in your face — I can't be in love with him — you continued still horrified, the blush getting darker by the second — why would you ask that? —

— you are being overprotective of him, You got shot for saving him— he accused pointing at your shoulder with his hand.

— I'll be more careful — you grumbled softly making him smile a little— he means a lot to me— you admitted starting to pick on your sleeves — just as you do, I'll put my life in the line for you any day —

— That is what worries me — he admitted with a sigh — Y/n, attachment is prohibited for a reason — that seven words had hurt more than the shot in your shoulder even if you already knew that.

— I know, but this is not like that — Obi Wan saw you skeptical— the way I feel about Anakin, about you is not bad, is good — The Jedi Master wondered how could you be so sure about that, how could you think love was good, when he wasn't sure about it — I can prove it —

— Y/n — Obi Wan reprimanded you surprised, not only for your words, but for the way your force signature had become warm, welcoming, comfortable. It felt like home, it relaxed him and he knew immediatly that, that was wrong. — We should speak to the council —

— what? — you said shocked by his words, you hadn't seen that coming. Obi Wan wanted to tell the council!

— I know this must be confusing to you, but we can work on it to disappear — His hands lightly cupped your face. He was right, it was confusing, it confused you how he was telling you to reject your feelings while caressing your face with what you could recognize as love.

The same love that you had feel coming from him once and over again, while joking with you, talking about strategies, discussing about information, in battle and uncountable situations. You knew he loved you, it was in his eyes, in his voice, in everything.

— Confused? — you recoiled from his touch, pushing his hands away, feeling betrayed by his words, his decision to let the council know. They were going to take you out of the order, away of Anakin and him. — Obi I don't feel confuse, I have never see with this clarity, I'm certain about my feelings and they make me stronger because I recognize what I feel —

— Y/n, this feelings. You have to let them go — he demanded with a critical tone and you looked at him frowning.

— I'm not stupid you know? — you said feeling angry, but you didn't acted on it, your hands were clenched so hard that your palm hurt — you may hide it from everyone else, you can fool the council and even yourself, but don't you lie to me — with those words you retreated till your back was pressed to the metal wall, needing the coldness against you to relax

The words hit Obi Wan like a blast, his serious expression softened as he kept his gaze on you discovering that he wasn't as secretive as he thought.

He loved you, from your half asleep expression to your laugh, the way you out wit him, your fighting skills, your voice, and your eyes. How could he not fall in love?

— you love me — the accusation felt gently from your lips, eyes closed senses and feelings attuned with the force, giving yourself control and serenity.

Obi Wan felt the change from chaos and anger to that serene and perfectly in control state you were. He had thought you were about to explode.

— you know — was the only thing that fell from his lips in a defeated tone, he sighed and walked to the wall in front of you, imitating your posture, leaning in the wall exhausted.

— I also know that they need me in this war — you remarked making him look at you puzzled by what did that mean, his force signature had let you know so you added — So we are not going to tell the council — your eyes opened and saw the jedi looking at you intently.

— you tasted the dark side today, I saw your eyes turn yellow — he claimed getting closer — I saw Grievous hands being ripped off—

— I won't turn to the dark side — you assured him with a little smile knowing that was his biggest worry — I promise —

— because that's how it works— he commented sarcastic, it made you giggle.

— So... Can we just act as if this never happened? — you asked turning your gaze down — I won't act moved by my feelings for you or Anakin and...—

— you will wait — he said striding your way — until we win this war, and then you'll let me say those words — his hands cupped your face once again and you knew what words, the ones you had stole from him.

— Obi Wan — you said alarmed by the proximity, your eyes looked around nervously.

— promise me that, darling — he asked softly making you look at his eyes, then his lips.

— I promise I'll wait for the war to end to let you confess your feelings — you sneaked up your hands to his neck and he smiled, leaning to softly put his lips against yours in a chaste kiss, sealing the promise.

• • •

So, how was it? That bad? That good? Leave a comment to let me know!

[rainydaydream-gal18]

Commander Wolffe x Reader: Sometimes, Good Soldiers Don’t Follow Orders

[Author’s Note: 

*slaps roof of fanfiction* This bad boy can fit so much feelz in it!

For real though, I’m not used to writing angsty stuff.   We ALL know that Order 66 didn’t REALLY happen...this is just an AU where it does happen, HA) Do not worry, this DOES have a good ending, but wow.  Hope you enjoy!] 

  Fear.

  You had been trained for years to overcome it.  That tight feeling in your chest was your enemy, among other forbidden things.  You faced countless battle droids over the course of the war.  You fought many battles and dueled against some of the most dangerous baddies in the galaxy.

  None of that could have prepared you for this moment.

  You gazed into his eyes, and for the first time the fear hit you.  His cybernetic eye looked just the same, but when your gaze focused on his golden brown eye: its usual passion and familiarity was replaced with an empty stare that made your blood run cold.

  “Wolffe,” you spoke up, eyes flickering to the blaster in his hand that was slowly being aimed at you.  He had returned from a victorious battle alone, and he was acting strange. Hands that once held you reached for the blaster in its holster.  “Commander Wolffe,” you tried again.  

  You knew there would be no reaching him- not after the transmission you received from former padawan Ahsoka Tano.  She had an experience with her good friend, Captain Rex, and she had contacted you as soon as she could to warn you.  It did not take much convincing on her part... You had shared Plo Koon’s suspicions for some time, especially after hearing rumors floating around.

  Still, a part of you could not believe that Wolffe would really turn on you, inhibitor chip or not.  That was until he arrived back at base and pointed a blaster at you without a word.  He hesitated, though, and you wondered if the real Wolffe was in there fighting this.

  “Ah, ________,” Plo Koon, your old friend and previous mentor, greeted.  “It has been too long since our last meeting.”

  Since the beginning of the war, you had graduated to become a full jedi and spent some time traveling and dealing with the enemy around the galaxy.  Sometimes this meant assisting jedi generals in battle and plots to take down separatist forces, while other times it meant lone missions.  It wasn’t until recently that you received orders to join your old mentor on the front lines.

  “Plo Koon, it is an honor to fight by your side again,” you said with a respectful nod.

  “As it is for me,” he replied.  Then, you broke out in a smile, quickly approaching and giving him a hug.  It wasn’t exactly the most jedi-thing to do, but all those missions alone made you realize how much you missed your mentor.  He had been more than a mentor to you, a sort of uncle.  You were glad to be reassigned.

  Plo didn’t protest or scold you.  He simply returned the hug, and you enjoyed the warmth in his mind and heart.  “I missed you too, young one.” 

  You pulled away and ran a hand over your eyes to rid them of the tears that threatened to fall.  Even though Plo was more relaxed about attachments than most jedi, there was no need to push the boundaries of the rule too much.  There was a certain professionality you needed to show, at least to some degree.

   “How’s the Wolfpack?” you asked, changing the subject.  It had been a long time since you had served with them.  “I noticed they changed their armor color to gray.”

  Plo lowered his head sadly.  “Yes, that is to honor our fallen troops.  We lost many at the hands of the Separatists during our conflict with the Malevolence.” 

  “I heard,” you said.  “I’m sorry.  I’m sorry I wasn’t here.” 

  “It is alright,” he reassured you.  “Your duty brought you elsewhere.  You may remember a few troopers, but we have many fresh faces with us now.  Come, meet the men.”  You followed him outside the tent and into camp.  Just as it had been when you entered the premises, troopers moved around completing tasks.  Some were carrying equipment while others took inventory of supplies.  Plo introduced you to a small group that were chatting in a circle, and they saluted you respectfully.  

  “Gentlemen,” you said, “I look forward to serving alongside such brave soldiers.”

  “My young _______,” Plo Koon spoke up behind you.  “There is someone in particular you should see.”

  Something tugged at you in your feelings.  An odd sensation.  You turned around and came face-to-face with who was probably the toughest-looking trooper in the Republic army.  He stared down at you with one golden eye and one cybernetic, brows furrowed over both of them seriously.  His gruff expression didn’t falter for a second even as you grew flustered at the close proximity.

  “Oh, um, my apologies.”  Your quick step backward put an acceptable distance between the two of you.

  “Commander Wolffe,” he stated flatly. 

  Your eyes widened.  “Commander?  It’s...you?”  You remembered Wolffe from your padawan days.  Back then, he was so fresh-faced and optimistic.  Now… not so much.  He seemed dark and brooding.

  “It has been some time since we last saw each other,” Wolffe said finally.  You composed yourself, recovering from the surprise, and nodded.

  “Yes, it has been some time.  It’s great to see you again.”

  He merely nodded once before looking to Plo Koon.  “Well, Sir, if I may be dismissed, there are preparations to be made.”

  “Indeed, we have quite the mission ahead of us.  Thank you.”

  That reunion felt like a lifetime ago.

  Before Wolffe could make another move, you bolted for the door.  You heard his pounding footsteps behind you.

  “Stop!  By order of Emperor Palpatine.”

  “Emperor Palpatine?” you echoed in disbelief, not pausing for even a moment to process this information.  “I knew something was wrong with that guy...”  You slid around a corner, pushing a stack of crates in your pursuer’s path.  The more he was delayed, the better.  Wolffe glared at you from behind the crates- an expression that took you back…

  “I mean no disrespect, Commander,” you argued.  “But I think we’ll be better off taking another route through the Seppy base.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with this route,” Wolffe growled back.

  Plo Koon watched the exchange in silence, though you could tell he was unhappy that two of his closest comrades were having such a heated disagreement.  Commander Wolffe was used to doing things his way, and all those missions you went on alone as a new knight meant you were used to doing things your way.  It was difficult for the both of you to adjust to your return.

  Even so, you found yourself in a peculiar predicament.  

  Wolffe annoyed you at times with his gruff ways and stubbornness, but as he stood there glaring at you and firing back retorts in front of the rest of the Wolfpack, you felt something that had been growing steadily over time flare up suddenly.  Attraction.  You wondered if he felt it too, noticing how he seemed to puff up his chest and meet your eyes so directly.  You mentally scolded yourself for such wonderings.  It did not matter what he felt, and it didn’t matter what you felt.  It could never be.

  Finally, Plo Koon interjected calmly.  “Perhaps we will revisit the plan after you both have some time to think it over.  Wolfpack, you are dismissed.”

  You and Wolffe sighed as the others left, both guilty for having taken up so much time on the matter, and the fact that Plo Koon was so calm and patient about it made you feel even worse.

  “For now,” Plo continued.  “_________, you and Commander Wolffe are very skilled and intelligent.  Both of you may benefit from some bonding time off the battlefield in order to collaborate on the battlefield.”

  “Bonding time?” Wolffe scoffed, but quieted down when he realized Plo Koon was serious.

  “Yes.”  There was a hint of amusement in Plo’s voice as he added, “and that’s an order.”  With that, he exited the room and left the two of you awkwardly standing there.

  Wolffe glanced at you, giving you the famous eye-roll that secretly made your heart skip a beat.

  You folded your arms, pulse still racing, as you reigned in your feelings. “So, what do you propose we do?  Hit the mess?”

  He grunted, and you weren’t entirely sure whether it was a grunt of agreement or not.  It was only when he started walking in the direction of the mess hall that you understood.  It was a start, at least.

  Even with this blooming attraction, you wondered how you’d ever find a way to bond with the difficult Commander.

  You reached the medbay, relieved that there was still time to make preparations.  Ahsoka’s instructions echoed in your mind over and over as the door slid closed with a hiss and you set to work.  You couldn’t afford to leave even one detail out.

  Not long after, there was a bang at the door followed by a few blaster shots.  Wolffe had most likely reached the door by now and was trying to blast it open from the outside.  You felt your heart quicken as you put the final touches on your plan.  You shut off the lights just in time.

  The door slid open, and light poured in around his silhouette.  You skillfully flipped underneath a medbay table, holding your breath as you waited for him to walk straight into the trap.

  You watched Wolffe as he delegated tasks to his men, his back turned to you.  His voice was deep and gruff, and his shoulders were broad.  You were enjoying this view a little too much.

  You had encountered an issue.  The bonding time Plo had assigned you ended up working too well.  You formed an attachment, a romantic attachment  

  To Wolffe.  To the Commander Wolffe.

  Not to mention your attachment to Plo and the rest of the Wolfpack as a sort of family was borderline forbidden, but that was something you knew Plo Koon experienced as well.  It really was like a family.  As grateful as you were to be a part of this family, you also disliked how the soldiers were not given choices or options on how they wanted to live their lives.  It was something both you and Plo had discussed…

  Your gaze went to the ground as Wolffe’s eyes rested on you.  He must have caught you looking.  Oh great, he was walking over.

  “Looks like we’re all set for the strike,” he said.

  You nodded, meeting his eyes again.  “I’m glad.  The men seem confident.”

  “Oh yeah, I think this plan is a solid one.  We’ll be in and out, and the hostages will be free in no time.”

  “Right.”

  He stared at you, his golden brown eye almost looked like it reflected concern for a moment.

  “Is everything...okay?”  The question came out as if he were speaking a foreign language.  He wasn’t used to inquiring about your personal well-being.  He and Plo Koon had a rather close friendship, but you and him had not reached that point yet.  At least, not until now.

  “Yeah, I’m fine.  Thank you.”

  He grew quiet for a minute.  “It’ll be a quick battle, really.”

  Was he actually trying to reassure you?  Your nervousness gave way to tenderness as the Commander did something else unexpected- gave you a pat on the shoulder.  The contact was minimal, but made your heart melt.

  “Um, thank you,” you said.

  He nodded stiffly before walking away, leaving you confused as ever.

  . . . .

  “Why would you do that?” he asked, pulling you out of the heat of battle and into a place behind a fallen walker where you would not get hit by crossfire.  “What were you thinking?”

  This was so not the conversation you wanted to have, especially at a time like this.  You deactivated your lightsaber and looked at Wolffe, clutching your wounded arm.  “I didn’t want anything bad to happen to you.  Now, can I get back out there?”  You started to crawl out, but he pulled you back in.

  “Not while you’re injured,” he shot back, removing his bucket to speak to you directly.  “You need to get that taken care of before you get hurt even more.”

  “No, I’m not leaving the battle over a scrape!”

  “It’s not a scrape, ________!  You took a blaster shot to the arm when it should’ve hit me.  I’m the one wearing armor, you know!”

  “So what, I’m supposed to just stand and watch you get shot?” You rolled your eyes.  “I don’t understand you.”

  “Understand this,” he growled, cupping your face and leaning in to plant a passionate kiss on your lips.  Despite the situation and your wound, you responded immediately and returned the kiss, feeling the irritation vanish at his touch.

  When he pulled away, you looked at him with wide eyes for a moment.  “As much as I want to do that again, we have a battle to get back to.”

  “Right,” he agreed.  “But you’re seeing a medic as soon as we’re out there.”

  “Alright, a quick patch-up, and then I’m back in the fight,” you conceded.  “You’re lucky you’re a good kisser.”

  You inhaled and exhaled silently, watching as the silhouette grew larger.  Wolffe entered the medbay, his cybernetic eye glowing in the darkness.  You readied yourself, as this was the difficult part…

  As you threw yourself out from your hiding spot in the dark, Wolffe moved to retaliate, but you were too fast.  Before long he was strapped to a gurney as you ordered the med-droid that was standing by to continue with the procedure.

  Wolffe fought and struggled, and you resisted the urge to reach for his hand.  You hated seeing him like this, but soon it would all be better.

  Soon.

  . . . .

  “__________,” he breathed, sitting up and running a hand over his head.  “What just happened?  Did I...did I hurt you?”

  You wrapped your arms around his armored form, burying your face in his neck and relishing the fact that the Wolffe you knew was back.  “Let’s not talk about it right now.”

  “_________,” he returned the embrace, “I almost hurt you.”

  “It wasn’t you.  It was that-that creature, Palpatine.”  You managed a smile.  “It’s going to be okay.”

  “But the Republic…”

  “The Republic is no more, from what I hear.  We need to find any others we can and regroup.”

  Wolffe glanced towards the door, pulling you closer.  “Right now, my mission is to get you off this base undetected.  There are a lot of soldiers out there with orders to take you and any of your allies down.”  He stood up from the stretcher and reclaimed his blaster from the floor.  “I think I have a plan.”

  You chuckled, prompting him to give you a curious look.

  “Remember how we used to say we’d run away from the war together?  And leave all this behind?”  You pulled him in for an emotional kiss.  “It’s not exactly what we imagined, but it looks like we’re getting around to it.”

[king-kira]

Valiant || Chap. 2 - The Accolade

Pairing: Eren/Fem!Reader

Genre/AU: Medieval AU, Royalty AU

Warnings: None

Words: 1,710

Available on: Ao3 & Quotev

Summary -> [Name] [Last], the only princess in a kingdom teetering on the brink of war. It's only a matter of time before danger rears its ugly head, so her father decides to assign her a personal knight, much to her dismay.

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Note: Happy reading! :)

All knights were to adhere to the code of conduct, especially chivalry. During the Accolade, a ceremony in which squires enter knighthood, knights swear to defend the weak and uphold virtues such as compassion, loyalty, generosity, and truthfulness until the day they die. Of course, the oath they swore made them sound like the kindest bunch in the kingdom. They weren't. Most became power-hungry and obsessed with the idea of climbing the ranks. The Knights Legion, or the Legion of Honour, if you will, was filled with lazy drunkards and corrupted souls. You had watched many knights change over the years. They start off young and naive, but the world changes them. Your father didn't care much for that. As long as they were strong and hid their true nature from the public eye, they were as good of knights as any. You just hoped that his ignorance wouldn't come back to bite him.

You stood adjacent to your father on the altar. He unsheathed his sword when several squires and knights entered the room. Usually, the Accolade would take place after a battle, when the squires had proven their strength and loyalty to the kingdom, but desperate times call for desperate measures. You watched in silence as, one by one, each squire kneeled before the king and swore the oath. The king would then dub each squire a knight with the tap of his sword on their shoulders. It was a repetitive ceremony, and you weren't quite sure why your father had insisted you be present. You guessed that it was because one of the knights would become your personal knight.

It came down to the last couple of knights, and for some reason, you were a bit disappointed that you hadn't seen the boy from the courtyard. He was a squire, was he not? He was training with the others yesterday. Just as the thought crossed your mind, the doors opened, revealing the boy you had been thinking about, behind him was a shorter man you recognized as Sir Ackerman. Speak of the devil, and he doth appear, you supposed. After a pregnant pause, the ceremony resumed, and the boy quietly shuffled closer to the altar.

The ceremony came to an end, and the newly dubbed knights filtered out of the room. "Sir Jaeger, stay here a moment," your father called out, returning his sword to its scabbard. You hesitated to leave the room, were you meant to stay? Your father, perceptive as always, turned to you.

"You as well, [Name]," he motioned for you to step down from the altar alongside him. Sir Jaeger nervously approached and kneeled in front of your father.

"Your highness," he addressed your father.

"I believe both Sir Ackerman and the instructor discussed this matter with you?" the king asked, to which Sir Jaeger only nodded. "Right, [Name], Sir Jaeger will be your personal knight. He must protect you and only you, no matter the cost." your father sure had a way of putting things grimly, you could feel your hands become clammy, and you couldn't imagine how nervous the knight kneeling before you was feeling. Unsure of what to say, you nodded, fiddling with a frilly piece of fabric that lined your dress. Your father gave you a look that you could only describe as stern before leaving the room.

Now it was just you and a stranger, a stranger that has to follow you around everywhere you go in case of the rare occurrence that you are attacked within your own home. You couldn't blame him, though; you doubted he wanted to follow you around every day.

"Ther- there's no reason to bow any longer," you stuttered, eyeing him as he kneeled. He hastily stood to his feet as if following a command. You felt your heart pang at the thought. He didn't seem to speak much. Is this how it's going to be? Was he going to remain silent and follow your every command? You supposed that's what a personal knight was meant to do, but it was a bit saddening to think about. You tried not to let your disappointment show, but he seemed like the perceptive type. When he spoke, it confirmed your suspicions.

"What's wrong, princess?" he asked.

"Oh, nothing. I- uh, I just got lost in thought," you explained with hesitation. "You need to need to get your gear from the armoury, don't you?" you asked upon further examination of the boy. He was clad in a pair of boots, trousers, and a green tunic. He nodded in response.

"Why don't you go receive your gear while I head to the library?" you suggested as you began to walk. Sir Jaeger followed a few steps behind you.

"I don't believe I'm allowed to leave your side during my shift, princess," he replied. Part of you wished he had forgotten the oath he had sworn minutes ago, it was a foolish wish, but you were a foolish girl wishing for a crumb of freedom.

"I wouldn't tell anyone," you stated simply as if you were bartering for an item or service of some sort.

"Uh, my apologies, but I don't fancy getting scolded my first day on the job," he let out an awkward chuckle.

"Well, you can't go without your armour. I suppose we'll just have to head over to the armoury together."

________

One thing not many people knew about the castle was its many secret passages. They were once used as escape routes if when castle came under siege. The kingdom has been at peace with neighbouring nations for decades until now, so your father had them sealed up when you were little, but not before you found out about the one in your bedroom. You hadn't unsealed it in years because you never needed to, but now that you had a personal knight waiting outside your door, you finally had a reason. You didn't consider yourself very mischievous, but your father brought it upon himself. You doubted the castle would be attacked anytime soon. The neighbouring nation would more than likely attack a fort on the outskirts first. It's with these thoughts in your mind that you decide to push aside your dresser as quietly as possible and peel back the floral wallpaper that covered a hatch. Crouching down, you opened the hatch and entered the small crawlspace. Further down was a more spacious tunnel that led to a staircase.

You kept one hand on the stone brick wall to guide yourself through the darkness. The stench of mould and mildew was pungent, and out of the corner of your eye, you see something scurry across the floor. Yeah, no one had been down here in years, and you had half the mind to turn around and go back to sleep. Alas, you proceeded down the stairs, careful not to trip. Finally, you reached the end of the narrow passage. You pushed a rickety wooden door open and lantern light filtered out the darkness.

The passage led to the underground dungeons. You hadn't been down here often but recognized it by the iron doors that lined the hallway. Your eyes scanned the area. Odd, there weren't any guards present. You guessed it was your lucky day.

__________

Alone, at last, you sat down at your usual spot by the courtyard. You reached for your book and opened it to the page where you had left off on. The usual sound of swords clashing was no longer present. You supposed it was because most of the squires were knighted yesterday.

"You're quite the troublemaker, aren't you?" a voice startled you, causing your body to jolt. You whipped your head around and came face to face, or rather face to helm, with Sir Jaeger. You eyed his armour. It was different from most low-ranking knights, more intricate, and if you had to guess, crafted from a stronger metal. Though, you suppose he wasn't low-ranking since he was assigned to protect you. Thinking about it now, why was he assigned to you? He was a squire only yesterday. You expected someone more experienced. Perhaps, his swordsmanship was just that excellent.

"If you keep this up, you'll get me in trouble," he said, breaking your train of thought. You took a moment to watch as he sat down beside you before speaking up. "You wouldn't get in trouble. I'd just tell my father that it was my fault," you said, shaking your head and turning your attention back to the book on your lap.

"Not sure that's how it works, princess," he murmured.

"How'd you find me anyway?" you decided to change the topic.

"Well, it was getting late, so I decided to check on you only to find that you weren't even there, and there was an open hatch in the wall," he explained. "I went through the passage, and I figured I'd check the courtyard since I've seen you here often," he finished. You gave a curt nod, letting the conversation lapse.

"What're you reading?" the boy inquired after a long pause. He leaned closer to take a peek at your book. You slammed it shut, feeling warmth rise to your cheeks. "Love in Turmoil? Didn't take you for the romantic type," he laughed, and you huffed, giving him a shove.

"Yeah, so what?" you snapped back.

"Nothing wrong with it," the turquoise eyed boy raised his hands in defence.

"Right," you said, rolling your eyes.

"Look, uh- I know you're not too fond of the whole personal knight thing. I'm sorry, but once this whole 'on the brink of war' thing passes, things will go back to normal," he attempted to reassure you, and you began to feel a bit bad. You shouldn't be giving him such a hard time, but there's so much frustration boiling within you that has nowhere to go. You exhale and turn to face him.

"I'm sorry for the way I've been acting. I just..." You paused to think of the right words. A wistful sigh slipped past your lips, and you turned your gaze heavenward. You watched as two birds soared across the sky, and that's when it happened. In an instant, the world around you began to crumble.