#samir ✶ yuna

[w0rmdahl]

i love you i love you (2020)

synopsis — in the mid-17th century the king's daughter, princess yuna min [Marisa Moon] finds herself caught between the forbidden love with her childhood bestfriend / the kings' knights' son, samir "sam" devgan [Dev Patel], and her royal duties within the kingdom. desperate for the reigns on her life story the two flee the kingdom of elora and find themselves in a harrowing tale of love and sacrifices.

works ↴

— the beginning

— the snow ; day one

— the snow ; day two

[w0rmdahl]

the snow ; day one — ilyily

gif ©: earthgif, theseulgis

film: i love you i love you (au)

synopsis: in order to evade the luneberg brigade attacking the kingdom, samir and yuna decide to take their chances in the wood hidden behind the north tower, suffering together through their first harrowing night of 3.

word count: 2.8k

featuring: (oc) yuna min, (oc) samir devgan

warnings: physical violence, strong language

a/n: hey again! here is the first piece i wrote after completing the outline of the first act which you can read here (recommended!) day two & three were left as wips that i hope to get to this week if i'm not distracted by my 5th watch of monkey man lol

"i ask not for refuge in the cold but instead your company and protection from man. can you do that for me, samir?"

the young knight-to-be towered above the princess as he stared back into her urging eyes sparkling brighter than any of the stars in the sky, lips pressing into a thin line before he could find his resolve within her gaze and concede to the fate laid before them. taking her hand in his sam could hear the lune brigade spilling into the field as they took toward the wood and dashed into the treeline in order to hide their presence. though, upon entering the vast and endless maze of trunks and bushes it became apparent just how driven the soldiers were to catch the fleeing pair as they lingered behind in a thick group, using the frantic footsteps shoved into the snow as a map leading to the very treasure evading them now.

fortunately, samir and yuna's countless memories made in and around the ellyn forest awarded them a huge advantage above the lunes who trailed in their footsteps, so while it would be difficult to lose the brigade in the snow, they ultimately knew these woods better than anyone in the kingdom. this did not cover for the fact, however, that the princess had to really watch her feet so as to not get caught up in the floor-length-skirt that had now grown soaked by the ice under their shoes, further weighing the hem under her toes. sam was surprised at how well she kept up with him — hand in his and the other lifting the heavy fabric — legs half as short as his moving twice as fast just to stay at his unrelenting pace that led them toward the cave he'd lost her in years prior. it proved to be a fantastic hiding spot all the way back then, entrance concealed by the unassuming rock angles and foliage spilling over the darkness. simply getting to it would be their best bet for now.

and then sam found himself abruptly yanked by the hand to a halting stop. his eyes whipped back wildly to the owner of the iron-grip on his fingers only to find yuna looking back at him with his same features reflected, panicked and hasty as she pulled at her dress snagged by a log. they could still hear the lunes in the distance gaining on them as quickly as they split up into smaller groups to cover more ground. samir was on his knee in an instant to wrap both hands around the fabric and tug.

"let me know if you see any coming," sam wheezed absentmindedly as he continued mustering all of his strength to rip this stubborn cloth free through panting breaths.

"three." she heaved.

"what?"

samir now looked up from the hem to find three lune men bolting for them only a few yards away through the heavy downfall of snowflakes, promptly finding his feet to wield the already-stained sword with the princess behind his back, other hand reaching behind him to find her waist. "stay behind me." he said. as if she was going anywhere.

the lunes drew closer and closer until they were finally charging headfirst for the helpless deer caught in the storm, showing no signs of slowing until they finally lunged for them. samir was immediately slammed into the snow with heavy chainmail armor crashing into his ribcage, knocked of all breath in his lungs as he met the cold earth below. his feeble gasps for air went utterly unheard, however, as the princess herself fought pressed against the wet dirt while one of the lune men attempted to hold her down.

"let go, bastard!"

the man laughed above her, grubby hands flailing to catch hers while also avoiding the jabbing elbows aiming for anything they could reach. "by gods, such a big mouth for a princess. i can fix that." he then redirected his filth covered hands to wrap around her throat and squeeze. yuna's mouth subconsciously fell open as she battled for air despite the grip beginning to crush her windpipe. her nails found their way dug into the dry, cracked skin on the back of his hands, leaving crescent shaped lacerations in the flesh. she could hear the man chuckle as her feet kicked at the frigid snow.

"you must relearn your manners, your highness." her palm pressed flat into the ground as she felt for anything of use in this moment — whether that be a weapon to defend herself or a hand to accompany her on her journey to the afterlife. "girls in luneberg speak properly without any exceptions, my lady. shall we take you back and make an example of you?"

there, hidden beneath the snow sticking out of the muddy earth, yuna's fingertips came across the sharp and jagged edges of a rock. she had to dig her fingers into the dirt with soil accumulating under her nails as she clawed this rock free from its dormancy and equipped it in her white knuckled fist. she then pulled back, and with one heavy swing using all of her draining might, brought the unyielding sediment into the side of his skull with a macabre crunch! once his relentless grip ceased around her throat she was shoving his weight away to catch her breath, choking down oxygen all the while trying to regain her composure and strength to turn back to the man. and without a second thought or even a moment of hesitation yuna clutched the harsh chunk of stone in both hands and bashed it into his face once, twice, three times before deciding it was enough.

he laid unmoving in the stark white ice as blood spilled down his broken facial bones like a grotesque reminder of peoples' fragility that left a nauseating feeling swirling in her stomach, the realization of what she'd just done donning on the panting girl. but it wasn't over yet; for she could still hear the muffled grunts of samir who'd faced two guards at once during this time. yuna rashly brought the sordid rock clasped in her tainted hands to swing into the snagged hem of her dress and crush it free from the rotting trunk that held her captive before attempting to aid sam. she finally propped herself on a knee before looking up to survey her options — only to find a predatory set of eyes already on her, growing closer with his sword drawn. and then she went completely still, frozen in fight or flight while she internally begged the question, 'is he gone? is he dead?'

the lune man now ambled only a few feet away with a growing appetite in his gaze and smirk on his lips as the wind lowly whistled a sorrowful song. the snow around them absorbed all sounds of havoc emanating from the kingdom, leaving this unlikely pair — the lune lion and divine sheep — completely and utterly alone with no one to witness this historical travesty but the snowflakes gathering in her eyelashes and the wailing wind around them. yuna pressed her lips together in acceptance of her fate and steeled her narrow gaze up at the last face she'd ever see, presenting forth each ounce of rage and frustration she'd let fester over the years on her face like a badge of honor.

and then, accompanied by the guttural howl that pierced through the air sharper than any blade, the lune stopped dead in his tracks — literally — head sliding from his neck to tumble along the ground. behind his toppling body that followed after stood samir with his own sword in battered hand, eyes just as vengeful before he looked down upon the bloodstained royalty in the snow, chest heaving along with his quivering lip. "a-are you alright?"

she looked back up at him, her gaze far more incredulous than his, and let the rock fall from her grasp as she brought herself to her feet. "yes." yuna panted "are you?"

sam nodded and swallowed thickly before dropping his sword to instead reach out for her hand with trembling fingers, met halfway by her crimson palms clasping his and giving a firm, reassuring squeeze. and without another word they were off again, journeying further toward the hidden cave at a substantially slower speed than before.

shivering shoulder to shoulder in the cramped rock, samir and yuna sat in wait with attentive ears whilst the lune guards called out to each other across the snow outside.

"people don't just disappear, damn it! they're here!"

"then where, osric?! where are they?! because i don't see them."

sam instinctively shot a knowing look at yuna who held back the smirk that heavily contrasted their desperate situation at the moment.

"just — just let me think—"

"no — no, we are not going to sit here while you fucking think. if they haven't been lost to the snow already then they will soon. and we will, too, if we don't find our way back."

there was a beat of silence outside before a final anguished shout echoed through the woods, "rot in hell, bitch!"

and then, as indicated by the crunching of ice under heavy sets of footsteps, the men slowly descended back into the woods from which they came. thankfully sam had been levelheaded enough to muddy their footpath prior to entering the cave, leaving the remaining...4? 5? lunes still lingering behind nothing more but a dead end. they had been holding their breath for the last thirty minutes as the final men of the brigade searched high and low in the area for them before finally giving up.

when the world outside imminently went quiet again, yuna let out the breath she had been holding and laid her head back against the cold stone, eyes fluttering shut to bask in the relief. she felt a nudge from the arm pressed to hers.

"you alright, your highness?"

her eyes snapped open again and she quickly enacted her previously restrained smile as she found his sincere gaze. "yes. are you?" he nodded shortly.

"yes," samir sighed, now following her lead on taking in a normal amount of oxygen. "i think we're safe here for now. i don't imagine they'll be heading back anytime soon. i say let's catch our breath and head back around the long way."

"tonight?"

his head cocked to the side as her nose scrunched at the idea. "yes?"

"but what if they're still there? what if we run into more?"

"then...we'll figure something else out. i'll protect you either way, princess."

again she grimaced, now outwardly shaking her head at him in disapproval of this suggestion. yuna placed her hand on his arm as if to halt any unexpected movements. "i don't think that's a good idea. i think we should rest here until sunrise and leave as the ice starts to melt. we would be better equipped to face the trek home." she noted (and appreciated) the intent with which he listened, mulling over her words before expressing his own response.

"but...there's a chance we won't survive the night, your highness..." he now noticed the scowl that flashed on her lips at the title "the cave will only grow colder through the night, and the wood is too wet for fire..."

"we'll just have to stick close, then. we can keep each other warm."

"or; we'll freeze to death together and our bones will be lost to this cave forever."

yuna chuckled at the thought, her luminous laugh tinkling off of the crystals as she shrugged. "i think that sounds alright; an eternity of hibernating here. better than falling to fatigue in the snow." samir could feel his own small smile curling his lips at the ghastly idea of being lost to the wood with the princess for the rest of time and ultimately decided to abandon his own plans in favor of taking a chance with hers, hoping — praying to make it out the other side in the morning yet content with a perpetuity of her remains beside his.

"okay" he'd announce "but we leave at first light. i'll carry you if i must."

yuna beamed up at him through the shiver that chattered her teeth and took hold of his frigid hand, entwining their frozen, crimson fingers. sam would have to pull his eyes from hers as to not get lost in their warm depths and make a rash decision, sight then locking on the immensely unfamiliar sight of her stained palms. of course he'd seen blood on her skin before — plenty of times, even; like the time she gashed her knee open on the castle steps after trying to race him up. but this time was far more distinguishable as a vastly different scenario, her pure, clean hands now stained with blood not of her own. a flash of pain registered on his features.

"i'm sorry, your highness." sam's voice was quiet in this space of their own, soft and tender as his glossy brown eyes looked back up at her through dark lashes "you shouldn't have had to do that."

there was a split second of misunderstanding before she put the puzzle pieces together and gave his distinctively bloodier hand a squeeze while mirroring his tone, "it's alright. i'm wildly resilient. don't worry." her unrelenting light-hearted nature never failed to bring a smile to his face no matter how grief-stricken it may be. sam held her hand a little tighter.

"your highness—"

"please, drop the formalities, sam." the red-nosed girl interrupted with a groan "yuna. just yuna."

he gulped down the utter bewilderment growing in his chest. "yo—princess, i couldn't."

"why? no one is here to reprimand you. and you know i won't tell." yuna could see as the cogs in his mind turned in comprehension of her words, eyeline flickering between hers as if to check for a trick.

perhaps she was playing a joke on him and would soon give him a jab to his sore ribs as she revealed her elaborate ruse. or, maybe — if he had understood her well enough over the last 15 years — maybe she was honestly and truly sincere in her words. perhaps she was genuinely granting him the permission to call her casually like she called him so easily. perhaps he'd be able to utter her name for the first time outside of the solitude of his dark bedroom and stand on level ground with the girl he'd looked up to his whole life. maybe he'd call her by a nickname later on.

"...yuna," he spoke hesitantly, urged on through the nerves by the encouraging grin on yuna's face "there is no one in the world who knows your tenacity better than i. but, i think — just because you can brave harsh conditions doesn't mean you should have to."

she replied almost instantly. "i'd say the same for you."

once again sam was left scouring the corners of his mind for something to say — something worthy of responding to such ardent words from the subject of his undying fondness sat before him. thankfully the anticipation for some sort of response from him was interrupted by the sudden shiver of yuna's goosebump-riddled form, her teeth now clattering loudly throughout the echoing cave as she simultaneously wrapped her free hand around herself and pressed closer into his side.

"here," sam sat up to remain in the same position as much as possible as he untucked his cape from around his neck and pulled it from behind his back, moving to throw it over her before she stopped him.

"hold on, i have an idea."

shuddering with every movement she made yuna released the warm grip on his hand to stand as much as she could within the confines of the rock around them, accepting the cape from sam's insistent extended hand before looping it over her shoulders. then, without a word, the princess lifted her skirt to find her feet and stepped over his legs to then sink down into his lap. with wide attentive doe eyes watching each and every maneuver, yuna unfurled her dress and tucked it around his legs as best as she could, creating a makeshift blanket from her place straddling his hips. she then ran her fingers down the outer hems of the cape to outstretch the fabric enough to insulate their top halves as she wrapped her arms around samir's broad shoulders, effectively pressing herself into him and pulling him into her. and though this position left his heart thrumming against her chest it almost instantly generated the most heat they'd felt all night, drawing his hands to wrap around her back and pull her impossibly closer.

not another word would be spoken that night as the saccharine pair plunged headfirst into the warmth and comfort the other offered, lulled into the deathly grip of slumber by the soft breaths ghosting over the shell of their ear as they burrowed their faces into the others' neck.

[w0rmdahl]

the beginning — ilyily

film: i love you i love you (au)

synopsis: an overview of the complete first act of i love you i love you (2020), an arthurian inspired tale of free will and rebellion centered around a mischievous queen-to-be and the son of a knight.

word count: 5.2k

featuring: (oc) yuna min, (oc) samir devgan, (oc) king jin, (oc) sir kabir devgan, & more!

warnings: medieval time-y issues, physical violence (idk really)

a/n: hellooooo first piece posted to w0rmdahl :) here is something i wrote in one sitting immediately after finishing tgk <3 hope you enjoy!

samir hadn't always been the personally appointed bodyguard of the king's only child and expected queen to be. it came with work — taxing work the aforementioned princess yuna was never privy to. though, she never was privy to her fathers' ministrations; the old, wrinkled hands that pulled each and every string in the kingdom she called home.

sam and yuna's relationship started at the very beginning of their own lives. the son of the kings' knight was only a few months old when the princess was born, an unexpected pregnancy for the queen after having many unsuccessful attempts in the past who ultimately gave her own livelihood for that of the newborn baby girl. she was named after the mother she'd never meet and subsequently burdened with the shoes too big to fill for her father who still held the fond memories of his late wife. so, as little yuna began to grow too large for the kings' palm and too loud for his thinned patience, he'd wave her off without uttering a word at her thousandth question in the hour — too preoccupied in discussion with sir kabir devgan to hear her ask 'can i play outside?'

5-year-old yuna would hurry out of the room to then giggle to herself as she skipped down the dim and dank halls of the castle and out into the field behind the castle wall, stopping dead in her tracks as soon as she spotted him; a boy sitting patiently in the grass as he plucked dandelions. he had dark curly hair and mud covering his feet all the way to the knee, wide eyes flicking up to hers upon the sudden presence.

"hello." yuna would say with eyes squinting at the blinding the sun rays. she'd ask the unknown boy what his name was — what he was doing — if she could join him. shy young samir would introduce himself humbly to the princess just like his father taught him before inviting her in on his independent time outside in the sun. and here, in the large patch of tall grass just below the northern watchtower, the foundation for a strong and long-lasting friendship was forged by the small hands caked in mud and dirt — a detail that did not please the king once he found out.

yet, much to the annoyance to the 'great king jin', from that point it was only a matter of time before they grew into larger troublemakers. samir and yuna would always somehow find the time in their day to speak with one another at least once. sometimes samir would weasel his way into the castle to join her reading in the library, other times he'd lure her out of the stone walls to pick berries and admire her complexion in the warm light of the outside world. never in his wildest dreams would he ever lead her into danger, though —  that was all her own doing. son of a knight, samir had always been instilled with the duty of protecting the royal family at any and all costs, meaning he was the one shirking away when she'd beckon him into certainly-dangerous adventures.

"come on!" yuna would chirp over her shoulder as she crawled with fingers full of the thick grass blades, boots sputtering past her skirt to dig into the dirt. samir's eyes once again surveyed their surroundings in search for anything looming around in wait for their naive arrival, gaze running along the hills and valleys as he nervously called back. "i don't know — what about the king?"

"what about the king?" she repeated back to him without faltering in her pace up the rising ground "you worry too much, sam. now come on or i'll have to tell him you hurt my feelings!"

sam, with the stressed brow that appeared far too often for just a 14-year-old, finally let out an exasperated chuckle at her playful antics and joined her in the tiring journey up this particularly steep hill. he found his way to the top with a groan and couldn't help the smile that donned on his face as she helped pull him up the crest with a hand on his arm, finally realizing just exactly why the princess had been so adamant about this adventure.

"wow..." he uttered as his wide doe eyes surveilled the vast valleys laid before them, the sunlight bathing everything it could touch over the various peaks that left dark shadows in the trees below. from their spot on top of this mound they could see the raging foxtrot river. "how'd you find this?"

yuna would finally turn to look at him, gaze promptly meeting hers the second he noticed. "promise you won't tell?" she always said this to him — always checking in as if to make sure he had her back even though he always answered the same way. at this point he couldn't tell if it was true distrust or consent to further the wedge between him and his loyalty to the king.

"i wouldn't dream of sharing your secrets."

a blush would dust her cheeks as she beamed and tucked a dark strand behind her ear. "one of the cooks said there was gold at the end of the foxtrot river. she said she'd seen it at the top of the hillcrest with one lone tree swaying above her head." now, with her nod gesturing behind him, samir noticed the peculiarly lone tree whose leaves danced with the gentle wind that fluttered through their hair. "i thought maybe we'd check it out."

there was a beat as sam watched the sunlight filter through the leaves, a push and pull tugging on the tender strings of his heart before he internally steeled himself enough to turn back to the exceedingly more precious treasure beside him. "your highness," he spoke hesitantly — carefully "you don't really think there's gold out there to find, do you?"

the restrained frown on her lips could've killed him right then and there if he would succumb. but then again, she still needed to walk back to the castle after this.

"i think there's adventure out there. i think there's something else...something other than this."

sam would always find himself mulling over their conversations on his lone walk home. she had a habit of leaving him things to think on; great adventures to be had or the possibility of different lifetimes. for a princess yuna was so strangely drawn to something other than nobility, so wholly unattached from her royal bloodline that had famously held reign of the largest kingdom in the region for the last century. he'd hoped that maybe she'd come around to the idea of royal duties later, maybe she'd grow big enough to fit into her mothers' shoes, grow into the fully blossomed leader she could be. but, after a particularly stormy night when a heavy knock came to the devgans front door, it grew more apparent how far the princess was willing to go in order to avoid the looming title of queen.

samir found himself braving the storm alongside his father as they covered opposite directions in search for the lost princess. the angry winds whistled through the walls of the kingdom as the cold rain brutally pelted his cheeks in his seat on horseback, fingers numbing while he clutched the reins. sam followed along the foxtrot river calling out her name until his voice grew raspy and took in as much as he could visually whenever the lightning would strike and light up the dark sky for just a second, illuminating the virtually pitch-black wood he ventured into. it wasn't until an exceptionally bright strike allowed him to properly survey the surrounding wood and notice the shivering figure against a tree trunk that samir spotted yuna.

"your highness!"

the familiar albeit hoarse voice cutting through the howling winds brought the princess's face from her soaked knees, arms still wrapped around her legs to pull them close to her chest as her wet eyes found the boy hurrying off his horse and to her side. reins hooked around his arm so it hung near his shoulder, sam cupped her frigid cheeks in his similarly frozen palm, noting how she leaned into his hand.

"why are you out here? the king's worried sick!"

yuna's glossy gaze now made sense as they welled with tears, a deep crease forming between her eyebrows as her typical smile-ridden lips pulled into a pained grimace. "he's going to sell me off, sam." her voice was relatively quieter than his although she still had to project over the harsh white noise, "he said he's made a deal with king pyre of the east. i'll see out tomorrow and then...it's over, samir."

sam rode back to the castle with his own hand on top of hers belted around his waist, fingers intwining as he roped her arm around his shoulders to aid her inside, the rough and calloused skin only leaving her starkly delicate and clean hands once he began to start the fire in the dining hall. he'd spend the rest of the night by her side as he warmed her up (as well as himself, though he'd never admit it) and as they waited on the king or sir devgans arrival samir would wear himself thin reassuring her that everything would turn out all right in the end. everything would be okay because he said so. and when he saw the flash of disbelief in her eyes sam would pull out an old trick up his sleeve he'd never used before — one he'd never thought would see the light of day. until now.

"your highness...if i may be honest...when i count my blessings at night, i count you twice. for as long as i shall live, you will exist as someone loved wholly and entirely. show me your thorns and i will show you my hands, ready to bleed. and if you must die i'll envy even the earth that surrounds your body. for as long as i shall live, you will live within me."

this improper confession left a soft smile on the princess's face tainted by the tear stains running down her cheeks, her gaze scrutinizing his features under a microscope to look for supposed feigning for only a fraction of a second before softening upon finding nothing but pure unadulterated vulnerability and sincerity. from her spot beside him on the floor yuna would scoot closer and loop her arm in his to rest her head on his shoulder, his curls tickling the crown of her head. he was lucky she couldn't hear the pounding heart in his chest over the combination of sounds swirling around them, nor the thick gulp bobbing his adams apple as he swallowed back the fuzzy feeling bubbling under the surface. samir would statue in this spot even after she fell asleep and his back started to ache in the now uncomfortable position, all to lap up the final days he'd get to spend with the celebrated princess.

and then, by the grace of god, the dreadful day came for princess yuna min of elora to meet prince asa enoch of hidora — only for him not to show. samir, who made sure to loom around the princess all day, watched as the sun began to fall in tandem with the mask of patience on the kings' face, the moonlight illuminating the identical furrowed brow both royals shared. king jin went to bed that night uttering curses and arguments to himself as he went to his chambers for the night, heard only by samir who made sure to sneak into yuna's after the coast was clear.

samir nearly got himself caught the moment he stepped into her chambers with the laugh that emitted from his chest at the wide and wild-eyed grin on her face. he knew her well enough to know that, while the king's angry brow had been a result of flakey business deals, yuna's annoyance was merely due to the subjection of sitting still for an entire day. she couldn't have been more thrilled that the prince didn't show. the almost childlike-giddy pair would spend the night talking in circles about what could've happened that day, their theories about why the 'illustrious' prince asa didn't show, and samir would reluctantly have to pry himself out of her room so as to not get caught in the princess's chambers. he went to bed with half the mind that prince asa would arrive the following morning and sweep the king off his feet, maybe even sweep yuna off her feet. but then the following morning arrived with the king up and ready at the top of the day...and then midday...and then night. it wasn't until the fifth night past their scheduled meeting that a letter arrived signed by king pyre, father to asa — well — father to the late asa.

as explained within this letter, prince asa and all of the men accompanying him were tragically killed in a passing storm in the area. he'd sent more men out to find his missing son after not receiving a letter with updates and "found bodies scattered in the woods." so, with a heavy heart and a heavy hand king jin signed his goodbyes to pyre and subsequently whatever business deal it was that was great enough to rid of his one and only child. however, sam and yuna's relationship would not come out unscathed. in fact, this is when things really began to change.

in a meeting set up by the king, samir was offered a 'chance at the opportunity' to personally watch over yuna, though it came with a few conditions. while this would be proving his worth both to his father and the king as a potential knight of elora as well as appointing him in the princess's presence at most (if not all) times, the cons laid out by the king really painted a troubling picture. he would begin this apprenticeship under the guidance of his father, sir kabir, until he was satisfied with his sons' skills. this was the first troubling thing that caught his attention, and then king jin went on.

after completing the physical training samir would then present himself before the king for a fortnight in place of his father as the prestigious 'king's knight.' once and only once the fortnight had been completed, and if king jin was satisfied with samir's performance by the end of it, would he be granted the permission to claim the title of 'the princess of elora's personally appointed guard.'

and then, once he claimed his title, samir would have daily check-ins with the king to reveal all of what she'd spoken about that day. the king said he "wanted every minute detail down to the gory bits." failure to produce a 'satisfying' dialogue or withholding information would be considered as disloyalty to the king and result in the subsequent removal of this role.

"do you understand the guidelines i've laid out before you?"

samir gulped. "yes."

"do you agree meet the challenge according to my terms?"

the starkly smaller boy blinked up at the grizzly man before him, his signet ring twinkling in his big brown eyes. "yes."

samir began training the very next day. his father worked him to the bone from the moment the sun rose until the sky became pink and orange, signaling that it was time to head home and rest up. he went to bed nightly with aching muscles tender to the touch and yet there was still a smile lingering on his lips, his chest humming with who he was doing all this for. her name circled around his mind like the tumbling rocks kicked on his morning walk to the field he trained, and like the dust clouds that flittered through the air when he hit the dirt, her name settled on his tongue in the dim silence of his room. quietly, to no one but himself, samir would whisper the prized name that predated the princess's birth, the name uttered only by those worthy of such intimacies with her.

"yuna."

it took a full 2 months and then some before kabir gave his approval to the king. he told his now broader son the same night over dinner, stoically and subdued as he stated he "was shocked by sam's drive to improve and ability to do so quickly." samir had pride swelling in his chest from his father's words as he then adorned his fathers' role beside the king. he went into his first day optimistic and honestly a little cocky thinking that this so-called duty would be more or less standing around all day. he soon found out that this was in fact not the case, and when he wasn't patrolling the forest for bandits or accompanying the king in a leisurely but protected stroll samir was subjected to the crushing weight of overhearing what was going on in the other kingdoms.

by the end of the first week samir had learned about the looming attack expected from luneberg whose leader believed they owned all of the land west of the kublai river. by the beginning of the second week he had been formally prepared to protect the king and his kingdom whenever the 'lunes' arrived. and by wednesday this fateful day arrived.

snow had begun to fall when the first man in the guard tower called out "lunes!" sam stood by the king with restrained heaving breaths as he waited for instruction, waiting to be told to find yuna or venture out to the drawbridge where he could stop by her room. but before any instructions could be given lune soldiers stormed into the halls from around the back, hidden from the original watchtower that had alerted the kingdom. samir had no choice but to step forth and protect the king; lead him to safety and out of the violent corridors being stained with blood, urged on simply by the drive to locate yuna. only when he was able to finally hand the role of 'kings knight' back to his father did sam have the opportunity to turn back to the castle and brave the horrors occurring inside despite the calls of his name from behind his back. he'd gone specifically against the kings' orders to find yuna, sword drawn as he dodged in and out of every room hidden within the stone walls. he'd slain only a few unfortunate lunes before coming across the field hidden under the northern watchtower; the field they'd claimed as their own all those years ago.

almost hidden in the tall grass filling with snowflakes sat a man fighting to hold down the arms that emerged from the blades, nails digging into his throat to keep him as far away as possible. over the roaring cries of chaos that boomed from each and every corner in the kingdom samir could recognize the yelps and yowls of resistance as belonging to the one and only yuna. he wasted no time in plunging his blade through the back and out the chest of the beast assaulting the princess, using this lead to push him off of her and offer a hand out to the panting girl in the grass. upon finding her footing samir noticed the bruises that littered the soft skin on the side of yuna's face casting purple shadows below her eye and along her cheekbone.

"your highness..." was all he could say through panicked breaths, big brown eyes wet and wide as his delicate blood-stained fingers moved to almost touch the unfamiliar looking flesh. yuna would catch his hand to fully press her cheek into his palm and inadvertently leave crimson fingerprints on the angle of her jaw. this tender reencounter after far too long of not seeing each other would then be rudely interrupted by the heavy footsteps that echoed off the halls toward them, far too loud and fervent for just one man. it sounded like an entire brigade headed their way, and as samir stopped to analyze what he needed to do, there was a firm tug on his hand in her direction.

"come on, they won't catch us in the woods."

samir turned with the panicked shake of his head. "we'll die out there."

she pulled him again. "you'll die if we don't." the thunderous footsteps grew louder as he allowed her to pull him a step closer before then pulling her towards himself by their intwined fingers.

"it's snowing, princess, we'll freeze."

"not if we're together." her answer was immediate.

"i can't protect you from the elements, your highness."

yuna now squeezed his hand tight as the lune brigade loomed just around the corner. "i ask not for refuge in the cold but instead your company and protection from man. can you do that for me, samir?"

the towering boy above would stare back into her pleading eyes sparkling brighter than any of the stars in the sky and find his resolve within them, taking only a second longer to finally make his decision. by the time the luneberg soldiers made their way into the tall grass they only caught a glimpse of the princess's stark blue skirt before she disappeared into the white snow dusting the vast wood. with nothing but footprints in the snow leaving a discernable path to follow for as long as they moved quickly, the lunes chose to take their chances in the storm rather than return home with empty hands, unbeknownst to their fate located within.

samir and yuna would embark on a three day journey before finally returning to elora shivering and covered in filth. king jin sat them in front of the fire and filled their bellies while interrogating them about what happened — where they had gone and what they had been through. yet, neither had much to say, though it seemed obvious by the glint in their eyes that something had occurred within the woods. jin eventually gave up on trying to pry information from them and ushered his daughter to rest with plans to visit the apothecary the following day. yuna said her goodnight to the men before exiting the dining hall, leaving samir alone with the king who turned slowly, his usual furrowed brow forming in the light from the fire.

"you're late, samir. the fortnight was yesterday — training completed yesterday."

"my apologies, your majesty —"

king jin interrupted him. "i mulled over my decision whilst grieving my child. i was certain she'd been lost; to the wood or the snow or the lunes — i was certain i'd lost my only kin. i prepared to meet her again alongside her mother. and yet here you are now — shivering without a cape because you forgot to ask for it back..." jin trailed off with a mouthful of condescension growing the smile that curled his lips, looking like he was almost going to laugh before pulling his eyes from the flames to look at the anxious boy before him.

"you disobeyed direct orders, abandoned your duty, lead my daughter into the elements, and didn't return for three days."

samir's cheeks flamed red with shame as his eyes fought to disconnect from the icy glare produced by the king, yet he remained still, braving his reprimanding. "yes, your majesty..."

"but, on top of it all," the king took a breath and relaxed in his seat "yuna is home. you brought the princess back home safe and warmer than yourself."

his demeanor was suddenly so relaxed and — dare he presume — grateful. samir sat expectantly, listening with his full attention for king jin to get to what he was saying. what he meant.

"you may not have proved worthy as the king's knight, samir, but you have certainly proved yourself worthy as the princess's guard."

samir went home that night with an ear-to-ear grin as he reunited with his father. he laid in bed exhausted and yet entirely too excited for the days that would follow. the ceremony that would take place to grant him his knighthood, the endless hours that would be spent beside the beloved princess, the memories to be created with the beloved princess.

and his giddy anticipation would turn out to be quite a founded reaction; samir's knighting ceremony would be marked by the kiss pressed to his cheek as he said goodnight to the princess, the following days filled with the song of her laugh and the monumental view of her smile, cheeks flushed by the sun as they picked flowers or sat under the old willow tree. he'd appease her wild imagination and accompany her on horseback to pick apples in the very wood that granted him this opportunity only to stop by the kings chambers every night and go over all they'd done that day. he typically omitted some details, of course, but it didn't change the fact that his relationship with the princess was so heavily monitored nor did it ease the ache he felt as a result of the secrecy and inauthenticity feigned towards her. after so long of true friendship and trust built...

the straw that broke the camels back wouldn't come until the fateful days following princess yuna's 19th birthday.

king jin had grown noticeably grayer by this point, reminding both himself and the entire kingdom of his eventual end of reign, leading all of the watchful and anxious eyes to fall to the queen-to-be. he began implementing formal preparations the year prior, personally instructing her on the various different duties rulers have and the rules they abide by, all the while yuna pulled every card in the book to shirk her hereditary duties. samir had watched silently nearby as the kings patience grew thinner and thinner over the span of the year, paling in comparison to the growing resentment the pair harbored for one another until finally it could no longer be contained.

samir had returned from getting a breath of fresh air away from the bickering royals when he heard the kings booming voice echoing off the stone walls. he stopped with his back pressed to the wall to listen.

"you've always wished to be rid of me! father, i have been burdened by the blood on my hands! i stole her life as well as her name and it has tainted me in your eyes since the first breath!" yuna's voice was shaky and pitiful as if she was fighting tears.

"your impurities lie in your heart, not your name! you have been corrupted by your immature imagination ever since you were born!"

"why? because i dream of something more? something other than a lifetime of losing myself for others? because i want to be more than just a woman? because —"

the princess was cut off by a sharp, deafening smack that even made samir flinch from his place against the cool stone. the kings' voice had gone quiet now, only audible due to the unassuming manner in which sam entered.

"because you are just like your mother."

yuna sat on her knees with her hand on her cheek, wet, venomous eyes craned up at the man bent before her even after he noticed samir.

"escort her to her chambers, samir. she needs rest."

he'd do so promptly with a hand placed gingerly on her back, internally seething at the burning red skin on her cheek that lied below the laceration from jin's signet ring, swaying him further into her fantasies even before she told him "i'm leaving tomorrow night. come with me." he originally denied her preposterous idea before appeasing her with the promise of 'thinking about it' as he left her chambers to return to the kings' with a lump in his throat, tongue bitten between his teeth. though, sam wouldn't alert the king until the following evening — the final day of elora.

the following morning began with sam attending to yuna's cheek. his father had taught him plenty of remedies for injuries far less severe than this one, even ways to rid the healed skin of scarring later, the whole time being persuaded into joining her pursuit of a new life. he always managed to find new reasons not to abandon elora, more reasons why it was an awful idea to venture into the unknown in search of something 'better.' but as the sun made its way around the sky it grew more apparent how certain she was about her decision, and by the time she clarified she'd "leave with or without him" samir realized he had to do something.

with great pain he brought himself before the king just as the sun began to set and revealed the awful truth of what yuna was planning; how she said she'd steal a horse and ride as far as she could away from elora until she had to figure something else out. he didn't realize his fatal mistake until the king clarified on when this information had been made apparent.

"last night, your majesty."

"and you didn't think to mention this then?"

"...your maj—"

"what else have you 'forgotten' to mention, samir?"

"n-nothing, your—"

king jin didn't even let him finish before throwing him in the dungeon, alone and sewer-level as temporary punishment for his disloyalty. "i'll deal with you later" the king would say before leaving the boy to his solitude in search for his scheming kin. samir spent this time — only a couple hours, really — imagining the anguish on yuna's face as he was hanged in the square, martyred as the face of treachery in elora. he clutched at his heart when he realized the life that she'd be sentenced to and for the first time openly let the tears run down his face, sobbing pleads of forgiveness to no one but himself in the dark cell.

and then — like a knight in shining armor, a light in the darkness — yuna crept down the dungeon steps, a crowbar in hand as she whispered to call out for him.

"prin—yuna!" he'd call back. samir was already apologizing the second she found him, grabbing for her hands despite her efforts to lodge the crowbar between the bars until she finally took his hand.

"prove your sincerity by leaving with me. tonight. i'll get you out of here and then we'll leave and never return to elora again. can you do that for me, sammy?"

sammy; the greatest accolade to come from their voyage through the snow. well — second greatest — behind that of the privilege to call her informally. yuna.

"yes."

yuna used all her weight to finally bust the cell open, slamming herself into it until the rusted metal succumbed to the force. sam would pull her into a tight embrace against his chest before the fated duo would run hand in hand out of the kingdom and onto the path of a new life; one with only one constant in the form of the others' company.

[w0rmdahl]

the snow ; day two — ilyily

gif ©: earthgif, theseulgis

film: i love you i love you (au)

synopsis: after successfully evading the lunes who'd been hot on their tails through the night, samir and yuna awaken to a shocking discovery and find themselves against an even tougher set of odds during their second day.

word count: 5.1k

featuring: (oc) yuna min, (oc) samir devgan, oc secondary characters

warnings: descriptions of animal mutilation (sounds horrible i'm sorry but that should be it for this one!)

a/n: whew this one just kept going idk what happened anywaysss here is day 2! not proofread before posting because i took a melatonin gummy sorry <3 but also today (5/20) is my birthday so i wanted to make sure i got something out :) hope you enjoy!

yuna was the first to wake. the sweet birdsong of day warbled outside the confines of the cave as she lifted her head from its perch on samir's shoulder and turned to check the world separate from themselves, eyes immediately squinting at the sunlight beaming off of the pearly white snow. if not for the sleepy squeeze around her waist revealing the aching muscles in her back, yuna would have believed they truly had perished through the night, with the blinding light beckoning them into the peaceful heavens. but as she blinked away the sleep from her eyes and groggily moved to sit up from the hunched position she'd slept in all night, it became apparent that they were still very much alive, a groan emitting from her throat as now she felt the painful buzz in her feet.

"prin—yuna" sam stirred awake now with a gravelly voice, probably disturbed by the loss of warmth due to her movements. his fingertips danced over her spine as he too readjusted upon waking his sore muscles and looked up at the grimacing girl in his lap.

"good god, my back," she grumbled and braced her hands on his collarbones to straighten out "i think we missed first light."

samir whipped his head to make the same fatal mistake as yuna had just a second prior, a yelp bouncing off the crystalline walls whilst he turned back to her with eyes squeezed shut.

"at least we survived" he'd mumble as he rubbed the blur from his vision. yuna painstakingly pushed herself off his lap and onto her back against the harsh stone with a content sigh.

"could've done without the pins and needles, though."

"i agree with you there," he wheezed as he reached for his toes "my feet are asleep."

yuna sighed more exasperatedly this time, her top lip snagging to the side as she whined "and now we have to walk alll the way back home." she couldn't see the smile on sam's face before he'd pushed himself to his numb feet, edging toward the cave entrance and brushing his curls from his eyes with a jovial chuckle.

"maybe you could give me a piggyback ride — since my feet are numb, and all."

"you're hilarious." the princess now begrudgingly pushed herself up to follow behind him, the cape around her neck trailing behind while he lent a hand to aid her step into the outside world. "if anyone's getting a piggyback ride it's me — with your new big muscles and all."

sam statued the moment the words left her mouth, eyes sparkling in the snow instantly going wide as he stared down at her with the faint outline of a smile imprinted on his lips. she seemed to realize what she'd said only after witnessing his astounded reaction and, chuckling nervously as if to hide the obvious blush blossoming on her cheeks, gave him a soft shove to the shoulder she'd claimed as her bed last night before turning away to face the tree line. samir couldn't stop the grin that then had his own face feeling hot, contemplating on what to say for only a moment before stepping forth to reassume his place beside her.

"what about half and half?" he teased, almost hurt by the lack of response from the princess as she continued staring forward, nodding shortly to whatever had caught her focus.

"look."

as prompted, samir redirected his gaze according to her gesture and felt the fuzzy warmth in his chest run cold upon the sight of a dead deer in the snow. not just dead, however; decapitated — windpipe and vertebra visible as its stiff bloated body lied in the blood-soaked snow that surrounded, a discernable path of crimson trailing their journey home. the most alarming, however, was not the haste in which this mystery person senselessly killed the deer, but the discernable footsteps that had been plotted up to where they stood now. sam's hand instinctively grabbed hers to take a step back.

"we should go."

running hand in hand and red nosed as they ducked through the trees, samir and yuna yanked each other back to their feet after one stumbled in the snow, further venturing into the wood and away from the castle. they could still hear the hammering feet behind them as clear as when they'd first noticed it; far too close for comfort and yet not close enough to locate through the natural sway of the earth around them.

samir helped her down as they came to a drop-off in the dirt and quickly surveyed the new ground before picking a new direction and running with it. with this new path before them they could see the end of the tree line waiting before them with a great wide-open expanse of light to better locate their pursuer. all they had to do was make it — just continue pushing a little bit further than they already had — just a little bit longer.

the trek back home hadn't started this way. originally they decided to embark on the longer path home following along the outskirts of the tree line with their guard high, sam's fingers brushing the pommel of his sword at each and every bump in the woods. but the further they went on their journey to avoid whatever had visited them during their time in the cave, the larger this gnawing feeling of something being off grew. yuna had a rock in her stomach the longer they walked through the woods, and eventually, she started to mask this eerie sense of danger with insignificant babbling.

"ooh! or," yuna and samir both checked over their shoulders before their attention was back on the other "we could grab a pint from the tavern and try to see the constellations from the north tower. i've always wanted to find the big dipper."

a wide-eyed look of disbelief had his brows raising as he surveyed the red, peach fuzz laden skin of her cheeks. "you can't see the constellations?" he asked with a smile creeping to his lips.

"you can?"

then, before he could respond, yuna would walk headfirst into an indistinguishable brown form dangling unseemly in the middle of their path that left a red blotch on her temple. further examination of this malformed object she'd unwittingly bumped into revealed the gruesome sight of a decapitated deer head hanging from a noose tied in the branches above. they only had the time to connect the dots before sudden crunching of snow under rapid footsteps had samir yanking her in the opposite direction as they took off into the woods.

the unfortunate pair now emerged from the trees with hope in their eyes on the new scenery other than the wide expanse of the ellyn forest they'd been lost to for the last hour. but, to their dismay, this treeless stretch of earth was no easy feat, nor a safe haven for them to pause and catch their breath in wait of whatever was in the woods; it was the frozen briar lake.

samir looked down breathlessly at the similarly panting girl beside him, "well?" he asked. she shook her head.

"i don't think this is a good idea."

"it'll hold."

"you don't know that!"

he edged closer toward the ice despite her pull in the opposite direction. "we'll go slow. all we have to do is get across."

"it's not that easy, sam" yuna whined, her features falling into an anxious frown as she dug her heels into the solid dirt below "if we fall in—"

"i'll go first." samir blurted with his toes already edging onto the ice "i'm heavier."

the perturbed princess now stepped closer to him and subsequently the frozen river below, her fingers clamping down on his whilst he treaded further onto the ice without another glance — like it had already been decided. so, with a disgruntled whine escaping her throat and obvious stress creasing her features, yuna would step onto the ice using sam's steady hand to keep stable. the slick ground under her boots brought her jaw into a tight clench before she pleaded once more through gritted teeth.

"please," she trailed off, unsure of what exactly she'd wanted in substitute. sam would conjure the most utterly reassuring smile he could while extending his arm to build distance between their weight on the ice.

“it'll be okay, yuna."

he spoke knowingly, tenderly as he slowly released her hand.

"trust me."

it came out like a plea of his own.

and so; she did. yuna suspended her disbelief and placed her trust in the soft brown eyes encouraging her now as she eked forward, shoulders tensed and back rigid as if to lessen the impact on the royal blue ice. the incessant wind biting at their noses hissed across the lake like a devilish laugh-track to the divine comedy these inept teenagers found themselves starring in, roaring louder at the pounding footsteps in the snow growing in proximity. yet sam remained steadfast in his comforting exterior for the tense girl tailing behind his meticulous footsteps.

"that's good," samir cooed, taking sliding steps backward with his eyes only on hers, working one foot at a time toward the midway point. "just like that. you got it." his heart would ache at her short nod despite the anxiety in her brow growing more apparent.

"just a little further, okay?"

she'd respond like a child fighting tears; voice high and wavering as her eyes bore into his. "okay..."

the pounding steps behind them grew to be near deafening in their ears as it perpetually inched closer and closer, instigating the heavy thrum of their weary hearts though neither would even dare to peek as the other side of the shore waited only a few more steps away — just a few seconds longer of feigned bravery and it would be over.

"we've almost got it yuna, just keep your eyes on me."

his only reply would be the restrained whine caught between her lips pressed tight together.

and then, while shifting his weight onto his left foot just a tiny — mere — few feet from safety, a ghoulish groan seeped through the sliver of a crack under sam's boot. he stilled instantly in order to quickly assess the situation they'd found themselves in, but as this tiny splinter in the ice began to crack outwards around him, he found himself stuck in place without any idea of what to do next.

crack.

sure, he could probably save himself, but yuna was really the only thing on his mind. what about yuna?

crack.

should he move? should he toss her to safety? could he even execute that?

crack!

knocked like a bulldozer in the ribs sam gasped in anticipation for the numbing waters that lurked below — but, instead, found himself gasping at the impact against his back into unforgiving dirt. his fingers would fist the snow below as he sat up to find a hole in the ice where he once stood that revealed the hellish black depths lurking underneath the frozen lake, the silhouette of yuna gone and replaced with the animal hunting for them on the other side.

there, wide-eyed on the shore from which they'd came, stood a bestial man adorned in lune-style armor heaving with the bloody axe in his white-knuckled grip. a taunting smile grew as his eyes made contact with the knight-to-be and he would offer samir nothing more than a hoarse chuckle before turning away and disappearing back into the wood.

"yuna!"

his focus was back on her in an instant. samir dove chest-first into the edge of the shore to plunge his arm into the water, icy depths searing the flesh up to his bicep when his fingertips carded through a cascade of hair, now submerging himself further until the numb met his shoulder. suddenly he was clamping down on the cloth meeting his palm, and then he was dragging her out by the wrist, pulling her soaked form into him while simultaneously throwing themselves back ashore.

upon looking down at the princess tucked into his side, samir would find yuna's skin to be alabaster white, lips purple and wet eyes struggling to focus as she shivered. if not for the dire circumstances they'd found themselves in she could've been mistaken as the world's greatest art piece — like a greek sculpture; with monotoned skin akin to stone that displayed her perfectly-sculpted features in the bright midday light. but the short, labored breaths just barely raising her chest would work to spur samir back into action as he hooked his arms around her shoulder blades and under her legs to lift her. "i'm so sorry, yuna."

he was already pleading, with the princess or the gods — he wasn't sure.

"just — just keep your eyes open," braving the wood once more he pushed onward with shuffling footsteps through the snow and past the thick trunks that surrounded, puling over the abrasive sound of the crunching ice. "i'm gonna get you warm, just keep your eyes open. can you do that for me?"

yuna's complete and utter lack of response was more than enough to pick up sam's pace. at this rate he needed to find a solution — and fast. the subject of his lifelong devotion was actively running out of time with each second that passed and the longer it took to get her warm only brought the heavens closer to reclaim one of their angels. this thought made his stomach turn in tandem with the swirling anxieties in his mind and urged him further to pick up the pace, his frantic eyes scanning for anything and everything that could be of use.

it all looked the same, to his dismay, but as he searched through the nearly identical landscape of ice and trees around him, he could see what looked like another clearing in the woods. the fearsome yet courageous boy seemed to be offered hope once more as he now broke out into a full sprint — or as much of a sprint as he could muster considering the circumstances — and held the frozen girl tighter as if to hold on to this hope.

'it'll be different this time,' he thought 'it's going to be different this time.'

samir always did have a way of willing things into reality. yuna used to say that he had magic inside of him that brought his wishes to fruition — though she stopped saying this after one of the nuns became suspicious. the point is; strange phenomena had occurred around sam all of his life as long as he believed, so he snuck up on the second clearing with undying optimism housed in his calloused palms.

and there it was; the relief to the harshest struggle he's ever had to face. like an answer to his prayers, samir stumbled into the clearing to find nothing more than an innocuous looking house whose chimney was already billowing with grey clouds, a middle-aged woman sitting inside the window looking down at something.

"fair lady!"

although he was too far to be heard and likely seen as well, samir didn't waste time in willing his way to get help from this red-haired woman in the house, walking all the way up to the front steps before she'd noticed him. he'd watch with wide puppy dog eyes put forth as her eyebrows furrowed, then turning to say something over her shoulder before she moved to open the door.

"hello there." she said cautiously. the mysterious woman stood at a meager height in the doorway closed against her side, obviously on guard and yet still strangely warm towards the amateur adventurers on her doorstep.

"i apologize for disturbing you, fair lady, but the princess is in dire need of aid. i'm afraid she may freeze soon if not warmed up."

suddenly the door would open further, a large hand wrapping around the wood above the mysterious woman's head to reveal a much taller lady hidden behind her. she did not read as kind or welcoming as the first, with her furrowed brow and lips pressed into a thin line at the sight of these two teens. and yet, the ginger woman would offer a short nod as she analyzed the celebrated princess in the arms of this lanky, floppy haired boy before her.

"alright, but leave your sword at the door."

samir nodded fervently. "of course. here," turning the stained metal on his hip towards them, he offered the blade with a tightening grip around the princess in his arms, watching as the shorter woman went to grab it before the latter stepped in front of her. she made direct, intimidating eye contact with him as she took the pommel in her hand, unsheathing the sword to then place it against the wooden wall.

"follow her."

the ginger woman now turned on her heel for sam to follow after, his full attention on the broad lady shadowing his heels while they passed the kitchen to enter the den. a strong fire crackled in the hidden corner of this room where a comfortable and home-y looking lounge chair sat, motioned to by the ginger woman.

"lay her here."

samir obliged instantly and carefully laid yuna down on her back, only now noticing her sickly color. she looked like nothing he'd ever witnessed before — like a being from nowhere that had blue-hued skin and icicles for lashes. a firm hand landed on his shoulder.

"listen," said the short woman, "i need you to go upstairs and find clothes that would fit her. we need to take off the wet clothes."

sam's guard began to raise again, shaking his head at the request from the mysterious woman he'd deemed as asinine. "no, i have to stay with her." now the curly-haired lady spoke up from behind him.

"you're needed elsewhere for this, devgan. upstairs on the left."

there was a moment where he nearly turned — almost instinctively reached for the sword missing from his hip — but the kind green eyes of the frail woman before him made him pause. of course they knew who yuna was, everyone in elora had to know their royal family, so when the divine day of her birth came it had been announced far and wide for all to hear. — but him? that he wasn't so sure about.

the kind woman nodded back towards the stairs they had passed with a reassuring smile, "she's in good hands. women's linens are worse than a maze. i'll have amina call you down once we're done."

it was only then that samir understood why exactly they wanted him out of the room, not because he had something to worry about, but because they worried about him. with a short breath he'd inhale the musky fire smell to settle the lingering pit of suspicion in his stomach before conceding to the task laid out before him, ultimately abandoning yuna with these peculiar strangers to explore the second story of the home in search for fresh clothing.

their house was rather incredible to be quite frank. not only had the wooden walls been built tall enough to accommodate the broad woman, amina, but the tables in the den had actually been made accessible for the shorter of the pair. it seemed that they had been the ones to build this home in the middle of nowhere, surrounded only by the thick foliage left formerly un-adventured by the ellyn wood natives, yet almost perfectly cleared into a circle of short grass around the home. it was like a kingdom of their own, really.

by this point, samir had spent countless hours analyzing the space around him as he sat with yuna beside the warm fire, noticing even the smallest of details like the worn-in footsteps leading to the garden. every so often he'd look up again to check on the sleeping beauty who'd been swaddled in a wool blanket by the ladies of the house, and a smile would curl his lips once more as he reminisced on the summers they'd spent watching butterflies emerge from their cocoons.

fortunately, the princess's natural color had come back by now, and though their kind hosts said that she would likely be fine by morning samir still couldn't sleep until he saw that she was okay. so here he was; well into the darkest hours of the night just waiting for the beloved girl to wake.

which is why he nearly leapt from his seat on the floor when a hand met his shoulder. if he hadn't been a little more careful he swore his skeleton would've jumped right out of his skin. samir whipped his head over to look at the owner of the hand — only to find the groggy looking eyes of yuna staring back. he was turning to face her in an instant.

"hey," he cooed with a tender smile, fire-warmed fingertips reaching to touch her rosy cheek. "hey, yuna. how are you feeling?"

after a few more slow blinks her brows would furrow as she noticed the room around them, the sturdy wooden walls far homier than the cave they'd slept in last. she'd groan and grumble for a moment while squirming in the blanket before finally unraveling it around her waist so she could prop herself up on an elbow. "where...?"

samir readjusted to help un-cocoon her legs from the wool as he explained, "it's okay, we're safe here for the night. the two generous ladies of the house said we can leave with their map in the morning."

yuna was now pushing herself to sit up, aided once more by the gentle hand on her spine and attentive eyes on her every feature. she took just a second longer to really survey her unfamiliar surroundings with narrowed eyes before then looking back to samir on his knees before her, dark circles under his eyes despite the blithe smile on his lips. she reached out to grab his shoulder again.

"are you okay?"

"am i okay?" the tired-eyed boy would chuckle "you're the one we're worried about, yuna. how are you feeling? any numbness? cold? confusion?"

yuna sighed and pulled away to rub her eyes, "no, nothing...well — confused about how we got here. and where we are."

samir's lips would part just before he began to fill in the gaps, but the soft tapping of footsteps on the other side of the room would catch the princess's attention, subsequently pulling his own gaze to peer over the side of the couch. from the doorway separating the den and the kitchen stood the red-haired woman from before with a steaming bowl in her hands, the motherly smile on her face emphasizing the wrinkles at the edges of her eyes under the fire light.

"you're just a few miles south of the kublai river, your highness. this is my home."

the frail woman would dutifully tip her head towards the princess in a short bow before taking careful steps closer to offer the bowl in her hands. "amina and i prepared a hearty stew for your quick recovery." her warm grin would grow brighter as yuna accepted the dish, "it's a pleasure to meet you, your highness. i'm orla."

the now-embarrassed princess offered a meek nod in return, both hands clutching the warm bowl as she thanked the kind woman stood at the edge of the lounge chair. her lounge chair.

"thank you very much, orla. i'm glad to make your acquaintance — and i appreciate your generosity."

"oh, no matter" orla waved her off with a jovial chuckle "i'm delighted to be of help. you can finally put our guest bed to use."

yuna would hum offhandedly and mutter "you're very kind" in passing, only to be met with an overwhelming intentness within the older woman's response. it was the most off-putting samir had seen since their initial meeting with the way her smile fell and her brows raised, her tone so matter-of-fact he would've thought it was a popular saying.

"you can accomplish by kindness what you cannot by force, your highness."

the teens seated before this peculiar ginger woman, orla, would share a not-so-subtle look with one another before either decided to speak. and when samir's lips would part just prior to his follow-up question, 'is that a publilius syrus quote?', orla would speak again with a resumed motherly glow in her eyes.

"the two of you have a long day ahead, so i'll leave you to it. please don't hesitate to knock if you need anything. i hope you rest well, your highness."

and once again, in the manner she always had when growing up with an image to uphold, yuna would thank her graciously with a genuine smile on her face that met her sparkling brown eyes. orla offered the final tip of her head before exiting the den and the puzzled pair now whipped to look at each other.

"that was...odd..."

sam nodded in agreement, "yes. yes it was."

yuna would then shrug as she fished the spoon from the bowl, always pointing out the silver lining in every situation. "still got some stew out of it, though." she was honestly thrilled just to have something in her stomach after not eating for a full day — even if it was mostly liquid. so much so, in fact, that she wouldn't notice the fond eyes watching her every movement; notably massive mouthfuls of stew being ingested. it was only when she finally felt it hit her stomach that she looked up to find samir's loving gaze on her, cheeks growing red as she wiped the broth dripping down her chin.

"want some?" she offered to cover the embarrassment she felt. sam would simply shake his head. "no thank you, i ate already."

he'd watch the princess nod politely before looking back down into the bowl — away from his eyes — and giggle sheepishly to herself while she scooping another spoonful. then, just as she began to lift the utensil to her mouth, yuna looked back up at him.

"so, how'd we get here, again?"

sam smiled. "i'll tell you before bed."

"she kept the pot boiling just for me?"

sam tossed the comforter over the mattress. "yep. i told you; orla has only been extremely kind. i would've expected that stunt from amina if anything." he then traveled to the foot of the bed to tuck the blanket in, the view of the back of his head unfaltering yuna's questioning as she stood by the doorway wrapped in the wool.

"but why? what does it mean?"

samir, though exhausted and running entirely on fumes to continue providing her with answers, then turned to motion to her now-made bed. "i'm not entirely sure yet, yuna, but i think a good nights sleep may help."

the princess, who stood barefoot in a nightgown only covered by the blanket around her shoulders, would giggle as she picked up on his totally subtle hints. she'd offer a short nod in acceptance of bed time and ambled to the left side of the bed before climbing on top of the covers — a movement that kicked samir right back into autopilot. he'd tip his nose to offer their version of the customary bow for royalty and turn on his heel to exit her 'chambers,' stopping only when yuna called his name.

"where are you going?"

sam turned back with his lips in the shape of an 'o' indicating that he, too, was puzzled by this compulsion of routine. though, expecting to lie in bed with the princess was...impossible — presumptuous, even. he didn't even stop to consider it being a possibility, so as naturally and nonchalant as he could muster, samir pasted on a chivalrous smile. "i'll just be downstairs. sleep well, yuna."

he wasn't given the chance to move even an inch before she was responding, "wait — why? that's a horrible idea."

"huh?"

"you're gonna sleep on the lounge? so you can be strangled in your sleep by whatever beast is out there looking for us?"

sam's shoulders slumped inward on himself. "you think i'd let that happen?" even from his disappointed stance by the door he could see yuna as she sat forward to catch his eye before responding in a sickly sweet tone that made his ears hot under the dark strands of tousled hair.

"i think you're tired, sammy."

sammy. it nearly made his knees weak — though that could also be the impact of the day finally taking its toll. no one had ever called him that, not his father nor anyone else in elora, it was always the proper and prudent samir. only sometimes did he get called by sam, though the vast majority of those times were from the one and only yuna who'd began when they were 11. but this one was special — why? he didn't know — but it made his insides warm and gooey, and his lips sweet like candy as his tongue darted out to wet them.

"i'm well rested." she continued with a sweet smile on her face like she knew his current ailments. "i could keep watch for a while."

sammy couldn't help the nervous chuckle that had a goofy grin on his flushed face. "your hi — yuna...what are you suggesting?" her quiet giggles in the silent home would only have his cheeks growing darker.

"we're not in the castle, the rules don't apply here. remember?"

honestly, he did not. by now he could barely keep his eyes open so it wasn't far fetched to believe he just forgot what he'd been calling the princess, though the wonderful thought of sleeping beside said princess was heavily outweighed by the anxieties of having laid with the princess. if the king found out —

yuna spoke up again. "sammy." she called. his attention was back on her. "it's alright. come on. it's my turn to take care of you now."

and so, with a breath caught in his throat and his heart hammering against his chest, samir would apprehensively walk to the right side of the bed before taking off his shoes. he'd undress his outer clothing with a nervous gaze locked on the princess sitting patiently in her own undergarments, finding her eyes to be looking up at the ceiling until the moment he slid under the cool covers. she'd then do the same with a beaming grin.

"see? you didn't combust into flames or anything!"

sam chuckled and looked over at her through the dark lashes of his heavy lids. "i think i'm already in heaven."

yuna paused. 'he must be really tired,' she thought 'he probably didn't even mean to sound that fond.' with a chaste pat to his chest the princess would feign ignorance and swallow the feelings welling in her throat.

"get some sleep, sammy."