Chapter Text
The suitors had left not too long after the Ball, the Queen was kind enough to not force you to make your final decision while they were here. Still adamant on the fact that you will choose the third suitor, the King and Queen wrote letters regarding your decision and sent them on their way to each suitor.
Shortly after that, the wedding preparations began. You’re not sure what it was, pity or sympathy, but the Queen was much kinder to you. She even helped you find your wedding dress.
“I do not have a preference for any design.”
The Queen clicks her tongue, “You must pick your wedding dress, my dear.”
When you don’t say anything, she sighs, continuing, “You know, when I found out that I was to be wed to your father, I was not too happy either.”
You look at her, “Then why did you marry him?”
“He changed my mind. My parents also hosted a Ball so I could meet him. And his nature, his words– his actions coaxed me,” she turns to look at you, “Hence why I convinced him to host one for you, so you could make that decision for yourself.”
Resting her hand upon yours, she says, “I am aware that I am not your mother, and could never replace her. I do not intend to. However, as a woman, I do wish to make your life easier. And you do not have me like me, you may hate me if you wish–”
“I do not hate you,” you pause, “I may have not been the kindest to you, and for that I apologize. But this is the most I could ever be close to you.”
She smiles, acknowledging your words, she squeezes your hand, “The dresses, shall we?”
You give her a small smile and nod. The seamstress standing close to the wedding dresses, points out which ones might stand out the best for you, “Do not worry about the fitting, you must only pick one and I will fix it if need be.”
The seamstress leaves the room, giving you a minute to look the dresses over, it’s not until you hear Dante’s hushed voice speaking to the Queen that your attention is drawn.
“My dear, I shall be back, continue looking.”
You turn towards the Queen and nod.
“Any that caught your eyes, Princess?”
You exhale, “No,” you turn towards Dante, “You may take a look if you wish.”
Dante gives you a smile and gets to work. You stand next to her as she looks through the dresses. When the rustling of the dresses stops, you look at her.
She looks past you, walking closer to the other side of the room, she holds out a dress. A pink dress to be exact. The embroidery, the design of the dress is gorgeous. The flowery designs start from the top and stop midway throughout the dress.
She holds it up with its back to your front, trying to see how it would look, “Dante.”
She hums, “What are you doing?”
“I am certain this dress would look beautiful on you, but I just wished to see it with my own eyes.”
“The dress is pink.”
“So?” your Knight shrugs.
You have a small smile on your face, “If I recall, wedding dresses are usually white.”
“But pink is your favorite color, is it not?”
You look at her a bit surprised, before you can say anything, she continues, “It is your wedding, I believe you could have a pink wedding dress if you wished.”
The seamstress walks in, “Oh Princess, that is a beautiful dress. Is that the one you would like to try on?”
You don’t break eye contact with Dante, “Yes, I would.”
The seamstress helps you try on the dress, “My my, Princess, your suitor would faint at the sight of you, you look divine.”
You give her a small smile, “Is the Queen back yet?”
“Ah, I do not believe so, but I am sure she is not too far from here, I can get her.”
“If it is not a problem.”
“Of course, I shall be back.”
You wait until you’re sure she’s gone, then you open the door, peeking only your head out, you call out for Dante. When the said woman finally looks at you, you wave for her to come inside.
Dante steps inside the room, closing the door, she turns around to take a look at you, “I told you! I am never wrong.” the woman smirks.
You roll your eyes, your face forming a carefree smile, “Okay, do tell, would you have me wear a pink dress at our wedding?”
She rubs at the back of her neck a bit flustered at your question, “Well it is your favorite color.”
Your eyebrows furrow, you walk closer to her, “I do not recall telling you my favorite color.”
“Princess, you quite literally wear pink almost everyday.”
“It does not mean it is my favorite color.”
“Is that so? Then what is it?”
You stare at her with a teasing smile, “Hm, I am not going to tell you.”
“You have me curious now, what would I have to do for you to tell me?”
You hum in thought, pursing your lips you tap your chin. As always, Dante finds the action endearing.
Dante doesn’t waste a second though, the woman kneels in front of you, “What are you– Dante, get up.”
She takes your hands in hers, “My Princess, please tell me which color holds the desire of your heart.”
All the while you’re trying to make Dante stand up, and when she doesn’t, you give up, “I was merely teasing you, you were right.”
Dante gives you a toothy grin, “See, easy enough.”
Your Knight stands up, towering over you as always, “Although, I might have a new one.”
Dante cocks her eyebrow, “Is that so? What would that be?”
You motion for her to bend down to your level, which she does– bending down to you so you could whisper in her ear, “You have it on you everyday.”
Dante turns her head to meet your eyes, and in that moment Dante wished that she was alone with you. You have a teasing, yet soft smile on your face, a sight that she could never get tired of. She knows somewhere out there the seamstress is coming back with the Queen, or else Dante? She wouldn’t waste a second resting her lips upon yours. Despite not having kissed you yet, she always wonders about how your lips would feel on hers.
It’s not until she hears the hushed voices of the said women that she backs away, making you furrow your eyebrows in confusion.
The door opens to reveal the Queen and seamstress who look towards Dante. You immediately take the initiative to explain, “I thought you were never going to show up, so I had called her in here to help take this off.”
“I apologize, my dear. The King wished to speak with me regarding something,” she pauses, marveling at the sight of you, “The dress is beautiful, you look gorgeous.”
“Is that your pick, Princess?” the seamstress asks.
Your eyes look towards Dante before they move to the seamstress, giving her a smile, you say, “Yes.”
The Queen is now nine months expecting, she could have her heir at any moment. And for the first time, you feel happy for her– genuinely happy for her. Perhaps it was the conversation you both had while looking for dresses, but you hope that she births a boy. You hoped for it as if her life depended on it.
There are knocks on your door– which is something that has become frequent these days. Instead of it being Dante– like you hoped it would be– it was someone else, “Yes?”
Sir Arthur stands at your door, “The King wishes to speak to you.”
“Regarding?” you were hoping to not have to speak with your father at all, but it seems like he has different plans.
“That I cannot say, Princess.” he gives you a lighthearted smile.
You smile back at that, not wanting to waste his time, you follow him towards your father’s chambers.
“When you are wed, there will be no one here to pester me with their bad behavior,” he pauses, “Well, I suppose you have not bothered me too much since your Knight has been making sure you are doing what you are supposed to.”
You chuckle, “Do not be too sure of that, Sir Arthur. The Queen is expecting a child, and I am sure you will be pestered much then.”
“Already jinxing me? Before you are even gone?”
You laugh, “If anyone could take care of the matter, it would be you. It shall be fine.”
Stopping outside the King’s door, he pats your shoulders once again, “You will be missed by me, I do not believe there can be anyone like you in this kingdom.”
“I doubt that as well,” you joke, your chuckles turn into a soft smile, “I am not sure if I shall have the chance to speak with you again before I leave. So, I wish to thank you, for everything.”
“I have not done anything.”
“You were my first friend, you have done everything for me. And that? That means the world to me.” you say patting his arm.
You don’t wait for his response, instead you head inside your father’s room, closing the door behind you.
The King is standing, taking small strides throughout his room.
“You wished to speak with me?”
You’re surprised that there isn’t a glass of wine in his hands this time around, he turns towards you, “Yes, last we spoke was months ago.”
That was true, ever since his conversation where he first informed you about your Knight, you had spoken at all. You didn’t want to and you know for a fact, that he, himself also didn’t want to.
You nod, he continues, “The Queen will be birthing our heir any day now, I know we said we would wed you before then, but the Queen requested that we wait until after.”
“And you?”
“Well, we had a bit of an argument regarding the topic. I do not see a reason for you to stay until the heir is born.”
“Is that the reason you called me in here? Perhaps you changed your mind?” you ask, looking away from him.
The man shakes his head, “No, I fulfilled the request for the Queen and the Queen only,” he pauses, “The Queen said that perhaps I should speak with you one last time before you are wed off.”
You chuckle bitterly at his last sentence, “So you did it on the conscience of the Queen? You did not even care to do it because you wished to.”
Putting his arms behind his back, his eyebrows furrow, “Do I need to remind you who you are speaking to?”
“You already have,” you turn around to leave, “I bid you goodnight, King.”
He calls after you, with your name, but you don’t give him a glance. You think this is the first time you have heard him call you by your actual name. But that was said in vain.
You leave straight for your room. Walking in such a frenzy, you bump into Dante– who is immediately taken off guard, yet still catches you when you trip. Your hands squeeze around her arms, as if you’re afraid to fall.
“Are you okay, Princess?”
Inhaling sharply, you stand up straight, “Yes, my mind was elsewhere.”
“Perhaps you should get some sleep.”
“I do not know if I am able to fall asleep.” you whisper.
Dante clicks her tongue, “That is not good, what will you ever do?”
You roll your eyes, “I would hope my dear Knight accompanies my sleepless night.”
“Oh Princess, I shall, but I also am aware that you will fall asleep within minutes of my presence.”
You form a small smile at that, “Perhaps.”
You open the door to your room, allowing Dante in as well.
“Are you sure everything is okay?” she asks once more, “You seem to be upset.”
Laying on your bed, you sigh, “I am upset every time I have to speak to the King. That is nothing new, Dante.”
“I see,” the silver haired woman walks closer to you, kneeling by your bedside, she brushes your hair out of your face, “Anything I can do?”
You shake your head, “You being here is more than enough,” you sit up, “You know, you may sit on my bed if you would like.”
Dante chuckles, standing up, “And if someone were to ask why your Knight is on your bed.”
You hum in thought, “Well, I would say that my poor Knight fell onto my bed,” Dante cocks her eyebrow, catching her off guard you take her arms and pull her onto your bed, “Just like this.”
You laugh at the sight. Dante lays on her side facing you, with her hand propped up to hold her head up.
“See, that was not hard.” you say still laughing.
Dante admires you in the moment, you’ve never looked so carefree. If the both of you were to make it out here, she would be grateful to see your face first thing in the morning.
When Dante doesn’t stop staring, your laughter dies down, “What?”
The woman takes her hand, caressing your cheek with her thumb, “You are beautiful, you know that?”
You hope Dante isn’t able to feel the sudden warmth radiating from your face, “So are you.”
Dante merely chuckles at that, “So Princess, tell me something.”
“Like what? You already know of my favorite colors.”
Dante doesn’t miss the plural use of the word, she fiddles with your fingers, “How about your plan to escape?”
“I thought you knew about it already?” you tease.
She rolls her eyes at your response, “You know what I meant to say,” she moves closer to you, “I know that you plan to go through the woods, past the river, but how do you plan on escaping from your chambers?”
You look towards the balcony, to which Dante follows, but is appalled by the idea, “You would fall to your death before even being able to leave your chambers.”
You smack her shoulder, “At first I thought of tying a bunch of clothing together to make a rope, but then I thought, my dear Knight could acquire an actual rope for us to use.”
“Oh yes, a Knight taking a rope into the Princess’ room, that is not suspicious at all.”
You inch your face closer to hers, “If anyone could do it, it would be you, my Knight.”
As you’re about to move away from her, Dante caresses your face once again, “You are a tease, do you know that?”
Feigning an innocent expression, you gasp, “Me? Oh please, I would never.”
“Is that so?” Dante asks, “Then why is that you always move away before you could actually do it?”
“Do what?” you’re sure that you’re getting on Dante’s nerves now.
But no, Dante finds it to be cute. She knows you get flustered easily, you teasing her is just your way of masking that.
“So then you would not mind if I were to pull you close like this?” your Knight pulls your arms towards her, pulling your entire body to lay on top of hers.
Dante slightly sits up, using her hands to prop herself up, while your hands rest on both sides of her hips, “Dante, if someone sees–”
“Then I would merely inform that my poor Princess fell onto me.”
“Very funny, ha ha.” your voice is devoid of humor, but your face says it all, you find this humorous.
You thought Dante would quip back, but instead she stares at you. Dante can’t help it, she’s found you beautiful since the day she has met you. She can’t but stare at you like you’re her whole world– which you might be. She had taken an oath to protect you, to care for you, to always be around you. And while that was taken because she was a Knight, she would continue that oath, she would never let anything happen to you, especially if you both were to make it out of here.
“You have a habit of staring, my Knight.” you break her silence.
“You are utterly and explicitly beautiful, I truly cannot help it.”
“Dante–”
She cuts you off, “Let me.”
You furrow your eyebrows, “Let you what?”
“Let me kiss you. Please.”
Dante has a bad habit of asking for something spontaneously, lucky for her, you’re always willing to indulge her.
You rest your hands on both sides of her face, leaning in to kiss her. Her hands immediately race to rest upon your waist. And when the both of your lips meet? Dante believes that she’s in heaven. She has never known peace, not a second in her life, but her time around you has been nothing but that. Your lips are soft to the touch, and she can’t help but think hers are probably rough. You disprove her thoughts, you lean into her completely, feeling every inch of her against yourself.
Dante’s the first to pull away– not that she wanted to, but more so to give you a chance to breathe. Even then, you’re eager to chase after her.
Dante chuckles, “I am not going anywhere, Princess.”
You pout, “I thought I told you to call me by my name when we are alone.”
“I like teasing you though.”
You shake your head in disbelief with a small smile.
“Do you have clothes?”
“Of course I do, I am wearing them.”
Dante laughs, “No, I meant for escaping. I suspect you would not wear a dress trying to climb down the rope?”
“Oh! I had not thought about that. I do not own any attire other than dresses.”
“Alright, I shall make arrangements for that, Princess.”
“Are you sure you would still like to do this with me? I would not be angry with you if not–”
She cuts you off, “My mind cannot and will not change.”
You nod, “Thank you, Dante.”
She kisses your cheek, “There is no need for that.”
Dante waits for you to fall asleep before she leaves your room. Just as she’s about to open the door, she hears rushed footsteps in the hallway, with strings of “Hurry, we need to hurry.”
She finally opens the door when she’s sure the footsteps are gone. Closing your door behind her, she follows in the direction of the footsteps. She sees a clutter of maids outside of the King and Queen’s room.
“If I am not mistaken, you are not meant to be here.”
Dante turns around at the voice to find the King’s Knight standing there, “I wished to make sure everything was alright.”
“Everything is alright. The Queen is in labor, hence why the maids are crowding outside the King’s chambers.”
Dante feels her heart drop at the statement, if the Queen is in labor, then she has to get you out of here. This is the distraction you were waiting so long for.
“I see, I shall go back to the Princess’ chambers.”
“Do as you see fit,” before Dante walks past him, Sir Arthur says, “Someone seemed to have misplaced the correct area for this rope,” he holds out the rope for Dante to take, “If you could, put it away where it belongs."
Meeting the man’s eyes, Dante nods, acknowledging the soft look on his face.
Dante doesn’t waste a second making it to your room, closing the door behind her, she takes long strides towards you.
Calling for you, she shakes you awake. You open one of your eyes to squint at Dante in confusion, “What is wrong?”
“The Queen is in labor.”
You sit up abruptly, “Are you serious?”
Dante nods, holding out the rope for you to see, “Your Knight was able to acquire some rope.”
Your eyes light up at the sight of it, “Wait, what of my clothes?”
“I do not believe we have enough time. The only thing you can do is wear another nightgown over this one, and I shall give you my coat once you make it down the balcony.”
“You will freeze, it is cold outside!”
“Do not worry about me.”
Dante gets to work, tying the rope securely, while you don another gown over your current one. You grab your things that you had prepared not too long ago. You knew giving birth was an unexpected thing, it can happen whenever, wherever. A few weeks ago, you thought it was foolish to prepare your things so fast, but right now? You are grateful.
“Okay,” Dante rests her hands on your shoulders, “I shall go first. Wait for my feet to touch the ground, and then follow me, hm?”
She notices the small bag of items you prepared, “And I shall take this too.”
You nod, handing it to her. You watch as Dante slowly makes her way down the rope. You think about the Queen, you hadn’t expected her to go into labor now. Gods, you hoped everything was okay with her.
The Queen in her room, screams loudly, squeezing the maid’s hand.
“Your Highness, you must take deep breaths.”
“This hurts too much, you must get the King for me!” she pleads.
“We cannot, men are not allowed.”
She lets out a shriek, “Then get the Princess! Anyone, I do not care!”
The maids exchange sheepish looks, they hadn’t realized the Queen had gotten that close to you.
The Queen glares at one of the maids, “What are you waiting for!? Go get her!”
The said maid leaves in a hurry. The midwife tries to coax the Queen, “You are almost there, your Highness. I can see the child’s head!”
It doesn’t take Dante long to reach the ground, you don’t waste another second to start climbing down as well. Dante doesn’t take her eyes off of your figure for a second. You’re too distracted to notice the voice calling for you, but Dante hears it.
When you finally look up, you see a maid standing on your balcony, “Princess!”
At the sight and sound of her, you lose your grip. And for a second you believe Dante’s words to come true. But instead of meeting the ground, you’re in Dante’s arms.
“You okay?” she asks.
You forget how to speak being so close to her. Gods, you had kissed her not too long ago and this is what you were shy about?
You nod, Dante sets you down softly. Looking up at the balcony again, you see that the maid is gone.
“We should leave before she informs someone about that.” Dante says, putting her coat on your shoulders.
You take her hand, ready to walk into the woods.
The maid immediately runs out of your chambers to head back to inform someone about you running away. She runs into someone, who grabs her arms so she doesn’t fall, “What has you in such a hurry?”
“Sir Arthur!” she’s glad to run into him, “The Princess! She– she has run away!”
Sir Arthur’s face remains neutral, “Where are you going? Back to the Queen?”
The maid frantically nods, “You may be on your way, I shall inform the King about this.”
The maid thanks him profusely and runs to the Queen. Sir Arthur makes no sudden move to inform the King about this, instead the man has a light hearted smile on his face. He supposes the King can wait a while before he has to hear about this.
When the Queen sees the maid return without you, she spews curses at the maid.
“Your Highness, the Princess– she has…”
The Queen’s eyebrows furrow for the millionth time today, “She has what?! Is she okay!?”
“The Princess is fine, but she has run away,” the maids around the room gasp, “I saw with my own eyes! She was climbing down the balcony, and down there was her Knight.”
The Queen squeezes her eyes shut, giving one last push that delivers her child. She has a small smile on her face, “I see, quite the minx you are my dear Princess.”
“It is a boy, your Highness!”
All the while, you walk with Dante through the woods, you break the silence, “I wonder what the Queen had.”
“I am sure the word will reach us at some point.”
You smile, “Yes, but I do hope she has an heir as she hoped.”
“I thought you would be in favor of her having a girl.”
“I would love a sister,” you look to Dante, “But for her sake, I do hope it is a boy.”
The woods weren’t as long as you imagined them to be. You knew you were getting closer to the river as it got cooler. It was always colder by the water.
“Dante?”
“Yes, Princess?”
“How are we going to cross the river?”
“There is a way to get across. A small bridge, but I will warn you, it is not as steady as one would hope.”
You had hoped Dante was just jesting, but you should’ve known that your Knight never jokes about safety. She was right as always, just by the sight of the bridge you thought it to be on the verge of collapsing. It was solely made of ropes– which also looked close to being unwinded.
You inhale sharply, the winder got a bit harsher the closer you were to the river. Dante calls your name, “It will be okay, just follow my lead, okay? Watch me carefully, step where I step, and you will be okay, hm?”
“Okay,” before she turns completely from you, you grab her arm, “Be careful.”
Dante gives you a kiss on your forehead, “You too.”
You watch as Dante steps on the bridge. With it being made of only ropes, there were a bit of loose ends and holes where there should be secure footing.
You watch as the silver haired woman steps in a manner the bridge stays balanced. You look at Dante’s feet, which only stepped in certain spots, and avoided the areas that would make the bridge slant.
Once Dante makes it across, you’re able to breathe in peace, “See? Not so hard, right Princess?”
You chuckle and nod. You take a step just as Dante did, if anything, you went slower than she did. Your hands shake, the temperature was much worse on top of the river than close to it. But you’re starting to think you’re more scared than cold.
“Keep going, Princess, you are almost there!”
Dante’s words do much to calm you down. You’re halfway across the bridge, you pause when you hear rushed footsteps from behind you. Your eyebrows furrow as you look back abruptly. Behind you, you hear the hushed voices of soldiers, and even though you haven’t been spotted yet, you will be if you don’t hurry.
“Do not look back! Walk steadily, I am right here, I will not let anything happen to you.” Dante reassures you.
Looking back at her, you wish you could find it in yourself to calm down. Except you can’t, those soldiers aren’t faraway, and if they get any closer, you are bound to be caught. If you are taken back there, you will be okay. The biggest punishment you’ll get is being wed off, but Dante? They would punish her heavily, they would murder her. And for something to happen to her? You don’t even wish to think about it.
Above you the sky thunders, not wasting a second pouring rain down.
Dante calls out your name, something you wish to hear everyday of your life, “Look at me, just come to me. It will be okay, I promise!”
With the rain pouring down on you, your teeth chatter from the cold, and with the rushed footsteps getting closer, you move in a frenzy. The bridge becomes slanted with your quick movement. You lose your footing due to the imbalanced bridge, you let out an involuntary scream as your hands rush to grab something– anything to keep yourself from falling into the river completely. You hold on to the rope with all you have, now the bridge is completely slanted with your weight on one end.
Dante rushes forward, but if she were to step on the bridge now it would take the both of you down. On the other side, Dante can see the ignited flames the soldiers were holding, she curses underneath her breath.
You hear Dante call out for you, “Try to stay still, I– I will figure something out!”
You could hear the distress in her voice, you squeeze your eyes shut. You should’ve stayed calmer, you should’ve listened to Dante when she was telling you to walk steadily. You look behind you, but you don’t have much of a view. Your attention is caught by the slight dip in the bridge. Your heart drops, the bridge won’t be able to hold your weight for long. You can see it starting to unwind. However, before you can inform Dante, the rope snaps.
The bridge completely falls apart from one end, all Dante hears is her name being screamed before there is silence.
Dante can feel her heart drop to her stomach, she moves to the edge of the river in a hurry. Fuck, she should’ve made you go first, at least then you would’ve been okay. Dante decides that this isn’t the time to worry about that. She doesn’t catch sight of you right away. Not until your head pops out of the river and you gasp buckets of air. You’re still holding onto the remainder of the bridge.
“Hold on, Princess,” Dante reaches her hand out to grab you, “Reach your arm out!”
It was cold, so cold. Dante wasn’t lying, this pain is like no other. It feels like you need to vomit and sleep at the same time. That’s all you can think of even when you’re reaching out to Dante.
Dante usually doesn’t mind the cold, she runs warm, but you were freezing cold to the touch. She doesn’t care about the cold for herself though, she cares about you. If something were to happen to you because of the cold, what would she do? She pulls you up, laying you on the ground, she towers over you.
You faintly hear your name being called, slowly opening your eyes, you see a blurry Dante. You reach out to touch her face, which she pulls close to her not wasting a second.
You have a smile on your face, your hand on her face, beckons to pull her close. Dante finally understands you were trying to get closer, she heeds your request. When she’s close enough, you give her a fleeting kiss on her lips.
Your lips were just as cold as the rest of your body. Gods you were sleepy, you’re sure Dante wouldn’t mind you taking a nap, right? The last thing you heard before falling asleep was, “You are insatiable, Princess. You better not die on me.”
Dante forgot about the soldiers, it seems that they went to scope out a different area. Dante looks back at you, she takes off the coat, it was soaked. She’d rather cover you with it than have you wear it at the moment. Laying the coat over you, she slides her arms underneath your back and legs, picking you up. She’d better find a place for you to warm up.
Even in your dreams Dante’s there. Not that you mind, not one bit. You feel as if you haven’t seen her in so long. Every dream she’s in, she tells you to come to her. And you’re confused every time because aren’t you with her?
Your mind has a crazy way of telling you to wake up. And when you finally do, your eyes take in the room you’re in. You’re not in your chambers, that you know, but where are you?
A kid’s voice catches your attention, “Dante! Dante! She woke up! She is awake!”
You sit up in the bed, rubbing your forehead.
“Did I not tell you that lying is bad? You say this every time and–”
Dante’s familiar voice is like music to your ears, looking towards the woman, you give her a smile.
Dante rejoices at the sight of you, she immediately takes long strides to hold you in her arms. She kisses the top of your head, “I do not think I am ever letting you go to sleep.”
You laugh, Dante pulls away pouting, “It is not funny. You were asleep for three days.”
Three days. Gods, no wonder why.
“You do remember me right?” Dante asks sheepishly.
“I fell in the river, I did not hit my head.”
“I had to make sure,” she pauses, looking behind her, there’s a little girl with blonde hair, “That is Patty.”
You look behind Dante to see the young girl, you smile, “Hi Patty.”
“Hi,” she waves, also smiling back at you, “I am glad you woke up, Dante is insufferable.”
At that you let out a loud laugh, Dante scowls at the girl, telling her to come back later.
Your laughter dies down as Dante turns back to you with a solemn expression, “You almost died.”
“It was my fault, I–”
“No, it was my fault. You should have crossed the bridge first, then me.”
You caress her face, “I lost my footing because I was afraid we would get caught. None of that is your fault.”
Dante buries her head in your stomach, wrapping her arms around you tightly, “Still. I swore to protect you.”
“And you did. You brought us here, wherever this is.” you say brushing your fingers through her hair.
Dante peeks up to meet your eyes, “I found this village, somewhat far from the river. I thought if we were far away, no one else would find us.”
You brush your thumb over her eyebrow, “I cannot thank you enough.”
“Do not thank me, I merely followed your plan.”
“Oh my dear Knight, however you wish to see it, I will always be grateful for you.”
Dante lets go of you only to reach for your face to give you a chaste kiss on your lips.
“You know, I had been wondering why your bag that I was carrying was so heavy,” you pause at her words knowing what she’s going to say, “You truly did want to get married in a pink dress.”
You shake your head amused, “It was a dress you picked. I did not wish to leave it behind.”
“Believe me, once I saw it, I did not mind the weight I had been carrying.”
You caress her face, brushing her hair back, “I worried you, I am sorry.”
She kisses the palm of your hand, “As long as you are okay, that does not matter to me.”
She lays her head in your lap, “They let us have this house,” she pauses to look around, “It is not perfect, but it will do.”
“Hm, it seems perfect to me.” you say as you continue to look at her.
“Patty told the whole village that we wish to be married.”
You chuckle, “Did she now? That made our life easier.”
“You do wish to be married to me, right?”
You squish her face with your hands, “Of course I do, I do not wish for anyone except you.”
“Is that so? The same goes for me, I only want you.”
You never knew living with Dante would be this easy. But you suppose you both love each other like you breathe air. It didn’t take long for the village to come together and help you celebrate your marriage.
All around you, you could hear people say how cute of a couple you two were. Dante, of course, was grinning like an idiot at the words. You would catch her looking at you now and then, and while before she would look away when she would get caught, this time she would shamelessly stare back.
Patty, the sweet girl told you that you could do better, while handing you some flowers she picked out. You knew she meant it as a joke, the young girl thought of Dante highly.
Dante’s by your side before you even notice, “Forget-me-nots.”
You look at the flowers that Patty handed to you, forget-me-nots.
“I am surprised you remember.”
Pulling her hand out from behind her, she hands you some flowers too, lilies.
You look at her appalled, to which Dante says, “What? You are my wife, I remember everything about you, my Princess.”
Wife, you smile, you pinch her cheeks and kiss her nose, “Is that so? Do not think I forgot anything about you either, there are strawberries waiting for you at home, my dear Knight.”
Dante’s eyes light up, the woman– now your wife, picks you up and twirls you around. All around you are people cheering in happiness. You don’t know– you don’t wish to know what would’ve happened if you never ran away. Why are you even thinking about that? No matter what you reminisce regarding that life, nothing could ever outshine your life with Dante here.
Your eyes twinkle with the kind of happiness Dante always wished to see in your eyes. And now that you have it? Dante refuses to ever let it dim.