Chapter Text
Three hundred years without war can soften up a kingdom's royal blood line.
With more than a few generations of peace, you hadn't really been taught about the preparations of war, and neither had your parents, to be completely fair. Battle tactics and siege strategies were merely skimmed over; your tutors had often emphasized the importance of economics in your lessons instead. Having little to no background in preventing or dealing with war, it was truly obvious that the kingdom of Varhys would be in a shitload of trouble when war did come.
How fortuitous that you are able to experience the birth of a new war just mere minutes after midnight on your twenty-first birthday.
You had asked for a new, steel sword for your birthday, but you would have never imagined that you'd actually have to use it! Wasn't a sword just used as decoration? Instead, the sleek weapon has made its home into your new sheath, which is incredibly uncomfortable and gnaws at your shoulder with every step down the secret passage leading to the forest just behind the palace.
"Your Highness, we must keep going," your loyal retainer urges, his dark eyes analyzing you. His black hair has stuck onto his forehead, adhered by sweat, and there's a grim look on his face. "If we don't hurry, we may be caught in the siege. The only way to ensure your safety is to flee the kingdom before the soldiers make their way to the palace."
"My parents, Keiji! What will they do?" you ask worriedly, heart pulsing with every word. The Goddess knows how weak-willed and mild-tempered they were; without you to help them, you weren't sure if they would survive the siege at all. "We have to find them!"
The two of you finally make it to the end of the passage, and Akaashi Keiji slowly cracks open the wooden door to test for any ambushers. When he deems the scene to be safe, he hurries you out into the wild, shielded by the embrace of the dark night and the tall shrubbery. "They will be fine. Some of the other knights will be watching them, and it's best to separate you from them. If all three of you are to be defeated, there would hardly be anyone suitable for the throne." He leads you deeper into the greenery, which leave an uncomfortable twinge in your heart. Would it be able to hide you?
"I would rather die with them then take on the throne now!" you cry out as quietly as you can. You weren't ready to lead an entire kingdom- if it even survived the night, that is.
"Your Highness," your retainer hisses out, turning to your abruptly. "Please think rationally about this. We must escape as fast as we can. Bokuto is waiting in the woods for us with horses."
You know he means well, and you know he's only concerned about your safety and future. The thought of losing your parents is unbearable, and it's something you never want to face this early in your life. Ashamed of your cowardice, you follow the knight closely, grasping onto his armor desperately. Keiji sends you a glance over his shoulder, his eyes softening at the sight of your frown. The fallen foliage and small twigs sound at every step you take, and you can only pray to the Goddess that the noise from the castle village will distract anyone who might possibly be in the woods.
Time passes by slowly, and you can even hear the slight sounds of Keiji's breath. The sound of his breathing and the gentle movements of his chest serve as a mild source of comfort for the time being; even when the capital is being attacked, you know he would kill and die for you at any instant. It's what makes him a spectacular knight- one important enough to serve as your retainer, nonetheless.
In a few, brief moments, you see your life flash you by when a masculine figure appears before you. In those seconds, you fear for your life as well as Keiji's, but your worries are put to rest when Keiji places a reassuring hand on your shoulder. "It's just Bokuto," he reminds you gently, the two of you approaching the silver-haired knight.
"Akaashi!" Bokuto Koutarou exclaims in relief. "It took you long enough! Your Highness, I'm glad to see you safe."
Akaashi's expression turns grim once again. "There was plenty of traffic back in the palace. We should hurry. Thankfully, there should be a village outside of the kingdom's jurisdiction only a few hours from the forest." He readies the horses that Koutarou has managed to smuggle into the forest- a feat in itself
Your eyes grow wide. "We're going outside of the kingdom? Our neighbors are nice, but I don't know if they're amicable enough to open their borders to some refugees!" you argue as the two knights help you onto one of the horses. You fall onto the horse with an ungraceful plop, but you can't bother with being "dignified" or "posed" at the time being.
"Oh, Arystian Village" Koutarou realizes. "Your Highness, they're good people. It's located in an independent province, and I'm sure they'll allow us to stay until the situation becomes safer. My grandfather is from there, so I'm sure I could convince them."
"But you were born and raised in Varhys, were you not?" you check, running your hands through the horse's mane. You don't have many goods on you apart from a spare change of clothes and some gold that you kept in a pouch in your dresser, but you attach the sack to the horse's equipment to ease the burden on your back. All that remains is the gifted sword, but you decide to keep in on you in case of any danger.
"True, but it's our best bet right now," Koutarou agrees.
The three of you remain in the forest for quite some time; Keiji insists to stay hidden for a little longer before galloping onto open fields in case of enemies. Koutarou, of course, agrees with his plans, but your posture complains at the hours upon hours of riding. You want to try to convince the knights to let you take a short break so you can stretch, but the cautious expressions on their faces make you think otherwise.
You're certain the horse beneath you is exhausted at this point, considering none of you had slept at all, despite the day having ended mere hours ago. Not like you could sleep right now, anyways. Regardless of the dark moons that stain the flesh under your eyes, the adrenaline in your blood serves you well to keep you alive and alert.
The sun has started to peer past the trees, greeting you with soft beams of light that turn the darkened sky into a rich periwinkle. You must have been hiking for hours now, so when in the Goddess' name will you finally arrive at the village?
"Kei," you begin tiredly, sleep finally starting to take its toll on you. "When will we-"
An acrid snarl breaks you from your daze as your blood runs cold with terror. That sounded like a wild creature's. In fact, it resembled the growls of hideous monsters in the warnings mothers would tell their children. "If you misbehave, the Geayrn will come and snatch you up," your mother had often warned you. Your hands tighten around the reins, and you want to urge the horse to just book it out of there. The animal is beyond tired at this point, and you doubt you'd be able to make your grand escape.
A tiny peek behind you confirms your suspicions. "A Geayrn... I thought they never left the forest!" you whisper-cry in horror. "What is it doing out here?"
"Dear Goddess," you can hear Akaashi grumble.
From the corners of your eyes, you can see Bokuto shake his head, his gray strands of hair falling into his face. "Well, he looks hungry... Our horses are no doubt exhausted, so it might be best to separate off to distract the fella."
You refuse to keep your eyes off the hairy, mutant-looking creature, its hazy, yellow eyes crazed with famine and bloodthirst. Its scarred ears are pulled back in defense, and the stench of its sticky, pungent breath makes its way to your nose. "Kou... you aren't suggesting." No way. It's too dangerous! Those horns look like they could rip you in half!
"Take cover in the forest. If it goes after you, we'll follow and attack it from behind. The shrubs should at least slow it down a bit."
"I-I can't... what if it goes after either of you?" you argue, eyes still on the monster, who surprisingly still has not made a move yet.
"We'll manage. Are you ready?" Keiji asks, glancing over at you, preparing his horse. You want to scream no, you are most definitely not ready to get mauled by this smelly, greasy beast, but Keiji inhales sharply. "Now!"
You aren't stupid, though. When the intelligent knight gives you orders, you always make sure to comply to them, considering his aptitude for strategics- he was practically a genius in the field, so you make sure to press your heels against the horse's flank, urging it into the forest, where the trees and shrubbery would hopefully cover you from the Geayrn's wrath. "Goddess!" you cry out when you look behind you to see the hairy, boar-like creatures hot on your trail. It snaps at the horse's ankles with its sharpened teeth, and dear Goddess, you are not ready to die!
You look further behind you to see if the knights were following your trail behind the demonic creature, but to your horror, the men are being chased by more Gearyns. Had the three of you unknowingly run into a pack of them? Were you just going to escape the kingdom only to be served on a dirt fucking platter to these damn creatures?
"Fuck, no! I take it back!" you holler out to no one in particular, but you hope the Goddess will be able to look past your remark from earlier in the night. "I don't wanna die! I'll take on the throne if it means I can live!"
You continue to swerve through the trees, hoping the sharp turns will slow down the large beast at least a little. It follows you closely, jaws snapping at the horse's heels, and you can see saliva drip from its jaws. You heard it was mildly acidic, but you did not want to find that out.
To your absolute terror, the creature succeeds in latching its razor-sharp teeth around the horse's hind leg, sending both you and the horse down. The horse lets out a sound that resembles a neigh and a human screech, and it stabs fear further into your chest. You apologize to the creature mentally, but there's no way your mediocre sword skills can help it out, especially now that the Gearyn has dug its teeth into the horse's abdomen, blood spattering on the forest floor.
Sunlight dapples through the leaves, and the scene before you almost looks beautiful, like some twisted form of art. A bloodier vanitas- oh, who were you kidding? This was disgusting!
You scramble to your feet and take off further in the woods, hoping and praying that your knights have successfully fended off the remaining Gearyn so they could help you. The howl behind you just spells out that it had finished its meal and was after you. Another quick look behind you, and the Gearyn has leapt at you, muzzle covered in sickly, crimson blood.
Screeching oh-so-gracefully, you narrowly miss its attack by dodging towards your left as it crashes into a tree trunk.
Rest in fucking pieces, (Full Name). Death by Gearyn, and no one would even find your body. Keiji and Koutarou were probably just as dead as you were if they were being chased by whole-ass pack of these creatures. As you prepare yourself for your untimely demise, the snarling monster is thrown to your right by another large creature. Oh, perfect! Now there's another monster wanting to make a meal out of you. Maybe their competition would be able to buy you some time to escape-
You crash into a tree- no wait, a man. Arms grab onto your hips as you stumble slightly. "Very good!" he exclaims, eyeing the fight behind you. "Alright, take the head off!"
One look behind you, and you can now see that the new creature is a dragon, growling as it mercilessly rips off the head of Gearyn, an unabashed scene of gore and blood that you most definitely did not need to see. Groaning in disgust, you shield your eyes from it by pressing your face against the man's chest.
"Whoa, easy, darlin'. Gutsy, are we?" you look up to see a pair of smug, golden-brown eyes just a few shades darker than his hair. "No worries. All's safe now." The dragon behind you rumbles in agreement, and you let out a squeak, shoving the man away from you.
"Push and pull, I see," he observes, those sharp eyes of his always seeming to evaluate you even in the few seconds you've known them. "S'okay, I like a bit of a chase." The dragon tilts it head cutely- or it would have been cute, had it not been for the blood and guts decorating its jaw and claws.
"Y-you!" you manage to sputter out in embarrassment as you dust your clothes off in order to find an excuse to avoid his gaze. A chase? A fucking chase? "I-I..." you press your back against a tree, trying to use it to support your posture.
He seems to think over this for a brief moment, cocking his head to the side gently. "You? I? You and I... huh, I guess that's not so bad of a thought... Pretty good, if I say so myself." He nonchalantly places his hands on the back of his head, exposing his broad chest that you need to stop looking at. "So tell me... no one ever comes 'round here besides people like me since it's so dangerous. How come you're so far in the danger zone, angel?"
You grimace, hardly even noticing the pet name he had used. "I'm here with some people-" you freeze momentarily, eyes widening in panic. "Oh my Goddess! Kou! and Kei!" were they okay? Were they even alive? "Oh no, oh no..." you mutter, grasping onto yourself as you sink to the forest floor, shuddering at what horrible fate they might have faced.
His eyes briefly flash with worry. "Uh. Okay, um, how 'bout we get ya fixed up at the village? We can go lookin' for them, if ya want."
You ignore him, tears already pricking at your eyes. "They're dead, they're definitely dead. And it's all my fault," you sniffle, trying to wipe away your tears with your dirty hands. You're sure you look like a damn fool, dirt smearing your cheeks as your tears adamantly try to wash it away. "Turned into Geayrn Grub, but I should have helped them."
"Oh, fuck. Hey, it's gonna be alright. You don't know they're dead- they're just missin', right?" he leans down to look at you in the eyes as he places a hand on your shoulder. "Did you see them...?" he presses, wiping away your tears with his thumb- his much cleaner thumb that isn't dirtied by mud like yours.
You shake your head weakly. "No... but there were so many Gearyn..."
He snorts. "Gearyn aren't that hard to take out, doll." You shoot him a glare at this consider you were about to be killed by one. "Er- I'm sure they're fine. Even without a dragon, people manage to kill 'em."
"Easy for you to say, asswipe," you huff, shoving him away from you. You hold onto the tree trunk to help you onto your feet for the second time. "If you won't help me, I'll just go by myself." You waddle over to the remains of the horse you had ridden and pray for its life before unhooking your sack of belongings from it's dirtied equipment. Thankfully, it seems to be relatively clean and in tact.
He groans. "Angel, I didn't say nothin' 'bout not helpin' you. I'll come along, alright? On one condition; you help me carry Geayrn horns back to the market."
You look at him in disgust. "You're gonna force me to hold onto the horns?" you can't help but eye the beheaded creature. It looks disgusting, and you can't even imagine why someone would want the horns. Maybe its pelt, but you would have never guessed the horns was what make the creatures so valuable.
"Hey! Each one is worth seven gold," he protests, crossing his muscular arms across his chest as his dragon nods in agreement. "Physicians like usin' 'em, so I try to bring some back to them. That much can pay for a month or two of dragon feed, ya know! It's the perfect amount! Seven gold coins even accounts in for the tax and everythin', so they're super convenient to have!"
"I wouldn't know," you deadpan. "I've only seen wyverns back in the kingdom. Fine. I'll help you, but you're also housing me and my friends for the night!" you bargain, needing nothing more than a good night's rest with the events you've experienced tonight- today?
He shares a grin with you- one that brightens up his entire face, and hey, he's actually kind of attractive. "You got a deal. I'll house y'all. If they're still alive, anyways." He moves on, brushing past you, his loyal dragon looming over him. A scowl appears on your lips, and never mind, that personality kills whatever his appearance has to offer.
The two of you quickly start looking for the knights, and worry settles deep in your stomach will every unanswered call of their name. You don't want to shout too loud in case of other creatures, but you want to be able to find them before the sun sets, even if you had a few hours in front of you. Your fatigue doesn't go unnoticed by your new companion, who you now know as Miya Atsumu, who offers you a helping of bread and cheese.
"It's not much, but I didn't think I'd be runnin' into someone today," he offers, surprisingly kind despite the shit-eating grin on his face and his... less than pretty personality. "You look ghastly, and I'm sure you'd need it more than me."
You nearly punch him in the face for that.
"Thanks, I guess, Miya..." you grumble out, though your stomach grumbles louder as he places the wrapped bread and cheese in your hands. You're used to extravagant meals back at home, but even this meager meal whets your appetite, causing you to wolf it down immediately.
"You can call me Atsumu or 'Tsumu," he encourages you as he eyes your eating. "Good Goddess, it's not goin' nowhere. Will it kill ya to slow down a bit, you beast of a woman?" you want to land a right hook on him for this, but you restrain yourself.
"Mk'y, 'Tsmmf!" you manage to say through a mouthful of bread and cheese, and if your tutors could see you now, you'd undoubtedly be thrown into your room with a book on table etiquette for at least two days. Atsumu would probably agree with them, seeing his grimace.
You learn that he's a dragon tamer from Arystian Village, to which you exclaim you needed to go to. "I was heading there with my companions! It's a bit of a long story, but Keiji or Koutarou would be happy to tell you why!" you had gotten tired, despite your meal, and Atsumu's dragon, Sho, had allowed you to rest on his back for the time being. You'd have to use some of your gold to buy him a sliver of jerky for this kindness.
"Yeesh, I dunno why you'd ever come to this bumblefuck place, angel. We got nothin' here but dragons... though you can see them in the Empire or other kingdoms. I wonder why Varhys doesn't have any..." Atsumu shrugs.
"They've mostly evolved into wyverns, so we never had a use for dragons," you explain, patting Sho on the head, who cries out in delight at the new affection. "They're not as strong, but they're quicker and smaller..."
The two of you continue to look around the forest and even around the plains for another two hours. Your heart drops at the thought, but your retainer and the knight have probably either been eaten or are just flat out missing. For the first time since the siege happened, you aren't sure what to do.
"C'mon, I wouldn't worry too much. We haven't seen any blood or even other monsters. They're probably still out here or they're makin' their way to safety. You wanna head back to the village and rest? It's startin' to get dark, and we'll have some real problems then. Hey, maybe they're at Arystian!"
You glumly agree, hopping back onto Sho's back as Atsumu follows you shortly. You let out a squeak at this. "Atsumu!"
"Wha? You freak out over the smallest things. Did ya grow up sheltered or something?" he asks, preparing the reins on his dragon for flight. He insisted on flying since walking there would take another few hours, and you agreed, not knowing you had enough stamina to keep on going. The horns in your arms are quite heavy, and seeing as you'd have trouble holding onto them and Sho, Atsumu insisted on riding behind you so you wouldn't fall.
You think for a moment. "I guess I was never really allowed outside of the palace too much. I always had to get Keiji or Koutarou to sneak me out to the capital for any fun.."
Atsumu pauses in his preparations., causing his dragon to grumble in annoyance. "Huh? You say palace?" he echoes, his voice sounding disbelieving. "You mean like... royalty? Fuck, (Name), are you the princess?"
"I thought you knew?" you frowned, turning back at him just in time to see his widened eyes and his slack-jawed expression. It was kind of cute. "You couldn't tell by my clothes and my stories?"
"Hell no! I thought you were some kinda rich noble, just ridin' off of Daddy's old money!" he sighs before preparing take off. "If I had known, I'd have charged you seven gold just for riding on Sho's back. Heck, I should make a travel fee of seven gold for you!"
You wrinkle your nose in annoyance. "You do that, 'Tsumu, and I'm gonna 'accidentally' drop these horns mid-flight." What was up with him and particularly seven gold?
"Alright, you got it, princess..."