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Given her family status, Princess Darling should not be a knight. She is coy, shy, obedient, and true to her family name, charming. Living in a household where she is the only daughter, she is expected to be what a lady of her time was. Darling is reserved, mysterious, poised, and even a little bookish. However, when she drops the act, she is outspoken, witty, and have a taste for adventure and action. Darling would much rather live the life of the knights sung about in songs than the princesses in their stories.
For that reason, she hides behind a suit of armor, in more ways than one. When Darling isn’t found alone in her quarters reading or performing Charming family duties, she is riding on horseback seeking adventures, engaging in duels, lending a helping hand to those who need it. She is known as the White Knight across the kingdom. HER kingdom. To Darling there was no greater feeling. It was great to be respected as a hero, even if the people didn’t know that the head behind the helmet was the princess with long blonde locks and big doe eyes.
One day, along her nightly watch shift, Darling came across something she hadn’t previously. A damsel-in-distress. Given her situation, Darling could never really show much care to the damsels. After all, what happens when the damsel comes to find out that her knight in shining armor isn’t much of a knight at all? Best case scenario the damsel takes a small extortion from the Charming family to keep Darling from exposure, worst case scenario that damsel is a gossip and the kingdom finds out. She was never really keen on either option, so she refrained from ever taking action. However, there was something different about this girl, who was fairer than the others, and displayed no want in getting saved.
“Having trouble?” Darling inquired.
“No, I can manage.” the damsel said whilst pulling the vines that wrapped around her shoe, “Just a small setback, that’s all.”
Darling watched as the vines wouldn’t budge off of the girl’s leg. The woods had been enchanted for years, and something like this wasn’t uncommon.
“It’s late.” Darling thought to herself, disembarking off of her steed, “Perhaps helping one won’t hurt.”.
She kneeled over the vined area, drawing her small dagger in the process, “I insist that I help you, it’s not safe this late at night after all, someone like you could get seriously hurt.”
“Someone like me? I’m assuming a knight like you thinks I’m nothing but a damsel-in-distress, huh? No worries, Lancelot. I can take a few vines.” the girl in red shot back in response.
In this moment Darling does something daring. She takes off her helmet in as a response, the thought of being exposed doesn’t even cross her mind in this moment.
“Being a girl has nothing to do with it.” Darling whispers, her voice shifting back into its softer, more feminine tone. “Being in an enchanted forest with no backup does.” She finishes cutting off the vines, setting the girl free.
The girl looks at Darling in shock, her blue eyes widening from the reveal. The minute their eyes meet Darling comes to a realization.
Maybe this knight does get the princess in the end.