Work Text:
“I, Atsuko Kagari, vow to protect my liege, Miss Diana Cavendish, from all harm. I will use my sword, my shield and self to keep her safe. I will not abandon her nor will I abandon my duty for as long as you wish for me to stay by your side.” the brunette woman says firmly as she stares at her.
“And I, Diana Cavendish, accept your vow and welcome you to the Cavendish Estate, Atsuko Kagari.” she whispers, feeling her aunt and cousins’ eyes on her.
They had planned to do this to spy on her—So that they would know every move she made.
And because Diana had no true power or voice in this house, there was nothing she could do.
Except accept.
Diana Cavendish did not need a sentry. Although she was nobility, it wasn’t as if she was anywhere near royalty status. On the contrary, having someone always watching her made it seem as if she was actually important.
But of course her aunt would not listen and would instead hire someone to keep an eye on her.
Her name was Akko Kagari and the last thing she looked like was a warrior capable of fighting. While Diana couldn’t ignore that the woman was beautiful (she was gorgeous, in fact), it all got overshadowed by her clumsiness and stubbornness. Always tripping, always running around and unable to stay still for too long; Akko created chaos everywhere she went.
And to Diana, who was used to order and silence, having Akko with her tended to end in the two of them aggravating the other.
They were too different to get along.
In fact, Diana had gotten tired of it. She was going to tell her aunt that the sentry was unnecessary and a waste of money (money that they didn’t have to spare).
“You will be attending a formal marriage meeting with Prince Andrew Hambridge in two days.” her aunt told her the moment she was allowed into her office. “Prepare for travel and inform your knight to accompany you.”
“Marriage? With me? Why would the royal family favor such a disadvantageous union?”
“Just because we no longer have money, that does not mean our last name is seen unfavorably in court, Diana. It also doesn’t hurt that your beauty is the talk of many at the capital.” her aunt says tersely. “Finally, this union will bring back glory to the Cavendish family.”
“But I don’t want to get married yet.” Diana whispers. “I haven’t even met the Prince.”
“You will go, Diana. Or have you forgotten that the current deplorable state of the family is all due to my foolish sister?” she says firmly. “As her remaining heir, you need to correct her mistakes.”
“I have not forgotten, aunt.” Diana manages to say. “I will go ahead and prepare for the trip.” she bows once and steps out of the room, taking all of her self-control to not slam the door.
Of course Akko was waiting for her right outside and had noticed her disarrayed state.
Before Akko gets the opportunity to comment on it, Diana speaks.
“Prepare everything for a two-day trip starting tomorrow.”
“A trip? Where are we going?” Akko asks her as she follows her back to her room.
“The Hambridge Royal Palace.” she whispers. “It seems that your duties with me will end very soon if things go according to plan.”
“End? Why?” Akko stops and stares at her, the action surprising and freezing Diana.
Akko never questioned her decisions, so for her to do so now of all times…
It annoyed her.
“I don’t believe I owe you any explanations, knight. All you need to do is prepare for the trip as told.” Diana says firmly, to the point of it sounding mean.
A part of Diana immediately felt guilty of treating Akko that way. In fact, in all the months the two of them had spent together, Diana never reacted strongly to Akko, choosing to ignore her or step away when her presence became too overbearing.
But after her conversation with her aunt…
“I… Understood.” Akko says after a moment, continuing to follow her until they make it back to her room. “If you will excuse me, I need to go prepare for the trip.” she bows and leaves.
The uncomfortable twisting in her stomach doesn’t leave Diana for the rest of the day.
An ambush.
Diana had heard of nobles falling victims to bandits trying to earn easy money. Had read the gory details of the deaths of the soldiers protecting the nobles and wondered why they chose to stay and fight instead of running away.
But as Akko and her made their escape from the caravan and the bandits, with Akko fighting and killing anyone that got in their way—Diana had realized that there was an innate sense of duty and loyalty that knights had.
A loyalty that Diana didn’t deserve. Especially with the way she had treated Akko from the moment she was employed.
And yet Akko had done her job and safely gotten them away from the bandits.
“I think we can stop here.” she hears Akko say after stopping at a cave. “I don’t believe the bandits will follow us all the way here. Not if they want to take the carriage, weapons and horses before patrols arrive.”
“Why would they attack us so close to the royal palace?” Diana asks worriedly. “We were half a day away.”
“I don’t know. I wasn’t expecting them to attack us either.” she turns to Diana and bows, surprising her. “My apologies, Miss Diana, for failing my mission to escort you to the royal palace.”
“Failing? You saved me, Akko. I owe you my life.” Diana says immediately. “In fact, if I can be honest with you, I’m surprised you stayed and protected me.”
“Why wouldn’t I? Did you think that my vow to protect you was not true?” Akko asks bitterly.
“No, you misunderstand me. Please, let me explain.” she closes her eyes. “When you first arrived to the Cavendish Estate, I believed you were sent by my aunt to spy on me. As the months went by, I realized that wasn’t the case and simply believed you were just an average warrior.”
Akko huffs at this.
“Of course it’s that statement the one you take offense to and not the fact that I believed you were a spy.” Diana chuckles.
“I’ve been at the Cavendish Estate long enough to have a sense of how things work. And like you said, it’s clear to me that your aunt did not hire me with your best interests in mind.”
“So you noticed it too.” she says sadly. “Although I’m the heir of the family, I have no voice in that house.” she looks at Akko warmly. “That doesn’t excuse the fact that I haven’t treated you kindly, Akko. And after our last conversation back at the Cavendish Estate… I just wouldn’t have been surprised if you chose to run away.”
“You really don’t trust people, do you Miss Diana? Not that I blame you, especially considering the fact that you’ve spent all this time living with vipers.” the knight says bluntly, which makes Diana chuckle.
To think that she had believed that this warrior was a spy for her aunt.
“I’ve been betrayed many times before.” she agrees with a sad smile. “But this time, I was glad to be proven wrong.”
Akko smiles brightly at this, her smile making Diana smile in return.
“That’s the first time I've ever seen you smile.” Akko whispers, which makes Diana blush. “You should definitely do it more.”
“Akko…” Diana groans.
“Okay, okay, sorry. I won’t tease you about it.” she chuckles. “Since you were honest with me, can I be honest with you, Miss Diana?”
Diana nods.
“I’ve known for a while that you didn’t like me. That you found my presence annoying.” Akko says bluntly.
“I… You’re not wrong.” Diana admits. “While some of my annoyance was at you, most of it was due to the situation we were forcibly placed at by my aunt.”
“The situation being my employment as your protector.”
Diana nods.
“Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed that not very much happens in the estate. Not anything that warrants me to have a warrior protecting me at all times.”
“I have wondered about it, to be honest.”
“At first, I also didn’t understand why my aunt employed your services. She does not care about me. In fact, me being gone would be the easiest thing for her to get complete control of the Cavendish family.” Diana murmurs.
“Yet instead she hired me to protect you?” Akko says confused.
“My aunt hates me because I’m my mother’s child. Her anger, her bitterness and her jealousy—they all turned towards me when my mother passed away. It also doesn’t help that my mother, the previous family head, left the family financials in a disarray.”
“But then you were told you would be marrying the prince. A marriage to bring back wealth and prosperity to the Cavendish.” Akko realizes what Diana had already known.
That the only reason her aunt had hired Akko to protect her was because of the prince’s wish to marry her.
“I would be at the royal palace doing the role of the dutiful wife while she takes control of the family and the new riches that would come from my marriage.” Diana says bitterly.
“She used your mother’s past to make you attend the wedding meeting with the prince. And she hired me to protect you because the wedding would bring the Cavendish family back to the public eye.” Akko says somberly.
Diana nods.
“Hard to refuse when you’re constantly told that the family's privation was your mother’s fault.” Diana whispers. “Also, how did you know that the wedding wasn’t my idea?”
“You’ve never struck me as the noblewoman that dreams of being married to a pompous prince.” Akko jokes and it makes Diana laugh.
“I… I apologize, Akko.” Diana says remorsefully, which makes Akko look at her. “For not taking the time to get to know you. For treating you unkindly. For putting your life at risk…” she is going to keep saying more but is silenced by Akko, who touches her lips with her finger.
Diana knows she has to be blushing now.
“It is my duty to put my life at risk to keep you safe, Miss Diana.” Akko smiles warmly at her, and the sight makes butterflies fly in Diana’s stomach. “For the rest, I accept your apology. But only if…”
“Only if?”
“Only if you choose to follow your heart.”
“Follow my heart… You make it sound easier than what it truly is.”
“So answer me this question: Do you want to marry the prince?”
Diana shakes her head.
“But if I go back home, my aunt will force me to.”
“Then don’t go back home.” Akko says happily. “Run away!”
“Run away?!” Diana asks aghast. “But… How could I even do that?”
“Easy! We were already attacked by the bandits. I’m pretty sure they already left. So to anyone there, we may as well be dead.”
“That’s pretty morbid.” Diana murmurs. “But it’s also the perfect alibi. No one would look for me.” she closes her eyes. “But I also wouldn’t know what to do. I’ve never been out of the estate for very long.”
“I’ll help you! I’ll teach you all you need to know to live as a commoner.” Akko says excitedly.
“You would do that for me?” Diana asks in complete awe.
“Of course I would! Because I know that you would do the same for me.”
“Your faith in me is astounding.” Diana says simply. “I… I hope I don’t disappoint you.” she whispers.
“If you try, then you won’t.” Akko tells her with a smile. “It will be a learning curve. I will continue to be just as loud and messy as I’ve been, probably even more. So after knowing all that, what do you say, Miss Diana? Are you ready to go on an adventure?”
And Diana, who had never truly decided something for herself. Who had always quietly followed the rules and accepted what others wanted of her, didn’t even think twice about her answer.
“If we're going to be partners, you may as well call me Diana." she smiles as she extends her hand towards Akko. "Besides, it would be weird if you kept addressing me as Miss Diana considering I will no longer be a noble."
"Does that mean then..?" Akko asks with a bright smile as she takes her hand.
"It means that I'm looking forward to our adventure, Akko!” Diana says warmly, her time as the noblewoman Diana Cavendish coming to an end.