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Leaving Steve's castle and returning to civilization was a mistake. Robin's certain of this the minute Nancy presents her as her future wife to the Imperial Court.
…Okay, that's going a bit far. Every time she starts to feel overwhelmed and quarrelsome she looks at Nancy and the thought of getting to spend the rest of her life with her makes Robin feel better. It's an unfairly easy solution to her mental struggles.
Still, if anything makes Robin question that it's courtly attitudes. Though honestly she wouldn't leave Nancy. She'd just wait for the much shorter girl to take off her armor, throw Nancy over a shoulder, and ride off. She's pretty sure she could kidnap Nancy if she tried…and if the horse was close enough. She's clumsy enough as it is without adding a struggling Lady Knight to the mix.
There's some confusion and bemusement when Nancy leads Robin into the Audience Chamber, and then Nancy steps forward. "Father, Mother, members of the Imperial Court, may I introduce Crown Princess Robin of the Kingdom of Buck Ley." She turns to look at Robin and there's a proud, delighted, slightly incredulous look on the other girl's face as she does so that makes Robin's heart skip at least two beats. "My betrothed."
Unlike Nancy, Robin is looking up at the royal dais. She sees the confusion and shock that becomes indignation on the Emperor's face, the way Nancy's little brother is very clearly trying to keep from openly cackling with delight in front of the Court (she's pretty sure he nearly falls over from the effort)…and the glimmer of delight and pride in the eyes of the otherwise placid seeming Empress.
"Nancy, I sent you to find a husband. " Emperor Theodore says firmly, disappointment in his voice. If that were her father (or worse, her mother ) Robin would have folded and started stammering apologies, but Nancy squares herself and tilts her chin up defiantly.
"No, you said spouse . That's even what you had written on the official declaration of my quest."
"She's right." A balding man with spectacles and the pin of the Master of Records on his robe comments, a smirk on his face. "And there are no laws saying she can't marry another princess either, so it's a valid interpretation of your words my liege." He adds. The Emperor shoots a glare at the man, then sighs.
"Nancy, you know what I meant…" He begins, but Nancy shrugs.
"Unless you intended for me to wed William Byers I'm afraid I don't." She says calmly. Nancy had talked to Robin about this, the plausible deniability aspect of their relationship. Robin wasn't bothered. It wasn't like they'd ever talked before Nancy had come for her, the only way they'd have met was by random chance or a twist of fate. And frankly, if Nancy picking her because the alternative was a 14 year old boy meant that Robin got to bed Crown Princess Nancy Wheeler then Robin wasn't going to say a goddamn thing. Robin was reasonably certain that others would fight gods for what was about to be her lifelong privilege.
Emperor Theodore stares at them both for a long moment, then sighs and turns to a jolly looking older man. "Head Priest Owens…" The older man raises an eyebrow at the Emperor and shrugs.
"What do you want from me Lord? The gods have never said anything forbidding two women from being married. I know of a few such unions they've even overtly blessed." The man spreads his hands. "The Crown Princess and this Empire are both in good standing with the gods, so far as me and my fellow priests can tell. If they didn't want Crown Princess Nancy to wed Princess Robin they would have stopped her." Robin blinks at that, not sure how to take the implication that her impending wedding to Nancy has divine endorsement.
The Emperor throws up his hands and shakes his head. "Well she is the Crown Princess, and unless I'm very much mistaken two women can't produce an heir!" He snaps. "Right Minister Clarke?" He looks at a skinny man with a bushy mustache with a laugh, but the man in question just gives a minute wince. "... Minister Clarke?" The man clears his throat and stares at the ceiling awkwardly.
"Strictly speaking there are a handful of potions and at least three safe to use artifacts that I know of that could allow them to do exactly that. A knight of the Crown Princess' caliber could readily obtain the necessary ingredients or one of those artifacts in a Moderate to Grand Quest, depending on how many children she and her Lady Wife want and how…permanent she wants the ability to produce children to be." The scholar says finally.
It's here that Robin learns that Nancy blushing is both adorable and fascinating. It spreads all across her face and down her neck, and Robin idly wonders if it goes all the way down to her breasts. Something to find out in the future, she decides. She also notes, a little less idly, that the thought of having Nancy's child (or children) isn't as unpleasant as it had been when she'd contemplated having a future husband's child.
Nancy clears her throat and spreads her hands, looking as casual and polite as she can muster as the blush recedes. Robin notes the subtle smugness radiating off of her though, and once again, it's more attractive than it should be. "Well, there you go father. The gods are fine with it, there's no laws against it, we can give the Empire heirs, and I didn't defy you." She says sweetly. Emperor Theodore blinks, then nods.
"Yes, I suppose that's all true." He says, almost more to himself than to anyone else, then nods. "Very well. I sent you on a quest and you completed it admirably. We will begin preparing for the wedding at once." Robin lets out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding, a shaky, disbelieving smile stretching at her lips. Oh gods, the wedding is really going to happen. Like…really really.
OoOoO
After two years of living alone in a castle with only a friendly idiot dragon for company and even more time in a sleepy, provincial little kingdom, the hustle and bustle of the capital of the Indiana Empire is a lot for Robin to deal with. Getting prepared to be half of a royal wedding is even more so, and the fact that Robin can't even cuddle up to Nancy at the end of the day like they did on the road isn't helping. Damn Indiana propriety.
No, she's forced to sleep in a separate suite of rooms, and all their time together is chaperoned . Half the time it's Nancy's little brother, and the other half of the time it's the burly, very tired seeming Captain Hopper either because Michael and Nancy are currently sparring/dueling because the Prince pushed too far or because Michael is recovering from Nancy kicking his ass halfway across the courtyard again . She really doesn't understand the pair, as this never seems to do more than annoy Michael and exasperate Nancy, but then again she doesn't have siblings.
It's fun having an excuse to watch Nancy wear leather and get sweaty though.
"They do realize we're getting married soon, right?" Robin hisses to Nancy one day when they're in the library, being watched by a bored Hopper. "And…in the library? What are we going to do in the library?" Nancy looks up from her books with a dark, sultry gleam that makes Robin swallow and lick her lips weakly. "Point taken."
"Please confine your marital adventures to your rooms Princess." A pained sounding Hopper says. "I don't need Jane stumbling upon you two and having questions ." Nancy blushes and nods quickly.
"Right, yes, apologies Captain Hopper." She says hurriedly, returning to her book. Robin just watches in fascination. It's always delightful, seeing how quickly Nancy can spin from some flavor of confident to flustered and embarrassed. Robin's just always varying degrees of flustered herself.
The next day, Nancy's getting fitted for her bridal gown when the Empress sits down in front of Robin in the library another day, startling her. "Oh, your majesty!" Robin stammers, hurrying to her feet to bow. It had ruffled some feathers when Robin had refused to shift from breeches to skirts, but a calm glare from Nancy had shut most of that down. Or, rather, forced it into whispers and giggles behind their backs, but Robin could live with that.
Empress Karen Wheeler gives her a smile and waves her hand soothingly. "At ease child, in two months you'll be my daughter." She says playfully. Robin's not entirely sure why that is meant to be a soothing thought, but then again from what she's gleaned Nancy and her mother have a…better relationship than she does with her own. "I just thought the two of us should talk. We haven't had many opportunities to talk, the two of us." Robin nodded.
From what she could tell, the Empress was in charge of the wedding planning, and had practically banned Nancy from any preparations. It had culminated in a hissing, whispered argument between the Wheeler women before Karen had given her a flat look and pulled out a bound stack of loose sheaves of parchment, opening it for her daughter.
"Unless your opinions on what you'd want for your wedding have changed drastically in the last six months, I'm well aware of your wishes, daughter." The Empress had said dryly, leaving Nancy speechless for a few moments.
"I…you took notes?" She had said finally, wide-eyed. Her mother had given her a small smile and nodded.
"But of course. The minute your father started muttering about it being time for you to go questing for…well he said husband at the time, but regardless, I thought it'd be best to get your thoughts on the wedding. You remember that conversation? I had it transcribed, though I think you were too exasperated by my insistence to notice the scribe.'' She had reached out to put a hand on Nancy's shoulder. "Romances like yours are grand stories, but they don't leave you much room for getting to know each other. Spend time with your betrothed child, I'll take care of everything." Nancy had hugged her mother tightly before dragging Robin away.
Robin is more than aware that she owes the lovely time she's been getting to spend with Nancy to the Empress. Nancy is absolutely someone who cares about what tablecloths are used and how the flowers are arranged, who would have spent hours every day stressing out over everything. Even knowing that her mother was using her exact words to plan the ceremony, Nancy still occasionally made attempts to get involved. Attempts Robin admittedly had fun distracting her from, but still.
Despite her gratitude though, she's not entirely relaxed. The Empress is a busy woman, even without factoring in the wedding planning. There has to be a reason for her wanting to be…here. But Robin can't think of a good reason, and that's worrisome. "What do we need to talk about?" She asks nervously, and the Empress raises an eyebrow before smiling gently.
"I suppose the traditional thing to do here is to ask you about your intentions regarding my daughter." She says, and Robin's pretty sure she can feel her soul leaving her body. "However," she continues, her smile growing amused "given that my daughter is the one that dragged you here and not the other way around, that seems rather foolish."
"Oh, Nancy didn't have to drag me anywhere, your majesty." Robin says hurriedly. "I came willingly. Like…super willingly. I'd go anywhere she wanted me to, honest. I know we haven't known each other all that long, but I've seen Nancy in a lot of different lights. I've seen her happy and bright and beautiful but I've also seen her angry, and violent…"
"Violent?" Karen interrupts her sharply.
"Oh no, not towards me!" Robin says frantically, waving her hands. "Some bandits jumped us and started saying some pretty gross stuff about me, I don't think they realized who Nancy was because of the armor. She uhm…she's really good with that rapier." The Empress smiles again.
"Yes, yes she is. And don't worry dear, I wasn't concerned that she got violent towards you. I was simply concerned that Nancy had entirely failed to mention any trouble on either end of her quest. Though I suppose she may not have considered them worth mentioning." Robin thinks back to the lightning fast and effortless way Nancy had torn through the bandits and nods in agreement. "But no dear, I have no concerns about my daughter's behavior. I know what kind of person she is. And even if I didn't, I've watched the two of you. Nancy looks at you like you hung the moon."
"If it wasn't already there, and she asked me to, or if I thought it'd make her happy, I would have." Robin says earnestly, and Karen laughs.
"Oh, there are going to be songs about you two my dear." She coos, reaching out and pinching Robin's cheeks with a fondness that's borderline alarming given Robin's maternal track record. "You're almost disgustingly sweet, and my daughter truly chose a beautiful bride besides." Robin can feel herself blushing fiercely as the Empress releases her. Robin swallows and tries to remember what she was saying earlier, before the violence sidetrack.
"My…my point is, I've seen Nancy be dark. And I've seen her when she's irritated, when she's sinking into snark, when she's bossy and insufferable. I'm walking into this with open eyes." She says firmly. Her future Mother-in-law stares at her for a long moment, then smiles once more, warm and deep.
"You know dear…I think you are." She pats Robin's hand and walks away swiftly, leaving the blushing girl behind.
OoOoO
It's one month before the wedding when the King and Queen of Buck Ley arrive at the castle. Robin is waiting for them in the courtyard when they arrive, and tries her best to stand calm and tall as Queen Beatrix and King Vincent, aka Mother and Father, approach her. Her father gives her a neutral but pleasant smile that gets a smile back from her, but her mother…oh dear. It’s been a while since she’s been looked at like that, openly and fully to her face. Robin’s not blind to the fact that she isn’t universally loved, but here in the palace she’s the future Empress of Indiana, the betrothed to the actually universally loved Crown Princess Nancy who will kick the ass of anyone who so much as looks at Nancy wrong.
Nancy’s mother looks at her with fondness, somehow seeing something endearing in Robin despite the fact that she’s a gangly, clumsy, rambly mess who’s going to ruin Indiana’s diplomatic relations. Michael finds her amusing and is always friendly, and even Captain Hopper seems to have warmed up to her, though he gets remarkably tense when his daughter starts following her around with wide eyes and many, many questions about Buck Ley and dragons and Robin’s books (the Indiana library sucks , the minute Robin has any actual authority in this place she needs that fixed). And Nancy…
Oh, Nancy .
Nancy’s face is strong and expressive, especially her gorgeous, gorgeous blue-gray doe eyes, and the sheer depth and breadth of emotions Nancy’s face conveys when she looks at Robin makes Robin feel weak and unworthy. Robin knows she rambles, knows the words pour out of her like water from a mountain river, but whenever she starts Nancy listens , intent and with sparkles in her eyes, waving down anyone who tries to interrupt with a look of joy on her face so pure and strong Robin can’t ever bring herself to put effort into stopping herself even when she knows she probably should. When Robin trips or, gods help her, breaks something Nancy is there with a soothing, calming look on her face, reassuring and strong, issuing silent threats to whoever tries to say anything. Other times Robin finds Nancy just…staring at her, with an incredulous, wondering look on her face like she can’t believe that Robin is hers . Which is ridiculous of course, because she’s Crown Princess Nancy Wheeler and there’s nothing she doesn’t deserve, but it sets Robin aflame to see every time all the same.
Queen Beatrix looks at Robin and the fact that she still finds her daughter wanting is plain to see. Robin wants to scream at her, to cry and demand to know what else she could be doing. She’s engaged to the Crown Princess of the most powerful nation on this hemisphere, waiting to greet them with good manners and a smile, clad in clothes better than anything most nobles in Buck Ley could hope for. Like, yes, they’re breeches and a tunic, but still, the high quality of them is self-evident to an immediately obvious degree. They’re neat, and clean, and…and Robin really doesn’t know what else her mother could want from her. Surely diplomatic ties to Indiana outweigh any negative feelings about needing to hand the throne down to one of Robin’s cousins rather than Beatrix’s own child, right?
But it’d be indecent to actually express any of that, so she keeps her face calm and polite and positive and smiles down at her mother. It's weird, she's half a foot taller than the woman but feels so small in front of her. She doesn't know what to do about that. "Welcome Mother, Father." She says, bowing. Her father bows back, face still a neutral mask, while her mother's curtsy seems somewhat pained. "How was your journey?"
"Quite pleasant." Her father says. "Indiana takes good care of their roads, wouldn't you say Beatrix?" Her mother inclines her head.
"Oh yes, quite. The carriage was very nearly smooth." A small bit of tension releases from Robin. Oh good. Her mother is, at the very least, in a mood to be polite and well-mannered about most other subjects. It's rare that Beatrix of Buck Ley is so upset at her daughter she forgets all else, but it happens. And after two years and Steve's sound defeat of all the knights and occasional sorcerer that came for her, Robin hadn't been sure what state her mother would be in. This is good though. Or at least, it's workable. Robin’s presence isn’t likely to start a war, and that’s what matters.
Then dinner happens. Today was another day in which Robin hadn’t seen much of Nancy. Some dumb tradition of Indiana about not meeting your betrothed’s parents before the official feast if said betrothed was foreign and you’d be living in Indiana. So Nancy doesn’t formally meet the King and Queen of Buck Ley in the context of them being her betrothed’s parents until that night.
The initial pleasantries go smoothly enough. Her parents are on their best behavior, Nancy is fishing politely because while Robin is far too good at talking, she’s very good at slipping away from talks of her childhood and her years before Steve figured that he should probably kidnap a princess cause ‘...that’s what dragons are supposed to do, right?’. She knows it’s thrown and concerned Nancy, but she just…doesn’t want to talk about it. It’s not important. And how she perceives her mother shouldn’t taint the first meeting of Nancy and her in-laws. She does note curiously that Nancy is wearing gloves today. Formal, nice, they go well with her light purple dress, but still, that’s unusual for her.
“Oh, you are lovely .” Robin’s mother says as they sit at the table reserved just for the four of them after Nancy’s pitch perfect greeting. “You’ll have your work cut out for you teaching Robin such manners I’m afraid, particularly after those two years with that beast.” Nancy blinks and Robin stifles a flinch as she sits, but keeps her face calm and clear. Fortunately Nancy mostly seems confused but willing to move on.
Small talk happens, but Robin gets distracted when the food is brought out and the vegetables have rolled into her beef. She gives a slight shiver and takes her fork, working on separating the various items more clearly while Nancy speaks to Beatrix and Vincent about…things.
“Robin, stop that.” Beatrix says suddenly, voice firm and strong. Robin flinches and looks up, realizing the others at the table have stopped talking. Her parents are looking at her, while Nancy is looking at Beatrix with what Michael jokingly calls her ‘hawk eyes’-narrowing her eyes without physically narrowing them somehow. Robin wishes she knew how Nancy could do stuff like that, but she’s an open book when it comes to facial expressions herself. “Don’t play with your food like that. This is a formal occasion, and you’re betrothed besides. It’s time for you to act like an adult.” Beatrix turns and looks at Nancy apologetically. “I’m sorry, we did try to teach Robin how to behave properly, both on our own and with tutors.” She says, like she’s explaining some tragedy. Besides her, Vincent nods gravely. Robin’s father has never been as…assertive in his disappointment with Robin, but he’s never really disagreed with it either. And at an event such as this, he seems more inclined to side with her than usual. “She doesn’t seem inclined to listen to anyone though. Maybe being married will give you some way to pierce her laziness.”
Nancy blinks rapidly, a sight Robin is dimly delighted by. It is a rare treat to see Nancy caught one hundred percent flat footed, normally her betrothed is fairly aware of…everything. Even when she’s flustered she usually at least acts like she was expecting to be flustered. But Nancy wasn’t expecting any of Beatrix’s words, and that fact is immediately and overtly obvious in her silent reaction.
“...lazy isn’t a word I’d ever use for Robin.” Nancy protests. “She speaks four languages and is teaching herself a fifth!” Robin blinks. She hadn’t realized Nancy was paying attention to the books she read when Nancy disappeared into weapon training or her own studies, or the conversations Robin had been having with the Master of Records for practice. “That’s four more languages than I speak! She plays the flute, the harp, and the mandolin, she paints, she knows everything there is to know about folklore and fiction…you can’t tell me all of that is stuff she picked up when she was in the Midwest Dragon’s castle.”
“Our daughter’s intelligence is not in question, Princess.” Vincent says calmly. “It’s her maturity and work ethic when it comes to things that don’t entertain her.”
“Yes, Robin is quite gifted in art and academics.” Beatrix agrees, nodding. Robin feels a small glow from the praise, even though she knows it’s probably more just not wanting to talk Nancy out of marrying her. “But when it comes to behaving like a proper royal, like a proper member of society? Surely you’ve noticed her inability to meet people’s eyes, how she fidgets, how the words just keep coming even when it’s long past the point of propriety. It’s not that nobody has ever taught her how to behave, she simply refuses to act normally. But I’m sure you can fix her. From what I hear, you’re quite…”
Robin jumps as one of Nancy’s gloves hits her mother in the face. She hadn’t even noticed Nancy take it off, and now Nancy is standing up. Robin stares as the shorter girl visibly seethes . “That is my betrothed you are insulting.” Nancy growls. “To my face. At my table. In my family’s castle, eating my family’s food and drinking my family’s wine. And you say Robin has no manners?” Nancy’s jaw clenches and works for a moment, and Robin’s a little surprised that she’s not seeing a hand going for a sword that isn’t there. The Queen and King of Buck Ley stare at Nancy in open shock. “I am a Knight . Pick a guard, or have your husband fight for you. Or just leave. You’re leaving regardless, but if you wish you can seek to reclaim some honor on your way out.”
OoOoO
Twelve hours later, Robin was applying a cleansing potion to the cuts and scrapes that Nancy had accumulated over the course of the multiple duels she’d just fought. Her beautiful, angry, impulsive betrothed had explained to Theodore Wheeler what had happened, and the Emperor of Indiana had reluctantly agreed that Nancy was within her rights to do as she had done, backed by an almost proud seeming Captain Hopper. But given the lateness of the hour and the fact that most of the party goers were at least two cups into their wine by that point, everyone had agreed to postpone the duel until the next day.
King Vincent had come up to duel Nancy the following morning. He had clearly not come expecting any such thing, so in deference Nancy had forgone her armor and used an un-enchanted rapier. It had been unreasonably, immaturely cathartic for Robin to watch her tiny Princess defeat her father in the span of five minutes. Robin rather suspects Nancy dragged the duel out longer than it needed to be, though if that were out of respect for the title of King or out of Nancy’s usually buried savageness she couldn’t guess.
After, however, one of the Royal Guardsmen of Buck Ley had thrown his glove at Nancy and accused her of cheating. Strictly speaking Robin suspected that Nancy wasn’t supposed to actually accept a challenge from a guardsman, but Robin equally suspected that nobody wanted to tell Nancy she couldn’t fight when she was glaring like that.
Nancy had thrashed the guard, which had prompted more muttering and eventually Nancy had snapped an open challenge out. The people of Buck Ley were proud and unfortunately easy to anger. A short, unarmored, young woman with a rapier besting first their king and then one of their friends had caused no small amount of upset. And that muttering and disbelief had riled the equally proud and easy to anger Nancy.
It had taken ten duels before a very upset Captain Hopper called enough, waving off the men and sending the delegation from Buck Ley packing before chewing out Nancy. For her own part, Nancy was in, admittedly, worse shape than Robin had ever seen her, panting and soaked in sweat, bleeding from multiple minor wounds on her arms, shoulders, and legs.
“What were you thinking ?” Robin demands, scolding. It wasn’t often that she got to be the voice of maturity and scolding, but apparently she needed to be right now. “That was far more than you needed to do.” Nancy eyes her with a weak smile, letting out a small hiss when Robin presses potion into a cut that was a bit larger than the others.
“I was defending your honor. And then I had to defend mine so that yours would be further protected. If I had rejected the other duels, it would have called my duel with your father into question.”
“Only among idiots .” Robin growls. “You’re Nancy Wheeler, the Princess Knight of Indiana. Everyone knows your deeds.” Nancy laughs.
“ Princess Knight. There will always be rumors and whispers that my parents paved the way for me beyond just the access to weapons and training. That my quests aren’t true, that others did the work for me or that foes went easy on me for fear of my parents’ wrath. I need to do things like this to quiet those murmurs, or I work for nothing.”
“That’s stupid.” Robin mutters grumpily, though she can concede in her own mind that Nancy is probably correct.
“...I’m sorry about your mother.” Nancy says, voice soft as Robin continues to work on her cuts. Robin’s breath catches for a moment, then she shakes her head.
“She’s always like that.” She says finally, shrugging. “I get it. Buck Ley is small, we’ve clung to not being absorbed into a larger nation through stubbornness and pride. Having someone like me on the throne would have wrecked the country. I get…why she wants me to…y’know…fix myself.”
“Bullshit.” Nancy says fiercely, turning on Robin with eyes that somehow manage to be both fierce and loving. Robin’s not sure how she achieves that balance, but before she can think about it too much Nancy is taking both of her hands. “Robin…there is nothing about you that needs fixing.” Robin snorts weakly and shakes her head, and Nancy stands up and hugs her. “ Nothing . You befriended a dragon and kept your sanity while living mostly alone for two years. You are a master of languages and arts. My mother and brother love you. You are Jane Hopper’s favorite person, and she barely talks to anyone. And I adore you. I know you Robin of Buck Ley, and I wouldn’t change a thing about you. Do you understand?”
Robin nods weakly, and Nancy surges up, kissing her with all the warmth and love and, yes, lust she can muster, and Robin kisses her back just as hard. This…this is worth everything, Robin decides. All the pain, all the awkwardness and discomfort…Nancy is worth it.
And maybe she is too.