Chapter Text
"You will be assigned to Princess Cleo and the decision is final, Gem!" Impulse sentenced, raising his voice just enough to let Gem know that he was serious.
"You're impossible!" Gem yelled back, slamming her hands on the Royal Guard's Captain's table.
"If there are no more questions, you're free to go." Impulse raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms above his chest in a way that told Gem the battle was lost.
She huffed, turning around with a flourish of her red cape and slamming the door on her way out. Etho was already there, waiting for her. She didn't even spare a glance as she stomped away from the Royal Guard's headquarters and to the training fields. Maybe breaking some equipment as a sign of protest would help her cool down.
"Was it that bad?" Etho asked, his voice slightly muffled by the mask he always wore.
"Impulse is so unfair!" She yelled in response, kicking an unfortunate rock in her way. "He knows I cannot stand Her Royalest Butt and he assigns me to her!"
"You shouldn't call Her Royal Highness, Princess Cleo, names in public, you know?" Etho warned, but Gem could hear the smile in his voice and knew he wasn't being all that serious. "Besides, you're the best knight in the kingdom, of course you got assigned to her."
"We shouldn't have joined the Guard." Gem sighed, pulling her sword out as soon as they arrived at the training grounds.
"I agree, but let's not pretend you wouldn't have followed Impulse to the end of the world." Etho leaned against a wall and watched as Gem hacked at the dummies with hateful abandon.
"Would not," she hissed. "Besides, if you agree, what are you doing here with me?"
"Well, we both know I would follow you to the end of the world."
Gem stopped at that and turned to look at her brother. There was no blood to tie them down, but that hadn't been necessary. Their shared experiences would be enough to tie them together in this lifetime and the next. There was no one more important in her life than Etho.
"You got assigned to Lord Bdubs, didn't you?" She changed the topic swiftly and went back to her exercises. She had calmed down visibly though, and decided to practice her thrusting now. "How's that going for you?"
Etho cleared his throat.
"I don't know what you mean."
"Oh Etho, let's not pretend that you don't make heart eyes at Lord Bdubs every time you see him." Gem rolled her eyes.
"Oh, shut up Gem!" Etho groaned. "You're so childish."
"I'm not the one who can't admit that I have a crush on royalty." She huffed out a chuckle, sheathing her sword and turning to look at Etho.
"Mhm, mhm. I'll pretend I believe that."
"What does that even mean?!" Gem crossed the space between them with three big steps, shoving a finger at Etho's chest.
"Nothing, nothing, but I'm glad you're done practicing, you shouldn't exhaust yourself too much, since you have to guard your favorite person starting tomorrow." Even if half his face was covered, Gem could tell that Etho was grinning, and for a moment she wished to stab him with her sword. Only for a short moment though.
"Let's hope Her Royal Highness-," and she punctuated every syllable, caushing Etho to laugh, "behaves tomorrow, or I might get executed before we make it to the end of the week."
Etho liked to think that he was good at keeping secrets. And he was, from everyone except perhaps Gem, who easily saw through him each and every time. Still, he didn't tell Gem everything . Like how he'd been sneaking to Lord Bdubs' window in the middle of the night for months now.
In his defense, the Lord had asked for it. And Etho was a good servant to the crown, he couldn't say no.
Sneaking to the window was a dangerous thing. First, because if anyone saw him, they'd immediately think he was an assassin sneaking in to kill the Lord, and kill him before he even got a chance to explain himself. Second, because Lord Bdubs' room was on the third floor of the castle, and it was a high fall from there. And third, because in the off-chance he did get a chance to explain himself if caught, he'd get executed anyway for daring to have feelings other than undying loyalty for the Royal Family.
He did it anyway.
Etho knew the schedules of every guard that patrolled the castle, knew their routes and their mannerisms, and was excellent at keeping balance.
There was absolutely nothing to worry about.
"It took you long enough." Lord Bdubs said as Etho slipped through the window and hunched on the floor. He was a bit out of breath.
"Sorry, my Lord, is my performance not according to your expectations?" Etho teased.
"Oh shush, I've told you many a times to just call me Bdubs." The Lord complained. He was sitting at the end of his bed, with a closed book next to him.
"You know I can't-"
"Because we can't get any closer than this, I know." Bdubs finished the sentence with a sigh.
It was something Etho had said many times before, but hearing Bdubs' disappointment at the words never got easier.
They had met nearly a year ago, when Etho had been tasked to guard the Lord while he was shown around the castle. Bdubs had made a single, flirtatious comment to see if he could get Etho to relax (because for some reason he'd taken it as a challenge), and the spark had been instant.
Etho hadn't thought it'd go beyond that. He'd always prided himself in his detached nature. With the exception of Gem, no one had ever managed to get under through his barriers, but here he was.
"It's for both our sakes, you know that." Etho repeated the same old excuse.
"And yet you come here every night." Bdubs grumbled.
He was right, and Etho knew it was hypocritical. He didn't think that knowledge was enough to stop him.
Bdubs knew this. It made him think that perhaps it wasn't only Gem who could see right through him.
"Whatever, read for me." Bdubs tossed him the book.
Etho caught it, but it caused him to lose his balance and fall flat on his butt, making Bdubs laugh.
"So even the great knight Etho can flounder like that, huh?" The Lord teased. Etho couldn't help but smile under his mask.
"Whatever." He huffed. "Shall I continue where I left it last night?"
Gem's duty hadn't started yet and she already wanted to die. Just the thought of having to spend the entire day with Princess Cleo made death look like a far more merciful destiny. It was horrible.
She was an honorable knight, however. She had fought for years and against a lot of people to get her title of the best knight in the guard, to demonstrate that she was more than her origins. Princess Cleo would not ruin that.
"Come in." A regrettably known voice beckoned her inside the chambers, and Gem obliged.
"Good morning, Your Royal Highness." Gem greeted, putting a hand to her chest and bowing her head just enough that it could be considered respectful. Cleo was looking at her through their mirror and huffed.
"Good timing, braid my hair for me." Not even a 'please'. They had barely talked and Gem already wanted to kill them.
"With all due respect, Ma'am, surely you have assistants that could do that for you?" Gem said through gritted teeth.
"Yes, and?" Cleo smiled. Gem had to focus all her strength in not breaking something.
She walked the few steps that separated her from the Princess and began the delicate process of braiding their hair.
Gem had to admit one good thing about the Princess, and it was that they had fantastic hair. Almost like silk to the touch.
They were both quiet through the process, but it was done soon enough, and Gem was able to take a step back from the overwhelming smell of roses that the Princess was known for.
"Hm, there's room for improvement." Cleo analyzed the braid through the mirror before standing up and turning towards Gem, who was red with barely-contained anger.
"Listen-"
"No, you listen." Cleo interrupted, using that particular tone of voice that Gem had always wished she could emulate. Like her words were laced with venom. "I don't like this situation any more than you do," they leaned closer, forcing Gem to take a step back, which made Cleo smile, "but I'm your Princess. So you're going to follow my every instruction, or I'll make this very difficult for you, Gem."
"You already are, Cleo ." Gem hissed. She'd almost expected Cleo to get mad, but they smiled instead.
"You've always been fierce, it's a good look on you." Cleo tiled Gem's chin up with a couple of fingers, as they were taller. The touch burned Gem's skin, but so did the blush on her cheeks. For a moment she considered the option of biting the Princess, but they were holding the leash so tight that it would not have been worth it.
Cleo's smile widened when they realized Gem wasn't going to say anything, and they walked away. Gem, regrettably, followed.
There was a time when the two of them could've been friends. Gem arrived at the castle as a teenager, stuck to Etho's side like they were one person, and Cleo had been a couple years older. Even though she wouldn't admit it now, young Gem had thought Cleo was so pretty, but they knew nothing of the real world, always protected by the walls of the castle. And so, even though she'd tried, they just couldn't see eye to eye.
Cleo had never had to work for anything in their life, so how could they understand Gem?
Gem followed two paces behind Cleo, with her hand always at the hilt of her sword and her eyes trained at the front. She was alert, always. There was no reason for there to be danger within the walls of the castle, but truth be told, what other reason could there be for Gem, the best knight in the kingdom, to be assigned to the Princess?
She was aware that a very important meeting was happening soon. In fact, she'd heard rumors that multiple diplomats would start arriving that day, so it made sense. She glanced at Cleo, but quickly got rid of the idea of asking them about it. She couldn't stand getting mocked.
"You are to accompany me to all my lessons today, are you aware?" Cleo broke the silence. Gem had the sense that the royal could tell they were being observed.
"Yes, Ma'am. The head of the Guard gave me your schedule. I'll make sure it is fulfilled properly." Gem explaining, receiving nothing but a curt nod.
This was why she hated being assigned to take care of specific nobles: it was like babysitting a particularly horrid child.
Cleo's schedule was rough. They were still young, again, only a couple years older, but they had all sorts of classes and meetings to attend to. Geography, politics, history, economy, etiquette, music. The hours went by between each subject, and Gem was starting to get a glimpse on why Cleo was so bitter and so rude about everything. She'd be too if she had to spend hours sitting about listening to the most boring people on the planet.
"I don't understand how you sit around for so many hours at once." Gem commented once they left the last class.
Even though she was on duty, Gem still had to train, so the schedule had been adjusted for the Princess to be there, and they were on their way to the training grounds.
"You're so quick to drop formalities when there's no one around," Cleo observed, though it felt more like an attack. "It's my royal duty, that's how I do it."
"Don't you get bored? You're not even the heir." Gem bit her tongue as soon as the words came out, shrinking down infinitesimally when Cleo turned to look at her with half-lidded eyes.
"I'm very well aware of what my position is, and if you're not careful with your words, I'll have your tongue cut." Cleo huffed. "But yes, I do get bored sometimes."
"Oh." Gem was genuinely speechless at the show of vulnerability. It was just not a thing that happened. She had even stopped walking.
"Stop standing around like a klutz, we'll be late!" Cleo chastised, and immediately Gem stopped feeling sorry at all.
"You don't have a very busy schedule, my lord." Etho commented as he walked a couple steps behind Bdubs.
They were at the gardens. Bdubs had a leatherbound notebook in hand and was scribbling away something that Etho couldn't discern.
"Well, I'm really only here visiting..." Bdubs shrugged. "There will be a council meeting soon but, otherwise..."
Etho hummed. He'd heard rumors about such a meeting happening, but it hadn't been officially announced yet. If Bdubs said it would be soon, then Etho should be getting instructions about it pretty soon. He filed the information away for later.
"So what are you doing?" Etho tried to peer above Bdubs' shoulder, but the Lord quickly stopped and turned around, bumping into Etho.
"Nothing!"
"That doesn't sound like nothing to me." Etho raised an eyebrow, leaning in and forcing Bdubs to step back. "Can I see?"
"Well- I don't think that's a good idea..." Bdubs looked away, holding the notebook tightly between his fingers.
Etho grabbed it but didn't take it away. If Lord Bdubs didn't want him to see, he could pull it away, but he didn't.
"So, can I?"
Bdubs looked into his eyes for a moment. Etho knew he was looking for something, but as to what, it remained a mystery. He must have found it, for he allowed Etho to take the notebook and open it where Bdubs had been scribbling. He understood very clearly why Bdubs thought it wouldn't be a good idea.
"Oh." Etho exhaled, observing the drawing of him reading a book, like how he'd been doing for a few nights now.
"Don't say anything." Bdubs tore the notebook away from his hands and walked away at a fast pace. Etho struggled to follow.
"My Lord-"
"Don't, Etho! Just leave it."
Bdubs didn't ask to be left alone, because he knew that the knight would never leave him when it was his duty to protect him. It was a terribly painful thing.
"I want to train." Cleo asserted.
"Ma'am, I am afraid I cannot allow you to-"
"Why not? I should have a right to know how to defend myself! What if something happens and my knight dies in battle? What then?" Cleo raised their voice.
Gem felt extremely offended that Cleo would even hint at her dying in battle, but she was even more irked by the fact that Cleo never asked with kindness.
"I- Well- I'm just not allowed to-" The man stammered. If only it were Impulse leading the practice, this would not be an issue.
"Well then, why not?!"
What was pissing Gem the most, however, was that Cleo was kind of right. There was no reason to deny the Princess training in self-defense. It only made sense that they should be able to protect themselves if the occasion arose. It felt awfully familiar to when others had tried to prevent Gem from learning sword fighting.
"Because, Your Highness, what if you get hurt? The king would have my head-"
"Of course you only care about what my father says, do you forget I am your Princess as well?" Cleo said through gritted teeth.
"I don't- I mean-"
"Enough." Gem interrupted the conversation, tired of how it was going in circles. Whatever was the reasoning behind the guard's words, it was clear that he didn't actually respect Princess Cleo's wishes, and as much as Gem hated them, she for once was on their side. "I'll train the princess personally, if anything happens you can blame it on me."
Cleo looked at her with wide eyes that Gem pretended not to notice.
"We'll take one of the private training rooms as well, make sure no one interrupts us, hm?" Gem was smiling, but it was the type of smile that made you feel cold to your bones. The man nodded, unable to come up with a reply. "Good. Your Highness, grab a couple of wooden swords and follow me."
Gem started walking away and Cleo rushed to follow her instructions, before realizing what they were doing and trying to push the swords into Gem's hands.
"Nuh-uh, while we're training I'm your teacher, not your servant, alright? You want the right to fight with a sword, you earn it." Gem said with a certain satisfaction, leveling the Princess with a self-sufficient stare. Cleo huffed but said nothing and followed. They must really want to learn to fight, Gem thought.
"Thank you." Cleo said after they had arrived to one of the private training rooms, making Gem trip with her own feet. "Pff. I guess even the best knight in the kingdom can be clumsy."
"I think I'm allowed to be surprised at you saying 'thank you'. I didn't even think you knew those words." Gem retorted, but it barely had any bite, she was genuinely surprised. "Why?"
"No one takes me seriously in court, but you stood up for me, so I thank you." Cleo shrugged. "Don't be mistaken, though, I still hate you."
"Right." Gem shook her head. "Well, anyway, you don't have appropriate clothes for training, so make sure you get some for tomorrow, for now we'll review basic things, alright?"
"Alright." Cleo nodded.
"Good." Gem started taking off her armor, to which Cleo looked away. "What?" She said, a smile on her lips.
"Why are you taking your armor off?" Cleo asked, clearly a little confused.
"We're training, I'd have an unfair advantage if I wore it." Gem smiled, shrugging off her armor before grabbing a wooden sword from Cleo's arms. "Alright, show me your posture, let's see what we're working with."
Cleo held her wooden sword with both hands and looked at it with wonder. It was certainly heavier than they'd expected, but could guess that a real sword would be much heavier. It was a bit thrilling to think about it. They stood parallel to Gem, shoulders a bit hunched, and waited for some sort of instruction.
"Wrong." Gem sighed and Cleo frowned. "Stay like that."
Gem walked towards Cleo and started poking them with her own wooden sword, forcing them to correct their posture.
"Your feet should be apart, in line with your shoulders." She softly hit Cleo's feet with the sword so they would reposition themself. "One foot forward, the other should be at about a 45° angle, and straighten your back, for God's sake, are you a vandal?"
Cleo groaned, and Gem could tell they were biting down an insult or two.
"Lower your body slightly, and distribute your weight properly between your legs, it will give you better balance." Gem continued explaining, pushing down on Cleo's shoulder slightly. "Good, that's better." Gem nodded.
"What about the sword?" Cleo said through gritted teeth.
"So eager to learn," Gem smiled, as she positioned herself behind and to the side of Cleo. "Relax, let yourself fall into the posture. If you're too tense you'll injure yourself when you attack someone. As for the sword..."
Gem slid her arm and hand over Cleo's dominant one, feeling the Princess jolt at the touch. The knight shushed them softly and guided their sword down, helping them reposition their hands.
"This is the Fool's Stand. Until you gain some strength in your arms, it'll probably be the best stance for you. You'll look non-threatening, but if they underestimate you, you might just be able to stab them and protect yourself." Gem explaining.
Then, she once again guided Cleo into a different stance, helping them raise the point of the sword into what was more or less a 45° angle.
"This is the Long Point Stance, if you move from the previous stance to this one you've got a good chance of damaging an unsuspecting opponent. This is very hard to keep up, of course, which is why I suggested starting with the other one. It's effective and versatile nonetheless."
Gem walked away and pretended not to notice the way the Princess's shoulders fell, relaxing at once. Cleo must really hate her to be so tense at her proximity. Oh well, Gem was simply doing her duty.
"Alright, let's show you some basic moves."
"Rumor has it that you're training Her Royal Highness in sword combat?" Etho said as a matter of greeting when Gem walked into the guard's dining room.
He was leaning against the wall next to the door, and Gem jolted, glaring at him when he laughed.
"It's not a rumor, I am." Gem exhaled.
She was a bit stressed, as Cleo had complained of muscle pain the entire time back to her room so she could get ready for supper. For now, duty was divided between the guards, so Gem wouldn't have to guard her at night... but something told her she would soon have to.
"Why? That's unusual of you." Etho trailed behind her as she went to get a serving of stew and bread.
"They wouldn't let her learn, which seemed unfair, so I decided to teach her." Gem shrugged, walking back to one of the long wooden tables and sitting down. Etho sat in front of her.
"I thought you hated her." He rested his head on top of his folded arms on the table.
"I do."
"And that you couldn't stand her."
"I can't."
"And that you find her pretty."
"I do- Etho!" She looked up from her soup to find him looking at her with knowing eyes, and, even though she couldn't see it, a self-sufficient smirk. "You are terrible!"
"There's nothing wrong with finding the Princess beautiful, Gem." Etho tilted his head.
"Are you crazy? You can't just say that outloud!" Gem hissed, stretching over the table to slap him on the arm.
"I'm just saying-"
"No, no." Gem stopped him. "You like to tease me about my non-existent crush on her, which, again, is not real. But then I say anything about you and Lord Bdubs-" she whispered the name through her teeth, and saw the immediate change in Etho's expression, "-and you get all upset, like that!"
"There's nothing between me and him, Gem." Etho's voice was cold and hard, and it just angered her more.
"Right, don't think I don't know where you go every night."
She didn't startle when Etho hit the table with both hands, but did notice how the rest of the table went quiet around them.
"That's enough, Gem." He leveled her with a look and left the room.
Gem sat there, fists closed tight, and eyes fixed on the spot Etho had been sitting at.
Etho sneaked through Lord Bdubs' window and immediately sat on the floor with his head in his hands.
"Well it's nice to see you too," Bdubs said from where he was writing something at his desk.
"Apologies, my Lord." Etho grumbled.
He shouldn't have come, he knew that, not after what Gem had said before. If she was aware of his stupid escapades, then who knew who else had noticed him. It was too risky.
"Why the attitude?" Bdubs turned around to face him, raising an eyebrow.
"Gem knows I've been coming here almost every night." Etho explained, standing up with some effort.
"Oh, isn't she your best friend? Surely that's fine, I would've thought you told her yourself." Bdubs relaxed a bit, but it only upset Etho more.
"You don't get it, what if someone else has noticed? If they know I've been coming here at night..." Etho paced along the room.
"Calm down, if someone else knew they would have reported you long ago-"
"This is too risky, I can't come here anymore." Etho stopped pacing when Bdubs stood up way too fast, slamming his pen on the desk.
"You can't be serious right now." Bdubs huffed, approaching Etho.
"I am, Bdubs."
They both froze in place. That was the first time Etho had ever said his name without formal addressing. Bdubs laughed bitterly.
"I can't believe you." Bdubs turned away from him, hands on his hips.
"I'm doing this to keep us both safe-"
"No, you're doing it because you're a coward!" Bdubs was suddenly in his space, pushing Etho back with a hand. "I've been so patient, I've respected every restriction you've held because I care about you so much that I don't want to lose you, and now you say you want to stop this? The one thing you've given me?"
"You have to understand-" Etho tried to explain himself, but Bdubs was not having any of that.
"What I understand is that you don't want me as much as I want you." It was a delicate thing to admit so openly, but Bdubs was tired of pretending. "Leave." He turned around, closing himself to Etho.
"My lord-"
"Leave, or I will call the guards and then you'll be in trouble for real." There was no substance behind his threat, but Etho didn't know that, too blinded by his own fears.
When Bdubs turned back around, Etho was gone.
Within the next few days, training with Princess Cleo became the time of the day Gem looked forward to the most. As it turned out, Gem liked teaching, liked feeling like she was the one with the knowledge for once. And Cleo was, surprisingly, a very good learner. They didn't have a very good physical condition, but they were determined and very good at remembering what was taught to her.
"Thrust harder, you're trying to maim your opponent, not tickle them!" Gem yelled as Cleo practiced her thrusts with a dummy. "Use your body weight, not only your arm!"
Cleo grunted but continued trying until they got Gem's seal of approval. They wanted to succeed in this and show that they could be more than just a pretty face.
"Okay, rest." Gem instructed, and Cleo relaxed, crouching on the ground to regain her breath. "Not too bad, you need to build stamina though."
Gem served them some water in a cup and passed it to them. Cleo drank avidly. They sat in silence for a while, until Cleo had regained their breath and was able to stand up and get themself some of the fruit a servant had brought them earlier.
"Must be nice to have something to eat whenever you want." Gem commented.
"You can't seriously be upset about this, can you?" Cleo asked, popping a grape in her mouth. Gem shrugged.
"It's not something available to us commoners during training, that's all."
"How do you deal with hunger?" Cleo seemed concerned, but Gem just shrugged again.
"Why are you learning to fight, Cleo? I don't think it's to relate to your subjects, we both know you're heartless, so, why?"
"I'm not heartless... all the time." This made Gem laugh a little, and Cleo smiled too. "I guess I want to prove myself."
"What could you possibly have to prove? You're a princess." Gem scoffed. Cleo seemed to grow somber.
"Exactly." Cleo shook their head and grabbed the sword again. "Let's continue."
This time, Gem taught them to parry. She began explaining the basic logic behind it, how to use the flat side of the sword, how to identify the line of movement and cutting it before it could touch her. Then they began practicing.
She had them repeat a few different patterns over and over in slow motion first, getting them used to the type of movements their body had to make in order to properly direct the sword into protecting them. "Close the line more, keep your sword close to your center," she would say, poking Cleo with the wooden sword.
Then, they began practicing more seriously. Gem tried hard to be gentle, but she was certain Cleo was going to wake up with some bruises, because they were struggling to parry Gem's attacks. Soon, they were heaving, scrambling for breath, and Gem clicked her tongue.
"Tired already?" She tilted her head. "I guess you're just a princess after all." She had meant it as a teasing remark, the kind she would make all the time, but Cleo groaned in exasperation. Gem attacked her again, and this time, Cleo parried correctly. With a raised eyebrow, Gem went for another attack to their opposite site. Cleo blocked it again, and without warning, grabbed Gem from the hand and pulled her forward, thrusting the point of their sword under Gem's chin. Her eyes widened.
"Never, ever , say that about me again." Cleo hissed.
And God, Gem did not like the way her heart did a somersault at that moment.