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Happiness is in the air tonight. The band is in full swing and the dance floor is not lacking in couples of all ages swaying and twirling and dipping to the music. The guests not dancing are scattered around the decorated banquet hall, and their lively conversations merge into one large hum of chatter that reminds the princess of the insects’ chorus at the height of summer.
Yachi should be having fun, especially due to the occasion they’re celebrating, but she can’t find it in herself to participate in the festivities when her mood is soured as she continues to watch one of the guests of honor being flocked to by royals who don’t know their place.
She sees the way they swoon and hang on to every word the knight has to say about her most recent adventures. She knows all too well how the gleam in her eyes and the slight trip up in her words due to her excitement paints an endearing picture of the valiant hero.
Yachi has known for years that those traits of hers turn the girl into something that resembles herself more than what she tends to portray to get the job done as a knight. She’s strong and brave, but also soft-spoken and kind. All of these things about Kanoka were what made Yachi fall in love with her when they were kids all those years ago.
It was good that other people were seeing her lover for who she was, but she also hated it. There was something inside of the princess that wanted to keep that part of Kanoka all to herself. It worried Yachi to no end that Kanoka might find another royal to woo—someone who wasn’t so possessive or demanding like Yachi tended to be.
The voice of her manners mistress echoed in her head every time she thought like this. Princesses mustn’t be greedy. Princesses must stay calm and rational at all times. And so on and so forth.
If she cared less about how she portrayed herself as a princess, her manners could kick rocks so long as everyone knew Kanoka was hers. Unfortunately, she cared a lot, so she would just have to grin and bear it.
At some point throughout the banquet though, it became almost impossible to keep a sneer off her face as she continued to eye the crowd around her lover. If looks could kill, the girl who was carelessly tugging at the knight’s clothing would be six feet under.
She finds herself marching right over to the small crowd when she can bear it no longer. As she approaches, a path is created that leads Yachi all the way to where Kanoka is in the middle of recounting a past quest. The princess slows to a stop as she becomes as entranced by the girl’s story as the rest of the audience.
Her eyes shine even in the dim lighting, and her arms flail about to help her listeners more clearly visualize the events. The knight sweeps her eyes over the crowd for emphasis at a particular part and stops midsentence with the discovery of the newest presence in the crowd.
“My princess,” she says softly, before bowing deeply with devotion. Yachi finds it difficult to hide the way Kanoka’s simple address affects her so much. Two words have been spoken and Yachi has half a mind to bare everything to her.
Instead, she curtsies on shaky legs and offers her hand. The knight gently reaches for it and brings it to her lips to plant a ghost of a kiss over the base of her gloved knuckles.
“To what do I owe this pleasure?” The gray in her eyes glitter brighter the longer it takes for Yachi to answer her.
Princesses must always know what to say, she scolds herself, while grasping desperately for a coherent train of thought. She wonders if her manners mistress ever encountered a person with a gaze like Kanoka’s, that could make one forget more than just their words. If she’d ever felt love like this, then maybe she’d have a little more grace for this princess who loses her tongue every time she meets her lover’s eyes.
When the knight tilts her head in curiosity, Yachi finds her voice again. “I wanted to thank you for your hard work and bravery,” she starts. “And if you’re not otherwise preoccupied, I wanted to ask you to be my partner for the next song.”
The girl beams at her proposal, “I would be honored.”
The knight and the princess quickly separate from the crowd, who put up some fuss at their source of entertainment being taken away from them. They concede after Kanoka reassures them that she’ll be back soon enough, and then the couple are heading towards the dance floor to get in position for the next song.
There’s some fumbling at first; Yachi can’t compose herself enough to stop stepping on Kanoka’s toes and the knight isn’t helping by laughing at her mistakes like they’re something endearing rather than embarrassing.
Her cheeks have been set aflame as Kanoka slows them down to reteach her a simple two-step. She pulls her in closer to guide her better, humming the song in her ear and whispering words of encouragement.
All too soon, the song ends and is replaced by a different tune. They slowly step back and the warmth that their bodies had created is lost to distance. She feels benevolent enough to let Kanoka go back to her entourage, except Kanoka tugs her back into her for the next dance, and the one after that.
For the rest of the night they glide across the floor, and every time they lock eyes Yachi loses a bit of herself. Kanoka collects those parts without fail. When they tire of that, they hide in the palace gardens away from the crowd and their responsibilities.
It’s in the wee hours of the morning that Yachi is finally being escorted back to her quarters by the knight. Even with taking the long way, they arrive at their destination too soon, and Yachi is having trouble finding a good excuse to linger a little bit longer in front of her room.
“I feel guilty for keeping you to myself this whole time,” she murmurs quietly. She’s not sorry at all though, and Kanoka knows this too. The raise of her eyebrow and slight smirk directed towards Yachi is evidence enough.
“Okay so I may not feel guilty about that,” she backtracks. “But I do feel that it is unlike my usual nature to have conducted myself in that manner.” Being raised to act a certain way as a member of the royal family, this irrationality of hers when it came to Kanoka scared her more than she would like to admit sometimes.
The knight closes the distance between them once more, and holds Yachi’s face in her hands so that all the blonde can do is look into the eyes of her lover.
“Asking things- even demanding them of me is in your nature, Princess. Just like fulfilling those requests are in mine.” The area where Kanoka’s thumb brushes over Yachi’s cheek burns hotter than the fire in her belly.
“Then stay the night,” she whispers into the limited space between them.
“Happily.”
And then her knight swoops in for a kiss.