Chapter Text
A book slams down in front of you on the table you’re seated at, you blink the sleep away from your eyes.
“I believe you had more than enough sleep last night, did you not Princess?” asks the Queen.
You can hear the venom in her voice, “It still is not enough to keep me awake for this.”
Currently, you are being retaught the correct etiquette of how a Princess should act. This has to be the millionth time, and the only reason for that is because you continue to act– as the Queen would say– “out of line.”
“Enough!” her yelling still does not catch your attention as she wishes it would, she opts to say your name sternly, finally making you look up at her, “You continue to disobey the rules– disobey me. One would expect you to learn from the past lessons, but you? You are as stubborn as ever.”
You sigh knowing this is nothing new, “May I be excused?”
You could swear one day that vein on the Queen’s forehead would pop, “I believe not–”
You stand up from your seat regardless, giving her a hasty smile, “I shall see you soon, Queen.”
You walk out the room while she still calls after you, instead of turning back, you ignore her as always and head for your chambers. It’s funny, she’s seeming to lose her temper more recently.
Your room is quite far away, but you imagine that’s the way the King and Queen prefer it. The closer you get to it, the more paintings you are able to see of your mother. Some of them were removed when the King– your father remarried to her. Gods, how you hate that woman. Who does she think she is? Trying to teach you how to be a proper Princess when she herself is a wretch of a Queen.
It hasn’t been long since your mother passed away. Regardless of the unfortunate fact, your father moved on too quickly. Just thinking about it steals your sleep away.
You’re merely a couple of feet away from your chambers, except it seems like your father has different plans for you, in front of you stops your father’s Knight.
“Princess,” you pause in front of him, “The King has requested your presence.”
“At this very moment?”
He nods, “Did he say what for, Sir Arthur?”
He clicks his tongue, “No, but I suppose it has to do with you not listening to the Queen.”
Along with him being your father’s most trusted Knight, he was your favorite. You smile amused, “How funny. I did nothing wrong.”
He raises his eyebrow, “Tell that to the King, my dear.”
You sigh dejected, nodding your head, a sign for him to lead the way.
Upon making it to the King’s chambers, he stops you before you go inside, “I was merely jesting, you know I am on your side, right?”
“I know, but I also know that the King comes first. I would never hold that against you, Sir Arthur.”
His smile doesn’t quite reach his eyes, he opts to nod, and opens the door for you.
Your father is a quiet man, and as much as you don’t want to admit, you are afraid of him. You had always been closer to your mother, hiding behind her dress, peeking out from the side only to stare at your father’s feet instead of his face. With her being gone, you continue to look away from his face.
The moment you step inside, it feels harder for you to breathe, even more so than when you’re in the Queen’s presence. There he stands with his back to you, pouring himself a glass of wine you presume. You look around his room, you are rarely ever here. Every time you are here, there is something new or changed, most likely at the request of the Queen.
He calls out to you, breaking your trance, “It seems that you have not learned your lesson from last time.”
“I do not understand–”
He slams his glass down, this time facing you, the sound and the sight of him makes you flinch, “You are to respect the Queen as if she is your own mother.”
“Except, she is not my mother.” the topic flares anger within you.
He shakes his head, “We have spoken about this–”
“Then you should know I have made my feelings about this clear. I have never disrespected the Queen, and will not in the future. However, do not expect me to think of her as my mother. She could never be my mother.”
“Do not lie to my face, you have disrespected her. You disrespect her every time she teaches you the correct etiquette of being a Princess,” he walks closer to you, “You walk out of the room when you are expected to sit and learn. Is that not disrespect, Princess?”
“I have been taught that lesson too many times to count–”
“Then why is it that she continues to teach you? Why do you continue to disobey her?”
Your eyes still do not meet your father’s, you swallow thickly, you’re not sure what to respond with. He leans down, moving closer to your ear, “This is your final warning Princess, the next time I hear about your disobedience, the consequences will be grave.”
He steals a glance at your face, patting your head, you inhale sharply at the contact.
“That was not the reason I requested your presence. I wished to speak with you about an important matter.”
“What might that be?” you ask, wishing to get this over with.
“The Queen and I are expecting.”
You expected this at some point, your father is a bit old, but the Queen is still younger than him. But still, at his statement, disappointment rattles your body. Your eyes finally travel to your father’s face, this time he refuses to look at you, “That calls for joy.”
Except your voice is devoid of any happiness, the King hums, “That was not the prime reason for this meeting,” he stands to pour another glass of wine, making you look away, “We are hoping for an heir for the throne, which calls for the utmost safety for the Queen and our unborn child.”
You wonder if he was careful with your mother when she was pregnant with you. You doubt it though, your father clearly loved your step-mother more.
“I see, is there anything you request of me?”
He catches your eye, “Other than being obedient, there is one thing, yes. There have been quite a few instances where your safety was endangered, to prevent that I am putting a Knight at your service.”
“I do not need a Knight following me around–”
“Do not think I am requesting this, I am ordering it. Not only will this Knight ensure your safety, but will also make you follow orders since you are not able to do so yourself.”
You scoff, “This is unreasonable. If anything, the Queen should have a Knight. No need to be worried for me.”
“Oh, it is not worry. After our heir is born, you will get married off.
You bite your tongue, you wish to disagree on the matter, but there is no point arguing with the man standing in front of you.
“May I leave now?”
Your father shakes his head, “No, I wished for you to meet your knight.”
“I do not wish to meet him.”
“It is a she, not a he.”
“Pardon?”
“Do not fret, she is just as good as any of the men out there.”
“It is all the same to me, I do not wish to meet her.”
You leave his room, closing the door to his chambers behind you, you almost bump into someone wearing a red coat.
You don’t even look at who you almost bumped into, instead you let out a small apology and finally head to your room.
Except, once again like before, you are stopped in the middle of your tracks, this time not by Sir Arthur, but the person wearing the red coat.
They kneel in front of you, “I– what are you–”
You finally look over the person, they tilt their face up for you to see, “It is my pleasure to be at your service as your Knight, Princess.”
She’s beautiful, in every way a woman could be. What caught your eyes was her silver hair. The sight of her makes you nervous in a way you haven’t ever felt before, “Why are you kneeling–”
Instead of answering your question, she takes your hand. She gives it a fleeting kiss making you pull your hand away quickly, you totally miss the small smirk on her face.
You snap out of whatever trance you were in, “I do not wish to have a Knight.”
The silver haired woman stands up, your breath hitches as she towers over you, “The King requested for you–”
You cut her off, “I know what the King requested, and I will repeat to you what I said to him, I do not care for a Knight.”
“I am afraid it will not be that easy to get rid of my presence, Princess.” this time she doesn’t hide her smirk.
“I am going to my chambers, I wish to be alone.”
You walk away, and despite doing so, the woman continues to follow you. You turn around sharply, “I told you to leave me alone.”
“I have to ensure your safety.”
“I believe I am safe in my room.”
She shrugs, “You cannot be sure of that.”
Gods, she was annoying! You roll your eyes, turning away from her.
“I have not even introduced myself, how rude of me. I am Dante.”
Dante, how fitting. Not that you cared anyways. But you suppose it’s good to put a name to a face. You do not respond to her introduction, instead you lock yourself in your room.
You don’t know what to be more annoyed by, the Knight following you around, or the fact that you will be married off in nine months– possibly less. You’re not sure how far along the Queen actually is.
You sigh heavily, you are in quite a predicament. What if you ran away? Gods, that would never work. Someone would find you and send you right back. It wouldn’t matter if you ran away, there would always be fear, you would never feel peace. But getting married to a man you don’t know? Wouldn’t that be worse? Wouldn’t it be worse to sit around and do nothing?
“You look quite lost in thought there.”
The voice makes you yelp, you look up to find Dante in your room, “When did you–”
“I was knocking on your door, though it seems you did not hear.”
“Leave.”
“I was merely checking if everything was okay.”
“And you did. Happy? Leave.”
“Are you always like this?”
“Why do you care?”
“Well Princess, I am your Knight, I am going to be around you for a while.”
You pinch the bridge of your nose, squeezing your eyes shut. Dante takes the moment to look over your form, she wonders what your favorite color is. The dress you are wearing is pink, and Dante is not ashamed to admit that pink suits you well.
Dante thinks it’s enough of teasing you, “I will be outside your chambers if you need anything, Princess.”
And with that she leaves. You’re glad she doesn’t wait for you to respond because at the moment you have nothing kind to say. Still, a small piece of you is grateful that your Knight is not a man.
Every day, the Queen requests your presence for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And every day, you decline. This morning is no different– except the person who wakes you from your slumber is.
“Good morning Princess, the Queen requests your presence for breakfast.” Dante says, opening your blinds.
“Why are you here?” you shield yourself from the sunlight.
“We spoke about this yesterday–”
“I know, I meant, what are you doing in my room?”
Your Knight shrugs, “To wake you up.”
“I do not eat any meal of the day with the King or the Queen. Do not wake me up again.”
You hide under your covers, “That is how it will be, huh.”
“Princess.” the voice now comes really close to you, you slightly jump and pull your covers off to give Dante a piece of your mind.
“There she is!” Dante exclaims, you look quite cute with a sleepy head and frown on your face. Dante can’t help but tease you.
“Why must you torture me like this?”
“The Queen urgently wishes to see you for breakfast.”
“She wishes for my presence every day, why is today any different?”
“She, herself, said that she wishes to bond with you.”
You laugh in disbelief, “Why? Because she is having an heir? What does it matter?”
Dante has nothing to say to that, “You can tell her that I decline just as I do any other day.”
“I cannot do that.”
“And why can you not?”
“Because I have to make sure you are obeying the Queen’s request.”
“You cannot force me to go.”
“I will not leave until you will.”
You have never had a Knight before, regardless, Dante was different. Why was she insistent on making you do things nobody has ever pushed you to do?
“If I do this, will you leave me alone for the remainder of the day?”
The woman hums in thought, “I suppose so, Princess.”
“Let the Queen know I will be there soon.”
Dante smiles and nods, and shortly leaves your room. You watch her leave, and notice the big sword on her back. How did you miss that?
You freshen up, trying not to waste time. The sooner you go, the sooner you can come back, right?
This morning the Queen smiles at you so kindly that you think your eyes are deceiving you. She sits at the table that is big enough to seat a whole room.
“Good morning, Princess.”
“Good morning.”
“Please sit.” she notions towards the seat across from her.
You’d rather not sit right across from her, but since she’s being civil, you decide to listen to her. In the corner, you finally catch Dante’s eyes. You quickly look away from her.
“I assume your father spoke with you.”
You nod, “I am happy for the both of you.”
The Queen raises her eyebrow slightly, but smiles, “I am glad you joined me this morning. I had decided that it was better if I were to speak with you regarding your suitors instead of your father.”
You chuckle humorlessly, “I would rather not speak about that at all.”
“You are to be wed in a few months. Now, believe me, I am aware that you do not want to go through with this. But would you rather have no choice in the matter at all?”
“I believe it to be all the same. In the end, my fate will be the same, no?”
The Queen sighs, your eyes are cast downwards towards the table. Dante stares at you, it was clear as day that you hated this. In a way, she felt a little bad for you, but she knew deep down there was something else swirling around in your mind.
“These are some letters with the suitors’ information. Even if you do not want to, look over them, my dear.”
You stand up abruptly, “I am going to the gardens.”
“Your food–”
“I am not hungry.” you say before leaving.
Looking at suitors, is she joking? Just thinking about it gives you a headache. Your walk to the garden is a haze.
Winter will be coming soon, but for now, the weather outside is bearable, not hot, nor cold. You lay down in the field of flowers. The sun lightly shines down on you. Looking to your side, you see nothing but small blue flowers, their small yellow center makes you smile.
“Are they your favorite?”
You don’t need to look towards the voice to know who it is, “No, but they are pretty.”
“So, which are your favorite?”
Ignoring her question, you sit and look up at her, “How were you able to convince the King to let you wear your coat instead of armor?”
Dante lets out a laugh, “You know, that is the most I have heard you speak to me.”
You look away from her, Dante doesn’t miss the small smile on your face, “The King judged me on my skills, not my clothing. I asked if I could, and he allowed it.”
You hum, “Your sword, is it heavy?”
Dante unsheathes it from her back, “Do you wish to find out?”
You raise your eyebrows, “You would let me?”
Dante holds out her hand. You look at her hand and then up at her face, to which she shakes her hand for you to take.
Taking her hand, she helps you stand up. Dante holds out her sword for you to see, “Take both of your hands, and place them below the skull.”
You do as she says, but immediately after she lets go of the sword the weight of the sword finally dawns on you. The other end of the sword falls to the ground.
Dante reaches out for you in concern, “Are you okay?”
“Yes,” you try lifting her sword up– which you do lift a couple of inches before dropping it back down, “I do not know how you do this.”
Dante chuckles, “You get used to it at some point.”
You hand the sword back to her, “Thank you.”
Dante settles the sword back on her back, she looks up at the sky, “It might rain soon.”
Her words indicate that you both should head inside soon.
“Lillies.”
Dante looks to you confused, “I am heading to my chambers. You promised you would leave me alone for the rest of the day.”
“I do not intend to go back on my word, Princess.”
“Please stop referring to me as Princess, it is annoying.”
“That is what everyone else refers to you as, I am no different, Princess.”
Oh, now she’s doing it to annoy you. You sigh, “Then shall I refer to you as my Knight?”
“If you please.” Dante says with a teasing smile.
There’s no winning with Dante it seems. With your back to her, you are able to hide your smile easily. Dante watches you walk away, she’ll keep her promise from far away.
Upon making it to your chambers, your eyes catch the same letters the Queen was trying to present to you. You don’t give them a fraction of your time, instead, you change your clothes and lay in bed.
What if you acquired a plan to run away? Nothing is set in stone, you know that better than anyone. But what if you went along the timeline of the Queen’s expectancy for her child? Her stomach bump isn’t showing yet, it’s possible that she’s between 2-4 months– somewhere between there.
That gives you what? 5-7 months before you are possibly married off. You rub at your forehead in stress. The more time passes, the further along the Queen is, meaning everyone’s attention will mostly befall on her. Especially considering how everyone is hoping for an heir to the throne. Your marriage will not cause too much attention. Especially during the ninth month of the Queen’s pregnancy. She will be in more discomfort and pain, her safety will be the most ensured during that period. And that? That is the perfect distraction. The closer she would get to her due date– that would be the safest time for you to leave safely and soundly.
Getting out of here shouldn’t be too hard, as fate would have it, your balcony is a few yards from the woods. That area itself is not too guarded because of the river after crossing the woods. There had never been any issue before for the King to guard that area.
The next question however is, where exactly would you go?
Your thoughts are interrupted by knocks on your door, “Yes?”
The door opens to reveal Sir Arthur, “The King has a message for you.”
“What is it?”
“You have received the letters regarding the suitors, yes?” to which you nod, “The King expects an answer by three days.”
You nod, “Please inform him that I shall have my answer by then, thank you.”
The man merely nods and leaves you alone.
Three days? You have no sense of urgency at the deadline, you make no move to look at what suitors the King and Queen have picked out for you. Instead, you cover yourself with your sheets and head into deep slumber.
Two days have passed, you owe your father an answer by tomorrow. You’ve had a lot of time on your hands to think about how you want to execute this plan. You don’t know why, but Dante hasn’t really bothered you since that day. She is there, ensuring your safety, but she’s silent.
Yet, once again you find yourself in the company of flowers. Sitting in the field, you’re plucking some of the flowers to engrave on the paper resting on your hands.
“Why are you plucking the flowers?” speak of the devil.
“I was starting to think you were tired of me, my Knight,” you take a peek at her, she has a light smile on her face, “Do you wish to sit?”
“I suppose I could.” the silver haired woman takes a seat beside you.
“Do you know what they call these flowers?”
Dante won’t lie, she wasn’t big on flowers, she shakes her head, “They are called ‘forget-me-nots’, well in reality they are called Scorpion grasses. But I believe forget-me-nots fit them a little better.”
“Why do you say that?”
You look at her, “They are just too hard to forget. Once you see them, I do not think one could ever forget about them.”
“The other day, you said Lilies are your favorite?”
“Yes.”
Dante turns to look at you, “Why?”
“My mother used to say that they symbolized renewal, and moreover a newfound passion. I always believed it to have a beautiful meaning, along with them looking precious.”
Dante doesn’t say a word to that, instead she tries to read your face. What is going on in your pretty head?
“Where are you from, my Knight?”
Dante can’t help but let out a chuckle, “Will you continue calling me that?”
“Last I recall, I have your permission.”
“A big village, it does not seem so big anymore now though.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Well, you know what they say, Princess, someone will either make a village big or small. But when that someone is not there anymore, the village is not so big either.”
Dante’s eyes staring at the sky up ahead, “Did you like it that way? The village big, I mean.”
Dante shrugs, “In a way, yes. It was easy to hide.”
“Hide from what?”
Finally meeting your eyes, she says, “From whatever you are wanting to hide from.”
She doesn’t break eye contact, but you do, you’re afraid if she looks a little deeper she might find what she’s looking for. However, a part of you knows that she might already have a hunch of what’s swirling inside your mind, “I see.”
“Dante,” she breaks the silence, her single word makes you hum in confusion, “I would rather you just call me Dante.”
You smile genuinely at her request, standing up, you brush off your dress, “I shall see you inside then, Dante.”
After you take a couple of steps away from her, the Knight closes her eyes, basking in the way you said her name. There could never be a more beautiful sound.
Dante knows that look inside of your eyes, she has a small inkling of what you might be thinking, but she knows that it might not be possible. What you’re hoping for, it’s a long stretch. She figured from the day the Queen was showing the suitors. You were– no, you are afraid, Dante may have not felt that fear before, but she knows what fear looks like.
It’s unfortunate, she thinks. You aren’t as bad as you make yourself out to be. You merely want a life for yourself, and Dante could never see anything wrong with that. Is that why she opened up about where she was from? Even if she didn’t tell you everything, she told you enough. The said woman sighs, she pushes herself off the ground to stand up only to hear paper crinkle beneath her hand.
You left your paper by her side. She grabs it and takes it with her to your chambers.
Inside your room, you’re changed into your pink gown to rest. You’re seated at the edge of your bed when you hear knocks on your door, “Come in.”
In walks Dante, holding your paper up to see, “You forgot this.”
You smile, “Thank you.”
Before Dante could set the paper down, you call out to her, “Could I ask something of you?”
“Yes, Princess.”
“Do you see those letters on the table?”
Dante nods slowly, “Those letters have information regarding my suitors, could you look them over and pick one for me?”
Dante’s eyes widen just a fraction for you to see. Why would you want her to look at your suitors– let alone pick one for you? Dante has so many thoughts in her head at your request.
“I am afraid I should not do that, Princess.”
“Please Dante, I do not wish to look at it, and I have utmost trust in you.”
It’s true, you do have utmost trust in Dante. A couple of days you might have protested at the thought, but now things are different. You haven’t ever met anyone like Dante, and you don’t believe you will.
You had Dante the moment you uttered the word ‘please’, how could you ask her to do something like this for you? It flares something inside of her– she’s not aware of what, but it’s there and it hurts.
Dante heeds your request, she shoves your paper with the flowers inside her pocket. Picking up the letters, she looks over them.
“I can read them to you?”
You shake your head, “I swear to you that I do not care what is written in there. I know you will decide which is best.”
Dante inhales sharply, but does as you say. The first suitor is way too old for you. There is no possible way he would be able to keep you happy. You deserve someone who will grow old with you, not someone who is already on their death bed. The second suitor is no better, he’s somewhat closer to you in age, but he has been married four times already. You would be his fifth wife. What if he decides he doesn’t want you? What if he breaks your heart? Dante can’t imagine somebody ruining you like that. No. The first and second suitors are out of the question. She looks at the third suitor, it doesn’t look like he has anything bad. His age is not too far from yours, he’s rich, and hasn’t been married at all. In fact, he looks like he’s just taken over the throne. He could keep you happy, she thinks– she hopes.
She hands you the letter with the information of the third suitor on there, “The third suitor is the only good one compared to all of them.”
“So you think I should pick him?”
If I could, I’d rather you pick none of them, Dante thinks.
“Yes, I think he would be the best one for you, Princess.”
You smile, “Thank you, my Knight.”
Dante nods, walking away slowly, forgetting about your paper residing in her pocket. Instead she thinks about your cute smile, and you laying down to rest in your pink gown– only confirming that your favorite color might just be pink.
After Dante leaves, you get up to throw the other suitors’ information in the fire. You hope Dante doesn’t find you to be too weird, you know your request was odd, but in the end it doesn’t matter, right? Afterall, you’ll be long gone before you have to marry the man.