Chapter Text
When the light reflects your gaze
The kingdom of aether illuminated with the morning light, the sun casting a warm glow to the castle as a prince stirs from his slumber. Prince Calon of aether awoke from the shine of light by his window, stands from his bed and exits his bedroom greeting the knight in front of his door with a soft smile “Good morrow”. The knight grunted in greeting as the prince passed through the door.
The knight near the door was Jackson or better known as jack, a young knight in his 20s promoted for a recent successful raid in Urio when a group of mercenaries were suspected of hatching a plan for assassination of the king. The young knight handled a fight against five mercenaries, unscathed. Earning the respect of the royals and gaining the promotion of Knight dame. “Sir Jackson’s lucky..” the prince thought while walking to the royal’s dining hall.
Nearing the dining hall he heard hurried footsteps and frantic breathing. With curiosity and concern in his eyes, prince Calon’s eyes landed on the knight that was once near his door, catching his breath from the sudden activity his body endured. After a few minutes the knight spoke, his voice was muffled by the helmet he was wearing but it was still coherent. “My liege, I apologize for my absence. I forgot that I was assigned to guard you throughout the day”. The knight’s tone is stoic and straightforward, voice deep and calm despite forgetting crucial information and almost missing his role. The prince chuckled with amusement in his eyes making the knight raise his eyebrow in confusion “No need to apologize sir jack, it is normal to forget things” the prince’s tone was bright and happy, voice deep and amused but laced with subtle authority and royalty. “Just make sure to follow now on, Okay?” the stoic knight nods in return. As the prince entered the royal dining hall, the table became laced with authoritative glances at the prince and his knight. “You’re late.” The king speaks, as if scolding the prince for being five minutes late. “Excuse us father, I didn't wake up in time.. My body must’ve been tired from the last sparring and the softness of the bed felt too compelling” the prince lied not wanting to get the knight scolded nor getting to any trouble. of course the knight noticed this and he made sure to take note of this lie.
The king sighed “very well.. sit down” the king followed as the prince sat down, grabbing a spoonful of mashed potatoes and some eggs and digging in. The mashed potato was creamy and a little bit salty cooked just right to have some kick and for the royals to enjoy. The egg tasted delightful, the salt and pepper giving it a flavor and slight kick of spiciness. While the royals were eating and discussing duty, he noticed sir Jackson’s gaze via the reflection of his utensils. is the knight checking him out?, is the knight sizing him up?, only god knows.. His thoughts ceased when the king asked him a question regarding the progress on the paperwork he had done in which the prince responded with “I have yet to finish it, father although I am halfway through the paperwork.” The king nods, giving the prince a subtle hint of acknowledgement. The table was filled with silence as the royals continue to eat.
The knight behind the prince however looked curiously over Calon. “Hm i wonder why he didn’t rat me out” sir Jack thought while he looked at the prince, his metal helmet reflecting a ray of light onto the prince’s silverware causing it to reflect his stature. Meanwhile the prince looked at the reflection with a tilt of his head curious on what the knight was thinking about once again. The knight had always been mysterious looking at Calon when they were alone, walking or when he was reading or.. was he over thinking this?
The prince finished his meal and was dismissed by the king. With a nod he gets out of the dining hall and into his room opening the door and sitting at his desk to finish the paperwork he needed to finish the knight followed him of course going inside the prince’s door to stand next to him and to keep the prince company.
The prince dipped the tip of the feather and gracefully wrote on the paper whilst the knight beside him cleared his throat to get his attention. “May I ask a question?” the prince lifted his gaze, faces the knight and nods “Forgive my boldness but you didn’t have to cover up the lie, my liege” the prince chuckles and responds amused but a hint of worry in his voice “I had to sir jack, who knows what father would’ve done to you?‘’ The knight held his gaze on the prince for a few seconds before muttering a soft “thank you” making the prince chuckle but ending the conversation with a nod.
The room fell silent, with only the sound of a feather grazing the paper echoes throughout the prince's chambers as he wrote the required paperwork he needed. The knight stood in silence, breathing— the only sound he mostly produces while in the dining hall or near his colleagues. He'd been teased about this of course, his ‘friends’ even gave him a nickname calling him “The deadly statue” or the “Iron armor” cause he'd been mistaken as an armor stand once or twice the nicknames only making him grumble or annoyed, of course his colleagues are entertained by this “those bastards..” he thought though the curse laced with affection despite his initial annoyance.
Letting out a sigh, the prince sets the feather near the ink and leaves the paper to dry as he stands up, gazing at the knight before speaking with a soft smile in his face “I am free for now, i think. Just need to wait for the ink to dry” the knight nods in response resuming his usual quiet act. This doesn't stop the prince from asking a question though. With a grin, Calon spoke with mischief as he looked onto the knight's helm to what he assumed to be his peep hole. “Sir knight, could i ask why you were looking at me whilst I was dining?”. The knight blinked in shock, speechless he didn't think the prince would notice him. He thought he was being subtle but was clearly the opposite. “You.. noticed?” The knight spoke trying to keep his voice steady as his cheeks felt warm and a subtle pink blush was adorning his neck trying and failing to keep his composure. The prince chuckled to the sight in front of him and this made the knight turn his head to the side whilst clearing his throat. “You are subtle don't get me wrong” the prince said “the light just perfectly reflected your stature and i got a glimpse of your gaze” this made the knight's cheeks heat up even more. He needed to divert the topic before he completely lost his composure. “my liege, since you have no more work that you need to do.. how about exploring the gardens with me?” The knight quipped, making the prince chuckle again. almost losing his composure to the heavenly sound ”god his chuckles are cute-– what?. What is he thinking?” he quickly shook his head before he lost it completely. Calon hummed in feigned thought as he walked up to the blushing knight smiling as he spoke. “Let’s move shall we?” The knight nodded in response.
Walking down to his room and into the garden took more than 10 minutes due to the almost endless flights of stairs though it was quite entertaining as the prince bantered with the knight earning a grumble, a sigh and a quiet chuckle almost forgetting the incident that occurred in the prince's quarters. After the last flights of stairs and going outside, all of their efforts were rewarded by a soft breeze that graced the fields of grass, making the blades dance and carry the scent of pollen and the dew of the morning as the flowers danced gracefully along with the gust of wind. The prince walked up to a nearby flower, crouching and inspecting the lily being animated by the air, giving it a soft whiff and smiling while the knight observed the entranced prince seeing his features soften as he sighs in relief and stands up, glancing to the knight and moving his hand, quietly inviting him to the wooden bench near the fields of the flowers.