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It had started out like any other normal day
No, no day was normal here. This wasn't Soluna, they were so short of resources here so Apo and Cherri had spent the majority of the day gathering some more matierials for rebuilding the house they were staying in there, and getting some more wheat so that Apo could make more bread later. Upon arriving back, the two of them had gone and talked to the other members of the so-called red kingdom, where they'd run into the "neck romancer" mage named Sausage, who'd offered to help teach the princess some magic.
From there, It had only go downhill. Sausage took them to a sort of greenhouse, and started talking to what seemed to be Death themself? Apo honestly wasn't sure all of what was going on some kind of summoning circle? However, the moment that Cherri had gotten hurt by it they'd put their foot down. Sausage apologised, and they headed outside.
"Are there any side effects that we should look out for from her being in a literal SUMMONING CIRCLE?"
"You just have to drink alot of water for the next 30-48 hours"
"Oh, and the sun might be a little bit hot."
"Well, I mean; she is the sun herself, she is hot"
"Well, if you say so…"
"well she is the princess of soluna…"
God what was Apo thinking! She knew better than to speak before planning out her sentences, that was one of the most basic lessons learned as a knight. Proper ettiquite and grammar had been drilled into her from a young age, and she should know better then this! A knight doesn't call a princess hot, even if they thought it was true it should be pushed away, never to be spoken or thought of again. Duty comes before everything else, and Apo's duty was to protect the princess, not be be freaking out over an old crush again.
Besides, even if they could be free of the roles they were tied to, there was no way someone like Cherri, one of the most gorgeous people Apo had ever seen could ever like someone like her, an average-looking nobody. And there was also no possible way to even know if Princess Cherri even liked women, she might see Apo as gross, or wierd or something entirely else. Sure, she did blush when they'd kissed her hand in the cave, but that could've easily been from the heat of the fire in the cave and the adrenaline of the invasion. That didn't mean anything! And besides, even though they'd met before as kids, they were still practically strangers.
Besisdes, there was the fact that apo was just a knight and she was a literal princess, she was not supposed to think about these things, that was not her duty, nor was it knightlike at all. so for now the feelings would have to be locked away.
The feelings did not manage to stay locked away for long. Later that day, when Princess Cherri was collecting wood for their house, and Apo was standing guard nearby, they allowed themself to properly look at the princess. Her figure was illuminated by the golden light of the evening hours seeping through the treetops, somehow making her face glow, a halo of yellowy-orange light illuminating her features. It was… breathtaking, the way that her beauty shone through even while she was not trying to impress anyone. She hummed a tune under her breath as she worked, a beautifull melody that Apo had heard a time or two back while they were in Soluna. Apo wondered if she'd ever sing the entire song for them, they had never bothered to learn the lyrics, but knew it would be as beautifull as ever if the princess sang it for them.
No, she had to focus! She couldn't allow herself to get distracted and miss something in their surroundings, that could cause further harm to the princess. So for now, she took a breath, shoved any thoughts other than the rythm of scanning the surrounding area, the the lessons of solunian training and the oath to the crown, and the weight of her moon piercer in her hand and her armor on her body. This was something familiar, this she could do. For now, she was just the princess's knight, nothing else.