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Despite the situation she found herself in, Apo was struggling to relax.
It didn’t feel natural, as a knight, to be sitting out in the grass with her princess like this, so… informally. But Cherri had insisted, practically begged, that they have a picnic together, and while engaging in such an activity sounded entirely improper for a knight, Apo found it very difficult to say no, especially when Cherri gave her that look.
So here Apo found herself, sitting rather awkwardly on a blanket that Cherri had spread out on the ground, Stars forbid she got grass stains on her dress, watching absentmindedly as the princess rooted through the basket of food that she’d brought. Cherri had somehow even talked them into removing their armour, claiming that it would help her ‘loosen up’. Apo believed that ‘loosening up’ was the last thing she should be doing as a knight, but Cherri was persistent, as if she knew that Apo would inevitably cave to her every wish.
She ran her fingers through the grass, the feeling of it brushing up against her bare hand was unfamiliar but… kind of nice. It was easy to get lost in thought like this, it was so quiet out in these fields, but it was not akin to the eerie silence of a bloodied battlefield. No, this sort of quiet was peaceful, gentle, serene.
“-Apo?”
The knight’s head snapped to attention at the sound of her name, realising that her mind had been wandering. Cherri was staring expectantly at her from where they sat opposite.
“I- Sorry, my lady, what was that?” Apo fumbled over her words as she spoke.
“I said, which one do you want?” Cherri repeated, hands outstretched towards Apo. She looked down, and saw that Cherri was holding two different coloured muffins.
“Oh- um… I don’t mind.” Apo replied, happy to accept whichever one her princess was less fond of.
“No, come on. Vanilla or chocolate, which one’s your favourite?” Cherri pushed further, much to the knight’s surprise.
Apo paused, unsure of what to say. Growing up on the streets, she’d never known the privilege of having food preferences, she simply ate whatever she could get her hands on. Even after being so graciously taken in by the palace, Apo had become too preoccupied with her training to think about such trivial things.
“I… I don’t know.” Apo finally admitted.
Cherri was quiet for a few moments, her expression difficult to read. Was she disappointed? Apo began to panic, maybe they should have just made up an answer to appease her-
But then, an idea bloomed on the princess’s face, and Apo watched as she oh-so carefully broke each muffin in half, placing one half of each in front of them both.
“There.” Cherri smiled, “Now you can try both, and then you can tell me which one was your favourite.”
Apo blinked, slightly dumbfounded. Why was Cherri so insistent on knowing which of the two was her favourite? Why did such a small and insignificant detail seem to matter to her so much? Now that she thought about it, this wasn’t the first time that Cherri had been so curious about Apo’s personal opinions.
It didn’t make any sense.
Cherri did most of the talking as they ate, recounting tales from the past few days, or going over plans for the ever-growing Red Kingdom, all the while, Apo listened. She enjoyed listening to the princess talk, to see her happy and smiling. There was no sight more rewarding in the whole world. Apo would do anything, go to any length, fight any battle, to keep her happy like this forever.
Eventually, the sun’s rays met the horizon, and they both agreed that it was time to pack up and head back inside. Apo was just starting to fold up the blanket they had been sitting on, when Cherri’s voice cut through the quiet.
“So, which one was your favourite?”
“Oh-“ Apo started, she had almost forgotten about the exchange from earlier, and she was certainly surprised that Cherri had remembered, “Um… The vanilla was my favourite, I think.”
“Good.” Cherri replied, looking oddly pleased with herself, “Vanilla’s my favourite too.”
Apo could take it no longer, so she decided to speak up.
“My lady, if I may, why is this such an important matter to you?” Apo asked, regretting their words almost immediately, as Cherri’s smile faltered.
“It’s important to know what you do and don’t like, wouldn’t you agree?”
“But, I am just a knight, it doesn’t matter what I-“
“But you are still a person, are you not?” Cherri’s tone had grown serious. She had stopped what she was doing, turning to face Apo square on. The knight froze, afraid that they had upset her.
“I- Yes… Yes, I am a person.” Apo conceded. It seemed like such a silly thing to need to affirm, now that she was faced with it. But perhaps, she considered, Cherri did have a point. Just maybe, she could allow herself the grace of feeling human, of feeling something beyond her duty.
Even thinking such a thing felt sinful, against everything that Apo had been taught. But, being in Cherri’s presence brought forth a sense of affirmation, that perhaps it was okay to feel, to want-
“Okay.” Cherri at last seemed satisfied, and returned to packing up the basket.
In the soft, golden light of the remaining sun, Apo could not help but take in the princess’s beauty, the way the sunlight illuminated off of her auburn hair, making it appear almost glowing, like the fire that sparked and danced in her veins.
“We should do this again, some time.” Cherri proposed, voice hopeful.
Apo paused for what seemed like an eternity, an unfamiliar warmth blooming at her cheeks.
“Yes, I would like that.”