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It was a fairly calm day in the Red Kingdom. Rain fell gently out the window, and there wasn’t a Blue in sight. The kingdom had decided to take a day off to rest and relax. No work needed to be done around the kingdom, just relaxation. Sitting inside the Soluna home, Princess Cherri laid on her stomach, a book of magic in hand.. The Necromancer had given it to her to help her study spells. It was nice to be able to look over certain things herself, rather than having someone over her shoulder tell her what she was doing wrong. Her main problem right now, however, was that she could not focus on the words in front of her.
“Apokuna.” Cherri sighed, laying the book down in front of her. She looked up to see her knight standing at the windowsill, eyes trained on the ground below.
She was always so tense, rarely allowing herself to rest. Especially now when the blue kingdom was silent, she still watched for signs of them.. It was as if she was preparing for an attack that would never come.
After a beat of silence, Apo turned their head to face their princess. Before they answered, though, she allowed herself to look over her princess. Not that anything could have happened to her, but it was always something Apo would do. A habit trained into her. Check over the royal family. Make sure they’re safe and unharmed. Cherri was unharmed. Her hair was a little unkempt from being inside all day as well as that restlessness she got in her eyes, but otherwise, she looked fine.
“Yes, Cherrifire?” Apo replied after the quick lookover. If her princess was going to use her full name, they’d return the favor.
Cherri giggled at her knight’s tone, swinging her legs off the side of the mattress as she sat up properly. She tilted her head as she watched Apo closely. A small, mischievous smile painted her face.
“Would you still love me if I were a worm?”
It was such a strange question, it took Apo off guard. Well, perhaps not the question itself. As it was definitely something the princess would ask. This is the type of question she’d ask all the time back in Soluna. And even here in the Red Kingdom on occasion.
What really took her off guard was “would you still love me”.
Love. A word Apo had never truly thought about. It was a complicated thing. Apo loved her role as a knight. She loved serving her kingdom. She loved protecting the royal family. She loved protecting her princess. And at the end of the day, though she would never admit it out loud, she loved Cherrifire.
So, the answer in itself, once she truly got down to it was simple. Yes. Yes Apo would love Cherri if she were a worm. Apo would love her no matter what.
So, the royal knight sighed, setting her moon piercer to the side and letting her guard down, even if it were just for a moment.
“My Princess,” Apo settled her gaze on Cherri, staring at her with unfiltered love and adoration. “I would love you no matter what you were. Be it a large beast or a tiny worm. I would still protect you the same. For you are my princess, and I am your knight. No matter what world we may be in, I am forever yours.”
The princess felt heat rising up her cheeks as a soft blush painted her face. She turned her head away from Apo. She had not been expecting that. Not a… love confession. Or at least, that’s what it had sounded like.
Trying to calm herself down, Cherri let out a soft huff. She pulled her hair to hide her face, fiddling with the long strands.
“Well. I wouldn’t love you if you were a worm.” she said simply, trying desperately to get her heart to stop beating so fast.
“Excuse me?”
The corner of Cherri’s lip quirked up at the sound of Apo’s disbelief.
“Of course I wouldn’t. Worms are slimy and gross. And they live in the ground.” Cherri tilted her nose up. “Worms also aren’t very capable of love. They’re just… worms. Gross and disgusting and nowhere near up to a Princess’s standards.”
Apo blinked.
“But what if the worm was me?”
Cherri shrugged, glancing over to see Apo’s expression.
“I wouldn’t know if the worm was you or if it was just another worm.”
Apo’s brows were furrowed as they seemed to try to figure out what game their princess was playing. After a moment, they shook their head, moving to look back out the window.
“If you were a worm, I’d feed you to the frog.”
“HEY!” Cherri threw her book at Apo.
The knight easily dodged it, laughing at the change in pace. Perhaps if it were someone else, their answer would be different. If someone else were to throw a book, they would be upset.
But as it was, this was her princess. Worm or not.
And Lady Apokuna loved her princess.