Archive of Our Own

It would have been really funny if he wasn’t the one suffering from the situation. 

Locked inside one of the palace’s too many rooms and chosen as the prize for some crazy tournament the Queen decided to hold in his honour, he meant.

“Kak Kira, this isn’t funny,” Boboiboy banged on the door. “Let me go! I got far too much paperwork to deal with back at the dukedom to be entertaining this kind of nonsense!”

If he was anyone else, saying those kinds of lines to the Queen would have been treason, but as it stands, Kira’na liked him too much to take the words seriously. He did get away with staging a rebellion the first time around, after all.

But he needed Kira’na to take him seriously at the moment.

“No can do, Oboi,” Kira’na cheerfully answered him from the other side of the door. “We can’t have our most eligible bachelor in this kingdom drown himself in paperworks. You’re at the peak of your youth, this is the perfect time to find a lifetime partner. If you’re not actively finding one yourself, then as a ruler who cares way too much about her loyal subjects, I should take matters into my own hand.”

“Kak Kira!” he banged on the thick door again. The Queen merely laughed and he could hear the jangle of keys and her laughter fading away. Urgh.

Boboiboy rested his forehead on the wooden door and closed his eyes, trying to calm down and think of a way to escape. The tournament will be held in three days. He was to stay (read: locked) inside the room until the Queen decided he should go and see the tournament himself. To see his future wife.

Urgh, Kak Kira must’ve been really bored to pull this kind of stun on him. She had complained to him before that ruling can be very boring, but why did she have to make him suffer with her??

He sighed. Calling on his elemental spirits to break down the door would not be helpful at the moment, he had tried that in the past and he was sure Kira’na had accounted for the fact that he would try to run away already. 

Without Fang, he wasn’t so sure he could get out of the palace undetected. 

That reminded him! 

Fang!!

Where was his loyal knight when he needed him the most??

Urgh.

Thinking about that raven-haired idiot made him mad all over again. He peeled himself from the door and began pacing the room. Sure, they did have another dumb fight this morning, but surely his knight would be back by now? He couldn’t have wandered off too far on his own and forgotten about the guy he was supposed to protect, couldn’t he? 

Well, actually, that did sound like something Fang would do…conveniently forget about him while he tried to cool off on his own.

He scratched the back of his head. He might have pissed off the guy more than he initially realised.

Boboiboy sighed. 

Without much option to do left, he plopped down the bed and stared at the impressive canopy above his head. He wondered what led to Kira’na acting like this.

Why did she need to organise a tournament to find him a lifetime partner? A sword fighting tournament at that. 

Is she trying to find him a wife or a knight??

If she was just subtly trying to find him a new knight and snatch Fang away from him, then sorry, he would not just stand still and let that happen.

If he would need to stage another rebellion to make that happen, then so be it. 

Fang is his! 

Queen or not, it would take more than some dumb tournament to pry away the raven-haired knight by his side.

Well, unless the knight chooses to do so himself and leave his side to serve the Queen . Boboiboy picked up one of the soft pillows on the bed and smushed his face into it, the sour mood back to haunt him. After all, that’s what they had been fighting about this morning. Maybe the reason Fang was so mad had something to do with what the Queen already planned.

Fang hadn’t swore his oath of fealty on anyone else yet. It had been about a month since he reached adulthood and was granted his knighthood, and yet his knight hadn’t mentioned anyone he wanted to swear his loyalty to.

He had hoped it would be him, of course, but if it was anyone else, he would be happy for the knight too. They had been close since the boy came over to their dukedom to learn swordsmanship from his father in return for being Boboiboy’s playmate. If playmates try to stab each other with a sword on a daily basis, that is. It was the knight’s old mentor that decided he would stay with his old friend, the duke,  until he got good enough at swordsmanship.

They had stopped trying to murder each other by tripping one another down the floor and swapping their food with mildly indigestible stuff after a year together, but the intense sparring session remained. Fang is good at his job, sure, and he wouldn’t want anyone else as his knight. They had been through thick and thin together and nobody knew him as well as the raven-haired knight, as annoying as that could be sometimes.

Kira’na did mention that they spend too much time attached to the hip once but he shrugged it off by saying that was literally the knight’s job to stay with him all the time. If he dragged the knights along too much to his shenanigans, then that was between him and the raven-haired knight. It’s not like Fang had been complaining about their outings, after all. 

And everything goes back to Kira’na, he groaned. What did she mean she’s offering his hand to any girl that can win a sword fighting tournament she’d hold three days from now?? What is he?? Some blushing maiden?? 

Thinking about it alone made him feel embarrassed.

And why the specific requirement on girls?? 

Sometimes, he could not even guess what the Queen was thinking.

Urgh, he missed his knight very much right now. As much as he would like to be mad at Fang for being missing when he needed him the most, he just hoped that his knight would come soon to save him.

—

Fang almost choked on his food when he heard the news. He was just enjoying the morning sun walking through the market, trying and failing not to think about Boboiboy yet again, when the messenger from the palace made his announcement.

“The hand in marriage of the heir of Pulau Rintis dukedom will be offered to anyone who can win the swordsmanship tournament that will be held in three days' time,” the messenger spoke out loud on his wooden platform and the sandwich Fang was eating stuck in the middle of his throat.

The heck?? Isn’t that the very guy he was supposed to protect??

Why is he the last one to know about this??

He promptly contacted the rest of their group and agreed to meet up with everyone in one hour at the usual inn they stayed at. He booked a room and waited for everyone else to arrive.

Yaya and Ying came in together. Gopal came in a bit later, telling them Qually will arrive a little late because he still had to finish his task before he could come meet them.

“So,” Gopal started the meeting, looking at him. “What did you guys fight about this time?”

Fang spluttered. “What does this have anything to do with me??”

“I mean,” Gopal waved his hand. “He usually gets into these dumb troubles when you guys are fighting and I know you didn’t follow him into the palace this morning. So, anything to share with the class, Sir Knight?”

He groaned at the guy. Gopal may be right 80% of the time, but he was definitely not right this time around. “Nothing much, he was just asking me about who I want to swear myself to and it escalated into another argument."

“Ah,” Yaya had a knowing look on her face. “So that’s what it is this time.”

He wanted to ask her what exactly she understood but Ying was faster. “So it really has nothing to do with Fang this time?”

“In a way, yes,” Yaya said. “But I guess the Queen had predicted this a long time ago,” she smiled.

That…felt ominous.

“What are we supposed to do now? I can try to sneak into the palace as usual and try to save him, but it’s better to have back up plans. Kak Kira can be quite unpredictable at times,” he crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall. 

Gopal muttered, “only you would dare to sneak into the most tightly guarded place in this kingdom and address the Queen so casually,” which was rude, because Kak Kira gave him permission to enter the palace as he wished a long time ago and he wasn’t the only one who addressed the Queen so casually. Boboiboy did too but then again it felt like whatever perks Fang got from the Queen, it always extended to the guy he was in charge of protecting.

Right, the guy he was in charge of protecting.

Which was conveniently not there with him right now making it harder to protect him to begin with, never mind that he was the one who stomped away just this morning. His head throbbed in the usual sign of an incoming headache. He sighed.

Fang rubbed on his temple, “Should we adjourn this meeting for now? We can go around and ask for more information about the tournament. I’ll update on my progress sneaking into the palace. We should meet again in two day’s time.”

When he got his friends’ confirmation, he made his way out of the inn and walked around rather aimlessly at the capital’s plaza. Boboiboy and his penchant for getting himself in trouble when he wasn’t looking. It was no wonder Kak Kira often made fun of them for being joined at the hip all the time, but in his defence, he just didn’t want to add more work for himself having to save the guy when he inadvertently got himself in trouble.

For a guy who’s well loved by the elemental spirits in the world, it sure seems like Fate has a one-sided beef with him.

And Fang often got dragged into the mess too just for the fact that he was Boboiboy’s knight.

Not officially, of course. 

He only recently obtained his knighthood and he hadn’t swore himself to anyone yet, not that he had to if he never wished to do so. Kaizo, despite working in the imperial army, never really swore himself to the kingdom of even the Queen himself. His elder brother did give him the option to remain unattached if the oath of fealty felt too heavy for him to live with.

Once a knight promised to follow someone through war and peace, it was highly frowned upon to break that oath. It’s called the oath of fealty for a reason. 

Boboiboy had asked him this morning whether he ever planned on swearing himself to someone and he brushed off the question by saying he hadn’t finished thinking about it. It prompted the guy to come to a conclusion that Fang had thought about it, it was just that he hadn’t come to a final decision yet and began egging him for more details about the person he wanted to take up his oath of fealty to.

What an idiot, it’s not like he had been serving anyone else while he’s growing up.

He told him exactly that and for some weird reason, Boboiboy took that as Fang telling him it wasn’t as if he had any experience knowing other people that he could swear his loyalty to and that it was his fault that the raven-haired knight hadn’t chosen anyone yet.

How he misunderstood a line so simple was beyond him. 

He’s lucky he got a good heart despite not being the brain of the group and that Fang is willing to follow him through hardship and peace.

He just wished that the hardship wasn’t manmade hardship sometimes.

Like being married off through some tournament the Queen of all people decided to hold in his honour.

Fang sighed, what an idiot.

—

Day one of trying to escape ended in failure. 

He had called upon Taufan to fly and check whether the ornate window frame can be pry apart only resulting in him knowing just how well made those metal frames were. He tried asking Gempa to check the structural integrity of the room itself in case he could find some random hidden passage leading him elsewhere which, needless to say, led him to find nothing. At one point, he even transformed into Blaze and Solar to burn down and eye-beam the door itself but that method failed too.

Now Boboiboy was back staring at the bed’s canopy, magic reserve exhausted.

Food was teleported into his room at set intervals, all his personal belongings that he brought in the journey were already there and the room had a bathroom attached to it so technically, there was no reason for the Queen to allow him outside.

Which sucks.

He fell asleep from exhaustion more than the fact that he was comfortable enough to sleep alone without knowing how his friends were faring outside the palace.

Day two passed with no progress either.

And definitely no knight with raven hair to save him from the accursed room.

Boboiboy went from cursing the knight to the moon and back and wishing nothing bad happened to Fang every few hours. Fang was the most competent at sneaking around since he made a contract with the shadow spirit and everything, but he knew Kira’na had tightened the security after they successfully broke into the palace to subdue the Queen from being possessed by the lightning spirit that one time.

His friends would have figured out another way to save him from getting married to a random person if his knight failed to sneak in, but waiting around and doing nothing frayed his nerves too much despite his own elemental spirits trying to calm him down.

On day three and the final day before the cursed tournament, he just stayed in bed and ignored everything that happened around him. 

He had tried everything he could think of and he did not want to waste any more energy doing useless things. He should reserve some magic if he wanted to try and make a run when the guards escorted him to the tournament the next day. Plus, he was sure that his friends had their own plan, so he might as well not worry his head too much and trust them to do their job.

Of course, this display of lifelessness freaked out his elemental spirits so much (except for Ice who finally appreciate not being worked to the bone and joined him on the soft bed prepared for him by the palace attendant) and Gempa hadn’t stopped nagging him to eat his breakfast that was barely half eaten. In his defence, the palace sent him meals five times a day, he could only take so much food before looking at one made him want to throw up.

“I’m not against you sulking about your current situation,” the tiny earth spirit stood in front of his face at the bed, “but you can’t neglect your health like this, Oboi.”

Boboiboy shook his head, ruining his hair even more as it rubbed against the bedding. “It’s fine, Gempa. I’m full already.”

“But you always finish your food back at home!”

Well, that was mainly him feeding half of it to his knight. Fang’s daily regime required him to eat more food than Boboiboy who barely had that much physical training in a day due to his other responsibilities in completing paperworks and attending classes. Shoving food down his knight’s throat was far more entertaining than eating everything by himself, after all. Fang’s face would light up in an adorable manner whenever he ate something that he genuinely liked and Boboiboy just like watching other people happy.

Not that he would do the same with anyone else. Gopal’s a glutton and would first inhale all the food on the table without caring about everyone else. Yaya and Ying would murder him if he tried doing that to them. Qually appreciate other people eating the food that he made rather than eating himself and the guy would go on a tangent on proper table manners if he tried to eat in a way less than impeccable.

…

He missed his friends so much.

“You guys can finish the food if you want to,” he mumbled out to his elementals.

“Don’t mind if I do!” Duri dropped down from the ceiling using his magical vines and swung towards the table where he ate his breakfast.

“Duri,” the tiny light blue spirit that was comfortable curling up into a blob on his bed finally sat up and rubbed his eyes, “leave some for me too. I call dibs on the desserts.”

Blaze screamed “I want the mashed potatoes!” from somewhere inside the room but from his position on the bed, Boboiboy couldn’t see the fire spirits himself.

“There,” he looked back at Gempa. “Problem solved.”

Gempa sighed and placed his hands on his hips. Oh no. 

Mother hen mode.

“Are you worried about Kak Kira forcing you to get married to anyone who wins the tournament tomorrow?”

Spot on. “Yes,” he hugged his pillow tighter.

“Oboi, you do know that if you really don’t want to, Kak Kira will respect your decision.”

“But then, what’s the point of organising all these for me if she wasn’t hinting for me to get married already?”

“She was probably worried—”

“About what? The fact that I spend too much time with my knight than anyone else in the world? The fact that I’ve never been interested in girls around me? The fact that I cried my eyeballs out when Fang got hurt during the staged rebellion? The fact that I kept the Queen’s closest childhood friend with me all the time and didn’t allow the guy to go away too far where I can’t follow him? Or the fact that I made heart eyes—”

To the guy he wasn’t even sure would stay with him for the foreseeable future. 

That only ever stayed with him all these times because it was literally his duty to do so. The one who he would ask to spend so much time together because the ones that they already had was just simply not enough for him to satisfy his need for proximity.

Boboiboy knew his time with Fang would end once the knight chose to swear his loyalty to someone else, someone better than him, and he just wasn’t ready for that day to happen yet.

Dammit, all his troubles nowadays always have a habit of going back to his knight as if he wasn’t thinking of the guy too much already.

“I don’t want to talk about this, Gempa,” he hid his face behind the pillow he had been hugging in his arms.

He could hear Gempa sigh and moments later, a tiny hand patted the top of his head. “If you’re scared of him going away, why didn’t you confess first?” the earth spirit asked him softly.

“I’ve asked too much from him already and he has sacrificed too much for me,” which is true and sometimes he went to sleep thinking whether it was all done voluntarily or was the knight merely doing his duty all these times, “I don’t feel like I deserve to ask for more from him.”

“But if you don’t ask him,” another voice interrupted them and he peeked from his pillow to see that it was Halilintar, “then how would he know?”

How would he know? 

“I don’t know.” 

He just doesn't want to hear Fang gently letting him down when the inevitable rejection comes.

He wished his knight could read his mind sometimes so that all his worries could be discussed without them having to say embarrassing words to one another.

Gempa and Halilintar exchanged a look with one another before looking back at him. “Well,” Gempa said, “I just hope that you’d figure out what you wanted to do before the tournament ends. It’s not good to promise yourself to another person when your head is filled with someone else.”

Boboiboy mumbled out a quiet agreement and rolled away to stare at the other side of the room. His elemental spirits were right, he had dragged it off for too long already.

He just hoped that whatever Fang decided to choose, he wouldn’t be left too heartbroken by it.

—

“This…is a bad idea,” Fang stared at Gopal incredulously.

To his credit, Gopal merely rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. “Dey, do you have any other idea how we should save him then? You said it yourself that the palace tightened their security and you couldn’t get to his room without exposing your cover. What else could we do to get him out of this situation without making the Queen angry?”

“Yeah, we really should take any method we could to save him, Fang. I’m sure Boboiboy doesn’t want some random woman to win his hand in marriage. Might as well be one of us and you’re the best candidate.” Yaya, of all people that he trusted, supported Gopal’s idea, but, uhh, he had a feeling that Yaya’s smile looked a bit scary right now. 

It felt like she agreed to Gopal’s idea more due to her own agenda, not just to save their future duke.

“Ya loh, come on, Fang. It’s not like we have many choices left. We’re already too late to break in or negotiate with the Queen. Might as well take the most straightforward method here,” Ying said. Her earnest look told him that she clearly wasn’t in the loop with Yaya’s plan.

Fang looked again at the writings on the board that Gopal had somehow conjured up, clenching the fist in his crossed arms. 

Did he really have to?

When he did not reply, Yaya clapped her hands and concluded the meeting. “The tournament starts tomorrow morning at seven sharp. Let’s go to sleep early today.”

They all filed out of the room and closed the door, leaving him alone to stare at the board they had compiled before he came over for their meeting that night.

In all honesty, the plan was not the weirdest one his group of friends ever suggested. That would go to the one time he and Boboiboy had to turn into another magical species to uncover a secret betting ring at the dukedom which operated illegally, but this plan in front of him would come in close to take the first place. 

He sighed. Well, if everyone in their team already agreed to this, he might as well trust them and follow along. It was his job to keep their future lord safe, after all, and he messed up by letting the guy enter the palace alone. His best option as of now was to suck it up and agree with the plan.

He just hoped he won’t regret this too much tomorrow.

—

Never said Boboiboy didn’t try to escape because he sure did burst out of the room and sped away with the help of Halilintar the moment the palace attendant removed the spells locking the door. It turned into a mad chase across the palace ground before the Queen herself came over and stopped him from using his power.

He should have transformed into Taufan instead, he clicked his tongue. How would he know the Queen would have so much free time in the morning to catch a runaway prisoner? Using the power of a thunder spirit against the descendant of thunder elementalist sealed his fate the moment they clash with one another.

Now, Kira’na was happily dragging him using the rope that was tied over and over across his midsection towards the capital’s grand amphitheater to watch the tournament taking place that day as he sulked and dragged his feet on the ground.

“Be happy, Oboi. It looked like a lot of people wanted to win your hand in marriage. Isn’t this exciting?” the Queen looked over her shoulder at him, smiling.

“People that I don’t even know to begin with,” he rolled his eyes. He couldn’t help it, merging with the thunder spirit always made him snappier than usual.

“That’s fine, Hali,” Taufan popped into existence near his face and blew winds to his face, messing up his already messy hairstyle. The wind spirit probably thought that could calm him down. “That just means the nation-wide heartbreak you’ll cause when you reject everyone won’t be that bad,” the wind spirit laughed.

“Oh,” Kira’na dropped him in a plush chair when they arrived at the royal viewing box of the grand amphitheater. “I’m pretty sure I saw some people you know in the list of candidates this morning. In fact, I’m beginning to suspect it won’t really be a nation-wide heartbreak. At least someone will come out happy by the end of today.” The Queen took her own seat and winked at him.

He cocked an eyebrow. “I highly doubt that.” Taufan settled himself on the viewing box’s railing and the rest of the elemental spirits popped into existence beside the wind spirit.

The all-knowing smile was still on the Queen’s face. “Want to bet on that?” her voice turned a shade scary.

“I think I’ll hold my bet for now,” he shivered and looked away to avoid the intense stare Kira’na was giving him. 

Which, coincidentally, led him to see the participants fighting in the middle of the amphitheater. Swordfighting tournament. There were two people fighting in the ring, trading blows and leaving sands scattering across the winds. 

“Huh,” he said, somewhat surprised. “I wasn’t expecting the participants to be this good at sword fighting, if I’m being really honest.”

“Right?” Kira’na sounded happy. “Well, actually, you missed the preliminaries this morning and the ones fighting right now are only the best of the best. There were people who hadn’t even touched a sword before in the preliminaries but was forced to enter the tournament to get the attention of our partnerless little duke—” Boboiboy looked away at the jab, “—but the one who remained now are those who had sword training for a few years, at least.” The Queen’s voice turned soft. “I’m just glad that there’s quite a number of girls in this kingdom who were given the chance to try swordsmanship even if it's just for the sake of this tournament.”

He glanced at the red-haired Queen beside him and saw that Kira’na’s face had also turned soft and was  looking at the fighters in the ring. 

Huh. So that’s the main reason Kira’na organised this event.

It sure isn’t just to find him a wife alone.

She was the Queen, after all. Her subjects would be the main thing at the forefront of his mind and she knew he would never really get mad at her for pulling stuns like this every once in a while.

Boboiboy sighed.

“Hey,” Duri spoke up from his spot in the railing. He bent his little body backward to look at the two of them upside down. “You said there’s people that we knew in the tournament. When are they coming out?”

The fighters in the ring finally reached the end of their duel. 

“Oh,” Kira’na said. A grin slowly crept up her face.

One of the fighters made a dash forward and slash her sword. The other fighter sidestepped the attack and swung her sword in retaliation towards the other person’s open back.

“I’m sure you’ll be thrilled to see this person.”

The first fighter rolled to the side to avoid the sword and stuck out her leg to swipe over the other person’s leg, making her lose her balance.

“I’ve double checked her application this morning and it is who I thought it is.”

The first fighter pointed her sword at her opponent’s neck, officially ending the fight. The referee called upon the next pair to come to the middle of the ring for their fight.

The Queen’s smile widened and she pointed at the ring.

There, two women entered the ring. Boboiboy’s eye almost popped out of his eyes at the sight. His elemental spirits gasped.

He had never seen the other person, but he sure knew one of the fighters. He had seen her before.

Raven hair that looked almost dark violet under the blazing sun. The red glasses. That damn sword that he just gave away to a certain someone last month during the said person’s birthday.

He had seen her before alright. Everyday, in fact. 

Just not in a long skirt and the person definitely did not have long hair before. Definitely not in a feminine body, either.

It was none other than his one and only knight. 

Fang.

He would laugh and cry at the same time at what he was seeing, Kak Kira’na looking closely at his expression be damned. Is this what his friends came up with to save him from the situation?? His poor heart would like to request for a break!!

“Like what you see?” Kak Kira asked him with a shit-eating grin on her face. 

He was pretty sure his burning face answered her question even when his mouth could only stutter a string of gibberish nonsense.

—

The fight was easy. 

Of course it was easy, he was a fully accredited knight. Anything less than winning every single fight that came his way would be an embarrassment to his name. He could spot Gopal, Yaya, Ying and Qually from the audience cheering for him from the corner of his eyes whenever he moved to trade another blow with his opponent.

If anything, the only hard part was managing to fight with a long skirt and long hair to boot. Thank goodness Yaya gave him a hair tie to keep his hair up in one high ponytail or else he would have suffered from getting hair all over his face and blocking his eyesight in the sword fight.

He only had two more fights to go, one with his current opponent and the last one with the Queen herself. Yes, the Queen herself. Apparently, Kak Kira put in a condition that the participants who managed to come on top would need to face off against the Queen herself for her to see whether the said participant would be worthy of one of her most loyal vassals' hand in marriage. 

A pretty direct way to reject the winner in case they didn’t pass the Queen’s vibe check.

Not that he was too worried in facing off against Kak Kira, despite how much more skilled she is in sword fighting. He had faced her together with Boboiboy once, during the staged rebellion to save the queen from the thunder spirit possession.

He was far more worried that Kak Kira would expose his identity when he inevitably fought her.

From the moment he registered his participation, he already knew that the Queen herself had already known that he was merely a guy crossdressing as a woman, skirt or no skirt.

In his defence, the skirt was Yaya’s idea. He tried asking for a pair of pants but Yaya firmly shut him down. Beats him if he knew why.

Apparently, it wasn’t the weirdest decision to wear a long skirt into battle. He had seen a few ladies wearing different types of skirts or even dresses in the tournament but he was the only one that lasted this long.

He should have trusted Yaya’s decision more, huh.

Qually prepared the transformation potion, Ying prepared all the paperworks for registration, Yaya prepared his clothes. Gopal, uhh, insisted on the long hair and prepared another set of potions for him to swallow. 

Where’s all these team efforts when he needed help around the mansion back home??

He defeated his opponent with a quick feint followed by a well placed jab using the hilt of his sword at the centre of his opponent’s back, making her stumble and fall. Her sword fell off from her grip, marking her own loss in the fight.

He offered his hand to help her stand up and they bowed at each other. He could see why Kak Kira would organise this event. Kinda. He met many worthy opponents as he made his way to the top and he couldn’t wait to see what the Queen would do with all the good swordwomen he met that day after this whole farce of a tournament ended.

Fang glanced at the royal viewing box and looked at the two people sitting inside. He only realised the two most important people in the tournament that day had arrived when he heard Boboiboy’s elemental spirits cheering his name and waving their tiny hands at him. The heightened senses of a swordmaster made it easier for him to spot them.

He looked up at them again to see Kak Kira giving him a sharp smile. Fang gulped, his hand around the hilt of his sword broke out in sweat.

He hoped Kak Kira would be merciful enough to let him lose the fight with his dignity remaining intact. After all, she already knew who he was. He already made a statement by appearing in the tournament. His job was to make sure Boboiboy wasn’t dragged into a situation he didn’t want to and being the last participant standing meant that he already completed the task. Kak Kira just needed to defeat him and they could go back home without much fuss.

Let’s hope his older brother never learns about what he did today. He didn’t want the fourth best swordmaster in the kingdom on his heel, trying to murder him for embarrassing their family name.

—

Kira’na stood up when Fang’s last opponent walked out of the ring. “It looks like we have our tentative winner here,” her voice projected clearly over the amphitheater from the spell engraved in the royal’s viewing box they were sitting at.

Boboiboy, still tied up from their fight this morning, stared at the red-haired Queen. Kak Kira gave him an ominous smile.

“The condition of the tournament dictated that the last remaining participant would have to face off against me, but I think I have another idea.” The Queen picked him up by the rope he was tied with. “Since our winner is way better than I initially expected, why don’t we have our most important man in this event fight the duchess candidate himself.”

Boboiboy barely had time to react before Kira’na threw him over the railings into the middle of the ring as hard as she could, still being tied up and everything. He gaped at the betrayal, telegraphing as much anger-surprise-disbelief as he could through his eyes as he looked at the red-haired Queen.

Gravity claimed him and he couldn’t even flail in the air with his hands still tied behind his back, dropping to what would be his death if nobody caught him at that moment. His elemental spirits snapped from their shock and flew towards him as fast as they could, but the ground was approaching quicker and—

He landed on something soft.

“Are you okay?” A familiar voice asked him, although this time, it sounded far softer. He peeked his eyes open and saw that he was still on the air, but this time in someone’s hold.

Fang. 

Of course, who else?

His knight had transformed into his half-eagle form and carried him in his arms. He stared at him in a daze.

“Miss participant, Oboi,” Kak Kira decided that was the best moment to interrupt them. “I’m asking you to fight, not flirt in front of everyone here.” She was back at her seat, smiling at them. The crowd cheered and some even blew a suggestive whistle (Gopal, he knew that was Gopal even without having to look, that guy).

“Your Majesty,” Fang panicked and almost dropped his hold before Boboiboy did them both a favour and looped his arms around the knight. 

He could practically see Fang swallow and the way his throat bobbed from his new position.

Fang kept his mouth shut and floated them down slowly. Once he let Boboiboy’s feet touch the ground and release him from the rope that was binding him, the knight turned back to the Queen and kneeled down with his head bowed low. “I’m sorry for the unsightly display, Your Majesty.” 

Fang truly sounded chastised. Boboiboy clenched his fist and bowed his head too. “It was also my fault, Your Majesty. Please don’t blame him— I mean, her, alone.”

Kira’na laughed and waved her hand. “I wasn't mad. You may begin the fight.”

They nodded their heads and took their place in the middle of the ring. They looked at each other and bowed their heads, just like any other sparring they had before.

The elemental spirits went back to the sigil mark on his wrists and Boboiboy summoned his sword.

The crowd’s noise became background sound and the only thing he can focus on right now was his opponent. His knight. Fang.

The raven-haired knight had his hand on the hilt of his sword that was still in its sheath. He fixed his stance and his eyes grew sharp in the familiar way it would when he was taking someone seriously in a fight.

Boboiboy grinned. 

The moment the referee blew his whistle, he dashed forward and attacked first. The clang of their swords clashing threw the crowds into a new wave of excitement but, truly, nothing shone brighter than the matching grin on Fang’s face mirroring his.

This will be an interesting fight.

—

His mentor always told him there were only two things he should remember in any fight he got into. First, finish the fight at the earliest convenience, and second, have no mercy. Make sure your opponent could not get back up once you beat them.

And Boboiboy wasn’t someone who would quietly back down without a fight, that’s what made their sparring so damn fun.

The young duke’s sword elongated into a green vine-like whip and Fang rolled to the side to avoid the incoming attack, thinking of a way to draw closer for a counterattack.

The tournament’s rules were simple. Those who had a contract with spirits can only use their power against another person who can also use magic. The first one that managed to make their opponent drop their sword will be the winner. No maiming, no killing.

The same rule they used in their sparring. Anything else will be considered fair game.

Fang clicked his tongue when a blazing inferno slashed the ground he was standing on a few seconds prior. He was glad that he put up his hair in a tight ponytail or the fire would have singed it. Boboiboy looked like he barely broke a sweat, still casually twisting the sword in his hand that changed according to his will.

The future duke had an advantage in a face-to-face fight. His magic can be used in both offensive and defensive moves, while he used his shadow more for defence and as support for others.

Not that he would ever throw the fight, especially not when his opponent was making that smug look at his inability to fight back.

Fang swung his sword in a huge arc, dark shadow slashed forward according to the movement of the sword and Boboiboy’s sword turned into a dark brown greatsword for him to block the attack from touching him. 

Fang melted into the shadow under his feet and reappeared behind his opponent to attack once more. Boboiboy’s eyes widened in surprise, before thunder flashed in his vision and a red-black sword clanged against his, holding off his attack. 

“Is that all you can do, Your Grace?” he taunted the young duke. “I heard you’re the kingdom’s up and coming swordmaster, how come you haven’t landed a single successful blow against a weak and frail woman like me?”

Boboiboy’s eyebrow twitched and he broke the stare off by taking one small step backward and swung his sword in a beautiful deadly arc, electricity crackled behind the movement.

Fang swore under his breath and raised up his shadow shield, not wanting to back off from his position. Once the shield stopped the incoming attack, he used his shadow hand to wrap around the man’s legs to prevent him from moving.

Boboiboy laughed. “Really?” he cocked his eyebrow.

That one word was enough to piss him off, unfortunately. The downside of having exchanged barbs all their life was that he knew exactly what the guy meant.

Really? Is that the best you could do? And you taunt me for not being able to land a hit.

“Bastard,” he muttered under his breath, and Boboiboy laughed again, hearing that perfectly with his ability.

Not wanting to waste the chance he already had, Fang swung his sword across the guy’s midsection.

Boboiboy seemed to predict the movement as no sooner than he attacked, the air turned very cold and he could only spot a condescending grin before a sword made of pure ice stabbed itself into the ground. Sharp ice bloomed from the ground in clusters and he had no other choice but to melt again into his shadow a few feet away from his opponent, putting him into disadvantage yet again.

“Come on, miss,” light blue ice stared at him. “Are you even taking this fight seriously? It feels like all your attacks have been half-hearted. I could’ve gone back to sleep if that’s all you can do.” Boboiboy yawned after he said that, although his eyes still looked clear, glinting with amusement.

“And you barely ever attack on your own,” he spat back. “All you ever did this time was responding to my attacks, Your Grace. I would have thought you’d take the lead, but then again, why am I expecting so much from someone like you to begin with.”

He knew it was in the best interest for everyone there that he lost the fight, since that would be a clear showcase of the young duke rejecting his wife-to-be but goddammit if it wasn’t so tempting to plummet the hilt of his sword to that annoying smug looking face.

He taunts the guy to make him finish the fight sooner, but why can’t this guy seem to get the memo?? 

He called upon his shadow hands again to convene and attack his opponent again from all sides and he watched as Boboiboy’s light blue iris turned dark blue with a wide grin decorating his face.

Oh no.

He melted into his shadow the same time the young duke laughed and summoned a whirlwind around him, blocking the shadow hands from touching him. The shadow hands ended up flying everywhere but their intended target.

“Miss participant,” the guy singsoned, “Come on out.”

He stayed in his shadow and drew nearer as Boboiboy looked around to find him.

“Well, if you don’t want to come out, then I’ll just have to find you myself.” Boboiboy’s eye turned a warm shade of brown and his sword turned into a greatsword once again.

“There you are,” he swung behind him and Fang blocked the attack with the support of his shadows centered on his own sword.

The effort to block the impact made his hands shake. “End this quickly, idiot,” he gritted his teeth. “Then we can wrap up this mess and go back home.”

Boboiboy shrugged. “Sure, if you say so,” he said, as if he wasn’t thinking of ending the fight soon at all before this.

The young duke jumped backward a few steps and took a deep breath, sword pointing upward in front of him. “Solar,” he called.

Fang prepared himself to block off the worst of the attack and lose the fight as a yellow visor appeared on Boboiboy’s face and his sword turned into pure light, blinding his vision. Air began to pick up in the arena and he squinted his eyes at the sight in front of him. His hair and long skirt flapped wildly against the wind.

He needs to create more distance to not take the attack head on and risk his own life.

Boboiboy opened his eyes and raised his sword to slash forward, Fang took a step backward to get into his defensive stance and—

Tripped on his own long skirt.

YAYAAAAAAA!! He wanted to curse. YOU DIDN’T TELL ME MY OWN CLOTHES COULD BE A SAFETY HAZARD!!

What happened next was wildly beyond his control. In his haste to protect himself from the impact of falling down, his arm flailed around and accidentally let go of his own sword, and then Boboiboy looked at him in surprise, letting go of his own sword to dash forward to catch him, and before he knew it, they were both rolling on the ground and groaning as their head knocked together during the fall.

Fang would like to cry and maybe scream at the universe too.

They both let go of their sword.

It’s a fucking draw.

Kira’na would have a field day with the outcome.

Just as he expected, the Queen stood up from her viewing box and clapped her hands. “Ladies and gentlemens, the tournament has finally reached its end.”

The crowd cheered and Fang settled for screaming and punching the ground in frustration. 

When he raised his head to look at Boboiboy, the future duke was scratching his cheek and was looking back at him. “Uhh,” he said, “I’m sorry?”

Fang would like to strangle this guy when they get away from the public eye.

—

Boboiboy would like to protest being carried around like a little kitten by the scruff of his neck by the Queen but before he could really open his mouth, Kak Kira threw him into a very familiar room.

The room she locked him before.

“Kak Kira—” the door slammed in front of his face.

“Wait there while I interrogate your future wife, Oboi,” she said from the other side. 

“Kak Kira, don’t harm him! He was just trying to save me!”

“Gee, do you think so low of me, Oboi? Why would I try to harm Pang?”

Boboiboy hesitated. “Well, he did sneak into your tournament after all—”

“And he looks absolutely adorable!!” Kak Kira squealed. “I know I should have dressed him up in my clothes more when we’re younger!”

“Uh,” he stared at the door. “Don’t…don’t torture him too much?” The Queen still confused him so much sometimes.

“Can’t promise that, Oboi. Just wait there like a good kid and I’ll send your knight to you when I’m done with him later.”

He could hear the Queen walking away with a skip in her steps and thumped his forehead on the door as he took a deep breath.

Right. The tournament ended in a draw.

Fang would probably kill him when they saw each other again.

He only belatedly realised the knight’s plan to deliberately lose the fight after the fight itself ended.

Umm…

Yeah.

No wonder Fang looked so murderous after the fight.

In his defence, how was he supposed to know that when Fang looked like he was fighting with all his heart just like usual??

He knew that Boboiboy can’t really think of anything else but him when they spar. Fang was both beautiful and deadly when he fought, and Boboiboy was just too head over heels to think about anything else.

It felt like the only ones that seemed happy by the outcome of the fight were his elemental spirits.

Blaze popped into existence and clung into his head. “That was soooooo fun,” the little fire spirit pulled on his hair. “I told you we should’ve sparred every single day! Why do you have to be so busy with paperworks instead?” he whined.

“Blaze, don’t pull on his hair,” Gempa sat on his shoulder. “But he was right, the fight was fun.” There was a light flush on the earth spirit’s face.

“Fang was the only one who would allow us to use our full power in a casual fight,” Solar sat on his other shoulder and fixed his visor securely on his face. “Regrettably, I couldn’t land the final move.” 

“You might’ve hurt him if you landed that hit,” Taufan floated nearby. “And then you’d make our master lose his wife.”

Wife.

WIFE.

Boboiboy squatted down on the floor and held his head with both hands. “Gempa, what should I do?” he groaned.

“Do what?”

“I can’t get rid of the mental image of Fang crossdressing in my head.”

“Well, he did look very pretty, that’s a given.”

“That’s not helping.”

“But I know you’re still crazy about him whether he’s dressed as a girl or as a boy.”

Boboiboy groaned again. Why does that have to be so true?

“And then there’s the whole tournament itself.”

“Was it so bad that it ended in a draw?” Duri hung upside down in front of his face with his magical vines.

No, but now he had no legitimate reason he could come up with to reject the whole arrangement because why would he when it’s more than what he ever wanted in the first place?

For Fang to choose to stay with him, one way or another.

But…does the knight really want to?

“What am I supposed to say to him? Hey, hahaha, looks like we have to get married? Fang would kill me if I said that.”

“Why not confess first?” Halilintar stared up at him from where he was standing in front of his kneeling form. “If you fear Fang would reject the whole arrangement, why not tell him how you feel first? It’s long overdue, after all.”

It all came back to him confessing.

Confessing his feelings. 

Confessing is easy, the hard part is—

“How do I deal with the rejection? If it comes to that, will I lose our friendship too just because I can’t keep my own feelings contained?” He could feel the prickle behind his eyes from the onslaught of feelings. “I don’t want to lose him. I don’t want to lose the one friend that understands me so well we could share a look across a battlefield and he would understand what I’m thinking.”

He blinked away the tears and sniffed. He hated how emotional he turned sometimes, especially when he needed his head to be clear to think properly. “What should I do when it comes to that?”

There were too many ‘what if's' to think about.

What if Fang had a plan for his future already?

What if his knight felt disgusted by his feelings?

What if the relationship didn’t work as well as he thought it would?

What if they ended up hating each other?

What if, what if, what if—

What if it was better for him not to confess than risk it all?

Dammit, he should have had a talk with his father if he knew Kira’na was about to pull this kind of stun when he came to the capital due to her summon. His father would know what to say to him. Or at least his grandfather would. 

They always seemed to know the right thing to say to him to calm him down.

His elemental spirits stayed silent as he cried, their tiny hands patting him in support.

He knew Halilintar was right. He should confess. He should tell his knight his feelings first before jumping into conclusions, but the fear.

The fear of it all didn’t make it any easier for him to do so. To take the first step and do something about his feelings.

It felt like the longer he kept his feelings hidden, the stronger the fear grew.

—

“Kak Kira, what’s the meaning of this??” he backed away until he hit the wall and stared at the red-haired Queen in horror.

In Kira’na's hand was a rather gaudy and extravagant looking dress. “What am I doing?” the Queen asked with a very wide smile on her face. “Dolling you up, of course. You never agreed to wear my clothes when we’re younger. I should take this chance when it's being presented in front of me, shouldn’t I?”

That was the scariest thing he ever heard the woman say. “Kak Kira, have mercy.”

Kira’na pouted. “Come on, Pang. Just this one time?” she made a pleading face. “Pretty please?”

He would never trust that conniving face considering he had seen how many times Kaizo fell for the same face when they were little and suffered the consequence. Therefore, he made what he thought was the best decision at that moment.

Run the fuck away from that place.

Kira’na chased him around her bedroom as he tried to slip away from her grubby hands. Kak Kira had already locked the door to her room with a specialised spell so the only place he could run away to was just the nook and crannies in the room itself.

He was almost successful in jumping off the window before his long skirt decided to betray him once more that day and he slipped and fell flat on his face, groaning at the impact.

He really needs to have a talk with Yaya about her choice of clothes. How did that woman even survive wearing long skirts and going to fight all the time??

Kak Kira laughed at him and pulled him off from being a lump of pancake on the floor. She checked his red nose and blew on it softly, like she always did when they were younger and he hurt himself.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“I’ll feel even better if you decided not to let me wear that horrifying dress,” he sniffed.

The Queen laughed and patted his hair. “Alright, alright. But let me fix your hair. It looked like a bird’s nest with all the fighting you’ve done all day. How long will the transformation potion last anyway?”

“Qually said the transformation potion will last until tonight at least,” he allowed her to pull him up. “But Gopal gave me a far more potent potion for the hair. I don’t know why he thought that was very important for me sneaking into the tournament.”

Kira’na chuckled and pushed him to sit on her vanity’s stool. “I don’t know what he was thinking, but you do look very nice with long hair. You looked like your mother,” she said as she picked up a hair brush and pulled off his hair band.

“Really?” He curled a strand of his hair around his finger and looked at the mirror. He had forgotten how his mother looked like. “Huh, I never thought I looked like her.”

“Well, you do, and Kai looked very much like your father. I still remember them, you know. They’re good people.”

Fang hummed softly and allowed Kira’na to work through his hair. He watched the Queen do her work before asking, “What will you do with the participants that caught your eyes?”

Kira’na didn’t look surprised that he knew. “Recruit them, probably. Offer better training. Inspire more women to take up the sword.” 

Kira’na gave him a look through the mirror and smiled. “You did good back there. I know you’re not a real girl, but your fight with Oboi today was really impressive. I’m sure more than a few people would like to learn sword fighting after seeing your dashing display in the arena.”

“That’s good to hear. I’m sorry I crashed into your event without a warning.”

“Well, I get to see you crossdressing,” Kira’na laughed. “I’ll take that as an apology. And I’m sure Oboi’s thrilled to see you going this far just to save him from having to marry random strangers.”

He stiffened at the mention of the guy’s name and his voice cracked when he eventually asked, “Whatever you mean by that, Kak Kira?”

“Oh, you mean Oboi? You should’ve seen how red he got when he first saw you in that ring. It’s almost the same shade as my hair.”

“No, that can’t be true,” Kira’na lightly flicked his ears when he tried to turn around to look at her. “You must’ve seen that wrong.”

“Pang, I was literally sitting beside him at that time. I couldn’t have been wrong, and—” she was done brushing his hair and was now braiding some of the hair to put it into an elaborate hairstyle, “—that’s partially why I summoned both of you to the capital. When are you going to swear your oath of fealty? Kai said he didn’t mind if you never swear yourself to anyone, but with how attached you are to each other, I know you want to.”

“I—” Fang fidgeted in his seat. “To be honest, I don’t know.”

Kira’na stopped moving her hands. “You don’t know?”

“I—,” he swallowed, “I mean, I do plan on swearing my loyalty to him, but how do I even bring up the topic in the first place? I can’t just jump him one day and say I want to be his shield in time of peril and servant in time of peace, can I? That’s just too awkward.”

“Do you want me to marry you off to each other, instead?” Kak Kira cocked her eyebrow. “I mean, technically, I can since the tournament did end in a draw, after all. I can make it an official mandate.”

“What??” Fang swivelled around despite the Queen clicking her tongue. He had to stop her before she got any other brilliant idea. “Kak Kira, you can’t do that. That’ll just make it worse.”

“Marrying is worse than being his knight?” Kira’na tilted her head. “How come?”

“I want to be there to protect him, not just have his name beside mine in the family registry.”

“And I’m sure he would like to protect you too. I’ve seen how he cried when you got hurt during your little staged rebellion against me in the past. If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought you’re dying or something. Now,” she turned him around to start working with his hair again, “tell me what you’re so afraid of telling Oboi you’d like to swear your loyalty to him. I know he’s a good guy. Really, what’s wrong with making it official?”

“He could find a better knight?” he muttered slowly.

“Unlikely,” Kira’na scoffed. “You’re the sixth best swordmaster in this kingdom just like him. Unless Kaizo suddenly wants to swear his loyalty to Oboi, you’re practically the best option he got.”

“He could protect himself just fine even without an official knight?”

“With how well you guard his back? I’m sure once you’re out of the picture he’d be surprised to see how much weakness he actually has in battle.”

“He could…live without me?”

“If you’d seen how he acted this morning without you, you wouldn’t say that.”

Okay, so it was clear that they’d been a bit too dependent on each other. It couldn’t be helped when he grew up together with the guy.

Kak Kira finished pinning his hair up and placed her hands on his shoulders. The hairstyle looked vaguely familiar, as if he had seen it before although he couldn’t really specify when. “Pang,” the Queen called his name softly. “Don’t run away from your feelings. The longer you put this off, the more he would think you don’t want to stay beside him.”

“What? Of course I want to stay with him. Why wouldn’t I?” He looked at Kira’na in surprise.

Kira’na gave him a small smile. “But you never said that, did you? How would he know if you never said a thing. You know how much he likes to overthink stuff.”

How would he know?

How would Boboiboy know?

“I thought,” he looked down at the floor. “I thought that much was obvious already. We’re friends before anything else. Even if I don’t swear my loyalty to him, I would want to stay friends with him.”

“Technically, you work for him. If he was the one who asked you to stay with him, then it would feel like he’s exerting his power over you. I know he cares too much about little things like that, especially with how much you care about your knightly duties and how you never disobeyed his orders before.”

“Kak Kira, you’re making too much sense.” Fang would like to sulk, but he knew that the Queen was right in her observation. That guy does like to overthink stuff like this.

“Of course, I am. I’m the Queen,” Kira’na said smugly. “It’s my job to figure out what my loyal subjects are thinking about and solve their worries.”

“No, you just like playing matchmaker.”

“That, too,” the red-haired Queen laughed. “Also, you might want to know that Kai is approaching this room very fast and if you don’t get away now, he will arrive here in ten.”

He frowned. “Ten? Ten what?”

Kira’na smiled. “Nine.”

Fang paled.

—

He got tired of crying again so he laid down on the bed, staring at the canopy for the nth time while the rest of his elemental spirits scattered on the bed around him too, kicking their tiny feet up in the air while they enjoyed the silence.

“So,” he asked no one in particular. “When do you think Kak Kira will be done talking with Fang?”

Ice yawned. “Soon, probably. They can’t have that much to talk about anyway. They exchanged letters very often.”

It was weird for him to be jealous of the Queen for being the one person Fang trusted more than him, but here he was, being utterly jealous that Fang goes over to her for counsel when he had any troubles. 

He knew the knight wrote to her many times when he was just starting to live at his house and train with his father. When they were still at each other's throat and pushing one another down the stairs.

He sighed. Those were easier times.

Before he realised his feelings.

“You know, if they’re going to talk some more, I’m just going to sleep now. We can have our talk tomorrow.” It had been a tiring day, after all, even without all those crying.

“Wait,” Solar sat up. “I can feel his power nearby.”

He would be ashamed by how fast he sobered up and sat up from his position if he wasn’t so eager to know more from Solar. “Where? Outside the room?”

“No, there,” the little light spirit pointed to the middle of the room the same time purplish-black shadow began expanding from under the coffee table silhouette. Fang’s body appeared from the shadows soon after that.

“Fang!” “Oboi!”

Call him dramatic, but he rolled off the bed and approached the knight as soon as…

Oh my god, whoever did his hair needed a raise.

“Um,” it was the worst time to realise that his knight looks even better up close.

“Are you okay?” Fang held his face and began checking him all over. “Did Kak Kira do anything weird to you?”

Boboiboy was still staring at the new hairdo Fang was spotting, face warming from their close proximity.

“Thank goodness, you look fine,” the raven-haired knight let out a breath of relief. “But, you’re strangely warm. Are you sure you’re not coming down with a fever?”

“No,” he waved his hands in panic, subtly trying to lean away. “Nothing of that sort.” He hoped his heartbeat wasn’t too loud with how his heart felt like it was jumping up to his throat.

Fang narrowed his eyes and leaned in even closer, opening his mouth to say—

“There’s footsteps approaching this room,” Taufan interrupted them, making him jump in surprise. “It’s approaching very fast,” the wind spirit looked at them innocently.

He didn’t trust that innocent face but Boboiboy was thankful for the distraction anyway.

Fang cursed under his breath and held his hand. “We need to go now. Abang had been trying to chase me down and I don’t think I have the guts to face him looking like this.”

Boboiboy blinked his eyes. One time they were in the room he was locked in for days and then they were outside.

The full moon was glowing softly above them, casting light over the garden. Fang pulled on his hand and began running. “Let’s find somewhere a bit hidden. I have something to talk to you about before we meet up with the rest of the gang.”

His heart thundered in his chest.

Fang walked him through the tall maze-like garden and he followed the hand pulling him forward willingly, taking the time he had watching the guy in front of him.

Fang was still wearing the same clothes he did this morning, long skirt and everything. Only his hair was newly done by someone else. He was pretty sure after they ended up rolling on the ground at the end of their fight, his hair must have been pretty messed up. Now that he was looking at the clothes properly though, the fashion seemed to be similar to what Yaya always wears.

Boboiboy let out an amused huff.

Fang must have been dragged into one of their friends' wild shenanigans again. 

Despite how much the knight liked to complain and grumble, he would never brush off an idea that had been collectively agreed by everyone else, no matter how crazy that idea had been.

Like crossdressing and entering a tournament to win his hand in marriage so that Boboiboy didn’t have to marry a random stranger.

How cute.

“This should be fine,” Fang stopped at one part of the garden and turned around to face him. “Oboi, listen, I think I’ve held up this matter for too long and it might’ve hurt you in the process.”

“What are you talking about?” he frowned.

Fang then honest to goodness kneeled down on the ground. “Oboi—”

“Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait,” he spluttered and flailed around, mind going a mile per second. “What are you doing? Get up, now.”

It was Fang’s turn to frown at him. “What do you mean? This is the position people usually take when saying their oath of fealty. I was just about to summon my sword and—”

“Wait,” he stared at the knight dumbly. “Oath of fealty??”

“Yes?” Fang tilted his head. “Something wrong with that?”

Boboiboy gulped. “But…why the sudden decision?” His hand in the knight’s hold felt sweaty and lacking somehow.

“It’s not really that sudden,” Fang shrugged. “I have been planning to do this for a while. Kak Kira just gave me the final push to do so.”

Okay. That was definitely news to him.

“Why me?” he asked, a bit confused.

“Why not you?” Fang asked back, eyebrow raised.

“I mean…you can always find a better master?”

“We’ve been together since we’re little. I know you better than any new master I could’ve found later in my life.”

He chewed on his lips. “I could protect myself even if you didn’t officially become my knight?”

“With how exposed you are in battle sometimes? I think I would like to be your knight just for my own sanity and so that I’ll have a valid reason to stay by your side at all times.”

“I could live without you?”

Fang gave him a deadpan look. “You can’t even escape from Kak Kira and her ridiculous tournament today. I highly doubt that.”

“Hey!”

“Alright, look,” Fang sighed. “I’m sorry that I always offend your delicate sensibility, Your Grace. You are my closest companion and I want to stay by your side in official capacity, not just some random childhood friend you picked up when you’re younger. Watching you win our spar pisses me off, but I know you are worthy to be someone I’ll follow until the end of my life. You’re annoying, but you’re also one of the kindest people I’ve met. I wish I could punch your face sometimes. I wouldn’t ask for a better master.” The raven-haired knight looked at him earnestly. “Please, allow me to swear my loyalty to you.”

“Are you trying to insult me or are you trying to convince me to believe you?”

A wiry grin formed on the knight’s face. “I’m sure you’d believe me more if I insult you. You’d think I’m possessed if I said five nice things about you in a row.”

Boboiboy laughed, feeling lighter than ever. “I can’t believe it's this simple.” 

“What is?” Fang tilted his head.

“I was so scared you didn’t want to stay by my side since you never said anything about it.” The prickle at the back of his eye made itself known once more. “Dummy, you should have said something earlier. I was about to make myself worried sick over this matter,” he sniffed and rubbed at his own eyes with the back of his hand.

Fang looked a bit guilty at the display. “I’m sorry,” he muttered softly. “I thought it’s quite obvious that I wanted to stay.”

“In case you haven’t realised it yet, I’m quite oblivious.”

“Yeah, you are, actually.”

“Hey! Why do you have to agree with me?”

“That’s literally the truth,” Fang shrugged again.

“You, urgh,” he rolled his eyes and looked down at the knight again. “You know what, how long are you going to stay kneeling? I thought Captain Kaizo was chasing after you?”

Fang shivered at the reminder and stood up. “You know what, maybe we should postpone this until we’re not being chased by one of the kingdom’s best swordmaster. I already said what I need, the formalities can be done later.”

Boboiboy pouted. “And here I thought someone was impatient enough to do that. You’re the one who dragged me here first.”

“I’m only prioritising this instead of getting away from this palace first because someone will continuously give me a kicked puppy look if I don’t say anything and it's too awkward saying all this in front of everyone.”

“When did I make a kicked puppy face?”

“Have you looked at yourself in the mirror?”

“Well, have you looked at yourself in the mirror?”

“Urgh, don’t remind me, Oboi,” a light blush made its way on the knight’s face and he began pulling him through their linked hand to get away from the palace. “I know I look weird.”

“Are you fishing for a compliment?” he blinked at the guy. He can’t be serious?

“Are you going to compliment me?” He could hear, rather than see the eye roll himself. “If not, shut up.” 

“You are,” the words came out of his mouth before he could stop it, “Pretty, I mean.” 

He scratched the back of his head when Fang looked at him in surprise. “What? Don’t tell me nobody said that to you? I’m sure the girls would have said that when they help you dress up. They’re not that stingy with compliments, after all.”

“I— wait,” Fang’s face turned alarmed and he looked up at the sky. “Oh no, the transformation potion Qually gave me almost ran its course. He did warn me I’ll be hit with intense nausea once it's over. Oboi, let’s—” and he slapped a hand on his mouth, face paling. He bent over himself and gripped his hand tighter to prevent himself from falling forward.

“Your crow's mouth really likes to make itself known at the worst time possible, doesn't it?” Boboiboy peered at the knight’s face and sighed. “Don’t use your power. I’ll get us out of here.”

He picked up the raven-haired knight in a princess carry and willed the wind to make his steps lighter as he made his way to the edge of the palace walls. Fang groaned in his hold and rested his face on his shoulder. “I’m sorry. The potion needs to be potent enough for the effect to last the whole day. Can’t really risk any failure,” he mumbled.

Boboiboy could smell the telltale scent of a potion’s effect fading away, and the knight’s body did get a little bit heavier, but other than that, he looked pretty much the same. “Is the hair a different potion?”

“Urgh, ask Gopal, don’t ask me.”

He needs to remind himself to treat Gopal for lunch when they get back home then, he hummed. 

“What did you sound so happy for?” Fang squinted at him.

“Nothing,” he grinned. 

“Well, move faster then. We should get out of here before Kak Kira remembers she had to deal with the outcome of the tournament. If we’re both missing, she can’t force us to do weird shit for her.”

“What? You don’t want to get married to me?” he asked just to be annoying. “I’ve been told I’m this kingdom's most eligible bachelor.”

“Oboi, not now. I can’t deal with your nonsense with my head trying to split itself into two.”

“I didn’t hear a no.”

“Not now.”

Boboiboy laughed as they made their way out of the palace, the most important person in his life securely in his hold.

—