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Ice & Fire - Chapter 8

Series Masterlist

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Glossary & Character List (contains spoilers)

Pairing: Eren Jaeger X Yuuta Okkotsu

Genre: Fantasy AU, romance, smut, angst, fluff, a crossover between Attack On Titan and Jujutsu Kaisen, loosely based on Game of Thrones and Eragon

Series Summary: Yuuta Okkotsu, the kind-hearted firstborn prince of the kingdom of Nymeria, finds himself stranded on an island that had been thought to only exist in legend. It is there he meets the last of the Valyrians, a dragon-blood named Eren Jaeger. While their days on the island are happy, they can’t last forever. Yuuta has a duty as prince to his kingdom that he must fulfill, and it is this duty that ultimately tears them apart.

Content Warnings: BL/Yaoi, hybrids/monsters, magic/fantasy, infidelity, power imbalances, graphic depictions of violence and death, explicit sexual content (blow job, anal sex, rimming, cunnilingus, exhibitionism, monsterfucking, knotting, foot play, heat cycles, 69, cum-eating, spit play, deep-throating, double penetration, sadism, masochism, blood play/consumption, choking/asphyxiation kink, handjob, drunk sex, orgy), dub-con, non-con, virginity loss, drugs (alcohol), traumatic backstories, unrequited love, drowning, murder, suicide, yandere tropes, corruption arc, major character death. Dead Dove: Do not eat

Written by Aleks from @erenergic / @princess-jaeger and Kana from @ficsforeren / @sundaysundaes

Poster art by @/ellvrell on twitter, commissioned by Aleks ❤️

THE SWORN PROTECTOR

Snow falls over the expansive green land of Nymeria, coating the verdant hills and grassy plains like a blanket. Trees, once blooming with the pink petals of cherry blossoms, are bare save for the thin coating of white. The lakes and ponds that scatter the palace grounds are frozen over, waiting for the warmth that comes with the spring, though it is far a ways off. This year it is exceptionally cold—even before the winter solstice arrives, the frigid air from the north blows down upon the once verdurous lands, bringing early snowfall with it.

It is the first day of the tenth lunar month of the year, considered the month of good fortune. Today, the Nymerian council gathers for its monthly meeting, which usually convenes over trivial matters such as disputes over land, relations with the other five kingdoms, or providing funds for the crown’s endeavors. But this time, with the status of the King’s health, and Princess Rika’s recent sixteenth birthdate, a topic of utmost importance is being discussed amongst the Lords: naming the Nymerian heir to the throne.

The council consists of the King’s Hand, longtime faithful friend and closest advisor, Lord Kento Nanami; The Grand Maester, Lord Yoshinobu Gakuganji, whose wisdom in the fields of science and medicine has proven unmatched and invaluable to the crown; Lord Ijichi Kiyotaka, Master of Coin, who holds the crown’s purse within his hand; The Master of Ships, Lord Hiromi Higuruma, who commands the royal fleet, delegates warships, and handles their sea fares; Archmage Satoru Gojo, one of the most powerful mages in the Six Kingdoms and loyal servant to the crown; and the strongest knight in the realm, the sword and shield who leads the King’s armies in battle and is sworn to defend Nymeria with his life, the Lord Commander of The Watch and Nymeria’s knights, Toji Fushiguro.

The members of the council sit around a table within the great hall of the palace, the men dressed in their most lavish robes and armors, sharing the finest wines that Nymeria has to offer. Their drinks are poured by the silent but ever-faithful servants who stand at the sides of the room, eager to top off the men’s drinks at even half-empty.

Out of respect, the seat of the emperor stands vacant, placed below the Nymerian sigil—a head of a direwolf embossed in silver hung upon the wall. At the right sits Nanami, dressed in dark blue with gold embroideries, his blonde hair short and slicked back. He has fine features, with prominent cheekbones and a silent but commanding presence—a demeanor fit for the Hand of the King, as symbolized by the badge in the shape of a hand that lies pinned above his breast. He is the first to speak, and as always, gets straight down to business, skipping the pleasantries of a formal introduction.

“I am glad to see you all have arrived well and safe, despite the sudden cold storm. As you may have heard, with the recent coming-of-age of the princess, rumors have begun to circulate amongst the nobles of our kingdom, wondering whether or not she will be named the heir to the throne.”

Ijichi leans forward, a thin, tall man with short dark hair and a pair of lenses atop his prominent nose. The first thought in his mind is the unrest and rumors that would spread amongst the kingdom if their beloved princess was not named heir; Rika is regarded as the most beautiful princess in the realm—a precious jewel to her people, the youngest and sweetest child of the emperor. It would be a mistake to not name her the successor, as she is well-favored even amongst the peasantry. The princess is the last remaining Okkotsu, therefore there is no other option but to choose her for the next heir—as choosing a lesser noble by vote of the council would cause quite the scandal and even bring strife amongst those loyal to the Okkotsu family, a line which has held the throne for thirteen generations since the very inception of their kingdom.

Ijichi places a hand on the table and looks directly over at Lord Nanami when he asks, “Why is the princess’s lineage coming into question? She is the only remaining child of the emperor. There should be no question as to whether she will succeed him. She is our only choice.”

Gakuganji, the eldest amongst the council, old enough to have been in the council of the previous Emperor Okkotsu, regarded as the wisest of the men, answers Ijichi. “We may replace her by vote, if it comes to it. The other five kingdoms all have a king at their seat. It would make us seem weak to replace our king with a young woman who has just but seen her sixteenth birthday. Nymeria has always been the strongest, the most prosperous—we need someone who can, at the very least, appear powerful before them.”

“You must not remember much about the princess,” Gojo pipes up from his end of the table. The white-haired man dressed in dark robes has his long legs folded quite rudely atop the table, though that is not out of the ordinary for the pompous mage. With his fingers interlaced above his abdomen, and a cheeky smile upon his lips, he rebuttals Gakuganji’s words. “She's always been a feisty one. She can keep up with those old fucks, easily.”

The Lord Commander beside him guffaws at his words, leaning back into his seat. “The powerful and awe-inspiring kingdom of Nymeria, led by a little girl. That would be interesting to see.”

“That little girl is your princess, Lord Commander,” Nanami says to Toji, his words on the verge of sounding like the barks of a protective dog. “Unless you have other leadership in mind.”

“We still don’t know what has happened to the king’s son, Lord Nanami. There is always a chance that—”

“Nonsense,” Hiromi interrupts him, always the voice of reason within the council. With Toji being the leader of the knights and soldiers, and Hiromi being the leader of their naval forces, there is always an unspoken air of competition between the men, one that carries even into the council room. “It has been six years since that boy disappeared. You would be a fool to believe he is anywhere other than the bottom of the sea.”

“Lords,” Nanami says sternly, chastising them before they can begin their usual bickering. “Until we are given any other proof, the princess is our only presumed heir. Unless there is any objection from the council, I will write to Seomor for her return to Nymeria.” Though Gakuganji and Higuruma look apprehensive, the remainder of the council nods accordingly to Nanami’s words. With no verbal objections, he continues, “Presuming the preparations will go smoothly, the princess will arrive after the snow has cleared in the spring, and be coronated by the fall. After she arrives, we can have her meet with suitors and find a suitable candidate for marriage.”

“Nanamin.” Nanami frowns at Gojo’s casual use of the nickname. “She just turned sixteen. Do you think she will agree to a rushed marriage? And the king is still alive, there is no reason to crown her so hastily.”

“That is a smart idea, Lord Nanami,” Gakuganji says, with a distasteful look sent Gojo’s way. “The Princess may be young and inexperienced, but if she is crowned with a lord at her side, hopefully even another prince, she will garner more respect from the remaining kingdoms. She would be treated as a woman, and less like a child.”

“I agree,” Hiromi nods, crossing his arms over his chest. “If we are to crown the princess, she should be wed. As is Nymerian tradition, an heir cannot be crowned king or queen without a spouse. If she is wed when she is crowned princess, she is guaranteed to be the next queen, strengthening her claim to the throne.”

Gojo clicks his tongue, muttering, “Such archaic, stupid rules,” below his breath. Only Toji, who sits beside him, hears such words. And though he agrees in part, he is more inclined to keep his head on his neck and not openly mock the traditions of the crown.

“Very well, then,” Nanami nods, seeing no opposition from the men around him. “We will write for the princess’s return. By this time next year, Gods willing, she will be our crowned princess.”

***

Satoru Gojo steps outside after the council meeting, heading towards the stables to mount his horse and head back to his estate across the forest. As he walks, his feet making crunching noises as he treks through snow, he contemplates the position the princess has been put in now. Through no fault of her own, she must return home and be crowned princess, marry someone she doesn’t know, and take on the responsibilities of becoming queen, all within a matter of months. Gojo, having himself been thrust into the position of archmage after his father’s failures, feels somewhat of kinship for the young princess, understanding the weight of having to take on a position so suddenly.

For Gojo, it happened several years ago. The council, watching the king go mad because of the curse which afflicted him, consulted with his father, then the archmage of Nymeria. However, because the spell on the king was an act of witchcraft, the mage’s magic had no ability to break such a curse. Instead, the mage was only able to place the king’s mind to rest. The king now spends his days in bed, barely able to hold a conversation, much less being able to perform the role of king. Though his condition is secret to everyone else except the council and the king’s closest servants, Gojo’s father was still punished for his inability to cure the curse. He was ousted as archmage and replaced by Satoru. Both mages were exiled from the palace and sent back to their family estate as punishment, and though Gojo holds the title of archmage now, there is still that sting that comes with the memory of being his father’s replacement through no will of his own.

As he wades through his memories, Gojo runs into his favorite knight—Megumi Fushiguro, a young man of only seventeen years who had just recently been knighted by the King’s Hand for his valiant efforts as part of The Watch in a skirmish in a village to the north. The raven-haired boy walks through the snow with three direwolves in tow. Though Gojo is not a fan of the wolves, he certainly knows the three who accompany Megumi: Ghost, a white wolf who once belonged to the prince; Summer, a wolf with amber fur who belongs to the princess; and Gyokuken, Megumi's personal wolf who has bright yellow eyes and white fur that coats his front legs, snout, and belly, the remainder of his fur black as night. When Megumi is not away or busy with duties, the dogs follow him around, as they have always been close to him since he was a child.

But the wolves begin to snarl as soon as they pick up a hint of Gojo’s scent. Megumi’s face, previously impassive, turns to a scowl when he catches sight of the annoying mage.

“Megumin!” Gojo calls out with a smile, waving frantically toward the knight.

“Just when I was having a decent day,” Megumi mutters, a heavy sigh leaving his chest.

Gojo approaches the knight, and before the wolves can tear the head off his shoulders, Gojo wraps Megumi in a tight embrace. Megumi places zero effort into hugging him back.

“Master Gojo, please get off of me.”

“I haven’t seen you in weeks and this is how you greet me? Breaking my heart, Gumi,” Gojo replies, with an exaggerated sob at the end of his words.

“If you don’t let go of me I might just break your legs too.”

Gojo instantly releases the knight, creating some distance between them. “You know, I had some good news for you, but maybe I won’t tell you anymore since you’re being so mean to me.”

Megumi quirks a brow. “Good news? I doubt it.”

The three dogs at his sides bare their teeth as the mage leans closer to the knight. “Are you suuuure? What if I said it was about Princess Rika?”

At this, Megumi’s eyes widen. He turns his face to the side, avoiding the mage’s shit-eating grin. In the tiniest voice Gojo has ever heard from Megumi, Megumi asks, “What about the princess?”

“Nevermind, it seems like you don’t wanna know.” Gojo begins to turn around, biting his tongue to stop from chuckling. Megumi instantly grabs his collar, pulling him back.

“I… Just tell me,” Megumi sighs, tucking his eyes below his fringe. When Gojo turns back to face him, he sees Megumi’s face turning just the slightest tinge of pink, and it most certainly isn’t because of the cold.

“Well, I heard from a very secret source that the princess will be returning home in a few months.”

Megumi reaches up a hand to scratch at his own nape. “Is… Is that true? After so long?”

“I know you miss her dearly but don’t look too excited, Megu—”

“I am not,” he says, face ablaze. “I just—I was just thinking about how my… My sister will be back too, then.”

“And here I thought knights were sworn to always tell the truth,” Gojo snickers, waving a hand in the air dismissively.

Megumi slaps a firm hand against Gojo’s back, pushing him further towards the stables. “Shut up, you stupid mage.”

“You cannot lie to a mage who uses the Six Eyes, Gumi,” Gojo winks, to Megumi’s horror. “If you won’t be honest with me, at least be honest with yourself,” Gojo adds, his voice losing its mirth.

Megumi blinks at him, confused. “What are you talking about?”

At this, Gojo leans forward, and with two fingers he flicks the young knight’s forehead. Megumi sends him a glare. “Perhaps I’m not the only stupid one here.”

“What—”

Before Megumi can get his answer, Gojo plasters a smile once more on his face, crystal blue eyes shining bright amongst the falling snow. “I’ll see you around, Megumin. I’m freezing my ass out here. I’m heading home before the snowstorm gets worse.”

Megumi rubs at his forehead where Gojo had just flicked him, utterly confused by Gojo’s strange behavior. But besides that, happiness swells in his chest because finally, his princess and his sister will be returning home.

***

Princess Rika Orimoto heaves a heavy sigh, blinking wide brown eyes languidly as she stares out into the dark blue ocean outside her port-side window. In the distance, the coast is visible, meaning soon they will land upon shore. It has been many days of travel, both by land and aboard this ship, but that isn’t what plagues her mind nor what makes her heart feel heavy in her chest. As the sunlight glimmers over the waves before her, she can’t help but be reminded of the most precious person she had lost many years ago: her older brother, Yuuta.

Unlike that rainy day when the world around them was darkened with storm clouds and the water was tumultuous, this day the sky is a warm, clear blue, devoid of clouds and illuminated by the sun. It has been almost six years since the incident, yet Rika remembers it so vividly as if it had happened just the day before. For many years she had relived that day, the way she had screamed for him to stay, with her hand outstretched in a desperate attempt to keep him aboard the ship. But even in her dreams he never stays. His body always disappears beneath the waves, swallowed whole by the vengeful sea.

But after many years of nightmares and having hope that he would return, her thoughts changed. Besides her prayers to the Gods for his safe return, she prayed for her mother’s and Yuuta’s happiness in heaven, too. Perhaps maturity came with age, or perhaps it was acceptance of the awful truth she tried to deny, but after many years of hoping for him to be alive, she began to pray that he would be happy in death, too.

That is what Rika does now as she gazes into the ocean, a somber look on her face as she clasps her hands together in front of her face in prayer.

“I hope you’re happy, Yuuta,” she whispers into her palms, her eyes fluttering shut as she speaks to the gods. “Please keep our mother company, if you’re up there… I miss you, brother.”

“Your Highness,” a cheerful voice interrupts her, stepping into her quarters. “We are landing at the southern Nymerian port now. It will be just a carriage ride to the palace after we disembark. Won’t be much longer until we’re home.”

Rika startles at the sound of her handmaiden’s voice, opening her eyes and dropping her hands to her sides. She turns away from the window, looking up at the brown-haired girl who stands at the door.

“Lady Tsumiki,” Rika nods in her direction. “I didn’t see you there.”

Tsumiki crosses the short distance from the chamber door, wrapping her fingers around Rika’s wrists. “Princess, you do not need to address me as a lady. Just Tsumiki is fine, you know this.”

Rika shakes her head. “Nonsense, your father served mine as his sworn protector. You’ve earned your title. You know this.”

Tsumiki knows, having been friends with Rika since they were children, that there is no sense in arguing with Princess Rika, a girl more stubborn than a mule. Tsumiki holds Rika’s palms within her own, her voice softening as she asks, “Are you all right, my lady? Fretting over your brother again, are you?”

“I know, I know,” Rika replies, casting her gaze down to her feet. “Six years without any word of him… It is foolish for me to hope.”

“It is not foolish, Your Highness. I would do the same for my own brother.” Tsumiki brings her palm to Rika’s cheek, a comforting gesture between friends. Her soft brown eyes peer into the sad browns that make the princess’s irises. “I just do not wish to see you in such pain, princess.”

“Perhaps I’ve just been thinking of him more lately…” Rika’s voice drifts off, contemplative.

“Is it because of your impending coronation, my lady?” Tsumiki retracts her hand, crossing her arms above her chest. Rika walks a few steps to the side, turning and sitting down on the bed in the room. She sighs and crosses her ankles, fidgeting with her hands on her lap.

“Yes,” she admits after some silence. Tsumiki follows her and sits on the bed at her side, turning to face the princess. Her gaze is warm, and the palm that she lands on Rika’s back is reassuring. “I’ve just recently turned sixteen—what do I know about ruling a kingdom? And worst of all, I’ll have to wed.”

Tsumiki giggles as she sees Rika scrunch up her nose in disgust. She takes Rika’s hands into her own, speaking with conviction, “Princess, you would be the most amazing queen one day. You are headstrong and sympathetic to the people. You would fight for us, yet you would be just. And you are the most beautiful lady in all the six kingdoms. Any man would pay the highest dowry to marry you, my lady.”

“It is easy for you to say such things, Lady Tsumiki—your father is the Lord Commander, revered by all. You’re lucky you are not the daughter of The Mad King.” Rika chews her lip, remembering the words many have thrown at her throughout the last few years whenever she attended the gatherings of the upper class. There were more times than not that she was rejected by all the eligible noblemen in Seomor, rumors of her father’s madness hanging over her like a dark cloud. “It will be difficult to find a husband willing to marry into a cursed family.”

“Nymeria is the most powerful kingdom in the realm,” Tsumiki replies, leaning in closer to meet Rika’s pensive gaze. “And you’ve changed your title to Orimoto Rika, taking the name of your mother’s noble family. Though they aren’t Nymerian royalty, they are of high birth all the same. Your mother was able to marry a king, wasn’t she? You are a fine eligible maiden, Your Highness. The King’s Hand himself requested your presence once more in the kingdom. He knows you will easily find a match once you arrive.”

“I do not wish to think about getting married, truthfully,” the princess sighs. Changing the subject, she asks, “Did Lord Nanami say anything in regard to my father?”

Even after almost six years, she has not heard much about Emperor Okkotsu. Rika has spent the time since her departure from Nymeria with the maiden side of her family, the Orimotos, where she continued to be educated and raised as a princess within their lands in the kingdom of Seomor. Yet, they kept her in ignorance about her own kingdom, giving her very few updates about the state of her homeland besides telling her that the kingdom was peaceful. Therefore she doesn’t know what to expect now as her ship lands at the port of the country she hasn’t lived in for six years. She knows nothing of the palace, nor of her father. But she hopes the transition to palace life will be easy.

“He had written that your father awaits your return, princess. He did not say much more than that.”

Rika rolls her eyes. “Lord Nanami is always a man of few words. Well, I guess we will see what happens when we arrive at the palace.”

The ship stops moving just as Rika had spoken her words as if arriving at port on her command.

“Seems that will be sooner than later, Your Highness.” Tsumiki rises from the bed, preparing to gather her and Rika’s belongings for their disembarkation.

Rika glances out her port-side window once more, a mix of emotions brewing within her chest. She takes a deep breath and rises from the bed, walking closer to the window to curl her fingers around its metal edge. She can see the port, the people rushing across the wooden pier going about their daily lives, and below them, pale blue waves crashing upon the beach. She’s on land once more, yet it doesn’t feel like home. It feels foreign to her, anxiety welling up in her chest.

“Yes… We’re almost home.”

***

Megumi Fushiguro rocks back and forth between the heels and toes of his feet, anxiously awaiting the princess’s arrival as he stands guard at the doors to the palace. It has been years since he’s seen Rika and his sister Tsumiki, as she had left the palace with the princess so suddenly six years ago when they had been sent away to the west. Despite becoming hardened by his knight’s training, Megumi still has a soft spot for Rika and for his sister, who had become the trusted lady to the princess just as his father is one of the king’s trusted men. Outwardly, he is as stoic as ever, but on the inside, his heart aches to see them again. He stands tall in his knight’s armor, the spring air warm but refreshing as the sun reflects off the silver metals that protect his body.

At Megumi’s left side is his faithful direwolf, Gyokuken, yawning as his fur is warmed by the spring sun. On his right side sits Summer, Rika’s direwolf, waiting just as impatiently as Megumi does for the princess and her entourage. She is as tall as Megumi’s waist, with beautiful brown fur that shimmers in the sunlight. Megumi absentmindedly strokes her fur behind her ears, the wolf lolling out her tongue and panting with excitement, drooling staining the fur on her chin.

“You must know that Rika’s coming home, huh, Summer?” Megumi says aloud, though he knows Summer doesn’t fully understand his words. The only ones who can communicate with the direwolves are the royal family, for the wolves have had such a bond for centuries with the descendants of Sugawara, Nymeria’s first emperor.

Megumi’s eyes are trained on the wolf’s fur, so when Summer suddenly begins to bark at the palace gates it startles him from his thoughts. He looks up and sees the carriage, drawn by horses and flocked by knights. Megumi retracts his hand from the wolf and stands at attention until the carriage comes up to the entrance. He steps forward, rushing to the carriage’s side to greet the arriving royal.

“Your Highness,” the young knight nods his head as he bows at the waist, one arm at his side, the other bent up with his palm over his chest. Rika stands from her seated position once the carriage has come to a stop, and looks out of the carriage, peering down at the knight with a questioning glance.

“Gumi, is that you?” She asks, a smile crawling up her face as she gazes at her childhood friend. She immediately takes note of his silver armor and tall stature—a complete change from the small raven-haired boy she knew six years ago. Though she knows from Tsumiki’s correspondence with him that Megumi had become a knight just the past fall, seeing him in person somehow makes it seem more real.

To Rika, Megumi is one of her most treasured childhood friends. He was nine, and Tsumiki eleven, when they met the Okkotsu prince and princess for the first time, introduced to each other by their fathers. While it was easy for Tsumiki to test the barriers of social status because of her extroverted and compassionate personality, Megumi was more intimidated by the younger princess and the ten-year-old prince. Although he was the son of a kingsguard, at the end of the day he was still a commoner, a mere boy in comparison to the siblings who would one day rule the land. Too afraid to anger or offend the young royals, Megumi was oftentimes very standoffish and curt with them but enjoyed their company all the same.

To Rika, Megumi is one of her most treasured childhood friends. They have been friends since they were young children, introduced to each other by their fathers. While it was easy for Tsumiki to test the barriers of social status because of her extroverted and compassionate personality, Megumi was more intimidated by the young royals. Although he was the son of a kingsguard, a title that conveys some elevation of status, at the end of the day he was still a commoner, a mere boy in comparison to the siblings who would one day rule the land. Too afraid to anger or offend them, Megumi was oftentimes very standoffish and curt with them but enjoyed their company all the same.

Looking over at Rika now, he finds himself surprised at how she has grown from a child to a young woman, bewitched by her beauty. People often called her the most beautiful princess in the realm—The Realm’s Delight—and he had wondered over the years if she was still as pretty as she was when he first knew her. But seeing her in person now outright stuns him.

For a moment, his breath is caught in his chest and his jaw slacks as his green eyes, the brightest shade of verdelite, lock onto Rika’s chocolate brown. As Megumi rises from his bent position, he extends his hand out towards the carriage, waiting for Rika to place her palm within his own. Rika ignores it, jumping off the carriage and landing on her feet. Just as stubborn as always.

“Princess, please be careful—”

She envelops the raven-haired knight in a tight embrace, startling him. “I’m glad to see you, Gumi. I’ve heard you’re a knight now, huh?”

Rika pulls away and clamps her hands onto Megumi’s armored shoulders. Her stare bores into his face, making the young knight even more flustered than he already is.

“Yes, Your Highness,” he replies, his body stiff as a board.

“Wow, and you’re so handsome now too,” Rika pinches his cheek with a bright smile.

Once Rika lets go and looks up at him, Megumi’s mouth opens and closes, like a fish out of water. He wants to give her some kind of reply that can express his thoughts—perhaps how much he’s missed her, or how much she’s grown, how beautiful she looks… But before he can form the words, Rika looks over his shoulder and sees the brown direwolf that practically begs for her attention, whining with its tail creating dust as it thumps excitedly at the ground.

“Summer!” Rika exclaims, releasing Megumi and taking a few eager steps past him. Her direwolf charges up and into her arms, knocking her backward and licking at her face. Rika giggles as her back lands on the grass, her arms coming up to stroke the wolf’s fur. “Oh, I’ve missed you too, Summer.”

Tsumiki then steps down from the carriage, taking her brother’s hand as her feet land on the ground.

“Pick up your jaw or you’ll catch flies, brother,” she teases, seeing how Megumi still stares at the princess in stunned silence. The blush on his face crawls to the tips of his ears but he’s too happy seeing his sister after so long to be mad at her for her taunting.

“Miki,” Megumi calls her name fondly, bringing his sister into his embrace. “I’m glad you’re both home safely. You’ve grown so much.”

“And you, Megumi, you’re so big now,” Tsumiki laughs, nuzzling into her brother’s chest. “What happened to my little brother?” When they were children, Tsumiki was taller than Megumi. Now, Megumi is a whole head taller than she is.

“That’s Lieutenant Fushiguro to you,” he teases, separating from his sister to look over at the princess.

Summer makes a noise, somewhat of a huff, and it makes Rika chuckle. “Is that so?” She asks, looking up in Megumi’s direction. Megumi returns her gaze, brows threaded in confusion, and she answers his unspoken question. “Summer says you really missed me, Gumi."

Megumi shoots a glare at the brown wolf, yet the crimson that paints his face doesn’t let up for a moment.

“Is it true, then?” Rika asks, the mirth fading from her voice. Tsumiki knowingly smiles at their exchange but says nothing. To her chagrin, Megumi and Rika have been separated for years and yet their relationship seems to pick up right where it had left off.

Megumi turns away, opting to stare at his feet. “No, not at all, I—“ He turns to his side and sees Gyokuken. “I definitely have not spoken about you, princess. Right, Gyokuken?” Gyokuken, who had been silently observing his master at his side, snorts at Megumi’s cowardice, shaking his head as he begins to walk towards the palace. Thanks for the backup, traitor.

“A-Anyway, Your Highness, we should head inside the palace,” he stutters.

Rika strokes Summer’s fur, asking, “What’s the rush? We just got home.”

“The King’s Hand has told me he wishes to see you at once.”

At this, Rika and Summer stand from the ground. Summer joins Gyokuken’s side as Rika dusts off her pale blue dress, brushing back the few loose strands of hair that had fallen from her braid when she fell to the ground. She knows better than to keep the most impatient man in the realm waiting. “Lead the way, then.”

***

As Rika walks through the palace following Megumi’s lead, Tsumiki on her left side, the pair of wolves on her right, she realizes just how little the palace has changed from her memory. The servants are still the same familiar faces from her childhood. The walk from the entrance to the royal chambers is engrained in her mind even after so many years, her feet carrying her over the thick carpets and marble floors as if by memory. The paintings of her ancestors that line the pale gold-trimmed walls are still the same. It’s how she knows to turn her eyes away from the very last portrait in the hall, the one which depicts the current emperor, her father.

“Welcome home, princess. Glad to see you have arrived safely,” she hears a deep voice say once they stop before the royal chancery.

When she looks up she sees the face of her father’s advisor, Lord Kento Nanami, welcoming her into the room. The reflection of his glasses hides his gaze from her, and with his typical stoic expression, it is hard to tell what feelings he has, if any at all. She opts to be polite with him, not knowing his intentions. “Good to see you again, Lord Nanami,” she says, performing a curtsey.

Nanami’s gaze shoots to her companions, and a curt “leave us” is uttered past his lips as he ushers Rika to come further inside.

Tsumiki looks at Rika hesitantly, but Rika sends her a reassuring smile. “Go on ahead and spend some time with your brother, Lady Tsumiki. I’m sure you’ve missed him. I’ll be all right here. You know, royal business.”

Tsumiki bows, sharing a knowing glance with Rika. “Of course, my lady.”

As the door shuts on the two Fushiguros and the direwolves, Rika steps further inside. The room is still just as dark and cold as it once was, lined with bookshelves on its walls and a large window that overlooks the back gardens. A large wooden desk belonging to the king lies within steps of the doorway, and it is there that Nanami takes a seat. Rika follows, sitting in a plush upholstered seat across from him.

“Is everything all right, Lord Nanami? What about my father? Where is he?”

“That’s why I called you here, princess,” the lord replies. He turns in his seat, crossing his legs and leaning back as his gaze shifts to the window. Outside the gardens are teeming with life, the height of the spring in full effect. He takes a deep breath and sighs. “I’ve called you here to speak about your father.”

At this, Rika squirms in her seat. The last she had seen of her father was the night he had murdered her mother with his bare hands in a fit of madness. Although peace had finally reigned over Nymeria, war still waged in her father’s mind. She fears the worst, thinking perhaps her father is still mad. She nods in silent anticipation.

“Your father lies bedridden, weakened by his illness,” Nanami starts, awaiting Rika’s reaction. She simply nods pensively. “In your absence, I’ve been working on your father’s behalf. The other kingdoms do not know of his illness, which is why we did not tell you over letters in case any were to be intercepted. If the other kingdoms found out our king was weakened we would be vulnerable.” Rika nods, agreeing with his reasoning. “But now that you are sixteen, you are of age to rule. Once you marry and declare the intention to have an heir, we can crown you as queen. I apologize to put this upon you so soon but… with your brother’s death, you are the only descendant left of the emperor. And with the state of his health, we don’t know how long he has left.”

“I see…” she murmurs. She looks to her side, where another portrait framed with ornate gold designs hangs in the chancery. It depicts her father, dressed in his royal garb with a stern face yet a warm gaze, and her mother, as delicate and beautiful as a rose with a soft pink dress to match. She sees her younger self, a genuine smile with eyes like crescents while she wears a beautiful violet gown. And she sees her brother, with his clear sapphire eyes that radiate warmth and an earnest closed-lip smile, his arm around her shoulders despite his stiff and stuffy royal ornaments.

I wish you were here, Yuuta, she thinks, locking eyes with his soft smile. You were meant to be king… not me. I’m not as strong as you are, nor as kind-hearted… Could I even come close? I’m afraid to face the world on my own when they hate us so much…

Rika doesn’t speak her thoughts aloud, instead fisting her hands onto the skirt of her dress and gritting her teeth. She’s afraid, so afraid to become the ruler of the most powerful, yet most hated kingdom in the realm. The stain of her father’s sins taints her reign before it even starts, and she knows it will be difficult to change her reputation. But if it were Yuuta, he would accept this responsibility without a second doubt.

“Are you ready to declare your intention to find a suitor and become crowned queen, Your Highness? It will take some time to prepare but we can begin to look towards the lords and nobility of Nymeria—or outside the kingdom, if you desire. We can hold the coronation in a few months’ time.”

Rika’s eyes are still on the portrait that hangs on the wall. She knows her responsibility is to her kingdom and to the royal family, things she’s been told about since she was a child. Though when she was younger she would protest at the thought of fulfilling her duties as princess, over the years she has grown to understand that this is her birthright, whether she chooses to accept it gracefully or not. So she swallows her reservations and steels herself. With determination, she looks toward Nanami and nods.

“Yes, I’ll do it. I’ll do whatever is necessary to become queen.”

Lord Nanami nods, pleased with the princess who has returned to them from the west. When Rika had left, she was immature, perhaps some would say even a bit of a spoiled brat. But now she seems to be much more refined and dutiful, having matured some with age. Nanami stifles a smile, seeing the Princess stepping into her role.

Rika asks, “Lord Nanami?”

“Yes, princess?”

“May I see my father?”

“Of course.” Nanami rises from his seat and walks around the desk, extending out his arm for the princess. She lays her palm atop his clothed forearm. With one last glance at the portrait in the chancery, she nods before turning away. She puts on a brave face, walking alongside the King’s Hand, feeling somewhat empowered by the sight of her mother and brother’s smiles.

***

It has been only a fortnight since the princess’s arrival, but already the council has deemed it of importance to have her begin to enact her royal duties. After two weeks of reacquainting herself with the palace, its staff, her lessons, and the status of her kingdom, her first task is to choose a knight who will serve as her protector. In the six kingdoms, it is customary for a king and their heirs to select the knights who will be devoted to them throughout their service to the crown. Rika, now of age, is ready to make her choice.

She stands on the balcony above the Nymerian throne, a seat that has not seen use in the three years since her father has become bedridden. Beside her on her right stands the King’s Hand, Lord Nanami. On the left, the Lord Commander Toji Fushiguro, who has brought along his knights who are not yet pledged to any lords. The three of them stand tall at the forefront of the room, and below them are the select few that Rika has to choose from, bent upon one knee with heads bowed towards the floor.

Nanami motions toward the first knight in the row to step forward. The man is incredibly tall, perhaps even as tall as Master Gojo, with a large, broad frame and muscles that show prominently beneath his dark cloth uniform. His dark hair is pulled back into a knot behind his head, and he wears a large, dark scar over his left eye. He stands, steps closer toward the princess and her advisor, and shows a flashy smile up toward the balcony.

“Princess, this is Lieutenant Aoi Todo, of House Todo from the province of Norvos,” Nanami begins. “He has served in our ranks for many years, including as a young soldier in the war against Drican. He’s among the strongest of his ranks with many victorious battles and skirmishes throughout his service to the crown. He would make a fine knight for your defense, Your Grace.”

“Thank you for your service,” Rika says directly to Todo, with a soft smile and a nod.

“It would be an honor to serve you, princess,” Todo replies, standing straight. Todo wouldn’t dare admit it out loud, but he is confident despite his house being small. He believes he will be the one to obtain the position of the princess’s defender as he is the most experienced of the batch of knights standing in the throne room. Hell, even Toji believes Rika will choose the strongest knight, Todo, already mentally dismissing the remaining knights who stand before them.

After Todo reclaims his spot among the knights in line, bending the knee, the next to present himself before the princess is Kinji Hakari, a tall man with curled, short blonde hair and sun-kissed skin. The look on his face as he looks towards the princess and the King’s Hand is as confident as that of Todo’s. His name alone is worthy of being in close service to the crown, he believes.

Nanami leans close to the princess, to speak without being heard by the knight when he steps closer to them. “This is Lieutenant Kinji Hakari, of House Hakari from the capital city of Tyrosh. Though he does not have the experience of the previous knight, his house is quite wealthy and influential within the region. To offer him the position would appease their house, my lady.”

“I see,” she says, mostly under her breath. Rika knows the games of royalty and politics enough to know that granting Hakari the position would earn favor with his father, the Lord of Tyrosh, an incredibly important support to the crown’s funds. When Hakari offers her a smile and pledges to defend her honor, she sends him a smile in return with a nod of her head. “Thank you, lieutenant.”

Before another knight has his chance to step forward, Rika turns to Nanami, surprising him by lifting her hand to pause the show of knights. Though there are many more to choose from and parse through, Rika doesn’t need to hear anymore. They are all fine options, but she already walked into this room knowing who would be her choice.

“I wish for Lieutenant Megumi Fushiguro to be my knight.”

The clangs of dull swords and the footsteps of the knights, meandering about, cease. At the sound of her words, every man in the room gapes in shock.

“Princess,” Toji finally speaks up. Even he cannot mask his surprise. “Megumi? He was just knighted by the King’s Hand only six months ago, Your Grace.”

“Would a knight with more experience not suit you, princess? The young knight has seen battle only once, and even that was nothing but a skirmish.” Nanami adds.

Rika crosses her arms over her chest, looking out into the crowd of knights. Against the wall in the back of the room, among all the other knights who were available for selection, stands the young Fushiguro, frozen in his boots. He blinks at the princess in shock, unable to register what is happening.

But Rika’s voice calls out to him and that brings him out of his reverie. “Lieutenant Fushiguro, please step forward.”

With wobbly knees and shaky breaths, the knight cuts through the crowd and stands below the balcony, all eyes in the room trained on him. Todo and Hakari step aside, tongue in cheek as they incredulously glare at the young raven-haired boy.

“Princess, are you sure about this?” Toji asks, watching as his son bends at the knee before Rika. Megumi looks between his father and Rika, utterly confused, as this is an outcome he couldn’t have predicted even in his strangest dreams.

“There is no one in this room I trust with my life more than Megumi,” she replies, her gaze unwavering. When she looks down at Megumi, her smile is as intoxicating as it is bewitching.

Megumi’s eyes widen and his lip part, surprised by Rika’s words. Megumi feels a thousand emotions hit him at once, remembering the words that his father spoke to him years ago on the training grounds when he was just a soldier.

“That’s enough for today, Megumi. Take a rest.”

“I haven’t trained nearly enough. I’ll stay until I’m tired.”

“You’ll hurt yourself if you keep pushing so hard.”

“But father, I want to be a knight. I’ll have to train a thousand times harder to get there if I want to protect the royal family.”

Toji Fushiguro, the Lord Commander, watched his son swing and jab at a training block with his dull sword, alone after all the other soldiers had finished training for the day. Toji looked down at his young son with a disapproving look. “A knight? Absolutely not. It’s too dangerous for you.”

While it was true that being a soldier or a knight were positions that risked a man’s life, being close to the royal family was the riskiest of all. Assassination attempts, having to kill on command—death, death, death. That was all Toji came to learn as a kingsguard and that was the last kind of life he wanted for his son. Especially under the rule of Emperor Okkotsu, who during the war with Drican had become especially merciless. Toji feared that his son, if he were to become a knight and especially a kingsguard, would be forced to commit the kind of atrocities Toji had seen just a few years ago.

“But I made a promise,” Megumi replied, arms crossed over his bare chest glistening with sweat. “I intend to keep it.”

“To the princess?” Toji snorted in disbelief. “She’s probably forgotten all about it by now. She hasn’t even seen you in years.”

Megumi lifted his sword again, hands gripping tightly onto the hilt. “I don’t care. I gave her my word, and I intend to keep it. Whether she chooses me as her sworn protector or not, I’ll protect her.” Megumi remembered her smile, and thinks to himself: I’ll work as hard as it takes to protect that smile.

It is the same smile he sees now on the princess’s face. From his position below the balcony, he calls out to her, “Princess Rika, thank you for choosing me, Your Highness.”

“Who else would I have picked, Gumi?” She asks, her words tilting on teasing. Megumi flushes crimson as the princess addresses him so informally before his peers, masking his cobalt eyes with his dark fringe. But even so, a small grin forms on his lips.

“I am honored, princess,” Megumi says dutifully as he looks back up to meet his princess’s gaze. She sees the small smile that breaks on his lips and returns it with a brighter one of her own.

Though Nanami and Toji wish to protest her choice, ultimately it is her decision as the princess. When she feels them looking at her, she shoots them both a stern gaze as if to mute whatever words they had left on their tongues.

“He may not be the infantry’s strongest knight,” she starts, speaking to the two men beside her. “But I believe that having one man you can trust is worth a hundred men, don’t you agree?”

Toji finds that at moments like these he sees in Rika traits that had once belonged to her father—passion, determination, grit. He thinks to himself: If the day ever comes, she will surely make a fine queen.

***

Where could she be?

Megumi would never admit the extent of his worry out loud, but the heart that beats in his chest thrums frantically as he scours the palace for the princess. Why would she disappear so suddenly? And where’s Summer?

It’s only been just over a fortnight since her arrival, and already the princess is causing trouble for the young knight and her lady, Tsumiki. This spring morning, she avoided her lessons and the advisors, slipping away when Tsumiki had left the room to gather the princess’s breakfast. Tsumiki, upon noticing her disappearance, found Megumi and asked him to look for the princess, fearing the worst. Times may be somewhat peaceful now, but the kingdom has its enemies.

That’s what brings Megumi to his current search of the palace grounds. It’s only when Gyokuken leads him to the back of the palace, catching Rika’s scent, that he finds her. Behind the plush greenery of the palace gardens, he spots that familiar head of golden brown hair beneath the pink cherry blossom trees. The princess seems to be deep in thought, pacing back and forth. She wears a pale pink dress, her beauty rivaling the fresh spring blossoms around her, while her wolf naps lazily in the thick patch of grass in the shade. Gyokuken joins Summer, licking the brown wolf’s face before laying down beside her.

Megumi sighs in relief when he sees Rika, walking briskly to join her side. “Princess!”

Rika startles out of her concentration, before smiling at the approaching knight. “Good morning, Gumi.”

“Princess,” he huffs, out of breath as he stands tall before her. “Tsumiki sent me to find you. I should’ve known this would be the place you’d wander off to. At least tell me if you’d like me to escort you somewhere. I’m your knight now. It’s my duty, Your Highness.”

“I just wanted a place to think,” Rika shrugs. She crosses her arms over her chest and stares out over the stone wall into the pond, its waters clear and still, edges bordered by lily pads and deep blue lotus flowers. It’s the first time she’s come back to this lake in six years, and nostalgia grips her chest, making her feel weary. “We used to come here a lot when we were kids, remember?”

The corners of Megumi’s lips curl with fondness. “Yes. I remember you and Tsumiki used to make flower crowns for the dogs and chase them around until you’d force them to wear them.”

Rika smiles. “And you and Yuuta used to feed the puppies so many snacks they’d flop onto their bellies and fall asleep on your feet.”

Megumi would laugh at the quip, but finds himself distracted by the way Rika’s normally shining, bright gaze is dulled. Her voice sounds worn, tired.

“Are you all right, Princess?”

If Rika’s surprised by the way Megumi could tell her feelings right away, she doesn’t show it. She simply replies, a fondness in her voice, “I miss those days, Gumi.” Unspoken are the words she wishes to say: I miss Yuuta.

He knows that it’s Yuuta that she’s thinking about, as this spot was one of his favorite places on the palace grounds. He often used to sneak away and lay here beneath the trees beside his pet wolf, Ghost, to read books, sing songs, paint pictures, and daydream—to be a young boy when no one else was around to make him a prim and proper prince. Now that he’s gone, there’s an eerie stillness to the gardens, a void that has no hope of being filled.

Megumi stands beside her, and something in him tells him to reach out to her, to offer her comfort. He lifts his hand and places it atop her head, gently ruffling her hair. “We can’t be kids forever, Your Highness.”

“Rika,” she replies, looking up at the knight. “You can call me Rika, Gumi. Just like you used to.”

Megumi frowns. “I’m sorry, Princess, but I’m your knight now. I can’t refer to you so informally.”

“But I thought we were friends,” Rika pouts, her eyes wide and glistening, like a young puppy begging for scraps. “Do you call your fellow knights by their titles?”

“Only my father.”

“Then, drop the formalities for me too,” she asks. Rika wraps her fingers around Megumi’s wrists, surprising the knight. “Please?”

“As stubborn as always,” Megumi sighs, heat prickling his ears. “Just this once, Rika.”

She giggles, her grip on his wrist getting tighter. The sound of her laughter lifts Megumi’s spirits, knowing that he could bring a smile to the princess’s face.

“Well, you will have to get used to it, Gumi, since we’ll be spending so much time together.”

“Yes, I suppose as I am now your knight that we will.”

Rika releases her hold on Megumi’s hands as she stares into his eyes directly. Her chocolate brown eyes always look so sweet and honest, Megumi sometimes wonders if the warmth of her gaze would ever fade.

“Megumi… What do you think about being my sworn protector?”

At this, Megumi chokes. He takes a small step back, stuttering, “W-What?!”

“What, you don’t want to be? I thought you promised you would.” Rika blinks up at him with an exaggerated pout.

“N-No, I—wait, yes, but—”

Rika laughs at his sputtering. “Good. You wouldn’t have been able to decline, anyway.”

“Rika,” Megumi calls her name incredulously. But besides surprise, happiness swells in his chest, knowing that Rika had remembered his childhood promise to be her pledged knight. “I may be your knight but… Why your sworn protector? You don’t even know yet if I’m suitable to protect you.”

Her two smaller hands encase his palm, and her serene smile fades into a look of determination. “I want you by my side, even if you were the weakest knight in the realm. I’d trust you with my life. There’s no one else I’d want beside me.”

Megumi simply blinks back at her, overwhelmed with emotions. It takes him a moment to come back to earth. He kneels before his princess, murmuring, “Thank you, Rika…”

Rika chuckles at the seriousness with which Megumi looks at her now. It reminds her of that time, that fateful summer years ago when she was not yet even ten years old and the war with Drican had just reached the borders of Nymeria, that Megumi had made the promise to her:

Rika, even as a young girl, was often one to sneak away from lectures to play, whether on her own or with her wolf pup, Summer. While the servants knew many of the places she would go to hide away throughout the palace, only Yuuta and the Fushiguro siblings were privy to her most secret hiding places. This summer morning was one such day when a nine-year-old Rika had snuck away, giving her servants the most nerve-wracking scare. Megumi overheard the commotion from the servants while walking the palace halls with Gyokuken and became worried over his princess’s safety. His short legs picked up the pace, with the young wolf Gyokuken following his steps, until they carried him to the gardens. Just as he had thought, the princess was there outside, picking flowers and placing them upon Summer’s ears.

“Rika!” He called out, and when Rika heard his voice, she turned to him with a smile.

“Gumi, what are you doing here?”

Megumi crossed the garden to the spot where Rika was sitting, hidden away behind a bush of rose flowers. He crouched down to her height, his breathing labored from his previous haste. Gyokuken sat somewhere behind him in the grass, basking in the summer sun.

“What are you doing here, princess? The servants are looking for you.”

“I promised Summer I’d make her a flower crown today,” Rika replied, cupping her small palms around the wolf pup’s snout. Summer huffed as Rika picked up the wolf’s face, angling it towards Megumi. The top of her brown head was covered in flower petals.“Doesn’t she look pretty?”

Megumi was not one to smile often, but the princess’s smile was contagious. He sat down across from her and the corners of his lips perked up just slightly as he nodded.

“Yes, Summer looks pretty.”

“What about me, do you think I look pretty?” She asked, with an uncharacteristically shy smile.

“W-what are you talking about, princess,” Megumi sputtered at her sudden question, turning his head to avoid her stare.

The honorific made Rika’s smile turn to a frown, suddenly reminded of her grievances with her title. She grumbled, “Princess this, princess that.”

Megumi raised his brows. “You don’t like being a princess?”

“My mother said one day I’ll have to go to another kingdom and marry a prince… but I don’t want to.” She aggressively plucked the petals from the rose flower in her hand, sending the red petals fluttering to the ground. Megumi stayed silent, as he didn’t know how to reply to such a thing. He knew just as well as anyone else, even at his young age, that people like Rika were born with a duty that they could not get out of.

Rika continued to frown and pluck apart the flower until there was not a single petal left on its stem. She looked up at Megumi with her wide brown eyes and asked, “Hey, Gumi… Do you think maybe one day a princess like me could marry whoever she wanted to?”

Megumi, not one to indulge in such fantasies, sternly replied, “Of course not. A princess has to marry a prince. It’s always been that way.”

“But what if I have to marry a prince I don’t love? What if I want to be with a commoner, someone who isn’t nobility? Someone like you?”

Rika looked at Megumi expectantly; perhaps she believed that Megumi would be able to give her some comfort. Megumi instead froze on the spot, his little body feeling like it had turned to lead, simply blinking in disbelief at the princess. Was this her way of saying she liked him? Megumi instantly rebuked such an idea as quickly as he had thought it, not allowing himself to believe that it was possible.

“I-idiot, what are you talking about?!” He buried the bottom of his warmed face under his arms, hugging himself close to his knees. “You’re saying weird things, Rika.”

She pouted. “I wanna marry someone who I love, Gumi. It’s not fair.”

Megumi could see that tears began to dampen her eyelashes, and the sight of her so upset made him want to comfort her. He reached over and ruffled her hair just as Yuuta always did, causing her to lift her head and gape in surprise.

“Y-you don’t even know what love is so… Just stop crying. You’re only nine, you dummy. Don’t worry so much about it. Let’s just go back inside. We’ll be late for lessons today.”

“I… I don’t want to go back yet, Gumi,” she protests weakly, rubbing her eyes with her fingers balled into fists. “Can we stay here a little more?”

“But my father says we shouldn’t play outside anymore. That it’s dangerous now.”

Rika frowned.“But we always play outside.”

“We’re at war now, princess. What if the bad men come and steal us away? You’re the princess, you shouldn’t be out here without a knight to protect you.”

“You worry too much. We have the wolves here,” Rika shrugged. She looked up at Megumi and added, “Plus, you’re here too. You’ll protect me, right, Gumi?”

“That’s what the knights are for, Rika. And my dad says I shouldn’t be one.”

“Your father is the king’s sworn protector. He’s the strongest knight in the whole kingdom. Why wouldn’t you be a knight too?”

Megumi looked down at his shoes pensively. “I told him I want to be a knight but… He says it's too dangerous.”

“Too dangerous? What, are you scared, Gumi?” Rika chided him. Her moods were oftentimes mercurial, already prioritizing teasing Megumi over the prior thoughts that had made her cry.

Megumi turned his head back up towards the princess, heat pooling at the tips of his ears. “N-no! I’m not scared!”

“Then, you should be a knight. I know you’d be a strong one like your father.”

“I don’t wanna be like my father,” Megumi protested, tongue in cheek.

“You don’t want to be a sworn protector? But what if I made you my sworn protector?” Rika looked at Megumi with an exaggeratedly pleading gaze, playing at his heartstrings.

As gullible as he is serious, Megumi took her words to heart. His eyes widened in surprise, a blush painting the apples of his cheeks. “You really want me to be your knight?”

“Yep! If you promise me you’ll be a knight, I’ll make you my sworn protector when we’re bigger. That way you’ll always get to be by my side.”

Megumi brought a finger up to scratch at his cheek as the princess placed another flower on her brown wolf’s head. “Why me, Princess? I… I don’t understand.”

“You’re important to me, Megumi. I trust you the most,” Rika declared, pulling one last flower from the bush. This time she turned to her side, and with a bright smile, she placed it on Megumi’s head between the strands of his spiky dark hair. He feigned an annoyed face in an effort to hide the happiness he felt at Rika’s words. His father didn’t want him to be a knight but if the princess asked him to, he’d try his damn hardest.

“Okay, Rika. I… I promise I’ll be your sworn protector.”

“You pinky promise?” She asked, holding up her smallest finger between them.

Megumi linked his pinky finger with hers, nodding. “Pinky promise.”

Looking down at Megumi now, the princess reaches up to her head, pulling off the hairpin that adorns her hair. “I think you’re missing something, Gumi.”

She giggles, the sweetest sound Megumi’s ever heard, when she leans down and smooths down the spikes in Megumi’s hair, clipping down his hair with the hairpin. The hairpin is gold with soft pink sakura flowers and reminds her of that time years ago when Megumi would let her place flowers in his hair. “Still looks as pretty as always.”

“Men aren’t supposed to be pretty,” he protests weakly. Megumi, still on his knee, looks down if only to avoid the princess’s gaze, scarlet splashed across his face. One of his hands comes up to his head, fingertips brushing over the metal pin in his hair. “Is this hairpin yours?”

“Think of it as a gift for the occasion.” Although she is partly joking, offering him one of her hairpins that she had bought overseas, she does think Megumi is being insanely cute now and that a little teasing would be fun. She takes both his hands in hers then, and adds, “It’s to commemorate your oath as my sworn protector.”

Though most knights and kingsguards only make oaths to the royals when they are knighted, Megumi has been waiting for years to finally pledge his life and loyalty to his princess. Not one to waste the opportunity, he pushes through the nervousness he feels and steels himself. He looks up to his princess, directly into the depth of her eyes, and makes his vow.

“Princess Rika, it is my honor to be knighted as your sworn protector.” Rika’s teasing smile falters as she hears the conviction in his voice and sees the determination in his gaze. Megumi unsheathes his sword from its scabbard, laying it down on the ground before his princess. “Even when we were children, you were always the most courageous and kind-hearted lady I knew. It is my honor to lay down my sword for you. I will give my heart, soul, my life, whatever it is that I can, for you my lady. I swear it before the Gods.”

Rika kneels before her knight, digging her clothed knees into the ground, ignoring the dirt that sullies her dress. She brings her face level to Megumi’s. She doesn’t let go of his hands for a moment, and just as he was swayed by conviction, so is she, staring fixed into his deep green irises.

“I vow that you will always be my most trusted protector,” Rika says, “Even if one day you are one day no longer my personal knight. You will always be a part of my family here in Nymeria. And you will always be one of my closest friends, Megumi. I will never do anything to sully your honor as a knight, nor ask anything of you that would cause you pain or distress. I will never be like my father. As long as you are sworn to me, I will value you and your life as you value mine.”

“Princess…” Megumi swallows the lump in his throat, bewitched by her smile. He never had expected Rika to also make a vow to him, and his heart races in his chest as he commits the words to memory. To be cherished and valued so highly by his lady… He feels so elated his body could burst at the seams. All the times he had worked so hard over the years, training his body and mind to become a knight despite his father’s discouragement—it was all worth it if it culminates in a moment like this, of being worthy of his princess’s vow.

Megumi rises to his feet, and with the princess’s hand still within his grasp, he helps her off the ground. Her smile fades to a soft gasp as Megumi brings her hand to his lips, placing a tender kiss on the back of her hand. His lips are soft and warm against her skin. And his eyelashes… so long and pretty as they flutter closed. “Thank you, Your Highness.”

Rika, who is always so brazen and so bold with her tongue, turns into a stuttering fool, an uncharacteristic warmth rising to her rosy skin.

“Y-yes, well… You’re… You’re welcome.”

A soft gust of wind suddenly cuts through the air, rustling the trees and carrying pink petals off the branches. As Megumi and Rika stand bashfully before one another, a pink petal lands upon her fringe. Before she can remove it, Megumi reaches up with his free hand and removes the petal from her strands. When his fingertips brush against her face, the princess looks away.

Megumi’s gaze lands on her lips, though he’s not sure why he finds them so distracting. “Princess, I—”

“Princess Rika!” A woman’s voice calls out, one that is familiar to both of them: Tsumiki.

Megumi and Rika practically jump at the sound of her voice, the princess stepping back and creating some distance between herself and her knight. Even Summer and Gyokuken, who had fallen asleep during the entirety of Megumi and Rika’s exchange, pick up their heads and curiously look up at the maid.

For a moment, Rika wonders what that strange feeling had been, as if she and Megumi had been on another planet entirely, but it’s quickly muffled down and stored away in the recess of her mind upon seeing her lady approaching.

“Lady Tsumiki… Fine morning, isn’t it?” Rika asks timidly, knowing she had escaped under Tsumiki’s watch.

“You had me quite worried there, princess,” Tsumiki scolds her, though there’s no bite behind her words. Truthfully, she had come upon Megumi and Rika some time ago and chose to stay hidden as she watched the pair exchange vows. She didn’t have the heart to interrupt such a tender moment between her brother and the princess. Plus, as she looks up at her brother, she giggles. He does look cute with the pin in his hair.

“I had Summer with me! And Gumi too,” the princess replies. “I was fine.”

“Well, let’s head back inside. You’re late for your calligraphy lesson, Your Highness.”

Megumi suppresses a smile as Rika rolls her eyes. “All right. Will I see you after your morning training, Lieutenant Fushiguro?”

The color on Megumi’s cheeks rivals that of the flower clip in his hair, the faintest tinge of pink, and he masks it with a short cough as he brings his fist up to cover the bottom of his face. Rika had never called him by his title before so directly, and though he wouldn’t admit it, it sounded quite lovely when she was the one to vocalize it. “Yes, Your Highness.”

Tsumiki sends her brother a knowing glance as the princess turns away and begins to walk back towards the palace, her direwolf following faithfully behind. “I see you’re getting well-acquainted with the princess again, Gumi.”

Megumi scratches the back of his neck. “I… I guess so, Miki.”

She places one of her palms on his cheek, cradling his face. Megumi doesn’t move a muscle, surprised by her gesture. “Just… be sure to guard your heart, brother. I’ll see you later.” She removes her hand as quickly as she had placed it, turning to follow after her princess. “Oh, and the hairpin suits you. Very pretty,” she adds with a chuckle before taking her leave.

Perhaps she is more perceptive than he is because Megumi has no idea what has just happened, absentmindedly rubbing at his cheek with questioning fingers. Now standing alone under the tree, he turns to his wolf Gyokuken, who looks up at him with what seems like an accusatory gaze.

“What?” Megumi asks aloud, bending down to pick up his sword. The wolf simply huffs as the knight places the sword back within its scabbard. But even with jabs from Tsumiki and his wolf, Megumi couldn’t be bothered to be gloomy, not when he had had such a precious moment with Rika. He smiles to himself, hairpin still faithfully lodged within his raven strands, as he heads back to the palace, his heart full of the encouraging words from his princess.

***

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