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lycheedr3ams · 1 year

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Banished Love, part 3

Knight Engvall x fem!noble!reader

SFW, MDNI

This is written by me, so don't copy my work! Reblogs are appreciated.

Honestly, idk if I'm writing romance good enough or believable..... but here's part 3!

Ever since your parents told you about this new suitor, lavish gifts were sent to you from the Lands Between at regular intervals. Fine cheeses and wines, dresses, jewels, rare books, and more. Each package was hand-signed by your suitor, and your mother insists on you opening each and every package in front of her.

“Oh, what’s next!?” Alessia asks with her hands clasped together in excitement. She stands behind you as you sit at a large table in the family dining area. Engvall stands by the doorway with his back to you, but somehow, you feel like his eyes are on you.

You apathetically open the next gift, which is a beautiful golden crystal necklace. Despite your hatred for your new suitor, you cannot deny it is a lofty gift.

“How beautiful!” your mother exclaims as she admires the jewel from over your shoulder. “I must show your father this!” Alessia snatches the necklace from your hands and dashes out of the dining room, leaving you and Engvall alone.

Engvall turns to face you when he hears you sigh. You put your head in your hands and take deep breaths.

“I’ve had enough of this,” you say quietly as you loudly scoot the chair across the stone floor to stand up. You jog down the hallway and out into the courtyard, hoping to have left the vicinity before your mother comes back. Engvall is right on your heels, but he’s so tall that your jog is barely a fast walk for him.

You burst out into the courtyard and make your way to your garden. There is a garden for each of your family members, where only their favorite flowers were planted. Your garden is a little further out than the others, shielded by tall oak trees and trimmed rose bushes. You open the iron gate and give Engvall room to enter before shutting it behind him. He looks at you silently before turning around to guard the gate.

“Engvall,” you sigh, but cannot help but let out a tiny laugh. His shoulders tense. “We’re just in the garden. You don’t have to stand guard here.”

“I must stand guard everywhere, my lady,” Engvall says as he scans the courtyard. Your family is all inside, and the only people who occasionally pass by are the gardeners.

“Don’t you think it’s a little weird that we all have a knight at all times?” you ask, standing right behind Engvall. “It’s like my parents are almost expecting something horrible to happen.”

“My lady, you are a noble. There are many people who begrudge you that,” Engvall responds plainly. You sigh.

“Well, for once, would you please just enjoy the garden with me? I don’t think anything bad is going to happen right now. If we’re invaded or anything, the archers at the edge of the property will take care of it,” you attempt to convince him.

Engvall makes no move, and instead stands at his post. You grow annoyed.

“Engvall, did you hear me?” you ask with a huff, knowing full well that he heard you.

“I swore an oath to protect you, my lady,” Engvall responds.

You finally give up, and turn to retreat further into your garden. There is a three-tiered fountain in the middle, and the sound of the water always calms your heart. There are four wrought-iron benches at each compass direction surrounding the fountain. The oak trees from outside your garden extend over the benches and fountain, ensuring that there is always cool shade to retreat to during the hot days. There is a cobblestone pathway that leads to a small clearing that houses all your favorite flowers, but that is not where you want to go today. When you were younger, with the help of Engvall, you cut some of the hedges to make a small opening into a secret part of your garden. You made Engvall and the gardeners swear to keep it a secret from everyone else.

You turn back to Engvall and stare into the back of his head, hoping that he could read your mind that way. But that helmet must do more than protect his head, because whatever signals you were trying to send didn’t reach him. You turn on your heel and move aside the vines you have covering the small doorway to your secret garden. You duck a little and make your way through the space in the hedges, but Engvall’s voice makes you stop.

“My lady, I cannot see you if you go over there,” he calls from the gate. “Please come back.”

You smile mischievously to yourself. “You better come find me then,” you call as you retreat down the makeshift tunnel. You don’t make it far before you hear the clink of Engvall’s armor, and see a patch of sunlight as he moves the vines out of the way. You laugh as you exit the tunnel and come out into the small, grassy clearing of your secret garden. You asked the gardeners to train the rose bushes to grow into a roof to cover the clearing, and after years of training, the roses have formed a thick covering over your hideaway. Some sunlight peeks through the spaces in the thorny bushes, but most is blocked out. You remember the time you and Engvall got caught in the garden in a rainstorm, but you were barely wet because of how thick the covering was.

The space is tall enough for you to stand, and with room for about five people to lay down. You’re lost in your own reverie, remembering all the times you snuck off here and made Engvall chase you, when the sound of his armor clinking brings you back to reality. Engvall squeezes through the entryway and stands up as straight as he can without being hit by the thorns.

“I see you made it,” you say with a smile as you look up at Engvall. But upon closer inspection, you can see that there are some branches clinging to the divots in his armor. “You’re so clumsy,” you joke. “You’re a mess.”

Engvall stands still as you gently pull off the twigs that got stuck in his armor.

“Thank you, my lady,” he says quietly once you pull off the last twig. You thought you should respond, but silence overcomes you as you look at Engvall. Being back here, with him, brought back so many memories that left you speechless. This hideaway might as well be another dimension. The first time you saw Engvall’s face, the first time you asked him to hold your hand, was here. It was as if this hideaway allowed you to see Engvall as a human rather than your knight in shining armor. You blush and look away.

Engvall says nothing, but his eyes never leave yours.

“I wish we could just stay here forever,” you say quietly. You look down at your hands and play with your nails.

“Where is my daughter?” you hear your mother’s voice call from the courtyard. You tense up.

“I am not sure, ma’am,” one of the gardeners says. “I haven’t seen her.”

You can hear your mother’s heels clicking against the stone courtyard as she looks for you. You wait with bated breath until you can no longer hear her shoes, or her voice calling for you.

You take a deep breath. “That was close,” you say aloud. You sit down on the cool grass, and pat the space next to you with your hand. Engvall obeys, and lowers himself down slowly to not make much noise with his armor. You sit criss-crossed next to him, while his legs are bent out over the grass with his arms leaning against his thighs. There is not enough room for him to sit comfortably, especially in his armor.

You look up at him sheepishly before nuzzling into his side and wrapping your hands around his arm. You can’t see it from under his helmet, but his eyes close in satisfaction as he lets out a small sigh. His metal armor is cold and hard against your cheek, but you don’t mind. You absentmindedly trace the small patterns in one of his gauntlets with your index finger.

You eventually close your eyes and relax into his side. You begin to fall into a very light sleep; Engvall’s breathing was like a lullaby. The sound of his armor gently clinking makes you open your eyes to see that he is slowly moving his other hand towards your own. But his hand freezes in midair once your eyes are open. You look up at him and nod, and his hand gently encases both of yours. Despite the leather of the gauntlet covering his hand, you can feel the warmth of his skin against yours. He gently grabs your hands and holds them tight.

Engvall barely whispers your name.

You blink your eyes open and look up at him again with a smile. “You said my name,” you say quietly. But when he doesn’t respond, you grow worried. “What is it?” you ask, your smile quickly fading.

Engvall purses his lips, battling his own mind. “We…we can’t…” he stammers slowly. Despite his words, his hand still holds your own.

“No one needs to know,” you implore as you sit up a little straighter. “What happens between me and my knight, stays between me and my knight.”

But Engvall doesn’t seem very convinced, as his grip on your hands loosens slightly.

“Please, Engvall,” you say above a whisper this time. “What we’re doing isn’t wrong.”

Engvall looks away from you. “I…I swore an oath. To protect you.”

“And that’s what you’re doing, is it not?” you ask, still holding onto his strong arm. “Nothing has come in between your duty.”

“It…isn’t right,” he says. His voice is strained, and you can feel his muscles tense underneath your hand. His hand that was holding your own retreats to his side.

“Engvall, please,” you say with a frown. You grab his arm a little tighter, hoping to keep him with you. But he gently escapes your grasp and stands up.

“I need to resume my guard. I will be right on the other end of the tunnel,” he says before retreating. You’re left alone in your hideaway. It feels like Engvall took all the sunlight and warmth with him, as this place no longer brought you comfort in the moment. You place your head in your hands and cry.

…

The next week, you could barely manage to get a word in with Engvall. Ever since he let his guard down in the secret garden, he had been very distant with you: only speaking to you when necessary, avoiding being alone with you, and barely even looking at you. You tried to get him out of whatever shell he put himself in, but it was no use. No matter how many plates of food you saved him, how much you looked up at him adoringly, or how many times you held onto his arm, he did not budge.

It didn’t help that the castle had been even busier as your parents got ready for the ball they are planning for your new suitor. Extra maids had been hired to clean every inch of the castle, rugs were being washed, windows shined, display armor polished, your clothes improved. And as you walked in silence through the halls of your family’s castle, Engvall was right there behind you, just as silent.

Until today. Today, you had enough.

The rain petters against the stained glass windows in the corridors and causes a chill to settle over the castle. All the maids have extra furs and cloaks on, including you, but Engvall remains in his armor as always.

You walk towards the greenhouse when you suddenly turn on your heel and face Engvall. He instantly stands still and looks at you, but just above your head. You look up at him with a mixture of defiance and love.

“Aren’t you cold?” you ask him as you pull your furs around yourself. “That armor has got to be freezing.”

You can see Engvall slowly blink through his helmet. “I am all right, my lady. Do not concern yourself with me.”

Your brows furrow in frustration for a moment before you inch forward and run your fingers along his gauntlet. You were right: his armor is freezing, and slightly damp from the humidity.

“Engvall!” you exclaim, and he almost jumps. “You need to get out of this armor and put on something warm. You’re going to get sick.”

“My lady, I must stay in my armor. I am not cold,” he insists.

You shake your head, and take off one of the layers of fur that lay around your shoulders. You walk behind Engvall and are about to place the fur over his shoulders when he turns around abruptly.

“My lady, please, you’re the one who’s going to get sick if you don’t keep that on you,” Engvall says.

You begin to get even more frustrated. “Engvall, I don’t want to play the knight card. But you’re my knight, and I insist that you wear this fur.” You hold out the fur towards him.

Engvall shakes his head. “My lady, I am allowed to forgo your orders when they are in direct opposition with your best interest. I cannot take the fur from you. Please, wear it.” Engvall then gently takes the fur from your hands and drapes it around your shoulders again. You sigh in defeat, but then look up at him angrily.

“What’s with you, Engvall?” you ask. “You’ve been different lately. I know why, but there’s no reason to be like this. Please, Engvall. I miss you. You’re my knight, and my friend, and…” your voice dies off in silence as you look at the freshly washed rug below you.

Engvall almost feels his heart breaking at your saddened expression. He leans down slightly, and whispers, “not here, my lady.”

You don’t realize that you’re having this conversation with Engvall in the middle of a corridor with various outlets to it. But before you can take back anything you said, your little sister comes running around from a side corridor, laughing. Right behind her is her knight Oleg, who is chasing after her.

“Hide me, sister!” she yells as she pretends to hide behind your legs. Oleg stops dead in his tracks and bows slightly to you.

“What’s going on?” you ask as you look between Oleg and Malarue, who now clings onto your leg.

“I was playing hide and seek with Oleg, and he found me! But he was cheating!” she says with a smile.

“Cheating?” You say as you raise your eyebrow and look at Oleg with a smile of your own. “I don’t think an honorable knight would cheat.”

“He did!” Malarue says as she grabs your leg tighter.

You look at Oleg with mock judgment. “And what do you have to say in your defense, knight Oleg?”

“I assure you, lady, that I was not cheating,” Oleg says honorably. “Malarue was very loud when she hid in the storage room.”

You look down at Malarue. “You shouldn’t accuse people of cheating, sister. You lost, fair and square.”

Malarue frowns and runs back to Oleg. “It’s Oleg’s turn to hide now!” she says.

“I cannot hide from you, my lady,” Oleg says to Malarue. “But you can hide again, if you wish.”

Malarue then takes off down another corridor. Oleg nods at you before slowly following after her. The moment to talk with Engvall is gone. You sigh and make your way back to the greenhouse.

…

You sit on the couch that looks out over the gardens in your room, the moon now at its third quarter phase. Engvall is on his hour-long watch outside your door. You tried to distract yourself with reading, humming, anything, but your thoughts don’t stray from your knight just a few paces away. With a huff of determination, you sit up and go to your door.

“Engvall?” you say quietly as you open the door.

“Yes, my lady?” he replies dutifully.

“I want you to come inside,” you say plainly.

Engvall hesitates. “I must watch your door, my lady.”

“Well, if anyone decides to break in, you’ll still be in here,” you say.

There is a minute of silence where you swear you can hear the cogs in Engvall’s head turning. Right as you are about to close the door and wish him goodnight, he turns and enters your bedroom. He stands right by the door, facing you, but still on guard.

“At ease, or whatever it is they say,” you say quietly.

He does not respond, nor move. You can feel your resolve failing.

“Please, Engvall,” you plead. “Please. I need you back.”

And Engvall finally sighs. A sign of humanity. Your eyes light up.

“Please, put your halberd down. Take off your helmet,” you ask.

Engvall quietly steps into your room and does as you asked. He then stands before you, no halberd or helmet. And he finally looks at you again. He looks human: not a knight (despite the rest of his armor that’s still on him), not your protector. Now, he’s your Engvall.

You smile, but find that your knees can no longer hold you up. The crushing weight of never having your Engvall back again was too much to bear, and you only noticed the weight once it was gone. You kneel gently onto the floor, and Engvall is right there with you. He kneels before you, but does not move to touch you.

“I thought I lost you,” you say as you cry quietly. “Don’t do that to me, Engvall. Please, not again.”

This wasn’t the first time Engvall had distanced himself after you and him had a close moment. You never knew how long the episodes would last. Some lasted a few days, others weeks.

You look up at him with tear-stained eyes, but before you can say or do anything else, he envelopes you in a tight hug. It hurts, with his armor digging into you through your furs. But you don’t care: Engvall is hugging you.

“I didn’t mean to worry you,” he whispers into your ear as you hug him back. You cling onto him like a moth to a flame.

“Well, you did,” you retort. “Don’t do that again. You know I hate it when you do that.”

Engvall doesn’t respond. He instead opts to rub soft circles into your back. You take a deep breath and lean back to look at him, and the look in his eyes takes you away. He looks at you so much more than a knight looks at his charge. His green eyes are stunning, and take your breath away. Your lips part slightly, and the way his eyes dart to your lips doesn’t escape your notice. His cheeks blush slightly, embarrassed that the allure of your lips was too strong for him to resist. You look up at him adoringly, and whisper his name. His eyes flutter closed. You gently brush the tip of your nose against his, testing the waters. His eyes shoot open, but there is a hint of a small smile on his lips. You look back down at his lips, and then his eyes, before slowly closing the distance between you.

The kiss was gentle, but his arms around you hold you tight so that there is no hope of getting away. Not that you would want to. Desperate for more of him, you kiss him back just a little stronger, and you suddenly feel his large hand on the back of your head, pushing you impossibly closer to him. You mumble when you need air, and he lets you go, scanning your face for any signs of discomfort. But you smile up at him, your cheeks flushed and lips red. He dives in for a second kiss, and you gladly indulge him. Your moment went no further once you separated from him again. Engvall presses a chaste kiss on your cheek, his stubble grazing your soft skin. His warm breath tickles your ear, and you can’t help but giggle quietly.

“Something funny?” he teases with a gentle smirk.

“Yeah. Your breath tickles.”

“Come on. You need to get to bed,” Engvall says. You are about to protest when he suddenly picks you up and gently places you on your bed. You insist that he spends the rest of his hour on guard in your room, and who is he to refuse? He stands right next to you as you lie on your side, facing him, and you have never fallen asleep faster.

#engvall #elden ring #banished knight #banished knight engvall #oleg #tarnished #rogier #malenia #crucible knight #elden ring x reader #engvall x reader

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