prince couri and knight fein are always soooo. fein will always be a knight, a protector, willingly puts his body in front of others to shield them and take attention off of them, and he does it all the time with couri during no reset duo runs and would rather put himself in harms way rather than couri. of course he'd be couriway's knight, his protector and his devoted follower, kneeling for him, visor down and knelt in prayer, not to a god, but to couriway. to his one faith and center of his universe, couriway. if he could be the one who plucks the crown off couri's hair every night or the one who undresses the prince and irons and folds and washes all his precious clothing, he would, but how could he– a man covered in scars and filled with stories from too many battles that he's forgotten them all, a lowly knight like him– be worthy of being glanced at by the prince? worthy of stepping close and being loved? he will put his life on the line no matter, devotion that goes unsaid.
and it doesn't matter if it's unsaid or not, couriway will always know the devotion that his knight has for him. his knight that kneels before him and awaits orders, still as ever as couriway steps close, trembling only when his helmet is lifted off by hands encased in silk, soft curls and equally soft eyes (that are supposed to be hardened by war) with such soft features that couriway almost doesn't believe that this is his most seasoned knight, but he knows that it is because there is no one else with this same amount of devotion for the prince and only the prince. his knight who kneels for his blessing rather than the kings or queens, kneeling only for the prince and displaying defiance against the kingdom, but who can argue? who can point it out? they're afraid of the man they see when the visor is pulled down on the suit of armor, a man who moves like liquid even with such heavy protection– is it witchcraft? is it enchantments? what dance does he do to fall into such an easy tango with death and life?
his knight is all and everything to him, and he cannot help but feel guilt for the scars that mark his fair skin, unable to heal and unable to protect too, training to usurp the throne from his father, hours spent bent over books and sometimes, his knight accompanies him too, forbidden knowledge falling in front of his eyes and reading silently as his prince turns the book slowly and towards the knight posted next to him.
they are together more often than not, and feinberg finds himself behind the doors of the princes chamber where his prince himself is bare and vulnerable, and he himself too is without his armor. this is the most vulnerable he's ever been. this is where his devotion has led, towards a path that he should not step on and follow to the end, but his prince– his beautiful prince, has bewitched him, and he cannot find himself to care. he loves loves loves. he swears an oath on protecting the kingdom with his life, but he will break that oath soon, as he will swear to protect only couriway (not the kingdom, not the king nor queen, and not the prince, only couri.) and nothing else.
his prince meets him under the moonlight bathed gardens, meetings that are secret– meetings that are not supposed to happen. yet feinberg cannot care. he cannot care when he is able to see the prince bathed in the glow of the moon like this, his sun kissed prince is loved by the world. by the universe. by feinberg. he is loved.
his touch is warm, feinberg's hands are rough and his touch is caring– soft and loving. comfortable. couriway sees the world beyond the walls and wants to run through the wind and laugh in the rain, and the prince sees nothing but grey walls that reach into the sky, blocking his freedom. couriway wants wants wants and wants, he wants all that the prince cannot have.
he wants to be free, to be with his knight forever more and to never hide again, and his heart thuds, loud loud loud in his ears as he speaks, and he's never felt like this before, not even when he was addressing the people of his (former?) kingdom.
“then would you run away with me tonight?” he whispers, afraid of prying ears that he cannot see yet they still listen. “right now, feinberg. if i ran away now, would you follow me?”
“wherever you’d want to go, couriway. i’ll always be right behind you.”
and so they go, into the unknown and into the world where couriway can breathe for once, laughing and loving and living. they are still one and all the same, but they have no need to hide anymore. they are safe
