Royalty Wally x GN!Reader
(Art and au by @neonross + This fic is heavily inspired by and set in the world built by Emma in her Royalty Au Fic so please go check her out!)
Synopsis: As one of the few knights left under the Spade's council rule, the King of Hearts takes particular interest in you after seeing your fencing abilities, even against one of your own court.
You took a deep breath in, calming yourself. Today the shuffling, a gathering between all four kingdoms, was holding an event. Fencing. Though you certainly didn't consider your skills extraordinary or anything, you were proud of your swordsmanship nonetheless, having trained since childhood. You looked over to the rest of your peers and nodded to Arnold, a duke and soon to be ruler of the Spades Kingdom once he reached of age and maturity.
Silently, you went to go stand next to the Lord, speaking softly so that only he could hear you, "Remember, you are to under no circumstances become prideful or brash in front of this audience." You look to the younger boy sternly, meeting his gaze before continuing, "The kingdom has too much relying on this shuffling going well for you to do so." You could tell Arnold was holding back some indignance at your words, but were glad he kept it under lock and key.
Refocusing your gaze to the large hall where the fencing would be held, you took in the several platforms they had put together. You counted eight in total, all holding different duels as the audience could watch from the giant bleachers. Many had already lined up to take their seats, rows and rows of different shades of red, aqua, and green flooded your eyes and started to overwhelm your senses.
You shook your head quickly, reminding yourself that you must keep it together, if only to put on a good show for the nobles of your neighboring kingdoms. You heard a shriek, and swerved you gaze to face it, realizing a whistle had been blown and a man, a servant of the heart's kingdom by the look of it, was handing out the schedule for those competing. You raced over to meet the man and find where your placement was in the first round.
Seventh stage, with a one... Duke Below? You scoff internally at the odd name, but nod to the servant and thank them before moving away and finding the stage you'd be on. Suddenly, you feel your heart skip a beat as you realize the stage you were put on would be right in front of the tree royals. Squealing internally you think to yourself 'Lady Ebony is going to be so excited, I might be able to impress the royals and give a good name to the spades!'
Shaking your hands you go to the far left of the stage, facing the royals stand before finding where the necessary items for such a duel had been set. You smile to yourself, seeing the mask provided was a dark black, with a blue spade painted on the back. Your sword even had a blue handle, though it's blade was the usual silver. As you wait for the duels to begin you practice your moves, striking and slashing the air gracefully, looking like a grand opry dancer.
After a few moments, you begin to feel eyes on you, though, as a member of the Spades kingdom it wasn't all that of an unfamiliar feeling by now. Judgement was common among the kingdoms by now, with the death of your prior king and the Great Departure that followed it. You take their gaze and smirk under your mask almost resentfully, moving faster, and striking sooner. With a twirl to the other side, you suddenly realize why it seemed as if the stares had gotten so much more intense.
The King. The King of Hearts was staring at you. You felt your breath hitch as your face turned a bright apple red, thankful that he couldn't see it under the mask. He looked at you in such deep thought... one might even say in admiration... 'Focus (Y/N).' You continued to remind yourself, and resuming your practice despite the faltering moment. A bell rings soon after and you straighten yourself, walking up to the stairs that lead up to the stage to meet your opponent.
In front of you stood Duke Below, wearing white and aqua suit and mask. 'Ah, so he's a Duke of Diamonds then.' You snap back into focus as the ref nods and initiates the match. Suddenly, you are in position, dancing around the Duke as he forcefully attempts to jab you even as you move with ease out of the way. His fighting style, if it could even be called as such, reminded you of the young Lord Arnold's, vicious, offensive, barbaric even. Feeling the disappointment fill your chest as you realize the Duke wasn't as experienced as you would have expected, you frown, before aiming a quick strike to his chest and knocking him down with ease, winning the match easily.
After shaking the Dukes hand, you could see the anger almost radiating off of him, stomping his way down the steps and throwing his mask down with a clash. You shake your head, almost embarrassed at the man's behavior, sighing and shaking your head before stepping off the stage and setting your weapon and mask down to get some rest. Though you don't get much time to rest before suddenly a servant of the Hearts is running up to you with a cup of water.
"The King requested you drink some water after such a match, he is very impressed by your skill. You will also be staying on this stage for the rest of the tournament, so long as you aren't disqualified, also at the King's request" The servant curtsies and hands the water as they speak and your eyes widen, almost left without words, simply nodding at the servant before they leave. You chug the water before setting the cup down and looking back to the Royals, finding the King's gaze on you yet again.
Clumsily, you bow attempting to show the King your thanks before nearly tripping over your own to feet. Looking up quickly to try and apologize, at least as best you could from so far away, you were surprised to find the kind chuckling at your actions, with a seemingly genuine smile. Such a smile even graced your face as you looked up to the King, shaking your head before rushing to get your gear back on as the second rounds are announced.
This time you were put against Lord Braxter, dressed in red and white gear that showed off his alliance to the Kingdom of Hearts. Similar to the first round, you played primarily defense, though unlike the Duke, Lord Braxter was careful, calculated even with his movement. You grinned under your mask as you moved quicker, looking for any opening you could find. In a moment he switching from his piercing moves to attempt to slash your shoulder, forcing you to slide to the other side, moving to stand behind him. In a moment, your sword had pierced the back of his clothing, pride filling you at such a genius move in the moment.
Yet again, you were declared the winner, shaking the Lord's hands as he thanked you for a good fight, but this time as you went to go take your break, you already found a cup of water waiting for you, smiling at it. Though you also noticed a small note next to it, examining the slightly rough handwriting before reading it.
Hello, Mx. (L/N) I just wanted to let you know I am very impressed by your skill and grace in these duels. Truly, your strategy and thinking is just such a delightful sight - Darling, King of Hearts
You almost spit out your water as you read the note, unable to hide your shock. Your face turned that same bright red again before you spun your head to face the royals. Though you didn't find any gaze on you this time, thankful that they wouldn't have seen your shock or red face. Sighing through your nose you thank the spirits before looking around you. Surprised, you see that you had already reached the last four, and that the young lord, Arnold, had also made it.
You smiled for a moment, before it fell seeing his prideful grin. You could tell his hubris was beginning to take over, fearing what might result from it. Suddenly, he was walking towards your stage. It took a moment, but you soon realized he was to be your next opponent. You nodded to him but he simply walked past you without so much as a glance, still grinning. The same disgust from earlier began to rise up, yet you kept your face cold and emotionless. You solemnly put your mask on, tightening it as you pick up the sword, feeling the coolness of the handle through your gloves as you walk up the steps yet again, meeting the young lord's stance. 'I have to keep him from winning' His pride could not be shown by a loss to anyone but a fellow Spade, you wouldn't let Lady Ebony's plans all fail because of an immature child like Arnold.
You could feel the eyes of everyone boring into you and Arnold as the duel was signaled to begin, seeing the King's intense gaze back on you from the corner of your eye. This time, you went on the offense, dancing around Arnold as he swung wildly, yet powerfully at you. He couldn't seem to land a hit as you would simply dance out of the way each time he attempted a strike. You could feel the anger boil up in your heart as you realized this was how he had won all of his other matches. By fighting like a child, with no grace or beauty to be seen in it. You were seeing red. All you could feel was the burn of your muscles as you kept dancing around the young man, playing with him like cat does a mouse. Just like he did with all of his other opponents. You could see him getting weary, slowing down and making weaker strikes.
Suddenly, there was a gasp among the crowd. Arnold was on the ground, several yards away. You struck him. Hard. You almost felt guilty, but it faded soon when you remembered how he treated everybody else. You held your chin up in victory as you walked softly to the center of the stage, watching Arnold clutch his abdomen where his clothing was slightly ripped. He limped over to you as he shook your hand. You could feel his intense glare and embarrassment as he looked at you through the mask. Though above the noise of the audience, a loud clapping could be heard as you walked off the stage. Turning around, you saw the King of Hearts clapping to your victory.
Your heart soared at his approval, feeling your face move to be a large grin. As you move down you find yet another full cup of water, but no note or servant this time, almost grateful for no more surprises. You chugged the water quickly, thankful for the cool relief it brought as your muscles ached and burned. You could hear Arnold's voice complaining, indignant to his lost against his own night and shook your head. You would've gone to talk to him about it, but you knew Lady Ebony would eventually discuss the actions he should take going forward anyways. Shaking your head you look down, before jumping up as you hear a deep, monotone voice from in front of you.
"Hello there, Mx. Hedrick." You look up, absolutely flabbergasted as you see the King of Hearts in front of you. Talking to you. A Knight of Spades. Your brain short circuits for a moment as you mumble out stutters and the King smiles at you, chuckling at your surprise. After a moment of pure confusion, you're able to configure your words properly.
"Oh um Your Highness! May I ask why you are here?" You couldn't hide your nerves no matter how hard you tried, your voice was too loud, too unnatural. You felt internal embarrassment and cursed yourself for being so strange around the King. Thankfully though, he didn't seem to mind.
"Well, what kind of host would I be if I didn't personally congratulate the winner, my dear?" Your brain officially stopped working at that point. Winner? There was supposed to be one more match, you were sure of it. It seemed the King noticed your confusion and elaborated quickly. "The other two were forced to come to a draw as one was cut past their protection and the other seems to have broken their leg." Your eyes widened. At a loss for words you simply nodded at the King. He chuckled, his usual monotone, adorable chuckle. You could feel your face heat up at his chuckle, looking down to try and hide it, thanking him for his congratulations.
"T-Thank you, your Highness, I appreciate your thought" He looked down at you and kneeled to meet your height, surprising you as you realized he was doing this in front of everyone. Suddenly, the trophy was in your hands and you smiled, thanking him again before setting it down next to you. "The Spades appreciate you being such a delightful host" You bowed as best as you could from you sitting position. Wally grabbed your hand gently, kissing it and making your face light up on fire.
"Your welcome M'lady." You felt yourself internally die at his words, not believing he would treat a simple night as such. Much less one from the Spade's Kingdom. Just as quickly as he came to you, he left leaving you with a trophy, and a face redder than the most delicious apples of the Heart's Kingdom.
"A King... Just kissed me..." You stared out into the distance, absolutely astonished at the day's events.
I’m back.
Alright y’all, update and poll time.
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