The Lovers
Knight! Pedro Pascal x Princess! Reader
Part 2
Synopsis: You always knew you would be queen one day, but you didn’t think the title came with an arranged marriage. Sir Pascal, offers you a way out.
Genre: fluff, angst
Warnings: Y/N insert, mentions of blood and war, fantasy settings, contract marriage, age gap, fake marriage
Gif credits to owners!
The kingdom of Adéla was a small but strong one. It had a long running monarchy and a prospering army. Your family had been ruling for over five generations and soon it would be your turn.
The earliest memory you had was one of your father sitting you down on his thrown and telling you of the great things you could do for your country. His speech had made you feel empowered, you had never forgotten that moment.
Although you were a princess, your life wasn't all ballgowns and parties. It was also duty and study. When you were not in the library reading any book that was shoved towards you, you were sat beside your father learning the ins-and-outs of politics. The next moment you were learning to ride or keeping the peace in town. It seemed like there was never a moment to relax. You were stuffed into corsets and powdered with makeup. You were rushed to taste all the new offerings of the kitchen. You were...exhausted.
And when you were finally in the solitude of your room, you would think but to your earliest memory. It would make you sigh, eyes shutting, as you attempted to rub the strain out of your worried brow. You knew you had to be the queen everyone needed. You knew you had to follow your duty and keep the strength of your kingdom alive.
Your twenty-fifth birthday was arriving rapidly. Although you wouldn't become queen until your father passed (long live the king), this was the year you were to take on more responsibilities and start making decisions on your own. It was tradition. You were prepared, yet admittedly nervous.
You usually wouldn't make a fuss about your birthday but your mother insisted on it.
"This year is special." She would say. You nodded in agreeance, knowing you would never be able to get her to back down.
Preparations for your birthday party caused everyone to bustle around the palace more than usual. Your father, knowing you didn't really care, set you up in the library with a few study materials and left with a wink to deal with your stressed mother.
You tried to focus but it became difficult with all the noise from outside the large oak doors. With a sigh, you gathered all of your materials into your bag, and made your way outside to the garden. There was still some people out here but if you just went past the trees, you should be able to find some quiet.
Finally finding a comfy spot you placed your bag on the leaf covered ground. Sliding your jacket off your shoulders, you laid it out under a tree and sat down. You decided to take a breath and look up at the towering trees before getting enveloped into your books. Shutting your eyes as a gust of wind flowed over you.
Just for them to snap open at the sound of a blade slicing through the air and sticking to the tree inches from your head. You looked up at the assailant with a mixture of fury and confusion evident in your face. You couldn't see their face with the sun shining behind them.
"Who are you and what are you doing here?" A man's voice asked.
"Me? I should be asking you that. Especially after almost slicing my head off." Grabbing the blade of the sword you pulled it out of the tree and away from your face. You ignored the pain from the cut you had inflicted onto yourself and stood to meet the man.
His face came into view as his brows furrowed looking down at the hand you had used to touch the blade. He was of good height and build with dark curly hair. A knight's badge glistened from his casual jacket.
"Why is an off duty knight carrying a sword?"
He ignored your question instead asking about your hand.
You rolled you eyes, "It's fine. Answer my question."
"I was on my way to bring it to the blacksmiths when I saw you."
"So you decided to use it?" You laughed out of shock. He nodded solemnly, still staring at your hand.
"I told you its fine. So, you thought I was trespassing into the palace?" Another nod.
"And what if I told you I lived here?" He finally looked up at your face.
"You live h-" He's cut off by someone calling your name. You both look towards the voice a maid coming into view.
"Ah, Princess Y/N, there you are. Your mother's been asking for you." She spoke up, glancing over at the man who was still staring at you.
"Princess?" The realization of his mistake flashing behind his eyes.
You laughed again, this time from amusement. "Yes, princess, sir..?"
"Pascal." He responded.
"Well Sir Pascal, it was very nice to-" your eyes glanced down to his sword "-meet you." Bowing your head slightly, you followed the maid back into the palace. Glancing back to still see him standing there in shock. What a strange man.
---- One Week Later, The Day Of The Party ----
Your wound was healing nicely, despite your mother had given you a lecture about going into the woods and hurting yourself. You hadn't returned to the woods and you hadn't seen Sir Pascal since that day.
Today was your birthday and the day of the party. Your mother had told you to stay in your room until tonight and not greet any guests. You weren't really sure why, but you agreed to her conditions anyway.
Your maids had been in and out of your room, getting you ready all day long. All of them convinced you had to look even prettier and more put together than usual. You just let them push you around and do anything they desired, knowing it was better to just sit still. A knock sounded at your door about an hour before your big entrance. Your maids were almost done with their preparations when your father walked into the room. Everyone stood and bowed in greeting, he smiled back.
"Ladies, can you leave us alone for a minute. I would like a word with the birthday girl." His smile now reached his eyes as you looked at you. You maids hurried out, leaving just you two.
"You look lovely, my dear." He father complimented, grabbing your hand in his. He turned it over in his hand and traced your veins.
"You know when your mother went into labor, I was so nervous. I knew one day I would have to have heirs, but when it was finally happening, I was besides myself. I didn't know how to be a father, let alone a good one. But the minute you arrived and the doctors had told me it was a girl, I felt like everything made sense. When I held you in my arms for the first time, I knew you would be a great leader. And as you grew it became more and more apparent everyday." He paused, as tears welled up in his eyes, yours mirroring his.
"Father..." You whispered.
He laughed and stood up straighter, dropping your hand. Breathing deeply to hold back his tears.
"Anyways, have a wonderful party my dear, I will see you down there." He moved towards the door and grabbed the knob. Turning it and opening it just a crack before turning back towards you.
"I'm sorry." He said before rushing out. Leaving you confused about what he was apologizing for.
Your maids finished getting you ready, after crying they had to touch up a bit of your makeup too. It was now time for you to join the rest of the guests down in the ballroom.
As you made your grand entrance down the large staircase, you scanned the crowd for any familiar faces. Your eyes locked onto Sir Pascal's, a smirk playing on his lips. He looked you up and down, you felt a blush rise to your cheeks before you forced yourself to look away.
The party was going smoothly, you were greeting dignitaries, eating, drinking, and dancing. Your mother had done an amazing job with the decorations, it was gorgeous. You kept meeting eyes with Sir Pascal but he never made his way over to talk to you.
You sighed finally deciding you would talk to him first. Just as you began to make your move towards him, your father called everyone's attention.
"I feel it's only right if the father of the birthday girl makes a speech." He laughed, causing everyone in the room to join in. "Y/N, is my only child and I have always held her close to my heart. One day she will be your Queen, a very important position, that she is more than prepared for." He smiled towards you. Tearing his eyes from you he looked over at your mother who nodded.
"But the Queen and I felt she should never have to rule alone." Your brows furrowed in confusion as two men made their way next to your parents. One was short, middle aged, with red hair. The other young, tall, and blonde. You weren't sure if you had met them before.
"Your new husband." A voice whispered behind you, you turned your head to see Sir Pascal standing there.
"My what?" You whispered back, sure you had heard him incorrectly.
"Your betrothed, the blonde." He nodded his head towards the younger man.
You snapped your head back towards your father who was trying to read your face.
"We have decided to agree to a marriage between our two nations. The second son of Corenth, Prince Xavier to marry our Princess Y/N."
You couldn't hold back the shock from your face, as your jaw dropped open. You looked to the blonde, who you now knew to be Prince Xavier, he looked solemn. He must not like the idea either. Your eyes shifted to your father, he met them, a look of apology flooding his features.
Suddenly a heat rushed through you, your heart pounding inside your chest, as an applause erupted at the announcement. You were now acutely aware of the amount of bodies around you and the boning of your corset crushing your lungs, no longer able to breathe. You grasped at the lace of your dress trying to find some sort of relief but it was of no use.
Someone congratulated you from your left and it snapped you out of your stupor. You glanced quickly at the large glass doors that led out to the gardens. Without thinking, you grabbed the bottom of your dress so you wouldn’t trip and ran straight out the doors.
You kept running until you made it to a gazebo, where you feel to your knees and attempted to catch your breath. The night air had a slight chill to it, shocking your system into working again. As your breathing became more steady, you started to really process what you had just learnt. Suddenly a voice sounded behind you.
“So, looks like that wasn’t only an announcement to the kingdom, but you as well.” Out of anger you met the face that went with the voice. Sir Pascal was leaning against the banister of the gazebo. Your eyes bore into him.
“And you’re not happy about it either.” He deduced, more to himself than to you. A scoff was all you could muster.
He lifted himself back to an upright position and walked towards you. He bent down to a squat next to you and handed a glass to you. You eyed it suspiciously.
“Water.” He said with slight amusement. “Not like I’d poison you or anything.”
“You almost chopped my head off the first time we met.”
This time he did let of a laugh, “You’re right, but if I knew who you were I wouldn’t have done it.”
“So if I wasn’t the princess, you would’ve just done it, no hesitation.” You took a sip from the cup.
“No, if you weren’t so beautiful, I would’ve done it, no hesitation.” You choked at his response, quickly you covered it by clearing your throat.
“Sorry, I’m betrothed.” You said with an eye roll.
“But you don’t want to be.”
“No, I do not.” You looked down into the cup.
“What do you want?” He moved from his squatting position, fully onto the floor next to you. He rested his head on his hand and leaned in a little closer. You could almost feel his breath on your neck.
“I’m really not sure. My whole life I’ve been trained to rule. I always knew I was stuck in this box of being princess and later I’d be even more stuck as queen. But I never thought my choice of love would be taken away.”
He hummed in response. A silence washed over the two of you.
“Marry me.” He spoke up suddenly after a minute or two of the silence.
“What?” Now it was your turn to be amused.
“Marry me.” He repeated, it was a statement not a question.
“And how would that solve my problem?”
“We can say we got married in secret, I have a few friends who would be witnesses. Plus that maid saw us together the other day.” He pondered for a second.
“So your solution to me getting out of a loveless marriage is to enter a fake loveless marriage?” Your eyebrows raised in a mix between confusion and curiosity.
“Yes. We say we got married in secret and consummated it, I’m sure the King of Corenth, won’t want a daughter-in-law that’s been deflowered.” He said the last word like it was a curse. “He’s old fashioned. He’ll want the perfect, obedient wife for his son.”
“You sound so sure.”
“Well I’m actually from Corenth, my mother used to work in the palace. She told me many stories.”
You nodded.
“What about my parents reactions?” You had forgotten about them entirely.
“I’m a pretty high ranking, officer in Corenth, I’m sure they can still work out a deal with them.”
There’s a silence again as you contemplate his plan.
“So?” He spoke up.
“You’re not tricking me right?” You were suddenly aware of the distance between you. You were also now aware of the things he was implying.
“I would never trick you.”
You scoffed.
“So?” The amusement was back.
“Fine, I’ll marry you.”