As promised, here's my (first) submission for Huntlow week! I don't know how many more of these I'll do, but I HAD to do the Fairytale prompt!! I absolutely love drawing fairytale or midieval-illustration inspired drawings, which I had a great time with here, and TOH aus are the best.
This story features Willow as a princess and Hunter as a knight prodigy who is assigned to protect her. As they get to know each other, Willow helps Hunter to relax and work on his gifted-squire-burnout, while Hunter helps Willow feel understood and more self-confident---including some self-defense lessons, at her request. The next time danger arises, she's the one to (very romantically) grab a sword and protecting Hunter for a change!
ask: i read the princess au and i LOVED it. i would love to see a oneshot or similar of alysa and reader having a really tense friendship after reader gets married where eventually they say fuck it and run away together or something, or they sneak around to see eachother.
author's note: hiiii! okay so i absolutely love writing fantasy au and got this request so like yes yes yes!!!!! here's the first part if you haven't read it already!! i hope you enjoy! also i am slowly putting out the fics i wrote while i was on a little hiatus and am going through my inbox now, i love all your ideas and i plan to write more tomorrow!!! reqs are open!
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✶ You see her from across the room, but her eyes don’t lock with yours- they can’t lock with yours. You know what could happen if someone even suspects you together. Quickly, you draw your attention back to the small radius around you.
Your husband stands nearby, engaging in conversation with a duke, you primmley hold onto his arm, trying your best to look interested, smiling graciously at the man’s wife. She smiles grimly back, doing a terrible job at hiding her distaste. She doesn’t come from a very allied kingdom, so it’s hard for some wives to find common ground with others. Women like her are what make it hard for you to pretend.
Quickly after you got married, your father had died, leaving you and your husband the first in line for the throne. Being queen has come with its perks, as well as its duties. Specifically, baby duties. Ah, the long-overdue present the kingdom had been expecting for years now, but it’s something you’d been holding off on. Yes, you performed the proper marital ceremonies with your husband as often as he pleased, but it was certainly not enjoyable for you, and you’d gone through all measures to prevent any sort of offspring resulting from these duties. For one reason only.
Again, her eyes catch yours from across the crowd, but you can see the walls she puts up between you. Pretending is the only thing you can do to protect yourselves. It’s been years since you’d last seen Princess Alysa in public without having to act like she doesn’t know you deeper than anyone.
Your most recent conversation in front of people had been at the opening of an orphanage in town. The two of you had been seated next to each other on a podium, mere inches apart as you adequately engaged in a conversation like you hadn’t been under her skirts the night before.
It had been incredibly hard to hide your relationship. No one knew, not even your ladies-in-waiting had the slightest idea of any goings on between the castles.
✶ “Are you sure no one saw?” You giggle, whispering with your back pressed tightly against the huge wooden doors of the Princesses’ chambers.
She’s shorter than you, but still, her chest is heaving against your own, your faces inches apart with matching grins. “I don’t think,”
You can practically taste her already from the proximity, her scent engulfing you as she wraps her hands around your neck, her fingers falling into the little whisps of hair at the nape.
“You looked so pretty last night,” She breathes, her gaze moving from your eyes to your mouth and back up again.
A groan spills up as you recall her dress from the previous night. God, it was revealing. Her breasts looked so fucking amazing, all pushed up and out from the corset, with her cheeks tinted pink in the low lighting of your ballroom. “I beg to differ, you should’ve seen yourself,”
“It was really hard not being able to talk to you, like harder than most nights,”
“It was super hard not to stare at your boobs.”
A blush creeps onto her cheeks as she buries her face into your neck. “Shut up,”
With your hands on her shoulders, you pull her away, your eyes meeting now. Finally. “Well, you look pretty now, too.”
She brings her hand up to cup your cheek. “You look gorgeous,”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Have you ever thought about running away?” Bare, you lie sprawled out on her bed together, your chests heaving as you gaze at the ceiling.
“Together?” You glance to the side at her. You had thought about it, just not seriously.
“Yeah, like leaving our husbands,”
Snorting, you just shake your head. “The king would kill me,”
“We would probably be wanted,” She shrugs. “But it would just be us.”
“And we wouldn’t have to hide,”
Turning your heads, your eyes meet, looking deep into the other. “Alysa,”
“Yeah?”
“Are you serious?”
“I mean, I’ve thought about it.” Again, she shrugs, pretending to act nonchalant, but her racing heart says otherwise.
✶ “This feels like the first night meeting!” You giggle, your arms wrapped tightly around her torso as she urges the horse on, forcing it faster and faster until the trees are blurring past you.
“This feels illegal,”
Everything is funny right now, so again, you giggle, happy to have the freedom to giggle with her. “Well, it is,”
You made the plan weeks ago, tonight you executed it, and so far, so good. With your bags packed and slung across your back, you race through the trees on horseback, escaping the confinement.
Really, the only plans you made were to leave; the rest is to figure out, and that you plan to do. You know it won’t be as comfortable and lavish as your life at the castle was, but it’s together, and that’s honestly all that matters.
Eventually, you make it to a small clearing, days away from the castle, with small breaks to sleep. It’s bright with flowers and hedges surrounding the clearing, blocking it from view of any passersby. It’s perfect. Dropping off the horse, you center yourself in the middle, looking up to the sky, the trees parting just enough. It’s beautiful.
Throughout the next few weeks, the two of you will conceive a small cottage. Poorly built, yes, but home. It’s amazing how quick you went through with it, spending nights in a small tent and camp set up next to the small wooden structure.
✶ The years passed by long and plentiful, berries were harvested and meat collected, and slowly a garden bloomed to the right of your small kitchen window (with no glass lol). And of course, the cottage grew steadily, becoming far from the fragile structure you started with.
The pair of you fell into a steady rhythm of a routine, dinner at night, and the day spent crafting… or making love, whatever you preferred that morning. It’s simple and definitely the life you wanted.
Here’s a little teaser to a new fic I’m writing. Now, I’m not going to tell you who it’s about and imma let you guess. It could be a twist, it could be opposite. Is it the one who’s already been named or is it the unnamed? I’ll let you all guess after reading. Anyways, I will hopefully be posting the full fic in the next coming week. It is going to be a medieval au and I’m so excited because I’ve been trying to write one for so long! I hope you all enjoy the teaser and please let me know any thoughts or ideas that I can maybe add! I’m happy to be back🥰
Warnings: slight cursing, pining, that’s all really
- - -
Tired. You were so damn tired from running place to place trying to stay hidden. So fucking tired. The only saving grace has been that your protector has made sure you’ve always had a soft bed to sleep in wherever you’ve gone. He somehow always knew what towns were safe for at least the time we were there.
Was he your knight in shining armour? No. At least not in shining armour. No, his armour wasn’t shiny but instead dull. Not that his armour was not well kept. It was well burnished but you could tell that it wasn’t the newly forged steel that all newly appointed knights prided themselves with. His armour had the wear of daily travel along with true battles that were once fought almost a decade ago when he was nothing more than a boy still and you were sitting in your father’s manor waiting for your knight to return.
You still remember seeing him riding back on his, no, your horse. He hadn’t yet had the money to buy his own with only being newly appointed as your father’s guard just before the war began. You had begged your father to not let him go, but he was the best swordsman your father had. Your words, unlike usual, were useless in this particular debate even if your father did share your sentiments.
Every night you still remember how you wrote to him almost every day, sending bundles of letters to him every week when the postman stopped by to gather your father’s correspondence to the other political members about the war. The postman, a friend of yours through your knight, made sure to deliver those letters to him personally; one friendly face to another for something so personal. He would apparently relay how you seemed to be holding up in the absence which provided your knight some piece of mind while he was gone besides your letters.
Although the war was considered to be short, the year that it went on for seemed like decades. What helped pass the time was your father letting you actively help him in his politics. You helped him carefully craft his letters to other lords and high families about what the battles were like which also helped you slightly with keeping tabs on him.
Then, when the Gojo family would visit for meetings with your father, the annoying son, Satoru, would sometimes keep you company and allow for you to take your mind off of the dreaded situation.
Satoru trained with your knight and as much as you knew Satoru wanted to court you, you also knew he was too close to your knight to do something like that. They were too close of friends. So, although he’d flirt and suggest, Satoru never forced anything on you and refused his family when they suggested they officially court the two of you. No matter how annoying he may have been, you admired him for having the respect that so many men lacked.
After all of those months, you watched as your horse carried him to your door. You watched as he tried his best not to slump from exhaustion in the saddle in front of your father. Only you would know from the years of growing up together, his mother being one of the kitchen aids. To those who looked at him from the outside, he sat with a straight back and looked as if he was returning from the glory of a war won.
To you… well, you could see the smallest slump in his shoulders that usually wasn’t there. Even from a distance you could see the exhaustion in his face. His hand was gripped around the reins tight, not comfortably and confident like you knew from before. Only you would know and your father could tell by the look on your face that something was wrong, leading him to offer your knight a full meal and a full day's rest before returning to duty at the manor.
Sorry if I tagged you even if you’re not in the fandom. I’m just really excited to be back writing and posting and wanted some old friends to see my first writing in a while😅
Warnings: mentions of death, fighting, age gap, creepy dudes and me getting carried away
Masterlist Taglist
You were a prisoner, yet the King kept you comfortable, but for what? It was no surprise when your guards informed you that your rival Kingdom was preparing to siege your castle, the two Kingdoms had been at war since before you were born. Your father believed it to be a good idea to send out the entire arsenal to meet the men who were approaching your castle. You begged him not to, knowing it would quickly end in the slaughter of the armies. Your father was a proud man, who had no blood right to the throne but ruled as if he would never be met with consequences. For years he ruled this way and those consequences never came, but as you watched your rival King strive your father through the stomach with his sword, you knew that his shortcomings as King had finally caught up with him. Guards came bursting through your door, there was a plan to have you, your mother and your two sisters escape the castle. You and your party barely made it past the line of trees when a line of soldiers came forth. You ran with your mother and your sisters until you realized one was missing. Your youngest sister, Agnes, only 8 years old, was yards behind you, tripping over her skirts. You ran back and scooped her up in your arms, but then you felt an arm grab hold around your waist. You screamed as loudly as your body could allow you, which alerted one of the guard’s helping your family back into the castle. He ran to help you and your sister, but he was no match for the several men now running towards you.
“Take the princess.” You placed your youngest sister in his arms as you fought the man who was trying to pull you back into the trees. “Protect the Queen at all costs!” You shouted to him before two more men grabbed you and pulled you away from your home and your family.
_______
“I have told you before I have no quarrel with the King nor his Prince’s.” You groaned as one of the many guards sent to talk with you continued to ask you the same questions. “The war between our Kingdoms was my fathers doing, in sight of his demise I see no reason for there not to be peace after all these years.”
You were not unfamiliar with imprisonment, you’d seen it in your castle dozens of times but never like this. You were placed in a tower, given a maid who brought you all the food and water you could ask for, kept the fireplace burning and the only bondage you faced was the locked door. The King even sent you a new gown to replace the one that was dirtied in the forest, purple, the color of royalty.
“What makes you so certain the Queen would agree with you.” A new voice said behind you, which was accompanied by the closing of your door. When you turned you saw a man, you’d seen several times before but never out of armor or without at least a dozen armed guards.
“Your highness,” You curtsied before him.
“Even after I have sieged your castle, killed your father, your king, and taken you, prisoner, you still treat me with such pleasantries?” The King was much taller than you and made the room become colder.
“The King was no father to me nor my sisters, no husband to my mother, and no King to our people. I am sure that his death will be the cause of revels throughout the Kingdom.” The King chuckled and sat down in a chair by the fireplace. “Though if any harm were to come to the Queen or the Princesses, I doubt they would revel in your rule.”
“The siege ended once you were captured.” The King looked straight into your eyes, waiting impatiently for your reaction.
“Your armies do not control our castle?” You questioned.
“No, you are right, I see no reason for this war to continue now that your father is dead.” The King stood up and looked down at you with an expression more serious than before. “But we will not take any chances of betrayal if we do come to a treaty, so you will remain here until the official treaty is signed. You shall only be allowed to leave this room when accompanied by a guard or one of my sons.”
“Your sons?”
“Yes, they wish to extend this treaty into an alliance between the people they believe befriending the princess should help.” You nodded, not understanding why the King or his sons were being so welcoming of you and the treaty, but you were in no place to question it. After the King left, you asked the guards to escort you to a courtyard where you could get some air. The guards took you to a large courtyard with flower bushes and benches all around its perimeter.
“My Lady.” A male voice said from behind you. A young man was approaching you, he was much older than you probably by at least 8 years, but his smile made him seem like a boy. He was tall and had blond hair neatly combed back, he also shared the same crystal blue eyes that you had seen in the King.”
“You must be one of the Prince's.” You curtsied to him politely.
“Yes I am, Lady (Y/n), I am my father’s second son, Steven.” He smiled at you all too genuinely.
“Well, it is a pleasure to meet you, your highness-”
“Please,” He interrupted. “I wish for you to call me Steven, or Steve whichever you prefer.” He then picked a small purple flower, bowing his head and holding it out for you.
“Well, Steven, it is my pleasure.”
______
“Are you the oldest of your sisters, Lady (Y/n)?” You had been a “prisoner” for a few weeks now, and it seemed you were unable to escape the young prince’s sight.
“I am trying to read, my lord.” You looked over your book to Prince, who sat across from you.
“Just talk to me for a little while and then I shall leave you to your leisurely activities.”
You sighed and placed your book upon your lap. “If you mean to ask whether I should obtain the throne after my mother’s death, then yes, I shall.” Steven cocked his head at the aggressiveness in your voice.
“My pestering riles you or you do not wish for the crown.” He questioned your tone.
“I was not always the daughter destined for the throne.” You pressed your hands flatly against your skirts as you remembered your eldest sister who died not even three years ago after she received a fever while on a trip to Italy.
“Your sister,” The Prince nodded. “I’m sorry if I have upset you,”
“It’s quite alright.” You looked up to see him watching you carefully. “You know what it is like to grow up as the spare.” He nodded.
“My brother Grant is to be the heir to the throne after my father’s death,” Steven whispered as if he was speaking treasonous words. “My father is not younger any longer and yet my brother remains out on the battlefield and we have heard no word of whether or not he remains alive. I have come to terms with the thought that I may be King if my brother does not return.”
“And if he does?” You questioned him.
“Then he shall be King and will be my father’s problem to deal with.” He spits out, trying to hide the resentment in his voice.
“You bear ill will towards your brother?” You recognized the resentment in his voice, it was not the resentment of a man who’s had the crown stolen from him but of a man who has had all glory stolen from him.
“My brother is the heir to the throne and sees himself above his family and his people, he may be a good King someday but he has never been a good man or brother.” His eyes faded back to the casual happiness that you recognized all too well. “What about your father?”
“What about him?” You were taken aback at the mention of your father, which he had been tiptoeing around for weeks since his death.
“Your animosity for your father is all but unknown.” He slumped back casually in his chair. “Why?”
“My father does not support the notion of a female heir to the throne, yet he was blessed with four daughters.” The young Prince nodded understandably.
“What does the Queen believe?” He continued to press.
“My mother believes that a Queen needs a King and that a King needs a Queen, she will arrange my betrothal once it is time for me to take the crown I am sure.” You dreaded your inevitable betrothal, your father had put you off of men who will leech onto the royal family to take the throne for themselves.
“And you believe that will come soon?” You didn’t need to say this aloud, he always seemed to know what you were thinking, which made him easy to speak to.
“My mother has spoken of stepping down from the throne for years, now that the King is dead I see no reason that is holding her back. The only thing that stops her is…” You cut yourself off quickly.
“What holds the Queen back?” You saw Prince Steven’s blue eyes dilated with interest.
“My mother does not believe me fit for the crown, I believe she is waiting for my middle sister, Mary to come of age so that she may bestow the crown upon her head.” He did not need to ask for you to elaborate, for the look in his eyes was enough. “My sister is serious and confident for her age, she leads with her head rather than her heart.”
“I believe that leading with one’s heart is a virtue.” You could not tell if he said this out of honesty or to please you, which he so often tried to do.
“Maybe for a Princess but not a Queen,” You corrected him. “Yes... it would not surprise me if my mother has me betrothed to a Prince in the East and have me sent away to take the crown of a country which is not my own.”
“You don’t truly believe she would do such a thing?” He was shocked at the thought of the Queen ripping you from the throne in such a way.
“My mother loves her daughters dearly, but she is a Queen first and as long as she remains as such she will do what she believes is best for her country.” It made you angry not that your sister would obtain the crown but that you may be taken from your country. You did not wish for the throne, but you would rule it with dignity whence the time came.
“Steven!” A shouting voice called from the corridor. “Have you any idea where the Princess has gone-” The King stopped in his tracks when he saw you and Steven across from each other. “Ah, my lady don’t you think it indecent for the two of you to be together without a chaperone.”
“Don’t worry father, we were simply looking for a quiet place to read,” Steven saved you from having to respond to such a question.
“Well, Lady (Y/n) I am here to inform you that your mother and sisters will be joining us this time next week for a banquet where we shall officially announce the treaty between our Kingdoms.”
“Oh, that is wonderful,” You smiled brightly at the King, excited to see your family again.
“Yes well, please return to your leisures.” The King said finally before exiting the library.
“Oh, this is wonderful!” You shot up from your chair and pulled the Prince up to stand with you.
“Ah yes, we have not had a banquet in quite some time. I think you should enjoy yourself,” Steven took your hands and began to light-heartedly dance with you. “I shall need a dance partner you know,”
“I don’t believe you shall find a problem finding one.” You giggled and teasingly pulled away from him, but he pulled you from your waist and brought you close to him. You brought your eyes to meet his blue ones, ones that you had never seen so close before, and you realized that you had been robbed of his beauty from a distance. From up close his eyes were so mesmerizing it mattered not to you that you continued to dance in small squares with his hand on your waist. His eyes shone so brightly even in this dim library that you barely believed that they were real. Now your eyes traveled past his eyes to his neat blonde hair and sharp jaw. It was no secret that the young Prince was handsome, women seemed to fall at his feet, but you never considered yourself such a girl who could so easily do so. The Prince did pester you so often, but you enjoyed his company more than you did with any other man even back in your own Kingdom.
“Maybe but I have a particular Princess in mind.” His voice was barely above a whisper, his warm breath fanned your face, making your breath catch in your throat. “Promise that thou shall not dance with another and I shall do the same.” His hand that was not on your waist rose to the side of your face as his face got closer to yours.
“I promise,” You spoke so softly that you could barely hear yourself but he clearly could because once you said it he firmly grasped your chin and clashed his lips against yours. You had kissed no one before, as a Princess, you could not do such things for the fact you were expected to save such virtues for your husband. In shock you pulled away from the Prince, his eyes were wide with shock and fear that you would be angered with him.
“I am sorry Princess if I have acted out of turn-” He took a step away from you and his voice was smaller than you’d heard it before. Before he could finish, you threw your arms around his neck and pressed your body against him. He lost his balance and slightly tumbled back but wrapped his arm tightly around your waist to balance himself. You would be lying if you said you hadn’t imagined kissing the Prince, you imagined that it would be slow and heartfelt. This kiss was heartfelt, but it was not slow and soft, it was fast and your lips were constantly crashing with his fearing that if they ever split for too long, then they would never come together again.
______
You continued seeing the Prince every day, sneaking off to far corners of the castle, sneaking kisses and lingering glances that you could never do in front of the King. Now you were being chased by the Prince through a garden that was seldom used by anyone other than him. Due to your uncomfortable shoes and heavy skirts he caught up to you in no time wrapping his arms around your waist and spinning you in a circle.
“Steven!” A harsh voice called it was none other than the King who had become notorious for interrupting your activities with the Prince. Steve placed you back onto the ground and took a shy step away. You tucked a hair that had become loose from your running behind your ear and stared at the ground.
“I’m sorry father we were just messing about.” Steve stumbled slightly over his words.
“Nevermind that now boy,” The King sighed heavily at his son’s behavior. “Your brother has returned from the battlefield, and Lady (Y/n) you must go prepare yourself for your family’s arrival and the banquet tonight.” You looked up to meet the King’s gaze that lasted a little longer than you would have liked, “Be off,” He elaborated.
“Oh,” You jumped realizing his intent, “Of course, thank you, your majesty.” You hurried off, catching one more glance of Steve’s red face before you went to your quarters.
A team came to bathe you, have you dressed and do your hair before the banquet, you continuously asked them if they’d heard the news of if your family had arrived but none of them had. You were told to stay in your room until an escort came to get you. You anxiously sat on your bed waiting for your door to open and once it did a small girl came plundering in.
“Y/n!” Your little sister Agnes screeched, and she jumped into your arms. Your mother and sister Mary calmly followed after her.
“I missed the three of you so much,” You hugged the other two girls.
“Well, it seems you’ve had good company,” Mary smirked slightly which confused you until you saw Prince Steven walk in behind them.
“I-I have found companionship, yes,” You chuckled slightly along with Steve.
“I believe that we are ready for you,” Steve broke in and brought you down to the banquet hall, there was already music and dancing which Agnes was eager to join. Mary took Agnes to dance, which left you, Steven, and your mother.
“I believed I was promised a dance,” Steve whispered in your ear causing shivers to run down your spine, you looked over to see your mother was already engaged with the King and so you took Steven’s hand and let him bring you to the dance floor. The song was slow but had a beat that still kept everyone on their feet. Steve wrapped his arm around your waist, and his other clasped your hand. It felt so familiar to be this close to him, yet you felt strange being so close in front of so many people.
“It’s fine,” He leaned down and whispered in your ear. “It’s just a dance.” He pulled away and let you see the wide grin on his face, and you must have had the same one. Such a thing out of this context would have you each in trouble, so you each felt as though you were sneaking your romance past the rest of the dancers.
The song quickly ended, and the King called everyone to gather for an announcement. As a part of a royal family, you and Steve were expected to come to the King’s side. Steve went to one side of the King to stand with his mother, a woman who looked a little like him but must have been where he got his kindness because her smile was so radiant it nearly took you off your feet. On the other side of the Queen was another boy a few years older than Steven which meant he was most likely double your age, having the same hardness as the King and slightly larger than Steve, which you didn’t believe was possible. This other man had dark hair similar to the color of the Queen, but eyes just as blue as Steve and his father’s. You immediately knew that this was Grant, the heir to the throne. He looked exactly like Steve had described him, cold, stern and serious.
You stood with your mother and sisters in order of age with your mother standing next to the King.
“As each of you knows, our two Kingdoms have been at wars for nearly two decades after the last siege our rival King was killed. Our two Kingdom’s have decided that we do not wish to wage war any longer.” A cheer erupted through the crowd, but the King silenced this. “As a form of peace, we have come to the idea that Princess (Y/n) and my son Prince Grant are to be betrothed and they will serve as my Queen and I’s successors.”
Your breath caught in your throat and you brought one arm to instinctively clutch your sister’s wrist to keep you from tumbling to the floor. The crowd cheered, and the band began to play once again, causing everyone to disperse to their dance partners. Your eyes fixated onto the ground, realizing that your mother had married you out of your throne and to a man you had never met.
“Y/n!” You felt a hard jab in your side and looked over to see it was your mother, you looked to your other side seeing Mary just as shocked as you were, knowing that now she would be the heir to the throne.
“Excuse me, your highness,” A deep voice said from in front of you, your head shot forward to see Prince Grant standing in front of you with his hand out signaling that he wished to dance. Something about the fact that he believed an extended hand was a way to ask a lady to dance made you upset. Your shaking hand took his, and he brought you to the center of the floor. He wrapped his arm around you and you had to fight every instinct not to pull away.
“You seem to be in quite a shock my lady,” His voice was smooth but not smooth like his brothers but in a cool and calm way that made his sound arrogant.
“Aren’t you?” You looked up at his eyes to see if they matched the rest of his demeanor. Yes, his eyes were blue and nearly identical to Prince Steven’s but they were not Steve’s. Steve’s eyes were blue like the ocean your mother took you to as a child, cool and refreshing, calm waters that allowed you to swim in for hours. Prince Grant's Eyes were like the stories your father would tell you before bed, unforgiving dark seas that could sink a ship before you could even call out to lower the sails.
“Of course not,” Grant smiled at the fact that he knew something that you did not. “My father sent me a letter upon your arrival saying that he wished to have us betrothed.”
This was nearly too much to process. Throughout the time that you had known Steven, you were already one foot into the chapel ready to marry his brother. In your shock you caught a glimpse of Steven leaning against the far wall with his arms crossed, looking at you. Steve never had to tell you what he was thinking, he wore his heart and his mind upon his shoulder and you knew he was thinking: you promised to only dance with me. Once he met your gaze more a moment, he quickly turned and exited the hall out of the nearest corridor. Your eyes followed Steve until you felt the arm around your waist tighten and pull you in closer than even Steve and you had danced.
“My father did also tell me you and my brother had become acquitted.” You looked up at him and swore you saw anger. “I do hope that my brother recognizes that you are to be my Queen.” The surrounding grip became painful, and you pulled yourself away from the Prince.
“Excuse me,” You blurted before rapidly making your way over to the corridor that Steve had gone down. You had been down this corridor countless times in your stay. It was filled with dozens of doors and branches.
“Steve,” You whispered, hoping to bring him out of whatever hidden place he was in.
“(Y/n) (L/n)!” A hiss came from behind you. You turned to see your mother barreling towards you with a fuming expression on her face.
“Mother!” You practically screeched. “ Why would you do that?” You referred to your marriage to the future King.
“That was the King's proposal, do you wish for another war?” She matched your angry tone.
“I wish that my mother would not ship me off to such a vile man.” You began to walk away from her, finding Steve was all that was important at the moment.
“How could you say such things? You’ve never even met him.” Your mother continued after him.
“And yet I feel as though I’ve had my fill,” You scoffed. “I’ve heard what I need to make my own decision.”
“Who have you heard such things from? His brother, that reckless prince who you’ve spent so much time with. That boy is no match for a princess, he’s never going to be King.”
“Why should the throne make any difference when deciding whom I will love.” You turned around to yell at her. Tears filled your eyes, your mother would always be Queen before she would be your mother.
“You love him?” She gasped, clutching her hand over her heart with a shriek.
“Why does it matter?” You were disgusted with her reaction. “ I am not even twenty years of age, I should not be getting married, especially not to a prince in his thirties.”
“You know that age is not a factor when it comes to royal betrothal. I thought I taught you better than this.”
“I’m sorry that I’m not like you, mother! I don’t want to be a princess nor a queen, I want to be me.” You confidently stood your ground knowing that this is the worst thing you could say to your mother.
“I should hope that by the time you become Queen you will regret that.” She turned around violently and began back down the hall but she stopped and turned around. “And return to your fiance promptly.”
You waited until she was out of sight and then stomped along continuing your search for Steve. You continued whispering his name through every doorway until an idea hit you, the garden where you first met. You lifted your skirts and ran as fast as you could in your heals to the courtyard. When we finally got close enough to see you saw Steve sitting on a bench slumped over with a small purple flower in his hand.
“Steven!” You yelled as you ran towards him. You fell at his feet and looked up at him. He seemed unfazed at your attendance. You softly said his name and brought your hand up to his cheek but he pulled away, pushing himself up from the bench.
“Steve, please.” You begged as tears filled your eyes. Steve turned around and you saw his eyes, red and puffy, you couldn’t tell if his nose was red from tears or the cold air. He saw your tears beginning to fall down your cheeks as you sit on the ground, your large dress seeming to swallow you.
“Did you know?” He looked down at you with a hint of something you could not read. Anger? Sadness? Betrayal? You could always tell how he felt, it was unnerving that he could shut you out so easily.
“No!” You cried, begging him to believe you. “I swear to you I had no idea.” He nodded his head slowly as he put his hands in his pockets. “Steven please, I need you to believe me.” You placed your hands on both sides of his face, this time he did not shy away.
“Leave with me.” He said so quietly you believed you heard him wrong.
“What?” You said in shock as he wrapped his hands around your wrist and held you tight, trying to keep you with him.
“Runaway with me, tomorrow at sunrise, we can leave on one of the horses, they won’t realize that we’re gone until dinner.” You’d never heard anything so preposterous but he was serious.
“What about your mother, what about my sisters?” You shook your head at him.
“What about them? If they really cared about us then they would support this.” Steve let go of your wrists and put his large hand on the side of your face, you involuntarily leaned into his touch. “I love you Y/n.”
You looked up at his blue eyes searching them for any trace of a li but you found none. “I love you too Steve,” He slowly leaned down, his lips catching you in an agonizingly slow kiss before he took a large step away from you.
“I’m leaving tomorrow and dawn, I couldn’t stand seeing you marry another man. If you wish to come with me, meet me at the southwest stables.” With that he left in the direction of his quarters, leaving you with a decision to make
INFO
-happy valentine's day!
-prompt from @the-modern-typewriter
-medieval au
-starts off like a smut but i promise its not
-decided to do this ship bc one of my oomfs on twitter wanted some erikar content and so did i
TRIGGER WARNINGS
-karkat is a servant to eridan, the prince
***
Karkat Vantas shakes as he dresses. No other servant had ever been called to the prince's chambers at night. Had he been too loud? Probably. A bit too rude about the mess of a room? Probably. But the prince had never shown anger. Maybe he was hiding it... Fully dressed, Karkat makes his way to the chambers and knocks on the door. The prince answers in a fancy night robe, trailing behind him. "Thank you for coming," The prince says with a blush, and welcomes Karkat in. "What have you summoned me for my Prince?" "Please, call me Eridan," Eridan huffs. "I called you here for a... thanks. A special gift. For putting up with my shit. I figured now was the best time." He gestures to a corner of the room, and Karkat's eyes follow.
"What is this?" Karkat's voice goes soft, looking at the spread of food, the clean room, the...gift. His heart pounds in his ears. "I know I don't often act like I...appreciate everything you do for me." Eridan looks devastatingly earnest, one hand warm on Karkat's arm. "You called me as useless as wet paper yesterday." "And I stand by that opinion," a smirk tugs at the Eridan's lips and he softly squeezes Karkat's hand, "But you're occasionally tolerable. So," He nudges Karkat closer to the table, "Have dinner with me?" Karkat's eyes flash back and forth between Eridan's face and the table full of expensive, delicious food. "I... What if the king finds out?" Eridan pulls out a chair for Karkat, "He won't. I've assured it."
Karkat gives in and sits in the chair, Eridan pushing it in. "I asked all the kitchen staff and they all said you like cherry things, so... Um, there's a cherry pie for dessert. I hope you like the steak, I made it myself." Karkat laughs lightly, "You? Made a steak?" Eridan nods nervously and watches Karkat cut it open. "It's cooked nicely." Eridan breathes a sigh of relief as Karkat takes a bite, "Holy shit this is good!" Eridan grins with pride as Karkat continues eating. Eridan joins in and they hold a nice conversation, laughing and drinking wine. After the food is eaten and the cherry pie halfway gone, Eridan stands and extends a hand to Karkat, "We should bathe before bed." Karkat takes his hand, "We should."
