Princess Jennifer Jareau is the next heir to the throne, which is why her parents are adamant about finding her a suitable husband to wed. Little do they know that one of their own knights, Dame Greenaway, has captured their daughters heart. However, because the rules of the kingdom forbid the love between two women, and also between those of different statuses, JJ and Elle must keep their relationship a secret. But what happens when the king and queen find an adequate suitor for their daughter? What will happen to JJ and Elle’s relationship?
“Do you ever think about it?” Elle quietly asks, careful not to disrupt the peaceful night.
“Think about what?” Turning to look at the knight, who’s staring up at the stars, JJ can’t help but admire the other woman. Under the moonlight, Elle appears softer, her eyes sparkling and her face glowing. This is Elle under the armor, the one she shares only with JJ.
“Running away,” Elle muses, slowly facing the blonde, “away from all this.” She subtly nods her head towards the castle behind them and the rest of the kingdom that lies behind it.
“Sometimes,” Jennifer responds with a slight smile playing on her lips. “Do you?”
Elle turns back to stare off into distance, and a moment of silence passes between them, the only sound coming from the cicadas in the garden below them. Awaiting Elle’s answer, JJ nervously plays with the sleeve of her baby blue silk nightgown.
“Sometimes it’s all I can think about,” the knight responds earnestly. “I think about what our life together would be like beyond the kingdom walls, if we left behind all our duties, all these rules.”
“And what would it look like?” JJ tilts her head, her interest peaked.
“We’d run away on a quiet night. One like this one,” Elle muses, turning to lock eyes with JJ’s blue orbs. “We’d take Midnight and ride past the borders into the countryside, probably settle into a little village, maybe one of those fishing villages, and we’d live a peaceful life.
“Then a couple years down the road, we would take in one of the children from the local orphanage and have a family of our own.”
“That sounds like a wonderful life,” JJ’s eyes shine with adoration. “You really think about that?”
“Mhm.”
Another moment of silence passes, and JJ can feel the nervous energy radiating off the usually stoic knight.
“What about you?” Elle sways her body to slightly nudge the other woman.
“Hm?” JJ hums. “What about me?”
“What do you think about?”
“Oh,” JJ stops to think. She’d be lying if she said she didn’t think about a future like the one Elle had just described, but she knew herself, and she knew she wasn’t that brave, at least not yet. “You.”
Elle furrows her brows, waiting for the princess to continue.
“I think about you,” JJ explains further. “I think about your strength and courage and the way you fight for the protection of not just me but the entire kingdom. I think about your laughter as you run freely down the stream. Remember that? You kept splashing me.”
Both women chuckle at the memory of the afternoon where they snuck away to go swimming in the river to escape the sweltering heat.
“I think about your hands,” the blonde continues, her voice an octave lower, as she places her hand atop her lover’s, “the way they fit perfectly into mine, the way their roughness feels against the smoothness of my skin, the way they make me fall apart.
“I think about your eyes,” JJ turns her body to face Elle, who mirrors the action. Cupping the knight’s face, JJ gently caresses Elle’s cheek, “the way they look into mine full of love and sincerity like you’ve loved me your whole life.”
As JJ whispers the last part, she inches closer and closer to the other woman.
Sharing the same breath as her lover, Elle murmurs, “It is in my stars to love you, Jennifer.”
JJ tenderly wipes away the stray tear that was falling down Elle’s face. “Tis in mine as well.”
The two slowly lean into each other, meeting halfway to connect their lips. Their mouths move languidly together like a well rehearsed dance between two lovers.
Pulling away, as air becomes a necessity, JJ looks into Elle’s eyes, pleading for forgiveness. “I am sorry I am not brave like you.”
“Do not be sorry, my love,” Elle reassures. “We have each other now, and I cherish the moments we share. And I do believe our time will come, but only when both of us are ready. Alright?”
JJ nods and rests her forehead against her Elle’s, the two women basking in the stolen time of each other’s presence. The moment is interrupted by the bell tower ringing in the start of a new day, as the sun peaks over the horizon.
“That’s my cue,” Elle exhales regretfully. “Never forget that I love you. I will see you in the afternoon.”
Pressing one last kiss to JJ’s forehead, Elle climbs over the parapet and down the balcony. Looking down, JJ sees the brunette land softly on her feet. Elle glances back up at the princess, and the two share a knowing smile, before the knight is whisked away by the morning breeze, off to begin her duties.
As JJ watches Elle’s retreating figure, she whispers, “I love you too. Be safe, my knight.”
