Eggshells crack and break under Princess Lucia's feet as she continues to dance around her budding feelings for a certain Sir Knight.
"Some things are better left unsaid, left behind in the past to return to nothing. And so, I leave my feelings for...
Supposedly, Lucia isn't the one who is allowed to do that.
"He did," a knowing smile twitches Tova's lips and Lucia finds herself shifting to the balls of her feet, feeling the urgent need to flee. "He sent his royal knight, Sir Knight Seokjin Kim here, to help watch over you since none of the knights here can keep up with your shenanigans."
The man allows a small smile to stretch his plump lips, and an unfamiliar feeling wracks Lucia's mind as she finds herself unable to look away from his curved eyes, the wrinkling of happiness framing his glittering amusement. Lucia holds back a sneer with a fake smile, simultaneously not minding and hating the casual attitude he has with her.
"It is a pleasure to meet you," Seokjin gently bows at the waist and Lucia glances back over at Tova in momentary disbelief.
She lets the words and arguments in her mind die at her tongue though, not willing to stress her sister out any more than she already has in the past ever.
"The pleasure is all mine," Lucia mutes her expression as she drops into a low curtsy, already planning dozens of ways to ruin this knight's chances of being in Tova's good graces.
It's time to ruin this man's whole career.
SEOKJIN IS QUICK according to Lucia's first observations during her escape from the common room to find the clumsiest of her sisters. He always remains an appropriate distance away, but he stays close enough for it to be difficult to lose him.
The library is quiet until Lucia barges in, slamming the door open to hear the echo and watch Rowan jump out of her skin.
"Lucia- what- why-" Rowan sputters frantically, dropping the book in her hands onto her lap, but Lucia ignores her, watching Seokjin follow into the library and gently close the door behind him in the reflection of the windows.
"Wannie," Lucia is quick to whine and fall onto the bench next to her sister. "Tova assigned me some knight given to her by that stupid Hoseok guy so I won't run away anymore. I'm going to perish from the pain of this betrayal."
Rowan's look of surprise quickly shifts into something knowing, with the tiniest pinch of sympathy, or pity, lurking in the background. She gives Lucia a small smile, gently reopening and closing the book in her lap as she fixes the taupe-colored folds in her thin, linen dress skirt.
"Come on now, I'm sure you aren't going to 'perish' because Tova wants you to be more responsible."
"Hark! As if one betrayal from a sister whom I love and trust so dearly is not enough, my heart has been ambushed and robbed once more! And from the one I seek comfort from as well! Woe is me and my poor heart, how am I to ever recover and learn to trust again?" Lucia dramatically falls back in her seat, clutching at her chest as if she has truly been stabbed.
Rowan sighs, shaking her head in wonder at her younger sister's theatrics and endless antics. Lucia's plan has fallen to ruins nonetheless, and that is the real cause of her 'distress', albeit she knows her sisters mean no ill intent so she is content with where they stand on the situation. If Rowan isn't going to help her willingly, she's still a dependable distraction on her own anyway.
"Well there goes that idea," Lucia sighs in defeat to listen to her sister laugh at her crumbling plans.
"Do you really think that would have worked?" Rowan rolls her eyes with a wide grin.
"No, but it was worth a try. Maybe had I done it with Clover, or Ellie if I tried hard enough, but even then it's an iffy chance."
Shaking him off her trail would be hard on sheer skill and will alone, so recruiting outside help is a must, it's only a matter of who would help her. And how fast Seokjin is, but that's probably only a minor detail in the grand schemes of her plans.
"Can you at least help me get a good book so I can read my sorrows away?" Lucia blinks innocently at Rowan who is already getting to her feet.
Following Rowan to the towering bookcases lining the grand library walls, Lucia spots a book on a shelf just out of Rowan's reach and points to it, casually asking about it.
"Oh! I love this one, it's about some romance between a knight and some commoner that he saved. Tahani read it too and enjoyed it so there's evidence it is a good book," Rowan starts to reach for the book, and sees her hand fall just short with a frown and unknown to her, Lucia's grin widens.
Then one thing after another, a stack of books falls and Lucia books it, pun not intended, out of the library where Seokjin is busy with shielding Rowan from the rain of literature.
Twisting through the labyrinth of hallways, Lucia weaves through the bustle of workers and Elena, who flashes a mischievous grin before turning away and humming, loudly.
Distantly, she can hear the thunder of footsteps through the shouting of surprised loiterers in the hallway before she takes a sharp turn towards an open window.
"Lucia!" She hears a familiar, melodic voice tickle her ears and turns, one foot already on the edge of the window frame.
"Don't have time, gotta ruin your whole career sir knight!" She shouts back at the panicked-looking man before leaping out into the grass, running as if her life depends on it as she relishes the feeling of adrenaline rushing through her body.
Ducking into one of the twisting garden paths, Lucia gets closer to one of the back gates of the palace with the wildest grin on her face imaginable. The sun shines brightly, warming Lucia's skin significantly compared to the chilling walls of the palaces.
The grin is quickly wiped off her face when her feet forcefully leave the ground as she is swept up by two, outrageously strong arms.
"Oh drats," she's quick to spit between heavy breaths, irritation twisting between her eyebrows.
"Sorry, I have a favor to fulfill and I fully intend on following through," Lucia could practically hear the grin on his face as he drops her back on the ground when he's sure she won't bolt again.
It is only once he puts her down when she notices the warm buzzing under her skin where the knight had touched her. She refuses to admit it, and she'll never confess the slight warming of her heart at the amusement lighting up his dark chocolate eyes like the sun warms newly rained soil. A spark of irritation quickly flurries into anger for a moment, her stubbornness refuses for her to be happy with a stranger, especially one closely associated with the thorn in Tova's side. And she most definitely will never utter a mention of this warmth to her sisters when she complains about the pesky knight. Not after all the teasing Rowan received.
This warmth would drain from her skin too soon regardless. If she ignores it, it would have never happened.
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Have some content. Eat up. I touch this story for revisions and additions like once a month, which also so happens to be how often I feed content.
