𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐁𝐈𝐃𝐃𝐄𝐍 𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐈𝐑𝐄 | ✎

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟑𝟓

I don't even get a warning before she begins. "En-garde!" The princess lunges at me quickly, her sabre held tightly in her hand.

As the princess leaps towards me with her sword, I quickly jump out of her way, dodging her strike. I take this opportunity to counterattack, aiming for her torso. She raises her blade and parries my strike, her gaze intense.

Our blades collide once again in a burst of spark and thunder, sending shockwaves through our forearms. I can hear the princess's breathing becoming shorter as she tries to land a hit on me. But I won't let her—not this time.

With a quick jerk, I disarm the princess and grab her sword from her grip. She stares at me in disbelief, shock evident in her eyes. But the way her eyes widen—silently pleading with me to give her the sword back—makes me weak. So I toss the sabre back to her.

She catches it with one hand, moving with the grace of a ballet dancer. It's like she's an angel sent from heaven—a deadly angel who could easily cut me with that blade that seems to be getting way too close to me.

Shit.

Without a moment to prepare, I quickly dodged out of the way of her sudden attack. "You need to give me a warning before you lunge!" I snap, still moving around the courtyard to keep my distance from the princess.

"Oh, am I hurting your feelings?" Elena taunts bitterly, leaping forward again. This time, I catch her ankle with my foot, causing her to stumble forward.

"I'm just looking out for you," I say, keeping my sabre up and ready. "I don't want you to get hurt."

Elena scoffs. "I know how to fence. I'll be fine."

But as soon as she says that, she lunges again, catching me off guard. Her saber comes dangerously close to my neck, almost drawing blood. "Stop!" I grunt, dropping my sabre and catching her by the wrists before she can strike me again. "You're being reckless."

The princess pulls against my grip, but I don't let go. Her eyes are wide and determined, but underneath that, I can see a hint of guilt. "I'm sorry. It was a mistake."

A flash of anger floods through me, and I can't even stop what comes out of my mouth next. "You've been making a lot of mistakes recently, haven't you?" My voice holds the raw anger I feel over her calling our kiss a mistake.

The princess pulls back her wrists and takes a step back to create space between us. I let go of her wrists and picked up my sabre, feeling embarrassed that I had lost my cool for a moment. I shouldn't have let my emotions get the best of me.

Elena looks away, not making eye contact, as she picks up her own sabre. The courtyard gets quiet, and the sound of the leaves blowing in the trees is the only thing that breaks the silence between us. We both look out to the gardens in the distance, breathing heavily as we try to calm down.

"I'm sorry," I finally say after a few moments have passed. "I didn't mean to lose my temper. But you've called our kiss a mistake, and I can't stop thinking about it. Every time I do, it sends this burning feeling through my chest. I shouldn't let it get to me so much, but it does."

The princess doesn't respond right away. Her gaze remains fixed on the trees, the light wind rustling through the grass in the courtyard. It feels like we're standing in a painting, captured in this beautiful moment of silence, despite everything that's happened between us.

"I didn't mean it like that," Elena replies quietly, still not looking at me. "I just—I don't know what I feel about us. I've never felt this way about anyone before."

I take two steps closer to her, stopping just inches away from her. Our sabers clatter to the floor, and I reach out to touch her face. The princess's eyes flicker toward mine, and for a moment, I think she's going to push me away.

But she doesn't.

My hand cups her cheek, and I pull her close to me, taking in her scent. The sound of the leaves rustling mixed with her floral fragrance—it's heavenly. "We don't have to understand it right away," I say, moving my hand to slide behind her neck. "We can take our time and figure it out together."

The princess takes a deep breath and leans into my embrace, her arms wrapping around my neck. She sighs heavily, and I can feel relief flooding through her. I don't understand it all either, but I do know that I'm going to do everything in my power to make this work.

"I'm sorry," she replies one last time before stepping back and picking up her sabre again. And she walks away, leaving a sense of uncertainty in the air.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.・。.・゜✭・.・

authors note: guys istg this whole avoiding each other thing only lasts like 2 more chapters LMAO that's the pain of slow paced stories ig. ugh