The Fallen Queen

2: A Queen's Worry

At the pavilion, Royal Knight, Sir Lance Quentin simply observed a maid pouring lily tea into his Queen's cup using the finest tea set ever created. Petals of a blooming lily kissed with morning dew were plucked daily to make tea with alluring scent, whilst the ceramic tea set was made by the hands of an acknowledged professional craftsman who, as a humble citizen, presented the rare set to the Queen as a coronation gift two months ago.

Another maid flew towards them, balancing a tray which carried a plate of cake. She then set the plate together with a set of silverware onto the table for Lance and his Queen to get a better view of the cake before it ended up in her stomach. It was a vanilla pavlova. Lance's mouth was indeed watering but realizing who he was comparing to the Queen, he gulped his desire.

Impatient, Queen Azure excused the maids who replied in unison before they left, "Enjoy your afternoon, Young Majesty."

Lance watched the cake in awe as she cut off a morsel. White cream burst out and he could see bits of strawberries hidden inside. She shoved it into her mouth. Somehow, his jaws automatically mimicked her chewing motions but it wasn't too noticeable, right?

"If you want some, say it. You'll never satisfy your hunger if you don't confess."

So, it was noticeable, huh?

"Thank you, Young Majesty, but I don't feel particularly hungry for now." At the worst moment possible, his gut growled, as loud as a wolf's howl. Clutching it, he cursed himself.

She played with a strawberry bit, spinning it about using a fork and with a smirk, she purred, "You were saying?"

Defeated.

Alas, after being insisted by her, he took the seat opposing hers and accepted her offer of a mouthful of pavlova. Tantalizing, he could only widen his eyes. After half of the cake was consumed, she slid the plate towards him. "You can have the rest."

"But you only ate a little," Lance looked down at the unfinished cake. He admired his Queen's manner when he noticed she didn't even leave a crumb. But, did she really want to just pass this to him? He knew he won't if he was in her shoes. "Young Majesty, I believe someone of my rank doesn't deserve a dessert baked by the royal chef. Living in this palace, I usually eat food made by maids only."

She frowned but her round small face remained cute. "Lance, your rank is just one step below mine and royalty. You outrank the ministers and noblemen, even." She leaned back, "Considering your duty to protect me with your life, it's not surprising, really."

Lance chuckled. "You always know which words to use to beat me, don't you, Young Majesty? I can't say I'm not amazed." He took up the fork and sliced a morsel, staring at it as he reminisced a not-too-long-ago past. "It's just that I was only a plebeian to begin with until the day your parents; the Flugels, hosted a competition to elect a Royal Knight. I guess I'm still not used to this kind of lifestyle." He nibbled the morsel of pavlova.

Images popped up in the back of his mind one by one as he recalled the way he slashed his sword at his opponents, sparks flew as the metals clashed and slid against one another. He could still hear the shrill cries of the swords when intense emotions charged them up for a more exciting battle. After he'd won, he was given a varied set of weapons to choose from. Liking the rapier's tolerable weight, he didn't even glance at the other weapons. He already realized a long time ago that he wasn't strong enough to wield anything hefty which might strain his arm.

"You're taking your sweet time eating that," Queen Azure grinned, dragging him back to present. Huffing with lips crooked to one side, he pulled his right-hand glove away to leave his hand bare. Now, he'll not worry if cream was smudged onto his glove as he finished the pavlova.

His Queen stood up and flew over to the edge of the cliff, overlooking her citizens' daily lives in the city below. Her wings were the purest of white and swaying together with the flow of breeze was her sable straight hair which reached her hip. Blue roses adorned almost the entire right side of her head.

He still remembered her coronation day when she refused an exquisite tiara but demanded a hairpin of blue roses instead. Of course, everyone who witnessed that day was utterly aghast and out of words. She's a strange Queen, people had decided since then, for favouring mere flowers over a tiara embedded with sapphire. But he remained loyal to his Queen's wishes. For him, she was free to do anything as pleased, as long as her decisions and decrees were fair and kind.

Watching warily in case his Queen fell—not that she will; she can just fly back up again—he gobbled up the last morsel of pavlova and set the fork down, clapping his hands twice. A few maids hastily fluttered from inside the palace and cleaned the table. Wearing his glove again, he sauntered out of the pavilion towards his Queen's side who murmured a sudden question, "Am I really inconsiderate towards my people?"

"So it does bother you, after all."

She didn't respond but he knew she needed guidance and support to ease her worries.

"You can just fly down there, Young Majesty," he buttoned up his glove, "I suggest dispersing the rioters if you want to show how much you care about them. To display how committed you are in your duty to maintain Faelia's prosperity."

She tucked some strands of hair behind an ear. "Sometimes, I feel like this doesn't suit me."

"Does it really?" Because he'd always thought it did.

Right after he assumed she'd rejected his idea, her outer piece of gown was already dropping on the ground, revealing a plain pale blue knee-length dress inside as she got ready to fly down to the city. He stared at her legs and immediately went frantic. "Young Majesty, you're not wearing any shoes again today!"

"Oops," she immediately took off from the cliff, rendering him speechless. What in the world...

How many times must he tell her that being bare-footed is dangerous? Bacteria might crawl into her cells and she might step on rusty nails or a supposedly harmless twig. With a sigh, he flew after her. He must protect her at all costs. However, with her speedy flight and zip-zapping, will he ever be able to catch up? She was—

As stubborn as always.

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A/N =3=

So, what do you think of Lance? A faithful Knight without an unwavering loyalty towards his beloved Queen. And what's wrong with his arm? D: I would really love to hear your opinion(s) ^^

If you liked this chapter, please vote. And if you have any questions or simply want to say something, you can do it in the comments below :3

Thank you for reading!