Soleil ✧ Ravio x Reader

chapter 4

When the great double-doors of the throne room opened, revealing the stately grandeur of Her Highness Princess Hilda, she was... promptly ignored.

Rather than guarding this hall of the castle with their full undivided attention, the two guards in sight were chatting up a storm with [Name].

Or rather - she was chatting up a storm with them.

"So you really never left the castle grounds until you became an adult? What was it like when you saw the world for the first time? Was it what you were expecting?" [Name] clearly had gotten very engaged. And here she had been so nervous about being here before! She just couldn't hold her tongue.

"Frankly, I was shocked," the solider she was talking to replied. "All my bunkmates used to talk about how broken the world was, so I already had really low expectations, but life out here was even worse than I thou——" He cut himself off when all of a sudden his partner elbowed him in the ribs. Realizing Hilda was standing just a few feet away from him, he quickly stiffened up, cleared his throat, and directed all of his attention towards her.

[Name] turned around to see what he was looking at. And then, much like the stiffened soldier behind her, she froze, before scrambling to tuck all her loose strands of hair behind her ears. Her hands clasped at her stomach, cheeks flaring up.

"Y-Your Highness!" she sputtered. She had no idea what kind of etiquette she was supposed to use in the presence of a real, live princess, so she bowed—and peeked up with a meek curiosity at the lady in front of her.

Hilda looked every bit dignified you'd expect of a princess. One hand was wrapped around her staff, the other limp at her side; her dark violet lips had pulled up into a wistful smile.

"Please, there's no need to bow," she said. "I presume you must be [Name]? Ravio took it upon himself to inform me of your situation."

As if on cue, Ravio then stepped out from behind her, rabbit hood lowered back over his head. [Name] still had never seen what his face looked like—but in all of their brief interactions, she had gotten used to seeing his hood at all times, so she sort of forgot he actually had a face under there.

He gave a small wave of his hand in [Name]'s direction, but she was still so awestruck to be in Princess Hilda's presence that she didn't respond to him.

Hilda stepped a bit closer to her. "I wanted to personally reassure you that I will do everything in my power to send you back home—that is what you wish for, yes?"

[Name] stumbled for a second. "Um, yes!"

"...Admittedly, I am not sure how to send you home, or how long it will take to find out—so I ask for your patience with me, please. Surely you must know the current status of our two worlds. My power is still new, but it is most definitely there, and certain things require more strength than others. So in the meantime, I will offer you your own room in this castle for you to stay in."

[Name] blinked. Her own room...? Her very own room, in Lorule Castle? She needed a moment to take that in. But Hilda quickly moved on with everything else she needed to say.

"And Ravio," she continued, turning to the boy behind her. He had perked up the second his name was called. "Thank you for everything you've done today. Please, go home and rest. You won't be summoned again tonight."

"Thank you, Your Highness." Ravio bowed his head. His eyes flicked over to [Name], hidden behind his hood. But his body faced her fully, so she knew he was addressing her. "Guess this is where we part, huh? It was nice seeing ya again! I hope you get home safe and sound and all. Not sure if we'll ever see each other again, so make sure you say hi to Mr. Hero for me when you get back!"

[Name] nodded politely. "Yeah, of course. Thank you for helping me earlier. It was nice to finally have a real conversation with you for once."

And that was that. Ravio left down the hall, waving goodbye one last time before he did. Hilda still had a few words to share with [Name], though, and started talking again once Ravio was out of earshot.

"The guest room I have decided to give you was originally prepared for Ravio, actually—but he declined it after deciding he wanted to live outside of the castle. It is our most recently furnished room, so I'm certain you will feel comfortable there. Guards, will you escort our guest [Name] to her bedroom?"

The two soldiers [Name] had chatted with a few minutes ago nodded dutifully, and so [Name] and Princess Hilda bid their farewells.

"Tomorrow, after breakfast, one of my personal attendants will come to help you adjust to life at the castle," Hilda added, "just in case this goes on longer than expected. But until then, good night. Sleep well."

"Thank you," [Name] breathed out. To say she was overwhelmed would be an understatement. When Hilda turned on her heel, and [Name] was left to follow the soldiers to her new room, she couldn't believe what had just happened. She had just spoken face-to-face with the Princess Hilda of Lorule. And now she was being led to her very own bedroom in the castle?

She must have been dreaming.

🎀

a/n

hi!! im back!! the reason this took a while to come out, is bc Im still in the process of finalizing the main plot, and this chapter was important in figuring out where each character goes (or more importantly, whether ravio and [name] separate now or not)

but that's out of the way n now we'll be getting into the good stuff ヘ(￣ω￣ヘ)

next chapter will be delightfully fluffy!! that is a promise!!

thank you for reading as always ♥️