Luz's POV
I felt the sunlight and warmth hitting my face, as it woke me up. It was past seven in the morning from what the grandfather clock says. I took off my blanket and sat myself up on the edge of the bed. I stood myself up and walked over to the bathroom to get ready. Someone already beat me to it.
"Oh hey kid. I was about to wake you up, but it looks like you've done it for me. Need to use the restroom?"
"Yeah. I'm going to get ready. What time do we have to leave?"
"In half an hour. Alador doesn't wake up until seven thirty. We'll give him enough time to be dressed and wide awake. I'll be saying goodbye to your mother and Vee," mom went to Vee's room first.
I walked in the bathroom and started to bathe myself. Afterwards, I dressed myself, brushed my hair and teeth, and left the bathroom. Lastly, I went ahead to put on my armor and my scabbard. I looked at myself in the mirror before heading to my mom's and Vee's room to tell them my goodbyes.
"Have fun Luz. Mama and I will wait for you to come home to tell us everything. As for you mom, take care of yourself," Vee gave Eda and I a hug.
"Will do kiddo."
"Do you really have to leave mi amor?"
"I must babe. I need to protect this kingdom. When I get home, we're going to make lots of love," my moms kissed each other. Vee and I looked away to stare at something else while we gave our parents privacy quickly.
"And Luz?" I spun around to view mama.
"Good luck on your first day. I know you'll be the greatest knight ever known throughout the entire world."
"Thanks ma. I will do my best serving as the princess's guard."
"I know you will mija," ma kissed me on the cheek.
"We should be going now. Don't miss us too much."
"Be safe you two."
"We will!"
Eda and I gave them one last hug before departing. I held onto my helmet between my hips and arm, as I walked to the castle that belongs to the Blight family.
"Are you nervous kid?"
"Not really. I would've been nervous if you weren't friends with King Alador. Good thing you're in charge of the army."
"It's fine if you're nervous. I was like that when Alador chose me to be the general. It was the most exciting moment but also scary at the same time. Being a skilled fighter paid off."
"Yes it did. I'm glad we'll get to see each other around the castle."
"Ah, yes. I don't have to feel alone anymore now that I have a part of my family there with me."
"Aww look at you being all soft Eda."
"Can it Luz or else I'll make you late on your first day," Eda sarcastically threatened.
"Not if I get to the castle first," I sprinted full speed to Alador's home.
"You cheater! Wait til I catch you!" I heard Eda yell out. I went as fast as I could without being caught. I ran past through the pathway that would lead me through the markets and shops. I slowed down and looked behind me to see if Eda was following. A couple seconds in and I accidently bumped into someone on the ground with me on top of them. That someone was Amity Blight.
I had my knees on each side of Amity with my hands on the side of her head. I stared at her for a brief moment while her hair is spreaded out and showed a sign of anger in her eyes.
"Princess Amity! I'm so sorry! Are you okay? Here let me he-" I stood up and stretched my hand out for Amity to grab until she slapped it away.
"I don't need your help, thank you very much. You pushed me down without even looking where you are going. I could've been seriously injured," Amity glared.
"I'm so sorry Princess Amity. It was my fault after all, but I promise it won't happen again," I bowed down.
"It better not."
"I..got you...Luz. Woo! I'm out of breath," Eda bended over to catch her breath.
"General Eda, your daughter bumped into me. You should teach her to not run into people."
"Ugh Luz. This was a bad idea to freely run around here like wild animals. I'm sorry about that, Princess Amity. I will make sure my daughter doesn't do that again," Eda bowed down as well.
"Thank you."
"Where's your father and mother?"
"They stayed in the castle while the twins and I went for a walk in this area. Though, I ditched my brother and sister as they keep annoying me."
"Ah, I see. Well I must meet King Alador right now before I leave outside of this kingdom. Luz, you'll keep Princess Amity company. Be in your best behavior, kid. Watch over your mother and sister," Eda pecked my head and gave me a quick hug.
"You better kick Belos army's butts."
"Oh I will kid. I'll see you soon," mom ran off to meet with King Alador.
"So, Princess Amity, it's officially nice to meet you. I am Luz Noceda. Twenty-one years old. The daughter of Edalyn Clawthorne and Camila Noceda. You might've noticed my twin sister, Vee, from yesterday's event. She's quite different from me. Therefore, you can tell us apart. Anyways, I will be your personal guard until the day I die or if I get replaced," I properly introduced myself, smiling.
"It's nice to meet you too," Amity said before walking away from me.
"Um, Princess? How long will your walk last?" I speed walk to her.
"I'm not sure. I guess whenever I feel like I'm done walking then I'll go back home."
"What about your brother and sister?"
"They will be fine without me. They already have their own guards watching over them."
"I see. Of course, I'll be accompanying you, your highness."
"Shouldn't you meet with my father first?"
"Well Eda would tell your father that I am here with you to make sure nothing goes wrong."
"Nothing will happen to me, so there is no point in following me everywhere."
"Who knows what can happen to you princess. You may think you're safe, but you can't really be sure about it. That is why the king and queen want me to protect you."
"I already know how to use self defense. There's no point in needing your help to keep me safe."
"You're important, your highness. We wouldn't want anything to happen to you. As a personal knight, it is my duty to-"
"I know, I know. You don't need to keep repeating what you must do," Amity sounded annoyed.
I wonder what is up with her? I thought.
"My apologies princess."
"I think I'm going to cut my walk short and head back home," she mentioned.
"I'll escort you there."
"I am just fine escorting myself. I don't need your help," Princess Amity strolled the opposite direction where the castle is at.
Yup. Something is up with her.
"Sorry to be nosy or anything, but is everything alright princess? You seem upset and I would like to help if there is something bothering you."
"I am upset. Firstly, my brother Edric and my sister Emira won't get out of my hair. Secondly, I was enjoying myself until you pushed me down to the ground. Lastly, you're here asking me questions nonstop when I am trying to have a quiet evening and alone time by myself," the princess explained her frustration to me.
"Oh, I am so so-"
"Please don't apologize again. I've heard plenty enough from you. Please remain silent until we're inside the castle. You may be my knight, but I am royalty."
"As you wish, princess."
I felt so stupid right now. I accidentally bumped into Amity and now she seems to hate me. Great. My first day as a personal protector is not what I wanted. I didn't expect this to happen. Keeping my mouth shut was quite hard, as I'm a curious person. I want to know more about Princess Amity. Sadly, that won't happen today now that I ruined it. The walk to Amity's home was not far. It only took five minutes to arrive in front of two huge gates guarded by knights.
Some stood tall and still as others were opening the gates to allow Amity and I in. We both walked straight ahead and entered inside the castle. I know I've gone there a couple of times, but I was still amazed by it.
"There you are mittens! We were looking everywhere for you," the twins, Edric and Emira, came jogging to Amity.
"You guys act like I can't take care of myself."
"That's because you can't," Edric responded.
"Who is this?" Both the twins were looking at me.
"The name is Luz Noceda. I am the daughter of General Edalyn Clawthorne. I'm Princess Amity's new personal knight. It's nice to meet you Prince Edric and Princess Emira," I went down on one knee and bowed my head.
"Ah! So you're the one everyone's been talking about."
"If I may ask, what do you mean by that, Princess Emira?" I went back to my standing position.
"I'm guessing a lot of people in this kingdom know about you because I kept hearing about a knight named Luz who defeated the beast during the event my father had planned to give my little sister her own knight."
"That's correct. People know me because of my mother so they must've recognized me when my helmet came off while I slayed the beast."
"That's amazing. Amity is lucky to have you as a knight. You seem popular and very polite. I'm quite jealous."
"Knock it off Emira," Amity huffed.
"What? I'm just saying sis. Whatever Amity tells you, just ignore her. She can be moody most of the time and that's not your fault. She is spoiled, so it must be what makes her annoyed by us."
"That's not true."
"Your red face says otherwise," Edric teased.
"Ugh! Whatever. I'm going to my room," Amity headed down the hall.
"I should go after her to make sure she doesn't do anything rash."
"Go ahead Luz. I'll let my father and mother know that you arrived at the castle with Amity."
"Thank you Princess Emira. I hope to see you both later," I bowed down before running after Amity.
"Princess Amity! Please don't get upset over your siblings. I know you're not in a good mood, but I want to help you."
"You can help me by leaving me alone."
"If that's what you want, I will. At least let me make sure you made it safe in your room."
Amity sighed before saying, "Fine."
I wasn't sure where her room was at because there's so many of them here. Though, Amity would lead me to it, and I'll know where to go if I need to find her. After passing hundreds of rooms, there was one that was labeled on top of the doorway with Amity's name on it.
"This is it?"
"It is. Now you can go and finally leave me alone. Goodbye," Amity shut the door before I was able to say anything. I was standing in front of the door until I decided to leave her be and go find Alador. This place is indeed huge with so many rooms that I can't even count them all. Most of them must be bedrooms for the maids, butlers, cooks, nurses, and knights living here. I would like to see what the bedrooms look like.
"There you are Luz. I was wondering where you were until the twins told me you made it here with Amity," King Alador was accompanied by Queen Odalia.
"Your majesty," I took a knee.
"There's no need to bow down to us any longer. You're like a family to us."
"Ah right," I got up from the ground.
"Where's Amity?" Odalia asked me.
"She's in her room. Princess Amity had a rough day and wanted to be alone. I took her to her room and wanted to look for you."
"Edric and Emira informed me that you were somewhere in here with Amity. Also, there's no need to get worked up by my daughter. She is a handful and mostly has stressful days, but I assure you that you shouldn't take the blame and think it's your fault for making her feel that way. I haven't mentioned this to everyone, but Amity is required to become the next queen while Odalia and I step down the throne soon."
"Why is that?"
"We're old."
Odalia backhanded Alador on his upper arm and said, "We are not that old. Being forty-seven is still in the range of being young."
"Whatever you say sweetheart. Anywho, neither of the twins wanted to take the responsibility of being the king or queen, so Amity volunteered herself to be the queen."
"At a young age too. That's amazing."
"It is but at the same time it's not. The only thing we're missing is Amity having a partner to rule this kingdom. That's what we're waiting for. Of course, we will not force her to marry anyone. Whoever Amity finds and loves, we'll support and allow her to marry that person. She is our baby after all."
"Yes she is. We want the best for our children. The number one thing on our list is for all of them to be happy," Odalia added.
"You're doing a great job at it. It may not seem that way with Amity, but surely she'll come around."
"Thank you for that Luz. I know you'll make a great knight for Amity just like your mother is a wonderful knight for risking herself to keep this kingdom safe and protected."
"Thank you both," I grinned widely.
"You are welcome. Now, have you eaten breakfast?"
"I have not King Alador."
"Well come and join us please. My wife and I will be grabbing Amity to check up on her. Emira and Edric!"
"Yes father," both twins popped out of nowhere.
"Take Luz to the dining room please. We'll meet you three after we bring out Amity."
"Okay! Come on Luz. We want to know more about you since you seem like an interesting person," Emira grabbed my armored hand and pulled me to wherever the dining room was with Edric next to me.
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Amity's POV
"Amity?" I heard my father's voice from the other side of the door along with a little knock.
"Yes father?" I was laying on my bed with my covers over me. All I did was stare at the ceiling just thinking about how frustrating and dumb my knight can be.
"Come and eat breakfast. Luz will be joining us."
"I don't want to see her face."
"Why not dear?" This time it was my mother's voice.
"I just don't want to. She's like a dog who wants to follow me everywhere I go."
"That is her job to follow you honey. I know you don't like it but at least warm up to her. She is very kind and has a gentle heart."
"She's also nosy and acts like she wants to help me."
"Luz is a curious and helpful person. There's nothing wrong with it. You didn't give her a chance. Please make her feel welcomed and not stressed out Amity," my father said before opening my door. My parents walked inside and both sat down on the edge of my bed.
"What's wrong sweetheart?"
"Nothing is wrong father. I was just annoyed, that's all. I know I shouldn't be acting this way, but it's hard to hold these emotions in," I clarified how I felt.
"Don't worry about it, Amity. You can express how you feel, but you must be careful with the way you express to other people. They can take it as an offense or they'll blame themselves for the way you react. Not everyone is the same."
"I know. I'll do my best to keep it down with the way I feel. I'm sorry that I've been acting this way."
"There's no need to apologize to us. Instead, you can apologize to Luz. You can do it whenever you feel comfortable, and I'm one hundred percent sure that Luz will accept your apology."
"I agree with your mother."
"I do too. I'll take your guy's advice and use it."
"That's my daughter. Now, come on and let's have dinner together as a family. We'll be waiting for you outside your room."
"Okay," I watched as my parents left my room. I tossed my cover next to me and got off the bed. I was already wearing my comfortable clothes and I decided to dress more appropriately for breakfast. I went to my huge closet and pulled out a long, pink dress with ruffles. I took off the clothes I was wearing and put on my pink dress. Then I wore blush colored heels. My hair was neat, so there was no need to fix it.
I left my room, closing it behind me, and my parents were already waiting by the door for me.
"You look amazing darling," mother complimented me.
"Yes you do. Good thing you inherited my looks," father chuckled while mother smacked his arm. I giggled with my father on our way to the dining room. It wasn't far from my bedroom, so there was no need to walk a lot of steps there. Once father, mother, and I arrived, my older siblings were already seated except Luz. The three of them noticed us coming in the dining room
"Princess Amity! Please, let me seat you," Luz ran over to my designated chair to pull it for me to sit down. I didn't say anything until I sat down, as Luz pushed me forward to the edge of the table. I felt a little tingling in my stomach but ignored the feeling.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome princess," Luz smiled as she went to her own seat.
"Oh, what a gentlewoman you are Luz. If only I had you as my knight," Emira complimented.
For some reason, it made me feel sort of irritated hearing Emira saying that she wished Luz was her knight.
"Don't we all wish that because I do," my father wished as well.
"Agreed," everyone at the table said.
I felt a specific knight staring at me, but I didn't want to stare at her back. I could see from the corner of my eyes Luz taking off her armor from her hands in order to eat properly. As my knight did that, the butlers and cooks came out with trays of toasts, yogurts, tea, biscuits, scrambled eggs, bacon, and potatoes. They were freshly made and cooked as the smell hit all of our noses. We thanked the butlers and cooks before they left. The table is already set up with plates and silverware in front of us.
"Dig in everyone."
Everyone except Luz were grabbing the tray and placing food on their plates. I stared at her to see why she wasn't grabbing any food. Luz's hands were folded in front of her while she watched everyone serve themselves.
"Aren't you going to eat Luz?" Edric questioned her.
"I am. I'm just waiting for you guys to serve yourself first before I do."
"Don't be like that Luz. You're making me feel bad. Go ahead and serve food on your plate. Remember that I said you're like a family to us. There's no need to wait for all of us to grab food for ourselves before you do," my father stopped what he was doing.
"Are you sure?"
"We are sure honey. Come on and start serving yourself. We want to eat with you together," my mother handed Luz a tray.
"Okay," Luz grabbed the tray and began putting food and placing it on her plate.
"So Luz. I never got to ask you this, but what do you think about the castle?"
"It's amazing King Alador. It's huge, long, and durable. It reminds me of a corn maze in here."
"Hahaha yes! You can get lost if you don't know where you are going. That is why we created our own map to show where you are located and where to go. We have plenty to give to our visitors, and we also have them placed around the walls," father pointed at one of the maps that is hanging in the dining room wall.
"That's a smart idea."
"Why thank you. I came up with it," my mother beamed.
"If only I came up with it first."
"Too bad for you darling, but you are still smart to me."
"Thank you, my queen."
"You guys remind me of my mothers," Luz said to my parents.
"Do we now? I know Edalyn was like that when I first met her and Camila. I swear she's like a reincarnation of my grandmother when she and her husband first met each other. I was thinking that I wouldn't be like my grandmother but look at me now. Being a flirt runs in the family heh."
"Looks like it. Eda tried teaching me how to make someone fall in love with me. She was drunk at the time and it was the funniest thing ever. Eda told me some pick-up lines that were so bad I couldn't take it anymore and just laughed at it. She ended up crying, thinking I was laughing at her, but it was just the pick-up lines that were hilarious and horrible at the same time that I was laughing at."
"Haha, sounds like your mother alright."
"Indeed. It makes her unique in a way. You would expect Edalyn to be serious about everything since she's the general, but Eda's the opposite. She's really funny, dedicated, and someone you can ask advice for," my mother declared.
"She really is. That is why I looked up to her. I want to be just like my mother. So fierce, strong, and positive."
"You're already getting to that point Luz. Every single one here in this kingdom will remember you as Edalyn's daughter who also protects and serves everyone. I promise you that. I must say, Belos would be feared to see you and your mother together if there's ever a chance you go up against him."
"He should be. Eda and I as a duo, we would be unstoppable," Luz confirmed.
"Yes you would. Like mother, like daughter, am I right?"
"You are correct, Alador."
We all continued eating while everyone else asked Luz questions. I was the only one who remained quiet and just listened to their conversations. It was quite interesting to hear about Luz's background, history, and her family. I never knew her mother and sister, Camila and Vee, are nurses and vets. The entire family carries some type of legacy which amazes me. Half the family are knights and the other half heals wounded people and animals.
They are a hardworking family. Risking their lives, saving people, and making sure those people are okay. Now I understand why Luz is not the type to give up on anything. Not even on me since I've been such a jerk and giving her a hard time. After breakfast, I wanted to privately apologize to Luz. That's exactly what I did.
"May I speak with you privately?"
"Yes you can princess. Is everything okay?" Luz stared at me with a concerned expression.
"Everything is fine. I just want to talk to you."
"Where would you like to talk?"
"In my room," I grabbed Luz's hand and pulled her with me to my bedroom. I realized that it was a stupid idea to grab her hand like that. Though, it felt warm and soft as she didn't get to put on her armor for her hands. Again, it made me feel as if I had butterflies in my stomach. It felt nice. Luz and I made it to my room and I was the one who closed the door behind us.
"Woah! I like your room Princess Amity. It's neat and spacious."
"Thank you."
"Did you have someone paint your room dark pink?"
"Yes I did. I enjoy that color and it fits well with what I have in here."
"You did great on decorating it," Luz remarked.
"Thanks. Now leave the questions aside because I need to tell you something."
"Oh right. What is it that you want to tell me, princess?" Luz gave me her full attention. Her innocence behind those made me feel nervous all of a sudden.
What in the world is going on with me?
"I-I would like to say that I'm very sorry for mistreating you earlier. It was disrespectful of me to say harsh words to you. I would like to ask you for your forgiveness."
"I forgive you princess."
"You're already forgiving me?"
"Yup. You were just having a hard time and I get it. No need to worry about it princess," Luz gently smiled.
Why are you so nice to me after the way I treated you?
"Right. So uh, you can resume with your questions if you would like," I sat down on my little couch in front of my bed that could fit two people. I patted the spot next to me to indicate Luz for her to sit down.
"Thanks princess," Luz launched herself on the couch.
"I noticed you have a collection of Azura books. Do you enjoy reading them?"
"I do. It's actually my favorite series," I beamed.
"Mine too! Which book is your favorite?"
"Mine is the second novel. The part where Azura went to the mountains and found-"
Luz and I talked for about two hours. We mentioned our favorite hobbies,what we like to do outside of our homes, and talked more about our family. I was fascinated with Luz's life. She had more adventures than I could ever have. That's definitely another reason why she's happy and energetic.