((i cant even promise this is the last one bc knowing me this is gonna end up being ten parts im sorry))
((SURPRISE! bet y'all thought i wasn't gonna upload this weekend!))
After your breakfast with Amy, you knocked on the slightly ajar door to Leopold's room. A feminine voice told you to come in, and you saw Maryana pressing a damp washcloth to Leo's face and chest, an attempt to cool his fever. "How are you feeling, Leo?" You sat at the edge of his bed, not wanting to disturb him too much.
"I'm okay, Maryana's really nice." He informed you as the servant held up a cup for him to take a sip from.
"Yes, she is." You smiled at the kind girl, reaching over to brush away the strands of hair sticking to his sweaty forehead. "Anything I can do for you?"
"Can you tell me that story again? About the waterfall?"
"Of course."
~~
There she was, Princess Amy of Gizmonia, walking down the aisle with a huge grin plastered across her face, white trail of her wedding gown flowing behind her. You were standing near the priest, opposite of King Mark as he waited in his formal king attire, crown glistening atop his head. But it couldn't have gleamed any brighter than your friend's face when she had reached the alter. Their vows discussed a past that you hadn't realized they had, they were childhood friends at one point, but neither said why they seemed so distant when Amy first brought him up to you. Finally, her veil was lifted, and the groom was allowed to kiss the bride. She was now Queen Amy, of Fischbach, you thought to yourself as the smaller, silver crown replaced her wedding veil.
You couldn't contain your squeals at just how cute they were, and clapped along with the rest of the people in attendance. They were primarily nobles and the royals of other kingdoms. An exception was even made for Ethan to be one the guests rather than servants, after all, nobody could deny that his sister was getting married.
Following them back down the aisle, you frantically scanned the crowd for your parents and sister, knowing that they were for sure invited. A small frown was on your face as you realized you couldn't spot their faces in the crowd. Although, it was admittedly a very packed venue, you reminded yourself as you followed the entourage out to the courtyard of the Fischbach castle where the reception was being held.
On the dance floor, you stood wiht the rest of the crowd to watch the couple take their first dance together to the mellow waltz the orchestra arrangement was playing. Someone's hand brushed yours, and you looked to the man who was now standing at your right, a figure that brought a smile to your face every time you saw him.
"Hello, Ethan." You smiled up at him, he looked absolutely dashing in the formal attire he had been loaned by King Mark for this occasion. Not even the Queen fought against this, she claimed she didn't want him to embarass their kingdom showing up in servants clothes. Most of these days you just wanted to stick one of her heels in her mouth to shut her up.
"My Lady is looking exceptionally beautiful on this occasion." He nodded to you, discretely lacing his fingers loosely with yours. Even this alone was dangerous, but you relied on the fact that everyone was focused on King Mark and his Queen Amy.
The music suddenly changed to a much peppier tune, and soon enough, others joined in. You were about to turn to Ethan to invite him to be your partner, but there was a familiar tug on your dress that caused you to whip aroud, looking for your sister. To your dismay, when you looked down, it was the brunette boy you were to be engaged to, and you had to immediately slap on a grin. "Hey Leo!"
"Lady Y/N, m-may I have this dance?" His lisp was fading as his teeth grew in, but he still had that same unsureness of a child doing a cordial task for the first time. This brought a glimmer in your eyes as you watched him bow to kiss the hand you had taken back from Ethan as soon as someone else approached you two.
"I would honored, My Lord Leopold." You said with humor in your voice, stooping down to link your arm with his. Even if you didn't want to marry him, you had to admit that he was just a cute little kid doing his best at what his parents asked of him. It tugged at your heartstrings whenever you could see your sister in Leopold, it had been too long since you'd seen her.
Leo tripped over yours and his own feet many times before you bent down to whisper to him, "Stand on my shoes."
"Are you sure? I don't want to hurt you, Y/N." Leo seemed concerned at your request.
"My toes are already numb from these shoes, it'll be fine."
And so, Leo's small feet were atop your own and you casually started leading through the dance, weaving in between the other couples on the dance floor. The song ended, and both you and Leo had big grins on your faces, it was genuinely fun. He stepped down off your feet and bowed to you. "Thank you, Lady Y/N."
"It was my pleasure, Lord Leopold." You curtsied, seeming to have finally reached a good rapport between you two that was more of an older sister/younger brother relationship than romantic. Thank god.
With a deep breath, you decided to take a break, and saw that Amy had that same idea, she was standing near a column, talking with King Mark, his brother Prince Tom, and some other nobles you didn't quite recognize. Sidling up beside her, you pinched her side gently with a grin. "Hello, Your Highness, the Regal Queen Amy of Fischbach." You teased her, curtsying so low your knees were about to give out.
"You're such a pain sometimes, Y/N." She rolled her eyes, but nothing could wipe that smile off of her face, and she took to introducing you to everyone. "This is Princess Y/N, of Fandomia, she's been a guest at my father's castle for many weeks now. Princess Y/N, this is Tyler, Duke of Apocalype, Kathryn, Fischbach's Royal Advisor, and of course Queen Signe of Wiishunia."
"It's a pleasure to meet you all." You said to the Wiishunian and Kathryn, but stopped when you got to Tyler, who was on your other side. He was definitely familiar.
"Princess Y/N Y/L/N, it has been a few years, hasn't it?" The Duke said, and it suddenly dawned on you.
"Ah yes, Duke Tyler Scheid, about twelve years now? Last I saw you, you had just rubbed mud all over my favorite doll."
"Last I saw you, you had given me a broken nose for that."
You shared a laugh at the memory. "Maybe that's why our parents broke off our initial betrothement."
"It's a possibility." The curly-haired man agreed.
"You guys used to be betrothed?" Amy raised an eyebrow at the revealmeant.
"For about three months, and I wasn't even the first choice."
Your cheeks turned bright red, remembering the period of about four years of your parents trying to get you wedded off as soon as possible by betrothing you to every available son of noble blood nearby. "I scared most of them off."
"You were definitely not having it back then." Tyler had a wistful smile as he reminisced with you in the past. "Which is not what I'm hearing is the case now?"
Biting your lip to keep your groans of displeasure at bay, you turned to Amy with a 'help me' look on your face. Thankfully, Queen Signe came in for the save, "Duke Schied, I believe it is Queen Amy and King Mark's special day today, not Princess Y/N's."
You mouthed a thank you to her, and she gave you an understanding nod. "Of course, my apologies." Your childhood friend nodded, and you took this lull in the conversation to get a private word with Amy in.
Your friend seemed to understand before you could speak, as she excused both of you from the group to speak at a distant table. "What's wrong, Y/N? You're not happy about something?"
"Were my family invited?" You blurted out, that was the primary thought in your mind at the moment.
"Of course they were, however they said they were unable to come, due to your father's illness." She assured you, but this caused more worry to pool into your stomach.
"My father's ill?"
"I... thought you knew, I'm sorry Y/N."
"He'll be fine, I mean, Leopold got ill and he got better in just a couple days." You said, trying to convince yourself more than anything else. "And Katya is a very good nurse, he'll get all better."
"Katya wrote me and said it was something she couldn't treat-"
You retracted your hand from her grasp, staring off at the stone wall. "Why wasn't I told before now?"
"Y/N-"
"Go, Amy. It's your wedding night, you don't need to babysit me right now. Have fun."
"I will write you tomorrow, okay?" She stood, unsure about leaving you, and you waved her off with a fake smile.
Tears threatened to give away your sadness, and you wanted nothing more than the warmth of an embrace of someone you loved. As if your feet were moving on their own, you found yourself at Ethan's side, he was standing with his brother and some of the other bachelor princes. They all seemed surprised at you joining them, all the single princesses stood in their group on the opposite side of the room, clearly gossipping about the men.
"Hi Y/N!" Leopold greeted you cheerily.
"Aw yeah, that's Little Leo's fiancee!" One wolf-whistled, as if you weren't even there. "How'd an 8 year old get such a hot fiancee and I didn't?"
"I'm 10!" Leo said indignantly, and the tears in your eyes turned red hot as your head snapped up to face the rude man. He wasn't even paying attention to you, instead making more derogatory comments to his friends.
Then, he finally seemed to notice that you had looked up. "Aw, princess, what's wrong?" He mock-pouted, and so much happened in the next few seconds.
It seemed that you, Ethan, and Leopold had all snapped at once, Leopold sent his small fist into the prince's gut while Ethan immediately went for his face. "Stop, guys." You said calmly, stepping over to the prince now flat on his ass on the ground. "I don't want to make a scene at my friend's wedding, so I'm going to keep this short. The reason why you don't have a fiancee is probably because as soon as you open your mouth, every girl within ten miles immediately wants you to shut it again. Change your attitude, jerk, treat ladies as they should be treated. And, I'm not your damn princess."
You picked the ends of your skirts up to step gracefully over his limbs that were splayed out, leaving him behind you. Thankfully, not many seemed to have noticed the encounter that just happened, so you were able to slip away with no eyes following you. However, there was a set of footsteps following behind you.
"He should have never even had the opportunity to speak to you that way, My Lady." Ethan's voice floated to your ears, and you turned to him with a smile at his words.
"I'm afraid it's much too common among people like him, self-entitled princes who expect everything to get handed to them. Even love." You scoffed at the idea, leaning against the back of pillar so that nobody in the courtyard could see you.
"That must cause you... deep sorrow, my lady." He wiped at your tears with a handkerchief.
"His words aren't the cause of my sorrow, Ethan. I just got word that my father has taken ill." You admitted, holding your arms out, and he took the signal to wrap him arms as tight as he dared around your waist. You made sure that you were still concealed behind the pillar, and burrowed your face deep in the crook of his neck, reveling in the warm, comforting embrace. Wanting nothing more than for this moment to last forever, you smiled when he gently the salty streaks on your cheek, murmuring sweet nothings in your ear. The cascading tears subsided, and you accepted his handkerchief to wipe at the remaining ones in an attempt to make yourself look presentable again.
"My Lady looks beautiful, as always." Ethan took his proper steps back form you, and you thanked him quietly. "It's dark, I don't think many will be able to tell you've been crying."
"Well, I guess we should get back to the party, this could easily get suspicious."
~~
The day ended too soon, and you were soon making your way to the carriage that would take you back to Gizmonia, where the main focus would now be on your marriage to Leopold. King Mark had offered you and the royal family rooms in his castle for the night so you could depart the next morning, but the Queen insisted on letting the newlyweds be by themselves on the first night. This thought gave you a shudder.
"Congratulations again, Amy." You curtsied to her, and she pulled you into a bone-crushing hug, clearly not caring about wrinkling her wedding dress.
"Remember, I'm writing to you everyday starting tomorrow. You better write back." She said sternly, and you smiled into her shoulder.
"Of course." You then curtsied to her husband. "Congratulations, King Mark, never forget that you have been blessed with the best wife."
"I would never." He promised, bowing to kiss your hand, and began muttering something only you could hear, "The Fischbach castle is always open for you if you need it, Y/N."
You were unsure of how much about your predicament King Mark knew, but you were grateful for his understanding offer. "Until next time, King Mark."
Stepping into the white and gold Gizmonia carriage, you waved a final goodbye to your friends as the carriage pulled away. As if you were in one the fairytales you would have Maryana read, whatever fairy godmother spell Ethan had immediately wore off, he was forced to sit outside the carriage with the horse driver and his formal clothes were given back to King Mark, leaving him in only his basic clothes he wore underneath. His patience and levels of tolerance still amazed you, he did so without a single eye roll, sigh, or dirty look whe the Queen's back was turned. You, on the other hand, had plenty of those for her.
You were nodding off in your seat beside Leopold, it was quite late when the wedding officially ended. The Young Prince was already crashed, curled up in the seat with his head using your side as a pillow, which you didn't mind. He truly felt like your own little brother.
The carriage stopped with a jolt as a sold thud came from above. Leo was startled awake, and you shushed him as yells from outside the carriage filtered in. At best, you were being robbed, at worst, you were being kidnapped or assassinated. The sound of metal hitting metal surrounded you as one of the bandits poked his head, as well as his sword in, gesturing for the King and Queen to get out. The King went to reach for his own sword, but his back gave out, and he was forced to relent to the wishes of the criminal. He then leapt into the carriage with you and Leo, and you threw your arms in front of the boy, shielding him with your body. "Take our valuables, whatever you want, but spare the boy!"
"Fine, I'll take the most valuable thing, then. You." He yanked you up by your arm, and you didn't struggle as he forced you out, knowing that if you did, it would endanger Leo.
Once you were outside the carriage, your eyes had adjusted to see that the driver was fighting with one bandit while Ethan was managing to keep two at bay. "My Lady!" Your butler exclaimed as the bandit tossed you over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "Y/N!" He yelled with no inhibitions, swiping with new vigor at the men he was fighting.
You took advantage of the position you were in, spotting a handle on your kidnapper's belt. A one-handed dagger, perfect. As gently as you could, you unsheathed the blade and slashed at the sensitive underarm of your captor. He yelped, dropping you, and you immediately gained your bearings to send a kick at his neck, knocking him down to the ground. As he tried to get back up, you stepped on his throat. "Stay down willingly, or I'll make you." You threatened, and he nodded in assent, obviously already in pain.
Just as you turned to deal with the people holding the Queen and King, someone had knocked your dagger out of your hand with their sword. Now you were outmatched. The man rasied his weapon as if to decapitate you. Thankfully, before they could even attempt to harm you, they crumpled in front of you, having been hit with the butt of Ethan's sword. Looking around you, you could see that all the bandits had either run off or were unconsious on the ground. The adrenaline that had coursed through your veins moments before dissipated, and you nearly collapsed into Ethan's arms, needing to feel him with you. Both of you had nearly died.
"Thank you, Ethan." You mumbled into his chest, hugging him close to you.
"You're welcome," he whispered, then suddenly remembered what you had forogtten, the King and Queen were near. "My Lady." Ethan let go of your body, and only offered his hand to politely help you back up into the carriage.
A scared and awestruck Leopod was waiting for you in there. "Y/N! You're so cool! Thank you, but I'm the one who's supposed to protect you!"
"How about we protect each other, hm?" You suggested, settling back into your seat as the King and Queen joined you two and the carriage continued its path back to Gizmonia.
"Deal."
"We cannot express our gratitude for sacrificing yourself for our son, Princess Y/N." The King said, a bittersweet smile on his face. "I wish I could have done more, but my back just-"
"It is most certainly not your fault, My Lord, I was happy I was able to help him."
"Yes, we can appreaciate your attachment to Leopold already," The Queen butted in, and you could only remember how utterly useless she was when you were all being attacked. "You will make a fantastic wife once you're properly taught."
You were caught off-guard, and looked at the Queen with the most polite, yet puzzled look you could manage. "If I may ask, what do I need to be taught, Your Highness?"
"Well, as Leopold said, the husband must protect the wife, not the other way around, of course." She laughed as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, and you wanted to give her your opinion on the matter, but talking back was dangerous. And you knew that your family needed this marriage more than ever now that your father was sick.
You could only muster a fake smile, and returned to looking at the trees passing by that were momentarily illuminated by the lamps on the outside of the carriage. The rest of the ride back to the castle was uneventful, and you said goodnight to everyone at the gates, sleep being the only thing on your mind at this point.
In your sleep gown and tucked under the covers, you wouldn't let yourself fall asleep until you saw Ethan, this was one of your nights you were supposed to spend together. A gentle knock came at your door, and you called out for them to come in. It was definitely Ethan, as he pressed a soft kiss to your forehead accompanied by a hushed 'I love you'. You lifted up the covers for him to join you, and his arms immediately snaked around your waist, pulling you close to him.
"After today, I never want to let you go, Y/N. I might lose you." He admitted, and you snuggled even closer to him.
"I'm not going anywhere without you, Ethan. I promise." You kissed his lips once, then again. "Will you ever go anywhere without me?"
"Never, my love." Ethan had taken to calling you that, something similar but so different to what he was suposed to call you, 'my lady'.
"Don't let me go, please. Don't leave me tonight." You begged, already feeling sleep invade your mind.
"I wouldn't dream of it."
"Good, you should dream of me."
His chest vibrated against yours as he stifled his laughter at your half-asleep words. "I will, goodnight my love."
"Goodnight, Ethan."
~~
A sweet, happy feeling was still in your mind as you woke up the next morning, strangely cold. Ethan must have taken all the blankets again. But you were perfectly cozied up in them. You then realized, you had woken up alone. Ethan had left you in the night.
It was when you left your bedroom that you heard the whispers amongst the servants, Ethan was in the infirmary. Injuries from his fighting against the bandits yeaterday, they said. But you knew he hadn't gotten injured, he expertly kept himself from getting hurt.
So why were you now standing in the physician's room, staring at a bloody and bruised Ethan?