(Edited and improved by the lovely s0rethr0at)
Princess Adne stepped out onto the balcony and into the brilliant summer sunlight. The cheers of her people rose to meet her ears as she took her place between her parents, the King and Queen. She smiled and dipped her head graciously in acknowledgment, waiting for the applause to die down. When it did, her mother and father each placed a hand on her shoulders. To her right, her mother began to speak.
"To our esteemed guests, I extend a warm welcome. We are gathered from far and wide to celebrate the birth of my daughter, heir to the throne, Princess Adne, twenty-five years ago today. Today is a day to feast, drink, and dance in honor of your future Queen. Before we begin the festivities, the Princess has prepared a few words for us all."
Adne stepped forward, the high-waisted skirt of her lavender-colored gown rippling in the sun. She placed her hands on the railing of the balcony, her long oversleeves falling back to her elbows.
"Thank you all for being here today," she began. "With each passing year, my love for this Queendom grows, as does my dedication to serving its people, both now and as your eventual Queen..." She continued speaking but allowed her mind to drift away from the well-practiced words. She had always found a speech to be overly formal for such an occasion. But it was a tradition that her mother adored, so Adne humored her. After all, it provided her with a valuable opportunity.
Her eyes scanned the crowd as she spoke, working their way to the back of the group where the gleaming suits of metal stood guard. The knights attended the event in full armor, helmets and all, another old tradition that the knights took immense pride in carrying out. And over the past five years, it had proven itself very useful to Adne. Her gaze passed over the last row of knights, still patiently searching. They came to a halt on the penultimate metal-clad figure. Her gaze settled here as she concluded her speech, the roar of the crowd filling her ears once more. Adne smiled a small, secret smile to herself.
She looked forward to the coming evening very much indeed.
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The Knight sat in the guard tower next to one of his fellow soldiers, watching the guests trickle out of the castle. Some appeared more steady on their feet than others. The temperature had mercifully gone down with the sun, and the sound of laughter drifted up to the tower on a cool twilight breeze. It was a very peaceful scene.
Peace, however, was the last thing the Knight was feeling.
His mind was ablaze, and every nerve in his body was wound tight as a bowstring. He replayed the event in his mind for the hundredth time, trying to make sense of it:
He was standing in the courtyard during the Princess's speech, dutifully sweating buckets in his armor, when it happened. The Princess -who, from his position at the very back of the crowd, was not much more than a dazzling purple and golden sunbeam upon the balcony- somehow looked right at him. A jolt like lightning had shot through his body, and suddenly he could see her as clearly as if they were standing face to face. Her delicate features framed by honey blonde locks spilling from the braid coiled atop her head, her jeweled circlet glinting in the sun, her emerald green eyes staring straight into his. She smiled at him.
He had only a split second to wonder at her beauty, and at the sheer madness of what was happening before she hurtled away from him with frightening speed and became an indiscernible faraway figure once more.
The Knight decided that he must have suffered some sort of heat-induced hysteria. After all, he had never actually seen the Princess up close before. Perhaps his mind had simply conjured a momentary escape from the sweltering heat? Yes, that must have been it. He was finally starting to feel at ease when his companion suddenly scrambled to his feet with a cacophony of clanking metal.
"Good evening, Your Royal Majesty," he said a bit breathlessly. The Knight jerked his head around to see Princess Adne standing not ten feet away from them, having approached soundlessly on soft slippered feet. His mouth fell open, and had he not been stunned beyond all reasonable thought, he might have been glad for the cover of his helmet.
For there stood the woman from his hallucination, in the flesh, unmistakably real. She met his eyes and flashed him the same exact smile as before, a smile wrought with mystery and promise. His companion's gauntlet made sharp contact with the back of his helmet, and he realized with a thrill of horror how disrespectful he was being. He clambered to his feet and hastily saluted.
"Your Majesty," was all he could manage. She inclined her head to each of them in turn.
"Good Sirs," she said in her clear and melodious voice, "I thank you for your noble service, today and always. I know it is late, and the time is nearly upon us for you to retire to your sleeping quarters, but I must ask one last favor of you. I came up to the rampart to watch the sunset, but I fear I have lingered too long. I rarely venture outside after nightfall, you see, and would greatly appreciate an escort to my chambers."
Beside him, the Knight's companion betrayed his excitement with a squeak of his armor as he stood up even straighter.
"Your Majesty, it would be our most treasured honor-"
"Actually, good Sir," the Princess interjected, turning her gaze to the Knight, "one will suffice."
His companion's disappointment and jealousy were palpable, but the Knight paid him little heed. His heart was pounding such that he feared he might collapse. The day's events, coupled with the Princess's dizzying beauty, were bearing down upon him, and for a moment, he could not move. Princess Adne gave him an encouraging smile, and his head seemed to clear. He stepped forward and proffered his arm as though he had done so a thousand times. The Princess took it, causing his newfound calm to falter a bit, and together they set off down the rampart, leaving his companion to his undoubtedly sour thoughts.
As they walked, many questions rose up within him. What had transpired that morning? Had the Princess felt it too? Had she, in fact, been the cause? He feared that to ask any of them would be to reveal himself as insane. Instead, they walked in silence, broken only by the gentle creaking of the Knight's armor and the swishing of the Princess's cloak.
He stole glances at her through the slats in his helmet, afraid to let his gaze linger even though she couldn't see his face. She was slight, the top of her elaborately braided head not quite reaching his shoulder, and her profile peeking out from the golden waves was dainty and fae-like. She was somewhat dwarfed by the dark cloak that covered her from neck to ankle, but she carried herself with dignity nonetheless. She turned to look at him, and he felt a jolt nearly as powerful as the one from that morning.
"You may have noticed that we are not on the path to the Royal bed chambers," she said. The Knight had not noticed, but hoping to conceal this fact, he nodded. The Princess stopped walking, and he followed suit. They were standing at the foot of a spiral staircase leading up to a high tower. She let go of his arm and came around to stand directly in front of him. She looked up at his faceless helmet, which her eyes seemed to cut through like a knife through butter.
"Sir Knight, it is here that I must call upon your sacred oath to this Queendom. You must swear to me upon your life that if you ascend these steps with me, you will never breathe a word of what transpires at the top to anyone. If you cannot promise me this, then we shall turn back, and you shall escort me to my quarters and never mention this tower to anyone."
He stared down at her. There was no trace of warmth in her eyes now; she was deathly serious. She held his gaze, awaiting his answer. He looked at the shadowy, unassuming staircase and could not fathom a single guess as to what might lie at the top. Despite this, he heard himself saying,
"I swear on my life, Your Majesty."
Her face broke out into a grin, surprising him once again.
"Then let us continue!"