Chapter Text
The stable was busier than usual. The other stable hands were freshening up the hay, brushing horses, putting tools in proper places. Something was happening for sure, the boy didn’t need to analyze these actions over much to understand this. The owner came to him and put his hands on his shoulders.
“The princess is coming today to choose a horse,” he said. “We all love you and we know you’re a good worker but…”
“I suppose someone like me shouldn’t be seen by someone like her,” the boy said.
“Don’t say it like that. It’s just I want to make the best impression on the royal family,” the man continued.
The boy didn’t think this was fair in the slightest, but what could he say? At the end of the day, he was a lowly stable hand and the youngest at that. His family was not rich, so though he came in clean clothing every day, it was old and worn. No need to make things difficult.
“I can do something in the fields today, if that’s all right,” he said.
“Thank you so much! You don’t know how much this means to us! You’ll get a raise for sure!”
He was not so gullible to believe that he’d get anything out of this. He went out to the fields. Fair or not, he could do his favorite thing: practice what little sword fighting he knew. The horses were safe, they didn’t need minding. So he took his wooden sword from behind the tree where he’d usually take his breaks, and got to work. He was just a few years too old to be training for knighthood, but he could dream. Maybe, just maybe he would be presentable before the Princess. Maybe she’d even want him to be her own personal knight. He finished his first set with a flourish of the wooden sword. What he wouldn’t give for the chance.
“You’re very good,” a small voice from above said. He looked up slowly, his face flushing. His eyes fell on a girl in a fancy riding habit, flowers in her hair. She kicked her legs idly as she watched him.
“How much did you see?” he asked.
“Everything. You’re talented. Why are you out here by yourself?” she asked. He put down the sword, his face was now bright red. How embarrassing.
“I’m watching the horses. What about you?” he asked.
She swayed from side to side as though she were listening to music.
“I was riding with my aunt and father and we stopped for lunch and I got lost,” she said.
“How did you get away from your family?” he asked.
She shrugged. “There’s always a lot of people when we go places. It was easy to slip away.”
Several things stuck out immediately. She didn’t say she was traveling with friends or family, she just said the others with her were “people.” Only people of higher class would travel with an entourage. Even if she were a commoner, which he was somewhat certain she wasn’t, she would have at least been very rich judging by her clothes, perhaps a merchant’s daughter. He already had a few theories as to who she was.
“I have another question,” she said. “You work with horses right?”
“Yes,” he said.
“Why are you out here? I thought horses didn’t need to be minded like sheep. Shouldn’t you be at the stable?”
“Well, the Princess is coming to purchase a horse and I’m much too shabby to be seen by her,” he said.
She snorted. “That’s stupid. You don’t look shabby to me at all.”
“It’s kind of you to say, but I just do what I’m told.”
She jumped down and he steadied her as she tried to find her balance.
“Why? It’s not fair, you shouldn’t have to do it,” she said as she looked up at him. She was small and doll-like up close. Her wavy green hair framed her rosy cheeks, her green eyes were bright and curious.
“Well, it’s just easier for them if I do as asked. They’ll get a sale and that will make them happy.”
“Well they won’t be getting one today if you’re not there.”
Ah, this was it, he’d finally be able to prove his theory if she kept talking.
“And why’s that?” he asked.
“Well, If you're not there I won’t–” The sky darkened suddenly and thunder rumbled. Her eyes widened and almost seemed to glow. “It’s too soon for this…”
He furrowed his brow.
“Too soon for what?”
“The storm. It wasn’t supposed to come until later in the day.”
A bolt of lightning struck near the horses. They darted in all directions at first but he saw them run toward them. A stampede. He placed her back on the tree branch.
“Climb up!” he shouted.
“What about–”
He didn’t have time to hear her. The force of a full grown horse hitting his side made it difficult to hear her cries. He could make out that she was safe up in the tree. He only wished she’d stop screaming and crying. If she was going to be the last thing he saw, he’d rather see her face, curious and peaceful. The feel of hooves crushing his body was indescribable. He was past pain and into numbness. Life was over before it even began. Soon the world seemed silent and still. He no longer felt the vibrations of the hooves. The girl ran over.
“Princess…” he croaked. She held his face. She did not correct him, so he had to be right.
“No! You can’t die like this!” she cried.
“I can. I got to live my dream. All I wanted was to protect you someday like a real knight and I got my wish...”
“No...you’re not done. You’re not done protecting me! You’re going to be a knight! You’re going to be my knight! You’re going to be the greatest, most decorated, most loved knight in the whole world!” she shouted.
Wishful thinking. He knew his body was broken. He needed to figure out how to comfort her enough to make her smile again. He couldn’t move his arms to touch her face, though. She hugged him to her chest.
“You’re going to be a knight. You’re going to live your dreams,” she said in a low voice. Her face relaxed. She was still crying, but her eyes glowed white. He’d only had minimal experience with healing magic, only to heal deep cuts now and then. The rush of this level of magic was intense, like he was falling only to be gently placed on the ground. His body felt light and he sat up.
He’d never seen a more beautiful person. Her face was serene, despite being in a sort of trance, she had a calm smile. She knew something good was happening around her and he couldn’t help but touch this beautiful glowing person, somewhere between a fairy and an angel. He held her hands and her smile grew. He looked around them. A magic circle had formed and was growing. The spooked horses calmed, flowers bloomed in the meadow, the trees that were once barren bore fruit. What was happening?
“Oh no…” he heard a whisper from a distance. He saw a woman with white hair, her hands clasped over her mouth. A man with white hair joined her, his face awash with a mix of pride and horror. The King and the Archmage. Her father and aunt. Thunder rumbled again and a few drops of rain began to fall.
“Not again,” the King whispered. If her family reacted this way to seeing such a beautiful sight, this had to come to an end. Instinctively, the boy knew what he had to do. He squeezed her hands and pressed his forehead against hers.
“My Princess. Your knight has been healed. I’m safe. I’ll be here to watch over you from now on,” he said.
“Really?” she said in a distant monotone. The magic circle shrank little by little. “You’re not hurt any more?”
“Yes, you saved me!” he said. “You should look at me!”
She blinked her eyes slowly. He could almost make out her green irises past her glowing eyes. She ran her hands over his torso, arms, and face.
“You are okay,” she said. The rain began to fall steadily now and her eyes returned to normal. It was as if the rain soaking her body grounded her. She smiled brightly, her eyes brimming with tears before she lurched forward into his arms. The Princess was light and he carried her over to her father before kneeling. The King wrapped his daughter in his cloak and smoothed her unruly curls.
“You will have to come back to the castle with us, young man. You are not in trouble, but you have seen something we’ve tried to keep quiet for a long time. We need to know what happened here,” the King said.
“Yes, Your Highness,” the boy said.
He was surprised at the welcome he received. One would have thought royalty would try to intimidate and frighten a powerless, penniless young man who knew a secret. Instead he was given dry clothes, a warm drink and allowed to sit by the Princess while he relayed the events of the day. He was usually able to read people pretty clearly, but he could not make out what the King or the Archmage were thinking as he spoke.
“Young man, do you remember the Queen at all?” the Archmage asked.
“A little,” he said.
“She had the ability to heal. At the height of her power, she could heal entire cities,” the King said as he gazed at his daughter. The boy knew how that was possible, feeling and seeing the magic circle was a truly awe inspiring experience.
“It came with a price. The cost was her health. Any time she used her healing circle on a grand scale, it chipped away at her life. Any healing requires a little bit of a sacrifice of energy and vitality, but often it can be restored with time. Our Queen was not given time to recover and despite all our protests, she did whatever was demanded by a needy populace,” the Archmage said.
The King shook his head. “You will not speak ill of our people. She and I inherited a mess from our predecessors. As you can tell, my daughter has demonstrated the same power, and in order to spare her life, I want to keep her powers a secret for a while. Things might be different for her than for her mother, but I don’t want to take the chance just yet.”
The boy could only imagine the amount of pressure she’d be under to heal and save constantly. He’d heard whispers that the young Princess was beautiful and kind but not as useful as her mother, her only magic being making flowers bloom. What a gross understatement. Now he knew her secret and that was a threat.
“You have a choice,” the Archmage said. “You can either have your memories erased, or you will have to serve at the palace where we can monitor you.”
It would be safer for him to have his memories erased. He didn’t want to endanger her, to put her in the clutches of nobles who would exploit her and a never ending stream of commoners whose cumulative requests would equal more than she could ever give. He wished he could remember the feeling of lightness when he was healed, like all the world was laid before him when he thought his life was over. Her serene smile, her warm glow, the feel of her hands in his. Pressing his forehead to hers and reassuring her that he would protect her the way she protected him. Everything around her sprung to life and felt at peace. He would miss those brief and beautiful memories, but he had a promise to keep. He swore he would keep her safe, this is what a real knight would do. He swallowed.
“My Lady, Your Highness, I’ll let you wipe my–”
“He’ll become my knight,” the Princess said. All were silent and turned to the patient. Her green eyes sparkled despite the fatigue clear on her face.
“He’ll be my knight. Let him take the test. He’ll pass with flying colors. He’ll be the best this kingdom has ever seen,” she said.
“You need to rest, Princess!” he said. “And you need to be safe. It’s better if I don’t remember anything.”
“Everyone will figure it out eventually. I’m safer if I have someone who I can trust, will advocate for me, and protect me. That’s you. You’ll be the greatest, most respected knight in the realm, I know. One day, when you speak on my behalf, it will carry as much weight as my aunt and my father, I’m sure of it.”
“How can you be sure? I’m just a stable hand,” he said.
She closed her eyes. “You were willing to sacrifice your memories to protect me. I can’t think of a more trustworthy person. I’ll tell our children about this someday...”
She was asleep again. There was no way he heard that last part. The boy’s eyes darted to the King fearfully. He didn’t seem to hear that, or ignored it.
“Well, go to the barracks and rest up. You’ll have to get measured for your squire’s uniform,” the King said.
“You…you can’t mean…”
“My niece is right. I can count on my hand the amount of people willing to sacrifice their own memories for the protection of the monarchy. You should at least take the test,” the Archmage said.
“You won’t be her primary guard right away, but you will be after some training” the King said.
“Yes! I’ll dedicate my life to her!” the boy shouted and got to one knee.
The King chuckled and waved his hand. “Save the platitudes for your knighting ceremony.”
Could this be real? He looked over at the sleeping Princess. He owed her so much. So, so much. Before he left, he took her hand and kissed it.
“From now on, I’ll be at your side,” he said. He took one last look over his shoulder at her before he left.
After everyone was gone, the Princess cautiously opened her eyes. It happened again, she’d used her powers. How could she let that boy die like that? She knew her father and aunt were not mad, and if she had to save anyone, she’s glad she saved him. There was something about him that made her feel drawn to him. There was a reason she was silent while she watched him practice his sword fighting, a reason she wanted to talk to him at length rather than just go to the stables. He claimed he was just a humble stable hand and he was, but there was something so noble about the way he carried himself. Not noble in the way of someone who was born into privilege, but noble in the way a true protector was.
A boy who didn’t think about saving his own skin, even when he could have easily climbed up into the tree first and helped her up, he made sure she was safe before all else, before she’d even formally identified herself. She had a feeling that it wasn’t just because he perceived she was rich, she was certain if she’d appeared before him in rags he’d do exactly the same thing, put her safety above his own.
She bit her lip and held the hand the boy kissed to her chest and her face flushed completely pink. She’d never forget today…
His last day as a stable hand was highly unusual. He arrived in a smart squire’s uniform with the Princess on his arm. She trusted no one to help her choose her horse but him.
“After all,” she told the owner of the stables. “He is a most trustworthy individual. I would never have purchased a horse from here without his ringing endorsement.”
By now, news in the town was that their very own favored boy was on his way to knighthood and they wanted to have a little celebration. The story of how he’d saved the Princess from a stampede of horses was more and more embellished each time (and the Princess did not help matters, only embellished them more). So it was through their Princess’s fragility that their boy was moving up in the world.
If only they knew that they saved each other that day, that she was far more powerful than they could ever know. It was safer for them to think he was the only hero that day. He was glad they didn’t know. He was sure anyone who had seen her in the healing circle that day would have been smitten almost to madness, he knew he felt that way sometimes.
For now he’d accept things the way they were. His Princess was only seen as kind and delicate as she made flower crowns for children with her “meager” powers in the square. No one seemed to notice that the flowers they’d set up grew into vines that crept along the streamers and street lights. No one noticed that with the Princess’s laughter, the elderly who could barely shuffle found the energy to dance a little as the music began. He would notice. He could barely take his eyes off of her and he was scared because he knew it was a little more than duty that made him do so.
She grabbed his hand and pulled him into the middle of the square to dance. He couldn’t explain it, but as he had an arm around her waist as they danced, he felt all was as it should be.