Jason and May had made their way across the castle, and now found themselves only a few meters away from the newly arriving royal families. May stopped Jason and took a deep breath. He waited for her to calm down and then they rounded the corner, finding themselves face to face with the night's challenges. Both were immediately overwhelmed. Jason focused on his military training to keep himself calm, keeping his eyes forward and his shoulders back. May plastered a smile on her face and was reminded of her training as well. Her training to become the perfect princess.
The princess and knight made their way through the crowd, stopping to exchange pleasantries with each person they encountered. Jason remained at the princess's side, but never said a word, bowing to every noble and royal they passed. He was amazed at May's ability to remain so cheerful; the higher-ups had the most boring conversations. They discussed the great accomplishments of their children, each time hinting at a marriage between a son and May. May would politely respond, silently declining each proposal. They discussed the stock market and trade, and how disrespectful their citizens were. Jason couldn't keep up with all of it, but May had been educated in the way of all politics.
Ever since she was young, May had been taught everything from royal etiquette to how to win over a politician. Obviously, as a woman, she would never be allowed to participate in politics, but every princess needs at least a basic understanding. On top of all that, her father was a passionate politician, so his daughter would no doubt be an expert. The one thing May never learned was how to wield a sword. That was understandable however, considering she had Jason at her side, and once again the point must be made, she was a woman. But strength is not measured in melee skills alone, May was just as powerful as any swordsman. To accommodate for a lack of sons, May was raised to be an unusually well-educated princess. It was originally assumed she would be an only child, but by some miracle, Clementine was born. And it was not only her learned skills, but her natural ones that made her so admirable. She had the innate ability to draw others to her and could talk to strangers as though she had known them her whole life. She was an admirable woman, and a terrifying one.
Just as the princess was finishing up a conversation with a noble from Gainesville, an important-looking man approached her and Jason. Jason was immediately on guard, and My noticed his tension. She followed his gaze to the man approaching them and had a sudden sense of terrible foreboding.
"Princess May, I presume?" he said in a silky-smooth voice.
"Um, yes." She replied.
"I am Prince Anderson of the Simone Kingdom... and your betrothed." He said somewhat hesitantly.
May grabbed her arm in a desperate attempt to stop the sudden shaking which had overwhelmed her. She lowered herself to the ground in a deep courtesy, "Prince Anderson, it is a pleasure to meet you."
"Mm. I suppose you live up to your reputation." He said with a satisfied smirk.
"Your highness?" May replied, somewhat confused.
Suddenly he took her chin in his hand and brought her face close to his own, "They said you were the most beautiful princess in the seven kingdoms, I hadn't thought they were telling the truth."
Jason brought his hand to his sword and the prince's guards readied their spears. May shot a glance at Jason, indicating for him to stop.
"Did you just draw your sword on me, boy?!" The prince exclaimed.
"I offer my most humble apologies, sire. My reflexes got the better of me." Jason had to contain his sarcasm.
"Reflexes?!" the prince shrieked, "Guards! Teach this boy a lesson!"
The men standing beside Prince Anderson hesitated, but moved toward Jason anyway. As they brought their spears back to thrust, May jumped in front of them. The men could not pull back in time, but they did manage to dodge her head, leaving only a scratch on her right cheek.
There was collective gasp from the entire crowd and the Prince's guards dropped their weapons and themselves to the ground immediately, "Princess, our sincerest apologies! Please forgive us!"
Everyone was in shock. Jason stood breathless, gaping at the princess whose tiny defenseless back was facing him, protecting him from harm's way. The prince of the Simone Kingdom also could not believe what he saw, his posture a defensive stance, and his eyes agape. The room full of nobles and royals stood staring, and gradually whispers could be heard from around the room.
"What happened there?" one voice said.
"A feud between royalty?" another said.
"That's the prince of the Simone Kingdom! And that's the princess! This is her birthday party!"
May winced at the pain, but only really felt a small sting. She looked down at the groveling guards, "Please," she said, "It was an honest mistake, raise your heads."
Jason was again amazed at how calmly she was handling the situation. He personally would have liked to chop those guards' heads off for hurting the princess.
The guards looked up at her, eyes wide open, mouths hanging. They scrambled to their feet and bowed deeply to her, "Thank you," they said, "Thank you!"
May looked around the room, "Everyone! Please calm yourselves! No one has been hurt. It was a minor dispute is all, but I promise you it has been dealt with. Please, continue on, enjoy yourselves! This is my party after all!" she smiled warmly and the room full of tense higher-ups relaxed.
Finally, the princess turned to Anderson, "Prince Anderson." She said.
"Ye-yes?!" he jumped a little at her addressing him.
"I do apologize for my knight's behavior. But I would greatly appreciate it if you would refrain from punishing my guards without just reason. Especially Jason here," she glanced again in his direction, "He is the Captain of the Castle Guard, so I wouldn't want him losing face."
The prince seemed somewhat surprised to hear this, "Him? He's the Captain of the Castle Guard?"
The princess smiled one of her cold smiles at the prince and he gulped, "I mean! Of course, my apologies..."
Jason smiled. She grew more and more beautiful each and every day.
The princess sighed and dropped her arms back to her side. She had been holding them out in front of her in an attempt to protect Jason. Suddenly she was exhausted.
"Well, while I do admit my actions were somewhat rash, I do hope you manage to teach that bodyguard of yours some manners! It is disrespectful as the leader of so many to behave in such a way!"
"Of course, your highness." May replied, still irritated.
After that, the prince seemed unsure of what to do. He signaled his guards to his side and said one last thing before he went.
"And make sure you get that treated! ... Wouldn't want that pretty face of yours to be ruined." He smiled.
Jason was about ready to let lose all hell on this man, but May's stature stopped him. When he looked at her, he saw something strange in the way she stood. Her feet were spread and her arms out slightly in front of her, her shoulders were back, and her head held high. The stance was exactly what Jason would have taught his soldiers. The only piece missing was a sword. When had this tiny, weak princess become someone capable of a master sword stance?
After he had said his last "goodbyes", the prince turned and made his way across the castle foyer. As soon as he was out of sight, May collapsed to the floor. Jason rushed to her; he could tell she was exhausted. That exertion had taken all of her energy, and he was honored she might have done that for him. As he raised her from the ground a group of castle staff rushed up, ready to take her from his arms.
"That's alright," he said, "I've got her."
They all stood still somewhat dumbstruck from the incident and it took them a while to process what he said, but when they did, they led the pair to the castle infirmary.
Once they got there, May was sat down in one of the feather-stuffed beds and immediately her cut was treated. She continuously protested that it was only a scrap and they didn't need to go this far, but eventually she was outvoted by the small group of very mother-like nurses. Each and every one of them had been treating her since she was a young girl. This was not their first rodeo.
As she was being treated, Jason stood quietly in the corner, fuming, but also happy. He was furious at the prince for treating May the way he did, but also extremely happy the princess was willing to protect him with her life. Then it hit him. Now he was ashamed. The princess protecting me with her life? He thought. It should be the other way around. Because of his weakness, because of his inability to control his anger, he had failed to protect the princess. The one thing her cared about most in the entire world, and he couldn't protect her. The more he thought about it, the more it tore him apart inside.
The nurses worked swiftly and efficiently. Once they were done, they left May at once, at her request. When they were gone May slumped down on the bed and heaved a great sigh.
"That was scary." She breathed.
Jason flinched.
"I mean... Wow! Jason! I've never done something like that before! I thought I was a goner!"
Jason didn't reply.
"I mean," she laughed, "Did you see the look on Prince Anderson's face? He was so shocked." She continued laughing.
Suddenly Jason yelled, "This is no laughing matter!"
May stopped. She sat up slowly and looked at Jason, her eyebrows twisted in a concerned frown. What brought that on? She wondered.
Jason looked at her, a mixture of anger, sadness, and regret in his eyes. She had never seen Jason act this way before. She was seeing a lot of new sides of him tonight.
Out of nowhere, he rushed up to the bed and knelt beside it, taking princess May in his arms. She couldn't move or even breath, but she listened as Jason explained himself.
"Don't ever do something like that again," he said, nuzzling his face into her neck, "I thought I'd lost you."
"Oh, come on!" May laughed again, nervous, "It wasn't that big a deal!"
Jason only squeezed her tighter.
"Okay, okay! Don't you think that's enough now? You can let go!" she was starting to panic a little.
"I'm sorry," he said, "Can we stay like this just a little bit longer?"
May relaxed her shoulders and sighed, "Okay."
And so, they stayed like that for a long time, just thinking. Each of them was in their own separate worlds. Suddenly, Jason broke the silence.
"May, I was thinking of asking your father if I could go with -" Jason was cut off when the door to the infirmary swung open.
Jason immediately released the princess and stood, just before her father came bursting through the doorway.
"May Westropp!"
She shivered at her father's cold addressing of her name.
"Yes, father?" she answered in return, as Jason moved himself to a far corner of the room.
"What have you done?!" he screamed at her, "Look at the mess you've created! How dare you insult the crown prince of the Simone Kingdom! Who do you think you are? I should never had allowed you to see him before the ceremony."
"Do you mean before the wedding? You would have me marry a man without ever meeting him, but without ever even seeing his face? How could you do such a thing?" May was beginning to choke on her own tears.
"How could I do such a thing? Are you talking to me, you insolent brat? If you weren't my daughter, I'd have to chop off your head for committing such an offense!"
"Oh? I'm surprised my being your daughter would stop that." May said coldly.
Her father glared at her, "Don't think you're going to get away with this child! I may not be able to sentence you to death, but there are other ways to punish little girls."
May shivered again, what is he going to do to me?
Before he could continue speaking, Jason moved in on the scene.
"Your majesty," he bowed, "If I may speak."
The king growled, but gruffly agreed.
"May- I mean, the princess, was only trying to protect me. If it had not been for my idiotic actions, she would not have been put in so dangerous a situation. I -" Jason was cut off again.
"Oh, of course! I haven't forgotten your offences either, Jason!"
The head guard shuttered.
"You will be punished as well for your crimes. Unfortunately, I cannot kill you, just like I cannot kill my daughter, because you are far too valuable as the head of my castle guard. Instead, I think I have found a punishment that will suit you both quite well."
Jason looked at the ground, eyes wide. He couldn't move. He was petrified with fear. But he wasn't afraid of the king, he was afraid of what the king might do to May. His mind was racing, he was trying to come up with a way to save her, but he couldn't keep his thoughts straight.
"Originally I was going to have you travel with the princess, Jason."
Jason quickly looked up, then back down again.
"I was going to have you sent there as an envoy as well as May's bodyguard, and I was going to send you with a portion of my guard too. Normally, I couldn't allow The Head of The Castle Guard to leave here, but I figured it would serve as a sign of friendship between the Simone Kingdom and ours. To send my best knight away to serve as an envoy to another kingdom, it would have been solid proof of my friendly intentions. I would leave the vice-captain in charge until you returned, but my mind has now changed." The king looked sharply at the two young adults.
"You will no longer travel to the Simone Kingdom with my daughter, Jason. It is too risky now that I've seen the offense the two of you committed together. I shall send the vice-captain instead. I hope you both understand this is a problem for me, and I will think of the rest of your punishment later. But for now, this will suffice. Now, the dancing ceremony will take place soon, so make sure you are both ready by then. I hope this makes you reflect on what you have done."
And with that, the king exited the infirmary. Jason was crestfallen. He was going to ask the king before if he could travel with the princess, but May's father had already planned on it? Now, because of his actions, that would never happen. And to top it all off, he hadn't been able to protect May when she needed it the most. He felt hopeless, and powerless, and he didn't know what he was supposed to do.
May was having similar emotions, but for different reasons. She too was devastated, thinking about the fact she would be going to the Simone Kingdom alone, and her father was not done punishing her there. She was grateful to Jason for standing up to the king, especially when she knew how much Jason admired him. She knew the weight of debt Jason carried for her father, and how he was like a father to the young man. She was also stuck thinking about Prince Anderson and what a horrible marriage she was about to be forced into. She could not imagine living happily with such a man and shuttered at the thought of their having children. She presumed he would want her to produce an heir, and she was not looking forward to it. Everything had gone wrong tonight, and May felt just as lost as Jason.
Finally, Jason mustered enough strength to turn and face the princess. He looked at her with pain in his eyes, though he tried not to show it, and he tried to comfort her.
"It's all right May. Your father is angry, is all. I'm sure all it will take is a little convincing to get him to ---" for the hundredth time that night, Jason was cut off.
"Thank you, Jason," the princess said, "But you and I both know father will never change his mind after this. It's all right, it was my own fault to begin with, if I had just listened to father and ---"
This time Jason was doing the cutting off, "Don't talk like that!"
May stared at Jason.
He continued, "I admire you; you know? For never giving in to your father's will. No matter how many times he pushed you down, you always stood back up again. So, don't stop doing that now, don't lose hope. I won't forgive you."
May smiled, "Thank you."
Jason blushed and looked away. Why did she have to be so god damned beautiful when she smiled?
May brightened a little. She had been afraid of Jason pushing her away, but now he was trying to comfort her. She was glad. She didn't know what had changed, but she was happy he seemed to be supporting her again. She was still depressed about her father's outburst, but she told herself she had to look at the silver lining, for Jason.
"Well, I always did love exploring," she said suddenly, "Now I'll have a whole new kingdom to discover, I'm excited!"
While there was a little truth behind what she said, she knew she would still regret ever leaving her kingdom.
Jason chuckled softly, "I wonder what that snot-nosed prince will think of your adventuring habits?"
May grinned, "I suppose we'll just have to keep that a secret now, won't we."
Jason laughed, then his face returned to a frown.
"Are you sure you're all right?"
May's expression turned soft, "I have no other choice, do I?"
Jason sighed and nodded, then extended his arm, offering it to the princess. She gladly took it, and once again they continued their journey to the ballroom.