Artesia looked in exasperation at the sleeping brigand, Arthur. Around him were books on the history of the world and the passage Arthur passed out on read:
"The Sword Century began when the Sword Emperor pierced the chest of the King of the Demon Race who rebelled against the light of the Goddess…"
The passage was long and needlessly specific about the "goodness" of the Sword Emperor and his fealty to the Goddess that Artesia felt that it was all propaganda. Of course, the Princess would never say this out loud for others to hear.
The fire slowly burned in the background, setting a peaceful mood in the royal library. With the embers slowly dancing in the firepit, a steady sound of breathing set Artesia's heart at peace.
She looked at the sleeping Arthur and smiled to herself.
"Who knew such an idiot would make for an excellent friend?"
The princess remembered how they first met and how Arthur shamelessly tried to kill himself after "insulting" the face of his deceased loved one.
As a woman, the princess was incensed at being compared to another woman but as a creature with emotions, she understood his pain.
Artesia gently rubbed Arthur's head – and at her touch, the brigand smiled in his sleep.
"He is a broken man. I do not know what he has gone through to get here but it must have been a journey filled with pain."
Arthur was definitely a handsome man. He was cold, aloof and he had an allure that seemed to pull people in, regardless of their gender or sexual orientation.
But he has never known another lover ever since his beloved Al – or Alagarasi as she was known in public passed away brutally.
He had a quality that seemed to push people away and in fact, that was how Artesia met Arthur in the first place. He was roaming around the Royal Palace as he was a guest of the Knight Commander and he ran into Artesia's sanctuary.
Seemingly uncaring of Artesia's looks or stature, he asked where the barracks were – seemingly numb to the idea of how stupid it was to ask where hundreds of soldiers would commune and live in despite having passed through it right before entering the royal palace.
In short, Arthur was lost and he tried asking for directions. The only problem was that this wayward teen knew only how to hold a sword and not a conversation, especially not with someone as important as the princess.
It has been one year since the princess met the brigand and the two quickly got together like two peas in a pod – although their personalities were completely two opposing elements.
Arthur was cold and distant but he was also an idiot without any common sense. Artesia was warm and mature but she was also irredeemably controlled by her maternal instincts and Arthur was someone who stoked the desire to take care of someone in her.
Simply put, Artesia saw Arthur as a helpless chick and in turn, developed an attachment to him like a mother would care for a child. On the other hand, Arthur latched onto Artesia's abundant chest and depended on her like a babe would its mother.
The two had a symbiotic relationship where one licked the others wounds and the other provided the relief and satisfaction that an independent and intelligent woman would need. They filled each other with hope and love and it was a model case of platonic love – but no one really saw it that way.
Ever since that day when Arthur stabbed himself like a dolt and made the princess Artesia lose her composure for the first time since her childhood, the people around them simply accepted them as an eventual – if not already – couple.
The silence in the room was heavy but it wasn't suffocating. The princess was alone with the brigand. She lifted her head seemingly done with reminiscing about the past year and stared into Arthur's sleeping face.
Looking at him from afar, people would see a beautiful man who was cold, had deep eyes that could penetrate your soul and a dark aura that suffocates the very light that tried to free it. Up close however, all Artesia could see was a man pretending to be strong. A man who was akin to rubber stretched so far and wide that it could break at the softest of touch.
She couldn't help but furrow her brows at the idea of the brigand's suffering. He started his journey at the age of seven. His hometown was razed by an unknown group of fanatics and he was forced to survive in the wild with his lover Alagarasi. They were forced to hide among the corpses of their families for a week as the fanatics continued to raze and kill their friends and families who fought back until they just couldn't anymore.
The two children managed to survive but they were hungry. Their primal instincts took over and after battling with severe hunger for not having eaten for a week, the light returned to Arthur and Alagarasi's eyes as they were gnawing on the bodies of their parents.
The couple knew shame and disgust and they both accepted the fact that they could no longer live as normal human beings after what they had done – even if it was done out of necessity.
Of course, they weren't lovers in the traditional sense but they were betrothed to one another by their families – which was a common practice among commoners even to this day. But that tie which bound them together made them stronger and they dragged their bodies – tired physically and spiritually – and moved onwards.
Artesia continued gently rubbing Arthur's head but she knew his story no longer. He refused to say anymore – maybe it was out of shame or despair but after journeying together for a few years, it seems he had lost Alagarasi at some point only saying that he failed to save her and that she died horribly.
The brigand made a living as a mercenary and he honed his considerably muscular body to perfection over the years through the need to survive and provide, despite being a broken youth.
Artesia knew not how many creatures or humans Arthur has slain but everyone avoided him like the plague and even seasoned warriors like the Knight Commander fidgeted in his presence. He was akin to an apex predator and everyone was simply his prey.
Of course, the princess was a powerful spellcaster in her own right so she did not feel threatened. More importantly, however, is that Artesia had steadfast belief that Arthur would never harm her or anyone close to her heart.
The peace continued to bless the two friends in silence – one was sleeping and the other was watching him sleep.
Artesia would have wanted the peace to continue on forever but it was broken by a few simple words.
One of her maids crashed into the peaceful bubble created by the princess and the brigand and with a horrified look on her face, she looked at the beautiful princess's golden eyes and shouted, "The Pope has declared war upon the Demon Race!"