As the only daughter of the Night King, Night Princess Esmeralda had always been treated as if she would shatter into a thousand pieces if she so much as left her bedroom. Her personal Knights came and went faster than she could even learn their names, and eventually, but without fail, one of her servants would inform her that each one of them had died in some battle or another.
It was a lonely life, ensuring that the names her maids listed off went unrecognised, so as to not have to waste time mourning over somebody she barely knew.
Esmeralda was nine years old when she first met the man who would become her longest serving and most devoted knight. It was plain from even the first day they spent together that she would come to see him as a surrogate father, as much as she refused to admit such a thing were possible.
***
"Princess Esmeralda, I am Vaxyll." The man said once the princess' maid, Annabeth, bid him enter. His voice was low, but full of life. She had enough manners to turn and face him at least, and was met with a tall man in elaborate armour that covered every inch of his body. "It is good to meet you, my lady."
"Yes, I suppose you would be." Esmeralda turned back to her book. "Feel free to stand guard, or whatever my father has hired you to do. I do not know what you expect from the position of my babysitter, but I can assure you it will be twice as dull as you think."
"Very well, Princess. I will not disturb you any longer." Vaxyll said, Esmeralda caught him dipping into a low bow in her mirror, and found herself wondering how long he would remain so courteous. How long would he remain her bodyguard? More importantly, how long would he remain alive?
***
"Princess Esmeralda, I was wondering if you would care to join me on a walk around the palace grounds?" Vaxyll asked when Esmeralda had finally finished her book. Was he quite mad? Her father would never allow him to put her in such danger as to leave the palace. However, with the offer made, Esmeralda saw no harm in accepting. It was his head on the line if they were caught, was it not?
"I believe I would, Sir Vaxyll, yes." She said with a curt nod, rising to her feet as Vaxyll lurched forwards in an attempt to take her hand. "I must say, I have never had a knight such as you before."
"I shall take that as a compliment, Princess, given your... ah, never mind."
"I would not begrudge you to speak your mind." Esmeralda told him, perhaps he was like the rest after all, afraid to offend her with any comment.
"Are you sure, my lady?" Vaxyll asked, and received a nod in response. "Well, from our initial interaction, I had the impression that your former knights did not live up to your expectations, or perhaps your standards."
"You would be correct in thinking that, Sir Vaxyll." Esmeralda admitted. "Not a one even offered to accompany me outside of my room, so you are already ahead of them in that regard."
"Well, I am hardly the competitive sort, but I am glad to hear that regardless." Vaxyll said, Esmeralda was sure he was smiling under that helmet, which she supposed was a good thing. "Have you truly never ventured outside of the palace walls? It seems a shame to have you live in such a beautiful place and be restricted to a single room."
The palace was indeed beautiful, more so than Esmeralda could say of anywhere in her father's home nation. The island of Zihnor was far removed from Vernaten as possible while still falling under the Night King's territory. For what reason she had been sent here, Esmeralda had no idea, but she was thankful for it now. From the palace walls, she could see the vast ocean in every direction she looked. "I have never been swimming." She mused aloud, not speaking to Vaxyll, simply forming the words to drift along the ocean breeze.
"Perhaps at a later time, my Princess?" Vaxyll said. "I believe we should take, as the Daylighters say, baby steps, for now."
"You are familiar with Daylighter terms, Vaxyll?" Esmeralda asked, her interest piqued. It was Daylighters who wrote the books she was always reading, but having remained in her palace for her entire life, she had never had the chance to meet one.
"I used to be one, Princess. A long time ago." He said. "I served in an army opposed to your father's, and was killed in battle. I fell on this very island, but my soul was transferred to this suit of armour."
"That's awful. And now you are forced to serve in the army that killed you?"
"Not forced, no. I chose this. I served in the strongest military force the Daylighters could muster, and we were still utterly defeated. Death granted me a chance to change to the winning side."
"I had no idea the Daylighters had even amassed an army against us." Esmeralda admitted. "Why did they do such a thing? Has my father done something to earn this animosity?"
"Daylighters and Nightwalkers cannot coexist, Princess Esmeralda. Our existance turns the air toxic for them, and the ever-shining sun in their nations does the same for us. Even here, where the sun seems to shine brightly, would be considered dark by their standards."
Esmeralda looked at the sky, and quickly realised the truth to Vaxyll's words. Though the sky was blue, it was full of clouds, and not once did the sun appear from behind them.
"I have heard talk that your father's scientists are trying to discover a way for a Nightwalker to exist under the sun, but all of their test have proven that the best-case scenario would be for us to lose our natural advantages if we remained in the sun for too long. We would, in essence, temporarily become a Daylighter."
"And that is a bad thing?" Esmeralda questioned.
"Indeed. The reason my former army lost so completely is a simple fact that Nightwalkers are the stronger collection of races. Humans, Elves, Dwarves, it would take ten of the strongest members of their races to triumph over even a single, average Nightwalker. Except for... no, there is no point in even considering."
"Oh, please tell me, Sir Vaxyll." Esmeralda pleaded. "Are there strong members of the Daylight races?"
"There are people, said to be given gifts from the Day Pantheon of gods and goddesses, who may match, or even exceed the power of a Nightwalker. They call them the Unique."
"The Uniques are real?" Esmeralda gasped in delight. "I believed they were just made up for the books I've been reading."
"Indeed. I fought alongside one such woman in my previous life." Vaxyll said, his voice wistful. "Of all the soldiers in the allied forces, she was the only one I saw who could defeat a Nightwalker in a fair fight. The rest of us had to form groups in order for even a single one of us to survive a battle, but she tore through the enemy lines like a purifying flame."
"The Unique have special powers, do they not? What was hers?"
"She was a spellcaster, and she could swap the elemental alignment of her spells. Creating storms of fire by changing the affinity of her blizzard spell was a favorite of hers." Vaxyll told her.
"That is incredible." Esmeralda was amazed just hearing of this woman. "Does she still serve with the opposing army, by chance?"
"She was killed in the same battle as me." Vaxyll lamented. "It was her death that tipped the scales in the Night King's favor."
"I... Sir Vaxyll, please accept my apologies. I did not mean to drudge up painful memories for you."
"Think nothing of it, Princess. It was quite literally a lifetime ago, after all." Vaxyll looked out over the island. "Now, I hate to cut this short, but I believe your father would be quite displeased if I brought you out here for too long. Perhaps we could continue another time?"
"Oh, of course. Thank you, Sir Vaxyll. You are certainly more palatable than any of my previous knights."
Vaxyll dipped into a low bow at that compliment, and told the Princess, "I am most honoured to hear that, my lady."
***
Many months passed, and Vaxyll continued to serve as Esmeralda's personal knight. Every day, he took her out of her room, and they spoke of the world of the Daylighters, and Vaxyll's time as one. Each time Esmeralda left her room, they ventured further and further into the castle that she called home, despite never seeing much of it until now, until they left the building entirely.
Esmeralda had never been outside in as long as she could remember. She had been born in Zihnor Castle, and remained there ever since. Perhaps as a child she might have left once or twice, perhaps there was a reason she had never left her room, but as things were, she breathed in the fresh air for the first time, and immediately felt at peace. The outdoors was where she belonged, she could feel it.
"You seem to be enjoying yourself, Princess." Vaxyll noted. Would he be smiling, were he not bound to that suit of armour, she wondered. She liked to think he would be.
"I have never once set foot outside of this palace, sir Vaxyll." Esmeralda told him. "Were you not assigned as my Knight, I may never have done so, and for that, I thank you."
"While I greatly appreciate your thanks, my lady, I find them to be unwarranted." Vaxyll countered. "If those who came before me kept you locked up in that room, then they were not knights, but guards. I am merely acting in what I consider your best interests."
"Guards?" Esmeralda mulled over what he said. "Yes, perhaps. Perhaps you were also intended as a guard, but missed the part where you keep me locked up."
"Perhaps I was, my lady. But if that is the case, I am glad that I did." Vaxyll said, he definitely would have been smiling if not for the armour, Esmeralda was certain of it now. "For I have been granted something that my predecessors never were. A chance to see you smile, Esmeralda."
"Your flattery has not gone unnoticed, Vaxyll." Esmeralda said, beaming at him even more strongly. "And it is appreciated."
"Flattery, Princess? I am merely speaking my mind, of course. Compared to your attitude when we first met, which, given what you have told me, you cannot be blamed for, of course, I much prefer to see you happy, and will strive to continue doing my utmost to ensure you remain so."
"You are doing splendidly so far, sir Vaxyll." Esmeralda told him.
***
Esmeralda and Vaxyll continued their routine of venturing further and further outside of the palace walls each day, until they finally reached one of the many beaches that dotted Zihnor island's coast. The feeling of the warm sand beneath her feet was something that the Princess had never experienced before, an odd feeling, to say the least.
"I have spent my entire life inside that castle." Esmeralda said, facing the calm ocean. "I was led to believe it's purpose was to protect me. Perhaps, in part, it is. However, I now see what it truly is. It was a cage, one designed not to hide me from the world, but to hide the world from me." She turned to face her loyal knight. "You, Sir Vaxyll, have exposed that purpose to me, and freed me from that gilded prison." She made her way to the knight, before doing something he would never expect. "My father will not stand for that. He was the one who put me in that cage, and he would not do so without purpose. For that reason, I must ask... no, I beg of you to leave. I shall wait for my next guard to settle in, and sneak out of my own volition."
"My Lady, I-" Vaxyll began to protest, but Esmeralda placed a finger over where his lips would be.
"You are a good man, and a loyal knight. That is why I will not allow you to be punished for the kindness you have shown me. The maids who serve in the castle are loyal to me, and will not name you as the reason for my leaving if I ask them not to, but should you stay, it is only a matter of time until my father learns of our excursions." Esmeralda continued, not allowing any tears to form in her eyes. "But know this, Sir Vaxyll the kind. You are the man who freed me." Esmeralda looked out over the sea, watching the birds in envy, and she swore, both to herself and Vaxyll, that one day, she would join them in their freedom. "You opened the door to my cage, and one day I shall soar freely in the sky. And when that day comes, and I stoke the fires of rebellion against my father, I trust you shall be amongst the first to join me."
Wordlessly, Vaxyll took the knee. "I swear, my Princess, you shall be free to soar amongst the doves, as only they can emulate the purity of your soul."
***
Emerald... no, Princess Esmeralda, could barely hear her former companion's voice over the sound of her own heart beat. All of this time, everything she'd been planning. Her hopes, her dreams, her first friend, all of them were crushed by this repulsive Daylighter. She felt something that she believed she'd abandoned all those years ago, her royal blood, the one thing of her father's that had any value to her, begin to flare up. She looked down at her hands as the effects of the sun on her body diminished, nullified by her pure rage, and her skin turned from white to blue. Runic markings appeared on every inch of her body, and she grew a full ten feet higher. This was the true form of Night Princess Esmeralda Natten.