"Watch me!" I shout through the immense crowds.
He was hot on my trail and I could hear him yell at me. People were complaining about me as I pushed my way through the crowd. It was strange. Normally, there wasn't this huge crowd in this area. Maybe there's an event?
"Excuse me. Sorry!" I repeated as I continued to shove people out of my path to escape from the raging soldier.
"Someone help me get that boy! There's a reward!!" The soldier shouted.
Darn, now everyone will try to grab me since I'm apparently worth money.
"Don't listen to the oaf! I'm just a peasant boy worth nothing!"
Even though I said that, hands were still trying to grab me. At one point, I got fed up so I started to get on my knees and crawl. This way, nobody including the angry soldier will be able to see me! This is where my short height comes to an advantage.
Around my neck hung a fancy, ruby necklace with a pure gold necklace. Okay, I need this necklace so I can have food, clothes, and maybe a room to stay in! So, it was completely necessary to steal this expensive necklace.
Maybe it was kinda rude to just yank the necklace off one of those rich guy's girlfriends, but hey, if this gets me money, it's worth it. That girl probably has tons of jewelry anyways. It was pretty funny to see her expression and her boyfriend's.
Priceless.
Suddenly, the necklace began to hover out of my shirt. Don't tell me one of the wizards or witches are trying to catch me too? Jeez, perfect, I've got a mad soldier, a pissed boyfriend, and a magical wizard chasing after me.
What else could possible go wrong?
As I magically hovered in mid air, the soldier proclaimed, "Thank you, kind sir! You have my gratitude for catching this pesky stealing peasant! You wouldn't believe how much this little boy has stolen..."
The wizard or witch made me land in front of the soldier and I groaned. This is not going as I planned. I probably stole a whole ton of items from the market, palace, and people!
Did I forget to mention that I'm a skilled burglar?
The soldier smirked smugly as he carried me by the collar back to the royal palace.
"Let me go! Get your filthy hands off me, you disgusting creepy old man!" I screamed loudly and bit his hand.
He swore under his breath and said, "Rebellious. I hate rebellious peasants, especially you. Lucky for you, his Majesty himself as requested to see the culprit who was stealing all the food."
My violet eyes widened. No way. Even the King himself knows what I did! This does not sound good. It's like my whole life is getting more worse by the second.
The soldier looked smug. "Normally, people would be glad that the King of Celestiano would request to meet them."
"You very well know," I glared at him as he dragged me in the direction of the grand building, "that this is a completely different case, old man!"
"Exactly, peasant."
We entered through the main entrance and I observed the palace with my narrowed violet eyes. I already knew what it looked like inside, since I 'visited' the palace several times. By visited, I mean I sneaked inside.
Clever, right? You gotta give some appreciation to this peasant because this peasant worked pretty hard to eat those delicious food items made by palace cooks. Trust me when I say this, it's the most heavenly food I have ever tasted.
I gulped as the soldier opened the doors to the throne room with an evil expression.
"Bow to your king!" He yelled as I stood speechless before the sitting king.
I wouldn't admit this to anyone, but I was scared. Really scared. In a split second, I bowed and my violet eyes were glued to the silk red carpet. Beads of sweat were forming on the side of my face. You see, our king is not some ordinary king.
He's psychic. The king can read our minds. This ability is really helpful to see if they're lying or if they're traitors.
That's why I'm scared.
He would know instantly if I'm lying or not. Lying won't help me out here. However, there are some people that figured out how to block the king from reading their minds. At this moment, I wish I knew.
"Rise," the king ordered to me.
Stiffly, I stood up and just stared at his forehead. I didn't want to see his brown eyes stare directly at me as he reads my mind.
"Commander Leon has brought you here for a reason, correct?" His tone was gentle, but I knew, that he was just doing that on purpose to make me feel more 'comfortable'.
While ignoring the urge to roll my eyes, I nodded and muttered, "Yes, your Majesty."
A smile graced his facial features and I grimaced at the sight of it. "If my sources are right, you are Talon Haru. Son of deceased Aaron Haru and Krystal Yue."
I gritted my teeth at the mention of my parents and grumbled, "Yes, I am, your Highness."
"According to Commander Leon, you have been stealing food and valuable belongings of the royal palace for quite some period of time. Is this information true?"
Knowing there was no point in trying to hide it, I sighed. "Yes."
I swear a smug smirk was on his face for a second before he continued, "If that is true, then you, Talon, do not deserve to go on your way without some... consequences."
The way he said consequences made me shiver. The soldier, Commander Leon, was grinning in the corner as he offered while stroking his long black beard, "What shall we do with this peasant, your Majesty?"
Ooh, I think my hatred for the old man has grown even stronger. I didn't even think that was possible until now.
"Now, now, Leon, this 'peasant' is a mere boy," the king pointed out.
I smiled and nodded happily. Yeah, I'm just a peasant boy!
"Your Highness," his tone was on the verge on yelling, "this 'mere boy' has stolen at least the value of hundreds of gold coins! Hundreds of gold coins wasted by this peasant when they could have been used for the government and unselfish reasons."
My smile turned upside down. I'm liking Commander Leon less and less by the second.
The king sighed. "Would it satisfy you, Leon, if I made this boy work as a servant in the royal palace for a years?"
After that sentence, my whole body froze in fear and my violet eyes widened in disbelief. He can't. I... I can't work in the palace!
Apparently, I said that out loud since the king said, "And why can you not work as a servant here? You shall be granted with food, shelter, and a place to stay. It is a win-win situation for you, Talon."
My fists clenched in irritation. "I belong outside in the streets. Not here in some royal palace as a servant. Besides, I can't do anything here! The only thing I'm good at is stealing!"
Commander Leon added, "And fighting against soldiers."
The king stared at the commander in disbelief. "What do you mean by that, Leon?"
"Well, your Majesty, as I dragged this peasant-"
"I do have a name and it's Talon," I interrupted.
His beady eyes narrowed at me. "Before I was rudely interrupted by a certain boy, I was about to say that this peasant fought against me as I took him to the palace. He even bit my hand!"
A thoughtful expression clouded over the king's face. "Let us test his fighting abilities. Warriors assemble!"
Five warriors walked inside the throne room and waited respectfully for orders. "Hand some of the training weapons over to this young man."
Their expressions were shocked and one of them said, "But, your Highness-"
"An order is an order," the king strictly said.
Hesitantly, all five of them laid a variety of weapons in front of me. There were five in total. Dual swords, a bow and arrow, a dagger, a spear, and an ax. Meh, I've never used a weapon of this before.
"These five warriors will test your fighting abilities. In this test, you shall use all five of these weapons before you to defeat the training robots that will try to harm you. First is the dual swords test. Pick up the swords, Talon."
Hesitantly, I picked up both of the swords. It felt kinda heavy in my hands. Suddenly, a gray robot came hurtling at me with the exact pair of weapons of me. By instinct, I defended myself with one sword and the clash of metal was heard.
It managed to cut my shoulder lightly before I shoved it away with a sword. Some blood dripped from the wound and it did hurt, but I didn't care.
I dunno why, but it felt natural fighting.
Fighting always came naturally to me for some reason.
The robot tried stabbing me in the side, but I blocked it with my other sword. It was a good thing I took fencing lessons when my father was still alive. It continued that way, the robot attacking me and me blocking every hit.
Then, in one swift move, I swung my left sword at the robot's neck since it was open. Nothing was blocking it.
The head when flying off the body and it landed right in front of the speechless warriors. The robot seemed to still be 'alive' since it still attempted to assassinate me, headless. Easily, I cut a huge hole in its chest and it feel sideways on the ground in defeat.
I was breathing heavily.
Whoa, did I actually do that?
"And that robot was specifically designed to train the elite soldiers in the army..." One of the warriors mumbled in shock.
I smirked in triumph. The old man's jaw was wide open in disbelief. The king clapped and announced, "Congratulations, Talon. You have passed the dual swords test. Judges what do you have to say for this young champion?"
I'm guessing the 'judges' were the five warriors because the one equipped with dual swords commented, "It's almost as if he knew how to fight with dual swords, your Majesty. Young man, have you ever fought with dual swords before?"
I shook my head and answered, "No, sir. Actually, this is my first time ever to fight with any weapon."
He replied with a grin, "Looks like we have a natural fighter on our hands. You fight precisely and seem to think before acting. I like you, Talon. You seem to have the same dual swords ability as my students."
While smiling, I scratched my black hair and mumbled, "Aw shucks, thanks, sir. I'm just a peasant."
His gray eyes immediately widened as he sputtered, "W-what? No peasant could fight like that!"
I shrugged my shoulders in response. The king smiled. "Next is the bow and arrow test."
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It continued like that for every weapon laid in front of me. I aced the dual swords test, the dagger test, and the spear test. I had a bit of trouble for the bow and arrow and barely passed. I failed the ax test since I couldn't even lift the heavy thing. I'm just a 'mere boy'!
After the numerous tests, I was exhausted. My body felt tired and sweaty and dirty. It was shouting at my mind, "I need to rest! And take a shower!"
The judges looked impressed, well, minus the giant ax guy. The king properly introduced each and everyone of them. I found out that they were actually master warriors.
Ari was the master of dual swords. He had strangely white hair and gray eyes. He wore a black cloak with a hood. This guy couldn't believe that I was just a simple peasant and kept on questioning about my fighting experience after the tests.
Katrina was the master of the bow and arrow. She was always smiling for some reason during the test. She had long wavy blue hair that ended at her hips and warm dark brown eyes. Katrina seemed nice and pretty. She said I was an average archer with average accuracy.
Master of the dagger was Jem. This woman is the complete opposite of Katrina. She was glaring at me throughout the dagger test. What did I do to piss her off, huh? Jem had straight black hair and suspicious amber eyes. She thought I was lying when I told Ari I was a peasant. Actually, Jem still thinks I'm lying. She was glaring at me as she told me that I was 'pretty good'. Jem quickly continued with a 'you should be more careful of where you stab your enemy'. Yeah, the robot thing almost stabbed my neck since it dodged my first attack.
Master of the spear was Shadow. He said that he was impressed of how well I was capable of handling a spear with a straight face. This certain master seems to be the most serious of them all. I've never seen him smile or smirk. Just frown and glare. Shadow had black hair and matching black eyes. His name really does suit him. He wore black armor as well.
Finally, Miko was the master of the ax. This guy is at least eight feet tall and full of muscles. He laughed at me when I attempted to lift the ax. I think it was made of pure silver or something because it really was heavy. Gotta give more credit to the big guy. Miko had spiky red hair and dark green eyes. He kinda reminded me of a troll.
Jem muttered with a glare, "I still cannot believe this young man is simply a peasant..."
Miko laughed. "That boy couldn't even carry the ax! What a wimp!"
His loud laughter echoed in the throne room as I glared at the laughing troll giant. Shadow stated straightly, "I believe this 'peasant' as capability of being a great warrior one day."
The master of the ax snorted. "Yah, right. That'll happen the day when I can't lift an ax!!"
Ari cleared his throat. "I agree with Shadow. The way you fought with dual swords for the first time... Without even being taught like me... I can tell you are talented, Talon. I hope one day, we'll be able to spar when you reach my level."
I smiled. "That would be nice, sir."
"Call me Ari, I hate formalities," he rolled his gray eyes.
Katrina added, "With enough training, you can become a talented archer as well. But, I think your strengths are dual swords, daggers, and spears."
The black haired woman scoffed. "Please, that boy isn't capable of daggers. That was just one test."
The master of the bow and arrow smirked. "Did you forget already, Jem? That test was designed specially for the elite soldiers in the army. Technically, this peasant can fight as skilled as an elite soldier. Not only is Talon talented in one area, but three. That was also his first time using any weapon, correct?"
I nodded. "Yeah... the closest thing I've done to fighting is punching a guy in the face and biting the old- I mean, Commander Leon."
Miko and Ari howled in laughter. Jem blinked her eyes in disbelief and asked, "You had the nerve to... bite... Commander Leon?!"
I chuckled. "Apparently so."
Katrina smirked. "I'm starting to like this kid more and more by the minute."
"Agreed," Shadow and Ari chorused.
"I guess he's alright. Just needs some serious training," Miko commented.
Everyone stared expectantly at Jem. The black haired woman sighed. "Fine. I admit, this peasant's got some potential."
Katrina arched an eyebrow. "Some?"
She sighed again. "He's got potential, alright?"
The king smiled. "If Jem thinks that Talon's got potential, then I'm certain he'll be an excellent Royal Guard here at the palace. What do you think, warriors?"
"Meh, I don't care."
"... sounds fine to me..."
"That's splendid!"
"Great, now, I have to see that kid's face again," she cleared her throat, "I meant, I'm glad to welcome him to the palace."
"Now, Talon, we can spar someday for sure!"
His Highness declared, "Then it is decided by me, King of Celestianos, that Talon Haru will officially become a Royal Guard!"
Miko cheered while everyone else applauded. The old man was grumbling unhappily in the corner and stormed away. I smirked. Guess my life didn't get worse, it just got better!
The giant patted my head, hard, and said, "Welcome to the family, little one!"
"I'm not that little, seriously..." I muttered under my breath.
"What?"
"I said that I'm happy to be here," I partially lied.
Well, I'm happy that I wasn't chosen to be a servant here for two years cleaning and cooking. So, technically speaking, I didn't exactly lie, right?
Ari happily showed me my new room and I promised I'd spar him one day.
My new room looked way better than the tent I was living in for the past years as a peasant orphan. There was a dark blue king sized bed in the center, a matching wardrobe on the left, and a door on the right. I think that door lead to the bathroom.
I smiled.
Maybe it was the right decision to get caught stealing the necklace by the old man after all.
Immediately, I took a hot shower. Man, it's been so long since I've taken a hot shower with hot water. My showers were the rain for me. It was always freezing cold. I even used the shampoo and soap. To my dismay, it smelt like some kinda cologne. Oh well, as long as it cleans me. I wore the same rags after the relaxing shower.
Curiosity got to me and I swung open the wardrobe doors. Wow. Inside there were all kinds of clothing that looked like they were my size. Heh, maybe I should change out of these torn, dusty old rags I'm wearing now.
I discovered that there was a formal suits and ties, pants, shirts, vests, cloaks, sweaters, training attire, and even nightwear clothing. It took me some time to find something that I actually wanted to wear.
Finally, I pulled out black pants and a white T-shirt polo. Since I'm actually residing in the palace, I don't think the king would like it if I just strolled around in casual attire of brand jeans and designer sweaters like normal rich teenager boys do. Guess I'll stick to informal?
In the mirror, a reflection of me stared back. The white polo made my slightly tan skin seem darker and complimented my violet eyes nicely. My dark blue hair was sticking up in random directions like usual. I sighed. Maybe I should try to fix it with something.
In the bathroom, I found this gel bottle thing and hesitantly put the stuff on my hair. I fixed my hair a little, but still kept the natural spikes. I liked it that way. The gel smelled weird so I instantly washed my hands afterwards.
I bit my lip. I knew nothing about fashion or clothes. I've been wearing these rags for as long as I can remember.
A sudden knock on my door cut off my thoughts. "Hey, peasant, the king wants to speak with you. Don't let his Majesty wait too long."
I opened the door outside and found Jem glaring at me. Why am I not surprised? She eyed my new clothes and stated, "Well, at least you don't have bad taste in clothing. Pretty good for a peasant."
I narrowed my violet eyes. "Please quit the peasant talk, Jem. We're practically in the same age group, right?"
She still glared at me. "I'm eighteen, you idiot."
"Same."
Jem looked not convinced. "Liar."
"Actually, I'm seventeen too! It's just that I look like a fourteen year old because of my short height..." I mumbled.
The black haired woman smirked. "You realize that everyone thought you were a 'young man' or a 'boy'."
"Yeah. I know already, jeez," I sighed.
"Wait until the rest of the masters hear this," she laughed.
I glared at her. "How old are the rest?"
"Shadow and Ari's twenty. Katrina's the same age as me and Miko is twenty-two, I believe."
I nodded and walked off to the throne room. "Thanks, Jem!"
"That's Master Jem to you, peasant!" She yelled before disappearing to one of the hallways.
Something tells me that she doesn't exactly like me.
"Talon, here are your guard armor and weapons. You looked like you enjoyed using the dual swords the best, so I am giving you them. It does not matter what you wear inside since the armor is guaranteed to protect your body from any physical damage. You shall be assigned to guard my daughter's door from noon to midnight. Her door is the red one that is directly west from the throne room. There are strictly no breaks before and after dinner. Dinner is the only time you do not guard. It shall be at 8:00 sharp every day. Also, your job as a Royal Guard starts now, Talon," the king handed me over the armor.
"Thank you for everything, your Majesty," I bowed and put on the armor.
He smiled warmly. "It was my pleasure."
Since when did the king have a daughter? I reached the red door and awkwardly stood beside it. So, is this all I do? Just stand here and wait?
I sighed.
This was definitely gonna be a long day.
Hours pasted. I got so bored that I started counting how many tiles there were on the floor. In total, there were five hundred ninety-one from the end of the hallway to this door. I really have no life, huh? The sun was already set and it was getting pretty dark.
The clock read that it was 6:35 PM. I sighed again. Just one and half more hours to go and I get to eat!
Suddenly, the door swung open the my surprise and it startled me. Immediately, I straightened my posture and prepared for the unexpected as my instincts were telling me.
A girl that looked my age with long red hair with almond brown eyes sprinted outside the room. Her sudden running didn't surprise me as much as the tears streaming down her face. She looked beautiful despite her tear streaked cheeks and reddened eyes.
What the heck did I just think? I blame it all on you, brain.
I blinked multiple times. Before I could figure out what the heck was going on, a blonde boy with gray eyes came running after her yelling, "Wait, Gwendolyn! I can explain!"
Without thinking, I shouted, "Hey, you! What's happening here?"
The boy skidded to the stop and stared at me in surprise. "Oh, you must be the new Royal Guard. I'm Dante Cloud. Son of the King of Yale."
"Talon Haru. Royal Guard. So, are you going to tell me what just happened?"
Dante smiled sadly. "You see, Princess Gwendolyn and I are close friends. Today, her father, the king, had decided that it's time that she chooses her future husband. Starting tomorrow, suitors from all over the world will come here to try to win her heart. The king wanted me to tell her the news. She didn't exactly react that well..."
Sarcasm leaked out of my tone as I answered, "Of course, the princess would be happy to marry some random suitor from some random foreign country."
He laughed. "You're not like the ordinary guards! I like you!"
I grinned. Dante ran a hand through his blonde hair. Then, he suddenly smiled as if he came up with a brilliant idea.
"I know! How about you go find Gwendolyn and I'll guard here in your place! I'm certain that you'll be able to convince her! You're a good guard, Talon."
My violet eyes blinked. I sputtered, "B-b-but, why me? Um, shouldn't a prince like you confront the princess? I'm just a guard."
"Exactly! Gwendolyn knows my father sent me to try to convince her! You're just a guard! She won't suspect a thing! Please, do it for me? The Prince of Yale?"
I sighed. Nothing's going to stop this guy. "Fine. Promise not to tell his Majesty about this?"
"I promise. You have my word," Dante solemnly swore.
With those words, I ran off to the same direction the princess did. It lead to the door. I opened the door. A garden came to view. Sounds of a crying girl were heard.
Slowly, I approached the sound I saw familiar red hair.
She didn't seem to notice me. I scratched my head. How exactly am I supposed to do this? I can't just be like, "What's up? The name's Talon and your friend Dante was worried about you and I came in his place."? Hopefully, these 'natural fighting skills' of mine comes in handy for communication too.
"Hello." I said quietly.
The princess immediately turned around and wiped her tears away at lightning speed. "Who are you? How did you find me?"
"Your new Royal Guard, Talon. I was just touring around the palace by myself."
I felt like punching myself in the face for such a lame lie. Seriously, Talon? Stupid me.
To my surprise, she smiled. "I'm Princess Gwendolyn, but you must have already known that. You're pretty young to be a Royal Guard."
Heat rushed to my cheeks as she observed my face from a close distance.
I coughed. "Um, yeah, I'm eighteen."
"I see. I am the same age as you then."
My violet eyes widened in shock. "You're not surprised at all? Most people think I look fourteen."
"Believe me, your height is not as surprising as..." She trailed off.
"I'm not usually the type to nose into other's businesses, but why were you crying, Princess Gwendolyn?"
The princess was unusually quiet. "My father... the king... wants me to choose someone to marry tomorrow."
The tears started to fall from her brown eyes. I didn't know what to do. Honestly, this is the first time I've talked to a girl my age. She suddenly ran into me and just started crying on my armor.
A girl is crying in front of me and I don't know what to do.
So, I listened to my instincts. I awkwardly wrapped my arms around the crying princess.
"I think I should remove my armor," I blurt out.
Shoot, did I say that out loud? The princess stepped away and looked at the ground.
"I'm sorry, Talon..." Gwendolyn said quietly as she attempted to pretend that she wasn't crying even though tears were still coming out of her brown eyes.
After removing my armor, I was only in my black pants and white polo. So, I did what most normal teenager boys would do when they see a crying girl.
I hugged her.
This time, the princess freely cried into my polo and rested her hands lightly on my chest. I would have been blushing if she wasn't crying. She buried her head deeper into my shirt.
I know one thing about hugs. They make you feel warm and fuzzy inside, alright.
"I-I'm s-sorry, Talon... I-I just d-don't want to get m-m-m-married yet... I... don't know w-why I feel this way right now..." She whimpered in my arms.
I replied in a soft voice, "You'll be okay, Princess Gwendolyn. I'm sure you will find the prince you love."
"I don't want to!"
Her yell and change in tone made me flinch. "What if I, a princess, don't want to marry a prince? What if I fall in love with a peasant boy instead? I cannot control feelings of love. Father said I'll have to marry someone that he approves. B-but what if-"
After wiping her tears with my thumb, I gently pushed her chin up to force her to look at me. "Calm down and listen. It's your life. You should be able to marry the boy you love. So what if the king doesn't like him? Would he rather have a miserable daughter married to someone she doesn't love? Or a happy daughter married to someone she loves?"
"H-happy daughter," her lips quivered.
I laughed genuinely. "That was just a hypothetical question, but who cares, right?"
Her laughter was like music to my ears. "You're a funny guy, Talon."
I grinned. "Yeah, I know that already. Can I call you Gwen for short, princess?"
"Sure."
"Well, Gwen, maybe you'll meet your dream guy tomorrow. Who knows what fate has in store for you?" I smiled.
The princess gazed at me, longer than necessary. "Um, Gwen? Earth to Gwen? Helllloooo?"
"Sorry," she blinked, "I was just thinking."
I tilted my head to the side. "About what?"
Gwen mumbled something I couldn't hear. "What? Pardon?"
"That a smile suits you," she muttered quickly.
I blushed and stuttered, "W-well, um, I could say the same about you."
The princess's face lit up. "Actually?"
While scratching my hair in embarrassment, I answered, "Yeah."
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Months passed and she still didn't marry a prince or a boy. We became pretty close friends and always talked in the garden in the late afternoon.
One day, Jem suspiciously questioned, "Are you secretly courting Princess Gwendolyn, peasant?"
I blushed scarlet and shouted, "No! Why would you think such a thing?"
Ari laughed. "You two have been getting along quite nicely."
My violet eyes narrowed. "What do you mean by 'nicely', Ari?"
"Nothin', nothin' at all!" He sang.
Something was up and I knew it. Even Katrina added, "You've always been having your daily dates at the garden with the princess."
"They're not dates!" I exploded in irritation.
"Whoa, calm down, little boy," Miko said loudly.
"And I am not little either!"
Shadow emotionless stated, "Even if those two were courting, the king wouldn't mind. Talon has already proved that he is worthy of using dual swords, daggers, and spears."
"And, Shadow, Talon and Gwendolyn would look so cute together!!" Katrina pointed out happily.
"Even I have to agree on that," Jem sadly stated.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," I took a deep breath, "I'm not even courting Gwen!"
"Awwww... you even call her Gwen!!" She sang.
"We're just friends. I don't think we would be courting anytime soon."
Jem corrected, "Wrong. Peasant, you two are probably too shy to confess your obvious feelings for each other! Seriously, you two are always 'secretly' stealing glances at each other during dinner!"
"Yes and I also noticed that two of them look more happier when they see each other," Shadow observed.
"Guys, just stop it already!!"
Little did I know that all of them were correct.
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"Hey, um, Talon, do you promise not to laugh at me if I tell you something?" Gwen twirled a red lock in her dainty hand.
I smiled. "Of course I wouldn't laugh. I thought you knew me better, Gwen."
She bit her lip. "You know how I'm still not married yet? Well, father is getting impatient."
Well, that's a first. I arched an eyebrow. "Since when did the King of Celestianos get impatient?"
"Since today," she sighed, "he's only giving me one more week, Talon. If I still can't choose, then he'll choose for me."
"But, I'm sure that the perfect suitor will come one day! I mean," I chuckled, "there's at least two suitors that ask for your hand in marriage every week! That's like eight suitors a month!"
This time, Gwen raised her eyebrow. "Since when did the Talon Haru do math?"
"Ouch. That hurt," I pretended I was hurt by that comment.
She laughed at me as I grinned. "I know, why don't you just confess your feelings to the guy you like? I'm pretty sure a girl your age as a crush on some lucky boy."
Gwen blushed scarlet red. "Well, erm, you see, it's not as simple as you think."
"What? Just confess to the boy you like! How hard can that be?"
"What if he doesn't like me back? What if he likes someone else?" The princess questioned.
"You'll never know until you give it a shot. I know, go right now, and tell the guy you love him! Go on, don't be shy! I know that he has to be somewhere in this palace! It would explain why you would always reject every single suitor from who knows where."
Gwen sighed. "Do I have to, Talon?"
"Yes."
"I never thought I'd see the day where I would take orders from a Royal Guard."
"Hey! I'm a special Royal Guard, you know," I joked playfully.
She smiled. "Do you still remember that day when we first met and I was crying?"
"It's crystal clear."
"Well, ever since that day, we've gotten pretty close as friends and um..." The princess trailed off.
I smiled softly. "Where exactly are you going with this, Princess Gwen?"
Gwen mumbled something very quickly under her breath with a faint blush painted on her cheeks. I scrunched my eyebrows in confusion.
"I have absolutely no idea of what you said."
She sighed, a tired sigh. "I love you, stupid."
I blinked multiple times and even pinched myself. "Am I dreaming? Someone tell me this isn't a dream."
Gwen giggled at me. "This is reality. Normal people would answer the person who just confessed to them."
Heat rushed to my cheeks and my hands suddenly became sweaty. "Um, yeah, good point," I nervously nodded, "I love you too, Princess Gwendolyn."
She smiled and tears began to fall from her brown eyes. "Normal girls wouldn't cry when their crush loves them back," I chastised playfully as I wiped her tears away with my thumb.
Gwen wordlessly hugged me out of the blue. I stood there, stupidly, frozen in the tight hug. Then, she did something even more shocking.
Her lips brushed lightly against my mouth.
She was blushing and I was grinning like an idiot. "Hey, that wasn't so bad, was it, princess?"
Gwen laughed. "I guess the idiot was right in the end."
"Yeah, I was- Hey! Talon Haru is not an idiot!"
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"Father, I decided."
The king smiled and asked, "Which suitor did you choose?"
"None."
"I beg your pardon?"
"I chose a Royal Guard named Talon Haru, father. I love him. I'm sorry that I didn't choose a suitor as you wished."
The king was grinning. "No, Gwendolyn, I actually prefer him over the suitors. He's a fine boy. Have you decided who is the best man yet?"
The surprised princess stared at her father in disbelief. "You knew this was coming along the whole time, weren't you, father? You probably had this all planned out from the beginning when you made Talon guard my bedroom door."
His eyes mischievously twinkled. "Perhaps so."
Behind the walls, five certain masters were smirking to themselves. They were right from the start that the weaponry test was a test of worthiness, not a Royal Guard test.
"I can't wait to see the peasant's reaction when he discovers it was a test of worthiness that suitors normally endure," a smug feminine voice commented.
The End.
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