Disclaimer: I don't own Strawberry Panic or the characters therein. Some may or may not be crossovers with other fandoms and, guess what, I don't own those either.
But, without further ado: Strawberry Panic I: The Drabble Menace!
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THE TALE OF TWO KNIGHTS (Amane/Hikari, Shizuma/Kaori, Shizuma/Nagisa)
The crowds went wild as the gates opened and the two knights rode through. This here was the culmination of the week-long tournament and celebrations, where the finest riders of the Kingdom of Astraea would be determined. Unsurprisingly, the grand finale was to be between Ootori Amane, Prince of Spica, and Hanazono Shizuma, the widowed Queen of Astraea.
Konohana Hikari watched with bated breath and a bit of a blush as the White Knight - for Amane indeed was atop her white steed, Star Bright, and clad in shining bright metal from head to toe - smiled and approached railing separating the arena from the audience, looking at no one but Hikari. Amane was famous for being unapproachable and somewhat cold, distancing herself from her hordes of worshippers. Hence, it had comes as no small surprise - and had caused a great deal of bad blood directed at Hikari - when the White Knight had approached the rails and accepted Hikari's ribbon on her pike. The petite blonde had felt... She could not describe what she had felt, but she was definitely walking in the air. Out of all the swooning girls, who must've numbered to hundreds, Amane had picked her to accept the ribbon from. Hikari the Shy, who barely even dared to cheer for her favourite, who almost forgot to breathe at the mere sight of the Prince of her dreams.
Her hands were slightly trembling as she took the ribbon from her hair and tied it around the pike of her beloved knight; the knight that had actually snuck off from the contestants' quarters on every evening for clandestine meetings with Hikari in the vast parks surrounding the cathedral of the contest area, walking in the starlight and holding hands. None knew of that, lest Hikari would be even more hated as she was; Lady Konohana disliked hurting the feelings of others, but she was willing to, for the sake of being with the one she loved.
Amane raised her pike in salute after the ribbon was firmly in place, all the while looking Hikari in the eye. The jealous eyes of dozens, if not hundreds, were fixed on her, but the blonde barely even noticed that, lost in Amane's eyes, until the Prince slammed her vizor shut and turned around to meet her opponent.
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The Black Knight, Queen Shizuma, had her vizor lowered already when coming through the gate, much to the disappointment of her numerous fans that longed to gace upon the majestic face of the silver-haired beauty. Her jet black full plate armour reflected no sunlight and her matchingly coloured horses barding was just the same - black. She let her horse walk around slowly, to spend the time until Amane performed the obligatory rites of asking for blessings from that young woman, whatever her name was.
Queen Shizuma herself never accepted any ribbons, despite being the only person in the entire realm who had even more admirers and fans than prince Amane had. At one time, she had taken almost randomly, turning to the next girl before every match, playing and toying around with her numerous admirers. But then, one day, Shizuma had seen Her... Timid and relatively small, she wasn't waving her ribbon like those around her, just looking at Shizuma with an honest and open expression, rather than mindlessly admiring like so many others. That day, Shizuma had extended her pike to the black-haired angel and from that day forth, always turned to her before the match.
It had actually been several jousts before Shizuma actually worked up the courage to look up the silent beauty. Courage! Her, Hanazono Shizuma, who changed girls more often than most people change shirts, had been nervous to the point of her hands shaking before approaching the black-haired angel.
Kaori. Sakuragi Kaori was the name of the angel, and Shizuma had been smitten immediately, much to the surprise and disappointment of many an admirer and friend alike. It was love at first sight and the names and faces of Shizuma's conquests faded as soon as she looked at Kaori that evening, outside in the garden around Astraea. The younger girl was standing in a gazebo, leaning against the rails and looking up at the growing moon with a dreamy expression. They then looked each other in the eye, and for two years, Shizuma walked on clouds.
Now, she was alone and withdrawn. She would've gladly foregone the tournament, if her chief advisor and best friend, Rokujou Miyuki had let her. But it was her duty, so she did it. Letting her horse wander about freely while Amane was breaking the hearts of her veritable horde of fans by focusing on Hikari, Shizuma scanned the crowds from behind the vizor. She let her gaze drift over the crowd and almost turned to see how far along Amane was, when she suddenly did a double take, almost thinking herself insane.
But no. The face in the crowds was a veritable Angel, for certain, but not Kaori. Though, she thought... Maybe. Just maybe. At a momentous impulse, she guided her horse towards the tribunes and, to the shock of pretty much all the gathered crowd, lifted her vizor as she extended her pike towards the red-headed angel. The crowds went almost silent and the redhead's eyes wide, but after a moment of paralyze, she hastily grabbed her ribbon and tied it around Shizuma's pike. The Queen was still not smiling, but her expression had softened as she raised her pike in salute, slammed the vizor shut and rode to meet Prince Amane.