Disclaimer - I do not own Rizzoli and Isles~
Author's Note - So, in the vain of truly great AUs out there like Tribute, I decided to write an AU Rizzles of my own =3
I hope you all enjoy it, and please let me know if you would like it to be continued ^_^
~A Knight and Her Princess~
"Dammit, Frost! When you said you wanted to slay a dragon, you really truly meant you wanted to slay a DRAGON!" a dark-haired, dark-eyed woman cried out as she dodged left, to quickly escape the molten fire breath of the great beast that was bearing rapidly down on her.
"Of course I meant slay an actual dragon, Jane! The scales from these things are worth a fortune. You know the King's Knights use them to fashion dragon armour. Pretty sturdy stuff, and it lasts for a small lifetime," a handsome, dark-skinned young man replied as he dodged right and attempted to circle around the giant beast, in an attempt to try stabbing it in the side with his sword.
"Frost...if we somehow manage to live through this...I'm going to wring your damn neck!" Jane, mercenary-for-hire, exclaimed with a loud cry as she charged the beast with her blade raised high.
Frost just grinned brightly at his partner as they both charged in, swords held high, to end the life of the fire-spewing beast before them.
~o~o~o~
Meanwhile, in a great fortress castle several miles away, a young woman of beauty and grace sat in her tower room, gazing listlessly out her tower window. She breathed a great sigh of sadness and loneliness, as she watched fire spew into the air several miles off, and trees rattle and shake causing birds to take flight. She could tell a great battle was taking place not too far away. Probably a dashing rouge fighting and slaying a mighty beast. Oh, how she wished she could be down there with all the action.
Being born a Princess while it came with all the prerequisite riches and royal standing, also meant that she was also essentially held prisoner for most of her life. Her father especially never allowed her to go out with the as-he-called-them 'common folk'. He also never allowed her to partake in the more 'fun' activities she watched other young people enjoy like archery, swordplay, or even simply learning how to ride a horse. He preferred to have his daughter and wife escorted everywhere by royal carriage. It became quite tedious, and made her feel separate and apart from the people who were supposed to be essentially 'hers'.
The young woman released another deep sigh, and lightly ran a delicate hand through her honey-blond hair, as she watched the action a few miles off seem to finally calm down.
I bet they finally slew the beast, she thought to herself with a small smile. Oh, how wonderful and amazing it would be to be able to fight and slay dragons. Or to at least be allowed to leave this wretched castle every once in a while, and go out and explore the world out there, she thought wistfully to herself as she settled down onto her bed, and picked up the knitting that her father had 'approved' for her to do. She stared down at the partially-stitched item in her hands, then threw it back down onto her bed in disgust. She just had to get out of this castle...somehow...someway...
"Maura darling, have you finished that garment for your betrothed yet?" an older woman asked, as she breezed into the tower bedroom. "Why darling, you've barely even started! Prince Garrett will be so disappointed if you don't present him with a gift before your upcoming nuptials," the Queen of the Realm, Constance, exclaimed as she daintily took a seat on the bed beside her daughter.
"But Mother, I don't want to marry Garrett. I've told you this dozens of times already," Maura replied with a slightly-annoyed huff.
"Oh nonsense darling, every young woman wants to marry Garrett. He's the Prince of the neighbouring Kingdom. You know how these things work. To solidify our two Realms, there needs to be an arranged marriage. Now don't worry, my darling. I didn't love your father at first either when my marriage was arranged to him, but I've grown to love and adore him over the years," Constance replied, as she gently ran her fingers through her daughter's hair.
Maura let out a deep sigh of resignation, and turned her gaze back towards her window...wondering if the dashing rogue had survived the day...and wishing with every fiber of her being that she could have been out there with that person, risking life and limb and truly living life.
~o~o~o~
"I swear Frost, if I don't somehow manage to get this dragon gunk out of my hair by nightfall, I'm coming at your hair with a dull, pointy razor and shaving you bald!" Jane exclaimed in disgust, as she tried unsuccessfully to rid her hair and second-hand armour of dried dragon blood and guts.
Frost just flashed his friend a bright grin from atop the horse that ambled alongside his partner's, as it slowly pulled along the wagon that held a small fortune in dragon scales, that they'd skinned from the great beast after they'd killed it.
"Oh, come on, partner. We hit it big this time! We'll never have to do something like this ever again after we present this bounty to the King. He'll shower us in gold and jewels after we show all this mighty fine dragon scale to him," Frost answered with a grin, as he looked up at the imposing castle gates he and Jane were finally drawing close to.
"Yeah well...I still don't appreciate dragon blood and guts running down my back. Do you know how long it takes to get this stuff out of your chain-mail?" Jane grumbled, as she tried to pluck a bit of dragon bits from the front of her armour.
Frost just laughed...a clear happy sound that bounced off the castle walls, and drew the attention of the young woman sitting idly by her tower window. When she looked down and saw the approaching riders pulling the wagon of dragon scales, which glistened in the fading light of the setting sun, a soft breath of excitement escaped her. She quickly made her way out of her room, to hurry down to the King's public court, where the riders would be sure to present their bounty before the King.
Maura quickly snuck behind one of the large, lavish, deep-purple curtains her father had hanging all around the public court...a place she had used as a hiding spot since she was very young, to be able to glimpse the many different types of people who always sought an audience with her father. She watched as her 'dashing rogue' entered the room, carrying a few choice pieces of dragon scale, as the wagon and horses would have been left out in the outer court. And Maura just knew that it was the rogue she had been fantasizing about earlier, because there had been no other activity in the realm that looked like a battle between man and beast, than the one she'd witnessed from her bedroom window earlier in the day. What did surprise and indeed shocked her, was the fact that her 'dashing rogue'...was in fact a dashing woman. She was dressed in slightly-bloodied chain-mail, an undershirt, and breeches. An effort to scrub free most of the blood had obviously been made, but to Maura the sight of the still-slightly bloodied woman, striding confidently and in fact a bit arrogantly into her father's court, with the dragon scales held up proudly in her arms, caused Maura to engage in something she had always looked down upon other maidens for engaging in...she swooned.
"Presenting His Royal Highness, the Great and Mighty Ruler of the Realm, King Patrick!" the royal court herald exclaimed loudly, as a man dressed in the finest clothes with a fur-lined purple cloak, swept into the room and took his place at the only seat in the room...a throne held high on a raised stone platform.
"You may step forward now, and present your gift to the King!" the herald cried out causing Jane's ears to twitch at the man's extraordinary volume. She was already missing Frost's company as he was way better at this 'formal' stuff than she was, but he was watching the rest of their precious cargo out in the outer court, so she was on her own in here.
"Your...ah, Royal Highness...I come bearing...gifts," Jane said as she tried to go down in an awkward bow, while still keeping a firm grip on the pile of dragon scales in her arms.
King Patrick's hazel eyes lit up when he saw the small bounty the mercenary was carrying. He made a small motion with his hand for a guard to step forward, and inspect the scales to make sure that they were real. Once the guard had looked over the scales he went to a full bow before the King, and declared that the dragon scales were indeed real.
King Patrick's other eyebrow slowly rose, as he contemplated to himself that dragon scales were extremely hard to come by...going by the fact that one actually had to slay a living, breathing dragon in order to get them.
Perhaps I can make this woman a Knight for my daughter. Someone this brave and fierce would make a fine protector for my precious, little one. And Maura does seem to truly dislike all the male Knights surrounding her all the time. Let's see if I can't perhaps...persuade this woman to become my daughter's Protector, King Patrick thought to himself with a small hidden smile.
"Oh great and mighty warrior, it is with great pleasure that I invite you to a feast this night, in honor of your brave deed in slaying a dragon, and bringing it's precious hide to me!" the King declared, and with a single loud clap of his hands servants seemed to suddenly appear around Jane. One immediately took the dragon scales from her, while another pulled out a bit of thick twine to 'measure' Jane's breeches, while yet another tried reaching for her arm to lead her from the room.
Maura watched all of this happen with great interest, and had to stifle a giggle as the woman artfully dodged all the reaching hands, except the one taking the dragon scales from her.
She's quick, this one. She'll make a perfect Knight for my daughter, King Patrick thought to himself with a self-satisfied smile.
"Ahh...excuse me, Your Majesty...I don't mean to be impolite...but my partner and I were hoping to be paid in gold and jewels. A feast sounds great and all but...uhh...we really would prefer the gold and jewels," Jane stated as she artfully dodged another reaching hand, and planted herself rigidly before the King. She hadn't just risked her life taking down a damn dragon of all things, just to be handed a meal. She wanted riches dammit! That was the usual going reward for slaying dragons after all.
A small flutter in a curtain to the King's right suddenly drew Jane's attention. She glanced curiously in that direction and saw a wave of curly, golden-blond hair quickly disappear into the darkness behind the curtain. Her attention was brought quickly back towards the King however, when he let out a loud laugh and stood with a pleased clap of his hands.
"But of course, my dear. You and your partner shall have your riches...much more than I believe you realize," the King proclaimed with a sly smile on his face, as he imagined the woman before him all cleaned up, and dressed in the finest Knight's armour. "But first, you simply must dine with us tonight. I insist. A great and mighty deed as amazing as slaying a dragon deserves a fitting celebration. Guards, please see to it that the rest of the dragon scales are collected, cleaned, and work begun on creating the best armour with them. And please escort my dinner guest's partner waiting outside in as well, so that both may get cleaned up in time for the feast," the King commanded as he swept from the room, leaving Jane with no choice but to allow herself to be escorted out by the guards, to where Frost no doubt would be taken as well.
Another quick movement from the curtains once again grabbed her attention, and this time Jane caught sight of the most stunning, amazing pair of hazel-green and gold eyes she'd ever seen. She nearly tripped over her own feet when she saw them, and an amused giggle gently floated to her ears before she was led from the room, towards a bathhouse where she was undoubtedly expected to clean and dress for the feast 'in her honour'.
Just what had she...and by all rights Frost with his crazy dragon-slaying ideas...gotten her into this time?
To be continued? ^_^
