BlackLynx17: I wrote this because of friend of mine, Dawn, drew a picture about this and I couldn't get the idea out of my mind. This one is for you Dawn!


The first time they met was by chance.

She was never allowed to walk on the stone wall so wide out in the open, only ever allowed behind these walls that guarded and protected her from everyone who wanted to harm her. She wanted to see what was on the other side though. She would never go out there, because she knew better than that, but she wanted to go see it. So she did, climbing up the tower stairs careful not to get caught, higher and higher until she saw the door to her dreams.

When she opened it a nice cool breeze hit her face and her breath was taken away as she finally got to see what was behind her castle walls. There was a long row of trees that covered her sight first, some different colors and shapes, some filled with bright colored flowers while others had fruits. It was beautiful, everything was beautiful.

And then there was what laid beyond the forest, her kingdom that rested and protected all of her citizens. It was only one of many that surrounded her castle, but for her this one she was first seeing was her favorite already even though she's never been. She walked along the wall, her hands gliding against the stone as she looked out and saw her kingdom. One day she would be able to go past these walls, one day she'd be able to see everything on the other side... one day. Just not today.

When that time came though that was the first place she wanted to see. She stood there facing outwards towards it, her eyes wide with curiosity as she leaned over the wall to get a better view. An unexpected gust of wind flew right past her, blowing up her hair, and blowing her crown right off of her head and down towards the other side of the wall.

It made a small 'clink' noise as it fell to the floor, a knight who was resting against the wall opening up his eyes and looking around to see where it came from. He saw something sparkling in the grass and walked over to it.

"What the-" the knight whispered picking it up.

It was a crown, the princess's crown to be exact. The knights eyes widened and he looked up towards the wall, his jaw dropping as he saw the Princess of Magnolia leaning over with the same exact shocked expression on her face. It only took a second for him to remember himself and bow down on one knee, crown still in hand.

"Your highness," he called her.

The princess blinked and sighed in relief, counting herself lucky that there was a passing knight by. She couldn't see what he looked like because he was wearing his helmet and it covered his face, not that it mattered as long as he wore her kingdom colors on his cape.

"Hello! Psst, mister knight sir. Could you pass me back my crown back please? I'm not supposed to be here right now," the little princess whispered towards the knight.

"Right away your highness, I'll head inside to hand it to you-"

"Oh no, no, no! You can just toss it, you know throw it, and I'll catch it! I'm trying not to get caught and if you leave your post then that might rise some suspicion. Just throw it to me please."

The knight blinked, although the princess could not see it, and walked away from the wall. He tossed the crown up and she fumbled with it a bit before catching it in her hands and smiling.

"Thank you kind knight! And remember, you didn't see me here." The princess whispered before running away.

The knight blinked again and took a small breath, leaning back against the wall and checking the perimeter. He never thought his first face to face meeting with the princess would go like that, nor that their first conversation would be her asking him to toss her crown over to her. She really was a strange little princess.


The second time they met she tried to find him.

She waited on the wall she saw him the first time around, not seeing him there when she had first arrived. After a while though she heard the rustling of armor and looked over the wall again, seeing a knight in armor walking on the other side.

"Psst, kind knight?" She asked.

The knight blinked and looked up, seeing the princess leaning over with a curious expression on her face.

"Are you the kind knight who helped me before?"

"You mean when you dropped your crown?" The knight asked.

The princess started stuttering and blushing, holding her finger to her lips, "no need to say it so loudly, that's a secret that never happened. What is your name, kind knight?"

"Mest Gryder, your highness," Mest knelt down on one knee, introducing himself.

"Mest Gryder?" The princess started giggling, "that's a funny name. I'm Princess Wendy Marvell."

"Of course I know who you are princess, everyone knows who you are." The knight said standing back up and looking right at her.

Wendy giggled again and covered her mouth, "I guess that's true. Hold out your hands and be ready."

Mest didn't know what she was talking about, but did as ordered and held out his hands. Something came flying down towards him and Mest took a step back to catch it.

"It's a peach from my mother's garden as thank you for getting my crown back. Thank you Mest for your help." Wendy smiled brightly at him.

Mest stiffened up and bowed his head, "no thanks are necessary princess. You didn't have to-"

"Wendy!"

Mest looked back up.

"My name is Wendy, not princess, and normally when someone gives you something you're supposed to say thank you back."

"Wha- ah- I-... thank you Wendy."

"You're welcome Mest, I have to go now, but hopefully I'll see you again. Bye," she waved before disappearing behind the wall.

Mest took off his helmet and looked at the peach, giving it a sniff before he bit into it. A small moan escaped him as he started licking his lips.

"That's sweet."


The third time they met they weren't alone for long.

She was able to find him again and ask how he liked the peach; he was able to tell her how good it was and thank her for it. They were only able to chat for a little bit before she heard the rustling of more armor. She quickly wished him goodbye before walking away... something stopped her though. She ducked down and laid on the stone ground, hearing the loud laughter of the other knights who were walking by.

"Oye! Mest! How's life treating you?!"

Mest looked over and greeted his friends, relaxing from his duties real quick as he started talking to them.

"Hey, we were all going to go out for drinks after our shift. You game?"

"Sure, as soon I'm relieved I'll meet you at the Boar Hat. First round on you guys, right?" He started laughing.

Soon all the others joined as they nudged each other. Wendy laid on the floor with her hands on her stomach, a frown on her face as she wondered what the Boar Hat was. A hat that boars where? Why would they go to drink there?

"This life might be boring, but it sure is better than being a knight in the castle. I'm sure they have in tough in there."

Mest blinked, "why would you say that?"

"Duh, with the princess being a child and all. She's probably a brat that has us knight catering to her every little whim."

Wendy frowned hearing that, wanting to defend herself and say that it wasn't true at all.

"No, the princess is actually a kind and sweet little girl. Whatever rumors you heard that from were probably lies, anyone would be lucky and treated kindly if they were assigned to guard her."

She couldn't explain it, but hearing him say that about her made her heart start to pound inside of her chest and her face fluster a dark red. She laid on the ground, staring up at the bright blue sky, trying to figure out why she was feeling this way.


The fourth time they met she found it hard to look at him.

Even though he wore his helmet covering his face, she still didn't try to see him. She sat on the floor and he was only able to see her hair and one of her hands leaning over the wall as she talked to him.

"You know it's very dangerous for you to be out here Wendy. If there were enemies hiding in the forest they could easily attack you with an arrow." Mest warned her, concerned for her safety.

That finally made Wendy look at him, a frown covering her otherwise beautiful face. "So are you telling me it's a bother for me to talk to you Mest? Is that it?"

"Wha- no! Of course not! I don't mind talking to you!"

"You don't mind, but you find it annoying huh?"

"What?! No your highness, no princess! I love talking to you!"

Wendy felt her heart racing again and smiled, giggling lightly to herself. "You love talking to me? Then I guess I'll spare more of my time to come over here and talk to you, since you love talking to me so much."

Mest groaned and shook his head, "whatever you desire princess, just please be careful when you visit."

"Mest? Is it comfortable wearing all that armor?" Wendy asked, tilting her head at him.

"You get used to it."

"What about the helmet?"

"It's a bit of a bother, but it protects me and I barely notice it anymore."

"I wonder what you look like underneath it, hmm..."

Mest made the motion to take off his helmet, but the princess's cries stopped him from doing so.

"Wait! Hold on a minute! I wanna guess!"

Mest chuckled as he put his hands back down, staring up at her thinking face. Wendy was sticking out her bottom lip, her finger gently tapping on it as she tried to imagine her kind knight.

"Short brown hair?"

Mest chuckled again, shaking his head, "nope."

"Short black hair?"

"You have the black hair correct."

"Really? So it's long black hair?"

"It's medium length, covers my ears and is about down to my neck."

"Oh... medium length black hair, hmm... with brown eyes!"

"You're really bad at this, aren't you princess?"

Wendy started pouting, "it's Wendy, not princess, and since I'm so bad fine. Just show me."

"Aw, I thought you wanted to guess? Tell you what, I'll give you a hint."

Mest walked over to the trees and picked off a leaf, walking back to Wendy and holding it up to his helmet. She didn't get the hint he was trying to give her. Why was he holding up a green leaf to his helme-...

"Green! Really?!" She gasped, her hand slipping off the wall.

She started stumbling and Mest held his hands out, ready to catch her if she fell. That didn't happen though since she caught herself, sighing in relief.

"That was a close one... but are they actually green Mest?! I want to see! I want to see! I've never seen green eyes before!" She cheered.

Mest chuckled and started taking off his helmet again, this time she allowed him to take it all the way off. A soft gasp escaped her lips as she saw him. He was a soft tan color, his black hair spiking up as he took the helmet off. It covered his ears and clung to part of his face, a hairstyle she's seen before on a man. He had a little facial hair covering his chin, very handsome indeed more so than anyone else she's ever seen, and those eyes... it was a much more beautiful color than the leaf he tried to compare it to.

"Wow," was all she whispered.

She said it so softly he wasn't able to hear it, but even if she had screamed it Mest doesn't think he would have heard it. She was staring at him was such a gentle expression on her face. He always thought that the princess was cute, from the first time he saw her when he first became a knight and saw her in the background while the Queen knighted him. He thought it again when he first saw her staring down at him asking for her crown, but right now... she was beautiful. Her face was so chubby and filled with innocence, her brown eyes so bright as she smiled down at him, her long midnight blue hair blowing in the wind around her.

"Wow," was all he could whisper.


The fifth time they met the first thing he did was take off his helmet and greet her, grinning up brightly as he bowed.

"Hello Princess!"

"Mest! It's Wendy!" She pouted at him.

Mest chuckled a bit to himself, "I know that."

Wendy glared and brooded looking down at him.

"How have you been Wendy?" Mest asked.

Her mood instantly changed when she heard her right name, "great! Have you heard the news that we're going to have royal visitors from Era soon?! Their prince is coming to visit and I'm going to have someone to play with! Although he's supposedly five years older than me, he might not want to play with a child like me."

"I'm not so sure about that; I'm older than you and I don't mind at all talking and hanging out with you."

Wendy's pout got bigger, "are you sure that isn't just because I'm the princess and you're scared that if you don't talk to me then I'll have you beheaded or something?"

"If that was the truth then I would have never came back here to talk to you again, nor tell you my real name or reveal my face."

"Hmm, good point. So you really think he'll be my friend?"

"With a cute princess like yourself, I'm sure he'll be on his knees begging to be your friend."

Wendy started giggling, "well I wouldn't go that far... but you really think so? I can't wait! They'll be here in a couple of days, but I'll be sure to make time to see you Mest. After all I can't forget about my best friend."

Mest blinked and smiled at her, "I don't mind being forgotten about, I might actually be able to start doing my work."

"What?! You're so mean Mest! Fine, I'll leave so you can continue just STANDING THERE!" Wendy huffed walking across the wall.

Mest laughed as he followed her, "Wendy! Wendy I was only kidding! You can come visit me whenever you want too, I'll always be here to meet you."

Wendy paused and looked back, "is that a promise?"

Mest bent down on one knee and bowed his head, "I swear it on my knighthood Princess Wendy Marvell that I'll always be here for you, whenever you need me."

Wendy started blushing, her heart racing inside of her chest. She stood up tall and bowed her head back at him.

"Thank you, Knight Gryder. I look forward to our future together."


The sixth time they met was going to be their last.

She wasn't smiling when they met, or happy, or cheerful as she told him how she's been and what she's been doing with the Prince that came to visit that had her overexcited before. She didn't say anything as she walked over to the wall, staring down at him. He didn't even notice her until he heard a sigh coming out of nowhere, turning around and blinking in surprise to see her hovering over him.

"Wendy? When did you get there?"

She didn't say anything, turning her eyes away from him.

"Wendy? What's wrong?"

"If I asked you to do something, would you do it?" She asked.

"Of course." Mest answered without a second's hesitation.

She wasn't sure if that was the answer she wanted to hear though, especially with the request she had for him.

"If I asked you something, would you tell me the truth?"

"Wendy, what's wrong?"

"Please Mest, would you? No lies, I want the honest truth," she finally looked at him, tears falling down her cheeks.

Mest stiffened up and nodded, "I would."

"Do you love me?"

Her question came as a surprise; he blinked and took a step back away from the wall.

"I'm about to be married off to the Prince of Era; the only reason why they visited was to ask for my hand in marriage and my mother accepted without even asking me. I always wanted to marry a prince, I always knew I would, but when I heard the news my heart started breaking because I knew, I knew I loved someone else. So if you love me Mest please take my away, please rescue me, but if you don't I'll forget about my first love and go back to him."

She was about to be married off... to someone else... to another. And she wanted to know if he wanted her first before she allowed herself to be given away. Mest couldn't believe what he was hearing. There was a small amount of rumors surrounding about the princess getting betrothed, but Mest didn't believe any of them. They were true though... it was happening. If she got married she probably wouldn't be able to see him. She would get married and immediately start producing little heirs to continue their lineage... with another man... with someone else... someone who wasn't him...

She covered her face with her hands as she tried to stop her tears from pouring out of her eyes; with the silence he was giving her she could tell his answer. Of course it was going to be a no. He was a knight, she a princess. They had only met a handful of times. How could he have fallen in love with her in such a short period of time?... but she had, so easily, fallen so deep she felt her heart breaking inside of her chest at the thought of never being able to see Mest again.

"What are you waiting for?"

Wendy's whole body froze and she dropped her hands, looking down over the wall to see Mest smiling at her as he held out his arms.

"Let's go, Wendy." He called out for her.

Wendy started crying harder now, but there was a smile on her face as she pulled up her dress and jumped over the wall. It was quite a way down, but Mest caught her fluff and all and held her close to his chest.

"I love you Mest, I love you so much," she cried in his chest.

"I love you too Wendy," he whispered holding her close.

They enjoyed their first time being able to hold each other and just stood there, ignoring the world around them before Mest took a small breath and picked her up. Wendy squealed and held onto her crown as he lifted her, wrapping an arm around his neck.

"Hold on tight, we're running away now!" Mest grinned running through the forest.

Wendy started laughing as he whisked her away to another world, one where she was free to marry and love whoever she wanted.

By the time the kingdom realized that there princess was missing it was too late. She was off living her happily ever after with her knight in shining armor.