Disclaimer: I don't own Black Clover. Obviously.

Authoress' Note: So I've been getting into this series thanks the anime airing on Toonami. I've been really enjoying the dynamic between Asta and Noelle, although it doesn't seem like there's a lot of traction for this pairing yet judging by the lack of fandom inclusion. So this is my contribution! Please enjoy!

Kings and Queens

It was just another day at the Black Bulls headquarters. Everyone was doing their usual things... Captain Yami with his smoking, Luck trying to provoke anyone into a fight, Charmy enjoying her sweets, Vanessa with her face in a bottle, so on and so forth... But none of that was what was annoying Noelle Silva today.

Since joining the Black Bulls, she had gotten used to everyone's quirks and ideals. It was almost welcoming every day now, seeing how cheerful everyone was despite being the lowest rank of the Magical Knights. She started to feel like every day she was at home, a place that treated her like she belonged, not unlike her family that ostracized her for her lack of magic control. While, yes, sometimes their habits annoyed her, there was one person with one certain habit that was REALLY bothering her.

"I keep telling you, my heart belongs to Sister Lily!"

THAT. That was the annoying part. The sickening declaration... It came from the Black Bulls' resident non-magic user, Asta. Every other day, he had to yell out something about his love for the woman that helped raised him back in his village of Hage. No matter how many times people tell him that he literally CAN NOT marry her due to her devotion to the cloth, he wouldn't give up his devotion to the idea of marrying the good sister one day. It really annoyed Noelle to the brink of insanity. She was a young woman of logic, even when things defied logic, and Asta's constant defiance of logic was more than enough to make a vein in her forehead pop with irritated anger. Her budding feelings for the anti-Magic swordsman wasn't a factor at all, she told herself, refusing to let jealousy towards the Sister she never met cloud her mind... no, it was just the defiance of usual logic that really bothered her.

Now it could be the lack of sleep she had over the last couple of days, or maybe she hadn't gotten enough to eat at breakfast, but something about Asta's screaming today was giving her a headache. As he went on and on about the good Sister towards Magna and Vanessa – both of whom were, once again, telling him that his "dream" was impossible – Noelle could feel her self-control slipping. She just wanted to run right up to him, smack him in the face, and give him a good dose of reality, and maybe – just maybe – he'd shut up about this stupid idea of trying to marry someone he, in no way, can!

Before she even realized she was doing it, the silver hair mage loudly got up from her seat at the table and stomped over to Asta. He heard the loud taps of her footsteps coming close to him and he turned around. "Hmm? Oh, Noelle, good- OW OW OW OW!"

Just as she told herself to do, the moment she was in front of Asta, she raised up her hand and struck him hard right along side his cheek. The entire hall went silent, confused as to what happened and why, although none more than the swordsman himself.

"I know you aren't the most intelligent person in the world, but for the love of all things holy, stop this nonsense with trying to marry this Sister Lily you keep going on about!" Noelle screamed, her fists balled up at her sides, "No matter what you do, even becoming the Wizard King, you can't marry someone that has taken up the cloth! This constant declaration of "I'm going to marry her" is getting on my nerves! It's not going to happen, ever! You have a better chance of marrying me than you ever would her!"

As soon as that last sentence left her lips, Noelle realized she made a huge mistake. Suddenly she felt every eye in the room on her, all the while Asta stared at her with his mouth agape and one hand on his sore cheek. There were whispers going around the room, wondering if maybe there was a budding romance between the two newest recruits, or at least a one-sided romance, but no one really spoke up and likely with good reason.

"Noelle, what are you talking about?" Asta asked softly, uncommon for his nature but fitting for being thoroughly confused.

"Well... I... um..." Noelle began to stutter, "What I meant was... Well, I meant that if..."

All of the stares, the whispers, her own regret... the water mage's face heated up, her body began to quake, her voice unable to come out in more than a few noises. This wasn't good! Why did she have to go and open her mouth!? She could've just ignored the idiot as she's done the last half-dozen times he's done this, but nooo... she had to go off and do something so unbecoming of herself and now all she could feel was embarrassment and regret. Asta blinked, still confused, "Uh... Noelle?"

"I... uh... UGH! I'm sorry!" she yelled out, stomping past everyone and out of the building, her head held low as she ran into the forests around them. Everyone watched in stunned silence, before Finrel cleared his throat, "Well... that was interesting."

"Shouldn't someone go after her?" Charmy asked concernedly.

"Give her a few minutes to calm down," Vanessa remarked, "I'm sure she'll be back here very soon."

"Hey Rasta, what are you thinking? Sounds like to me, our little Ellie has a crush on you!" Magna stated, patting Asta's shoulder.

"Huh? You think so? But why?"

"Tch, you're asking why? How the hell should I know? But way to go, lady killer!"

As the chatter moved on to the idea of the two mages getting together, Asta just kept staring out the door, unsure of what else to really say or do. He really was as clueless as could be over this sudden predicament.

By the time Noelle realized she was tired, she was far into the forest, unable to see the sight of the Black Bulls headquarter no matter where she turned to look. She was surprised at how far she had gotten before she finally felt the exhaustion; adrenaline can be a strange thing at times...

Taking in deep breaths to try and relax, she slid down against a tree, sitting on one of its roots. Her face was still flushed, although now it was from the heat she built up with her run more so than her initial embarrassment. She still couldn't believe what she said... she truly stated that Asta would have a better shot of marrying her over Sister Lily. It was true, of course, but still, she actually said it! She couldn't believe herself, didn't want to believe herself. Maybe her anger was coming from her jealousy... She shook her head; no, it definitely was not. After all, a royal and a commoner? It would never be, although if Asta were to become the Wizard King as he dreams... Again, she shook her head, although a little more vigorously than before. "Stop that kind of thinking, stop stop stop!" she muttered aloud, smacking her cheeks as if it would make her come to her senses.

In her private stupor, she almost didn't hear the sounds of footsteps approaching her. Out of reflex, she froze, her hands mere inches away from her Grimoire. She didn't want to grab it right away; maybe it was just one of her teammates coming to check up on her, and she wouldn't want to attack them on accident. Not that her attacks would actually hit them if she didn't use her wand, but still. "Who's there?" she called out as she stood up, not receiving an answer.

The footsteps stopped, but still Noelle didn't relax. She looked around her, her pigtails blocking her sight slightly with each move. "If one of you guys are trying to play a prank on me now, you'll truly regret it!" she continued, "Or if you're coming out here to poke fun at me for what I said, I'll also make you pay!"

Still no answer; it made her very nervous that this wasn't one of the Black Bulls. Her fingers touched the latch on the pouch that held her Grimoire, her other hand going for her wand. Before she could take out either of them, she felt a strong force cut in front of her, gripping at her wrists and pushing her back towards the tree. The harsh hit of her flesh against the bark caused her to lose her breath, her eyes shutting in reflex. Her voice came out in a pained hiss, her eyes opening slowly but shocked to see no one there. "What the...!?" she exclaimed, trying to pull herself away from the tree, but found herself unable to pull away. She turned to see her wrists bound to the trunk with dark, violet mana. Her eyes widened, her head snapping back and forth trying to find the source.

She heard footsteps again, followed by the sight of a hooded figure rushing past her on the right. Before she could even turn to see the figure completely, she felt another burst of mana against her, this time running up her torso. Noelle let out a loud scream, the attack tearing through her clothes, her cloak ripped into two and falling to the ground, the pain rushing harsh against her skin. She gritted her teeth as she looked down, a large tear going from her stomach up the left side of her dress, the fabric splitting and revealing newly scarred skin, trickles of blood starting to pool and drip down her body.

"Ow...what the hell is going on!?" she yelled out again, receiving a dark chuckle in return, followed by a grasp on her chin forcing her head to face forward.

"You've been trapped, my dear..." the voice finally stated, an evil masculine voice, although Noelle couldn't see any of the person that spoke, only seeing faint traces of a face behind an ebony cloak.

"You see... I've been watching you run through here. I can tell there's something... special about you. Perhaps you are royalty?" he continued, "Ah yes, those eyes... they are those of a royal house. My, my, they are beautiful when covered in despair."

"What do you want from me?" she asked, trying to keep her composure despite her pain and position, "Even if I do belong to a royal house, what are you expecting from my capture?"

"What do I expect? Oh, I don't expect anything from them but despair," he continued, backing away for the moment, "You see, my dear... you blasted royals care nothing for people like me. We're commoners, scum, garbage, nothing... Many of my family had been disgraced by the royal houses of the Clover Kingdom, treated as filth despite our talents. We all aimed to become Magic Knights, just like you, but instead we were sneered at, our talents wasted, cast aside and unconsidered."

A sinister grin spread across the face of the attacker, "As I came to this forest to practice my art, I hear the sounds of frantic running and spotted you... I knew there was something about you that intriqued me and by my surprise, I was right. Perhaps it was fate that this had happened... now I can extract some revenge for years of my family's dishonor."

Noelle's body began to shake as a gloved hand began to move over her torso, across the few scars now left there by his attack. "Ah yes... these wounds are nice, but it's not enough, you know. They aren't even deep... My first attack was just to stun and scare you, not to truly harm you," he explained, moving back pieces of the shredded cloth, "If I were to let you go now, these scars would heal within a week or so, sooner with the right magic. That's not enough to cover our disgrace."

"Wh-what are you- AH!" the woman screamed, feeling another burst of mana go up her torso, this time on her right side. Her voice went course with her scream, which was echoed by a satisfied, horrible laugh.

"What an interesting sound... but it's not quite what I want to hear," he stated, admiring the work he had done, its appearance mirroring the other side of her body.

Noelle's breath came out in strong, ragged pants, "S-stop... please... you'll gain nothing from harming me."

She was right; despite her royal status, she really had no connection to her family. Her siblings all ostracized her, treated her as if she was nothing as well, but she still used her name to act haughtily towards others. To a degree, she could sympathize towards her enemy; since becoming part of the Black Bulls and seeing how Asta fought his hardest every day towards his goal, she had grown to accept that there are more than just the standing of your life that defines a person, and that even a commoner that had been dealt the worst hands has the chance to become even more than what the world tries to force them into. Still, it didn't justify his treatment now, and it didn't change the fact that he would gain nothing from her. No one in her family would care if she was harmed or even killed, she knew that; if anything, they'd cheer at her funeral knowing that the blight on their name was gone...

"I already told you what I desire... your despair. What I'll gain is satisfaction knowing that some of my family's dishonor has been eased by the drips of royal blood," he replied, the violet mana surrounding his pointer finger, aiming it at her right cheek.

Before Noelle could flinch, his finger struck past it, clawing at her and leaving a bloody cut across her skin. She hissed out again in agony, her eyes welling up with tears. She didn't want to cry, but this pain... it was so strong! In her head she started to beg for it to stop, for someone to witness her distress, to rescue her. She cursed herself; she was a Magic Knight! She was strong, she had the power to protect herself! But right now she was useless, and all she wanted was for someone – anyone – to come after her and save her!

"Oh, cry my dear, cry! Your blood, your tears, they're all beautiful! It's delightful to see a royal break down; now you will understand the shame your kind has placed upon my family!" he exclaimed with diabolical laughter, aiming to do the same treatment to her face again, his finger lighting up again with his magic.

'Please... someone save me! Anyone... Captain, Magna, Vanessa... Asta! Someone, please find me, please rescue me!'

As soon as that plea left Noelle's mind, she felt the rush of strong air passing by her, causing her assailant to fall back from her, echoed by a loud scream. Her eyes shut tight, only opening when she had the sense of someone else standing in front of her. Slowly they blurred and cleared her image, and she gasped lightly at who she saw. "A... Asta..." she muttered softly, almost in disbelief that her plight had been answered.

Standing in front of her, his blade in hand, was Asta, his face fierce and teeth gritted. He was in a battle pose, facing off against the dark man, his eyes sparked in rage and contempt. "What the hell do you think you're doing to Noelle?" he growled out, "How dare you place a hand on her!?"

"Oh ho, another of the Black Bulls? But I don't see a hint of royalty to you, nor sense a hint of magic... you're an anomaly aren't you?" the dark man stated, "But no matter; I have no business with you!"

He extended his hand, the mana enveloping it and he sent it flying at Asta. Before it could even come close to him, with a yell and a swing of his blade, Asta dispelled the magic, shocking the other user at this sudden turn of events.

"How did that-!?"

"I'll make you pay for what you've done to Noelle!"

"Asta..." the water mage whispered, tears forming her eyes again but this time it wasn't just of pain, but of relief.

She heard the rustle of leaves around her, making her freeze, but she calmed down when she saw that it wasn't another enemy, but Magna and Luck instead. Her lips formed a wide smile, feeling beyond happy to see that her team had come to save her.

"Thanks for coming out, you guys!" Asta replied, also excited to see them appear.

"Hey, we couldn't just let you go off on your own, Rasta. And it's a good thing too!"

"Ooo, is this guy tough? Even if he isn't, it'll be worth the fight!"

"I'll let you two handle this for a moment," the swordsman replied, receiving two nods in return.

As Magna and Luck rushed the assailant, Asta rushed behind the tree, slicing through the mana bindings that held Noelle to its trunk. With them gone, she fell to the ground in a heap, her body shaking and tired, her arms coming up to cover herself where her clothes had started to fall away, her fingers brushing against her face and feeling the traces of blood on them. She was relieved, yet also still scared... she had never been attacked like this before, and it frightened her. She was made someone's target, bound and scarred, and there wasn't a single thing she could do to protect herself. She felt like a fool, a weak fool, although it's not as if she could've known that this would've happened... Still, she felt like a tiny child, unable to move, unable to do anything and it shook her to the core of her being.

"Noelle, are you okay?" Asta asked; she didn't even noticed he had moved in front of her, knelt to her level with his blade by his side, his eyes full of concern.

She couldn't respond; all she could do was stare at him with lavender orbs filled with fright and tears, her bottom lip quivering. She wanted to nod or give a snooty comment, but she couldn't, not this time. He could sense her fear and tenderly a hand reached out to her cheek, brushing over it despite the small bits of blood that still seeped through the cut. "You're going to be safe, Noelle. I promise," he stated, "We'll make that bastard pay for what he did to you, and when we get you back to headquarters, we'll get you patched up, okay?"

"Asta..." she squeaked out, her hand shakily reaching up to touch his, her other tightening around her chest, "I'm..."

He smiled at her slightly, moving back slightly to pull off his short jacket, moving it from underneath his Black Bulls robe, wrapping it around Noelle's shoulders to help cover her. She shakily slid her hands through the sleeves, reveling in its warmth, pulling it close to her, watching as Asta stood up and turned away, his hand grabbing the hilt of his blade.

"Stay back here and rest, okay? We'll handle this and get you home in no time!"

Lifting up his blade and with a yell, Asta charged into the fight, leaving her to watch as he fought, a faint blush on her bruised cheeks. For some reason, she no longer felt scared. She felt... happy. Happy that Asta came for her, that he was there for her. Her hands tightened their grip on his jacket, pulling it closer to her, the collar brushing up against her face, "Asta..."

After several minutes of intense fighting, the dark man was defeated and captured. Magna and Luck made sure he was bounded to where he couldn't escape, then headed back for the headquarters with him in tow, planning on having him escorted to the kingdom for prosecution. Following slowly behind them was Asta and Noelle, taking it easy as to not to disturb the wounds she had received now that they had stopped bleeding.

He carried her on his back, his arms wrapped tightly around her thighs, being mindful of their position on her, while her arms were wrapped around his neck, her chin resting against his hair. What remained of Noelle's cloak was half-tied around her waist, trying to help further with protecting her form. They were both quiet, save for their breathing, both were feeling tired from their ordeal today.

Still, Noelle didn't want to be silent. There was still that lingering embarrassment from earlier, remembered now that everything was returning to normal. She knew she should explain her statement from earlier, somehow or another. Her fingers gently grasped at Asta's shirt, a move she thought was subtle but he could pick up on the motion. "You okay, Noelle?" he asked.

"Y-yeah... just tired and I still hurt."

"We'll be back soon; if you want to, you can go to sleep."

"No, it's alright... Hey, Asta?"

"What's up?"

"About earlier..." she continued, "W-when I said that you had a better chance at marrying me... Well, I meant that, if you become the Wizard King, then surely you'd be allowed to marry anyone from any of the royal houses. And they'd have to accept you; no one would be stupid enough to deny the Wizard King his choice of who he wants to marry. That's what I meant... I wasn't meaning that you WOULD marry me or anything like that. A-and I wasn't implying that I wanted to marry you either!"

She realized how harsh that last line sounded, and she could hear herself starting to ramble, causing her to heat up again in her discomfort. However, Asta didn't quite pick up on it, instead widening his eyes and nodding slightly, "Oh, I got it now! That actually does make some sense... but still, I want to marry Sister Lily! Somehow I'll make it work!"

Noelle sighed and shook her head, "You idiot... You really don't learn, do you?"

"Well, then fine... let's say that you're right, that there is no way to do it. Then what about you, Noelle?"

"What about me what?"

"How about you marry me and become the Wizard Queen?"

"WHAT!?"

That shocked the royal mage so much that she squirmed and tried to jump off of Asta's back, although her pain and last second regret caused her to latch on tightly to his neck, causing him to lose balance and to choke at the same time. After a few seconds, things settled down again, but it still didn't make Noelle feel less awkward.

"Do you even know what you're saying? Proposing marriage randomly like that... do you have any sort of decency or shame?" she asked, her face a cherry red, her chin against his head with her eye lids and brows lowered in disbelief and annoyance.

Asta looked up, not actually seeing her face, "Well, like you said, if I become the Wizard King and chose to marry into a royal house, they'd have to accept me then, right? If you became the wife of the Wizard King, then that'd mean your family would have to be accepting of you too."

He did have a point, but it still didn't make her feel any better. Her fingers gripped a little more at his shirt, her heart racing more and she was nearly sure he could feel it pounding against his back. "Y-yeah, but still... it's not right to just propose to someone for such a superficial reason," she mumbled.

"What do you mean?"

"Oi... what is something that you have for Sister Lily that you don't have for me that makes you want to marry her?"

"Uh..." Asta made a noise in response, his brain turning gears trying to answer the question, much to Noelle's annoyed chagrin... Seriously, he didn't know right away the answer!? How dense could this boy be!?

She was too tired to want to deal with this. She turned her head to rest her cheek on his head, sighing again, "Dumb Asta... I would love to marry one day, but the reason why I want to marry someone is the reason you're struggling to come up with."

"Think you can give me a hint?"

"If I did, then you wouldn't really learn. But I'll tell you this... If you can figure out the reason, if you become the Wizard King, and if you're truly sincere with it, then maybe in the future I'll consider your proposal. But knowing your dense brain, you may never figure it out."

"Hey, I'm not that dense! I'll figure out this riddle of yours, just you wait!"

"It's not a- Oi... never mind," Noelle whispered, closing her eyes with an annoyed breath, yet her cheeks still remained red. Her heartbeat was still going fast, but honestly she didn't think Asta even noticed.

Soon enough, they had made it back to the headquarters, much to everyone's happiness. They were already filled in by Magna and Luck on the situation, Vanessa going with them and Finral to the kingdom to gather a few extra supplies to help with Noelle's recovery. As everyone fussed over Noelle's injuries, the young mage was happy that her incident this morning wasn't brought up and seemingly forgotten. It helped her feel a little more relieved; she was glad she only had to explain herself to Asta and Asta alone, not to everyone in the house. Although perhaps after the initial shock and worry over her passes, it'll be brought back up, but she'll deal with that later, when she can just try and brush it off in her usual manner.

While waiting for everyone's returns, Asta carried Noelle up to her bedroom so she could change and rest in the meantime. As much as it embarrassed her to have the young man in her room – as it was for her to have anyone in her room, to be honest – she was beyond happy when he approached her bed, sitting down on it gently to allow her to fall onto it with ease, the comfort of the mattress and blanket more important than her potential awkwardness over anyone seeing her childish knickknacks or girly styles.

"Thank you, Asta," she said kindly, carefully sitting up on the bed to lean up against the headrest.

"No problem! Get some rest; everyone should be back soon. Are you hungry at all? I can get you something to eat in the meantime? Or to drink?"

"No, it's alright. Oh, here... let me give your jacket back."

She slid her arms out of the jacket, handing it back to Asta as she pulled her blanket up to cover what the jacket originally did. "Thank you. I'll check up on you later, okay?" he replied, slinging it over his shoulder as he turned to walk out of the room.

Her eyes stayed his back for a moment and before she realized what she was doing, her lips parted to speak. "Asta?"

"Huh? Yeah, what's up?" he replied, stopping in the doorway and turning slightly to look back at his teammate.

She didn't say anything at first, just wanting to stare at him for another minute, but knew that doing so would just cause him to become suspicious of her. "Thank you for saving me today. And for understanding what I meant and not poking fun at me over it," she replied, her voice nearly a whisper compared to her usual haughty tone; Asta could tell how tired and worn out she was by the tone, and he just smiled.

"Of course. I'll always come and rescue you whenever you need it, Noelle. Get some rest."

With that said, he walked out the room, closing the door behind him, leaving Noelle in her room to her lonesome. She dropped the blanket, no longer needing to cover herself, sliding herself very slowly to sit on the edge of the bed for a moment, followed by getting up to go towards her closet to grab a new set of clothes. Her gaze lingered on the bedroom door for a few seconds, her lips forming a small smile.

'I hope you can figure out the answer, Asta.'

-end-