Once upon a time.....
Once upon a time in a kingdom far far away in an age long past there lived a young knight. He was a brave knight and always fought valiantly for his King to protect the Kingdom from invasion from those who coveted the King's land.
As he grew older and more handsome he was asked by many fathers to wed their daughters so that they could boast that their daughter was they wife of the King's mightiest warrior. However he denied and rejected all requests whether they came from nobility or former knights themselves for he only had eyes for one. A young maid in the King's service who worked as one of the Queen's handmaidens.
She was quiet, shy and pretty in her own right. She was not a great beauty and neither was she ugly but to the Knight she was the prettiest maiden in the entire kingdom. But though the Knight may have been a mighty warrior, able to face any foe he so afraid she would reject him that he had never actually spoken to her. Instead he contentedly watched her from afar.
It was a peaceful autumn day and the knights did not have any assignments or missions to complete so the young knight decided that today would be the day that he would win her heart and finally ask her his wife. So off he went determined to make it so.
When he arrived at the main fort where the King and Queen resided, he headed toward the servants quarters where he thought she may be. However when he arrived he could not find her so he asked the other servants if they have seen her.
"She always goes to the river on days like these." said another of the Queen's maids.
"Thank you, Miss." the Knight replied courteously.
So he left the servants quarters and rode to the river on horse back. When he arrived he dismounted, tied up the horse and walked to the river's shore. On the shore he saw a small pile of female outer garments. Thinking that he had the wrong place he turned around to go back the way he had come, but just as he was about to walk away he heard a series of gasps splashes and a small call for help as the young maid surfaced. Noting her panicked expression he quickly stripped off his boots and tunic and leapt into the water to help her.
Upon reaching her he wrapped his arms around her waist and towed her back to the shore. Once they were back on dry land he turned her on her side to help her cough up the water she had swallowed. As she coughed up the water he patted her back to make it easier for her to breathe.
After coughing up all the water that she had swallowed she slowly sat up and looked over at her rescuer who was sitting beside her. She immediately recognized him as one the King's knights.
As quickly as she could on shaky legs she stood, gave a small bow and tried to move to her abandoned outer garments. But the sudden movement made her head spin and she flopped ungracefully to the ground once more.
The Knight quickly, seeing her fail the first time, helped her regain her legs and led her towards her garments which he gathered up for her. When he stood back up with her garments in his hands she averted her gaze out of embarrassment for only now realizing that he stood before her in only his breeches.
Relieving him of her clothes she pulled them on over her wet shift. The Knight soon following suit with his tunic and boots.
"Th..thank you, sir knight for...for helping me. I...I am in your debt for saving me. How can...can I re...repay you?" she stuttered with a small curtsey.
"It was nothing Miss. One cannot leave a damsel in distress without helping her first for that is a knight's duty." replied the Knight with a small smile.
Blushing the young maid reached up on her toes and gently placed a kiss on the Knight's cheek.
"T...t...to show my gratitude Sir Knight." she quietly explained.
Slowly the Knight lifted his hand to his cheek and softly touched the area she kissed with a dreamy expression.
"You are most welcome my lady" said the Knight, "most welcome indeed."
Slowly he bent down and gave the maid a quick peck on the lips before swiftly pulling away. She slowly lifted her hand to touch her lips as her face went as red as a cherry. Upon seeing her blush the knight gave a small smile.
"That was repayment now you are no longer indebted to me." he said looking her straight in the eye causing her to blush harder.
"H...h...how can a l...li...little kiss be payment for…for…for saving my life?" she questioned.
"From a fair maiden such as you it is more then enough." replied the Knight.
"But I am no fair maiden I am just a maid in the King's service." she retorted bowing her head to hide from his gaze.
"Ahh but you a fair maiden. In all my years of service I have never seen any fairer then you." he said while placing a finger under her chin and to bring her gaze back to him. Bending down slowly he gave her another kiss however this time he lingered longer and pulled back slower then he had the first time.
After a while of standing there gazing at her he broke the silence between them.
"Miss may I ask a question?" he asked.
"Of coarse sir knight." she replied.
"If I was to ask for your hand in marriage would you agree?"
The maid was taken aback and asked him why one of his stature would want to marry someone like her, a plain and lowly maid.
"Because I have watched you for a long time and during that time I have fallen in love with you." he explained.
Biting her lip out of nervousness she quietly said
"This must be a dream for I could never be so fortunate as to receive the love of a knight."
"No no it's not a dream my lady, it's not a dream." he said smiling
She blushed scarlet again.
"Then, then I would s...say, I...I...I would definitely say y..ye...yes. Yes, definitely yes S...Sir Knight." she stuttered looking down again.
"If that is your answer then would you be my wife?" he asked with a grin tipping her head back with his finger under her chin.
"Y...y...yes yes." she replied a small smile on her blushing face.
"Good." was all he said as he bent down to kiss her again. This time wrapping his arms around her waist and spinning her around in his excitement earning him a delighted squeal and giggle from his so to be wife.
A few months after the announcement of the Knight's engagement they were married by King and lived out the rest of their days together and they lived Happily Ever After.
THE END
A/N:
This is the first story I have ever written.
The Knight I kept picturing as Lancelot (cause he's the King's best knight) while writing it but now I'm thinking the Knight is more like Galahad (cause he would probably be afraid the object of his affections would reject him). Well either on you chose you could even put any of the other knights or characters of your own as the knight. The King I saw as Arthur and the Queen (obviously) as Guinevere.
I got the urge to write a fairytale a few Wednesdays ago when I was at my grandma's reading Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Beauty and the Beast. I hoped you enjoyed my story cause I had a lot of fun writing it.
Review if you want and tell me what you think but I'm not fussed.
Well Thanks again for reading.
Lucky