A/N: Well this is a thing that happened.
Explanation: In the early hours of the morning, whilst perusing some wonderful shippy fanart for writing ideas I came across this lovely piece of art (Tinyurl: ybdhym78) by Fullertoons on Tumblr and instantly was punched in the face with the urge to write medieval fantasy romance shit. I am weak for cliche princess and her knight fluff.
Its probably not the best idea to start stories whilst already in the middle of one, but hey you know what they say:
"Never look an inspiration horse in the mouth when you feed it water while it swims."
This will not update as frequently as Day after Day, but chapters will be noticeably longer. Tell me what you think of this mess! Reviews are appreciated!
A Rose in Winter
-oOo-
Crows screeched from the bare branches of slumbering trees as a young squire stomped through shin deep snow, grunting with each step. The bottom layers of snow had turned icy overnight, creating a solid foundation for more flakes to build. If the white powder had not frozen as it had, travelers would find the path insurmountable; every step sinking them further towards their icy tomb.
Lady Chariot had sent the squire out on errand duty, not wishing to leave the comfort of a fire for all but a siege. 'But if I can do what m'lady will not, surely it shall be a sign of my mettle as a knight!' Lady Chariot trusted the knight-to-be in retrieving what she asked independently of supervision; a test it seemed. This winter was harsher than any in recent memory: Cold, violent, a bitter wind sending hunks of ice flying at high speeds. All but few animals in the region had fled in fear or dug themselves deep underground, making hunting for meat unviable until they returned.
Squire Kagari would not be so easily beaten however, despite the chill seeping through her gambeson, and winds scratching at her bare ears angrily, she would march forward. She could see it now: Knight Kagari, the greatest of heroes. Evil would tremble in fear at her name, the innocent would sleep soundly knowing they were protected.
Before all of that could happen however, Akko needed to deliver this sword to the castle blacksmith. A fine blade, used well by the good knightess; well balanced, slender. Alas all edges, no matter how brilliant, do not one day fade, this sword was no different.
The furious howling of the winds gently began to die down, snowflakes returning to their straight downward falls, the forest once again quiet. Atsuko breathed a sigh of relief, lifting her face up from the package to get a look at where she was.
Though the forest looked identical to when she last looked, the telltale spires of Castle Manbaveran loomed ahead in the distance, surrounded by the sprawling Castle Town below. 'I didn't get lost!' The brunette squire jumped happily in the air, spirit and confidence renewed.
She was about to break out into a sprint towards the town walls, when a loud high pitched noise rang out; a murder of crows scattering from a clearing in the distance. Akko listened carefully for any sounds in the silent forest, frozen ears still usable.
A thud of something against wood.
The sound of a whip?
Trees creaking in the breeze.
Crunching of footsteps.
A man's scream of pain.
Something landing hard in the snow.
Akko bolted from the path towards the sounds of battle, adrenaline pumping through her veins, filling her cold skin with fire. As she got closer and closer, a deafening screech tore through her frostbitten eardrums.
'Mandrake!'
Sure enough, the squire arrived just in time to witness a large, writhing plant beast toss a man through the air. Two other men were already out of commission, nasty tears through their gambesons; blood soaking through. The beast was also rather worse for wear: a few of it's vine like limbs sliced clean off, an entire petal missing from it's head.
A young lady was the only one left standing, only a thick fur cloak protecting her flesh from the monster, and completely unarmed.
Without even thinking, Akko leaped out of the treeline, sliding to a stop in front of the girl; the still sheathed blade pointed threateningly. She swung the sword once, flinging the sheath from its blade, where it ended up hitting the monster in the face.
Though a pitiful blow, the beast was dazed, either from confusion or sheer offense at what had transpired.
The hooded girl took no time in seizing the opportunity, grabbing Akko's hand and dragging her away quickly from the beast into the woods.
"But those men!" Akko cried, nearly stumbling on a root as she was lead through the forest. "Thy heart is pure yet thy mind lax in judgement! We shalt return once the beast is laid low!" The girl spoke the way of nobles, difficult for Akko to piece apart in the commotion. The bit she did get however, concerned her.
"You want me to kill it?! How am I going to do that?!"
Zig zagging their path as to slow down and confuse the rabid monster, the two stopped behind a large pine, breathing heavily from exertion. "Thou hast a blade; thou art a knight, art thee not?"
Akko was silent for a second or two.
"Kind of."
The- very beautiful now that Akko had a look -woman searched Akko's eyes for deception. When the search brought up nothing, she turned away a few degrees, sighing.
"You at least know how to swing a sword properly, don't you?"
Her sudden abandonment of noble speak was jarring to say the least, but the squire could understand her now. Akko nodded, showing a few slightly off balance swings, much to the displeasure of her audience.
"You'll have to do."
A vile tasting substance was suddenly shoved into Atsuko's mouth; unprepared for the intrusion, Akko had no choice but to swallow it. She coughed, gagging at the aftertaste. "Acghk! Wh-Why did you do that?" Burnt wood and sewage ravaged her tastebuds while a new feeling crept down the squire's spine. Heat, adrenaline, the feeling of electric sparks flowing up and down her vertebrae.
"You're hopeless without my help. So I'm helping you. Give me your sword." The brunette reluctantly handed over the dull blade, attempting to air out her tongue in the meantime.
The pink haired girl took another vial from within her cloak, smearing a different, more viscous slime, all over the edge. "Hey! Promise me that won't ruin it! That needs to be brought back to Lady Chariot in perfect condition."
A black and purple fizz began building up on the edge of the dull sword, sizzling violently. "It burns off, don't worry about it. Only don't.. you know, touch the fizzing bit. Or your skin will melt off. Really quickly."
Sounds of thrashing vines and creaking wood approached their location quickly, the furious mandrake out for blood. "Stand fast squire! Swing true!" With a wave the hooded girl vanished into the woods, leaving Akko to face the beast alone. Getting over the shock of abandonment quickly, the brunette shifted her stance, raising the blade defensively. 'Just like Lady Chariot. You've watched her fight for years. Just like her.'
Crashing through the trees, the mandrake's eyes focused in on their target. It slid on the ice, screeching to a halt, vines clustering around it's vulnerable bud to protect it. After a moment of still silence, the beast took a step, testing it's limits with the new adversary.
Akko tilted the blade diagonally downward; a defensive stance that can quickly changed to a horizontal slice. 'Wait for them to get impatient.' The voice of Chariot echoed in her head, memories of instruction filling her with confidence.
As expected, the mandrake took another step. Akko could see one of the vines curling up like a string, awaiting command to strike.
'Wait for it...'
The tendril shot out towards her, aiming directly for her throat. With a flick of the wrist, defense became offense, and the blade was sent swinging horizontally, cutting messily through the thin vine. Akko stumbled slightly on the ice; the momentum of her swing, more forceful than usual, shifting her balance.
Regaining stability, the squires eyes were drawn to the reeling mandrake's sliced tendril: black and fizzling at the end, purple veins of venom creeping upward towards the petals. The beast shrieked in pain, thrashing another whip wildly; it went wide, scraping Akko across the neck. Not a deep cut, but the open wound stung in the chilly air.
Whatever that girl had smeared across the sword's edge seemed incredibly painful, the mandrake's screeches shaking snow from nearby trees. Seizing the opening, Akko sliced upward at one of the mandrake's mobility vines, depositing more burning filth deep within the wound.
It roared, whipping Akko across the shins, sending her sprawling into the snow. Shifting the damaged vines to the back of it's body, the beast crawled forward towards the squire, its two remaining non mobility vines curled for attack. A bolt of electricity within her spine caused Akko to roll, narrowly dodging the vines as they dug into the ice where she once was.
Once on her stomach, the squire pushed herself up to standing, grabbing the sword and swinging wildly at the monster's side. One particularly violent cut dug into a petal, lodging within the flesh of the beast's flower like face.
Utterly furious and deeply injured, the mandrake swung with it's mobility vines, slicing into Atsuko's thigh and gambeson. She tumbled to the ground yet again, clutching at her leg.
Wounded and in pain, Akko looked up at death's face, smirking at the ugly black scar deep within one of the petals. "I hope that poison kills you slowly!" She shouted, a hint of mania creeping into her voice. 'I die saving a young lady from evil. There is no departure greater for a knight.'
Before she could give in entirely, a familiar voice echoed from above her.
"Sorry to disappoint, but it will be quick."
And then screaming.
Opening her eyes Akko witnessed something wonderful. Black sizzling poison covering the Mandrake's bulb entirely, burning away it's life by the second. Up in the branches of a tree, the girl in the cloak sat relaxed, an empty flask between her fingers and a wide shark toothed grin on her face.
The mandrake had finally stopped screaming, assuredly dead. It's blackened corpse continued to burn as the poison tore through layer after layer.
"You are by far the worst knight I've ever met."
Akko looked back to the girl who had jumped down into the snow and was now standing over her. She turned her face away, offering a hand.
"Though far from the worst squire."
Akko took the offered hand, coming up to standing, where she stumbled due to her injured leg. The hooded woman grabbed hold under each elbow, steadying her; their faces were very close when both sets of eyes came up to lock. The woman looked away, a slight brush of pink on her face, though that could have been from the sheer cold of the forest.
"PRINCESS!" Shouting echoed from the forest behind them, no doubt the knights had recovered and come running.
"Princess?" Akko paled, eyes bulging.
"Here gentlemen! Thine enemy hast been smote, well and truly!" The hooded girl- the princess -called out into the forest, waving a hand above her head.
"Princess?" Akko repeated, only now seeing the silver tiara hidden under the cloak's hood.
A very burly man, who Akko recognized as the one who had been thrown earlier, ran up to them; the two others supporting each other as they limped. His hair was a deep orange, cut short and kept well; a thick beard of similar colour adorned his chin, keeping him warm in such freezing temperatures.
"Your highness, thank the gods." he collapsed over his knees, breathing heavily from running so fast after being thrown.
"Worry not, Sir Yanson. With my assistance, this travelling knight hath slain the beast." The princess gestured to the smoking corpse of the mandrake, a serene smile across her lips.
Knight Yanson looked between the smoldering heap that used to be a monster and Akko, his expression of disbelief shared by both of the other knights. She could only wave dumbly.
He laughed then, joyfully, stumbling over to Akko he took her hand with both of his and shook madly. "Well thank you very much! You protected her highness when we could not." The squire laughed nervously, looking over to the princess for help. She did not see however, busy handing a few little white mushrooms to the injured soldiers while looking over their wounds.
"What's your name hero? I would like to relay your feat to the Captain m'self."
"H-h-hero?" Akko stuttered, mind in complete meltdown.
"Well of course!" The knight cried, nodding. "You have saved the heir to the Manbaveran throne from an untimely fate! I call that heroic!"
She felt lightheaded. Sucy Manbaveran, next in line to be queen. Spoke to her, touched her. She saved a princess from a monster.
'All my dreams coming true at once...'
"N-Noo" She tried. "You guys weakened it for me. I can't take full credit."
"Quite" Princess Sucy walked up beside her, popping a mushroom in her mouth before she could speak.
"Thoust fought bravely Sir Yanson, be not so humble. Thou art all heroes in the eyes of The Crown."
Bending down in the snow, the princess took a careful look at the gash in Atsuko's thigh. Gently touching the skin around the cut, she peered into the wound for any alien objects. "Assist this one, Sir Yanson. Her leg requires supplies that I possess not."
As instructed, Sir Yanson offered his back to hop onto, which the squire accepted gladly, the adrenaline was wearing off, and standing on her injured leg was becoming unbearable.
Yanking the toxic sword from the ruin of the mandrake, Princess Sucy raised it skyward.
"Away gentlemen!"
-oOo-
Within thirty minutes, the small injured party had arrived at the town gates; guards frantically rushing to aid them. "Princess! By what devilry dost thou return so defeated?!"
"A mandrake beset upon my party. With assistance from this traveler, the foul creature was slain." Akko was too exhausted to be humble or nervous, simply raising a hand at the reference to herself.
"Inform my father and the Captain of our return. The injured shalt be tended to personally. Fetch two handmaidens hastily." Waltzing through the gate, the princess stopped mid step, shouting behind her. "And summon the royal smith to me!"
Akko was in awe. The calm princess' normally dull red eyes burnt with a harsh fire as she barked orders; imagining her as queen one day was easy.
Soon they were inside, warmth finally flowing back into Atsuko's frozen body, beginning the slow process of thawing. She was set down on a table, lying across its surface; muscles finally giving out from absolute overuse. The two handmaidens called for rushed into the room, bowing to the princess.
"M'lady, we came as fast as we could!" Princess Sucy smiled warmly, quietly informing them on the various injuries of the group. She felt a pair of small yet rough hands pulling away her torn gambeson, the vine had cut through nearly completely, only sheer human ingenuity saving her from death; though the cut was still deep enough to scar. Her leg however had not been so lucky: the vine whip had sliced deep, fracturing bones with it's force. Akko was sure a few of her ribs were cracked as well, she could feel a slight shift to her ribcage as she breathed.
"Thou fought bravely." The princess' soft voice sounded nearby, Atsuko creaked open an eye to see her standing next to the table, gentle hands against the skin of her neck, cleaning the wound with warm water. She leaned in, dropping her voice to a whisper as to not besmirch her noble persona. "Even if you sucked."
"Oi!" Atsuko whisper-yelled, careful to not let any of her loyal servants hear her. "I took vine whips for you!" The princess stopped, looking over Akko's bruised and sliced body, mischievous smile melting into a guilty frown.
"You-Thou... art correct.. Apologies."
Stepping back slightly from the table, Sucy reached for the rolling cart of medical supplies, pulling out a vial of a very pink substance. "Still thyself." She commanded, dipping a thin wooden implement into the contents.
Akko could feel a sudden cold patch on her neck as the princess carefully spread the goo across her open wound. There was a slight sting, though it lasted for a moment only. Holding out her palms to hover over the gash, a soft pink light began emanating from the solution. Akko's eyes widened as she felt flesh and sinew weave itself back together within seconds.
"Still thyself knave!" Sucy raised her voice when Akko shifted, attempting to look at her own neck fruitlessly. "If thou wishes to injure thyself further, do so after thy departure!"
Next, the princess removed the tatters of Akko's tunic. Soft hands gently touching different areas of her torso. Akko felt her face heat up; a gorgeous princess feeling her up was too much to bear.
Sucy leaned close, soft voice puffing air against Akko's nose. "I can only move them back to where they're supposed to be, healing them completely will take some time." Resting her two hands just below the squire's bind, the princess's hands began to glow that soft pink once more.
"Breathe deeply. No harm will come to thee." Atsuko did as instructed, expanding her lungs as far as possible, feeling her loose rib bones shift with her breath. Not a single one pierced her flesh.
For around ten minutes, the princess tended to her wounds quietly, instructing her when required, otherwise keeping silent. Feeling such gentle, delicate, fingers mend her body drew the squire into a haze, embarrassment forgotten as she simply enjoyed the attention.
"Thou may rise, Knight." Princess Sucy's voice jolted Atsuko from her daydreams. Her ribs had been wrapped tightly, holding them in place as they healed. The slice through her thigh had been closed, though a wooden support had been bound tightly to her, keeping it straight lest the bone deform.
"Thank you, Your Highness. Your abilities are legend."
Sucy looked away bashfully- 'She does that a lot?' -fiddling with her fingers. "Thou art a hero;" She stated, a small amount of pink staining her cheeks; definitely not from the cold this time. "Thy wounds received for my sake. Without the tiniest scruple of whom thou laid thy life down for, thou leaped to the call. I wish to repay my debt."
The brunette's face burned at the praise; everything the princess was true: she was ready to fight and die. Without even thinking, not knowing or caring who was in trouble. 'If Lady Chariot could see me now.'
"I am humbled Your Highness." She mumbled, attempting to flush the red from her cheeks.
Sucy stepped closer, speaking quietly with her head down, lovely pink hair shielding her face. Her voice was sorrowful, the guilt dripping from her tongue. "What's your name? I never even asked."
Akko smiled, picking up the princess' hand, attempting to lighten her mood.
"Atsuko Kagari, Your Highness. Though I prefer Akko."
A chivalrous kiss was placed on her knuckles, the brunette's head hung low in respect; borrowing a line from Knight Chariot in desperation to impress the young royal.
"I am the shield of the innocent. There is no debt to repay."
A/N: Smooooooth Akko, git it gurl. I could have continued this chapter until it was 10 thousand words long, but I was just excited to get what I have out to you guys. Forgive any spelling mistakes, I tried my best but a lot of this was written at 5 in the morning. Another thing, any theatre or language majors, prithee forgive me for butchering old english speak, I am but a humble fanfiction writer.
I hope you enjoyed this self indulgent mess! Tell me how I did!