Well, at least the weather was good. A comfortable heat. Not too windy. The smell of warm bread and fresh roses carried pleasantly through the air. The merchants had pulled out all the stops today. The market was abuzz with excited voices and tempting treats.

The cute, green haired girl had snuck her a small cake when the guards weren't looking. Tsu, she'd told her to call her. Calliope, she had responded when the pretty, peasant girl had tried to call her 'your highness.' But no matter how many times the princess insisted, no one ever called her by her name. Not even her two maids in waiting, Mina and Ochako, and they were the closest people to her. Except her dad, of course. But the King was always too busy to spend more than a few hours with his daughter.

Today, however, was different. Today marked the beginning of something new.

"Sir Bakugo certainly isn't holding back today!" Mina declared, her eyes training on the knight in question.

Sir Bakugo was mounted on his horse, his name was being chanted in the stands. Out of all the knights, he was Calliope's least favourite, despite how popular he was in the kingdom.

"Does he ever?" The princess mumbled, chin resting on her hand. How long was the jousting meant to go on for again? She couldn't wait for the day to be over.

"He is a little scary, to be honest." Ochako added, fingers dancing lightly at her lips.

Indeed he was. Which was probably why the King always appointed him to accompany her on the rare occasion she ever left the castle. Sir Bakugo was such a stiffer for the rules and never let her have any fun. At least Sir Kaminari and Sir Kirishima made her laugh.

The young, blond knight looked formidable with the sun glinting off his armour as he shifted on his horse, his hefty lance held at his side. He pointed it at his opponent, it's point as threatening as his crimson glare. The knight at the other side of the terrain pulled somewhat timidly at the visor of his helmet. Calliope was sure she saw fear in his eyes before they disappeared behind the metal. She knew who would come out victorious even before the two horses were kicked into motion.

Three beasts charged; two stallions and Sir Bakugo.

The opponent hit the ground with a sickening crunch.

The crowd went wild. Well, those who belonged to her father's kingdom did. The few who belonged to the Kingdom of Tartatus merely clapped out of politeness. Or out of intimidation of the knight that now paraded arrogantly in front of the stands.

"That's what we like to see, Sir Bakugo!" Bellowed King Toshinori jovially, his large hands clapping loudly as the knight in question lead his horse past the royal stand.

Sir Bakugo bowed as his steed trotted past. Calliope puffed out a sigh through loose lips. Formalities, formalities...

"Come now, my dear!" The King encouraged, turning his smiling face towards her. "Try to look amused. This day is all in honour of you, after all!" His expression faltered when her sad eyes locked onto his. "Calliope..." he began, reaching out to her. But the sound of a horn cut him off before he could form any sort of word on his lips.

Not that it mattered. Calliope knew what he was going to say. Ever since he had broken the news to her, he had attempted to comfort and reassure her during the whole build up to this day.

For you see, today her kingdom had welcomed another through its gates. King Toshinori had promised his sole child, Princess Calliope, to King Shigaraki's heir, Tomura. The two kingdoms would make a powerful alliance.

At least that's was her father kept telling her.

Over and over again.

She had only met the prince once and now dreaded having to meet him again. He was quiet, rasping and down right creepy. Tonight, she would have to dance with him at the ball...

As Sir Bakugo's still-unconscious opponent was dragged towards the stands and his riderless horse lead away to the stables, the next competitors positioned themselves at either end of the terrain.

It was Mina's excited squeal that roused Calliope from her sorrowful daydream.

"Look, your highness! Sir Russel is next!"

The knight in question lead his beautiful white horse into position while a couple of his fellow knights handed him his gear.

The sight of the other knights raised her spirits. Although she and Sir Bakugo never got along, she and the other knights had grown close over the years. The men were like the big brothers she, and her father, had always wanted.

If only her father had a male heir. At least then she wouldn't have to marry a stranger. But alas, her mother had died in childbirth and King Toshinori couldn't bring his broken heart to accept anyone else into it.

The knight named Kirishima passed Sir Russel his lance while Sir Deku held up his shield.

Calliope saw Mina lean in to whisper something to Ochako. She smiled knowingly, she was most likely teasing her about her infatuation with the green haired, kind faced knight. Poor Ochako, a maid in waiting, would never have a chance at marrying a knight, no matter how often she fantasised about it.

Sir Russel adjusted himself on his horse, his warm, chestnut hair shining handsomely beneath the midday sun. Before sliding his helmet onto his head, he cast a dashing smile towards her and she felt herself return the expression despite herself. Sir Russel was always so charming. As was his brother, who'd she see later that evening. Her mood improved a little at this realisation.

The two knights positioned themselves at either end of the terrain. After a roaring applause from the crowd, the horses charged. This time, Calliope watched the events unfold. Despite Russel being the quintessential Knight when it came to chivalry, it was a well known fact in court that a lot of his success came down to dumb luck.

And low and behold, as his opponent's lance threatened to collide heavily against the armour at Russel's shoulder, the lackadaisical knight flinched as a insect flew near. Having moved out the way just in time, Russel's lance crashed into his opponent and knocked him flat against the back of his horse. Once again, Sir Russel had won by fluke.

The lucky win marked the end of the jousting tournament meaning it was time to head back to the castle to prepare for the grand feast that evening.

Mina and Ochako accompanied the princess to her chambers to help her into her gown. It was a beautiful garment, one she had inherited from her late mother. Her long, green hair and olive skin had also been passed down to her from the queen. Only Calliope's high cheek bones and long legs had come from her father. That and her loud laugh. But princesses weren't allowed to laugh loudly.

The dress weighed her down. And not just from the amount of heavy fabric, but from the notion that this was the same gown her mother had worn years ago when she first met her father.

Now it was Calliope's turn to meet the man she was betrothed to. It was increasingly becoming hard to breath. And that wasn't just from the squeeze of her corset.

The grand hall was decorated beautifully, as expected. The King was immensely pleased as he gazed around at the lush greenery and expensive fabrics that draped the walls and tables.

"I must say, your grace..." a voice to her left spoke, "the castle looks splendid this evening."

Calliope swallowed her mouthful of mead and kept her eyes trained on her golden plate. It was so highly polished, she could see her own, miserable face staring back at her. The plate was the same colour as her sad, staring eyes. She need not have to raise them to know who was speaking.

King Shigaraki continued, "as does your daughter."

Calliope cringed.

"Don't you agree, Tomura?"

And the prince looked just as uncomfortable as her when he turned his cold eyes towards her and managed a weak smile.

"Yes. Splendid," he croaked. He too drunk deeply from his chalice after speaking. Calliope couldn't help but grimace at the way he pursed his chapped lips against the jewelled rim and how his lank hair fell into his eyes when he dipped his head.

She was thankful for her father's contribution when he began to boast loudly about the craftsmanship of his people. The less she had to speak to anyone from the Tartarus Kingdom, the better.

Unlike her own, their kingdom was notorious for their bloody battles and their fierce army. King Toshinori's kingdom prided themselves on their healthy trade and peaceful history.

Eventually, her father's loud monologuing was replaced by the announcement of tonights entertainment. At this, Calliope finally perked up. Her spine straightened beneath her dress, her mouth curled up at the edges and her eyes lifted from her empty plate to the figure who presented himself before the King's table.

The court jester, always managed to make her smile. He had been attending her father's court for well over a year now, and unlike the other jesters, his jokes were actually funny and his presence always lit up the room far more than the masses of candle sticks did. Anytime her father summoned him to perform, Calliope would eagerly look forward to his performance.

"Your Majesty!" He greeted, falling into a theatrically low bow before the King. "Your highness..." he added, letting his bell-covered hat fall into his hand and placing it against his chest as his light eyes lifted to look at the princess.

Tonight, his costume was a mix of sky blue, silver and white. But despite the cool colour palette of his comical attire, his dimpled grin was as warm and lovely as ever. Calliope tried not to beam quite as broadly as she wanted to; she could feel her father watching her through a sideways glance.

The problem with castles was that rumours and gossip travelled like wild fire through the corridors. Calliope suspected it had been the kitchen staff who had first suggested that the princess had fallen for the court jester. This, however, was far from the truth.

Yes, she found him very handsome, with his fair features and dimpled cheeks and yes, he was pretty much the only man that could break Calliope's trained, princess-chuckle so that she snorted and guffawed loudly like her father instead, but she had never even spoken to the man. All she knew of him, was that he was the older brother of Sir Russel and that his name was Samuel. Then again, she didn't know much about Prince Tomura either and they were set to be wed in less than a week...

After holding Samuel's gaze for as long as she dared, she finally returned her eyes to her clasped fingers. The heat that graced her cheeks just after was blamed on the mead.

As usual, Samuel has the crowd in tears of laughter as he reeled off his jokes about the plague in the west and the Southern Continent's failing trade. His sly jabs at his brother's incompetence as a knight also didn't go unnoticed and Calliope glimpsed the other knights try to hide their amusement behind their chalices and gloved hands. Except Sir Bakugo, of course, who grunted loudly in amusement from his slouching position.

Soon enough, Samuel's performance drew to a close and Calliope was left feeling that same sense of dead that had plagued her throughout the day. Soon enough, she would have to dance with her husband-to-be.

She felt a strong hand lay on her shoulder and turned her face to stare up at her father.

"Now, Calliope. Where's that beautiful smile gone?"

And once again, before she and her father could exchange more than a few words, a blast of a horn and the loud announcement of the start of the evenings dance sounded.

It was the prince who got to his feet first after being subtly encouraged by his father. When he offered her a timid hand, she took it hesitantly with a final, forlorn glance at her father. Perhaps he would suddenly take pity on her and call the whole thing off. Perhaps he would tell those who came from Tartarus to leave the castle immediately. Perhaps he would finally let his daughter be free to explore the outside world without Sir Bakugo shadowing her and let her laugh loudly at Samuel's jokes without the rest of the court judging her.

Alas, no.

Prince Tomura lead her onto the dance floor as the bards struck up a melody. She wished they had opted for a faster tune. The sooner the dance was over, the better. How she hated being this close to Prince Tomura's dry, scowling lips. At least he didn't place his hands on her like a lustful swine like she had witnessed the chef do so often to the scullery maid. Rather, Tomura seemed reluctant to place all his fingers on her at once, making the dance a rather awkward one.

Heavy skirts of silk and velvet twirled against the warm glow of candlelight as two, reluctant bodies spun across a stone floor.

Light eyes followed their movements from the shadows. A shallow sigh accompanied the light jingle of bells as a lone figure retreated from the music filled hall.