Never had they seen such chaos within the castle walls. Panicked and angry voices bounced off every stone surface, heavy footsteps echoed throughout the corridors. Doors slammed, armour clanked, fists beat against wood tables and the princess was still nowhere to be found.
"Your Majesty..." Sir Midoriya began, his helmet under one arm and the other reaching to lay a hand on the King's shaking shoulder. "The knights and I have spoken to the Maids and no one saw her leave."
Sir Bakugo snorted, "you mean, no one admits to seeing her leave." He was pacing the floor, swinging his sword around nonchalantly. The recent turn of events had caused him much amusement. It had been a while since the knights had been tasked any sort of quest. Therefore, the news that the princess had gone missing on the day of the celebration of her betrothal to Prince Tomura had granted him much excitement.
Sir Midoriya cast a frown his way. It was no secret that the freckly-faced knight and the maid known as Ochako had been secretly courting, therefore it came as no surprise to any of the knights that Midoriya was covering for her. For the truth was that both she and the maid Mina had admitted to helping the princess leave the feast and dress to take a turn around the courtyard. Ochako had told them that the princess had wanted some fresh air after dancing for so long with the prince. Apparently, she never returned.
"Then where is she? Perhaps she has been taken!" The King bellowed, waving his large hands in the air and almost knocking Midoriya to the ground. Sir Kirishima caught him mid stumble however, and steadied him as he took his turn to address the King
"Whatever happened, it is our duty to find her and we will set out at once!" He proclaimed, staring straight and beating a fist against his chest plate.
"Yes! At once! She couldn't have gone far if she set out alone. Hurry! And bring her home safely."
As the King slumped back in his throne as the other knights rallied to prepare for departure, Sir Russel lingered behind. Cautiously, he approached the crestfallen King.
"Your Grace, if I may..." he uttered, bowing slightly.
The King raised his hand and nodded for him to continue, though the misery never left his features.
"There is a chance that the Princess' disappearance has something to do with her betrothal to Prince Tomura."
The silence that ensued was enough to make Russel's heart hammer beneath his armour. Perhaps he had spoken out of place.
But the King eventually heaved a fatigued sigh, his large hands rubbing over his eyes. "Indeed. I believe you may be right, Russel." He turned his large head towards him and gestured for him to come closer.
The knight obliged, moving forward and taking a knee beside the King.
"I never wanted to give her away to that horrible family..." he confessed in an uncharacteristically small voice. "But King Todoroki's eldest son has been missing for almost half a decade, Prince Natsuo is an illegitimate son and Prince Shouto is far too young. I had no other choice but to resort to the Shigaraki family instead."
Sir Russel nodded his head and secretly wondered why on earth the King was confiding all this to him. Then again, the obvious answer was guilt- he clearly blamed himself for his only child's disappearance.
"All I ever wanted was to see my daughter happy. Ever since her mother died I...we..." He trailed off as Russel noted the hint of a crack in his voice. The King could not cry at court. Clearing his throat, he tried again. "Before you set out to find her, Russel. I must ask you one thing."
Sir Russel gave a curt nod. "Anything, your grace."
"You must visit your brother."
Russel frowned curiously, "Samuel?"
The King have a sad nod. "Yes. Calliope has always been fond of him. If she did leave on her own accord, and wasn't in fact taken, I suspect the first person she may have turned to for help was him."
The knight swallowed hard. Like everyone at court, he was aware of the rumours that the Princess had taken a liking to the court jester, but Russel never paid it much attention. After all, despite being a professional fool, his older brother was in fact a very clever man. Surely he wouldn't have been as stupid as to get involved with helping the Princess escape? Surely they hadn't eloped? No. No surely not.
"Of course, your majesty." He replied, getting to his feet. "I will call at my brother's home and ask him for any information."
And as he and the other knights rode into the night towards the small patch of land not too far from the market place, Russel hoped to the high heavens that Samuel would be sat in his usual chair reading his usual books.
*
Despite being siblings, there were many things that separated the two brothers. Their height was the most obvious thing. Russel, despite being younger by 4 years, was the tallest by almost a head, though they were both broad in the shoulders. However, upon those shoulders sat two contrasting heads; Russel's had warm chestnut hair and eyes like honey. Samuel was fair and had eyes the colour of ice chips. The eldest sibling often joked that their mother may have had a one night affair with the blacksmith for them to look so different. And perhaps that may have been the case, for their father had been a horrible, old miser. One of the last things their mother ever told them before sickness took her one winter, was how proud she was that neither of her sons turned out like him.
"Turns out your brother is a damn fool after all..." taunted Sir Bakugo after every room of the house was searched leaving Samuel no where to be found. The blond knight plopped into the chair by the hearth where Russel had hoped to have found his brother sitting.
The other knights gathered around, each face turned towards Russel.
"Look..." He began, fingers pinching the bridge of his nose, "just because my brother isn't home, doesn't mean he took off with the Princess."
The knights exchanged unconvinced looks between them. And Russel had to admit it felt more than a mere coincidence that both the court jester and the princess had gone missing in the same night.
"Well..." Sir Midoriya began, eyes scanning the room one last time for any clues. Samuel's riding cloak and bag were missing, as well as some supplies from the cupboards. "Perhaps he merely went to a tavern and had one too many meads."
Russel could tell the young knight was trying to sound hopeful for his sake. If his brother had run off with the Princess, the news would reflect terribly on him. He could only begin to imagine the gossip that would begin to spread around court, if it hadn't already started.
"Yeah!" Sir Kaminari piped up, "let's check the inns and taverns and see what we can find out!"
Russel and Sir Kirishima nodded. Sir Bakugo rolled his eyes.
Though no one had the guts to speak the words out loud, they all knew that a jester and a princess were on the run together.
What they didn't know though, however, was that they were also getting a helping, many-ringed hand from a certain charlatan named Touya, who's time on the road would prove invaluable for the two runaways that we're currently huddled in the back of his horse-drawn cart.
"You two comfortable back there?" His voice called to them.
The answer, admittedly, was no. Not only did Sam find the pile of animals hides and other harsh materials he and the Princess were hidden beneath unpleasant, the fact he was pressed so snugly up against her was also cause for discomfort. When Samuel grumbled a sheepish reply, he heard Touya's low chuckle ring out over the sound of turning cart wheels and the soft thud of hooves.
"Actually, I think it's safe enough for you to come out now. We're quite some distance from the gates."
It must have been approaching midnight; an unsafe time to be travelling the roads. But what choice did they have?
In the distance, they could still hear the bells tolling; the sound marking the kingdoms uproar that their princess was missing.
Samuel whipped off the hides and shook off the loose hay from his hair and clothes. The cool night air greeted him with a sympathetic embrace, one that eased the burning sensation in his cheeks put there from the feel of the princess' hips pressed into his.
The back of Touya's cart was a mess. Besides the piles of various animals pelts and fabrics, the cart was also littered with trinkets, chests and other such loot he had collected on his travels. Most of the miscellaneous items where barely worth a penny, but the charlatan's gift of the gab and cunning wit often meant that he could pass off the random objects as bewitched charms that would bring the user luck and fortune. Samuel couldn't believe how gullible some people could be. Then again, as he stared out into the dark horizon, the jester couldn't help but hope that at least one of Touya's damn trinkets would grant them luck on this foolish journey they had now set out on.
Calliope sneezed as her head emerged from a pile of deer skins.
"Where on earth did you even manage to get these from?" She asked, smoothing out the fur of a buck across her lap. "Hunting deer is strictly forbidden unless you are a member of the royal family."
Touya lifted a shoulder, "I have my ways, Princess. Never you mind." He flashed her a wink from over his shoulder.
Samuel saw her face fall into a frown in the slither of moonlight that illuminated their path through the woods. They had had to avoid any main roads and this one was notorious for thieves and bandits. Samuel thought about the dagger in Calliope's cloak and hoped she knew how to wield it if the need ever arose.
"Stop calling me Princess. You may call me Callie." She tutted, her hand reaching for Samuel's shoulder to steady herself as she swung her leg over to take a seat next to the driver.
Both men were flashed an ample amount of thigh as she slid into her seat at the front of the cart, before she tucked her legs away again beneath her skirts. How very un-princess-like.
The men exchanged a bewildered look, Touya's lips twitching a smirk while Samuel raised his brows and heaved a breath under the glow of the moonlight. Lamps were out of the question, they would give away their location far too easily. Luckily it was full moon that night.
"Okay. My apologise, Callie." Touya grinned, still eyeing her curiously as she settled at his right side. Samuel then joined him at his left, almost losing his footing and toppling over the edge as the cart jostled over a rugged patch of earth. But Touya caught his arm and dragged him down to sit beside him.
"Now's not the time to be flouncing around, jester." He teased, "you're not even wearing your silly costume."
Samuel clicked his tongue and righted his tunic after Touya's grip had sent it riding up around his throat.
Calliope was laughing softly. "I always thought your costumes were great." She chimed.
Her comment made Touya snort a laugh while Sam felt his shoulders hunch slightly in embarrassment.
"See, Sam?" Touya laughed, one hand on the reins and the other slapping his friend hard on the back. "The princess likes your costumes! And to think, you spend half your time complaining about how much you hate performing..."
Sam flinched, eyes meeting Calliope's as they squinted at him.
"You don't like being a jester?" She asked, leaning forwards to peer past Touya.
"He hates it," the driver proclaimed through a grin before Samuel could answer. "He says everyone at court are just pompous pigs."
Calliope raised her brows at this and crossed her arms over her chest as Samuel raised his defensively.
"I never said that!" He retorted, throwing a glance then a glare from passenger to driver.
The latter continued to grin serenely down the moonlit road. "He also said that he wished the plague would take him and rid him of his misery."
"I did not say that!"
Calliope's face had fallen now. She peered over at him with her lips pouting and her brows crumpled. "I thought you enjoyed spending time with my father?"
"I do!"
Between them, Touya shook his head. " Only because he gets to see you, Princess."
Samuel could feel the tension rising. He always hated it when Touya took to playing these sort of games. This was why his face and arms were so scarred; this wasn't the first time he wound someone up in jest only for it to end badly.
"That's not- I mean. Yes, but no!" Samuel tried, watching the Princess' face start to harden in the soft, silvery glow of the moon and stars.
"My father has always been so kind to you," she stated, tilting her head and tightening her crossed arms against herself.
Once again, Touya spoke first. "To be fair, your father's been nothing but kind to you too, Princess. Yet here you are, fleeing the kingdom on the cart of some stranger."
At this point, Samuel knew Touya had taken his snarky jesting a little too far. He heaved a sigh as he watched the princess prep her comeback on downturned lips.
"Yes. My father is a kind man. But that doesn't omit the fact he would sooner have me marry into the likes of the Shigarakis than let me rule the kingdom by myself!"
Her voice grew in volume as she said this. Her spine had straightened and she had unfolded her arms to ball two, tight fists at her sides instead.
Touya hadn't even taken his eyes off the road. And what was worse was that he hadn't even removed that sly smile from his face.
"You're right, Princess Callie. You're merely a pretty pawn with a role to fulfil. Much like Samuel here..." he reached over to cup Samuel's face. He squeezed hard at his cheeks and continued, "a pretty, dimpled face used to make people laugh..."
Sam swatted away his hand and flashed him a warning glare. But the charlatan continued to push the princess, who was now eyeing him with eyes as sharp as snake fangs.
Touya waved the hand that he previously been squeezing Samuel's face to gesture at Calliope's "...while yours is a pretty face used to secure the safety of your father's kingdom."
"Touya..." Samuel warned, his voice low and his eyes darting. Calliope's jaw worked and her vision was kept firmly on Touya.
"Or at least it was meant to be." He said with a shrug. He then pulled a patronisingly theatrical thinking-face. "I wonder how King Crust is handling the news that the alliance between his kingdom and yours is now broken."
Calliope was on her feet now and despite the rocking of the cart, she remained steadfast as she glared down at Touya.
"Who do you think you are!" She spat. And without another word, she'd swiped up her bag and hopped off the side of the moving cart and was swallowed by the darkness.
Samuel had tried to reach for her, but she was already past the tree line by the time he'd jumped from his seat and into the back of the cart.
"Your highness! Callie! Wait!" He called, stumbling over animals hides and wooden chests. His eyes couldn't locate her at all in the inky veil of night. They did, however, catch Touya's smug smile.
"What are you playing at?" Samuel snapped.
The merchant gave an idle shrug. "Just making conversation."
Samuel resisted the urge to strike him over the head and restored to spitting angry words at him instead. "You're an ass. You know that?" He seethed, before jumping off the back of the cart and heading for the tree line with the princess' name on his lips. Behind him, he heard Touya heave a sigh and the turn of the cart wheels come to a stop.
"Callie? Where are you? Come back!" The jester called out into the darkness. The moonlight only penetrated in thin streaks here, illuminating patches of forest floor in eerie puddles of ghostly white.
Samuel stumbled blindly over the brambles and branches that caught his clothes and scratched his skin.
The deeper he ventured, the higher his heart rate rose. When the hoot of an ow suddenly sounded, he almost fell over in surprise. He'd never been outside this late at night before. At least not this far from town. This wasn't like stumbling home drunk through the streets after one too many meads at the tavern.
He continued to call out for Calliope.
Finally, after stumbling around in the gloom for what felt like an eternity, he received a response.
"Over here, jester..."
The forest opened up and mercifully let in the moonlight. It cascaded down, lighting a clearing cut with a thin stream. On a boulder beside it, sat Calliope looking positively glum.
"Heya," he called out softly, thankful he'd actually managed to find her. He stepped towards her as cautiously as a hunter approaching a doe would.
Her knees were drawn up against her chest with her chin resting upon them. Her eyes looked straight ahead, watching a group of fireflies float gracefully about her.
They dispersed momentarily when Samuel reached her, only to quickly return to dance around their heads as Samuel picked his next words carefully.
"Don't listen to Touya." He said gently. "He's an ass at times. But you'll get used to it." That's the best he could come up with at this point. Lousy, but hell- improvised jokes were more his thing. And this didn't seem like the right time.
The Princess sighed, her fingers plucking at the fabric of her skirt. "Well, your ass of a friend speaks the truth. What I'm doing is selfish. What kind of a princess abandons their kingdom?" Her bright eyes drifted sadly over to him.
He could tell she was holding back tears and was thankful for her succeeding. Although he was pretty good with handling emotional people- there had been times in court when members would get angry or upset at his jokes- on this occasion, he didn't have any means of consolation prepped. What could one possibly say to a conflicted, runaway princess with a dagger in her cloak and tears in her eyes?
The jester rested his hip against the bolder. "I mean, some people could argue what kind of a father forces their daughter to marry a man she doesn't love. There's that."
The Princess scoffed, her boot kicking at some moss near her foot. "Love. That's fairytale nonsense." Her eyes returned to watching the little, golden orbs bob serenely about them.
In the silence that followed, Samuel noted how Calliope looked quite like something out of a fairy tale. A quiet figure sat on a rock by the water with fireflies all around her. Long hair as green as the leaves above and eyes like summer time.
Did love really only exist in books?
It was she who broke his train of thought. "I should go back. Back to the castle. If I don't, my father risks facing the wrath of King Shigaraki's armies."
A formidable force indeed.
But so was the one that drove Samuel to reach for Callie's chin.
Gently, he turned her sad face towards his. The action hadn't caused her any notable reaction. Therefore, he didn't feel he was pushing his luck when his thumb began a slow caress of her cheek.
"You can't be sure how King Shigaraki will react. Perhaps he has other suitors for his son." A hopeful comment conveyed with a hopeful smile. "But it's too dangerous to linger here. There's a village not too far away. Let's just spend the night there and you can make your decision tomorrow after you've rested."
Even in the gloom, he was close enough now to note, for the first time since knowing her, that dark freckles decorated her high cheekbones.
She tilted her face into his hand and managed a small smile. When her hand reached for his, she quietly asked; "Do you really hate being a jester?"
A shallow sigh and a twitched of a smile. "It's not my first choice of occupation."
The princess turned her body so that she faced him fully. "Would you rather be a knight like your brother?"
Their hands had dropped to settled against the soft moss on the rock.
"Definitely not. I'm more built for bells and embroidery than armour and swords."
A twinkling laugh. "Then what would you be if you could suddenly wake up and be someone different?"
Samuel pursed his lips in thought. It was a question he'd asked himself before. "I dunno. A merchant, I guess."
"Like Touya?" She frowned.
"Yeah. But less of an ass."
As he watched her face, he was relieved to see the last of her sadness begin to fall away.
She had reached for his collar and was plucking away some dried leaves that had caught there when she commented with a playful smirk; "I'd buy a bewitched teaspoon from you any day."
He was pretty sure she'd got all the leaves off him by now, but her fingers continued to dance across his chest making his heart beat faster beneath it. "I'd let you have it for free." He responded with a lazy lift of his shoulder and a lopsided grin.
The Princess snorted a laugh. "Then you'd make a terrible merchant."
Had it only been a few hours ago that he was parading around in front of her table in bells and a ridiculous costume?
"The life of a fool for me it is then."
And now he was stood in front of her, under the night sky, in a riding cloak that her fingers couldn't seem to let go off.
"You're a spectacular fool, Samuel."
This was the first time they'd ever been alone together. No court, no knights, no guards, no king, no maids, no Touya...
"Gee. Thank you, your highness."
Just he and the princess.
"Callie."
...with barely an inch between them now.
"Of course. Callie."
Though her eyes had fluttered closed, he kept his open for fear that if he didn't, he'd wake up from this blissful dream and the image of her face, so close to his, would disappear forever. The heat of a timid sigh graced his lips moments before hers did...
A scream sliced through the air. Callie drew back, taking her gentle warmth and sweet breath with her. Her dagger glinted in the moonlight. The fireflies had vanished. The scream had come from the road they'd left behind.
They exchanged a bewildered glance. Both as confused as the other. Both as perplexed at the before and after- The start of a soft kiss, the end of a sharp scream. Together, they tore towards the sound. It couldn't have been made by Touya. The voice had sounded way too high. Perhaps that of a woman? But who? Why?
The glow of distant lanterns lead them back through the dark woods towards where Touya's cart stood. They skidded to a halt where the tree line met the lonely road.
Touya's horse was on it's back legs, rearing wildly as a small, blonde woman tried to calm it.
At the same time, Touya was rolling around behind the cart with a beast of a man. They both had fistfuls of each other's tunics and were attempting to land as many punches on each other as they could. Touya was cursing loudly. The bandit soon gained the upper hand and was bearing down on him with Touya's back flattened in the dirt.
"Shit..." Samuel hissed, eyes jumping from the girl who was tugging hard on the horse's reins and the man who was currently wrapping his large hands around Touya's neck.
"It's Toga and Akaguro!" Calliope exclaimed in a whisper. "They escaped from jail last week! I heard Sir Bakugo talking about them!"
Sam nodded. He too had recognised them from his brother's description. Both bandits were immediately distinguishable, even in the gloom and despite their shoddy masks, from their wild, slanting eyes and distinct, messy hair.
"We have to do something!" Calliope coaxed, as her wide eyes watched Akaguro land a heavy hit on Touya's jaw. The bandit was far larger and far more muscular than the long, lanky merchant.
Samuel was surprised, and relieved, to see that the punch hadn't knocked his friend unconscious. Calliope was right, they had to act fast. Although, Touya's trinkets had indeed brought him luck that time around, how many more blows could he take?
"You have your dagger?" Sam asked quickly, turning to her. And after she nodded her head quickly, he leaned in and quickly relayed the foundations of a hasty plan that would rely solely on the Princess' grit and nerve. All Sam had to do was time himself right...
Calliope waited for Samuel to slip away. The grip on her dagger tightened. Her father had been the one to have the weapon made for her after one of the guards had tried to attack her.
The elderly blacksmith had been the one to craft both the blade of her dagger and the blade that sliced through the guard's neck upon the day of his execution.
With Samuel surely in position now, Calliope cautiously left the sanctuary of the darkened tree line and treaded softly over the gravel underfoot towards Toga. The small woman was still fighting with the reins of the horse. She clearly wasn't skilled with such beasts. Her shrieks and snarls only startled the creature more.
But those shrieks and snarls were quickly silenced as Calliope's blade found her throat.
"Don't move!" The Princess commanded. Toga went rigid against her.
But she also needed Akaguro's attention.
Sure enough, her cry made the other bandit look up, his fist suspended midair above a bloodied Touya.
"Let him go!" Calliope spat, her grip tightening on the fistful of blonde hair that laced her fingers.
The muscular man gave a low chuckle. "Well well, what do we have here?"
He looked like a hellish creature, crouched in the darkness, blood on his knuckles and his hair tangled all about him.
The Princess wondered if Toga could feel her heart hammering beneath her chest as it pressed tightly against her back.
"Let him go or I'll spill her blood!" She threatened, yanking the bandit's head back roughly for good measure, presenting her slender throat to the moon.
Violence wasn't in her nature. Her father had always pushed for peace and prosperity throughout his court and kingdom. But sometimes, violence seemed to be the only solution. At least that's what Calliope had learnt after watching the beheading of the guard that had tried to remove her dress in the cold corridors of the castle late one night. It had been her maids in waiting, the wonderful Mina and Ochako, that had helped save her. Between them, the three young women had managed to overpower the guard and flee towards the King's chambers. The guard suffered far more than a bloody nose once the King found him.
"Will you now?" The Akaguro sneered, flashing a row of menacing teeth. "Go ahead! I'd quite like to see it!"
The fact that Toga was giggling girlishly in her arms didn't help ease Calliope's nerves. These two were crazy.
Where was Sam?
"I said do it!" Akaguro barked, when Calliope stalled for a reaction. He pushed to his feet and turned to face them fully. His eyes glinted menacingly in the lamplight. He ran his abnormally large and grotesque tongue across his dirty teeth, seemingly relishing in the sudden turn of events. He made towards them-
A loud crack pierced the night, followed by a dull thud and a high-pitched scream.
Akaguro's limp body hit the ground revealing a panting Samuel stood behind him holding a hefty branch.
The woman in Calliope's grip was no longer giggling, but shrieking manically. She tore away from her fingers and the bewildered princess was sure she'd felt blade cut into flesh as Toga dashed forwards to fall to her knees beside her unconscious partner.
Sure enough, there was a thin trail of blood trickling down the bandit's neck as tears trickled down her cheeks.
"What have you done to him?!" She wailed, shaking Agakuro's limp body.
But the jester, the princess and the charlatan wasted no time in trying to console her. Callie quickly calmed the stomping horse with a careful hand then leapt into the driver's seat as Sam hauled a wobbly Touya to his feet and into the back of the cart. A quick glance over her shoulder confirmed both the jester and the charlatan were safely stowed in the back, with the bandits both still in the dirt.
Leather reins cracked into the night, a dark horse whinnied loudly, cart wheels creaked as they began to turn leaving the wailing Toga and the unconscious Agakuro in the dark and dust.