The Princess Knight
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters that you recognize in this story. Everything belongs to JK Rowling. All I own is the plot.
Pairings: Draco/femHarry, others to be decided.
Notes: Yes, I know I said I would update HPMOM before I posted another chapter of this new story but honestly? Sometimes, a writer really has no control over which muse to follow. I mostly write whatever my imagination wants me to write, and this chapter is what came out. I'm about 60% done with Chapter 36 of HPMOM anyway, so hopefully, I'll be able to post it soon. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter! :D
Chapter 2 – 13 Years Later
"Captain!" Vincent froze as he reached the entrance to Jade's quarters in the Royal Palace that afternoon.
After knocking a few times, he immediately straightened himself into a formal salute as he stood by her open doors. Undaunted, Jade lifted uninterested green eyes from where she was reading by the end of her bed and addressed him with an arched eyebrow.
With a frustrated sigh, Jade set her book against her lap. "What do you want now?"
"Captain!" Vincent called to her again as he lowered his salute and strode into the room towards her. "Our garrison squad stationed near the borders of Gryffindor reports of a band of Death Eaters trying to invade our southern villages. They request your presence immediately."
"Go and have Zabini or Nott ride over there then." Jade answered him with a bored look before she lowered her impassive gaze back to her book. "Book was just getting interesting."
"But, Captain." Vincent stammered, biting his lip uncertainly as he flicked his gaze back and forth from the doors to his Superior Officer in front of him. "You're our Squad Leader—"
"Yes Crabbe, and as your Squad Leader, I'm telling you that Zabini or Nott should be able to handle it. Go with them if you wish. " Jade snapped impatiently at him, looking annoyed. "I have more important things to do with my time than to take out annoying Death Eaters—"
"But Ma'am." Vincent persisted. This time, he changed his approach by giving the 18-year-old Captain in front of him a pointed look. "If I'm not mistaken, His Highness, Prince Draco, is to visit that village tomorrow. It would be dangerous if those Death Eaters were still there—"
"Which village would this be again?" Jade's intense gaze was on him instantly, her green eyes narrowed as she gave him a sharp look. At her reaction, Vincent had to hold back a smirk.
"The village of Dragonwood, Captain." He answered.
"Assemble our squad immediately." Without waiting for him to answer, Jade had already jumped to her feet and walked across the room, grabbing her two sabres from where they were mounted on the walls and sliding them easily into the holsters strapped to her thighs.
"We leave in five minutes."
"Goddamn it!" Blaise cursed under his breath as he flattened himself against his horse and forced the animal to gallop faster, trying desperately to catch up to where their Captain was riding a few meters ahead of him. Glancing over his shoulder behind him, he noticed that the rest of their squad – Theodore, Vincent and Greg – were all struggling to keep up with them.
I swear to Merlin…Is she even human? Blaise thought wryly to himself as he glanced ahead again, noting that Jade finally stopped near the entrance of Dragonwood Village and glanced impatiently over her shoulder to wait for them. When they got there, she didn't bother saying anything else before she grabbed onto her horse's reigns and galloped again, riding into the village with the same, expressionless mask on her face that she was most well known for.
As he watched her alight from her horse – the proud, white mare that Prince Draco had given to Jade on the day of her eighteenth birthday – Blaise couldn't help thinking to himself how much of a strange enigma he truly found her to be. Not only was Jade the youngest member of the entire Slytherin Royal Army, but she was also the youngest soldier who had ever risen up the ranks so fast that she had already been awarded her very own unit. And it wasn't just any unit she was given – she was Captain to the Prince's very best and most trusted fighters.
None of them, however, could even hold a candle to Jade's exceptional fighting skills.
From what very little Blaise heard about Jade's history, he knew that Jade had been an orphan before she was eventually taken in by the Prince when he had been passing by one of their southern villages. When he saw the young girl's potential, the Prince had Jade trained and mentored by none other than the Head of the Slytherin Army himself – General Severus Snape.
Blaise, as well as all of the other soldiers, knew more than anything that Severus was a ruthlessly grueling mentor, but Jade completed her training under him in less than ten years. By the time she reached the age of 15, she was taken in as a soldier under the General's unit. Two years later, by the time she was 17, she was promoted to Captain and was given her own squad.
And now, here I am. Merely second-in-command to a leader who is years younger than I am but possesses ten times my fighting skills. Blaise thought wryly to himself, shaking his head.
It wasn't that he was resentful for being under Jade's authority – fighting alongside her had taught him, more than anything, that she was a smart and very capable Squad Leader. To be quite honest, Blaise didn't think he ever saw anybody fight or think the way Jade did – the powerful swings of her twin sabres and her incredible speed were legendary in their Kingdom.
His resentment, however, stemmed more from the fact that Jade and Prince Draco were incredibly close – almost suspiciously so – and he couldn't quite help but connect Jade's quick rise in the army to the fact that she was highly favored by the Prince. Blaise was the Prince's best friend after all, and it irked him to see Draco taken in so much by the mysterious young girl.
"Zabini! Get the squad in formation!" Jade's sharp call of his name caused Blaise to snap to attention, just in time to see a large band of Death Eaters – perhaps a little over two dozen – shouting and furiously making their way to where Jade stood in the middle of the small village.
Around them, Blaise noticed that most of the villagers had screamed and rushed back into their houses, terrified. The Death Eaters were infamous and feared not only in Slytherin, but also in the other Kingdoms. They were half-man, half-beast creatures who were once men and women, but had sold their souls to the devil in exchange for dark magic. This magic, however, was impure and tainted with evil. The more they used it, the more it corrupted both their souls and their appearance until they lost all semblance of their humanity. Now, they roamed the Four Kingdoms wearing dark cloaks and white masks to hide their grotesque, monstrous faces.
"Theo! Vince! Greg!" Blaise tore his gaze from the Death Eaters running toward him and glanced over his shoulder, calling to his squadmates behind him.
"Get into your fighting stance!"
"Aye, aye, Sir!"
Blaise would have turned to check up on Jade again but just then, a tall Death Eater suddenly lunged at him from behind, screeching as he raised his hand and sent a messy flurry of fireballs his way. Grunting, Blaise yanked his sword out of its scabbard and ducked, kneeling on the ground. He waited for the fireballs to pass before he jumped to his feet again, raising his sword high into the air and bringing it crashing down, slashing the Death Eater by the shoulders.
As soon as the man was down, Blaise straightened and glanced over his shoulder again, watching as his other squadmates fought the Death Eaters around them, dodging and ducking from the few simple spells the Death Eaters hurled their way. Still situated in the very center of the village, Jade was fighting against a whole horde of Death Eaters by herself. Blaise ran toward her to help her out, slashing and stabbing at the Death Eaters who attacked him along the way.
It didn't take them long to clear out the village – no longer than fifteen minutes, perhaps – but as soon as Blaise looked up from the lifeless body of the last Death Eater who had lunged at him, he caught a glimpse of Jade in the final stages of her attack. She was cornered by two tall Death Eaters, both of which were using magic to light their hands on fire as they caged her in, but then, Jade rose up on one knee and leaped into an aerial jump, drawing both her sabres high into the air. As she executed a complete somersault, she slashed both of her sabres down against the Death Eaters surrounding her, before landing perfectly into a crouched position on the ground. Blinking dazedly, Blaise grimaced as the two Death Eaters fell to the ground, dead.
"Humph." Jade rose up to her feet, her expression blank as she took one last surveying look around their surroundings After sliding her twin sabres back into their holsters, she straightened, readjusted the green scarf around her neck, and began walking back to her horse.
"Bloody hell. She isn't human, I tell you." Theodore blurted out from where he stood beside Blaise. He stared at their black-haired Captain with a dreamy expression on his face. "I swear, Jade's a goddess. I mean, no woman can possibly be that beautiful and fight that well."
"Wipe the drool off your face." Blaise snorted derisively as he shook his head. He slid his single, heavy sword back into its scabbard. "You know Jade isn't the least bit interested in you."
"More like, she doesn't even know you exist." Greg quipped with a laugh as he walked over to them, wiping the blood from his sword. "She's much too busy pining after Prince Draco."
"She's wasting her time." Theodore grumbled, looking put out as he followed the others and trudged back over to where they had left their horses near the entrance of the village. "She'd be much better off marrying me, if she'd only sit up and take a look around her. I mean, the Prince is to choose a bride soon. Isn't he only allowed to marry someone of noble blood?"
"He is." Vincent answered for him as he adjusted the saddle on his horse. "Either a lady of noble blood or he marries one of the Princesses from the other Three Kingdoms." He added.
"That must be rough." Greg chimed in, wincing and shaking his head. "Imagine having to marry that Princess from Gryffindor." He gave a shudder for emphasis, and the others laughed.
Frowning, Blaise considered Greg's words and thought back to how the newly ascended King of Gryffindor, King Peter, assumed the throne shortly after King James and his family were murdered by the Dark Lord, Voldemort, and his army of Death Eaters. For a few years, the Kingdom of Gryffindor fell into a state of anarchy, and it was only after King Peter managed to quell the riots and rebellion did Gryffindor regain a semblance of order back into the Kingdom.
Although. Blaise winced, thinking of the many mass killings, abuse against the villagers and crimes that often took place all around Gryffindor nowadays. I wouldn't exactly say King Peter's been doing a good job of running the Kingdom. From what I hear, things are pretty terrible over there now, with Death Eaters still running all over the place, terrorizing the villages.
There were rumors within the other three Kingdoms that, contrary to his claim that he was doing his best to drive out the Death Eaters from Gryffindor, King Peter was actually on friendly terms with the Death Eaters, and that he was using them to terrorize the Kingdom. Of course, given that King Peter and his family often visited Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff to maintain diplomatic relationships with the Royal Families, no one dared voice this rumor out.
Blaise snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Theodore grunt in disgust beside him.
"I do not fancy Princess Pristina, stop insinuating that I do, Greg. That's disgusting!" He growled angrily and shuddered. Hearing this, Blaise couldn't help smirking at him in agreement.
Pristina Pettigrew, the only daughter of King Peter and Queen Yoberta, was not exactly what men would describe as attractive. It wasn't just because of her sharp features or that she was overweight either, that Blaise could live with. The 22-year-old Princess of Gryffindor was widely renowned for her appalling manners and her horrible personality. The last time Pristina had visited the Slytherin Kingdom – that was about two years ago – King Peter had approached King Lucius for a possible match-up between Prince Draco and his daughter. Not only did Pristina spend dinner insulting Queen Narcissa's decoration of the palace, but after dinner, she made highly suggestive insinuations to Draco about him giving her a tour his private chambers.
I thought Jade was going maim her. Blaise sniggered as he remembered the murderous glare that Jade had given Pristina when she heard her scandalous suggestion. If Blaise hadn't been there to hold the Captain back, he was certain Jade would have sliced Pristina's throat.
Still chuckling under his breath, Blaise stood back and waited patiently as all of the town's villagers began crowding around them – thanking Jade and the rest of their squad for ridding their town of the Death Eaters. Afterwards, Jade nodded quietly to the villagers one last time and got back up atop her horse. Blaise was just about to follow her when Theodore suddenly drew their squad's attention, pointing frantically to a spot a few yards ahead of them.
"Hey! Look there, by that well!" Theodore exclaimed loudly, his eyes wide as he stared at something over the Captain's shoulder.
"Mother of Merlin, that is one big canine!" He mused.
Frowning, Jade drew her gaze from the gushing villagers gathered around her and looked up, following Theodore's finger until she finally caught on to what he was pointing at. Following her gaze, Blaise saw a lone, shaggy black dog whining loudly beside an empty well.
"Jeez, it's just a dog." Blaise commented wryly, rolling his eyes at Theodore's reaction. "Merlin's beard, Nott. For a second there, I thought you actually saw a werewolf or something."
"Don't joke about werewolves!" Vince cut in sharply with a grimace. "Those things scare the hell out of me." He shuddered, no doubt thinking about the last time they had fought one.
"There aren't any werewolves in Slytherin, you idiot." Greg snapped at him. "The last few ones were only seen in Gryffindor, and they won't get past our borders anyway."
"Quiet, all of you!" Jade hissed impatiently at them, suddenly causing all four men to fall silent and turn to glance at their Squad Leader. To their surprise, however, Jade was no longer talking to the villagers and instead, she was trotting her horse forward, headed towards the large, shaggy black dog that Theodore had pointed at. Reluctantly, they followed after her, watching as she stopped beside the black dog and alighted slowly from atop her white horse.
"Hey there, big guy. I won't hurt you. What's your name?" Jade's voice took on an usually soft tone. She ignored her squad's bewildered stares at her and slowly walked over to the dog. She knelt down slowly, keeping her eyes trained on the quiet, unmoving animal. When the dog seemed to bow his head to her and leaned down, whining softly and resting his chin on its paws, Jade's eyes softened and she reached out, gently petting the dog's scruffy black fur.
"You don't have a name, do you? I see." She spoke again, and she slid her hand up, scratching lightly behind the dog's ears. "What's wrong? Do you want some water, big guy?"
When the dog whined again and stared up at her with large, eerily intelligent gray eyes, Jade chuckled and reached down, pulling her water bottle from her pack and pouring some onto her palm. Afterwards, she held her hand out to the dog and it bent its mouth towards her palm.
"Captain! Be careful!" Theodore – always the one in their Squad who was unnecessarily concerned about their Captain's safety – blurted out. He looked a bit frantic when he saw how dangerously close she was to the unknown animal. "We don't know if that animal is friendly!"
"He's friendly." Jade assured him easily, ignoring his protests altogether as she watched the dog drinking from her palm. "He would have attacked me long before this if he actually meant to hurt me." She pointed out, and Theodore reluctantly backed off, nodding his head.
"Captain." Blaise tore his gaze from her and glanced around them, noting that it was almost nightfall and that the villagers around them were beginning to head back to their homes. "We should head back. I believe General Severus has requested for your presence this evening."
"Very well." Pointedly ignoring Theodore's worried glances at her, Jade stood back up and turned around, shooting Vince and Greg a glare. "You two." She addressed them, causing both men to straighten with attention immediately. "I want you to carry the dog back to the castle. We're bringing him with us." She smirked at their gaping expressions and shrugged before she climbed back on her horse and began trotting ahead of them. "I intend to keep him."
"B—but, Captain." Vince and Greg blinked and stared at each other, looking confused. "There are dozens of well-trained, and well-groomed dogs back at the palace!" Vince shot a look at the shaggy, black dog in front of them again, wincing when it seemed to bark at him and give him a doggy grin. "Why do you want to bring back this animal? We don't know where it's been!"
"Exactly." Jade answered simply, her expression blank once more as she turned her head and stared quietly ahead of her. "We don't know where he's been…So he's just like me."
All four of them – Blaise, Theodore, Vincent and Greg – winced at their Captain's words, knowing full well the true meaning behind them and yet, not knowing how they could possibly respond. Without another word, Blaise reluctantly lowered his gaze, gripped tightly onto the reigns on his horse and followed after her, galloping as fast as he could back towards the palace.
What the hell does Severus want this time?
Jade couldn't help but feel a brief stab irritation towards her mentor as she got down from her horse and strode through the palace gates, walking briskly towards Severus' office. As she made her way around the long, winding hallways of the palace, she happened to pass by a few guards and soldiers along the way. They greeted her with a loud declaration of "Captain!", along with the customary salute of the Slytherin Royal Army before they continued on their way.
Honestly, the semantics of being a high-ranking officer annoyed her beyond measure sometimes, especially when it came to how the soldiers were always so awkward around her.
It wasn't that Jade didn't enjoy being in the army though – no, that wasn't true at all. In fact, it was pretty safe to say that Jade thoroughly enjoyed her job, mostly because it suited her immensely. Being part of the army, or perhaps more specifically, being the Captain of the elite squad that served as the Prince's Royal Guard, was perfect for her, because it allowed her to constantly protect him. Truthfully, if Jade was given a choice, she would prefer never to leave the Prince's side at all, because she wanted nothing more than to protect him with her own life.
For the last thirteen years, since before Jade could even remember, Prince Draco had been the one person in her life who had ever truly showed her any compassion or affection. She had been nothing before he had found her – a poor orphan girl who would have been sold into slavery, or worse, prostitution, had the Prince not come along and saved her. And then, as though that single act of his hadn't been enough, he had been kind enough to take her in – to bring her with him to his magnificent palace and to allow her to train and be part of his army.
Even afterwards, as she trained to be a fighter and soldier under Severus' harsh and grueling mentorship during the last few years of her life, Prince Draco had always been kind to her. He often called her to his room after hearing about her being hurt during training, and then he'd spend the evening healing her injuries with his magic, and encouraging her to keep fighting.
He never once asserted his superiority over her either – even if he was the Prince of the entire Slytherin Kingdom and she was nothing more than a mere orphan who didn't even know who her parents were or where she had come from. In fact, whenever they were together, Jade never once heard the Prince bring up their difference in stature or even age. Instead, he smiled at her, teased her and shared most of his everyday experiences with her like she was his equal – like she was his dearest, close friend – and that was what truly made her admire him so much.
Jade had no living memory of her real name, her parents or family. Sometimes, in her dreams, she remembered flashes – a blinding, red light and a man's voice screaming out for her – but other than that, she had no recollection of anything from her past. She owed more than her life to the Prince – she owed him her very existence. If it wasn't for his love and friendship these last couple of years, Jade was certain that she never would have made it this far in her life.
She considered the Prince to be the only family she had. He was like an older brother to her, and he was the only person that she cared about. She would protect him to her last breath.
"Jade!"
Looking up at the familiar voice calling out her name, Jade blinked as she found herself staring up into the face of none other than Regulus Black, one of King Lucius' Head Generals. From what Jade knew, Regulus and Severus were the two most trusted leaders in King Lucius' Royal Guard – the same way she and Blaise were the two most trusted leaders in Prince Draco's.
"General Regulus, Sir." Looking up at the tall General, Jade straightened and greeted him with a formal salute.
"I apologize if I'm in your way. I was headed to see General Severus—"
"You don't have to salute me anymore, Jade." Regulus chuckled at her formality and waved her salute away. "With the stories I've been hearing about you, I wouldn't be surprised if I'm the one who ends up saluting you one of these days." He commented with an easy smile.
"That is absurd, General." Jade assured him awkwardly, playing idly with the handle of her sabres as she struggled to think of what to say.
"I still have a long way to go before I'm—"
"Nonsense. Trust me…Once Prince Draco assumes the throne, I am more than certain that you will be the Head of his Army. And it'll only be a matter of time before ol' Severus and I set off to retire." Regulus chuckled again before he eyed the sabres that Jade was playing with.
"Ah, I see that Prince Draco has given you those sabres then. Did you know that those used to belong to his Great, Grandfather, King Abraxas I? It's been in their family for generations now. Draco must be very fond of you." Regulus commented lightly, giving Jade a curious look.
Jade remained silent at that, unsure of how to respond to Regulus' words.
When she was fifteen, on the day Jade had officially joined the Royal Army, Prince Draco had summoned her to his room and had given her the weapons she used now – beautifully crafted twin sabres, each one with its hilt encrusted with the Seal of the Royal Family. From then on, for as long as she had been fighting, Jade had always used these sabres in battle. They were shorter and lighter than the single heavy swords that were traditionally used by all the men in the Slytherin Army. Truthfully, it was the lightness of her sabres that allowed her to move faster and more fluidly in the air when she fought, and that speed of hers became Jade's trademark.
She knew that in terms of strength alone, she wasn't the best soldier, but when it came to speed, precision and – modesty aside – pure skill, Jade knew that no one else could beat her. It was the reason even King Lucius and Queen Narcissa had consented to her incredibly fast rise of rank in the military, if only because they knew she'd be the best one to protect their only son.
"Anyway, I won't keep you any longer." Regulus spoke again, drawing Jade's attention back to him as he gave her a nod of dismissal. "My men and I are headed out to the Kingdom of Hufflepuff to deliver a few messages from the Queen. We won't be gone along. I trust you'll help Severus keep the Kingdom out of trouble while we're gone?" He gave her a teasing grin.
"Of course, General." Jade nodded and answered him with another salute, to which Regulus shook his head and let out an exasperated sigh before he turned around and walked off.
As soon as he was gone, Jade turned and pushed through the large, double doors leading to Severus' office. Two more soldiers greeted her with a salute as she entered, and after she addressed them properly, she finally walked over to where her mentor sat behind a large, mahogany table that overlooked a generous view of the entire Slytherin Kingdom behind him.
From where she stood in the middle of the room, Jade noted that Severus was bent over his desk, reading a few letters. Before she got the chance to announce her presence, he spoke.
"Get in and close the doors behind you. I don't have all day." He snapped impatiently, lifting his gaze from the stack of papers he held and shooting her a glare from across the room.
"Yes, Sir." Jade answered him evenly as she did what she was told.
"Sit down!" Severus ordered.
Biting her tongue to keep the nasty horde of comebacks that wanted to spill from her mouth, Jade walked stiffly over to the chair in front of his desk and planted herself down on it.
"You summoned me?" She looked up at him with a steady, impassive stare.
"I did." Severus kept his attention on the letters in his hand for a few more minutes before he finally set them aside and drew his eyes up, giving her a pointed look. "Though that was more than a couple of hours ago. What took you so long to get here?" He asked sharply.
"I apologize." Jade answered evenly without faltering.
"One of our southern villages reported a Death Eater attack. My squad and I went to dispose of the intruders." She explained.
"I see." Severus frowned at that, his eyes clouding with suspicion. "Hmm…Those Death Eater raids seem to be getting more and more frequent these days. I've been hearing reports of them in the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff Kingdoms as well. How strange." He mused to himself.
"The Death Eaters are of no threat to us." Jade remarked pointedly, looking bored with the entire discussion.
"I can wipe them out without even breaking a sweat. You needn't worry."
"You're still such a foolish child!" Severus glared at her, looking angry at her arrogance. "No matter how skilled in combat you are, letting your guard down so easily is one of the worst mistakes you could make in battle. Have I not taught you anything?!" He reprimanded sharply.
"It's the truth, Sir." Jade grew angry at his words and scowled at her feet.
"It doesn't matter if it's true or not. A true leader will always value the safety of his men and his kingdom before his own skill." He paused after he said this and stared very intently at Jade across the table. "That being said, look me in the eye and tell me you understand, Jade."
"Sir?" Confused at the sudden seriousness of his voice, Jade obliged and lifted her head up slowly until she was staring at him, meeting his eyes with hers. "Understand what, exactly?"
"The reason I have called you here—" Severus paused and sighed, leaning back against his chair and raising a hand to massage his temples. "—is because I have news for you, Jade." He tensed and glanced at her again, leveling the younger soldier with a stern and pointed frown. "But before I give you this news, you must promise me that you will not let it get to your head."
Jade frowned at that, not quite sure how she should interpret his words, but as she was growing impatient with the whole discussion, she nodded anyway to show him she understood.
"Very well." Reaching under his table, Severus pulled out a small, elegantly decorated letter that was emblazoned with the Official Seal of the Slytherin Royal Family. "I am here to inform you that as of today – King Lucius has decreed and allowed your official promotion from the rank of Captain to the honorary rank of General—" Severus paused again when he saw the way Jade's eyes widened at his announcement and in spite of himself, he gave her a wry smile.
"—from this day forward, you shall report directly to Prince Draco and him alone. You will remain in charge of his Royal Guard – Blaise Zabini, Theodore Nott, Greg Goyle and Vincent Crabbe – but you will now also be in charge of all of the soldiers assigned to him. You will be directly responsible for safeguarding His Royal Highness' safety, especially when he is traveling outside the palace. Because of this, you are also thereby granted diplomatic immunity in the other Kingdoms. This means that, where the Prince's safety is concerned, you will not be charged for murder if you end up killing anybody else in the other Kingdoms." Severus finished.
"I…see." Jade continued to stare at him, her expression frozen in a blank expression as she struggled to take everything in. When after a few minutes and she still couldn't seem to find her voice to speak, Severus crossed his arms and smirked, leaning backwards against his seat.
"Have you nothing to say…General?" He asked, thoroughly amused at her reaction.
"I—" Jade finally recovered from her initial shock and paused as she looked up, meeting Severus' smirk with a calm smile of gratitude.
"—thank you, Sir. I appreciate this opportunity."
"Don't thank me." Severus snorted, rolling his eyes at her words. "Thank the King. Or perhaps more accurately, you should thank Prince Draco. As I am more than certain that it was him who pushed for your promotion to General in the first place." He remarked with a scoff.
"Very well." Jade ignored the mockery in his words and got up from her seat, giving Severus another salute.
"I shall do exactly that and thank him. Permission to be dismissed, Sir?"
"Jade." Severus ignored her request and addressed her sharply again, leveling the young General with a worried, knowing look. "I should not have to warn you. This new…development will have you spending a lot of your time – day and night – with the Prince. You will even be accompanying him everywhere in his travels. There will be days, sometimes weeks, where you will have only each other for company." Severus' voice grew heavy with warning as he glared at her from where he sat behind his table. "You are not, under any circumstances,to develop any romantic feelings for the Prince while you are his General. Am I making myself clear about this?"
Jade's eyes widened at his words and she stared blankly at him, her features frozen into a dazed, expressionless mask. When she managed to recover herself a few moments later, she tore her eyes from his and ignored the ache in her chest as she glared down quietly at her feet.
"Look, I know that the two of you are close and I know that you have grown quite… attached to Draco all these years, but I am only concerned for you, Jade." Severus sighed at her reaction but he continued. "It isn't just because of your position in the Army. Prince Draco is to be married soon. The King and Queen are already arranging for him to meet with all the eligible daughters of the noble families of Slytherin as we speak. You must not be so attached to him—"
"I know all that, Severus." Jade cut him off firmly as she lifted her eyes and shook her head. With a completely calm, unperturbed expression on her face, she nodded and smiled slightly at him – though her smile was cold and formal and it didn't quite reach her eyes. "Contrary to what everyone else may think of me, I harbor no romantic feelings for Prince Draco. Granted, I do care about him a lot – yes. I do love him—" Severus started at that but Jade went on before he could interrupt her. "—but as an older brother. Nothing more." She finished.
"So I see." Severus didn't look quite as convinced as she would have wanted him to be, but he sighed and nodded all the same at her, glancing back down at his desk. When Jade continued to linger in front of him, waiting for him to say something, he gave her a curt nod.
"You are dismissed."
The staircase leading up to Prince Draco's private bedchambers were long, winding and luxuriously elegant – decorated with the most lavish paintings and beautiful thick carpets that were the same shade of green as the scarf around Jade's neck. It was the color of Slytherin green – the very same color worn by all the members of the Army and even the Royal Family.
It was that same green shade that Prince Draco himself always wore. As he was the Crown Prince, he often wore a beautiful, dark green cape around his shoulders, and Jade found that she secretly loved how the Prince's regal cape was the exact same color of her scarf. Ironically enough, the scarf she wore every day had actually come from the Prince as well. It was the same scarf he had given to her thirteen years ago, the day he had saved her from those slave traders and had taken her with him to his palace. Jade personally washed and dried it herself every morning so that even after all these years, it still retained its rich, elegant color.
Her squad often teased her about how she wore the scarf so much that it had become a way for her enemies to recognize her easily in the middle of a battlefield. Even then, however, she'd never stop wearing it, and she'd never let anybody else take it off – except for the Prince.
Jade stopped as she climbed the last step from the regal staircase that led up to the Royal Family's quarters and made her way over to the elegant, double doors of Prince Draco's room. Just as she got there, however, and she was just about to raise her hand to knock on the door, the doors suddenly slid open. Before Jade could react, a dark-haired, slender woman – wrapped only in the renowned Lady-in-Waiting silk robes of magenta and silver – stepped out.
Even without seeing her face, Jade knew from the extravagant patterns and embroidery on the woman's robes that she was Pansy Parkinson, one of Prince Draco's Ladies-in-Waiting.
Jade wasn't sure how to react at first, so she bowed her head and stepped awkwardly aside to allow the older woman to pass through. Up until now, she had only encountered one of Prince Draco's Ladies-in-Waiting only once before. That was five years ago – when she was only thirteen-years-old. She didn't know the name of the woman she had seen back then. All she knew was that the woman had been in her early twenties, and that she was incredibly beautiful, with luscious curves and tousled, golden-blonde hair. Jade had refused to acknowledge it even back then, but seeing how beautiful that woman was, especially since Jade was only 13-years-old at the time, had made her feel so inadequate that she fled, and she refused to visit the Prince in his room for months before he finally went down to her room himself to talk to her.
To her embarrassment, Prince Draco had somehow figured out exactly why Jade hadn't been coming up to visit him the last few months, and to her confusion, instead of getting angry with her for acting like a jealous, silly little kid, he had teased her, then apologized for allowing her to see such a thing. Afterwards, he knelt down, kissed the top of her hair and promised her that he would strive so that she wouldn't have to see another one of his Ladies-in-Waiting again.
As he enveloped her in his arms, the Prince then assured Jade, flashing her that warm teasing smile of his, that no matter what happens, she'd always be his number one favorite girl.
I wonder if he still feels the same way. Jade tried to squelch down that familiar sting of jealousy in her chest.
She blanked her face, meeting Pansy's saccharine smile in front of her.
"Oh…Excuse me." Pansy ignored the visible dislike in Jade's expression and smirked as she readjusted her loosened robes around her otherwise bare body. "I wasn't aware that His Highness was expecting you, Jade. He would have ejected me out sooner had he known you were coming…Captain." Pansy's long lashes fluttered as she met Jade's glare with a smug smile.
"You're right. He wasn't expecting me. I just have news to discuss with him." Undaunted by the older woman's disbelieving expression, Jade stared back at her and met her smile with a cold one of her own. "And actually, I do believe that it's…General now, Pansy. Don't be rude."
"Excuse me?" Pansy faltered slightly, her eyes growing wide with shock.
"I've been promoted." It was Jade's turn to smirk at her this time and, without waiting for Pansy to say anything else, she stepped around her like she was a mere inanimate object. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have important matters to discuss with His Highness." She drawled.
"Humph." Pansy scowled at Jade's words but just as she was opening the doors to the Prince's chambers, she added under her breath. "It doesn't matter how good you are at fighting, you know. No matter what happens, Jade, Prince Draco will never look at you the way he looks at me." Pansy pointed out with a nasty smile, causing Jade to freeze in place, her fists clenching.
Releasing the doorknob in front of her, Jade turned around calmly, lifting her chin until she was staring, face to face, at Pansy's self-satisfied expression. When the older woman simply smirked back at her, Jade arched a single eyebrow and gave her a blank, eerily dark smile back.
"Unlike you, Pansy, I harbor no such silly romantic feelings for the Prince – nor do I fool myself into thinking that he sees me as more than his friend. You, however, obviously do not realize that once the Prince finally gets married – which is soon, as we have been informed by the King – he will remove you, and all his other Ladies-in-Waiting. And where will you all be?" Jade's lips curled upwards into a sneer when she saw the way Pansy's face paled at her words.
"I—I—" Pansy stammered incoherently, unable to find her voice.
"I thought so." Jade continued to smile at her, though her smile still never reached her eyes. "Don't ever mock me. Between the two of us, you're the expendable one." She drawled.
"How dare you—" Pansy's eyes had narrowed and she looked as though she wanted to say something else but Jade never gave her that chance. She turned around and pulled open the doors to Prince Draco's bedroom, stepping into the room and closing the doors behind her.
As soon as she was inside, it didn't take her long before she was able to make out the Prince's tall, lean-muscled form. Like the many times Jade had come to see him, Prince Draco was sitting in his favorite spot – a thick, lush carpet situated in front of the fireplace at the back of his room. He was reading a magical textbook as he lazily levitated his crown around and around the air above his head. When he noticed her presence, however, Prince Draco glanced up from his book immediately and he smiled at her, his crown dropping to the carpet by his feet.
"Jade." He greeted, his gray eyes growing soft as he stood up and began walking across the room towards her. When he saw the tense expression on her face, however, he hesitated, reaching a hand up and raking his fingers through his tousled blonde hair. "You didn't tell me you were coming to visit. If I knew, I would have—" He sighed and gave her an apologetic look.
"I saw Pansy. You have nothing to apologize for, Your Highness." Jade assured him as she bowed her head to him once before she looked around and gave him a questioning look.
"I wonder…May I have an audience with you, my Prince?"
"Of course!" Prince Draco looked exasperated at her question. He walked back over to the rug in front of the fireplace and sat down, patting the spot beside him. "Come here and sit beside me. You know you're always welcome in here when you want to talk." He assured her.
Jade hesitated, biting her lip and staring awkwardly at him from across the room.
Unlike the usual way he was fully decked out in his green and silver attire whenever he was in the throne room with his father, Prince Draco wore only a pair of black slacks whenever he was in his room, leaving the rest of his toned chest exposed. As Jade had often been in his room before – many times, in fact, while she was growing up – she had grown quite used to the sight and normally, seeing him only half-dressed like this wouldn't have bothered her. However, the fact is – she had just seen Pansy walk out of his room. Thinking back on that now, especially seeing the Prince's half-naked state and the way his immaculate blonde hair wasn't as perfect and in place as it usually was, really bothered Jade. She just couldn't stop thinking about what must have been going on in this very room only a few hours ago, and she froze up like a statue.
Unfortunately for her, the nature of her thoughts must have shown on her face because before she knew it, Prince Draco had made his way across the room toward her again. When she didn't respond to the first time he called her, he chuckled and reached out to caress her cheek.
"You're jealous again, aren't you?" Prince Draco cajoled her gently, using the same hand he had around her cheek to trail his fingers gently until he was caressing the nape of her neck. Unsure of what to say in response, Jade lowered her eyes to the floor, her cheeks flushed pink.
"Forgive me, Your Highness—" She started but he cut her off with a shake of his head.
"Don't apologize." He told her firmly, and without waiting for her to answer him, he leaned over, planting a tender, reassuring kiss onto the top of her head. "Have I not told you before, Jade? You have nothing to be jealous of. You'll always be my favorite girl." He teased.
"I…I know." Jade swallowed the lump in her throat and lowered her gaze again, staring intently at the ground by her feet. "I just…I just came up here because I wanted to thank you, Your Highness. You see—" She paused when Prince Draco reached up, readjusting her scarf around her neck. "—I've just spoken with Severus. He told me I've been promoted to General—"
"So I've heard." The Prince interrupted her again, his lips quirking upwards into smile.
"Congratulations, love. You deserve it. I only helped present the idea to father." He told her.
"Thank you, my Prince." Jade smiled at him again, trying her best to ignore the way her heart fluttered at his endearment for her.
"It is an honor to be at your side." She added quietly.
"I'll always want you by my side, Jade." Prince Draco whispered, an unusually tender look warming his gray eyes. When Jade blinked at him, unsure of how to interpret his words, he shook his head and averted his gaze sharply – only for him to glower at a wound on her left leg.
"I told you to be more careful with yourself! What is this?!" He demanded angrily, though he didn't bother waiting for her answer as he reached out and snatched her roughly by her wrists, yanking her toward the rug in front of his fireplace. "Sit down! You're not leaving this room until I've healed every last one of those blasted wounds all over you again." He growled.
"I'm sorry but sometimes, it's unavoidable—" Jade tried to apologize as he pushed her down onto the rug but he shushed her again, silencing the rest of her protests with an impatient wave of his hand. She opened her mouth to argue with him but he silenced her with a glare.
"Not another word." He ordered, and Jade snapped her mouth shut, immediately falling silent. Unable to do anything else, she watched as the Prince tended to the wounds on her legs.
Ever since Jade had joined the military, she remembered that Prince Draco had always used his magic to heal her wounds or injuries from battle. It was probably why – in spite of all her violent tussles and fights on the battlefield– Jade never had any lasting scars on her body.
"You know I don't like seeing any of these ugly scars on you." Prince Draco admonished her again as he trailed the glowing white tips of his fingers along the wounds on her ankles. "You're beautiful, Jade. And no matter how much of a strong fighter you are, you should always feel beautiful." After he finished healing up her wounds, he drew up slowly and met her eyes.
"Is that better?" He asked.
"Yes." She answered, sitting back against the soft rug. "Thank you, Your Highness."
"Come over here and sit closer to me, love." Prince Draco ordered gently as he leaned back and patted the space on the rug in front of him. He waited patiently as Jade sat up and scooted beside him, settling into a cross-legged position between the Prince and the fireplace.
As she sat down, she felt the Prince reach up, entangling his fingers into her hair and gently uncoiling her long tresses from her ponytail until the strands cascaded freely against her waist. Afterwards, as the Prince began caressing her hair, threading his fingers tenderly through the midnight locks, Jade's eyes softened and the earlier uneasiness she felt began to melt away.
Prince Draco noticed the relaxed expression on her face immediately and he chuckled, leaning over her shoulder and giving her an affectionate kiss on the cheek. When she reddened at that and bit her lip, hastily dropping her gaze to her feet, his shoulders shook with laughter.
"Must I always have to comb your hair for you to ease up around me?" He teased.
"I am always at ease around you, my Prince." Jade answered, sighing to herself as she leaned back and continued to allow him to caress her long tresses away from her face.
He didn't answer, humming as he combed her hair out while gazing at their reflections on the mirror above the fireplace. When she met his eyes through the mirror, he held her gaze.
"You're beautiful." He told her simply, his eyes soft as they lingered on her face.
"I wish you would stop saying such things." Jade tore her eyes away and lowered her gaze to her hands to hide the redness on her face. "I never know how to respond."
He hid a smile at her reaction, reaching out to grasp one of Jade's hands and interlacing their fingers together tightly. When she blinked and stared up at him, confused, he spoke again.
"I've been meaning to tell you." Prince Draco began uncertainly, a sigh escaping his lips. He brought their hands up, studying their interlocked fingers with a grim look on his face. "My Mother has decided that she would like for me to push through with a formal betrothal between me and Lady Astoria." When Jade's fingers tensed around his at his words, he looked up and offered her a weak smile. "Astoria is the youngest daughter of the Duke of Athendale."
"I've met her before during one of the Queen's parties, Your Highness." Jade answered politely. Though she was feeling a strange heaviness in her chest, her face gave nothing away. "My sincerest congratulations. She's quite lovely. Though, I fear she might be a bit too young–"
"She's only three years younger than me, Jade." Prince Draco interrupted her with a grin, looking amused at her reaction. "I doubt you have any right to deem her as 'too young'."
"You know what I mean." Jade chimed in hastily, growing a little irritated when she felt more blood rushing into her pale cheeks. "You might have difficulty getting along with her–"
"You're ten years younger than I am, and I get along with you just fine, Jade." He pointed out quietly, his fingers pausing in their caress of her hair as he stared at her again. "I'm afraid my reservation about marrying her is not a question of age. I fear it is more a question of…compatibility. I have met with Lady Astoria before, and I'm not quite sure that we get along."
When the Prince paused and stared intently at her, as though waiting for her response, Jade lifted her gaze up to his again. Careful to keep her face devoid of any emotion, she nodded and blurted out the first few words that came to mind. "Like I said…You have my sincerest congratulations, Your Highness. I am certain she will be a lovely bride for you." She said softly.
To her confusion, Prince Draco's expression seemed to grow sad at her words. When Jade said nothing else and merely lowered her eyes again, refusing to look at him, he sighed.
"Really?" He dropped her hand, turning his head and staring darkly at the fireplace in front of them. "That's all you have to say to me, Jade?" He asked, his eyes clouding with anger.
"You truly have nothing to say about my marrying Astoria?" He demanded.
"I don't understand." Jade blinked at him, watching as the Prince stood up, his jaw clenched as he began pacing the length of his room. "What do you want me to say, my Prince?"
"I don't know, Jade! I just want you to say…something! Anything!" Prince Draco blurted out. He let out an angry sigh of frustration before sinking back down onto the rug in front of her. "Any reaction is better than that blank-faced, formal response you insist on giving me now!"
"I have…nothing to say, Draco." Jade answered him evenly. This time, the Prince looked up when he noticed the way she had dropped his title. "Why should my opinion even matter? I am just a soldier, Your Highness. Ultimately, what I say should not matter to you." She told him.
"Jade." At the sad tone of his voice, Jade met his gaze again, watching intently as his features darkened with regret. Before she could ask him what was wrong, he went on. "I am asking you this now not as your Prince or as your ruler." Slowly, he knelt before her and reached out, taking her hand in his and squeezing her fingers. "I am asking you this as your…friend. As your very close friend." He paused and lifted his eyes until he was staring into her green orbs.
"Do you think I should marry Lady Astoria?" He asked softly.
"I think—" Again, Jade chose to ignore the painful ache in her chest as she broke their eye contact and dropped her head in defeat. She was unable to look him in the eye as she answered. "—that you have a responsibility to your people. As the future King of Slytherin, it is imperative that you choose a good queen. And Lady Astoria would be a perfect match for you."
The light that had been in Prince Draco's eyes began to vanish slowly, and where there had been a strangely hopeful look on his face, his features clouded over into a small, sad smile.
"I knew you were going to say that." He whispered quietly.
Before Jade even got the chance to figure out the meaning behind what he said, Prince Draco had already turned away from her, staring grimly at the fireplace in front of them. ""In any case, I suppose it shouldn't matter yet. My engagement with Lady Astoria has yet to be formalized. Father still wants me to meet with the Princess of Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff for one last time before I make my final decision on who I want to marry." He told her, a frown marring his face. "If, by the end of my trip, I decide that none of the Princesses are compatible with me, then I will marry Lady Astoria before the end of next winter." After he had said this, Prince Draco paused and he glanced questioningly at Jade again over his shoulder.
Despite the impassive look on her face, Jade felt as though he had kicked her in the gut.
"That being said, I will be leaving for Ravenclaw in three days' time to call upon Princess Cho." He glanced at her again, giving her a slight nod. "I wish for you to accompany me, Jade."
"Of course, My Prince." Jade kept her face hidden from him, avoiding his eyes.
They both fell silent after that, staring awkwardly at everything else around the room except each other. Finally, after a long moment, Prince Draco sighed and he turned back around to face her. When he saw the way Jade was biting her lip and staring down at the carpet by her feet, his expression softened. He reached out to cup her cheek, tilting her chin up to face him.
As she looked up and met his gaze, Jade was relieved to note that the hardness was gone from his eyes – and in its place was that usual tender look that he reserved only for her. Without waiting for her to speak, he leaned down and planted a kiss onto the top of her hair.
"I'm sorry." Prince Draco began as he snaked his arms down, wrapping them around her waist and pulling her against him into a hug. "I didn't mean to burst out at you like that, Jade. Truthfully, I've just been so burdened these past few days with how much my parents have been pressuring me to find a bride that I took it out on you. Forgive me, my love." He glanced at her.
"There is nothing to forgive." Jade closed her eyes and allowed him to pull her closer against him so that her cheek rested against his chest and he pressed his face into her dark hair.
They spent a few more minutes of silence in each other's arms for awhile, neither one willing to let go for fear of the other moving away. Finally, when it almost seemed as though the Prince had fallen asleep against her, Jade sighed and carefully began to extract herself from him.
Prince Draco stiffened immediately and his eyes flew open in question.
"Jade?" He shot her a worried frown.
"It's getting late, Your Highness." Jade ignored the look of protest on his face and began to stand up, glancing at the clock by the corner of his room.
"I should go back to my room—"
"Don't leave."
Before she could say anything else, the Prince's arms had already tightened around her waist and he leaned down, resting his head against her lap and reclining the rest of his body against the lush, white carpet. When she froze up and stared down at him, thoroughly confused by his actions, he reached for her other hand and guided her fingers towards his blonde hair.
"Stay with me until I fall asleep." The sleepiness of Prince Draco's tired voice, along with the way his eyes were already beginning to grow heavy from exhaustion, made her realize that she couldn't deny him anything. With a sigh, Jade nodded, leaning against his bed behind her.
Then, as she watched his eyes close, she cradled his head in her lap, her fingers combing tenderly through his hair. With soft green eyes, she leaned down, giving him a kiss on the cheek.
"Good night, my Prince."
His lips tugged up into a smile at her voice, and he gave her hand one last squeeze.
"Good night, my love."
Notes: The relationship between Jade and Draco is really supposed to be strange and confusing at this point. It sort of borders along that very fine line between what's considered platonic and romantic. This is mainly because Jade hasn't quite figured out her feelings for Draco yet. I'm attributing this mostly to their age difference – since Draco is 10 years older than her here, it would make sense that he'd be the first one to realize how he feels about her. Don't worry, Jade's feelings will become much clearer as we progress more into the story, I promise. :D
So…Like it? Love it? Hate it? Should I continue?! Please let me know your thoughts! :D