Romance of a Failed Knight
Here it is, chapter 4, sit down and see the surprise Stella has in store for Ikki. So, without further ado, let the show begin. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of Chivalry of a Failed Knight; that includes characters, the plot, etc.
Chapter 4: Relocation of a Failed Knight
Previously in chapter 3;
"Thank you Stella, I'm honored to take on your family name, though I might have to get used to the prince part." Stella pulled back a little, causing Ikki to stop his ministrations. "What is it Stella, is everything okay?" He asked. "Yes dear" Stella replied, "Actually, since we're asking important questions, there's something I've been needing to ask you, since freshman year actually, but I never knew how to bring it up." Ikki reassured his fiancé, "Don't worry, you can ask me anything." He offered her a warm smile that helped her ease up before she began, " If that's the case, then…"
If that's the case, then you remember how you said you wanted to be beside me every minute of your life?" Stella asked timidly. Ikki didn't speak, just gave a slow, enthusiastic single nod. Stella let out a heavy sigh she held in her lungs before continuing, "After you proposed to me, my father came down here in secret, and requested to meet me. I figured he wanted to discuss our relationship, so I went, determined to remove any doubts my father had about you. After discussing how our relationship started, what the nature of our relationship was, and where we planned on taking our relationship, he was happy that I had found someone worthy of his daughter. Those are his words, not mine!" Stella quickly added. "I have never seen our relationship as one where either of us needed to be worthy of the other. I've always seen it as one where we both see each other as equals and share a love that transcends words."
Ikki was too busy in thought to fully register the last part of what Stella had said, but he was able to give a nod in agreement. Ikki was surprised that this was the first he was hearing of this meeting. He knew how it had ended before Stella told him, after all, her father was the biggest supporter of their relationship. He had personally called Itsuki after Ikki had proposed and had basically told him to fuck off and leave the duo alone as well as indirectly calling him a shitty parent. He was the father figure he had wanted all of his life, and he was grateful to her father for that. He was determined to be someone that Stella's father would be proud to call his own son, even if that wasn't really the case.
Ikki was perplexed as to why Stella was telling him this; she already knew that he knew how her father felt about him. He didn't see how it related to Stella asking him something important. Stella continued, finally linking her meeting with her father to what she had to ask Ikki, "That's not all we talked about." She looked at the floor as the blood rushed to her cheeks. It was now her turn to ask something embarrassing. She pressed on, "I asked my father if after graduation, since you weren't going to go back to your family, they don't deserve to be graced with your presence anyway; …I asked him if you could come back home with me, and move in with us."
Ikki was in a state of disbelief. He had been concerned about what he was going to do after graduation. He still wanted to be with Stella, but he didn't want to be a burden to her or make her uncomfortable. Now he didn't have to worry, he wasn't going to be separated from Stella ever again. Taking his momentary silence for something it wasn't she panicked, "That is if you want to, if you don't that's fine too." She said this with a trace of sadness in her voice. She was in fact saddened at the thought of Ikki not being with her. He disrupted her train of thought as he broke out laughing. Stella gave a puzzled look at Ikki, who finally got control of himself. Once he saw his fiancé's puzzled look he answered her, "Of course I'll move in with you, nothing would make me happier, Stella, As long as I'm with you, there is no place I wouldn't go."
Stella then threw one of her legs across both her and Ikki, repositioning herself in a single graceful motion so that she was now straddling Ikki. She wrapped her arms around his neck before speaking, "Hearing you say that makes me so happy; happier than I ever could've imagined." Remembering that she had talked to her father about one more thing regarding Ikki living with her, she informed Ikki, "Oh, there's one more thing I need to ask you about." Ikki didn't respond initially; he just raised his brow, curious as to what Stella had forgot to mention. He eventually gave into his curiosity and replied, " Ask away my princess."
Though what Stella had to say was embarrassing, she never broke eye contact with Ikki. She was determined to hold their gaze to show him that she was serious about this. She cleared her throat and began, "Well you see, after I convinced my father to let you move in to our place, we discussed the specifics of your relocation; namely your rooming. After what seemed like forever, I was able to gain my father's approval of the proposal I presented him with." Ikki pondered for a moment at what the proposal Stella presented her father could be before deciding the quickest way to find out would be to ask Stella. " Oh, and what might that proposal have been?" He inquired. She struggled getting the words out. " You… I mean I… My father… No, we…" Stella, frustrated at her inability to just say what she wanted to say, closed her eyes and clenched her fists before stating loudly.
"I told my father that I didn't want you to have a room far away from mine. I told him I didn't want you to be in a room all by yourself; I told him that I wanted to share my room with you!" Ikki sat there, looking at his fiancé dumbfounded. Stella began to panic, thinking that he was uncomfortable with it, though she couldn't think of a reason why. They had been sleeping in the same bed for the past three years after all. Ikki was the first to speak, gaining Stella's undivided attention. "Stella. I wouldn't want it any other way, so thank you." Ikki offered a warm smile, easing Stella's faster than usual heart rate from her near panic attack. His smile quickly turned to a devilish smirk as a thought popped into his head.
Stella noticed this change and asked, "What's going through that mind of yours, Ikki?" Still smirking, Ikki answered, " Well, I imagine that your place, the entire property and not just the residence, is pretty big, right?" Stella nodded in affirmation. "And there won't be as many people there as there are here, right?" Stella once again just nodded. Ikki continued with his smirk widening, "Then it should be much easier to have our alone time go uninterrupted. Speaking of which…" Ikki then grabbed Stella's shoulders and threw her onto the bed, simultaneously rotating himself so he was positioned on top of her.
He then brought his head down and lightly bit her collarbone causing her to softly moan. He dragged his nose up her body, inhaling her womanly scent as he did, causing her to quiver at the sensation. When he reached her ear he stopped for a moment and whispered so that even Stella could barely hear despite him being so close to her ear. "How about we continue where we left off?" This caused Stella to quiver once again at the sensation that she felt from his soft breath against her ear combined with the implication of his words.
Wordlessly she answered his question as she wrapped her hands around his neck and pulled his head down, catching his lips with hers. An idea popped into Ikki's mind. Usually they would eventually wrestle over who had the dominant position during their make out sessions. This time, however, Ikki wanted to try a different kind of wrestling. He slightly parted his lips, which came to no surprise to Stella; usually this meant he was just in-taking some air before continuing. This time it was different; he never brought his lips back together. Instead he traced his tongue across her lower lip, requesting her to part her lips, giving him access to her mouth.
Stella had not been expecting this turn of events. She immediately stiffened at the sudden act, though she never ceased the kiss. She slowly parted her lips, granting him the access he had wanted. Noticing her nervous demeanor, Ikki slowly pushed his tongue between her lips. Ikki then slowly traced his tongue from the center left side of her mouth to the center. He repeated this, never altering a step. At this, Stella was confused. He had never been particular about any ministration he had given her up until this point. She pondered why; then it came to her. That was the exact motion he used when he drew Intetsu. He was challenging her to a duel, where the weapon of choice was their tongues.
Stella, being the competitive type she was, accepted the challenge without a second thought as she brought her tongue from the top of her mouth to the bottom; mimicking the motion she used when summoning Laevateinn. Stella thought to herself, " When it comes to duels, I've never been able best Ikki. This time, however, I will beat him. This isn't a test of skill, but one of love, and there is no way I will let him love me more than I love him!" With that their intense duel began as their tongues clashed in each other's mouths, in a fight for dominance.
As they broke their longer than usual kiss, as this time it had become a duel, they both panted profusely. Despite her initial hopes, Stella had lost, just like all their duels prior to this one. Not only was he a better swordsman, he was also a better kisser; though she told herself she would never openly admit it. Ikki took notice that Stella's demeanor was seemingly down, so he asked, "Stella, what's wrong?" She tried to deny it, immediately replying, "Nothing." Ikki, now more determined than ever to find out what was bothering her and make her feel better, pressed on.
"Come on, tell me. I know my princess better than that. You can try to hide what you're feeling from yourself, but you can't hide it from me, so please tell me so I can do something to make you feel better." Ikki told her, the concern in his voice getting through her stubbornness. "Well, it seems like you're better than me at everything, like swordsmanship, keeping a level head, and even kissing." Stella said, her cheeks turning red as she confessed what was on her mind.
"Is that what's bothering you? Geez, we should get you glasses with how blind you are." Ikki said, earning a confused look from his fiancé. He explained, "Okay, let's start with swordsmanship. Yes, I was good at it before you came into my life, but nowhere near where I am now. Like I've told you before, I was able to get this strong because of you, so I have you to thank for my swordsmanship. As for keeping a level head, yes I am so much better than you." Stella dropped her head at this, but Ikki continued knowing that she would react that way. "However, no one can push me beyond my limits better than you. You can make me lose my self-control, whether it be holding myself back from smothering you in kisses or protecting you from anything or anybody with the audacity to think to lay a hand on or insult you. When it comes to kissing, well, I think you're the better kisser; that's why I have to hold myself back. I just can't get enough of your kisses; I'm addicted."
Hearing this, Stella's eyes filled with tears of joy. Not only was he right about her being blind to all of her attributes, but more importantly to her he thought she was a better kisser. He had reminded her of the one thing she did better than anyone else in existence, the one thing she wanted to do better than anyone with all of her heart; make Ikki happy. "Thank you love, you always know what to say to cheer me up." Stella said as she wiped the last of the tears from her eyes. "Well, I'm glad I could make you feel better. I hope you know that I meant every bit of what I said. I wasn't just telling you what you wanted to hear. It just happened to be both what you wanted to hear and the truth." Ikki said, the blood rushing to his cheeks as he did.
"I know, and thank you for reminding me. I am so lucky to have someone like you. I guess we should start packing, seeing as we have to leave by the end of Friday." Stella told him. Ikki's face widened at what his fiancé had just told him. "Stella, do you know what day it is today?" Ikki asked, a bit of panic in his voice. She replied, a bit confused and uncertain, "Um, Wednesday." Ikki let out a sigh, unable to be mad at Stella, but still acknowledging the situation. He corrected her in a tone that showed frustration, not at her but at the situation, saying, "No Stella. Today is Thursday. Tomorrow is Friday; so we have to be packed and gone by the end of tomorrow." Stella only managed to scream before they both shot up and began packing. It was going to be a long night of getting ready, but Ikki couldn't care less. He would be moving in with Stella tomorrow. He was too happy to let anything bring him down.
*Pretty sure I'm not a good enough writer to make packing an interesting subject, so I'll spare your time and sanity and just skip to Ikki and Stella's arrival at her castle
The limo pulled up to the castle; as it did the chauffer stepped out of the driver's seat and opened the door for Stella to exit first. When Stella got out, she turned towards the open limo door and offered Ikki a hand, which he gladly took. When Ikki first saw the structure with in which he would be living his jaw hit the ground at his feet. Just the entrance to the castle was elegant. The two front gates must have been 25 feet tall. Both were open, leading to an extravagant garden, with a large stone fountain in the center. The fountain depicted a lone wolf, howling on the edge of a cliff. A stream of water was produced from the wolf's mouth, landing in a pound below. In the pond was a plethora of koi, but not so much as to overcrowd the pond.
Ikki's attention was brought back towards the gates as a row of servants; about thirty in total, greeted the duo simultaneously. "Good evening Princess Stella; Prince Ikki." Ikki was still wrapping his head around the whole idea of being a prince, but he relaxed as Stella grabbed his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Don't worry love, everything will be just fine." Stella reassured. Ikki offered a warm smile and nodded in agreement. As the two walked towards the gate, a figure stepped out from behind the walls on the other side of the castle. Though Ikki had never seen this man in his life, he immediately knew who it was.
Ikki immediately got down on one knee in a kneeling position, bowing his head and said, "I thank you for your benevolence your majesty. I hope my presence in your abode does not inconvenience you in any manner." Blood rushed to Stella's cheeks as soon as her fiancé finished his statement. The man walked up towards Ikki, towering over him. Ikki could feel the man standing above him. With each passing second Ikki could feel his heart rate elevate, and a light sweat began to form on his forehead, then the figure finally broke the silence.
The man gave a hearty laugh before saying, "Oh don't worry son, you're no trouble at all, at least you're not as much trouble as that one over there." He said as he motioned towards Stella. "Dad!" was all Stella was able to say before her father continued addressing Ikki. "And please, no need for formalities, just call me dad." At this both Ikki and Stella blushed madly. Seeing the youngsters' reaction, the king let out another hearty laugh. "Well, I won't keep you two waiting. Stella, I expect this young man to know the general layout of the castle by tomorrow's end. Also, no fooling around, I don't want to be a grandfather just yet."
Stella's cheeks turned twenty different shades of red before she cried, "Daddy!" The king once again let out a thunderous laugh. "I'm just messing with you, but seriously, if I catch you fooling around with my daughter I will lock her in the tower and throw you in the dungeon, understand?" The king said in a serious tone, but ended it with a wink. Both Ikki and Stella didn't know how serious the king was, but decided not to inquire. Even if the king hadn't had said what he did, there would be no fooling around before the wedding. Ikki and Stella wanted to have a pure relationship, and would wait until after marriage to do that, and in doing so keep their relationship pure. Before receiving an answer from either of the duo, the king turned and left the two to go about their business. He knew that both Ikki and Stella were serious about their relationship and would wait until after marriage to take that step. He just enjoyed teasing them about it. He had his suspicions that bases would be passed, but he was confident that no one would be scoring any time soon.
Ikki and Stella quickly entered the castle wanting to leave that moment behind them. Stella decided that she was going to take Ikki directly to their room. She would show him the way around the castle tomorrow, but for the time being she just wanted to relax and unwind from their long drive from the school to the castle. When Ikki walked into their room, his initial thought was they had walked into the wrong room. Stella noticed this and giggled. "Yes love, this is our room. The bottom half is the entertainment/cooking area. As you can see there is a full sized kitchen and a built in-home theatre. I had my dad remove the couch that had been in here and had it replaced with a custom made love seat. This one is not only a bit longer so it can be used as a couch, but it can also recline; perfect for cuddling if I do say so myself. In the center of the room is a full sized pool table. I put some tissues on the far end of the table for you to use when I leave you in tears from whooping your ass so bad." Stella was about to continue when she was interrupted by two words from Ikki.
"Bottom half?" Ikki asked both astounded and confused. Stella replied, "Oh, yes love. You see that staircase over there?" She pointed to a staircase in the corner of the room. "That leads to our actual bedroom. I just love saying OUR bedroom. It has a nice ring to it." Ikki just stood like a statue, amazed that this was just a single room in the entire castle; well actually it was two rooms, but that's beside the point. Before Ikki could say a word, Stella grabbed his hand and dragged him towards the staircase saying, "Come on slowpoke, you've yet to see the best part." She gracefully glided up the stairs and when she reached the top she gestured for him to take a look at the entire room as she proclaimed, "Behold, our room and all of its glory. When Ikki reached the top, he nearly passed out at what he saw.
At the left corner of the room was a master canopy bed, with a charcoal black frame; three red veils concealed the mattress. Behind the veil, unbeknownst to Ikki at the time, was a crimson comforter with an arrangement of red, black, and white pillows. On either side towards the head of the bed was a large bedside table made of mahogany. Each bedside table had two drawers and was topped with a simple lamp, a digital clock, and a mini titanium figurine. One was of Laevateinn and the other Intetsu. Stella's father had had them custom made for the two to distinguish which side of the bed belonged to who. Laevateinn was placed in a rough, uncut ruby while Intetsu was concealed in polished obsidian, reflecting on each other's personalities. Ikki had a dark past, but was smooth on the outside and made levelheaded decisions. Stella had an easier past than Ikki and was quick to anger and often acted on impulse. The deeper meaning of the mementos went completely over Stella's head as she commented, "How pretty" Ikki just nodded in agreement, not wanting to provoke her inner, uncut ruby.
Ikki decided to resume his scan of his and Stella's room. The next thing that Ikki noticed was a mountain, taller than him, of stuffed animals in the far corner of the room. Ikki looked at Stella, then back to Mt. Fluff, as he deemed it. He couldn't help but laugh out loud. Stella looked towards Ikki to see what he found so funny. When she saw what his gaze was fixated upon, an idea popped into her head. She yelled, but not so loud as to escape the walls of her room, "You jerk!" Ikki turned towards Stella and was about to explain that the only reason he laughed was because he could see Stella being the type to hoard stuffed animals, but never imagined a mountain that literally shadowed him.
However, before Ikki could say a word, Stella ran as fast as she could towards Mt. Fluff, and then jumped into it. Ikki was astonished as Mt. Fluff enveloped his fiancé, seemingly eating her, not leaving a trace of evidence. Ikki was dumbfounded and didn't know what to do or say. Not long after her plunge, Mt. Fluff began to rustle and shortly after, Stella poked her head out from under the sea of stuffed animals. She wore a smile so bright that Ikki, despite not understanding what was going on at all, smiled back. "Just kidding" Stella informed Ikki as to not leave him in the dark.
Ikki responded with a smirk, "So, I'm assuming that's not the first time you've done that" "Of course not! Gosh, I don't think I could wrap my head around the number of times I've done that" Stella replied with a chuckle. Ikki walked up to Stella, her head at least, to inspect Mt. Fluff a bit closer. This could be seen as a water buffalo walking up to a crocodile infested watering hole, and Ikki was that buffalo. Before he could get a good look at Mt. Fluff, Stella grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him in with her.
While Ikki couldn't see in the sea of fluff, Stella was in her element. She positioned herself behind him and wrapped her arms around him, prohibiting him from using his arms. She then gently ran her nose up across his neck, causing a wave of pleasure to send a shiver down his back, before she stopped at his ear. She softly spoke into his ear, causing him to quiver at the sensation, "How does it feel to be the hunted instead of the hunter?"
She never gave him an opportunity to answer as she nibbled his ear, rendering any of his cognitive functions useless as he let the wave of ecstasy wash over his entire body. Stella gently rubbed her hands against his rough chest. It was one of her favorite things to do. After she had deemed it fair for her to feel his chest after he had walked in on her, she had loved the feeling of her hands on his chest. Stella knew that she enjoyed this, and that Ikki at the very least didn't mind it; what she didn't know was how much he liked it. Though he would never get as much pleasure out of it as Stella, he loved the feeling of her hands anywhere on his body (No, not there you eager horn dogs! This is not that kind of FanFic).
Ikki, wanting to turn the tables on Stella, stood up, emerging from the sea of fluff like a majestic whale. Stella let out a surprised yelp, but never let go of him. "And what do you think you're doing, I'm not done toying with my prey" Stella said in a jokingly seductive tone. Ikki smirked as he responded, "What, can prey not fight back?" "Well, yes, but your efforts will prove futile" Stella said as a smirk graced her lips. With that, she continued her ministrations as Ikki stumbled towards the bed, his knees buckling with each step.
When Ikki reached the bed, he turned around and sat Stella down on the bed. When her butt made contact with the mattress, Ikki easily overpowered her, breaking his arms free from her grip. He turned around to see a face on Stella that he found priceless. Her face said, 'Have mercy', though she wasn't remotely afraid of what Ikki would do. It was quite the opposite; she looked forward to see what he would do to her (No, not like that! Like I said earlier, this is not that kind of FanFic ).
Ikki didn't really care about getting even; he just wanted to continue his and Stella's alone time. Ikki pounced on Stella, pinning her to the bed, this time, however, he wouldn't loosen his grip. This time he was the hunter, and he wouldn't let his prey escape, not this time. He brought his lips to hers, giving her a chaste kiss on the lips. He quickly pulled back, earning a groan from Stella, letting him know she did not approve of his teasing. At this, he smirked, knowing that Stella was at his mercy. He brought her hands above her head so he could hold them both with one hand, freeing the other. He brought his free hand down to her thigh and began to lightly trace two fingers along the delicate flesh.
Stella began to squirm, as the pleasure was becoming too much to bear; she wanted Ikki to return to his earlier ministrations and cease this torture known as teasing. Sensing his fiancé's distress, Ikki decided he had had enough fun, and gave into to Stella's desires. He brought his lips back to hers, but this time he kissed her deeply, with no intention of breaking the kiss anytime soon. Stella wanted to try something new. Remembering their "duel" from earlier, Stella wanted to try incorporating their tongues into the kiss. Not in a duel, but more as a vessel of exploration. She did as Ikki had done, tracing her tongue along his lower lip, asking for access to his mouth. He gladly obliged and parted his lips, allowing her tongue access to his mouth.
Stella felt like she was thousands of feet above cloud nine. She never knew that one minor change in their kissing routine could make it that much more enjoyable. 'I could get used to this kind of make out session' Stella thought to herself. Finally breaking their kiss, the duo just held each other and looked lovingly into each other's eyes. Letting out a yawn, Stella felt the tiredness begin to overtake her. Ikki, seeing that Stella was trying to fight her sleepiness, reached his hand out and began to gently rub her head.
Stella could fight foes several times bigger than her, and her strength was virtually unparalleled. When it came to Ikki's gentle touch, she was utterly powerless. Knowing she was doomed to fall prey to the pulls of slumber, she gave in and drifted off into a blissful sleep. Ikki just lay there, admiring the beauty that was his one true love sleeping beside him. He felt truly blessed. Not only was he living with his one true love in permanent fashion; he was to marry her in the near future. In all honesty he didn't want to wait. If it were an option, he would've married her the day he proposed to her.
However, he didn't want to take things at a rate too fast for Stella. Instead he opted to wait until after they graduated and had living arrangements settled to discuss their wedding. Now that those two requirements were met, Ikki was waiting for the right time to talk about their wedding and he had the feeling that that time would be soon. Ikki had a suspicion that Stella felt similarly to him, but he forgot to take into account her impatience. She had wanted to marry him everyday after he proposed, but figured he would wait until after graduation and probably wait until they had living arrangements.
Since both of those requirements were met, Stella was growing more impatient everyday. Luckily for her Ikki decided that he would bring up their wedding after his general tour of the castle, and thanks to the king, that would be by the end of tomorrow. He could hardly wait, but for the time being, Ikki was happy just being beside his one true love. With that in mind, Ikki drifted off to sleep as well. Tomorrow would be a big day; he would learn the general layout of his new home and talk to Stella about their wedding. He couldn't wait till morning.
Author's note: Well, that's 4 down. I hope y'all enjoyed. This month I'm starting classes at university, so I don't know how frequently I'll be able to post. I have chapters in my pocket up until about December. So y'all shouldn't have to worry until around February.
This is going to be a longer fanfic, but I have so many ideas of what to write next, guess I'm just an ADD writer at heart. I'm stuck between Busou Renkin, Asterisk War, Campione, or Hundred. Let me know what y'all would want to see next so I can narrow my scope of thought, but again, Romance, how I'll refer to this fanfic from now on, is my top priority and I will finish it before I start publishing chapters for another fanfic.
That about wraps up my thoughts. Again, I hope y'all enjoyed! So, until next time, stay you my friends.