I think chapter one received enough support for me to continue. This is far different than anything I've written, so I am enjoying the challenge. Tell me what you think?

Chapter Two: The Feast

Dick's POV

I stand, leaning against the far wall of the my father's temporary bed chamber for the next few weeks, watching impatiently as he and my little brother get dressed for the grand feast that is to occur later on today. I find this all so pointless in truth. Even though I'm technically a nobleman, due to who my father is, I have no interest in the lifestyle that they live. I refuse to allow anyone to tell me that I must be married and to whom I will be married to. There is no freedom in that.

The good news for myself is that I do not have to worry about this. I was adopted by Bruce at the age of nine, therefore I am not technically a Wayne and for that very reason, there is no reason to force me to wed anyone. The last name of the Wayne's would not carry on with my children, making the arrangement pointless. I must say though, if my brother is going to be forced to wed anyone, the Princess of all kingdoms is not a bad option. Not only does she have far more power than any Lord or Lady could ever hope to, she also has a very... exotic look. Gotham is located in the far north, a thousand miles from Tameran, and there the girls, everything from the noble ladies to the tavern whores, are pale in skin color with darker hair, but not the princess.

No, she looks far different from anything we're used to. Golden skin, red hair, green eyes. It's all very strange, but I cannot deny that she is gorgeous. My brother would be quite lucky if he can sway her to choose him. Of course, I don't think that will actually be the case. He's young and has zero experience with women, let alone the Princess herself. I'm no fortune teller, but I am predicting a disaster.

I watch as the two button up there fancy white shirts, looking at themselves in the mirror as they do, and can not help but to roll my eyes. "Both of you ladies look fine."

Bruce looks over at me a glares. "We have to make a good impression, Dick. It is important to the Wayne family and Gotham that she picks Damian to wed."

I sigh and shake my head. "And you think dressing in nice clothes is going to make a good impression? Everyone there will be dressed exactly the same way. What makes him stand out?" I motion to Damian, who is frowning at me, but I wave him off in response. "I am just saying, you are already one of the youngest suitors, which puts you at a disadvantage immediately. She is sixteen if I am correct. What would make her want to marry a thirteen year old?"

Bruce crosses his arm over his chest and frowns. "Okay, so what do you suggest we do?"

"If it were me," I begin placing my hand on my chest plate. "I would be the first to talk to her tonight. Find out what she likes and be that, even if it's a lie, what does it matter? This is all horse shit anyway."

Bruce rolls his eyes. "Don't you have somewhere to be, Dick?"

"And leave you and the young Lord alone? Something horrible could occur in my absence. I could not. I swore an oath," I say with valiant mocking voice.

"You could," he glares. "I'm sure there are some Tameranian women around to keep you occupied until tonight."

I bow with an amused smirk. "I thank you for my leave, my Lord." With that I head for the door. I'm sure I can find a way to get in trouble around here, especially if the girls here look like the Princess.

Kori's POV

I sigh, looking out the window in my room, my head resting against the window seal. There's still a few hours left until the feast begins and I have little to nothing to do to occupy my time until then. I am lost in mindless thought until I hear some form of commotion coming from the court yard. I cannot view it from this window so I rush over to my balcony so that I can see the garden and green field that the tables had been placed on for yesterday's ceremony, but have since been removed.

Once I reach it and look out over my white balcony, I am more than surprised to find the insanely attractive knight, Sir Grayson standing there, with his sword drawn and three Tameranian royal guards circling him with their spears pointed in his direction. At first, I am about to call below and demand to know what is happening and why the guards are attacking one of my guests but then I notice something. Sir Grayson is smirking and there are other guards surrounding the group, them all smiling and appear to be placing bets, making it clear that this is some form of competition.

I decide against making my presence known and just quietly watch as the first guard thrusts his spear forward. Sir Grayson steps to the side, avoiding the attack, but manages to catch the long handle of the weapon and jerks it forward, pulling its holder forcefully forward along with it and straight it to a massive punch by the Gotham knight, knocking the guard to ground, unconscious and causing the crowd of guards surrounding them to uproar in excitement at the powerful blow.

Sir Grayson then pivots to his left, just in time to block an oncoming spear thrust with his wrist guards in an incredible display of reflexes and instincts. He then swings his mighty sword around, knocking the weapon straight from the guard's hand before delivering a mighty kick to his chest, knocking him to the grassy ground.

Sir Grayson then turns to the third guard who seems quite hesitant to attempt an attack after seeing what the knight of Gotham is capable of, but he trust his spear forward anyway and with incredible speed, Sir Grayson ducks under the attempt before rising up to deliver a vicious elbow to the guards jaw, putting him in the same place as his two companions.

This man just took out three elite Tameranian warriors without even attempting lethal force. I cannot say that I am not very impressed by this display. The black and blue armor clad knight bows for his observers like he is some form of showman, but he then pauses in place for a brief moment before turning around and looking directly up at me.

I stifle a yip that attempted to escape from my mouth. How'd he even know I was here? I want to flee back into my room like a shy little girl, but it is too late for that now. He is looking directly at me with those eyes that appear as if they could search the very depths of your soul with just a glance.

A smirk crosses his face as he places his sword back in the holder around his waste. He then bows to me before standing straight. Looking me over once more, he smiles before confidently walking off out of my view, leaving me to stand there, clearly flustered. One thing is clear to me. This knight of Gotham has certainly captured my attention far more so than any of my suitors have managed to as of yet, and I do not believe that is a good thing. How am I supposed to get to know any of them, when in truth, the one I want to speak with is not even an option?

Kori's POV

The Grand Feast. The second day of my courting process, solely meant for me to get to know my suitors a little better by speaking with them for the first time. I already sit at the royal table dressed in purple dress similar to yesterday except for the fact that this one reveals far more cleavage. Tameranian culture is different than many. We don't believe the human body is anything to be ashamed of. It's supposed to be a beautiful thing, made in the light of X'hal, our God. The more north you go however, the more that these views change.

My family sits beside me as we await the guests who are currently pouring into the room in spurts. I pretend to be distracted by invisible dust on my dress, but I am quite aware the second the Wayne family enters and takes their seats at the table they have been assigned. This is the first occasion where I have seen Sir Grayson without his armor on, it now being replaced by a simple black buttoned up shirt, making him look more like the nobleman that he is, but still attractive beyond all measure.

I occasionally take a peak at him as the other guests get settled in at their tables. He seems to be very bored with the idea of this and I cannot blame him. He commands an army, so even as nobleman, this is probably out of his comfort zone.

Eventually everyone settles in and the platters of food are brought out to each table. My father, who seems eager to get this over with, stands to his feet and rings his wine glass to get everyone's attention and the end the chattering momentarily. "I'd like to take a moment to welcome you all to the royal dining all for this grand feast. It is my honor to to hold this event in the name of my daughter, Princess Koriand'r, so without further waiting, let the feast begin!"

Everyone applauds briefly before beginning to drink their wine and eat their food. I casually mingle from table to table, starting with the Lord Kal-El and his son Kon-El, who I learned is very... serious. He does not speak much and when he does his replies are not very long. I suppose it is the result of how he was raised, but either way it is unnerving enough to make me move on rather quickly. After only brief, rather dull conversations with a few of the other suitors, I happen to notice Sir Grayson walking up the stairs to the balcony that circles around the entire dining hall.

I wonder why he's going up there. Rather curiously, I head in that direction and ease my way up the staircase, unnoticed by the rest of my guests. Once at the top I find him leaning against the railing, looking out over all the slightly drunk noblemen and ladies. Swallowing hard in sudden nervousness, I slowly approach him. "You are not enjoying the feast, Sir Grayson?" I ask, it coming out more softly than I had intended it to.

He turns to me, seemingly surprised at my presence, but he responds quickly anyway. "Forgive me, Princess. A room full of drunken nobles just isn't my idea of a good time." He then pauses briefly before speaking again. "You know my name? How?"

I nod with a smile and approach him, standing at his side on the balcony. "How could I not? Your reputation proceeds you, Knight Commander of Gotham." That sounded like a much better response than telling him that I just learned of his existence yesterday thanks to my Uncle's knowledge. "I saw your little competition earlier with my guards. It was quite impressive. They're very highly trained warriors."

"Thank you Princess. It was an honor to you have you in my audience," he replies, the charm just oozing from his voice.

I blush and tuck my red hair behind my ear as my eyes fall to the floor briefly. "Please Sir Grayson, no one is around. You may call me Koriand'r... Kori preferably."

He smiles and extends his hand to me. "Very well. If we aren't using titles, feel free to call me Richard... Dick preferably."

I shake his hand lightly. "It is nice to formally meet you, Dick." I turn to look out at the people below, specifically the Wayne family, before glancing back at him. "Tell me, how did you happen to come to be Lord Wayne's ward?"

Sir Grayson... I mean, Dick, sighs and leans against the rail once more. "It is quite the long story, but if it is either telling it or returning to the feast then I will gladly tell you," he jokes. "You see, my biological parents were circus acrobats as was I. We traveled from kingdom to kingdom performing for Nobles, but as fate would have it, during a routine performance in Gotham when I was nine, the trapeze ropes snapped and my parents fell to their deaths. Bruce, who happened to be in the audience that night, was also orphaned at a very young age, both his parents being killed in an attempted siege on Gotham. I guess he understood the pain I was feeling, so he paid the circus a hundred gold pieces for me. I thought I was going to be a slave, but it was nothing like that. He raised me as his own son. Thought me to fight. Made me who I am today really. That's the very reason that when I became a knight, I swore myself to him. Payback for him taking care of me when he didn't have to."

I stand speechless, unsure what to say for a long moment. "I... I am sorry for your parent's death."

He smiles at me lightly. "No need. I have made peace with my past. I know they are watching over me."

I envy his outlook, but I am still curious about so much. "May I ask something else?"

"You're the Princess. You can do whatever you want," he responds, with a smirk.

A horribly girlish giggle escapes me before I can stifle it, but I only continue. "I've heard they call you the 'Black Wolf.' Why is that?"

"Ahh, that story," he laughs. "So, during the last attempted siege on Gotham, I was only seventeen and had probably been a knight less than a year. They came in the night and took us by surprise. I just so happened to be on guard duty that night along with nine other men. There were probably a hundred of them, but under my lead, we fought off every single one until reinforcements could arrive."

"Really?" I ask in wide eyed amazement.

"The story varies depending on who you ask. Sometimes you'll hear they had as many as five-hundred men. If that were the case then I would probably not be here talking with you today."

I stare into his eyes, lost in their beauty. "Then I find myself very thankful that there were not."

We stare at each other in silence for long a moment, just looking over each others every feature and I barely notice the sound of my pounding heart. Why cannot this man be one of my suitors? We could end the courting at this very moment because I am certain that no one will measure up to him. There are just so many things about him that are wildly exciting to me. His ability as a warrior. His charm. His appearance. I know what I am feeling is nothing more than interest and lust, but still... it is intoxicating.

"Princess," I hear a deep voice call from behind and I turn to find my Uncle Galfore standing there, effectively killing the moment.

"Yes, Uncle?" I answer, startled by his presence.

"Your father sent me to find you. Your suitors are awaiting your presence," he informs me.

I sigh, remembering my duty, before turning my attention back to the hansom knight in front of me. "Perhaps we may talk again?"

"Whatever you wish, my Princess," he bows charmingly as ever, kissing the back side of my hand lightly as he does.

I smile as I walk away, rather convinced that I have hearts in my eyes.

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