Fox Alistair, a huntsman mercenary sat in his cramped tent, his only comforts being a cot and all of the essentials that he carried in a backpack with himself: Medicine, sharpening tools, food and some personal trinkets. His tent was just one of many like it, all placed in the mercenary section of the Valean war camp. For one dumb reason or another, the kingdoms of Vacuo and Vale decided to fight each other once again, not that Fox really cared about their reasons, not anymore at least. As long as he was paid at the end of the day, it was all that mattered. Though, he would be lying if he said that Lien was the only reason he was there.
The mercenary took out his sharpening kit and started working on his signature weapon, a pair of blades that he usually held in reverse grip, named Sharp Retribution. A weird and exotic weapon to be sure, but being one of the rare people with Aura, he could utilize them in ways that no regular person could.
He sighed. The night before battle was never easy. He knew that many other mercenaries, and even soldiers often would get black-out drunk to dull the ever pressing feelings of fear, worry, excitement. It was not easy to go into battle knowing that you or your friends and comrades might die. Sharpening his weapons always calmed Fox down however, it almost felt like a meditative experience. And it was always a better alternative than succumbing to alcohol.
I wonder what Princess Neo is doing at this time…
He thought to himself while his hands were keeping busy. After all, he was once one of her trusted bodyguards, back when he was a lot less skilled and still considered as an outsider in Vale. Him not having his sight is also something that did not make people confident in his fighting abilities. Princess Neo however, she never did allow others to influence her decisions. She chose to embrace him, in more ways than one….
Fox blushed at the memory and quickly stood up from his cot to shake his head as hard as he could.
No! No! Fox, what happened that day was wrong, do NOT think about it, about HER in that way!
The young man sat down on his cot once again and continued sharpening his weapons. He kept on doing it for a couple of hours until he heard rustling outside his tent. Not an uncommon sound in a camp, but it was way too close to be some stumbling merc.
"Who's out there? Stop skulking around and announce yourself or you WILL be treated as an enemy", Fox gripped his weapons, better to be safe than dead at the hands of some Vacuan assassin. A lithe and short form quickly ran into his tent and before he could react, embraced him in a hug. He recognized the perfume…
"Princess! By the Brother Gods do not sneak around like that! I nearly attacked you!" The young man admonished the Princess while loosening her grip on himself. Eventually he managed to get her off him, to her visible displeasure. She did not change at all in the time he failed to see her. Except for her clothes. Instead of her usual bright pink gowns, she wore what looked like leather armour, not unlike the one worn by many less well-off mercenaries in the camp
The Princess signed to him to use his semblance on her.
She was one of 3 people in Remnant who knew about his semblance. He had the ability to connect his mind to another, it could be used to predict the movements of his opponents, but most importantly, it allowed him to easily communicate with the Princess, considering that she was mute. Fox granted the Princess her request.
"There, are you happy now?"
"Yes, very. Now, may my loyal subject answer to me why he is in an army camp, fighting a war that does not concern him in any way shape or form? And do not try to lie that you are doing this for money, unless you lost it all, the wages you were paid as my bodyguard would have afforded you a house inside any of the cities or villages in Vale" It seems that the princess somehow found out about him being in the camp. Fox had no idea how, she always managed to know more than she was really supposed to, to his dismay. He needed to exit the situation as fast as possible, and so he started slowly inching away towards the exit of the tent.
"I would never lie to you, Princess. While it is true that I have enough Lien to live a comfortable life, such life would not be for me, as a son of Vacuo, wandering and traveling is in my blood. Adventure calls to me, and I answer. It just so happens that currently my path intersects with that of Vale" While the huntsman was not the biggest conversationalist, his experiences with haggling for coin during his merc work taught him how to speak flowery. "While I appreciate that you deigned to bless me with your illustrious presence, I do have to excuse myself, I would like to have some rest before the upcoming battle, after all, a tired soldier is a dead soldier!"
"I do not think I will impose on your peace or rest for too long, my dear Fox. Having a short conversation with someone you bedded will not be the death of you." The Princess did not seem to be letting up. But Fox did not want to deal with the situation regardless. Even if she seemingly did, considering her comment. It was better that he left instead of hurting her more.
"I will have to politely disagree with your assertion Princess. Please, do not take this as rudeness on my part, while ordinarily I would move the heavens and earth to gain your audience, right now is not the time. Please, have a good night and convey my regards to King Roman" He was really close to the exit, he only needed to make just one quick step…
"Stop." Of all the reactions he expected, the cold anger radiating from Neo was not one of them "I just can't believe you'd rather chose to wander out on an active battlefield than have one real, emotional conversation with me!"
"I…" Fox had no chance to say anything else before Neo pointed towards his cot.
"NO! You WILL come back to your cot right this instant, and we WILL have a heart to heart! Ever since we slept with one another you have changed, became more skittish, started avoiding me, only calling me by my title, not my name! Was I simply a romantic conquest for you to "conquer" like many a mercenary boasts about in their off time? Was I just as simple wench for you to bed and forget!? Each new accusation was like a knife imbedded straight into his heart.
"No! Never! Please, it's nothing like that Princess! I would never treat you in such a way!" Instead of sitting on the cot together with the Princess, Fox kneeled in front of her, holding her hands in his.
"Please, i… My actions have nothing to do with wanting to hurt you. In fact, I want to avoid that. I'm a simple mercenary, a vagabond you took into your care as a bodyguard. King Roman trusted me with your safety when many others dismissed me on first sight. And then I broke that trust by sleeping with you. You are a princess! If anyone ever found out, it would be a scandal, your name would be tarnished for going so far with just a commoner. The king would also be furious and most likely seek to take my head for what I did, and I would not even blame him! It would be better for you if I simply disappeared" Fox looked up at where he imagined the face of the princess would be. Pleading with her to listen.
"Rise, Fox Alistair. Sit near me." The princess commanded, and Fox obeyed.
"Let me tell you a story, a story about myself. Before Father took me into his family I was born into a completely different, cadet branch of the Royal family. They were in control of my every action, every word, every movement. To them, I was not a child, but rather, an investment in the future. They thought that if they could "perfect" me, that they could find a suitor that would take me into a more important family despite my inability to speak. Despite that, they constantly convinced me that it was all done for my sake, that they were making my life and my future better" Fox could see that the Princess was not fully comfortable telling her story, it carried with itself a lot of unhappy memories, something that he could sympathize with.
"I wasn't…" The mercenary tried to speak.
"You WERE. Your actions might have been born out of an actual desire to help me. But all you did was hurt me, just like my birth family. I want to make this very clear. Do not think to decide what is better for me. Only I know what is better for me. Not my family, not my Father, not you. If Father has any problems with the decisions I make, I will talk to him. And what others think about me is irrelevant, if I do not care, neither should you." Her face was one of conviction. She fully believed everything that she had said, and Fox himself started to believe that there is nothing that could stand in the way of her desires.
"I am sorry, I will understand if my actions made whatever connection we had before, something that you do not want to explore further" Fox rose from the cot and started moving towards the exit.
"Did I say that? My dear Fox, you should really stop jumping to conclusions over every small thing. The reason I told you all of this is simply to inform you that you made a mistake, and to not repeat it in the future. I am still attracted to you my dear foolish Fox, both emotionally and… Physically." The Princess blushes as she conveys the last part to the mercenary.
"I feel the same way princess, and if you believe that I am worthy of your affection, I will not stand in your way any longer" Fox finally relented and felt like the stone that laid on his heart since that fateful night with the Princess, simply disappeared.
"I do have a name you know. Call me Neo"
"Princess i…"
"No, no princess, Neo.
"I can't just…"
The princess stands up and drags Fox by his shirt back towards his cot, sitting him down and straddling him. "This is how it is going to go Fox. Every time you say princess instead of my name, I will move my hips. I doubt that your lower body will appreciate such stimulation without anything more serious for long, and I can last a lot longer than you"
She will be the death of me…
Fox gulps. "I, I see, but if one is punished for disobeying, it just makes sense that one would receive a reward of sorts for obeying, is that not the case?" Despite being nervous beyond belief, the excitement of Fox was building up, allowing him to be a little more assertive.
"Oh~?" The laugh of the princess could be clearly heard inside his mind. "Why of course my brave knight. What kind of royalty would I be if I did not reward my most loyal subjects . Your reward, well, let it be a surprise~. I assure you, it will be a very stimulating incentive."
"Neo…" the mercenaries eyes widened when he saw the Princess unbuckle her leather breastplate and throw It on the ground…
It is going to be a looooong night…..