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Fiction attempted, with various levels of success.


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Making-Up-Adventurers
@Making-Up-Adventurers

A paladin who takes their sword with them to bed. And the bath. And the beyond.


SpectreWrites
@SpectreWrites

Previous

The first thing that troubled Kallixenia about living in the Elven kingdom was how small everything was.

Knowing that in common language you're called a half-giant is one thing, but when you spend all your time surrounded by half-giants in buildings made by half-giants using things made for half-giants, you don't think about it. It's just an idea, that everything that is normal to you is in fact very large from a completely different viewpoint. That you're an outlier. Sure, you see dwarves all the time up in the mountains, but everyone says dwarves are small. That's a normal size for them to be.

Apparently when other people called them small, they only somewhat meant it.

It wasn't unbearable, she didn't have to slouch to fit indoors like she did in dwarven buildings, but it was still weird. She stuck out of crowds, everything felt delicate in her hands, her feet hung off her bed.

She had gone from a world where some things were giant and some things were small, to one where everything was normal and she wasn't.

But this was merely uncomfortable. It was the second thing that would be her undoing.

The second thing, of course, being that she was becoming personally entangled with her charge.


She hadn't known much about Princess Lunaeris when she was called upon to guard her. Only some... unkind rumors about the type of girl she was. All anyone knew was that she rarely left the castle and the king was having trouble finding someone to marry her, but people loved to speculate.

None of that mattered to her. She would carry out her duty, even if that was to guard some kind of... unpleasant spinster witch.

This was all wrong, of course. She was perfectly pleasant, she was not to Kallixenia's knowledge a witch, and a spinster was right out; She was a year older than the princess and if she was meant to be married by now nobody had told her.

No, Lunaeris was an adorable, clever, unhappy girl.

It was 'unhappy' that did her in. Anyone could deal with being bound to someone they found attractive, take a cold bath and recite your prayers and don't think about it, but Kallixenia couldn't just not help someone who was hurting.

She had noticed, rather quickly, the gap between Lunaeris the princess and Lunaeris the person. There was a Lunaeris who did as she was told, who upheld her duties to the kingdom, who politely nodded along to everything the king said with a practiced smile. The other, she had only seen hints of at first. The meandering responses to the king's summons, the weary exhalations when leaving his company, the polite but insistent prodding at any constraint placed upon her. There was something bothering the princess that either no one else saw or no one else wanted to see.

So Kallixenia overstepped. She found out what was wrong, and she offered her help, and now she was ruined. She had met the real Lunaeris, the one that only she saw, the one who raged against her fate with a zeal that made the knight believe she could actually change it. They were co-conspirators now, they shared something between just the two of them and it drew their hearts inexorably together.

"Kaallieee~"

The princess had become unfittingly friendly in the weeks since their talk in her room, and now they were going on a trip, together, alone, and that friendliness felt dangerous. She was sworn to ensure no harm befell the princess. Backing off now would leave her alone in her misery, which had obviously been killing her inside. Allowing the princess closer was naive at best. She had no business consorting with a princess, and even if she did it was a distraction she couldn't afford. She had to remain vigilant.

"Princess."

Nothing good comes from getting friendly with your charge. Kallixenia was the princess' sword and shield, not her friend, certainly not anything more that she was daydreaming about off-duty.

"Psh, I have a name, Kallie. It's just us out here! No need to be all stuffy." Lunaeris teased.

Kallixenia didn't like to swear, but she was screwed. The king would have her executed and then her remains would be sent back home to be put on display in the temple as a warning to all the adepts of what happens when you fail to remain disciplined in your duty. Good paladins who don't pry don't end up in these emotional minefields.

"...Tell me more about this journey we're on, Princess." She deflected.

"There isn't much to tell, my knight." Lunaeris said, rolling her eyes. "We keep riding until a little past nightfall, when we'll arrive at my teacher's tower. I will demonstrate trivial parlor tricks, the old coot will clap for me as if I am an excitable toddler, we sleep there and return in the morning."

This explanation was significantly more bitter than the one Kallixenia had gotten at the palace.

"You are dissatisfied with his teachings?" She asked, unable to stop herself from becoming involved in problems it wasn't her job to solve.

"I am above his teachings." The princess scoffed. "A child could perform the spells he has me practicing, and I know because I was that child. More than a decade of study and he still thinks that anything more would fry my delicate princess brain."

"I see. But you have to keep going?"

"I don't have to, but it's not as if I'm busy. Besides, ancient wizards like him practically shit arcane knowledge-"

"Princess!"

"-So I learn what I can from these visits." The princess tilted her head and grinned mischievously. "Does it bother you when I swear, my knight?"

"Of- Of course not, princess." The knight said. It didn't bother her per se, and she knew that the princess would hate to be scolded about impropriety.

But it was quite scandalous.

"Goood." The princess cooed. "I would hate to behave improperly around my knight."

Kallixenia disliked how she kept emphasizing that. Had she upset her?

"I-"

"FUCK!" Shouted the princess, causing birds to flee the trees around them.

"Wh- Princess!"

"SHIT ASS DAMN!!"

It was truly astonishing how loudly such a tiny woman could shout obscenities.

"Princess, someone will hear-"

"PISS COCKS CUNT BITCH!!!"

"Princess Lunaeris!" Kallixenia hissed, her face beet red.

"Hm? Yes Kallie?" Lunaeris said, as if nothing at all had happened.

"If you're quite satisfied, my lady, I would advise against continuing to advertise our presence to the entire forest."

"Your lady?" She said, cocking an eyebrow.

Kallixenia groaned.

"Princess I will refrain from telling you how to speak, I ask that you extend to me the same kindness."

"Hmmmm."

"Please understand that the consequences for impropriety on my part could be severe. If I must get on the king's bad side, let it be for something more important than this, Princess."

"I suppose I can understand that." The princess relented. "Although, I'm quite interested in what else you think we're going to do that would piss off my father."

"I... can't think of anything in particular, Princess." The paladin lied.

"I can! Would you like to hear?"

She was thankfully cut off when an arrow thunked into the trunk of a tree beside them. Above them. Too high. Meant to miss.

"My, dangerous thing that. Could've hurt-"

The two of them were off like a shot before the man stepping out of the woods could finish his threat.

Kallixenia had made it quite clear that in the event they were attacked, the princess was to run. The woods along the road were too dense to traverse on horseback, they would simply outpace them and be out of danger shortly. The princess' light steed was faster than her bulky warhorse, she was gaining distance-

Until she was stopped short by a rope suddenly pulled taut across the road. The princess was thrown off her horse's back as it crumpled to the ground. One of her 'parlor tricks' was apparently to catch herself before hitting the ground, thank the gods, but the horse was less lucky.

Kallixenia spurred her own horse to jump the rope, than leapt off its back. It kept galloping without her as she landed and unsheathed her sword in one smooth motion.

She would have to fight.

"Well that's just rude!" Came another voice from the treeline. "Man back there was talkin' to you. Now look what's happened, isn't that a sad sight. Poor, poor princess."

There was the man emerging from the trees now, the one talking before, the archer that had fired the warning shot, plus an unknown amount of others. The princess was on the ground stroking her steed's mane as it squealed in agony. They had made it maybe 100 meters away from the initial ambush, the bandits would remain split for mere moments, she had to act now.

The man speaking to them drew a dagger from his belt and walked into the road.

"Now I'm gonna tell you the same thing 'e would've-"

The knight's wings propelled her forward far faster than he could react. She brought the haft of her bastard sword up and drove the point through him, sinking the blade deep into his chest. She planted her boot on his ribcage and wrenched the sword free, a spurt of blood spattering the ground in front of him as she retreated to stand over the princess.

"Princess we have to move, if there are more archers-"

A glint in the trees. She spun to put her shield between it and the princess, extending her wing to protect her from the other side. Arrows clinked off the barrier in quick succession.

"I cannot dispatch the archers and protect you from them."

"Lower your shield." The princess ordered.

"Princess-"

"Do it!"

The paladin did as commanded, and the elf gathered power in her palm and summoned a bolt of fire that streaked into the trees and exploded in a searing blast.

"Parlor tricks, Princess?" She said, dumbfounded, as the charred remains of two bandits fell from their perch.

"Like I said, I learn what I can." Lunaeris said smugly. "Other side."

Kallixenia retracted her wing, and the princess fired another flaming bolt into woods, catching another archer.

The initial ambusher, who had been approaching them with his own dagger drawn, seemed to think better of it and disappear back into the woods. Kallixenia stood over the princess with her shield and wing out until several moments had passed with no further movement.

"We shouldn't linger." She said, sheathing her sword and whistling for her steed. "Can you mend your horse's leg?"

Lunaeris dug into her saddlebag and drew out a potion, then poured it gently into her steed's mouth. The creature rose to its feet slowly and took a few cautious steps.

"She should be fine." Said the princess. "But I'd rather not push her. May I ride with you?"

"...Of course, Princess."

The knight's steed trotted up to her, and she patted it on the head gently.

"Oh!" Squeaked Lunaeris. "You're hurt!"

"I am?"

The princess rushed up to her and took hold of the wing she had used as a shield. An arrow had pierced it, and was stuck halfway through.

"Oh!" She said, surprised. "I-I hadn't even noticed. Let me just-"

She grabbed the point of the arrow and yanked it through, grunting in pain.

"Kallie!"

"It's okay, Princess. Watch."

Lunaeris watched as the hole in Kallixenia's wing was filled in with a soft glow, which faded out to reveal the wing was as good as new.

"See? I'm fine, I'm okay." The half-giant reassured her.

"Oh." She said, stunned. The princess ran her fingers across where the wound had been, gently brushing the soft feathers. It felt... nice. She didn't want her to stop.

The knight's cheeks reddened and she cleared her throat.

"We should get going." She said, climbing onto her horse and offering her hand to help Lunaeris up.

"Y-Yes, of course."

The princess took her hand and pulled herself up, sitting in front of her knight.

Ah.

That was of course the right move. With her seated in front they could both see ahead and she would be able to protect her much more easily.

It was only a problem because Kallixenia was an awful, awful excuse for a paladin. The princess had relaxed into her chest as they got moving again, and her heart raced. She wanted to hold her tight and never let go, she was just so small and cute and she smelled like flowers and-

"We fight well together, I think." Said the princess, idly. "We should do it more often!"

"We most certainly should not!" Kallixenia protested. "My duty is to keep you safe, Princess!"

"I felt very safe." Lunaeris purred. "You really are quite impressive, do you know that?"

The knight's neck tingled with embarrassment. "I'm merely fulfilling my duty, Princess." She said.

"I mean it!" She continued. "Running that bandit through like it was nothing, shielding me with your own body, you were amazing!"

"T-Truly, I-" Stammered the knight, flushed at the praise.

The princess wrapped her arms around one of Kallixenia's wide biceps, and her face went a deep crimson.

"A girl could get used to that kind of treatment, you know?" She murmured, nuzzling into her arm.

The paladin didn't know what to do. Flirting with the princess was obviously unacceptable, but what do you do when the princess is-

Well, she-

She was flirting! There was no avoiding it! Nobody warns you about the princess being the one flirting, it's all about how you have to be professional and disciplined!

And who was she to- to tell a princess not to do something? That would be, it would be insubordinate.

She wouldn't flirt back, of course, that would be unacceptable, but-

But she could just-

Accept? The, the compliments, and-

And that was fine, on her part, right?

She would never, she could never dream to-

But accepting a compliment was just polite conversation! She wasn't-

And-

And who would even know?

"You... are truly too kind, Princess. I'm happy to be of service."

The rest of their journey was uneventful, and Lunaeris remained attached to her arm until they reached their destination.

~

The princess' mentor was perhaps even older and more decrepit than she had made him sound, and seeing as he was both an elf and a powerful wizard, he must have been unimaginably more ancient still than he appeared.

He watched intently as Lunaeris performed an array of minor spells; She effortlessly brought every candle in the room to life with a wave of her hand, repaired a broken chair leg with a gesture, dispelled dust from the bookshelves, animated a broom to-

She was cleaning the library. He was making the princess clean his library. Kallixenia could strangle the old fart.

"Very good Princess!" The wizard exclaimed, clapping condescendingly as the princess had said he would.

"Do you think so, teacher?" Lunaeris said, wide eyed and sickeningly sweet.

He really must have thought quite little of her to be convinced by this facade. Kallixenia found herself disliking this wizard greatly.

"Oh yes, you're showing quite a grasp on the fundamentals, keep practicing those spells and I'll make a fine apprentice of you yet!" Her teacher said. "Now, it's getting quite late and you've had a long journey, why don't you retire to your chambers and we can continue in the morning?"

"Of course, goodnight teacher." The princess said, curtsying and excusing herself from the scene.

"As for you-"

The tiny old man was suddenly right next to Kallixenia, and she gripped the pommel of her sword tightly.

"-The guards quarters are down that hall. You can take your pick, she usually brings a whole retinue with her. I hope you didn't have any trouble on the road, just the two of you?"

The knight relaxed her grip.

"We were ambushed by thieves, but we're fine." She said.

"Thieves! My, they seem to be everywhere nowadays. I keep finding things missing around here, I have half a mind to hire guards of my own!"

"I'll be sure to keep an eye out. Goodnight sir." Kallixenia said, and with that the wizard vanished.

She picked out a room and stashed her gear, settling into bed with her sword held tightly to her chest. The events of the day weighed on her.

It had been nice, it had been so nice, to be wanted, to be held, but it wasn't right. Was it?

She had to put a stop to it. She was her guard, it wasn't her place, it would interfere with her duties.

She was her sword and shield, nothing else. No matter what she wanted, no matter what the princess wanted.

Next time they spoke she would put her foot down.

Even if it hurt.

~

Kallixenia awoke to a noise from down the hall.

She got out of bed and stalked as silently as she could to the library doors. Someone was in there, she could hear them.

She burst through the door, sword drawn, and spotted the thief perusing the bookshelves.

She sheathed her blade and crossed her arms.

"Princess." She said, annoyance slipping through her mask of professionalism.

"Yes, my loyal knight?" The princess said, plucking a book from the shelves and stashing it in her pack.

"You're the one stealing from the wizard."

"I'm borrowing from the wizard. It's a library, you're meant to borrow."

"He's under the impression someone's stealing from him."

"I bring the books back when I'm done, ask him in the morning what he thinks has gone missing and I promise you he'll miraculously find it right where it should be. Hell, I bet I never even took half of it, the senile old bastard just forgot where it was."

The princess struggled to reach a tome on a high shelf, and against her better judgement Kallixenia grabbed it for her.

"Ooh, watch the paladin steal." She taunted, and her knight huffed.

"Bound to you above all else, Princess. You know that."

"Bound to protect me, not steal for me. Somebody's going above and beyond the call of duty."

"...About that, Princess-"

"Not that I mind or anything!" Lunaeris interrupted. "It's nice having someone who, who cares about me beyond it just being their duty to care. Before you came along it felt like I was a title and nothing else."

She paused, and her long ears drooped.

"Nobody likes Lunaeris, they like the concept of a princess. It's... It's shocking how lonely one can feel, surrounded by people who adore her." She shook her head, and turned to Kallixenia with a smile back on her face. "Anyway, what was it you were going to say?"

"It's, uh. I-"

She couldn't do it. She wanted to be a good paladin, truly, but this wasn't for the sake of her own selfish desires!

The gods would understand if she got just a little close with the princess.

Just to ease her burdens.

"-I just wanted to make sure you were okay with it, Princess. I do not wish to overstep."

"Of course!" The princess replied, a tiny smirk on her lips. "I wouldn't mind you overstepping a bit more, if you so desired."

Kallixenia swallowed hard.

She was so, so, so screwed.

Next


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in reply to @SpectreWrites's post:

Hey, this is great!! I love this knight!!! Sure, it'd be one thing for her to be infatuated with the princess, but to have her lower her emotional guard just because she felt like Lunaeris was sad and she wanted to help? Perfect chef's kiss!

Also, I dig Lunaeris, gremlin princess. Cursing up a storm and frying bandits with her mind! What's not to love?

yessssssss thank you for continuing this story! :D pure delight

(I'm glad you explored the use case of 'what if her wings get damaged in a fight' because that possibility had been keeping me up at night since chapter 2!! phew, what a relief)