Silent Knight (Risotto x princess!reader)

Ch. 3 Princess Duties

Since none of the maids were there to do your hair, you just pulled out all the pins and beads that were keeping your locks together and let them flow. Due to it being up in an intricate braid for most of the day, your hair now had a soft wave to it. You looked through your closet to find one of the more comfortable dresses you owned. You quickly slipped out of the formal one you wore for the accolade and sighed in relief; smiling, you put on the more comfortable gown. Of course, you also swapped out your shoes for some more casual ones.

Outside the big wooden door that lead to the princess's chamber, stood Risotto. His posture was perfect as he stood with pride; it was his first day on the job after all. Though, being all alone out there in the hallway made his mind wander. For some reason it drifted off to the thought of you changing. He imagined what you'd looked like trying to undo the lacing of your dress all on your own, how the sleeves would slip off your shoulders, how your soft skin would be revealed- No. He shook his head, trying to escape from those thoughts. She's the princess and you're supposed to be guarding her. It seemed he had to keep reminding himself of his position.

The door creaked open and his neck snapped to look at you. His jaw softened when he took in your beauty. Risotto didn't think you could get any more beautiful than you were this morning, but he was, yet again, proven wrong. The way your hair was let loose and your dress showing off your collarbones left him speechless. "Ehm," you suddenly felt really shy. "Shall we get going?" The knight came back to reality. "After you, y/n," Risotto closed the door behind you and followed your lead. Hearing him say your name yet again sent a heat throughout your entire body.

Him walking behind you felt a bit strange, so you looked over your shoulder then quickly made your way to his side. Risotto gave you a confused look which you responded to with a smile. "Let's walk next to each other, Risotto," you also wanted to say his name. Hearing that word come from your mouth made not only your heart beat faster, but also his. He simply nodded and gave a little smile in return.

Again, the both of you walked in silence to the grand hall where the giant dining table was. Sometimes the king had guests over for business matters, but today it was just you and him who would be discussing such things.

You took your place at the table, Risotto pulling your chair out and pushing it back in. That simple, chivalrous act alone was enough to make your cheeks blush. "Ah, y/n, you made it just in time," your father's booming voice snapped you back to reality. "Yes, father," you responded. "I would hate to be late and displease you." Although he was your dad, you had to be courteous to him; he was the king after all.

The servants brought out the food and placed it on your plates. You had to use all your strength to not glance back at Risotto, who was watching over you from the edge of the room by the wall. You really wanted him to be able to sit beside you and share the food with you.

"Let's get right into it," the king spoke again. "Although our kingdom is flourishing right now, we could enter a long-lasting golden age if you were to marry a king or prince from one of our neighboring kingdoms." You nearly choked on your food as you heard these words. You looked up at your father, giving him a look that asked him to continue speaking. "You already have two suitors. Throughout this next week each of them will visit you for a few days." The king paused to sip some wine from his goblet. "I will allow you to have the final word in which of them you choose to marry." At least he gave you that amount of freedom. "Thank you, father," you looked back down at your plate.

Having to meet two strangers who wanted to marry you frightened you. You had no idea what they looked like or what their personalities were like. What if both of them were terrible people?

Risotto watched you sighing softly from behind. He could tell by the way you poked your food around that you weren't pleased with the news, and neither was he. As he heard the king say you'd have to choose who to marry, his heart sank. Don't act so surprised, he told himself. Of course she'd marry a king from a neighboring kingdom. What were you even thinking? That she'd start liking you? He berated himself.

As you were dismissed from lunch, you slowly walked back to your room. You knew it was your duty as princess to marry one of the kings to help your land prosper, but you also wished you didn't have to do so. Never in your life had you wished to just be a normal girl more than right now.

"Risotto?" Your soft voice caught his attention. He'd been awkwardly walking beside you, wanting to try to cheer you up but not knowing how. The knight was glad you finally said something. "Can we please go horseback riding together?" You looked up at him with pleading eyes; pleading eyes he couldn't ever resist. "Of course we can," he gave you a warm smile in hopes of making you feel better. Little did you know, he usually never smiled this much. He honestly surprised himself with how much he was smiling around you.

"Yay!" Risotto went stiff as he felt your arms squeeze him. He looked down to see you were hugging him and his cheeks grew a deep shade of magenta. "Thank you," you whispered and felt his arms wrap around you too. As if it had a brain of it's own, his hand slid up to your head, caressing your hair. You thought this was really sweet and blushed too. You loved how gentle he always was with you and wanted to stay like this with him for much longer, but you had to pull away. You couldn't afford anyone seeing you hugging your appointed knight like this. Rumors would start and they'd affect Risotto negatively. The last thing you wanted was for him to be the victim of some dumb rumor.

Risotto's heart stung as he felt you pull away. "Isn't that armor uncomfortable?" You looked up at him, not backing away just yet. "You get used to it," he shrugged. "Hmm," you hummed and started walking to the direction of the stables instead of your room. "Is it weird that I'd like to try it on one day?" Of course you meant the knight armor, but Risotto's mind immediately went to imagining you in his clothing; it would be too big for you, making you look absolutely adorable. Lost in thought, he completely forgot to answer your question. "So it is weird, isn't it?" Your eyebrows furrowed and he woke up from his daydreams. "N-no! No it's not weird at all, princess!" You giggled when you heard the slight panic in his voice.

As you and Risotto arrived at the stables, he showed you around and introduced you to his steed. Her name was Metallica and she had a beautiful coat of silver fur. "Here, try petting her," without thinking, Risotto took your hand from behind and held it up to Metallica's nose. Your skin burned upon contact with his. His hands were big, strong, and rough from all the years of handling swords. Feeling Metallica's soft nose touch your fingertips made you smile and giggle softly. "She's so cute," you told Risotto but kept your eyes on his horse. You didn't see him gazing down at you with complete adoration. He eventually realized he was holding your hand but decided to pretend he hadn't noticed. The knight wanted to keep holding it, even if it was just for a bit longer.

It was when you looked up at him that he let go. Although he wanted to look away, trying to hide the fact that he was ogling at you, he just couldn't. Your eyes locked and neither of you said anything. You stared into his red irises and he stared into yours. Your heart was racing and you felt overwhelmed, but something stopped you from breaking eye contact. The sudden clearing of Risotto's throat startled you and you looked away. "Um, how about I pack us a little picnic? I know a great place we can ride to." You completely forgot that he hadn't eaten lunch yet. "O-oh, yeah, sure!" The eagerness in your voice was ever so present. The thought of riding into the sunset with Risotto and relaxing on a picnic blanket with him made your cheeks flush and heart flutter. "But have you eaten lunch yet? I don't want you to be hungry." You showing him genuine concern made his heart squeeze. No one had been this concerned about him in many years. "Mmm," his deep voice hummed. "Very well. I'll eat something as I pack the picnic." "Let me help you!" You don't know why, but the thought of packing a picnic with Risotto felt so romantic and like something you desperately wanted to do. He chuckled at your eagerness yet again. "Okay, whatever you want, y/n," Risotto was glad you wanted to do all these activities with him, but he was also glad that the stables were empty. This was around the time all the other soldiers were training, so luckily no one saw you and him together. The man just couldn't stop his feelings nor help himself from developing a crush you. Little did he know, you felt exactly the same way.

(1675 words)

Next chapter is picnic!! <333 Also, I the ball will start rolling much more in the next chapter 👀