crown [C. TARTAGLIA]

02

"some prince you are."

"i didn't know it would turn out like this either, alright?"

"you're an ass for dragging me into your mess."

"you stole my ring."

"god, how many times do i have to tell you that i didn't steal it?!"

you groan in annoyance as you rolled your eyes, your back leaning against the cold cobbled wall of the cell. the cuffs attached to your ankles were the only thing that stopped you from strangling the prince. well, that and the bars that locked your cell.

"no wonder you called me peasant." you said. "you act all high and mighty but you're nothing but a coward prince who ran away from home."

"you'd better watch your mouth." he replies from the cell beside yours, voice echoing throughout the dungeon. "you don't wanna know what would happen to you when i get out of here."

"ohh, so scary. i'm so sorry your highness, shall kneel down before you and ask for forgiveness?"

"oh you will, soon enough."

"yeah right. it appears as if you're stuck in here with me for a while douchebag."

"you kiss your mom with that dirty mouth of yours?" he scoffed. "whatever. i got my ring, that's all that matters."

you chuckled as you reached out into the pockets of your pants. "yeah, sure thing."

"you..." he suddenly panics, you hear the shuffling of chains in his cell. "you have it?!"

"some sort of insurance. i won't be giving this to you until you tell the truth and get me out of here." you said as you observed the ring in your hand. sure enough, it seemed pricey. must be an heirloom.

"you little..." he clicks his tongue. "fine. we have a deal."

"good." you smiled, bringing the ring back to your pocket. "say, what's your name?"

"you don't even know my name? how amusing."

"not everyone knows who you are, humble yourself."

"alright alright, i get it. a formal name to call me is tartaglia, but you can call me childe."

"prince childe huh? fitting."

"are you implying something, peasant?"

"the name's [Y/N]." you frowned. "what's with the ring anyway? heard you were missing. was it because you were looking for it?"

"it's none of your business."

"well it is now. you practically dragged me into this mess." you sighed. "let me guess, you lost it and couldn't bother to tell anyone you did since you would just be in more trouble right?"

if only you could see how red the tips of his ears had gone, childe was thankful there was a partition between yours and his cell.

"...shut up."

you laughed, "embarrassed, are we?"

"ahem." the same purple haired man who captured you enters the dungeon. his fake cough caught you and childe's attention. "nice to see you two are getting along quite well."

"hey. let me out of here." childe stood up and began to rattle the metal bars. "i didn't do shit!"

"you both harmed innocent guards who were just following orders." he deadpanned. "if you had surrendered all this would've ended quite well."

"yeah well your guards practically knocked me out!" you told him.

"you..." he stares at you as he walked towards your cell. "the thief."

"like i said, i did not–"

"you seemed to be quite trained in the battlefield. i must say, your moves surprised me."

you furrowed your brows in confusion. first he locks you up, and now he was praising you? didn't he just say that you beated up the innocent guards?

"change of plan, you might be of some use after all." he begins to walk away. "i'll be back later. for now, behave yourselves."

"hey! scaramouche you dipshit come back!" childe yells but to no surprise, he didn't turn back and simply walked away.

"just who is that guy?"

"her highness' royal servant. he's one of the people in charge of the palace and how things run here." childe says and sat back down again. "no surprises here but he doesn't like me."

"aren't you in a higher position than him? you're literally a prince."

"yeah well, the queen doesn't really like me that much either."

you didn't know why he referred to his own mother like that. perhaps there was something more to it, but you decided not to ask since you didn't want to deal with any of it anymore.

"about what he said... i knew you could fight based on how you confronted me back then, but i didn't know you were that good. are you a mercenary or something?" he asked.

"no, i was trained by someone at a young age."

"i see. i thought you even exceeded my skills for a bit."

"don't lie, you know i do."

"nope."

"loser."

°

"hey. wake up woman."

you awoke to someone cuffing your hand this time. you open your eyes and saw that the restraints you had on your foot were gone, freeing you from the chains in the room.

"what..." the cell door was open as well, but there were two men on either side of you.

"go out, i'll need you to come with me." the man called scaramouche instructed you.

"and what makes you think i would go and– ah! fuck, that hurts damn it!" you cursed at the men who practically pushed you towards the outside of the cell.

"why are you being so loud? geez." childe yawned. he was also out of his cell but unlike you, there were no restraints on him.

"what is going on?" you asked.

"you're putting your strength into good use, [Y/N] [L/N]." scaramouche replies, a smirk plastered on his lips.

your eyes widen, "how do you know my name?"

"i did a background check on you. seems to me you have lots of free time on your hand so instead of rotting your life away in prison, why don't you get a job in the castle?"

"excuse me? me, work here?"

"precisely." he nods. "be thankful that a thief like you was even permitted to."

"like i said i didn't steal anything!"

"then what's this?" he brings out the ring you were holding earlier.

"that's..."

"we found it in your pocket. this belongs to her majesty, a priced jewel in her personal collection that had recently gone missing."

you look at childe who seems to have been playing innocent. "hey asshole answer him! you stole that, not me!"

"i don't know what you're talking about." he avoids eye contact.

"you piece of–"

"we need to work with that mouth of yours." scaramouche sighs. "anyway, i have already informed her majesty and she had agreed with my plan."

"what plan?" childe asked.

"this young woman will now be your personal guard from this day forward."