The Prince and The Knight - A Short Story

01 . A Delicate Moonflower

     "What if I got married suddenly? To a princess, I mean. How would you feel?" Kayin asked abruptly, catching the knight that walked beside him off guard.
     "...Bit of a bizarre question, prince." The knight hummed. His face was hidden by his helmet and the dark cover of night made it nearly impossible to see under it. His voice was very level as well, thus making it impossible to tell his emotion.

     The garden they stood in was secluded, only attached to the prince's personal room, so the two were alone in the small garden. In fact, the only ones who ever went out there other than the prince were his personal guards, the gardeners, and his knight. Kayin turned to the knight with a light smile as he leaned against the garden wall. The two were close, almost too close because of the long hours they spent together, walking in the garden.

     "Yes, I know it's a bizarre question, but I'm asking with actual purpose, I swear. I just... want to know how you'd feel if I suddenly married someone." The prince ran a hand through his dark blue hair, chuckling lightly.

     "I don't really think my feelings on the subject would matter. I'd simply just... continue guarding you as I always have." Kayin thought about the response, for a moment. Asbjørn was right, he was a guard technically so his duty would be to serve the prince regardless.
     "So, you wouldn't be hurt if I married a princess? What if she became your queen?" The prince tilted his head slightly, moving off the garden's wall to continue walking. He could tell that Asbjørn was keeping something from him.

     "If she became a queen, I'd be her knight as well, if that is what you wished." Asbjørn shrugged as he picked a flower from a nearby bush and then held it close to his helmet as if examining it.      The petals were a light blue, almost identical to the pale light of the moon that sat perched high in the dark sky. "Whether I would be hurt or not isn't important, really."
     Kayin watched Asbjørn hold the flower delicately in his gloved hands, noticing the knight pick a petal off the flower and letting if fly off with the breeze. His face was still shrouded by the helmet and Kayin wanted nothing more than to see the emotions beneath it.

     "So my wedding? You wouldn't care at all?" Kayin raised his eyebrow, an intrigued smile hiding the small ache that ate away at him. He had loved Asbjørn for years upon years, ever since the knight was first assigned to him and they had become great friends. It was a platonic love at first but then... it had changed. Developed into something more.

     "Oh, I would care very much so, my prince, but I would never go against your wishes." Asbjørn hummed thoughtfully for a moment, the pitch low and quiet. "And if your wish was to marry a princess, then I would pretend I didn't care a bit." He continued, picking another petal and letting it fall to the ground.

     "Well-" Kayin began in protest before he cut himself off. Did his knight really not care for him at all in the same way? Was Asbjørn 's devotion not the same as his own? "Well, what if I didn't want to marry a princess? What if I wanted to marry you?" Kayin blurted before he could stop himself again, immediately becoming embarrassed at his audacity.
     Asbjørn was silent before letting out an amused chuckle. "Well, I suppose we'd be married then." It was said with such nonchalance that Kayin didn't register the words until a few moments later.

     He sat in silence for a moment as well. The... The way that Asbjørn accepted without second thought and protest was shocking to the prince. He simply looked at Asbjørn with a wide stare before stammering. "What do you mean, 'Well, we would be married then'?! You would just accept it like that?"
     "Why would I not? I have no reason to turn down your proposal. In this hypothetical scenario, I have no quarrel with it."
     "You truly would marry me without protest?" Kayin leaned forward until his chin was practically on the knight's shoulder. Asbjørn 's constant calm way of dealing with things had always impressed him but now it was more shocking than anything else.