princess ♢ royal au | fin

[here]

here
/hir/
adverb

》in, at, or to this place or position《

》the place in which things exist, scenarios happen, whether you're there to experience them or not; where you should be《

♢

The feeling of Milaana coming to a sudden stop woke you up from the sleep you didn't even know you were in. When you lifted your head up, you saw what had caused Ethan to pull back on her reins. Ahead of you on the road was a carriage, the dark chestnut wood of it almost blending in with the shadowy forest of the night you were in. It was being pulled by two horses of a matching color, muscles rippling beneath their groomed pelts. You recognized the crest on their chestplates as that of the kingdom of Fischbach.

The carriage door opened, and you saw a dark-haired woman step out, followed by a nicely dressed man. You recognized the man as Tom Fischbach, King Mark's older brother that had stepped down from the throne to be a diplomat.

"Hello, My Lord Tom." Ethan called out from behind you, and you nodded coridially to the pair as well. "My Lady."

"Hello," Lord Tom said back cheerily, then went to introduce his companion. "This is Lady Kathryn, advisor to the King."

"Pleasure to meet you." You said to her, and she smiled up at you.

"King Mark and Queen Amy sent us to fetch you two and bring you to the castle." She explained, and at her words, you turned around to look at Ethan pointedly.

You both had agreed not to stop at Fischbach's castle or villages, your only destination was Fandomia. Thus, you had to deny her request, "Give them our thanks, but we must be heading straight on to Fandomia."

"The King and Queen thought you might say that, so they had us bring some persuasion." Tom announced, and from the trees emerged a squadron of knights, surrounding you and Ethan. "Sorry about this, my brother's always been one for dramatics."

"Queen Amy also said that Lady Y/N was very stubborn, and to tell you that she's doing this out of her utmost love and respect for you." Lady Kathryn added, and you sighed. Of course your friends would be so worried about your well-being as to basically kidnap you in order to get you to take a break.

"Very well." You said, gesturing to them. "We'll follow to the castle."

"Ah, the King and Queen also requested that you ride in the carriage with us." The diplomat said. "We'll have a knight bring your horse alongside us."

So they really had thought everythign through. Sliding off Milaana, you gave her a thankful pat while Ethan dropped down too. You took her reins to give to one of the knights, giving her a final nose rub before taking Ethan's hand in yours. Joining the other two beside the carriage, you properly curtsied to both of them, never letting go of Ethan.

"Good to see you again, Ethan." Tom smiled at him, and you realized that he must have known Ethan when he was still a prince, and just like Mark, had seen him get everything taken from him.

"You too, Tom." Ethan replied, bowing to him and Lady Kathryn.

"We should be going, I imagine that we would all like to get some sleep before breakfast."

And with that, you climbed into the carriage, followed by Ethan, Lady Kathryn, and Prince Tom. The carriage ride was almost lulling you back to sleep, and at your side, you saw that Ethan was also looking tired. He had been awake longer than you, and was spending most of his energy and time worrying about you and the baby. You squeezed his hand, your other still clutching tight to your satchel, the one with the two stolen crowns in it. He squeezed your hand back, a loving smile on his face as he looked over to you through exhausted eyes.