This story follows the life of Princess Maiena, the second and youngest child of King Thaddeus-- the strong, wise, and uncompromisingly orthodox ruler of Reidonia which is a kingdom set in the modern age with customs, laws and traditions that seem t...
I knew what I had to do. There was no question in my mind that I should stay away from the Princess and the risk of us falling deeper into something we cannot have.
The sad truth about this life that we have, despite what others see as a very privileged, opulent and noble lifestyle, where we can have anything that we want, we can never have the one thing that we really deep-down-in-our-hearts want -- Love.
Love is not a privilege given to us.
Our feelings were the least of anyone's concern, even ourselves. A Knight's Duty and the future of the throne always came first.
Gali was right. I did warn him about his feelings for the Princess. And he was also right when he told me that night on the balcony that the warning should be for me. It was clear to me now that he and the Princess have a purely platonic relationship while we... Well, we... I have no word for it.
All I know is that all things that I feel for the Princess are wrong. It's wrong that she makes me happier more than anyone in the world could ever do. It's wrong that I long to be with her every single moment. It's wrong that seeing her makes my heart flutter. It's wrong that my world freezes when she smiles. It's wrong that I would willingly do anything to see her smile again. It's wrong that the thing I fear most is to never see her again. It's wrong that I wanted to kiss her and when we did, it's wrong that I wanted to do it again. And again. And again. Until I couldn't feel or taste anything else but her lips on mine.
I knew it was wrong and I knew I should not allow myself to be close to her again but I also knew I couldn't stop protecting her. I would always want to keep her safe and so I was doing just that as I sat in the security room where I could still take care of her from afar.
I was watching the monitors when I saw something odd. The foot guards by the Princess's door changed. I didn't order a change in their assignments and the guards stationed there were on duty until morning. It was just 10pm.
There were only three people who can override my orders as head of palace security, the King, the Crown Prince and my father. If they do, they would certainly notify me first but I didn't get a message about a change.
While I was wondering which one of them I should call about the order given to the foot guards, a kitchen staff came into the CCTV camera's view. It was not unusual to see one of them in the royal chambers at this hour from time to time. What was strange about him was that he seemed to be turning his face away from the CCTV cameras.
When I saw him enter the Princess's room, I felt it. I wasn't sure why or if my suspicions had basis but I felt it in my gut: something was wrong and Princess Maiena was in danger.
I immediately jumped out of my chair and hurried to the study. I still didn't want to stir unnecessary alarm in the palace so I decided to take the secret passage between the walls. I quickly navigated my way to the Queen's chambers and ran to the door that connects it to the Princess's room. I stopped and pressed my ear to it then listened.
It was quiet. Maiena was still sleeping. Maybe the staff just brought food for when she woke up in the middle of the night. I was about to leave when I heard her whisper my name. My heart skipped a beat. She must've been dreaming. Was she dreaming about me?
A smile drew on my face. I dream about you too, my sweet Princess. If only we could make those dreams come...
What the hell?!
"Dauphin?!" I heard her distressed voice say then her muffled screams followed.
I immediately barged into her room and saw Prince Alphonse on top of her while she struggled to free herself.
My mind went blank and everything went dark. I didn't care who he was and I completely forgot protocol. I furiously ran to the bed and violently yanked him of off my Princess.
He was so appalled by how I easily I lifted and threw him to the floor that he gaped at me in horror as he clambered away from me. I didn't let him. I launched at his face with the hardest punch that I could manage. Blood splattered as he coughed. I then straddled him and hit his face as hard as I could over and over again. The pathetic coward couldn't fight back.
"Aidan! Please stop!" I heard Maiena cry but my fists couldn't stop beating the jerk who tried to rape her.
"Aidan..." She pleadingly sobbed but I continued to punch the bastard. "Please..." Then I felt her hand on my shoulder and I stopped.
I looked down on the dauphin's bloodied face as he grasped for breath and my bruised fists. "I'll deal with you later." I warned him before he closed his eyes.
I got off him and turned to the Princess who immediately ran into my arms. I sighed heavily as I held her tightly against me. She clutched me closer, terrified, as she heart-wrenchingly sobbed.
"Aidan..." She sobbed.
"I'm here, Maiena. I'll always protect you."
My father, the King and the Crown Prince then entered the room with a dozen other guards. The foot guards by the door were arrested by my cousins Desmond and William. Maiena must've pressed the silent alarm on her nightstand.
There will be a whole lot more to deal with after that. I vowed to myself that no matter what happened, I would never leave her side.
***
A/N:
Whew!
So? How are you doing after that part? 😅
Thank goodness the Princess is safe. Does this mean they are ridden off a problem or will there be more? 😬
Whatever it is, let's leave her to be comforted by Aidan for now. 😁
Here's our prompt for today.
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