30 End of volume 1. Sophia’s story: my Knight

Sophia's POV:

A hazy scene slowly begins to solidify before my eyes, my mind hasn't been able to fully grasped what it is yet although deep down I know that it's a very well known scene for me.

I wake up the the dark brown color of my bed with the oh so familiar red curtains all around me, the smell of deodorant, the soft feeling of the bed and cushions, the pleasant cooling air and especially this voice:

"Milady it's time for you to wake up"

Rouche, my maid calls out to me from outside of my bed curtains.

And as always I replied:

"I'm up Rouche, thank you for waking me"

Hearing my words of confirmation, Rouche backed off to go help me prepare for today.

It's always like this, this boring cycle of me waking up in the morning with nothing to look forward to followed by spending the day getting beat up by the pure torturer that is my life and then going back to the peaceful and quiet sleep that I just want to bury myself in forever.

My life was basically just that, day in and day out, people usually say something like how they wished to be rich, beautiful or powerful but for people who were born into those things like me, we are of the opposite opinion.

Power and wealth are things that have no meaning unless produced by the hands of the people who worked for them.

To me power and prestige are only meaningless and hollow things that are overblown into something that everyone vies for, it is a subjective value with no true meaning or purpose, just a thing for people to boast to their friends about, for the people born without power their lives are filled with vibrant colors whether good or bad while my life is a constant boring and suffocating monochrome, sometimes I just wanna cry myself to sleep at night.

When I look out the window every morning I see things like commoner parents playing with their children and having fun and I thought:"how nice would it be if that was me".

Maybe it's just my own opinion but because I, who had authority and influence by birthright have been nothing but hurt by those very same things, people who claim to be my friends talk badly about me behind my back or only approached me for my title and position, people seem to be respectful to me on the outside but their feelings towards me are anything but positive, my parents are constantly away for work but I don't blame them or anything...

But the worst thing of all is just how painful the fate of being born as the sole heir of the Rosewood house can be, despite all of the praise and worship the people around me give me I know for a fact that I have no real power if even a maid can bully me than what sort of power do I have? I'm just a weak little girl living in the restraints of my parent's achievements and because of that people keep putting these unrealistic expectations on me and making my life even harder than it already is, I'm so tired of it.

This is the true nature of the spotlight, it might seem grand and glamorous from the outside looking in, but the truth is the only things it brings you is unending and unnecessary suffering, like a prison that you will never escape from.

I've lost everything to it, my childhood, my relationships my innocence and especially my happiness, sometimes I wished that I was never born in the first place.

That was until HE came, the darkness that saved me from the repulsive and invasive light, the hero of my dreams not clad in some shiny armor that I've begun to hate but covered in the very black shadows of the night.

When I first saw him he was just another boy, like any other of the noble scions of great families I've grown to dislike and like with other people that I interact with, I acted as a shy and innocent girl as to not get too close to him and get hurt like I've always been, it's better to close your heart than have it stabbed by someone you trusted after all.

But for some reason, my gaze seemed to always go back to him, maybe it was because of his unique appearance or the way he acted but for some reason I was entranced by this strange existence that had just grace my dark and unhappy world.

Maybe that was why I found out that he wasn't like other boys.

I've begun to notice that my life had gradually and slowly become less taxing ever since he came to this accursed house and whenever I'm around him everything was much more pleasant than usual which gave me something to look forward to although I wouldn't admit it.

And then that day came...when I was playing in the mansion's garden the maid that had an unknown prejudice for me decided to exact her revenge even though I didn't know what I had done to her.

I was used to it by now, after all being the object of people's envy is nothing new for me.

But unlike before where I just closed my heart and pretended like I didn't care, this time I ran towards the one person that I knew would stand up for me.

I can not understand why I did it since I had only known him for only a few weeks by then, but nonetheless I went to find his help anyway.

And what I received for my efforts shocked me beyond belief.

Not only did he defended me from my tormentor, he permanently removed her from my life in only one move no less, something that I could never do.

I couldn't believe it...I won't believe it those were the things I had thought at that time, but in spite of my doubts it happened, my hero had gave me salvation for the first time in my life.

For the very first time, I tasted that addictive drug called happiness, for the first time my gray world had been filled with beautiful colors and for the first time since forever I cried.

He was the first one who I could show my honest feelings to.

That's when I discovered, he was always there for me, ever since the first time we met he was protecting me from the shadows and subtly planting the seeds of my happiness behind the scenes, just like he had said he was "my knight" and I thought, I truly thought:"isn't this what a true knight is?" More than those muscle brained idiots in armor, he actually cared about me however little it may be.

He became not only my savior but also my teacher, my father, my closest friend, my object of admiration and most of all my knight.

He had true power, the power I didn't have, the power to make his own rules and live by his own creed, the power to define the world around him rather than let it define him and the power to be completely free from all constraints.

I know that he also has ulterior motives like most people, but if I'm being honest I don't care, the feelings he gave me were real, the sweetness he brought into my bitter life was a cemented fact and the way he saved me was forever engraved into my mind and the goodwill he showed me was genuine even if it was driven by a hidden agenda.

I finished preparing for the morning and opened the familiar door and walked out.

""Good morning milady did you sleep well?""

The voice that I've grown very fond of for the past 4 months rang out, even though it sounded monotonous and stale, for me it was sweeter than any flattery or compliment in this world.

"Yes! Thank you for your concern, Markus"

The figure standing their was none other than him, the mysterious but reliable guardian that has been protecting me all this time.

""Then let's us go, you have a busy schedule ahead of you today milady""

Giggling with genuine joy I replied.

"I know, let us depart...my knight"