Reprieve

The night was quiet and save for the hustle and bustle of the knights in the Grand Encampment, it was relatively calm. The high tension was primarily caused by the urgency in the voice and movement of everyone moving around the base but inside the Commander's tent, it was eerily quiet - despite it being in the middle of a meeting.

"Your highness, calm your anger please."

The man who spoke was Sir Hubert of the Iron Mace. He was one of the highest-ranked knights in the empire and was a loyal man. He was a giant of a man but right now he looked like a child that was about to get punished by his mother.

"Who sent him on that mission?"

An impatient voice sounded out from the person seated on the commander's chair. It was pleasant to the ears and was for all intents and purposes, really gentle but it also had a strange power behind it. Quite frankly, it was leaking out huge amounts of mana.

"It was I, your majesty."

A slightly high-pitched voice replied.

"Arthur is not in a part of our military hierarchy, at least not in an official capacity. What makes you think you can order him around?"

"Wouldn't it be more prudent to make use of every available asset we have on hand? There's also the fact that he's a skilled ranger that I took into consideration."

The slightly high-pitched voice added, "furthermore, every man, woman and child here is contributing in one way or another. Isn't it blatant favoritism if your boy toy is lazing around while everyone else is helping?"

Hiss. A random officer sucked in some cold air. It was one thing to reprimand Princess Artesia but to pick on her reverse scale, her close friend Arthur was something else entirely.

The officers sneaked a glance at the seated Princess but upon seeing that was calm - unnaturally calm, at that - it deepened their fears even further.

The tension was so suffocating that it was almost an actual, tangible thing.

"Grand Strategist Ozark, you are out of line!"

Sir Hubert slammed the desk with spittle spraying out of his mouth. He was red in the neck and his eyes were bulging. He was definitely angry.

Ozark merely waved his hands and chuckled.

"Humhum, a man of your age shouldn't lose their temper, Sir Hubert. You might find yourself dying an early death."

"Why you little -"

"Silence."

Artesia looked at all of the officers seated at the round table and picked up a stack of documents.

"Strategist Ozark - I will drop this issue as a sign of respect but should Arthur come back in a body bag, do prepare your entire estate and settle your unfinished business."

The princess looked Ozark in the eyes and burned every document on the table - save for the one she was holding in her hands.

"Do you understand?"

Ozark merely chuckled as he stood up, bowed, and left with his entourage.

"Princess! That man does not know his place!"

Artesia simply smiled at Hubert.

"I know, Sir Hubert. But we have nothing on him that is illegal. He's suspicious but he isn't an enemy. At least not openly."

Hubert shook his head.

"That's not what I meant princess. It's that your noble personage and Arthur aren't lovers at all. How dare he presum - "

"You talk too much, old man."

Artesia smiled upon hearing that familiar, raspy voice. But upon seeing Arthur's state, she nearly screamed in fright.

Hubert reacted faster. "Call the medics!"

Arthur limped towards Artesia and stopped right in front of her.

"You really do remind me of her."

Artesia stopped the tears coming to her eyes.

"Is that really the first thing you say to me? What happened? I thought it was just supposed to be a scouting mission? Hey - wait!"

Arthur fell face first but Artesia caught him in her arms.

"You really do look alike but you smell differently. You smell like...home."

Arthur buried his face in Artesia's bosom.

"You shouldn't say misleading things like that Arthur."

"There's nothing misleading about what I say. I am always straightforward."

The medical team finally arrived in the commander's tent,

"Sir where's the patient?"

but Hubert promptly led them out.

"If you all want to survive, you shouldn't disturb them."

The medical team's leader gave an understanding nod to Hubert as they all walked out of the commander's tent.

Artesia gave a light chuckle.

"They're unnecessarily considerate."

Arthur relished in her body heat.

"I think it's fine. You're more than enough to save my life. In more ways than one."

Artesia blushed but she paid him no mind. She pulled Arthur in closer as she gave him a kiss on the forehead.

A blinding light seeped out of her body but Arthur's wounds disappeared as fast as Artesia's spell appeared and disappeared.

"See? I'm fine now arent' I?"

Arthur joked to Artesia's dismay.

"If I wasn't a powerful mage, you would have died or permanently injured!"

"But you are, and I'm fine now aren't I?"

Artesia's eyes sharpened. "You smell like another woman, though."

Arthur simply chuckled and whispered, "it was a part of my mission." He cupped Artesia's beautiful chin and lifted her face so he could look at her straight in the eyes. "You're not jealous, are you?"

The magician slapped his hand away and pouted. "Perhaps if you had agreed to marry me already..."

The brigand simply looked at her in exasperation. "How long are you going to keep this up?"

Artesia blinked in confusion. "Keep what up?"

"Whatever roleplay we've been doing. You heard what that shitty bastard Ozark said. They think I'm your boy toy."

Artesia laughed, "aren't you?"

Arthur's eyes widened. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"You live off of me! My money is your money. My house is your house. Everything I own, you use to your leisure!"

Artesia laughed. "You may not be my boy toy, but you're living off a woman. Aren't you ashamed?"

Arthur smiled in derision, "Correction. I'm living off the most beautiful woman in the world."

The brigand's compliment stunned the magician.

"Correction. The most beautiful woman in the world who looks like somebody you used to love."

Artesia's voice sounded bitter, but she wasn't off the mark. Arthur wasn't over his lover, Alagarasi. She was a beautiful woman who lived through the darkest period of Arthur's life - but he refuses to say more about what happened to her.

The princess simply stared at Arthur who was still lying in her arms. He sure was taking advantage of her with the way he's burying his head in her sizeable chest.

"So..this mission of yours..what happened?"

Arthur recounted what happened and after a while, Artesia started to fume.

"He sent you to assassinate an entire Knight Squadron!?"

Arthur replied as a matter of factly, "yes, he found out that the errant knights were leaving their station and moving around the forest of luminescence." Arthur continued, "it turns out they were simply playing hooky - but a dangerous game of hooky at that as an orc was able to sneak past their camp and exited the other side of the forest."

Artesia bit her lip, "but the forest is gone now isn't it?"

"Yes, there's nothing stopping the demons and the demihumans from entering our side - maybe except the orcs but those things are stupid anyway."

Arthur pulled Artesia and caught her off guard. Now they were on the floor, in each other's arms.

"I will protect you, Al."

He's still calling me that. Do we really look that much alike?

Artesia hid the bitterness in her heart as she smiled at Arthur. "I know you will."

Arthur and the Princess stayed like that for a while and in the few years that followed this moment, the two steadily got closer and fell in love with one another.

8 years later...

"This is it, Arthur. Everything we've done was for this moment." Artesia smiled and added, "are you ready?"