The Fucking Princess Pt. 01

I stood, to say I was stunned would be an understatement, but what the hell was Godfrey doing here? Suddenly a page came from a side room, and then another. They were each carrying something.

"Jhary, your first gift is this bow. Crafted from the same wood as our thrones. Its name is Gwil-eithel, it means "fly true"."

The page handed me the bow. It was exquisite. Runes were engraved in gold on it. Elfen runes, stating it name and more runes that imparted magic into the bow. This was too much on its own.

I looked at the King, I knew he could read the gratitude in my eyes and he smiled at me. The second page stood before me.

"This gift is so that you can better protect my daughter, Princess Rhianna." The page moved the cloth to reveal a black leather sheath, the hilt of a short sword extending from it. The hilt was wrapped in black leather and the short pommel was wrapped in gold filigree.

"This sword was named Magol -o caun, or sword of valor."

I took the sword and admired it. I drew it from the sheath and the metal was black. Sky metal. I really was not expecting this. I knelt before the King.

"Your majesty. I have nothing left to give you. My life and my devotion have been yours since I was a warder in your forests. I would save my heart for what might have been in my future, but that I now give to you. Yours to do with as you please and whatever descendants I may have, will serve your line, in perpetuity."

There were some gasps from those in the hall. The Princess looked shocked as well. The Queen was smiling at me and the King... he went from shock to pleased.

"Stand Jhary. The feast will be served here in the Great Hall shortly. The Ballroom is open for drinks and dancing. Jhary, Godfrey please attend us." He turned holding a hand out to Rhianna and to Releya, and he escorted them behind the thrones and into his private meeting chamber.

I motioned Godfrey to precede me and he gave me a strange smirk. As I entered the King was sitting behind a desk. Yep, same black and gold design. When you are royalty, you spare no expense, I guess. Again, the queen was to his right and Princess to his left. The King was sitting back in chair, relaxed, the Queen mimicked him. Rhianna and I, tense as fuck. Godfrey looked like the cat that caught the canary.

"Jhary, please, sit." And so, I sat. "Jhary, it has come to my attention... that you have been teaching my daughter the sword. Is that true?"

Godfrey looked positively ready to burst. Here I had pledged my life and my descendants lives to the King and Godfrey knew what was going to happen. The shit.

"Yes, your majesty."

"Why would that be? I believe it is known how I feel about this."

"Yes, your majesty it is. However, your majesty. You had me swear loyalty to the Princess, and it was her idea to learn the sword."

"I see, yes, yes I did. Very well. Your appraisal of her skill before your training."

"She was passable your majesty, I just had to break her of some bad hab... its." The sneaky bastard.

"Who gave her these bad habits?"

Godfrey went white.

"I don't know your majesty."

"Jhary. I find it honorable that you do not want to reveal this person. For they surely must have been just obeying the Princess they had sworn loyalty to."

Godfrey relaxed at that. I felt good that I did not have to out him. He didn't really commit a crime perse, but he did go behind the King's back.

"However, I have never had anyone, before you Jhary, swear loyalty to Rhianna. Did I Godfrey?"

Yep, there he goes, all white again.

"N...no your majesty."

"So, Jhary, one of my better trainers was teaching my daughter imperfect skills? Tell me in depth, why he was incompetent."

I looked at Godfrey and shook my head. He had brought this on himself.

"Your Majesty. Godfrey was not teaching her proper swordsmanship. He was more interested in spending time with her and humoring her desire to learn. Due to his infatuation with her and his inability to see her a student. If I had not come along in the forest, the goblins would have killed her or worse. So, I decided to train her myself. That way at least, she might be able to actually protect herself in the future."

"You want her safe? You want her to be able to protect herself. Is this why you commissioned armor for her?"

I smiled. "Yes, your majesty. Just incase someone gets past me; she is armed and armored. Better to have skills and armor and not need them, than to need them and not have them."

He coughed. "Yes, well, I agree."

Everyone looked at him except the queen. She just smiled.

"Godfrey, you will be heading out to our northern border garrison. Until I feel like you can come back. Now go."

Godfrey actually looked pleased and left the room.

"The armor you commissioned will be a bit late, I am having some alterations made. However, ..." he pulled the braided silk cord behind him and a door opened.

A page carrying something entered. He turned to face the Princess.

"My daughter, this is for you."

The page removed the cloth and handed her the sheath. An exact match to mine.

"Its name is Magol -o galad, sword of light."

She looked at her father and jumped up. She ran over and hugged him and kissed his cheek. She came over to me and hugged me. I recoiled from her and stared at her mother and father with fear written on my countenance.

"It's okay Jhary. Her mother figured it out a while ago. You can't hide things like that from the High Priestess of TRESE."

"Hide what?" We both asked

The Queen looked at me like I was an idiot. By this time the Princess had realized what she was doing and nearly fell as she jumped back from me.

"The two of you, I swear. Jhary, Rhianna has been infatuated with you since you two met at the lodge, oh, five years ago now, and you are not very good at hiding your feelings either. Though I do not know what happened to cause you to be so distant." said the Queen.

"Well... it's because your daughter is racist." I do not know why I said that. I really wanted to take it back now.

The King looked at me. "Why do you think the Princess is racist?" his voice was low and hard. The Queen and Princess both looked at me in shock.

So, I explained to the about what happened with the goblins. I'll give Rhianna this, she was very pretty when she blushed.

"Rhianna, is there something you would like to say?" The Queen asked her daughter.

"Uhm, I was afraid to let him see how I felt. I thought it would be a scandal. Then later he was cold to me, so I thought he didn't like me. Then I saw him with that woman and..." she blushed.

"What woman?" The Queen and I asked at the same time.

She mumbled something and her father asked her. "What was that dear?"

"The woman who measured us for the armor."

"How did you see that; you had left the room."

"Rhianna... you didn't!" The Queen said.

The King looked at his daughter and scowled. "The passages are for emergencies only and the spy-holes are to keep tabs on foreign dignitaries."

"Spy holes?!" I was confused and maybe a little angry.

"I am sorry!!" Rhianna exclaimed and started to cry.

I walked over to her and hugged her. "Seriously, this was all because you didn't want me to know you liked me? What am I going to do with you?"

"What do you want to do?"

"Honestly, get to know you better."

"Well, we have a feast to attend, dancing to enjoy and subjects to entertain. Jhary you will sit at Rhianna's right, at the table." The Queen said.

So, we composed ourselves and went out to the Great Hall for the celebration of my being appointed Champion to the Princess. I mean, what could go wrong?

To be continued...