The Princess of Wolves (Dawnbreaker x *Velvet~Lust*)

[Dawnbreaker]

It was twenty-two years ago that she was born; the first-born child of the King and Queen of a small kingdom in the areas that would one day become Korea. It was a joyous time for the kingdom, their princess born healthy and their Queen still living after her birth. Though the King had wanted his first born to be a son, a successor to the Kingdom, all it took was to hold his baby girl for but a moment for any disappointment to wash away in her beautiful brown eyes. It was also at this time that the captain of the Royal Guard began trying to conceive a child of his own, a son whom he would one day train to become the Princess’s personal bodyguard.

It would be four years before the Guard-Captains wife became pregnant with his child and much to his own disappointment, his child was also destined to also be a girl. He could wait no longer; the Princess was growing up before the kingdom’s eyes. Already she had grown into a happy and excitable toddler, waddling around the royal palace with a constant grin upon her lips in search of anything and everything new. A curious and happy child, he Princess was the kingdom’s treasure and she needed to have a guard found for her. The Guard-Captain left on a trip to the west mere days after his daughter was born. The King did not make much of a fuss over it, though not even the King was told why the Guard-Captain felt such a need to rush off for the far-away exotic lands of the Germanic people.

Weeks went by with not even so much as a letter sent back to the King. Just as fear of the Guard-Captain’s fate began to set in over the palace, he returned with a young Germanic boy not much older than the Princess herself. This boy, he told the King, was now his son; adopted from a large family in the west who could not care for him. This boy, he told the King, would be trained as the Princess’s personal guardsman. The King, though not thrilled with Guard-Captains rash actions, voiced only praise for his Royal Guardsman’s choice in protection for the Princess.

While their little kingdom was small and rarely saw visitors from the western world, the rumors of the west still traveled along the roads and into their streets. The Germanic people were rumored to be as hardy as the Mongols and as wise as their own people. The Kingdom was torn, quietly frowning upon the idea of an outsider being charged with the protection of their most precious treasure but also openly praising the King and his Guardsman for their choice in accepting only what was rumored to the best in human soldiers.

The years came and went, as years do, and little progress had been made with the Boy’s martial training. He was cunning, quick-witted, and farsighted. Noone could have asked for a better mind for a guardsman but the boy was too strong to properly wield the weapons of this land’s people. The sleek, thin blades of this culture were weapons made for cutting, not chopping or slicing, and with the boy’s young age he knew little of restraint. It was not uncommon for him to break his blades during training and the King was quickly losing faith in the decision made to allow this Boy to safeguard the Princess. Not wishing to lose face with the King and his Kingdom, the Guard-Captain sent his son back out to the west for training by the soldiers of his homeland.

The Princess’s constant companion had been taken from her and her sadness spread throughout the Kingdom. The skies grew grey and the rain fell in heavy sheets as the Princess cried, the fields flooded, and the crops drowned in the Princess’s tears. The once happy and prosperous Kingdom experienced its first year of sorrow and loss since the birth of their Prized Treasure.

As the saying goes, time heals all wounds, and in the following years after the Boy was sent away, the Kingdom rose back to its former self but things never quite returned to normal inside of the Palace Walls. The Guard-captain tried to remedy the Princess’s sadness by appointing his own daughter, four years the Princess’s junior, as one of her handmaidens. The King allowed it and the Guard-Captain’s Daughter was moved into the palace. The Princess and her new Handmaiden grew close but it wasn’t the same as having the Boy at her side. The Handmaiden was there to serve, not protect. Her mannerisms were different too; as would be expected. She was trained to be a wife, not a soldier.

Five years went by before the Boy returned to the Kingdom with all of the skills of a powerful warrior, though he had not finished growing into a warrior’s body. With his new training in the weapons of the western culture and the military teaching of that of the Princess’s kingdom, the King had little doubt that he would now be able to fulfill his role as a guardsman. Happiness soon spread across the land once again as the Princess’s heart revitalized itself. Her protector had returned home and nothing would ever make him leave her for so long again.

That is the tale that the Kingdom began to tell its children starting the very day that the Boy returned. It is something akin to our own fairy-tales, a happy tale with its roots buried in truth and shrouded in wondrous mysticism. Only the oldest of the kingdom’s children know the truths, the ones who can remember the time that the Princess drowned the world with her sadness. To them, it is a powerful tale of faith and love. To the younger generations, it makes for an inspiring bed-side tale. To the older folk of the kingdom? It is only the beginning of their dear Princess’s reign.


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Aezura stood alone at the end of the empty hall before the door that emptied into Jesina’s bedchamber. This was not going to be a pleasant day for either of them and she knew it. All she wanted to do was go ball up in a corner and drown in her own tears but it was her duty to serve Jesina. It wouldn’t do for her to feel sorry for herself when she knew that Jesina was every bit as sad as she herself. It would disgrace not only her father, but the memory of her brother as well and that would not do.

Today was the service that would stand in place of the four funerals for the soldiers that had died to protect the Jesina’s father two weeks ago; among them was Aezura’s older brother. Well, he was adopted, in truth, and anyone could have told that by just looking at him but they were still very close. Sometimes he seemed like more of a brother than her own flesh and blood father seemed to be a parent. None of the bodies had been recovered so they could not have a real funeral. Just this… service. She couldn’t help but feel as though her brother had been cheated of what he so rightfully deserved, even in death.

Taking a long, deep breath to compose herself, the young woman of eighteen years brought her hand up to knock lightly upon the bedchamber door. “Princess Jesina, I have come to fetch you for the service.”

 

[*Velvet~Lust*]

Jesina sat on the balcony of her large elegant room of blues, greens, and reds. She always loved the natural elemental colors and made sure her room was painted with them as a symbol of her passion, love, and strength for her Kingdom. She breathed in the cool night air through her small nose then stood up for a moment to walk over toward the railing of the balcony. She looked at where she had seen her love, Irvine leave for his trip towards Yun-Ha forest to fight an alleged disturbance to protect her father, the King and felt her heart constrict in knots, missing him. She breathed deeply and started to feel tears form in her eyes. She remembered the day when one of the guards from the front came running to her with the horrible news. Her face was distraught, hearing that three guards were instantly killed while Irvine was no where to be found amongst the dead, and presumed dead because of him being missing for so long. She did not know that they did not issue a search and just assumed they searched long and hard for him.

She walked over to her bed to lay down to relax and the memories rushed through her mind just as fast as the blood pumping from her fast beating heart. She remembered him always being very protective, making sure no man would go near her. He knew that the King was waiting for a prince to come along and not someone off the streets or one of the nobles or knights. He wanted to make sure the man had a good head on his shoulders and not wanting her because of her body, so Irvine did his part and made sure that every man was dealt accordingly if he as much came a foot close to her.

All of a sudden, she heard a knock at the door, hearing Irvine's sister at the door, asking to be let in. "Of course, please come in." She blushed and sat up quickly on her bed and fixed her hair a bit. "How are you doing?" she said smiling at her when she walked through the door.

 

[Dawnbreaker]

With invitation to enter her lady’s bedchamber, Aezura gently pushed the door open just enough for her small form to enter. If Jesine was the highest treasure that her kingdom possessed then Aezura was something akin to flawed cut of the same precious stone. She rivaled Jesine in beauty, and grace, but was not half of the martialist that her Lady was. It shamed her father slightly that his daughter had not picked up easily on the arts of the sword as Jesine had but Aezura wasn’t completely helpless like the common women of the village. If nothing else, she could at least boast of her skills with the bow and arrow.

The royal handmaiden stood slightly taller than her Princess, reaching the height of five foot eight without her hair. Her body type was quite average, boasting a healthy figure but nothing truly worth bragging of to the visiting noblemen whom often came calling to the King’s cries for a prince. Her attire, while not traditional for the commonfolk of her kingdom, was quite traditional for those of noble lineage. Robes, made of the finest silks, made to complement the armored corsets of a handmaiden. She was her lady’s last line of defense, after all. Her long black hair was, more often than not, tied atop her head in two braided loops; another fashion statement that spoke of her noble lineage. Aezura was, in all physical respects, Jesine’s flawed counterpart; a cloudy diamond beside that perfect stone. Just as that cloudy diamond’s flaw lay beyond the surface, so too, did Aezura’s.

On this day, the young woman of eighteen was garbed in a traditional robe of the lightest pink, wrapped around a peach-skin coloured corset with two pink lotus blossoms tucked beneath the loops in her hair. She looked as though she might be attending a festival as opposed to a funeral. An odd one, that Aezura; perhaps that might explain why she still possessed no stable suitors at her age.

As the Handmaiden slid into the room, she shut the door behind her and remained silent where she stood. The silence created an uneasy tension in the room, for her at least, but she dared not speak until spoken to on this day of uneasy emotions. As one of the few people whom could read the affection in her lady’s eyes when Irvine entered the room, she knew that Jesine was hurting on the inside. It didn’t help that she had been scolded by her father for her choice of attire on this day already.

Handmaiden Aezura​

 

[*Velvet~Lust*]

Jesina stood up from her bed and walked over to Aezura, feeling her heart clench tightly in her chest. "Aezura... Please talk to me. I..." She paused and took a deep breath. "We lost someone very close to us. He was a wonderful brother to you and a wonderful guard to me. I know that he is watching over us and if he had the chance to be here, I am sure he would tell us to not be so sad about it but to move on and do our best. He was always a fighter and was always strong in these kind of situations. And I know he would want us to do the same." Jesina swallowed at her words, feeling the tears form in the her eyes. She put a hand on Aezura's shoulder and squeezed it gently, before turning around to walk towards the balcony again.

"Part of me thinks that he's still out there. It may be spiritually but at the same time, I feel that he's out there physically. It's such a weird feeling that it may not even be true." She turned to face Aezura who was now with her on the balcony. "I'm sorry if I'm saying too much to you and if it's bothering you. I just like to talk about it so it helps me.." She blushed and thought about the time when Irvine was with her on the balony as she sat on the bench and watched the stars gleam across the night sky. He would just stand there and guard her, even though she felt she was safe. Maybe she felt safe because he was there; she wasn't sure, but what she was sure about was how she felt for him, secretly. Every time he would be with her or even near her, she could feel her heart race. She always was fond of his strength and values, definitely his patience towards her, especially when she was very stubborn. She smiled to herself as she looked up to the sky like she did when she was with him. No one knew about how she felt about him and she was scared to even say anything to Irvine. She frowned as she thought of so many missed opportunties, but at the same time she knew that it wasn't her place. She was of Royal blood as he was of, what they call, the blood of warriors, consisting of: strength, endurance, nobility, and respect.

Jesina leaned on the railing, looking towards Yun-Ha forest and smiled. "So what are your plans for the festival tomorrow?" The festival was to celebrate the loss of the brave warriors, including Irvine that lost their lives to save the King. She was going to be there and knew Aezura had other things she had to do on her agenda from the King, but wanted to make sure she was able to make for the important part: Irvine's memoriam, a speech that will take place after the parade, presented by the King, Irvine's father (a well-respected noble), and herself if she chooses to.

 

[Dawnbreaker]

Aezura stood by the door, listening intently to her Lady’s troubles. It was as much her pleasure as it was her duty to be there for Jesina in the times when her brother was called away and now that he would not be returning home, the handmaiden knew that this duty was all the more important now than it ever was. As much as it prided Aezura to be the handmaiden to the Princess and though she took great pride in her work, this was the first time that she wished that she had not been selected for this honor. Irvine was, indeed, a good man who had always treated the both of them as though they were rare and delicate flowers. Just as Jesina could not have wished for a better guard, Aezura could not have wished for a better brother but this unrequited love that existed between them pained the handmaiden.

Aezura had very strong feelings for Jesina herself. Though at this period in time homosexuality was not something of a political issue, it also wasn’t something that the kingdoms women indulged themselves in. Aezura knew that she could never have Jesina in the way that a man could have her but the love that she felt for her princess was just as strong as Irvine’s. Though Jesina would probably find her handmaiden’s emotions displaced and strange, Aezura knew her feelings to be as true and pure as any typical love between a man and a woman.

“I think that Irvine would have wanted us to continue on as well, my Lady,” the younger woman finally spoke as she moved to join Jesina out on the balcony. “There is a time for mourning and there is a time for celebration but we must not forget the circumstances that would still remain the same even if our loved ones were still with us. You are far too old to have no husband to call your own, Princess Jesina. The King will one day pass himself and you will be Queen. If you do not have a child of your own what will come of our Kingdom?”

In truth, these were not Aezura’s own words. The King himself had gotten to the young handmaiden before she had made her way to Jesina’s bedchambers and had commanded her to remind Jesina of this situation. The King, though sympathetic for his daughter’s loss of her personal guard, did not believe that she had the time to mope about it. Besides, Aezura was eighteen herself. She should have been married by now as well.