she is ethereal and precious and a princess except not really.

i.

Say what you will, but Frey is anything but a damsel in distress. Not that there's anything particularly wrong with being a damsel in distress, but...after having Kiel read story after story of princesses locked in towers, sought after by vengeful witches, only to be saved by a heroic prince, the concept becomes rather lackluster, you might say.

Frey is a new breed of princess. Alright, and perhaps that stems from the fact that she is, technically, not indeed an actual princess. Probably? She has no recollection of her own past, so there is a tiny, miniscule possibility she does come from royalty, but from what Forte has seen of her general behavior, it doesn't seem very likely. At all.

ii.

"Forteeeeeeeeee."

The Dragon Knight stumbles a bit as a considerable amount of weight is suddenly thrust upon her shoulders. She doesn't have to look, she never has to look to know when Selphia's acting princess is acting entirely like an eight year old. "Miss Frey," she says, and it sounds less like a warning than she would have liked. Perhaps, she's a little too accustom. She feels her cheeks redden anyway.

"I brought cake. I made it myself," Frey chirps and continues clinging onto Forte's back. "Onwards to your home, brave knight. There is cake to be had!"

"Don't you have royal duties to attend to this morning?" Cake; Forte's one weakness. Aside from Kiel, of course, but no one knows about either...except for Frey. Probably... There had better actually be cake.

"I took care of it," the princess declares dismissively. "Also, Vishnal decided his butler training has had a distinct lack of agricultural education up to this particular day, so I graciously allowed him to water my crops."

Forte almost sighs, whether from the added weight of one whole princess in addition to her already heavy armor, or from the pure smug satisfaction dripping from Frey's words, she doesn't know. "How kind of you."

They're almost home bound and Frey presses her cheek to Forte's shoulder timidly. "I know, right?"

They pass Porcoline, who gazes at them with starry eyes as they pass. Frey waves at him and a scowling Dylas who seems to be completely immersed in his fishing and ignores her feeble attempt.

"Land Ho!" Frey remarks a bit too loudly, resembling a certain butterfly-human a bit too vividly, and hops off the knight's shoulders once they reach the small house. She pauses at the door, as if the idea of barging into someone's home uninvited just occurred to her. As if she hasn't done it a million times before. "Is Kiel home?" inquires Frey, opening the door and inviting herself on in anyway.

What was the point in hesitating then, exactly?

"No," Forte replies, shutting the door behind her. "He said he was going to be locked up in the castle's library today. Why?"

"I thought maybe we could all read something while enjoying some cake," Frey remarks, looking slightly disappointed. "Whatever. Do you think he'll mind if we borrow one of his books?"

Forte purses her lips. Not if it's you, he won't. The concept of her brother harboring a crush on the acting Selphian princess was still a little difficult for Forte to accept. Her brother was sweet, and maybe a bit of a loudmouth, but...he was still a good kid. A kid. As in, not old enough to date or get married or anything in between just yet. "Probably not," Forte finally offers after some thought.

To be expected, Frey is already rummaging through the bookshelf in his bedroom. Forte often worries about how familiar the princess makes herself with everyone's private belongings. It is a reasonable thing to be worried about, after all.

"Oooh. The princess on this one sorta looks like you, Forte!"

The knight can feel her cheeks heat up at the suggestion. She strolls over to peer at the cover of the book and her lightly dusted pink cheeks turn crimson. "T-That's ridiculous. She and I have nothing in common."

"Not true," Frey says, all singsong like. "You're both blonde and have really long hair. And you're both super cute," she teases, and Forte thinks she might pass out. Is it possible to be this embarrassed all at once?

Forte snatches the book from the princess' hands and shoves it back into the shelf with inhuman speed. "Y-You promised cake, didn't you?"

"Ah," Frey smiles, sliding her backpack off her shoulder with ease. She rummages through it for a few moments before pulling out a container. "It's chocolate. Too bad that Kiel isn't here, it's his favorite, right?"

"Yes," Forte agrees, coughing slightly. For a moment, she really does feel bad for leaving Kiel out, because he truly does love chocolate cake with passion that shouldn't be possible. "There's always next time, however."

"Yeah!"

iii.

"Do you need to stop and rest?"

"No. Let's move forward."

"...Forte," Frey says, and it is one of those rare moments when true concern slips onto the princess' face. She doesn't allow it to be shown often, unless it's where Venti is concerned, but it is there all the same and Forte can't help but feel touched. "Let's take a break and eat, okay?"

"I said I was fine," Forte tries to argue but it's no use. She is exhausted and they both can tell. It's a little more than mortifying for her, a self proclaimed knight, to not be able to keep up with the self proclaimed princess.

Frey settles herself on a stump and goes through her backpack wordlessly. She pulls out two wrapped rice balls and hands one to Forte. "Eat up!"

"Thank you." Forte ducks her head, attempting to hide her weary expression. How embarrassing...

"No need to thank me. I should be the one thanking you, brave knight," Frey smiles, mint eyes crinkling with the gesture and it sort of makes Forte's chest hurt. "Nobody else would be half as willing to come out and hunt some monsters with me this early in the morning."

Forte averts her gaze. "...It's simply my job. I am Selphia's Dragon Knight, after all. If I can't accompany the princess on her travels, what use am I?"

"Hm," hums Frey, as her eyes trail the others face, taking in every line and crevice carefully as if trying to apply them to memory. "I'm not really a princess, though."

"You are Selphia's act-"

"Nope," Frey smacks her lips and lifts her eyes to the sky. "Still not a princess. Not a real one. Not a fictional one, like in Kiel's books. I'm not a princess at all."

"Miss Fr - "

"You know," the mint haired young woman says lightly. "Ever since I started living here and Arthur relayed his royal duties over to me, I've had a lot of time to think about what being a princess really means and if I'm up to it."

"...And?"

"I don't really care."

"Huh!?"

Frey smiles, but it's a tight one. Forced. "Let me rephrase that. I mean, I care about everyone here. I love this place. So, so much. I wouldn't have gone to the Forest of Beginnings if I didn't...But, I mean. I think I'd still feel the same if I were living here as just a normal villager instead of the 'acting princess', you know? I'd still do everything the same. Princess is just a title that I'm still trying to figure out if I deserve. Seems kinda pointless, doesn't it? Regardless of if I'm worthy or not, it's mine. This world is weird."

"I...I understand," Forte says, although she doesn't really. Frey seems to be a bit of enigma at times.

"Great. So just call me Frey from now on, okay?"

"U-Um. Alright, as you wish." Forte has to forcefully bite her tongue from letting the cursed word slip out.

You are more of a princess than you'll ever know, Miss Frey.

( a/n ) first up, fortfrey bc they are cuter than anything in this world. next, might be dylas bc stay golden bronyboy am i right