She was a princess, he but a royal guard. He was once a young Karrablast who felt bitter towards his queen until her princess, a Lilligant evolved at such a young age, came to his village to help him and the others, meeting personally with every one of them. Even him.

"What," she asked him as she sat so close to him and smiled, "do you want to become?" He was too stunned to answer, and she clarified, "When you are older and have reached somewhere, something, what do you want it to be? What do you want to be?"

"I-I don't know," he admitted. It was never something he'd ever given much thought to, the future.

"That's okay," she gave him a warm smile, "You have plenty of time to think about it anyway." She paused, looking up at the sky for a moment before meeting his gaze again. "I want to be a good queen. I want to be...benevolent to my people."

"Benevolent...?"

"Just," she said, "Fair. Kind and merciful. Understanding." She looked down, smiling. "I want to help my people through troubles and hardships, and keep our kingdom strong. I want to keep them safe, and I want them to be loved."

He was speechless. He desperately tried to find words, his brain fumbling around, and when he finally found them one of her guards came into the room and said, "Princess, you have a situation that must be attended to."

She frowned and placed her hand on his. She said, "I do apologize for having to leave. I hope to see you again some day."

And just as the door shut behind her, he barely uttered the words, "I want to be one who helps you reach that."

And years later, he evolved into a Escavalier. With the spears that were his arms and the armor that encased his body, he knew he was the perfect picture of a knight, of a guard. So he trained. He sparred and fought and practiced, not content until each jab and swing was perfect. He needed to have a perfect form, a perfect method. He needed to be perfect, because she deserved no less.

When he thought he was ready, he went to her palace. He told the guard there that he wanted to be a part of them, to help defend her however he could. And so he showed them what he could do, having practice matches with many of the other knights there to show just what he could do. And while he took down a few of them, his full power wasn't nearly enough to best the majority of them. He was a failure.

But they let him in. They were impressed. They told him he was powerful, that he was skilled, that he had so much potential even though he had already gone so far. And he still doubted himself - he wasn't anywhere near their level of power - but he joined them. He was proud of himself.

And he only got stronger. She didn't seem to notice him at first, and he hardly noticed her; the closest thing to contact that they had was when she would glide elegantly down the halls, crossing his path for just a brief moment. But as he rose through the ranks, they saw each other more and more. And then, they truly spoke.

He noticed her, all of her. She was no longer a young girl like she used to be, she was beautiful. Her leaves and flowers were colorful and bright, the colors of her body more vivid than he could believe, her gait and the way she held herself more dignified and sure of herself. She looked him in the eye and he was lost in her gaze.

"Congratulations," she said to him.

"Wh-wha-I-"

"Your recent promotion," she gave him a warm smile. "You've been rising so quickly through the ranks. One of the best knights I've seen, undeniably."

"I-thank you, your highness."

"Thank you," she corrected. "For standing by this kingdom. For standing by...me." She paused and said, "You sound...you seem...you're very familiar to me. I feel as though I know you."

"Princess," called the voice of a knight higher than he, "The queen requests your presence."

"Is it able to wait?"

"She says it's urgent."

"Oh, mother...Yes, I'm coming." She turned back to him and said, "I do apologize for having to leave. I hope to see you again," before turning and leaving.

The smile on her face and the glint and her eye told him that she knew just as well as he who they were.

And somehow, he had become her personal guard. When her old one retired, and the supposed next-in-line was too scared to take the job, he was immediately nominated. He wasn't sure what to think, but he jumped on the opportunity in a heartbeat. And from that day on, he was always by her side, ready to defend her.

They became close. Their relationship became more casual when they were alone. She went from calling him "my knight" to just "sir", and then to just his name and eventually they came up with nicknames for each other. At first he felt disrespectful, not calling her "your highness" or "princess" or "my lady", but as time went on they became natural around each other. When they were alone, she was not a princess. She was not royalty. She was a girl, a young woman like any other. She told jokes, she teased him, she giggled and laughed, and she whimpered and sobbed. And as time went on, so did he.

"One day," he once said to her, "you came to my village. When I—when we—were younger. And you spoke to me, and you asked what I wanted to become."

"I remember that," she smiled fondly.

"You said that you wanted to become a benevolent queen."

"I did." A pause. "I am not a queen yet."

"But you are benevolent."

"Oh, I-"

"You are a queen. You have done more for this kingdom than the 'true' queen has."

"My mother-"

"She is a good woman. But you are a better queen."

"...I suppose."

"So you have become what you wanted to all this time."

She smiled, her eyes wandering towards the window and the view of the sky it provided. "You...you never gave me an answer, did you?"

"You were taken away before I could."

"...What was it going to be?"

He looked away from her, and hesitated before he said, "I wanted to be one who would help you become what you wanted to. For the good of you, and for the good of your kingdom."

She placed her hands on the window sill, taking in the view of her land that the castle overlooked. She turned to him and walked over, her pace just as regal and sure as it had always been. Carefully, gently, she took one of the spears that were his hands into her own. And she said to him, "You have become that, and so much more."