Knock Knock Princess [Open to Royals & Knights]

[Eriol Mitagar]

Here he stood, before the princess's bedroom door. Or at least, he was informed that it was her bedroom. The current rumor was that her teacher had locked her in her room after she had been rescued. The words of his superior continued to echo through his mind. The last thing he wanted was to be stuck in the palace babysitting some spoiled brat princess, but here he was doing exactly the opposite of what he wanted.

"I should be out on the front lines killing those blasted black knights," he mumbled still standing in front of the princess's door. "But no, here I am, stuck with babysitting this snob."

Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, Eriol knocked on the door before him. He mentally prayed that the girl would not answer. The less time he had to deal with her the better.

[Ayame Li Britannia]

It was a clear day in the lovely land of Britannia. Spring was dawning, birds were singing, and there was an overall sense of odd peace, despite recent happenings. In general, it was a clear, lovely-

NANI?!”[/b][/color]

…perfect day. For some, at least.

Sitting on her bed, surrounded by her army of plushies, third princess of the Imperial Family, Ayame Li Britannia stared bug-eyed, jaw dropped at the elder woman before her.

“There is no need to shout, Hime-sama. And close that mouth of yours. You are not a codfish.” The mouth was quick to snap shut. “You heard me perfectly well, Hime-sama. Your elder sister, Sylvana-hime-sama has decided that due to recent events, you are to be assigned a personal knight. You are 17 years old. It’s high time you got one, anyways.” Ayame slumped against her pillows, a look of pure horror on her face.

This…this couldn’t be happening. No, no…a dress she can handle. Lessons she could do. But a knight? Having someone breathe down her neck 24/7, 365 days a year (366 on leap)?! It was murder! Practically homicide! Breath quickening slightly, Ayame’s eyes narrowed at the thought of Sylvana doing this to her. Of all people, Sylvie was the last person Ayame would suspect of assigning her a knight. Why? Simply because Sylvie herself refused to have one. Was totally hypocritical of her to make Ayame have one when she herself was so against it. “How could she do this to me? Her own flesh and blood…” Ayame moaned, slapping Pon-Pon over her face in a pseudo attempt to smother herself to death.

“Because…” Sensei was quick to pluck the plushie from the Princess. “A little someone over here went somewhere she wasn’t supposed to and got herself kidnapped by the largest threat to Brtiannia.” Ayame growled and snatched Pon-Pon back, hugging him close to her chest.
“So? It’s not like they did anything to me. I’m still the oddball here. No harm done!”
“Yes, and we are lucky that this was the case. Should this happen a second time, we may not be so fortunate.” Ayame pouted deeper, if that was even possible at this point.
“S’not like having some guy with a pointy object is gonna change anything, y’know…” she muttered.
“Yes it will Hime-sama. Perhaps now you will learn you behave like a proper lady and not go running off like some hooligan.” A loud snort was the answer. “Hime-sama….”
“Hmmph.” The elder woman sighed tiredly as she rubbed her temples. If there was one thing Ayame had inherited from the family it was the stubborn gene. Girl was like every other member in that aspect.
“Now, Hime-sama, please tidy- The speed at which Ayame bolted up from her lying position stopped the teacher midway. “H-Hime-sama?” She knew that look in her eye.
“I get it…” The grin that had spread across the young girl’s face resembled that of the Cheshire Cat.
“Hime-sama?”
“I get it now…heh, Sensei I didn’t know you were into it too!” The woman blinked confusedly as a hand went to pat her on the shoulder.
“I beg your pardon?” The young girl simply grinned widely as she stood on her bed, a laugh bubbling from within her chest.
“I didn’t know you were into April Fools!”
“….”
“Sheesh Sensei, you really had me there for a moment! I’ll admit, that was a pretty good one ahahaha!”
“….”
“ahahaha…ha….ha…” Ayame’s laughs became weaker at the look on Sensei’s face. “haa….you’re not shitting with me, are you?” A crisp bonk on the head was her answer.
“Language.” was all the teacher said before she turned around and began to pick up some stray things lying on the floor. Honestly…the girl had the gift of being an utter slob yet somehow a neat freak at the same time. “Now, Eriol-sama will be arriving shortly, so-
“‘Eriol-kun?’ Does he crash into windows often?” The glare sensei gave her was enough to tell her quit whilst she was still in jean shorts and a cami.
“As I was saying, he will be here shortly, so please put on something more appropriate and-

Knock. Knock.
“Ah, here he is. Coming~” Ayame rolled her eyes as she flopped back down on her bed, not bothering to listen to sensei’s orders. As if she cared how she looked in front of this kid. Bad enough he was going to be stalking her. No way in hell was she gonna let him ruin her choice of attire as well. Besides, this was her room. She should be allowed to dress however she wanted. The stubborn side of her nodded as she rolled her on her side so that her back was to her door, half listening to Sensei welcoming the man in.

“Hello, Eriol-sama. Thank you for coming, Ayame-hime-sama is inside. Please, come in. Hime-sama? This is Eriol-sama, your new knight.” A hand waved vaguely in greeting. Sensei’s eyes narrowed a fraction of an inch, and a sudden chill went down Ayame’s spine, causing the girl to sit up straight. “I think a proper greeting is most appropriate, wouldn’t you agree, Hime-sama?” The tone in which Sensei said this dared the girl to oppose her.

A nervous laugh escaped the princess’ throat as her eyes fell to Eriol. Fellow Blondie. Blue-eyed. Tallish. In short: your typical pretty-boy. She gave him a half-hearted toothy grin. “Wassap?” She greeted, waving her hand in greeting for a second time. Sensei held back a comment. While this was certainly not the level of appropriateness she would’ve like, she supposed it could be worse. The girl could’ve flung her stuffed animal at the man.
“Well then. I shall have some tea sent up shortly. I’ll let you two become acquainted now.” Sensei smiled warmly to Eriol before her gaze turned to Ayame, the warm look replaced with a smile that held a potential death threat in it. “Hime-sama. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. Good day then.” With a bow and quiet click of the door, Ayame and Eriold were left alone, with Ayame’s face being several shades whiter.

“I swear she was Hilter in some previous life…” She muttered before quickly shaking her head, trying to pull herself together. Looking at Eriol, Ayame tilted her head, legs swinging like a child’s, her eyes not blinking.
“…So.” She began after a few seconds of silence. “Is there some ceremony I have to go to? Y’know, the whole “I dub thee knight” shebang?” Cause if so, I need at least a week’s notice to mentally brace myself for the torture.” She shuddered slightly at the thought.

“Never underestimate old ladies with pins.”

[Eriol Mitagar]

Eriol managed to hide his displeasure quite well as the woman opened the door and greeted him. Rather than open his mouth and risk saying something completely moronic, he merely nodded and followed the woman inside the princess's chambers. His mind virtually tuned the teacher out as he sized up the girl. He was a bit shocked to see her in such a casual outfit. He'd never actually seen the princess in person, but he had seen pictures of her online. However in those pictures, she was wearing some lavish and extravagant gown. As the girl casually greeted him using slang, he put another check in his surprised column. Perhaps she wasn't as spoiled as he had first assumed her to be.

The new knight walked over to one of the large windows in her room and sat down on the sill, with one leg resting on it and the other supporting some of his weight against the floor. He crossed his arm before he answered her question.

"Beats the hell outta me." Blue eyes closed momentarily as he took a deep breath. Opening his eyes, he stared sourly at the princess. "Look, I didn't exactly volunteer for this job. So why don't you be a good little princess and stay here in this room until they decide you don't need a knight anymore, hm?" He brushed a lock of blond hair behind his right ear before continuing. "That way, I don't have to follow your under-developed ass all day and all night and you don't have to deal with resisting the temptation known as Eriol Mitagar. It's a win-win scenario."

[Ayame Li Britannia]

Ayame remained sitting on her bed, Pon-Pon in her lap. ‘Stupid Sissy having to be overly paranoid…so what if I got kidnapped? It happened once. Big whoopdeedoo. No need to send the friggin’ SWAT team on my case….she’s just being a big meanie-butt, isn’t she Pon-Pon? That’s right, this must be pay back for pranking her last week…can’t even take a joke seriously, can she Pon-Pon?’ Ayame held her panda plushie close to her. Pon-Pon was the only one who understood her. "Beats the hell outta me.” Ayame rolled her eyes over to Blonde Bishie sitting by her windowsill. It took her a second to realize what he was talking about. Oh yea…she had asked him whether or not he knew if she would be forced into a corset and heels. Apparently he didn’t.
“Tch.” Useless one, wasn’t he? What was Sylvie-neesama thinking, picking this guy out of the lot? Meh. Maybe he didn’t give two pieces of a monkey’s ass about the formalities. She could appreciate that. “Ah well. I’m up for not mentioning it for as long as poss-
"Look, I didn't exactly volunteer for this job…” Ayame paused, blinking silently at Eriol.
“…ib….le…” Ok. That was random.
“So why don't you be a good little princess and stay here in this room until they decide you don't need a knight anymore, hm?" Eyes blinked twice rapidly. Did he just suggest….
“Ano…”
“That way, I don't have to follow your under-developed ass all day and all night and you don't have to deal with resisting the temptation known as Eriol Mitagar. It's a win-win scenario."

Well. Wasn’t this unexpected? Knight turns out to be a flamboyant, self-conceited asswipe. She knew she should be surprised. But she wasn’t. She knew that under normal situations, and granted she wasn’t some spazz teen on sugar load, Sensei would’ve been called in to give this guy a lesson in manners. But for some reason that was not even known to her, she didn’t.

Hopping down from her bed, Pon-Pon in tow, Ayame bopped her way over to Assface. “Ano…several things. First:” she held up a finger in front of his face. “You do realize who your charge is, right? Residential-cocoa-cabana-bonkers-spazz-case-Ayame? And you do realize that Sensei has been itching to have me under surveillance ever since I first jumped four balconies to avoid going to class when I was eight, right? So what the hell did you eat that made you think that if I just sit here for a bit, you’ll be dismissed? Go get your head checked out, hun. Second!” a second finger joined the first one. Then, in a blink of an eye, the man was bonked with Pon-Pon. “ Divine Punishment.” she said simply, patting Pon-Pon on the head. “I’m as thrilled as you are about this whole arrangement. Believe me. You have no idea how thrilling it is to have my own personal stalker. Every girl’s dream come true.” Ayame rolled her eyes, voice dripping with sarcasm. Golden eyes snapped back to Eriol’s blue ones, a “I’m not in a funky mood right now” look in them. “But you don’t see me being all Bitchy to you. Ok, sure, maybe I fear Sensei and her smiting stick, but that’s besides the point! Even if there wasn’t the threat of dresses and corsets hanging over my head, I still would’ve been nice to ya. I really don’t care if you call me names like ‘crazy chick’ or ‘hooligan’(honestly, it’s a nice change of pace), but don’t go judging my upbringing when you yourself aren’t fully developed. Thirdly!” The serious look was replaced by a hesitant one, as she lifted her hand to her mouth in that ‘hush-hush tis a secret~’ sort of way. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but…” She bit her lip in thought as for a split second she wondered if she really should go ahead and ask. Surely he would take it the wrong way!

‘Well, he was an ass to you.’ Ah. Little Miss Conscious. Impeccable timing, as always.

Ayame leaned up on her tipeetoes so that she was closer to Eriol’s ear. She mentally cursed herself for having the shrimp gene (seriously. Being 5’ was so not helpful at times!)

Finally mustering up the courage, Ayame took a deep breath and, with a look of cpmplete seriousness on her face and hand still in position, she popped her question.

“Are you a Homo-Homo?”

[Eriol Mitagar]

As the brash princess began scolding him, Eriol couldn't help but smirk. Guess all the info I got on her was totally the opposite. Now that he knew she wasn't some stuck up spoiled bratty snob, this babysitting job wouldn't be as bad as he had originally thought. But of course, he knew nothing of Ayame and her fun filled adventures. He would find out first hand soon enough though. Suddenly he felt the wrath of the dreaded pon-pon raining down on his head. It actually smarted a little. He quickly rubbed his head to flatten any of the hair that might have been disturbed by the bonk.

"Are you done now?" he asked her as she stood there with a serious look on her face. Maybe she forgot what she was going to say?

“Are you a Homo-Homo?”

Eriol suddenly found himself sputtering and a deep blush crossed his normally pale face. "What are you talking about? Gay? Me? Of course not! Whatever gave you that idea? The ladies can't keep their hands off me! I can pick and choose any woman I want to bed with any time!"

The blond haired knight quickly pushed past the girl and moved to stand in the middle of the room. He folded his hands behind his head and stretched a bit before speaking again, his back still toward her. "In response to your rant, firstly, I thought I'd at least be replaced with someone more motivated. Secondly, if you want a nice guy who tells you exactly what you want to hear and constantly kisses your under-developed ass, then I suggest you request another knight, either that or grow bigger tits. And thirdly, as I said before, I'm not gay. I'm merely... experimenting." Eriol contemplated turning to face her, but thought better against it as his face still felt warm from the homosexual comment.

[Ayame Li Britannia]

The intense look didn’t leave Ayame’s face as she stared at Bishie-kun. This was a serious question! She wanted to make sure her gaydar was working properly! It wasn’t going off the charts, but there was a faint dinging. Ayame just wanted to make sure she wasn’t going further down the rabbit hole than she already was. She had expected several reactions from this guy. One being the shove away, followed by something along the lines of “You crazy foo’? I ish super bish yo! Whadaya mean homo?!” Another was a high pitched giggle followed by the playful slap on the arm.

What she saw did not resemble either one of her perceived reactions in the slightest. "What are you talking about? Gay? Me? Of course not! Whatever gave you that idea? The ladies can't keep their hands off me! I can pick and choose any woman I want to bed with any time!" Aaaand cue tomato. Ayame blinked silently as she saw Eriol’s face turn into a lovely shade of red. She remained standing there silently as he brushed past her. Only one word rang through her mind: Denial. He had to be gay! Well, slightly. It was like in them mangas that Oji-san lent her once-the overly pretty boy who goes around referring to himself in the third person with roses and sparkles always popping up behind him-this fit Eriol to a T. Ok, so maybe there weren’t any sparkles, but there were roses! The monkey from the ceiling was throwing them down from a large basket. So there. “…if you want a nice guy who tells you exactly what you want to hear and constantly kisses your under-developed ass, then I suggest you request another knight, either that or grow bigger tits.”

Jerkwad’s voice snapped Ayame out of her thoughts and she turned on her heel, Pon-Pon raised again. Some people never learnt, did they? While Ayame herself was anything but a girly-girl, there were certain things that were just a little bit invasive. Being commented on her lack of goods was one of them. Ok, sure she wasn’t as heavily endowed as say Sylvie or Nia-neesama, but it wasn’t as if she had nothing! It could always be worse…right?

‘But beyond that…this guy…still thinks he’s a friggin saint or something.’ Her eyes narrowed as she drew her foot back, every intention to make impact with his leg. She swung.

“I'm not gay. I'm merely... experimenting.” Her foot stopped just before it made impact and her ears perked up. Aha! So she was right! Kinda, sorta. A knowing/victorious grin spread across her grin. She hopped on one foot so that she was facing him. Aww, there was still a faint trace of a blush~
“‘Experimenting,’ huh? Soka, soka…” she patted him twice on the chest (seeing that was as high as she could reach without having to go on point). The cheeky grin never left her face. “And as for opting for a different Knight….” the mischievous glint returned into her eyes. “I think not. You seem like the type I could have fun with. Besides, letting you off would be too nice of me.” She grinned evily. “So. Tell me, Homo-Homo-kun…” She perched herself on the edge of her mattress.

“How do you feel about flytackle football?”

[Eriol Mitagar]

Eriol's uneasiness exploded the moment she hopped in front of him, a mischievous, all-knowing look upon the teen girl's face. He sighed, his blush finally fading completely as she decided to keep him as a knight. "Oh wonderful. I'm oh so happy you're allowing me to remain your knight," he replied sarcastically.

“So. Tell me, Homo-Homo-kun…”

"I already told you, I'm not gay. I'm experimenting," he interjected exasperatedly. "Can't you give me a different nickname? What about jackass? I can tolerate that one, but Ho-" He was cut off as the princess asked him something unexpected.

"Fly tackle football? Sports are over rated if you ask me." The blond knight paused momentarily. "What's with the sudden change? What do my interests and such matter to a spoiled princess?" He turned to face her, a light glare in place. Honestly, this girl was completely confusing. One minute she seemed to want to bash his head in and the next she was asking about his personal life.

[Ayame Li Britannia]

Calculating eyes gave Homo-Homo-kun a run down. He was a decent size. Not incredibly short, but not freakishly tall. If she used herself as a starter, she would reckon he fell in the 5’5 – 5’7 range. Built-wise he wasn’t too shabby either. Obviously he wasn’t some couch potato, but he wasn’t overly buff either. Too much muscle was never a good thing. Her eyes traveled downward to his legs and her nose crinkled slightly. Not bad…but they could use a little work. Now if she were to give him a 5 minute start, he’d get about at most 1 mile and a half before she caught up. Which wasn’t shabby in the slightest. But it could always be improved. Ayame narrowed her eyes slightly in thought. ‘But speed means nothing if he can’t pounce…’ Her eyes traveled upwards back to his upper chest and arm areas. ‘I wouldn’t call him scrawny, but…’
"Fly tackle football? Sports are over rated if you ask me." Ayame blinked, snapping out of her mental look-over. She blinked twice at Eriol.
“Whatdaya mean, sports are over- She paused as her eyes widened, realization dawning upon her.

This guy was a little princess. That’s what it all boiled down to. He was a little pampered poofball who didn’t like to get sweaty unless ordered to. She sighed heavily. Did Sylvie and Sensei seriously see who it was they hired for this job? Shouldn’t they have given her someone who at least shared the same interests as her? Ayame paused as an idea struck her. ‘Wait. If Homo-Homo-kun doesn’t like sports, then maybe I can use this to my advantage…’ While there was no doubt in her mind that Eriol was physically trained (being part of the military and all), the question remained: was he Ayame trained? Was he trained to catch after a five-foot-tall-on-sugar-load-24-7-365-366-on-leap-hyperactive-monkey of a princess? Who spent more than half her life running away from people just like him? Who spent each and every day fleeing from Sensei and her army of killer maids, whether it be jumping from several stories and then bolting off, or just doing the mad-dash out of the boundaries of the Pendragon and into the city? A slow grin curved up the corners of her mouth.

She highly doubted it.

And, if by some strange miracle, Eriol did have a stamina equivalent to hers, then all the more fun for her. Ayame always enjoyed a good competition. She looked at Eriol, the grin never fading. There was only one way to test Eriol’s prowess. Flytackle football.
"What's with the sudden change?” The grin left Ayame’s face, replaced by a look of confusion.
“What do my interests and such matter to a spoiled princess?” An eyebrow shot up. Where the hell did that come from?

She tilted her head in confusion and without a second thought answered “Why wouldn’t it?” Golden orbs blinked twice in confusion. The comment about being spoilt didn’t phase her. In retrospect, she could very well be considered to be ‘spoilt.’ Especially when compared to those living in the slums. Her life was that of a pampered queen, practically.

“Why would you think it wouldn’t matter? You’re my Knight, right? Isn’t it only natural to be curious about those around you?” she asked honestly, shrugging her shoulders slightly. “So I dunno why you would think otherwise.” She said as she hopped down from her bed, the cheeky grin back on her face.

“I dunno what Sylvie-nee-sama was thinking when she appointed you without telling you about flytackle football, but…I suppose now is a good time as ever.” Ayame bent down so she was touching her feet and then stretched back up again. “Basically, flytackle football is a little game I like to play with friends.” she began whilst continuing her stretches. “Rules are simple: try to flytackle as many people as you can without breaking a bone. There’s a football in this somewhere, but no one ever really pays attention to it.” Standing up straight, the little spazz tilted her head from side to side, letting it crack. ‘Ahh~

Hands on hips, Ayame grinned at Eriol a grin that was far too familiar with many residents of the Pendragon. It was the grin of flytackle football. “So, Homo-Homo-kun, the goal is this: successfully flytackle me down by teatime. We have an hour till it starts. Sensei will be livid if I’m late.” The grin grew wider and the competitive spark fired in her eyes. “Starting…NOW!” And with that, the third princess bolted out of the room and down the hall, her laughter echoing off the walls.

The test to see if Homo-Homo-kun could keep up had begun.

[Eriol Mitagar]

Okay, all the information I got on her was ass backwards, Eriol thought as the princess explained herself. Just cause I'm her official knight doesn't mean she gets to pry into my private life. His thoughts were interrupted as the teen princess switched gears.

“I dunno what Sylvie-nee-sama was thinking when she appointed you without telling you about flytackle football, but…I suppose now is a good time as ever.”

The blond haired knight stared at her as she began to stretch, his blue eyes widening slightly. Please tell me she's not going to do what I think she's going to do? His stomach sank as she placed her hands on her hips and a grin crossed her sly lips. Oh god, she's not seriously going to is she?!

“So, Homo-Homo-kun, the goal is this: successfully flytackle me down by teatime. We have an hour till it starts. Sensei will be livid if I’m late.”

Eriol took a step forward, slowly reaching out to the unusual princess. "Wait princess. You can't possibly expect me to-"

He was quickly cut off as she yelled, indicating that the hunt was on, and bolted out the door and down the hall. "Dammit!" he shouted as he bolted out the door after her. He quickly lost sight of her down the long and winding corridors. "Dammit!" he yelled again while still running. "Alright, if I was a deranged under developed princess, where would I go?"

Eriol paused momentarily as he reached the end of a hall that split into left and right directions. Growling he looked down the left hall and then down the right hall. As he glanced back down the right hall, he caught a glimpse of what appeared to be the princess walking into a room. "Gotcha," he muttered as he took off at top speed down the hall. As he approached the room, he was thankful to see that the door was still open. Darting in, he grabbed the girl from behind and literally tackled her to the floor.

"I see that Princess Ayame has resumed her fly tackle games again," the maid giggled from underneath the knight.

Flustered and embarrassed, he quickly jumped off the poor girl and helped her up. "I'm so sorry ma'am."

"Don't worry about it. I suggest you get back to catching her. She's rather hard to keep up with."

Nodding in thanks, he took off out of the room and back down the corridor in the opposite direction whence he came. This is ridiculous! I'm a soldier! I should not have to chase this little brat down for her entertainment. But... If I catch her... He turned down another corridor. "Maybe she'll give me some kind of nice reward." A sly grin appeared on his face as he turned down another corridor. To his surprise, the princess was actually in this hall. Picking up the pace, he managed to gain on her.

"I've got you now you under developed brat!" Eriol shouted as he literally pounced at the girl and hoped to finally catch her.

[Ayame Li Britannia]

The sound of a two bodies greeting the floor, followed by the flustered apology of her darling Homo-Homo-kun, caused Ayame to giggle in delight as she continued her sprint. She would have to thank Maria-san somehow. Maybe by baking her some of them brownies she was so fond of. If she remembered correctly, Maria-san like hers heavy on the fudge…

Seeing another maid just ahead of her, Ayame quickly hid behind a large vase, thanking the Shrimp Gods for blessing her. These maids weren’t as snazzy as Maria-san. They were the type who would do anything to get on Sensei’s good side. In short: they were the tattletale type.
“I hear Ayame-hime-sama has been appointed a knight.”
“You’re kidding! Well, I suppose after that incident, it’s only to be expected…so? What’s he like?”
“Totally handsome!”
“Kyaa~ Serious?! Oh, how I wish I were the princess…”
“Seriously…that girl has no eye for candy, does she?”
“Seriously…”

Ayame’s eyes followed the pair as they walked past her hiding spot. What the hell?! What did they mean she had “no eye for candy?!” Ayame loved candy! She lived off of sugar! Hell, she friggin made sweets as a hobby! “What was that all about? Baaaakas.” Popping out from her hiding spot, Ayame resumed her sprint down the hall, the wild grin back in full swing.

Turning a sharp left, Ayame quickly sidestepped to avoid colliding with another maid carrying a basket of laundry. “Gomen!”
“H-Hime-sama! What are you doing running here? Isn’t it nearly time for tea?!” Ayame glanced out the window before looking over her shoulder, giving the maid her classic “V for Victory” sign.
“I still have 47 minutes!” The maid only shook her head, a smile on her face. One day that girl was going to be the cause of her own death…

Stopping momentarily, Ayame scanned the area, the adrenaline pumping through her veins. Where to go, where to go? Should she go outside? That was kinda cheating, wasn’t it? But then again, she never did limit where she could go? Should she go easy on him? Nah, that wouldn’t be a fair test then. Her eyes fell on the balcony as a slow grin curved upwards. Now there was an idea…

"I've got you now you under developed brat!" Ayame shrieked both in surprise and in delight as she saw Eriol pounce. Immediately, her eyes did a quick scan of posture. ‘Nice leap, though he should use those legs more. He’s got long legs. Arms stretched decently. But…”
“Mada, Mada!” Hopping out of the way, Ayame offered Eriol one final cheeky grin as a hand grabbed hold of the balcony railing. “Tootles.” And with that, she leapt off, shrieking in delight all the way down.

Feet landing firmly on the ground, Ayame did a quick glance over her shoulder. And froze in fear. Standing there, one balcony above the one she just jumped from was Sensei. Displeased was an understatement. Visions of pink dresses and curling irons filled the princess’ mind and a nervous laugh escaped her throat. “Ah, shit.”
“Hime-sama. Pray tell what you are doing outside when we are having tea indoors today?” Ayame felt her voice box close up in sheer fright. Sensei wasn’t screaming. But that was the problem. A non-screaming Sensei was far more frightening that a yelling one.

Swallowing hard, Ayame forced her voice to come out of hiding.
“I…uh…”
“You weren’t doing anything I wouldn’t do, correct. Hime-sama?” Cue overly sweet smile. Even though she was several stories above her, Ayame still felt the death threat that was behind the smile.
“Ahahaha~ Never, Sensei~ I was only getting some fresh ai-oomph!” Ayame groaned as she suddenly found herself kissing Mother Nature. Blinking twice, trying to get rid of the dancing monkeys in front of her, she glanced up back at the balcony.

Sensei was gone. An eyebrow arched. So that what that was all about, eh? Ayame clicked her tongue as her eyes narrowed.

“Judas.”

[Eriol Mitagar]

Poor Eriol missed the girl by mere inches and collided rather roughly with the floor. He groaned while pushing himself back up, only to see the princess jump off the nearby balcony. Oh god! If she breaks something, I'll be lynched for treason! He quickly jumped to his feet and rushed over to the balcony. Peering uneasily over it, he noticed that she had landed without so much as a scratch.

"You've got to be kidding me! What is she? A freakin' feline?!" The blond knight growled angrily, debating whether to jump off after her or not. It wasn't that far of a fall, and he'd fallen from trees higher up than this. Course, he usually broke something when that happened. Why is she just standing there? he thought as he continued to gaze down at the girl.

"Who cares why she's standing there! She's dropped her guard." Carefully he climbed over to the other side of the balcony, hands never letting go of the railing. Crouching down, he aligned his body with that of the princess's before pushing off of the balcony. In mere seconds he landed rather roughly against her back, his weight no doubt crushing her to some extent.

"I'll give you credit," he gasped out. "It takes a lot of balls to jump from a balcony, especially one so high. However," he sat up on top of the princess's back, still weighing her down. "I believe I have won your little game. So then, what's my prize?" A mischievous perverted grin crossed his lips. "A date with one of your more "gifted" sisters? Or perhaps you want to keep me all to yourself?" He smirked before poking the back of her head playfully.

[Euric Qi Britannia]

The First Prince leaned back in his chair, and sighed deeply as ever. Another meeting of the staff considering his emperor brother's wedding had just ended, and the last of the attendants had just left the room. He rose and stretched his muscles. Sure, visiting home after a while again was better than sitting in the Viceroy's palace buried in paperwork, especially now that the darling spazz little sister of his was back home, too - but still, these wedding meetings... The prince could've almost sworn to never get married to avoid all this hustle. Well, almost. Smiling faintly, he shook his head.
Of course you couldn't have it just small and pretty once you're a royal - let alone the Emperor...
Well, the meeting for now was over, so he shook his head anew, a bit harder - time for a break, brain. A break. Hear?

Euric, of course, had also heard of Sylvana's plans to assign her younger sister with a personal Knight - frankly, Euric was himself partially responsible for it to happen. After the kidnapping incident with the Black Knights, he did understand every reason his older half-sister had for assigning a personal guard for her sister, and he himself agreed with her in most of them. He, either, definitely didn't want anything like that to happen again. He could but hope that Ayame wasn't too unhappy with their decision - he did agree with Sylvana, but on the other hand could anticipate what Ayame might have thought about the matter. It worried him a bit, but on the other hand considering that he, too, might have had his personal Knight soon enough, so... Not that he either liked the idea, but he tried to see at least the one good thing in it - better just one guard than many, eh?

Come to think of it, as far as he knew, the knight assigned for the duty should have been introduced to the Third Princess just about - he glanced at the clock on the back wall of the room - now. He stood a moment quiet, not moving. Well, at least anything didn't sound to explode or something - yet. Well, Sensei was most likely present too, so...
Let's just hope everything goes fine enough.
But fine in Ayame's case - was a completely different thing what it would be. Euric decided to go see how she was doing a bit later, but for now he desired a break. A nice, quiet walk in the garden outside, for example.

And so did the prince head outdoors, taking a deep breath of fresh air as he got to the garden. Wonderful was the weather - a bright and pleasant spring day. It almost felt a shame to sit in stuffy rooms in stuffy meetings on such a day. About a time to get out and get to actually enjoy of it.

For a while Euric got to walk in peace, but it didn't take too long for his peace to get disrupted. For little was he prepared for the sight that would wait for him around the corner as his feet had carried him to walk around the palace - a sight of a blonde male sitting on the said tomboy sister. The sight made Euric halt, though it didn't take too long for him to adopt somewhat similar demeanor than what Sensei sometimes had - the non-yelling Sensei, that is. In this case, though, it was the essence that of an offended big brother with 'you just dare to mess up with my little sister' glare in his eyes.
"...Just what do you think you're doing there, mister?"

[Ayame Li Britannia]

‘Stupid Sensei, making me freeze up. She knew damn well what I was doing…slowing me down like that….stupid, meanie-butt of a teach…’

“So not baking brownies for her…bloody Benedict Arnold….” Ayame grumbled as she remained lying on the grass, Homo-Homo-kun sitting on top of her. A large pout had graced her face as she held her chin in her hand. It wasn’t fair! If Sensei hadn’t been there, she would’ve been out of the Pendragon and on her way to Clovisland by now! But was she? Noooo~ Because a certain old lady with a stick scared her shitless, resulting in her being tackled to the ground.

"It takes a lot of balls to jump from a balcony, especially one so high.” Ayame’s eyed rolled to the side, not bothering to move her head.
“Sore wa, domo.” She replied dryly, poking Pon-Pon’s nose as the plushie sat in front of her. She could tell Pon-Pon was displeased too. After all, when Ayame was upset, Pon-Pon was upset. Same vice versa. Her eyes fell back to the panda. Stupid, meanie, stupid, meanie, stupid…

“However, I believe I have won your little game. So then, what's my prize?" Her eyes rolled back over and an eyebrow arched. ‘Won?’ ‘Prize?’ What the hell was this kid on? As far as she was concerned, if sensei hadn’t shown up, they’d still be playing cat chase mouse. Her nose crinkled in thought. Though…she had to admit…he wasn’t half bad. At tackling, that is. He took advantage of her weakness and pounced. And he pounced rather effectively. Ayame mentally groaned at the thought of the bruise that was going to form on her back come tomorrow. Yea. Guy was good at pouncing and pinning too. Which may or may not be a problem for her in the future.
"A date with one of your more "gifted" sisters? Or perhaps you want to keep me all to yourself?" The firecracker turned her head this time to look at Fellow Blondie-kun. Only to wince as a sharp pain went shooting down. Aieee…looks like somewhere along the line, she went and strained her neck. Loverly.

Choosing to turn her head only halfway towards her knight and let her eyes do the rest of the moving, Ayame raised a quizzical eyebrow. “’Prize?’ You want some sort of prize? Hmm…” Her nose scrunched up in thought. While she didn’t recall promising him any prize if he caught her, she supposed it would be nice of her. After all, the guy was a good sport and actually went along and played with her. No matter how short-lived it may have been. Stupid Sensei. But the question was: what to give? She didn’t get what he was on about asking either of her Nee-samas for a date-wasn’t he a homo-homo? So wouldn’t he ask for maybe one of her brothers? A small smirk itched up the corner of her mouth. ‘Still in denial, eh? How cute~’

“Do you like cookies? I’ll bake you some of Ayame-sama’s Double Chocolate Fudge Delight Cookies. And if you would be so kind as to get off of me, I’ll throw in a brownie for free.” She grinned over at him. How silly of her, to actually think of what to give~ She was Ayame, baker extraordinaire! Obviously the best thing she could give Eriol was a taste of heaven. “Ne? How does that sou-


"...Just what do you think you're doing there, mister?" Ayame’s ears twitched and she turned her head to the left (only to wince again) to see her darling brother, Euric. Immediately her eyes widened in delight.

“Nii- she paused at the look on his face. Was it just her…or did Euric-nii-sama suddenly bear and uncanny resemblance to Sensei. Call her paranoid, but Ayame was sure her brother was emitting a death aura.
“sa…ma?” She scootched as best as she could with her knight on her closer to Euric. She grinned slightly up at her elder, waving Pon-Pon’s paw in greeting. “Yo. What’s with the face? You gonna be Sensei for Halloween or something? Cause you got the look down perfect-huh?” She followed her brother’s gaze. They landed on the man currently sitting on her back. Her eyes widened in realization. “Ah! Silly me! Nii-sama, this is Homo-Homo-san, my-AH! THAT’S RIGHT!” Suddenly Ayame’s eyes watered and the perfect wibble graced the little spazz’s face. “Nii-samaaaaa!!! Sylvie-nee-sama is a big fat (ok maybe not fat) meanie-butt! Did you know? Did you know? She’s got me my own personal stalker!” The princess wailed whilst still on the ground. “Just because I had some fun with some terrorists…you agree with me, right? She’s being overly paranoid? Ne?” Ayame looked up at Euric with big, hopeful eyes. Yeah! Euric was a fellow spazz! Surely he would see her side of the story…no way he would side with Sylvie…right? Ayame’s eyes glanced behind her. “Oy. Homo-Homo-kun. D’ya think you could get off me now? Game’s over. I told you I’ll bake you cookies. “

She raised a quizzical eyebrow. “Or do you not want the free brownie?”

[Eriol Mitagar]

A fake pout appeared on the knight's face as he was denied the propositioned date without so much as a second thought. "Well, I suppose cookies would be fine. Although I would have rather preferred a date with-" Eriol stopped mid-sentence as a voice from a short distance away surprised him.

"...Just what do you think you're doing there, mister?"

All the blood drained out of his face as his gaze slowly fell upon the first prince. His senses and body all felt numb as he could feel the icy gaze of the prince's piercing through his heart. He was vaguely aware of the princess whining and whimpering beneath him. The teen managed to snap him back to reality quickly enough though.

“Or do you not want the free brownie?”

Face still rather pale, the knight literally freaked out, sprang from the girl's back, and stood a few feet away from her. Eriol raised his arm and bowed respectfully to the prince. Surprisingly, he managed to speak without his voice cracking in the slightest. After all, his heart was racing and he feared the worst punishment.

"Your highness!" he called still bowing. "You have my deepest most sincere apologies. I was merely doing as her highness had instructed. Had I but known that she may have been harmed from, as she put it, 'a little game she liked to play with friends'. I would have never engaged in such an activity. I accept whatever punishment you deem necessary for me, your highness."

It felt weird speaking in such a way to the first prince, but he feared for his life and did not dare risk saying something offensive. Especially by using the slang he was so fond of. Not to mention, if his former superior heard him speaking other than the way he did just now, well, the first prince would have been the least of his worries. Eriol remained slightly bowed as he waited for the prince's reply.

[Euric Qi Britannia]

Euric kept simply staring at the other man. He had noticed her wince, but everything following did indicate she was alright, so...
"-AH! THAT’S RIGHT! Nii-samaaaaa!!! Sylvie-nee-sama is a big fat (ok maybe not fat) meanie-butt! Did you know? Did you know? She’s got me my own personal stalker!”
...well, more or less.
"...own personal stalk-" Euric trailed off more like thinking out loud, his eyes moving from Ayame back to the man, the realization hitting him the next second. Oh. Slightly he lifted an eyebrow. Well, that was a nice way of putting it. So this was the man, the chosen Knight. But... A spontaneous smile had began to yank the corner of his mouth. ...Homo-Homo-san?

The moment it dawned upon him, the moment the man sprang off from his half-sister. And he seemed very much frightened, which did surprise the prince a bit. In case the man had been at something dubious, though Euric had had every intention of not to let him escape the consequences, he hadn't really meant to scare the crap out of him, bu-
Your highness!"
-t, oh, of course, there was always that jazz to be included into everything...
"You have my deepest most sincere apologies. I was merely doing as her highness had instructed. Had I but known that she may have been harmed from, as she put it, 'a little game she liked to play with friends'. I would have never engaged in such an activity. I accept whatever punishment you deem necessary for me, your highness."
But already as the man spoke about the 'little game as she had instructed', a small smile which had already infiltrated the prince's face now grew wider before a slight, hearty laughter escaped his lips.
"Calm, knight - if this is about flytackle football then I'm very sorry to have misunderstood your position here. Calm down - I'm not going to eat you or anything." The knight still looked a bit pale, so he gave him a more serious look, in assurance for him to forget any penalties.
"Really. I won't."

Turning to face his sister then, he knelt beside her to help her up. Her eyes so trustful, so sure he would side with her no doubt, stung him even if he was only partially involved. But that partially was enough. He had agreed with Sylvana - and here stood the result in the form of 'a personal stalker'. But no matter what, Euric wouldn't even begin to go there and lie to his sister - half or not.
"Perhaps a bit paranoid... But she's not completely without reason. I've merely discussed with her about it, and I see her basis for nominating you a... knight. All I can but say that I understand your annoy, but can't really argue with Sylvana here."
He laid his hand on her shoulder, smiling a bit apologetically.
"I hope you could try to see her end as well. I'm sure you'd manage well enough by yourself, that I have no doubt of, but I'm not that sure about her...", he lowered his voice as well as leaning a bit closer to her, "I haven't seen her that torn since your mother passed... I don't want her to suffer like that ever again."
Then straightening himself back from the lean, he brushed her back reassuringly, keeping a moment of silence, before braking it himself.
"Well, so to speak, I share your boat - there's a high chance I'll have my own Knight soon enough... We'll just have try and live with them now. Okay?"
He let the smile return.
"Play lots of flytackle football with him - and tell Sensei my regards that any outdoor sport is just good for you. You'll need good lungs to breath in all those gowns and whatnot, now don't you?"