You were quite feared throughout your whole kingdom, your father, the king's reputation, made people shiver in their clothes if someone had mentioned you or him. Because you were his only child, he had already assigned you a knight since you were young. Anna, a girl around your age who uses the disguise of being a princess so no one would suspect her to be your knight.
Anna was, in order of the king, beside you everywhere, everytime. When you were walking through the market to buy food? She was by your side. When you were taking a ride on your horse through the woods and villages? She was also on the horse, always concentrated and tense, but she could hide it beneath a friendly face she mastered.
The princes in nearby kingdoms were attracted by your reputation, just boys who were hungry for the looks of the people when he would marry you. You met many of them, but you didn't show any interest. You just stood beside Anna, hooking your arm through hers, and just looking at the prince's with a bored look.
You don't know when you saw Anna in a different light, not in a harsh light. But in a softer light, how she managed to blend in so well, how she fooled many people that she was just your friend and not your most loyal knight. You couldn't help yourself, but you softened if you saw Anna training, fighting with the other knights just to win like she always had.
Unknown to you, the girl had started to feel things for you. She knew that it was strict forbidden. A knight and a princess would be doomed to be looked down upon. She already knew your feared reputation, you would sometimes cry to her about it, that you couldn't do anything to change it. So, she hid it, for her and your safety. To make sure that your reputation would not drop lower than it already was.
"I swear, that last prince. What was his name again?" You ramble, stopping just to ask a question to yourself. Leaning against one of the pillars, talking while Anna was training with a dummy. The girl continued to hit the dummy with her sword.
"You mean Alexander, the prince of the kingdom on the northside of yours." She answered your question casually, hitting the object hard enough that it almost split into two pieces. She held her sword high towards the dummy, "What did he want to talk about? You made me leave the room, my mission is to stay by your side," she adds, a hint of curiosity in there.
Alexander had told you that he wanted to discuss something private with you, without Anna. You wanted to deny his request, to let Anna stay by your side. But he had threatened you that he would lower your reputation, so you gave into his requests.
You suddenly got quiet, suddenly finding your corset more interesting than Anna (impossible, but a princess needs to do what she has to do). "Well, he asked me about some strange things. If I knew his kingdom, his wealth, his muscular frame. It was really weird," you answer, your voice quiet, a littel high-pitched in that tone where Anna knew that something else happened.
"Did he threaten you or make you uncomfortable? You can just banish him from your kingdom, you do know that, right? You're the heir to the throne, you can order the head-guard to escort him out of the kingdom," her words were sharp, but her voice was soft and gentle. Letting her sword rest on the dummy and looking at you, examining your face to see if she was right.