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Ai swiftly placed her hands over her mouth, feeling regretful of her words as she recalled the events that led to the change of her Knight’s name from Jarit to Michael.
After he had been stabbed at the orphanage, she had thought he was dead, but by some good fortune, he survived. When he awoke, after many days of lying unconscious, it seemed like he had been born anew, and the princess had the new name ready.
Calling his old name was tantamount to reminding him of the past in which he was a nameless soldier identified as Jarit because of his strength and physical prowess.
"Forgive me, princess," the knight said seriously.
"No, Michael, I beg your pardon. I should not have said it. Just, you were so provoking, and I became out of patience with your cool manners. I know you have long abandoned that name, but I have been so dim-witted to use it to offend you. I shiver whenever I recall that incident that led to the change of your name, and I cannot believe my foolishness. Do forgive me, please."
"That incident is almost seven years past. Do you not forget?"
“I wish I would, but I daresay I never shall, for you almost died..."
"I am very much alive, and you should be sorry I am for I have been naught but a nuisance to you." His smile had returned but at a cost.
"You must know that I do not find your words at all amusing. I will admit that the past few days of you following me everywhere have been very wearisome, but I should not know what I would do if you died. Oh, you must not die!" She insisted with a passion that caused the man to smirk.
"I have no intention to. I have the mind to remain alive and be a nuisance to you all the days of your life."
"Provoking tease! You are just as bad as Nathan!" She scoffed and turned in a huff towards her destination.
"Now, Your Highness, you insult me, comparing me to that puppy!" he responded, following behind her. “I see no reason you should continue on this long path since you have quite failed in your attempt to escape me.” Ai stifled a giggle at his words but turned towards the correct path with her head raised high.
After the woeful orphanage incident, her allegiant guard survived thanks to the almost immediate arrival of her father and his soldiers on the scene after he lost consciousness.
She discovered that it was Nathan who had divulged her secret to Michael and her father but had been obliged to forgive him when he explained that her young guard had bullied the information out of him.
Michael had overheard some drunken men discuss a scheme against her the previous day but had not ascertained it, till he discovered from Nathan that she was indeed at the location of the plot. He had ordered Nathan to inform the king about it, whilst he went ahead to save her, hence their arrival on the scene, some minutes after the battle.
Her hero had remained unconscious for many days, and she sat at his side for most of her waking hours, reading aloud to him, as she did before the incident. Her face was therefore the first he beheld when he opened his eyes, and she had been so overjoyed that she forgot propriety and threw herself upon him weeping tears of joy. In his unconscious days, she had enough time to think up a 'befitting’ name for him.
Michael.
The warring archangel of the Almighty God. No name suited him better. She had called him by the name after pulling herself from his chest, and he nodded with immediate understanding. His quick wit became a point of her amazement and amusement in the period that followed.
It took several months before he was perfectly healed and within that time, he became known by the name, Michael. He was made to remain within the palace and slowly struck a friendship with herself and Nathan. However, unlike Nathan, he never forgot the formality of their ranks, and although the princess gave him freedom to ensure they were as informal as they could be, he remained rigid.
After he was fully recovered, he was knighted by her father with the title ‘Royal Protector of the Ore Princess.’
Ai heaved a sigh as she arrived at the royal door of the elegantly designed throne room where she was to judge a case between two entitled nobles. All present, including several soldiers and court officials, bowed to her.
Michael took his place beside her as she sat on the throne-like chair prepared for her, beside the ones belonging to her parents. Although his duties were not usually imposing, he was under direct orders from the King to remain at her side for the duration of the Love Festival, which happened to end on the twenty-first anniversary of her birth.
Even when her father refused to admit it, Ai knew the main reason for the Love festival, coincidentally named after her was that she was entering the age of her majority. One thing he did not deny was that the ball, which was to be on the last day of the festival, and the anniversary of her birth, was specifically in her honour.
The princess gave the order for the case to begin and in a few moments, as she expected, she was resisting the strong urge to yawn as the two nobles before her bickered on.
She wished her father would permit her to handle more interesting cases, like those from the commoners, but since he only thought her safe amongst the nobles, she was laden with the burden of settling the disputes of such conceited men.
These same egotistic men had the responsibility of settling the disputes of commoners, and Ai shuddered at the thought of how her people were treated.
"What do you say to this, your highness? The only thing that indicates the boundaries of our lands is that old map. My servants must have planted my crops on the part of the land he claims as his own. I cannot blame them, for no one, I assure you, looks at the map before they plant. Sir Marlow however, refuses to allow my crops to grow till harvest, after which I shall happily remove from his land." The middle-aged nobleman stated.
The princess was diverted by his balding head which was poorly covered by a wig. She wondered in amusement if it would fall off since it kept moving as the man continued gesticulating.
"Your Highness, it is only just that I claim that which is rightfully mine, regardless of who has used it. It is Sir Crita’s loss for not observing the map before encroaching on my land." The other noble scoffed in response, pulling her attention to him. He looked like his rival, with his bald head and heavily rounded gut. In her opinion, most of the lower-class nobles past their sixtieth summer bore similar features and she could hardly tell them apart.
“Your Highness, I do not deny that Sir Marlow owns the land. But it shall be most unjust to allow his serfs to reap the harvest of the labour of my men.”
“Shall it be just if my men were to destroy your crops?” This response from Sir Marlow only had the effect of angering his rival and it became a heated argument between them, that was only quelled when the princess lifted her hand. She knew if she let them bicker on, she would end up with a headache.
"May I see the map of your lands?" She asked, and without awaiting the consent of the nobles, a palace guard retrieved it and handed it to her.
Ai studied it with a frown, as she recognised the details on the parchment. A similar map lay in her study, but it outlined a land belonging to the throne. It was the one with which the complainant shared boundaries. A land her father had given her jurisdiction over, which she had been planning to use as a public field where the poor could glean from its food crops. She had gotten reports that a noble had encroached on the land and had been considering taking action to remove him.
Ai looked up from the map and at the two eager faces as they both anticipated her verdict. She considered addressing Sir Marlor’s encroachment but feared the look of displeasure she would receive in return.
Whenever she gave any unfavourable verdict, a look of disapproval always followed, leaving her feeling unwanted. All she desired was to be accepted by her people, but angering the nobles with strict and objective verdicts only seemed to put a gulf between her and that goal. She therefore always strived to maintain impartiality in such a way that left all parties pleased.
"Sir Marlow, I shall offer you double the equivalent plot that Sir Crita has encroached on, from the royal field that borders your land. This shall become a replacement for your land. This will be so on the condition that hedges be built around, to avoid further disputes." Ai was gladdened by the looks of approval following her offer.
What the men did not know, was that she only intended to give Sir Marlow the part of the land he already occupied. She indicated to one of the officials how the borders would be divided on the map. Although Ai was happy that she had avoided the displeasure of the men, the thought that such an agreement was detrimental to her plans which could benefit all of Ore’s citizens, especially the commoners, was difficult to bear.
"My knight shall see you to the palace gates and assign someone suitable to supervise this verdict," she announced, turning to Michael with a mischievous smile. She ignored the question in his eyes and rose from her seat. She was most certain that he had deduced her plans, but obeyed her order, nonetheless. The two nobles bowed, looking discomfited as Michael walked towards them, towering over them. His intimidating presence had an effect that made even the wealthiest nobles cower, especially with the widespread knowledge of his physical prowess.
As the men were led out of the throne room, Ai slipped out through the private backdoor designed for the royals to enter and exit the room. She resisted the urge to run, as the palace guards and servants bowed to her.
She could hardly contain her excitement at the chance to win the hide-and-seek game she had begun and forced the knight into. She had but a few minutes, before he came in pursuit of her, and she intended to have at least an hour out of his presence. Whilst she could not boast of outwitting him, she had found a way to escape him, using his weakness against him. One that made him never defy her orders in the presence of others.
His gallant allegiance.
