The Elven Princess and Her Knight

Lily paused for a moment. She had been lounging comfortably across several big satiny pillows, in the largest window nook of her tower. From here, she could see the misty sunset as it cast an orange haze over the gardens of wildflower below her window, and the distant mountains tipped in pink. Lily had been engrossed, reading a thick, leather-bound book with a scandalous sketch etched into the front cover. That is, until she had heard a sound from the hallway outside of her bedchamber. She waited to see if it came again. Then there it was, the definate echoing clamber of boots as they climbed the stone steps towards her chambers. She quickly sprung up from her comfortable position by the window and crammed the heavy book as deep under the cushions as she could push it. She then arranged the pillows to look at least somewhat more tidy, and ran to her vanity. Gazing at her reflection in the tall mirror before her, she noted the lopsided flowers entwined in her long pink curls of hair, and quickly pushed them back atop her head. She grabbed her lipstick and applied a fresh coat of pink to her soft round lips. Lily then wiped away the smudged mascara from under her deep amber eyes. The footsteps grew louder, and she could hear voices outside her door. She could not quite make out the identities of her visitors, but heard the deep and familiar response of the gaurd at her door, and knew there was no cause for alarm. Quickly twirling herself side to side in front of the mirror, she pulled at her soft, flowing pink garments to make sure they were draped perfectly over her tall, lithe elven figure. Lily then gave a quick flap of her sheer orange butterfly wings and simultaneously took a small leap, so that she drifted across her wide bedroom and onto the chair of her writing desk. Delicately, she picked up her quail feather pen, dipped it into her ink bottle, and drew a long line of letters across the parchment in front of her, which was already half full. The door opened. The Princess turned to face the door, and was not surprised to see the guard who had watched over her from childhood, a man of at least 4,000 elvish years, worn from battle and duty. His hair and beard had long turned silver and his left eye had been lost in a war long ago. Behind him stood her royal guardian, Nettle, the woman behind all affairs pertaining to her life as a princess. She was at least 2,000 years in age herself, and Lily had known her since birth. The third elf in the room, Lily did not recognize. He had long, wavy auburn hair that rested just past his shoulders. He was evidently strong, she could tell from his figure. And he was dressed head-to-toe in bright new silver armour. Normally, she would have immediately questioned why a stranger was brought to her most intimate place, her bedchambers, but the words got lost in her throat. She could feel a warm sensation creeping across her face and her chest was fluttering. "Does that sound good to you, Lily?" Lily snapped her head towards her Royal Gaurdian, Nettle. She realized that she was being spoken to, and had been asked a direct question, but had no idea what anyone was talking about. She hadn't caught a single word that had been said to her since they entered the room. "Sorry, yes. That sounds good to me." She replied, with no idea what she was agreeing to. "Good. Then we will be leaving you two." Nettle and her guard both turned to the door. "Wait, you're leaving him here?" "I knew it, you weren't paying any attention to me. Yes, Lily, he's your new guard." "Him? But... Cedar isn't retiring for at least another dozen moons. I'm not supposed to have a new guard." "As I was just explaining, there's an urgent matter that requires his knowledge and skills. Your new guard is going to have to start early." "But I don't-" she started to protest, but then stopped, when she realized the younger guard was watching her. His dark green eyes locked onto hers and she quickly turned away, feeling fresh blush spread across her face, and elsewhere on her body. "I.. Understand." She said as seriously as she could, staring directly at the floor to avoid anyone seeing how flustered she was. "Good. Quickly now, this matter is urgent, and it will take you at least a moon to travel, essentials have already been packed-" Nettles voice cut off abruptly as the door slammed behind her and the old guard. The echoing steps of The Princesses attendants quickly faded, but no noise rose to replace it. The Princess stood, awkwardly looking down and clutching at her skirt, until she remembered where she was. "So!" She said enthusiastically and looked up. But her new guard was already across the room from her, standing beside the door. He spoke for the first time "I believe I'm to stand guard outside your door?" Lily could only nod enthusiastically in agreement, and the guard slipped out the door and shut it promptly behind him. Lily flung herself on top of her massive bed and sank slowly into the fluffy feather bedcover. "Uuughhh" she moaned face down into a pillow, venting her frustration. She flipped over onto her back and rested her arms above her head in defeat. The sun had almost fully sunken bellow the mountains, and most of her candles remained unlit. His name! She thought to herself, I don't even know his name. Not one thing about him. Oh, besides that he's.. Tall and handsome and.. Just thinking about the way he looked made her blush all over again. She could feel warmth between her legs and tried to ignore it. She pulled a pillow up to her face, bent over and let out a muffled cry. Jumping off the bed, Lily floated over towards her dressing room and threw off her thin pink gown. She pulled on a long cotton nightdress, tugged the flowers from her hair one by one and then sighed. Slowly making her way back across the room, she rubbed her finger tips over the wicks of several candles, and one by one, they magically sprang to life. She got back onto the pile of silk pillows at her windowsill, grabbed the largest nearby blanket and fumbled around for the book she had been reading just before she was interrupted. She found her book, and the last light of day dipped below the horizon. What a weird day, she thought to herself and blew a strand of pink hair off her face. First, I was dismissed early from my duties in the throne room. A farmer came in to discuss problems affecting his crops, and the room grew quiet, before I was abruptly escorted out. Lily shivered, remembering the cold feeling of that room, I know my Father is protective of me, but to keep me out of Kingdom Affairs? What could possibly be going on? She gazed out her window, at the stars slowly flickering into place, Now, Cedar is being called far away from me, suddenly, at least three full seasons before he is due to officially retire. She sighed. There were troubles throughout the Kingdom, sure. However, they were living in a time of peace. She decided maybe it was better not to let her imagination run wild with the possibilities of what could be happening. Glancing down at the leather book resting firmly on her thighs, she remembered why she had returned to the windowsill. She opened her book and flipped back through the pages to find where she was. OH. Right. Lily remembered what she had been reading. The story was of a maiden from a small village, kidnapped by a dragon, and a knight questing to rescue her. However when he gets to the lair of the dragon, he find a harem of men and women who have been enslaved by the dragon as entertainers for him. Serious stuff. Sexy stuff. The type of book that she was definately not supposed to have, but that one of her friends had sneaked to her. She was back in a particularly steamy scene between the knight and some maiden and.. She started imagining the knight in the book a little like the one outside. She was enjoying the book, drooling slightly, when a slight moan escaped her. The knight at her door peeked inside. "Everything OK, my Princess?" he asked earnestly. Lily blushed from head to toe "I was just going to bed! Please don't disturb me any more!" "Sorry, my Princess" he said, and softly shut the door. Lily sighed and slammed her book shut, deciding maybe some sleep was the best idea for now. In the morning, she decided, she would have a clear mind, and be able to think about the situation more clearly. That night, she dreamt of dragons and maidens, and a knight in silver armour.