The Prince's Knight

One servant took care of Taiga's clothes, the other one of his hair. The hair that had to be cut again soon, but only in the front as he liked the long stands in the back, which were now curly through the help of the skilled servant.

“You're dismissed,” Taiga said as he looked into the mirror with a nod. He liked his clothes, a lot actually. High leather boots, a tail coat in gray and a white shirt with a little bit too much going on around his neck area. Being able to choose what to wear every single day wasn't something commoners could do, he was aware of that. But as he was a nobility, he had everything he needed. Well, almost everything. With a sigh he moved to the door, two knights already waiting to escort him to the great hall. 

Their steps echoed in the empty corridors of the castle, paintings and torches to their left and right. At the last moment Taiga gulped down a sigh. The moment he would show even a little bit of discomfort, the knights would let his father know. It wasn't like he wasn't feeling well, he was feeling overprotected. 

Just a few years ago he rode on his horse alone to the villas of his family members and acquaintances all over the city and even outside of it and then war fell upon the countries around them, before they had to fight for their own border protection.

One greedy country was trying to force its leadership over the others. Old borders and fallen kingdoms driving their mad king into the mindset of needing it all back.

Something that wouldn't happen, not under the leadership of Taiga's father at least. Who knew when Taiga needed to take over. He was aware and ready for his responsibilities, but he couldn't deny that he wasn't afraid, as he had stood in the presence of death once already. 

Since then his family had put him under house arrest, to his own protection of course. But exactly that lonely time inside the castle was driving him crazy, after two years of the same empty corridors. 

The great hall was empty, one of the knights telling him that his father was speaking to the council. A meeting Taiga had been present at before. While he had already started his combat training as well. He hadn't been the best at sword fighting and he had disliked the heavy armor immediately, but now he wasn't even training anymore. In his own castle he felt like a puppet, being put up as decoration, until it was time to be taken out of the glass cabinet. Until that day, Taiga had nothing better to do than walk the castle and at least the inner yard was also something he was allowed.

The sunlight felt great after a full week of rain, making Taiga's time inside the castle even worse. But now more movement was inside the walls of the castle again. Knights, servants and carriages filling the inner yard. 

How much Taiga wanted to talk to them, hear the news from the frontline and engage in normal daily activities. He couldn't even walk up to the servants who were bringing in the harvest, because the knights with him would immediately make them feel taken aback. As if they were all assassins they were treated as a threat to Taiga, making everyone eye him from afar, not a single person daring to walk up to him. Until one person actually did. Another knight, he had just arrived with others, after the escort of a carriage.

“Hey,” the young and tall knight said, directly facing Taiga who gave him a questioning look, especially because the other one didn't seem to feel threatened by the other knights immediately stepping almost in front of Taiga.

“Hey?” Taiga replied, not really knowing what to say to such an unusual greeting.

“You seem like someone from this castle, do you know where, ehm, I can find a privy in these walls?”

“A…what?” Taiga asked so confused that he made the other one look back at him in the same confusion. He looked up to his own knights, one of them leaning over to whisper in his ear.

“Oh,” Taiga said on the other one's explanation. “You can find one next to the stables I think.” 

“Thank you so much!” The knight took off his helmet and smiled at Taiga before he leaned closer to him, making the other two knights eye him carefully once more. “It's not easy to find breaks to pee when on such a long ride, you know? And I thought inside your walls just using a corner is definitely not the norm.”

The knight let out a laugh on his own words as he backed off, but Taiga still kept looking at him. The young man was definitely younger than him, but his tall build made him look older while wearing his helmet. 

“Knight,” Taiga called out for him before he had completely turned away. The one in question turned back to him with a questioning yet soft smile. “Tell me your name.”

The knight turned back to Taiga and his smile immediately turned wider, when he remembered his manners in front of the nobility and bowed. “Jesse.”

Taiga only nodded, while Jesse eyed the stables, Taiga following his look before he waved his hand. “You're dismissed.”

The way Jesse lifted his hand and voiced out a silent thank you, before he sprinted to the stables, had Taiga finally form a smile as well. In all these years inside the castle, not a single person had approached him this boldly. It was an encounter that had Taiga remain in the inner yard for longer, finding himself watching the knights and servants as they prepared the carriage for the night as those who had arrived were staying at the castle for a few days. Dukes and Barons from all over the country were arriving to give updates about the war.

***

Long talks over the next few days had Taiga remain in his room more than he liked, but while he was allowed to be part of diplomatic councils if he requested, he just didn’t feel like getting updated about a war, he himself could do absolutely nothing about while being stuck in the castle in the first place.

It would take a few more days until everyone was going to leave the castle, but all these people gathered finally gave Taiga a glimpse of freedom as the focus of the knights lay on the surroundings of the castle now, instead of the inside. So late at night Taiga finally left his room, roaming the corridors without people watching his every step.

The cool night air made Taiga take a deep breath inside the inner yard, yet he had to be careful, because this was where the knights were on patrol as well. Instead of trying to walk around in the open too much, Taiga tried his luck with some of the upper walkways between the balconies, knowing that as they had no connection to the outside wall, no knights would usually patrol them.

From their castle they couldn’t spot any fights or any borders. They were protected from all sides and while Taiga wasn’t in any way trained to be at the frontline, he had slowly lost his respect for his father and nobility in the first place.

“You’re all sitting in these walls, drinking wine, having talks and changing absolutely nothing,” Taiga said before letting out a sigh towards the moonlit night sky. “Yet I am the same hypocrite, sitting here with you, not able to make any changes either.”

“Unwilling to make changes is the better word,” a voice from the doorframe at the end of the corridor was heard and Taiga swirled around on the unknown voice and in an instant his eyes grew wide and he had barely a second to move when an arrow got shot at him. 

“GUARDS!” Taiga shouted down into the inner yard while dashing around the corner, trying to get some stone pillars into the other one’s aim. Yet he went down just seconds later, an arrow hitting him into the back of his shoulder and he stumbled, turning around with a hiss when the archer rushed after him, ready to draw another arrow.

Taiga cursed in his mind, cursing the wrong people and the wrong reasons. He wasn’t the one to blame for the war or any decision in it. Yet he also didn’t wish for the death of anyone else inside these walls, but if a revolution was what the people wanted then he was the wrong aim. Killing him would just fuel the hate and rage of the older leaders, giving them all right and reason to hunt those down, trying to bring their system to fall.

Unfortunately Taiga had no time to argue as he needed to get back up if he wanted to live. There was shouting and running inside the yard and the first arrows made it up towards them, but the archer stood too hidden and no one was going to be fast enough to make it up the stairs in time.

Without any weapons, Taiga tried to get back on his feet, but the moment another arrow got released towards him, he only fell back, pulling up his arms in front of his face like a coward. But then silence followed and with a pained expression after his own movement had caused his shoulder a huge amount of pain, Taiga opened his eyes again, flinching to the back when someone held the arrow in his hand, right in front of his face.

The knight’s hand was slightly bleeding as he had caught the arrow with his bare hand, but now he was getting up, stepping protectively in front of Taiga while the archer immediately drew another arrow, yet he couldn’t even put it in place as the knight drew a knife from his belt and precisely threw it at the other one. The assassin got hit, but avoided a deadly wound, yet the knight dashed after him when he tried to flee.

Taiga remained on the ground, watching everything from afar when the tall knight caught up to the other one and didn’t even have to unsheathe his sword, to bring the other one to fall. Instead of killing him, he just took away his weapons until other knights finally made it up to them and helped hold the intruder down. 

Some of them immediately helped Taiga, a healer already getting called to assist with Taiga’s injury, but he ignored all their worried questions as his look was still on the tall knight who had saved his life. The same knight who had just arrived at the castle two days ago. 

“Jesse,” Taiga immediately remembered his name as he wasn’t introduced to many new people over the years. But he didn’t get the chance to talk to the other one as his focus went back to the pain in his shoulder where the arrow was still stuck and the knights urged him to get to a healer.

***

Now Taiga's life had turned to an even tighter cage as the knights weren't just placed in the corridor anymore, but were also placed inside his room.

It was a ridiculous picture having two knights stand at his door, who could tell if they weren't assassins too? Right now no one could be trusted anymore. Taiga had gotten the update that the assassin had been a knight of one of the nobility members entering the castle. 

The arrow wound wasn't too bad, Taiga could still move his arm, even though he had to watch out with big movements as the wound had been sewed and bandaged, but the arrowhead had hit his shoulder blade so the bone would need some time to heal again.

His father had of course been furious, yet no one had come to talk to Taiga over the entire day. But in the morning of the second day he was called to the great hall, finding Jesse inside the hall together with the king and some council members.

Taiga felt excited to see the knight again, wanting to thank him for his selfless act, but when Taiga walked up to them, Jesse looked up to him with a kind of annoyed expression, but of course he immediately fixed it to a softer expression and turned around to bow at him.

“How are you feeling?” Taiga's father asked, making Taiga turn away from Jesse.

“Better, thank you. The wound is not too bad. Without Jesse the outcome would have been different.”

Jesse looked up on the mention of his name, obviously surprised that Taiga remembered his name.

“He indeed proved his loyalty to the kingdom,” the king spoke, but once more Jesse had to fight with his expression on that mention. “Which is why I ordered him to stay at your side.”

“As my guard in the castle?” Taiga asked, suddenly feeling excited, because he would finally have a knight at his side who seemed a lot easier to talk to than the king’s guard.

“You will not remain in the castle.”

“What?” Taiga asked in confusion.

“I have decided to send you away from the castle and the main city. Until this war has been settled, I want you to hide at a safer location.”

“But…what place could be safer than the castle?” Taiga tried to argue.

“Too many people still come and go, traitors unfortunately amongst us more than I hoped. So I need you to stay invisible for the time being.”

“Am I going to any of the villas?” Taiga asked curiously.

“All official places are out of question. You will live as a commoner outside of any big city for now, Jesse will accompany you on that task.”

“A commoner…what?” Taiga asked, turning towards Jesse once more, but the other one just remained neutral this time.

“It's for your own safety-”

“How is it safe to be out in the open with all those people?” Taiga asked, his voice showing irritation now. “There are thousands of people out there who could just kill me. One knight won't make a difference at that time. You didn't even let me keep training over the last two years, I can't even defend myself.”

“There will be no need for that as no one will know who you are. Jesse will make sure that you both travel as commoners, after discussing with the council I decided it was best to strip you completely of your identity for now.”

“I won't do that,” Taiga said sternly, shaking his head. “It was already tough enough to be left out of every official meeting and be treated like a prisoner in my own home. I won't run away from my responsibilities now.”

“You don't have any responsibilities yet, except the one to stay alive until it is your time to rule.”

“How am I supposed to know when that time has arrived if you send me out towards who knows where? How am I supposed to know how to rule if no one lets me learn? How-”

“Taiga, enough,” his father cut him harshly as Taiga was almost yelling by now. “This decision is final. You will get two weeks to heal your shoulder and in the meanwhile Jesse will prepare you for your departure. No discussion!”

Taiga bit his lip in anger, before he just turned around and walked out of the great hall with big steps. 

“You stay outside here!” Taiga warned the knights who kept following him around and while he was sure that the king had ordered them to not listen to Taiga's outbursts, they actually let him enter his room alone for now. He just needed a few minutes. Just a bit of time to comprehend what was going to await him.

With a shaking breath Taiga closed his eyes for a moment, stopping in the middle of his room. When he looked through his room he almost felt like laughing. 

“This is my rightful place,” Taiga hissed under his breath before he caught his own reflection in the big mirror in his room. How was he supposed to leave everything behind? He didn't know how to live a life outside these walls. He was ready to learn about his responsibilities as the heir to the kingdom, he was eager to fight and show the civilians that he could become a great king. It was laughable to think he could do so if he was forced to walk in their midst. Lower himself to those who should look up to him.

When Taiga made a step towards the mirror, the door opened and with an annoyed expression Taiga turned around. “Didn't I tell you to wait outside?”

“Unfortunately my orders lay with the king and not with you,” Jesse said as he entered alone, closing the door behind him and standing at the door without another word.

Taiga eyed him closely. He was in his armor, a sword and knife at his belt and while he had seemed irritated earlier, he was looking neutral now.

“Are you okay with my father's order?” Taiga asked straightforwardly.

“It's the king's order, I cannot refuse it.”

“Would you, if you could?”

“There is no meaning in answering what if questions. The decision has been made. I will make sure to have new clothes delivered to you soon and then I will teach you about the rules of our travel.”

“Rules?” Taiga asked, not being amused by Jesse's serious attitude. He liked him more when he was carefree and a bit too bold. “A knight teaching a prince. Laughable.”

Jesse’s look changed a bit on Taiga's outraged behavior and the step he made away from the door made Taiga step to the back a bit.

“If my presence annoys you that much, then please ask the king for another companion for your travels,” Jesse said before he bowed and opened the door. “If you change your mind, I will be back in the evening to prepare you for this challenge.”

Taiga just watched when the door fell shut and then he let out an annoyed sound, stomping his foot on the ground. 

He hated the way no one was open and honest with him. He wanted someone to take his anger, to yell together with him or even at him. Everyone handling him with kit gloves wasn't helping his mood at all.

Another wave of anger made him snatch his brush from the table and lift it up, aiming for the mirror, but at the last moment he stopped himself from throwing it. 

“This is ridiculous,” Taiga growled before he threw the brush to the ground instead and walked over to his bed, throwing himself into the sheets, letting out a muffled scream into the pillows. 

“A challenge, right,” Taiga repeated Jesse's words. It sounded ridiculous at first, but the more he calmed down, the more he felt like seeing it as a challenge was maybe the only way for him to go through with this, because no matter his status, the king's order was final, even for him.

***

Jesse seemed more than surprised to see Taiga waiting for him sitting on the carpet of his room in the evening.

“I see you have already adjusted to your role,” Taiga said on Jesse's change of appearance. He wasn't in armor anymore. Normal cotton clothes made him look a lot thinner now. 

“My life hadn't been much different from that of a commoner until I became a knight,” Jesse said as he casually sat down in front of Taiga on the carpet and put another change of clothes in between them. “Yet I wonder why we’re having this conversation on the carpet?”

“I need to adjust as well, right?”

“Do you think commoners do not own chairs and tables?” Jesse asked with a raised eyebrow.

Taiga pouted on the other one’s words, before he looked back at the cotton clothes the other one was wearing.

“Interesting, a knight is usually born into nobility. Are you telling me that you are not nobility?” Taiga changed the topic.

“I am indeed not,” Jesse replied. “At least I wasn't born into nobility. It wasn't easy to become a knight and yet I prefer a fierce battle over this.”

Something changed on Jesse's face at his own words, before he fixed his expression to something more positive as he pushed the clothes over to Taiga.

“Commoners do not wear silk or embroidery on their clothes. Leather and cotton are what will give you a low profile.”

Taiga touched the clothes and lifted up the shirt, giving it a scanning look. Just touching the rough fabric made him form a grimace and to his surprise he heard Jesse chuckle and when he moved the shirt down to look at the other one, Jesse tried hard to hide a smile.

Instead of reacting to the other one, Taiga moved on to touch the trousers and the belt. The boots weren't too bad, but after he put everything back down he let out a sigh.

“How many changes of clothes will we carry?”

“Change of clothes?” Jesse asked with raised eyebrows.

“These clothes will stink after at least two days if we have to walk and unfortunately I am not hopeful enough for a horse and I usually change daily and take at least one bath a day to not stink like the pigs in the yard.

Jesse's stunt expression had Taiga look at him questioning, waiting for the other one to answer.

“We won't have any spare clothes. Maybe a second shirt. Commoners usually don't carry any spare clothes on travels. If needed we will buy new ones on the market or trade for some.”

“You're kidding,” Taiga let out scandalized, pointing at the cotton clothes. “I can just wear one of the bags used for the cow's food, they will smell the same after a few days.”

"If you prefer that?” Jesse asked, but couldn't keep a serious expression after a moment and while Taiga was about to pout, he also enjoyed the other one's open attitude a lot more than the way he had behaved this morning around the king. 

“Fine," Taiga said as he got up, but then stopped, looking at Jesse. “Are you going to help me?”

“With what?”

“Changing into these hideous clothes.”

“You can't do so yourself?” Jesse asked in confusion. 

“I-” Taiga wanted to argue, yet he actually felt a bit embarrassed for the first time. “Fine, I'll do it myself.”

How was he supposed to challenge himself with this if he couldn't leave even the simplest luxury behind.

It look him a ridiculous amount of time to get out of his tail coat and button up shirt, not to forget his laced boots and he let out a long sigh when he threw the boots into the next corner.

“Your clothes look seriously uncomfortable,” Jesse dared to say.

“The tail coat was embroidered in the far east, the golden yarn used for it cost more than your entire armor.”

“I didn't say it didn't look expensive,” Jesse said as he got up and took the trousers from the ground, holding them out towards Taiga. “Do you want me to step outside while you get changed?”

“What a weird thing to ask,” Taiga said, tilting his head. He just got out of his trousers and under shirt too before he grabbed the new trousers from Jesse.

“Aren't you used to changing in front of other knights too?” Taiga asked while he pulled the new shirt over his head, immediately hating the feeling of the rough fabric on his skin.

“We are absolutely used to it, but I wasn't sure how you feel about a stranger in the same room while changing clothes.”

“Trust me, I usually have at least four people around me while I change or take a bath. So I guess I mastered one thing about being a commoner already?”

The proud way Taiga asked made Jesse smile and finally Taiga also showed a brief smile as well, before he tucked on his own clothes. “Well then, show me how a commoner would fix this disaster of a fabric,” Taiga said with the shirt now hanging way too lose from his shoulders without the belt and the straps around the neck part not fastened. 

Jesse stepped closer to help Taiga with at least that part as he wasn't at all used to the clothes. Taiga looked at the other one's hands while he fastened the straps around his wrists and collar before he put the belt around Taiga's hips, making sure that the shirt fitted the right way.

“All done,” Jesse said as he looked down at Taiga, the prince looking up at him in a curious way, making Jesse immediately step back.

Taiga walked over to the mirror and looked at his own unfamiliar appearance. “Well, I still think they will stink horribly, but they don't look as hideous as I thought.”

“I am certain that any clothes fit you well,” Jesse said. “And we can still wash them in a river or lake on the way if needed. It's not like we have the luxury of a bath every few days.”

The way Taiga looked back at Jesse through the reflection of the mirror, made Jesse bite his lip, once more trying not to laugh. 

“I am certain that there are going to be dozens of unwanted news awaiting me on this travel, so I will just accept my fate for now, but I don't want to hear any complaints about any smells on this journey.”

“You will smell way worse things than yourself on this travel, that is for sure,” Jesse said and this time he failed horribly at hiding a laugh when Taiga turned back towards him with a scandalized expression.

Their journey was going to be everything but smooth, but Taiga hoped that he wasn't going to have an even worse time out there as he had in the castle over the last two years.

The disobedience in Taiga's eyes was clear to his father, yet he didn't change his mind and had them eventually leave after Taiga's shoulder had healed enough to travel on foot.

There were no long goodbyes as they left in the middle of the night without the king even letting anyone except the council members know about Taiga's departure.

“I already hate this,” Taiga complained after the castle was barely out of sight. 

“Which part?” Jesse asked, after he had become better at adjusting to Taiga's mood swings. 

“Everything,” Taiga said, throwing his arms in the air before he grabbed the straps of his bag with a click of his tongue. “The luggage is heavy, the clothes are itchy, my feet will hurt in no time and I can't see a thing.”

After a long sigh, Taiga looked at Jesse who was once again trying to not mock him. Something he had failed at several times over the past two weeks, but luckily Taiga had adjusted to that as well, instead of freaking completely at the knight.

“At least I have good company,” Taiga said, resulting in Jesse showing a brief smile.

“Look, not everything about your journey is bad then.”

“Where are we even heading?” Taiga asked. “And when will we take a rest and where?”

“Here,” Jesse said as he pulled out a map and handed it to Taiga, who took it with a judging look, but didn’t open it.

“What am I supposed to do with this?”

“Read it?”

“You could just answer my question, as my father seems to have put you as my watchdog, I guess I have to rely on you for tasks like this,” Taiga said as he held out the map towards Jesse, but the other one didn’t take it back.

“Here you are mistaken,” Jesse said, his look again seeming more serious. Taiga had realized that on certain topics the knight’s mood always turned gloomy.

“Then enlighten me about my mistakes,” Taiga said with a pouting expression.

“My orders are indeed to protect you, but also to make you invisible to the eye of the enemy. Which means you need to behave and act like a commoner and ordering someone around or not being able or willing to take care of yourself, will give you away immediately.”

“So if I get into trouble, will you just let me die?” Taiga asked, but to his surprise Jesse gave him a scolding look on his unnecessary outburst and he finally snatched away the map.

“First, you have to stop being so overdramatic all the time,” Jesse scolded him and he dared to raise his finger in front of Taiga’s face when they both stopped and Taiga got ready to argue. “No commanding me around, no high and mighty attitude and try to let go of that fancy vocabulary of yours.”

Taiga was left speechless when Jesse kept walking, but then he stomped his foot to the ground before he hurried after the other one.

“I am not using fancy vocabulary.”

“Right, then what would you tell a person in the next village how to address you?” Jesse asked.

“As my lord of course.”

Jesse threw his head to the back with a long sigh, Taiga walking half in front of him with an annoyed look. “What? You are addressing me like that as well.”

“Not anymore,” Jesse argued.

“Then how do you address me?”

“As Taiga,” Jesse said, his simple words making the other one slow down once more, looking at Jesse almost scandalized. 

“Only my family is allowed to address me by my first name.”

“I feel like I have been talking to a wall for two weeks,” Jesse whispered under his breath while massaging the space between his eyes.

“Then how do I address you?” Taiga asked, not having heard Jesse luckily.

“Jesse, as simple as that,” the other one replied.

“Jesse,” Taiga repeated. “Not Knight Jesse?”

“No.”

“Sir Jesse?”

“No.”

“But-”

“Just Jesse,” Jesse cut the other one. “Just you and me. Just Taiga and Jesse. Two commoners and no we will not use our surnames, because as I have explained to you before, a lot of commoners don’t even have surnames.”

“Fine,” Taiga finally gave up and they walked in silence for a few minutes.

“But what if-”

“NO,” Jesse replied way too loud for their quiet surroundings. “No, Taiga. No special treatment whatsoever.”

Instead of being annoyed, Taiga’s look brightened up a bit and Jesse gave him a worried side glance. “I hope you are not the type I have to worry for the most when they are smiling?”

“I just found it weird to hear you calling me by my first name this demanding,” Taiga said as he walked ahead with his hands on his back as if he hadn’t just complained all the time about the heavy luggage. 

“Weird? I’d say you look quite happy about it,” Jesse said as he walked after the other one.

“Maybe that is because everyone who used my first name until now, usually did so only to scold me or order me around? No one else would ever dare to address me like that after all.”

“Not that I haven't just scolded you,” Jesse whispered once more. “I wouldn’t have addressed you the way I did on our first meeting if I had known who you were,” Jesse added, lost in his thoughts, but of course Taiga looked at him curiously. “I mean, I knew you were nobility, but I didn’t know you were the prince.”

“Why would you have behaved differently? All nobility should be treated with respect by those of lower ranks.”

The other one’s sudden silence had Taiga tilt his head, but then he shrugged his shoulders. “I didn’t mind the way you addressed me though. It was bold, but I quite enjoyed it.”

“So easily satisfied,” Jesse said, a small smile finding its way on his lips.

“There is nothing else interesting happening in the walls of the castle after all. But instead of getting sent away from it, I wished I would have been sent to the frontline instead.”

“The frontline? Not to sound rude, but from what I have heard from the king, you are not trained for battle.”

“Exactly,” Taiga said, anger rising in his voice.”How am I supposed to lead an army, a war or even an entire country, if I hide instead of fighting with them in this war? They won’t respect me when I take over. They will point fingers and call me a coward.”

This time it was Jesse who was left speechless as he slowed down a bit and Taiga gave him a worried look. “Did I say something weird?”

Jesse slowly shook his head before he showed a bright smile. “Not at all. You actually said something not just every knight, but also every commoner and farmer of this country would be extremely happy to hear. So keep that ambition and maybe one day you will understand that this path will teach you way more than any battle could ever teach you.”

***

“How much further is the river?” Taiga asked when they had reached a mountain path in the morning hours after only taking a few breaks in between to sit down and rest.

“You could tell if you read the map,” Jesse challenged the other one, but once more Taiga refused to take it. By now he was exhausted and irritated, so he tried to keep talks to a minimum.

“I doubt we will miss it, so let’s just keep moving,” Taiga eventually said as he kept walking up the steep path, soon giving up on walking faster as he was way too exhausted by the incline and after a few corners he stopped.

“If you ask me now to carry you over it, then let me tell you no right away,” Jesse said when he looked at the muddy path in front of them. It had turned colder the higher they had moved and a few days ago it had definitely snowed in this area, leaving the path in a muddy and ice melting state.

“Good for you that I have too much pride to let myself get carried,” Taiga complained and kept walking with way too confident steps onto the uneven ground.

“True words,” Jesse teased and while Taiga got ready to snap at the other one, his try to turn around, ended with him slipping and landing face first on the muddy ground. Usually Jesse would have laughed, but he hadn’t missed Taiga’s hiss when he had hit the ground.

“Are you okay?”

“I am fine,” Taiga complained and tried to get back up, pulling away the weight from his right foot immediately. “Let’s keep going.”

Taiga indeed tried to just keep walking, slower this time, watching where he was stepping, but just after a few steps he couldn’t hide the pain in his right ankle. It wasn’t too bad, he could still kind of walk, but the more pressure he put on it, the more he had to slow down.

“Are you sure that you’re alright?” Jesse asked while walking behind the other one. “Or are you just too proud to say that you’re not?”

“You said to not rely on you, right? Then yes, I am fine,” Taiga hissed over his shoulder before he murmured some curses to himself while he kept going until the ground finally started getting steadier again.

With a sigh Taiga stopped for a moment, but then his bag was suddenly taken from his shoulders and he got ready to complain when Jesse threw it over his own shoulder, but before he could even let out anything, Jesse had stepped closer and lifted Taiga from the ground.

“What are you doing? Let me down,” Taiga immediately complained, but had to throw one arm behind Jesse’s neck if he didn’t want to get accidently dropped by the other one.

“You should rely on others when it is necessary,” Jesse explained while he started moving, ignoring Taiga’s death glare towards him. “If we don’t reach the river by noon, then we won’t be at the next village by nightfall and while I am more than okay with sleeping outside in the woods, I wonder if you prefer the woods or getting carried instead to be faster?”

Of course Taiga was ready to complain, but for the first time he didn’t have any valid argument. He indeed did not desire to sleep on the forest ground for the next night, but he also didn’t want to be seen by anyone like this.

“You can carry me until the river, then I will walk the rest of the way to the village,” Taiga announced.

“Yes, my lord,” Jesse teased, knowing that here he could still tease him with that kind of title.

It still took them a while towards the river, but finally the path had become even and Jesse didn’t have much trouble carrying Taiga the remaining way. 

“I will make a fire so that we can wash and dry our clothes. In the meanwhile you should put your foot into the river for a while,” Jesse said as he got out of his own shirt as it was now dirty as well after carrying Taiga.

“What if anyone comes by?” Taiga asked, looking up to the mountain path, which was a bit up the hill behind some trees.

“Weren’t you the one who said he is comfortable with people being around when changing or taking a bath?”

“Around civilized people, yes,” Taiga said, but then he immediately fell silent. His anger about this forced journey shouldn’t be taken out towards those he will meet on this path, he didn’t want to be that kind of person. So eventually Taiga took his clothes off, luckily having at least a pair of braies to wear while he put his foot into the cold water of the river.

Jesse was taking care of the fire and hanging up the clothes after Taiga had made sure to wash his own clothes by himself. 

“This might be your last chance for a bath for a while,” Jesse said as he walked up to Taiga and got out of his remaining clothes, leaving Taiga to look towards the river instead until Jesse had made it up until his hips into the river.

“It’s too cold,” Taiga said, finally looking back at the other one. Jesse was feeling cold too, it was obvious. Taiga could spot the goose bumps on his arms and chest and when he realized that he was staring at the other one way too much, he looked down at his own legs instead.

“Have you seen scars from the battlefield before?” Jesse asked as he carried several sword and arrow marks on his upper body. 

“A few,” Taiga said, intuitively putting his hand up to his shoulder.

“Do you not want scars on your own body?” Jesse asked while he kept moving closer again.

“It’s not like I can erase them, but they are not from a fight, I am not proud of them.”

“Neither am I of mine,” Jesse said to Taiga’s surprise.

“Aren’t scars seen as something brave amongst knights? A sign of willpower and courage, at least that is how nobility speaks about them.”

“That is because they don’t carry the haunting memories of getting them. One scar on my body, means a lost life for someone else. It is nothing to be proud of.”

Taiga had never thought of it that way and he fell silent for a moment, giving the knight’s words a deep thought. When he looked up again, Jesse was almost right in front of him, only his feet left inside the water.

“How is your foot?”

“It’s fine,” Taiga said in a hurry and pulled his foot back before Jesse could reach out for it and he hurried to get up. “I will check on the clothes. Until they are dry you can stay here.”

Taiga didn’t dare to turn back while he moved over to the fire, taking his shirt to hold it closer to the fire so it would dry faster. 

“This entire journey is such a stupid idea,” Taiga whispered to himself while he caught himself looking over his shoulder once more. Jesse was now back in the river, actually daring his way out more and going under water for a moment before he broke through the surface, throwing his head a bit to the back, the water flying in a circle motion from his hair. 

The way Taiga kept looking at the other one made him feel embarrassed once more. But while he felt the warmth crawling up his cheeks, he was also weirdly feeling heat increase around his hand and when he turned back to the fire, he jumped up with a gasp.

“Damn it,” Taiga yelled as the shirt in his hand had caught fire and he started waving it around, making the fire spread even faster. “No, no, no…”

Too far from the river and not able to run he cursed a few times while he tried to put the fire out, until he let the shirt drop to the ground, throwing the stones and sand from the riverbank over the burning fabric.

“That was close,” Taiga let out with a sigh when the fire was finally out.

“I would say it was hilarious to watch,” Jesse said as he walked up to him. “But also not really close, more than way too late.”

When Jesse pulled the shirt out from the sand, it already had lost an entire sleeve and had several holes. “Well, at least you tried and luckily I brought a spare one.”

Taiga felt embarrassed once more, not just through the fact that Jesse still wasn’t dressed, but also because he had ruined his clothes on the very first day of their trip. With a look to the ground he kept rubbing the side of his hand until Jesse pulled his hand towards him. 

“You burned yourself.”

“What?” Taiga asked as he hadn’t even realized in his panic to get the flames out. His hand was red, but the burn didn’t seem too bad. But to his surprise Jesse also moved his hand up to his long strands, which had caught on fire while Taiga had waved the shirt around in his panic, so the tips were now partly burned.

“And back to the river with you,” Jesse ordered him as he pushed him away from the fireplace. “I will make sure that the remaining clothes get dry and not burned, while you make sure that your hand doesn’t get as problematic as your foot.”

***

“There is one more thing I have to make you aware of,” Jesse said when they got ready to make it towards the next village before nightfall.

“I bet there are a thousand more things,” Taiga replied, knowing that he wasn’t in the slightest ready to even have a normal conversation with commoners.

“Your hair.”

“What?”

“Your hair is a bit too obvious.”

Taiga touched his long strands of hair, before he looked back at Jesse and immediately shook his head. “I will not cut it.”

“I can’t force you, but be aware that all eyes will be on you. It is hard to keep long hair clean and healthy if you’re working out in the fields or the forest.”

“Are there no jobs where it looks normal to have long hair? I doubt all women have short hair, do they?”

“Well, women wear their hair tied up or covered when they work in the fields,” Jesse explained.

“Problem solved,” Taiga said and moved his hands up to the back of his head, pulling the long strands up while only his short strands over his eyes and next to his ears remained in front. “Hand me a hair band.”

“Why would you think that I have a hair band on me?” Jesse asked with a raised eyebrow.

Taiga clicked his tongue, but didn’t withdraw his hand. “Then hand me whatever you have with which I can tie up my hair.”

Jesse started looking through his bag, but it wasn’t like he was equipped for something like this so eventually he took out a knife from his belt, but Taiga gave him a sceptical look.

“If you bring that too close to my hair, I will stab you with it.”

“I would like to see you try,” Jesse said honestly before he took out the half burner shirt and brought the knife down to the seam to cut a small thin line off, which he eventually ripped off. 

“Here,” Jesse said and held the fabric out to Taiga, who took it, but immediately let half of his hair fall again and after three tries of holding his hair up while trying to get the fabric around it he let out a displeased groan and looked at Jesse.

“You can ask, you know?”

“Ask for what?”

“Help?”

“Then help me.”

“Please?” Jesse added and didn’t move even though Taiga had held out the fabric towards him. “Remember that I am not your knight or servant right now.”

“Fine,” Taiga said, swallowing his pride with a long breath. “Would you mind helping me tie up my hair, please?”

“Sure,” Jesse immediately replied and took the fabric, stepping behind Taiga. “Keep your hands there.”

Jesse grabbed Taiga’s wrist to guide his hand to the position he wanted him to keep his hair at so that he had space to tie the hair up. Taiga didn’t complain, but he realized how he had unnecessary thoughts about the size of Jesse’s hand and how easily he had closed it around his entire wrist.

“All done,” Jesse said as he let go and clapped Taiga on the back, making the other one turn around to him with a warning look before he put his hands up to his high ponytail.

“Not that you look any less suspicious like this,” Jesse said, but then shrugged his shoulders and started moving. “If you ever feel like cutting it after all, just let me know.”

Just before sunset they reached a small village with a few dozen houses. Taiga knew of course how their villages looked, he had come through a lot of small villages and bigger towns by horse when he had been on travels to family members or other nobles. Years had passed since then and while not everyone had welcomed them nicely at that time either, Taiga felt even less welcome now.

“There is not enough food, people will not be welcoming to strangers in times of war,” Jesse explained. “Let me do the talking for now.”

Taiga didn’t complain when Jesse made sure that they had a place to stay for the night and he tried to ignore all the glares from the people coming in from the fields.

“Are you a girl or a boy?” 

The question came so out of nowhere that Taiga looked behind him with a confused expression before he looked down, finding a little girl next to him. 

“Do I look like a girl to you?” Taiga asked.

“Your hair makes you look like one, but your voice doesn’t sound like a girl,” the little girl in a slightly dirty cotton dress said with a small chuckle.

“Girls are beautiful, so I don’t mind looking like one,” Taiga said, making the girl grin from ear to ear.

“So am I beautiful?” She asked while turning around herself with her hands holding her dress so that it would move in circles with her until Taiga crouched down in front of her with a smile.

“Of course. You look like a little princess. Let that blonde hair of yours grow even longer and soon you might find yourself a prince.”

The girl squealed on the thought of finding herself a prince and she talked about how she wanted a horse or even better a unicorn and a huge castle later, but then her mother called her home as it was getting dark. Luckily the woman didn’t seem angered by Taiga talking to her and she only slightly bowed to him while the little girl waved at Taiga once more before she went inside.

“I did not expect you to be good with children,” Jesse said as he stepped next to Taiga.

“They are honest and easy to talk to.”

“Until their honesty will hurt you,” Jesse teased. 

“Her honesty was luckily a compliment,” Taiga replied with a lopsided smile.

“Oh? What did she say?”

“That I look like a girl.”

Jesse remained silent and raised an eyebrow while Taiga kept a smug expression.

“You are serious?” Jesse asked.

“Of course,” Taiga confirmed as he started walking down the main road of the village. “Girls are beautiful, aren’t they? They take so much time taking care of themselves. Their hair, their clothes, the choice of perfume. They have so much to think about to impress us and yet I find their determination impressive. They are naturally beautiful and still put so much effort into trying to be even more stunning.”

“So you think she said that, because…”

“She thinks I am beautiful,” Taiga confirmed with a nod while he put his hands on his back while walking, but Jesse grabbed his arm and pulled it back to the front, Taiga giving him a confused look.

“Don’t walk like a nobility.”

“Seriously?” Taiga complained, but tried to keep his arms neutral as he indeed had special lessons on how to walk with a good posture and it might not be the best place to show it off.

“So, was there ever a woman you thought of more beautiful than others?” Jesse casually asked while guiding the way to the place they were staying at for the night. The village was too small to have an inn, but luckily some villagers had offered a spare room.

“There was indeed.”

Taiga missed Jesse’s look over at him and while Taiga formed a bright smile, Jesse’s look darkened a bit on the other one’s words.

“She was the most beautiful woman in this kingdom. So elegant and also wise. The kindest soul I have ever met.”

“You said was?” Jesse dared to ask and Taiga slowly nodded before he looked up to the sky with a sigh.

“She passed away several years ago. A tough winter with too many illnesses going through the kingdom. I miss her a lot. But who wouldn’t miss their mother, right?”

There was some relaxation visible on Jesse’s face when Taiga clarified who he was talking about and he showed a smile before he nodded.

“Are your parents well?” Taiga asked.

“You are learning,” Jesse said instead.

“What do you mean?”

“Asking others questions, not making everything about yourself. I remember that a few weeks ago that was almost impossible for you,” Jesse said, but didn’t try to tease Taiga too much so he went back to the topic. “I have someone who was taking care of me most of my life, I haven't met him recently though.”

Taiga got the hint of Jesse's vague statement and didn't try to ask for more details. “When did you meet him the last time?”

“Maybe a year and a half ago? I came back from the frontline to report and saw him for two days, since then the frontline was hard to get away from, until I had to escort some of the nobility members to your castle.”

“Does he live close by?” Taiga asked, but Jesse shook his head.

“Completely opposite from where we are heading.”

“Well, who knows how long we will be out here. Maybe we have a chance to travel and meet him,” Taiga said and while he was sure Jesse would scold him for seeing their travel as an unimportant journey to relax, Jesse smiled. 

“That would be nice actually.”

***

Taiga had changed in front of Jesse before, but the room they had gotten was quite small and there was only one sleeping quarter, which had Taiga stop in the door frame while Jesse had already pulled his shirt over his head.

“If you tell me now that you hoped for a comfortable double bed just for yourself, I need to remind you of the talks we had over the past two weeks. I told you all of this.”

“I know,” Taiga brought out and he thought he'd be fine with it. But now that they were really out here and he would not get a bath before bed, would not change into his silk gown to sleep or get food at whatever time he pleased, he finally understood his own reality a bit better.

“If you leave that on, then it might stink tomorrow. In these places you will most likely sweat at night,” Jesse explained, pointing at Taiga's shirt. 

“Do we have somewhere to wash ourselves tomorrow?”

“We do. Right after our work in the fields we will get cleaned up at the river.”

“Work in the fields?”

Jesse looked a bit apologizing for the first time when he sat down on the straw mats which would be their bed for the night.

“The villagers prefer physical payment over money. They don't have a lot of young people in the village since the war had forced them to the frontline.”

“What will a few hours of work help them?” Taiga asked while he reluctantly walked to the straw mat and sat down next to Jesse, but still remained completely dressed.

“For you it might sound like nothing, but for them it's a lot of harvest getting carried to their winter storage so they will be way more pleased with that than with money they don't use around here. Different from big cities they only trade. Even their taxes get paid with food. At this time of the year the last harvest has to be brought in before snow will fall in the lower regions as well.”

“I- didn't know that,” Taiga said, annoyed about not being aware of the details of their system even though he thought he knew enough to understand. He definitely didn't.

“For now let's sleep?” Jesse said while Taiga still hesitated to lie down on the uncomfortable and itchy looking sleeping place. 

“We will use our clothes for the field work tomorrow too, right?”

“Yes,” Jesse said and looked at Taiga when he lay down in his shirt. 

“Then it doesn't matter if it already stinks in the morning, it will get worse after that.”

Jesse blinked a few times before he let out an amused laugh. “I should make a checklist for you. You're learning more and more about a commoner's life.”

“Then why did you take off your shirt?” Taiga asked, slightly pouting at Jesse's reaction.

“Because I'm feeling way too warm at night usually and at least we got two nice blankets,” Jesse explained casually before he turned away to sleep, but accidently pulled the blanket half with him. 

Taiga found himself looking at Jesse's back for a while, scanning all the small scars and wounds on his body.

Once more he felt like he should be at the frontline and not out here hiding. Then again he knew that his father should be the one fighting more for their people and country in the first place. With a sigh he turned on his back and closed his eyes. Right now he wouldn't be a good king, he knew that. He needed to understand his own people way better to be able to support them in the future.

***

“Catch,” Jesse said as he threw a bag of wheat at Taiga who had to crouch down as the weight was too heavy for him to catch it.

“Why don't they make them lighter?” Taiga complained.

“Because it would mean more running forth and back. And they have a specific weight they need to give to bigger towns around so it's easier to use one size for all.”

“But there are a lot of women working in the fields too,” Taiga said, observing the women harvesting the wheat and putting it into the bags.

“And they are working hard, but they also know who can carry the bags and who cannot. The older people put everything into the bags, the younger ones carry them down to the village.”

Taiga kept observing and realized that Jesse was right. Those who carried everything to small carriages were younger women or men. The person on the carriage was an elderly. 

“Let's train your body a bit,” Jesse teased while he lifted one bag over his shoulder and took a second one under his arm, while Taiga struggled with his balance already while carrying one.

Back at the village their work was to put the bags into the big storage rooms. 

After a few heavy bags, Taiga's arms felt too exhausted and one bag slipped from his hands, opening on the impact on the dusty street and half of the rice spilled out. He hurried to close it again so the rest wasn't going to be ruined as well. But after he had carried it inside the storage room, he saw several people picking up the wheat from the street.

“What are they doing?” Taiga asked when Jesse stopped next to him.

“Spilled or not, they can clean it. No food should be wasted,” Jesse said as he helped them pick it up.

Taiga hesitated for a moment, a random thought crossing his mind when he realized that he would have been extremely angry if someone told him that the bread he received in the castle was from spilled wheat on the ground. It would have been outrageous. But…now he understood that it didn't matter and he hurried to help them pick up the rest. Their bread was made from wheat on the fields. Dirty fields, with animals all around and a lot of people touching it before it actually got used for making bread. Why would he complain about sand in the street while being okay with everything else the wheat had touched? 

Taiga showed a proud smile after they had picked everything up and got back on the carriage towards the fields.

“I recognize that expression by now,” Jesse said, making Taiga look at him and tilt his head.

“Each time you finally understand something, you can't grasp just through explanations, you show that satisfied expression.”

“Is that bad?” Taiga asked, but Jesse shook his head. 

“It's exactly what I've hoped for. Try to keep that attitude. There might be challenges and situations where you could get thrown back into your nobel behavior. Remember to take a deep breath and think the situation through from the perspective of everyone around you.”

“I will try that.”

Weeks of travel passed way faster than Taiga had thought they would and he got used to traveling from village to village, sleeping on straw mats also wasn’t that bad anymore, especially because most of the time he had to share a place with Jesse and he ended up looking at the other one almost every night and morning. 

Eventually they reached one of their biggest southern cities, but that was also when Taiga was the one to stop at a hillside before the gates.

“I’ve come here before, they might know my face.”

“It’s not like you wouldn’t be allowed here,” Jesse said.

“But isn’t this entire running away kind of travel to not make people aware of my whereabouts?”

“We won’t stay here for long, so even if someone finds out then we will be long gone before anyone can try and do you any harm. I am here to prevent people from doing that in the first place.”

Jesse’s words had Taiga remember the days in the castle and he gave Jesse a thoughtful look, but the other one didn’t notice or didn’t want Taiga to notice that his attitude from that time was still lying under that neutral expression somewhere, but right now Taiga didn’t want to ruin the good mood they had been able to establish over weeks of traveling and helping out at villages.

Luckily no one seemed to have noticed who Taiga was when they made it inside the city walls and while Taiga knew that some of the nobility in this city definitely knew him, they tried to stay away from any possible high society place.

“Oh,” Taiga said as they made it to a tavern, which offered a place to stay.

“What is it?” Jesse asked when he held out a key towards Taiga, one key for him and one key for Jesse. 

“Seperate rooms?”

“No need to worry, I am next to your room. I will definitely hear if anything is wrong,” Jesse assured him as he pushed the key into Taiga’s hand with a bright smile. “I bet you are thrilled to have your own space and on top of that a real bed again, right? The bar keeper told me that they even have a bath house down the street, maybe we should go tomorrow?”

“Yes, sure,” Taiga said, not being able to concentrate on that right now. 

“For now, have a good rest,” Jesse said before he went upstairs first, leaving Taiga to walk up the stairs way slower than he needed to. 

The room felt so quiet, something Taiga had enjoyed in the castle, when everyone left him alone so he had some peace and quiet. Now it almost felt unbearable. He tried to lie down for now, but as expected he couldn’t sleep. He could still hear noises from the tavern downstairs. Cheers and laughter. One laughter was louder than the others. Almost familiar. No, it was indeed familiar. Taiga got back up and headed to the staircase and then he could hear the laughter again, Jesse’s laughter. He was sitting at one of the tavern’s tables, with him three unknown men and somehow Taiga was sure that they were unknown to Jesse as well, but the other one was always good at approaching strangers.

Yet while Jesse enjoyed himself, Taiga felt some irritation while watching everyone at the table laughing, having fun and engaging in conversations. Instead of joining them or approaching Jesse, he just went back upstairs. With an annoyed feeling in his chest he threw himself onto the covers of the bed, trying to ignore what he had just seen. Why should he care? They were allowed to have their own private life. The same way Jesse thought Taiga would enjoy some alone time finally, Jesse definitely enjoyed not having to babysit Taiga in a safe environment like this. 

“Well then,” Taiga said as he sat back up, unable to calm down at all. “Let’s see how important your duties are.”

Without giving it another thought, Taiga sneaked out of the window, luckily able to get down to the first floor without much trouble. Towards the south the winter months weren’t too cold, but Taiga had no idea where he was supposed to go. It was already late, except for taverns, nothing was really open anymore. So for now he just walked down some bigger streets, trying to remember the way back. The market place was empty at this time of the day and the only people Taiga spotted were knights patrolling and some people on carriages making it back home.

Without any certain goal, Taiga just sat down next to a fountain at the marketplace, looking down at the calm water through which he could see the reflection of the moon. None of the knights approached him, but soon even the patrols got less and the eerie atmosphere made Taiga feel kind of uneasy.

“So much to you knowing if something is going on,” Taiga said in a pouting manner while he dropped his hand into the water, drawing circles. “Duties are just important when someone checks if they are actually executed. Who knows if I even wanted the throne if it had never been offered to me.”

Taiga had never been reluctant to take the throne, that was why he had opposed this travel in the first place. But maybe seeing his country from this perspective made him realize even more why he wanted to become king. His motives weren’t power or money, he wanted to gain the respect of his people through actions. Ending the war was definitely one of them, in case his father would fail. But he wanted to do even more good for his country. He wanted to show his people respect, no matter their status. Something he had made his goal only since the start of this journey.

“Right now, I am not important,” Taiga whispered while leaning on the rocks around the fountain, staring at the water. “I am no one’s priority.”

“Well, you’re my priority and I wouldn’t consider myself no one.”

If it had been any other voice, Taiga would have been startled, but as he immediately recognized Jesse’s voice, he only sat back up and looked at the other one with wide eyes when Jesse sat down next to him, his back against the rocks and his gaze up to the nightsky. 

“How did you know where to find me?” Taiga asked, astonished.

“I never had to search, I followed you from the start.”

Taiga wanted to scold him that he was definitely lying, because he was so caught up in his conversation in the tavern that there was no way he could have immediately realized that he was gone, but then again he was sure that he was underestimating Jesse’s skills. The other one had rescued his life before after all.

“May I ask you something?” Taiga said so carefully that Jesse gave him a side glance before he looked back up.

“Sure, go ahead.”

“You didn’t want to take on the duty to protect me,” Taiga said, not even asking because he knew it was true. He had been able to read it on Jesse’s face at that time and a few of their conversations back in the castle had already hinted to it as well. 

“Correct,” Jesse said, knowing as well that Taiga was aware of that fact.

“May I ask why?”

“Taking lives on the battlefield is a difficult matter, but protecting a life is an even bigger challenge,” Jesse replied honestly. “I wasn’t sure if I could do it, I didn’t want to be the reason for your death.”

Jesse paused for a moment, but Taiga only gave him an understanding look.

“I also don’t like being around nobility,” Jesse added and Taiga had hoped he was going to show a teasing expression, but he didn’t. That statement hurt way more than it should, so Taiga tried to ignore the way his heart felt heavy and he just turned back towards the water when Jesse continued.

“I wasn’t born into any higher class, becoming a knight was extremely difficult. The only reason I was able to do so was because I lost my parents at a young age and a knight took me in, making it possible with some extra effort and small lies to get me into the knight class as well.”

“But wouldn’t it have been easier to remain a commoner?” Taiga dared to ask.

“Would you prefer being a commoner over a prince?”

“My life is not in danger, not on a daily basis at least and I like the comfort of the nobility class, so I guess I wouldn’t want to give up my status.”

Jesse nodded with an understanding expression as he explained more. “My parents died in an attack at the northern border. It was a tough winter and provisions were already tight so other countries invading and stealing from villages was something this kingdom should have seen coming, but no one was there. No one rescued our village or any other from getting burned to the ground.”

“That is horrible,” Taiga said, before he fell silent again. After all it was his own kingdom Jesse was criticizing right now. He had been just a boy at that time, but now he felt like the older generations had never taught him enough or weren’t even aware enough themselves about the needs of their country.

“That is why I wanted to make a change. Also why I didn’t want to be the one going on this journey with you. The frontline suits me better. It feels more important.”

Another sting for Taiga, but he could understand the other one, yet Jesse chuckled on his own words and turned to Taiga the moment the other one also looked up at him.

“At least that is how I felt at first. A bit naive of me as well, I noticed. Right now I could of course make a difference at the frontline. A small difference. A few more knights stopped on the enemy side, maybe a village not being destroyed for a few days longer. More time to evacuate civilians. All those thoughts are still on my mind, but my anger about this duty doesn’t lie with you, but with those who do not interfere and help while they could. I wanted your father to talk more about the war, the knights, the losses while we had been at the castle. I felt like our efforts got ignored, even though all the people gathered there had been called to talk about the war.”

“But that is all they do,” Taiga realized. “Talk.”

“Exactly,” Jesse said with a nod before he continued. “But that also made me realize that we knights need to interfere more as well. We need a louder voice to make those who pull the strings aware of the situation so that change can happen.”

With a soft smile Jesse looked at Taiga, the other one finally feeling a bit more at ease through Jesse’s words as he hoped for the other one’s next words to be exactly what he wanted to hear.

“So traveling with you made me realize that I finally found someone I can share all those thoughts with. You are someone who can make a difference. This duty is as important as the war itself. You are the future of this country. If no one lets you know what is going on, then how are you supposed to become a good leader?”

Taiga wished for more personal words, but for now he took what he could get and he nodded, forcing a small smile. “I am grateful for your change of mind. I realized as well that I need to learn a lot about my country and people to become the leader they deserve.”

“Then for now just become a good friend, that is already worth way more than being a nobility who never steps out of line to reach out to people under their own status.”

Taiga had stopped listening the moment Jesse had said the word friend and now the knight was getting up, stretching out his hand towards him with a confident smile.

“Let’s rest for now? We still have a few more places to pass before we can settle down towards the south for a longer period of time.”

Slowly Taiga nodded and reached out for the other one’s hand, realizing that it had alway been Jesse reaching out for him until here, he had never touched Jesse. Just reaching out for the other one’s hand felt overwhelming. He should be used to it, with people around him in the castle dressing him and helping him with daily tasks, yet this felt different. A contact Taiga wanted, something more personal. Something Taiga wasn’t sure if he wanted to call it friendship. But if that was what Jesse offered right now, he would take it.

***

Taiga’s calm mood changed drastically the next day when some people on their way through the city had made comments about his appearance, especially his hair and Taiga was more than ready to teach them a lesson, but the moment he tried to turn around, Jesse had put his arm around his waist and turned him around without any trouble, even though Taiga complained and tried to turn back.

“They are not worth your attention and remember that we don’t want any attention in the first place.”

“But- they are- I need to-...” Taiga let out some curses under his breath before he kept walking on his own and Jesse could release him without having to fear him turning around and picking a fight. 

“Would you even be able to defend yourself?” Jesse asked and while Taiga had still been looking over his shoulder in annoyance he now looked at Jesse in disbelief. 

“Oh, so you think because I am a prince I cannot fight?”

“No, I think because your father treated you like a doll in a glasshouse you cannot fight,” Jesse corrected him.

Taiga couldn’t even deny that Jesse was right, partly. But then he stopped when they were close to the bath house, which they had aimed for. “Until when is the bath house open?”

“Until evening hours I think,” Jesse said, raising an eyebrow on Taiga’s question. “Why?”

“Let’s go later,” Taiga said as he aimed for the city gate instead. 

Jesse followed in silence and with a curious look until Taiga found an open space around some hillside at the forest in front of the city. He proceeded to drop his bag before he went right into the middle of the open area.

“Okay, let’s go,” Taiga said, waiting as if Jesse knew exactly what he meant.

“Let’s go for what?”

“A fight.”

“Between us?” Jesse asked as if Taiga was speaking a different language.

“No, me against a tree,” Taiga mocked. “You can back out if you’re afraid to lose.”

First Jesse just stared back at Taiga before he let out a loud laugh and dropped his bag next to Taiga’s and walked up to him. Yet he didn’t stop on a normal distance and walked right up to Taiga and that move had Taiga almost make a step back, but he actually succeeded in not moving when Jesse looked down at him, so close that he could feel the other one’s breath on his face when he spoke again. 

“At least you’re standing your ground.”

Taiga wanted to mock the other one again, but without a warning Jesse had moved and while Taiga thought Jesse would go for a punch, Jesse had only moved his arm up to Taiga’s shoulder and his leg around his knee at the same time, bringing Taiga extremely ungracefully to fall.

“One point for me,” Jesse said as he looked down at Taiga who was too perplexed to even reply, while Jesse made a few steps back. “Do you want to make it a three points win?” Jesse mocked this time while Taiga got back up with a pouting expression.

“Or are you already done?” Jesse asked, but this time Taiga was determined to get the next point. He took a run up at the other one, Jesse obviously more than prepared to just stop Taiga’s attack and if it had been a frontal attack, Jesse would have definitely been able to just throw Taiga to the ground once more, but this time the knight was taken by surprise when Taiga moved faster than he had expected and dodged Jesse’s attempt to grab him. With a swift movement Taiga was next to Jesse as he had crouched down and tangled his own legs around Jesse’s knee to bring the other one out of balance and while Taiga was sure that the other one could have reacted faster, he took what he could when Jesse ended up falling to the back.

“Well, now we are even,” Taiga teased when he got back up first, getting the dirt off his clothes.

“You hit the ground first though,” Jesse tried to argue.

“Intentionally,” Taiga replied, not willing to give Jesse that point. “I have to make use of my speed when my opponent is stronger than me.”

“At least you are not trying to make yourself believe that you could win through strength,” Jesse said as he got back up with an entertained smile. “So what do I get if I win this round?”

“Why would you get anything?”

“There should be a reward for the winner, don’t you think?” Jesse said.

“What do you want if you win?”

Jesse gave it a thought, before his look changed to a more excited smile, which made Taiga already regret his question.

“If I win, let me cut your hair.”

“No.”

“Hey, you asked.”

“I didn’t say I would agree,” Taiga said as he touched the long strands he still had up in a high ponytail, but then he looked at the strands he pulled to the front. They weren’t as beautiful as they had been a few weeks ago. He had not much time to care for them, the heat and the long walks around the villages and the work in the fields had changed the color to a lighter brown and the strands felt dry. His bangs were also annoying him more and more as they were disturbing his view a lot recently.

“Just a bit then?” Jesse argued, making a hand movement to show that he would just cut a few centimeters. 

Taiga let out a growl before it turned into a sigh. “Fine.”

He didn’t even understand why he agreed. Sure his hair would need a cut sooner or later and it indeed didn’t look healthy anymore, but that wasn’t what made him agree. If Jesse had only said Taiga should get it cut by someone else, then he would have refused. Only because Jesse offered to cut it himself he agreed.

“What is the award you want?” Jesse asked, but Taiga had to laugh at the other one’s question.

“I can see that you will go all out for this round just to get my hair cut, so I doubt I will have any chance.”

“Still, just in case,” Jesse teased and Taiga gave it a thought. It wasn’t an easy question as there was not much he could ask for with their kind of journey. Luxury and money were things he had around him his entire life and while he still caught himself missing a lot of things from his nobility life, there was another thought on his mind.

“Become my knight for a day.”

“What?” Jesse asked, so honestly confused that Taiga had to grin at his own words.

“You said it before. On this journey you are not my knight and I am not a prince. But if I win, I want you to be my knight for one day and I will be your prince.”

There was a change of emotion on Jesse’s face and Taiga immediately feared that he would refuse. It was a stupid request after all, but to his surprise Jesse nodded. There was still something like doubt on his face, yet he tried to overplay it, because why should he worry? He wouldn’t lose this round. Taiga had taken him by surprise and yet he was sure that Jesse had let him win the second round on purpose.

“Okay, deal,” Jesse said before he invited Taiga for another attack. “Show me your determination then.”

Taiga wouldn’t just lose, that was for sure, he wanted that reward. So this time he went in for all or nothing. He knew that Jesse would try and grab him, so Taiga waited for exactly that reaction when he took a run up at Jesse and as expected, Jesse tried to grab Taiga by the arms and throw him off balance. But this time Taiga made use out of their close distance and Jesse missed the moment to stop Taiga as he ran straight at him with full force, jumping more or less into Jesse’s arms. A movement that had Jesse startled and reach out for Taiga’s back instead as he was now losing his balance to the back. 

Unfortunately Taiga knew that Jesse would easily find his balance again with Taiga not being heavy enough to throw him to the back this easily and he had barely seconds to decide what to do or the other one would just throw him all the way over his shoulder.

But because Jesse would exactly do that, Taiga got the weird idea of just letting Jesse go through with it until a certain moment. Jesse indeed tried to put the momentum of the movement to the side, stepping back to throw Taiga over his shoulder, but as Taiga had gone with the movement on purpose, Jesse didn’t realize that Taiga still had enough control of the momentum to move even further and instead of going off to the side, he was able to grab Jesse’s back. To bring Jesse to fall he had to go one step further and lift his legs up while pulling himself so much on Jesse’s back that he could lock his arms under the other one’s underarms. 

All those moves happened in the matter of only several seconds as they never lost the momentum to the back. Taiga knew that he would hit the ground painfully with his back as well, maybe even hitting his head with Jesse falling after him, but that was how determined he was to win this round. 

What surprised him was Jesse’s fast reaction when he threw up his arms while he was already losing his balance to the back with Taiga hanging on to him, head first hanging over Jesse’s shoulder. Jesse reached out for Taiga’s belt and twisted them so fast while falling that Taiga landed on top of Jesse while the knight landed face first on the ground. 

“What the hell are you doing?” Taiga scolded the other one immediately, because like this Taiga could call it his win even easier. With Taiga going down first, Jesse could have argued that he could still call it his win.

“Jesse?” Taiga asked in worry when the other one didn’t immediately reply and he hurried to crawl off the other one, but when he turned Jesse around on his shoulder, to see if he had hurt himself badly through the fall, a completely in mud covered Jesse started laughing at him the moment they came face to face. 

“Sorry, I guess I already became your knight the moment you tried to hurt yourself only to win this round.”

The other one’s words had Taiga speechless for a moment before he gave Jesse a clap on the forehead. “Idiot.”

“My apologies, my lord.”

Taiga felt a shiver through the way Jesse immediately changed his behavior to the way from a few weeks ago. But somehow Taiga felt a weird distance in that behavior as well.

“I want an entire day, so for now you will only be Jesse and I will also not be a lord for today.”

“Okay, sure,” Jesse immediately switched back as he sat up, making Taiga back off a bit as he had leaned half over Jesse. “Let me know whenever your lordship is ready.”

Jesse’s teasing had Taiga pout, but Jesse would keep his promise Taiga was sure of that. But now he was feeling weirdly nervous about the reward he had asked for. A game that was all, but deep down he wanted to use his authority on that day to take it further than just a simple game.

Two more days they had stayed in the city, but Taiga had refused to take any of those days for his promised reward. Yet the next morning brought a surprise when he heard a lot of voices outside and when he made it over to the window, the civilians looked at some incoming carriages. 

Carriages Taiga knew very well. Nobility was arriving in this city and then Taiga remembered something that made him smile from one ear to the other before he hurried over to Jesse's room. First he wanted to just enter, but then remembered his manners and he knocked first.

“Come in.”

Taiga almost jumped into the room, but then he turned on his heels as Jesse wasn't dressed yet. But by now he had become used to looking at Jesse's exposed upper body, if he had some preparation time, so he slowly turned back around. They had been in the same bath house as well after all. Yet Taiga still found himself scanning the other one's body more than necessary.

“Anything urgent?” 

Jesse's question had Taiga concentrate back on the reason why he had hurried over and he gave Jesse an excited smile.

“The day has come.”

“What day?”

Taiga clicked his lounge before he turned towards the door. “Follow me, then you'll know.”

They walked through the streets without Jesse suspecting much until Taiga made a turn to a bigger street where Jesse grabbed him by the arm.

“You said before that you have been in this city before and if you don't want to draw attention then this area is off limits.”

Taiga knew exactly what Jesse meant, yet he turned around to him, shook his hand off and put his own hands to his back with a straight posture.

“From now on I won't allow you to speak to me this way,” Taiga said, making Jesse raise an eyebrow before it clicked.

“Okay…” Jesse said a bit reluctantly, but still kept his word and lowered his head towards Taiga. “As you wish my Lord.”

It felt satisfying yet also distant to have Jesse behave this way again. But for now Taiga would need Jesse's obedience for this day.

“Follow me.”

Jesse seemed reluctant again, but followed until they reached a lot of carriages in front of a beautiful castle. “I am sure you are aware of this place. Do you know what event they are holding tonight?”

“A banquet I assume?” Jesse asked.

“Not just any banquet. This is a yearly masked ball. A perfect event for us to participate and not get discovered.”

“Taiga-”

Taiga let out an unpleasant sound, giving Jesse a side eye. The other one tried hard to not show an annoyed expression and bowed instead.

“Excuse me my Lord. I just do not think it is a good idea to mix with nobility at this critical time.”

“Didn't you say if anyone recognized me we'll be gone before it could become any trouble? We were about to leave anyway, right?”

“But, how are we supposed to get an invitation? We don't even have clothes for a ball.”

“That part is your challenge,” Taiga said with an excited smile. “I'm sure you've been at a ball before. For a knight it shouldn't be too complicated to find the right people to talk to, right?”

Jesse kept looking over to the castle and the arriving guests before he looked back at Taiga with a doubtful expression. But the young prince gave him a warning look when he pointed at him.

“Trust me I will know if you come back with empty hands on purpose. I will walk in there without any hesitation in case you can't get us in without showing our faces.”

Jesse let out a long sigh, but eventually nodded. “As you wish my Lord.”

Taiga felt satisfied by the way Jesse walked ahead, trying to get everything prepared for the evening, but there was also a bit of guilt as he knew that Jesse was only thinking about his safety.

Taiga only had one day, so he had to leave everything to Jesse and patiently wait until the evening hours, but at sunset he got restless. What if Jesse just didn’t come back for the rest of the day? All Taiga could do the next day was scold him for it.

But luckily Jesse knocked on his door still a few hours before the start of the ball. Yet Taiga gave him a sceptical look when he arrived empty handed.

“You do not expect us to walk in there in our clothes, right?” Taiga scolded him, but Jesse only stepped back and made an inviting hand movement to the side.

“If your lordship is so kind as to follow me, then we can start the preparations for the night.”

Now Taiga was thrilled to see what Jesse had been able to prepare in this short amount of time and the knight didn’t let him down as they walked into a tailor shop a few minutes later.

“I thought it would be a bit too obvious if we got ready at the tavern,” Jesse said and the man waiting for them seemed to have gotten payment and also directions from Jesse, as he didn’t ask Taiga any personal questions. They would get dressed and then leave for the ball.

“I guess you somehow got an invitation as well?” Taiga asked and of course Jesse pulled out an envelope. The details of how he had gotten it could stay in the dark for now. “As expected.”

Taiga’s praise earned him another bow from Jesse, but then he focused back on the shop and the expensive looking suits and tailcoats inside of it.

“I made a choice for you in advance, but if you don’t like it, feel free to choose something else.” Jesse said and pointed at a tailcoat in the back.

Taiga approached it and touched it with a scanning look. Usually he would choose something fancier, but to not draw too much attention it was the perfect choice. Silver in color, a few embroideries in white, but not too annoying to the eye.

“This mask should go perfectly with it,” Jesse said as he picked up a cat mask from a table and while it looked a bit too cute at first sight, the colors matched perfectly indeed and Taiga was too impressed by the other one’s choice to turn the clothes down.

“My-”

“Don’t tell me. Show me later,” Taiga interrupted Jesse before the other one could tell him what he would wear. “Let me get ready first and then you can show me your costume while I do my hair.”

Once more Jesse let Taiga have it his way, as he was supposed to for the day, but Taiga was a bit reluctant when the shop owner offered to help him with his hair.

“Do not worry, I made sure he knows better than to cut your hair,” Jesse whispered while he helped Taiga with adjusting the blouse of his tailcoat. 

“A fast learner,” Taiga said with a smile, but found himself staring at Jesse the entire time while the other one fixed the buttons and the handkerchief in his chest pocket. When Jesse was done and looked up at Taiga, the other one immediately looked to the side, turning away as if nothing had happened. “Go and get ready or we will be late.”

Without daring to look through the mirror at Jesse in the back, Taiga sat down and let the shop owner do his hair. It had indeed taken a lot of damage over the past few weeks, but the man didn’t comment and helped with some oil to make it look shinier again. The high ponytail Taiga usually had now, was replaced by an open hairstyle with the strands curling a bit inwards on the bottom. A beautiful set up, Taiga couldn’t deny that. With the mask on, no one would think it was him, he was sure about that. 

“What do you think?” Taiga asked when he got up and turned towards Jesse who had changed by now, but before Jesse even said something, Taiga found himself staring as so often. Never had he imagined that Jesse could look this fine. The tailcoat he had chosen was so simple that it would look plain on anyone else. But Jesse’s height and muscular body structure would make any fancy looking embroidery be a waste of fabric. No one would pay any attention in the first place, at least Taiga would not.

“Your hair fits the outfit perfectly. Be careful that no one wants to pad you,” Jesse teased as he handed Taiga his cat mask, breaking his knight character just a bit for a teasing moment.

Jesse had chosen a black mask with a few feathers at the sides, as his tailcoat was also mainly black with only a hint of silver on it. A silver bracelet on his wrist and a thin necklace, rounded the outfit up perfectly.

“Shall we then, my lord?” Jesse asked as he stepped towards the door and held it open for Taiga. 

How much Taiga wanted to reach out for that elbow instead of leaving the shop first. An escort to the ball would be even more satisfying to him than a knight following him around. He didn’t want Jesse to be his knight. 

There he had finally accepted it! The truth behind all his twisted and chaotic thoughts over the past weeks. The only reason Taiga had asked for this reward was to somehow be able to direct Jesse’s attention towards him without the other one being able to run away and pretend like nothing was weird between them lately.

“My lord?” Jesse asked once more when Taiga didn’t move at first. 

Or maybe there was nothing weird between them. Maybe Taiga was the only weird one here. Now he had to decide if it was worth the risk to challenge that feeling, because he didn’t want Jesse to take a step back. If the other one distanced himself then their travel would be unbearable for him.

There were a lot of known faces to Taiga, even with masks on, Taiga could tell. Something that made him feel a bit nervous as he feared they could tell as well. Yet no one was expecting him and he indeed looked different. Lighter hair, thinner body and hopefully together with Jesse no one would realize who he was.

“Later, you have to let me know how you got that invitation,” Taiga said after they had easily entered the banquet hall.

“I stole it,” Jesse randomly said.

“You did what?” Taiga let out in disbelief.

“I stole it, copied it and gave it back,” Jesse clarified, his teasing smile visible as their masks only reached until their noses.

“A man of a lot of skills, I see,” Taiga teased back, finding a bit more confidence now as he was used to these kinds of events after all and to his surprise Jesse didn’t seem nervous either. But Taiga also realized that the other one was a bit tense, definitely having his eyes on everyone around.

“Let’s join in for some dances?” Taiga asked and to his surprise Jesse turned towards him with what looked like a confused expression as Taiga couldn’t completely see his face. “Can you not dance?”

“I can, but-”

“Then no problem at all, let’s find ourselves a partner,” Taiga said and went ahead, but stopped again when he realized that Jesse hadn’t followed him. 

There was some hesitation in his steps while slowly following Taiga, yet again Taiga tried to not let his own hopes take over something that might not be happening. Maybe Jesse just didn’t like dancing.

For the next dance they both indeed joined in with two ladies. Taiga knew how to charm a lady enough to be interested in a dance, even though that was the only interest he would have for the night. A line he had always drawn as a lot of women had been interested in him only because of his status. For tonight he luckily didn’t have to worry about that.

With his eyes he searched for Jesse in the middle of the dance and the young knight had chosen a more mature dance partner. A beautiful woman who seemed more than in awe about Jesse’s tall build. In this particular dance they kept changing partners in between, but Taiga wished he could just randomly step over to end up in front of Jesse. Yet once more he didn’t go through with his idea, but just for a moment he stepped into the wrong direction on purpose, coming eye to eye with Jesse for a brief moment. 

Taiga gave him a soft smile before he moved on while Jesse had frozen to the spot, almost missing the moment to reunite with his partner. The dance ended with them bowing to their partners and Taiga making his way over to one of the tables to get two drinks. He turned around in a hurry to bring one to Jesse, but then he collided with him before he had even made two steps. 

Luckily Jesse had been fast enough to grab one of the glasses before the champagne made it on his clothes. “Please remember that these are only rented for the night.”

Taiga nodded, but then found his voice again and held his glass up to the other one. “To an amazing ball night.”

Jesse tried to not roll his eyes as he was still supposed to act like Taiga’s knight and the way he had been right next to Taiga after the dance was proof that he was indeed taking his duties seriously. But that made the evening also a bit boring for Taiga. He had to stay away from certain people to not be too obvious, because his voice would most likely give him away. Jesse had agreed to everything Taiga wanted. Taking a walk in the garden after some time at the buffet, some drinks and a few more dances. But Taiga could still feel the tension between them. The way Jesse was trying to be only a knight, nothing more. 

“How about for the last few hours you are just Jesse again,” Taiga said when they walked through the enormous garden at the back of the castle.

“You won’t be allowed to order me around then,” Jesse replied.

“You not behaving like my knight is only another order, the rules don’t change. If I tell you to be my knight again then you have to do so, until sunrise at least.”

“Mh, nobility really knows how to make their own rules,” Jesse said and the way he said it so casually made Taiga feel immediately better about the entire situation. This was the behavior he wanted Jesse to show.

“For tonight I only have one rule,” Taiga said before he walked ahead a bit to turn back to Jesse with a bright smile. “I just want us to enjoy the evening. No prince, no knight. Just us.”

Taiga wished for Jesse to take off his mask as he wanted to see his reaction more clearly, but this time the other one actually approached Taiga and the older one waited patiently for Jesse to be right in front of him. 

“Until you change that rule again I assume,” Jesse said with a smile. Taiga sticked out his tongue on the other one’s reaction and turned around, aiming for the ball room once more.

“If you like orders so much, then I might give you one more,” Taiga said as he walked through one of the open double doors right before another dance started.

“What does my lordship want to request?” Jesse asked, saying it in a fun way this time, but then he fell silent when Taiga stretched out his hand towards him. 

“A dance.”

Jesse looked through the room, no one had paid them any attention until now, but Taiga’s request would change that.

“We are just two commoners who have sneaked into a ballroom, right?” Taiga said. “I gave you a lot of orders until here, but this one is a request. You are allowed to deny.”

The fear of Jesse actually doing so had Taiga turn around before the other one could even reply. He dared his way further into the room alone and took another deep breath before he dared to turn back around. If Jesse didn’t grant him this wish, then at least all of Taiga’s doubts were about to be resolved. Then it was clear that he was the only weird one out.

With a doubtful look Taiga finally lifted his gaze, at exactly the moment the music started and then he gasped when Jesse had walked up to him and reached out for his hip and hand perfectly in time to join the dance.

Not even once did Taiga take his eyes off Jesse. There was no need to adjust to the music or their surroundings. Jesse was guiding their every step and at the same time he also tried to avoid any eye contact with Taiga. 

A dance Taiga never wanted to end, a touch he never wanted to lose contact with. Would he doubt himself again the moment this dance was over? Would Jesse pretend like it had been just his duty that made him accept his request? 

A lot of questions added up in Taiga’s mind, but he tried to make them wait for later, to enjoy this moment to the fullest. He didn’t care for any looks they received or any questions that could possibly be thrown at them afterwards, right now he indeed didn’t want to be a person of any importance. He just wanted to have this one dance.

When the music ended, Taiga was reluctant to let go and he squeezed Jesse’s hand and finally the other one looked directly back at him. A moment in time that was finally just for them. No ranks, no nobility, no rules. 

Taiga had to force his hand to not follow when Jesse pulled back and bowed towards Taiga before he left the dance floor first. With everyone walking around, Taiga immediately lost sight of him, but then he realized that he couldn’t just let it end with this one dance. If he didn’t use this chance then eventually Jesse would just fall back into his neutral state, pretending again that he was just following orders.

After some walks through the ballroom and a look into the garden, Taiga knew that he had to sneak around more to find Jesse. A few doors and corridors later, Taiga had found a darker corridor, on the opposite side of where the servants were bringing in the drinks and food for the buffet. 

A bit down the long corridor he found Jesse passing up and down between the walls. He had taken off his mask, obviously in distress, yet that was also exactly the state of mind Taiga had hoped the other one would show.

Taiga hurried to take off his mask as well when he approached the other one. Jesse needed a bit longer to realize his presence and he immediately turned away from him.

“The ball will be over soon, you should enjoy it until the end,” Jesse said. His voice sounded a bit hoarser than usual.

“Without you there is not much to enjoy,” Taiga said straight forward.

“I am only a simple knight.”

“Not to me,” Taiga said, knowing that he made everything even more complicated for Jesse.

“It does not matter what you think,” Jesse said, now raising his voice in irritation, but still didn't face Taiga.

“Right, because you are moving under my father’s orders,” Taiga understood, yet didn’t want to accept that excuse so he walked closer, stopping right behind Jesse.

“My father’s orders are for you to travel with me, to protect me. Anything further than that has nothing to do with his orders.”

“Don’t make it sound like there is even any decision to make. You belong in a completely different world than I do. Your future is on a throne, I won’t be able to follow you there.”

“Why not?” Taiga asked and while his question was indeed serious, Jesse let out a mocking chuckle.

“Right, you think everything always works out your way. As if you can just decide something and everyone will go with your decision.”

“No one has to agree with my private decisions,” Taiga said, now a bit irritated as well. “I am more than just a title and a face.”

“Yet everyone will still look at you, everyone will look at us. I will be judged for the decision I make, the position I claim for egoistic reasons.”

This time Taiga was the one to let out a chuckle, short and mocking. A sound that had Jesse glare over his shoulder for a moment, but Taiga was looking to the ground, not realizing how close Jesse was to bursting. “So it matters more what everyone thinks, than what both of us feel. If your duty is so important, maybe you shouldn’t have saved my life that day.”

Taiga turned around, ready to just leave. He was putting a lot at risk here as well, but if Jesse remained stubborn then there was no meaning for him to continue this conversation.

After not even two steps, Jesse had turned around and grabbed Taiga by the arm. The force he used to turn Taiga back, had him lose his balance and he found himself with his back against the wall and then he flinched when Jesse slammed his hand right next to his head to the wall.

“Yes, maybe I shouldn’t have saved your life,” Jesse hissed. The way his eyes had darkened made Taiga shiver, but a part of him was also feeling relieved that the other one had stopped him and finally dared to speak his mind. “I rescued your life, usually you’d owe me, not the other way around, yet it always feels like I need to attend to your needs, to your feelings. I gave up a lot as well to travel with you. An involuntary travel. You are useless in the outdoors, you stumble over your own feet, you can’t even make a fire. How the hell are you supposed to survive if I’m not with you?”

Taiga couldn’t even find a fitting reply, but Jesse also didn’t need one. He wasn’t done yet and Taiga kept looking up at him while Jesse moved even closer with his next words. “I thought of this as my duty, as a task with an end. Now I fear that my desire for more will lead to an abrupt and disappointing ending. I want to stay by your side. I want to see you succeed and damn I want to throw all those orders and duties away if it means I can be more than just your knight. But for that I need you to be ready to fight everyone together with me. I need you to make yourself clear as well.”

And now Taiga finally had the okay to do so. There was nothing more than him wanting to let Jesse know exactly how much he didn’t care for everyone else’s opinion and he dared to push himself away from the wall, Jesse only slightly backing off. Taiga stayed as close as possible when he looked at the other one with eager eyes. 

“I am all yours. A throne won’t change that,” Taiga let out clearly, his words making Jesse’s body tense, but he still didn’t move. “Yet I won’t let you walk away if you dare to follow me down this path, I won’t let you back out. So you need to prove yourself.”

Jesse was more than ready to prove his point once and for all. If Taiga was finally ready to leave all caution behind, then Jesse would follow. So Taiga made another step to the front, almost threatening, but this time Jesse didn’t move, leaving Taiga to almost collide with him when he gave the taller one another serious look. “Disobey me.”

The shine in Jesse’s eyes was the most dangerous yet exciting one Taiga had ever seen and he knew that Jesse would finally take a step too far. A step beyond his duties when he pulled out the knife hidden under his tailcoat. Taiga didn’t stop him when Jesse moved up his hands, pulling roughly on Taiga’s hair before he put the knife up to his ponytail and while looking directly at Taiga, he pulled the knife up, leaving Taiga’s short strands of hair fall to the side of his face.

There was a moment of absolute silence between them, a tension and satisfaction in both their eyes that made every previous doubt disappear. Jesse let the knife and the long strands of hair fall to the ground the moment Taiga pulled himself closer on Jesse’s collar, because a cut cheek was the last thing they needed at their first greedy and messy kiss.

The knife falling to the ground made a shattering sound in the empty corridor, but no one interrupted them. Taiga wouldn't even care if anyone came to scold them. Right now his focus was on his hands moving to Jesse's strong jawline and his lips trying to not get swallowed by Jesse demanding full control over the kiss. 

Once more Taiga found himself with his back against the wall, but this time the chuckle he let out into the kiss was playful and he shivered on the way Jesse's hands went down from his hair to his neck, tracking Taiga's slightly sweaty skin down to his collarbone. 

“I'd say your reward is over,” Jesse whispered against Taiga's lips when he forced himself to pull away for a moment. 

“I got a new one so I'm totally fine with that,” Taiga replied, pulling on Jesse's jacket so that he would come closer again. “I don't need a knight anymore.”

“Then I don't have to babysit a prince anymore,” Jesse replied and Taiga nodded with a knowing smile. 

“No ranks are needed between us from now on.”

That was all they needed and Jesse put one hand closer to Taiga's lips, his thumb tracking the older one's bottom lip while his eyes scanned Taiga's reaction. 

There were no more words needed and Taiga welcomed Jesse's next kiss and the overwhelming feeling over the other one exploring his skin with his hands. From now on Taiga wouldn't feel embarrassed when he caught himself looking at Jesse. From now on the other one's body wasn't off limits to him anymore and he couldn't wait to explore it even more.

Epilogue

“I- I swear I made sure it's the right length,” Taiga said, looking together with Jesse at a log in front of them. A log that was supposed to go on the south wall of a hut. Their hut.

After their eventful evening at the ball, their journey had changed completely. Only for one day Taiga had been pouting, because Jesse had cut Taiga's hair so drastically that they had to cut it pretty short eventually and of course Taiga had been annoyed by that at first. Not that he could complain after he had given the okay to go that far.

Their travel had finally brought them to a southern village in between two mountain ranges, a beautiful place with forest, a river and only a few hundreds of people working mostly in forestry.

“Well, I bet you tried,” Jesse said with a wide grin as the log was way too short to be put on the side of the wall. “We can still use it in the back, no worries.”

Taiga let out a sigh, disappointed in himself as he just couldn't get the hold on certain skills. Fishing was the worst one. In weeks he hadn't been able to get a single fish. One skill he had actually been good at was making and fixing clothes. An older lady in the village had taught him and he immediately found an interest in the detailed task.

When Taiga turned around, wanting to get to the next log, Jesse was already waiting and he cupped his face, giving him a peck on the lips before he grinned down at him. “You've become a lot better at several tasks. Don't rush yourself. You have an entire kingdom waiting for you. For now let's go slow with these tasks. As long as you have me, you won't die of hunger or the cold.”

“Definitely not the cold, your body is too warm for that,” Taiga teased when he tugged on Jesse's beige shirt, but the younger one gave him a warning look.

“The sun is still up for hours. Work now, fun later.”

Taiga pouted on the way Jesse just walked away and got back to work, but then he looked at a bucket next to him. It was filled with water from the river and as the mountain region in the south was still not too cold, it didn’t feel freezing using the water.

He looked back at Jesse who was crouching down to fix a log on the ground and while Taiga knew he should not do what he was about to do anyway, he took the bucket and walked up to Jesse. Without saying anything he emptied the entire bucket over the other one's head. Jesse gasped and shot up on the cold water hitting him and Taiga started laughing at his shocked expression.

“I thought maybe you'd need some refreshment?” Taiga teased as he put the bucket down and fully enjoyed that he could see Jesse's chest through the wet shirt.

“A refreshment?” Jesse asked and at first Taiga wasn’t sure if he had overdone it, but when Jesse made a step to the front he knew what was coming and he squealed and tried to run. 

“I'll show you what real refreshment is,” Jesse shouted the moment he got a grip on Taiga and without any trouble he threw the smaller one over his shoulder.

Taiga yelled at him to stop, but couldn't stop laughing either, so his attempts to make the other one put him down weren't really helpful. 

After a few moments of walking they were down at the river and without any hesitation Jesse threw Taiga into it. The younger one broke through the surface with a few coughs, but when Jesse showed him a bright smile he couldn't even be angry. 

Instead he laughed when he pushed his strands of wet hair to the back and spread out his arms. “Come on, are you going to let me have all the refreshment by myself? That's going to be a boring break for you then.”

Jesse formed a lopsided smile before he got out of his shirt and boots and walked right into the river. Taiga was waiting for him, immediately closing his arms around the other one's hips when Jesse reached out for his face for another passionate kiss.

“Look, way better this way, right?” Taiga teased and squealed once more when Jesse lifted him up so that he could close his legs around Jesse's hips. They were so deep in the water that it wasn't much of a challenge to stay in that position.

“Always better with you at my side,” Jesse said, pressing his lips against Taiga's forehead, making the older one give Jesse a soft smile before he moved one hand to Jesse's cheek.

“Then our lives will always be perfect.”