blue
/blo͞o/
adjective

》(of a color) intermediate between green and violet, as of the sky or sea on a sunny day《

》the color of sorrow but also of the sky on a clear day《

♢

Amy led you out to the gazebo where you'd first had breakfast on the day you arrived, you were served by Maryana and some other servants, among them was Ethan. He had changed into fresh clothes of his own, and you admired how cute he looked with his unruly hair as he placed a sandwich on your plate. Maryana poured your tea as your friend blabbered on about her visit to Fischbach, and how the King was coming to Gizmonia within the next two weeks to discuss dowry. This comment caused you to think about your own marriage again. What sort of dowry were your parents having to pay in order for you to marry Leopold? You frowned as you kept thinking of this, eyes drifting over to Ethan standing politely to the side.

"Y/N?" Amy's hand waving in front of your face snapped you out of the trance you didn't realize you were in.

"Yes, Amy?" You quickly looked back at her as she retracted your hand.

"I was asking your opinion on my wedding, because I think the Queen is planning to move it to be sooner than yours and Leopold's."

"I don't want you to leave." You sighed quietly, taking a sad sip of your oolong tea before placing a couple cubes of sugar in it, it was too bitter.

"Fischbach is pretty much right next door, we can visit each other all the time." She tried to cheer you up as she took a bite of her sandwich. "And hey, you can read and write, I'm sure, we can always write letters!"

"Yeah. So what exactly did you want my opinion on?"

"Well, since King Mark is coming to talk with my father about dowry, he will probably propose soon after, and we both know the Queen is... excited about the marriage, so I'll probably be married within the next three weeks. I know I already spoke of this, but would you be my maid of honor?"

You couldn't contain your humongous grin at her genuine kindness, and how close you two were after such a short time. "Of course, I would absolutely love to."

Amy grinned, taking your hand in hers to quickly squeeze it before going back to her meal. "Thank you, Y/N, you are such a wonderful friend."

"And you know you're going to be my maid of honor as well, right?"

"I would be honored."

After lunch, Amy asked you to accompany her to the gardens, which you obliged to happily, she seemed to have endless stories of her stay in Fischbach. Currently, she was telling you of King Mark's hidden dorky side. You were having a hard time imagining a clumsy, blubbering man underneath the cool, calculating exterior he had in all the stories you'd heard of him. And yet here was Amy telling you about how one day she awoke to him running around in the yard below her window with squirrels following him, yelling that he was king of the squirrels.

"He sounds kind of crazy." You laughed, walking down the pathway with the Princess.

"No, it was really funny, and the squirrels really did seem to like him, so maybe he does have a way with squirrels. And when I told him I had seen him, he seemed very amused and asked if I liked animals. After I mentioned my penchant for birds, he offered to buy me the most exotic bird I could wish for once I moved into the Fischbach castle."

"That sounds absolutely wonderful, Amy. I'm so happy for you." You smiled, stopping to observe a blue flower that was just starting to bloom. You could tell it was going to be the most brilliant deep blue shade, one that reminded you of sapphires and the color of the water in the deepest part of the river you fell in earlier. The memory caused you to have to stifle your laughter, and look aroud for Ethan. Curiously enough, he wasn't there.

"Ethan assists Leopold during his swordfighting lessons when our father's back is giving him trouble." Amy apparently knew exactly who you were looking for, explaining his sudden disappearance.

"That's very kind of him."

"Yes, Leopold looks up to Ethan more than I think either of them realize. He's always telling me about whatever Ethan's done lately, even if it was just pouring tea for him. Which is probably amazing to him because the poor boy's hands shake holding the heavy teapots. I'm serious, have you picked up our teapots? They give you some intense arm strength."

"Why are they so heavy?"

"The Queen insisted on pure marble and gold for them, which is quite dense." Amy scoffed, continuing on down the path, and you cast a final glance at the blue flower before following her.

Eventually, you and Amy had made your way to the swordfighting grounds, where you could hear the sounds of metal clanging on metal. Turning the corner around the weapon shed, you saw Ethan giving Leopold tips as they sparred, Leopold with a much smaller sword than Ethan's to account for his smaller size. It was clear to you that Ethan was going very easy on the boy, he didn't seem to even be breaking a sweat as he easily blocked one of the boy's attempts to get a slice at his side, yelling out pointers about his form.

"Ethan, I'm tired, and I'm never gonna win against you!" Leopold whined, dropping his sword in the middle of the mock-duel.

You sucked in your breath as Ethan's sword kept going towards the younger boy's neck. He stopped it just before it was about to slice the child's delicate skin, and Leopold's eyes were wide as he looked at his older brother. Ethan had an intense look on his face as he sheathed his sword and spoke to the Young Prince. "You cannot give up in the middle of a battle, Leopold, do you understand me? I don't care if it's a fake one with me where I would never hurt you, or one against an enemy that would decapitate you with no qualms. Do. Not. Give. Up. Understand?"

"Yes, Ethan." Leopold nodded, and Ethan's stern facade cracked, and he pulled the younger boy into him with one arm, and ruffling his hair with his other hand.

"You did good today, kid. Now come on, I think there's some ladies waiting to speak to you. I'll put away your sword, just this once."

The little boy smiled up at the servant. "Thank you!" He immediately made a beeline for Amy, and she kneeled down to greet him with open arms.

"Hey Leo!" She fake-growled, squeezing her brother to her tightly. "It's been too long, brother!"

"I know! Why does that jerk have to take you away?" Leopold pouted, letting go of Amy to cross his arms over his chest.

Amy flicked his forehead. "Hey, you do not speak about anyone like that, especially not King Mark. Understand?"

"There's so much for me to understand." He complained, holding his forehead, but nodding in assent to his older sister nonetheless before turning to you. "Hello, Y/N!'

"Hello, Leopold." You addressed him informally, as he had done to you.

"You can call me Leo! If you wanna, of course."

"That sounds great, Leo."

Leo beamed at you, then took his sister's hand in his as he lead you two away from the swordfighting grounds. "Did you two see me! I almost had him this time!"

"Ah, I think Ethan had you the whole time, but you're getting so much better, brother." Amy smiled down at her brother, and the look of love for him on her face made your heart twinge for Rachel. What you would give to hold her little hand in yours again.

Your feet were still rooted to the same spot as the siblings turned around to look at you, concerned. "Are you just gonna stay there the whole time, Y/N?" Leo cocked his head in confusion.

"I was actually interested in looking at the weapons shed, for some daggers, I don't wish to fall behind in my training." You fibbed, to a certain degree. In your kingdom, you had been trained in daggers for self-defense, but you really just wanted to speak with Ethan again, without somebody else around.

"Ask Ethan, he'll find the right blades for you. Leo and I will be at the stables, he still needs to learn how to groom and tack Bynie." Amy informed you, before going down the path with her brother.

"I'll join you afterwards."

You sighed, pushing the weapons shed open, and your eyes took a moment to adjust to the dimmer area. Along one wall were all the swords, blades catching the sunlight that streamed in from the single window. There was a workbench pushed up against the opposite wall, and sitting at was Ethan, polishing the sword he had just used with Leo.

"Hello, Ethan." You said quietly, watching his fingers as he skillfully worked.

He immediately stood up, bowing to you. "Hello, Lady Y/N."

"Amy and Leo are going to the stables."

This caused Ethan to relax and sit back at the bench, offering you the spot next to him. "So, what brings you into the weapons shed, Y/N?"

"Daggers. And you." You sat beside him, eyes gracing from his fingertips over his forearms exposed fom his shirt being rolled up, folowing the curves of his collarbone and neck until they finally rested on his beautiful face.

A smile tugged at the edge of his mouth as he continued polishing. "I can help you with the daggers, My Lady. What size do you prefer?"

"I trained on 8-inch blades, but I honestly prefer 10-inch blades. Anything similar?"

Ethan stood to peruse the shelves at the back of the shed. "One-handed grip or two-handed?"

"One handed, that way I can duel-weild them."

"Who trained you with these, exactly?"

"My father determined that if he wasn't going to have a son, he was going to have daughters that could protect themselves just fine."

"Does your sister know how to use them as well?"

"Rachel won't start until she turns nine, so not for another 7 months or so."

The guy with you pulled down a case, opening the clasps to display a pair of dark grey daggers. The blades seemed to be slightly smaller than your preferred 10-inch blades, but no less sharp. When you picked one up, you could feel that the handle was sturdy underneath your grip, and you did a quick test swipe through the air, away from Ethan, of course. "Perfectly balanced." You mumbled, admiring the craftsmanship of the weapon.

"These were my mother's." Ethan admitted softly as you turned your next slice into a ducking roll, then came out of it with jab-slice combination.

"They're a masterpiece, Ethan." With a smile, you stood up and dusted the dirt that had stuck to your skirt from the roll on the shed floor.

Ethan had a bittersweet smile on his face, handing you the case. "They're all yours, My Lady."

You protested, trying to pushed the case back into his grasp. "I couldn't possibly, these were your mother's-"

"I want you to have them, Y/N. There is nobody I'd rather give these to. And I want them to be used again, they've been collecting dust since she passed. That's no fair to her memory."

"I will weild them with pride, thank you Ethan." Setting them down on the worktable, you took this opportunity to give Ethan a quick hug.

Feeling him with you plastered a smile on your face that you couldn't shake. "I've gotta meet Amy and Leo at the stables, I told them I'd help them groom the horses."

"There's servants for that, Lady Y/N."

"I like it though, bonding with your horse is always important." You said as you pushed open the door, giving him a wave. "See you at dinner, Ethan."

"Goodbye, My Lady." He waved back to you, watching you close the door behind you before returning to his polishing.

At the stables, you appreciated the image of Amy and Leo grooming Bynie together before picking up a brush of your own to brush Ophelia's golden fur. "She reminds me of you, Amy." You pointed out to similarity of her hair and your friend's.

"My mother gave her to me as present for my sixth birthday." She explained, stroking the mare's nose fondly. "I'm glad you'll be here to take of her when I go to Fischbach."

"You can take her with you, I'm sure everyone would understand."

"It's fine, really, Y/N." Amy went back to Bynie and her brother.

"Y/N! Are you excited for the wedding?" Leo suddenly spoke up, peeking out from behind the large colt.

You were caught off guard for a moment, and the boy continued blabbering. "My sister's gonna look so pretty in her wedding dress! And there's gonna be lots of food! And the cake! Do you like cake, Y/N?"

You breathed a sigh of relief, he was talking about Amy and King Mark's wedding, not yours. "I love cake, and I'm sure Amy will look absolutely stunning."

That night after a nearly insufferable dinner with the Queen of Gizmonia, you were escorted back to your room by Ethan. "Anything else you need, My Lady?" He said, hands folded in front of him as he stood politely by the door.

You ducked behind a dressing curtain to slip into your pajamas, a deep sigh echoing through the room. "I'm fine, thank you, Ethan."

He was frowning as you stepped back out and sat at your vanity to brush your hair. "You don't sound fine, Y/N."

"I just, don't think I'm going to sleep very well tonight, that's all."

"Is the bed not comfy? I can-"

"No, I was reminded of the weddings again today. Amy is leaving, and eventually I'll have to be wedded to a little boy." You set down your hairbrush before walking to sit down at the head of your bed.

"Would a lullaby help?" Ethan offered, stepping further into the room. "I'm not very good at singing, but-"

"That would be lovely, Ethan." You patted the space beside you in the bed, and he cautiously sat at the very edge of the mattress.

Ethan gently tucked the blankets around you before starting to hum. You looked at him lovingly as he finally got the courage to open his mouth and let out a few quiet vocals. Taking his hand in yours, you could see him smile down at you as he sang louder. His light, melodic voice was already starting to lull you to sleep, you could feel your eyelids getting heavier. "Thank you, Ethan." You mumbled through a yawn, and the last thing you were aware of before finally drifting off to sleep were a pair of soft lips pressing against your forehead.

♢

It was two weeks later that had you dressed in one of your most formal dresses provided to you in Gizmonia, standing on the steps of the Gizmonia castle with the rest of the royal family. It was a startling case of deja vu that brought you back to the day you arrived. Except today everyone was waiting for the arrival of King Mark of Fischbach, who was coming to discuss dowry and allegedly propose to Amy. She could barely contain her excitement as her knee bounced underneath her dress from beside you on the step.

Quietly, you reached out to touch her arm comfortingly and offer her a big smile when she turned around to look at you. "I'm so happy you're getting to meet him, Y/N. I hope you two will be friends."

"As do I, Amy. If this man makes you so happy, I want to meet him as well." You said softly back, turning back to look at the gates to see a deep redwood carriage coming down the path. That must be him, King Mark.

The two jet black horses pulling the carriage stopped in front of the steps, and the servant guiding them hopped down to open the carriage door. The man that stepped out took your breath away for a moment. He had dark brown, nearly black hair, a hint of neatly groomed stubble, and the most brilliant smile once his eyes landed on Amy. You could tell that it was taking all her strength not to run over to him immediately. He didn't seem to even look at anyone else, making a calm beeline to her to bend and kiss her hand.

"My Lady Amy, it is so good to see you again." He said, a deep bass in his voice.

"And you, King Mark." She curtsied to him, and then suddenly remembered that others were there too. "My Lord, I want to you meet my friend, Princess Y/N of Fandomia. She's staying at our castle right now."

"Lady Y/N, it's such a pleasure to meet you, Lady Amy's mentioned you a few times." King Mark bowed to you cordially, and from the closer distance you could see his warm chocolate brown eyes, the stories of his handsomeness were definitely true.

"And she's mentioned you frequently as well, King Mark." You curtsied to him, sending a grin at your friend, who rolled her eyes in response. "It's truly my pleasure to meet you, My Lord."

He went to greet the King and Queen next, and Amy looked at you with a pointed glare at your comment, but she still had a grin on her face. You were so happy to see her so happy. The king of Gizmonia invited King Mark into his private study for them to talk, and the Queen instructed you and Amy to stay in the castle while she did etiquette lessons with Leopold.

You were in the library with Amy, discussing every possibility of how King Mark woud propose to her when two forms approaching the armchairs you were sitting in came into your field of vision. At the front was King Mark, with Ethan directing him as is his duty. The servant bowed to everyone before walking to a polite distance by the fireplace.

"Lady Amy, may I speak with you in private?" King Mark asked kindly, offering a hand out to her.

You friend could only nod, accepting his hand up. You sent her the most discrete thumbs-up you could before the couple left. And so that left you in the library with Ethan. "They're so cute together." You commented, setting down your book to look into the fire.

"Yes, they will make a great ruling King and Queen of Fischbach." Ethan agreed, moving to stand behind the chair you were relaxing in.

"The stable boys will be disappointed."

He laughed, resting a hand on your head, and you leaned into the touch. "They'll get over it."

"Yeah, they're teenage boys, they'll find a new fixation."

"They better hope for their own sake it's not you."

You looked up at Ethan at his intense tone. "And why is that?"

He shrugged, and you pushed the issue further. "Ethan? Something wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Tell me, Ethan. That's an order."

Ethan had a half-smile on his face at your familiar words. "Well it's just, King Mark is attractive, and the stable boys are obsessive-"

"Is that jealousy I'm hearing, Ethan?" You knew you had a shit-eating grin on your face but you didn't care as his face turned bright red with his attempts at denials.

"No, I-"

You reached up to hold his hand, and place kisses along his knuckles. "Stop doubting yourself, Ethan. You're wonderful."

Ethan walked around the chair to crouch in front of you, fingers turning white as he held tightly to your arms. "Is everything okay?" You whispered, looking into his intense blue eyes that were turning more hazel in the lighting.

He surprised you by suddenly thrusting his lips onto yours. You readily kissed back with the same intensity, mouth moving against his in perfect synchronization. Your fingers were locked around the back of his neck and his were tangled in the locks of your hair. When you needed air, he seemed in shock as well. "I'm sorry, we're in the library-"

"Ethan, my room after dinner, okay?"

"Yes, My Lady." The man nodded, taking the appropriate steps back from you, and you combed your hair back into an orderly fashion.

You didn't see Amy again for hours. The salad course of probably the most awkward dinner of your life was just being brought out when she and King Mark entered. "Excuse the tardiness, it was entirely my fault. Please accept my apologies." King Mark spoke sonorously to the room.

You had to keep in your sigh of relief, they just saved you from the Queen's not-so-subtle comments about your future wedding to Leo, which you nor the boy really wanted to talk about. At least you were on the same page there.

Amy sat beside you with King Mark on her right side, and your eyes were immediately focused in on the large diamond glittering on the hand closest to you. You seized her left hand in your grip, barely containing your squealing at the gorgeous ring on her finger. "Amy! Congratulations!"

"Oh yeah, thank you, Y/N." She pulled you into a tight hug, and you smiled at her fiancee over her shoulder.

"And of course congratulations to you as well, King Mark. You've truly chosen the best bride."

"Yes, I have." He smiled lovingly at Amy, and this made your heart swell. They were just, so, very in love. An arranged marriage that made both happy, that was a rare and beautiful thing.

"Well, let's start eating!" Leopold picked up his fork, and his father put his son's hand down with his much larger hand.

"A toast first," the King of Gizmonia said, standing up from his chair and picking up his glass of red wine. You picked up your own glass, as did the other adults, while Leopold picked up his glass of juice, admittedly pretty reluctant. "To the new marriages and alliances that will bless our kingdoms soon. To a new time of peace for us all."

You had the distinct feeling that his vagueness when speaking of marriage was to also remind everyone of your own upcoming marriage to Leopold. The reality still hadn't sunk in, Amy's happiness was enough to distract you for now. And you were going to let it distract you.

The rest of dinner and dessert went over wonderfully, and you were itching to get back to your room, not forgetting your instructions to Ethan from earlier. "Y/N, would you like to go to the library with me?" Amy caught up to you after she said goodbye to King Mark, he was going back to his own kingdom.

"You've had a full day Amy, get some sleep. We can talk wedding at breakfast tomorrow, okay?" You could see the tired look she was trying hide.

"Goodnight, Y/N." She gave you one last hug before retreating down the hall to her own room.

With a deep breath, you opened the door your room, and closed it behind you, releasing your breath. You were contemplating going to bed yourself, but you wanted to see Ethan again, so you compromised with changing into your nightgown.

A knock on your door caused to run over to throw it open. Standing there was Ethan, nervously adjusting his hair. "Hey Ethan." You smiled, pulling him in and then locking the door from the inside.

"Y/N." He breathed out as you attached your lips to his again, sleep dissolving from your mind.

His strong hands were pressing against your back as yours trailed up to his soft hair. You pushed yourself up against him as if trying to close the atoms-width space between you, reveling in just how wonderful this feeling was. Ethan, kissing you, as if neither of you had any other care in the world. As if this moment would never end.

"My Lady, are you sure?" Ethan pulled away from a moment, resting his forehead on yours.

You kissed his lips once again. "I love you, Ethan. That I'm sure of."

"I love you too, Y/N." He pressed his lips to yours, then attached his mouth to your neck.

You whimpered slightly as he found a particularly sensitive spot. "Ethan." A breathy moan escaped your mouth, and you bit your lip to keep your sounds in, you were unsure of exactly how thin the walls were in the castle.

"I love you." He mumbled against your skin, and you twirled locks of his hair in your fingers.

"I love you." You echoed, hands exploring underneath his shirt, as if you were trying to memeorize every dip and muscle of his torso. As your fingers graced his side, he let go of your clavicle to giggle and twist away from you.

"Stop." Ethan whined and you continued to ticke him with a smirk on your lips.

"Oh, are you ticklish?" You smirked, and his hands sezied yours with an intensity in his eyes you hadn't seen before.

"I thought I told you to stop." He growled, pinning you to the wall with your wrists under his firm grip.

"Did you?" You replied innocently, and then you found his mouth back on the sensitive spot on your neck, his teeth grazing the soft skin.

Angling your head back, you had to bite your lip again as your fingers found the hem of his shirt. When Ethan let go of you to throw off his shirt, you took this opportunity to back him up until his legs hit the edge of your bed, then further. He fell back with you on top of him, and you quickly put a knee on either side of him, going back to kissing him passionately. He had just propped himself with one hand to pull your nightgown off your shoulder when a timid knock came at your bedroom door.

"My Lady?" Maryana's melodic voice came through, and you and Ethan exchanged wide-eyed looks.

"Coming, Maryana." You yelled out loudly to her, fixing your nightgown and shooing Ethan behind your dresing curtain. Tossing him his discarded shirt, you adjusted your hair in the mirror and pulled it over the red mark forming on your neck.

With a deep breath, you opened the door and flashed your handmaiden a smile. In her hand was a book of fairytales, and you wanted to hit yourself, you'd completely forgotten that you were supposed to help teach her to read tonight. "If it's a bad time, I can leave, Lady Y/N."

You shook your head, not wanting to be rude, and let her in to sit at the desk near your vanity. "Read the first chapter to me, Maryana."

She stumbled over a few of the words, but you were still able to garner the meaning of the story, and after she was finished you gave her pointers on her pronunciations. "Okay, so before Amy and King Mark's wedding, I want to see some sort of piece of writing about this Chapter from you. This way you can practice your reading and your writing."

"Thank you again, My Lady. You are so kind." She stood, and you gave her a hug and final goodnight before she left.

You locked the door and turned to where half of Ethan's head was poking out from behind the curtain. "I'm sorry Ethan, I forgot that I teach Maryana on Thursday nights."

"You're teaching her to read?" Ethan asked, wrapping his arms around your waist, pressing a kiss to your shoulder, pulling your nightgown sleeve back down. "You never fail to amaze me."

Turning around in his arms, you feathered kisses along his jaw. "You haven't seen anything yet, Ethan."

♢

Squinting your eyes against the impeding sunlight streaming into your room, you rolled over in your bed, wrapping the blankets closer around you. "Y/N, it's time to wake up." A gentle voice whispered into your ear, and you fully opened your eyes to see Ethan hovering over you.

"Morning." You pulled his face down to yours for a kiss. Looking around, you saw him stnading next to your bed dressed in new clothes, and you realized you were still naked. "What time is it?"

"Not terribly late, I ran back to my room early this morning to get dressed and avoid suspicion. Breakfast is being served to the family seperately, Leopold has come down with a fever." He explained as you wrapped a sheet aound yourself to run over to your wardrobe.

"I promised Amy I would talk to her about the wedding at breakfast!" You yelped, bustling behind the privacy curtain to get dressed. "And Leo's ill, you said?"

"Yes, Maryana is tending to him now."

"I'll visit him after I speak with Amy." You threw yourself into your chair in front of your mirror to brushed your hair as quickly as possible. To your alarm, there were a few deep purple and pink marks along your neck and shoulders. You stomped over to the armoire to wrap a shawl tightly around yourself to conceal them.

A gentle hand on your arm stopped your fervent rushing around your room. "I'm sorry, Y/N."

You shook your head, smiling softly up at Ethan. "Don't be. But I really need to go, I'll see you later, Ethan."

He nodded, opening your door for you politely. "I love you." Ethan whispered, and you blew him a kiss quickly before speedwalking down the halls.