You frowned to yourself as you sat before the vanity in your room as one of your mother’s maids finished styling your hair into something your mother had demanded of her for the opening ceremonies and start of the tournament your father had announced as the celebration of your betrothal to Prince Jaehwan. You were expected to play the dutiful princess with your soon to be husband as you sat together throughout the ceremonies and tournament, and while you generally enjoyed the tournaments, the current company was already set to put a damper on your mood.

After your mother’s maid was finished with your hair, you were left to wait until the designated time where you and the prince would be announced to the people. Rather than sitting alone in your room (as Hakyeon had been sent ahead to ensure the viewing area was prepared) you wandered down to the grand hall, hoping to find some distraction or entertainment before the ceremonies. Instead of any such company, you simply found yourself face to face with the prince.

His smile was bright as he walked over to you, still laughing at something. “Ah, my beautiful princess! You just couldn’t wait to be by my side, could you?” The frown on your face made your dislike obvious, but he simply didn’t seem to care, continuing to smile at you. “I hear you have a new champion competing in this tournament? I wonder if he will be any match for my own Sir Wonshik?”

The teasing grin on his face made you scowl. “Of course, and he will win the tournament without giving any thought to your knight!” You turned to storm away, mentally wishing for your statement to ring true. You remembered watching the other knight compete in another tournament, and he was a formidable opponent.

“Would you care to make a small wager, princess?” You stopped and turned back to him with a frown as he continued, the teasing smirk steady on his face. “Simply between the two of us. A favor of the other’s choice.” He tilted his head with a grin and before you could stop yourself, you walked back over to stand in front of him, frown still on your face as you looked up at him, completely unabashedly.

“Sure. A bet on their match, and the one who loses will give the victor a favor of their choice.” When you held out your hand to seal the bargain, you were shocked at the feel of his lips against the back of your hand.

His laughter startled you as you jerked your hand from his grasp. And then he merely winked before turning to walk away before stopping and giving you another smile. “Shall we go, princess?”

Knowing that all eyes would be on you once you left the privacy of the castle, you took a deep breath and pasted on the smile you had learned from your mother before taking his arm.

~*~

The excitement from the tournament was always one of your favorite feelings and you had to keep yourself from inching closer to the edge of your seat as you watched the various opening matches, knowing that all eyes (especially your soon to be new family and husband) were on you.

As he was the youngest of three sons, the family inheritance for him was mostly gone, and he would be taking charge of your own kingdom after your father’s death, as you were the only child. So this tournament and festival was also a sort of trial for him as well. Although by his carefree actions, you couldn’t tell if he was even attempting to take matters seriously or not.

There was a burst of laughter from beside you and you turned to face the prince, merely to find him already looking at you. “I don’t think I’ve met a princess who cares much for tournaments. Another intriguing quality.” His expression turned teasing again as he continued, his voice pitched a little lower as he leaned over towards you. “Of course our wager match will definitely be something to look forward to.”

You felt your face heat slightly at the almost intimate implications, turning your face back to the knights who were preparing to fight. You smiled to yourself as you recognized one as Sir Taekwoon, the rival of Jaehwan’s knight. He was always a fierce combatant and you softly cheered at his quick victory.

Hakyeon laughed softly from behind you as he reached to hand you some wine. “As much as I hope our knight wins, I do love watching Sir Taekwoon fight.” His voice was soft enough that nobody else could over hear, but you couldn’t keep the laughter from bubbling out.

Ignoring the look from the prince, you turned back to Hakyeon with a bright smile. “And is that why you suggested Prince Hongbin as a match? So you could get closer to his knight?” You laughed again at the scandalized look he gave you.

“Princess! How could you suggest I would even think to do such a selfish thing? I was merely suggesting a proper match that could happen between you and another prince of a certain status and proximity. Besides, it won’t matter now. Although your prince and Prince Hongbin are cousins, so we’ll still get to see them often enough.” Hakyeon’s smile was teasing and you couldn’t stop the laughter from escaping again, earning another scowl from the prince sitting beside you.

There was a slight commotion of movement from the sands below you and you turned to find the new knight from your kingdom standing before you with a wide smile, although you could sense a majority of the smile was merely a teasing facade. He bowed deeply before you, smiling again at your nod. “Princess, I am Sanghyuk. I will win this tournament for you and your kingdom and serve you until my death. Please accept my service and grant me your favor.”

The teasing look in the knight’s expression made you smile as you stood, taking the light scarf Hakyeon had been sure to bring for you, just for this occasion. The fact that this knight seemed not afraid to look you in the eyes made you smile. It showed spunk, and you respected that. Besides, after your coming of age ceremony, your parents had started pushing you to assemble your own household, and if this one passed the final tests to be fully knighted, he seemed to be a good candidate for your own guard.

You walked down to the barrier and leaned over with an equally teasing smile as you motioned the knight closer. “Win the tournament for me then, Sanghyuk. I accept your service gladly.” You reached out to tie the scarf around his upper arm. As you slowly straightened back up, you had to bite your lip to keep from laughing at the wink the young knight gave you before he bowed again.

As the knight walked back to where he would face off against another of the knights, you sat in your seat again. Hakyeon leaned over to whisper in your ear again. “Okay, I like him. He seems feisty. And we both know what I think about that particular trait.”

You laughed again, smiling at your friend. While he took his duties as your advisor and tutor very seriously, he was also a great friend and knew how to make you laugh, even when you might not feel much like it. And while the tournament atmosphere and festivities was making you feel excited again, you were a little less enthusiastic than normal, simply because of the sudden marriage arrangement.

You took a sip of your wine again before turning your attention back to the match between Sanghyuk and another knight you didn’t recognize. You watched as Sanghyuk patiently waited for the other knight to reveal his tactics before quickly swooping in and defeating him in one swift attack. You couldn’t keep the cheer of excitement from bursting out as you clapped for the young knight, a blush on your face in embarrassment. Although, you smiled when you turned to face Prince Jaehwan beside you. “I do believe my knight will best yours.”

Jaehwan leaned closer to you, a slight smirk on his face. “Don’t be too rash, my dear princess. Be patient and we’ll see which of our knights is the victor soon enough.” He dipped his voice lower to where he wouldn’t be overheard. “Unless you’re simply anxious to give me a favor of whatever I choose.” You felt your face heating again as he leaned back in his seat, the hint of a smirk still on his face.

The other matches passed by in a bit of a blur, you only truly seemed to take note of the three knights as they fought their way through their opponents. When the time came for the match between Sanghyuk and Sir Wonshik, you felt yourself straighten again. This was it. You watched as Sir Wonshik bowed to the prince at your side, keeping your eyes on the two knights before you. When Sanghyuk stood after bowing to you, the playful smirk was on his face again as he gave you an almost imperceptible nod.

You jumped slightly at the feel of a hand taking yours, turning to find Jaehwan smiling at you before he stood, bringing you up with him, before walking to stand before the two knights. You didn’t know what he had planned and for a moment your heart stopped in panic before he raised his voice slightly, addressing both the knights and the crowd of spectators. “As the representative knights for your beautiful princess and myself, I hope this match will prove to be a worthy display of your individual skills and the pride you have in us, your rulers, and the kingdoms you call home. My beautiful betrothed, your princess, has spoken to me of her fondness for tournaments and the festivities that your kingdom holds, and I hope this match and the remainder of this tournament and festival will please her as much as the past festivities have. To our knights before us, may the best one win.” He smiled with a nod at the knights, bringing your hand to his lips again before turning to lead you back to your seats.

As soon as you sat down again, you leaned over to hiss at him, ignoring Hakyeon’s questioning look. “Why did you do that? And to exaggerate everything between us. I don’t like deceiving my people. Especially not when it is because of someone else.”

Prince Jaehwan merely laughed and gave your hand a slight squeeze, and you frowned for a moment, having forgotten he was still holding it. “Be patient, my princess. You’ll see it wasn’t an exaggeration, you won’t have deceived anyone. Now, would you miss the chance to watch our match, simply arguing with me?”

You frowned before turning back to the knights who were standing and awaiting the signal to begin the fight. As soon as the signal was given, you watched intently as both knights seemed to be taking stock of the other. You leaned forward in your seat slightly, the anticipation coursing through your own veins, as if you were the one in the fight. With a sudden flash, they attacked and you couldn’t keep from jumping slightly at the eruption of noise. The two knights seemed to be evenly matched and you anxiously watched, softly cheering for Sanghyuk whenever he landed a blow that you hoped would send the other knight to his defeat. However, Sir Wonshik was a skilled fighter as well. The match seemed to drag out longer than the others that had seemed to pass in a blur.

Just when you thought the match would end in neither knight truly winning, Sanghyuk landed a blow and kick, sending Sir Wonshik to the ground and Sanghyuk was quick to pounce for the finishing touch, holding his sword just above Sir Wonshik’s neck as he half stood on top of the other knight. He turned to face you, and you stood from your seat, clapping with a smile as you nodded. Sanghyuk moved to bow before you, removing his helmet and giving you the smirk that you were coming to think was a trademark expression with him.

Prince Jaehwan stood beside you and clapped before leaning over to whisper in your ear. “It appears you’ve won, my princess. Choose your favor carefully. Anything you ask of me, whenever you like.” He turned back to the knights, raising his voice to be heard by everyone again. “Wonderful match! Congratulations on your victory, young Sanghyuk. You have served your princess well.”

Before he could say anything else, an arrow suddenly sailed past you and there was a second of pause before the platform erupted into chaos. You felt Jaehwan pushing you to stand behind him as he shouted at someone about a sword. You glanced behind you to find the arrow had lodged itself in your father’s neck and you screamed before a hand clapped over your mouth and you felt yourself being swept up into a pair of arms.