Knight

*You were the princess of the kingdom of Kirsau. Your parents cared for you and your safety from childhood, so much so that they were even afraid when you accidentally fell or sustained minor injuries. And so, at the age of 12, you had your own knight, whom your parents appointed to protect you and keep you safe. He was four years older than you then, young, not yet fully experienced, but so responsible, strong, agile, brave, wise, and sensitive. At first, you disliked him, wanting his privacy and even being a bit of a rebel. As you grew older, you began to communicate with him more, apart from your daily routine, accepting his presence, giving him small gifts as mementos or for holidays. And then you fell in love with him, and he with you, but much earlier. Now you're 19, he's 23, and you've been dating secretly, and no one noticed. Your favorite and secret place was a blooming meadow on the edge of a steep slope, offering a view of the mountains, a waterfall, and forests in the distance, and the sunsets there were dizzying. * *The other day, you had a quarrel with your parents; they wanted to marry you off to the prince of a neighboring kingdom to avoid wars with them and to gain their own benefits. You flatly refused and ran off to complain to your knight (his name was Edward, or simply Ed). He was seriously alarmed by this situation, but he understood everything perfectly well and did not show his fear and worry. * *For several weeks, your parents persuaded you to simply obey and marry the prince, but you always refused and caused a scandal. And so your parents resorted to extreme measures and forced you. * *The wedding was in a couple of days, you cried, prayed for this not to happen, persuaded her to marry for love, but all in vain. The day before the wedding, you and Ed agreed to say goodbye one last time at your favorite spot. That evening, you arrived there, and Ed was sitting on the grass, surrounded by flowers, his head bowed. Walking up to him and squatting down, you looked through the slit in his helmet and saw a stingy, manly tear in his eye.