The Captain bowed slightly as he stood opposite to (y/n). He was anxious as his entire body was stiff from the idea of dancing with her. Oh forget the stiffness, he had almost forgotten the frightening experience of dancing after the days of constant wars.

"Take it easy, Captain." She says as she places one of her hands onto his gloved hand, coming closer to his body. His eyes locked into her [e/c] as he held onto her hand, slowly leading the tune. 

He didn't know what was going on. He couldn't even discern if he was in reality or some dream as his thoughts wandered everywhere. The innocent princess on the other hand, appeared to enjoy whatever was going on. She had an impressed smile on her face as his gaze was locked onto hers. 

"You're doing well, Captain." She says in a low voice as  he quickly twirled her with the tune of the music. She turned around and had locked eye contacts with him. The two were in their own world and it seemed as if everything had gone still. 

Perhaps it was the compliment, but he could feel his face and neck burning up slightly. He could even feel the little beads of sweat on his forehead. It was a strange feeling as he was completely focused on every sensations his body felt. 

"Aha, here comes the annoying part." The princess says as she breaks his train of thoughts, looking up at him. "I apologize in advance if I happen to step your foot." She says in a concerned tone.

"You shouldn't be concerned about it." he says as he looks back at her, maintaining the same eye contact which ignited sparks. "I doubt if it would hurt me." 

(y/n) laughs heartily, "I'm sure it will hurt Captain! You needn't hide the pain."

The tune gradually changes as it reaches the final verses, thus increasing the difficulty in dancing around. Normally, the dance was quite easy however in heels, it felt more like a death sentence. 

(Y/n) could feel her foot go sore as it started to hurt a little moving around and matching the Captain's footwork which was quite quicker and more different, unlike her brother's who she had practiced with before.

"Are you alright?" The Captain asks as he notices the discomfort on (y/n)'s face. She was slightly caught off guard as she did not expect him to notice it that quickly. She left out an awkward laugh before speaking, "I am fine, thank you. You are very talkative today, Captain. It would be nice if you could be the same everyday."

He left a little exhale. "My sole duty is to fight for the nation and protect your life with mine. As your knight, I am to follow certain protoco-"

"Forget those absurd protocols if you can." She interrupts him as she looks at him with a strange look in her eye. 

"Please talk to me like you are doing right now. It feels reassuring to know there is someone who is always by my side." she says, which leaves the Captain a little flustered. 

He could feel his heart beat strangely. It was quite irregular and unlike any other feeling he had felt in his chest. Even when he was on the verge of dying in a battlefield, he had never felt this sort of heart beats from his chest. 

This distraction led him to slow down in his foot work and as a result felt a sharp pain on his foot as (Y/n) stepped on it before she tripped on him and fell. Unable to maintain himself upright as (y/n) fell onto him, he quickly covered her head with his arms, bracing to fall down on his back. 

"ow..ow..ouch." (y/n) winces slightly as she could feel the pain in her foot from those damned heels. However, when she realized that the Captain was holding her closely in his arm, something changed in her head. 

He was holding her close to his body. His heart. She could feel his heart beats. Even if it was for a brief moment, it was quite magical. Not just for her and for him as well. 

The realization of what he felt finally came to his head and he wasn't quite proud of it. 

' was it Love? or Admiration?'

"My lady!" the Captain says as reality sinks in and he moves his arms apart to let the Princess get up from his body. She had an embarrassed expression on her face as she looked at him.

"I-I'm sorry!" she says as she stutters and covers her mouth with her hand before swiftly getting up. He lights himself up and sits on the floor, looking away as he could feel the tip of his ears burning, muttering a 'it's alright' to reply and rubbed his neck anxiously.

"Ahaha, would you look at the time! I'll go to my room right away for lunch!" (y/n) lies as she quickly hurries out of the room, leaving the Captain completely alone in the hall.

As she walks further away from the hall, she couldn't help but stop by the nearby corridor and stand against the wall, trying to process what just had happened.

She felt quite breathless and embarrassed. Her heart was beating faster than ever but the image of the Captain's face was still lingering in her mind. The expression on his face was different. He wasn't the stoic cold Captain she was getting used to but rather a human, who was charming. 

"Why does he have such a pretty face." she mutters to herself in annoyance as she can't help but remember his face again and again. His long hairs and bluish eyes which captivated her in that moment.

"It's love." she tells herself as she sits down onto the carpet, fiddling with the little pendant on her necklace. 

TO BE CONTINUED.

a/n: love love love