"The Falcon and the Hawk: p1"

‼️WARNINGS‼️

•Swearing

•OOC Levi

•Minor Blood Description

•Fighting/Violence

•Season 2 & 3 Spoilers

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(Requested by @Dont_ask_me_who_am_i )

Third Person POV

The single flame of a candle dances along the wick in a dark study. The scribbles of an inked quill scrape against a piece of a paper as the wind blows outside the stained windows. In the last few hours of his freedom, a Prince wrote a farewell note to his mother for whenever she would find it. Tomorrow is his nineteenth birthday, the day he would no longer be himself. Every year, his mother celebrates his birthday by hosting a festival for the kingdom in order to honor their Prince. Anything from food, dancing, singing, to having a grand 'ole time on this special day. The night would always end with a ball that only neighboring kingdoms could attend if they so pleased. This time, Princesses from different nations would be attending in order to offer their hand in marriage. Whichever one he would chose were to be wed the morning after the ball.

All these fair maidens are coming across the land just for him and as pleasing as it sounds, it was terrifying him. Tomorrow, he would be on the verge of taking the throne. He is going to be the King of Sina in only a matter of days and the thought made him sick to his stomach. That is why he sits here, in his study, writing away his final goodbye before he leaves his kingdom that he has never left. The Prince has never been outside the walls of his kingdom and has little knowledge on what really lies beyond them. However, he's willing to risk it all in order to find his own freedom. He would rather live a life where no one is counting on him, calling all the shots to further improve his kingdom's way of living. He doesn't see how his mother's people can trust him when he doesn't even trust himself.

Once he signed his letter, he got up and brought it back to his bedroom where he would leave it behind one of the many pillows adorning his massive canopy bed. Before heading out, he lies on the mattress to stare up towards the velvet fabric above his bed frame, wondering if he really is this crazy for running away. "You're next on the throne, are you really this scared of governing your people?" Minutes pass and the young man finally drags himself off the bed to make his great escape before it becomes too late and his plan is foiled. Stripping his heavy outermost layers to ditch and putting on his riding boots in order to run quicker and scale cliffs, he also grabs a satchel for the bare minimum supplies. Now, he's ready.

~~

As the sun peeks her way over the horizon, minutes pass until she is rising above the three great walls of the quaint kingdom. Her heavenly marigold and tangerine beams warm up the Earth, awakening all of her subjects from people to critters. Life begins to bustle through the once before quiet cobblestone streets, now it is full of life from the early-risers and shopkeepers. Everyone is busy preparing for the day's celebration of their Prince. Other than that, it's just another day in the Kingdom of Sina, but only to the commoners. Inside the inner wall, Sina, that hosts the Royal family, that is not the case, however.

All havoc has broken loose within the castle, leaving servants in distress as they all frantically search for their Prince who is nowhere to be found. "Your highness, we regret to inform you that your son is nowhere to be found. And we found this letter." One of the Prince's servants had announced, regretting every word she said as she handed over the envelope. Of course, it is her duty to take care of the Prince whenever he needs but telling her Majesty that the Prince was missing was a different story. Queen Kuchel rose from her throne and took the letter, then looked over to her left at the head of her knights. "Hartman, send every knight you have available to find my son." "Yes, your Majesty." He spoke before taking off to recruit the Royal guard.

The Queen's brother, a Royal Bastard, stood on her right, watching as the castle turned into chaos. "I'm going out there too. Those idiots won't know how to track him down." The Queen turns slightly, feeling a bit insulted by her own brother. "I will have you know that my guards are professionally trained, unlike you." She threatens, slowly sitting back down. "Just watch, won't you?" Kenny tips his head before exiting the castle along with the knights. "Those sons of bitches have only had to search for her missing cat." He grumbles to himself, hoisting himself atop his noir steed. Just as Kenny leaves, another servant approaches the Queen. "Your highness, there appears to have been a break-in..." "Show me immediately."

Has the Prince been kidnapped?

~~

By this time, a young man found himself outside the inner two walls, Sina, and Rose. He's never realized until now just how large his Kingdom is since he's never once had to run through it by foot. Eventually, he makes it to the final gate, which thankfully, the guard is sound asleep, instead of doing his job. Considering he's quite skinny, it's easy enough for the Prince to slip between the bars and make it outside his Kingdom. His home. The pure adrenaline has taken over all his thoughts, normally, he would have hesitated before escaping but the intoxication of pure thrill is burning through his veins like a fire and fogging over his initial fear. The Prince wanders into a forest just outside of the Kingdom's main gate, a place he is definitely unfamiliar with.

Without knowing too much about his own territory, the fear factor has steadily made its welcome back appearance. Being on the run from the castle was no easy task. He was lucky to be able to slip past their tight security earlier that morning while it was still dark. Choosing not to take his horse was another risk he had to make. He feared that bringing his stallion into this mess would make him easier to spot plus leaving him would add to the mystery of his disappearance. Any snobby Royal would prefer going horseback or ultimately give up trying to runaway after making it outside. Not Levi. He is determined to get another life beyond the walls. However, underestimating his mother was the biggest mistake in all of this.

~~

It had been hours since the Prince's disappearance had been reported to the castle and the rest of the Kingdom. Knights flooded the streets as they investigated each home and questioned anyone in their path. A Royal gone missing is no joke and not to be taken lightly, especially while Queen Kuchel is still on the throne. Others saw her as an obsessive parent but they would never admit to it when really, she just cares so deeply for her only child. Losing the King when he was just an infant was hard enough, now, losing the last of her family besides her half-brother was another blow to her sense of security. She never wanted to remarry for there was no one else she could love in this world like she loved her King. The plan after his sudden death was to rule the Kingdom on her own until her son became of age to take the throne for himself and rule in his father's footsteps. Now, the castle had to find the Prince and fast.

~~

In another part of the woods, a lone wolf strides through while digging through a sack of stolen goods, estimating each item's worth on the black market. "This ought to be the best batch yet." The bandit mumbles with a smirk, settling down on a tree stump nearby. "Piece of cake too." Checking out the last stolen artifact, the thief returns it and ties the open end of the sack to sling over her shoulder and carry on throughout the forest. This low profile criminal made a living off castle bouncing, robbing any Royals she came across throughout different nations. Each break-in just happened to become easier and easier. At this point, she could be considered a professional delinquent.

No guards noticed her entry or escape, making her laugh and mock their poor security on the place. Although she enjoys an easy job, the thrill of being hunted down by every knight in the Kingdom was much more exciting. As she met a steep cliff, she looks up and smiles to herself before scaling the rocks and dirt. Once reaching the top, she looks back over the edge. It had to be a 60 foot climb at the minimum. To her, it was nothing. She's had to climb castle towers double the height in order to break into castle's from time-to-time, just for the easiest way inside. As she rests at the top, a sound of twigs snapping catches her attention.

I'm not alone out here.

Getting up to go to a different side of the cliff to listen, she recognizes it as horses. Multiple of them. "Took you fools long enough." She sighs to herself, waiting until she spots the first horse to make a run for it. However, a voice is heard, ahead of the knights. Someone else is running from them. Ducking low, the criminal spots a young man sprinting for his life, covered in a cloak and holding onto a satchel, straight towards the cliff. Once he got to the edge and realized he's at a dead end, she could see the panic strike the only visible part of his face from beneath the black hood.

This just got interesting.

Eventually, the knights drew closer and were about to corner this man when he finally got the guts to start climbing. When the knights made it to the opening, they jumped off their horses and started shooting arrows above him so he would have nowhere to reach next and get away. Whatever sparked the criminal to step in and get this man out of the situation is still unknown and something no one expected. Lifting her hood back over her head, she reached over the edge when he was close enough, grabbed his arm, and pulled him up the rest of the way, throwing him to the ground. Noting that he also let out a surprised gasp from the action. The knights below started shouting to find another way up the cliff while the others would scale the wall of rock and dirt as well.

"Better start running now before those tin-heads catch up!" The woman calls, running over to the man's body who is still recovering from whatever the hell just happened. "W-What?" He asks, pushing himself up, hood covering his eyes. "Run, dumbass!" She repeats herself, scooping him up in her arms as she runs towards him. The man stumbles over his own feet but eventually regains his balance and runs alongside this mysterious person who saved him. "W-Who are you?" He breathes out, trying his best to keep up with her. "Call me Falcon." She replies, looking over her shoulder which causes her hood to fall back behind her head to reveal her (hair length) (hair color) hair (disregard if you don't show or have hair). "And your real name?" The male asks next, panting. This is the fastest he has ever run. "Tsk." She rolls her eyes and faces front again.

The two make it to another cliff, which the woman skids to a stop and has to grab the man's cloak in order for him not to fall to his death. "Hold on there, sprinty, don't wanna die just yet, right?" She pulls him back to safety. "R-Right..." He nods, putting a hand over his chest while he catches his breath. "You have no lung capacity nor experience running away." She chuckles, shaking her head after. "You noticed?" He feels embarrassed to admit that she's right. "Well, you still haven't told me your name and why you're running from the castle's guards. So, why don't you tell your story while we get ourselves down there." The man's eyes widen as he takes a peek over the edge. "Down there...? That has to be-" "110 foot drop. Don't worry, it's not too bad. If you land right it won't hurt too much." The woman named Falcon removes her cloak after setting down her large sack. "I see..." He mumbles, not taking his eyes off the lake below them.

"Hey, take your cloak off or else you'll get caught in it and drown or choke on the fabric before you hit the water." His eyes meet her's again. "How do you know all this stuff?" Is the only question he can think of while removing the fabric. "Is that really what you're concerned about right now?" She can't help but laugh at how naive he is. "Just shut up and do as I say if you want to live." "Got it." He nods, holding his cloak. In the middle of their conversation, the knights start to approach again, making their presence known as they shout for the man. "Well, I'll see you down there!" The woman turns towards the cliff and jumps over the edge with her sack and cloak in hand. "W-Wait!" He shouts after her, watching as she disappears towards the lake. Looking over his shoulder at the horses, he makes the decision to jump as well, flailing the whole way down.

Falcon hits the water, swimming back up to the surface to wait for the young man. Looking up she sees him finally grow closer, his short stature becoming larger as he nears the water. Swimming back, he hits the water and all is quiet after. "You didn't tell me who you were!" She shouts, waiting for him to pop up again. "Oh, don't tell me you can't swim now..." She curses, diving under the water, but his head breaches the surface right after as he gasps for air. "You son of a bitch!" She shouts once she's back above the water. "H-Huh?" She rolls her eyes and pulls on the collar of his shirt to lead him to a small cave that's under the cliff they jumped from. "Be quiet, they're right above us now." She whispers, kicking her legs in order to stay afloat. The man nods and looks at the ceiling while they wait it out.

The guards' voices are clearly audible once they make it to the edge of the cliff, startling the man in the cave. He is sure he is about to be caught and dragged back to his Kingdom and he's not ready for that humiliation. "They're going to catch me..." He says, looking out at the lake ahead now. "And I'm going to have to be a King and shit, I really fucked this up!" He cursed mostly to himself, having to be shut up by Falcon in front of him. "Snap out of it!" She whispers, covering his mouth. The man then looks back at her, realizing that he is overthinking this situation. They still haven't been found yet. "They're too stupid to come down here and if they did they wouldn't even dip a toe into a water to protect their precious armor." The male sighs behind her hand to which she finally lowers. "You're right... I'm getting ahead of myself. I've just never left my Kingdom before." He mumbles, listening to the water gently splash around them as they work to keep themselves above the surface. "And you never told me you were royalty." She smirks.

As minutes pass in silence, Falcon moves towards the cave entrance to check if they're all gone. Looking over her shoulder, she waves at the man to follow, signaling that they had left the area. "Where are we going to go from here?" He asks, swimming towards the (color)-eyed woman. "Across the lake is our best bet, no land touches the other side that's relatively close. If those bastards want to cross the lake they'll have to swim or spend their time going around it." She answers, starting to swim faster. "I'm still waiting to hear your name too!" She calls out, way ahead of him. "It's um... Hawk." His response makes her burst out into a fit of laughter that she has to stop swimming in order to respond. "Like hell it is What is it really?" "Levi." He sighs, giving up on the cool nickname trope.

~~

The sun had set long ago, resting for the night as her sister moon shone above the large forest, enchanting the lake they had crossed many hours ago. The band of runaways had covered a lot of ground since that morning and haven't had any more run-ins with the guards, thankfully. Levi was surprised by this and completely trusted Falcon. She definitely knows what she's doing and how to swiftly escape the law. Now, they sit in the middle of another large forest, having built a campfire and they did some hunting in order to fill their stomachs after the long day of running. Sitting on a log across from the Prince, Falcon listens to his life story, now understanding why he has run away from home.

"That sounds like a lot of work. I know I couldn't keep a Kingdom in order. Not to mention wearing a crown all the goddamn time." She snorts, picking over her deer meat. "Actually, I never wear mine. It gives me a headache." Levi mentions, glancing over at his cloak that's hung on a tree branch to finish drying out. The darn thing is so thick that it was still soaked from the lake until now. "So," Levi changed the subject as he looks straight again. "Why are you running away?" He decides to look up now. Falcon finishes chewing her piece before answering, using this time to think over her lifestyle. "Well, I would have hoped you knew by now but I'm a criminal on the run. Wanted... pretty much across the entire country and a few others I should add." She answers a bit quietly.

Levi glances towards the sack she had been carrying this entire time which now sits beside her log. "So... is that stuff you took from my home?" He points to the brown sack. "...Yeah. It is." She nods, feeling like he's going to be pissed at her and give himself up to the guards so they both get caught. That's why she's been hesitant to mention it before. Levi only nods a little, not feeling anything. Sure, he loves his home, but not enough to care that Falcon robbed his family. It's all material shit from a lifestyle he never asked for. "You're not mad...?" Falcon speaks up, genuinely confused. "No, I'm not. I mean, you're doing what you have to in order to survive and I'm doing the same right now. I don't mind because I never wanted to be associated with the castle anyway. That stuff has no meaning to me." Falcon breathes in then exhales, feeling a bit better. "But no, you probably shouldn't rob from me again in the future or else my mother will probably have you be-headed." He jokes, making her laugh.

"I'll keep that in mind." She nods. "You don't have to show me what you took either, it's probably just her jewels. "Well... I did take a crown. Now that you disclaimed you never wear one, I'm assuming it's yours?" She starts to untie the top. "That would be mine, yes. Keep everything, I don't need it." He sighs, shaking his head with a small grin. "Fal-" "Y/n." She interrupts him, catching him off guard. "What...?" He furrows his brows. "My name's really Y/n." She repeats, smiling shyly behind the fire. "Y/n..." He whispers, liking the way it rolls off his tongue. "What are you doing after this?" "After... this?" She asks for clarification. "After I start a new life. Where are you going? Are you going to continue searching the Earth for new Kingdoms to rob? Eventually you'll end up at the same castle and realize it has no more value, you know."

Y/n thinks and she thinks hard, not answering for minutes. What is she going to do when there's no more castles to break into? "I never really thought about it, I guess. Maybe I'll just continue to live in secrecy in the woods or someplace. Live out my days till I wither away." She shrugs, finishing her small meal. "I was going to say that sounds a bit depressing but I guess I'll be doing the same thing." Levi notes, making her laugh. "Yeah, I guess so. You could become a criminal like me and work together?" She suggests to which Levi declines. "I don't think I'm cut out for that." Y/n can't argue, he can hardly run. She then pats her belt, getting an idea. "Hey, we should probably cut your hair a bit so you're a little less noticeable by the guards." She pulls out a knife from her holster, offering it. "That wouldn't be a bad idea." He agrees, running a hand through it. "Or are you just subtly saying that you hate the way it looks?" "A bit of both." She smiles innocently, getting up to change his appearance.

The woman crouches behind him, taking a section of hair at a time to trim the ends and make it a bit shorter. She also decided at the last minute to completely cut the bottom layer off and give him an undercut. Her sharp knife did a fine job of giving it a clean finish. In the front, she framed his face where he already had shorter pieces but made them even shorter for a completely different look, that way guards would be looking for something else if they ever saw him. "There's a small village about another two day's worth of walking we can go to. It's far enough from your Kingdom and pretty remote so even the guards won't find it." Y/n mentions, piquing Levi's interest. "That sounds perfect." Once she's finished she checks over her work and grins, not noticing the way Levi is looking at her as she focuses. "I think it looks good. They won't think it's you from a glance." She whispers to herself, eyes finally trailing down to his where they meet. She wasn't expecting him to already be looking at her. "Thanks." He whispers softly. Y/n smiles and puts her knife away, sitting down next to him after. "We should probably rest a bit before continuing on." "We'll go when the fire dies." Levi replies, watching as the flames slowly became smaller and smaller.

~~

The fire had died long ago but the two fugitives had fallen asleep before then. Huddled within their dark cloaks to keep warm as crickets chirped and owls hooted, it was enough noise to cancel out the sound of someone's footsteps crunching on leaves and sticks towards the small camp. Pulling out a knife, the stranger quietly approaches, ready to attack in case there posed a threat upon taking back the Prince. Quickly grabbing him from the ground, the man struggles to hold him still when he wakes up. "L-Let go of me!" Levi squirms, kicking and hitting. "Shut it! It's about time I found you! Not even those pigs your mother relies on could have done it!" The man sneers, holding the knife to his neck to shut him up and obey. "K-Kenny?!" Levi's eyes widen as he recognizes his uncle's voice. Before Kenny can say anything, he's knocked over after a force struck his side. Levi hisses and slaps a hand over his neck from Kenny's knife. The fall made him unintentionally cut the surface of his skin, not too deep, but deep enough to draw a bit of blood. The Prince scrambles to stand up and get away from the scene, seeing Y/n straddled on top of his uncle, holding her own knife to his neck as her other hand holds his head down. "Levi, start running, I'll catch up to you!" Before Levi could even begin to protest, she shouted at him again. "Go!"

Levi took her word and started to run in the opposite direction, hating the thought of leaving her alone with Kenny. He was dangerous enough but in this situation, Y/n may not even make it out alive. Before he got too far, the man stopped in his tracks to turn right back around and save her. No way was he leaving the woman who saved his life from a life of misery. It's the least he owes her. Sprinting back towards the camp, he spots Y/n pinned to the ground this time, using all her strength to hold Kenny's arm, his knife mere inches above her throat. He had noticed the large sack and could only guess what was inside. That and he's heard about a woman with her description who's been robbing Kingdoms left and right. "Thievin' rats like you belong in cellars... left to rot and starve." He mutters, pushing forward enough to pierce through her shirt. "B-Bastards like you... are an embarrassment to the Kingdom." She shot back, smirking at his furious expression.

"Y/n!" Levi shouts as he continues to run their direction. Neither of them break eye contact but Kenny smirks in a snarky manner at her widening eyes. "So that's the name behind... what was it again? Rooster?" Y/n narrows her once large eyes, spitting in his face. "Watch it." She threatens, hands shaking from pushing him away. "Kenny, let go of her." Levi threatens, standing next to them. "Stay out of it, you little shit, she's a wanted criminal and kidnapped you!" "No, she didn't! She helped me get away from you!" Levi shouts back, doing the unexpected and jumping on top of him. Kenny yells and sits up, trying to get the Prince off his back. Y/n breathes out a sigh of relief as her arms drop to the ground, exhausted. "G-Go! While I have him!" Levi shouts at the woman beneath his uncle. She doesn't listen and sits up, swinging her fist into his face. Kenny grunts, throwing his arm around with the knife. Levi feels the blade scrape against his thigh, biting his lip from the sting it made. Y/n continues to throw punches at Kenny while Levi did his best to hold him down.

Eventually, Y/n was able to get out from under Kenny, standing up and swinging her knee up to hit his chin, making his jaw clamp shit. "Fuck!" He growls, going on a rage now. Levi gets thrown off and falls on the ground as he stood up, holding his sore jaw. "You son of a bitch!" He drops his arm to charge at the woman, knife out in front of him. Y/n's (color) eyes grow large, watching as the sharp knife inches closer and closer to her stomach. Before he can drive it into her, Levi runs and slides on the ground, knocking Kenny's legs out from under him. Y/n steps to the side and grabs the knife from his hand, stepping on his cheek. "Levi, open my sack and pull the rope out. Levi nods and quickly runs back towards their camp to fish out the rope. Meanwhile, Y/n glares down at this Kenny figure, ready to stomp on his face and crush it. "Now, what did you say us rats deserve?" She whispers, eyes narrowed on him. Kenny keeps quiet, growling to himself.

When Levi returns with the rope, he begins tying up the older man, wrists bound to his ankles behind his back. "Good boy, you get a treat for not struggling against us." Y/n hums, sending a kick to his gut with a smile. Kenny coughs out, getting a piece of old deer meat stuffed in his mouth to shut him up, making him gag now. "Now what do we do with him?" Levi asks, looking up from his uncle to Y/n. "We could throw him in the lake but that seems gruesome. We can tie him to a tree and let him rot instead." She shrugs. Levi feels conflicted since it's his uncle after all but knowing his mother's guards, they'll eventually find and untie him. "Let's do that." He nods, hearing his uncle's horse neigh in the distance. Y/n stiffens up, expecting it to be the guards but Levi shakes his head. "No... no, that's his horse." His eyes grow a fraction. A smile forms on the woman's lips as she understands the idea. "Go fetch him while I finish business."

~~

Luckily no one in the village knew of the Prince or even his name. The commoners welcomed the band of two with warm smiles as they never got visitors. It was the perfect place for Levi to have a restart in life and do what he desires. Walking Kenny's stallion through the village, Levi realizes that they've reached the end of their adventure. "So... this is where it ends, huh?" He brings up, leaning against a short cobblestone wall. "I guess it is. Feels like this run has been going on for months but really I just met you." Y/n chuckles, holding onto the horse's reins. "I never thanked you for getting me out of that mess. I don't even know why you helped me to begin with." The woman nods, not knowing why she did it either. "Hey, don't worry about it. It's not everyday that I get human interaction that doesn't involve being chased." She shrugs, petting the horse's black coat. "True." He nods. "Why don't you stay here then?" He asks, not ready to see her go. Y/n licks her lips, looking out beyond the village. "I've still got places to be, things to steal. Hell, I need to get this stuff on the market." She looks down at her sack of prizes. "I could still use a sidekick though..." She offers. "You know I would hold you back." He shakes his head "no," imagining how awful he would be at it. "Hey, I'd teach you the ropes."

The two meet silence, a comfortable one. They look into each other's eyes, preparing to say goodbye. "I'll come find you if I change my mind." He finally compromises. "I look forward to it, Hawk." Levi rolls his eyes, still embarrassed over his dumb made up name. "Get out of here before you wither away." He shoos her. "I'm going." She sighs, smiling afterward. Before climbing on the horse, she pulls on his sleeve to bring him closer. She gently plants her lips on his, sensing the shock from his body going stiff.

And he's never kissed a girl before.

Pulling back, she releases his arm and snickers at his rosy cheeks. "What was that for?" He mumbles, still in disbelief. "You're kind of cute. But only a little bit." She whispers back before getting on the horse. "Maybe I'll come visit you soon." She smiles down at the no longer Prince. "I'll be waiting." He replies, waving to her as she flicks the reins. She looks over her shoulder and waves back, finally parting ways. "I'll be waiting here, Falcon."

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Y'all I'm genuinely happy I finished this one-shot which is basically a whole ass story itself. I didn't expect this to be done for at least another month oop-

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I had a lot of fun writing it when I got slapped with inspiration earlier this evening 😁 And thank you again for the request! Keep them coming, I'm thriving now that I'm back in the fandom, I missed writing this stuff :')

~AlpineBreadStick