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The Luthor family was many things. Some would describe them as cruel, coldhearted or evil. And that wasn’t particularly wrong. Their country was poor. People were suffering from hunger and diseases, while the Luthors lived in wealth in the castle. It had been like that for years.

Alex hated the royal family. When she was a kid, she’d sworn herself that she’d run away one day. Start a new life in a different kingdom. But then her father passed away and now she was the one who had to care for her family. For her mother and her little sister.

Her mother Eliza was a healer, but she was too good at heart, so she sometimes would treat people for almost no money. Alex had told her to stop it, because they were barely getting by themselves, but Eliza just couldn’t. So Alex let it go.
But then her mother had fallen ill herself. She couldn’t provide for her family anymore. Alex tried, she really did. She went out hunting, selling the meat to other families, only keeping a little for herself and her family, so she could afford her mother’s medicine and her sister’s food. Kara had wanted to help as well, but she was still young and innocent, so Alex didn’t know if she could teach her how to hunt just yet.

On one day Kara was particularly hungry. Alex had been gone for a while so Kara decided to go to the market. She’d never thought about stealing before. It didn’t seem right, because the other families had just as little as they had.
But when she spotted the royal wagon, she had an idea. She carefully followed the guards until she spotted the princess. That was a rare sight around here. Sometimes people who lived in the castle would come down to buy goods like food here, but never someone from the actual royal family. The princess wore a black coat, but somehow, she still stood out in between all these people.

Slowly, Kara followed them. The princess purchased some fruits and one of the guards put them in a leather bag. Then he put the bag down to take more fruits from the woman’s hands. Kara decided to take her chance. She quickly approached them and grabbed the bag from the ground. And then she ran, as fast as her legs would carry her.
She thought she was out of sight when someone tackled her from the back. She stumbled to the ground with the heavy guard on top of her.

“There you are, thief. What a foolish decision to steal from her highness,” he grumbled.
Kara gulped. This didn’t go as well as she had thought. The other guard approached them and both held Kara on her knees as the princess quickly walked over.

“What is going on?” she asked in a melodic voice.

“We caught the thief who wanted to steal from you, your highness.”

Her eyes landed on Kara. “Do explain.”

“I’m awfully sorry, your highness. I was so hungry, but I don’t have money to spare.”

“You know the punishment for stealing, do you?”

Kara nodded slowly. Her eyes filled with tears. This wasn’t what she had planned! Due to her watery eyes she couldn’t see another person approaching.

“Kara! What is going on here? Let her go!”

“I’m afraid we can’t. She stole from the royal family,” a guard said.

“She did what?” Alex exclaimed and finally looked to her right. The princess was standing right next to her, giving her a piercing look with those bright green eyes. Alex instantly bowed her head.
“I’m so sorry, your highness. Please, give us mercy. Our mother is sick and we barely make it through the day.” She looked at Kara with sad eyes. “She’s just a kid. She doesn’t know what she’s doing.”

The princess seemed to actually think about it for a second. Her looks switched in between Alex and Kara a few times.

“You are too young to face death,” she finally said, looking at Kara. “But you will come with me to the castle and you will work until it your debt is payed off.”

“But… but it were only a few apples,” Kara stuttered.

Lena bent down to pick up the bag, which had been carelessly discarded. She opened it and pulled out a few apples and underneath a small box. When she opened it, both Kara’s and Alex’s eyes went wide. It was filled with sparkling stones and gold.

“I… I didn’t mean to steal that! I only wanted the apples! I swear!” Kara started crying again and Alex wanted to hug her, but the guards held her back.

“Due to the law of this country the princess can choose whether or not she grants you mercy. She did, so now you have to do as she says,” the guard grumbled.

Alex looked at her little sister. She looked even smaller between these two bulky men.

“I’ll do it. I will pay off my sister’s debts. I will work for you and for that you will let her go.”

Kara protested loudly at Alex’s suggestion.

The princess let out a sigh. “I don’t have time for this nonsense anymore. One of you will pay, the other is free to go.”

Alex didn’t even need to think about it. She kneeled down in front of Kara. “I got to do this. You need to be strong for mom, alright?”

“Please don’t go, Alex!”

“I have to. I swore to always protect my little sister so that’s what I’m doing.”

Kara ripped herself loose from the guard’s hand to hug Alex tightly.

“It will be alright,” Alex whispered. Then she got up and nodded towards the princess, that she was ready to go. She threw one last glance at Kara before the guards dragged her away.

After waiting for several hours, Alex was tired and hungry. They’d put her in a rather small chamber without any daylight and told her to stay there until further notice. It was late when a guard came to tell her that the princess requested her in her chambers.

Alex slowly entered and looked around. The princess stood up from the desk near the window and greeted her with a smile.

“You kneel before her highness,” the guard said and pushed her down so she painfully landed on her knees. She winced slightly and looked to the ground.

“You may leave us alone,” the princess said and Alex could hear the door close.

Then she felt a warm hand under her chin and soft fingers made her look up. The princess looked even more beautiful in the last gleams of sunlight, coming in through the window. Her hand moved from Alex’s chin to her cheeks and then softly stroking through her hair.

“You look rather young. You wear your hair short and seemingly prefer trousers. But your face is clean and untouched. You voice doesn’t give anything away. So tell me: Are you a boy or a girl, my dear?”

Alex cleared her throat a few times. “I’m a girl, your highness.”

Lena’s soft smile turned into a wicked grin. “Well, that is fortunate.”

“May I ask why?”

Lena just smiled and gestured her to get up. Her devious smile was throwing Alex a little off. The princess didn’t answer right away. Slowly, she looked her up and down again and Alex felt exposed. She bowed her head lightly as she waited for the princess to speak again.

“Alex was it, right?” The princess asked, still looking at her with a strong gaze.

Alex quickly nodded.

“I have a proposition for you. I want to buy your mother the medicine she needs and provide your family with food.”

Alex couldn’t believe what Lena was saying. She opened her mouth, but no words came out.

“See, the problem is that my parents want me to marry as fast as possible, because they think I’m getting too old. Unfortunately, I prefer the company of women,” she said and stopped to look Alex deep in the eyes. The girl was still in a shock.
“You, on the other hand, could pass as a boy. We’re going to dress you right, you can compete in the tournament next month and then you’ll ask for my hand. We will get married.”
She stopped again, waiting for a reaction from Alex, but there wasn’t any. Ever since the idea had come up this morning, the princess had hoped that her assumptions about Alex would be right and now that they were, Lena was scared that the girl would decline her offer.

“If you agree to this, I can assure you, your family will be cared for, for the rest of their lives. After our marriage they can even live in the castle with us. If you say no, you can still work off your sister’s debts and leave after that.”

Alex’s mind was racing. Lena’s proposal was crazy! No one would ever believe her that she was a man!
And even the thought of marrying Lena Luthor, the princess, sent a weird shiver down her neck. But then she thought about Kara and her mother. They wouldn’t make it on their own. Not now, that Alex couldn’t go hunting for them anymore. She had to help them somehow. Otherwise she would forever feel guilty.

“You’ll provide money for my family?” Alex asked again and Lena gave her a reassuring nod.

She let out the breath, she hadn’t noticed she’d been holding.

“Alright. I will marry you.”

As she spoke those words, she didn’t realize what this would mean for her future. Lena smiled, and for the first time this day it seemed to be genuine.

The next morning Alex was awoken early by one of the maids. It was before sunrise and she was tired. All night long she’d been thinking about what her future would look like, now that she made a promise to Lena. The maid gave her some tasks to do. Just when Alex thought she would get around the hard work, but it seemed like no one else thought so. Alex spend her morning getting bucket after bucket full of water from the well and when she tried to sit down for a second, she was sent to clean the armor of the knights who had just come back to the castle.
It was after midday when she got her first meal of the day. A friendly looking woman brought her something from the kitchen and Alex thankfully accepted it.

Her break didn’t last long, because shortly after she’d finished her meal, a young boy came to tell her that the princess was expecting her in the gardens.

“I see you are wearing pants as well,” Alex said when she approached Lena. The princess had her long hair in a braid and was wearing pants and boots. An unusual sight for Alex, which made her smile. The princess just raised her eyebrow.

“I’m sorry, your highness,” Alex mumbled and quickly bowed her head.

“I was trained how to fight. I had to beg my father for it until he would finally let me. But I need to see your skills to tell if it’s hopeless to let you compete in the tournament.”

Lena handed her a sword. It was heavier than Alex would’ve expected. She almost missed the first hit Lena took. It didn’t even take the princess ten seconds to disarm Alex.
She looked almost bored as the pointed her sword at Alex’s chest.

“This is going to be so much work,” she sighed.

They tried it a few more times, but every time Lena could disarm Alex within seconds so they decided to take a break, so Lena could show her the right technique.

“If you don’t mind me asking, what will you tell the other people around here? Why am I at the castle?” Alex asked after a while.

“Well, the only people who know who you really are, are the guards, but they don’t live here. They went out this morning to travel with my brother for some time. And to the others… let’s just say you were a boy from the village, seeking for work.”

Alex nodded and they kept on training for a few more hours. In the end Alex was sweating and hadn’t managed to disarm Lena even once.

“Why do we even do this?” Alex breathed out heavily.

“What do you mean?” Lena asked and pushed some hair out of her face.

“Why don’t you simply get married to a man that you like and then you can still enjoy the company of other women.”

Lena scoffed a little. She couldn’t believe Alex was that innocent.

“I don’t think you understood what I actually meant.”

Lena’s smug grin made Alex feel even more insecure. She still had no idea what the princess was talking about.

“If I marry a man, I would be expected to do as he says and to fulfill all of his needs, which I clearly don’t want to… with a man.”

Lena had to suppress laughing at the way Alex’s eyes widened.

“Oh… Oh! I thought… so you share a bed with those women?”

“I do.”

“And would you expect me to do that if we get married?” Within a second, Alex blushed a deep red and couldn’t look Lena into the eyes.

“I’m not pressuring you into anything you don’t want.” Lena said without much expression on her face, but her voice got softer than Alex had ever heard it before. “And I do have a maid who I like to… spend time with, so you don’t have to worry about anything.”

Lena turned around and put her shield away. Alex had no idea how she could be so confident and open about something like that. While Alex herself couldn’t even stop her cheeks from blushing, Lena seemed to be perfectly normal!

Alex was about to leave to get to her chambers when Lena took the sword out of her hands and started whispering. “I’m normally not a friend of all these formalities, but there is someone watching us form the west balcony.”

Alex nodded and quickly bowed down. “Thank you for your time, your highness,” she said and hurried back to her chambers.

For the next few days it went on like this. In the morning Alex helped out in the kitchen or the armory, wherever she was needed, and in the afternoon, she trained with Lena.
It was on their fourth day that Alex finally managed to disarm her. She proudly pointed the sword at her chest and then started squealing. Lena let out a soft chuckle and Alex was surprised. She hadn’t seen the princess genuinely happy yet. For the most time she just looked annoyed with Alex and the redhead had been afraid that Lena would just take back her offer.

“Congratulations, you’re getting less horrible,” Lena said with a small grin. “but the next time try to keep your voice down. It sounds rather unmanly.”

They continued their training, but from that point on it seemed to flow more easily.

One day at training, Lena seemed to be somewhere else with her thoughts. She was fighting strong, almost aggressive and Alex was just a little scared of her. Lena disarmed her with such force, that Alex stumbled backwards and landed on the ground. That seemed to bring Lena back to the present.

“I’m sorry,” she said and offered a hand to Alex to help her up.

“Are you alright?” Alex asked softly, not knowing if this was her place to speak.

“I’m fine, I just had another fight with my mother.”

Lena didn’t look as if she wanted to share more about that, so Alex let it go and they continued their training. What Alex didn’t know was that the Queen had introduced Lena to another man she could possibly marry. Apparently, he had quite a few hectares of land and their marriage would be ‘advantageous’.
Over time, her mother had become more persistent, threatening Lena what would happen if she didn’t choose a husband soon. The princess was more than upset about that. Right now, Alex was her only chance to make her mother stop.

“May I ask for something, your highness?” Alex asked that day after their training. Lena nodded as she fixed her braid.
“Could I go to the village to visit my family? Not knowing if they are well, makes me feel sick.”

Lena looked into Alex’s eyes to see real worry in them. She had a messenger send money and medicine to the family a few days back, but she could understand that Alex was still caring deeply for their wellbeing.

“Can I trust you, that you’re coming back to me?”

“Yes, of course.”

The princess wanted to trust her, but if Alex was lying and ran away, then her last chance at marrying someone she chose would be gone, too. (It was only later on that she realized the hypocrisy of her own way of thinking.)

“I’ll join you. I wanted to go for a ride, anyway,” she eventually decided and Alex seemed to be relieved.

The next morning, they made their way to visit Alex’s family. Lena led the way down the hill towards the town, while Alex followed behind. She spent most of the time watching the princess, taking in the grace with which she carried herself. Her deep red coat matching the colour of her lips. Alex was lost in how effortless beautiful she looked that she didn’t even noticed how they slowly approached the first houses.

The Danvers’ house was on the outskirts of town, near the woods, which made it easy for them to not attract the attention of the whole town. As Lena made sure the horses had some water, Alex made her way inside. When her mother laid eyes on her she broke into tears.

“My beautiful Alexandra, you’re home!”

Alex pulled her mother into a tight hug. She heard footsteps running towards them and seconds later she was tackled into a hug by her younger sister.

“I’m so glad you’re okay! I was worried sick about you.”

They all pulled back from the hug and dried their tears, when someone else stepped into the small house.

“Your highness,” Eliza said dumbfoundedly, before she rushed to do a courtesy and Kara did the same.

“I see you’re feeling better now,” Lena said with a small smile.

“When the man said you sent medicine from the castle, I thought it was a bad joke, or maybe a dream,” Eliza told them. “Thank you so much, your highness.”

The whole time, Kara didn’t let go of her sister’s hand. She was too scared of losing her again.

“I was about to cook a meal for lunch. It would be just something simple, but it would be an honor to have you as a guest.”

Lena looked over to Alex. She looked as if she couldn’t let go of her sister just now.

“I think we can stay for lunch, if it’s not too much trouble,” she finally said.

Eliza smiled and hurried to her feet to start cooking, Kara offered Lena a seat and something to drink.

“How did this all happen?” Eliza asked into the room. “Kara came home the other day, crying because her sister got arrested.”

Alex quickly looked over to Lena. They didn’t have a specific cover story for this situation.

“We came to an agreement,” Alex started slowly. “I work in the castle and I train to be a knight to pay off our debts.”

“You’re becoming a knight? That has always been your dream!” Kara squealed and hugged her sister again.

“They let women become knights?” Eliza asked wonderingly.

“Well, Alex would be one of the first,” Lena tried to explain. “And this isn’t official yet, so it would be nice if you could keep this to yourselves for now.”

“Of course,” Eliza said. She turned around and gave Alex a pat on the shoulder and a proud smile. Alex couldn’t even remember the last time her mother had been proud of her. She’d definitely missed this feeling.

They chatted a bit more, Kara told them what was new around the village. Lena listened carefully while Alex set the table.
The princess couldn’t look more out of place if she wanted to. In their simple, tiny kitchen she stood out with her colourful garment, stiffly sitting on the small wooden chair. But Alex still appreciated the fact that she’d joined her here in the first place.

When Eliza put the food on the table, she apologizes multiple times, “It is probably not as special as you might be used to in the castle, but I hope you like it.”

Alex and Kara looked at each other with a grin. Eliza had made duck with vegetables and even put some fruits on the table. This was definitely not a meal they would eat every day.

Even though Lena ate slower than Alex had ever seen anyone eat, she seemed to enjoy herself. She cut her food into tiny bits, delicately put it in her mouth and chewed with a smile. It was at this moment that Alex realized she’d never seen Lena eat. Otherwise she would’ve noticed that she acted like a pig compared to the princess.

“This was a delicious meal,” Lena said as she put her cutlery onto the plate. “Unfortunately, we have to leave. We can’t miss the training in the afternoon.”

“Yes, she’s right. Becoming a knight is harder than it looks.”

Eliza got up to tightly hug her daughter again. “Take care, and I hope to see you again soon.”

“I hope that, too, mother.” Alex threw a quick look at Lena. As if she wanted to ask if it was possible to visit her family again. The princess gave her a small smile and relief flooded Alex’s body.

They said their goodbyes and went outside to their horses. Then they waved again and made their way back towards the castle.

“Thank you, your highness. I really needed this today. I don’t think I could continue without knowing that my family is alright.”

Lena didn’t say anything for a few seconds. She only looked straight ahead, her mind somewhere else.

“Your family is outstandingly warm and nice. I can see where you get your good manners from.”

“Don’t you always complain about my manners?”

The princess let out a gentle laughter and Alex was more than surprised. It was the most melodic laughter she’d ever heard in her life and instantly she wanted to hear more of it.

“That is true, but I still like your family. I think you can visit them again soon.”

“That would be perfect.”

“I can even let you go alone, now that I know where they live. I can always get you back.”

Alex looked over at her. Her heart dropped a little and she was concerned what that could mean. The princess wouldn’t do anything to her family if she failed, would she?

“I’m sorry,” Lena said after a few seconds. “That was a poor attempt at humor. I didn’t want to scare you.”

Alex felt the weigh fall from her heart as she let out a shaky breath.
“Maybe if you’d use more humor, I would’ve expected it and not fear for my life.”

“You can talk all you want, but I’m not suddenly starting to make jokes, I’m no buffoon.”

She chuckled shortly before she went back to her neutral, expressionless face. They were riding back in silence, but it was more comfortable than it had been before. Alex knew that the princess slowly started to crack. Underneath it all, she was a nice and cheerful person and maybe one day this person would come to the surface.

Over the next few days, Alex did get better and better in training and she was surprised with herself. She thought that maybe one reason for her sudden success was that she finally started to get along with the princess on an almost friendly basis.
She got Lena to smile more and more every day. Especially when she managed to disarm her.

Alex still helped out in the kitchen or the armory every morning. Cleaning all the suits of armor was a mindless task, but it gave Alex time to dwell in her thoughts and realize a few very interesting things about herself.

One day after their training, Lena stayed a little longer to help Alex clean everything up.

“May I speak openly?” Alex suddenly asked and Lena nodded.

“I’ve been thinking about you and me. Especially me,” she said while absentmindedly putting the swords back into the box. “I think maybe I prefer the company of women as well,” she said so quietly it was almost a whisper.

Within a heartbeat, Lena’s face got soft, “What makes you think so?”

“I’ve never had an interest in any man. I never wanted to get married, I just didn’t like the thought of it. But also, there was this girl, my best friend when I was younger. She was rather beautiful and I used to have… unchaste thoughts about her. I simply thought there was something wrong with me.”

Lena took her hand and gave her a smile, “There is nothing wrong with you. This is the most natural thing in life.”

Alex gave her a shy smile and after a second the princess added, “I’m sorry that you don’t get to marry someone you love.”

“I get to marry a princess. That has been my dream since I was a little girl.”

“Now you’re joking.”

“Maybe I am.”

The princess rolled her eyes and chuckled to herself. They finished cleaning up and then whished each other a good night. Alex was almost out the door when she turned around again.

“Thank you, your highness. For your kind words.”

“I think it’s time you call me Lena,” the princess offered with an even bigger smile.

“Thank you, Lena,” Alex repeated and turned to walk away.

The princess was lying awake in her huge bed, thinking about Alex and how she got so lucky to meet the right person at the right time. What were the chances that she would find a woman, who also had an interest in women and looked like a man? In an attractive way, but still. Fate seemed to be on her side and Lena just hoped that everything would turn out okay.

A few days before the tournament, Lena took Alex to the armory. This time not for work, but to find an armor that would fit her rather thin figure. Alex looked so happy and proud when she first saw herself in the mirror, wearing this beautiful armor. She couldn’t wait for the tournament to come. Lena smiled as well, as she watched how Alex turned back and forth to look at herself from all angles.

The day after that, Alex seemed out of breath quickly during training and fought sloppy. Lena thought it could be because of the heavy armor, but she needed to wear these in the real fight as well.

After only an hour of training Alex suddenly broke down on the ground.

Lena instantly threw her sword away to crouch down next to Alex.
“What’s wrong?”

“My chest… it hurts,” Alex huffed.

“Let’s get you back inside. Maybe one of the healers can find what is wrong.” She called one of the nearby guards to help Alex up. He almost carried her up the stairs to Lena’s chambers. She then sent him to get the healer, while she started taking the armor off.

Alex was lying in Lena’s bed, still breathing heavily, when the healer entered. It was a young woman who did a quick curtsey towards Lena before walking over to the bed.

“He said he had chest pain and trouble breathing. We were training outside, but not more than we did the past few weeks,” Lena rushed to tell. The healer nodded earnestly and went to take Alex’s undershirt off as well.
The young woman took in the bandages around Alex’s chest.

“Were you hurt in a fight before?” she asked and Alex shook her head.

“Oh,” she said after a few seconds. Then she threw a nervous look at Lena as if she wanted to ask: ‘Did you know?’

“I believe we found the problem, we need to take these bandages off.”

Both women sat Alex up on the bed to take the bandages off, which had been bound too tight.
When they were done, Alex felt exposed. But then the healer smiled at her and told her to take in some deep breaths. After a few minutes the pain almost went away. The healer helped her lay down and covered her exposed chest with a thin blanket.

“You shouldn’t bind your chest so tightly when you’re training.” She threw another quick glance at Lena. “I believe you wouldn’t see the difference under the armor.”

Then she smiled again. “Thank you, Samantha,” Lena said.

The healer curtsied and left the room.

Only now Alex realized that Lena had been awfully quiet the whole time. Also, the princess wore a soft blush on her cheeks, that hadn’t been there before and the whole time she’d tried to avoid looking into Alex’s direction.

“I’m sorry, your highness. It is my fault. I’ll train twice as much tomorrow.”

She tried to sit up, but Lena softly pushed her back down.

“It isn’t your fault. Now, you need to rest.”

Lena gave her a soft smile, leaned down to press a small kiss onto Alex’s forehead and softly stroked the short hair. Alex closed her eyes, leaned into the touch and before she even noticed, she was asleep.
She didn’t even have time to think that she was lying almost bare in the princess’s bed.

Lena smiled and sat down near the window, so she could keep watching her. She was slowly growing fond of the girl. Which was good, considering they would get married if everything was going to turn out like planned.

Lena hoped and prayed to the gods that it would.

The day of the tournament came closer and closer. Alex and Lena were training more than ever and by now, Alex was actually good at what she was doing.
Lena had talked to her healer again. The woman had sworn she wouldn’t tell anybody about Alex’s secret and Lena believed her.

Alex had stopped binding her chest. Samantha had been right, there was no visible difference. But ever since that day, Lena seemed to be extra careful around Alex. Asking her if she was feeling alright and constantly checking in with her.
Also, she made her work less in the mornings. Alex told herself that it was probably so that she had more energy for when they were training.

One day, during training, the Queen came by. At first Alex was too focused on the swordfight, so she didn’t notice. Then she disarmed Lena and let out a cry of victory. She turned around to see the amused woman and dropped to her knees in a heartbeat.

“I’m sorry, your majesty.”

The Queen simply laughed, “What are you apologizing for? You were clearly in your element.” She gestured her to get up. “What is your name?”

“I’m Alex… Alexander, your majesty.”

“And will we see you competing in the upcoming tournament?”

“Yes, you will.”

“Well then, good luck.” With that she continued her walk across the gardens.

“Do you think she suspects something?” Alex asked Lena after the Queen was out of sight.

“I don’t think so. She wouldn’t act this friendly if she did.”

Lena was sure that her mother would never look so happy if she would be spending her time with a woman, training in the gardens. She’d probably only walked by to see Alex from up close rather than from the balcony. To her mother it was interesting to see that Lena suddenly showed interest in a man for the first time in her life.
Lena sighed, picked up the sword and advised Alex to do the same. They had some work to do after all.

Lena walked into the tent that had been set up for Alex. The redhead was pacing up and down, clearly nervous. Alex only noticed her presence when Lena softly placed a hand on her arm. The redhead jumped a little in surprise.

The princess gave her a smile and Alex’s words got stuck in her throat. Lena was wearing an emerald green dress, matching her beautiful eyes. Alex saw her in her armor so often that she had almost forgotten how overwhelming the sight of Lena in a dress was. She knew she was staring, so she was glad that Lena just carried on with what she had planned.

“Sit down for a moment, I got something for you,” Lena said.

Alex obliged within a second.

Lena pulled out a small casket, filled with a powder.

“What is that?” Alex asked.

“Well, a little powder, ashes and dirt.”

Alex looked at her in confusion, but then Lena started applying it to her face, creating a shadow around her chin.

While she did so, Alex was looking directly at Lena’s neck. The way her collar bones stood out and this smooth skin was fascinating. Alex wanted to touch it and see for herself if it was really that smooth… she quickly shook her head. Never before had she thought of something as stupid as that. She had no idea where that had been coming from. The princess got her out of her head as she suddenly spoke again.

“Now you look a little older. And a little more manly.”

Alex looked into the mirror and had to admit that it didn’t look that bad on her.

“Thank you, princess,” she said. “I will do everything to win this tournament and your heart today.”

Lena laughed, she’d barely realized how Alex had grown so bold around her. Away from the frightened girl, who had been scared of doing something wrong every second of the day.

“Good luck,” Lena said and offered her hand for Alex to kiss it. Alex did so, while her eyes never left Lena’s.

Lena smiled and made her way out. Just as she reached the entrance of the tent, she turned around and hurried into Alex’s arms.
Slowly, she cupped Alex’s cheeks in her hands and leaned in, barely connecting their lips. Alex was overwhelmed for a second. She could’ve sworn she felt sparks fly in that moment. It was over as quickly as it had started and Lena took a step back. She gave Alex an almost shy smile and hurried out.

As Lena took her place on the tribune, she hoped that she hadn’t scared Alex away. It was her own fault that she couldn’t resist her urges, but this woman was more intoxicating than anyone she’d ever known.

The tournament was about to begin and the Queen sat down for a second before her announcement.

“Is your friend from the gardens here?” she asked, leaning slightly over to her daughter.

“Yes, he’ll compete in the second match if I’m correct,” Lena answered. She had no idea what her mother’s intentions were, but considering the wicked look on her face, it wasn’t anything good.

“Listen to me, Lena. I don’t care what your plans are, but I gave you long enough. You will marry whoever wins tonight, is that clear?” she growled under her breath. The forced smile still visible to the audience.

“You can’t force me,” Lena muttered.

“We’ll see about that,” the Queen answered and got up to announce the start of the tournament.

Her first opponent already made Alex sweat. She was used to Lena’s clean fighting stile and those men, who just brutally stabbed their sword around, came rather unexpected.
Alex did win though, but the victory didn’t hold on for long, when she remembered that she had many more fights ahead of her.

The next fighter was several inches taller than her and he was certainly stronger. Alex could only defeat him, because he stumbled over his own big feet.

When she was able to take a break, she broke down on the floor in her tent. Lena came in with a maid, who brought Alex some water while Lena gently dabbed the sweat from her forehead.

“You can do this! I believe in you!”

“I can’t,” Alex got out in between her heavy breaths.

“You have to, please,” she almost whispered the last part. Tears were stinging in her eyes, intensifying the piercing green colour. Alex absentmindedly nodded. She sat up to lean against the wall and took a few more gulps of water. Lena still hadn’t let go of her hand, clinging to it as if her life depended on this.
Alex nodded, she could do this.

This time, the other fighter managed to injure her arm. Alex winced in pain, but had to continue. If she wouldn’t win then there was no reason for Lena to keep her around any longer and Alex couldn’t bear the thought of not being with her anymore.
Her arm screamed in pain, but she kept fighting, letting out all the anger and frustration that she had collected inside herself.

When her final opponent sank to his knees and dropped his sword, Alex’s world stopped for a while. The crowd erupted in cheer and applause. She had no idea how she’d done that.

It was a huge surprise to herself and to the audience that Alex had managed to win the tournament. She never would’ve thought that she had any chance against these experienced fighters. She bowed her head for the audience, who clapped loudly.
Then she walked over to where the royal family was sitting. With a smile, she took a bow in front of them.

Alex took Lena’s hand, kissed it and winked as she looked her in the eyes. Lena could help to blush. The Queen seemed to notice and let out a devious smile.

“Your Majesty,” Alex said and bowed her head as low as she could. “It would be an honor to ask for your daughter’s hand in marriage.”

The Queen smiled. “You clearly deserve a reward. You shall have her.”

Alex was trying really hard not to squeal out loud again.

“If that is your wish as well,” Alex said directed to Lena.

“Nothing would make me happier.”

The Queen looked over to her daughter in surprise. She’d already prepared for the refusal and the stupid arguments. Never before had the princess shown interest in any man. Usually she only laughed at proposals.

Lena looked over to her mother and smiled. “I just had to wait for the right one.”

Alex entered the princess’ chambers with her head bowed. When the door closed behind her, she looked up and happily squealed. The she hugged Lena, picked her up and spun her around.

“I made it! I never would’ve thought that I could actually win!”

“I believed in you,” Lena said and pressed a sweet kiss to Alex’s cheek.

The other woman waited a few seconds and didn’t move. Lena was still in her arms and finally she did what she’d waited for, for so long. She pressed Lena close to kiss her like she wanted to do all this time. Lena was stunned for a second but then quickly kissed back with all the love she could lay into one kiss. She never imagined that it would feel so good.

“I want to marry you,” Alex said as the pulled back to catch her breath.

“You already proposed to me and asked my mother,” Lena chuckled. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were shining.

“I know, but I want to marry you. Even if I didn’t have to, I’d still want to.”

Lena’s smile got even wider. “I’d want that, too.”

Lena walked through the gardens of the castle, trying to teach Lorrie the different kinds of flowers, when the little girl suddenly jumped up.

“Mommy!” she shouted and ran right into Alex’s arms. The redhead picked her up and spun her around.

“You’re back,” Lena smiled and leaned in to give Alex a soft kiss. “How was the ride?”

“Nothing special, but I did find a nice spot in the woods. I’d like to take you there some day.”

Alex tried kissing Lena again, but Lorrie interrupted by loudly complaining about them.
It had been a few years back that a woman from the village had come to Eliza with the problem of being with child, but unmarried. She didn’t want to keep it, but Eliza knew how to give the child a better home.
Alex and Lena had taken on little Lorrie, raising her like their own. Their people had been talking a lot about when they would finally have an heir and Lorrie showed up at the right place and time.

A few of their closest people in the castle had found out over time that Alex indeed wasn’t a man, but nobody seemed to care about it. They were all more than relieved that Queen Lillian’s cruel regime had finally ended.
They couldn’t care less about who their new ruler really was, as long as the people weren’t left to die in poverty anymore.

Lorrie struggled and Alex let her down. The little girl sprinted to the entrance of the garden, because she had seen her aunt Kara come in with some food. Kara was definitely giving the child too many treats.

Alex smiled at the sight of it. And Lena raised her eyebrow.

“What are you smiling about?”

“I just don’t know how I got so lucky.” Alex took he wife’s hand and gave it a soft kiss. It made Lena blush, even after all these years.

“No need to charm me. We’re already married.”

“I want to assure that you want to stay married to me.”

“I’m the Queen. I can’t unmarry you, just have you executed.”

Alex let out a laughter until she stopped and looked at Lena with her mouth wide open. Lena smiled and softly pulled Alex’s chin up.

“You know I’m making fun of you, right?”

“Yes, and I love you even more for it.”

Alex gave Lena a quick peck on the cheek, took her hand again and led her out of the gardens. They had to stop Kara from overfeeding their child after all.