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Everyday was the same. Ever since she arrived in Darna, which had been most of what she could remember of her life. Lene had been pretty much living the same day all over again.
Wake up, get into one of her many dancing outfits and dance for the people of whatever town they were performing at; she was not alone during this fortunately, she was in a group of traveling dancers. Though she never liked their boss, Brasmel, it was still nice to get to see so many different places, even if she wasn’t allowed to see that much other than the small area where they performed.
She didn’t hate being a dancer, she quite enjoyed it most of the time. But she never felt comfortable with so many eyes on her. Despite that, she kept dancing, not only it helped her earn some gold but it also made her feel closer to her mother, who was a dancer as well (or so she had heard), finding her was the main reason she became a dancer after all.
Lene was currently in a small village near Darna, getting ready for their next show. Though the village was small, it had a very lively feeling and people were already gathering around the plaza where they would be performing. She had heard many people were looking forward to this performance, even people from around the village and the main City of Darna as well. She was a bit nervous to say the least, but she was looking forward to it.
Fortunately she had finished preparing a little earlier than the others, which gave her the opportunity to wander around the village for a bit. The village didn’t have much to offer, but she felt happy to finally be able to be free for a bit.
She looked around and saw a jewelry shop that caught her attention. There was a certain pair of earrings that caught her eye, they were a nice red color which combined well with her usual outfit. She really wanted to buy them, but they were a bit expensive; maybe she could buy them after the show if she had the chance.
She must’ve stared at them for a while because her deep focus was suddenly interrupted by a great amount of noise and multiple people gathering around the plaza. Her performance was about to start! She needed to get there quickly; hopefully nobody would notice her on her way.
Thankfully she managed to arrive just in time and the show could start with no problems. Seeing the amount of people watching her felt surreal in a small village like this, even if she had experience with way bigger audiences in the past; though this time there were a lot of important looking people gathered in the village, was there some sort of event going on? She knew her boss, Brasmel, had certain connections but not this many.
She looked around the crowd as she danced, she noticed a knightly looking blond man dressed in black armor that stood out the most, who was talking with Brasmel. Knowing her boss he was probably negotiating something so she didn’t pay much attention to it and continued to focus on her dancing.
The show was over and Lene was very satisfied with her and her partner’s performances, though she was very tired now and really needed a break but she also really wanted to buy the earrings she saw earlier, with the money she made on todays’ show she would definitely be able to buy it.
It was a bit late and it was getting dark, but she headed outside to look for the shop. Fortunately it was still open and they still had the earrings in stock.
“I’ll take these, please!” She said pointing at the earrings she wanted.
“Of course!” The shopkeeper replied and handed them to her as he received the gold.
“Everyone is gonna love these!” Lene said to herself as she looked at the earrings in delight, she was so happy to have them and she immediately put them on once she left the shop. She couldn’t wait to show it to her partners back in the inn they were staying in for the night. However, as she was making her way to said inn, her mind was quickly turned back to reality by the sight of many people running towards her, they looked to be running away from something.
She didn’t have to wait long for an answer as to what was happening, since as soon as she looked in front of her a massive fire could be seen and several bandits were entering the town. She had to run back to the inn and tell the others so they could get out to safety.
She tried to run as fast as she could, making sure to avoid the flames and numerous buildings that were falling apart. Unfortunately she was quickly overwhelmed by the amount of bandits surrounding the entire village and before she knew it, she was cornered.
“Look what we have here! A lovely lady, I bet she’d be greatly appreciated by the boss, Whatcha say?” One of the bandits laughed.
“She could get us so much gold, we ran into a jackpot here!” another bandit said.
“G-get away from me!” Lene shouted, thankfully she had brought her sword with her. It was always good to have a way of self defense around, especially considering she was an easy target being a dancer. She wasn’t very skilled with it though, but she had enough training to be able to wield it properly.
“Oh so you’re gonna play hard to get, huh? Get her boys! Don’t let her escape, she’s valuable.” One of the bandits exclaimed as he saw Lene drawing her blade.
She was definitely outnumbered, but what else could she do but fight. She couldn’t escape and there was no one nearby to save her. She was in a very tight spot, was this really the end for her?
One of the bandits launched themselves to attack her, to which Lene reacted and tried to block the attack. It was a very strong attack, she managed to block it but the impact made her fall to the ground and drop her weapon. She was expecting for more of the bandits to come attack her now that she was defenseless, but she was surprised to see them all on the floor behind a knight on a horse.
Upon seeing the knight, she realized it was the same blonde man she had seen in her performance, she was thankful he hadn’t left the town after the show, if it wasn’t for him she would’ve died for sure.
“The Black Knight. I’ve heard about you, that explains why the boss put up a high price for this!” The bandit said, readying themselves to battle, “Well no matter, you die here-” unfortunately for them, they couldn’t finish their sentence thanks to Ares’ quick attack.
“Are you alright?” Ares asked Lene, who was still watching in fear, then he reached his hand to help her stand up.
“Y-yes!” Lene replied, taking his hand, “Th-thank you for saving me, I would’ve definitely died if I were by myself.”
“No need. I couldn’t leave a defenseless person to die.” Ares replied, he was very serious and cold, but nice at heart. Lene thought. “I will take you outside the town, you should be safe there.” He said getting on his horse and offering his hand for her to get on as well.
“B-but my friends are still out here, I can’t leave them behind.”
“You mean your dancer group? I can assure you they’re safe, there’s nothing to worry about.”
“That’s a relief, can you take me to where they are, please?” Lene said with a sigh of relief.
“Sure.” Ares simply replied and helped her get on the horse.
This Ares guy wasn’t that bad, Lene thought. He seemed like a skilled and noble knight, hopefully she would get to see him again. She didn’t realize they were already outside the town because of her thoughts, thankfully everyone was alive and safe. She soon learned that Ares was part of a group of mercenaries that were hired by Brasmel, things were finally about to get more interesting it seemed.
Time passed and the war had just ended after the death of Prince Julius. Who would’ve thought Lene and Ares would be caught up in all of this, but it ended up making them grow closer.
Lene was currently outside Belhalla’s castle in the middle of celebrations, she was reflecting about what to do after the war now that she was no longer in her former dancer group, maybe it was a good opportunity to travel around the continent to look for her mother.
“Um, Lene.” She suddenly heard behind her, she turned around and saw Ares approaching her.
“Hm? Oh, Ares! It’s rare for you to start the conversation!” She laughed. “Is something the matter?”
“Well, I was wondering if you had any plans now that the war is over.”
“Well I’m not sure really, I never really thought too much about it until now. You are going to Agustria, aren’t you?”
“Yes, there is no one left to rule, so it is my responsibility to take over that role.” Ares said, followed by a few seconds of silence, “And well, that is somehow connected to my previous question.” He stopped again.
“And? You have me so intrigued now!” Lene said teasingly, though she had an idea of what he was about to ask, which made her a bit excited. But she was waiting for Ares to say it first, it was so unlike him so she felt curious to know how he would say it.
“Well, Agustria needs a Queen too. Someone cheerful who would bring joy to the people, someone they can trust.” Ares paused again, “And well, I think you fit that description perfectly…so I would like to ask. Would you be my Queen?”
“Wow I thought you weren’t able to say something like that! Look at how red you are.” Lene teased, “But of course! I will be your Queen, I will stay by your side no matter what.” She replied and gave the embarrassed Ares a hug. “I love you.” She said softly.
“I love you too, Lene.” He replied softly as well.
Who would’ve thought a simple dancer like her would’ve ended up being the Queen of an entire country. She wondered if she could do a good job, but she was happy that she had Ares by her side, at least that made her feel more confident and calm. Regardless, she knew it’d be a fun experience and that she would be happy for the rest of her life.