Iroha, Iroha; where for art th- wait. | IROHA&LENKUN

[suutoraberii]

The stage was set;

A princess, locked in his tower - hidden from those with tainted eyes, kept away from
those that wished to exploit his fragile, childlike innocence. Saved from the harsh, harsh 
cruelties of reality; limited to only what mother said - what mother wanted.

As if.

Overprotective parents are bad - but having a king and queen as mom and dad? Ugh.
Honestly, he'd wanted to go outside for five minutes, maybe ten, just to get a little fresh air.

"But dear, you can just open a window."

No.

Heaving a sigh, the adolescent princess leaned out the window, stared into the blue skies of his kingdom almost with narrowed eyes.
What were his subjects doing, right now? He could see tiny little figures in the gardens below, bustling about, 
answering to his mother's each and every whim.

A giraffe bush, your majesty? Oh, but of course.

God.

With any luck, his parents sucked at ruling the kingdom and there'd be a revolt. 

He could only hope.

[dzetsurp]

Near the garden was a field where the knights of the kingdom trained themselves and new recruits for the army. Iroha thrust her hefty spear into the body of a dummy and tore it to the side, ripping apart the thick burlap, spilling out the straw contents.

The enemy was slain.

Iroha smiled as she withdrew her spear and wiped sweat from her eyes. She glanced towards the Royal Tower, where she could see Princess Len gazing wistfully from the window. Did he see her successfully rip apart that dummy? Iroha could only hope. The woman lost herself as she stared at Len's beautiful royal features, forgetting her surroundings.

Smooth, porcelain skin, large blue eyes, silky blonde hair...

Iroha sighed. How could he be so pretty? It just wasn't fair that the knight wasn't allowed to talk to the fair princess, always locked away in her tall tower.

[suutoraberii]

Ah, the knights.

Len couldn't help but train his eyes on their practices. It seemed so .. admirable,
so absolutely, wonderfully fascinating to him that they would so willingly put
their lives on the line for him, their princess..

The rose tint that flashed across his cheeks was intense - perhaps even visible to
those that might have been looking. Certainly, he didn't think anyone would bother to--
Oh.

The regal, red locks of Sir Iroha; a knight that the princess had become interested in.
How dashing she was. Such vibrant hair.. there was no hiding it. Even on the battlefield,
it seemed that she did not wish to flee, it seemed that her resolve, her desire to protect,
was so true .. so pure.

How he wished he could speak to her. Just to hear her voice; ah, a dream - but what a dream.
And she was looking at him.

Shyly, the princess waves ..

and promptly spins out of view, embarrassed.

[dzetsurp]

Oh my. Was it simply her imagination, or was it a miraculous reality? Had the beautiful princess noticed her and waved?

Iroha's face blushed almost as red as her hair as she glanced around, looking for someone else, anyone else, that he could have been greeting rather than herself, but she found none. Her gloved hand over her heart, Iroha offered a slight bow, though there was no way the princess would have been able to see it as he had left the window already.

A secret wave, just for her...

The thought tickled her fancy and she breezed through the rest of her morning training as if she were floating on a cloud and blessed by the heavens, a silly smile plastered on her face.

Perhaps she would make a bold move and dress as one of the palace butlers and bring Princess Len his lunch, just so she would be able to see his lovely visage up close, and maybe even speak to him. The though of hearing his lovely voice encouraged Iroha so much that she stole a butler's suit and offered to take the Princess's tray of food to his room.

After climbing several flights of stairs (the tower was sure tall!), the enamored knight stood, panting slightly, staring at the closed and locked door of the tower, with but a small slit at the bottom where she was to slide the lunch tray through. Poor Iroha's heart sunk as she realized there was no way to enter, no way to see her Princess's face.

"Your lunch is here, Y-your, um, H-highness," she stammered, not sure how the butlers usually announced mealtimes, nor how they normally addressed the Princess. She placed the tray on the floor and slowly began to slide it in.

[suutoraberii]

Len found himself watching the knights more closely than usual, though it was through the corner of the window;
he was simply too embarrassed to show his face, especially after that shameful display.
Honestly, out of all the things to do, a small, shy wave?! Ugh, damn you, Len.

In the time from his chance encounter to lunch, Len found himself absolutely
focused, drifting in and out of fantasies with his beloved knight. How lovely,
it would be, to see her handsome face ..

Ah, lunch.

The voice.. sounded different, somehow. Not the usual old man that brought him his snacks, but rather..
a charming, pleasant tone, lower than his own.

Carefully, the princess kneels by the slot meant for passing food, and takes the invading tray; only
to pass it to the ground, blinking with wide, crystalline blue eyes into the open space.

"E.. Excuse me, but you're not the usual butler, are you?" He asked, uncertain, "Who are you..?"

[dzetsurp]

"Who are you?"

A clear voice came from the room, laden with uncertainty. Iroha started. She hadn't expected Princess Len to speak, but oh, how she was elated to hear his voice! It was just as beautiful, no even more so than she had imagined it would be.

"I'm Iroha," she answered in reflex. She subsequently cursed herself, for she was quite known in the castle as a knight, however perhaps the sheltered Princess would not know of her?

"Y-your, um, bringer of your lunch today," she added helpfully, hoping that the reply would suffice. She leaned toward the slot, hoping to catch a glimpse of her princess.