a knight's promise | iwaizumi hajime

4

The day after your engagement passed. The entire castle was in a buzz, an excited energy surrounded every room of the large palace, except a certain few. Your room and Hajime's room are the only two in the castle that are clouded by a depressive feeling that increases with each passing hour.

With the preparations for the wedding all complete, everything was set for tomorrow. It would be the biggest event that occurred in a long time. Royals from all different kingdoms would be arriving to give their best wishes to the couple.

Only 12 hours remained till the wedding. You dismissed your maids, telling them you need some time alone, but instead you went to visit your cousin. After slipping the ornate gold ring Keiji gave you off your finger, you gently placed it on your bedside table and left your room. Slowly and quietly, you snuck through the spacious empty hallways until you reached Tooru's room. After knocking on the door a couple of times, he came outside.

"Take me to Hajime's room. I'm leaving tonight," you tell him.

"Are you sure?" Tooru sleepily asks.

"Yes."

He takes a deep breath, then leads you to Iwaizumi's room. On the way there, he says, "I talked to Prince Keiji, he's actually a pretty nice guy. He's a little weird, but overall kind. He doesn't know you're in love with Iwaizumi, but he told me he will do damage control if you decide to run away. Of course, I will also be helping him, so don't worry about what will happen if you leave. That's for me and Keiji to worry about."

"Thank you Tooru, for everything."

He smiles back at you, and knocks on Iwaizumi's door.

"What do you want Tooru-" Iwaizumi angrily asks when he opens the door, however, he stops talking once he notices you are with him.

You grab onto Iwaizumi's muscular arm and drag him outside. "We are leaving now."

"What do you mean leaving?"

"We're leaving the castle together now. Tooru is helping us, then we'll figure out the rest ourselves."

He stops moving, then asks you, "What about your marriage, you can't just leave."

"I'm not married yet."

"She's not wrong," Tooru chimes in.

"Shut up Tooru! We all know it's more complicated than that," Iwaizumi yells.

"Keiji agreed to do damage control with Tooru if I leave. It's all going to be okay, let's just go," you say, tugging on his arm.

"All of you are so naive! We all know nothing like that is going to happen. Say we leave, you think they're gonna let us go happily? No, guards are going to be sent after us. Don't you get it by now? We are not having our happy ending," Iwaizumi explains.

He brings his hand up to your face, and gently cups your cheek. His rough, calloused hands caressed your soft skin. You felt his trembling hands on your face, and heard his ragged breath as he tried to fight back tears. The fantasy you were living in finally shattered. Your marriage with Keiji is an inevitability, you realized now that you were foolish to think you could escape from it. The tears started brimming your eyes, then streamed freely. Iwaizumi held you close in his arms, you felt his tears drop on your head and shoulders.

"I'm scared," you weakly whisper, "I don't want to leave you."

He holds you tighter, and calmingly strokes your hair.

"Let's get to your room, you need to sleep," he responds.

"No! If I sleep then by the time I wake, I'll basically be a married woman. Let me stay by your side for as long as possible," you plead.

"As you wish, but I still need to take you to your room," he replies. Suddenly Iwaizumi picks you up and starts walking to your room. He says something to Tooru, but you couldn't hear what it was.

By the time you both reach your room, only 10 hours remain until your wedding. Iwaizumi gently lays you down on your bed, then lays down beside you.

You look into the familiar green eyes of your lover and see everything he cannot say. Neither of you say anything further, and hold each other. The comforting touch of his hands trail your face, and his eyes scan every part of you, in an effort to cement you into his memory.

Your hands intertwine with his, like you've done a million times before. The way your finger interlocks with his, and how the grooves of your hands match, was all so familiar, as if this was the hand you're meant to hold for the rest of your life.

"Do you believe in reincarnation, or stuff like that?" you ask suddenly, interrupting the peace.

"I guess, why?"

"If it does exist, do you promise to find me again?"

He kisses your forehead, then responds, looking straight into your eyes, "I promise to find you in our next life and every life after that too."

You hold his face in your hands and gently wipe the few tears on his face. All the strength and energy you had before disappeared after hearing Iwaizumi say that. A sense of relief and calmness washed over you. As you feel your eyelids become heavier and heavier, you turn to Iwaizumi and say, "I love you so much Hajime Iwaizumi."

The last thing you hear him say before you sleep is, "I love you more than everything."

You wake up alone in your bedroom. A team of maids enter your room, and one of them opens the curtains, letting the sunlight hit your face. They prepare you for the wedding, by completing your hair and makeup and getting you into your wedding dress. They leave the room to give you a little privacy, to add any finishing touches you think you need to add.

You sit in your vanity, staring at the unfamiliar reflection in the mirror. Everything about you felt different today. You look down at the desk and notice a small silver ring with a green gem in the center. You recognize the gem, as one you gave to Iwaizumi when you were kids. You slip the silver ring onto the ring finger for your right hand, and the gold ring Keiji gave you onto the ring finger for your left hand.

After one last glance at yourself in the mirror, you exit your room. Standing outside your door is Tooru and your father. They each hold their arm out to you, and place your hand on their arms and allow them to escort you to your wedding. Tooru notices the silver ring on your finger and smiles to himself.

When you enter the venue, the bridal chorus starts playing, and you continue walking down until you are standing across from Keiji. Despite the fact you are getting married to someone you barely know, you felt calm. The silver ring on your finger gave you strength and reminded you that in your next life, you will be with Hajime.

With the wedding complete, you are now a Princess of the Fukurōdani nation. Everyone in the venue lined up to give their congratulations to the newly wed couple, all except one. Iwaizumi left the room, and walked outside to the balcony. He took a couple of deep breaths as he looked out to the horizon. Just behind him was everything he ever wanted to protect, but with that gone, he felt empty inside.

Remembering the vow he made to you, he looks back at you, and starts counting the days until he can finally fulfill his promise.