The Princess, Her Assassin, and a Pirate ~ Hetalia

Chapter 1

     You stared out the window silently, itching at the scales that had been subdued temporarily. You needed to apply more lotion before they began spreading and father scolded you. He only let you out into the property if you had no scales visible, though your mother stated he was just being irrational. You sighed, glancing over at your studies which had been left untouched at the desk. The tutor was no help and you barely understood anything, you just wanted your sword fighting practice to hurry up and happen. 

     Your father despised you, so it took a lot of convincing, but he eventually let you have a sword. Your mother was quite pleased, she wanted you to become a strong woman as she knew you'd likely need to prove yourself as an heir. You wanted to make her proud, as she made you feel loved and wanted. You peered down from your window and spotted a familiar spot on the ground, leading you to smile widely and change from your dress to trousers as quickly as you could. 

     When Berwald, your personal knight, opened the door, you shot out of it, shocking the tall man. He chuckled quietly and followed your excited trail of footsteps. He caught up to you quite quickly, as his extreme height allowed him to take longer strides. You slowed down when you noticed him beside you and smiled up at the man, "Ber, is Roderich here yet?" 

     Berwald smiled slightly, "Of course, Your Highness, why else would I have opened the door" 

     You nodded, smiling even wider with excitement, "True."

     The two of you rounded the corner, approaching the exit for the garden, Ber sped up, falling in front of you as some sort of protective barrier. You simply ignored it, knowing it was protocol for him. As you exited into the garden and towards the area where Roderich normally teaches you, you caught sight of your father. King Harold Adelaide in the flesh was a rare occasion, even for his daughter. You caught yourself staring in disbelief and simply curtsied as he approached. Berwald simply defaulted to an emotionless face and nodded slightly at the King. 

     The King nodded back before turning to you, his judgmental gaze settling on your face. He eyed you up and down, checking for any measly scale to point out you assumed, but you held back your smirk as his gaze hardened with frustration. He would not be pointing out your insecurities today, much to his disappointment. He narrowed his eyes as they settled back to your face, "Princess."

     You smiled sourly, "Father."

     He scoffed, turning away and strutting off. You glared after him before rushing in front of Berwald to embrace Roderich, who had now become visible in the garden. Roderich sputtered in confusion, his face flushed red, "Y-Your Highness!"

     You laughed loudly, "Roderich!"

     He stuttered as you let him go and backed up, "Y-Your Highness this is not proper in the slightest!"

     You scoffed, "Call me (Y/N) already, Roderich, you've kicked my ass in sparring too many times for you to address me formally."

      Roderich nodded hesitantly, swallowing harshly. He looked at your excited face, pain spreading through his heart. You loved sparring with him, he was your only sword fighting teacher and you had grown very fond of him. He had grown fond of you as well, though he stuck to formalities constantly, much to your annoyance. He had practically raised you alongside Berwald, your mother, and some of the castle staff, so it broke his heart when the King had approached him minutes before your lesson.

     The King approached Roderich and he bowed abruptly out of shock and confusion, "Y-Your Highness, my King! What brings you here to see me?"

     The King scoffed at the nervous teacher before stating his business, "The princess will no longer be taking sparring lessons from you, Roderich, under my command. You can tell her the news, I've got more important things to attend to." 

     Roderich sputtered out of confusion, "B-But, Your Highness!"

     King Harold Adelaide turned back to glare at the sparring instructor, his gaze saying everything. Roderich shut his mouth, his face flushed with confusion. Why was he doing this? He knew the princess was constantly under strict restrictions due to the King's protective gaze on her, but this was too much. As far as he knew, the princess was never allowed out of the estate and he was one of the only exceptions for her getting contact with the outside world.

     He gulped at your clueless, naïve face and opened his mouth to break the news to you, "I-I'm terribly sorry, my Princess, but your father, the King, has stated this will be your last lesson with me."

     He watched you face fall, his heart falling to his feet with it. You looked so distraught and he wished he could fix it. You were like a little sister to him and seeing you look so upset made him feel like a complete failure. You hugged him again, holding in your tears, "It's alright, Roderich, I'm sorry it's ended so quickly like this."

     Roderich's heart broke with those words, "I'm so sorry, Princess (Y/N)"

     You smiled bittersweetly into his shoulder before taking a deep breath and putting on an excited, happy façade, "Come on, Roderich, let's do this!" 

     You lunged at him, your sword suddenly unsheathed and ready to maim him at any moment. He smirked, this was more like it. The two of you attacked each other mercilessly, not holding back. Roderich snuck in some compliments between strikes, but you knew he was simply trying to catch you off guard. You simply kept going, determined to make the last one a good one

     Suddenly Roderich hesitated, you weren't sure for what, but you took it to your advantage and landed a light scratch on his torso, deeming you the winner. He looked at you with an extremely shocked expression and you could hear Berwald clapping behind him. You smiled, though pained, as you both bowed in proper sportsmanship. 

     You said your final goodbyes, not knowing when you'd see Roderich next, before leading Berwald to your eternal isolation under your father's rule. If anyone here was truly the monster, it be him.

--

     You narrowly missed your bed as you sobbed. You had rushed into your room after a brief farewell to the tall blonde knight, and broke down into tears. You had always remained stoic in front of your parents, as you wanted to remain strong, but you failed to do it when in closed quarters. You didn't know what you could possibly do without the small freedoms such as sparring with Roderich. 

     If your father had the guts to defy your mother and take away sparring, who knew what else he'd take you from. Your window allowed you a faint view of the streets outside the castle but it merely taunted you. You wanted to be like the long haired princess in the stories and break through the barrier that was that stained glass and explore what your father had not permitted you see. 

     Anger burned in your chest and you felt the flames rising, licking at your tongue, flickering inside. If only you had grown wings with this stupid curse, how much you would give to simply soar out of reach from your father, the wretched man. You were sure if you had shown signs of wings, though, your father would just have them clipped. 

     You applied the cream your mother had given you to your scales as you bit back the fire that wanted to erupt from your mouth with a yell. The cream would stop the scales from spreading and hopefully calm the flames that burned the back of your throat like stomach acid. 

     You weren't calm for long though, as the abrupt opening of the door lead you to yelp, flames spitting from your mouth, luckily just hitting the floor, easily stomped out by your boot. Your mother looked at you with shock, pity, and pain. You knew she likely heard about father's actions based on the expression she gave you.

     You turned, hiding the tears and shameful look on your face, "Mother why can't I just run away"

     She cringed at your words and gently grabbed your face to make you look at her, "No, darling, we all know your father would have you killed the second you attempt stepping off the property. I'm so sorry you have to endure this." 

    You sighed, pushing her away gently and falling  back onto your bed, waiting for her to leave. You just wanted to wallow in your misery.