Hand of the Heart | S. Rogers x Reader - Royal AU

Ch. 8 - Sword Fight

"Good evening. We are down to the second-to-last game of the Tournament." You paused, your breath catching in your throat when your eyes met the blue ones of Steve's. His gaze was unwavering, his attention solely on you. You thought of the way his lips were on yours only minutes before dinner. "The next game shall be a sword fight. Shields and swords will be given, but you shall wear your own armory. It shall be a test of strength, resilience, and skill, but I must forewarn you. Your blades will be sharpened right before the game, so I ask you all to be careful. I do not want any of you hurt, but I cannot stop it if and when it gets to that point. This is a challenge to surrender, or until your opponent is unable to continue." You took a breath. "I wish you all luck, please enjoy your dinner."

None of the men sitting at the table had a hint of banality. Each had respectable characteristics that you would only associate with them. Now that may not be a good thing in some cases; one, more than the rest.

Erik and Brock were simply eating, not paying any mind to the Ladies beside you or to the other competitors. They usually kept to themselves, anyway. Either that or stared at you until you were uncomfortable.

Suitors for you were never hard to come by, being a princess and the only heir to Evradia. The man who would marry you would become a king; an advantageous marriage to anyone. So you had them lining up for you until your father died, then the council took the matter into their own hands and you had no say.

You were lucky enough that they chose a Tournament for courtship, and didn't just marry you off to whomever they found worthy. You at least had some time to get to know whoever was to win.

You believed your one true match was on your far right, still in the same armor from when you both strolled throughout the village. He was laughing at something James told him, throwing his head back. He looked so carefree.

He looked as he did when he was with you.

It brought you great joy to know that he acted with you as he did with his friends. And that you were as familiar to him as he was to you. You were told once that the key to a wonderful marriage was to start with friendship.

Princess Shuri was telling you about how desperate she was to further her studies, but since she was a woman, she wasn't allowed to exceed the level of what a princess should know. She was incredibly intelligent, with how young she was, and it was unfortunate that so much potential would be wasted.

It was hard to concentrate on the topic of conversation when Steve was right there, stealing glances and meeting your eyes as he talked with James.

You practically ushered everyone out of the dining room, desperately wanting to get some sleep that night before the four competitors would try to slaughter each other tomorrow.

One man lingered behind— Steve. You could see him in your peripheral vision, walking towards you. His armor made clanking noises as he approached you, the metal reflecting the light in the room.

"Is there something I could help you with, Steve?" you asked politely, trying to hide the fact that you were just looking at him up and down.

When he was standing directly in front of you, his hands on his belt, he said, "I wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed our excursion today."

You smiled at the thought of all the time you spent with him that day. "I enjoyed it too."

"Really? Even after you were attacked?"

"You saved me, did you not?"

"I was simply doing my duty, Y/n."

You hummed and gripped a crooked plate on his shoulder, turning it so that it was straight. "I owe you my thanks, Steve," you said with your hand still on his shoulder, your eyes fluttering up to meet his.