Princess Sherry’s Tale - Chapter 1.1

“That man over there is Tolcher?”

“That’s right, princess. He looks quite young, no?” Hans said, amusement in his voice.

He clearly found the whole thing entertaining.

“Hmmm. From here he does look young,” she said, her expression bored.

“To enjoy this game, you will be best off choosing someone completely opposite of me.”

“Who is opposite of you?”

Still watching from above, the knight came back into her view. She couldn’t help but admire his unique hair color and robust physique. Her attention piqued. On top of that, he was an exceptionally handsome young man. The epitome of a dashing young knight.

They were standing on a third-floor stone terrace with a clear view of the training grounds. The location was not only high, but the curtain was drawn at a clever angle, its pale-yellow fabric fluttering in the wind, and giving them the perfect vantage point to spy on the knights without being seen. Unless a knight craned his head to look straight up, it would be almost impossible to see them.

The first training session ended, and the more seasoned knights left the training grounds, their armor and swords clanking as they left the field, replaced by the relatively young rookie knights who had been watching from the sidelines. They had come early to learn what they could from the older vets.

She watched surreptitiously from behind the curtain as the newest knight made his way onto the field.

“Hmmmm.”

Watching the knight, her features suddenly lit with excitement and her bright olive-green eyes shone from the shadows of the terrace. The princess, who had grown out of her girlish prettiness, was now an exquisitely beautiful woman, with rose-colored hair that fell in gentle waves down her back, and flawless milky white skin that contrasted strikingly against her olive eyes and full red lips. She was a woman now. A woman who always got her way.

“His hair is green… Aside from his tanned skin, he certainly looks like an elf.”

“You’ll feel it more when you get a closer look, Miss Sherri. On top of that, you, as a princess, will be unconventional for him, and of course he has no real experience with women, so no immunity to your charms.”

At those words, she turned to study Hans with pity on her face, and perhaps a touch of amusement.

“Inexperienced? Now, I know why you said he’s the opposite of you, Hans.”

“No matter, princess. I, too, will live honestly after I get married.”

“Enough. I’ll take him. Tell that to the head knight,” she said, not taking her eyes off the muscular young man below with hair the color of new spring leaves.

Hans, now standing closely next to her, looked disappointed, and almost jealous.

“It’s such a shame.”

“What is?”

He moved closer, and placing a finger under her chin, he gently turned her head away from the knight and towards him.

“I mean, it’s a shame that I won’t be here to watch as the sharpened spear pierces a shield that has never been pierced before.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Aren’t I leaving for the capital in three days? This will be our last time meeting like this.”

Perhaps it was because he had taken the liberty to put his hand on her, his skin hot where it stroked her chin, but irritation flashed in her eyes. Looking up into Hans’ handsome face, however, she hid her irritation behind a smile, pretending not to know his true feelings.

She draped her arm around his neck, and said, “All right, since this is the last time. You want a reward for having gone through so much trouble, is that it?”

“Am I not the one who knows you more than any other man, Miss Sherri?”

“Is that so?”

Abruptly, Hans swept up Sherri’s petite form, and lifted her into the air, drawing the curtain closed behind them as he left the terrace to enter the bedroom. He stalked over to the bed, where he gentle set her down, looking deeply into her eyes.

With one arm still hanging around his neck, she seductively raised a finger and shook her head ‘no’, though a smile played across her lips.

Hans’ face broke into a returning smile, as he lowered his head to her, his eyes on her lips. Just as Han’ lips were about to press into hers, however, she pressed a delicate pale finger against his mouth, blocking his kiss.

Hans looked confused for a moment, but Sherri’s fine index finger did not stop him from kissing her lightly.

That’s when his face pushed closer, waves of desire coming off him.

“Hans.”

She just stared up at him for a moment in silence, her finger still against his mouth, and as the moment stretched, a child-like blush crept up his neck and reddened his face.

“Yes, Miss Sherri?” he answered, uncertainty in his eyes.

The subtle smile left Sherri’s face, and she pressed her finger harder into Hans’ lips, pushing his squared jaw away from her.

“Are you really going to act like a dog, right up until the end?”

“Ha, a dog? I was your teacher in the beginning. You’re too cruel to me, princess.”

Openly expressing her lack of interest, she lifted one heeled foot and kicked Hans straight in the chest, pushing him off the bed. Even so, she knew very well that he, a well-trained knight, would be unfazed by it.

“Ugh,” he said, rubbing his chest while smiling begrudgingly.

“I’ve learned one thing for sure.” Sherri nonchalantly wiped the finger that had touched Hans’ lips on her satin dress. “People never change. And players are even worse.”

At those words, Hans’ face darkened. It was a fiercer blow than the one he’d received from her shoe a moment ago. But who could refuse her anything? And when it came to seduction, who could resist her? Even a man like the young knight, a new shield that had never been pierced before, stood no chance against her.

“There’s an old saying, princess, that people only die when they change…”