Haley Thistle
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White Knight Boyfriend: Amir (complete)
🕑 Added 2021-02-08 20:00:02 +0000 UTC
Female Reader x Male Monster
Before the current royal family, Miror was ruled by the Court of Chess. It was made up of two warring families, who hosted a great battle every five years to determine who would be the next ruler of Miror. For those five years the King and Queen of each side would train their troops and build up an army as strong as possible to win and claim the throne.
When they were challenged by the human form of the Goddess Alice, the two families united to defeat her. Unfortunately, it was for naught. Alice won, becoming the first united queen of Miror, and the progenitor of the modern royal family. She took pity on the Court of Chess, and while she banished both kings and queens, she kept their armies. But fortune did not smile on the two armies, as Alice used them very little. What was once a mighty army was now nothing more than a plaything of the royal family.
My ancestors were part of the Dynastinae Court, who held the throne the longest in their day. We were considered the mightiest army in all of Miror, well-trained, intelligent, and ruthless. Nowadays, we’re lucky to even be able to talk about our former glory. Thanks to our ancestors trying to stage coups, we’re relegated to a sort of village prison. The Chessboard was where our ancestors fought their battles to see who would take the throne. Now, we’re forced to live inside it. Both the Cyphochilus Court and Dynastinae Court inhabit this village, and once a year the Royal Family makes us reenact the War of Alice. Humiliating, to say the least.
Sometimes we’re trotted out for special events at the royal palace, nothing more than glossy setpieces for the royal family. I get it - both sides of the Court of Chess are a bit volatile. Some of the elders still speak of overthrowing the current regime, but some of us younger ones have gotten, dare I say, lazy? None of us have the drive that previous generations did. Most of us don’t even remember the Battle of Alice or the way things used to be. Some of us have never even been outside of the Chessboard. What are we supposed to fight for?
The old Chess Pieces are barely touched anymore, and are basically giant landmarks dotting the outskirts of the Chessboard. The large mechanical suits of armor that once served as the main vessels for battle are growing moss and vines and sinking into the earth. Whenever we are forced to do the reenactments, we have special props that resemble the mech suits. One person operates one of those props, but it takes two, sometimes three people to make one of the Chess Pieces fully operational.
My parents were once the pilots of the Queen Piece, and they still talk about it to this day. “Oh it was wonderful, Zari. It was captivating, Zari,” they say. “The Queen Piece was the highlight of all the battles! We were always the center of attention.”
I can’t imagine what going from center stage to nothing felt like. I was born just before the Battle of Alice, so I have no context for what being on top is like. The only view I get is from climbing the Chess Pieces and looking out over the Chessboard. Each side keeps themselves separate. The Cyphochilus Court and Dynastinae Court really stick to their rivalry guns, and not even being defeated by Alice could stop that. If you cross the line separating both sides, it causes a fight. I suppose it’s as close to fighting for the throne as we can get these days.
From the top of the Chess Pieces, I can see a little beyond the Chessboard. The royal palace is a jewel in the distance, with the Tulgey Wood spreading out on the other side. I can sometimes see smoke rising from the chimneys of the villages nearby, and on clear nights I can see their lights glowing like a halo. I’m too young to remember a time before we were trapped on the Chessboard, but I want to go beyond it someday.
It’s growing dark, and I can see the lights of the closest village. I should be getting home, but I love to watch the stars come out. I have quite a large family, six younger siblings that I have to help wrangle at the end of the day. They rely on me to tell them stories before bedtime.
I decide to fly down. I can use my wings to ascend short distances, and they help me float down easily. Because we have little use for them, both sides of the court have forgotten how to use the wings under our shells. I’m usually okay using them, but as I descend a strong wind kicks up. I try to grab onto the side of the Chess Piece, but the wind buffets me so hard that I lose my grip. I’m thrown over the wall surrounding the Chessboard and straight into the trees on the other side, toppling down until I’m caught in a tangled web of vines. I hang there, too terrified to move or even breathe. My leg hurts, my sides hurt. As the shock gives way to fear, I burst out into tears.
“Calm down.” A voice rumbles through the darkness.
I whimper and sniffle. “Wh-who goes there?”
I hear a loud buzzing, and then the tree limb near my head dips with added weight. “Stay still. I’ll get you out of this.”
“Be careful!” I yelp.
“Are you hurt?” the voice asks again.
“Probably. It was a pretty disturbing tumble.” One of the vines trapping my arm gives, and I’m able to pull it out.
“Take my hand.”
I look up to see a white plate-clad hand before me. I take it, letting it pull me up and out of the vines, until I’m sitting on a tree limb with my mysterious savior - a member of the Cyphochilus Court. I’m stunned, to say the least. I wasn’t expecting anyone else from the Chessboard, let alone someone from the rival Court. “Geez,” I murmur. “Aren’t you worried you’ll get your ass kicked for helping me?”
He looks down at me, quiet and serious. He’s a bit smaller than me, but most of the Cyphochilius are smaller. Compared to the Dynastinae, who are quite big and strong, the Cyphochilus beetles are more elegant and faster. “You don’t kick mine, I won’t kick yours. You can consider that thanks for my rescue of you.”
“No that’s not it,” I start to laugh. “Never mind.” My antennae twitch as I try to smell where we’re at. “And yes, thank you. I don’t know what I would’ve done if I had to get myself out of that mess.”
“Just be glad I was around.” He tosses aside the vine and then looks up at me. “Are you hurt?”
All of his body is soft white, except for his dark amber eyes and his pale orange antennae. He keeps his head down, so mostly all I see of him is the top of his hard helmet. “My leg,” I say. “It hit hard against the wall when I fell.”
He inches closer to my side and lowers to see my leg. “Let me see.”
I hesitate for a moment, and I decide to change the subject. “Is there a way back over the wall? I don’t know how long or far I fell, but I can only assume we’re quite a way from the top.”
“Don’t worry.” His antennae twitch back and forth. “I can try to carry you up.”
I furrow my brow at him, lowering my horn. “You can fly?”
He looks up, and I am stunned by how pretty he is. His voice is gravelly and rough, but his appearance is as close to angelic as one can get. His features are smooth, with sharp cheekbones and jaw, and pale orange marks around his eyes and lips. I felt silly staring. After all, my features are pointed, and I have a massive horn in the center of my forehead. Even if I am a beautiful glossy black, I still don’t compare to his loveliness.
He shrugs. “Almost. I’ve been training myself to build the strength up in my wings. This would be my first time carrying someone, though,” he replies cooly.
“I can carry myself for short bursts, but...” I clear my throat. “Who are you? I’ve asked you several times now, and it’s starting to seem quite rude of you to not answer.”
He smirks and chuckles at me. “Amir,” he says.
“Zari,” I reply. “It figures you would have a pretty name.”
He looks up at me. “What do you mean?”
I avoid the questions and clear my throat. “So what happened? How did you see me fall?”
“I was practicing flying, actually. For a while I’ve been trying to build up my wing strength and see what I can actually do. I use the Chess Pieces to gauge how far I can go. I was just getting ready to head home for the night when I heard you scream.”
“Oh, no. I screamed?” I grumble.
“I don’t blame you for screaming. I would have if the wind toyed with me like that.” He glances up through the trees. “To be honest, I’ve seen you on the Chess Pieces a lot when I practice. I was always curious about you.”
I smile softly. “I’ve never seen you before! And I spend quite a lot of time up on those Chess Pieces.”
“I stick to the white pieces, so I can blend in and not get noticed,” he says with a smile. “But I always kind of wanted to go further.”
My antennae tilt forward. “Then why did you never make yourself known?”
Amir wiggles his antennae at me and laughs. “Well, aside from our two Courts hating one another, I’ve never been in the mood to fight.”
I shrug. “Good reason.”
“Can you climb out of the trees?” he asks, standing up. “If your leg hurts too badly, I can try and carry you out.”
I giggle as I try to stand. “Trying to play the White Knight?”
“Maybe. Careful.” He reaches out, helping me to stand on the limb.
“Really hope this doesn’t give out,” I whimper. I brace against the trunk, holding up my one injured leg.
“Does it hurt?” Amir asks.
I try to put weight on the leg. “A little, but I think I can at least climb out.”
“Climb on my back.”
I frown at him. “No! I’ll crush you!”
Amir gives me a sharp look. “I can carry you. Don’t argue with me.”
“You sure?”
He turns so his carapace faces me. “I may not look as tough as you, but I think I’m pretty strong. Now, climb on. Hurry. Once it gets really dark, things start to move in the Tulgey Wood.”
I quickly climb on and hold onto him. “What moves?”
“I’m not sure,” he grunts. “Just things.” He starts climbing out of the trees, hefting both of us along until we come to the top and near the wall.
“I never realized just how big the walls were,” I murmur.
“They’re intimidating from another angle,” Amir grunts. He sets me down, then turns to face me. “Okay now, Zari, I need you to hold my hands. I’ll fly up a bit, and when I’m above your head, you start beating your wings too.”
“You think we can fly over that?” I point up to the wall. “I can only do short bursts, and I have those timed out to the ledges along the Queen Piece.”
“I’m not sure. I’ve been practicing, and your wings are stronger than most. I think if we do this together, we can at least get close enough to the edge to climb on. From there, we can use the Chess Pieces to guide us down.”
I look uneasily up at the wall. “It would be awful to fall.”
“It would be, that’s very true,” Amir sighs. “But at least we’d be falling together.”
I smirk. “Some White Knight.”
He holds his hands out again. “Just a joke to lighten the mood. Maybe if this works, they won’t kick my ass.”
I giggle and my antennae twitch. “Okay.” I take hold of his hands. “Let’s try this.”
His elytra open up and his wings beat furiously, emitting a loud buzz. He lifts into the air and hovers, holding my hands tight. I follow suit, beating my wings until both of us are off the trees and lifting towards the wall. We’re coming closer, and still we’re so far from the top. “Come on!” Amir shouts. “We can do this!”
“I’m getting tired!” I pant. “My wings!”
“Both our lives are on the line,” Amir says. “Beat harder! Both of us!”
I whimper, my wings aching, but I try. We’re lifted higher, and with a swing, Amir tosses me onto the wall. I land, then whip around and grab him as he starts to fall. He dangles over the edge for a moment before he starts to laugh.
“We did it!”
I struggle to pull him up, chuckling as I do. “Yeah! I suppose we did.” I get him up onto the ledge with me and we both rest there for a moment.
He sighs heavily, tossing his head back to look up at the sky. “I was worried for a second.”
“Really?” I pant. “I was worried the entire time.”
Amir laughs again. “Be careful next time you come down off the Chess Pieces. Hopefully I’ll be around to help you out the next time.”
“Next time?” I scoff at him. “There won’t be a next time.”
“Then when can I see you again?”
I turn to see Amir smiling at me. I slowly pull my legs up to my chest as I feel myself growing warmer by the second. “You do realize we’re from opposite sides?”
“And? There’s no more Court of Chess. We’re all on the same side. Inside.” He motions to the Chessboard. “What’s the point of having sides when we’re all trapped in the same situation?”
“Some people still take it very seriously.” I glance back towards the Tulgey Wood. “It could make a lot of trouble, and for someone trying to play the White Knight, that usually doesn’t suit their style.”
Amir chuckles. “I don’t mind trouble. After all, I did save you.”
I shrug. “Compared to you, I know I don’t look like the usual damsel in distress.”
Amir leans forward. “What do you mean?”
“Like a princess or a queen,” I sigh.
“And what is that supposed to look like?”
“I know what you’re trying to do here. I have lots of things I like about myself.”
Amir’s antennae sweep forward. “There’s lots of things I like about you too, Zari. Granted, they’re things that I’ve only gotten to see from a distance. I would enjoy getting to like more of you up close.”
My antennae stick straight up. “How long have you been waiting to say that?”
Amir’s smile is bright and handsome. “A long time. I’ve just never had the guts to come up to you and say it. Until now.”
“Okay, well...” I clear my throat. “I come here to the Chess Pieces often. If you’d like, next time you see me from a distance, you can come and say hello up close.”
“Sounds like a date.” Amir offers me his hand. “Let’s get back down.”
I take his hand, gently floating down with him even though my wings are completely exhausted. Once we touch the ground, Amir holds onto my hand and lifts it. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Zari.” He kisses my carapace very softly.
A lump forms in the back of my throat. “Yeah! I mean, you too, Amir.”
He lets go of my hand, and I slowly pull it back. “Good night.” He bows, then turns and quietly leaves between the Chess Pieces.
I head back home and sneak inside before getting caught by my younger siblings, who begin to pester me about where I’d been and why I was limping. After making up a story and putting them to bed, I also retire, but find myself unable to sleep. I keep seeing Amir’s pretty face when I close my eyes and the memory of his deep, husky voice doesn’t help things. I toss and turn, thinking about what could happen the next time we meet. In my head I keep making a fool of myself - again - in front of him. I also imagine silly romantic scenarios like ones from the fairy tale books I read to my siblings.
A couple of days later, after taking my siblings to school, I go off to the Chess Pieces. I’m about to go up the Queen Piece when I hesitate. I wonder if Amir is nearby, and I grow nervous at the thought. I wouldn’t want either one of us getting caught by the other side.
“What are you waiting for?” I look up to see Amir above, waving at me. “Do you need any help, Zari?”
My heart pounds as I gaze up at him. “No! I’ve got this.” I begin beating my wings, floating up towards his perch on the Queen Piece. Once I land beside him, I’m breathless, but not from the flight. “Been waiting long?” I ask.
“I have such a smooth line I could say right now,” he chuckles. “But, I think I’ll save it for later.”
I chuckle shyly. “No, no. Go ahead and say it.”
He nods and laughs. “Okay, but ask me that question again.”
“Which one?”
Amir rolls his hand in the air. “How long have you been waiting?”
“All your life?” I say with a wink.
He throws his head back and laughs, his antennae dancing happily. “Yes, actually. How did you know?”
“It was a wild guess.”
