Newlyweds - Ricken & Maribelle

[mini_mage]

Who would have thought realm hopping would come back to have some extra benefits?

Due to much of their home land needing recovery from the recent wars, and the preemptive wrath of Grima, there hadn't really been much of a location for the newly married couples to spend their honeymoon. Then the brilliance of Anna shone through - why not use the beautiful resort found in the realm they once saved?

Ricken stood on the hot beach, gazing at the clear sky. He couldn't believe how fortunate he was. His family's reputation was slowly but surely being restored, the world was at peace, and now he was on his honeymoon with his... wife. With Maribelle.

He expected to wake up from this beautiful dream any second now. He even closed his eyes, taking a deep breath of the healthy sea air. If this was a dream, he hoped he would keep sleeping for a very long time. 

Courtly Love - Galahad(Silver) & Percival (Blaze)

[pyro_princess]

Being the first female knight in the kingdom - and as far as they knew, it was a first for the entire realm - came with its honors and its burdens. There were many who had felt Percival wasn't fit to be among the knights merely based on her gender. Cruel women scorned at her lack of femininity. Men boasted they could 'make' her into a woman they courted her. These insults and dregs were easily ignored and cast aside... typically.

The day that Percival realized she had fallen for her her fellow knight Galahad was also the day she actually cared about the gossip the villagers whispered about her. She knew Galahad would never spew such bile about her - no, her worries lay if there was truth to the mudslinging. How could someone without a touch of elegance and grace win over a man?

Maybe food would do it.

It was one of her rare days 'off', where she was relieved from duty. She went to the markets early, buying all the necessary ingredients and trying not to act like a flustered mess. She didn't know how to flirt, or seduce, but she knew how to cook.

Midday, dressed in soft colors, in a dress that felt ill-suited to her, she headed for Galahad's home. She wasn't sure if he'd be there or not, but either way she planned to drop off a gift. In her hands she held a woven basket, and under a blanket were a loaf of bread, jam, two apples, and, most importantly, a freshly baked cherry pie. She had slaved over it, done every step carefully, hoping her thoughts and feelings could be rolled into dough.

... This was ridiculously sappy and silly, she thought, now standing in front of his house. What was she thinking? She couldn't do this! Maybe it was best just to drop the basket off in mystery and forget this whole stupid plan.