Knights of The Dauntless Princess

"Lady Amara, what are you doing there—" Amara immediately snatched her ten-year-old younger brother, Dale. She tightly covered his mouth when he saw her walking down the hallway, moving like a stealthy cat. Amara is seven years older than Dale but is more childish than him. "Shush! Do you want Mother to catch me?" Amara told him as she glanced around. Dale attempted to remove his sister's hand from covering his mouth and furrowed his brow to reprimand her. "Are you planning to run away again? You know Mother will be angry—" "Shhh! I said be quiet! Don't you love me? Do you want Mother to punish me?" Amara retorted, changing the subject. "What? Don't fool me! Of course, I love you, that's why—" Amara widened her smile and quickly kissed her brother's cheek. Dale's eyes widened as he watched his sister rise. "Good! Promise me you won't tell Mother, okay?" Amara said, then ruffled Dale's hair. "Ahh!!! My hair! You're such a witch!" Dale exclaimed, his eyes growing even more significant as he saw his sister slightly lift the hem of her elegant dress and step on the large windowsill. "Wait! Where are you going!?" "I heard Father is fishing in the large lake of Priya. It's a beautiful place to practice swordplay, so I'll follow them!" Amara replied, leaping out of the window. "If Mother asks, tell her you haven't seen me! Goodbye!" "Lady Amara!!!" Dale shouted, gazing at the girl from the debated window. He saw Amara riding her white horse and leaving their palace behind. Dale sighed and shook his head at his sister's stubbornness but couldn't help but smile, knowing she was happy with what she was doing. "Lady Amara, you're such a rebel!" Meanwhile, a smile never left the young lady's face as she rode on her horse, even though she knew her queen mother would scold her upon her return to the palace. She was determined to become skilled at wielding a sword, so she sought her father's help at Priya Lake. The Kingdom of Emmett, ruled by her father, Lord Lennox Welshman, had five large towns under its jurisdiction—Priya, Erin, Niall, Bronwen, and Dillon. Their castle was located at the edge of the town of Dillon, and reaching Priya would take several hours of travel. It was already afternoon, and the sun was high when Amara reached the large lake in the middle of Priya. However, to her surprise, she saw no trace of them there. "Did I hear it wrong? Aren't they supposed to come here?" she questioned herself as she dismounted her white horse named Fjolla. Amara let Fjolla drink from the lake and graze on the grass. She knew her horse was tired and decided to rest there. The young lady lay down on the grass and admired the beauty of the sky. She saw some birds freely soaring in the sky, and a contented smile appeared on her lips. She wished she could be as free as those birds. Raising her hand as if she wanted to reach them, she heard some rustling that startled her and made her stand up after a while. A broad smile spread across her lips, thinking it was her father and their men. She quickly rose to greet them, but to her astonishment, several masked men emerged from the tall grass. They carried weapons and some sacks of vegetables and wheat that didn't seem to belong to them. Due to their suspicious appearances, Amara deduced that they were bandits. She suddenly remembered the story told to her by the palace servants as they mentioned that thieves or bandits had increased in the mountains after the recent war because they chose to live outside the kingdom's laws. They spread fear among the townspeople because they did not want to experience poverty again. "Who are you!?" she asked them, showing no signs of fear. "Where did you steal those from!?" One of them, seemingly the leader of the group, burst into laughter. He stepped closer to Amara, causing the girl to tightly grip the hilt of her sword hanging by her side. "Easy! Don't accuse us like that," the bandit leader grinned irritably. "You don't seem to be from around here! You look like you come from a noble family. What's your name, miss?" Amara felt even more uneasy as he continued to step towards her. She took a slight step back while keeping a wary eye on the bandits before her. These damn idi*ts seem skilled in chaos. Surely, I'll have a hard time fighting them! Amara unsheathed her sword and pointed it at the bandit leader. Her sharp eyes focused solely on them, and although she was at a disadvantage, the word "surrender" was not in her vocabulary. "I know you stole those! Return them to the people of Priya—" Amara couldn't finish her sentence as the man swiftly disarmed her, causing her to drop her sword. She was surprised, frozen in her place. The bandit continued to approach her and mercilessly choked her by the neck. "Y-You—" Amara struggled to speak. "Hmm, you're quite enticing, my dear, do you know that!?" the man said as his eyes lusted at her body. Amara's skin crawled from the violation and anger inflicted by the disgusting bandit when he tried to sniff her neck. She quickly and fiercely kneed him in his vulnerable area out of disgust and fury. The vulgar bandit was taken aback and released Amara. The dauntless young lady promptly distanced herself from him and snatched her fallen sword from the grass. "You despicable creature! I am the princess of Emmett's Kingdom! I will ensure you regret this for the rest of your lives!!!" Amara screamed, gasping for breath. Upon realizing she was the despised king's daughter, the bandit seemed to tremble even more in anger. They drew their respective swords and prepared for a simultaneous attack on Amara. "So, you're the princess, huh? Hmm, it seems like we're lucky then," said the leader of the bandits, drawing his sword. "Because now we can finally seek revenge for the hardships your kingdom inflicted on us before!!!" Amara's eyes widened as she saw the angry bandits approaching her all at once. She stood there, frozen like a statue. She felt fear coursing through her, yet her feet couldn't even move to run. No! Is this the end for me? Father!!! As they closed in, Amara could do nothing but close her eyes and brace herself for the imminent strike of their swords against her body. However, it didn't happen. Instead, she heard weapons clashing, causing her to open her eyes slowly, and she was surprised. She was greatly puzzled to see a young man standing in front of her. He intercepted the weapons with his sword that could have taken her life. Who is he? Amara couldn't recognize him due to his tall stature and cloak, but she strongly felt he was there to save her. "It seems like there are still plenty of pests in this place," the young man coldly remarked, releasing the tension from the weapons. "Who do you call a pest?!" The leader of the bandits seethed with anger. "Who is the pest—" "You," the man replied emotionlessly after he slit the bandit's throat. Amara was shocked as the lifeless body fell to the ground, and what followed was a bloody battle between the enraged bandits and the mysterious gentleman. Amara could clearly see the man's skill in combat as he defeated all the bandits in less than twenty minutes. Her eyes gleamed with admiration, realizing she had found someone else to admire for their prowess in battle, apart from her father. After the fight, the bandits' corpses were scattered throughout the area. The handsome young man casually sheathed his sword in its scabbard, hanging at his side. "T-Thank you... for saving me," Amara said, and the young man turned to face her. Then, she noticed the five stars on his shoulder that were previously concealed by his cape. "Wait, are you a—" "General Gavin!" a familiar voice interrupted; it was Lord Lennox. I was right! He is a general of our kingdom! The twenty-five-year-old young general and the princess turned simultaneously to look at her father walking towards them with a few of his guards. Their appearances showed they had also engaged in battle on their way there. "Lord Lennox," the general called General Gavin replied, giving a slight bow as a sign of respect to his king. "Thank you for saving my daughter. You are truly reliable!" the kind king smiled at him, but the young general bowed slightly again and remained silent. Amara furrowed her brow at the man's cold demeanor. She thought he seemed like a lifeless mannequin, as his expression didn't change despite receiving praise from her father. The soldiers disposed of the bandits' bodies while Lord Lennox and Amara pondered as they fished with the general. Amara remained silent as the two conversed, but her eyes secretly stole glances at the handsome face of the young general. Is he really a general? Doesn't he seem too young? And what's even more astonishing is that he has five stars! That means he is one of the top five exceptional generals of our kingdom! "Are you sure about your decision? Can't it be stopped anymore?" Lord Lennox asked the silent general. The young man gazed into the vast lake, and his eyes showed deep thoughts. He was so apparent that he had difficulty responding to the king's question. Lord Lennox noticed that, but he just smiled calmly. What are they talking about? "Lord Lennox," General Gavin suddenly said when the king patted his shoulder. "An old man went to the seaside to catch fish. He hadn't eaten all day, and he was so hungry. While fishing and patiently waiting, he saw a child drowning. He wanted to help but suddenly felt a tug on his fishing line. The old man pondered on what he should do. He might lose the fish if he let go of the fishing line, but he also feared that the child might drown. What do you think he did?" Lord Lennox asked with his smiling face. Amara furrowed her brow and thought about it. She even pouted before answering her father's question, "If I were in that situation, I would probably scream to seek help because if I were the one trying to rescue the child, we might both end up drowning since I'm already weak from hunger!" The king chuckled softly, "Your answer is amusing, sweetie, but you're right. He glanced around and saw some fishermen heading out to sea. He shouted and told them that the child was drowning. The fishermen rescued the child while the old man successfully reeled in the fish that had bitten his line. The child was saved, and the old man had caught the fish," Lord Lennox narrated. "See!? I'm right—" Amara was overjoyed because her answer was correct but immediately taken aback when she saw General Gavin looking at her. Their gazes met for a moment, and unexpectedly, the young man gave her a subtle smirk, causing her face to flush with embarrassment. She immediately looked down and averted her gaze to hide her shame from them. W-What is that? W-Why is my heart racing? Tsk! "I know you've long dreamed of marrying your fiancée, and I understand she's just worried about you, which is why she wants you to leave your duty. I want to tell you that you have nothing to worry about if you're thinking about the welfare of the kingdom. We still have many reliable soldiers who will not neglect their responsibilities," the king assured him. "I wish you and Eula happiness." Upon hearing her father's words, Amara finally understood their conversation. The young general wanted to resign from his position to marry his girlfriend, and so she felt a pang of regret for his skill. But even though she was the princess and the man was merely a humble general of their kingdom, she knew it would be disrespectful if she disagreed, so she chose to remain silent.