͙͘͡★｡°⋆ Eli ͙͘͡★｡°⋆

It’s majestic. Each fighter stands firm in their own ways, muscles tense and movements practiced. One fights in jerky impulses, spinning around and propelling rocks at anyone in sight. Another positions themself firm in the grass, moving like a cobra with every focused attack, sending ground speedily upwards.

…and then there’s Toph.

She’s a force of her own. Her bare feet kick up dirt with each swift jab, her muscles clench as boulders are hurled across the space into her opponents with sharp precision. Whenever one knight is knocked down, Toph metalbends their armour to her body, an unstoppable unit of pure power that sends her challengers into a frenzy. Some even fight each other in an attempt to divert her attention.

Though, you don’t think you could ever be so intimidated by her. While she’s technically a high ranking general in your Nation, she’s also become like your personal guard. Wherever you go, she leads you, letting you hold onto her arm with a steady presence. Whenever you’re stressed, she’s at your side with a firm hand on your back. Even when your servants dress you, she stands beside you with a collection of compliments and a soft look in her eyes that neither of you address.

“You’re going down, Beifong!” One knight yells out as he positions himself across from her. “I will be victorious!”

“Well, unluckily for you…” Toph smirks smugly. “I can see what you’re doing before anyone else can.”

The knight raises his leg before sharply slamming it down to the earth, simultaneously lifting a rock before sending it hurdling down atop of where Toph stands. Unfortunately for him, she gracefully side-steps it before speedily shooting an arm out in his direction, launching the same rock back at him.

The knight crumbles to the ground with a groan and you find yourself restraining from leaping up and screaming in encouragement with the crowd. A grin unapologetically grows on your lips, watching in awe as Toph flexes her arm with a smug smirk. But before you know it, everything crashes down.

A boulder goes flying.

Rash, fast, destructive.

She senses it too late, too caught up in the moment.

Toph crumbles to the ground.

She’s– she’s not getting up.

You faintly notice the crowd erupts with ‘oohs’, and a fighter fist bump the air in celebration but your eyes are too glued to Toph to care, mentally willing her–begging her–to please, please get up.

But the battle resumes, the knights continue fighting, the civilians around you yell about “honour” and “victory”, ignoring the fact that Toph is sprawled out on the dirt.

Before you know it, you’re already running. You’re out of your throne, past your parents–the King and Queen–and flying down the arena’s aisles. People yelp as you shove past, you can feel your dress occasionally get caught on someone’s shoe, but your vision tunnels onto your knight. You shove a guard out of the way at the bottom of the stairs, crashing past them until you’re on the field.

As you sprint across the grass, you duck under the flying dirt and leap over rising ground, instantly crouching beside her once you’re close. “Toph! Toph!” You exclaim, jostling her armoured shoulder.

“Princess! You shouldn’t be out here!” One of the knights calls out as he crosses the space to you.

“Get back!” You yell as he closes in, jutting out your foot across the grass just enough to send a ripple through the ground that tosses him onto his back. “She– she needs help!”

The crowd now lets out garbled murmurs of concern, though you entirely ignore it as you drop down beside Toph again. Her pulse is steady under your thumb, a few bruises are already forming on her arms and her hair is fanned out across the grass in a way that would be pretty if she wasn’t unconscious.

Your fingers tremble slightly when you pull away her helmet, revealing a splatter of blood against her temple and a dent in her helmet. A weary sigh falls from your lips with a shake of the head. Of course, it wasn’t the attack that really hurt her, she’d never be caught so weak, it was just a fault in her defences.

“What’s wrong?!” A medic calls out as he dashes across the field, flanked by two assistants.

“I-I don’t know.” You splutter out. “Her head.”

The professional nods and crouches beside you, lightly brushing his hands over her head with practiced precision.

“What is it? Is she okay?”

After a few seconds of careful consideration, the medic sighs in relief. “It’s likely only a concussion.” He meets your eyes with a kind gaze. “She’ll be okay, your highness.”

–

“My dear princess…” Are the first words to fall from Toph’s mouth when she comes to.

A relieved smile instantly breaks out on your face where you’re leaning over her bed, one hand already holding a bag of ice to one of the bruises on her arm. “Glad to see you’re awake, my knight.”

Around you both, the medical room is quiet. In the corner, a few nurses chat under their breath, a couple other patients rest in the other beds but it’s the ordinary tweet of a bird outside combined with the thin branches lightly tapping the window that really grounds you in the moment. It’s familiar, it’s quiet and it’s exactly what she needs right now.

You’re not willing to admit how much care you put into this.

You subtly notice her fingers curl against the blanket of the medical bed, her eyebrows stitching together as she gets her bearings. “What– what happened?”

With your smiling falling forlorn and your hand smoothing down the length of her now-bare arm, you respond carefully. “You got hit at just the right angle for your helmet to give you a concussion.”

An endearing scrunch forms on the bridge of her nose as she grimaces at the thought. “Bad?”

“Not really. You’ll recover.”

“Still embarrassing.” She huffs, pushing her head back against the pillow with a tired sigh.

An amused laugh escapes you before you can help it. “I didn’t think so, my knight. I thought it looked rather… heroic.”

A small smirk crosses Toph’s face at the compliment, some of her usual pride peeking through. “Was it at least a high general who took me out?”

“Only an officer.” You whisper with a suppressed giggle at how her expression instantly falls.

“I’m gonna have to fight that guy to prove myself now.”

“I don’t think you need to do that.” You placate, carefully supporting her back as she pushes herself up against the headboard. “You were already wiping out half of the field. You don’t need to prove anymore strength, dear knight.”

“Plus, it’s just a tournament.” You point out, raising your eyebrows at her. “You were only fighting for honour.”

Toph laughs, then instantly winces and brings her hand up to cradle her temple. “You say honour with such disdain, my princess.”

“Well…” You casually shrug. “It’s a whole competition; you fight your fellow knights in the pursuit of superiority? Honour? To seem better than the other? I don’t see the point.”

“You’re pointing that out as the princess of the Nation.”

“Maybe so.” You tilt your head to the side. “Yet it still doesn’t make sense to me why honour is obtained in such a manner when you’re already part of the guard? Is that not already honourable enough?”

The sly look that crosses Toph’s expression tells you that she’s already got an answer intended to disarm you. It’s the same look she gets when she teases your choice in dress or shows off something in front of you. Your eyes narrow at her in response.

“What if the honour I seek isn’t a power over others, princess?”

Your eyebrows furrow. “Then what would it be, knight?”

Toph leans in, even when her weary arms shake slightly. “The honour of your affection.”

Unable to help the flush that creeps up your neck, you peer out of the window and swallow thickly in an attempt to remain nonchalant. “Don’t you already have my affection? You are my beloved knight after all.”

Clearly, Toph can somehow sense your fluster and her hand reaches out to brush against yours, directing your gaze back to her. “Not that affection, princess… More than that.”

You gaze into her eyes for a long moment, as if somewhere amongst the blend of whites and greys, you could uncover something deeper, more vulnerable perhaps. But she remains facing your general direction, her fingers slowly lacing through yours so lightly that it feels electric.

“You don’t have to fight in an arena for that.” You finally whisper. “I already think you’re strong… you already hold all of my admiration.”

The words hang in the air for a few seconds, almost as though some part of you is hoping she’ll disagree, that she’d argue. Instead, her shoulders fall slightly and her breathing subtly grows heavier. Anticipation.

“There’s no battle for my affection, my dear knight.” You whisper, eyes flickering all over her face. “There can’t be when you exist.”

“What?” She mumbles, her chin subtly lifting.

“You heard me.” A shy smile crosses your face. “You already hold all of my affection, Toph. I guess I just didn’t convey that well enough.”

“You didn’t.” Though she’s blunt and her voice remains heavy with an injured fatigue, it now has a lighter lift to it–playfulness, excitement perhaps. You can’t be sure.

“I did get rid of all of my previous guards in favour of just you.” You quietly tease, gently nudging her hand. “Did that not prove anything?”

“I thought you just thought I was the coolest!” Toph huffs, leaning back against the flimsy headboard once more.

“Well that’s not entirely untrue.”

The signature, smug smirk that she has cements itself on her face as she tightens her grip on your hand. “So…” She starts. “Does this mean I could perhaps take you out somewhere when I’m better? That isn’t too taboo for you, princess?”

You tenderly squeeze her hand. “I ran through a crowd of people and a whole fight to get to you, I don’t think anyone will be that expectant of anything else.”

Toph’s smugness drops, her eyes widening in alarm. “You did what–”