Woah Mama Its Me!

Ok so I am a huge fan of princessxknight aus specifically bc of all the possibilities to tell an interesting and complex story, as a way to really dig down into the depths of two characters and figure out what translates and how!

Like, example!!! Carmen can canonically hid her freckles growing up, and I wondered how that'd carry over! Does she choose to wear a veil , a la Catherine of Arogon in the show 'The Spanish Queen', similar specifically in the scenes where she's is making her way to England and wears a veil to protect her modesty before she is wed? Does Carmen start out that way and grows more confident in her appearance and ditch the veil entirely? Is it considered risque by the court and worrying by society at large? I can totally imagine Carmen adopting a very laissez-faire attitude about the veil and not wearing it much especially around hector, but hector (despite very much enjoying the clear view of her face) insisting she keep it on. She commands attention no matter where she goes, and if they want to keep fooling around the way they do, they need to adhere to the rules society has established so no one goes fishing around places they shouldn't be and they aren't found out.

Also, the most obvious question would be how do these two meet? My personal idea that I've been rotating around my head like a rotisserie chicken goes something like this. Mayhaps Hector first encounters Carmen while he's still a squire or perhaps shortly after he's been knighted. At first it's a silly crush. Hector chalks it up to his patriotism for crown and country desperately trying to funnel onto something tangible. But as he spends more and more time around the castle, watching from the outside, these feelings develop into something that had teeth and weight to it. He tries to push it off, he's just some lowly knight, and logically, these feelings arent ever going to amount to anything. And so he dedicates himself to the brotherhood and his knightly duties. That is until! His actions make him stand out amongst his peers and uh oh he's been assigned to the princesses personal guard. Hijinks and romance ensues! (I have tried to come up with ways that they'd have met before hand, perhaps in some kind of childhood friends to lovers type of situation bc I'm a sucker for that as well but I've been stumped.)

Years of pent up longing and keeping self appointed vigil suddenly worsened with this forced close proximity (delicious troupe is delicious 🫦🫦🫦) , and Hector is sweating bullets. Won't somebody think about the vow of chastity knights are meant to take!? Come on people, he may be a knight but he's still just a man at the end of the day!!! Think about the tasty angst! The lust filled angst!!!

Ok so Personal heacanon time: a squire, the night before they are to be knighted, engage in an act of ritualistic bathing and prayer at a church, to then dress in specific clothing whose colors symbolizes the core tenets of knighthood. Now, white specifically is meant to be a reminder of the vow of chastity and purness they are meant to inhabit. I imagine that Hector adopts this ritualistic bathing on an almost nightly basis the longer he is with Carmen. At first it starts out as a reminder of his chosen brotherhood, the honor and camaraderie that can be found in his chosen profession and the baths reflect this. Warm water, soaps and oils, dutiful anointment. However, as the crush deepens into what he considers to be too intense (you GD loser its love! Love is normal!), the baths slowly become a punishment for himself. Frigid water, no symbolism lives here, only hard cruel reminders. He also makes frequent trips to the chapel to try and pray his way out of this forbidden romance, to the point that the friar or priest know to leave a light on when he's there in the middle of the night bc his brain won't stop replaying the giggle he heard two days ago.

Also!!! What about the political implications of a low born knight philandering with the princess! A princess is no doubt inundated with marriage proposals, politically motivated or otherwise. There's no way they could be together openly ! How would hector handle that information? He certainly isn't the type to ask Carmen to run away with him, I don't think. His values and her responsibilities are too strong to ever attempt that, no matter how tempting the poets in his books make it out to be. And how does Carmen handle the reality that separation seems inevitable, theres no way she is going to be allowed to take her personal guard with her to her betrotheds palace. Will she crumble or will she try her hand at changing the entire world, for love of all things? Is love a noble enough reason to crack the earth open? To topple the firmament of the very society she rules over? Is she the type of person to think so?

GOSH GOLLY there is just so much to think about!!!! Like I haven't even brushed the topic of the political and social ramifications of if they had sex like COME ON !!! THINK OF THE IMPLICATIONS!!!

Once long ago, I was a fanfic writer and lemme tell ya, I could wring out a 20+ chapter 200k word fic outta these two back in my prime. But Sigh, this dog don't hunt no more

Graaaaaaaah I need to destroy them 😮‍💨✨