#thornhelm hellfire

AU where bf!Apo is the princess of Thornhelm, while bf!Cherri is her knight. 

Apo - Apo is the sole heir to the throne. She has spent her entire life locked away in the castle preparing for the day when she will become the Queen of Thornhelm. Their interactions with people have been very limited, which unfortunately lead to them not knowing how to connect with others. She grew up in a very strict environment that constantly demanded perfection from her and faced consequences when those expectations were not met. 

Cherri - Cherri is the princess of Soluna, but doesn’t know this since she was kidnapped when she was just a baby. The king of Thornhelm tried to use Cherri by attempting to make them a loyal fire mage for Thornhelm, but that plan was foiled when they found that it doesn't seem like Cherri can do magic. So then they decide to make her into a knight for the royal family instead. Cherri proved to be a great fighter and very loyal (since it was conditioned into her), so they made her Princess Apo of Thornhelm’s personal guard. 

Apo didn’t even know Cherri’s name for the first few months after meeting each other. It took a while for Apo to ask for Cherri's name once they realized that Cherri was staying as Apo’s knight. Cherri was conflicted on whether or not to tell Apo her name since the king had ordered not to. They reasoned that the King had also ordered them to protect, entertain, and obey the princess, so that would cancel it out (Cherri really wanted someone to know their name before they died). 

Apo only ever calls Cherri by her name when they are alone together. They treasure Cherri’s name and say it like it’s their favorite word. The closer Apo and Cherri get, the more they start referring to each other by their names (both in private and in public).

(When Cherri first told the members of The Red Kingdom her name, Apo got a bit jealous because she thought it was something only Apo really knew. Once Apo saw how happy it made Cherri to tell others her name, they decided to bury that jealousy and focus on Cherri’s happiness.)

Yess, Apo was so happy about Cherri becoming her personal knight. 

They immediately dragged Cherri inside their room to get to know her better. She tried to keep up her stoic face (that she puts on when around others), but she just couldn’t stop the small smile. She asked Cherri a lot of questions and was a bit disappointed with how little Cherri would tell her, but still happy to have someone. Apo tried to stay awake for as long as possible, but eventually ended up falling asleep. 

Cherri was a bit taken back by Apo’s excitement and attitude. Usually the princess looked very stoic and standoffish, not that they ever got to see her much. The princess was very isolated from others. She answered as many questions as she was allowed to, but never went much into detail about it. Honestly it surprised her how long the princess managed to stay awake, nearly all night. Cherri made sure the princess was safe and comfy in bed before going to stand guard and watch after the princess. 

They would do that. She does do that. 

They aren’t even together at that point, so it really does take Apo by surprise. For a moment Apo even thinks, “have we been courting this whole time!?” until Cherri whispers to them to play along.

Apo is determined to be a great lover to Cherri. They keep being very attentive and keep giving Cherri flowers (something they have already been doing since they got here.)

Cherri is so scared that King Ren and/or Alistar were going to kill Apo, because of what the King of Thornhelm did. Thornhelm taught her that royals will always take drastic measures to ensure they get what they want. In her mind Ren wants to take Cherri home with him and Apo is an obstacle for that, therefore Apo would need to be eliminated in order for Ren to get what he wants. 

He doesn’t think ill of them at first, because of how much Cherri seems to like Apo. It’s also clear that Cherri is protective of Apo, so Ren figures that the two of them must be close. He is a bit confused on why Apo seems to be avoiding looking him in the eyes and seems a bit scared of him, Ren doesn’t think he is all that intimidating. Once Cherri claims that they are in a relationship Ren is overjoyed that Cherri has someone who loves them. He even asks Apo things about Cherri, clearly his daughter's lover must know a lot about Cherri. Plus, Apo seems excited to talk about Cherri, but it’s clear that they are holding back info, so Ren figures it is because it's personal stuff between the two. (Apo still wants to keep some things about Cherri to herself but is being more open than she would have been months ago.)

Once he learns that Apo is the princess and future heir of Thornhelm he is a lot less happy and trusting. He does not trust Thornhelm royalty because of what they have done before- mostly the king and queen of Thornhelm having Cherri taken away from him. He purposely starts acting more intimidating and sterner with Apo, while being cheery and fatherly to Cherri. He questions their relationship more and asks for more detail. Mostly because he doesn’t want this to be a Stockholm syndrome situation. Ren and Alistar even have a small interrogation scene with Apo just to make sure they truly do love Cherri and are respecting her. Once Ren realizes that Apo had no idea about Cherri’s past or treatment before coming to the Red Kingdom, and that she took the opportunity to try to make things right by reuniting them even when it could put Apo in danger, Ren becomes more welcoming with Apo. He does grow fond of them after Apo stays in Soluna with Cherri for a bit, before having Alistar go back with Apo to Thornhelm to keep them safe. 

Yes, that’s her emotional support princess! 

Before Apo and Cherri are forced to separate for a while so they can end the war and Apo can change things around Thornhelm, they pair spend some time in Soluna together. Cherri refused to let Apo go back to Thornhelm so soon and alone, so they brought her to Soluna with them as they planned their next move. 

Cherri has Apo stay in Cherri’s chambers, because neither of them were used to being separated after so long and they like each other's company (they cuddle a lot). It was also a new place for them. A place they had been taught to fear and hate, so there was a bit of anxiety of leaving the other alone or being alone. Having Apo around helps Cherri get used to being in Soluna and it lessens her worries. They explore the castle together a lot. 

(Apo is constantly afraid that her execution will be announced any day now, so she tries to spend as much time with Cherri as possible and make sure to cherish every moment together. She keeps her face less visible with her cloak and refuses to go outside the castle. Apo won’t talk to anyone unless spoken to, excluding Cherri. The more they learn about what Thornhelm has done, the more convinced Apo is that the people will demand her execution.)

Apo is very jealous of El whenever she visits. They stay a bit to the side at first but eventually get closer once they start helping take care of the Prince. Eloise is just trying to teach them how to correctly hold the Prince, while Apo is just glaring at her. Eloise definitely calls this out once she notices, which leads to Cherri giving Apo a pointed look and asking her to be nice to their guest. (Since Cherri and Apo grow closer in taking care of the Prince, Cherri has gotten more comfortable in being more expressive and open around Apo.) Despite Apo being the princess and Cherri being the knight, Apo still caves to doing whatever Cherri asks of them. 

Yeesss. This is canon. 

After growing close with Cherri and making some friends in the Red kingdom, Apo would be so afraid of being alone and trapped again. Sometimes they think Cherri only sticks around because it is her job, which leads to some fear of going back home as well. The reveal of what her dad did only makes the fear worse. Both scared that Cherri will leave and scared that they will kill her. 

Being in the Red kingdom only makes this worse, since it was originally made up of people who did not agree with Blue so they left. Why would a kingdom like that still want her around after they find out what Thornhelm is like. Would they exile her? Would they execute her? Despite the fear they don’t want to leave the Red kingdom. So she quietly makes peace about what may be done to her when everyone eventually finds out and hates her. 

Cherri knows all points of entry in their house and all the secret exits. After the reveal Cherri leaves to take some time for themselves. This panics Apo because they want her to be safe and because of the fear that Cherri could come into their room in the middle of night to kill them as an act of revenge. Killing the daughter of the man who took her from her dad. Who destroyed any possibility of Cherri having a good childhood with a father who loved her so much he went to war to try to get her back. 

Apo begins to sleep with their back against the wall and cover themselves with the blanket as if it can protect them.  Even when Cherri comes back, Apo can’t seem to let go of the fear until they have made up and talked about it. (There is still a small part of her that still worries about it.)