Rule Number One

"Your Majesty..."

An officer approached the throne with firm, calculated strides and immediately bowed to the king seated on the throne. "Your Majesty, the princess is already outside with Sire Anderewe's son."

The reputable, austere King Andruche of Throuvalon just looked at the officer with a stern expression. "Let them in." He ordered.

The king's imposing presence was enough for his men's knees to wobble. Andruche had a long history of being strict and firm with his decrees, which everyone adhered to except for his own daughter, Princess Aurnia.

A young boy emerged out of the double oak doors, whose impassive ash-gray eyes were fixed ahead. His collected stature had impressed a bunch of officers that were lined up across the room.

The most noteworthy feature of the young boy that stood out the most, even from a distance, was his bushy brows and thick lashes that framed his eyes—a physical trait that he got from his respected father, Anderewe, Throuvalon's Knight Commander.

"As promised, your Majesty, I brought the princess with me." The young Aramis declared after paying respect to the king.

It was only then that the officers noticed the ungainly stature of the young princess of Throuvalon behind the young Aramis.

"Greetings, your Royal Highness." The officers instantly bowed to the princess.

The princess only sneered at them with a bored expression. She hastily removed the rope that the young boy had tied to her wrist and threw it on the floor.

"I can't believe that you allowed a mere commoner to humiliate me like this, father." She scowled at the king, her arms crossed across her chest, then turned to the young boy with squinting eyes.

However, the young boy remained unaffected by her harsh words, which had only worsened her temper.

"My beloved Aurnia, I would like you to meet Aramis, Anderewe's son." The king introduced her to the young boy instead.

Aurnia's eyes widened in surprise, and she dramatically dropped her jaw. "He's Anderewe's son?" She exclaimed in a frantic voice while pointing her finger at him. "No way he's Anderewe's son? There's no way this rude boy is Anderewe's son." She told her father with a dubious tone.

Then, she clicked her tongue as she turned to the young boy and looked at him with a scrutinizing gaze.

'Is he really Anderewe's son? Jeez, the difference in their attitude astounded me greatly! Anderewe is the kindest and the sweetest to me, unlike this arrogant boy in front of me, whose expression is constantly void of any emotions.'

"If you have any problems with my identity, I can, of course, provide you with the necessary documents." Aramis' cold voice rang through the chamber.

The officers that were silently observing the scene unfolding before them stifled their laughter at Aramis' response.

Meanwhile, Aurnia could not believe the rude boy's attempts to get back at her. "Did you hear him, father? See? He wasn't treating me as he was supposed to do!" The young princess stomped her feet in anger that someone had the nerve to treat her like they were equals in status.

Aramis remained unperturbed even after hearing a lot of insults from the pertinacious princess. He was fully aware of his rank in the kingdom, so it didn't bother him when someone pointed it out, even if the insult came from the very mouth of the princess.

"Aurnia, will you calm down first? I was the one who asked Aramis to get you." The king mildly scolded the princess, whose uncontrollable temper was starting to get on his nerves.

"But I don't like him; he's very arrogant and rude! I couldn't stand his horrible attitude towards me." The princess complained. She made sure that her sulking face would make her father come to her side.

Aramis collectively turned to her with a discreet smirk on his face that only the princess could see. "The call is inside the house, I see." The young boy inaudibly answered her with a skeptical phrase, which she understood right away.

She bulged her eyes and snickered at him angrily: "I'll make you pay for that. How dare you insult the princess of Throuvalon?" She was about to step forward toward him when the king's voice thundered.

"Enough, Aurnia! This is exactly the reason why I asked Aramis to come here. Aurnia, you're too old to play your little pranks around the kingdom. Even some of your pranks in the past caused trouble around the servants and maids. I could tolerate your few childish tricks, but your behavior is getting out of hand. You're deliberately missing your lessons to escape your chamber and pull pranks that would jeopardize the jobs of others. It's about time that you learn the importance of your role in the kingdom and start acting like one." The king declared with conviction in his voice and slumped back to his throne.

The princess went to her father, her arms still crossed across her chest, and she stomped her feet multiple times on the carpeted floor. "I can't believe you're sounding a lot like that commoner, lecturing me about all these blah... blah... blah... " She retorted while rolling her eyes at her father.

Aramis continued watching the spoiled princess with a distasteful gaze. His doubts about being able to successfully play his role in the princess' life started to arise.

'She's a hopeless case.' He concluded in his mind.

"No, no, and no, Aurnia. I won't entertain any more excuses from you. From now on, Aramis will be with you every day, accompanying you to your lessons and making sure that you won't ditch any more classes."

Aurnia's eyes widened in shock upon learning that she had to be with the arrogant boy every damn day from this day forward.

"But, father, there's no way that I would want to be with him; he's very arrogant, and I'm sure he will just insult and lecture me every hour." She reasoned herself out.

The king sighed in defeat at how stubborn his daughter had become. But King Andruche knows that it's about time that Aurnia learned the ways of the kingdom to prepare her for her duties in the future.

So, he looked at his daughter with a foreboding look and raised his voice, "Another excuse from you, Aurnia, and I will make sure to throw you out in the streets right in this instance." His voice thundered angrily as he 'threatened' his daughter.

The spoiled princess, who was used to extravagant and comfortable living, immediately nodded at his father. "Fine." She screamed in frustration as she turned her back on her father.

The clanking of her heels on the marbled floor resounded inside the chamber; her strides towards the door were evidently laced with anger towards her father's decision.

"Aurnia! If I hear another instance of your pranks or ditching your lessons, I won't hesitate to carry out my threat from awhile ago. Don't ever test my patience, young lady." The king called his daughter to remind her of a few more important notes.

"Hmph, whatever." The daughter turned back to her father for a few seconds, then sneered back and continued walking towards the door.

Aramis, sensing that his presence was no longer needed, began his pace towards the door to follow the princess.

"Aramis, you know what to do, and you should always remember the number one rule I gave you. You're the son of my most trusted knight commander, so I have high expectations from you. I hope you won't disappoint me."

Aramis heard the king's cold voice behind him. He turned around and gave the king a reassuring nod. "Don't worry, your Majesty, I know my place. I promise you that everything will just be about my job, nothing more and nothing less. Besides, I don't think the princess has an eye for commoners like me. I hope that would ease your troubled heart." He told the king, then bowed to him before he sprinted towards the door.

The king stared at the vanishing form of Anderewe's son.

'Of course, my daughter would never fall in love with a knight's son.'