Every trip home was like a hero’s welcome. The Knight didn’t grow up too far from the palace, he liked to walk home. It took a day or so, but he needed the time alone to prepare for the onslaught of attention. He was adept at placating and catering to others. He wanted people to be happy, no he needed people to be happy. He knew it was a little unhealthy, but he could not be at ease if he didn’t do all he could to make sure everyone around him felt good. As a result, he spent most of his life pleasing others.

“Oh, hey! Our boy has come home!”

So it started. The Knight came over to the gate where an elderly man waited. This man was always kind to him, so there was no need for a performance of politeness, he could actually be sincere.

“So the Princess finally gave you a break! It’s been months since you’ve come home!”

“I know. It’s mostly my fault, she had to force me to leave,” he said. If only people knew the only reason he wasn’t a burnt out mess was because of her. She made him rest and take days off. That thought alone made him think that perhaps she believed that she was helping him by forcing this extended leave. That didn’t explain why she was so sad about it.

“Well would you look who it is!”

Another person who watched him grow up. He was glad the first few people who saw him were people who he knew were honestly kind and liked him sincerely. They treated him well while he was a stable hand and they treated him well as a knight. They had a small chat about what was happening around the village.

“I heard the baron’s daughter had been to the castle to see you. How was her last visit?” one of them asked.

That was news to him. The baron used to keep his horses at the stable he used to work, so naturally his daughter had her horse kept there. He could still remember the look on her face after he helped her onto her horse, like he was less than dirt. After he became a knight, she liked to pretend they were close. He wasn’t going to let that fantasy continue.

“Sorry, I haven’t seen her. She’s never written to me for an audience and I’m usually with the Princess. Maybe she’s met with someone else,” he said.

“She insisted that you gave her a tour of the royal grounds, even the Princess’s garden.”

That made him freeze. He didn’t want his Princess’s favorite place intruded even theoretically.

“I would never. The Princess’s garden is so well guarded, even the King can’t grant permission for anyone to enter. She has the final say, and unless I want to lose her trust I would never allow anyone in it, not even my own family. The only way she could have gotten permission would have been to ask the Princess herself.”

The two people with him seemed a little shocked.

“I’m inclined to believe you, seeing as you seem so upset!”

He let out a sigh and tried to smile. “I apologize. The Princess has so few places she can feel safe, every other aspect of her life is extremely public, so it’s not something I want to ruin for her. What’s more, securing all her living areas is one of my biggest responsibilities. I’m just a little shocked that someone who claims to be my friend wouldn’t know that allowing them in would cost me my job.”

“Well, we know she’s prone to exaggeration. She just said it with such assurance we assumed she was telling the truth this time.”

“It’s okay, you only had one side of the story. Say, to change the subject: has school let out yet?”

The two beamed.

“No! You have a half hour to make it to the school. I’m sure your sister will be excited to see you!”

“Thanks! Let’s talk again soon!”

He hurried off and ran to the school. He still remembered the day he left, looking forlornly up at the bell tower and hoping that his sister would be able to enjoy her time there. His dream had come true. He arrived outside the school and waited for his youngest sibling. He had six younger siblings, to some degree he believed that his parents felt comfortable having so many because he was hands on and helped raise them. He didn’t begrudge his parents at all: he loved every single one of his siblings, he wanted to take care of them. He would spend hours holding them, playing with them, scolding them when needed, doing chores to help out, he just wanted the best for them.

The one he was most attached to was his youngest sister. She was born when he was eleven and he fell in love with her even when she was in the womb. It felt like they could sense each other. It might have been true, he may have been sensing the tiniest of empathic impressions from her. Once she was born, he held her every night. She was the sweetest, she’d curl against him just right, and always found ways to show she loved him. She’d sing and babble to him constantly, she’d snatch anything she could get her hands on: twigs, flowers, rocks, grass, and offer it as a gift.

When he started working at the stables, his little sister was waiting for him at the gate of their house despite the heat and cold, rain or shine. It was like she knew, despite being three, that he’d given up school to save for her education. He could now return the favor and see the fruits of his efforts in waiting for her outside of the school he wanted her to attend.

The bell chimed and slowly the children trickled out. Some of the children recognized him and waved sheepishly. He heard an excited squeal. His baby sister. She charged from the door, jumped down the stairs, and sprinted across the school green and leapt into his arms. He squeezed her while she laughed and laughed.

“I missed you so much!” she cried. He picked up the books and papers she dropped while she remained latched to him. It made him remember going to the market with her tied to him with a large scarf.

“I wrote a letter to you during my lunch period, but you can read it when we get home! How is the Princess?” she asked. His heart twisted a little at the mention of her.

“She’s fine,” he said. His sister eyed him and put her head on his shoulder.

“I love you,” she said. Now he knew what it was like to be read. He had a strong suspicion his smallest sister was also an empath, which meant she knew he was upset when she mentioned the Princess. He put her down and held her hand.

“Let’s go surprise Mom, she doesn’t know I’m coming home,” he said. Her eyes lit up.

“Yes!” she said.

They walked together hand in hand. He looked down at his sister. She was already getting pretty tall, she had lovely black hair and green eyes, just like the rest of their siblings. He smiled softly as a thought crossed his mind: what would his child with the Princess be like? Shortly after, he flushed. Why was he thinking like that now? His sister looked up at him curiously.

“We’ve really enjoyed the new house!” she said. “It still seems like a lot for a family that only has three kids now, but I really like it, especially the library. Mom loves the gardens, but is not used to having a housekeeper.”

After many years, the Knight’s parents finally let him buy them a new house. He went out of his way to make sure everyone was happy, it wasn’t as extravagant or expensive as he thought they deserved, but they liked it. Mother was able to keep a larger garden, the remaining three children that hadn’t married each had their own room. He paid for them to have a housekeeper to help around the house since it was larger than they were used to managing.

What was even better was that he was able to give them a large kitchen to help his father realize a lifelong dream: to start a bakery. The kitchen was not just for everyday cooking, but also for his father to test out new pastries and bread. He would stop by the bakery the next day, he heard it was doing well. He also provided an office for his father and a library for the rest of the family.

He’d barely set foot inside the house before it was in an uproar. His mother dropped all the laundry she’d been carrying and ran over to hug him. His first sister slinked out of the library (she was the fifth child, his parents were overjoyed when she was born after four boys). His youngest brother came in from the garden, still muddy and tracking dirt. They all gave him a big group hug. There were so many questions at once, but he waved his hand.

“I’ve had a long walk and I want to rest,” he said.

“Yes, let me show you to your room!” his mother said.

“My room? Can’t I just stay in the guest room?” he asked.

“We turned the guest room into your room.”

“Why? I can just share with Little Brother,” he asked.

She looked at him and smiled faintly as she patted his hand. “My child deserves a room in this house.”

He sensed waves of guilt from her. This was confusing. Why would she feel guilty?

“You have three other sons who don’t have a room in this house,” he said.

“That’s because the other three are married and have houses of their own.”

“I have a–”

“--A room in the barracks at the palace. Which I know is very nice, but this room is your home.”

Anxiety now. What was going on? She came to a door and opened it. It was indeed a very lovely room. Elegant green drapes, rich rugs, a fireplace, a comfortable bed, his favorite books on a shelf. Nothing more extravagant than the house itself, but obviously good quality.

“We all really wanted you to have a nice place to stay that was all your own when you came by,” she said. Over the mantle were two swords. One was his wooden practice sword, the second was his squire’s sword. Part of the knighting ceremony was to leave the mantle of squire and take up the sword of knight. You gave your squire’s sword to someone close to you, and he presented his sword to his father and mother. He would never forget the look of pride in their eyes.

The wooden one was the one he was using when he met the Princess. He could still see her in the tree looking down at him with those beautiful green eyes asking him about his sword practice. This was quickly followed by the memory of her jumping into his arms before he left, the way they were so close and yet didn’t kiss pained him. He desperately wished he could have gotten a kiss goodbye. Maybe it was for the best, even a simple kiss on the cheek would have made him get on his knees and beg to stay. His mother came over and hugged his arm. He released a sigh as she rested her head on his shoulder.

“Rest, my dear. I’ll have a bath drawn for you,” she said. She kissed his cheek. Now she was sad. He couldn’t figure out what was going on. Still, he’d had a long day and even after a good walk and seeing family, he was still in agony. He missed his Princess. Every little thing made him think of her. He still didn’t know what was wrong. He was so frustrated. He didn’t know what was going on with anyone. What was the use of empathic powers if he couldn’t help the people he read?

He sighed. Three weeks should clear his head so he could figure out what to do. He took a bath and decided to get ready for bed despite it only being late afternoon. He hadn’t had a day where he truly lazed about in a while. As he went downstairs to the kitchen, his three younger siblings met him at the door.

“We were thinking…” his first sister said.

“We want to cook for you,” his youngest brother said. They looked up at him with such bright eyes he couldn’t help but laugh.

“Go ahead!” he said. They all cheered and dragged him into the kitchen and got to work. They were like a well oiled machine. They had dinner ready quickly and next thing he knew they were all headed to his room to eat. He remembered that sometimes when his parents had to work late, he would make them all dinner and they’d all eat in his room on the floor (it wasn’t really his room, he shared it with three of his brothers). It was nice to relive that. The last time he did that, his youngest sister was still small and he still had to feed her himself.

Evening came too soon. Soon everyone was off to bed, and he was left alone with all his thoughts and every single one went back to his Princess. When he was on patrol, he’d go by her room and give her a goodnight kiss. A very, very soft kiss. That was his favorite thing to do: after a gentle kiss she practically radiated happiness, joy, and longing for him and that was utterly thrilling. She opened his eyes to the idea that he could be truly loved and deeply appreciated. She was someone, who by virtue of her position and the fact that she saved his life, owed him no courtesy. By virtue of the fact that he loved her, she could demand anything of him.

She was so full of gratitude for anything he did, she was happy with just his presence, just a hand hold, a simple kiss. If he wanted to spend the whole day with his head in her lap and napping in the sun, she’d be equally as happy as she would be if he performed some grand gesture for her. It was such a freeing experience. So encountering people who just wanted to use him made him feel distant from them.

Here he was away from his Princess, the person who gave him the freedom to relax, to feel confident that he could give of himself and not be left spent and exhausted. The palace was full of people who wanted to use him, but he always had her. Now he was back home, she was miles away. For the most part, he liked most of the people in his hometown. They were all kind, sincere people that he wanted to help and spend time with. There were, however, a few he didn’t want to see. He had a tight feeling in his chest as he thought about how the baron’s daughter had blatantly lied about their relationship.

He wouldn’t worry about her for now. For now, he had only one mission: figure out what was wrong with the people he cared about and solve the problem.