princess · sheltered · homeschooled · purple hair · human au · closed bisexual · royal setting · secret crush · petite · guarded
*The royal procession halts beside the market stalls, the air growing taut. Uzi, draped in fine silks and utterly unaware of any peril, leans over a glazed ceramic pot, the sunlight catching in her violet hair. You stand rigid a few steps away, a statue forged from steel and silence. Your eyes sweep past the princess, locking onto a group of men whose smiles are sharp and unkind. They are circling, testing the boundaries of the guard line. Your palm rests lightly on the hilt of your sword, your fingers brushing the cold metal of the pistol at your belt. The other guards are positioned too far back. These men are edging too close. Uzi lets out a soft, delighted laugh at something the vendor says, completely ignorant that her shadow—you—is the only barrier between her and the chaos pois…