Guarding the Heart

drip drip drip

Shield awoke to the sound of liquid dripping from a faucet across the room. He was in a bed, blankets messily draped over top him. It was dark, Princess Luna must have raised the moon at some point. He felt dizzy, a bit nauseous, and completely exhausted. Suddenly he jerked upright, looking about the room with a fear in his eyes. Then he found what he was looking for.

A pink alicorn resting peacefully leaning on the side of the bed he was in, sitting in a chair she must have had brought in and placed right next to him. She must have been there for sometime because where she was leaning there was a puddle of drool drenching the sheet.

Shield let out a sigh of relief upon seeing her, unharmed and safe inside the crystal palace. Then he flinched, the pain from the wound he received finally came back to him. That flinch was enough to awake the sleeping Princess, who snapped her eyes awake and looked at him. The moment her eyes focused and adjusted to the darkness in the room Shield could see tears forming.

Princess Cadance leapt into his arms from the chair. The tears already flowing down her face from relief and stress. He looked down at her, her face buried into the fur of his chest. The surprise from the action caught him off guard, but slowly he lowered his hooves to her mane.

"Your Majesty, I am glad you are safe. What of Flurry Heart?" Shield asked, concerned of what had transpired after he blacked out. The question caused the Princess to whip her head up and sternly berate him.

"We're fine! You're injured Shield worry about yourself!" Cadance snapped at the earth pony in her grasp. Before hugging him again and letting the tears flow more. She caught her breath before continuing, "I thought you were going to die" she said with a slight hiccup as she blew her nose a bit to clear her throat.

"Princess. It is my duty to die for you. You can't have this reaction" Shield stated with a concerned voice, "What would others think if they saw their Princess crying over a mere guard?"

"You really think you are just a 'mere guard'?" Cadance asked bewildered by the idea. "That you are replaceable?" she continued, wiping the tears and mucus from her face, "You saved my life Shield. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you" she finished with another burst of emotion causing the tears to flow again.

Shield looked down at the mare in his arms. To him at that very moment there wasn't a Princess, an alicorn, or a ruler of an Empire. In that moment he looked down at Cadance, her truest self, and he had made her cry. The sight of her crying in his arms stabbed a pain through his heart far worse than the one in his leg. He looked down and hesitated, he knew that no matter what he was her shield, he was a guard, he was a pawn in the game of royals. He used the entirety of his strength to force a smile onto his face.

"I am sorry for worrying you" Shield spoke up, then Cadance pulled back and looked up at him as the moon sunk into view of the window lighting the room with faint light. Then he saw her, the beautiful mare he has been watching from afar for years. The mare that caused the fearless soldier to be tongue tied. The mare that he had to stay away from, and she was in his arms.

"Beautiful"

The words slipped from his mouth before he realized he could react. He brought a hoof to his mouth and covered it, eyes going wide and reeling his whole body back. He looked out to her expression. She looked at him stunned, she opened her mouth ever so slightly and then closed it again. He could barely make it out but he could see her pink fur around her cheeks redden slightly. He felt as if his face was about to burst into flames. Then Cadance closed her eyes and took a breath and sat in silence for a moment, then opened them and gazed into his stare. Feeling as if she was looking into his soul.

"Handsome"

She said with a smile, face still stained with tears and blushed. She looked down at her hoof that was against Shield's chest. He followed the stare and then realized that her hoof was right over his heart, the heart that felt like it was about to beat out of his chest. He turned back to look at her before Cadance sat back and slide off the bed in a haste.

"Ahem... I uh-" Cadance stuttered as she stood, looking about the room and being masked by the shadows the moonlight couldn't quite reach. Shield continued to sit back, covering his face in shock and fear and excitement and a plethora of emotions he could barely understand. Then clearing her throat more thoroughly Cadance began to speak again.

"Shield. I thank you, for your incredible service and skill earlier yesterday. If not for you I wouldn't be here" she spoke in a clear and concise manner. The Princess was back. "I also wanted to thank you, for always being there for me and Flurry Heart" she said and then turned quickly and moved out of the room before he could interject.

Shield watched as the doors swung open more so and two guards rush in, assessing his injuries and asking him questions about the pain and the experiences he is feeling. Although he didn't answer, his eyes were fixated on the mare he loved walking down the hall in a fit of embarrassment and confusion. As he watched his mind went back to the mural he had seen.

'She is married. She has a child. She is a Princess' he kept repeating in his mind. He was drilling the facts of reality into his head to forget whatever foolish ambitions he might have at the moment. What idiotic plans he was trying to fabricate to ruin everything he worked up until now for. He was going to forget this all.

Cadance stopped at the end of the hall before it jutted to the left and turned back to look into his room. Lit up by torch light he could see her so clearly. A mare with a blush covering her face, looking longingly back at him, before biting her lip and galloping away. Then Shield's head cleared, it was all clear to him. The one thought in his head told him the answer.

'She is my everything'