: Re: How would a knight act around a princess? In my current book, the main character is a knight and in one of the beginning scenes, he interacts with the princess. He's intimidated because of

@Martha805

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It would entirely depend on their personalities.

If the knight was charming and superficial, he would be in his absolute element in this situation. Spouting off lines such as, "You are as radiant as the sun above, with a smile that lights up this chamber like it were midsummer's day", which sounds good but doesn't really mean anything. Then later on when they got to know each other she would see he is a shallow buffoon.

If she is intelligent and worldly she might respond to this coldly and know immediately that he is simply flattering her, and shrug off these comments with aloof pleasantries such as, "Thank you, kind sir. You flatter me so." However, if she is also quite vain and pompous she might blush and respond in kind with, "Why, sir knight, your compliments match your bravery and valor."

Yet, if he is quite a rude/ brash knight, or is rather inexperienced with entertaining dignitaries, he might stumble over his words and end up embarrassing himself. Or he may inadvertently insult her by trying to be polite in a situation he is uncomfortable with.

She may also be rather reserved having had a sheltered upbringing, and be equally as nervous and awkward. In which case, your scene would likely work as is, with a couple of chunks of broken and indelicate dialogue thrown in. If this is the case, you can focus more on the inner thought process and the stress of the situation, with the characters attempting to think of things to say that will not seem inappropriate (and likely failing).

For one of the earlier scenes, it would be a perfect opportunity to portray to the reader what your main characters are like (in a formal situation anyway), which may lead into the character development later on in the story.

They may turn from vain/superficial into deeper, more thoughtful characters. They may develop from awkward, nervous people into brave, more assertive ones.

If you're still struggling for specific dialogue, try thinking about what a real person would think about saying to a superior, such as an employee to the CEO of their company if they were in a business meeting. Then simply convert the context into that of a fantasy setting.

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