History Main / LadyAndKnight

** Harry and Carol are in an unusual BattleCouple variant, with both swapping out the relevant roles as appropriate. Harry usually takes the Knight role, being an occasionally literal KnightInShiningArmour and actually being knighted at the end of the first book, while Carol acts as his moral compass when he starts to wobble, keeping him grounded. He will AlwaysSaveTheGirl, no matter the often horrible costs. When Carol, an ActionGirl and incipient LadyOfWar, takes up the Knight role it's usually because Harry is somehow physically or, more usually, emotionally incapacitated. Their dynamic develops into textbook CourtlyLove, particularly on Harry's part (and as a fan of ''{{Myth/KingArthur}}'', the symbolism is not lost on him) [[spoiler: and they eventually get a RelationshipUpgrade in chapter 46 of the sequel]].

** In the past, pre HeelFaceTurn, Natasha and the Winter Soldier were this; a deadly FemmeFatale who seduced and manipulated targets, and a lethal assassin who had been ReforgedIntoAMinion by the Red Room as a modernised BlackKnight. Unusually, both [[UnholyMatrimony genuinely loved each other]], and Natasha was (and is) a lethal combatant in her own right.
** In the sequel, there's a much darker follow-up to the above has Yelena Belova, the second Black Widow, and the Red Son, with Belova quoting the trope and referencing the previous example. The main differences are a) Belova is crazy, b) [[BlankSlate the Red Son has no mind of his own]], c) the Red Son [[spoiler: is a teenager (specifically, Harry's empty body)]], d) the Winter-Widow relationship was based on genuine affection and was one of equals, whereas Belova saw the Red Son as her weapon and sexual plaything.

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' has a young Tifa invoking the imagery when she asks a young Cloud, who's about to leave so he can become a member of SOLDIER, if he'd promise her to protect her when she ever was in trouble. While Tifa herself becomes a strong ActionGirl in her own right with time, she still remembers the promise and, when they're reunited, she reminds him of it and wishes that he fills it if it's needed. [[spoiler: What she doesn't know and he can't remember is that, during the destruction of their DoomedHometown, ''he already filled it'' by rescuing Tifa from the rampaging Sephiroth and fighting him.]]

* In ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'', this is the purpose of the bond between Warders and Aes Sedai. This is also a case of SwordAndSorcerer.

* ''AnimeAndManga/ AkatsukiNoYona'' has Yona and Hak. She is the deposed Crown Princess while he is the former General of the Wind Tribe. While Hak is ''terrifying'' when angry, there's never any doubt that the [[TallDarkAndSnarky handsome and]] [[ServileSnarker loyal man]] is a White Knight. He is even [[spoiler:[[BodyGuardCrush in love with her]], and [[SingleTargetSexuality only her]]]], even before he became her guard. As for Yona, she is very definitely a Bright Lady, and although she starts out as a DamselInDistress, she [[TookALevelInBadass does NOT stay there]], quickly moving to a DamselOutOfDistress, gradually [[spoiler:becoming an ActionGirl]]. For her part, she is fond of Hak, but [[LikeBrotherAndSister not in the same way]], [[spoiler:[[SubvertedTrope at first]]]].

* ''AnimeAndManga/'AkatsukiNoYona'
** Yona and Hak, Former Crown Princess and Former Wind Tribe General.

* ''AnimeAndManga/'AkatsukinoYona'

* ''AnimeAndManga/'YonaoftheDawn'

* ''AnimeAndManga/'YonaOfTheDawn'

* ''Manga/AyakashiTriangle'': Matsuri is a ninja exorcist who swore to protect Suzu, a very kind person whose [[MagneticMedium nature]] gives her [[TheBeastmaster a sort of authority]] among [[OurSpiritsAreDifferent ayakashi]]--Suzu’s ability to command them is what first brought Matsuri’s admiration. Utagawa admiringly calls them “The lady knight protecting her princess.” In the past, Suzu didn't accept his protection, as Matsuri was a distant, mildly PoisonousFriend who refused to explain ''[[SupernaturallyDeliciousAndNutritious why]]'' ayakashi might attack her. After discovering his reasons, Suzu embraces Matsuri's role as her bodyguard, using his general deference toward her as a means to [[BodyguardCrush bring them close together]].

** [[SupportingLeader Roy]] [[PlayingWithFire Mustang]] is a State Alchemist who aims to bring a new era of justice to Amestris, and [[MoralityChain Riza]] [[ImprobableAimingSkills Hawkeye]] has promised to guard his life while he takes up his mission. [[spoiler:She's also promised to kill him if he ever becomes like the monsters he's trying to fight, and admits that if it came to that, she'd commit suicide right after making good on her word.]]

** More hilariously, this is the dynamic between Waver Velvet and Rider, despite Waver being a ''[[HoYay boy]]''. The Hunt any Ufotable magazine interview acknowledges (and Caster and Ryuunosuke) as a romantic couple; they even stated that yes, they had sex the night before episode 13. (Makes sense considering that ''this'' Rider is bisexual according to WordOfGod ''and'' that, of all heroes, he is the also bisexual [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_the_Great Alexander the Great]].)

* The {{VideoGame/Pokemon}} Gardevoir and Gallade have this theme going on, with the lady being the feminine Gardevoir and the knight being the masculine Gallade. PlayedWith in that Gardevoir has a 50/50 chance of being [[DudeLooksLikeALady male]] and is powerful in its own right. In fact, the Pokédex for both Gardevoir and Gallade describe them as showing UndyingLoyalty to their trainer, making it possible for Gardevoir to play the Knight for its trainer.

** Harry and Carol are in an unusual BattleCouple variant, with both swapping out the relevant roles as appropriate. Harry usually takes the Knight role, being an occasionally literal KnightInShiningArmour and actually being knighted at the end of the first book, while Carol acts as his moral compass when he starts to wobble, keeping him grounded. He will AlwaysSaveTheGirl, no matter the often horrible costs. When Carol, an ActionGirl and incipient LadyOfWar, takes up the Knight role it's usually because Harry is somehow physically or, more usually, emotionally incapacitated. Their dynamic develops into textbook CourtlyLove, particularly on Harry's part (and as a fan of ''{{Myth}}/KingArthur'', the symbolism is not lost on him) [[spoiler: and they eventually get a RelationshipUpgrade in chapter 46 of the sequel]].

** In the past, pre HeelFaceTurn, Natasha and the Winter Soldier were this; a deadly FemmeFatale who seduced and manipulated targets, and a lethal assassin who had been ReforgedIntoAMinion by the Red Room and a modernised BlackKnight. Unusually, both [[UnholyMatrimony genuinely loved each other]], and Natasha was (and is) a lethal combatant in her own right.

* In ''Fanfic/AManOfIron'', [[spoiler: the Night's Queen in Sansa's body]] gains [[spoiler: Sandor Clegane]] as her faithful knight when she effortlessly heals his face.

** This is the dynamic between Irisviel and Saber. Irisviel says so. She's basically an Einzberg princess with a huge heart and Saber is literally a KnightInShiningArmor. This is to [[{{Foil}} contrast]] [[AntiHero the other half]] of team Einzbern.

* ''Literature/AvalonHigh'' resolves [[Main/ArthurianMythology canon]] problems by CleaningUpRomanticLooseEnds: the modern reincarnation of King Arthur becomes a couple with the Lady of the Lake. While he fends off the forces of darkness, she provides him comfort, Excalibur and meta knowledge about how best to twist their story in this cycle.

* ''Literature/SaintGeorgeAndTheDragon'': Una is a gentle, beautiful princess who gets the knight (initially unnamed) to slay a dragon who has been terrorizing her father's kingdom. He (who's the future Myth/SaintGeorge) is a brave, steadfast man who keeps his vow to her and also the Fairy Queen who he's sworn six years of service. They end up married with him inheriting the crown, though not before he's fulfilled that vow.

** Angel is actually like this in general, taking pride in helping "damsels in distress" or anyone else that needs his help. He's served as a loyal KnightInShiningArmor to Buffy, Cordelia, Faith, and even Fred. He accidentally kills a lady's knight (thinking he was a bad guy demon), and has to take his place in a joust for her unborn baby's soul. Chivalry goes far when it comes from him.

* In ''WesternAnimation/SleepingBeauty'', Prince Philip is the White Knight Princess Aurora's White Lady.

* Platonic interspecies example: [[DitzyGenius Miyako/Yolei]] and [[NobleBirdOfPrey Hawkmon]] from ''Anime/DigimonAdventure02'' are stated to have this relationship, with Hawkmon seeing himself as a knight who [[UndyingLoyalty loyally]] protects his human partner at all costs. While the dub downplays this to the point that Hawkmon more or less becomes a [[Disney/TheLionKing Zazu-esque]] comic relief character, the Japanese version played this straight, with Hawkmon's almost single-minded loyalty being his main character trait in his debut.

* The ''Disney/{{Frozen}}'' fanfic ''Fanfic/BecomingFree'' contains a same-gender variation. After [[spoiler:a CareerEndingInjury caused by [[TakingTheBullet saving Elsa from an arrow]]]] Freya is unable to continue her career as the royal farrier. Queen Elsa, who is also her lover, decides to make Freya her personal bodyguard. This allows them to be close without any rumors about their relationship.

* ''Disney/LadyAndTheTramp'': Lady's role is obvious by [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin her name]]. Tramp acts as protector when she gets lost in the streets, but is at first reluctant to help her back to her home, as he is leery of humans; in a way, he's also trying to protect her from what he perceives is the shackles of domesticity. His irresponsibility gets Lady in trouble when they raid a chicken coop and she gets taken to the pound, and what she learns about his past there leads to a falling out. He redeems himself by [[spoiler:saving Darling and Jim Dear's baby from a rat]] and eventually warms up to domestic life and becomes a White Knight.

* In ''Disney/SleepingBeauty'', Prince Philip is the White Knight Princess Aurora's White Lady.

* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' kinda invokes the imaginery with [[TheHero Ichigo Kurosaki]] and the two lead female characters, [[ActionGirl Rukia Kuchiki]] and [[BarrierWarrior Orihime Inoue]]:

** Later, after Rukia is rescued and Soul Society pardons her ''and'' acknowledges Ichigo, he fails to keep Orihime from being wounded in an attack, and Rukia then makes him promise to Orihime that he'll become stronger ''and'' protect her. He soon has to start filling his word: Orihime is forced to go into Hueco Mundo by the Arrancars, and Ichigo goes to rescue her with Chad, Uryu, Rukia, and Renji in tow. The "Lady and Knight" imaginery increases steadily and even Ichigo's rivals ''repeteadly'' point out their Bright Lady and White Knight bond.
-->'''Grimmjow''' (after deliberately aiming for Orihime and seeing Ichigo shield her): "You want to protect her? How sweet"
-->'''Nnoitora''': (after his subordinate Tesla takes Orihime away and Ichigo yells at him to let her go): “Hilarious! That’s the line of someone thinking, ''as long as the woman is unharmed''...”

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' has a young Tifa invoking the imaginery when she asks a young Cloud, who's about to leave so he can become a member of SOLDIER, if he'd promise her to protect her when she ever was in trouble. While Tifa herself becomes a strong ActionGirl in her own right with time, she still remembers the promise and, when they're reunited, she reminds him of it and wishes that he fills it if it's needed. [[spoiler: What she doesn't know and he can't remember is that, during the destruction of their DoomedHometown, ''he already filled it'' by rescuing Tifa from the rampaging Sephiroth and fighting him.]]

** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'': Each of the princes and princesses of Nohr (morally grey kingdom with many kindhearted people, that the Avatar fights to reform) and Hoshido (former war-like state that is now pacifistic and needs the Avatar's help to keep peace) has two personal retainers and fulfills the trope with them in one or another way. The Avatar him/herself is a badass prince or princess so he/she has their own personal retainers who fight by his/her side: Jakob, Felicia, Kaze, and Silas join him or her no matter what path is chosen, Gunther and Flora join in under certain circumstances, and Shura can potentially join in all paths should his life be spared.

* Kyo Kusanagi and his girlfriend Yuki in ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters'''s Orochi Saga. More specifically, in ''KOF 97'' [[spoiler: since it reveals that Yuki is the last descendant of one of the Eight Kushinadas, a group of legendary {{Barrier Maiden}}s who were ritually sacrificed to bring back Orochi into this world - save for [[SoleSurvivor one]], which totally ruined the awakening ritual. 1800 years later, Yuki becomes a target of the Orochis who now want to re-awaken Orochi itself; her boyfriend Kyo learns about it from [[QuirkyMinibossSquad Yashiro, Shermie and Chris]], '''[[DeclarationOfProtection and he is NOT pleased]]'''. In the Sacred Treasure Team's ending, when Kyo is contacted by the spirit of the Yasakani, the other thing they ask him for (aside from sealing Orochi with Iori and Chizuru) is to protect "Kushinada" aka Yuki. He does both things, and Yuki is saved.]]

* ''Franchise/StreetFighter'': Ken Masters and his wife Eliza fits this trope and ''Specially'' in ''the Ties that Bind'' OAV, [[spoiler: when a pregnant Eliza is kidnapped by Crimson Viper and [[ActionDad Ken]] comes up with some of his biggest displays of badassery '''ever''' to save her and their unborn kid.]]

* In ''Literature/DeadWest'', this is the best way to describe the narrator's relationship with the Porcelain Doctor (same-sex example). Bonus points for the [[DudeLooksLikeALady doctor]] being an aristocrat (he is also very kind and sweet when not having berserker episodes), and Gervas getting knighted in Diamond. He is explicitly referred as Niall's knight from "Steel" onward, and effectively placed himself under a {{Geas}} with an extremely old-fashioned Oath. The Porcelain Doctor shows extreme trust and surprising affection towards his knight, after they sorted out the issues with his gender, and sometimes reciprocates the protection.

** [[TheHero Link]] and [[EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses Princess Zelda]] fit this in most if not all of their incarnations, where the former is (usually) a middle/lower-class swordsman hero defending the latter and/or her kingdom from an evil threat. Some games emphasize this aspect of their relationship more than others, such as [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI the original game]], ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast A Link to the Past]]'', ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'' (though this one's complicated; see below), ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSpiritTracks Spirit Tracks]]'', ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword Skyward Sword]]'', and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild Breath of the Wild]]''. The latter is of note, as Link is explicitly Zelda's appointed knight, sworn to protect her at all costs.

* [[TheHero Mario]] and [[EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses Princess Peach]] from ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros''. Mario is not a knight by job but otherwise plays the trope straight.

* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' has a bizarre example made horrifying by the circumstances: [[spoiler: Harry Dresden]], Winter Knight and [[spoiler: Molly Carpenter]], Winter Lady. Not only does she have unrequited feelings for him, but he's her teacher. Again. But now she has magical influence over his mind. (It's [[GreyAndGreyMorality unclear]] what side of the trope [[BadGuysDoTheDirtyWork they]] fall on.)
** [[spoiler: Fix]], Summer Knight and [[spoiler: Lily]], Summer Lady are a much more benevolent example.

'''Sansa''': ''[shaken]'' And I vow... that you shall always have a place by my hearth, and...\\
'''Podrick''': ''[reminding]'' Meat and mead at my table.\\
'''Sansa''': ...Meat and mead at my table. And... I pledge to ask no service of you, that might bring you dishonor. I swear it by the old gods and the new.

** ''[[VideoGame/{{Fire Emblem Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light}} Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light]]'': Nyna and Camus. [[spoiler: Sorta. It's WAY more complicated in the end.]]

** Lyndis and Kent in ''[[Videogame/{{Fire Emblem The Blazing Blade}} The Blazing Blade]]. To a smaller degree, Eliwood and Ninian (she isn't royalty, but he has sworn to help and protect both her and her brother Nils), as well as Priscilla and either of her love interests. [[spoiler: Though only Erk manages to marry her.]] Jaffar and Nino aren't royalty (unless you count him being a highranked Black Fang member and her being the adoptive daughter of the leader), but otherwise they fit in perfectly. Also, despite neither being nobility, Dorcas and his wife Natalie count in perfectly -- so much that [[spoiler: Dorcas refuses to ''actually'' become a Knight when Oswin tells him to join the Ostian military, [[Heartwarming/FireEmblem because he will only pledge loyalty to his beloved wife]].]]

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** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTellius'': Elincia and Geoffrey. Even more so [[spoiler: if the player gets them hitched and ultimately married via an A Support in ''Radiant Dawn''.]]

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** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAkaneia'': Nyna and Camus. [[spoiler: Sorta. It's WAY more complicated in the end.]] Also, Sheema and Samson in the third game.
** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemJugdral'': Edain and Midir, [[spoiler: Raquesis and Finn]], especially if following the Oosawa manga. There's another genderflipped example: Erinys (LadyofWar Knight) and Lewyn (ModestRoyalty Lord)
*** Miranda and Connomore in ''Thracia 776''. [[spoiler: Her ending only says she married "a certain knight", but the only one who fits in such a description is Connomore.]] Also, Olwen and Fred.
** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemElibe'': In ''Binding Blade'', Clarine's WellExcuseMePrincess nature brings this up in her supports with Lance. In the meantime, her older brother Klein manages to genderflip this with the Pegasus Knight Thite.
*** Lyndis and Kent in ''Blazing Sword''. To a smaller degree, Eliwood and Ninian (she isn't royalty, but he has sworn to help and protect both her and her brother Nils), as well as Priscilla and either of her love interests. [[spoiler: Though only Erk manages to marry her.]] Jaffar and Nino aren't royalty (unless you count him being a highranked Black Fang member and her being the adoptive daughter of the leader), but otherwise they fit in perfectly. Also, despite neither being nobility, Dorcas and his wife Natalie count in perfectly -- so much that [[spoiler: Dorcas refuses to ''actually'' become a Knight when Oswin tells him to join the Ostian military, [[Heartwarming/FireEmblem because he will only pledge loyalty to his beloved wife]].]]

* Kyo Kusanagi and his girlfriend Yuki in ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters[='=]''s Orochi Saga. More specifically, in KOF 97 [[spoiler: since it reveals that Yuki is the last descendant of one of the Eight Kushinadas, a group of legendary {{Barrier Maiden}}s who were ritually sacrificed to bring back Orochi into this world - save for [[SoleSurvivor one]], which totally ruined the awakening ritual. 1800 years later, Yuki becomes a target of the Orochis who now want to re-awaken Orochi itself; her boyfriend Kyo learns about it from [[QuirkyMinibossSquad Yashiro, Shermie and Chris]], '''[[DeclarationOfProtection and he is NOT pleased]]'''. In the Sacred Treasure Team's ending, when Kyo is contacted by the spirit of the Yasakani, the other thing they ask him for (aside from sealing Orochi with Iori and Chizuru) is to protect "Kushinada" aka Yuki. He does both things, and Yuki is saved.]]