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"...full glad am I that we will be able to put this violent period in Doma's history behind us..."
Shun is not listening to his father, Lord Kaien of Doma. He is fidgeting and shifting in the large wooden chair he sits in, positioned around the same massive circular wooden table as his father and the three members of the Garlean royal family. The chair is much too large for young Shun. His feet dangle a few ilms above the ground. His eyes keep roaming the large stone chamber they are in. A whole castle, made entirely out of stone! He can hardly believe his eyes.
Everything about Garlemald baffles Shun. The very first thing he realized when they arrived was that the entire country was coated in a thick blanket of snow. According to his lord father, Garlemald is entirely covered in snow for most of each year! Only during the summer does the snow melt, and even then, temperatures do not rise as high as Doma in the summer. Shun wonders if he'll be very cold here. So far he feels comfortable enough inside the stone castle, which is heated by many large, roaring fireplaces. Perhaps, then, marrying the young Garlean prince won't be so bad after all.
Shun risks another glance across the large table at the Garlean prince. So far, all the flaxen-haired boy has done is give Shun a calculating once-over, then assumed an utterly disinterested expression, and not said a word since. If not for the all-encompassing boredom written plainly on the other boy's features, he would be pretty. His eyes are a pale shade of blue that reminds Shun of a clear summer sky, and his hair is the color of the honey Shun likes to sweeten his tea with when Kaien isn't looking. It is long and straight and fair glistens in the firelight dancing in the open hearth, and Shun is completely enamored with it. His own hair is black as a raven and unruly, and Kaien is always ordering him to keep it in a tight knot atop his head when they have visitors.
The Garlean royal family's clothing is strange to Shun, but judging by the heavy layered leather and fur armor their guards wear, and the clothes the commoners they passed in their carriage on the way in, he imagines his and his lord father's clothing must be strange to the Garleans too. He wonders what the Garlean prince would look like in a dogi, and leans forward trying to envision it, resting his elbows on the edge of the table as he focuses.
"Shun!" His father barks, startling Shun back into his upright position, blinking up at Lord Kaien with a guilty expression. Father looks thoroughly displeased with him. Shun ducks his head, turning his gaze down to the floor with a murmured apology.
"Oh, let the boy go," the elderly Garlean king drawls, waving a white-gloved hand dismissively. "Both of them," he adds decisively, turning to the younger man at his side, a massive man with very pale blond hair. "They are young; they should be out playing, not stuck in stuffy negotiations with their fathers."
The gargantuan pale man nods grudgingly (Shun has forgotten his name already), and turns to his son, the large flaxen-haired boy. "Zenos, show Prince Shun around the castle."
Shun turns to Prince Zenos with wide, excited eyes. A tour of the castle? With the pretty boy he is to marry? That sounds far better already than this meeting between their lord fathers and Zenos' great-grandsire.
Zenos does not look pleased. His lips, already thin, have pressed together in a tight line as he nods and rises from his chair. He doesn't have to hop down from his chair like Shun does. The Garlean prince makes his way over to the door, and holds it open for Shun, who hurries over to his side, smiling up at Zenos eagerly. Zenos does not smile back.
"And Zenos," the Garlean's lord father calls, just as Shun steps out into the stone hallway, and Zenos makes to follow him. "Not the armory."
Shun watches curiously as something seems to pass between Zenos and his father, a bit of tension or... challenge. He swallows nervously. Shun would never challenge his father directly, but from the way Zenos is glaring at his father...
The tension seems to dissipate as the old Garlean king begins to laugh, waving his grandson off. "You worry too much, Varis. They are boys. Boys play with swords. Let them play."
Shun looks from Varis, who now looks livid, to his own father. Kaien looks a little pale, but it is hard to tell in the dancing firelight, and his mouth is a tight line. He nods subtly to Shun, who smiles back at his father.
They had discussed the Garlean prince on the long journey here from Doma. Not much was known of him, but included in the little information they had about him was the fact that the boy loved little more than combat and swordplay, especially with swords of Doman make. This excites Shun more than anything else about his engagement to the Garlean prince - he also loves swordplay, and has been training to one day become a samurai to match his father's skill, unrivaled in Doma.
Shun can't wait to spar with Zenos. He hopes they will go straight to the armory and get started right away!
Prince Zenos shuts the heavy wooden door behind himself, sealing their fathers and the Garlean king in the room behind them. Shun shivers; the hallway is much colder than the room with the large circular table had been. The flaxen-haired boy eyes him dispassionately, and does not offer him the heavy cloak he wears over his own strange tight clothing.
The Doman prince shifts from foot to foot on the cold stone tiles, glancing up and down the hallway. One side of the hallway ends in a glass window and another wooden door on the side, and the other leads back the way Shun and his father entered the great stone castle from... not that Shun could find his way to the entrance again without help. Shun wraps his arms about himself, chewing on his lower lip as he waits for the Garlean prince to do or say something.
As the silence drags on, Shun finally looks back up at Zenos, wondering if perhaps the Garlean prince is waiting for him to say something... but no, Zenos isn't even looking in his direction. He takes this opportunity to study the other boy's features up close. The Garlean prince has a most prominent nose, and Shun recognizes it from the Garlean king's face - hopefully Zenos' nose won't look quite that large when he grows old. Shun thinks his features, although severe, are quite nice... especially his blue eyes, and thick eyelashes. He could stare at Zenos' face for hours, he thinks. It is a pleasant face to look upon...
"...would you like to see the armory?" Zenos finally asks, breaking the silence of the hall as he turns towards Shun. The other boy arches an eyebrow at the way the Doman prince startles when he is addressed. "Or are you going to keep staring at my face?"
Shun's cheeks flood with color as he meets Zenos' gaze, caught staring, but he nods eagerly. "I-I would! That is, I would like to see the armory. But your lord father said..."
Zenos rolls his eyes. "He will do nothing. Great-grandfather allows me to do as I please. Come. I will show you my blades." Without further ado, the Garlean prince sets off down the hallway.
Shun has to hurry to keep up with Prince Zenos, who is very tall like his father, whereas Shun is rather short like Lord Kaien, and still growing. He doesn't mind - he is far too eager to see Prince Zenos' katanas. The Garlean prince seems to share exactly none of his excitement, but Shun can't find it in him to mind. If he were stuck cooped up in a stone castle with snow outside most of the year, and a stern father like Prince Varis, Shun would probably be just as bored as Prince Zenos seems to be.
The Garlean prince leads him down what feels to Shun like countless, endless stone hallways, with no way to differentiate one from the other. But Zenos seems sure of himself, never hesitating when they reach branches in the stone paths. Eventually the other boy stops in front of a pair of wooden doors, smaller than the one they left their fathers and the king behind, and pushes both open. Shun's mouth falls open as he steps inside, taking it all in...
There are wooden racks, shelves, chests, and tables of all kinds pressed up against the walls nearest where he and Prince Zenos stand, each boasting an assortment of foreign weaponry the likes of which Shun has only seen Garlean soldiers wield. Thick swords with tapered tips and hilts shaped like crosses rest on racks beside rows of shields made of metal and wood, round and unwieldy, which are themselves stacked beside mannequins with full suits of that cumbersome-looking armor the guards in Garlemald wear. Further from the open doors, there are breaks in the stone tiles, large ones, filled with dirt and sand, and from the imprints of footsteps and falls in the softer media, Shun can conclude these spaces are for sparring in. The whole room is illuminated by a pair of large glass windows on one side, covered by an iron lattice bolted into the stone to prevent someone on the outside from simply breaking the glass and entering the royal armory.
Zenos steps past Shun, who hastily moves to one side so as not to be in the way, and makes his way over to one of the large chests along the wall. The chest the Garlean prince approaches looks to be of Doman make, and Shun hastens to Zenos' side, watching eagerly as the other boy reaches into the neckline of his shirt and pulls out a metal key on a thin chain. He lifts the chain over his head, flipping his hair out of the way as he does so, then kneels down and inserts the key into the lock. Shun waits with breathless anticipation as the Garlean prince twists the key in the lock, then opens the chest.
Inside are two of the finest blades Hien has ever seen - each a fine katana in its own right, and each with a unique energy to it. Resting on a higher shelf of the small wooden rack within the chest, the first blade is sleeker, and the twisting motifs along its base remind Shun of the wind. Below the first blade lies another, this one darker and somehow sharper, with jagged designs that make Shun think of levin lighting up the sky during a summer storm.
"They're beautiful," Shun breathes, drinking in the details of each katana, trying to commit them to memory. He does not move to touch either blade, but instead looks up at Zenos, hazel eyes shining bright with excitement.
The other boy's eyes are still locked on the blades in the chest below, but after a moment, Zenos reluctantly tears his gaze from the swords to meet Shun's eyes. There is some interest in those powder blue eyes now when he looks upon Shun where there was none before, but the Garlean prince merely grunts his agreement. Zenos closes the chest, locking it with his key once more before donning the chain and tucking it back into his shirt. "I would show you how I wield them, but the king would be most displeased if I killed you in the process."
"You would spar with me?" Shun perks up at the prospect of getting to actually spar with Zenos - with katanas, no less!
"Hardly," Zenos scoffs, straightening up and folding his large arms across his chest, looking down at Shun with disdain. "You could not keep up."
Shun's temper flares at that, and he takes an impulsive step closer to the Garlean prince, although now he has to crane his neck just to meet his disapproving stare. "I could! I have been training in the way of the samurai."
Zenos arches an eyebrow. "Is that so?" He does not sound convinced. He stares at Shun for a few moments longer, before seeming to decide something.
Shun watches as he moves over to one of the wooden weapon racks nearest the door, and takes up a pair of wooden swords - training blades shaped like katana, but crafted with wood rather than metal.
"A test of your reflexes," He tosses one to Shun abruptly, who catches it out of the air. Zenos' lips curl into the first expression that could charitably be called a smile that Shun has seen the other boy wear. "A basic awareness of your surroundings... good. Into the ring with you, then. We will see how your samurai training measures up."
Shun grins back at Zenos, and has to work to keep his pace even to conceal his brimming excitement. A chance to spar with his future husband! He steps down off of the stone tile and into the dirt practice ring. When he turns to face the Garlean prince, Zenos is already leaping at him, and Shun yelps and throws himself to one side, rolling as he hits the ground and springing back up onto his feet, dropping quickly back into a fighting stance.
"Quick on your feet. Very good." Across from him, the other boy looks properly interested in Shun for the first time, and Shun can't stop himself from grinning back at Zenos.
"A samurai must be able to react swiftly to his surroundings," Shun acknowledges, watching Zenos take a few measured steps in one direction, which the Doman prince mirrors in the opposite direction to keep his opponent across from him. "And always aware of his opponent's position. I know my footwork, Prince Zenos."
The Garlean prince lunges at him with no warning, and Shun parries one strike, but the force behind the blow takes him by surprise, and he stumbles back a few steps. Zenos presses his advantage, striking hard and fast, and it is all Shun can do to raise his wooden blade in time to block each attack. By the last blow, just before Shun manages regain his footing and shove Zenos back, he hears a concerning creaking from his blade.
They resume their slow circling, and Shun watches Zenos' body carefully for any indications that the Garlean prince is about to attack, since he had clearly missed a tell the last time. The other boy's expression is slipping back to that boredom from before. Shun has to think quickly about how to turn this fight to his advantage and show Zenos he is a worthy opponent.
He must come up with something before the other boy attacks again, and breaks Shun's training sword from the sheer force of his attacks. So far Zenos' form has been impeccable - both his bladework and his footwork. If he could take the other prince by surprise, then maybe...
The Garlean prince darts in again without warning, his blade coming down against Shun's hard enough to knock it from his hands, and before he can so much as cry out, Zenos' foot has swept Shun's out from beneath him, and the Doman prince tumbles into the dirt.
Zenos looks down his nose at Shun, sprawled in the dirt with his blade on the ground, and sighs. "Pathetic," he frowns, turning to leave the training ring, but not before Shun sees the spark of interest leave the Garlean prince's eyes completely.
Shun takes a moment to process what just happened, then snatches up his training sword, and scrambles back onto his feet. If he could just react a little faster next time... "Prince Zenos, wait! I want to try again!"
Zenos stops, then turns slowly, a glint of... something in his narrowed eyes. It looks like the Garlean prince is trying to intimidate him. Shun stands up straighter. "You want me to deposit you in the dirt again? What will that change?" Zenos' voice is disinterested, but he also sounds a little... curious.
"I can learn from watching you!" Shun does not balk before the older prince, and assumes his combat stance once more. "Again, please! I'll do better this time."
Shun does not do better that time, or the time after, or the five times after that.
Each time, without fail, Prince Zenos managed to take Shun by surprise, and was upon the Doman prince before he had time to properly defend himself. Shun is still struggling to understand how the other boy does it, but he is determined to succeed one way or another. If nothing else, he is at least managing to last longer against Zenos' onslaught each time their blades cross.
But he is also panting hard, and covered in dirt. His arms ache from defending against Zenos' forceful blows, and his rear aches from landing upon it in the dirt so many times. Still, Shun pulls himself back up to his feet each time, and raises his blade once more.
"You are persistent, if nothing else," Zenos frowns down at Shun. The boredom is plain to hear in his voice, and Shun feels his gut clench. Zenos is the most challenging opponent he has faced thus far - Shun begins to wonder if Kaien has been holding back on him when they train, but that is a question for his lord father, later. The Garlean prince looks over his shoulder at the armory doors - wistfully, if Shun is reading him right. Zenos is not very expressive, so it is somewhat difficult to tell just what he might be feeling at any given moment. Mostly boredom, from his expression alone. He must be losing interest in knocking Shun on his ass repeatedly...
Something tells Shun that if Zenos loses interest in him, he will have a very hard time regaining his attention - and earning his respect. Shun does not want to lose his finest opponent, nor begin his relationship with his future husband on such a sour note. "If I can knock you down, will you train me to fight like you?"
Zenos arches an eyebrow, and a twitch at the corner of his mouth informs Shun of his dry amusement. "...you think you are capable of knocking me down?"
It won't be easy. Zenos is much larger than him. Knocking him over will take a lot of momentum, or a huge advantage; like taking Zenos completely by surprise, and then using the right amount of leverage... Pinning all his hopes on such a foolish gamble may be a mistake... Shun grits his teeth, and nods his head. He must try.
Zenos inclines his head. "Very well. One last try. But then you should clean up. I doubt our fathers and my great-grandfather will be pleased to see you in such a state."
Shun blinks, looking down at his dogi. It is covered in dirt. Zenos has not only knocked him on his back, although he is certain the back of his attire is much worse off than the front of it. Blood rushes to Shun's cheeks, but he nods. One last try is all he needs, and if he ends up in the dirt again this time, his filthy dogi will be the least of his concerns, ranking far below the fact that his future husband thinks him an incapable fighter...
Zenos turns to face Shun, and adopts his combat stance. "Are you ready?"
If he can just manage to get close enough... He will prove himself worthy of training with the Garlean prince! Shun nods, adjusting his grip on his own blade, clenching it tightly.
Zenos is upon him in less than an instant again. But this time, rather than attempting to parry his blows, Shun grunts as he takes the full force of the Garlean prince's attack against his ribs. He steps forward, dropping his own training blade, and grasps Zenos' hair, tugging it down. Then Shun presses his lips to the other boys' - in his first ever kiss.
Zenos' lips are chapped. Shun closes his eyes, blocking out the sight of the Garlean prince's startled blue gaze locked on his. He parts his lips slightly, and feels Zenos do the same, and then feels the wet warmth of the first brush of the other boy's tongue against his lips, and Shun gasps into the kiss.
Zenos' sword clatters into the dirt atop Shun's, and the older boy's hands hover over Shun's waist, unsure of where to rest them. Shun shifts one hand to the back of Zenos' neck, pulling him further down (he is so very tall), as his other hand guides one of Zenos' hands to his hip.
Then Shun shifts his hand at Zenos' neck to his shoulder, plants one foot behind the other boy's ankle, and shoves.
The Garlean prince stumbles back, blue eyes fluttering open in surprise as he tumbles onto his ass into the dirt, tripping over Shun's foot just as he planned.
His lips are still slightly parted and gleaming with a mix of their saliva in the fading light from the windows. Zenos looks up at the Doman prince, shock written plainly across his features for the first time since Shun has met him. The Garlean prince's cheeks are flushed, and from above... or perhaps just in the orange light of the sunset... Shun thinks he looks stunningly beautiful. Zenos opens his mouth to say something-
Which is naturally the exact moment the doors to the armory swing open, and Shun and Zenos both immediately look up to see the wizened old Garlean king standing there, and their fathers behind him.
"Zenos!" Prince Varis exclaims, expression morphing from shocked to furious as he sees his son sitting in the dirt.
Kaien looks horrified - first by Zenos sitting in the dirt, and then at the state of Shun's dogi, when he finally turns his gaze on his son. "Shun...!"
The Garlean king stops both of them from stepping into the room with outstretched arms, and bows his own head.
Shun feels his knees begin to tremble, only now remembering his lord father's warning about the pride of Garleans, and how he should defer to the Garleans on this visit just to be safe... Deferring to the Garleans probably did not include knocking the Garlean prince on his ass in the dirt.
A rattling sound coming from the Garlean king draws Shun's full, alarmed attention to him - is he dying, right now? He looks ancient, it's true, but he is still standing... Shun turns wide, anxious eyes to his lord father, but Kaien looks just as shocked, and his gaze is also locked on the Garlean king.
Shun considers what the penalty might be in Garlemald for assaulting a Garlean prince, and realizes he has no idea. If the Garleans are as proud a people as his lord father insists they are, it might be as severe as death. Shun looks down at Zenos, who is also watching his great-grandfather with a perplexed expression.
...he still looks beautiful. Maybe not beautiful enough that Shun is exactly happy to die for the affront of kissing him and shoving him over, but still...
It takes a few moments for the rattling sound from the Garlean king to morph into... laughter. King Solus is laughing.
"Did you have a good time, Zenos?" He wheezes, lowering his arms to his sides, and then reaching up to wipe a tear of laughter from his wrinkled face. "Finally found someone who could keep up with you, have you?"
He's not going to be executed. Shun's anxiety leaves his body in one long, relieved exhale, and he looks to Zenos to see the prince's reaction.
Rather than the disinterest or tension from the room with the round table, Shun watches as Zenos seems to consider King Solus' words, and then turn to meet the Doman prince's gaze. His powder blue eyes are wary, but Shun thinks he can detect a hint of... wonder in that gaze now. "Yes... I think I have," he murmurs after a long moment.
"Wonderful, my dear boy, absolutely wonderful!" Out of the corner of his eye, Shun watches the aged King Solus turn back to Prince Varis and Lord Kaien to address them. "You see, Varis? Nothing to worry about. They like each other! No maiming here, which is even better than we could have asked for..."
Shun's cheeks flush with color, and he quickly steps forward and offers Zenos his hands to help him back up to his feet. The Garlean prince looks like he wants to scoff for a moment, but then seems to think better of it, and he reaches up and places his large hands in Shun's much smaller ones.
The Doman prince blinks, not actually having expected Zenos to accept his offer of help, and grips Zenos' large hands tightly, using all his strength to try to pull Zenos' hands up. As the Garlean prince rises to his feet, there is next to no pressure on Shun's hands at all, which tells him that Zenos did all the work himself... which is probably for the best, given how much larger he is. If he had really used Shun's help to leverage himself back onto his feet, Shun probably would have ended up in his lap.
"Thank you," Zenos murmurs once he has regained his feet, seeming to study Shun as the Doman prince takes his hands back, then wipes them nervously on the sides of his dogi... which just makes them even dirtier.
The Garlean prince hasn't taken his eyes off of Shun since they both looked away from King Solus, and Shun ducks his head under that scrutiny, not sure what to make of it. "I apologize for using..." Shun risks a glance at Lord Kaien, who still appears busy talking to King Solus, then lowers his voice. "...underhanded tactics to win."
He looks up, startled, as Zenos begins to laugh. "You have nothing to apologize for... Shun, was it?" The older boy claps Shun on the shoulder, causing him to stagger forward a step, not having braced himself for the blow - still much lighter than Zenos' blows with the training swords, although it does make his side pulse with pain where Zenos hit him with the wooden katana earlier, just before their kiss. "A deal is a deal. I look forward to training with you," the Garlean prince purrs, his eyes strangely half-lidded when he smirks down at Shun, causing the younger boy's blush to deepen.
"Training? Very good," King Solus nods approvingly, tottering over to Zenos and taking his arm, beginning to fuss over the state of his cloak as he leads Zenos towards the armory doors.
Prince Varis narrows his eyes at Shun as he waits for his grandfather and his son to exit the armory, but he follows them out without another word. Only once he is gone, does Kaien rush over to Shun's side, and begin brushing as much of the dirt of his dogi as he can. "Shun! What were you thinking?! Thank the kami that the king found this situation amusing..."
Shun's mind drifts as his lord father continues to try to beat his dogi back into some semblance of cleanliness. He can't put the feeling of Zenos' lips against his own out of his mind. Shun reaches up to brush a fingertip over his lower lip, flushing as he recalls Zenos' tongue brushing the delicate skin there earlier... and how beautiful the Garlean prince looked, startled and flushed in the setting sunlight.
He is looking forward to training with Zenos, too. Now for more than one reason.