Chapter Text
Louis knew that this was going to have to happen eventually.
It was part of what it meant to be a prince, he knew. Princes had expectations. Princes had duties. Princes had responsibilities. As much as Lestat loved to shirk his, Louis knew that it would not always be so easy. There would be a time when Lestat would have to do something that neither of them wanted him to do. It was simply the truth. There would be responsibilities that Lestat would have to fulfil. There would be issues that Lestat would have to face. There would be duties that Lestat could not hide from. He was a prince, and that gave him riches. He was a prince, and that gave him power. He was a prince, and that gave him luxury. But at the same time, it was not so simple. He was a prince, and that gave him duties. He was a prince, and that gave him responsibilities. He was a prince, and that gave him things he had to do no matter what. They both knew that. And they both knew that they could not ignore it forever.
But they had both been ignoring it, for now.
Ignoring the looming threat of not having Lestat to himself anymore. Because it was looming, was the thing. Louis knew that it would happen eventually. This wasn’t something that could possibly happen. This wasn’t something that was going to happen in the far future, either. This wasn’t something that they could stop from happening. It was how being a noble worked. It was how being royalty of any kind worked. It was how being a prince worked. A prince needed a princess. A king needed a queen. A ruler needed an heir. A blood heir, to be precise. That was just how these things worked. Lestat knew it. Louis knew it. Even if they hated it, they both knew it. And the threat of that loomed over their heads. Like the sword of damocles, hanging on by a thread.
Louis had been ignoring it for as long as he possibly could.
Why would he think about the future, when he could focus on the present? The present was wonderful. He and Lestat were happy. They were so happy. Why would he ruin their happiness by thinking about the pain that lay in the future? No. Louis focused on the present. He focused on his business. He focused on Lestat. He focused on stolen kisses and cuddling in the library and late nights together. That was all Louis thought about. That was all Louis could think about. That was all Louis wanted to think about. Why would he think about the darkness in the future, when he could focus on the beauty of the present? So Louis just kept on ignoring the thing that they both knew was coming.
Apparently, it could no longer be ignored.
“Louis,” Lestat said, quietly as he walked into their room. He looked oddly sullen, especially for Lestat.
“Yeah, darling?” Louis asked. “What is it?”
“I have just come from a meeting with my father,” Lestat said.
Louis didn’t like the sound of that. “And?”
“And I am sorry,” Lestat said, slowly. “I am sorry that I cannot prevent this.”
“What is it?” Louis asked. Was he being sent away? Was-
“I am to be married,” Lestat said.
“I know,” Louis said. “We talked about this. That- that eventually, you’d have to marry up and get an heir. I know this, Lestat. I do.”
“It is not an eventuality, anymore,” Lestat said. He was still frowning, and it looked so wrong on his face. “It is a reality. My father is to begin the marriage search tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow,” Louis said, his mouth hanging upon slacking. “No warning. Just- tomorrow?”
Lestat nodded. “It is rushed, I know.”
“Why so fast?” Louis asked.
“There is war brewing,” Lestat said. “Not close, not dangerously close anyway. But enough that father is worried. And as a king, he needs to find new allies, to ensure his country's safety.”
Louis sighed. “And he’s using you, to get those allies.”
“It is how princes are used,” Lestat said.
“You can’t tell me you don’t want to run away,” Louis said. “Pack it all up and move to some kingdom that doesn’t know either of us. Be poor, but together.”
Lestat laughed, though it sounded more like a sob. “I want to, Louis. And if this had happened before I had met you, I probably would have run.”
“But?” Louis asked.
“You have made me care about my country,” Lestat said. “You have made me care about my responsibilities as a prince. It is most inconvenient.”
“Yeah,” Louis said. “This whole damn thing is inconvenient, actually.”
“I am sorry, mon cher,” Lestat said. He frowned again. “I understand if you would rather not see me marry someone else. I will not chase you, if you go.”
Louis blinked in confusion. “You think I’d leave you, because of this?”
“It will not be pleasant, Louis,” Lestat said. “I owe the country an heir.”
“I know that!” Louis cried. “And I’ve known that. And I’m not going to leave you now. I know that this isn’t what you want. But it’s what you have to do. And if you have to do this, so do I.”
“Really?” Lestat asked.
Louis squeezed Lestat’s hand. “Really.”
“I wish that there was another way,” Lestat said. He shook his head. “But there is not. If we are not properly allied, our whole country could fall. And there is no good way to make certain an allyship without a marriage. My father has no other children. Not even any siblings of his own to marry off. He is too old to enter his own marriage now. It must be me. I wish it did not have to happen, but it must. I must-”
“I know,” Louis said, cutting him off. “I know, Lestat. You don’t have to explain it to me. I know.”
“Thank you, mon cher,” Lestat said, softly. “Thank you for knowing. Thank you for understanding. Thank you for staying.”
Louis would admit that the whole thing seemed rather unavoidable. But that didn’t mean that he had to like it.
That didn’t mean that he had to like watching Lestat get paraded around like cattle. It was a terrible thing to watch, really. Like Lestat didn’t matter. It was all about the allyship the marriage could bring. It was all a long, drawn out business deal, more than anything. And Louis- Louis knew that that was how marriage worked, for a lot of people, and especially for nobles. If you could marry up, you did. If you could marry and gain more riches, you did. If you could marry to seal a deal, you did. But that didn’t stop Louis from feeling sick, watching it. His own father didn’t even ask Lestat what he thought about any of the women. Everyone was basically shoved out, while the kings and the advisors and the nobles spoke. But Louis knew that it was important.
That didn’t mean that he had to like watching Lestat get sold to the highest bidder, basically. Because that was what this was. It wasn’t about Lestat. It wasn’t about who was the best match with him. It wasn’t about who Lestat liked best. It wasn’t about who he chose. It wasn’t about Lestat at all. It was all about the deals and the bargains and the contracts. It was all about what these other countries and nobles had to offer. It was all about armies and wars and allyship. It was all about money and riches. It was all about what mattered to the kings, and not to the people that were being married off. Lestat didn’t matter. These poor women didn’t matter. Louis especially didn’t matter. And it was absolutely terrible. But Louis knew that it was necessary, nonetheless.
That didn’t mean that he had to like watching Lestat get used like a bargaining chip for his father’s affairs. It was simply reality, no matter how much Louis didn’t like it. Louis knew that. Lestat knew that. It was just the truth. But it hurt. God, it hurt. It hurt to watch Lestat’s own father use him like that. It hurt to watch all these people view Lestat as a trophy, rather than a person. It hurt to watch people propose deals about Lestat’s marriage, as though Lestat wasn’t right there. It hurt to watch everyone treat Lestat like he was only good for his ability to be married off. It hurt to watch this happen, day after day after day. It hurt. That was all Louis could say. It just hurt. But Louis knew that it was something that had to happen.
No matter how much Louis understood that this was something that Lestat had to do, Louis didn’t like watching Lestat get shopped around.
It was terrible. It was dehumanising. It was painful to watch. Lestat was treated more like a fancy artifact than he was a human being. Or worse than an artifact, maybe. He was being treated like he was the prize horse. Sold to the highest bidder. This wasn’t about who matched best with Lestat, or who Lestat liked the best, and nobody even seemed to care about Lestat’s feelings at all. This was about the king. This was about the country. This was about taxes and trade routes and armies and kingdom politics and allyship. And yet, Lestat was the one who had to marry whoever was chosen. And Louis was the one who had to watch Lestat marry whoever was chosen. It was the two of them, caught in the crossfire. And whichever poor girl was forced to marry Lestat. And it was terrible, watching it happen. It was. It made Louis sick to his stomach. Completely and utterly sick to his stomach.
But Louis did watch the whole thing go down, as moral support for Lestat. And perhaps for his own peace of mind.
Because- look, Louis knew that Lestat liked women in a way that Louis never could. And he knew that he had liked a lot of women. And so he had been watching the parties and the meetings to make sure that Lestat was okay, of course. But he was also making sure that Lestat didn’t stray. Which- Louis trusted Lestat, of course he did. Louis just couldn’t shake the rumours that he used to hear, back when he hadn’t known Lestat. About how unloyal the prince was. About how hedonistic the prince was. About how many mistresses the prince had. Louis just couldn’t shake that. So- so he watched, just to be sure. Louis just had to be sure. He knew that it wasn’t that fair to Lestat. He knew that he was different now. He knew that the rumours had been inflated and stretched. And yet- and yet Louis still had to check, just to be sure. And besides, it gave him a chance to actually see Lestat, during all this mess.
But, somehow, between all the hectic attempts to find the prince a wife, Louis and Lestat did manage to find some time together. Even if they had to sacrifice their sleep.
It was dark when Lestat made his way into their room. Louis had left first, in order to not make it look entirely suspicious. And he had slunk into bed, exhausted as all hell by the festivities. And if Louis was exhausted, then he was sure that Lestat was too. But when Lestat came into the room. He was not exhausted. He was the opposite of exhausted, actually. Lestat sauntered inside, whistling like an asshole, and kissed Louis’ out of his half-asleep slumber. Before Louis could even complain about what was going on, he was being dragged out of bed by Lestat. And, okay, he was being kissed again, so it wasn’t that bad. But seriously, what was this? And how was Lestat not tired. Or hungry. They never served enough food at these damn marriage meetings.
Still, Louis let Lestat lead him out of the room and into the completely dark hallway by the hand.
“What is this?” Louis asked, still half asleep.
“It is a surprise, my love,” Lestat replied.
Louis rolled his eyes. “A surprise?”
“Be patient,” Lestat said.
“It’s like midnight,” Louis said, stifling a laugh as they ran through the empty corridors. “Where are we going?”
“Be quiet, mon cher,” Lestat said. “Do you want everyone to wake up and see what we are doing?”
“I’d be able to answer that if I actually knew what we were doing,” Louis answered, though he did whisper this time.
“Be patient,” Lestat said.
“That’s rich coming from you,” Louis quipped.
“Everything I say is rich,” Lestat said with a stupid grin on his face. “I am a prince.”
“Shut up,” Louis said with a groan.
“But if I shut up, then I would not be able to tell you where we’re going,” Lestat said.
Louis perked up at that. “Where are we going?”
“To the lake, mon cher,” Lestat said. He leaned closer, and whispered right in Louis’ ear. “And I have brought snacks for us, as well.”
“The only snack I need is you, darlin’,” Louis drawled. He leaned up to kiss Lestat.
“Save it for the lake, mon cher,” Lestat whispered against his lips.
So, yeah. Louis had managed to come to terms with the whole thing, and it seemed Lestat had as well.
He was dealing with it the best he could, anyway. It wasn’t an easy thing, watching people attempt to marry the love of your life. And you couldn’t even say anything about it. Even if most people knew what Louis and Lestat were to each other, they couldn’t say it. You could never say it. Louis was simply a friend. An advisor. A duke. He could never say what he truly was to Lestat, and Lestat could never say what he truly was to Louis. None of the prospective women even knew. Maybe they suspected, but they didn’t know what they were getting into. And they couldn’t know what the hell they were getting into. Louis and Lestat couldn’t just tell people. If they could just tell people, this whole mess would have been avoided. They could have been married, even, eloped somewhere and said screw you to the king.
But they couldn’t do that. No matter how much Louis just wanted to run away with Lestat and never come back, they couldn’t do that. No matter how much Louis just wanted to steal Lestat away and never let any of these princesses or advisors so much as look at Lestat again, he couldn’t do that. No matter how much Louis wanted to kiss Lestat in public and hold his hand and scream from the rooftops that they were in love, they couldn’t do that. There were laws. There was the church. There were duties that Lestat had to fulfil. And as much as Louis wished that things could be different, he knew that they couldn’t be. This was something that had to happen, no matter how much it made his skin crawl. This was something that absolutely had to happen. This was something that was going to happen, no matter how much Louis didn’t want it to.
He knew that this was something that had to happen. So he accepted it. He accepted it as best he could. He dealt with it. He bottled up all of the anger. He bottled up all of the jealousy. He bottled up all the hatred. There wasn’t anything he could do about the feelings, so he just bottled them up. He dealt with them. He wished there was something he could do about the feelings. He wished there was some- some way he could fix all of this. He wished there was something, anything, he could do. Some villain to vanquish. Some dragon to slay. Some witch to fight. But there wasn’t. This wasn’t a threat. This wasn’t magic. This was just simply life. So Louis just had to accept it and keep on going.
Louis was dealing with it. He was.
He was dealing with the jealousy. He was dealing with the anger. He was dealing with the pain of it all. Louis was dealing with it rather well, thank you very much. He didn’t think most people would be exactly peachy keen on watching their love go through the steps to marry another. And Louis wasn’t peachy keen about it either, of course. But he was dealing with it. But he had accepted it as a reality. But he was managing it, as best he could. Better than most people could, probably. He hadn’t thrown a tantrum and destroyed precious artifacts. He hadn’t threatened, or actually attempted, to sabotage the engagement planning. He hadn’t even run away once. Louis was certain that he was dealing with it all spectacularly well, actually.
Louis had managed to create a sense of calm, within the mess that was attempting to find a wife for Lestat.
He read a lot. Of course, Louis had always read a lot. He had read when he had barely any books at all. And he had read when he had first come to the palace. But now he read with a passion that could perhaps be considered unhealthy. But it wasn’t unhealthy. It was just something to do. The negotiations were getting more and more heated, and more and more complicated. And for a lot of the meetings, Louis couldn’t be party to them, even when he was Lestat’s ‘advisor’. Which meant that he had to do something other than obsess over what was happening to Lestat, and so he read. And he read. And he just didn’t stop reading. Because it was better than obsessing over what was happening. Because it was better than thinking about what could be happening. Because it was better than considering everything that was going to happen. And it was working, really. Reading helped.
He threw himself into his business with vigour. It was something to do, when Lestat was busy with all of this. It was a distraction, to keep his mind off of what was happening to Lestat. And, besides, it made him seem like, you know, an actual important part of the palace, and not just Lestat’s lover. Lestat’s lover who had to watch him get married off. Still, it was something. And Louis would take anything to do right now. Because anything was better than simply sitting by himself and thinking about what was happening. It was working, really. Focusing on his businesses worked.
He talked to his sisters. He talked to Daniel and Armand. He talked to literally anyone who was around, to avoid thinking about the fact that his lover was speaking to potential fiancées. Claudia and Grace were invited far more over to the palace, these days. Which was good, because Louis always felt guilty about them not living there too. But Grace wanted to live with Levi, not at the palace. And Claudia had maybe halfway moved in, but she liked spending time with Madeleine more than she liked the fancy tubs or servants waiting on her. Armand and Daniel were watching him, too, to make sure that he was okay. They thought they were being subtle about it. They weren’t. Even Rashid asked him if he was alright, a few times. He wasn’t subtle, either. But, it was working. Talking to people worked.
Louis had it handled. And that was when Antoniette appeared, to ruin it all.
“Ah, Louis!” Lestat said, sauntering up to him where he was sitting, grumpily, in the ballroom. A bunch of his prospective suitors had come, and it was now a whole affair. Unfortunately. “I want to introduce you to someone.”
“Hi,” Louis said, flatly.
“I am Princess Antoinette de L’Isle Genove,” the woman said. Apparently, Antoinette. “I have heard so much about you.”
Louis just stared at her. “Have you?”
“Yes,” Antoinette said, smiling falsely at him. “Lestat greatly values your insight as an advisor.”
Right. Because that’s what Louis was. An advisor. “Yeah, I advise him quite a lot.”
“So you must know the prince well, then?” Antoinette asked.
“Yeah,” Louis said, grinding his teeth. “Real well.”
“I do as well,” Antoinette said, still falsely smiling. Like a damn doll, or something. “Prince Lestat visited me while he was on his exploratory voyage.”
And Louis knew what exactly Lestat had been ‘exploring’ on that voyage. “Did he, now?”
“Oh yes,” Antoinette said. “It was quite a wonderful time.”
“I’m sure it was,” Louis said. God, he wanted to punch Antionette. So badly.
Antoinette trampled all over Louis’ carefully controlled feelings.
Louis knew that he was supposed to refer to her as Princess Antoinette de Whatever The Fuck Country she was from. Louis didn’t care. In fact, Antoinette was lucky that he called her by her name at all. He could think of words that described her far better than Antoinette did. Like love stealer. Or two faced witch. Or terrible conniving thief. Or the villain in the terrible play that was Louis’ life. Or a devil sent to kill Louis specifically. Or a wart on the underside of his foot. Whatever Antoinette was, Louis couldn’t believe that she was a princess. Or, no, he could believe that. Antoinette was what Louis had thought every noble and royal was like. He had been wrong, of course. Some were like Lestat. While not perfect, he was kind hearted and well meaning. But Antoinette- Antoinette was the worst evil to ever walk the earth.
So, okay, Louis didn’t like Antoinette. He just plain didn’t. It was sort of obvious, at this point. He just didn’t like her. She was everything that Louis had been scared Lestat would be. She was everything that Louis hated about royalty. She was everything that Louis was against, just on principle. She was spoiled. She was arrogant. She was a liar. She was rude. She was slimy as all hell. Louis didn’t trust her one bit. There was just something about her that rubbed him the wrong way. Or, no, that wasn’t quite true. Everything about her rubbed him the wrong way. Her perfect smile. Her fake ass laugh. Her choreographed walk. The way she looked at Lestat like he was a meal to be eaten. The way she looked at Lestat like he was a prize to be won. The way she looked at Lestat like he was just a crown with legs.
And it wasn’t even like Louis hated every single one of Lestat’s possible wives this much. He didn’t really like them, because they were all trying to marry his love, but he understood them. A lot of them were forced to do this, just like Lestat had. Some of them were even kind about it. There was one woman, who wasn’t even a princess, just a high ranking noble’s daughter. Lily. And she was kind and understanding and clearly didn’t want this. Louis had taken a liking to her, really, and had talked to her whenever he could. Antoinette was the complete opposite. She wanted this. She wanted Lestat. She wanted to see Louis gone. And she didn’t even seem to care that this wasn’t what Lestat wanted. And god, it pissed Louis off.
Antoinette ruined all of Louis’ carefully mustered grace.
It was like she was perfectly made by an alchemist to make him as angry as possible. She was rude. She was terrible. She was opportunistic. She was willing to do anything to get what she wanted. She was cunning. She was stupidly good at speaking. She was even better at speaking. She was raised for all of this, marriage deals and wooing people and politics. She was used to riches. She was everything Louis wasn’t. And worst of all, she had the gall to pretend to like Lestat. Nobody liked Lestat. Not even Louis liked Lestat all of the time, and he was in love with the guy. But she smiled along when Lestat told the most terrible stories, and she laughed when Lestat said things that weren’t even funny, and she looked at Lestat with hearts in her eyes, when Louis knew that she didn’t even have a heart in her chest.
Antoinette messed up all of Louis’ life.
Actually, Louis decided, the worst part of all this was that Lestat actually seemed to like Antoinette. He was smitten with her. He was infatuated with her. He was fooled by her, really. Fooled by her charming exterior. Fooled by her carefully calculated smiles. Fooled by her fake laughter. Fooled by her cunning attempts to woo him. Fooled, and fooled, and fooled. It was absolutely terrible, watching Lestat genuinely smile at Antoinette. It was absolutely terrible, watching Lestat genuinely laugh at Antoinette’s jokes. It was absolutely terrible, watching Lestat genuinely become smitten for Antoinette. It was absolutely terrible, watching Lestat genuinely like Antoinette’s company. It was absolutely terrible, watching Lestat genuinely get along with Antoinette. It was just completely and utterly terrible.
Louis couldn’t understand what Lestat liked so much about Antoinette. All the other princesses and suitors were practically the same as her, except, slightly less completely evil. Why couldn’t he be obsessed with any of the other suitors? Someone who didn’t look at Louis like he was dirt stuck in their shoes? Someone who wasn’t so obviously lying? Someone who Louis could at least actually get along with, if they were all forced to live in the palace together? But, no. It was Antoinette that Lestat was constantly speaking with. It was Antoinette that Lestat got along with the most out of everyone. It was Antoinette that was from a kingdom that had the best army, according to the staff. It was Antoinette that was always at the palace, these days. It was Antoinette.
And it was Antoinette that made Louis’ blood boil. He couldn’t even explain it, not really. Like, yes, Antoinette was attempting to steal the love of his life from him, but so were a lot of women at the moment. And, honestly, at every moment. The prince was a catch. But it was Antoinette that angered Louis with the fury of a thousand suns. Everything about her just angered him. Everything about her just upset him. Everything about her just made Louis so damn frustrated for no real reason. But it was a real reason. She was trying to take Lestat from him, and she knew what she was doing. She knew. But- but Louis had a handle on it. He hadn’t even punched her, through the whole marriage discussion, even though really wanted to. Really, really wanted to. God, her face was punchable.
Because Louis had been able to handle watching Lestat be sent to the marriage pool like a lamb to the slaughter.
Maybe not well, per se, but he had in fact been handling it. It was handled. It was absolutely and utterly handled. Yep. Most definitely handled. And, okay, maybe Rashid wouldn’t say it was handled, because he had thrown a book at his head when he had dared to ask Louis if he was okay. And, okay, maybe Claudia wouldn’t say it was handled, because she had visited the castle one day and he hadn’t so much as hugged her until she had tackled him and demanded to know what was wrong. And, okay, maybe Daniel wouldn't say it was handled, because Louis had snapped at him and told him that nobody cared about the history of mushroom farming, and Louis still felt kind of bad about that one. But Louis had it handled, okay? Louis had at least been able to handle the game of matchmaking and proposed wedding contracts and the like.
But Louis did not think he could handle Lestat being engaged. And engaged to Antoinette, of all people. Because, of course, that was what had happened.