Chapter Text
Having decided that he would not be needing Yuri until the middle of the day and that waking Christophe to view the sunrise with him would make for a sleepy, grumbling companion, Victor walked to the narrow beach with Makkachin bounding ahead of him. The sun had only just started peeking from the horizon, lending the sky a purple hue, and yet Victor could spy quite a number of people already bustling in front of the houses that faced the beach. This was a coastal town, Victor reminded himself. People depended on the produce of the sea which were best obtained when the tide was high. The fishermen were probably already on their way home, if not already back home, to sell their catch as early as possible.
Victor watched, fascinated, as a boat pulled up to the sand, and two men hauled a net full of fish out of the boat met by a couple of children who had earlier been bending down and picking things up from the sand. Makkachin, being naturally friendly, approached the boat, jumping and barking at a fish that flapped helplessly in front of her. She sniffed the fish curiously and pawed at it warily.
“You’re the man that came in that grand carriage!” a boy that barely came up to Victor’s waist exclaimed.
“Why is your hair silver?” the other child, a girl just Makkachin’s height piped in.
That earned Victor questioning stares from the fishermen who were now being aided by who Victor assumed were their wives in loading the fish into metal basins. Victor had hoped not to stir interest, had even dressed as nondescript as he could (in as much as a silk white shirt could be considered nondescript) but realized that the mere presence of his carriage in this simple town had been a spectacle in itself, and his silver hair, rare in these parts of the Kingdom, was yet another object of wonder. He just hoped that the people would not recognize him for he who was, especially not until the guard he wanted to set up for Yuuri’s safety had been properly assembled.
“My Mother has silver hair,” Victor said patiently.
“That’s such a pretty dog,” the girl said.
“She is, isn’t she?” Victor asked proudly. “She is smart too. Do you want to see?” When the children nodded, Victor asked, “Could you find a stick for me?” The boy ran towards a patch of palm trees and came back, holding out a twig. Beaming, Victor called his dog, and she ran towards him and set her rump on the sand, panting at him in anticipation. He showed her the stick and she eyed it brightly. “Fetch,” he said, throwing the twig far, and Makkachin set off. When she returned, twig between her teeth, the children clapped.
“Yuuri would like your dog,” the girl said.
Ears pricking up, Victor said, “Yuuri? He likes dogs?”
“Have you met Yuuri?” the girl asked, lighting up.
“Of course he’s met Yuuri. He stays in Yu-topia,” the boy said quickly.
Victor squatted in front of the girl and asked, “So. Does Yuuri like dogs?”
“He does! He does! They used to have one like yours, but smaller. But he died a few months ago.”
“Really?” Victor felt quite sympathetic, unable to imagine what it would be like to lose Makkachin. “Do you know what happened?”
“Vicchan was old,” the boy supplied. “Mama says Vicchan was old enough to die.”
“Yuuri was so sad when he died, so we gave him our shells.”
Victor's eyebrows quirked up. “Why? Does he like shells too?”
The girl giggled as if Victor were asking a question that had a ridiculously easy answer. “He makes things out of shells! He and Yuuko make pretty things.”
Victor blinked. Yuuko was a decidedly female name, and wondered if Otabek had omitted her out of sensitivity to Victor’s feelings. But then, if Yuuri had a lover, it was something Otabek would not have been inclined to talk about, as impersonal as Otabek was. Otabek would not have seen the point of reporting such an information.
“Yana, Akio,” one of the women called.
“We have to go,” the girl said. “Mama is calling.”
Victor waved at them as they joined their parents, and he called Makkachin to his side. He enjoyed the rest of the sunrise seated on a tree stump, holding Makkachin close to his chest. That Yuuri still liked dogs was an amusing revelation. As children, Yuuri and Victor used to visit the kennels of the hunting dogs nearly every day, both of them often complaining about why they were not allowed to keep their own. Later, two years after the Royal Family’s fall, when Victor remained inconsolable about losing Yuuri, the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess had finally given Makkachin to Victor in order to, in their words, “Provide some cheer in Victor’s life.” He and Makkachin had been inseparable since, their companionship could only be bested by what Yuuri and Victor used to have.
Thinking of Yuuri made Victor hold Makkachin tighter. Yuuri, after finding the truth about himself, had not been delighted at all. He had tensed up, eyes wide in obvious disbelief and with traces of fury. He firmly denied what Victor knew to be the truth and fled the room. The Katsukis had warned Victor beforehand about Yuuri’s possible reaction; Victor thought he had known what to expect. But he had not been prepared for what it actually made him feel when he stared at a door that Yuuri had slammed to his face. Victor had turned to Chris, stricken wordless, and Chris had squeezed his shoulder before leaving him alone with the mess of his thoughts and feelings.
And if Yuuri had a lover, then that was another complication Victor was not at all prepared to handle. His own devotion had been invariable to a nearly (as Yakov liked to point out) preposterous degree that he had always thought Yuuri would have been the same. Clearly, over the time he had spent hoping the Yuuri in Hasetsin was his Yuuri, he had forgotten that along with Yuuri’s memories, Yuuri’s feelings for Victor - if a bit immature - would have been lost too.
Victor walked along the beach well after sunrise, deciding to turn back only out of pity on Makkachin who had started to walk slowly. He returned to Yu-topia and greeted Mari, who had been manning the bar, with a cheer he did not feel.
“Could I have your best breakfast?” he asked, pulling up a stool to sit in front the counter.
“Good morning, Your -” She stopped herself when Victor raised a brow. “Victor. Our breakfast is always the best. But I’ll let Mama decide what to feed you, and your dog. Makkachin, isn’t it?”
“Yes, her name is Makkachin,” Victor said with a smile. Talking about his dog had always lit up his mood.
Mari nodded. “I’ll come right back.”
Mari disappeared through a curtained doorway to what smelled like the kitchen. In a few minutes, she was back with a mug of coffee that she slid in front of Victor.
“Is Yuuri up?” Victor inquired casually, trusting that his worry did not bleed into his words.
“No. He likes to sleep in unless he has to get bread or run errands. Usually, he keeps the bar at night.”
Victor nodded as he brought the mug to his lips.
“We haven’t seen Yuuri since he spoke with you,” Mari said tentatively. “How did he take the news?”
Victor did not think he could hide behind a smile any longer. Mari, after all, knew Yuuri better than he did. “He left immediately.”
Mari shrugged. “We did warn you. He’ll come around, I reckon. But it will take a while. He needs to process things like this. When our dog died, he did not leave his room for days.”
“Shall I try talking to him?” Victor asked. He was very good at convincing people or, in Chris’ words, at making people do things for him.
Mari shook her head. “No. He doesn’t like that. Give him ample time and space to think of this on his own. If he needs to talk to you, he will ask. He would probably want to discuss this with Phichit and Yuuko first. Besides, I don’t think anyone would really take well to being a nobody one moment and then a future king the next.
Victor cupped the mug in his hands and stared at the coffee.
“Don’t worry, he’s stubborn but he always sees sense in things after he has had time with himself.”
Smiling despite himself, Victor said, “He has always been stubborn. I wanted to buy him a horse on his twelfth birthday so I asked him which one he wanted but he told me no, it would be too lavish. In the end, I gave him one. He refused to talk to me for days. I just know I was forgiven when I saw him riding it a week later.”
“A horse,” Mari said. “How old were you then? Fourteen?”
“Yes,” Victor said, unable to understand why that mattered.
“Where is the horse now?”
“Drowned or burnt.”
Mari’s eyes widened. “I’m sorry.”
“It doesn’t matter. Yuuri is alive. I can just get him a new horse.”
Breakfast, like every other meal Victor had at Yu-topia so far, was delicious. Even Makkachin, who had slurped her bowl clean, seemed to think so too. After the meal, Victor headed to his room and bathed before asking Yuri to set up writing implements for him. Weary from the travel and disarmed by Yuuri’s reaction, Victor had decided to put off from the night before the letter to his parents that would inform them that the Crown Prince was indeed alive. He also had to dispatch a letter to the head of the Royal Guards to request some of the Guards’ most trusted members. And although Chris had promised to request guards from his own family’s estate, they would not be arriving in at least a week so Victor had to write a letter to the highest ranking nobility in Hasetsin to request for interim guards.
Thankfully, the highest ranking noble in the vicinity was a friend to the Katsukis. Lady Minako was a widow to the Baron of Benois and had retreated to her hometown Hasetsin since the heir, a nephew, had ascended to her late husband’s title. Victor did not know her intimately, he had been quite young when the Baron had passed away. But he knew of her. She was common-born but wealthy, and had learned dance and performed in Triadanus. She had been a part of a dance company whose shows her husband had watched. They fell in love immediately, but good health had not been on the Baron’s side and thus he passed a few years into the marriage. According to the Katsukis, Lady Minako was in good terms with the now current Baron and ran a fairly big estate in Hasetsin. They were certain that she would have guards to spare for Yuuri, if Victor would tell Lady Minako what he wanted.
Victor wrote the letter to Lady Minako first, it being the shortest for he was practically inviting himself into the her estate. He did not think she would consider declining once she got over the shock of discovering that the Prince Regent was in Hasetsin. He saved the letter to his parents for last, for apart from the report of Yuuri’s survival he had to remind them of certain issues that he wanted solved by the Court in his absence.
The Court would no doubt be displeased by his sudden, secret departure. While he did not think that he could keep the secret entirely, he aimed to keep it a secret for as long as he could for Yuuri’s safety, guards or no. The Court then, not knowing what brought about Victor’s absence, would badger his parents and question their authority. But the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess were the embodiment of authority. They had ruled in Victor’s stead until Victor turned eighteen, and they had been in this political game since their own childhood. Youngsters who thought their families had a shot at the throne would be silenced with some maneuvering. Besides, there was always Yakov and Lilia to help them.
When he had finished his letters, he sent Otabek to Lady Minako with instructions to wait for a reply if she were home, and he dispatched one of his guards to the Castle. After, he took a nap, thrilled that he actually could without Yakov yelling tasks at him.
He woke up at noon and invited Chris for lunch in his room. Yuri did not linger. Presumably, he would dine with the guards or wait for Otabek who had acted as his (and Makkachin’s) guide around Hasetsin the night before.
“Have you seen Yuuri yet?” Chris asked as they waited for lunch to be served.
“No,” Victor replied. “I was told to give him space and time.”
“Huh, seems like that hasn’t changed,” Chris remarked with a teasing smile.
“I hope not a lot has changed,” Victor said. “I don’t want to be so utterly disadvantaged when dealing with him.”
“Did you think it would be easy?”
“Of course not. I just hope it wouldn’t be too difficult,” Victor stated. “I already sent Otabek with a letter to Lady Minako. Will you go with me when I visit her?”
“I’ll go. She might serve us some good wine.” When Victor raised a brow, Chris added,“Don’t get me wrong, the food here is exquisite but the wine makes me sad. I’m asking for some when I request for the guards.”
“Don’t forget Yuuri’s cheese.”
“I won’t. I take pride in my cheese the same way you take joy in spoiling Yuuri.”
“If he’d even allow me to spoil him.”
Otabek arrived with a reply from Lady Minako as Victor and Chris were finishing lunch. She said that she was indisposed tonight but invited him and Chris to supper the next day, to which Victor immediately wrote a reply.
“Have lunch first, Otabek, before delivering this to Lady Minako. Is Yuri downstairs?”
Otabek cleared his throat. “He hasn’t had lunch yet. Do you need him?”
That made Chris and Victor raise a brow. “Is he actually friendly with you?” Victor asked, but Otabek did not give a reply - not that had Victor expected any. “I don’t need him at the moment, but remind him to make sure Makkachin is fed.”
“Yes, Your Highness,” Otabek said, bowing, before leaving the room.
Victor saw neither skin nor shadow of Yuuri’s the rest of the day and even the next. Mari, however, had shared that Yuuri had met Makkachin and was delighted by her. Victor replied with an almost envious, “Of course he’d avoid me but he’d play with my dog.”
“The dog,” Mari pointed out, “Is not asking him to rule a kingdom. Nor is she telling him that they are supposed to be married.”
Victor laughed a little louder than the remark merited. “He is avoiding me, isn’t he?
“He is avoiding people, in general. Except Phichit and Yuuko.”
There were those names again, of people Victor did not know but of people who obviously meant a lot to Yuuri. He pushed them to the back of his mind, saving the question for Yuuri when he could actually talk to Yuuri.
Later, he and Chris took his coach to Lady Minako’s estate, guided by Otabek. Her welcome was appropriately muted considering Victor had asked for secrecy. She ushered them into the drawing room while supper was being set.
She looked much younger than her near-fifty years, beautiful, slender and tall, with a posture that put some of the more well-known nobility to shame. They were served tea as they waited, and exchanged the usual trivial pleasantries. Victor had let her dictate the pace of the conversation for now, letting Chris respond on his behalf, deciding that he did not want any important discussion to be interrupted when they would have to move to the supper table.
The different courses of the meal had been plated in front of them, perhaps to reduce the likelihood of having someone come in as they talked about Yuuri. After a mumbled instruction from Lady Minako, the butler and the last of the attendants left.
“How sure are you that our Yuuri is the Crown Prince?”
“Quite certain,” Victor said, raising his right hand, drawing attention to the ring he now wore. “I believe you’ve seen Yuuri’s?”
Lady Minako eyed the ring with some wonder and nodded. “It never occurred to me that he could be the Prince. Hasetsin is quite far from Lohengrin, and it is a popular name.”
“I understand. Our men never thought to look here for the same reason. And, yes, I’ve encountered too many Yuuris in this lifetime to know exactly what you mean.”
“Then what do you mean to do with him?”
Victor blinked. Lady Minako’s tone had not been friendly. “Pardon me?”
“You have a reputation, Your Highness. You get whatever you set your mind to. You have been trained all your life in the politics of Glaciena. The throne is yours for the taking - had been if you hadn’t found Yuuri. What do you intend to do with him?”
“Marry him. Make him my King. Not necessarily in that order,” Victor said matter-of-factly.
“Why does he matter so much? You could be King right now if you did not insist on finding him.”
Christophe tutted in amusement but focused on his clam chowder to keep silent.
Victor fixed his eyes on Lady Minako who, he realized, was testing him. If the Katsukis’ stories were anything to go by, Lady Minako was somewhat of a second mother to Yuuri. She was trying to protect Yuuri from the unknown - Victor - who decided to uproot Yuuri from all the life Yuuri had ever known. Who was to know if Victor were not simply using Yuuri as a political pawn to cement his claim to the throne?
“Like you said, I have a claim to the throne. I could have campaigned for it with my parents’ support and convinced Court that it was high time we replaced the Royal family. I have centuries of royal heritage behind me, and the only ones who have almost the same claim would be the Leroys. Yet I did not. Because Yuuri is more important to me than the throne. And that alone makes me unfit for kingship.”
He felt himself under Lady Minako’s studying gaze, and he stared right back at her in challenge. His intentions, with respect to the Crown and especially in regards to Yuuri, had always been true. He would have felt insulted had he not realized that she was only looking after Yuuri, something they had in common though Yuuri had not acknowledged him yet.
“Have you told him then of your intentions? I don’t imagine he took that well.”
“I haven’t had the opportunity to.”
Lady Minako gave him a pitying look. “How do you intend to go about this business then? Assuming he accepts that he is supposed to sit on the throne and marry you?”
“I’m going to train him myself. Do you know if he has been educated?”
“I saw to his education,” Minako said. “He was surprisingly easy to teach letters and numbers. The healer said he must have had memory of reading and writing. I taught him a bit of history, mostly of Glaciena and a little of Triadanus. He’s an excellent learner, though he doubts himself. That is his most pressing problem. He has a lot of self-doubt. We think it largely stems from him not knowing who he is, who his family is and what had happened to him. Sometimes, even when we show how much we have truly accepted him, he thinks himself a burden.”
“He hadn’t been always confident,” Chris said. “Not in the way Victor was.”
“But that was a long time ago. Plus, this Yuuri would be pressuring himself a lot so he might be a handful for you. But I think he has managed to deal with it on his own. He takes some time alone, dances a lot and engages in his craft. He usually looks a lot better after that.”
“I’m sure he will be worth the effort.”
That made Lady Minako smile. “He is. Diamonds come out of pressure and time. Yuuri is one.”
Victor felt himself brighten up. “Yes,” he said jovially. “Exactly.”
They discussed the matter of the guards when they were fuller, over (to Chris’ delight) excellent wine. Victor did not ask for a lot of people, only a handful of the best, and those who could be discreet. He did not want uniformed guards hovering around the inn or wherever he and Yuuri went for fear of alerting watchful eyes and listening ears. They were to dress in usual clothes and act like long-staying customers or helpers at the inn. The Castle would compensate them for their troubles and for all clothes they needed to purchase soon, the next day preferrably. He had already discussed his wishes with Toshiya who said the inn had spare rooms and would always welcome a helping hand or two.
“If Yuuri finds out?” Lady Minako asked.
“I will take the brunt of his displeasure. But this will be done.”
♔♚♔
“Have you really not spoken to the Prince Regent for, what, five days now, Yuuri?” Phichit asked, propping his head on the back of his hands as he watched Yuuri glue pieces of capiz that Takeshi had already cut into the brass frames of the orbs that they were making for the spring festival. “How could you do that to him? He’s the Prince Regent. The Prince Regent, Yuuri! But then…” he lowered his voice and said, “He came here to see you because you’re the Crown Prince. So I guess if there’s someone in this kingdom who can ignore him, it would be you. But, still, Yuuri. Don’t you intend to talk to him?”
Yuuri tried to shut out Phichit’s words. This was not the first time he had heard this speech from Phichit in the past five days, though admittedly they were slowly having an effect. He knew he could not run away from the Prince Regent forever, even if it were something he would like to do. But he still did not know how to accept the truths that the Prince Regent had sprung on him, that one, he was supposed to rule Glaciena, and that two, he was supposed to marry the unfairly attractive Prince Regent. He could not even begin to comprehend how he was supposed to marry someone like the Regent much less be a king. He had no idea what kings did. Certainly, the Regent who knew so much better could do it instead? Could Yuuri give up the Crown to the Regent who, according to Lady Minako, actually had a right to it nearly as much as Yuuri did? Would it not relieve the Regent of the duty to marry Yuuri as well?
“Yuuri!” Phichit said.
“Don’t you have to deliver more bread?”
“No, I’m done for the day and I want you to talk about the Regent. When am I allowed to meet him?”
“Phichit,” Yuuri said with a loud sigh, “I have only ever spoken with him once.”
“Then when do you plan to speak with him again so that I might meet him?”
Yuuko, who had been working at a different table, laughed at Phichit's words.
“I don’t know. I haven’t decided yet.”
The Regent, however, seemed to have completely lost patience with Yuuri’s constant elusion. Yuuri had decided to take a dip in one of the smaller pools for men late that night when he found himself in the Regent’s company.
Yuuri gaped at the Regent, his eyes moving of their own accord to appreciate the Regent’s physique. Feeling his cheeks go numb, he cast his eyes elsewhere, at the wall of rocks that separated the pool from a much larger one, where he could not catch even a glimpse of the Regent. He had always thought himself immune to the effects of nudity, especially of men. Growing up in Yu-topia had taught him that nudity was just that, pure, impersonal, without malice. He had been in the same pool as his father, Phichit, Takeshi and several other people several times and had thought nothing of it.
So he wondered why witnessing the Regent’s nudity embarrassed him. Was it because his own body could not compare to the sculpted perfection of the Regent’s own?
“Good evening, Yuuri. How was your day?”
Then there was the voice that was low and pleasant, and part of the reason why Yuuri did not think he would be prepared to speak with the Regent any time soon.
“Fine, Your Highness,” Yuuri mumbled, making the mistake of moving his eyes so that they now fell on the Regent who sat submerged in the water with careless ease, long arms resting on the lip of the pool. He really seemed to have no trace of fat in his body, and his shoulders were broad and so was his chest. And he was so, so pale that the warm, steaming water made his skin blush. How was Yuuri supposed to marry someone like this? Yuuri was plain and he gained weight easily; the Regent deserved someone perfect like himself.
“How did you spend your day?” The Regent inquired further. He smiled at Yuuri expectantly.
“I, uhm, worked with Yuuko and Takeshi, and Phichit came to visit us.”
“Who is Yuuko? Is she your lover? Should I be worried?”
Yuuri’s eyes went wide. “No, no. She’s engaged with Takeshi.”
“Ohhhh,” the Regent said, dragging the word as if it were an important discovery. “And Phichit?”
“He’s my best friend, Your Highness,” Yuuri replied quickly.
“Your best friend,” the Regent echoed, his voice almost a whisper. Yuuri thought he saw a slight flicker in the Regent’s eyes. “You may call me by my name though, Yuuri -”
“I can’t be so free to -”
“Whyever not?” the Regent looked genuinely puzzled.
“You’re the Prince Regent!” Yuuri exclaimed.
“And you’re the Crown Prince!” the Regent said with a small laugh. “And we’ve known each other since we were very young. My mother likes to say that I met you when you were still in the cradle. I wouldn’t really remember. I was only two.”
Yuuri bit his lip. “But I don’t remember anything from that time.”
“I know,” the Regent’s smile was patient. “My point is that you may be familiar with me.”
“But -”
“If you insist on a formal address, then I’d insist to call you ‘Your Highness’ as well.”
“I’m not that,” Yuuri said tersely.
“Yes, you are. I know it’s hard to believe, but you are the Crown Prince of Glaciena,” the Regent said, and Yuuri felt the intensity of the Regent’s gaze on him, like how it had been the first night.
“What if I don’t want to be the Crown Prince of Glaciena?” Yuuri asked.
The Regent inclined his head, waiting for an explanation.
“I know nothing about being a Prince or a King. I can’t even hold a conversation with people, how am I supposed to speak with noblemen and citizens? You, however, have dealt with it all your life. You must do a better job of it than I can ever hope to do. I’d like to give up the Crown and hand it to someone who deserves it. That way, you will be free from the burden of having to marry me too.”
The Regent did not react for a very long, painfully quiet moment. Then he sighed and said, “I knew you would say that. But is it perfectly fair to say you can’t do something that you haven’t even tried?”
“Kingship is not something you ‘just try,’” Yuuri objected, the thought horrifying him.
“Of course it’s not,” the Regent agreed. “I wasn’t going to send you to the Castle and declare you King right away. I thought that I could train you here, teach you some of the laws and ways of the Court, and the expected tasks of a King before we head to the Castle where you can see for yourself what it is like. Then all of us - the Court, you and I - can all decide who takes the throne after you’ve shown us what you can do.”
“What if I don’t want to try?” Yuuri asked in a hushed voice.
The Regent shut his eyes as if he were in pain. When he opened them again, his eyes were dark and troubled. “I don’t want to force you into doing something you don’t like. I want this to be fair to you as it is to everyone.” He smiled sadly, almost in defeat. Yuuri found him wistfully beautiful then that Yuuri thought the Regent did not deserve to look like that ever again. “But would you believe me if I told you that I always thought you were born to be King? Chris believes so, and so do a few other people we grew up with. Lady Minako seems to believe you’re quite capable too. But I don’t want to force you to make the decision now so please think about it. Take all the time you need.”
“What about you? Will I really have to marry you?”
The Regent smiled. But to Yuuri, the smile looked strained. “You don’t have to marry me if you don’t want to. But you can decide on that much later. Will you think about the kingship?”
Yuuri gave the Regent one long, look before saying, “I’ll do it.”
“You’ll think about it?” The Regent asked, his tone and manner lightening.
“I don’t need time to think about it. I’ll do it. I’ll train -”
“Really?” The Regent’s eyes went wide and bright, and his lips formed a heart-shaped smile.
“Yes, Your -”
“Victor.”
“Yes, Victor. I’ll do it. I’ll trust you to guide me well.”
to be continued.