Chapter Text
In the rural section of a kingdom, surrounded by trees, fields, and a flowing river, was a large stone castle that fitted into the surroundings. The main town of the kingdom was a short horse ride away from the castle, and kingdom spanned across huge areas of land. The castle was home to the ruler of the kingdom, and he was talking to an envoy in his throne room.
“And so, as the chief emissary of the majestic kingdom of Bulovia, I have been authorised by my courageous king and my magnificent queen to hereby invite the princes and princesses of King Yagudin to a royal ball.” The envoy paused.
The light-haired king sat forwards on his red throne, listening attentively. The throne next to him was empty, and both matched the carpet in colour. He adjusted his golden crown slightly before the envoy continued.
“We have invited princes and princesses from far and wide to this extraordinary ball, and—”
“Papa, look what I found!”
Two white and gold doors were thrown open, and three young princes ran inside. One, with similar hair to his father and wearing a crisp blue shirt and black velvety trousers ran in first with his hands clasped together. The second, with black hair and wearing a pale peach and golden accented shirt as well as black velvet trousers ran in behind him, smiling brightly.
“You won’t believe it!”
The third trailed behind them, wearing a purple shirt with white accents and similar trousers. He sighed, panting a little for breath as he chased the other two.
“D-Deniss, Koshi, wait for me!”
The envoy’s top lip curled slightly in disgust at the trio and he turned back to the king with an eyeroll. “As I was saying—”
“A blue inch beetle!” The prince in blue said with a bright smile, holding it up to show the king. “It makes a strange noise when it…” the creature took off, making an odd humming noise. The two princes in blue and pale peach exchanged a grin as the other prince stopped beside them both, smiling too. “See?”
The king ducked out of the way of the bug, chuckling lightly as his crown fell off. “Oh my!” As he reached to pick the crown up, the bug flew away from him towards the increasingly impatient envoy.
“Your Majesty, as I was saying—Ugh!” He tried to swat at the bug with his scroll as it flew around next to his ear.
The trio of princes gasped and started to run after the bug.
“Don’t hurt him!”
“Catch him before he gets to the pantry!”
“Slow down you guys!” The youngest rushed after the other two, frowning.
“Playing through!” The envoy and king both turned to see a prince and a princess coming through from one of the other rooms into the throne room. The prince was wearing a green shirt and the same style of black trousers that the other princes had been wearing, and the princess was in a full-length orange dress with flowers and detailed decorations around the neckline. Both had croquet mallets in their hands. “Just be a second Papa.” The princess finished speaking as the prince lined up to hit the ball.
“Your Majesty, I really think that perhaps this isn’t the best—”
The envoy gasped as the king in front of him was hit in the head with the ball, knocking his crown off. The king just laughed, turning towards the prince.
“Jason!” He shook his head with a chuckle as he picked up his crown once again.
“Sorry!” The prince laughed nervously before he turned to the princess with a laugh. “Too much wrist.”
The pair then lined up for another croquet shot, and the envoy eyed them all sceptically.
“Those are your children?”
“A few of them,” the king replied somewhat casually as the pair carried on playing.
“Rambunctious, aren’t they?” The envoy commented.
“Look Papa!” a voice from beside him cut the king off before he had a chance to respond. Two more children, both sons, were on purple and blue stilts, laughing as they walked through the room above everyone else. The king laughed too as they walked past him.
“Hmph,” the envoy folded his arms, shaking his head, “your children are hardly proper princes and princesses.”
Two of the trio of princes ran through the room again, with the youngest trailing behind them once more, the bug firmly clasped in their hands.
“I can’t wait for him to meet Harold!” the one in blue said with a grin.
“Watch out!” the pair looked up just as they collided with the two princes on stilts.
The king winced slightly as the group of boys just burst out laughing, sitting on the floor in fits. The youngest member of the trio finally caught up to them, offering the others a hand up.
“Perhaps another ball,” the envoy cut in, glaring at the group of princes, “Your Majesty.”
He bowed and turned to go, shaking his head. His final words rang louder through the throne room than he initially intended.
“Princes and princesses? More like wild animals.” He said with a snide smirk. Behind him, in front of the king, the trio of little princes chased after their bug again, the twin princes were back up on their stilts, and the prince and princess were playing croquet through the throne room again.
The king sighed, shaking his head a little, as he carried the words in his heart throughout the rest of his duties and his day. He contemplated how to approach the topic with his children. Before he knew it, he was sitting at the head of the empty table for lunch.
“Hello Papa,” the king looked up, broken out of his thoughts by the voice of his eldest child. The prince, clad in a purple shirt and the same black trousers as the other princes, gave the king a light kiss on the cheek before he sat down in the seat at the table next to him.
“Daisuke,” the king smiled, sighing a little.
“How are you Papa?” A princess in a flowing red dress decorated with flowers and intricate embroidery sat down in the seat next to Daisuke, bowing her head out of respect to the king. She tucked a loose piece of her black hair back behind her ear, chuckling as Daisuke brushed some mud off her skirt.
“Mao,” the king bowed his head back.
A third princess, also with long black hair wound up into a bun, walked into the room, nose buried in a book. She crashed into Daisuke’s chair, and the oldest prince chuckled as she lowered the book bashfully, smoothing down the edges of her dark blue dress.
“Rika,” the king said with a light smile.
“Papa,” she laughed a little too before she took her seat next to Mao, opening the book again.
“We’re here Papa!” Another princess headed into the room, a sunshine smile on her face. She adjusted the pink sleeves of her dress and sat down in her seat at the other end of the side with Daisuke on it.
“Evgenia.”
“Hello Papa!” The princess who had been playing croquet sat down next to Evgenia, smiling too.
“What’s for lunch?” The prince in green asked with a smile, sitting between Rika and the princess in orange.
“Gabrielle, Jason.”
“We’re absolutely—”
“—positively—”
“Starving!” the two princes in blue and purple who had been on stilts earlier sat down opposite to Gabrielle and Jason at the table on the other row.
“Hello Shoma, Kazuki,” the king laughed as they sat down.
The trio of little princes giggled as they ran into the room. The ones in blue and peach sat down opposite to Rika and Mao respectively, and the third struggled slightly with his seat.
“Hello Deniss, Koshiro, and Jun Hwan.” The king helped the youngest into the seat next to him, patting his hair gently. “There you are sweetheart.” He then scanned the table and chuckled, shaking his head. “Where is Yuzuru?”
At the empty seat, next to Shoma and opposite to Evgenia, a tortoise shell cat jumped up onto the table, fiddling with the spoon set out next to the bowl of soup. It nearly knocked over the wine glass of water and pushed one of the side plates dangerously close to the edge.
“Alina,” the king sighed with a soft smile, “off the table please.”
A prince scooped the cat up, chuckling lightly as he held her close. He was dressed in a pale pink shirt and the same black trousers as his brothers, and he brushed some of his hair out of his eyes as he cuddled the cat to his chest.
“Sorry I’m late Papa,” he apologised before he sat down in the empty seat with the cat on his lap.
“My twelve princes and princesses,” the king sighed, ready to start speaking.
Instead, the king’s children didn’t listen to him. Rika buried her nose back into her book again, Daisuke and Mao started chatting together, Jason and Gabrielle spoke about tactics for their next sport adventures, Evgenia and Yuzuru leaned across the table to chat, Shoma and Kazuki enthusiastically chatted about their next ideas for making stilts, and the trio of youngsters at the end giggled about bugs.
“Ladies? Gentlemen?” the king tried to speak over the chatter.
His children were more interested in the warm bread rolls set out on the table along with their soup than what their father had to say.
“Please, quieten down!” he tried again, to no avail. He tapped his spoon lightly on the edge of his glass, trying to get their full attention. “Please, listen.”
A hush slowly fell over the group, and, as Jason tapped Rika on the shoulder to get her back to the real world, the group all turned to focus on their father.
“It’s been pointed out to me,” the king started, clearing his throat, “that um… you could be doing more to be… Well… Proper princes and princesses.”
Daisuke and Mao exchanged a look before the older turned to their father. “Like what, Papa?” he asked.
“Well, uh, like… um…” the king tried. Mao and Daisuke exchanged another look. “Like um… Well… Perhaps… Uh… Um…”
A set of white and gold doors opened and one of the servants bowed low to the table of royals. “Excuse me. The royal cobbler has arrived.”
“He’s here!” The twins, Shoma and Kazuki, stood up and waved to their father. “Bye Papa!”
The trio followed them out, with Jun remembering to wave to their father before they all dashed out of the room. Daisuke, Mao, and Rika stood up simultaneously and rushed out too, waving to their father as well.
“Goodbye Papa!” Mao said brightly.
Jason and Gabrielle all but ran towards the door, with Evgenia and Yuzuru close behind them.
“Wait, ladies, gentlemen!” The king stood up, shaking his head. “They’re just shoes!”
Evgenia and Gabrielle gasped, turning to face their father in a mixture of disbelief and confusion. “Just shoes?!” They answered before they rushed out too with Jason.
“Aren’t they?” The king asked the doorway, sighing.
“They’re dancing shoes Papa,” Yuzuru supplied helpfully, kissing his father’s cheek before he too ran from the room.
Alina jumped up onto the table by Yuzuru’s seat and sat down, eating from his soup bowl. The king raised his spoon as he sat back down in his own seat.
“Bon Appetit Alina.”
The trio of little princes were first down the main staircase that led to the entrance to the palace, and they ran down towards the carriage stopped at the bottom. Behind them, their other siblings headed down them too in small groups.
"Javi Javi Javi!!! Do you have our shoes?" Deniss asked as the trio got to the bottom of the staircase and ran over to the cobbler. "Can we see them?"
The cobbler, a brunet with light stubble and a warm smile wearing a red shirt, neat black trousers, and boots, knelt down next to them, humming slightly. "Was I supposed to bring some shoes?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes!" The trio chorused, trying not to bounce with excitement. The cobbler chuckled and stood up, handing a key to Jun Hwan.
"Maybe you can help me then."
The cobbler guided the youngest prince over to the carriage and helped him put the key in the keyhole. Together they turned it, and he helped Jun to open up the doors. The group of princes and princesses gasped as the doors opened and they saw the rows of beautiful, coloured dance shoes.
"They're lovely," Jason complimented as he looked over the top of sibling's heads.
"Woah," Evgenia breathed in awe.
"You're amazing Javier," Daisuke said with a smile as the trio collected their dance shoes.
"I'm glad you like them, Your Highnesses," Javier said, handing the oldest prince his specific pair of purple shoes. He handed a dark pink pair to Evgenia, who sighed happily as she took them from him.
The cobbler handed shoes to the princes and princesses as a green and purple parrot landed on his shoulder.
"I taught him everything he knows," the parrot said proudly, puffing out his feathered chest. Javier chuckled, stroking the feathers on its head lightly.
"Yeah, right Matteo."
"Anything for me?" Yuzuru asked shyly, stepping towards the cobbler and his carriage.
"Are you kidding?" Matteo, the parrot, said to the prince, "man, he'd burn the midnight oil for you."
"T-that'll do Matteo!" Javier stuttered as Matteo flew off, ears turning red as he faced the prince again. "He's just a bird. He doesn't know what he's saying."
"O-oh..." Yuzuru chuckled, blushing slightly pink, "of course."
"Can you please," Shoma spoke up from behind Javier.
"Tighten our shoes?" Kazuki finished.
"Um," Javier handed Yuzuru a pair of pale pink and white shoes, decorated with a few rhinestones, "these are yours." Shoma and Kazuki grabbed his hands and started to pull Javier away from Yuzuru. "I-I... I hope you like them Your Highness!"
Yuzuru watched him go before he looked down at the shoes, gasping in delight. "O-oh!" he breathed out, admiring the dance shoes. He glanced over at where Javier was adjusting his younger brothers' shoes. "Thank you," he whispered.
"Thanks Javier!" the twins said with smiles before they ran off. Javier stood up with a sigh as Matteo landed on his shoulder.
"You blew your chance Romeo."
"What chance?" Javier asked, glancing over at where Yuzuru was admiring the shoes on his feet. "He's a prince and... well..."
Javier's eyes softened as he watched Yuzuru dance around the courtyard with his brothers and sisters. Jason sighed, stopping in front of Javier's carriage with a smile.
"All we're missing is music."
"Music?" Matteo piped up, making Javier's blood freeze. The parrot reached into the cobbler's pocket and pulled out a recorder.
"Hey!" Javier hissed. "Hey! Stop it Matteo!"
"You play?" Yuzuru asked, and Javier's heart fluttered almost painfully.
"I-I don't..." Javier hid the recorder quickly. "Not... Not really..."
Yuzuru tilted his head at him as the trio of youngsters bounced up to him.
"Will you play for us?" Deniss asked brightly, Alina running along next to him.
"Please Javi please!" Jun and Koshiro chimed in together. The trio looked up at the cobbler with wide eyes and big smiles.
"Well... As you wish Your Highnesses." Javier conceded.
He started playing a tune on the recorder, including a little introduction, and the princes and princesses started dancing around together. Daisuke and Mao danced around together, smiling a lot. Yuzuru and Jun did a little section together before the oldest seven started dancing around the main fountain together, with Javier playing by the courtyard. Yagudin, from inside the castle, sighed lovingly as he watched them.
"I love them," he smiled, "but, at times, I don't understand them." He turned to the portrait of a smiling woman with long, dark hair and a sunshine smile wearing a delicate golden crown and a pale blue dress with darker blue accents. "If only you were here..."
Darkness had fallen, and the large, circular room at one end of the castle, surrounded by a balcony, still had the lights on. Twelve beds sat in a circle around the room with a wooden chest at the end of each, and each was decorated with colourful bed spreads and cushions. The twelve princes and princesses milled around in the room; the princesses wore loose white nightgowns and the princes wore loose white shirts and trousers. Yuzuru was still in his pale pink, white, and black clothes, sitting on top of the chest at the end of his bed decorated in matching colours, as he admired the shoes with a smile. Around him, Deniss was chasing after the blue beetle, running between Yuzuru’s pink and Shoma’s blue bed. The twins chatted about making even more stilts; their current pairs were leaning against their chests. Mao sorted out her hair, chatting to Daisuke, as Rika kept on reading, half tripping over her blue bed. Gabrielle dumped her armful of sports equipment between her and Jason’s bed, and her twin smiled.
“Why use a cupboard when the floor is closer?” Jason said with a light chuckle.
“Exactly,” Gabby smiled, untying her hair from the bun it had been tucked up in for the day. She turned to see Yuzuru still admiring the shoes and chuckled to herself. “Yuzu, is it the shoes you like?”
“Or the cobbler who made them?” Evgenia asked from the bed in between Yuzuru’s and Gabby’s before the oldest six princes and princesses started laughing.
“What are you talking about?” Yuzuru asked, holding the shoes a little tighter as he tried to ignore the pink blush across his nose.
“Javi is just so cute!”
“If you say so Evgenia,” Yuzuru teased.
“Maybe the problem is, he’s not a prince,” Daisuke supplied from his bed, opposite to Yuzuru’s across the room as Mao and Rika climbed into their respective beds too, the latter putting her book in the chest at the end of her bed.
“I don’t care if he’s a prince, a king, or an emperor. The truth is—”
“You are head over heels!” Evgenia teased, leaning across her bed to grin at Yuzuru.
“Don’t be ridiculous!” Yuzuru scoffed lightly, holding the shoes closer. “Besides, he… Never notices me. If I were paying attention, which I’m not—”
“Yuzuru’s got it bad,” Daisuke teased, and he and Mao laughed lightly together.
“Goodnight Thomas,” Deniss said by his bed, putting the blue beetle into a glass displaying box. He then opened the next one, patting the stag beetle in it. “Richard.” He gasped when he saw the other was empty and turned to the rest of the room with wide eyes. “Where’s Harold?!”
A collective gasp went around the room, and Daisuke sat up in his bed, scanning the room with wide eyes. “What is he? A spider?”
“A-A scorpion?!” Mao asked.
“A snake?” Rika half shrieked as the room spotted the lump under a rug that looked like a large snake. The rest of the room screamed as Deniss chuckled, standing over it.
“Nope!” He leaned down and held up a green caterpillar, about the size of his little finger. “A caterpillar!”
His older siblings all sighed collectively in relief as he tucked the creature back into the box and climbed into bed. Daisuke smiled, scanning the room to check they were all in safely.
“Goodnight everyone.”
“Night Dai!”