Chapter Text
“But, father...!”
“There is no buts, Osamu. This decision is mine. Chuuya could become king just as well as you.”
“But I am the former Queen’s son!” Protested Dazai.
“And I am the son of the new Queen.” Said Chuuya.
In the throne room, a tall brown-haired man with brown eyes and a redhead man with blue eyes, both richly dressed, were facing each other. The King, seated on his throne, watched them quarrel with a sigh.
“Osamu, my decision is not yet taken.” Said the King in a soft voice. “However, it could be Chuuya as it could be you. He is my son as much as you, and although it may not help the choice, he is the eldest.”
“From only three months!” The brunet was indignantled.
“I'm still older than you, Dazai.” Said Chuuya, a small grin on his face.
“Really? It does not show, however, with that dwarf size of yours. You should try quartering, it seems that it enlarges the bones. And if you could die on the way...”
“And you, you’d better...” Chuuya growled.
A cough stopped the screams of the two young men. They turned to the newcomer: a young man with short black hair, white tips of two strands longer, and grey eyes. The knight wore the uniform of the royal guard, and was scarcely younger than the two Princes. His face neutral, he spoke.
“Forgive my intrusion, gentlemen.”
“I already saw you... Who are you again?”
“Ryuunosuke Akutagawa, Sir Chuuya.”
“Yes, the one who follows Dazai everywhere!” Remembered the redhead.
If Dazai seemed to be indignant, Akutagawa kept his face neutral while answering in a calm voice.
“It's my job, Sir. I am his personal guard.”
“Wait, his ... He has a ... Father! Why do not I have a personal guard, too?”
“I suppose you can have one, Chuuya.” The King sighed. “Do you know someone from the royal guard who you could trust?”
The redhead thought a moment.
“Tachihara. He is a good knight and a good friend of mine.”
“Perfect, finally a problem settled quickly. Akutagawa, what did you want?”
“Your wife, your Highness, sends me because she wants the three of you to join her for dinner.”
“She wants us to dine together?” Dazai asked.
Akutagawa nodded.
“What if we invite Tachihara to join us? I want a friend to dine with, tonight. More, here is a good opportunity to ask him to become my personal guard, right?”
“That’s right, Chuuya. Tachihara will therefore dine with us.”
Dazai, who obviously did not want to be alone with his family and a friend of his half-brother, turned to his guard.
“Akutagawa, have you already eaten?”
“No, Sir.”
“Perfect. In this case, you will dine with us. Can you find Tachihara and ask to add two place settings for you?”
“Immediately, Sir.”
The guard left the room. It did not take him long to find Tachihara, leaning against a wall, chatting with other young recruits of the guard.
“Tachihara, we're having dinner with the royal family.” He announced.
The redhead raised an eyebrow, surprised.
“Why is that?”
“You will see.”
The royal family arrived in the dining room shortly after the young knights. The King and the Queen sat down at the end of the table, the Princes facing each other and their respective guards beside them. They started eating silently, to the despair of the two monarchs
“You know, if I asked that we dine together, it's because I wanted to spend time with my family.” Said the Queen. “In addition, it seems to me that if you have invited two guards to our table, it is for a good reason. Am I wrong? So talk, so that it does not seem like having dinner with dead.”
“There's a good reason for Tachihara's coming.” Chuuya said. “For Akutagawa, Dazai simply wanted to have his little dog near to him.”
“Akutagawa is not...” Started Dazai.
“Chuuya, do not speak so!” Reprimanded the Queen. “What is the reason behind the coming of Tachihara?”
Chuuya turned to his friend.
“Since Dazai has a personal guard, I thought I could have one too. And I thought of you. What do you think about it?”
Tachihara's face lit up.
“It would be a pleasure, Sir. I will be happy to protect the life of my future king.”
The monarchs approved the knight's words while Dazai was choking on the sip of wine he had just swallowed, which only Akutagawa seemed to notice. This last felt obliged to defend his Prince.
“Excuse me, Tachihara, but the decision has not been made yet. And as long as the King himself has not given his final choice, you cannot speak of Sir Chuuya as your future king since Sir Dazai, in addition to the necessary qualities, is just as likely to become king.”
He leaned over to look at the King in the eye.
“Unless his Royal Highness has made a decision without telling us?”
“No, Akutagawa is right. Dazai could also be the future king. But let's not discuss about it tonight, will you? My sons have talked enough about it for the day.”
They started eating again, the conversations slowly settling at the table.
“Thank you.” Dazai whispered to Akutagawa, a grateful smile on his lips.
“I'm only doing my job.” Said the knight, doing his best to keep his usual neutral face against the Prince's warm smile.
At the end of the meal, Dazai got up and summoned fatigue to go to bed, Akutagawa on his heels.
Once there, the brunet took off his shoes and then dropped on his bed. Akutagawa stood beside the bed, silently observing the stretching prince. Suddenly, the older straightened up and curled up, his resting hands on his stomach.
“Are you alright, Sir?”
“My usual pains. The doctor is coming tomorrow, isn’t it?”
“Yes, in the morning.”
“Fine.”
He waited for the pain to recover and straightened up to look his guard in the eyes.
“Will you be present?”
“I do not think I have something planned. And if so, I should be able to free myself to keep company to Mister the Prince.”
“Perfect. I hate to deal with a doctor alone.”
For a moment, Dazai seemed to lose himself in his thoughts.
“Akutagawa...”
“Yes, Sir?”
“Thank you again for taking my defence during the meal.”
“That's normal, Sir.”
“However, addressing you to my father with such disrespect could cause you some problems. Not with me, of course, I even loved your way of talking to him. But, when you are with my family, make sure not to be too... Indecent.”
Akutagawa let his gaze wander around the room for a moment, trying to find what to say.
“This is more of an impertinence, actually. If I was an indecent person, Sir, I would not be standing there, only listening to you. If I was an indecent person, I would have been fired a long time ago for the simple reason that my heart beats way to fast when I'm near to you. Because, when you are indecent, you can't control you as I do.”
That’s what the young guard wanted to answer. Yes, if he was really indecent, he would throw himself on the Prince's neck to embrace him, to kiss him. He dreamed of doing that for so many years now... But he could not. He did not have the right to feel such feelings for a member of the royal family... Even less for another man. True, society was no longer as extreme as before, and so it was not likely to be burned alive. But being exiled was not impossible. And if he found the courage to be indecent and someone surprised them, Dazai would have no chance of becoming the king anymore.
Then, as he could not be indecent as he wished, he said a simple “Yes, Sir. Do you still need me?”
“No, you can go. I'm waiting for you as soon as possible tomorrow morning.”
“Alright, Sir. Have a good night.”
“You too.”
As he emerged from the Prince's flats, he passed Chuuya and Tachihara.
“Thank you for accepting, Tachihara. I let you go back to your dorm.”
“It's my pleasure to be your guard, Sir.”
The redhead guard left and quickly caught up Akutagawa.
“Akutagawa! I wondered: How long have you been Sir Dazai's personal guard?”
“Three years.”
“Right! I forgot you were so young when you became a knight. At... Fifteen years, right?”
“Right.”
“It must be hard for you. Your father is chief of the military part of the king’s house, he must expect a lot of you, right?”
“He knows what I am capable of and expects neither more nor less.”
“I see. I know I'm asking a lot of questions, but it's because we don't know each other well, and it's been almost a year since we share the same dorm room. From what others say, you are of absolute kindness, but you have the face always so closed that I have trouble to realize it! Well, except with Sir Dazai.”
Akutagawa stopped, making Tachihara turn around. Were his feelings for the young prince so obvious?
“What do you mean “except with Sir Dazai”?”
“When he talks to you, when your eyes meet or when you know that you have his attention, your face is illuminated. It's very subtle but obvious enough to be noticed. We can see that you don't want to disappoint him. You are a good guard, Akutagawa. The fact that you wish so much to please the Prince is the proof.”
The young raven-haired had a slight sigh of relief.
“Yes, that's probably why.”
“Do you have any advice to give me to ensure Sir Chuuya's custody properly?”
“Well... Always do exactly what he tells you to. It means: never more without speaking to him beforehand because you do not know what consequences that might entail, and, above all, never less. For the moment, you better not take too many initiatives, but later, you will may be able to. And you have to always be ready to help him if he need it.”
“I note.”
They walked a few feet in silence before Tachihara began to speak again.
“In your opinion, who will become king?”
“Sir Dazai, I hope. He has all the necessary qualities for a king. And then, he is the son of the king and the former queen.”
“And it would make a great promotion for you.” Laughed the red. “Me, I don't know. But Sir Chuuya is the eldest, so he should have more chances.”
“It would be the case if the King died. There, he just wants to abdicate to go and rest in a quiet corner of the country with his wife. But knowing the Queen, I do not doubt that she has several arguments to place her son on the throne.”
“Does she not say considering Sir Dazai like her son?”
“He does not feel the same to her, and it does not please the queen. But I understand Sir Dazai: his mother died just over a year ago and his father had found a way to already remarry with one of his misstresses, replacing the Queen, when the Prince is still struggling to mourn. That's why he prefers to be called by his mother's maiden name rather than his first name, as Sir Chuuya does.”
“So... Sir Chuuya would have more chances thanks to his mother’s intervention but, according to you, Sir Dazai would be a better choice?”
“Exactly.”
They stopped at the door of their dormitory. Opening it, they found their three roommates playing cards.
“So? Were you fired?” Joked a young blond man, without raising the eyes of his cards.
“No, but I became the personal guard of Prince Chuuya.”
“Congratulations. And me, I think I just won the fifth game in a row.”
The blond put down his last cards, letting out a scream of victory while the others two were desperate, accusing him of cheating. The winner looked up at the two newcomers.
“A small game to celebrate your new position?”
“With pleasure. Akutagawa?”
Akutagawa jumped on his bed.
“No thanks.”
“Come on! You never want to play with us!” Blamed one of the two losers.
Akutagawa sighed, leaning over his bed to see the table better.
“I’ll watch you play and I’ll support you”.
“Good, that's already that.” Granted the one who had not yet spoken. “One day, I swear you will play cards with us.”
“Right.” Answered Akutagawa without even believing it.
He watched them play a good part of the night before everyone decided to go to bed. As always, while the four others slept, he brooded over his thoughts, largely occupied by the young Prince.