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Chapter Text

His house is certainly small, with the rotten wood in one of its walls and the consequent lowered price being the only reason his family had been able to afford it. Not really far away from it, close to the well he went to for water, a big mansion stood proudly. It had always been lonely and empty, but he knew (and everyone knew) that it belonged to a rich family. He remembered well that, before turning eleven, he heard the family's carriage arriving so they could spend some weeks there. No one ever got to speak with the owners, but Reki achieved something similar enough.

He hadn’t planned on reaching the house, for he’d always been told it was much better to not annoy the landlords, but he ended up at the place either way after getting lost while playing. In one of the rooms with a window facing the outside, rested the figure of a young boy that didn’t look much older than him. He never spoke to him properly, or saw him outside the building, but for what he could tell, his eyes were clear and so was his hair, blue as the sky. He seemed busy, holding a horribly delicate quill with a horribly delicate hand. Reki noticed that he was, perhaps, looking too much considering the fact they were strangers, but right when he was about to leave, their gazes met. A shy “hello” expressed through a wave was everything Reki needed to stay, standing on his tippy-toes to get as close as possible to the window.

An annoying piece of glass and some meters of height kept them apart, but they tried their best to communicate. The boy had tarnished the window so he could write on its surface, even if Reki didn’t know how to read yet. Once the other figured that out, he gave up on writing and went for drawing instead. Through gestures and pictures, they almost got to graze a certain kind of friendship. Him, from above, laughing at Reki's messy mimes. Reki, from below, trying to make himself understandable in any way possible. They said their goodbyes once the sun hid itself behind the horizon, but the boy followed the same path the following day, finding an open window this time. To him, it felt like the pale boy had been waiting for him, and the feeling warmed his soul.

“I asked for it to be opened! This way we can talk!” He shouted from above “I like playing with you!” Even if it was hard to tell, his smile looked perfect, without broken or fallen teeth. “I’m Langa, what’s your name?”

“Reki!” He screamed loudly. “Can’t you come down?” 

In reply, the blue-haired boy showed him a notebook with some fancy letters in it. “I have to finish this! And I can’t be by myself outside!”

“Huh? Are you sick?” He asked. Maybe Langa could get injured easily and it would end up being fatal, so his parents had to be with him all the time.

“No, but I can’t get hurt either.” The kid didn’t add anything else, opting to change the topic instead. “Is your house close to here?”

“Yes, it is! Oh, oh, why is yours always empty?” 

“Empty? Oh! That’s because I live in another house, this one is for when my mommy wants to rest!” To Reki, having a house as huge as this one only for resting seemed like a dream. “I like this house, the other one is too big. I prefer smaller houses.” Smaller? This was the biggest building Reki had ever seen, and he had accompanied her mom to the city before! “I wish we could come here more often, but that would mean mom is really tired and I don’t like it when she’s tired. Mom and dad always work a lot, do your parents work a lot?”

“My mom works everyday!” He proudly said, ignoring the fact that he didn’t have a dad that he knows of. “She always wakes up when the rooster crows, and she does a lot by herself. She plants, she collects and she’s the one who has to go sell it! I also have a baby sister now, and she has to take care of her. I want to be big already so I could help her! We are many people at home, but I’m the oldest one! So I will have to help her!” He explained. “I wanna work hard so we can have more money! I want my sisters to have pretty dresses and better shoes! I don’t think we will ever move out, but I want them to marry well so their life can be better. You have a lot of money!” He pointed out. “Maybe one of my sisters can marry you when we grow up!”

“I will ask my mom, but she really wants me to marry well too so I don’t think I can. And I will only do it if you introduce us first…” Suddenly, Langa turned his head around and spoke with someone else who, apparently, had just entered the room. Reki didn’t hear a single thing, but when he turned around again, the boy’s smile had faded completely into a pout. “I’m sorry. I have to stop talking now, bye.” He spoke, clearly saddened. “Thanks for playing with me, it was nice having a friend for a while.”

With that, he closed the window and left the place beside it, leaving Reki alone and dumbfounded. The next day, when Reki came back, Langa was sitting in the grass with 2 women dressed in the most fancy dresses he had ever seen, even if he could tell they were house-maids. Right when he was about to run to them, the three of them stood up. One of the women picked Langa into her arms and the other opened the door, disappearing inside without any explanation. He stopped going for some days, till one day he had to do something near the place and decided to go check on his “friend.” Though the window was open, he didn’t feel like anyone was waiting for him. The other child was sitting in his chair as usual, but he looked more upset and sad than he normally did.

“Hey! Are you alright?” Reki shouted, trying to catch his attention. Langa turned to face him from above. “Is everything well?”

“I threw a tantrum.” The other muttered. “Everyone got upset about it. I’m not feeling great.”

“Hm, I’m sure everyone will forgive you tomorrow, or even before.” He reassured him. “I wouldn’t be mad at you if you threw a tantrum with me around, maybe they only seemed upset to you.”

“Thank you.” The kid smiled, yet his smile dropped quickly. “My nannies said I can’t speak with you anymore.” He deadpanned. “I’m sorry, but we can’t be friends anymore.”

“Huh?” He complained. “Out of nowhere? What for? Did I say something bad? You don’t have to marry my sister if you don’t want to!” He rushed to say. 

“I’m sorry, really, I don’t understand why either.” He said, starting to close the window. “We are also leaving the house sooner. Maybe, we can try to meet in secret next time I come around. I will miss you.” 

“Me too.” He murmured. He regretted not visiting during the past few days. “I wanted to play with you more.”

“Hey, Reki, can I ask something?” To that, the boy nodded. “Promise not to forget me, please?”

…

It was everywhere, so everywhere it was annoying. Reki had gone to the city, having to meet with two bigger farmers to sell them a big load of hay, and the hot news had been in everyone’s mouth. “Have you heard,” said literally everyone around, “the prince is back in the kingdom!” He’d tried not to pay much attention to it, he didn’t understand anything the royal family ever did or said, so he didn’t really care about it all that much. However, simply ignoring it had become impossible after just a few minutes. From what he managed to understand, the prince had left to study somewhere else a year or two ago. Since the king died some days ago, he was coming for his funeral. And apparently, he wouldn’t be leaving any time soon either. Reki didn’t understand why at first, but in the meantime of waiting for his buyers, he realized the reason: The king was dead, and the prince was his only heir. Of course, he was probably expected to marry and take over the kingdom in the following year. Not like it mattered a lot to him, either way.

Royalty was like a strong pillar, unmoveable. At the same time, it was impossible to understand. Whatever decision they took, to him was barely noticeable, and he couldn’t understand any of their inspirational speeches. So he just didn’t think much about it. After all, it wasn’t like he had the time. He woke up with the first rays of sunshine and worked till the last light of the day, the only exceptions being his birthday and certain Sundays. It wasn’t like he could read the newspapers, but he doubted he would buy them and waste both money and time reading about the royal family and their adventures even if he could. A new king? Surely he wouldn’t change things enough for him to notice, even if he did he wouldn’t be able to do anything about it, so he just let the thought rest in the back of his head. When an old man offered to take him back to his village in his wooden cart, he was hitten with the same sentence that’s been in everyone’s mouth.

“Have you heard, youngster? It appears that the prince is back home.” He spoke to Reki, who was sitting peacefully in the cart. He knew his house was only a few minutes away, so he decided to indulge him for the time remaining. “Do you know anything about him?”

“Not even his name.” He replied, tired of hearing about him. “What was he even doing outside? Couldn’t he study here?”

“I don’t know, youngster. Perhaps he will make changes for the better, don’t you think?” He was unsure of what to say, so he didn’t reply and just let the man continue for him. “Bah, you never really know with those people, do you now? Everything will stay the same, I’m afraid.”

“Likely so, yeah.” He murmured. “He’s to be wed soon, too.”

“Oh, the money in that wedding might as well feed my whole family for ages ahead, and we are not some little family.”

“Ah, the same goes for me.” He pointed out, voice completely out of emotion. It had been such a tiresome day, and his muscles hurt all over, draining all his energy. 

“Oh? How many does your family have?” The old man asked.

“It’s me, three sisters and a mother.”

“No father?” How observant. “Must be a hard life to lead… Surely your sisters appreciate having a young man like you in the house.” 

As soon as he finished the sentence, Reki looked up from where he was sitting. They were the closest the road gets to his house, so he moved to jump from the cart and leave, but his movements stopped when he saw a figure running up to them. To his surprise, his oldest sister was rushing to them, going as fast as her dress allowed it. He gave the man a quick goodbye and thank yous to the man and jumped off, walking to his sister rather fast and worried that something might have happened. Koyomi grabbed his wrist once they met half-way, not giving any explanation for her presence and just starting to run in the direction of their home.

“Why’d you take so long?” She complained between quick breaths. “Come on, there’s people at home waiting for you.”

“Huh? Who?” He hurried his pace.

“Two men from the royal court, hurry up, come on.” Koyomi explained. “Come, if they leave it will be horrible, I believe they want to offer you a job…” 

A job? At the court? To that, he shook his hand off his sister’s grip and ran by himself, trying to arrive as soon as possible. Oh, he thought, no matter how bad the job might be (what could be the worst? Cleaning barns? Massaging royal feet?), it was surely better than his current one at home, and… Surely better paid. The old man’s words resonate in his head: The money in that wedding might as well feed my family for ages. His dream of getting his family out of poverty was right there for him to take, literally having presented at his home. Reki might not have cared about royalty, but his family was his one and only priority. It was right before him; the opportunity to finally get his sisters a new pair of shoes, proper meals, a pricey day for the older and dolls to the kids… He just had to work for the Queen and her son. To get Koyomi the expensive clothes she envied the other girls for and Chihiro and Nanaka a toy that wasn’t falling apart he would do anything. And, most importantly, this job would probably be enough for his mom to never have to work again. If he could see his mom resting for a single day, knowing he was bringing enough money home for her to live how she deserved, he would give his soul to the very Devil. 

Reki reached his home in record time, bursting through the door and entering the hall so tired it hurt to breathe. His hands fell to his knees and he bent over, trying to catch air and stop his vision from blurring so much. He raised his head, not paying attention to the sweat dripping down his forehead and his increasing heart-beat as he faced the two men Koyomi had mentioned. 

Their fancy clothes didn’t belong at all with their humid walls and old furniture. Their skin was spotless, quickly making him conscious of his dirty hands after the whole day away from home, and even more of his dirty pants and shoes. Upon seeing the delicate ponytail keeping up one of the man’s pink hair, he stood up straight and tried his best to fix his disheveled hair with his hands, not getting any results. The silence was killing him, not sure of how he should introduce himself to the two men. It looked like he had stopped their conversation with his mom, judging for the looks the three of them were giving him. Reki cleared his throat, bowing down properly before the courtmen, and waiting for them to speak after he stood up.

“I presume this is the man we were looking for, right?” Said one of the two. He had obviously grown up well-fed, Reki thought, judging by his broad shoulders and height. His mom stayed silent, making Reki realize he had asked his companion instead.

“The physical description does match.” The man said. “Might we have your name?”

“Reki!” He almost shouted, nervous. “Reki Kyan, sir.” 

He didn’t get anything in return but a quiet hum. The court official turned to his mother.

“Is that a common name around here? Are there any other boys with the name closeby?” 

“Not at all, sir. He’s the only one in the whole village.” She confirmed.

“Shall we proceed then?” The first man talked. No one refuted him, so he just moved to face Reki and his mom before starting to talk. “We come as members of the Royal Court, sent by His Highness, the soon-to-be-crowned Prince Hasegawa. We come here to announce that His Highness has specified for the young sir Kyan to become his personal assistant during his stance at the castle during the upcoming years.”

The prince had what? He was in awe, but he tried to conceal it from the officials. There must have been a mistake, he thought, for it made no sense that out of every single person in the country, he had been chosen. He wasn’t qualified to assist anyone, he was but a poor boy from a poor family, and the prince had no way of knowing from his existence. Unless he had randomly picked someone from the kingdom’s census, it made no sense. However, he didn’t want the two men to not offer him the job just because he felt like he didn’t deserve it, so Reki tried to play it cool. As his mind kept thinking about how he was chosen, the man with the pink hair showed him and his mom a paper, written with careful calligraphy.

“This list covers what would be your rights and obligations as a member of the court yourself, as well as it goes over what’s expected of you. Make sure you read it carefully and sign it only if you accept the conditions and discussed salaries.” Then, he added, “Once you sign it, disobedience of the stated rules could potentially end in punishment from the Crown.”

Reki gulped, making his way in front of the contract to read it. Or, better said, to pretend he was reading it, since he had never learnt to. He didn’t need to, he knew numbers just fine and had sold enough hay and vegetables throughout his life to know what was a big amount of money and what wasn’t, so he just tried to find the salary he would be paid. After a few moments of scanning over the paper, his eyes landed on the number. Reki almost dropped his jaw to the floor at the idea of earning such an insane amount; with all of that, he thought, he could even buy a house for each of his sisters. Not bothering to read the rest of the contract, he gave a determined nod and raised his eyes to the man.

“Where do I sign, sir?” The boy asked. 

Instead of any verbal reply, the other man offered him an inked quill and pointed at the place where he should write his name. Reki did so, writing pretty much the only thing he knew how to write with messy letters in a dashed line. He could feel his hand shaking as he did, making his hand-writing even clumsier. After he was done, the pink-haired man handed him a different paper with the same dashed line.

“Sign this as well, if you would be so kind.” He quickly did as told. “This will be a copy for you to keep.” With careful hands, the tall man rolled the paper and tied it with a thin thread before handing it to Reki. He repeated the process with the other one while his companion spoke.

“You are required to incorporate by Wednesday. It’s a two-day-long journey to the palace, we will part from here tomorrow when the sun rises. Be punctual, or you might lose the job before you even start.” He joked as he reached the door.

“Have your things ready as soon as possible.” Said the other, who had already packed the contract with the rest of his things and was approaching the green haired man. “And make sure you are presentable.” 

“Will do, sir, will do!” Reki affirmed before they left. “Thank you very much for this opportunity.”

“Oh…” The man chuckled warmly. “It’s not us you have to thank, kid. You can tell that to the prince on Wednesday.”

…

“Mom!” He complained, spitting out the cold water his mom had just dropped onto him. “Is this really necessary?”

“Of course it is! You don’t wanna arrive at the castle smelling like dirt, do you?” The woman replied. “When was the last time you took a bath?” 

Reki tried to think back, noticing it had probably been a little bit over two weeks. He was meant to wash himself last week, he remembered, but one of the little girls had gotten dirty playing outside and he had chosen to bathe her instead.  He was about to explain that when another bucket of cold water was thrown to him, getting in his eyes and mouth again. 

“Mom, I’m back!” He heard Koyomi from the corridor, who entered the bathroom quickly. Reki hid himself inside the water, not interested in the conversation between his sister and mom.

“I was able to get scented soap from a neighbor, look!” She chirped.

“Oh, dear, you are a lifesaver. How did you even get this?”

“I exchanged it for one of my dresses.”

To that, Reki came out of the water, splashing a lot of it onto the ground.

“You did what?” He shouted. “Are you crazy? You only have two of them! I don’t need soap, but now you will be cold all winter!”

“But when you get paid, I will be able to buy lots of them, right? So one truly doesn’t matter right now.” She smiled. “Plus, I can borrow mom’s old dresses. I will be alright, we just need to make sure that everyone in the royal family loves you.”

“It won’t matter how much money I get if you die frozen before I can buy anything!” He complained, right before his mom threw yet another bucket of cold water at him.

“That won’t happen, and you know it.” The girl argued back. “Just shut up and shower, let me just go and finish packing your things.”

She left before he could add anything else and his mother kneeled close to him, splattering part of the soap in his wet hair.

“She’s right, you know…” The woman started. “Don’t get mad at her, she is doing what’s best for everyone, and that’s focusing on you right now. I know you hate that, but it’s what we need to do.” She said, gently caressing his upset face.

“I don’t want her to neglect herself for this.” He uttered, sounding much sadder than he intended.

“I know, sunshine. We have struggled our whole life, so you just need to think that this right now is the last time we will struggle with anything, alright? Sooner than we think, we will be better than we ever dreamt, so try not to think about the bad parts. I will sew a new dress for her, if it worries you.”

“And who will go sell what we harvest every week? I won’t be here anymore, mom.”

“I will have to, of course.”

“Huh? But mom, it’s too much, you already work at the crops everyday and…”

“But Nanaka and Chihiro are only toddlers, Reki, and Koyomi can’t do much hard work now if we want her to marry well.” 

“And if you fall sick? Who is going to take care of them if working so much ends up hurting you?” 

“I told you, it’s no use thinking about those possibilities now, Reki.” She said calmly, stroking his hair as she washed it. “Is it that you don’t wanna leave? Do you think it will make you unhappy?”

“Of course not, of course I wanna go and work hard to make us live better.” He replied instantly, feeling himself about to cry. “But what if it was not the right choice?”

“Sunshine, of course it’s the right choice, that’s why it’s so hard to take it.” His mother told him, hugging him from behind with care. “This is going to be hard for all of us, I know it sounds scary, and I understand you don’t wanna leave your sisters and I for so long. But you and your sisters are the strongest children I have ever known, and I know we will survive this. We always have. This is the last time we will ever have to face anything like this, I promise. I promise.” She repeated before continuing to wash his hair. 

“I don’t want to leave to save us all and come back just to find out…” He felt his throat close in a dry knot before he could finish. After a whimper, he was able to keep going. “I don’t want to come back to an empty house, or…”

His mother’s strong arms wrapped around him as soon as the last words left his mouth. With a calloused thumb, she stroked his cheek and dried a tear that had escaped from the corner of his eye to mix with the rest of the water on his face. Reki just allowed himself to close his eyes and rest his back against his chest as he breathed in his mother’s scent, that of home and safety. He tried to take as much of it, to form the perfect memory of his mother and her aura, so he could keep it with him all the way to the castle and during all his stay there. So his mother could always go with him. Because he wanted to take his home with him, his heart couldn’t stand being away from his sisters and mom. As the eldest, none of his sisters had ever been without him, so leaving them behind couldn’t feel worse. And his mother had gave him everything he’d ever had, and he couldn’t stand the idea he was leaving her to live at a fancy place by himself while she suffered doing all the job. 

“Sunshine, don’t cry…” Her arms just tightened more around him. “You deserve this… You deserve this opportunity more than anyone else, my boy. Make the most of it, I will take care of the rest. I’m your mother.” She stated, leaving her child unsure of what she meant till she added: “I wouldn’t let you do this if this wasn’t the right thing. I wouldn’t without promising you everything would be alright… I wouldn’t promise you that without working hard to keep my oath.”

Reki just let himself be hugged more. One last time, until he had to leave, he told himself before pulling away from his mother and submerging on the pile once again.

…

He woke up before the sun on the next day, after an almost sleepless night. As soon as his face was reflected on the window’s crystal surface, he noticed the dark bags below his eyes. He knew, of course, they had long been there… It’s not like he got the best sleep. His baby sisters usually woke up late at night with only him to take care of them, and he would try to always wake up early just so his mother had to work less. Despite his older sisters telling him to seize the night to rest well and fix the eyebags, he knew it wouldn’t be a one-night fixable problem, so he just allowed himself to keep his horrible schedule once more.

On the bed, his mother had left his most expensive clothes. They’d been his best birthday gift ever. His mother had saved up ages to get them, but it was worth it… They fit perfectly, they made his eyes pop up and his face light up with color, and it hugged his figure in a way that made him look much more elegant than he was. Reki put them on with pride, watching as the sun started to make its way into the room as it started to rise up. He remembered the man’s words from yesterday: “Be punctual or you might lose the job before you even start.” He left the room without even buttoning his shirt to the end, doing so as he made it down the stairs. His steps must have woken up his family, because soon enough, he heard Koyomi waking everyone up with a tired voice that was trying hard to sound excited. She wanted everyone to give their farewell to Reki, even if it meant making the toddlers cry out of tiredness due to the early hour. He opened the door as the women of the house made it down the stairs at the same time.

The first thing he saw outside was an elegant carriage with the royal family’s symbols all over it. It was covered in details and decorations, making it easy for him to spot multiple golden parts. He wondered if they were real or not, deciding that the royal family wouldn’t go around with fakes before the man with pink hair from yesterday opened the door of the vehicle and came out of it with charming grace. He spoke a few words to Reki, but they were all muffled when his oldest sister threw himself around him and clinged to hear teary-eyed. Their hug was long, and Reki could feel the tension from her fingers gripping tight into his sides. She was scared, and the idea that she had been scared all day, fearing his leave, was almost enough for him to give everything up and stay. He heard his mother’s voice telling Koyomi that she had to let go now, that it was time for him to leave, but her words didn’t matter to Reki as much as her tearful tone did. How could he even think of leaving? His place was here, he didn’t belong anywhere else… 

An unfamiliar weight, that he knew well wasn’t from anyone in his house, rested suddenly on his shoulder. He looked up to see a blurred man of pink hair, whose serious expression had warmed up into a kind and understanding smile.

“Child, it’s time to leave.” He told Reki with an empathy that he hadn’t seen the day prior. “You will come back to visit sooner than you believe, let’s go.” The man encouraged him. 

Knowing well he wouldn’t stop himself from leaving if he waited any longer, he widened his arms and gave  a last, huge hug to all his family as his tears threatened to fall. 

“I’ll be back soon, I promise.” He muttered, both to them and to himself. “I love you, stay safe.”

Though it took everything within him to pull apart, he was able to do so and walk to the carriage with the man’s hand still on his shoulders, soothing him with gentle caress. Reki got in the cart, closed the door behind him and quickly acknowledged the other man inside, the one with green hair, with a quick greeting. There were no windows, but he opened the door to give his family another last goodbye, not without putting on a fake smile first. 

“I’ll miss you!” He shouted, not paying attention to the pink-haired man telling him to close the door so they could start moving. “Take care!” 

Reki closed the door and felt how, right after, the driver ordered the horses of the carriage to move. Now that his family was out of sight, the boy could only rest his back against the seat, as if trying to melt in it, and cry in silence hoping none of the men with him would notice. The one with pink hair had taken the seat by his side, while the other occupied the one in front of them. The silence reigned on the small compartment the three of them had to share, making it too easy for Reki’s mind to fill itself with useless worries. A particularly bad thought crossed his head and made him let out a whine, causing the man in front of him to punt his hand on top of Reki’s knee.

“What’s wrong, boy?” His voice sounded calming, and slightly worried.

“Are you sure I’m the person you were looking for?” He asked. “What if there was another Reki?”

“Aren’t you and your family struggling to live?” Reki nodded at the other man’s words. “What does it matter if you’re the right one, then? Seize it, it would have been our mistake if that were the case, you should just be happy that…”

“But what if there’s someone who needs it more than me?” He said in distress, cutting the man off. “A boy like me but with a newborn sister… Or the son of another single mother, whose mom is sick and can’t work at all without him… How could I take this if there was someone that needed it more than me?”

“You truly are selfless…” The stronger man told him. “Listen, man, the prince ordered it to be you specifically, alright? He knows who you are, if the job wasn’t for you, he will say so as soon as we arrive on Wednesday.”

“There’s not so many boys your age called Reki either.” Said the man at his side. “Plus, he did specify that the boy ought to have bright red hair.” 

At least, that was reassuring. 

“When did you two meet before for him to want you specifically?” The same man asked. “It’s been boggling my mind since we got the order to come here.”

“Oh… I don’t really know that.” Reki said. He hoped that recognizing it wouldn’t threaten his position. “I was just as surprised.”

“No need to think about that, young man. Kaoru, do him a favor and don’t make him more nervous.” The other, apparently named Kaoru, repeated the sentence in a mocking tone substituting all the vowels for an “i” as a child would. “It matters not how you met, but how your life together will be now, got it?”

Reki gave an enthusiastic nod as Kaoru sighed loudly.

“Kojiro’s right. Don’t make this harder for yourself.” He told Reki. “His Highness is going through a hard moment. He just lost his father while he was at another kingdom, and he has to get married right after. And let’s just say that… It isn’t looking well for him.” The boy made a startled noise before he could keep explaining. “He’s not a man of words, you know? His demeanor is also perceived as weird by most people. Her Majesty the queen is worried he won’t be able to marry well, since there’s been a number of suitors who rejected him after meeting him just once.”

“You’ll be with him for most hours of the day, most days.” Kojiro said. “Your room will even be in front of his. We know your job and salary don't include this but, truly… It’s the best for the whole kingdom if you manage to make him a more social person. The whole court would be grateful if you could be a friend to him. He’s a lone child.”

He nodded through the explanation, picturing the prince in his mind the best he could. Would he be weird to Reki upon arriving? What exactly did they mean with “weird”? Was it some sort of euphemism? Was he deranged or was he shy or was he…? Too many possible interpretations. But if he was lonely, Reki could only try to be there for him. Befriending him sounded alright, he thought to himself.

After Kojiro had already finished talking and started a different conversation with the other man, Reki gave a loud yawn without meaning to. He tried to apologize, wondering if it had been rude or out of etiquette, which caused the men around him to giggle.

“Try to sleep here for a little while.” Kaoru told him, pushing his chest against the back of the seat with tenderness. “It’s still some hours since we have to make our first stop, and I’m sure you didn’t sleep properly tonight, did you?”

“It was too much to sleep…” The boy mumbled, sleepy and trying to hold back another yawn. “Where are we stopping?” 

“We’ll visit a restaurant that’s some towns from here.” Kojiro answers. “We’ll wake you up, try to rest now.” 

Reki lost the words, too focused on how soft the back of the seat was and how easy it was to close his eyes and relax against it. He let himself be rocked by the uneven pace of the carriage and the small stones and bumps on the road that made the vehicle occasionally give a small jump. The voices of Kaoru and Kojiro talking in whispers around him felt comforting, and soon enough he was falling into a proper sleep for the first time in ages. 

…

The stones of the road appeared in his dream as huge mountains that kept on moving and difficulting his path. Reki didn’t know where he was or where he was going, but he knew what he was meant to do in this dream; his sister was somewhere and he had to find her. Distressed, he ran and ran through mountains and difficult fauna, falling in the mud multiple times and making him hit himself with the ground or injure his flesh. He was getting dirty, and a voice in the back of his mind told him off reminding him of the dress Koyomi had sold to avoid that. He kept running till he found a small hole, a tiny tunnel that was just wide enough for him to crawl into it in hopes his sister would be on the other side. He crawled to it, till he finally saw light at the end, causing his pace to fasten. His sister was there, right? 

He came out of it, but it wasn’t what he thought. Reki stood up, checking his clothes to find out they were clean. Had it been magic? He didn’t have time to think about that, because the huge mansion he saw as soon as he lifted his sight occupied all his mind instantly. Where was he? He could hear a river close by, and the green grass and clear skies were trying to take him back to somewhere he couldn’t remember. A voice spoke from nowhere in particular: “I asked for it to be opened.” Said a child, right before a strong breeze came from behind him and messed Reki’s hair up. The door of the mansion opened with the wind, making a loud noise, and so did the windows. The curtains started to fly around the walls, making cloth hit the stone in a soundful chaos. In dreamful clarity, he rushed to the door. Was what he was looking for inside that house? He had to check… Reki reached the doorknob, going to put a foot inside the house, but the same childish voice talked one more time: “But we can’t be friends anymore.” 

…

Kaoru was shaking him slightly when he woke up, startled and disoriented. Where was that house? He had completely forgotten its location, but he knew he had been there before. “It’s just a dream,” he told himself, “it matters not.” He looked up to the man, still shaking him.

“Did we stop already?” He asked. He was hungry after not eating breakfast.

“Not yet, we will need about 10 minutes.” Kojiro told him. “You started to shake, so we got worried. Bad dream?”

“Sort of… ” He said, still waking up. “Because I’m nervous.” 

“Agh, don’t be, it’s useless.” Kaoru groaned. “I know that yesterday we both tried to make it sound like an intimidating job… ‘Punishment from the Crown’ this, ‘you might lose the job’ that… But actually, it would be a bother to fire you on your first day. You don’t have to worry much, it’ll be an easier ride than what you think. Look, it will be easier if you are just yourself. You don’t have to be nervous over anything, you don’t have to impress anyone and…”

“We all know you don’t have the etiquette that’s expected from a court member.” Kojiro stated, making Reki feel inferior without meaning to. “But Her Majesty wouldn’t have accepted you as her son’s assistant if she wasn’t up to teach you or, at least, letting mistakes slide at first. You’ll be fine.”

He was going to be fine, Reki repeated to himself. They reached their first stop shortly after. He walked into the restaurant beside Kojiro and Kaoru with shy steps, following them to the table that was waiting for them. The place wasn’t full, but there were multiple occupied tables with people dressed in fancy clothes. They were in an actual city, he noted, not his small village. That explained the colorful and delicate dresses and the warm-looking clothes people were wearing. They looked so clean too, it made him feel out of place. Had his long bath yesterday truly been enough? What if everyone noticed he didn’t belong there? He stopped in the middle of the room, till his companion noticed and stepped back to where he was. 

“Walk straight, you’re with us.” Kaoru told him. The boy didn’t truly understand, but it was enough to keep talking.

They crossed a waitress that carried two of the best-smelling food Reki had probably ever seen. His mouth watered immediately and his empty stomach made a pained sound at the same time. 

They reached the table that had been reserved for them and took a seat by it. Kaoru took the three papers with the menu written on it and gave one of each to the other two before leaning into Kojiro, sat by his side, to ask him if he was feeling like getting something in particular. Reki didn’t pay attention to them, focusing on the letters on his paper.

They made no sense at all. He could spot the ones that made his name here and there, but they didn’t make any sense when they weren’t together. It was starting to make him feel dizzy, trying too hard to manage something that he knew he wouldn’t be able to do. After all, he had never learnt to read. He placed his attention on the numbers by each dish, marking the price of everything. He could just go for the cheapest, right…? Or perhaps he wouldn’t be able to, because the cheapest he could find was way too expensive. He dropped the paper on the table and waited, thinking that maybe he could ask the other two to share a bit of their plates.

“Hm, are you done deciding?” Kaoru asked him.

“Eh…” He rubbed his nose in an act of nervousness. “I don’t think I can afford anything.” This made the two men in front of him snort, which caused him to frown. “It’s not funny, you know?” 

“It’s not, it’s not.” Kojiro told him, still laughing a bit. “But the royal family is paying for this, child. You can eat whatever you want.”

Well, that had been embarrassing. He picked up the paper with new intentions; he could just pick the most expensive thing he could find, then. The others didn’t question it, and after 15 minutes or so, the biggest plate of food he’d ever seen was being placed in front of him.

…

They kept riding on their carriage all day, not stopping again till it was already late at night. 

“Where will we sleep?” Reki asked. He’d heard that hotels could be one of the most elegant places to spend the night at, so he was excited to try one out. 

“Oh? We are staying at a house that’s property of the royal family and that isn’t too far away from here. We’re almost there.” Kojiro answered his question. “Why do you ask?”

“Hm, I wanted to sleep at a hotel.” He said, noticing himself start to sweat at the idea that he might have sounded disrespectful. “But it’s an honor to spend the night there, don’t get me wrong, I just…”

“Don’t worry, child. You’ll get tired of visiting hotels when you grow up, I can promise you that.” Kaoru told him, pinching the bridge of his nose in what Reki could guess was tiredness. It’d been a long day for all of them. “But tonight, you would prefer this. It’s quieter and you will be able to pick whatever room you want, how does that sound?”

He yawned, tired even if he had a nap before. 

“Sounds good.” 

“Well, we are only half an hour away. Do you wanna talk before we make it there?” 

The man’s words made him reflect on the fact that they had spent most of the day in silence, not getting to know each other at all. Maybe a conversation would be fine… But he just didn’t know where to start.

“You can ask us about the castle, if you want.” Kojiro must have noticed what he was struggling with. 

“Oh, that’s a nice idea… Thank you.” He noted. “Hm… Well, are there many people my age there?”

“Not truly, other than the prince there isn’t any other old teen. There’s a boy around 14, but that’s all.”

“Is there any other person who doesn’t come from a rich family?” He asked shyly, aware that he might sound stupid.

“I myself don’t have that much of a prosperous lineage.” Kaoru tells him. “See, they hired me because I finished my studies with honors and met the right people in the right places, nothing more than that. But I was also quite lost, and felt out of place most of the time… I know you will do fine in the end, I wouldn’t forgive myself if I didn't make sure of that.” 

“Where are your families now?” 

“Well, I was able to buy my parents a villa close to the castle. As for Kojiro, her mother is the royal chef.”

“I’m meant to take her spot after she retires.” The man mentioned.

“Neither of you are married?” He tried to not sound surprised, but his attempt was unsuccessful. 

“No, not yet, child.” Kojiro answered as the other man let out a giggle for no apparent reason. Suddenly, their movement stopped. “And, would you look at that? I think we made it.” 

The mansion Reki saw as soon as they got off the vehicle was probably the biggest house he had seen yet. He rushed inside, excited to take a look. He heard Kaoru shout his name, since he had already reached the top of the stairs before the other two had even stepped on the staircase. 

“Can I pick my room first, please?” He shouted from the top, clutching his hands on the baluster and giving little hops on the spot, not able to contain his excitement. “You said I could!”

The other two finally made it to where he was and Kojiro patted his head as if he was a little kid. 

“Go ahead, child.” That’s all he needed to run all the way to the end of the corridor and begin to open every single door. 

“Try to behave more calmly once we reach the castle, boy.” Reki didn’t have it in him to listen to Kaoru’s advice. 

He ended up picking a huge room that he calculated was as big as his and his sisters’ put together, with an individual bed perfect for him. Reki threw himself on top of the blue, silken bed sheets that covered the soft duvet of the bed, feeling how all his muscles relaxed once he was able to lay down. The door remained open, so he was able to see how the two men accompanying him passed by and went to get a room for themselves. Though he considered standing up and going to close the door, Reki ended up falling asleep before he could do anything other than take his shoes off.

…

In his dream, Reki had had about 2 seconds of warning, of hearing the distant sound of water going down the mountain, before the landscape had disappeared completely and his dream self had been submerged in the river. Desperately, he tried to move his arms and legs and pull himself up, fighting for his life to get out of the water. Soon, a small shadow appeared on the surface, one that looked like that of a child. He tried his best to open his mouth and scream for help, but all he got were bubbles and soon, his lungs started to ache. The same childful voice he’d heard in his other dream talked once more: “But I can’t get hurt… And we can’t be friends anymore.” 

He still didn’t understand. Who was that child and what was he talking about? It made no sense to him, and he tried to scream his lungs off once more. 

“Please! Please, just help me!” His mouth was full of water, his nose was full of water, his throat was full of water and he felt about to die.

“Only if you promise not to forget me.”

…

Reki woke up covered in cold sweats, screaming at the top of his lungs and trying to make sense of anything that had happened in his dream. Why was that damn child tormenting him? Who did he think he was? But, most importantly… Where had he come from? He couldn’t recall his voice at all. “Promise not to forget me”? Too late for that, it seemed.

He looked around, trying to check the hour just to find the sun already coming out from the horizon. Perfect. He made sure to get ready before anyone could come and wake him up, which left him with more time to himself than what he was expecting. Drove by boredom, Reki took it upon himself to inspect the room around him properly. His first stop was the little desk sat by one of the windows, which surprisingly had a little notebook on. Someone must have forgotten to pick it up before they left, he thought as he took it between his hands. It didn’t count as gossip if he couldn’t read anything, he told himself. He opened it at a random page and scanned it over, looking at how quite the delicate hand-writting had composed a long series of words that filled the whole page but made absolutely no sense to him… Till his eyes stopped at the only four letters that he knew how to read and that drew his name just fine. 

“Huh?” Reki brought his fingers to the page, caressing the part in which his name was written. “What a coincidence…” He mumbled.

It didn’t have to mean anything, and he knew that, but it was the only thing in his mind for the rest of the day. When Kaoru entered the room to tell him to get ready, he’d already passed some good 10 minutes thinking about the odds of someone in the Court being called like him or knowing another Reki. He didn’t know anyone who shared a name with him, but maybe it was a common name! Though, that explanation wasn’t enough to stop him from wondering and wondering about it during the long trip that took them to the castle. His two nightmares and the strange notebook with his name had him too busy to talk much with the other men, but they seemed to busy themselves just fine talking about things he had no knowledge about. Though the trip was meant to be shorter than the previous day, it felt longer and longer, as if time moved slowlier every time he arrived at a conclusion that didn’t please him enough. Plus, thinking so much was starting to tire him up… He rested his head against the soft material of the cart’s seats, feeling himself start to fall asleep just when someone placed a hand on his knee and shook it a bit.

“Kid.” It was Kaoru. “Wake up, child, we’ve made it.”

That was all he needed to open his eyes wide and squirm in his seat, wanting to leave already and see the castle. He needed to check it was all real, he wouldn’t believe it until he saw the palace… But the looks from both men in front of him at his nervous demeanor told him that was not the way.

“Calm down, you need to make a good first impression.” Kojiro told him. 

“Stay between both of us.” The door was opened from outside by the driver and the three of them came out as Kaoru spoke. “Keep your back straight and your chin up, arms at the side… Just like that, perfect.” He praised when Reki took the position he was describing. “Wait, do a bow, quickly… Not like that, you’ve to go lower.” The boy tried to bend his knees more, noting how they began to ache or how his body threatened to fall to a side. “A bit lower. Not with the knees, with your back.” He scolded him.

“But you said to keep it straight!”

“When you walk, not when you bow. Silly…” The man covered his frown with a hand as he shook his head in disapproval. “The royal family themselves are coming to greet you, so you really want this to go alright.” He explained, placing himself behind Reki and moving his body till it took the bowing position he wanted. “Like this, alright?”

Reki just gave a little nod in affirmation before the other two started to walk ahead to the doors of the castle. He hurried to take his place between both of them and put all his efforts on walking with his back perfectly straight and with his chin up, as he’d been told. Kaoru and Kojiro drove him through a maze of corridors inside the castle, and it took all of him not to start rambling about how big and talls the walls were, how the artworks decorating the place were so huge and beautiful… He had to stay focused! 

The group of three turned to the right in a crossroad between two different corridors and he saw how, at the end of the corridor, two different men moved a huge and certainly heavy door open. Inside, he saw as he approached, were three different thrones that varied in size. Once they entered the room, he barely had time to study them or look up, too busy bowing alongside Kaoru and Kojiro and trying his best to do it perfectly before he could lift his gaze and meet the royal family.

The queen took the middle throne and occupied all of it due to the size of her dress, tremendously puffy and wide. She was smiling at the three of them, not with like he’d imagined, but gentle and caring, like a mother would. Her brown hair fell like silk around her shoulders, and though it looked beautiful, it was nothing like the complex hairstyles he’d imagine the queen would wear. She looked far more carefree than Reki could have ever guessed.

He moved his eyes from her to focus on the person sat at the smallest throne out of the three. A boy his age, taller than him with blue eyes and hair of the same color. It looked like the sky, not only blue but also fluffy and soft like a cloud. The prince stood up and place himself in front of him. He was merely a few centimeters taller, but it was obvious he was superior than him in so many other ways that it made Reki feel tiny. His clothes were all bright, white and spotless and he could only think about how it had been years since he’d seen his own clothes as clean. His eyes fixated on the golden buttons, not daring to look at the prince in the eyes. 

Why did he choose me? He thought. It was obvious, now more than ever, that he didn’t belong here. Every second he spent looking at the golden details on his clothes felt like a reminder of how everything here was so much bigger and better than him… His throat closed around nothing and he felt his lungs ache… What had he even come for? 

“Hello, Reki.” The prince spoke to him and, suddenly, he felt as if a heavy weight was lifted from his shoulders. Prince Langa sounded calm and talked to him somehow like a friend would, and the realization gave him enough courage to raise his head and face him properly. 

All of a sudden, it all made sense. Looking directly at Langa like this, he could remember it all properly. His factions weren’t as childish as they’d been, the boy had grown well and his face had become thinner and sharper since the baby fat from his younger years had left. His smile was just as bright, though it was now tinted by a light sadness that Reki assimilated to his father’s recent passing. His voice was just as friendly and, though lower, he could still hear the kid’s voice he’d heard in his dreams. And, now more than ever, even if they were both standing face to face on the same ground, Langa was still so far from him, so high away from Reki, that he seemed unreachable.

But they were together again, and Reki remembered everything. 

Chapter Text

The initial shock took its time to wear off Reki’s mind, and somehow he’d found himself alone in the  corridors with prince Langa, completely stripped off of Kaoru’s and Kojiro’s already familiar and safe presence. Like that, he felt incredibly wrong. His legs were wobbly as if he’d eaten poorly for a full week and his heart was racing in a way it didn’t often, making him wonder if the food he’d eaten at the restaurant had made him sick. What does one do in situations like that? There was no answer because no one had ever found themselves in a situation like that, he thought! 

“So, Reki!” Prince Langa’s voice drove him away from his thoughts for a mere second just before his mind could fill itself with more worries. How does one talk to a prince? “I am very excited to have you between us, here in the palace. I was worried when I chose you as my assistant, I was afraid we wouldn’t be able to find you… If you’d rejected the job, I would have had to accept that, of course, but… Well, I would have been very, very upset for a long time if it turned out that the Court had simply lost track of the one of our citizens that I wanted to meet again.”

He froze, not sure of how to reply. His palms were growing sweaty and the more he thought about it, the crazier it drove him. What if he had to open a door for the prince and his sweat remained on the royal door of the royal castle and they royally fired him? He was too focused on that, too busy trying to dry his hands on his clothes just to then get afraid of that same thing… He’d tried so hard to smell good! What if he just made his clothes smelly…?

“I really hope you will love the new position.” Langa talked to him right when he was about to hit his head against a wall thinking about how he’d probably gotten dirty already since his bath had been two days ago.

“Thank you a lot for choosing me, Your Highness.” He tried his best to replicate what he’d heard from Kaoru and Kojiro during the trip or things he usually heard her sisters say when they played around. “I’m confident I will really like it here.”

“That makes me really glad.” He truly did smile like a friend, still after all these years. “Mhm, it took a lot to convince my mother that I could be the one showing you your chambers today.”

Chamber. He noted mentally. That sounded like a certainly fancy word and it sounded like he would use it a lot. But, he would need a meaning.

“My chambers…?” Reki asked, not entirely sure of what that meant after all. 

“Yours will be by mine.” Langa’s words didn’t add any meaning to the word at all. “You’ll settle in the left wing of the castle, alongside with the royal family and close court members.” That sounded incredibly important. For a split second, he wished he could write just so he could write home and tell his mother about it. "You'll receive a better tour of the castle tomorrow! Our usher will be the one in charge of that. I believe you'll get along easily, since he's also young."

He had to be the boy that Kaoru and Kojiro talked about, then. He occupied his mind with a mental and, he guessed, inaccurate outline of how tomorrow could play out as Langa walked him through the wide corridors. Banners decorated with the royal family’s motifs took all over the strong, stone walls that surrounded them and made Reki’s eye jump from place to place trying to count the best he could how many flags they passed in every corridor. The golden thread on them made him assume they were extremely expensive, so he started to stress out right there as his outline cracked itself down: Reki could picture it just fine, accidentally stepping on home and sending his family straight to debt over something as silly as a banner… 

“Reki?” Langa’s voice took him out of his handmade misery. “Is everything alright? You’ve barely spoken since we’ve left the throne room.” The prince’s eyes drifted away from his as soon as he spoke, and he didn’t look at Reki directly when he resumed… Oh no, he’d probably upset him on his first night already. “Is this wing of the castle not to your liking? If so, I will try my best to find a new place that accommodates your standards.”

What was he talking about? Buildings didn’t even have wings, damn it, how was he supposed to tell what Langa meant? 

“This wing of the castle accommodates to my standards perfectly!” He tried his best to use the same words Langa had used. “It’s totally to my liking, Your Highness.”

“Eh…” He watched as the prince’s eye scanned the place all over as if trying to avoid his and it crossed his mind that Langa might have been trying to politely invite him to do something… His job was becoming more difficult with every passing minute. “Oh! I presume your arrival after your long journey finds you tired. Is that why you’re so uncommunicative, perhaps?” 

He needed him to say all of that again very slowly so badly, but of course, asking was beyond limits. So, Reki simply often for the easiest option ever: agreeing unconditionally.

“Indeed, that’s exactly why.” He gave a faux laugh to try and disseminate the utter confusion that had followed him since he entered the palace. “Your Highness truly is so good at reading people! He knew exactly what was happening!”

Now, he instantly praised himself for lauding Langa like that, but the boy’s face drastically changed in a second. His smile dropped off completely and his blue eyes turned sad as he moved them to the ground.

“I hope that your words are genuine.” He mumbled. The sadness in his tone, that had been cheerful so far, was more than evident. "If not… Just refrain from saying such things if you don't mean them. It's a… rather crucial part of the job."

He kept walking ahead of Reki after saying that, leaving the boy even more lost. He'd sounded genuine enough, yet his Highness seemed extremely annoyed by his positive words. There had to be a way to make up for it, right? He wanted to reach out for Langa, who was acting as if Reki's words were a very personal mock, and tell him that he didn’t have it inside to lie to people, much less to the prince… But he couldn’t do that when he'd made it there all because he pretended he was qualified, or when he promised Langa to never forget him… What could he say, then?

He ran up to the prince, who was already a few steps ahead of him, till he reached his side. 

"Your Highness…" He wanted to punch himself in the face so bad for starting to speak before he could properly think about what to say. "I, uh, I deeply apologize if I…" What's the fancy word? He'd probably heard Kaoru or Kojiro say it at some point during their trip, come on… He gave up when he noticed Langa's look turning skeptical. "I didn't mean to annoy you or to make you doubt what I said. I do think you read the situation well." The more words he said, the more he felt all the chances of sounding elegant abandon him.

"So, is it true that you are tired from the trip?" Oh! So that's what he'd meant before!

"A lot, Your Highness." 

"I see." Langa's face seemed to be lighting up again, though a bit more shy than earlier. "Let's walk faster, then. We should reach your chambers as soon as possible if you want to get the best rest." They continued their walk in utter silence. As they kept walking, Reki tried his best to draw a mental map of the castle and was about to give up after some intersecting corridors, which he completely did when Langa started to mumble something again. “Uh, I hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable. It’s my priority for you to feel at ease for as long as your stay here lasts. I do hope you’ll remain here for a long time.”

Same did Reki, and same would his wallet if he had ever bought one. 

“Worry not, Your Highness.” The prince always sounded as if he was talking to a friend when he talked to Reki, so he tried to return it and sound as friendly as possible. “It’ll take a while to get used to being here, but I will be comfortable no matter what! Plus, judging by the place we spent the night at the other day… I’m sure this place has very high-quality beds too.”

“Indeed. The silk of our sheets comes from a southern kingdom that has specialized in silk products for millenia.” Langa explained. “The ship that takes the material from there to here is enormous and has an crew of 2,000 estimated members! Can you believe it?”  

“Fancy.” He said out loud just before swearing at himself and covering his reddened face with his sweaty palm. Of course everything was fancy there, he told himself, the prince of all people knew it well.

Though, instead of saying much about it, the other just laughed slightly and under his breath.

“It is fairly fancy, if I say so myself.” The boy said before he radically changed the topic. “By the way, Reki… How is your family doing? I remember you having a big one, but you never disclosed the specifics.”

“Three sisters and a mother, sir.” 

“I remember hearing about your sisters, indeed.” At that, Reki tried his best to remember their spare conversations so many years ago, not remembering at all what he could have possibly said about his sisters till… “Are they married yet?”

Right… He felt blush cover his face once more in embarrassment, as he tried to imagine how he might have seemed as a little kid asking the damn prince to marry his sister to save her from poverty. How had he even got the job with skills like that as his background with the prince? It was a mystery to him. 

“Well…” Reki started. “They’re still very young.” He purposely left out the part in which they didn’t have not enough dowry for anyone to even think of them when choosing who to marry. Though he could sense his voice growing bittersweet, the prince didn’t seem to notice. “Now that I know who Your Highness truly is, it’s so silly that I ever asked him to marry them…” He tried to laugh about it. “Plus, I’m sure someone like Your Highness already has a lot of suitors!”

Langa froze in the middle of the corridor. Unknowingly, Reki kept walking ahead for a few steps before realizing, which caused him to stumble on his feet and almost fall. Luckily, he was able to maintain his balance and turn back to face the other again.

“Your Highness?” He asked. “Is there anything wrong?” 

“Uh… We gotta turn here.” Langa said, pointing to an intersecting corridor that Reki had just reached. “I forgot which way for a moment.” Even if he said that and they turned as if that was all, he opened his mouth only a minute or so later. “Well, in all honesty…” Reki looked up to see Langa’s face slightly covered in blush, embarrassed. “It’s just that I do not have a lot of suitors. Despite my impending marriage.”

“Huh?” How was his marriage impending, he thought, if the most important part was missing?

“Most suitors will not continue to… Pursue me?” The boy explained. “It takes a dance or less for most princesses and noblewomen around and their families to dictate I’m not the husband they were looking for.”

“But, Your Highness…” A part of him was surprised, while another one didn’t make sense of the situation and a tiny third part was shouting at him, saying that his sister still had a chance. “Excuse my manners but I always thought that…” Reki was having trouble formulating his question in a polite way. “I was under the impression most marriages between royals and aristocracy didn’t pay much attention to how the groom is like.”

Langa grimaced at that, which Reki couldn’t have missed even if he wanted to.

“Indeed… As long as both parties have a certain amount of status or wealth they won’t care much. You’re right about that.”

“Then how come…?”

“Well, most people believe that I will inevitably ruin the kingdom in only a few years. Some say a few months, even. Most of them won’t try to even get close to me, and the ones who do always end up disappointed.” Reki could see that the prince was trying really hard to smile and to sound light-hearted about the situation, but the way his lip and voice trembled a bit and that his face looked tense and uncomfortable betrayed him. He felt bad for the boy, who had stopped once again in front of two doors. “Either way… Here’s where our journey ends, Reki. These right here will be your chambers from now on, I hope you will feel comfortable in them.” He said, leaning in the knob of the first door. “Tomorrow, you won’t have to work much, just see the castle around profoundly with Miya, the usher, and probably accompany me around during the evening. You should still rest carefully, as your trip tired you out. I’m wishing the best tomorrow possible upon you.” Langa separated from the door and went to the other one. “This are my personal chambers, so I will be here if you need anything overnight. Goodnight, Reki.”

“Goodnight, Your Highness.” Reki told him, bowing like Kaoru had taught him. 

He watched as the prince disappeared behind his doors before entering through his. Chambers is just room in fancy, I guess, he thought as soon as he opened the door. The place was huge, but he was so tired that he barely had time to explore around anything other than the incredibly big bed that sat on the middle of it. He fell asleep as soon as he laid down after getting ready for bed, delighted by how soft the silk was and barely recalling Langa’s words on it.

…

A loud creak woke him up in the morning, and it was almost different enough from the usual cock’s crow to make him nostalgic. However, he barely had time to think about his home, faraway now, since a cheerful voice and steps into his room distracted him.

“Time to get up, sleeping beauty.” Said a youthful boy's voice.

Whoever had just entered didn’t care at all about how Reki was still sleeping, seeing as he was being rather noisy despite the other hiding from the sunlight that entered the place by covering himself up with the silken sheets. Reki let out an annoyed groan. His bed shook as if it had just taken a big weight, and he guessed the newcomer had sat on it, which was confirmed seconds later when he started to move on it.

“I said get up! This place is huge, I don’t have all day to show you around, damn.”

After that, a hand fisted at the sheets and pulled them away from Reki, uncovering him and forcing him to stop pretending to be asleep. He opened his eyes up quickly to find a short boy with messy black hair and green eyes. Between his hands, that were just between as calloused as his and as delicate and underworked as Langa's, he held the bed sheets tightly as he looked down and up Reki.

“Don’t stare!” He shouted at the same time he reached his hand to grab the sheets himself, realizing that  the sleeveless shirt he had slept with was a bit too translucid for him to feel comfortable with someone else staring. “That’s weird!” Reki complained. It wasn’t that strange, though, but he wasn’t used to being with boys his age and had always tried to hide from his sisters, so it didn’t fail to make him uncomfortable.

“Well, then put your clothes on!” The boy protested. Reki tried to forget about his embarrassment for a moment as he walked to where he had left his things last night, but as soon as he kneeled down to get them, he heard the other click his tongue in disapproval. “Haven’t you traveled with that all week? They’re probably dirty, don’t you think?”

“Well, I brought another set of clothes.” 

“And left it in the same tiny bag as the dirty ones, it seems, so I’m guessing they must be squeaky clean.” 

He was totally right about that, Reki realized. With how quickly his body had turned cold and sweaty, he guessed his face might have paled enough to mimic that of a ghost. In desperation, he tried to search into his bag for something else, knowing that it would be useless because he had brought the only two sets of slightly elegant clothing he had and because even if he had one more, it would have gotten dirty as well… Could they fire him for this? Probably not, but he knew that if he showed up in night clothes to his new work it would be horrible. 

“What’s the long face for?” The question sounded everything but genuine and worried.

“I don’t have any clean clothes.” Reki mumbled, trying to find a way in which he could make today work.

“Dummy…”

The sound of keys moving around caught his attention and caused Reki to turn his head in the direction of the sound, which came from a big, metallic keyring in the boy’s hand. Upon further inspection, he saw a little string decorated slightly with golden and silver beads that tied it to the guy’s belt. What was his job again? What job required him to own so many keys? His green eyes had abandoned Reki to focus on the matter at hand, the keys, as he studied everyone of them carefully. The more delicate ones, Reki noticed, and the ones that looked the most rusty, were passed down without much inspection, as if only the touch could tell him those weren’t the ones. Same happened with the longer keys, in which he didn’t even stop to check. Eventually, he seemed to find what he was looking for and pulled it out of the ring.

“This right here opens that.” He handed it to Reki as he pointed at a big, wooden wardrobe in the room. “It should be filled with clothes made for you, so go open it and put something on.” 

Reki clung to the little and silver key as if his life went on it. A bright smile decorated his face.

“Thank you so much, eh…” Langa had told him his name yesterday, but he’d forgotten already.

There was something on the way the guy tilted his head and smiled that proved to Reki that, for whatever reason, he was hesitating to introduce himself, but it didn’t matter, for it didn’t take much till he gave the act up.

“Miya Chinen, proud member of the Chinen family and usher at the Royal Court.” He pulled his hand away from the key to show his other hand to Reki, who just stretched it happily instead doing what he actually wanted, which was asking what exactly an usher was. “I wasn’t told your name yesterday, actually, so if you could…”

“Reki Kyan!” He interrupted him. His introduction was much less fancy than Miya’s, he realized, so he tried to extend it just to cause a good impression. “Though my family doesn’t have much of a name, I am very proud to be part of it! And, well, I am now the assistant of…”

“Royal assistant of the soon-to-be-crowned king and heir of the kingdom, prince Langa Hasegawa.” Miya recited it as if he had been forced to learn the quote. “Yeah, yeah, we all know that already.” He moved to place himself behind Reki and push him towards the still unopened wardrobe. “If you couldn’t figure it out yourself, the prince suddenly adopting a poor dude from nowhere certainly caused a lot of gossip.” 

“Huh, what about?” He asked as he walked towards the closet, wondering to himself how Miya had heard that but not about his name.

“I can’t sit here and tell you, we have places to be and you’re gonna make us late.” His face scrunched up as an angry cat’s would as he left Reki’s question unanswered. “I will wait outside and if you take more than 10 minutes getting ready, I’ll leave. Have fun getting lost without me.”

Miya left the room and Reki found himself alone in front of the huge closet. He inserted the key on the little lock before turning it and hearing a click that finally allowed him to open the door. However, something inside of it quickly surprised him and forced him to hold back a loud exclamation. What does one do in this situation? He asked himself before coming to no answer as he kept staring at the inside of his wardrobe. There wasn’t a single pair of pants in the whole thing, he confirmed as he kept scanning it up and down in search of trousers. All his eyes could see was skirt after skirt and dress after dress. There’d certainly been a mistake with his clothes, he thought.

Embarrassed, he walked up to the door in his white and clear shirt and his sleeping shorts, feeling his face hit up at the idea of anyone other than Miya passing by and seeing him. Oh, god, what if the prince chose that moment to leave his room and passed by Reki’s right then? He tried not to care about it as he opened the door slightly, just enough for his head to sneak out and find Miya, who was looking at him with a clearly annoyed expression, as if asking what was keeping him so busy.

“Eh, Miya… I think there is a problem with my clothes.” 

The guy rolled his eyes.

“Oh, come on.” He walked to the door and entered, facing the wardrobe almost immediately after. Its content seemed to surprise him, as his eyes opened up wide and his mouth remained shut for a bit as he stared at the multiple dresses. “Huh? I can’t believe you’re right about this…” He facepalmed as one of his feet started to kick quickly against the floor, thinking about what to do. Miya groaned before coming to a conclusion. “Uh, it’s gonna take a while for this to be fixed, so I guess we’ll have to make do with this. Are you feeling like a dress or a skirt guy today?”

“I’m not feeling like any!” Reki complained. “I can’t wear that, the prince is gonna think I’m weird.”

“We’ll explain to everyone that this was the only option, it’ll be alright. Plus, everyone thinks he’s weird so he wouldn’t call you weird as well. So, skirt or dress?”

“None!”

He complained a final time before he let his mind wander off to somewhere else… Specifically, to before he had given his last sprouts during puberty, to when he and the oldest of his sisters were still similar in side and build and he found himself looking at her clothes in their room hoping that she would offer to change sometimes, or wishing she would ask him to play family with him just so he could try to ask if he could be the mom or the daughter or the sister or whatever that could justify him dressing with one of her skirts. He’d always wanted to try them out, after all. But in the end, he’d always chickened up before asking Koyomi for it and soon, it was too late for him to enter any of her clothes. 

“Are you gonna go naked to work or should I tell the prince you’re quitting?” Miya tried to force him to decide, causing a long sigh to leave Reki’s body.

“Just… Just give me a skirt, then.” 

…

“So, how do you feel?” Miya had a lot of nerve to ask that after he had horribly failed to hold back a giggle when he saw Reki with it. To give a short answer, he just huffed and hoped his face looked annoyed or slightly hurt. However, he tried to keep it up proudly, just so no one that they could stumble upon now that they were drifting through the castle noticed his embarrassment. “Come on… I know I laughed, but you don’t look bad.”

“Hm…” He thought about it again. “It’s weird, my legs feel cold. Also, it keeps getting between my legs and it makes me feel like I’m gonna trip and fall.”

“God, that would be hilarious.” Reki ignored that.

“But, despite it all, I think I don’t hate it.” He said, ignoring how it actually made him feel floaty, elegant and like a princess. “I could get used to it.”

“That’s great, because you’re only gonna have skirts and dresses for a while.” Miya remembered him with a smile far too big, almost as if he was enjoying it. He probably was. “Talking about that… This is our first stop!”

They had gone down for three floors and then had just walked all the way straight following a corridor till Miya had found the door to what seemed to be a very loud room and that sat right in the middle of a rather warm area. As he pulled off the keyring again till he found a key dyed red, Reki tried to guess what was behind it… The kitchen, maybe? 

“Here’s the laundry room.” Miya exclaimed as he opened the door and revealed a place full of steam, copper tubes and a horrible smell of humidity. “See this cart here?” He went towards a golden cart with lots of flourishes. “Here, you have the prince’s official clothes. These are his uniforms, and he has a whole lot of them. He doesn’t wear these all that often, but when he does, you will be notified the night prior so you should take them to his room first hour in the morning, understood?”

“Understood!”

“It should be yes, sir!” Miya joked as he started to move.

“But I thought you were younger than me!” Reki complained. “Kojiro said you’re 14.”

“Mister Nanjo got it wrong, I’m 15!” He complained, exasperated like the mistake had been life-ruining. “And I still have more status than you, my family has always been close to the king and queen and my dad used to be the king’s advisor before he passed away, you know?”

“Does the prince call you sir, then?” He asked genuinely, but it seemed to bother the younger one, who just scrunched his face again and changed topics.

“What matters now about the prince is that this right here…” He took a cart that was designed like the first one, but this time in silver. “These are his everyday clothes. They might seem simple, but they’re extremely expensive and most of it is probably worth more than your own house back at home, alright? You’re gonna have to come back here and take them to him every single day, so don’t get distracted just because they’re a bit plain and accidentally drop them, tear them, trip with them… Whatever. Get it?”

“Yes, sir.” He still wasn’t convinced about calling him that, but it seemed to make the boy smile shyly and his mood brightened. 

“Very well, then. This one is yours, so when you’ve something that’s dirty, you have to come down here and place it here.” He told him, pointing at a different and far more simple cart made out of simple wood. “Now, time for our next destination.” 

He closed the door behind Reki when they left and drove him to the closest stairs. This time, Miya told him, they had to walk all the way in the opposite direction they had walked priorly. 

“It will take a while to get there…” Miya said, already playing with the keyring. He found a rather big key and took it out of it, putting it in a smaller ring that he had pulled out of his other pocket. 

“Why do you have so many?” Reki asked, surprised at the massive amount of keys the youngster had.

“Huh? I am the usher, I told you already.” They both stood quiet for a second or two before Miya talked again. “You have no idea what that means, do you?”

“Not at all.” Well, at least knowing that Miya probably didn’t know anything about how to make hay or how to plow a field helped him not to feel stupid. 

“I open the doors, that’s pretty much it.” The boy explained. “So I need all of this!” He jiggled the keyring around making it sound.

“Oh, nice! Do you like it?” Reki attempted to make conversation with him.

 “Well, I wanted something cooler… But I think this is alright, once my parents come back they’ll recommend me to take after someone in the Royal council and…”

“Are your parents not at the castle?” He regretted asking right away, when he saw the boy’s face sadden once more.

“My father has become ambassador of the kingdom! He and my mother are now traveling to a faraway nation in hopes of establishing an agreement regarding merchants.” His voice sounded proud, but Reki could hear a bit of sadness in it. “What do your parents do for a living?”

“My mother and I harvest different cereals or vegetables all year and sell it at town.” He explained. “Nothing sacred,” Reki said, “but it’s a living.”

“Is your dad sick or something?”

“Maybe he is, maybe he isn’t.” He tried to play it cool and not let the topic move him. “He left us after my mom got pregnant with my youngest sister.”

“I didn’t know you had siblings.” Reki took Miya’s words as an attempt to change the conversation to somewhere better, which was appreciated. He didn’t wanna talk about his father with someone he had just met.

“Mhm! I have three of them. The oldest, Koyomi, is probably your age. I am the oldest overall.” 

“I am an only child. Is it nice having siblings around?” 

“Very so. I love my sisters a whole lot…” Reki told him. “That’s why I am here.”

“Well, then you better write home every week, I guess. Wouldn’t want them to miss you.” The boy told him. Luckily, they arrived at their next destination before Reki could try to make up an excuse. “This is the family’s dining room.” Miya stopped in front of two huge doors and started to explain something, but Reki had gotten too busy thinking about how he was about to explain the lack of letters to his family and from them. “Are you paying attention?”

“No, sir. Sorry.” He would think about it later, he guessed.

“Well, this one dining room…” He opened it with the key he had separated before and showed Reki a huge dining room that seemed as big as his house’s whole floor. “Is for family and close members of the staff only. This means the prince, the queen, her companion ladies, and Mister Sakurayashiki and Mister Nanjo as two of her closest advisors, and you as the prince's assistant. Ah, and me, of course.”

“This is the family one?” He asked, dumbfounded.

“Well, yeah? The other two are much bigger so…” Are there other two? Bigger, even? ” This is where you have to take the prince every morning for breakfast, got it?” 

“Yes, sir.” 

“Alright. The queen has to sit at the head of the table, the prince sits by one of her sides and you have to sit by his. We’re gonna go to see the bigger one now, and then we’ll see the one for when there’s more guests. Keep in mind that being here is proof that the Royal family trusts you into their private life, understand? Make sure you never do anything to defile their trust.” He surely hoped that the way he gulped wasn’t noticeable for Miya. “You’ve to take the prince here every night unless there’s guests, and you have to be punctual. Every day at 21:00, you bring him here.”

“Every day at 21:00, I get it…” Reki mumbled to himself. “What happens if we are late?”

“It’s impolite to start eating before the royals appear at the table. So just be here for the sake of my dinner.” Miya told him as he started to exit the room with Reki by his side. “Plus, the queen gets worried. Her Majesty is very afraid something will happen to the prince these days.”

“How so?” Reki asked as he recalled how Langa had complained about having to struggle before his mother let him be the one taking Reki to his room. “He seems very capable to me.”

“He is capable, indeed, but you can really blame her, I guess.” They turned to the right and went towards a staircase. “If anything happens to him, their line is gone… And she might have to get married and have children again. She’s not old, it’s not like she can’t have more kids, but I’m pretty sure having children with another man right after her beloved husband passed away isn’t something she wants to do anytime soon. And then again, the king just passed, so if the prince were to get hurt, it would probably be too much for everyone close to the family, let alone the queen herself.” Miya explained as he took Reki up the stairs. “Plus, the prince has a history of being quite clumsy.” He muttered.

“Clumsy?”

“Well, he trips a lot or loses his balance sometimes. Or drops things by accident.” Miya tells him. “But I think he’s nothing to worry about as well, even if he’s a bit… uncoordinated. He’s very book smart, after all. He left being already very intelligent, so now that he’s been studying abroad, I am sure he’s learned a whole lot more. Talking about that… Follow me!” He changed directions and turned just as he seemed to finish walking up the stairs, so he could once more go up to another floor. “I’m gonna show you his classrooms, the dining rooms can wait.”

Reki followed him without saying anything. He quietly wondered how studying felt like. He’d never done it or had the chance, and most people he was close with or the other kids at his village hadn’t either. It’s not like most of them wanted to or were very worried about their lack of education, he himself had only started to truly care about it when he realized his illiteracy could put his new job at risk. He wished he could ask Miya or the prince how it was like to study or to read without outing himself as a liar.

“These two!” Miya stopped him before two doors and opened one of them. “They’re identical, so you don’t need to see the other one. The other one’s being used too, so we’ll only see this.”

Reki stepped into it. The place had a lot of desks for a room that was designated to a single student and there was a huge blackboard with words written on it that Reki couldn’t read. He tried to imagine himself sitting in one of the desks, by the prince’s side, and doing whatever you do at school with him. Reki was completely lost regarding what students were meant to do during school, but he was sure he would be bad at it, and he knew that a week before that day he would have thought school would be a complete waste of time… But right now he felt slightly bitter about not having had the chance to ever assist class.

“Do I have to be with the prince during his lectures?” He asked Miya, with hope in his voice.

“I guess that’s up to him and whether you’re busy or not.” The boy told him. “But I don’t see why not.” Reki’s chest fluttered with joy. “Now, let me show you somewhere important.”

Reki followed him down the corridor till they reached the end, in which they found another huge pair of doors. Miya looked for the key briefly, not for a long time before he was able to find it and open it. Before his eyes, a spacious room that reached till further than he could see and whose walls were covered up in shelves and shelves, covered with more books than what Reki thought he would ever live to see, enveloped. As far as his sight could reach, there were only books and more books. What was this place?

“This is the castle’s left wing’s library!” Miya said, as if he had heard Reki wonder about it. “This is the prince’s favorite place in the world, so get used to it. You’re gonna get tired of being here.” The boy entered the place. “We have a lot of precious documents stored here, as well as copies that are centuries old, so always be careful here. However, the prince is especially fond of this part in particular.” 

The place in particular was a small resting area with two armchairs that looked quite comfortable and a tea-table in the middle. It was surrounded by two different shelf-covered walls and, in another wall, there was a currently unlit fireplace. It felt cozy.

“These two shelves are the adventure section. The prince has been obsessed with adventure books ever since he was a kid, and he spends a lot of time here. If you noticed he took a book and didn’t return it, make sure to politely remind him to do so. Otherwise he’ll forget he has it at his room and get sad that it isn’t here.” That made him sound cute, Reki thought. “Make sure to familiarize yourself with his favorite books and authors. Hm…” He cupped his chin with his hand, thinking carefully about what he wanted to say. “Now… The prince is a little awkward sometimes. I am saying this to help you get along with him, alright? If I advise you now, he might like you better. So, listen: He knows about a lot of things, but the things he knows about the most are usually things that no one cares about. For instance, he has it hard to make a conversation that doesn’t revolve about the things he really likes. And if he notices the other person isn’t interested, he might lose all interest in them.”

“So, what are you suggesting?” Reki asked, not wanting the prince to lose interest in him.

“Check the books here to see if there’s anything that you know, and if there isn’t, read one or two as soon as possible. He especially likes this, this and this.” Miya said as he took three different books with hardcovers in beautiful colors but with titles Reki couldn’t decipher and gave them to Reki. “Hm… He didn’t like this one very much, but it’s written by his favorite author, so he’ll just be happy that you’re reading it.” He placed another book, with a light blue cover, in Reki’s hands. “Pirates and ships are his favorite, so make sure to pay attention when he talks about those, alright? Even if you don’t get something he says, ask him about it or whatever. Just so he knows you’re listening. He’ll like that. He’ll like you if you do that. Understand?” 

He nodded frantically.

“I understand.”

“You forgot the ‘sir.’” Miya complained light-heartedly. 

“Are you sure you’re one though?” Reki joked, just about to add a ‘sir’ to make him smile when someone’s voice sounded in the distance.

“Miya! Oh, Miya!” That made the boy’s face blush slightly, embarrassed as it had been exposed to Reki that he was indeed not to be called sir. “I am so glad I finally found you!” Said a man that had just sprinted to where they were. “Could you accompany me downstairs? We can’t find the key to the pantry anywhere.”

“Of course, just wait a minute.” He turned to Reki. “Don’t you move from here, understood? Sit or whatever if you want, but don’t leave this part of the library. This place is huge, so if you get lost, you’re done for. Now, wait here and don’t leave. I will be back as soon as possible.”

He didn’t have time to say goodbye before Miya followed the other man outside and left him alone, holding the four heavy books that didn’t tell him anything with their titles. He considered sitting on one of the armchairs, like Miya had told him, but they seemed very expensive and he didn’t wanna do anything that could mess them up, so standing up as he waited sounded like just as much of a good idea. It didn’t take much till he heard steps approaching to where he was, luckily. He was ready to greet Miya again when someone unexpected showed himself in front of him. The prince had just arrived by his side, and he was showing him an excited smile…

Well, Miya had said this was his favorite place, after all.

“Oh, hello, Reki!” The other greeted him. Reki didn’t say anything in reply, but he tried to bow like he had done yesterday. “I didn’t think I would find you here! Where’s Miya? I thought he was meant to be with you today.”

“He had something to do really quickly, but he was just showing me around the library.” He explained, trying to remember the things Miya had told him about Langa. “I was about to take a few books to my dorm, I had to pack things so fast that I forgot to bring any books with me!” Mentally, he praised himself for how smoothly he had let Langa know that he allegedly loved to read too.

“Oh, I didn’t know you liked to read!”

“I do, I love to! Does Your Highness do so?” 

“Hm…” The prince remained quiet for a bit as his eyes scanned one of the shelves. “I don’t really like reading books that aren’t about sailing, but I finished those really fast just so I can get onto another.”

“That goes to show Your Highness’ great taste! I personally love them the most as well.” Reki lied.

“Mhm, the ones you’re holding are all one of my favorites.” He took a mental note of thanking Miya later. “Except for the last one, that’s definitely not the author’s best job. Have you read any other from him?” Langa smiled at him.

“Actually, this was my first time hearing of him.” He felt smart answering that, knowing that if he said yes and couldn’t name which books he had read, he would out himself. “Does Your Highness have any other recommendations?”

“Hm… Put this down, I will try to seek another one from him.” The prince pointed at one of the shelves as he left the book on the table. “You should check over there and see if there’s any!” 

“Sure, that’s a great idea, Your Highness.”

It was a horrible idea, and he surely hoped that his voice didn’t sound as nervous as he felt. Discreetly, he placed his hands together and tried to pray for the book they were meant to be searching for to be in Langa’s part of the shelf. How was he meant to find an author whose name he couldn’t read? It was impossible, and when Langa gave up looking on his side and moved towards Reki, it proved that praying had been in vain.

“Here!” He took a book that was placed right in front of Reki. “Didn’t you see it?” 

“Eh… I might have skipped it by accident.”

The prince didn’t question him.

“Alright, that’s fine!” He smiled. “I have to go to a lecture in some minutes, so I better get going, but I hope you really enjoy the books. Let me know when you finish any, I would love to discuss them with you! And I would love to give you new recommendations… Oh, do tell me later if there’s any book you would recommend!” His voice was so excited. Reki found it cute, especially since it mixed with the bright smile on his face that caused his eyes to squint. “See you at dinner, Reki! Oh, and also…” He said once he was already leaving the adventure section. “That skirt looks great on you!”

He’d completely forgotten about wearing a skirt, Reki realized as he felt his face heat up uncomfortably in embarrassment. The prince had seen him wearing girl clothes, and without the proper explanation, it probably looked weird, right? But then again, he’d complimented him, so that should mean he liked it. Somehow, the realization didn’t help him feel less embarrassed and just caused his blush to increase. Miya came back to a completely red Reki that was struggling to make up any kind of word.

…

“This is all for today!” Miya said as they reached the dining room’s door and entered together. The rest of the commensals had already arrived, it seemed. The queen and her son were talking about something while her assistants discussed something between themselves. Kaoru and Kojiro were both talking and leaning against their own chairs, not having sat yet, but they did once Reki and Miya arrived. “I hope you got everything.” He said as he took a seat beside Kojiro.

“Of course, sir.” Reki told him.

Somehow, for the first time of the day, Miya didn’t smile. Instead, his face scrunched up in the way Reki had already gotten used to in just some hours. He wondered why that had been, but he didn’t need to wait a lot till he realized why.

“Are you a sir now, kid?” Kojiro told him as he lifted a hand to mess up with his black hair, which caused Miya’s eye to twitch slightly.

“It’s not nice to mess up with new staff.” Langa reminded him. 

“I didn’t, I swear.”

“Let’s ask Reki what he has to say…” The prince looked at him, smiling once again. “Did he try to mess you up?”

“Not at all, Your Highness.” Reki tried to shine a positive light on Miya. “We had a great day together.”

“You’ve been setting in well, then?” The queen asked while a waiter served her a plate of steak that smelled delicious. Reki hoped that everyone would get served the same as her, but he wasn’t sure if the queen got special treatment. However, he didn’t say anything about it in case it was rude, and simply nodded to answer the woman’s previous question. “That’s lovely! I am so glad to hear that.” Other waiters entered the room and left a plate that looked exactly like the queen’s in front of everyone else, making him and his stomach really happy. “So, you had fun with Miya today?”

“We had a lot of fun, indeed.”

He waited for a bit to see Langa start eating so he could pick the same cutlery as him. Here, he noticed, you had 3 of each piece of cutlery, while at home, they didn’t have enough for everyone to have one of each. As he’d realized, every one of the forks and knives in front of him were different, and he wasn’t sure why, but Langa seemed to understand the difference so he just copied him. He didn’t have meat all that often due to its price, he thought as he took some bites, but he was loving it. Oh, how he hoped everyday’s dinner was like this from now on.

“Did you see the whole castle?” Langa asked.

“I didn’t have enough time to show him the garden. We lost a load of time because of a problem with his wardrobe.” Miya answered for him.

“Oh… I see! I was about to ask about your choice of styling, indeed.” He started to sweat a bit, nervous, as the queen talked to him. “What happened to your closet, dear?”

“It was full of dresses and skirts and I couldn’t find any pair of pants.”

“You don’t say!” The woman exclaimed. “Oh, dear, I profusely apologize. I don’t know what could have happened… Those must be someone else’s, or maybe the tailors got the wrong information about you… Rest assured that it will be fixed soon, your comfort is most important.”

“At least, they look great on you!” Langa told him with a sincere boy. “But I could always lend you a spare pair of pants if you wish.”

He was quick to reject him politely, not sure that wearing the prince’s clothes was adequate. On top of that, he was starting to not mind the skirt and he wished he had more time to try all of them on, even the dresses. Langa seemed to like how they looked on him, and Miya had said it looked well too… Regardless of the compliments, it made him feel special in a way he didn’t have the vocabulary to explain. 

“That’s a nice idea… It is true that there’s no problem with you wearing skirts till the problem gets fixed, but we should certainly get you a good pair of pants before Saturday!” The queen said. 

“Is there anything happening on Saturday?” Reki asked, to no one in particular. 

“Is there, mom?” Langa repeated, somehow looking just as lost as Reki.

“Haven’t you been informed, darling?” The queen told him, surprised as well. “We’ll be holding a party in the castle to welcome a new suitor of yours! I am sorry you weren’t told in advance, the letter I sent you about this to your university probably arrived after you’d already left the country. You still have tomorrow to get ready, dear, so show her she’s a lucky girl!”

The woman’s bright smile at her son did close to nothing to cheer him up, as he just seemed to be desperately trying to hold back a groan. He’d clearly been distressed by hearing the news, so Reki decided to try his hand at helping him. He placed his hand on top of Langa’s shoulder and the boy turned at him.

“Don’t worry, Your Highness! We’ll work this out together.” He smiled at him brightly, hoping that showing his confidence would help Langa believe in himself too. 

“Thank you a lot, but I truly am very bad when it comes to this kind of events.” He murmured. “I am afraid I’ll end up disappointing you no matter how much you help me.”

“Don’t say that, darling, I’m sure it will all go well if Reki helps you.” The queen said.

“Indeed! We’ll show her she’s a lucky girl.”

Chapter Text

Reki woke up to a loud alarm from the small clock that Miya had taught him to use. The sound was scandalous and quickly startled him, making him jump from the bed without having a single second to stay between the soft sheets and rest. Today was his first actual day at the job, in which he finally had to go with Langa the whole day instead of getting explanations. Learning phase is over, he thought. It was terrifying, to say the least. Even if Reki knew that he would still get help for everything he would need, he couldn’t help but fear that he would be fired at the first thing he asked. 

He was way too fearful to ask questions for someone who had no idea how the alarm clock was meant to be turned off. Reki picked the item in his hands and held it as if it vibrated and kept doing loud noises, but remained completely unaware of what to do to stop it. He could always leave it on forever, he thought, but that would mean that he could never sleep at night. He seriously contemplated throwing it against a wall, but quickly discarded the thought when he noticed the meticulous and golden flourish that adorned it. It was probably worth hundreds, and he couldn’t risk breaking it. However, he was starting to get tired of the loud alarm.

The only thing he could think of doing was going out and asking someone for help, so he exited his room trying not to be too afraid of the thought. To his dismay, there was no one around that could lend him a hand. The only person that could help him, he figured, was the prince, who was probably inside his room at the early hour. Reki gulped. Langa had told him to wake him up if he needed anything the first day, so he couldn’t possibly get mad if he opened it and talked to him, right? With a shaky hand, he reached for the doorknob and turned it till a small “click” announced that the door was finally open. 

To Reki’s surprise, the prince’s room (or chambers if you will) was only slightly more spacious than his own. It seemed to be a replica of it, with the only differences being the walls, that were farther away from each other, a huge bookshelf that was filled with books to the point some of them barely entered and different personal items scattered in the ground or hidden behind furniture. The bed, he noticed, also seemed a bit wider. That’s were the prince was, laying down with his head hid underneath a pillow and making a noise that Reki could only define as cries. He swore under his breath; he’d certainly arrived at the worst moment.

A loud groan came from the prince’s bed.

“Turn that shit off, damn!” He complained raucously. Maybe it wasn’t too late to throw it against a wall.

“Eh… Eh…” Reki panicked. His heartbeat was getting just as loud as the clock. “I don’t know how, I’m so sorry.”

Without moving the pillow, the prince extended one of his arms and gestured for Reki to hand the clock to him, which he did in a hurry. Soon enough, the noise was gone, with Langa only needing to push a small antenna that the clock had on its upper part. 

“Thank you so much, Your Highness.” Reki mumbled as he took the clock between his own hands again. “I’m so, so sorry for interrupting a private moment. I will take my leave now, my most sincere apologies, I just…” 

The hand that had just lent the alarm to Reki wrapped around his wrist and pulled with more strength than expected.

“Don’t leave.”

His voice was weak and he sounded defeated and exhausted. Reki couldn’t have said no even if he wanted to. Plus, that was what his job was about after all: Assisting Langa with what he needed. So, he placed the clock in Langa’s nightstand and moved his arm, so he could hold Langa’s hand in a way that he hoped was comforting.  

“I won’t leave, Your Highness.” He tried to make his voice sound calm. “What can I do to help?”

“Hm…” A groan left Langa again. “Can you lower the curtains, please?” 

Reki had no idea how lowering the curtains would make Langa feel better, but he did so either way till the light that entered the place was dim. That was all the prince needed to finally move the pillow away from his face, revealing a Langa with disheveled hair and dried tears on his cheeks. Upon further inspection, he noticed a bit of blue hair on the bed… Had he pulled it out? Reki didn’t want to know.

“Is this better, sir?” He asked as he walked back to the bed. The other just nodded in reply. “Well, then, what else does Your Highness need?”

Langa let out a hiccup before replying.

“I… I am sorry, but could you… Could you just lay down with me and hold me for a bit?” 

Reki thanked in his mind that he had just lowered the curtains, because he felt his skin blushing at the question and he didn’t want the prince to see. He nodded and the other moved slightly in bed to make room for him, who laid there on top of the sheets. Awkwardly, he turned to his side so he could wrap his arms around Langa’s torso. 

“Like this?” He couldn’t see the other’s face, so he couldn’t say if he was happy.

“Mhm.” The prince made a quiet sound to confirm he was comfortable before mumbling something else. “You’re barely wearing anything.” He noted, causing Reki’s face to redden almost as much as his hair.

“Oh, apologies, I forgot to change.” Reki said, starting to incorporate. “I will quickly go to get something on and…”

“No, don’t leave…” Langa complained as he tried to pull him towards him. “It’s just that… You’re still very warm, even with cool clothes. I like it.” He sounded happy, so Reki laid down again and kept hugging him. “Hm… I don’t like being touched so everyone avoids it. I like that, but sometimes I just really need a hug and there’s no one to do it…”

“No need to worry about that anymore.” Reki told him. “Your Highness can always ask me for a hug.”

The prince murmured something that sounded like a “thank you” before he let out a sigh and started to breathe slowly and calmly. Reki didn’t know how long he stayed there, with the prince laying by his side and relaxing in silence as he enjoyed the comforting warmth of Reki’s hold. He’d been told he was a good hugger, and he was happy that the prince seemed to agree. The tension in his muscles seemed to release as he let out a content sigh and rearranged his position to a more comfortable one. Soon, Reki started to hear snores coming from him and smiled. He knew that Langa’s timetable of activities allowed him to sleep for longer than him, so it was nice to see he had fallen back asleep. 

Careful of not waking him up, he released his hold of him and left the bed as quietly as humanly possible. The prince’s pained “don’t leave” sounded once again in his mind and caused his heart to ache. If he could write, Reki thought, he would leave a note explaining his absence in case Langa woke up. But alas, he couldn’t, so he had to conform himself with trying to come back as fast as possible.

He left the room without making much noise and entered his own again, changing into day clothes. He’d forgotten to take his dirty clothes from home into the laundry room, so today he’d to wear the castle’s clothes for him once more. He settled with a white long-sleeved dress and a black cover piece that looked like an apron on the upper part, but that covered the whole skirt. He’d never worn a dress before, he thought as he positioned himself in front of a long mirror to tie a bow on the back of the cover piece, but he didn’t hate it. The skirt from yesterday had been more comfortable, but the dress made his legs feel less cold. And, well, he felt prettier that way. His body wasn’t very soft in terms of shape, but the way the garment was meant allowed his hips to look slimmer, curvier and less masculine. The puffy sleeves hid his slightly toned arms, which he had gotten from working everyday, and made his hands look cute. He was content with it.

When he went to pair it with one of the pair of mary janes that rested inside the closet, he was disappointed to find out they weren’t big enough to fit his feet and that he would have to wear his boots. However, he ended up enjoying the look with his own boots more than he thought. There was something in mixing his own clothing and the traditionally manly clothes that he had always worn with dresses and skirts. It felt original and creative, like he had just opened a door with hundreds of possibilities behind it that he was ready to explore. His chest fluttered full of happiness. Maybe he would get used to his new wardrobe earlier than he’d thought.

He was quick to descend the stairs all the way to the laundry room and place his dirty clothes on a cabinet Miya had signaled him the day before. Then, he checked the golden cart for Langa and found it empty, as he’d guessed, so he went for the silver one in which he saw his clothes for the day. Careful after reminding Miya’s words from yesterday, he took them between his arms and walked up the stairs again.

He knocked on Langa’s door slightly before opening it and discovering that he was still sleeping. This time, sadly, he would have to wake him up. He had to take Langa to have breakfast soon. So, he reached the bed and dropped the clothes on top of the sheets with care. Afterwards, he moved his arms to grab at Langa’s body and rocked it from side to side slowly.

“Your Highness… It’s time for breakfast.” He talked quietly. 

That seemed to be enough to wake him up, since he rolled around on the bed till his face was facing Reki’s. He kept his eyes closed and his face frowned.

“Five more minutes, Reki.” He complained. “Please…” The prince dragged the e cutely.

“Did Your Highness sleep poorly?” Reki asked. Maybe he’d just awaken from a nightmare when he found him crying, he thought. 

“Woke up too soon. Cried because of the light.” The prince explained as he rubbed his eyes and yawned. He moved his head and tried to fix his messy hair before talking again. “Is my hair alright? I might have pulled it...”

“Hm… I can’t see any bald spots, so that’s always good to know.” Reki told him. 

The prince incorporated and sat in the bed, giving a final last yawn and stretching with his arms out. Reki eyed him, eyed the clothes sitting on the bed, and eyed him again. Was he meant to help him dress up? He seemed perfectly capable of putting on a shirt by himself, he thought, but rich people were weird so… He picked the shirt from the top of the pile of clothes and handed it to Langa.

“Shall I help Your Highness to get ready?” He hoped this wasn’t something stated in his contract that he had supposedly read. 

“No need.” Langa smiled at him. “In fact…” His voice shook slightly and his face reddened. “Could you wait outside till I get changed, please?”

“Sure thing, sir!” He exclaimed nervously, quickly making his way to the door and closing it behind him.

Only a few minutes passed before Langa exited the room as well. The white shirt he had on had a bateau neckline that exposed the milky skin of his shoulders, and its mid-length sleeves also showed a lot of his arms. His pants were dark and a black belt finished the look. The boy seemed very pleased with his clothes, judging by the smile on his face.

“Shall we go?” He asked Reki, who nodded in reply. 

They walked down the corridors silently at first, but Reki didn’t mind it as long as the prince’s face remained as happy as it was, far from the annoyed and sad face that he had showed when he first entered his room in the morning. However, the boy quickly started a conversation.

“Miya said you hadn’t had time to see the garden yet.” 

“We didn’t, indeed.”

“I could show you that if you don’t mind.” The prince offered. “It’s a very nice place, I’m sure you’ll like it. It’s quite romantic too…” Huh? Why did that matter? “So it’s perfect to practice for tomorrow, right?”

Reki had almost forgotten about tomorrow’s party. He had promised Langa that he would help him prepare for it so he could show his new suitor his best possible side. He was confident he could do it. After all, the prince seemed like a really amiable and good-natured individual, owner of a big and rich kingdom and Miya had said he was book smart. He honestly seemed like the perfect groom for everyone. Helping him get a girl couldn’t be that hard, could it? 

“Sounds perfect to me!” 

“Then, we could go after my lecture.”

“Of course. What’s Your Highness’ lecture about today?” He asked.

“Philosophy today.” Langa told him. “You might like it, but you can always take a book to class with me and read while I’m studying.” 

“Oh, I should do that.” He certainly shouldn’t do that. “I haven’t had the time to start any of the books I picked up yesterday from the library, so I will take them with me.” That was a horrible idea. “Your Highness and I could talk about them later.” Could he shut up already?

“Sweet, I would love that.”

Shortly after, they reached the dining room. Reki went ahead of Langa and opened the door for him to enter first, following him right after and taking the seat by his side as they had done for dinner. They were the last ones to arrive, but that didn’t bother him. He didn’t even have half the mind to think about that, since he was too focused on the gigantic amount of food all over the table. The table had more on it that he had possibly ever eaten, he thought, mesmerized by the sight of shiny fruits of every color, freshly baked bread, jars full of jam of every flavor imaginable and charcuterie boards. Langa pulled him out of his thoughts with a light kick to his leg under the tablecloth. 

"Hey." He mumbled, barely moving his lips in a way that amused the other. "You’re drooling." The prince warned him.

He closed his mouth, which he hadn't even realized was open and drooling, and cleaned his chin without any elegance. They all started to eat shortly after. The rest of the commensals had a conversation going on about topics that Reki wasn't concerned or knew anything about, so he kept himself silent and stuffed his mouth with toast of bread and tomato one after the other.

"Agh…" Miya groaned from the other side of the table and caught his attention. He'd been quite quiet as well, so Reki decided to make conversation. 

"Are you alright?" He asked.

"My knees hurt." 

"Oh, well… It seems someone has been playing hoop rolling too much." Kojiro said from Miya's side as he lifted a hand and ruffled his hair. That only annoyed the kid more.

"No one plays hoop rolling anymore. Plus, that's for babies." Miya frowned. “I kneel when I play marbles, but it doesn’t really hurt to do so…”

“It’s probably a growth spurt.” Reki told him as he swallowed down a bite of his toast. “That means you’re getting taller! My sister had one some months ago and now she reaches below my chin.”

“Should we get a tailor to make new clothes for you, dear?” The queen asked. “Oh, that way we can also take Reki’s measures for his new wardrobe! I must confess we went by approximation the first time, but in the end, it turned out to be the least of our worries. It wouldn’t take more than a week to have the tailor here.” 

“I will contact him this afternoon, Your Majesty.” Kaoru’s works finish their group conversation and soon, they return to talking to the person by their side again.

Reki’s mind is ruminating regarding the tailor. He’s never gotten his measures taken, much less had clothes tailored for him in specific. All his clothes had been gifts from people of the village who were fond of him and his family or things he had found thrown in the city, that didn’t belong to anyone and seemed wearable enough. His mother had saved many years to buy what currently was his best set of clothes, but it was still something that had already been made and used that she had bought in a cheap store. The idea of having clothes made for him threw him off… It was just not part of how his life was meant to be, but neither was the full plate in front of him with the option to seconds, thirds, and fours, the high-quality dress he was wearing and the heir of the country that was eating by his side and smiling as him, waiting for Reki to finish another bite to talk. Whatever he was going to tell Reki was forgotten when Miya, who had finished his breakfast, stood up and circled the table to go to their side and talk to Langa.

“Your Highness, would you like to play chess with me today?” The boy asked. “It’s been a long time since you’ve been away, so I thought…”

Langa grimaced. 

“I’m afraid I will be busy today…”

“Oh.” He’d run fast to where they were, and he’d almost bounced when asking the prince, Reki noticed, but all signs of excitement seemed to have left Miya’s body. 

“Indeed, His Highness has to assist classes for a long part of the morning, pick the clothing for tomorrow’s event and for the new painting we’ll be sending to the southern kingdom, and revise some letters that just arrived from suitors from further away.” Kaoru quickly made a summary of Langa’s activities for the day, which seemed to almost cause the boy to spill the beverage he was drinking.

“We’re sending a painting to the southern kingdom?” The prince raised an eyebrow. “How come?”

“They recently showed interest and presented their youngest daughter as a suitor, Your Highness. I assume Your Highness understands easily how great of an opportunity this is to alleviate political tensions, right?” 

“Of course, of course.” Langa seemed annoyed by it, but Reki couldn’t figure out why. He was not the best well versed, but the same way he’d heard about the prince returning, he’d heard about how a couple of territories had been under dispute and how their kingdom’s southerner shores had been infested by foreign navy a year or so ago. It should be highly positive that the other country wanted to fix things, right? “Will she and her family be visiting? Will we have to throw a party?” 

“That is to be determined by our current schedule and how well it will align with theirs, but so far we will focus on sending letters and paintings in hopes her family, or at the very least she, can assist a ball hosted by us or viceversa.” 

“Please, don’t let it be viceversa.” The boy mumbled under his breath, so low that Reki assumed only he had heard. 

“Your Highness was away for ages, he can surely take a quick trip to the southern kingdom.” Right, Miya was still by their side and he had seemingly heard Langa’s words. His tone was bittersweet when replying, seemingly bothered by something. However, when Reki looked up at him, his face suddenly lit up. “Your Highness can always take a companion with him if he feels more confident that way!” He suggested.

“Um…” Langa groaned in his chair. “I guess you’re right. Now that Reki is here, he could come with me… But still, I would just rather if she came here.” 

At that, the queen entered the conversation to recriminate to her son how it was always his suitors who had to come visit, so that an exception wouldn’t hurt. It quickly escalated into an argument between her, the prince and Kaoru, that kept giving schedule points and facts on how the girl’s family had been acting so far to ensure that traveling to a kingdom they had tension with was safe. Reki remained quiet, not really knowing much of what they were discussing. He looked in the opposite direction to where Langa was, not wanting to see how he more or less argued with his mother, and it allowed him to see how Miya exited the room low-headed. 

No one was paying much attention (or any attention) to him, so he figured he could just stand up and quickly chase after Miya, which he did. He found him not very far from the door, walking ahead as he played with the keys hanging from his belt. 

“Miya!” He screamed as he reached him. The kid had a long face when he turned to face him, so he tried to think of something that could cheer him up as he spoke. “Why’d you leave without saying goodbye, silly?”

“I have a job to do.” He held his keyring as high as possible, restrained by the string that connected it to his belt, and shook them to make them clink. “And so do you. Aren’t you meant to take the prince to his lectures right now?” His voice betrayed that he was slightly pissed about it. 

“Mhm, I have to. What are you doing today? Opening many doors?” Reki kicked himself mentally. He knew he’d sounded dumb. 

“Yes. If you need any keys, ask me now. We don’t want His Highness to be late to any of his important activities for today because of this, do we?”

“I don’t think I need any, at least not today…” Reki told him. “But do you need anything? You seem upset.” The boy frowned and his face reddened, embarrassed. He gave no reply other than moving his gaze, facing the ground instead of Reki. “Hm… Do you wanna sit with me at lunch or dinner?” He suggested. Miya faced him again, not understanding why he’d asked that. “You can take your marbles and show them to me and the prince, maybe. I like to play with my sisters, but I’m sure yours are cooler than mine back at home. They’re the fancy ones, with colors and made of glass, right?”

“How do you play with marbles that aren’t made of glass?” Miya raised an eyebrow. “Also, do you really like to play?”

“Hm! I have to work a lot at home and I don’t have much time, but I would love to play with you even if I’m rusty. So, wanna show me your marbles later?”

“Hm… Alright.” He told him. “But you have to teach me how the heck you’re supposed to play with marbles that aren’t glassy one day.”

“Deal!” He smiled as he showed Miya his hand and the other held it. “Have a nice day at work, then! See you!”

“See y…”

The ringing from one of the clock’s in the corridor interrupted Miya’s reply, noticing Reki that he was going to be late if he didn’t go back to the dining room right now. He rushed to it, not wanting to make the prince miss the beginning of his lecture or mess up his schedule for the day. The hurry made him forget that he was devoid of his usual pair of pants and, moreover, prevented him from grabbing the skirt of the dress and lifting it up enough. He didn’t notice until it was too late, when he stumbled upon it and tripped, falling down right in front of the dining room door just as it opened.

“I’ll go search for him, don’t worry.” He heard the prince’s voice from above. “Oh, you’re here! Everything alright?” 

He wanted to joke about how he wasn’t expecting the rug to hurt his knees so much, but he remained silent as he stood up as quickly as he could. The prince offered his body for support, and even if Reki was sure that wasn’t an offer very appropriate to do in front of his family, his body still reacted to it and clinged to him without him wanting to. Langa reached a hand down and patted at his skirt, trying to shake any dust that it could have gotten. 

“Are you clumsy?” He opened his mouth to answer, but the prince didn’t seem to notice as he cutted him off. “I am so clumsy sometimes! I used to be hitting myself against doors all the time, heh!” 

“I am a bit, but I just… I forgot to lift the skirt.” He explained, trying not to sound silly. “Either way… Shall Your Highness attend his lecture now?” 

The other nodded. He insisted, however, that they went through their rooms first so Reki could grab the book he’d told him he would be reading during his class. The boy had already forgotten about his stupid idea of “reading” and discussing Langa’s favorite books with him. However, it seemed like it was too late to back up now. He picked the one that the prince had given him, instead of Miya’s recommendations, and held it tight against his torso as he exited the room and walked with the prince again. He looked at it as they got closer to the classrooms, trying to decipher the title. There was an “E” there and an “R” and another “E” there and an “I” somewhere and, god, how long was the damn title? That was like his whole name written more than three times once after the other. It was already making his head hurt. He pulled his eyes away from it just in time for them to reach the door. Reki opened it and let Langa walk inside first.

Inside, a middle aged man awaited both of them.

“Your Highness, it’s a pleasure to see you!” He greeted him. “Take a seat, please. I presume this is the new assistant you’ve hired?” 

“My name’s Reki, sir.” He wasn’t sure if a handshake would do, so he just bowed to cause a good impression. “I will be assisting the classes alongside His Highness, the prince, but I will remain quiet and spend the lectures reading, if that’s alright.”

“I don’t see why not, then. You may take a seat as well.” The man told him. “What will you be reading today?” That was a great question. Reki simply showed him the book, in hopes it didn’t come across as weird. “ The humanoid typhoon’s first great adventure. Hm, I see that the prince has already rubbed some of his likes on you. Well, I hope you’ll have a pleasant reading.” 

He thanked the man and took a seat right before Langa. That way, he thought, the other wouldn’t be able to see how he barely got any reading done. How long was the lecture again? He wasn’t sure, but he hoped it would be short enough so he could pretend that he barely read anything. 

Reki started by looking at the title. It didn’t make any sense. The teacher had been able to read it super quickly, but even now that he knew what it meant, he barely could tell what sound and word was meant to correspond with which part of the sentence. This was going to be horrible. He gave up on the cover and opened it. For some reason, the first page was fully white, so he passed it. To his surprise, the following page simply had the same letters from the title, arranged in the same way as he checked multiple times. Were all books just the same sentence many times? With some page in white in the middle to rest his eyes? Maybe this would be easier than he thought…! 

Nevermind.

He turned the page once more to find another one so full of text that it made his eyes orbit. How could such a tiny paper fit so much ink, he wondered. It was full of little words in which he could barely see any shape with how small the letters were. To his dismay, this book lacked most letters of his name. There were quite a few “K’s”, almost as many as all of the other letters together. He noticed that on the first page, there were bigger letters than others and tried to decipher a pattern. However, he gave up on it, thinking that Langa would believe it was weird that he only read a page throughout the whole lecture. Nevertheless, he witnessed the same phenomenon repeated itself in the next page. He put his eyes on the third one, seeing that there were even more letters that were bigger than others. Most of them seemed to be following a little dot that somehow turned them bigger, but there were some random ones in between dots that he didn’t have any explanation for. Once he reached the fourth page, when his head was already starting to hurt, he noticed that the random words with bigger letters all seemed to repeat. He didn’t know what they sounded like, but at least on the paper, there were words that looked the same. After noticing that, Reki tried to find more words that looked the same even if he couldn’t tell which words they were. He settled on ten per page, so he could keep turning them and pretending to be reading. 

The lecture ended as soon as he got to the tenth page. He looked down at the number on it, 10, and smiled to himself. He felt fulfilled. It’s true that Reki hadn’t read anything at all, but he still felt like he had done some hard work intellectually. He had succeeded at finding ten pairs of repeated words per page, and that made him glad for some reason. If it was nice to do this, he wondered how nice it would be to actually learn how to read. It’s a shame he would never be able to, though. 

Reki watched as Langa picked his notes up and cleaned his desk. He then remembered how the whole point of him reading a book was for him to discuss it with Langa, and soon all his happiness and fulfillment vanished from his body and was replaced by cold and uncomfortable sweat. His heartbeat grew louder. What was he going to tell? How was he gonna lie his way out of this? He followed the prince outside, heading once again to their room so he could leave the book there before lunch and so Langa could put his notes in his chamber as well. 

“How was it?” Reki figured that if he asked first, he would have more time to think of a way to lie. “Was the class to your liking?”

“You can’t say it was very hard, but it was rather boring.” The prince sighed. “You probably had more fun than me… Did you read a lot?” 

“Eh… I only got to the tenth page, actually.” 

“That’s normal, you can’t concentrate easily when there’s people talking in the background.” Langa told him. “How are you liking it so far?” 

“Very! I knew Your Highness’ recommendations wouldn’t disappoint.” As long as he avoided making up information regarding the book, it seemed, he would be alright. “I can’t wait to keep reading once I get some free time!”

“That’s wonderful. Don’t you love the writing style?” 

What was the writing style? The font? 

“Oh, a lot! It’s so neat and well-defined, I hope it keeps up for the rest of the book.” He had noticed the cover had different letters, so he couldn’t be sure that it wouldn’t change throughout the book as well. “Though, some parts are a little bit too… Meticulous?” He hoped he had said the word right, that was one of the big ones he had learnt in the past days and he could only hope he had gotten the meaning right.

“I get what you mean, but it changes later on! When they actually get to the adventure part, it gets so much quicker and fun to read, and also significantly more simple. You’ll probably like it.” Langa told him. “We have the whole saga in the castle, so you can read it all if you want! I am a huge fanatic.”

“What’s Your Highness’ favorite character?” 

“I really like the main character. Don’t you? I recall you can already see what his personality is like on the first pages.”

“Indeed you can!” If he just said “yes” to everything the prince thought, he would survive. “I am looking forward to seeing how it develops further on.”

“Mhm… He’s a bandit and he’s meant to be evil and messed up, but when you find out that he’s a kind person who wants to help everyone, it’s impossible not to love him!” Langa told him. “I think that’s especially obvious in the third book that he’s not what people think of him at all, but you’ll get there. The scene is so precious, when he just… Oh, I shouldn’t spoil it for you, sorry.” He remained quiet for a few seconds, as if thinking about what he was going to ask about now, and it was obvious when he thought of it. “Oh, oh, oh!” He started to bounce as they walked, flapping his hands before closing them into fists and shaking them. “Did you already reach the part in which he describes the ship? Did you? Did you?”

Did he? He had no way of knowing. 

“I did…” Reki gave it his best shot. “The description was beautiful.”

“It was, wasn’t it?” The prince jumped higher. “So good! It was so, so, great! It’s a shame that the ship br… Well, that’s a spoiler! Sorry! But isn’t it so great to imagine? So majestic and massive? So well done…? I wish I could sail in one similar to it…”

“But Your Highness has sailed before many times already, has he not?” Mentally, Reki patted his own back for changing the topic.

“I have, but it’s not the same…” Langa explained. They’d already reached their rooms. The prince opened his door and invited Reki inside as he put his things where they belonged. “The ships we use nowadays are too different from the ones in books because they’re just so much more modern. Plus, the Royal family only travels in some very specific ships that we own. But I wish I could see so many more, and learn about them so much more. I’ve read a bunch of books about them, I know everything about certain models and some historical ones!”

In Reki’s mind, Miya’s words from yesterday sounded again: If he notices the other person isn’t interested, he might lose all interest in them. He couldn’t afford that, and now seemed like a perfect opportunity to show the prince how interested he could be.

“Really? What’s the prince’s favorite ship, then?”

“This one!” Clumsily, Langa hurried to his bookshelf and picked an object from it that wasn’t a book, but a delicate miniature of a ship, presenting it to Reki with excitement on his face.

“That’s quite small for a ship…” The boy mumbled.

“Oh? This is not the ship, but I mean this model is my favorite! It’s from three centuries ago, it’s said to have been the biggest and quickest at its time. No one thought it would go that fast given its size, but it left everyone dumbfounded due to a special mechanism that it contained on the inside of its stern… It served as inspiration for many of the ships we see today, including the ones my family owns! Can you believe it?”

“Woah, Your Highness is really knowledgeable.” Reki didn’t have to try hard to say that, he was genuinely impressed. While the topic wasn’t much of his interest, seeing how it made the other happy was enough for him to want to ask more. The prince left the miniature in its place before they exited the place and entered Reki’s room for him to leave his book. “I have seen ships before, but I don’t know much about them. I’ve never sailed either.”

“Sailing isn’t as good as reading about sailing.” The prince sighed as they left the room. “But you will probably have your first time sailing sooner than later, given that you will have to accompany me if I have to go somewhere.”

“As in… Back to university?”

“Oh, I wish… But I doubt I will be studying abroad again.” He seemed sad about it. “I’ll finish my studies here, before I am crowned king. What I mean is that you might have to come with me to the southern kingdom if we end up going.”

Langa’s long face betrayed that he hated that idea. 

“Excuse me for intruding, but Your Highness didn’t seem very excited about that before… Is there anything wrong with the southern kingdom? I am aware they have not been friendly, but it’s good that things are changing, right?” 

“It is good.” Langa explained as they headed towards the dining room. “But I am scared about it. I always mess up meeting new people, especially suitors. Were I to make a mistake while courting the princess, it could lead to as much as a war. I don’t trust myself to do well enough to please her, or her parents, and I don’t want my incompetence to tear the kingdom my parents have worked so hard for.” 

“Your Highness didn’t mess up when meeting me, though.” Reki pointed out. The prince blushed slightly, but didn’t say anything, making the other believe he’d messed up. He kept going in hopes it would make him feel better. “I believe in our prince. He’s been receiving the best education possible and while I didn’t get to meet His Majesty the king, I am sure he was as much of a kind man as his wife. Having been raised by such parents and in such dedicated ways, and knowing that Your Highness is a good…” What was he meant to call him? He hesitated. “A good friend… I am convinced he will also be a wonderful, eh… Boyfriend? Fiancé? For the princess.” 

His words seemed to cheer the prince up, making him blush a little after being referred to as boyfriend and fiancé but also giggling at the same part.

“Thank you a lot, Reki.” He smiled. “I hope whoever I end up with will think like you, then. I would love to be a good boyfriend for someone.” Langa let out a cute chuckle.

…

After eating one of the most filling meals of his whole life while making sure Miya’s marbles didn’t end up in his plate of soup so no one accused them of causing trouble, Reki found himself following Langa to the castle’s gardens. He was slightly nervous. He’d promised the prince he’d help him a lot, but now he found himself worried, finally conscious of the consequences of his actions. Their conversation from before had helped him understand that, in the end, it didn’t matter that the prince acted like a friend around him or that he seemed to be more mundane than Reki had expected; he was still one of the most, if not currently the most, important people residing in their kingdom. He was heir to the crown, the only one at that, and whoever he married could end up dictating the future of everyone of the citizens… Including the actual most important citizens, that weren’t others than Reki’s sisters and mother, he thought. 

He wasn’t sure where the suitor at hand was from, or which position she held, but she must be important and she surely had the ability to mess up Langa’s kingdom if he messed her up, right? He’d seen the prince was clumsy, so he started to worry about him stepping on her dress and ripping it apart by accident, or dropping his champagne on her without meaning to, or accidentally lifting a hand as he talked and mess up her hair with it… What if Langa’s situation at trying to get maidens to like him was worse than he had thought? 

Reki took a deep breath, filling his lungs with hair. He’d already promised Langa, so now he had to deliver. No matter how awkward the guy might be, that’s what he was for… To help him! So he put on his best smile as they walked towards the door that led to the garden, not wanting Langa to notice he was also starting to feel insecure.

They crossed the door and Reki found himself in the most homey place he had seen so far in the castle. Though it was much more delicate than any garden from its village and there had more care put into it, possibly by multiple gardeners, the myriad of sweet smells from different flowers and the bright colors that mixed together, painting a beautiful picture, had the same grace and splendor that only nature could have and that it had gifted his small village with. His happiness must have shown on his face, because the prince pointed it out after.

“Hm, I’m not good at reading people, but you seem to like it a lot.” He mumbled. Reki could only nod in awe. “It’s a huge place, but we won’t be seeing all of it today. I will take you to the fountain and then we can start.”

The pair walked alone to said fountain, which was a precious white construction shaped with sea and flower themes. The prince sat on the grass of the ground, not seeming to care about straining his clothes and not leaving time for Reki to warn him about it. Instead, he just sat by his side.

“Where shall we start?” He asked Langa. 

“Hm… Let me think.” Definitely not caring that he was wearing a white shirt, he laid down fully and rested his back on the grass. “Can I ask you something first? You don’t have to answer… I just wanna make sure.”

“Eh?” Make sure about what? Without meaning to, the prince had gotten him nervous again. “I believe Your Highness can ask everything he needs.”

“So, Reki…” He cleared his throat and a slight blush that Reki barely noticed covered his cheeks. “Have you ever… Have you ever danced with a girl?”

The question did throw him off a bit, but he managed to answer smoothly.

“I have, sir.” He said as his mind went back to summer nights at bars in the city or in his village and loud, lively music that played as he and some girl danced and laughed together. 

“You have?” He seemed too surprised by it but Reki tried to not let that kill his confidence. “Hm… Have you ever kissed one? Wait, was I too direct? I didn’t mean to…” He quickly added when Reki went to hide his reddened face behind his arms.

“Ah…” He almost whined. “I have kissed girls before, yes.” It was not always that he did, but sometimes it was bound to happen when he went to the aforementioned parties. 

“Wait, you have?” This time, it didn’t seem like surprise, but like naive curiosity in Langa’s voice. “Who? How was it? Oh, wait… Do you have a girlfriend back at home? Or have you had one?” 

“Girls from the city I go to work to, I know their names but they wouldn’t mean anything to you.” He tried to reply answer by answer. “It’s nice, quite fun, makes you happy for no reason. And no, I’ve never had one.”

“Then why would you kiss them?” He seemed lost.

“For fun! Some people don’t want or can’t have anything serious!” He was sure his face was matching his hair regarding color.

“Do you not want anything serious?” They didn’t say anything for a moment in which Reki just grimaced. “Too direct again?”

“Don’t worry, don’t worry…” He was quick to reassure Langa. “I wouldn’t mind something serious… Having a girlfriend who you love a lot sounds really nice, doesn’t it? But I don’t have enough time to take care of a relationship and…” He didn’t wanna tell the prince that some girls he really liked, that he had a serious crush on, had rejected him over his family’s situation. “And it’s better that I don’t have one, otherwise I would have had to leave her alone to come here, right?”

“Right… Well, you seem plenty experienced either way. That’s a relief, now I know I’m in good hands.” Langa smiled. “I was thinking that you could… That we could… It’s a bit of a bizarre idea, it might not work, but I thought we could pretend to be me and the girl for tomorrow and that you could guide me through it.” He suggested. “You can be her, the dress might help you get in character, and… I will be me, because I’m myself already.” 

How Reki managed to hold back a giggle was unexplainable, even for him. 

“Sure thing, Your Highness.” He sighed as he placed his hands on either side of his hips. “I’ve never been to a fancy dance, so Your Highness will have to show me around a bit. What am I meant to do?”

“Eh… You have to go down the stairs and everyone claps and then I wait in the middle of the room till you get to me and I say my welcome and take you towards the table.” 

That’s exactly what they did, with the difference that they had to use the fountain as a staircase and make sure Reki didn’t fall right inside of its waters. Langa took him to a bench nearby and sat him as if that was the table and then, took a seat the furthest away from him.

“Shouldn’t Your Highness sit closer?” Reki asked while they pretended to share dinner for a few minutes before jumping to the dancing stage. 

“My mother is going to be between us, and there will be a lot of other people in the table besides us.” He explained. “Me, the queen, you…”

Reki jumped from the stone bench so quickly that he almost tripped with the skirt of the dress for the second time that day.

“I will be sitting with the royal family? Are you crazy?” He basically shouted, realizing his words only after he’d said them. “Apologies, Your Highness.” He panicked, stumbling upon his words and unsure of how to fix the situation for himself as Langa just stared at him in awe. “Your servant apologizes, I didn’t mean to insult Your Highness, I was merely being…”

“Reki, it’s alright.” The prince’s voice was soft and sounded sincere, quickly easing his worries as his shaky legs dropped to the ground and he kneeled on the floor, body full of relief. “I understand why you would say that, I didn’t take it personally. Why would I? Plus…” The prince hesitated. “Plus, I don’t want you to be so formal around me. You don’t ought to call me sir or ‘Your Highness’ when addressing me, at least not when we’re alone, or around Miya or close friends. I want you to see me as a friend, not as a boss.” His voice trembled slightly, causing Reki to lift his gaze and look at his blushed face from below. “I know it’s a bit hard, given that… That I am your boss and that we haven’t been together for a long time… But I really see you as the boy that talked to me without knowing who I was and still liked me, even if he thought I was a normal person. I always wanted a friend that could overlook my role as the prince… I would be glad if it could be you.”

Reki remained silent, staring at the prince in awe as his mouth dropped open.

“Your Highness, I…” He didn’t know what to say, but thankfully, the other cutted him off before he could say anything.

“You can call me Langa.” He said. “Please, call me Langa.” 

Reki took a deep breath and smiled brightly.

“Got it, Langa.” His chest filled with happiness as he stood up from the ground and held his hand to the prince, still sitting on the bench. “Now… May I have this dance?” 

A pale and delicate hand held onto his. He helped the prince stand up from the bench and pulled from him till they were in the middle of the space cornered by bushes that the fountain was at. There was no music, but he didn’t feel like they needed it.

The dances back at his hometown were the only ones he had gone to, but he knew they weren’t the only kind. What he knew was holding each other from the arms, jumping at the same time, lifting a leg in a direction as his companion lifted the other and occasionally getting it wrong and laughing from a mix of happiness and booze. He knew, however, dances were meant to be different in the context of royalty. He didn’t know how different, but Reki didn’t wanna ask, so he just went for what felt right and grabbed his hand around Langa’s waist. 

“Is it fine like this?” He asked, making sure the other was comfortable.

“I should be the one to hold you.” Langa told him, removing Reki’s hands with his. He placed one above Reki’s waist and the other one on top of his shoulder. Both weights felt strangely comforting and grounding for the boy. “And now, it’s four steps like this…” The boy guided him. “And another two like this…” They swinged in squares, moving around the place till Reki got the hang of it. “And now we can make conversation.”

“How should it start?”

“That’s what you’re here to teach me.” Langa chuckled. 

“Hm… What do your suitors usually start with?” 

“They compliment the dinner and the castle.” 

“The meal was delicious, wasn’t it? But I’m sure this environment would make any food taste like glory, it’s a precious place to enjoy dinner, isn’t it?” Reki asked him, trying to force his voice into a more high-pitched one. He thought it would feel weird, but the tone still made him comfortable. A part of him felt special like this, pretending to be a princess.

“It’s always great to know everything is to your liking.” He told him, sounding monotonous.

“Do you mean it?” Reki broke character, using his normal voice again.

“Yes, it’s nice to know she likes it.” 

“But does it make you happy for her, or because it’s a relief?” He asked, causing Langa to remain silent. “That’s what I thought. Now, tell me something that you mean! Be sincere!”

“Hm… I am always a bit nervous that our guests won’t enjoy our serving, but it’s a relief to know we didn’t disappoint.” He told him.

“Then say that, tell her how you feel.” Reki kept going. “If you tell her that, she knows for real that you care!”

“Alright, alright. What do I say now?”

“You ask her if she’s looking forward to the rest of the evening.” Truth is, Reki wasn’t sure if that’s what he had to say, but he gave it his best shot.

“I know the dinner was to your liking so, can I know that you’re looking forward to the rest?” He asked.

“Indeed I am! I couldn’t wait all these weeks to share a dance with you.” Reki was back in character. “This evening seems promising, doesn’t it?” He looked up, not only to Langa, but also to the sky that was getting darker. It helped the situation, it was evening now, and he liked how the garden looked at night… But knowing they were alone made it feel too intimate for no reason. Had he gotten into character too much? “I am already enjoying the dance so far… You’re a good dancer.” His voice shook, but he hoped Langa didn’t notice.

“You’re not bad either.” The words were too quiet, Reki wasn’t even sure he was meant to hear them. “Why, thank you. But it’s partly thanks to the music. This orchestra is delightful.” There was no orchestra and no music, but it worked. “I can always ask for a piece if you have a favorite.”

“Oh, I trust the prince’s taste in music for tonight… I just wanna focus on dancing.” He said. “No matter what music plays, I’m sure you would make it pleasant.”

Even with no music, it was pleasant. Reki was having a lot of fun, he couldn’t understand why the princess would reject Langa. He seemed so good at this. What was the problem? He got lost in the thought, not paying attention to their conversation anymore. But he didn’t need to, he found out, as they kept dancing for a bit more with a mindless conversation that was going wonderful. Reki was still pretending to be a princess, but Langa seemed to know how to talk to him, so he was surely not that bad with real girls. He might actually get the next one, Reki thought, fully sure of it! He smiled at the thought that he had helped his friend and his giggle turned into happy laughter. 

“Did I say something wrong, Reki?” Langa asked, voice full of worry.

“Not at all… You’re doing so good.” He reassured the other. “I believe in you. You seem ready to me. It’s just how I told you… You have material for being a great boyfriend. I’m sure you will be.”

Suddenly, Langa stopped his body. Reki’s body, however, kept swinging due to the inertia, so Langa’s arm around his waist tightened its grip as the other one left his shoulder to rest on the other side of his hip, just so he could stop his movement before Reki fell once more. 

“Ooo, heh…” Reki tittered, nervous when he felt both hands. It was a good kind of nervous and he couldn’t tell why. 

“Shall we go have our real dinner, then?” Langa asked. The expression on his face made him seem content. 

“Sure thing, Langa.” He wanted to use his real name a lot, knowing that he had permission and that he wouldn’t dare to do it in just some minutes, when the queen and the other adults were with them in the dining room.

…

The dinner ended up taking much longer than he had thought, since Langa had to take care of some last minute preparations for the event of the next day. They ended up walking to their rooms very tired and desperate for sleep, so when the prince stopped Reki right as he was about to enter his room, he was almost annoyed by it.

“Wait, Reki…” He started. “You can say no if you want but… Could you sleep with me tonight?”

He wondered if he remembered having fallen asleep between Reki’s arms in the early morning.

“What’s the reason?”

“I’ve been away for so long… I forgot how lonely it gets at night.” Langa mumbled.

He, too, had felt alone being by himself in such a big room, so he accepted to sleep with him. He told Langa to wait for him till he got ready, and some minutes later he was crossing the prince’s door ready to sleep. The other was ready for bed as well, wearing baggy clothes perfect for sleeping. He was already on the bed, hugging a pillow, and Reki walked to it and sat by his side after closing the door.

“Hm…” Langa mumbled. “I didn’t notice in the morning, but you’re taut.” 

Reki noted on the back of his mind that the prince hadn’t forgotten about the morning and looked down on his body. His muscles were defined in his arms, since he had been lifting heavy weights for ages, and his abdomen was also well defined, without making him bulky. He liked it, he thought to himself. Other than some signs of malnutrition that he was sure the castle’s diet would erase from sight, he was very content with his body. He felt really masculine like this, and it filled his chest with joy for no reason. He was a boy, so it’s normal that he looked boyly, right? But he still felt happy that he could spend his morning wearing dresses or pretend to be a sweet maiden and then look at his body at night and see how femininity stripped away from him as masculinity washed over him again. If that was a cycle that would continue for many days, he had no complaints.

“I do a lot of hard-work at home.” He told the prince as he tucked in inside the sheets. 

The prince didn’t move from where he was, sitting with his pillow grabbed tightly between knuckles that were starting to turn white.

“Do you miss your home?” His voice shook.

“Very.” Reki spoke. “I am very afraid something will happen to them while I’m here, but I can only hope that’s not the case.”

“Hm… Though the press waited to post about it, I arrived just a day before my father passed away.” He murmured. Reki reincorporated, noticing the heavy topic. One of his hands traveled to cover one of Langa’s and untangle its grip to the pillow’s fabric, moving it so both their hands rested together on the couch. “Had I been late, I don’t know what I would have done. I would be even more miserable…”

“There’s no reason to worry about that, you arrived in time.” Reki tried to calm him down. “Everything is alright.”

“I really miss him.” Langa told him as he buried part of his face on his pillow. “He seemed like… I felt like he was tranquil, that he left at ease, thinking I would be able to handle his role as king just fine. But I have never been so afraid that I’m gonna fail someone, and even if he won’t be here to see… I really don’t wanna do anything that he wouldn’t like.” Close as he was to Langa, he could notice the tears starting to roll down his face despite the darkness. “If tomorrow doesn’t go well, I…”

“Even if your suitor from tomorrow ends up not being the one, there are other fish in the sea. You have multiple opportunities, Langa.” Reki tried to reassure. “I understand that the king left at ease, because I believe in you just like he did. Even if tomorrow fails…” He thought his words carefully. “Even if things go wrong, I will be with you through it.”

“Promise?” The voice of the prince sounded defeated,  as if his deep voice of a late teen was trying to hide a pained child. He wondered at what age Langa had started to receive suitors, and his heart broke at the prospect of a young boy not understanding why he didn’t succeed in any of the multiple dances that he probably had assisted to.

“Promise.” Reki caressed his hand with his thumb. “This is a journey we can sail together… Even if sailing isn’t as nice as reading about it.”

Chapter Text

Reki woke up late the morning after, with one of his arms wrapped around the prince’s body in a way that caused his face to blush all over in mere seconds as he removed the arm from there, terrifying. He had slept hugging the prince two times already, there was no way that was appropriate or accepted in his job, even if the prince had asked for it and Reki had enjoyed it more than he probably should or could. He sat up, rubbing his eyes and grimacing at the idea that his contract probably said something about it. It better not say I can get fired for this, he thought as he started to leave the bed, allowing Langa some more minutes of sleep since he had a long day ahead.

“I’ll be back, just rest…” He whispered to the other, who had groaned after feeling the weight lift up from the mattress. 

When he entered his room to get dressed, the first thing that struck him was the loud sound from his alarm. Copying Langa’s actions from yesterday, he was able to turn it off quickly, but he could only wonder how long it had been ringing before woke up. He was probably late, Reki realized. He rapidly went into his closet, staying frozen in front of it, not knowing what kind of clothes he should wear taking into account the event at hand. The queen had implied he wasn’t meant to wear a skirt to the ballroom dance, but his pair of pants, though probably clean by now since he had already taken them to the laundry room, weren’t sophisticated enough for a dinner full of royals. Maybe he just wouldn’t be able to attend it, then, he thought as he took a dress similar to the one he had used yesterday. With dresses, his thoughts rumbled, you get dressed in a second, it’s just pulling up. He was starting to believe they were humanity’s greatest invention, and if the one he was putting on prevented him from being late he would just give them the title.

He was quick on his way to the laundry room. Kaoru had told him the night before, during dinner, that Langa’s clothes would be in the golden cart, so he opened it and took a delicately bent and well sewed azure suit. He also opened the one that was destined for himself, finding out not only his pair of pants but a new set of them. Reki picked up all the contents from it, careful not to drop the prince’s suit, and decided he would inspect it further later. Undoing his previous path, he returned to his own room, where he left the new clothes before heading to knock on Langa’s door and open it.

“Your Highness…?” He spoke as he made his way in, noticing the other had exited the bed and was nowhere to be seen. “I will leave your clothes on the bed and wait outside!” He talked loudly, opening the boy would hear him.

At that, Langa came out of a door close to the window. If their rooms were the same, Reki guessed that was where the prince’s ensuite was. He was still in his bed clothes, looking pissed at something but shifting his face into a smile when he saw Reki.

“Thank you, Reki!” He got close to his bed to get his clothes, allowing Reki to see clearly a white paste-like thing that was scattered over his face in dots.

“Oh, Langa!” He called for him. “Your face is dirty, let me get a tissue or… I wonder how it got like that.” Reki mumbled the last part to himself.

“Huh? What do you mean?” The boy raised an eyebrow at him before realization hit his face. “This?” He pointed at himself. “I forgot to expand it, but it’s going to look like it isn’t there in a bit. I hate it, though.”

“Then, why’d you put it on?” He felt weird questioning such an authority as his kingdom’s heir, but the prince had told him to treat him like an equal, had he not? Reki figured he would get used to it. 

“Come, I’ll show you.” The other wrapped his hand around Reki’s wrist and led him to the ensuite.

There, he pointed at the boudoir he had, much bigger than the one in his room and much more golden. On top of it, there were different bottles of all shapes and colors, made with different materials. One of them rested open, showcasing a cream with a texture identical to the one on Langa’s face.

“See, there’s all these things I gotta put on before I have my make-up done for the ballroom.” The prince explained, picking one of the bottles up. “They make my skin cleaner, softer, and also help make-up stay on for longer.”

“You put on make-up?” Reki had heard about make-up before. His sisters had been wanting any kind of make-up product for ages, since they said it always made the town villagers look really pretty. However, this was his first time hearing about boys wearing it.

“Indeed! Just a bunch of powder and creams on my face so it looks better.” Langa explained. “But I have to put this on first, and the texture just sucks so much. Look!” He dipped one of his fingers in the product and then used it to smear cream on Reki’s freckled skin. “See?” 

“Well, it’s very soft and fresh to me.” Reki said, unsure of what he was meant to say. He liked the texture, he could get used to it, and he liked the soft touch of Langa’s fingertip on his face as well.

“You really think so?” The prince looked at him in disbelief, making him wonder if he had said something wrong. “Oh, well. No one agrees with me when it comes to how textures feel, so don’t worry.”

“Hm, I see… Do you need to do all of this whenever a princess comes to see you?”

“Pretty much.” Langa smiled as he started to smear the cream on his own face. Once he was done, he twitched his fingers in discomfort before grabbing another product. “Sticky…” He mumbled.

“Let me do it for you, wait.” He sat Langa in the delicate, puffy cushioned chair that the boudoir had in front of it and his hands grabbed at one of the jars. “Do they have an order?” He raised an eyebrow and left the one he had just picked in its place again.

The other nodded.

“You should use the one with the blue top now. And the small, green one after.”

He took the first bottle in his hands and applied what seemed like an appropriate amount on the prince’s face. It was viscous and sticky, so it didn’t surprise him when Langa grimaced as the cold product touched his skin.

“Shh, it will be over soon.” Reki tried to reassure him. “Hm… Will you be doing your own make-up too?” 

“No, there’s workers in charge of that.” He explained as the other went to pick up the green jar. “It would look horrible if I did it, I am afraid. We’ll probably have to go get it done after breakfast and then I will start to welcome the guests. I would say I can’t wait for tonight, but I certainly can.”

“I am sure it will all go great today.” Reki had already started to apply the new product. “I will be here for you if it’s needed. There’s nothing to fear… Maybe I could put make-up on myself and all.”

It was meant to be a joke. Or, more precisely, it was meant to be a way of getting the prince to tell him he was being stupid. Boys didn’t wear make-up, right? That’s what he had gathered from observing the villagers and hearing his sisters talk about it. Other than Langa, who obviously didn’t follow the same rules as the rest of the boys. He was being silly for suggesting it, so he just hoped the other would agree that he was stupid and dissuade him.

“Hm, I think it would look good on you. You should ask Mister Sakurayashiki for it.” 

“I am not sure I need it.” Reiki mumbled, changing products again to use the last one on Langa. “I’m not the one trying to get married, am I?”

“You’re not but…” Langa frowned for a bit and, when Reki went to press his finger on his skin to apply the last cream, he noticed his cheeks were so very slightly blushing. “There will be more girls than my suitor, you know? I guess you can always… Try to meet someone?” 

“I don’t think I could impress anyone, though.” He tried to laugh a bit, but wasn’t sure if Langa bought his certainly not genuine laugh. “Aren’t relationships of this level just based on wealth? I hate to remind you I have none of that.” 

“You needn’t find a fiancé today, either.” Langa told him. “Maybe just a girl to dance with. Didn’t you say you liked kissing girls?”

The question’s tone is almost accusatory and it causes Reki to titter and start to smear the cream on the prince’s face way faster than before, with clumsy movements.

“That doesn’t mean I need to kiss one tonight! It’s a if it happens, it happens thing! I am not despera…”

“Is it because you kiss a lot of them often that you’re not desperate?”

“No, I don’t!”

“But you just got very red.” 

He looked at the mirror and found that, indeed, his face and neck were embarrassingly reddened. Reki quickly finished moisturizing Langa’s face after that just for the sake of leaving the room, abruptly walking away with the prince following him to the door. He waited in the corridor while Langa finished getting ready, since he still had to change his clothes. In the meantime, he tried to think about what the other had told him.

Was it worth it to try to meet any girl tonight? He wondered. It probably depended on how pretty they were. Reki got lost in thought. Most rich women were pretty, he thought, or at least he was under that impression. After all, they could buy everything they wanted to look prettier. Hm… What if he didn’t look like he belonged at the ball? He was so tanned and his skin was full of freckles and little scars that he had gotten in his childhood. Most girls wouldn’t focus on him, he deemed. And even if they did, what would he do? Dance with them? He barely knew how to dance, as showed by his training with Langa. What would they talk about? Also, how was he meant to tell them he wasn’t rich at all? It was a lost cause, better not to think about it. Thankfully, Langa left his room and found him standing there just when he decided that he was gonna think about something else.

“Ready to get going?” 

“Did I upset you?” He was thrown back by the other’s response, a question that didn’t have anything to do with him. Upset him? “When I asked if you kiss girls often?”

“No, why would that upset me?” Reki told him as they started going. He noticed the prince’s posture was horrible this morning, with his back bent horrendously and his head hanging low, as if he was trying to make himself small at Reki’s side. “Straighten up. What’s wrong?” He asked, gently.

“I was scared I made you uncomfortable…” He mumbled quietly. “I always end up making people uncomfortable by accident, or at least that’s what I feel like I do.”

“Not me, though. You don’t need to worry about that with me, I will tell you if I am uncomfortable.” He reassured him. “And I am sure it doesn’t always happen! It hasn’t happened between us, so it’s not always. It won’t happen tonight either, I am sure.” He looked around to make sure there wasn’t anyone in the corridor that could see them, just in case his contract said anything about touching Langa. After making sure there wasn’t anyone else, he held their hands togethers and gave Langa’s a light squeeze. “You’re going to be alright, promise.” 

…

Though they ended up being a little bit late for breakfast, no one said anything. Contrary to the previous day, the table was almost completely silent and the familiar, talkative space that Reki thought would be usual had been replaced by a serious and heavy environment that made him slightly anxious. No one said anything till most of the food was gone and everyone had to start leaving to do their work. Kaoru stood up silently and looked at Reki and Langa.

“Your Highness, you should get going and get your make-up done. Miya can accompany you.”

“Huh? What about me?” Said Reki.

“I want you to come with me.” The man told him, making Reki’s legs start to shake under the table. “We need to discuss something before tonight. Come, follow me.”

Clumsily, he stood up and went after the man, who exited the dining and drove him through different corridors in a path that Reki probably should know, but that completely escaped his mind. He was trying not to overreact, but a voice in the back of his mind was telling him that somehow Kaoru or someone else had figured out that he and Langa had slept in the same bed or that he wasn’t calling Langa by his title or that he had been lying about having read his contract or that he just couldn’t read at all. That was it, he thought, he was getting fired. Kaoru would take him to his office or something, show him his contract and ask him to read it and then after he humiliated himself… That’s it. He was getting fired and receiving whatever punishment the royal family thought would be appropriate. Great. How much had he lasted? 3 days? He wanted to drop to his legs, still shaking, and sob.

“After you.”

Kaoru opened a door before Reki and he just entered in silence, low-headed and only lifting his eyes when he heard how the door closed behind them. At that, he found himself surprised in the second dining room that Miya had showed him on his first day, which wasn’t massive but that was still huge. Tonight’s event was meant to take place somewhere else, so the dining they were at was supposed to stay empty. Yet, there was a part of the table that had been set with luxurious cutlery for no reason.

“Take a seat if you please.” However, Reki was stuck in place and didn’t move. “Or don’t, that’s fine.”

“What is this for?” 

“Well, I have noticed that you know pretty much nothing about dining etiquette, don’t you?” Reki’s lip tensed and he gave a nod, embarrassed. “You are supposed to take the seat beside His Highness tonight, as well as represent part of the staff and the most high-quality part of it, given your close position to the prince. It might not help a lot, but I think a quick class won’t hurt. Next time, we will have more time, but for now, we only have some hours.”

Good news, he wasn’t getting fired!

He looked up to the man in front of him, hoping his eyes would show how thankful he was. Not only was he keeping his job, but also Kaoru had gone out of his way to help him not embarrass himself or the royal family. Reki smiled, ready to do whatever he was told in order to learn as much as possible.

“What am I meant to do?” He asked, enthusiastic.

“First off, you need to understand the order of today.” Reki nodded as the other spoke. “There will be appetizers at the start. It’s very important that you try one of each, to prove that they’re all nice. You can only repeat one or two. Preferably one at that. If you get too full for the actual meal and can’t finish almost all of it, it will look like you don’t like it. Understood?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Now, during appetizers, the princess won’t be there. His Highness will be greeting the guests, and you should be behind him. Try not to talk unless someone talks to you first, alright? And, for the love of God, don’t you dare talk with your mouth open. Got all of that?”

Don’t talk while eating, don’t speak unless spoken to, follow Langa around, eat everything but not a lot of everything…. Seemed easy so far.

“Yes, sir.”

“Well done. Now, sit in front of those plates, please.” This time, he did as told and sat in the part of the table that actually had flatware set in front. “Back straight and elbows off the table. Your elbows should stick to your body.” Reki corrected his posture. “Now, I have asked Kojiro for a copy of the menu.” He handed it to the boy as he spoke. “Check there’s nothing you’re allergic to.”

Reki pretended to scan it all before telling the man that no, he wasn’t allergic to anything on it. Matter of fact, he was sure he was not allergic to anything, though he hadn’t eaten a wide variety of foods through his life.

“Great. Now, have you ever had seafood?” 

“As in fish?” He asked. “I’m pretty sure I haven’t.” 

“Not fish, but… You know, shrimp, lobster, langoustine…?” The boy shook his head no till Kaoru’s voice died, deciding that Reki had actually never heard of seafood. “So you don’t know what a lobster looks like?”

“Not at all. What is it like?”

“A bit massive. Say, it will occupy half of the plate in front of you. It is red when served and has 8 legs and 2 big claws.” 

“That sounds like a fairytale monster.” The boy grimaced. “Are you sure we have to eat that? Aren’t 8 legs too many?” 

“It is delicious, you will like it. And if you don’t, keep it to yourself, alright?” Reki nodded. “I will take you to the kitchen later so you can see one, but for now I want you to remember this: You hold it by its back and twist the legs until they fall off. Then, you take the second fork in your right…” His eyes went to the things at his right. The second one was some sort of fancy silver stick that ended with a bifurcation. Is that even a fork? “You put it into the leg and scoop the meat out. They’re still cooking the lobster, but I found this empty little cane in the garden that you can use to practice. It has no meat inside, so just try not to break it.”  

He did as told, almost dropping the so-called fork at first but managing not to break anything. He returned the intact cane to Kaoru feeling proud. 

“What is the rest of the cutlery for?” Reki asked, seeing as he still had a normal fork, a normal knife and a filet knife, alongside some weird looking silver thing that he had no idea about.

“After you’re done with the legs, you have to remove the claws in the same way and use this nutcracker to open them.” Kaoru had moved to his side and picked the mysterious thing to open it and show him how it worked. “Then you use the filet knife to scoop the meat out. Then you have to hold the tail in one hand and the head in another and part twist them like you’re opening a peach, understand?” Reki nodded. “Great! The normal knife is to cut it open and then you eat eat the meat inside with the filet knife and the fork, got it?”

“Not really…” He said, embarrassed.

Kaoru went through it again, slowlier and moving his hands as if he was doing it. He explained to Reki everything he asked and took his sweet time teaching him, till the boy finally got it and was able to recite the steps by himself.

“Well done.” Though Reki didn’t feel like he had done well, it still made him happy to be told that. “If you forget about it, just copy the prince, alright?” Reki’s “alright” was muffled by the sound of the clock in the room, that loudly announced the hour and startled Kaoru. “Oh, the guests must be starting to arrive by now. You should be with the prince greeting them as they arrive…”

“But there’s many other dishes…”

“You will be fine with the second, it’s meat so just do as you normally would. Copy the prince for everything else.” The man started to talk hurriedly as he and Reki walked outside of the room. “Don’t lift your bread off the table, sit properly, drink from the same spot of the glass, and keep the elbows out of the table. Any doubts?”

Did he have any more doubts? Well, actually…

“Uh, sir?” He mumbled. The other raised an eyebrow, expecting his question. “Do you think I could get… Make-up?” 

“For yourself?” His voice didn’t sound judgey, but his eyes were staring directly into his soul and making him feel tiny and scared. Reki nodded, scared. “What kind?”

“Anything, truly.” His voice shook. He was probably looking pathetic, right? He looked down and saw the skirt of his dress, which immediately caused him to spiral. What if everyone had secretly thought that he was weird since day one? At least then, he had an excuse since it had been an organization problem, but now… Was he a creep for asking for make-up? Was everyone gonna think he was stupid or strange or? “You know, just forget about it…”

“Huh? What for? I don’t know if I can get it before tonight, but you will have something as soon as possible.” Kaoru told him, nonchalantly, as if he genuinely didn’t find Reki weird. “I will see if I can get some lipstick that suits your skin.” 

He left Reki in the corridor, wandering off somewhere while Reki made his way to his room to get dressed. It was a weirdly uncomfortable feeling, that of wearing pants after having been wearing skirts and dresses for some days. Reki stared at his reflection on the mirror. He had put on the fancy clothes he’d been given for the evening. The pants were tighter than he was used to, probably made out of leather. They weren’t his favorite, to say the least, but he couldn’t say he looked bad on them. A white, soft shirt with an incredibly soft yet strong material, alongside a black vest that was way more refined and meticulously made than his were the rest of his clothes for the day.

Reki checked himself in the mirror one more time, not hating the result, but certainly wishing he had lipstick to finish the look.

…

He had been in the room before, but now that it was decorated for the occasion and that it was full of guests with the most expensive clothes he had ever seen, it seemed even huger than before. Reki was waiting at the end of the stairs till Langa got called. He should be in the near end of the list, between the rest of the people that belonged to their kingdom’s court. He hadn’t been called, just left one of the doors of the room while no one looked. Getting announced was for important people with titles and all, not for Reki Kyan who was pretty much just Reki Kyan. While waiting as the master of ceremonies called people that weren’t Langa one after another, he entertained himself looking at the people that were already there. A hand touched his shoulder when he was in the middle of counting blue dresses, causing him to jump around and turn. It was Kaoru, who held something in his hand and was showing it to him.

“I didn’t hear you get called.” Reki mused.

“I told you, my bloodline has never had that much wealth.” The man smiled. “But either way, I found this.” He placed the very small bottle he was holding in Reki’s hand. “It’s not pigmented, just lipgloss, but I bought it and never used it so I thought you could have it. Lipgloss is, well, only glossy, but it makes you feel prettier, so… You can wear it almost all the time, too. I hope you will like it.”

Reki’s hand clinged onto it before he looked up to thank the man, who walked away after saying goodbye. He put the bottle in his pocket and started to listen to the list of people again and again. He swore he felt like he was about to fall asleep. The appetizers were already on the tables and some people were going at them, and he hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast, so he just hoped Langa would make it down the stairs fast and start greeting people while Reki ate whatever the chefs had cooked. 

Suddenly, the quiet mumbling and chit-chatting of the guests dialed down and silence took over the place as everyone’s eyes went straight to face the staircase. So did Reki’s, the boy turning to stare at the two figures that solemnly at the top of it.

“Her Majesty, Hasegawa Nanako, the queen mother, and her son, His Highness, Langa Hasegawa, the prince.” 

Only after the master of ceremonies announced their names did both of them start to descend down the stairs. Reki gazed at the Queen. She looked completely different than all the other times he had seen her before. Her hair was tied up: a braid rested on her hair as a tiara would and finished in a low bun behind her head, in an image completely different to the one he was used to, since she always seemed to wear her hair down. Moreover, the dress she had chosen for the occasion was mainly black, which didn’t seem to match her personality. He felt like he was staring at a completely different person. She and her son both stood still in place once they reached the ground.

Not only that, her and Langa were both wearing their crowns for the first time ever since Reki had arrived. Hers was bigger, given that the boy hadn’t been crowned king yet, but to Reki, Langa’s crown was still huge. It shined, multiple jewels illuminated by the spider chandelier that spread its light all across the room. With it on, Langa seemed even taller and Reki felt like it was only further proof of how far away they were in terms of status. 

“My most sincere gratitude goes to all of our well respected guests that are accompanying us today.” The queen said. “We are elated to have each and everyone of you here tonight, and we hope this evening will be pleasant for all of you. Without further delay, let our party begin.”

There was a brief moment of clapping before everyone resumed their prior conversations and moved to get some of the food on the tables. He stood in place for a bit before Langa made his way to where he was and gestured for them to start walking together.

“Let’s look for the suitor’s family first.” Langa told him as they walked, with Reki making sure he was always a step or two behind the other. “The girl makes her appearance last, she will only appear before they serve the actual meal, you know? But we should talk with her family at least.”

Reki just nodded in reply, still in shock and spiraling over seeing Langa with his crown on, and let himself follow Langa mindlessly. He wanted to ask about it, find out whether it was as heavy as it looked or not, mention how well it was staying straight on his head without falling… But it all felt stupid, he thought. As long as the prince was wearing such a symbol of wealth and power, he could only stare in awe and feel small. 

Despite saying they would go for the suitor´s family first, multiple people approached the prince in their way and stopped their search for the girl’s parents. He didn’t understand much of what the guests told Langa and Langa’s replies, so Reki limited himself to stay aside and try everyone of the appetizers as Kaoru had told him to. By the time they reached the family, he was already half full, wondering how he was supposed to eat anything else throughout the night, and the bottle of champagne he had been given by a waiter was starting to empty. 

“Oh, Your Highness!” A short, bearded man who seemed a bit old already approached them. Langa shook his hand and kissed the gloved hand of the tall woman behind him. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, we have been waiting for this day for a long time.” 

“When we got the notice Your Highness was interested in having our dear Ingrid on a dance, it was a magical moment… We are delighted to be here.” The woman told him.

“The delight is all ours, Your Majesties. I trust you both have enjoyed the night so far.” Langa smiled and recited as if it was rehearsed. It probably was. “I can not wait to meet Ingrid myself. She surely seems lovely.”

“She will be here in just a moment, Your Highness. It’s only some minutes before the actual dinner starts, isn’t it?”

“Indeed it is. I am truly looking forward to meeting her.” He said. “Shall I accompany Your Majesties to their seats before my companion for tonight introduces herself?” Langa asked, offering his hand to who Reki guessed was the queen of wherever the suitor was from. 

Langa drove them to their seats in a table that was adjacent to the one he and Reki would be sitting in and, after seeing how both monarchs sat down, the rest of the guests started to occupy their seats as well. With a quick head movement, Langa told him to go sit as well and, at that, Reki parted ways to go to his place too, with the queen and the rest of the members of the table starting to sit as well. Soon, the prince was the only one standing in the room instead of sitting down. People stared at him in a silence that only broke once the master of ceremonies talked one last time.

“Her Highness, princess Ingrid III of Suomi.”

Reki’s eyes moved quickly to find a short girl with brunette hair tied up in a ponytail and with a shiny tiara full of gemstones shining on her head. A grayish blue dress hugged her figure and made her look beautiful. It’s not like he could see much from where he was sitting but she seemed good-looking and for a moment, he felt his stomach turn in a strange way that he wasn’t sure he could define. It wasn’t hunger, certainly, but that left Reki to question whether he was jealous of Langa for being able to spend the night with such a pretty girl. Was it that? Reki felt silly, having gotten all bothered earlier about how he wasn’t desperate and now feeling weird over his friend dancing with a girl he could barely see… 

Whatever.

The girl and Langa met in the center of the room and she bowed down to him first before the other kissed her hand, bowing as well. He led her to her seat, between her parents, and Langa took his seat between Reki and the queen. The prince smiled at Reki, proud of himself, and he had to ignore the strange feeling in his tummy to be able to return the smile just as brightly.

Reki was sensing cold sweat going down his spine. Beside the slight annoyance it was that Langa got to dance with the princess and whatsoever, he felt really out of place, more than any of the past days here. When the lobster got served, his struggle to remember the steps became increasingly harder as his thoughts grew messy, tangling with insecurities about how no one else in the whole room was having this problem. Everyone had been eating fancy food their whole life there and he had barely eaten enough to survive. Everyone had been in places such as this fancy room their whole life and his house was rotting on the walls. Most people had their families there and his family was back at home, maybe dying out of hunger without him, because he was the only one in the room who was poor. His lungs felt smaller, making it hard to breathe. 

Langa seemed to notice, as he placed one of his hands on his thigh and caused Reki to look up. His eyes moved to him, and as much as he wanted to find comfort on the friendly face looking at him, he could only focus on how he still had his huge crown on. Reki really felt like puking.

“Are you alright?” The boy mumbled. 

“Just nervous.” Reki gave a short reply.

“Mhm, me too.” Langa told him. He wanted to get mad and tell him that he didn’t get it at all, that the reasons they were nervous were completely different, but he took a deep breath since Langa hadn’t said they were equally nervous or anything. “But we are both doing well, don’t you think?”

That did calm him down. He took a deep breath again, raising his glass to his lips and drinking a bit to relax. Langa was still looking at him, soothingly smiling. If Langa kept smiling at him like that, it was hard to feel like everything was wrong.

…

The dinner was about to finish, an orchestra had been playing for some minutes already and a massive cake was being cut in front of their eyes and taken to everyone’s seat. Reki got his piece of cake, excited to try it out, and started to eat when Langa started his by his side.

“Mphm…” He mumbled, remembering to swallow before he spoke. “It’s nice, but I think it tastes better when my mom makes cheesecake.” It wasn’t always that she did, maybe once a year, but it was much better than this one, he thought as he gave it a second bite. “It tastes more like love, you know? What are your thoughts on cheesecake?”

His question got no answer, causing him to turn so he could check on Langa. The boy was looking lost, his eyes drifting to nowhere in particular and set in a random place in the room that didn’t strike Reki as special. He hesitated for a moment, looking at how the prince’s posture had distorted and how he seemed tired and annoyed.

“Is everything alright, Your Highness?” The boy asked. As the other himself had said, they both had been doing really well, so he was worried that was no longer the case.

“My head hurts." Was the prince’s short reply.

Reki’s first instinct was to check for the glass in front of the prince, still quite full with fancy liquor.

“Could it have been the alcohol?” He mumbled. “But Your Highness barely drank anything…”

At his side, the other boy shook his head no.

“I think it’s the orchestra.” He whispered to Reki. “Too loud…”

Oh? Reki thought it was at a normal volume, but alas, the prince job was very stressful everyday, wasn’t it? And he had to deal with the whole getting married thing, which had proven to distress him as well, so he guessed the orchestra’s slightly loud music could be a breaking point for his overwhelmed head.

“Should I tell them to, eh, play lower…?” He asked. It seemed like a strange request, but after all, his job was to serve the prince no matter what, right? However, Langa shook his head no again.

“We should just finish dessert… And then I have to…” He gulped. “Go dance with her.”

Once more, the weird little feeling made its way annoyingly quickly to Reki’s lower tummy.

“Well, she seems like a nice girl.” He mentioned. “Is she pretty? She looked pretty from here.”

“Mhm, very pretty but…” Langa started. Reki’s face changed to one of confusion, expectant as to what was going to be the prince’s objection. “Not quite my type…”

Langa had a type of girl, huh? Reki supposed most people did, but he hadn’t thought Langa had one considering that it didn’t seem like he could particularly allow himself to be picky. But whatever… He wanted to ask about it, unsure if it was polite.

“Hm…” He settled on asking about it at another moment. “Are you excited about dancing with her?” 

“No.” The reply caused Reki to raise an eyebrow. “I am scared. I feel like puking, and I don’t wanna… Not while we’re dancing…”

“Hey, everything will be alright.” The boy reassured him. “You’re gonna do great… You were great yesterday with me.” At that, Langa moves his face to face Reki, but his hopeful expression went unnoticed with the other, who was busy praying that he hadn’t blushed as he spoke. At least, not enough for Langa to see. “I believe in you.”

That seemed to be all that Langa needed to feel comfortable and confident once more, judging by the way he straightened his back once more and his face relaxed. Though his eyes remained a bit hazy and tired, he seemed to feel better, and that was enough for Reki to smile at him as they both finished dessert. 

It was only some minutes later that the prince and the girl were both in the center of the room again. The rest of the guests were around, taking the space closer to the walls and watching how the couple performed the first piece of the night by themselves, without anyone else dancing in the whole place. They seemed to remain in silence, but Reki guessed that was meant to happen given that everyone was staring at them. However, the dance went by smoothly, with no one stepping on anyone or similar incidents. He was proud of Langa, he thought while the rest of the guests joined the dancefloor after a new song started. Most of the people at Reki’s side left to join the center and dance, making him feel uncomfortably lonely. Whatever, he thought, it’s not like he was good at dancing these kind of dances. 

He didn’t mind spending the night watching Langa to make sure he was doing alright. Truth be told, at that moment, watching him swing from side to side with the girl in his arms smiling at him and giggling from time to time while Langa himself smiled at her brightly, he felt like he could spend ages watching the prince. He kept his eyes glued on him for some more minutes, wanting to make sure he didn’t feel low or nauseous again, but became distracted when Miya’s familiar voice ringed at his side.

“Don’t you have anything better to do other than watch him?” He asked Reki out of nowhere, making his focus on Langa falter and his eyes move to the younger boy. 

“Not really.” He mumbled. “Do you?”

“For starters, I’m not watching him. That’s boring.” Miya told him. “I was talking to the guests.”

“Is that so?” He seemed younger than most guests, even if it was just for a few years, so Reki was slightly surprised. “About what?” 

“Meh, just about my parent’s business. It’s been a while since they’ve been here so some people really want to know what they are up to.” Miya explained. “Nothing special, you know. Aren’t you going to talk to anyone?” 

“I was told not to. I don’t really know what I could talk about with people who are so… Elite?”

“But you’re going to get so bored! I am sure you can make it work, just find someone.” The other just shook his head no, but smiled fondly at Miya’s determination of having him enjoying the night. It was nice to know that the boy cared about him like that. “Come on! There has to be someone!” Reki was about to open his mouth and complain when his friend’s next words caught him off guard. “Look, that girl wants to talk to you!”

He looked at Miya, whose head was making small movements to signal a pair of girls that wasn’t very far away from them. Reki squinted his eyes, looking at them. Both had long hair that fell freely all the way down to their backs, one of them being blonde and the other a brunette. They seemed to be giggling over nothing, and it was obvious they were staring in their direction too, but he still felt like Miya was reaching too far with his conclusions.

“Talk to me? How are you so sure?” He asked.

“It’s the fan, look! The one with dark hair has it under her lips, doesn’t she?” 

“Well, it’s not so hot here.” Reki deadpanned.

“That means she wants to talk to you! Do girls not do this where you’re from?” He gave the other no response other than shaking his head to say “no.” “Then what do they even do?”

“I don’t know, approach you? Way more practical, if you ask me.”

“The fan is super practical! Shut up and go talk to her!”

The boy moved and occupied Reki’s other side, just so he could place his hands on his back and push him to where the two girls stood. After the push, he fumbled and almost tripped, but Miya didn’t seem to care much about that, since he didn’t apologize. Instead, Reki found himself alone again, walking to a girl he didn’t know and who he had no idea what to talk about with. Hell, he wasn’t even sure he believed Miya’s fan theory. His thoughts all mashed down and messed around his head in no order as his back slowly covered in cold sweat, till he found himself standing in front of the two girls. 

“Uhm…” His mind filled itself with curses and swears of all kinds, aimed mostly at himself and Miya. He had to say something quickly before the girl qualified him as an idiot. He was starting to appreciate the “don’t speak unless spoken to” rule so much more now that he was about to break it… “Hello, ladies.” Did he have to bow? Was he meant to? He leaned in slightly, hoping that if he had to bow it would be taken as a bow and that if he hadn’t, it would be dismissed. Both girls bowed, so he smiled, proud of himself and more confident now. “I take that both of you have been enjoying the evening.” 

The blonde girl giggled again, nodding but moving behind her friend and slightly pushing her back with a fan of her own, as if instigating her to take the conversation with Reki. Well, maybe Miya was right, after all…

“It was nothing short of wonderful, indeed. As expected from our royal family, is it not?”

Our? Reki did some quick mental gymnastics before arriving at the conclusion that she was probably a noblewoman belonging to the kingdom, after all. That was sort of relieving, taking into account that it seemed much easier to talk to a duchess or countess than to a princess. 

“Of course. They poured their heart into tonight’s organization.” He spoke. “It is always great to know it shined through and our guests found it pleasant.” 

The girl's eyes and eyebrows moved in a way he couldn’t quite read. She seemed confused, as if she was doing some mental gymnastics of her own. The conversation matched the orchestra’s current song’s ending, and soon enough, a new one was starting, which seemed to delete the shocked face of the girl to replace it with a bright smile.

“Oh! This song is a favorite of mine!” She exclaimed excited, before growing strangely shy. 

A bell rang on Reki’s mind, who was both glad and terrified at the realization of what he was meant to say.

“Well, then…” He showed her hand to her. “May I have this dance?”

He smiled as he felt the soft fabric of her glove touch his hand. He drove them both to the dancefloor, catching a glimpse of the blonde girl moving her hands excitedly as he took her friend to dance and also of Miya, on another side of the room, giving him a discreet thumbs-up. 

After he went to place his hands like he had yesterday with Langa, he realized in awe that the girl had already placed hers in the way he was going to. Right. He was no longer pretending to be a princess with the prince, and for some reason, the thought made his mouth cover with a bittersweet flavor as he placed his hands like Langa had on his body. He looked down at the girl, taking time to properly look at her features while he tried his best to rock both their bodies with the music. She was beautiful, he thought, with freckled skin and big, black eyes that matched perfectly with her warm smile. However, that only made him feel guilty in a way he had never felt guilty before. He should be enjoying this dance a lot more, he thought, but Reki could only think about how different it was in comparison to the one he had shared with Langa the night before. From this position, he realized, there was no way he could look at Langa to see how he was doing with his suitor, and that scared and distracted him, making him feel bad for the girl he was dancing with.

“Say, do you have a name I should call you?” The girl talked. 

“Reki Kyan, mylady.” At least he knew the answer to her first question. “What about you?”

“Beside my plethora of titles, I believe you could address me as Hiroko.” 

He tittered, uncomfortable with her mentioning her titles. He guessed it was a way to prove something, or that it must be common in this kind of setting, but it only made him feel small once more. 

“That’s a beautiful name.” He said. “It’s a pleasure to be dancing with you, Hiroko.”

“The pleasure is all mine.” She agreed. “I must confess seeing you surprised me… It’s not everyday that there’s a guest I’ve never heard of in events like this… Much less sat beside the royals…”

“Well, it is my responsibility as our prince’s royal assistant.” He explained to her.

The mention of Langa caused him to unconsciously lift his gaze from the girl’s face to search for Langa again. They spinned around at some point during the song and he found the prince, that apparently had stopped dancing and was now with his suitor discreetly walking to one of the balconies the place had. Reki frowned, worried.

“What an interesting role you have! I trust someone like you is very close to the prince, right?” Hiroko asked him. He fumbled a quick yes, not noticing that his attention had all drifted to where Langa was, exiting the room by himself.

“Heh, you don’t seem enthusiastic about it.” She pointed out after Reki’s hurried response. That made his focus shift again, looking at her in confusion. “Between you and me now, you can be honest if you want… It must be hard to work with someone like him, is it not?”

“Huh?” 

“You know…” She talked slowly and quietly, so only he could hear, and her mouth took the shape of a small smile that Reki didn’t know the cause of. “Clumsy, dramatic, childishly sensible, awkward, not very smart when he talks, one-track-minded, boring… It’s widely known that he’s a bit incompetent in comparison with his father… Or with most people. I wouldn’t be surprised if you found a spouse before him…”

That was meant to be flirting, he could tell, but it didn’t thrill him at all. He stopped his movements, putting an end to their little dance together, and looked at her frowning. Reki wanted to complain to her face, scold her for saying such things about his friend (whom he was still worried about), but he decided to take a deep breath instead. She had probably never talked with Langa for long. He had noticed earlier that the amount of time he spent with each guest was very limited, so she probably hadn’t had a chance to get to know him or to meet him at all. Hiroko must have simply heard everyone else’s opinion or rumors, and she had no way of knowing otherwise. Maybe she genuinely thought Reki had it hard, because it was what she’d been told, and she was just trying to empathize with him. 

“Did I say anything wrong…?” Her voice trembled a bit and her hands clutched around her fan. 

“I believe our prince is a highly respectable person with a fair amount of good qualities.” He told her sternly. “I understand not everyone will agree, especially those who don’t know him like I do…” It almost felt wrong to say that, given that he had only arrived at the castle some days ago, but at the same time… Who had been as close to the prince as him? He’d danced with him as if he were his suitor and had slept hugging him as if he were his p… He certainly was extremely close to him. “But I ask for you to not talk ill of him to me.”

She froze in place, staring at Reki and taking his words with a straight face, as if they had no real meaning. She lifted her fan to her face again and did some sort of movement with it close to her eyes that Reki couldn’t decipher but that he tried to memorize to find out later. Hiroko turned and faced away, walking to her friend with her head up proudly as if Reki didn’t matter to her. He panicked for a bit when he found himself standing alone once more, but he quickly found something to do: follow Langa and his suitor. He walked fast to the balconies, not quite remembering which one they were at, which caused him to peek his head to every one of them till he was able to find them. Reki had planned to stay outside, making sure they were alright from a distance, since he thought they might be kissing or confessing or holding hands… But he quickly found himself entering once he saw the scene before his eyes.

Langa was sitting on the floor, crying and shaking trying to rock back and forth as his hands clung to his clothes and pulled at it. Short breaths escaped his lips, since he was clearly distressed. The princess had taken a place in the opposite side of the balcony, facing the prince with horror in her face and her hands gripping the handrail with enough strength for her knuckles to turn white.

“I think he’s possessed!” She shouted to Reki as he hurried and crutched down at the prince’s side, holding him and pulling his hands away from his clothes.

“What even happened?” He didn’t want to scream, in case it would make Langa feel worse, but he wasn’t very successful. 

The prince looked at him with shiny eyes full of tears and his mouth wide open, gasping for air his lungs wouldn’t hold for long. Reki tried to hold his hands, in hopes that would calm him, but the other boy just shouted at him and tried to shake him off as soon as he tried. Langa dragged his body till his face could rest on the handrail, as if trying to separate himself from Reki before he tried to turn shield himself. He pulled his knees close to his torso and hid his face with his arms. His head started to shake from side to side and soon, his hands clung to his crown as he tried to pull at it.

“No, no, no.” If Langa’s crown broke or fell, that would only further upset the prince, so he tried to stop his movements again. The prince shook his hands out of Reki’s grip once more. “Close the door, please.” He told the princess, who quickly went to do so. The loud sound from inside was now muffled significantly, which somehow seemed to help Langa, who was able to take a deeper breath than the rest but who kept trying to take his crown off. “What happened?” He asked now, much more calmly hoping the girl would reply to him.

“He said he felt sick so I thought of taking him outside.” The girl said. Her voice still sounded scared, but she came to Reki’s side, beside Langa. “And then as we were going out he started to cry, but wouldn’t tell me what was wrong… Could it have been the devil?” 

“It wasn’t the devil.” He said, annoyed. Have you never seen someone sad before?, he thought. “Langa, can you look at me, please?” The body shook his head harder, causing a few hair clips that Reki assumed were meant to keep the crown up to fall off. “Alright, not looking then. Can I touch you?” Langa, whose breath has quickened its pace again, shook his head no. “Do you want to touch me, instead? I won’t mo…”

Langa clinged to him before he could even finish the quote. His hands surrounded Reki’s body as if it was a pillow, holding onto his clothes and trying to tear it apart. As long as he wasn’t trying to injure himself, Reki didn’t mind what he did to his outfit. The prince’s head remained close to his chest, as if chasing after his heartbeat. Despite the situation, it caused Reki to smile slightly; his baby sisters too found the sound of his and his mother’s heartbeat comforting when they were sad. 

“I am gonna breathe very slowly now.” He spoke softly. “Copy me, alright?”

He started to breathe as slowly as he could, counting how long each breath was to make sure he kept an order that Langa could follow more easily. They remained close to each other and breathed together for some minutes, only stopping so Reki could politely ask the suitor to go search for someone of the staff and giving her a short description of Kaoru and Miya. Langa grew calm after some time, falling limp as a death weight and supporting himself only because of Reki’s body against his. He looked up at Reki, eyes still shiny, and then took his hand to his crown once more to tug at it again.

“Can I try?” Reki offered in a low mumble that got a shy nod as a reply.

It took a bit to get it to fall off, given how many clips were holding it to Langa’s head. No wonder he wanted it off, Reki thought. With its weight and the tension of the clips, it must have been hell. He ran a hand between the boy’s now messy hair, trying to soothe him or, at least, relax his scalp. Gently, he placed the heavy crown on the floor before looking at Langa once more. He tried his best to move the prince to a position in which both of them could be comfortable, which resulted on him resting his back against the balcony’s handrail while the other rested between his legs, with his back supported on Reki’s chest and his face hidden in the crook of the boy’s neck. 

He didn’t know how long they spent together like that. Langa didn’t say anything throughout the whole of it. At some point, the noise from inside went from muffled to inexistent and it allowed the prince to close his eyes and pretend to be asleep as he rested on Reki… It was a matter of time that his breath shifted and his body relaxed even more, signalizing he had actually fallen asleep. It was pleasant to be like this with the other, even if it was after a moment of such distress. He allowed himself to close his eyes too and rest the back of his head against the hard stone of the handrail for a moment, before a click announced the balcony’s door was opened and it caused him to open his eyes and look at the person emerging from it.

“The guests that were meant to leave have left, and those who are staying the night have all been taken to their rooms in the north wing of the castle.” Reki’s brain registered Kaoru’s voice before he was able to register his figure. “You two can leave now.”

He tried to shake Langa off a bit to awaken him, to no avail. Reki took a deep breath, trying to fill his lungs with as much air as humanly possible. He had spent most of his life lifting weights, hadn’t him? So, he tried his best to ignore the man’s gaze on him and focused on lifting Langa’s body up, standing up and then moving to allow the prince’s body to be picked up by him. He blushed a bit, realizing he was carrying him like a groom would carry his bride home, but hoped the nocturnal darkness would hide it from Kaoru, who remained silent as he walked ahead of them to their chambers, as if they wouldn't be able to walk there by themselves. The man opened Langa’s door for them and waited outside as Reki dropped him on the bed as gently as he could, considering his arms were starting to hurt and he wanted the weight off him. He looked down at Langa on the bed, sleeping soundly, and tried to shake him a bit again in hopes he would wake up now.

“Your Highness…” He could still see Kaoru standing in the corridor and didn’t want him to hear him address Langa by name. “Your Highness, you ought to get ready for bed.” He told him. 

The boy groaned at him, sleepily but slightly awake.

“Don’t wanna.” He complained. “Head hurts.”

“But it would be uncomfortable to sleep like this.” He whispered to him. He thanked the night again for covering his reddened cheeks once more before he spoke the same words he had told him yesterday. “Shall I help Your Highness to get ready?” He was expecting the prince to tell him no, both hoping he would say that and also fully aware a part of him he didn’t understand would be disappointed.

“Please.” Langa told him. 

Reki hurried to find the other’s night clothes, trying to focus. He was nervous, he noticed it in his hands shaking and his heartbeat accelerating. It made no sense. He had helped his mother dress his sisters when they were kids, he had helped his mother dress when she was sick… He had been around undressed boys before, when all the boys his age back at home would fill the river in the hot summer days… Why was he nervous, as if he was inexperienced? He tried not to think about that as he unfastened the boy’s suit jacket and took it off him, repeating the process with the white shirt he had below. He didn’t want to touch his skin, he tried really hard not to touch his skin as he undid button after button, he was trying so hard… Langa shook, slightly, when Reki was almost done. It was a bit chilly given the late hour, so he understood why, but the movement caused his palm to collide against cold, soft skin. Langa didn’t generally like to be touched, he had told him the morning before… But sometimes he wanted it, right? So he tried not to think much of it. Hopefully, his calloused hand had felt nice on top of his skin, as much as the softness of his had felt under Reki’s. Langa slept with a nightgown, which made it all way easier for Reki. He put him on the other before he went to undo his pants, shoving them down only when he was certain his gown was already covering his legs partly. 

After that, he simply had to take his suit and place it somewhere else, making a mental note to take it to the laundry the next morning. He then went to check on Langa, who was lying on top of the sheets, so he could properly tuck him in. When he was done and ready to leave, the prince's fingers held his wrist in place.

"Stay?" He asked softly. His voice seemed broken and he sounded so sad Reki felt his own heart break. 

"Mhm, I will." He whispered. "Just let me go change, it will be a second." Still, Langa's hand wasn't letting go of him. "I promise."

That's all it took for the other to release his grip and allow Reki to exit the room, closing the door behind his back and immediately facing Kaoru. He trembled against the door, worried. Why had the man remained there? Had he done anything wrong? 

"So…" He started. "Care to explain why I had the suitor come to me and tell me the prince had been possessed?" 

It took everything in Reki not to facepalm himself right there.

"I don't know! She kept saying that after I told her that wasn’t it." He complained. "He was just… Stressed? Breaking down? Anything but possessed."

"Do you know what made him like that?" 

He shook his head.

"I am sorry. I don't know what happened… I will try to make sure it never happens again, I promise I will keep His Highness in all comfort and safety and…"

"No need." The two words from the man in front of him stopped what was about to turn into a rant about why he shouldn't be fired. What did he mean no need to keep the prince comfortable? Reki raised an eyebrow at him. 

“No need?” 

“No need for you to say that.” The other sighed loudly. “I know you will do your best, and you don’t need to be sorry. This happens often. I just wanted to make sure it hadn’t been you who was over there saying he was possessed, nothing more. And also, I am sorry no one told you this kind of thing is usual.”

“Is it?” He tilted his head to the side.

“Especially prone to happening during parties, but also in crowded or loud places. Sometimes he complains about illumination being too bright, too. Not like it doesn’t happen out of the blue as well. I hope it didn’t throw you out too much.” Reki was quick to shake his head. He had just been worried.  “I see. It’s great to see you managed the situation well. It’s not always that people do, as you probably guessed.”

“Thank you, sir.” He spoke, unsure of what else to say.

“I will try to clean his schedule for tomorrow in case he needs a day for himself, but I can’t promise anything.” The man squeezed the bridge of his nose between two fingers and frowned. “Agh, we will have to see. Whatever, for now… Goodnight, Reki. Thank you for taking good care of His Highness.” Then, he smiled. “I will make sure to tell the queen about this, she’ll be delighted. Probably would cheer her up after seeing the rest of the party ended in a sort of fiasco.” 

Reki gulped. He wondered what they’d told the rest of the guests to get them to leave, but didn’t ask about it. Instead, he opted for saying goodnight to the man as well and walking into his room to get changed, which he made sure to do quickly so he could go back to Langa’s. Despite having been so tired earlier, it seemed he was still awake, waiting for him to go to bed.

“Reki?” He said from the bed as soon as he heard the door open.

“I promised.” Reki told him, getting close to the bed and entering the covers so he could lie on the mattress, by his side. 

“Hold me?” Langa fumbled quietly, not looking in his direction. Reki’s arms hugged around him one night more. “Thank you… Thank you for tonight.” 

“You don’t need to thank me for that.” 

“Want to.” The prince told him. “Having you…” A long yawn cut him off. He was clearly drifting off to sleep already. “Makes me happy.”

Reki didn’t say anything to that, just tightened his grip around the boy’s body while keeping it gentle. Soon, his body shifted, telling the boy the prince had fallen asleep in his arms once more. He smiled, it seemed like it was becoming a common thing between them. 

Reki went to bed thinking that having Langa, too, made him happy.

Chapter Text

Reki had half the mind to think about how waking up in the prince’s bed day after day could very well leave him jobless before he heard knocking on a door that wasn’t Langa’s. Fuck, they’re probably late for breakfast again, he thought to himself as he squirmed on the bed. The prince had wrapped his arms around his torso at some point during the night and Reki didn’t wish to wake him up when leaving the bed… He proved unsuccessful, however, when after carefully removing one of Langa’s arms from its place around his body the other seemed to wake up.

“Hmf?” The cute noise was somewhere between confusion and complaint. “Uhh? Re… Reki?” 

The boy looked down at him, finding the prince’s eyes half-open and unfocused. He looks kinda cu… Better not to think about that when he had a job to worry about.

“I need to go, I’m coming back soon, I promise, just that…” He said, quickly enough that there was barely any silence between the words.

“Hm?” Langa scanned him up and down till he realized that his arms were wrapped around Reki. The blush was more than apparent on his pale skin and he was quick to break Reki free from their accidental hug. “I am extremely sorry, I didn’t mean to, I understand if you are uncomfort…” He spoke, almost as fast as Reki had.

“No, no, it’s fine, just that… We shouldn’t sleep like this again, you know?” 

The moment the last word left his mouth, the other’s face saddened instantly, which made Reki want to kick himself in the face. 

“I understand, I am sorry if you felt forced.” 

“Wait! I didn’t mean that either! Oh, God…” He grabbed one of the pillows from the bed and buried his face on it to muffle a groan before he talked again. “I don’t mind sleeping in the same room, but I can’t keep waking up late everyday.” He explained. “But I also don’t think you should be obligated to wake up earlier just because I am here, so I don’t wanna bring my alarm…”

“Oh…”

They both remained in silence for a few seconds, trying to quietly find a solution.

“I wouldn't mind waking up earlier if it means you are here.” Now, Reki couldn’t see himself but he was sure he was the one blushing now. “Feel free to bring the alarm if you need. It’s barely a few minutes too, so it’s really not a problem. I can keep myself busy while you are getting ready.”

Reki thought about it for a bit. It was true that only some minutes went by between him waking up and him waking the prince up, and that it wouldn’t cause a great difference to Langa’s sleep schedule, but there were other factors to it that still worried him. He’d been told the other wasn’t particularly keen on loud noises and, when he’d asked for help to turn it off, he had gotten visibly upset. Also, what if someone from the cleaning service found it and noticed it was his? Would that put him at risk of losing the job? 

“But you hate loud sounds, don’t you?” He asked.

Once again, Langa’s skin reddened with embarrassment. The boy looked down, ashamed, and rearranged his position to place more empty space between their bodies. When he spoke, low-headed, Reki thought he could see his lower lip  quivering.

“I am sorry if I freaked you out yesterday.” His voice trembled as he talked. “I am sorry I didn’t tell you about those moments, just that…”

“Hey, you didn’t freak me out!” Reki was quick to point out. “And you don’t owe me an explanation.”

“But it must have been so scary for you. I’ve often been told I look possessed or gone crazy…” 

“Shhh, quit saying that! I am telling you, you look nothing like possessed or crazy. Promise.” He reassured the other. His mind went back to the girl from the previous night, causing him to cringe mentally. “I am sorry people have been like that to you when you were vulnerable. You deserve better than that.” Langa blushed at his words, as if he had never heard anything along those lines. Perhaps he hadn’t, and Reki felt horrible at the realization. “And I swear you didn’t need to tell me. Even if it happens often, it must be very stressful for you to go through and just as stressful to talk about.”

“I was so scared you wouldn’t take the job if you knew.” The prince said, eyes lost and looking somewhere in the wall behind Reki but not facing him directly. “I am sorry for that. It was unprofessional and dishonest to not let you know the full deal before hiring you… I know there would be other people interested nonetheless, just for the money but…” He didn’t finish the phrase, growing shy as he spoke till he closed his mouth and shook his head. 

“But?” He tilted his head to the side.

“Matters not.” A loud sigh followed his words. “But, what I meant to say is… Feel free to bring your alarm here. I swear I won’t react badly.” There was a small pause. “At least, not everyday.” 

“What if someone notices it’s here? Or if they notice I am not in my room?”

Secretly, he hoped that the prince’s answer would also reply to the question he couldn’t quite ask: What does it say in my contract about this? He waited patiently for the prince’s reply. The boy was resting his chin on his hand, frowning slightly and pensative. The same annoying thought crossed Reki’s mind once more. He is cute, isn’t he? He got lost staring at him. His skin looked so soft, so did his hair… Reki was, for a very quick second, tempted to reach out and caress it. It was long for a boy, quite straight as well, and it made him wonder how it would be like to braid it the same way he had braid his sisters’. By the time the answer came, he had almost forgotten the question.

“Well, when they find it we just have to say it was the first time it happened. I doubt they would question that.” He told Reki. “We will think of what to do depending on their reaction. How does that sound?”

“Oh, that’s a nice idea, Your Highness!” He let out without thinking much about it. When the other frowned again, he was unsure why it was.

“I said to drop the title, just Langa!” He complained light-heartedly.

Langa didn’t do anything for a split second, as if he was wondering what to do next. Soon, he picked up the pillow Reki had groaned into earlier and used it to softly hit the other, not hard enough to cause any harm. Still, it was enough to surprise Reki.

“Hey! Not fair!” 

The boy was quick to pick another pillow himself and repeat the gesture, not even stopping to wonder whether he was allowed to do any of it. Whatever, he thought once he was already striking a soft hit to the Langa’s side, I’m sure the contract says nothing about pillow-fighting his royal highness. Plus, he was the one who star… Reki didn’t get enough time to finish the thought before he was smacked on the head once more and, once again, he wasted no time before returning the blow. From behind his own fluffy pillow, which had just hit Langa across the face, he heard the muffled sound of Langa’s laugh. He was laughing… And it was beautiful, Reki thought. He remembered the orchestra from before as having quite a nice sound, but it did not compare to the music that was the prince’s genuine giggle. He wanted to tickle him just to hear more of it. It was then that he realized he had let his thoughts wander too far, once again forgetting who he was and who Langa was. A weird sensation made its way to his stomach, making him strike his pillow once more in order to keep the uncomfortable feeling away from his worries.

They kept like that for some minutes, until Langa’s laughter got too much for him to keep going and he dropped his back on the mattress, hugging the blue pillow against his stomach.

“What’s so funny?” Reki asked rhetorically, blowing a last and extremely soft hit to the prince’s head. 

“I had never done that!” The other said. “It was so fun, we have to do it again someday!”

He’d never had a pillow fight? Reki threw his mind back to his childhood… Even before his sisters were born, he had gotten into fights like this with his mother. At least, before she was expecting. And he had played again with every single one of his sisters at some point, too. Yet, it was not so surprising considering Langa was an only child with no one his age around and busy parents. Reki couldn’t help but wonder: what other games had he never played?

“We can do it again wherever you ask!” 

“Woohoo!” A low rumble interrupted his celebration. “Oh, I am hungry after such a demanding war.” 

Right, they hadn’t had breakfast yet.

Oh, shit, they hadn’t had breakfast yet.

“Fuck.” He got up from the bed, walking in circles for a few seconds as he repeated the curse word. “I forgot breakfast, fuck, fuck, fuck. Miya is going to kill me, oh, dear. Fuck… I still have to go to the laundry room, and we are probably so late already and, and, and…” 

Meanwhile, Langa just stared in disbelief with his head tilted to the side.

“Huh?” He mumbled. “Oh! Reki!” The other stopped his frenetic circles so fast he almost tripped over himself and turned to face him. “I can be late for breakfast after nights like that. Or not show up at all. Mom usually… I mean, my mother usually tells the people in charge to not clean the table till I’ve gone and gotten something. Also, my schedule is probably clean for the entire day.” 

“But Kaoru said there were no promises about that.” 

“He always says that.” 

Reki gave a long sigh in reply.

“Alright, then I will bring something up, I guess.” He said, getting close to the door. “What do you want?”

“Hm… Can you bring pancakes if there are any left? I don’t need many, just 2 or 3 is fine.” He nodded. “Also, can you bring the honey container?” He had a sweet tooth, it seemed. Reki couldn’t help but think of sharing a slice of his mom’s cheesecake with him. “What are you bringing? For yourself?”

“Am I having breakfast in bed too?” He’d thought about getting something to eat quickly on his way. Maybe an apple. Langa’s enthusiastic nod was all it took for him to change his mind. Reki was eating breakfast in bed, in the prince’s very royal bed. Fancy! “I don’t know, fruit salad or something. A bagel? I will see when I get there.” He opened the door, ready to leave. “Be back soon.” 

He closed the door after one last quick look at Langa’s adorable smile.

…

He was back with their breakfasts soon, since he had opted for picking it up before the boy’s clothes for the day. That way, he’d figured, the other could eat while he went to retrieve his clothes. Yet, his plan was forgotten almost as soon as he opened the door. Reki walked to the prince’s bed, not noticing how Langa’s face looked confused.

“Here, I know you said 2 or 3, but there were only 5 left and I thought it would be awful to have them go to waste, so…” He explained.

“That’s fine, of course.” The other took the plate between his hands. “Where are my clothes, though?”

“I was gonna go get them now, sir.” He straightened his back as he spoke, just to end up blushing and correcting himself. “I mean, Langa.”

“Heh, it was only a day or two before I told you to call me Langa, but you seem so used to it…” The other mused, making Reki grow embarrassed. “I think it’s charming that you are so polite.” The simple sentence made the tension in his muscles relax and he felt like he could breathe properly again. Also, had Langa called him charming? “But I don’t need you to go for my clothes yet… You can stay if you want. Having breakfast alone is weird, don’t you think?”

Reki didn’t mention how, for him, it was the usual. He was used to waking up earlier than his sisters and having a scarce breakfast by himself before leaving for work. Instead, he just sat himself by the other’s side once more and took the bowl of fruit he had prepared for himself quickly. He was eating breakfast in bed! He couldn’t say it was a dream turned into reality; truth was, he’d never even thought it was a possibility for him, so why dream about it? But it did feel like an achievement of some sort. Smiling, he started to eat. 

“Thank you for bringing it upstairs.” 

“No need, it’s my job after all.” 

They remained in silence for a few more bites till the prince broke the silence.

“Did you have fun yesterday? Before, you know…” He said. “I haven’t had the chance to ask. What did you do once the dance started?”

Reki had almost forgotten about his time with Miya and his dance with that rich girl.

“Well, I was with Miya at first and he said there were these two girls telling me to go see them. Something about their fans, which, I won’t lie, still makes zero sense now.” 

Langa giggled at his side, mentioning something about how he should have Kaoru teach him about the code. To that, Reki talked about the class he had already received on dining etiquette, which made the other laugh even more.

“Aw, I wish I had seen that. I would have helped you!” From the back of his mind, a voice told Reki that Langa’s presence would have only been a distraction, but he couldn’t understand why. “But seriously, the fan code is important. Query him about it! Or maybe you can get a book about it in the library, I’m sure there’s one! By the way…” Reki could feel himself get tense again as he could tell his least favorite conversation topic was approaching. “Have you continued the one I told you about?”

“Eh…” He had to think of something, quick! “I was with you all the time these days, remember? I sadly had no time.” It wasn’t a lie.

“Oh, you’re right…” The other seemed saddened. “Well, I still have to paint that portrait for the southern kingdom, so you can read it while I am doing that. It will probably be tomorrow or something. I was thinking… It’s not fair that you read one of my favorites and I don’t return the favor! You should give me a recommendation or two!”

Shit, shit, shit. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

A recommendation or two? He could barely read a single word.

“I will make sure to check if any favorites of mine are in the library!” He was sure he was sweating now. “But I do really like…” What was the word? There was a fancy word he had heard at some point during the week but he had forgotten it. “Lower ground…?” He hesitated.

“Underground?” 

“Yeah, underground books!” Fuck. “We call them lower ground where I am from.” He made up on the spot.

“Really? I had never heard of that! That's an interesting dialectal difference!" Reki nodded, not even knowing what dialectal difference meant. "Well, then… Then just keep telling me about yesterday! Did they ask for a dance? Did they?"

"They did…"

"Oh my god! How was it? Tell me all about it!" Langa was reminding him of his sisters' mandatory interrogation whenever he went out to a tavern.

"It was…" The other’s eyes shine, awaiting his explanation. Reki knew his story would disappoint him, but he didn’t want to make anything else up. "Nothing extraordinary, sadly. It was weird, I was not very sure what to say… It wasn’t something I am used to.”

“But you said you had danced with girls before!”

“Not like that! I wasn’t sure if she was flirting or just lauding herself.” He blushed as he spoke, rushing his words as much as possible.

“Huh, are you bad at flirting?” Langa asked him. “I thought you would be good since you said you’ve kissed a lot of girls.”

“When did I say that?” Reki almost shouted, not really annoyed but still tempted to grab the pillow again. The tone was a bit too serious, but judging from what he had learnt about Langa the past few days, it was probably a joke… After all, it was not often that the other’s tone matched his intention. “I said I’ve kissed girls! Not a lot! Damn it, certainly not a lot…”

“It’s alright, though. I am glad you had someone to dance to at your first dance! Even if we both had an unlucky night.” The prince tried to cheer him up. “I am sure you will have better luck. Plus…” He took the fork to his face and stuffed his mouth full of pancakes. “You are handsome, so girls will probably like you.”

His mind must have had some trouble processing the words, because he was far too focused on Langa calling him handsome and not paying enough attention to the girls he was mentioning. Why? Maybe, he thought, was that he was being complimented by a royal. That must mean a lot, right? So it made sense that hearing the prince call him handsome had his stomach feeling weird in a not unpleasant way.

“Reki? Are you not hungry anymore?” The other had gotten worried, seeing as Reki had frozen in place and forgotten about his fruit salad. “Hm… Try a bit of these, I doubt I can finish it myself.”

It felt surreal, but just a few seconds later, the prince was taking another fork loaded with honeyed pancakes and feeding it to Reki delicately. The only thing he could register at first was the heat creeping out in his face, making him wonder if he was as embarrassingly red as he feared. The sweet taste and soft, fluffy texture of the food arrived later, but it made him smile once he noticed it. It was enough to pull him out of the trance Langa had sent him into.

“Good?” 

“Yeah, they’re good.” Reki smiled. “Want some of mine?” He offered, happy to see the other boy nodding. 

He lifted his own fork, carrying a piece of what looked like melon. His mind was screaming at him as he took it to Langa’s mouth and had the other bite it off the fork. He was spoon-feeding the prince… Not as a servant, but as a friend! He felt almost as blushed as when he had been eating the other’s food. Reki tried not to think much about the situation and did something much easier, like focusing on Langa. As soon as his eyes laid on the other and his thoughts settled down a bit, Reki noticed the other was grimacing as he chewed on the fruit.

“Is it bad? Maybe it was spoiled… Apologies.” He rushed to apologize.

Langa shook his head no and talked with his mouth full.

“Just the texture.” He said, words muffled by the food in his mouth. “Too watery.”

“Oh, oh…” Reki looked over the room, trying to find a paper. “You should spit it out, then…” He didn’t want the other to be uncomfortable. Reki watched in silence as the other simply ended up swallowing it down. “I am so sorry…”

“Why? Come on, it wasn’t anything horrible.” The other reassured him. “I promise. Reki, I am not a child. I will tell you when I need help, but I don’t need to be weary of every texture, sound or light. I can eat melon, and I can wake up with an alarm.” He kept smiling through his explanation, letting the boy know he wasn’t mad. “I don’t want you to feel like you are walking on eggshells around me.” 

“I don’t feel like I am.” 

“Then, I am very glad.” He paused, taking a deep breath but never losing his calm smile. “We are friends, right?”

“Of course!” Reki didn’t hesitate. 

“Then, I don’t want you to feel like my caretaker.” 

Reki nodded, low-headed and understanding what the other meant.

“I didn’t mean to make you feel patronized either.” He apologized. “Since you had a rough night, I didn’t want you to be uncomfortable over anything this morning. I am sorry.” 

Had he ruined the moment? He couldn’t help but wonder… Yet again, a part of him didn’t understand if they had been sharing an actual “moment” or not. He was embarrassed and out of utterance, feeling awkward in his own body and not knowing what to do. His food wasn’t finished yet, but Reki wasn’t hungry anymore. He tried to stand up.

“I will go get your clothes.” Reki said, trying to give a smile as calming as Langa’s.

Just like last night, a pale hand was grabbing his wrist before he could leave.

“Not yet.” The boy told him. It didn’t sound or felt like an order and the words turned into pure reassurance as soon as they reached Reki’s brain. “You haven’t finished breakfast yet and I wasn’t lying when I said I’m not gonna finish mine by myself. Want another bite?”

Reki smiled and gave him a nod, allowing himself to take the food offered to him once more.

“Breakfast is the most important food of the day, you know?” He told Langa after swallowing down.

“And look at you, about to skip it if it hadn’t been for me…” The other dramatically sighed.

“Indeed…” A tender silence set between them for a few seconds. “You know, Langa?”

“Mhm?”

The prince looked at him with his mouth full, cheeks rounding to fit his breakfast. There was a stray line of honey dripping down the corner of his mouth and some crumbs around his lips. For the first time in the morning, Reki allowed himself to think what his mind had been telling him for more than half an hour now. Langa was cute.

“You’re a great friend.” 

The soft smile and cute blush that set in Langa’s face at the words reaffirmed his theory. Langa was really cute.

…

For the first time, Reki stayed inside the room while Langa changed. It was not like he stared, though, he simply laid on bed while the prince got dressed up facing the wall. Yet, the simple act made him feel like they were closer as friends now. That made him happy.

“Since it’s your free day, what do you want to do?” He asked.

“I don’t know…” The other turned around, fastening his shirt up. “Also, the fact I have a day off means you have a day off as well, so I think you should choose.”

Huh? A day off? Reki had never had a day off before. Ever since he started actually helping his mother, he had been busy every single day of every week. He was just as lost as Langa when it came to spending a day resting, given his inexperience. So, he closed his eyes and tried to think of how he would have spent a day like this at home. He pictured playing with his little sisters and going on a walk with Koyomi. Maybe he would have gone to the city and had a drink somewhere. He couldn’t do any of that in the palace, though.

“I have no idea myself.” He confessed. “I don’t usually have days off.”

“Oh, did you have a job before this?” 

“Not exactly a job.” He started to explain. “I had to work at home. My family grows different vegetables the whole year; we eat some and sell the rest. I am in the field almost everyday, reaping or cropping, and I am in charge of taking our stuff to the city and selling it at the market. We don’t earn as much as we could, but we get by.”

“When did you begin to work in the crops?” The question had Reki confused for a moment. He was just a simple boy, living the same life many others were (until, of course, he became Langa’s assistant). So why was someone like the prince, an extraordinary role, interested in him? He was too shocked at the genuinity in the other’s voice to answer. “Hmm… You know what? I think I wanna spend our free day learning as much as possible from you.”

Reki’s heart was beating so fast it threatened to leave his chest, but he couldn’t tell whether it was because he felt cherished… Or over anxiety of getting his lies caught.

…

The prince chose to have them spend the day in the garden, which was quickly becoming one of Reki’s favorite spots. After spending the day caged in the stoic stone walls of the palace, being met with nature as vibrant and full of life as the flowers of the garden had him feeling just as if he was back home. He would have to start finding ways of spending more time there, he thought as they ventured into it, getting lost between the flora and bushes. 

“So, when did you start working? You never replied.” The prince asked once they had already walked in silence for some minutes.

“Hm…? When my mother got pregnant for the third time, I started to take care of most things at home.” Reki tried to remember the exact date. “Ah, I must have been… 6? 7? And then a year later I started to do more in the field than I was doing. You know, I went from helping to working. I am 19 now, so more than a decade.”

“When’s your birthday?” 

Reki wasn’t sure what the question had to do with anything, but he still answered.

“August 8th.”

“Heh, that makes me older! Just for a few months, though. My birthday is on the 8th too, just in February. Hm… Have I ever told you that I wish to meet your sisters?” 

“What?” Reki paused his walking briefly, shocked, and had to walk up quickly to Langa as he asked again. “Really?”

“You mention them all the time, and it is obvious they matter a lot to you… So I am curious! Maybe they should come to one of the dances we throw… We will provide the clothing, if they need it.” Said the other as they reached a wide, sunny area. It would be perfect for a picnic, Reki thought to himself.

“Your Highness!” He felt the need to remind Langa the difference in their backgrounds, so the title came in handy. “Save for Koyomi, they are too young for a party of such magnitude and elegance, and they wouldn’t know what to do. Much like me, I doubt they would know how to act.”

“But you did great yesterday… My first time was a fiasco!”

Now, it was Reki’s turn to want to know more. 

“Huh? Was it?” He didn’t want to ask anything in detail, figuring the other might not wanna share. 

“Well, it wasn’t all that different from yesterday, if I am honest. Loud music, bright lights, too many people and too many questions, too many answers I don’t know and too many answers I am not sure are the right ones… In the end, the chaos of my mind takes over my body and I cry till… Till the fun is ruined for everyone else, I guess.” 

Reki wanted to hold his hand and shake him right there. Instead, he decided to walk up till he was facing the other. In the back of his mind, a voice was ringing all the alarms about how it was out of etiquette to walk ahead of the prince, but he didn’t have it in him to pay attention to something that wasn’t the other. Langa obviously needed someone, a friend who cared about him and could comfort him, and Reki was perfect for the job. 

“Your Hi… Langa.” He started. “Other’s fun shouldn’t come before your comfort.”

As he spoke, he raised his gaze till his eyes were lying on the prince’s blue ones and, suddenly, his throat felt dry and closing around itself. What was he doing, impolitely talking up to the heir like that? If someone saw, he would immediately get fired and… And, somehow, the next thing he registered was that Langa’s hand had reached out to take his, just like Reki had originally wanted. He now felt like he could continue talking, but when the other spoke again, he thought maybe it wasn’t needed.

“Thank you so much, Reki.” There it was again, his so very cute smile that had Reki stupid for no reason. “I am grateful you are in my life.”

For a second, he felt he was dying, melting into the ground even. Reki’s stomach was feeling funny and his legs, jelly-like. What flowers were there there? Maybe he was allergic. He should tell Langa he was feeling weird immediately, he needed a doctor or maybe he could fall really sick and infect the prince. His hands were starting to sweat, too. Fever? It must be a fever. 

“Uh, Your Highness…”

His voice soon got muffled by another, sounding way louder and more confident and echoing his words.

“Your Highness! I finally found you, thank God…” 

Reki turned to see who was speaking; even if the voice sounded familiar, he couldn’t quite pinpoint it. His eyes were met with the same brunette woman that had been dancing with Langa last night, running in their direction as fast as her fancy shoes and big dress allowed her. Reki was quick to move his hand away from Langa’s, mourning the loss of soft skin on top of his but mentally praising his quick reaction. No one should see them holding hands, much less the prince’s suitor. 

So, he moved some steps away, allowing the woman to take his previous place in front to Langa. He watched in silence how the two royals bowed to each other, and he had half the mind to do the same to her in hopes of being polite. Yet, he didn’t have much interest in being polite seeing how the girl had acted last night. In fact, he couldn’t help but to feel slightly weird, almost uncomfortable, watching her so close to the other and interrupting their time together. Of course, he told himself, it made sense to be upset. She was disrupting Langa’s day off, after all!

“Your Highness, if it is not much of an issue to you and you are not busy, could we please have a talk?” 

“It would be my pleasure.”

Reki raised an eyebrow, not understanding why the other didn’t straight up reject her, but said nothing as the other two started to walk together. He found himself once more relegated to walking behind, following the others in silence and trying, though failing, to not pay attention to the conversation going on between them.

It started off as awkward silence, but he can’t help himself from getting annoyed once they started to talk.

“I came to express my deepest and most heart-felt apology from how I acted yesterday.” Said the girl after some typical ice-breakers.

Huh? Reki chimed in, not wanting to miss this. At least she is apologizing, he said to himself. Still, he wasn’t sure the woman was being genuine and, most importantly, he wasn’t sure he wanted Langa to accept her apology. He couldn’t pinpoint why, even if in the back of his head someone was playing a not very pleasant round of mental images of what could happen if the prince forgave her. She was still his suitor, and if Langa chose to give her another chance, maybe they could keep courting each other and then… 

His stomach did a weird turn. He was sure he was allergic to those flowers.

“It should be me apologizing.” Langa’s words had Reki fighting to jump into their conversation to tell him once more he needn’t apologize. “Please, understand how sorry I am for having caused such a chaos.”

But he did nothing wrong… Reki wanted to scream.

“Upon reflecting on it, I can assure you it was me who couldn’t read the situation properly!” The girl said, once more catching the redhead’s attention. “Your Highness didn’t do anything wrong! It was me who was disrespectful to you.” Her voice sounded clearly distressed, proving to Reki that she was sure of her words and that her apology was genuine. Despite his unexplainable worries about Langa and her ending up married, which he had decided were based on the fact the girl clearly wasn’t perfect for the other, he was happy to hear her apologize seriously. Langa deserved that and it had been clear the whole day he wasn’t used to kindness like that. “And I would also like to apologize to you, sir.” 

For a moment, he felt as if he had gotten lost or missed a big chunk of the conversation. The girl had turned around to face him, who couldn’t comprehend why.

“Me?” He asked, pointing at himself.

“I disrupted your night and didn’t bother to help you once you came. I kept speaking nonsense and I didn’t think critically, even if it caused further distress amongst all parties involved.” She spoke, in the same tone as before. “Despite our difference in status, I wouldn’t be content if I went back to my kingdom knowing I disrespected someone doing a respectable job, such as yours. And as a future ruler myself, it was inappropriate to act like that while leaving responsibilities on you, whom I am aware has only recently arrived at the palace. I sincerely hope you can forgive me…”

“Sir Kyan.” Langa told her quietly from where he stood.

“Sir Kyan.” The princess finished.

He felt like ascending to Heaven at a pace far too quick that threatened to make him dizzy. Nothing made sense for some seconds… The princess was apologizing to him? A royal he had only known for some minutes? And she had called him sir? And even said his job was respectable? It felt like a fantasy. He was sure his cheeks were red, showing how affected he was by the woman praising his occupation and treating him properly. Unsure of what to do, he just tried his best to bow without falling before speaking. 

“Thank you so much for the sincere apology, Your Highness.” He said, trying not to stutter. “It is profoundly accepted.” 

After a fond smile from the princess, the conversation between Langa and her resumed as Reki fell silent again. Like that, his mind found itself busy again, entertaining thoughts about the couple becoming… An actual couple. For some reason, he still couldn’t agree with that. Sure, the princess was a kind girl, but was she the best option? She was nice and apologized, and yesterday her family seemed very interested, but… There was just something off about her.

His thoughts came to a halt once they reached another fountain area like the one he and Langa had danced some days ago. Reki was distracted by the sound of the prince coughing into his fist.

“Hm, Reki.” He said, looking at him. “Could you please leave us alone for some time?”

“Huh?” His heart started to race, mind filling with undecipherable questions about why they needed to be alone for. Where they gonna dance as well? He hadn’t minded it in the ball, but… In the garden? So private and personal? Like when they had danced…? Still, his body spoke before his mind or heart could. “I will take my leave, Your Highness. I’ll be in my chambers.” 

…

He was only half-away to his room when a voice caught Reki’s attention.

“Reki! Hey, Reki!” He paused and turned around in the direction of the voice, meeting Miya’s green eyes. “Huh? Are you alright? You look upset.”

“Do I?” It was a genuine question. He hadn’t thought his feelings would be so noticeable. “I just… I slept poorly.” His mind filled with memories about sleeping and waking up with the prince by his side, which was the complete opposite to sleeping poorly. Still, Miya seemed to buy it. “Are you not working today?” 

“My shift is over. Unless someone needs me later, but that’s unusual. What about you?” The boy asked him. “Where is the prince?”

“Uhm…” His mouth felt as dry as a desert. “With the suitor.”

“No way! Really? After yesterday?” Miya practically threw himself at Reki for the sake of interviewing him from up close. “And they told you to leave? Oh my! The queen would throw a feast if she knew! I can’t believe this!”

“Yeah, I guess…” Needless to say, he was nowhere close to sharing the boy’s excitement.

“And they told you to leave? Did they want no chaperon or what?” His smirk was getting on Reki’s nerves. “Where are they?”

“In the garden.” 

“Oh my god, he took her there, didn’t he? He loves that place, how romantic…” Reki wanted to argue that no, that the prince had taken him there, but he didn’t want to further dwell on it. “And what are you gonna do now?”

“I was gonna go to my room and…” What could he even do in his room other than staring at the ceiling? He hadn’t brought any entertainment from his house because there wasn’t any to be brought and he couldn’t spend the time reading a book either. “I hadn’t thought about it, honestly.”

“Wanna play marbles with me? You said you would, you know…”

Miya’s tone sounded uninterested, as if he wanted to let Reki know that it was not a big matter and that he wouldn’t mind if he were to be rejected.

“Yeah, sounds good.” Despite his bad mood, he tried his best to smile. He really did want to spend time with the younger boy and Miya was right he had said that.

“Really?” His eyes lit up as he closed his fists and shook them slightly. “Come, let’s find a place!”

And so, he let himself be driven by the other boy to a completely unknown area inside the castle. It resembled the garden in the way it had a little fountain in its center and flowers all around it, but the size was much too small to be considered a proper garden in comparison with the other. He wasn’t even done taking in the delicate and elegant beauty of the place when Miya called his name. The boy was on the ground already, drawing a circle with a stick he’d picked up from the ground.

“Is this big enough?” He asked, looking at the terribly irregular circle he had drawn. 

“Mhm, perfect! How many do you have?” Miya was quick to pull out his small bag with them, tied to the same belt he wore his keys in, and poured its insides onto his hand, showing it to Reki for him to count. “Oh! That makes for a long game.”

“Pick your taw first. It’s not fair if I do because they are mine.”

Reki agreed and picked out a blue one that slightly reminded him of Langa’s eyes. Their game started soon after. He was pleased to find it did help with his mood, clearing his mind of any dumb thought he could have about the situation at the garden and instead having him solely focused on throwing taw after taw. 

There was no doubt that despite being rusty, he was still better than Miya, which made him wonder just how often the other actually had someone to play with him. Though he tried to seem disappointed or complain during the few times Miya managed to throw a marble out their circle, deep down he was just proud to see him get it right. At some point, Reki considered going easy on him, but the younger boy left him no opportunity to after failing for the umpteenth time. 

“Agh!” He stood up from where he was and stomped on the ground. “This is stupid. Let’s go play chess or something.”

“But you were doing well! You were just getting the hang of it!” Reki argued.

“I was not! You are winning by a lot.” 

“And?” He tilted his head. “If you don’t wanna play marbles again because you lose the first time, you are never going to win. Plus, I would be able to tell everyone that I beat you every time we played. You don’t want that, do you?”

That seemed to work a bit.

“But you do it so easily, I could never beat you.”

“I wasn’t good either the first time I played.” An idea crossed his mind. “Hm… Why don’t we leave this one in a tie and I teach you how to throw them properly?”

There was no verbal response, but the boy still sat back on the ground by Reki’s side as the older boy began explaining how to hold the marble and how to shoot it in order to perform a proper throw. As he spoke, Reki’s mind traveled to ages ago, when he was still a young boy, younger than Miya even. He hadn’t lied when he said he was bad during his first games as well: the other boys he played with had all been taught by his fathers and he still hadn’t developed enough to fully process the fact that his had left. If he was able to win Miya now, it was because he had kept practicing by himself and took it upon himself to teach his sisters. 

He went back to happy memories of playing with Koyomi to every kind of game and his brain played for him a beautiful song of his three sister’s laughter. Their happiness has accompanied the best moments of his life, or, more likely, the best moments of his life were those in which his sisters and mother were happy. 

“Reki! Reki! You’re spacing out!” Miya called him back to Earth. “What are you thinking about? Hm… The girl from yesterday?”

“Huh? No, that didn’t go well.” He explained. “I was thinking about when I taught my sisters to play.”

There was silence for a moment, in which Reki simply looked up the sky and contemplated quietly how late it had gotten. Sun was getting low already, but he was having fun and as much as he liked to be with Langa, he found himself thinking that getting to spend his free time like this was also nice. He found himself mourning the fact he and Miya were probably go have dinner soon instead of wondering whether Langa and the princess were still together.

“Why didn’t your sisters come with you?” Miya asked.

“They couldn’t come, but I hope one day they will come live here with me.” He spoke. “Koyomi and you are the same age, so maybe you could be friends. And when she grows up, I could pass her all my dresses…”

“We don’t pass clothes around here.” Miya deadpanned him, making his stomach fill with a sick feeling of being inferior. “I mean… You can but, wouldn’t you like it if we made new ones for them? Plus, that way you can keep yours.”

“Right…”

“You wanna keep them, don’t you?” The boy asked, almost shy. Reki felt himself start to sweat at the question. “Your dresses, I mean.”

“Just as a memory.” He tried to sound convincing. 

“Pfft.” Miya laughed at his side as soon as the words reached his ears. “Don’t be silly. If you wanna wear them, wear them. Plus, you look handsome on them.”

“Really?” He couldn’t help but cringe at himself once he heard how excited his voice sounded.

“Mhm, really.” 

A bubbly, happy feeling took over Reki.

It was nice to have time like this, he thought, just to play with someone and get to know them. For a moment, he wished his childhood had been longer. A voice disrupted his thoughts before he could further dwell on that.

“Miya! One of the guests lost the keys to his bathroom!”

At his side, the boy rolled his green eyes before standing up and helping Reki do so as well as he shouted a “coming!” 

“Uhm, Reki…” He told him once they reached the part of the corridor in which they ought to part ways. “Thanks for teaching me how to play.”

“Of course.” He replied with a happy smile.

“Next time I won’t lose that easily!”

Acting on instinct, Reki lifted a hand to ruffle Miya’s dark hair with it.

“I sure hope not.”

…

The next time he heard his name that day was in the bath. Reki had been resting in the warm water, cleaning his skin from sweat and dirt he got during his time with Miya, and quietly reminiscing about the dress his sister had sold in exchange for proper soap the day before he had to leave. Now that he was surrounded by fancy hygiene products he just wished he could send one of those for his family back at home. His feelings about Koyomi’s dress and scented soap were interrupted by the prince’s voice, ringing from the room and startling him.

“Reki? Reki, are you there?”

“I am bathing!” He screamed in response, not sure of what the other would say. He figured he would leave, but he didn’t want to be apart from him any longer. Now that he was no longer frowning over nonsense, he couldn’t wait for the prince to share his progress for the day.

“Mind if I wait in your room till you’re done?” 

“Make yourself at home!” 

It felt silly to hear that knowing he was, technically, the one not at home, but he tried not to think about it as he quickly finished bathing and put on his night clothes as quickly as possible. When he exited the room, hair still damp and dripping, he found the prince on the bed, looking peaceful as he read the book he’d recommended Reki.

“Heh, I didn’t remember this part.” He said, pointing at a paragraph and showing it to Reki, who got on the bed by his side. “You’re gonna like it when you reach it.”

“Sure will.” 

“I am sorry for leaving you… Were you bored?” There was clear sincerity in his words, which Reki appreciated.

“No, I spent the day with Miya.” He explained to the royal. “How…?” He was unsure of how to ask. “How were things with the princess? Did you two…?”

“Oh, it went well but it was exhausting.” Langa started as he placed the book on the nightstand. “I am sure mom will be glad. Even without the marriage, we managed to discuss a merchant route to connect both our shores and…”

Without what?

“Without marriage?” Reki asked, perplexed. “Huh? But…” 

“She said she was no longer interested.” Despite the words, he didn’t seem bothered. Reki barely needed more than 2 seconds to feel relief wash over him. “It was a very polite rejection, at least. I am fine with it, though. I wasn’t all that interested either after last night, even if I accepted her apology.”

“When is the other suitor coming? Will there be another dance?”

“She will be coming in two weeks time.” Langa said. “Ah, and I still have to paint that portrait for the southerner.” At that, the boy hissed and frowned. “The painter is coming tomorrow, apparently. I hoped he wouldn’t come till Tuesday.”

“Is it a problem?”

“I will have to wake up early.” After speaking, his eyes scooped low and his voice talked shyly. “An alarm like yours would come in handy, you know? And I am here already, so…”

It only took him some seconds before Reki could connect the dots.

“Do you wanna sleep here?” He asked, getting a nod in reply. As much as he loved that idea, he couldn’t help but fear it was too inappropriate. “Are you sure? It’s not as good as your room, and…”

“It’s literally the same but smaller.” 

“But you don’t have your sleeping clothes here!” Reki argued back.

Langa didn’t say anything for a moment, as if thinking of a solution. Going to his room to get them would kill his argument of being already there, and Reki was sure he wouldn’t be able to find a way to fix that. 

“Hm, would it bother you if I slept without pants?” Blue eyes looked at him seriously, as if in deep thought, as Reki just felt a blush he desperately wanted to hide creep to his face. “My shirt is flowy so I could sleep comfortably with it.”

“That’s fine with me, then.” He told the other. It was him who slept with little clothing most of the time, so would it bother him?

“Then, should we go to bed now? I am a bit sleepy…”

“Of course.” He hummed, getting under the linens. “Goodnight, Langa.”

“Goodnight, Reki.”

…

A body, which he recognized quickly as Langa’s, moved and squirmed in his hold till Reki shot awake, drowsily opening his eyes to find the prince tossing around uncomfortably.

“Langa…?” He mumbled, not sure what was happening. “Langa, what’s wrong?” It was when he incorporated that he could see the boy’s eyes weren’t open. He was still sleeping, probably haunted by night terrors. Unsure of what to do, Reki tried to shake his body. “Langa, wake up. Please, it’s not real, you’re fine… Please, Langa.” He said, between a whisper and his usual tone.

The other’s blue eyes were opened soon after. The prince stared at the ceiling for some seconds, eyes half-lidded with sleep, before his mouth went from a small “o” to a pout as his eyes got teary. Turning quickly, he searched for Reki’s chest. He allowed him to stay there, hoping to sooth him with his heartbeat as he had done last night. His hands went to the back of his head to caress his soft hair as he shushed him.

“It’s over now, it’s alright.” He whispered. “You’re alright, I’ve got you.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…” The prince’s words were all muffled against Reki’s chest. 

“Shh, you’ve done nothing wrong.” He tried to calm him down. “Deep breaths now, alright? Wanna copy me like yesterday?”

“No…” The other complained, voice wet and sad. “I wanna… I… Fuck…”

“Shh, easy now… What do you want?”

“I want my dad…” He let out before breaking down into sobs.

Reki closed his eyes and took a deep breath, both to prepare himself and to help Langa try to follow his breathing pattern even if it was unconsciously. Maybe it was his fault for asking what he wanted when he knew he didn’t have much to give… But knowing no one could ever give Langa what he needed was breaking his soul in two. He knew what it was like to want a father, but he had never known what it was to want the one you once had. Reki took a deep breath himself once more, ready to try his best.

“It’s alright, I understand.” He spoke quietly, not wanting to distress the other with loud noises when he was so vulnerable. “He will…” He cut himself before he could say anything wrong. Reki remembered being a child, crying to his mother because he couldn’t understand what was going on and hearing the empty promise that someone would come back soon. “He would have wanted to stay here too. I am sure he loved you.”

“But I was away for so long…” 

“He let you go because that would make you happy, right?” Still crying, Langa nodded against him. “That’s because he loved you. He must have loved you so much, I just know. You are a wonderful person, Langa. I can tell you are a wonderful son.”

“He was…” A sob cut his words before he could start again. “He was a great dad… He wrote for me so often.”

“His letters are going to be with you forever.” He said. “His words are still a part of him, and they are gonna be with you for your whole life. He hasn’t left you, Langa.” His mouth got dry once more, but he decided to speak even after his voice broke. “A father would never leave his son willingly, Langa.”

“But I left him…”

“You wrote back, right?” 

“Every week, I replied to every letter and I sent others a part of that and, and, and then I…”

“Deep breaths, remember?” Reki filled his lungs up and encouraged the other to copy him. “Like that, very well. As long as he could read how happy you were, he had you by his side.”

“I dreamt he died in my arms.” With that, Langa broke down again, crying more than he was.

“But he didn’t, Langa, it wasn’t real. You arrived on time and you got to say your goodbye.” 

“What if it wasn’t enough?” The prince talked once more. “What if I wasn’t enough?”

Reki couldn’t tell what took over him, but at the words, his hand moved from Langa’s nape and traveled to below its chin, lifting his head up and forcing his teary, ocean eyes to look at his through the darkness of the night. He couldn’t see all that clearly, but he knew he needed to look at him. He needed Langa to know how much he meant it.

“You are always enough.”  

Langa seemed surprised to hear that. His mouth became o-shaped once more as his cries seemed to cease, body now focused on staring at Reki. 

Reki, who was holding him close to his chest and helping him out for the third night in a row; Reki, who had caressed his hair with care; Reki, the boy who was only there because he lied about his skills but who wouldn’t change anything; Reki, who was only a poor boy from a poor family and also Reki, who…

Reki, who was staring down at Langa’s lips, which looked just as soft as the rest of him.

Reki, who couldn’t stop thinking about kissing him, even in the chaos of the situation. Even if the other was a prince looking for a fiancée, even if he was just a boy from the crops till last week, even if he knew he was bound by a contract…

Reki, whose feelings of discomfort the whole day might have meant something different.

Reki, whose heart was beating too fast; and Langa, who was once more falling asleep in his arms and leaving him with nothing but his thoughts.

Chapter Text

For the first time since they became close, Langa woke up earlier than Reki, clinging to his scarce sleep clothes and pulling him awake with his soft mumbles and slight shakes to the other’s body. 

“Reki…” He babbled, still only half awake. “Reki, I don’ wan’ wake up… Tell ‘em I’m sleepy…”

“I can’t…”

“But I’m sleepy…”

“But you said you…” A yawn cut off Reki’s words. “Said you wouldn’t mind waking up…”

“To be with you, not to work…”

“But it’s me who is gonna be working…” Reki argued back.

“But I’m sleepy!”

It wasn’t long before Reki’s alarm went off and pushed Reki out of bed, but the minutes prior to that were spent going back and forth on the matter. The prince, who had the privilege of staying in bed while Reki got ready to go to the laundry room, made sure to brag about it as the other entered his bathroom to get dressed. Not like Reki minded; if anything, it was nice to have someone else in the morning with him. Being alone hadn’t been a bother he’d noticed till now that he no longer was, but he couldn’t deny that hearing Langa talking from his room was better than having silence as companion.

When, upon opening the door to go forfeit the prince’s clothes, the boy started to jokingly complain about not wanting Reki to leave, it made his heart smile. The well-known route from his room to the laundry room felt quicker, but Reki didn’t want to think about the chance of it being a product of subconsciously walking faster… It was futile and silly to go faster just because he wanted to be with the other, especially since they spent the whole day together every day… In spite of his illiteracy, he prided himself in being a smart man considering his education, and he would never do something silly like that for no reason. Still, the way back to his room also went by faster than usual. 

“Reki!” Langa smiled when he walked back in. 

“I was gone for 10 minutes maximum.” He said, handing the clothes for the other. “You got the fancy ones today.” He mentioned in regards to the suit Langa was meant to wear today, which had been nicely folded sitting in the golden cart and that looked similar in style to the one he’d worn during the dance. 

“Hm… I didn’t know this was the concept we were doing for the painting…” The boy said, examining his clothes. 

“How come? Everyone wears fancy suits in the paintings hung up in the castle.” 

“Well, this is a…” The prince cleared his throat. “A painting meant for courting. I thought it would be more carefree, I wasn’t counting on wearing all the paraphernalia.” 

“Crown too and all of that?” 

The face the other made was enough to let Reki know that the crown was the last thing he wanted.

“Thankfully not that much paraphernalia. Still, I hate this suit.”

Though he felt bad afterwards, a quick thought on how he badly wished he had a suit of that quality to hate on crossed Reki’s mind. He should be more grateful with his life, he told himself. He recognized it had taken a very welcoming turn, and wanting more than what he had considering what his life had been like just some weeks ago felt wrong in a way. 

“Should I ask for a quick change, Your Highness?” He spoke, accidentally adding the honorific title after having dwelt on his position once more.

“Ah…” A long sigh came out of Langa’s mouth. “Let’s just deal with it this once. It’s probably too late either way.”

He told himself it shouldn’t matter, but Reki couldn’t help but notice the other had not corrected him from using his title. Does he not mind it anymore?, his mind asked itself, should I still call him Langa? Has he gotten tired of playing pretend with me? 

…

Apparently, Langa had asked for the painting to be realized in one of his favorite spots in the garden consisting of a stone-made table and benches that sat below a massive weeping willow. Being driven there for the first time wasn’t bad, but Reki didn’t feel the same magic and whimsy he’d felt during their first time together at the castle. 

“Do you like it?” The prince asked as they approached. The painter and what Reki assumed were assistants of his were there already, placing their materials properly on the ground.

“Mhm! It’s pretty.” 

“I used to come here to read a lot. We should come together one day, if you’d like.”

The mention of reading together lifted some pressure from his shoulders, making him untense muscles he didn’t know he had tensed. Maybe he had overreacted earlier and spiraled too easy, but that only drove him to another conclusion that, when paired with Langa’s words, had him feeling worse: his lie had gotten too far, and his attempt at belonging in the royal environment might have been a mistake, now turned into a source of anxiety.

It didn’t matter all that much that the prince asked him to be his friend and not his employee, or that he sat with the royals for breakfast, or that he pretended to be fitted for the job. In the end, he could do nothing to palliate the clear difference in status. In the end, he didn’t belong or felt like he belonged.

“Good morning, master.” Langa’s words to the artist in charge pulled him from his thoughts. “I hope the location chosen is to your liking. Does it seem viable?”

“Oh, Your Highness! The place is of absolute beauty. The choice will make for a beautiful painting. We should get started soon in order not to miss the sunlight, so allow my student to place you into position.” Silently, he watched as a boy that seemed around Miya’s age took the prince’s hand in his and led him to the bench before manhandling his arms and legs as if the prince wasn’t more than a ragdoll. “Will Your Highness’… Handmaiden… Remain with us during the process?”

Reki had never been described as a handmaiden before, but he felt like he could have lived on with that being the case. The word was alright, he figured. If someone were to call him handmaiden in another context, or with him wearing something other than the long skirt he’d chosen for the day, he would not mind or even like it… But the tone and way in which the syllables were pronounced by the man made it sound almost disrespectful.

“Reki works as a valet de chambre or personal assistant. I would recommend both terms before handmaiden. I have given him permission to stay if he wishes, and freedom to leave at any point.” 

He should have been happier to hear the prince defending him, he thought. He had no business getting bothered by the man’s ill intentions. It shouldn’t matter if he didn’t want him to stay there. It was Reki who worked and lived at the castle, and not this visitor they had hired as a painter, right? So, why was his mind focusing so hard on the fact that even with a single glance at him the artist had deduced he was an intruder? 

“Reki… Reki, are you listening?” It was the prince who once more took his head back to reality. Reki turned to face him. “I asked if you will stay. It might take a long time, so I unders…”

“I will stay, Your Highness. I will sit right here.” He said as he dropped to the ground and plopped the book he had taken from the nightstand before coming. God forbid he missed a chance to let the prince believe he was reading his beloved book. 

“In the grass? Whatever lady lent you those clothes won’t be happy about that.” The painter mentioned, making him frown.

“Reki’s clothes are provided by the castle’s organization and are by any means of his property. I believe we are wasting the sunlight with matters like this.”

He remained silent as the conversation finished in front of his eyes, with the painter quickly dismissing the situation and finally getting to the painting. Time went by quietly from then, and he did nothing but mindlessly pass pages whenever he thought it had been enough of pretending to read a certain one. No one around him was saying a word, but he was able to entertain himself staring and studying the letters quietly for some hours till boredness finally took over, pushing him to stand up and take a look at the state of the picture.

Not wanting to disturb the official painter, Reki stood behind the apprentice he’d brought with him. For a student, the work was superb in the boy’s eyes. He could only imagine how the other, more professional painting could be if it was supposedly better, just like how he could only hope that the palace would keep the assistant’s version.

“What’d you think?”

It took a bit for him to realize the boy was asking for his opinion. 

“It’s beautiful.” The subject, he thought, probably made it hard for the drawing to turn out ugly. 

“Let me take a look, lad.” The other man was quickly behind Reki, looking over his shoulder at the boy’s magnificent piece. “Hm… Make his face thinner, and get rid of that beauty mark. Perhaps a dimple would look better.”

“Understood.”

“But…” When he decided he no longer wanted to speak, all the eyes were on him already. “But his beauty marks are gorgeous, and his Highness’ has no dimples. His face looks good as it is.” 

“Reki, let’s let them do their job…” The prince spoke in a soft, almost condescending tone, as if he was talking to an elder. 

“But Your Highness…” He shot a quick glance at the master’s canvas, finding it less pretty than the other. “His is not realistic at all!”

A grimace set on Langa’s face, that briefly blushed and hid in discomfort.

“Well, I assumed so. You don’t need to tell me that.” 

“It makes you no ju…”

“Reki, please.” He got interrupted by the other. “I…” The prince cleared his throat. “Your input is appreciated, but I believe it would be better to let the artist do his job with what he sees fit. It is not mandatory for you to be here, I would understand if you were to leave and I… I greatly encourage you to do so if the painting is not pleasant in your eyes.”

The last word was muffled by the sound of her confidence shattering as his mind spoke to him: What a great bunch of words to invite you to leave. 

“Will do, Your Highness.” His voice was as stern as he could possibly make it. 

…

It took less than 5 minutes of walking through the garden for him to start to cry quietly, drying his own tears with his hands as soon as they came out. Last thing he wanted was for someone to notice he’d been crying. At least, he figured, he could blame it on allergies if that happened.

“ Your input is appreciated” he mimicked, trying to be quiet in case someone heard him. “You didn’t appreciate shit.”

The reason he’d been pushed away escaped him. Sure, he knew nothing about art, but he’d been silent the whole time and it was impossible that the 3 sentences he’d spoken had been so badly offensive, right? 

“I didn’t know he valued that painter so much.” He spoke to himself. “Hope that girl tells you how different you look when you meet her, I really hope so. Not to stand there and say I told you but I certainly wouldn’t mind…”

His little rant stopped when, turning to the direction he’d been sure he had to take, his face was met with a dead end. Was that not the right path? Had he gotten lost? Truth is, the garden could be rather labyrinthic at times… He placed his left hand to the tall, grass-made wall and started to walk again, now focusing on finding his way out rather than the incident that just took place. Still, he occasionally commented on it out loud, and his mind was still spinning with mixed thoughts.

Why’d he say that? It was so embarrassing to be scolded in front of the other two… I don’t like being scolded, it’s been so long… 

But he defended me before, right? So I should not complain. I’m sure other people with my position have worst people to tend to. My life is easy now.

I don’t deserve this easy life, do I? Why me? There must be another boy in a worse situation who could be here… Or someone with the right qualifications… I am just playing pretend.

But he is also playing pretend with me, right? That’s why he hired me for. He likes pretending we are still kids and unaware of the differences. Maybe he still is, but I can not ignore it. Maybe he is starting to get impossible for him too… He’s lived all his life in wealth and I have barely lived at all.

His hand came in contact with cold stone that distracted him again. Proud and strong, a tall door stood in front of him, leading to the castle. Though aware it possibly lead to a room he’d never seen before and, mayhaps, another wing different from the one he usually stayed at, but he didn’t want to stay outside longer, so he entered the place.

The room he found himself in was dark, nothing but a small corridor-like entrance that he didn’t find much sense in. Another door stood ahead of him, which he opened without thinking about it too much. The result felt like a whiplash. 

The new room was large, incredibly long and decorated with massive royal paintings depicting people he’d never seen alongside others he recognized, such as Langa or the Queen. With his whole body and mind reduced to nothing but awe, Reki walked around the room, carefully examining all the paintings.

He couldn’t help but notice how most of the ones featuring the two members of the royal family he was close to weren’t as realistic as the untrained eye might think. None of them seemed to include the beauty mark Langa had just above his jaw, and his face felt distorted in a way that was still handsome, but just not real.

His eyes laid in a huge, almost wall height square canvas with a technique similar to the one the painter in the garden had been using for Langa. It must have been old, judging by the age of the people depicted in it; the drawing showed the prince as a child, smiling to the watcher and surrounded by his mother and late father, both of them with the same affable smile. Not able to look away from it, Reki took a seat on one of the cushioned, soft benches distributed in the center of the room.

The young image of the prince reminded him of their short encounter as children, stirring the heavy anxieties in his stomach and mind. It was, perhaps, the most lifelike representation of him in the whole room. Others, as he had noticed, made him look not only different in aspect, but also serious and with a sobriety that didn’t suit his soul. The lively kid one could guess laid behind this drawing was much more accurate.

A noise pulled him out of his trance, making him turn his head to the end of the room. A door different to the one he’d used was being opened slightly, letting more light shine into the room. Softly, a feminine voice spoke to someone in the corridor before closing the door and filling the empty place with the sound of heels hitting the ground.

“Oh, Reki, is it you?” 

His head turned to meet the queen herself, standing with a tender look on her face. It took him a second to rushedly stand up.

“I am sorry to disturb, Your Majesty, allow me to take my leave…” He spoke in quick words, dusting off his skirt. 

“No need for that, lad. This place is as much of your home as mine.” 

A part of him wanted to tell her she was incredibly wrong. The castle had been welcoming and the difficulties it presented were undeniably less than at his village, but it wasn’t his home. His heart remained with his family back at home, who had nursed his heart and shaped him. Still, he understood the woman meant nothing but kindness with her words, so he sat back down. To his surprise, the queen sat next to him, facing the drawing instead of him.

“I was not aware you fancied art.” 

“I, uhm…” He figured there was no need to lie about this. Pretending to be a cultured man could easily get out of hand, he’d done enough by telling the prince he enjoyed multiple literary genres already. “I don’t know much about art. I got lost in order to get here. I didn’t know the castle had an art room.”

“There’s plenty of them here and there. Shall you desire to visit them, do not hesitate to ask. Someone will gladly show you.” After a short pause, she continued. “They are some of my favorite parts of the palace. How do you find this one?”

“I like it. I didn’t know so many paintings could be stored together. Hm… I liked this one.” He said, pointing at the work in front of them. Sideyedly, he caught a glimpse of a sad smile from the queen.

“It is my favorite by far too.” She mentioned. “Out of the ones we have together, this is the one I could never part with. Hm… I feel like as he grew older, some of his essence was lost in the eyes of the artists we hired. No one has painted him as happy as he looks in this one. This is what I come back to when I miss the family we used to be.”

“My deepest condolences on the departure of your husband, Your Majesty.”

“I greatly appreciate your kind words, lad.” A long sigh follows. “Hm… What do you like about it, Reki? You said you liked it too.”

“Ah, well… I thought it was very accurate.” 

“This must be almost a decade old, though!” The woman giggled. “Is this your way of telling me I look young?”

“No, no, no! While that’s true, I just… I feel like the way the prince looks in the others doesn’t do him justice.”

“Oh, I understand… He is such a handsome boy, I doubt anyone could do him justice.” The love in her words reminded Reki of his own mom, dressing him with the nicest clothes she could get for him and telling him he was the most beautiful in the world. “Wouldn’t you agree?”

“Uh…” What was he meant to say? He settled with the truth once more. “He is really handsome, yes.”

“Mhm, just like his father…” The queen mused, having pulled out a black fan to blow some cold air to herself. “Why are you not with him? Did the painting process get boring? Ah… Sitting there for hours and just waiting is so awful.” 

“I don’t think watching the process is for me.” He said. “It upsetted me that the artist was modifying His Highness’ looks…”

“Well, it is the master’s job to approximate us all to the standard as much as he can.” 

Langa’s “you didn’t need to tell me that” resonated in his head. Had he sounded insulting when letting him know the painting wasn’t realistic? Considering the other couldn’t have known how it looked from his position as the muse, perhaps he had imagined more changes than there were and feared Reki had somehow confirmed he was not up to the canon. To put it simply, he summarized himself, he basically told the prince that the painter thought he was ugly.

“Won’t the suitor get…?” He halted his words; disappointment was not something Langa could bring in terms of appearance.

“If she ends up marrying him, I doubt it would be looks that make her do so. Not every part of courting is decisive."

“I see… When will the next suitor be visiting?”

"Everything is ready for her to spend some days here. We have received news that she will arrive during the middle of next week." 

"No dance?"

"Sakurayashiki and I talked the council out of it. After the last one went wrong, it might overwhelm Langa even more or make him too anxious. Simply allowing her a stay at the palace for a week sounded pleasant for everyone." Her mouth bent into a smile. "Would you like to be the one breaking the news to him?"

He smiled too. In reality, he wasn’t sure the news nor him delivering would make the prince excited, but he didn’t want to let the queen know something was wrong. 

"It will be my pleasure, Your Majesty."

…

Dinner arrived just as the artist and his apprentice left, though Reki wasn't with the prince to see them out. He waited outside the dining hall, which Miya had opened for the queen and the rest to start eating. Entering without the person he owed his job to would be disrespectful. 

However, when the other arrived with him, he made no effort to speak with him. Instead, Langa just shot a quick glance at him and gestured for the redhead to follow him inside, leaving Reki wondering how much he’d messed up during the painting.

The banquet he had known began to get used to for dinner was as savory as it had been any other day, but it tasted dull. His mouth was instead full of the bitter taste of bile and his stomach felt uneasy. God, he pleaded, not sure to whom, don’t let this be my last dinner here, please… 

The boy couldn’t help looking at Langa during dinner, noticing he remained quiet during all of it. He must have really upset him, he thought to himself in fear. Were he to stand, his shaky legs would probably send him straight to the ground. 

“Your Highness, may I ask how was the painting today?” Kaoru asked from Reki’s side. The other raised his head, staring at the man before pulling a single finger close to his lips as if asking for silence. “Was it alright, at least?”

After a hand gesture that seemed to indicate “more or less,” the table fell into silence again. Reki had no problem eating in silence most of the time, having gotten used to having different timetables than his family, but he couldn’t deny he felt uncomfortable this time. Perhaps it was the cold sweat running down his back and making the fabric of his shirt stick to his back. 

Without conversation, the dinner ended faster than normal. The Queen and her ladies-in-waiting were the first ones to stand up and take their leave, followed by the two older men. Miya remained silent where he sat on Reki’s right, but left as the minutes passed, telling the other to pay a visit to his room in order for him to go close the door. The prince, however, didn’t move at all. Being alone with him like that sent a shiver down Reki’s spine.

They waited long enough without saying anything for the staff in charge of laying the table and picking up the dirty dishes. Gently patting one of them on the shoulder, Langa caught one of the member’s attention and pretended to stir and drink from an invisible cup.

“Of course, Your Highness. It will be here in a minute.” She spoke softly. “Anything else?”

Without giving it much thought, the boy raised two fingers, to which the other replied with a nod. 

The interaction seemed to end there, and so did any other attempt from Langa at communicating with anyone. 

Why are we still here? Why is he not talking to me? Should I apologize? Should I wait? Am I fired? Does he no longer like me? 

Reki’s mind filled itself with spinning, scary thoughts as he struggled to remain calm. How he managed to not explode with stress in the minutes that passed before the same girl from the staff came in and placed two hot mugs of something he couldn’t see completely escaped him. 

It was then that the prince took both mugs into his hands and stood up, walking towards Reki’s side of the table and sitting by his side, not speaking a word as he placed one of the cups in front of the other. The redhead looked into it, finding it full of a light brown beverage.

“What is this?” He asked. 

At his side, the other finished a long, first sip that indicated it was good.

“Cocoa milk.” The prince spoke, voice hoarse.

Imitating the other, he sipped from the mug, finding it sweet and filling, but with the taste of worry still not missing. What was going on?

“It’s very good, Your Highness.” 

“Langa.” 

“Langa, right.” He mumbled, mostly to himself. That was probably a good sign, right?, Reki told himself.

“Head hurts.” 

Oh… That made more sense.

“Is that why you weren’t speaking?” A nod answered Reki’s question. “Let’s get you to bed after you’re done. Does this help with headaches?” He asked, examining the now almost-empty mug. 

Langa shook his head no.

“Just cheers me up.” It was faint, but Reki could see a slight smile forming on his lips, which he quickly reciprocated. “Childhood-like.”

Reki found his smile growing wider as he realized his fears and anxieties from the day might stay at that, not becoming real. His mind went back to the painting in the art room and to his memories from when he was almost eleven. Perhaps there was no reason for him to stop believing this new life could still be partly childhood-like.

…

He insisted on changing the prince into his bed clothes and the other, still tired and speaking in few words, didn’t really have it in him to hide how willing he was to just lay there and be taken care of for a bit. Reki even went all the way, enough to tuck him in. 

“Can you get me a book? I want…”

“You should rest. Let’s not tire your head more, shall we?” He said.

Of course, he didn’t want the other to overexert himself, but he had no idea how to find a specific title. Instead of handing any book to the other, he stood up from where he was bent down close to the bed and made his way out.

“Wait, Reki…” The prince called as his hand laid on the golden doorknob. “Where are you going?”

“I need to tell Miya to close the dining hall.” 

“Stay longer?” 

“It wouldn’t be fair for him to stay awake waiting for me, though.”

“But… I had something to tell you.”

That scared him again, catching all of his attention and pulling him close to the bed again. He tried hard to seem composed, not wanting the other to guess how fast his heartbeat had gotten out of nowhere and how he felt uncomfortably warm, as if burning down.

“I’m all ears.” Reki tried to play it cool.

It was a lost cause. It was impossible to play it cool when, right after, Langa was sitting up on the bed and throwing his arms around his back in a hug.

“I’m sorry.” He spoke, lifting a weight Reki didn’t know had been holding on his shoulders. His muscles untensed as relief washed over him. “I was so rude for no reason when you were in a new situation. I was so unfair, and acted as a horrible friend, and dismissed your opinions, and…”

“Shhh…” He hushed the prince. “It’s alright, Langa. You’re forgiven.” The tight embrace around his body grew tighter at his words, making him giggle. “I also had something to tell you.”

“What is it?” Langa said, ending the hug and looking at him with curious eyes. 

“Your next suitor will be arriving next week. She is gonna stay at the castle for a week.” Reki smiled. “Are you excited?”

“No dances?” 

“No dances, and no guests other than her and whoever accompanies her. How does that sound?”

“It sounds good.” As his words left his mouth, he grabbed Reki’s hand. “Let’s hope for the best.”

…

The week went by vertiginously fast, without much notice. Reki woke up in the mornings, hugged by or hugging the prince, did his chores, accompanied him to his classes and assignments… The routine had been something easy to fall into.

Still, changes to it didn’t go unnoticed. Not without worrying, he noticed Miya barely spent time with him anymore. He would have understood it as having done something wrong to the younger boy if it weren’t for the fact the other did not even stop to have breakfast most of the time. He would open the door, enter to pick a fruit or a bun of bread, and leave without bothering to chat, which obviously concerned Reki. However, no one dwelled on it till Saturday, when the palace woke up a brief letter announcing the princess would arrive that day’s evening.

“Where in hell is Miya?” Kaoru practically shouted as he rushed into the dining hall, interrupting the lunch Reki, Langa and the queen had started without him, given he was meant to be at work.

“Miya? Is he not on duty today?” The queen asked softly.

“He is, but no one has seen him in the whole day since we got notice that princess Harriet would be arriving tonight.” He explained. “He is the only one with the keys to her and her companions' rooms and he is nowhere to be seen. She is likely just some hours away from here!”

“He has been avoiding everyone lately.” Reki tried to explain. “I don’t know why, but…”

A long sigh escaped the man as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Well, he cannot avoid his job.”

“Technically, we can’t fire him…” Langa mumbled at his side, making Reki giggle a bit.

“Alright, maybe he can avoid his job, but that does not mean he should by any means.” Kaoru continued. “We are gonna need the key before the clock hits eight, so he better has it by then.”

“You’re talking like we can fire him.” The prince mumbled again.

“It’s just a way of speaking.” He said, exasperated. 

Feeling bad for the visibly distressed man, Reki took the last bite to his food and stood up from his seat.

“You should rest for a bit and have something to eat.” He said. “I can go look for him instead, since His Highness will have class till late today. Would that be alright?”

Though he hadn’t said yes yet, Kaoru was already sitting down and resting his back against the chair, trying to relax and unleash tension.

“I suppose so, as long as the prince is fine with it.” 

Not needing to say anything, Reki just shot a quick look at Langa. The other took his hand between his own, sending Reki’s heart into panic as his heartbeat grew faster. How annoying that he couldn’t control his reactions to a simple gesture that shouldn’t mean much…

“Will you be back when the princess arrives?” 

“Of course.” 

“Then, you’re free to do as you please till then.”

And so, Reki exited the dining hall in search of the apparently lost teenage boy. He’d learnt where his room was on his first week at the castle, so he set off to it with determined steps, thinking about what could have kept Miya so busy the whole week. Whatever it had been, he just hoped the boy wasn’t going through anything serious. 

To his surprise, a girl from the staff, busy with making the beds at that floor’s rooms, came to him just to let him know he had heard Miya from his room earlier but he had denied coming out when she asked for the keys. 

“You should try again, though!” She encouraged him. “The young lord is closer to you out of everyone here, I’m sure he’ll let you in.”

“Well, I wasn’t planning to give him up no matter what, so…!”

“That’s the spirit!” She said, giving some tiny, quiet claps. “Wanna go for coffee later with the rest of the handmaids? Since we’ll be busier the upcoming days we thought of organizing something for tonight with most of the staff!”

Though he would have loved to go out with the rest of the employees, to which he had gotten closer to with the days and where he always felt comfortable with, he found himself declining the offer in favor of accompanying Langa through meeting the princess. After wishing the girl a fun time for later, he went back to his journey of pulling Miya out of his room. 

Reki stood behind the door and shyly knocked with three knuckles. He got nothing in return, pushing him to repeat the action, earning himself an audible groan.

“I said go away!” He screamed from inside.

“Miya, it’s me!” Reki spoke. “The other staff has left the corridor.”

“Well, you can leave too!” 

“Come on, don’t be rude! You only need to open the door for a minute and hand me three or so keys, it will be alright. I think you will survive.”

“I don’t care, I don’t wanna!” The kid shouted. “Stop bothering me!”

“Miya, come on!” 

“Go away!”

“Ugh, forget about the key! You’ve been absent the whole week, I’m worried about you.”

“Oh, really? That’s very kind of you. Now, leave.” 

“Miya, please…” He knocked on the door repeatedly again. “I’m not leaving until you tell me what’s wrong. You’re concerning me. I wanna be there if you need help!”

“You literally just want the damn key.”

“Hey, watch your mouth!” He said, absolutely expecting the “you’re not my mother” he got in return. “Look, I get the girl should have a room she can access, but if you’re locking yourself up here and pushing everyone away, of course I’m gonna get worried. What’s wrong, Miya?”

“Look, I’m just gonna give you the damn key and you can tell everyone to leave me alone until the princess leaves next week.”

“Definitely not!” Reki practically shouted too, not believing the other. “What are you even gonna eat? Come on, Miya, tell me!”

There was no answer for a second, there for two and there for thirty. Reki didn’t say anything until Miya broke the silence.

“I look ugly.” Miya said, undoubtedly quieter than he had said anything prior.

Man, I don’t miss early teens at all, Reki thought to himself.

“No, you don’t.” He rushed to say through the door. “Come on, who even said that? Wait, did someone actually tell you that?”

“No, but I have two eyes and a mirror.”

“Well, then, I don’t see your point!” Reki complained. “Come on, you’re good-looking! Your eyes are pretty, and your hair looks fluffy, and the black goes well with your skin because you are pale, but not in a way that makes you look sick, you get me. And your skin is perfect!” A thought crossed his mind. “Are you about to tell me you got some acne or a pimple and that’s what caused everything?”

“It’s not that…”

“Hey, bud, I get your body is changing but I highly doubt any of the changes have made you look ugly.” 

“But I look ridiculous!” 

Reki let out a long sigh, holding the door knob and getting closer to the door. He placed a hand against the wood, as if Miya could feel him from there.

“You don’t look ridiculous, Miya.” He spoke softly. “I understand you feel that way because you may no longer look like you’re used to looking, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. There’s no reason for changes not to be for the better, alright? You can’t let this isolate you from your friends, especially from friends who could help you deal with it. Why don’t you let me in and tell me what the problem is?”

“Promise not to laugh?” When Miya spoke, he sounded very close to the door, pleasantly surprising Reki.

“I could never laugh at something that’s disturbing you.” The door opened with Miya pretty much hiding behind it. As soon as Reki stepped inside, the boy rushed to close it again, as if his life depended on it. “So, what’s that ridiculous thing you were talking about?” He asked from behind Miya’s back.

The other turned around attempting to cover half of his face with a hand, but not succeeding to properly hide the 3-day stubble growing there. It was short, just as black as his hair, and unstable, with some spots with way less hair than others. Reki couldn’t deny he understood the negative feelings Miya might have about it, but overall he was just happy it was a problem with an easy solution. He stood there in silence as the younger one crossed his arms and looked down in a way that contrasted with the usual pride he walked and moved with.

“So?” He asked.

“So?” Reki repeated. “I can’t believe you were gonna lock yourself in instead of shaving.”

“That’d be worse! I don’t even know how, and I don’t own anything for it.” Miya complained. “And I wouldn’t like going everywhere with shaving scars and bleeding points either. I don’t want the visitors to see either.”

“Hm…” Reki mumbled. “What if you give me the keys that we need and I give them to Kaoru so you can forget about them and then go to my room, take my razor, and help you with it?”

In a matter of 15 minutes, he was back at Miya’s room after having delivered the needed keys and retrieving his shaving gear. He’d sat the boy in a stool in front of the bathroom’s mirror, picked a towel to cover his chest with, and lathered his face with shaving soap. Without much thinking, he pulled out the straight razor he had been using since he was Miya’s age.

“Ready?” He asked from behind Miya, placing his hands on the boy’s shoulders and looking at him through their reflection.

“If you cut me, I will bite your hand.” 

“I’ll take that as a yes.” 

And so, he started to carefully slide the razor against Miya’s skin, touching light enough for it to never tear tissue but with just the right harshness to properly shave the other. They remained in silence for a few minutes before Reki talked, just as he realized the process would take longer than he was used to since he had to be extra-careful.

“So, your father didn’t teach you how to shave before he left you?” He asked, though already suspecting the answer.

“That’s not funny.” Miya whispered.

“Neither did mine.” Reki said, not missing the way Miya’s green eyes shone in surprise.

“I… I thought your father had passed away.” He said. “Since you never talk about him.”

“If he has, I wouldn’t know. He left home one day and that's it.” He spoke calmly. It was not easy to talk about it, but he hoped the topic would help Miya with however he felt about his parents absence, and that soothed his scarred heart. “I have not heard from him in ages.” 

“How old were you?” 

“About 10 years old.” Miya frowned at the idea. “He stayed long enough for my mother to get pregnant with twins but not long enough to even name them.”

“I am sorry.”

“It’s alright. It took me a while to accept it, and sometimes I still feel like I haven’t, but it was a good thing that he left. Sure, I had to start doing the work he did at the field, but it was fine with me as long as he wasn’t there ruining everything.” Despite the emotions flowing through, he didn’t change the softness he used the razor with.

“Hm? Did you not like him?”

“I liked the idea of having a dad. I hated it when I realized he was not coming back and no one else was coming to fill in for him. I wanted a dad.” Reki explained. “But I hated him, because he hated our… my family. The way he treated my mother was repulsive… Have you seen my mother?”

“How could I?” 

“Well, I believe my mother is the most incredible, beautiful and treasurable human I’ve ever met. Her touch is always gentle…” He said, thinking about the last hugs he’d gotten before parting to the castle and the soft touch of her fingertips in his scalp as she washed his hair one last time. “But I don’t think my dad reciprocated that.”

“Did he ever…?” Miya cleared his throat to speak. “Did he ever hit you?”

“Yeah.” His voice was heavy and low as he spoke. “He liked that I was a man, and favored me more than he would with mom or Koyomi. But he resented me once he figured I wasn’t like him.” He thought of the skirts and dresses he wore almost daily nowadays, of the fact that he owned lipgloss and that he had worn more make-up than his sisters ever had. His father would have hated that, but knowing the man had nothing to do about his current life that made him smile for a bit before he continued talking. “I will die happy because I know I didn’t allow him to ever lay a finger on Koyomi.”

Silence settled in for a moment till Miya talked, admiring the soft work Reki had done so far.

“I think you’re gentle in nature.” He said. “You’re a kind person. I’m glad to have met you.” 

“Hm, thank you… But just because you praise me, it doesn’t mean you’re gonna get a free cut every week.” He joked to soften the atmosphere.

“I mean it!” Miya argued back. “You feel… Well, you are an older brother. But I mean, you feel like family to me. And I…” Shy, he lowered his voice till it was inaudible.

“What’d you say? I didn’t hear.” 

“I… I don’t think anyone has felt so much like a family to me.” He whispered, once again looking at the ground, embarrassed. “I always say I’m proud of belonging to my family, but I don’t think I love them.”

“You don’t have to.” Reki reassured him. “Your love is something they must earn, it shouldn’t come as a gift.”

“You know? My mother did not… She hired a wet nurse when I was a newborn, because she wished to be retired to a villa we own after birthing but was allegedly afraid I would be allergic to the flowers there.” That’s disgusting, Reki thought to himself, figuring the other would agree with him. “I learnt how my parents look from paintings. I learnt to be proud of my lineage before I learnt what newspaper my father reads and what my mother’s favorite color is. There’d be times in which they and I would be at the same dance and I wouldn’t be able to recognize them as my parents.”

“You deserved better than that. You deserve better than being here alone while they are out somewhere else instead.” He said. “You’re a wonderful boy, and even if you weren’t, you shouldn’t be pushed away like that.”

“It’s alright, though. At least, I have you now.” The boy smiled, finishing his sentence just in time Reki finished shaving him and placed himself behind Miya once again. The younger one spoke to their reflection. “We wouldn’t have met otherwise. I’m glad my first real friend is someone like you.” 

Without thinking much about it, Reki hugged him and shook their bodies together for a moment. 

“Ahh… And to think you were hoping I’d trip over with my skirt just some weeks ago… You kids really grow up so fast…” He sighed dramatically.

“I’m not a kid, come on! Let me go so I can wash my face.” He did, exiting the bathroom with Miya after he was done drying off. “Hm… Are you on duty?”

“I have until eight to go greet the newcomers with the prince. Why?”

“I was thinking maybe you could stay, and we could just talk, or something… But it’s alright if you wanna leave, though.”

“Sounds good to me.”

The next few hours were spent with both of them sat on Miya’s bed, asking the other about anything to try to get each other better. Miya told Reki about the time a rude duke had stayed at the castle and he’d gone to the kitchen to add enough pepper to his meal to make him cry, and Reki told him about the time he’d sneakily ripped a buyer’s bag open in the bottom after the man had made fun of him. Reki learnt about the time Miya slipped with the drink from a dropped glass at a dance, and Miya learnt about the time a girl had left him at the tavern because he kept stepping on her by accident while dancing. Miya told him about how he didn’t like alcohol that much, and Reki told him about how he used to love it till the time he’d spent the night puking his guts out after overdoing it. Reki told him about the crushes and girls he’d been with, and Miya spoke of how he found relationships a bit gross, but loved learning about other people's dating histories and status.

“I’m enjoying the whole Langa courting princesses thing so much. I love the drama.” He said, rolling on the bed to change his position after growing tired of it.

“You’re the only one who is, I’m afraid.”

“Well, you look flustered whenever the topic comes up, so I bet I’m not the only one.” Miya accused him as he kicked him lightly. “Oh, are you still with this book?” He said, taking the book from Langa within his hands and examining it. Reki had taken it to lunch with him hoping to “read” it during the prince’s classes, and had left it there when he went to deliver the key to Kaoru. “You’re only half-way through it.”

“I don’t often find a moment to read.” 

“What about before bed? That’s what I do.” Reki was about to make up something in order not to expose how he and the prince slept together when Miya kept talking. “Well, I suppose half-way is still a lot of progress. Hm… He asked you to read it, right? Heh, I think if any of the suitors read it for him he would marry her instantly.” Without knowing why, Reki blushed. “See! I told you you get flustered. Either way… It’s not a bad book. Are you liking it?”

“Yeah, I am.”

“I read it ages ago, but I remember I liked it.” He said, holding it close to Reki but not handing it just yet. “Uhm… I know it’s weird to ask, but could you read a bit for me? Out loud, I mean. You don’t need to, I just think it’d be a nice memory to have.”

I don’t need to. But he was taking the book into his hands already. I don’t need to. But Miya was smiling so happily as he grabbed it. I don’t need to. But he could make something up, right? I don’t need to . But he treasured his memories of being told bedtime stories by his mother so much, and Miya probably had nothing similar to that, and he wouldn’t unless Reki gave it to him. I don’t need to read this, but maybe Miya needs me to.

“Ehem…” He cleared his throat as Miya sat back, resting his back against the bed’s headframe, and his hands parted the book open where the bookmark laid. “Are you ready?” Reki asked, trying to delay the moment as much as possible.

“Mhm! Get on with it, go, go!” To accentuate his words, Miya playfully hit him with a pillow.

“Ahh, these wealthy ones…” Reki giggled as he looked at the pages in front of him, with the small shapes of ink staring into his soul and making him want to rip his hair out. 

It couldn’t be so bad, he told himself. Miya had learnt the book ages ago, so there’s no way he remembered everything about it, and the only thing he wanted was to hear a story… And Reki had heard plenty of stories, from his mom’s bedtime tales to legends shared at taverns or fables told here and there… There was no way for him to be found out.

“ And so, the sea-wary one asked the men of the place, happy ale-drinkers who spoke in loud words, for them to share the treasure of their tales. ” He started. If he just made up something that sounded like the beginning of a conversation, he could just have a character tell one of the stories he knew by heart. “ The proud one with the red beard turned to him: ‘Then, take your seat, and let us begin, for this is the long tale of the man who armed with no armor no shield took down the cannibal monster, born from the heart of Hell…”

Miya didn’t say anything, and as much as Reki would have loved to see any change in his expression, he couldn’t lift his eyes from the book or it would be too obvious that he was only making things up. He concentrated his efforts on remembering the words, not looking away from the book, turning the pages when he thought it was adequate and to not read while the page was being turned.

“Your edition must have really small letters.” Miya pointed out. “There’s a bunch of text in each page… Be careful with your eyesight.” 

“It does get a bit annoying…” He mentioned, trying to prevent his voice from shaking.

“Keep going, though! I was interested!” The other said. “Though, the author got a bit sidetracked, don’t you think?”

Sidetracked? He must want the main storyline back… But I don’t even know the protagonist's name.

Nervously, Reki passed multiple pages quickly, not reading any.

“Hm… My eyes are a bit tired, though! You’re right about the letters being small! Why don’t we skip to the next chapter and you read it till I have to leave?” 

“So long? But we still have a whole hour…” The other complaint sent a shiver of fear down Reki’s now cold-sweat-covered back. “But fine, I’ll read for a bit… Just because you did me a favor earlier.”

Feeling bothered and uncomfortable, he handed the book to Miya, hand shaking in the process. He could only sit back, pretend that his inside weren’t shrugging and filling his throat with bile, and force a smile as he prayed to no one in particular for luck to be on his side one more time.

“Hm… Woah, the letters are not that small.” Miya spoke, making Reki throw a hand around his anxious lower stomach. “How curious. Either way, let me find the next chapter…” 

With each page he turned, Reki’s heart sank smaller to make room for the panic entering his chest. 

“Weren’t they in a tavern? I think they’re in a cave now. We must have missed a plot-twist.”

Every word made Reki’s heartbeat accelerate, warning him to run. Every little particle of his body was begging for him to run out of there.

“Let me just…” The way Miya lifted an eyebrow in confusion was bad, but nothing would have prepared him for the absolute horror and short circuit Reki went through when his fingers started to turn the pages in the other direction. “Let me check something.”

Tell him not to, tell him not to, distract him, do something, leave, leave, leave… Run, run, run…

He was frozen in place, fake smile still on. 

“I can’t find anything about a tavern here.” Miya said. Reki wanted to tell him to shut up, to rip the book from his hands and run away with it. “Hm… Reki?”

“Yes?” He said, voice hoarse and cracking.

His worst nightmare unfolded in front of his eyes as Miya turned the book and the wicked ink-filled pages greeted him once again. Miya’s finger traveled to the very first line and pointed at it.

“Could you read what it says there, please?” He couldn’t, but he couldn’t give himself up so quickly. “Do you know what it says?” With the tears filling his eyes, he wouldn’t have been able to tell even if he could read. “Reki…”

Miya couldn’t finish whatever he was about to say, because Reki’s muscles reacted before him and tensed just quick enough for him to sprint to the bathroom. Not screaming in fear through it was, perhaps, his biggest achievement in life. He closed the door with a loud noise, all his strength rushing to his arms in order to protect him from whatever his fate was now. Through the shaking in his arms, he locked it from inside with the latch it had.

His legs gave up immediately after, submitting themselves to the wobbly feeling his whole body was going through now that he was no longer in Miya’s reach. Crawling backwards, Reki hit his back against the cold wall and raised his knees to hug around his body, burying his quick breaths there. Tears were falling as cascades from his eyes and despite the efforts, his lungs weren’t able to maintain any air. 

The sound of his own, agitated hyperventilations were all he could hear for a moment before loud knocks on the door joined the melody. Miya was punching it loudly, trying to push it open from the other sound, judging by a third new sound of wood creaking against the floor.

“Reki! Reki, open up, Reki!” The other shouted. Reki couldn’t shout as much as he wanted. He could only move his hands to his hair and grip it till it hurt. “Reki, why are you freaking out? Let me in, Reki!”

“No!” He finally let out. The sound came out gutural, shaky and broken… Animalistic, but not as a haunter dog’s howl, just as a prey’s whimper. 

“You gotta let me in, you can’t be like this by yourself.” 

His vision was starting to blurry. Reki bent in, puking on the ground in front of him. He was confident his body was giving up on him, perhaps as a sacrifice. Maybe he was dying, shutting down before anyone else could harm him. Distantly, he noticed there was no more hitting on the door, no more Miya’s voice and no more of it threatening to open it. His ears might have died already… 

His mouth was bitter with the taste of vomit, and he regretted that he was gonna die with his stomach emptied in such a crude way. After a month of leaving famine behind, he would die hungry. He could not smell anything other than the puke on the floor, and he just wished he could go back to his house, to be bathed by his loving mother one last time. What if there was vomit on his clothes? He couldn’t die dirty when his mom and sister had put so much effort on having him leave the house clean. His body was on fire, but one last hug from his family would have saved him.

All he could do was cry and whine. He couldn’t even escape. He couldn’t even breathe…

His ears were deafened by a loud ring coming from inside them, which prevented him from hearing how Miya forced the lock. Had he listened, he would have probably talked down on himself for not realizing the obvious reason that if someone could chase him into a locked place, it would be Miya. His sight was too blurred by black and yellow spots and tears to properly see how the other rushed to him and kneeled down in front of the mess he’d turned into, throwing his arms around him and pulling him into a hug. Somehow, he did manage to get the notice that Miya was kneeling on his own barf.

“There’s puke on the floor.” He said through rapid breaths.

“Breathe with me, Reki.” The other dismissed it. “Come on, I’m not gonna give you up. Take it easy, one breath at a time.”

“I’m dying.”

“No, you are not. You are not, not now and not on me.” Miya spoke into his ear, keeping him in a tight grip. “I’ve got you. I’m not gonna let you die.”

He somehow realized the boy’s words were tainted by the sound of a wet, tear-stained voice. Why was Miya crying about?

“When they find out, they’re gonna…”

“No one is gonna find out anything.” The determination in Miya’s voice scared him slightly, but was just what he needed for his lungs to slow down their intake for a bit. “I’m not letting anyone find out. I told you, I like having you here. You’re not leaving, not over this. Not if I can help it.”

“But I…” But I lied to everyone, he wanted to say. Nothing came out of him.

“Hush. It doesn’t matter.” Miya talked. “No one will know anything. I’m telling you, you’re not leaving. You’re… You’re safe with me.”

A strange kind of relief started to fill his chest, replacing the bile-tasting stress he was feeling. He was still crying, still agitated all over… But he no longer felt like dying. If anything, he felt like Miya had saved his life, even if it was not totally the case.

“But they are…” His cries interrupted his speech. “I can’t keep lying forever… Someone other than you will find out… Sooner than later… And the later it happens, the worse it will be…”

“No one will find out.” Miya reiterated.

“How? What are you gonna do?”

Nothing in the world would have prepared him for the words Miya said afterwards, which he never thought would hear, neither from the boy nor from anyone in this lifetime. 

“I am gonna teach you to read.”