Chapter Text
For weeks the Cilin have been toeing the edges of Altari’s borders, testing and pushing at their limitations and his patience.
At first Ethan didn’t pay it any heed, his attention was needed elsewhere and the closer it got to his coronation the busier he got, his father piling more and more on his plate to ready him for the responsibilities being king entitled.
And it was…a lot.
Enough that he didn’t have time to play cat and mouse with Cilin rouges trying to test his restraint.
Previously he’d only been in charge of the royal guard, being responsible for hundreds of thousands of lives isn’t an easy task but it was a hell of a lot easier than this shit.
So he’d sent out a group of soldiers to handle the problem and promptly shoved it to the back of his mind.
He’d been sloppy.
A child would’ve seen what happened next coming from ten miles a-fucking-way.
Slaughtered.
All of them.
A group of good men, soldiers with families and lives and people who loved them. Bled like pigs and left out to rot in the winter snow, like fucking animals.
They’d even killed the horses, left them splayed out in the snow next to the other bodies - bodies that weren’t all wearing deep Altari blues and golds.
Crouching down, Ethan rips a silver insignia off of one’s chest and holds it to the light. His fingers tighten around the metal as a Stallion, mid-jump, glares back at him.
They are a part of the Cilin royal guard so that means a dozen or so Cilin Stallions lay strewn on the ground alongside six of Ethan’s men.
His soldiers put up an honorable fight, even though they stood no chance. This was planned, the Cilin were expecting them. Which means there is a snake in the castle and a blood bath beyond the horizon.
This means war.
—
“I don’t understand.”
“What’s there not to understand? I’ve told you everything clearly haven’t I? What they did is barbaric. This is an act of war.” Ethan says through gritted teeth, voice echoing in the empty throne room.
“Calm yourself, boy.” His father snaps, but it lacks any heat as the king furrows his eyebrows.
“How he’s behaving isn’t unreasonable, he led those men, trained them, bonded with them. We have raised a compassionate young man, James. Listen to our son.” His mother chides softly.
She sits regal on her throne, and although her face is a blank slate, her eyes are a storm of concern.
“Yes, yes you’re right as always, my darling.” His father concedes, with a sigh. He looks beyond his years and Ethan has a startling moment of realization.
They won’t be around forever and this is the last thing his father needs to be happening during his few weeks as king. It’s too much stress, and the man isn’t getting any younger.
Soon Ethan will have to stop going to him for matters of this nature, he wants them to live out their days happy and carefree.
“We’ll have to consult the high council-“
“Father,” he interrupts gently, “A window in my room needs repairing, the wind is wreaking havoc on my papers.”
Both of their eyes widen ever so slightly in understanding and his mother nods, face clouding over in thought.
Stepping off of the platform, the king claps a hand on his shoulder and leans in to whisper in his ear, “We need to work on that now that you’re older, it sounds a tad strange.”
Ethan opens his mouth to reply when the queen's voice cuts in.
“Altari is to welcome thousands of guests the next coming weeks in light of your coronation, that includes four other kingdoms. “His mother stands, eyes hard. “We cannot afford for anything to go wrong, the Dragon has crowned his new heir and they will be in attendance.”
Ethan’s heart drops to his stomach, dread churning in his gut. “The Dragon is coming all the way to Altari?”
“The Dragon and the Raven,” she says, face grim as she accepts his fathers offered hand and steps off of the granite platform.
The Raven? What the fuck?
His disbelief must show on his face because his father nods and rubs his freehand down his jaw. “We…we weren’t expecting it either.”
The Raven and the Dragon haven’t been in the same place in centuries. No one has even seen either of them since the Great War.
“It’s just a coronation, why the fuc- why are so many political powerhouses attending? If we offend any of them, purposefully or not…” Ethan trails off at the prospect of how much destruction that could cause. They could probably wipe Altari off of the map despite the potential backlash a breach of the United Kingdom Treaty would entail.
The Raven and the Dragon possess a tremendous amount of power, political and quite literally, if tales of the Great War are to be believed, together they can level entire countries.
The idea of them just being here is…it’s fucking nervwreking, it’s a run of the mill crowning, why do these people even care?
“We’ll figure this out. Carefully and quietly.” His father says, face determined.
Fuuuck.
—
Sooner comes a lot later than they hoped and before any discussion of further action can take place he’s being dressed to welcome the Prince and princess of Ameri.
They arrived at the head of what must’ve been hundreds of Ameri and other western-based citizens. As soon as their carriages pass through the castle gates, Ethan's walking down to greet them, decked in deep blues and golds, he hopes he looks more put together than he feels.
Flanked by his mother and father and a dozen guards, all he can think about is the border attack and the lives that were lost. He hopes to God that nothing will happened in the next couple of weeks.
The entire ordeal is concerning and he’s right to be so drowned in it, he is the future king. He is the one on which Altari’s future stands…which is why he feels so ashamed by the way his head clears so instantly at the sight of the Prince as he steps in out of a golden carriage.
He’s tall, all broad shoulders and lean muscle under that soft Ameri green. He doesn’t pay them any heed until he’s done helping his sister down, thick dark hair catching the sun as it curls around his ears, hangs down the back of his neck.
“Altari welcomes you,” his father greets, shaking the prince’s hand then respectfully taking the princess' delicate palm. His mother follows after. “To a safe journey, for the Dragon was with you and Raven has guided you.”
“May the Dragon be with you and the Raven guide you.” They respond in kind, the prince's voice deep and smooth.
“Princess Alani and Prince Joshua Zerrka of Ameri, may I introduce you to my one and only son: Ethan Payne, the crowned Prince, and future king of Altari.”
The princess steps forward and he fights to keep his eyes trained on her as she bids him words of welcome and congratulations. He does the same, follows the routine, even though he can feel those dark, assessing eyes boring into him from over her shoulder.
When she steps to the side her brother waits a moment before walking forward.
When he stretches his hand out it’s palm up and Ethan hesitates for a moment(it’s a gesture for one of a more feminine position to accept), but eventually he places his hand on warm skin and resolutely doesn’t not shiver when Joshua brushes his lips, feather-light, against his knuckles.
(Distantly he thinks he hears his mother chuckle, and mutter something about ‘kids’.)
The man’s eyes are unreadable but he sounds amused as he speaks, “May the Dragon bless your reign, and may the Raven ensure it a long and prosperous rule, Ethan.” He says the last word quietly, voice absolutely sinful and holy fuck that’s dangerous.
Fighting a blush he can already feel creeping its way up the back of his neck, Ethan nods and stammers out something that sounds right enough that his mother starts asking about their parents.
Prince Joshua holds his hand for a moment longer before letting go completely, straightening up and offering an arm to his sister.
All the while those piercing brown eyes stay trained on him.
This is going to be a looong few weeks.