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For all that it’s worth, Kuni thinks Ajax is a good person.
He’s a good prince, revered and adored by his people for his good nature and charm. He’s known across Snezhnaya as a formidable warrior with a good heart. He turns the heads of all the young maidens wherever he chooses to make an appearance, leaving them giggling and remarking about his kind smile and the lovely orange color of his hair.
He’s a good brother, too. Kuni contemplates this as he watches him and his younger brother Teucer fighting with two wooden swords. Teucer is all smiles and giggles, playing as if Ajax isn’t attempting to teach him proper form and technique.
“Learning to fight is serious business, Teucer,” Ajax says, but even he can’t hold back a grin when he easily blocks his brother’s attack.
And Kuni can’t deny that he’s a good husband; always taking care of Kuni, always fussing over him when the weather is cold because he knows he isn’t used to Snezhnaya’s winters, and always ensuring he has enough to eat. There are times when he will run his hand down Kuni’s back or caress his cheek in a display of intimacy that would fool anyone into believing he’s really in love with him.
Kuni also has to admit that he’s thankful for Ajax’s help in getting the people of the Zapolyarny palace to stop referring to him as a woman. His efforts have been immensely helpful, even if the servants fumble here and there. It seems that even with his shorter hair and more masculine clothing, his femininity is still prominent enough for people to ignore his identity.
Kuni is frail from his lack of training, as he was never permitted to build any muscle. Ajax could fit his forefinger and thumb around his slender wrist. His mother never let him near a weapon, claiming he was too small and fragile to learn. No one ever challenged her, especially not Kuni.
His small size might be an advantage in battle. He’d be a difficult target, light on his feet, and able to swiftly maneuver his way out of an attacker’s line of sight. But Kuni was never taught how to fight. People look at him and only see someone who needs to be protected.
And isn’t that true of every person born into this world and immediately thought to be a girl? They often suffer worse fates and yet no one thinks to help arm them. Maybe they wouldn’t need so much protection if they were allowed to learn how to fight for themselves.
Kuni looks up at Ajax as he and Tuecer clash their wooden swords in a mock battle. He thinks of Ajax’s younger sister, Tonia, and tries not to scoff. She’s the perfect age to start learning, and she needs the skills a lot more than little Teucer does. If Kuni knew how to fight, he would have made a point to teach her himself.
But none of this matters. Not anymore. Tonight is the night that Kuni is going to run away.
“Marrying a prince of such high esteem is a great honor,” his mother had said to him one morning while she was brushing his hair. She hardly ever offered to brush his hair or pamper him in any way, so the moment she had, Kuni knew something was amiss. He never would have expected her to tell him he was being married off.
But he had kept his shock to himself, he didn’t so much as raise his eyebrows at his mother as she spoke to him.
“Inazuma is in desperate need of the relations this would bring,” She told him as she ran her fingers through his detangled hair. Kuni didn’t know what to say. He could see his own eyes staring back at him blankly from the reflection in the mirror.
“Snezhnaya is a lovely nation, a bit cold, but you’ll like it I’m sure,” His mother said. “Please just tolerate this, for the sake of your aunt and Inazuma.”
To their credit, his mother and aunt had both seemed sad to see him go.
Kuni’s aunt, Makoto, is the ruler of Inazuma, though his mother is a close confidant. And all of that is well and good, but Kuni doesn’t understand why the fate of Inazuma is his responsibility. He’s not even the heir.
But he supposes that’s exactly why the best thing he could do for his nation is be married off. He is of no other use as an heir, a warrior, or a diplomat.
Running away will cast a bad light on Inazuma, but Kuni can’t bring himself to care anymore. Nothing about this arrangement had been fair, and Ajax’s kindness doesn’t make up for any of it.
Any shreds of guilt would only get in the way of his preparation. Over the last few days, he’s carefully studied his maps and planned out a route that would take him to Mondstadt, the city of freedom. It seemed a fitting destination for someone who is seeking exactly what the city promises.
Tuecer manages to strike Ajax’s arm, and his squeal of delight distracts Kuni from his thoughts. It doesn’t take a trained eye to see that Ajax allowed it to happen. He’s much too skilled of a fighter for anyone to land a hit on him, much less a child.
But Kuni assumes he’s trying to boost his younger brother’s confidence and the big, bright grin that spreads across his face when he lands the strike tells Kuni that it worked.
“I did it! I got you!”
Ajax laughs, his eyes hold a certain warmth that Kuni only ever sees when Ajax is talking to his siblings. “You did! Good job, Tuecer!”
“Kuni, did you see me?”
Kuni gives him a gentle smile as Tuecer drops his wooden sword on the ground and runs toward him. He immediately climbs into Kuni’s lap and makes himself comfortable.
Ajax furrows his eyebrows. “Teucer—“
“It’s fine,” Kuni cuts him off. Despite his frustration at the situation at hand, Kuni is warm towards Tuecer. He’s always liked children, though no one would ever think so knowing his standoffish demeanor.
“Did you see me win?” Teucer asks again.
“I did, you were great,” Kuni smiles, patting Tuecer’s head as Tuecer wraps his arms around him in a tight hug.
Kuni looks up at Ajax to see him smiling at them warmly. He stiffens when he notices Kuni’s gaze, standing up straight and returning to a neutral expression.
“Come on Tuecer, let’s stop bothering him.”
“I’m not bothering him, he loves me!”
Guilt coils in Kuni’s gut like a whirlpool. He wishes he could say something to assure Teucer that he’s not the reason he’s leaving. He’s a reason to stay.
Ajax smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “Teucer, come on.”
Tuecer lets out a sad little groan as he slides off of Kuni’s lap, reaching for Ajax’s outstretched hand.
“It’s almost time for dinner anyway,” Ajax says before turning to Kuni. “I’ll see you inside?”
Kuni nods.
Tuecer tugs on his brother’s hand until Ajax bends down closer to his height, but he does not lower his voice. “You’re not gonna kiss Kuni goodbye?”
“Tuecer!” Ajax hushes him and tugs on his hand so they’re moving away a bit faster.
“What? You’re married!”
Kuni chuckles, low enough not to be heard. Tuecer’s attempt to be discreet was amusing, as much as it tugged at Kuni’s heartstrings.
He can’t afford any cause for hesitancy. He stands up and dusts himself off before heading inside for one last dinner.
—
Kuni’s hope had come in the shape of a small hole in the palace’s vast wall.
He was out on a walk in the palace’s garden with his guard following close behind him. Having a guard is nothing new for Kuni, he’d had guards in Inazuma as well, but this particular guard was suffocating. He never lets Kuni out of his sight, he can’t so much as shower without him standing outside the door and proceeding to follow a wet and naked Kuni around his room as he attempts to have some semblance of privacy.
He can’t leave the palace without this close supervision, so Kuni finds himself leaving less and less often. There’s little point in being outside when he’s still trapped.
But Kuni couldn’t let himself think about his captivity, because if he thought about it, it became real. And if it becomes real, he’ll surely break down.
The palace’s garden is vast and green and so far Kuni hasn’t grown tired of roaming through it. He uses these walks to ground himself, a breath of fresh air makes a big difference for someone who spends most of his time indoors.
It’s during one of these walks that he sees it: a small opening at the bottom of the walls surrounding the palace.
He catches it out of the corner of his eye, blinking a few times just to make sure it isn’t some sort of illusion. But no, it’s really there. Kuni can see a small glimpse of green grass on the other side. He can’t see much else or make out how big it is from his current position, but the sight of it gets his heart pounding hard against his ribcage.
Kuni briefly wonders if it was some sort of scuffle between the palace guards and some outsiders or if it had somehow been struck by a very large rock, but it didn’t matter. To them, it was a small hole that needn’t be the cause for worry. To Kuni, it was a potential way out.
“Sir?” Kuni calls out to his guard without taking his eyes off the hole in the wall. “I’m starting to get a bit cold, could you go inside and grab my coat?”
The guard hesitates long enough for Kuni to turn around and give him a pointed look. The guard’s brows are furrowed as he darts his eyes toward the ground.
“Uhh, it’s my duty to keep you safe at all times, perhaps we can go back together—”
“It’ll only be a moment,” Kuni interrupts. “I can stand by myself in the garden for a moment.”
“But—”
“What’s going on?” a voice shouts from a distance. Kuni and the guard both turn to see Ajax walking towards them. Kuni looks to his guard to see the confusion written on his face and imagines his own face is boasting a similar expression. Neither of them had seen him approaching and his presence outside at this hour is strange. Usually, at this time, he’s either training or in a meeting with the King and Queen.
Kuni can’t help but notice how handsome he looks as comes to a stop in front of them, resting his hands on his hips. He’s wearing a long-sleeved, dark red button-up that brings out the color of his eyes and his dark pants look a bit tighter than usual.
“Oh, Your Highness, I didn’t know you were out.”
“Tonia and Anton were out playing and my mother asked me to bring them inside,” Ajax responds curtly. “Is there an issue here?”
The guard begins to shake his head, but Ajax is looking at Kuni. “I asked him to get me my coat.”
Ajax turns back to the guard. “Alright? Can you retrieve Kuni’s coat, please?”
“But My Prince, I can’t leave her—”
“ He will be fine for a few moments. I’ve asked you not to hover over him so much, and I shouldn’t have to repeat myself.”
The guard heaves out a long sigh, before turning to Kuni. “I apologize, I meant no disrespect.”
Kuni crosses his arms over his chest and looks down at the grass. “Thank you.”
The guard nods before turning to address Ajax. “My Prince, with all due respect, I’m torn between your orders and the orders given to me by Her Majesty.”
Ajax frowns, hesitating a moment before responding. “Oh well, I understand, we’ll sort it out with my mother later. For now, can you please do as I ask?”
Although the guard says nothing, his frustration with the situation is palpable through his silence. Kuni can tell he’s trying hard to keep it in check.
“Yes, I understand,” he finally responds, before bowing at the two of them and turning to leave without another word.
As soon as the guard is out of earshot, Ajax flashes a triumphant grin at Kuni. “You wanted to be alone right?”
Kuni’s eyes widen in shock. He silently hopes his intentions weren’t as obvious to the guard as they had been to Ajax. “Yes.”
“Good, you have every right. I’m sorry they never leave alone,” Ajax says. “But before I leave you, could you tell me if you’ve seen Tonia and Anton anywhere while you’ve been out?”
Kuni chuckles. “I’m afraid I haven’t.”
“Darn those two,” Ajax says, placing a hand under his chin. “I can’t find them anywhere.”
Kuni doesn’t get the chance to respond before Ajax is walking away. He takes a moment to watch him leave and a smile tugs at the corner of his lips.
His gaze lingers on Ajax’s back for another moment before he remembers what he wanted a moment alone for in the first place.
His heart begins to pound against his chest again. He needs to inspect the opening in the wall before his guard gets back, and he’s already wasted so much time.
Kuni waits until Ajax is a sufficient distance away before he turns and heads toward where the opening is. He walks fast but refrains from running so he doesn’t look too suspicious, and occasionally peeks over his shoulder to make sure no one is watching him.
Once he reaches the opening in the wall, he bends down to inspect it. From inside the hole, he can see the grass and the trees on the other side.
He looks left and right, and when he sees that the coast is clear, Kuni gets down on all fours and attempts to crawl through the opening.
He fits perfectly. A man of much larger stature wouldn’t have been able to fit, but Kuni is just the right size.
Winter is slowly melting into spring so the harsh Snezhnayan weather is warming, but the ground beneath Kuni’s arms and legs is still cold as he pushes half his body through.
And when his head emerges on the other side, he finds himself looking up at the tall trees encircling the palace. A dirt path that disappears into the forest catches his eye, and he wants so badly to see where it leads.
From where Kuni is lying on the cold ground, the air feels fresher somehow. The grass and the trees look brighter and healthier and as he inhales the fresh air, Kuni swears the scent of the flora is stronger.
It almost brings tears to his eyes, how badly he wants to make a break for it and run as far as his legs will take him.
But he knows he can’t do that. Not yet.
Kuni crawls back inside and stands up to dust himself off before walking back toward the garden. His newfound hope brings a smile to his face as he attempts to erase any traces of the dirt he’s covered in. He’s so absorbed in making himself look presentable that he doesn’t notice he has company until he hears a familiar voice from off in the distance.
“Kuni, I have your coat!”
He looks up to see Ajax walking up to him with a bright smile and his large black coat tucked underneath his arm. His guard is following close behind him, but this time, he keeps his distance.
Kuni freezes and wraps his arms around himself in a panic. What is Ajax still doing out? He’s thankful for his help, but his presence is complicating Kuni’s lies. Ajax’s smile quickly downturns once he’s close enough to see Kuni’s dirt-covered clothes.
“Are you okay? Did you fall or something?”
“Um, yes,” Kuni nods quickly, “a little clumsy today.”
Ajax attempts to dust the dirt off of Kuni’s clothes and frowns. Patches of cold, thick mud refuse to budge from the front of his shirt and his pants, from the knees down. Ajax does as much as he can to help, but it’s clear that it will not be enough.
“Must have been quite a fall,” Ajax says as he wraps the large coat around Kuni’s shoulders. The coat is a little big on him, so Kuni is swimming in it every time he wears it.
“Yeah,” he agrees, suddenly feeling much hotter than even the thickest coat could be responsible for.
Ajax lets out a chuckle that Kuni would swear is fond if he didn’t know better. It is enough to convince him, though, that Ajax is not suspicious.
“We really need to find you some winterwear that actually fits.”
Out of the corner of Kuni’s eye, he sees his guard shaking his head and pinching the bridge of his nose. Vexation bubbles in the pits of his stomach. Even if he had actually fallen, it’s not like he’s been seriously hurt.
“Come on,” Ajax says as he tenderly runs his fingers through Kuni’s hair and tucks it behind his ear. “Let’s just get you inside, okay?”
Ajax wraps an arm around his shoulder and leads him toward the door to the palace. Kuni can feel the way his face falls and Ajax lets out an apologetic chuckle, likely attributing Kuni’s frown to his having to go inside.
He looks over his shoulder at the hole in the wall and his heart races, but when he looks back at Ajax, his stomach sinks.
Ajax is a kind, strong, considerate, and beloved prince.
But it doesn’t change the fact that Kuni was given to him as though he’s an object to be sold, that he’s trapped within the confines of the palace like some sort of prisoner, that his guard won’t leave him alone for even a minute because Archons forbid he falls and gets his clothes dirty.
No, Ajax’s efforts do not matter and soon he’ll be free of the burden of pretending to care about a husband he never wanted. Ajax deserves someone who cares enough to stay.
—
Kuni frantically packs his necessities into a black duffel bag that matches the rest of his dark clothing.
He paces back and forth from one end of the room to another, opening every drawer, and trying his best to ensure nothing vital is forgotten.
The clothes he’s currently wearing are blacker than the night, comfortable enough for travel, but still recognizable as a status symbol, something that brands him and lets people know he belongs to this nation’s royals. They’re not exactly made for sneaking around Snezhnaya, but he has no other clothes. All of his old clothes had been left behind in Inazuma, with a promise to be sent to him as soon as possible. A promise that would never be fulfilled now.
Kuni tries his best to clear his head. The people of Mondstadt will think nothing of it, they’ll assume he was a servant away on vacation, and when he settles, he’ll just buy new clothes. The thought of no one knowing who he is or was, of having no reputation to uphold, of blending in, is exhilarating.
He made a list of all of his necessities the previous night, but had trouble fitting them all into his bags. He wishes he’d had time to pack during the day without being suspicious, but now he’s forced to scramble in his haste to quietly take as many clothes and other possessions as he can manage. And he knows he has to leave tonight. Time is of the essence. Any day now, someone could discover the hole and fix it.
He’s got his toiletries, some undergarments, some food and mora, and a jacket for the cold. It doesn’t feel like enough, but the bright full moon shining in through his window is a solid reminder that time is not on his side.
He zips up his bag and swings it over his shoulder. It’s heavy, but he can still manage to walk fast.
—
The palace has guards littered throughout the hallways, so Kuni is forced to make his escape through his window.
It’s a non-issue, thanks to the hours he’d spent in front of the palace mapping out the route down from the outside. His room is fairly low to the ground and, luckily, not impossible to climb down from.
His planning could not have prepared him for the physicality of this task, though. His hands shake with effort and adrenaline all the way down, as he thinks of the route he’s planned to keep his mind occupied and distracted from his mounting exhaustion.
As soon as he sets foot on the ground, he’ll have no time to rest; he has to make his way to the left side of the iron gate where he’d found the hole in the wall. Once he’s on the other side of the gate, he just needs to make it to the ferry. Then the worst of this will be behind him.
He slows down a bit, carefully setting his foot on a crevice in the wall, trying not to slip. He stops for a moment to catch his breath, and his whole body shakes. He’s made significant progress on his way down, but a drop from this height could still result in serious injury, if not death.
Kuni inhales and exhales methodically and deliberately as he tries to keep his arms and legs steady. Slowly but surely, he makes his way down, and relief rushes through him like a waterfall the moment he feels his foot make contact with the ground.
He gives himself five seconds to breathe before he scurries into the bushes, past a couple of guards stationed in the gardens in the front of the palace. It’s too late in the season for snow to have fallen, but the night air is still cold enough to make Kuni shake and shiver, the cold bites at the exposed parts of his skin unpleasantly.
The ruffling of the leaves as Kuni makes his way through the foliage feels loud to his ears. He flinches, imagining how obvious it must look that something is moving in there.
He isn’t sure what would happen if he were to get caught. Most likely, whoever catches him will bring him right back and pretend nothing happened. He imagines the royals here would be just as eager to avoid negative attention from the public as the ones he knows, and so they would make sure no one would ever find out. The punishment would likely be a slap on the wrist, but it’s enough. Bringing him back is punishment enough.
Kuni needs to escape to Mondstadt. He needs to be free.
He leaves the noisy bushes and runs toward the palace wall. It somehow feels farther away than it did when he’d looked at it during the day.
He gives up on stealth. The faster he can get out of here, the faster he can slow the anxious thumping of his heart against his chest. Kuni runs as quickly as he can, his breathing heavy and loud. He feels like he’s in the middle of a nightmare with a perpetrator hot on his heels and his legs will not move as fast as he needs them to.
Just as he’s escaping the foliage, he hears a shout. “Is that—”
He doesn’t have to look up to know the guard is referring to him, that he’s been spotted.
“The prince’s spouse! He’s…trying to escape?”
Kuni flinches as the words hit his ears, too close for comfort. He can hear shouts and footsteps coming towards him, but he doesn’t dare look. He spots the opening in the wall and makes a beeline for it.
He dives to the floor and attempts to crawl through it as the shouts of the guards grow more and more panicked, but Kuni can no longer hear what they’re saying. He can barely hear anything over the pounding of his own heart in his ears. His clothes snag on some scattered branches on his way out, tearing and slowing him down a bit, but he manages to make it through.
His bag does not.
He tugs hard on the strap of the bag to attempt to pull it through, but it doesn’t seem to budge. He takes in a few breaths to prepare to try again. Worst case scenario, he’ll have to pull his mora out and leave the rest of his belongings behind.
Kuni tightens his grip on the bag’s strap.
He can hear the panicked shouts of the guards coming closer. He swears he hears someone call Ajax’s name, and he pulls and pulls with all his might.
The bag finally comes through and the force causes Kuni to stumble onto his back. He quickly stands up, flings the bag over his shoulder, and runs.
Panting hard, Kuni can practically feel his lungs working harder than they ever have before. One hand clings to the large bag on his shoulder while the other swings at his side, whipping through the air as though it’ll help him move faster despite the bag weighing him down.
He can hear the panicked voices in the distance grow fainter and fainter, but his adrenaline is running high, masking his exhaustion.
So he keeps on running, faster and faster and faster until he’s broken into a full sprint.
Just then, his foot catches on the branch of a tree and he tumbles forward, landing on his front hard enough to knock the wind out of him. The moment his body collides with the ground, his exhaustion catches up to him.
His heart is beating rapidly against his chest. His long heavy breaths are loud in his ear and it’s making his tongue feel dry.
After the pain from the fall subsides a bit, he manages to sit up, still out of breath. He slips his bag off his shoulder and goes to reach into it for his canteen of water before he notices a figure out of the corner of his eye.
He looks up to see a man in a white shirt and pants that look filthy from digging around in the dirt. The man hovers over him with an unsettling smirk on his face.
“You’re a long way away from the palace,” the man says, gesturing to Kuni’s clothes.
Kuni shuts his eyes tight, as though keeping the man out of sight will make him disappear. But the man merely grips him by the shirt, pulling him up so they’re at eye level. He’s close enough that Kuni can smell his putrid breath.
“Hey guys, look what I found. A little mouse running away from home.”
This can’t be happening. Every step Kuni takes seems to only lead him to another problem. He was so close to making it out.
From over his shoulder, Kuni sees two other men appear in similar attire, one whose face is covered by a mask and another who’s carrying a large brown sack on his back. Kuni can hear the sound of clinking metal coming from the bag as he approaches. Bandits.
I’m not a mouse! Kuni wants to shout. The words burn on the back of his tongue, but he can’t bring himself to use his voice.
The man grips Kuni’s face with his free hand. “Such a pretty little mouse too.”
Instead of speaking, he spits in the man’s face and when he groans in disgust, Kuni takes advantage of his distraction to knee him in the stomach.
The man cries out in pain, releasing his grip on Kuni’s shirt so that he falls to the ground with a painful thud. The adrenaline allows him to recover quickly and he attempts to crawl away, only for the man to grab him by his ankles and drag him back.
“Where do you think you’re going?” the man sneers as he lifts Kuni into the air by his clothes and traps him in his arms.
Kuni squirms, attempting to break free, but the man’s grasp on him is too strong.
And Kuni was never taught how to fight.
“Let me go!” He shouts so loudly that his voice echoes through the forest. Maybe someone will hear him and come to his aid.
“Do what he says,” his captor’s masked companion chimes in. “He’s no use to us.”
The man’s face is so close to Kuni that he can feel his breath ghosting against his cheek. “You don’t think we can hold him for ransom?”
“A servant? Don’t be ridiculous. We don’t have time for your stupid games right now.”
Kuni’s breath catches in his throat. If they find out who he really is, he could be in deep trouble.
The man grips Kuni’s chin and forces him to look him in the eyes. They’re an icy blue color that reminds Kuni of snowstorms. “Little mice who spit in my face don’t get to go off scot-free.”
“You attacked me first, I’m just trying to pass through!”
The man with the mask steps forward and slaps a hand on the shoulder of Kuni’s captor. “You’re wasting your time and ours, just let him go.”
But Kuni’s captor seems intent on punishing him, and violently shrugs the other man off his shoulder with an angry grunt. The man stumbles backward and has to fight to keep his balance.
“I don’t know about that...” the man who was holding the contraband says. Kuni was too distracted to notice he had dropped their spoils and was rifling through Kuni’s bag. To his horror, the bandit holds up the mora he’d stashed in there.
A shiver runs down Kuni’s spine as his captor laughs in delight. Archons know what this man will to do with him now, and Kuni is not about to stick around to find out. His eyes dart around to examine his surroundings, desperately trying to find some way out of this nightmare.
But he’s trapped, and he can feel his captor’s grasp on him getting tighter. He’s being squeezed so hard, it’s difficult to breathe.
“ Our good little mouse brought us a gift —”
Kuni jumps as something strikes his captor with a force hard enough to shake them both. The man cries out so loudly in Kuni’s ear that it makes him wince. He releases Kuni suddenly and causes him to stumble, landing on top of his discarded bag.
Kuni quickly gets himself back into a sitting position and turns to see a thin, wooden polearm jammed into the man’s shoulder as he sits wide-eyed and trembling.
Kuni follows his line of sight just in time to see Ajax dismounting his horse. He swiftly lands on the ground and strides over to where the bandits are standing with an aggressive gait.
“Get away from my husband!”
The man who was holding Kuni captive grips his bleeding shoulder and looks up at Ajax. Kuni watches as recognition flashes through his eyes, and his mouth downturns into a frown.
“Prince Ajax!”
All three men stare at him, seemingly unable to move or speak as Ajax saunters over to the bleeding man and yanks his polearm out of his shoulder. Blood drips from the tip onto the ground.
The man cries out in pain again. “I apologize, I didn’t know!”
Kuni scoffs at his pathetic tone. He’s not so tough now that he’s lost control of the situation.
“And? I’m supposed to be less offended that you would treat a random traveler this way?” Ajax responds.
“Now you’ve done it, you idiot,” the bandit with the mask says, stepping in front of his companion to address Ajax. “Prince Ajax, please believe me, I tried to stop him.”
“We didn’t do him any harm!” The man with the bag interjects as his companion shoots him a glare that indicates he wants him to stop talking. The mora scattered at his feet begs to differ. “We’ll send him off with you and just be on our way.”
Ajax pinches the bridge of his nose. “I’ve had enough of your groveling. What’s in that bag?”
The bandits all exchange panicked glances.
“Nothing noteworthy,” the man with the mask quickly breaks the silence as the man holding the bag grips it so hard his knuckles turn white. Kuni assumes it’s more out of fear than a desire to hold onto it.
Ajax’s presence alone is enough to intimidate these men into submission. Kuni has to admit he’s impressed, albeit frustrated. He can’t fight for himself, meanwhile, Ajax doesn’t even have to fight to save him.
“Then surely you won’t mind if I take a look?” Ajax takes a step forward, and the three men immediately step back. He lifts his polearm again, pointing it in their direction.
The man with the mask groans before giving his companion a pointed look. The medal in the bag clinks together as the bandit frantically collects the mora on the ground, shoves it in the bag, and throws it at Ajax’s feet.
“Can we go now? Please?”
Ajax uses the end of his polearm to skewer the bag and lift it into his hands. He opens the bag and calmly inspects its contents before speaking. “If I ever see you anywhere near the palace again, there’ll be hell to pay.”
All three of the men nod and Kuni even hears one of them say a weak “thank you” before they sprint off into the forest.
Kuni takes this moment to stand, slinging his bag over his shoulder. The sounds of the dirt and rocks beneath his feet catch Ajax’s attention and he gently drops the bag onto the ground before running to his side.
Kuni doesn’t get the chance to speak a word before Ajax pulls him into his arms, squeezing him in a tight embrace.
The sound of Ajax’s heartbeat is loud against where Kuni’s head is resting on his chest.
When they finally pull away, Ajax asks, “Are you alright?”
He runs a hand through Kuni’s hair in the way that he always does, a motion that is quickly becoming familiar to him.
“I think so,” Kuni says.
Ajax smiles at him so warmly that Kuni can’t bear to keep eye contact. He looks over his shoulder for a distraction and sees the discarded brown bag on the ground.
“What’s in the bag?”
“Just a few trinkets and jewelry. I have no idea who they belong to,” Ajax says, sounding exasperated and tired, “but I’ll figure out what to do about it later.”
A brief silence hangs in the air between them, and Kuni can feel the awkwardness about to ensue. Ajax hasn’t asked him any questions yet, but Kuni assumes he doesn’t need to. It’s hard to believe that he doesn’t know exactly what was happening. What Kuni can’t seem to figure out is why he’s continuing to be so kind to him.
Ajax is looking at him and the corners of his mouth slowly lift up into a sad smile. He grasps Kuni’s hand in his and uses his free hand to caress his cheek. “So where are we going?”
Kuni furrows his eyebrows in confusion. “What?”
“Sorry, I meant where do you need me to take you?”
For a moment, all Kuni can do is gape at him, wondering if he’s even heard him correctly or if he’s misunderstanding. There is no way his perfect prince is thinking of aiding him in a situation that would lead to an awful scandal for both of their nations.
But when Kuni looks up at Ajax’s kind smile and dewy eyes, he sees nothing but sincerity in his gaze. Wherever he goes, Ajax is coming.
Ajax is a kind, strong, and beloved prince who ended up in a marriage he never asked for in order to please his family and help his nation, just like Kuni had. But despite the circumstances, he’s shown Kuni nothing but kindness and affection since the day he first arrived in Snezhnaya. Maybe it wouldn’t kill Kuni to reciprocate.
Kuni’s heart starts racing again, but for the first time in a long time, it’s not due to fear or panic.
He lifts the hand that Ajax is still holding and interlocks their fingers. “Home.”
A look of shock flashes across Ajax’s face, but only for the briefest of moments before he’s smiling again. “Really?”
Kuni nods and gives him a small smile in return.
“Okay, yeah,” Ajax says. “Yeah, that’s great. Let’s go home.”
Kuni chuckles and lets Ajax lead him back to where his horse is waiting. He grabs the bag off of Kuni’s shoulder and places it on his own before helping Kuni mount the horse.
He bends down to pick up the bag of trinkets he’d left on the ground and hands them to Kuni. “You think you can hold these? They’re not too heavy.”
Kuni frowns. “Of course I can hold them, I was carrying around that heavy bag wasn’t I?”
“Of course, you’re right,” Ajax agrees as he mounts the horse himself, sitting behind Kuni. “I’m sorry. That’s a sore subject for you, isn’t it?”
Kuni sighs. “Yeah, a little.”
Now that the adrenaline is out of his system, his body has started to ache. He can’t imagine how many bruises he’ll have tomorrow, considering the amount of times he’d fallen to the ground tonight.
Kuni leans back into Ajax’s torso and nuzzles his head against his neck. “Teach me how to fight?”
“After today? Of course.”
The two chuckle together as they begin moving back toward the palace.
Kuni isn’t sure what his future holds, but he can see the sun coming up on the horizon and its warmth is a comfort in the otherwise cold Snezhnayan morning.
And when he leans back and feels Ajax’s warm presence behind him, he can’t help but think there are certainly worse places he could be.