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There is an uncomfortable silence around the court as the truth that Neuvillette has long been dreading comes ringing from the council’s lips in a way that can no longer be avoided.
Their Queen is still young, and the people have long since accepted her rule. But she is getting older, and their country needs an heir.
“Well.” Furina says as she clutches at her scepter, her hair hiding her eyes as she looks toward the floor of her throne room. “Well. I suppose I’ll just have to find a Consort then, won’t I?”
“Indeed.” Neuvillette agrees woodenly, and begins working to lock both his heart and his dragon inside a metal box thrown to the depths of his subconscious. His heart because it is now clear that it will no longer be needed. His dragon because Furina courting with other men is not something the beast will easily allow.
***
Proving that his otherwise good bearing up to this point had been a complete lie, the first prospective suitor tries to assault Lady Furina as soon as they are accompanied only by their chaperone. The man apparently completely discounts said chaperone, sure that his status as a prince from a distant land will stop her from acting against him. Since this chaperone is Clorinde, it doesn’t go quite as he is expecting.
Shamed at his own failure in keeping such a man away from his Queen, Neuvillette is most vehement in helping Furina defend Clorinde’s actions to the council. In the end Clorinde faces no repercussion for her actions, while the prince himself is exiled from their country for the rest of his life.
(The man is lucky to still have a life. Had Neuvillette not already caused enough trouble for his Queen, he might have considered giving into the roar of his dragon, who had been demanding they be allowed to claim their pound of flesh before the man was allowed to leave.)
All that being said, Neuvillette is much, much more careful with the next batch of suitors he approves to court their Queen. He quadruple checks their background, gives up personal time to spend alone with them, talks with their servants to make absolutely certain there will be no more unpleasant surprises. He even takes their measure in the sparing ring to judge if they have the strength to protect his Queen. He wins every match, but that is only to be expected, and is not necessarily a disqualifier for them.
Normal humans can’t be expected to be of the same strength as a dragon born mage.
And yet, the ones that make it through this arduous process all still find themselves rejected, one after the other. One was too awkward, stumbling over their words every time they tried to speak with Furina. One was too hot headed, getting into an argument with Furina over horse bridles of all things, though Neuvillette is certain that Furina is the one that sparks it. One is too silent, and Furina complains to Neuvillette that if she were going to marry someone with the personality of a brick wall, she would rather the actual wall.
On and on it goes, with the excuses for her rejections getting a little more ridiculous over time.
It is when Furina tells him that she has rejected her latest suitor because he chewed with his mouth open- an unattractive habit, to be sure, but hardly a reason to kick him from the palace- that Neuvillette’s patience snaps.
“What will it take for me to find a man that does please you, Your Majesty?” He practically snarls in his ire.
It has already been an exercise in torment to throw man after man her way while being forced to watch those men try to claim what Neuvillette and his dragon considered theirs. Their mate, their treasure, their soul; they had no right to give Furina any of those titles, and yet in the comfort of his head Neuvillette did. He just wanted Furina to choose already so he could get past the first rush of agony and learn to accept his place.
Unfairly, Furina looks equally annoyed with him as she crosses her arms and gives him an utterly unimpressed look.
“Everyone excluding you is already aware, Chief Advisor Neuvillette.” She challenges.
“Oh?” Neuvillette asks silkily. “Please, do let me in on this well-known knowledge, then.”
“If you really want me married off so badly, you should try to marry me yourself!” Furina practically shouts, before taking advantage of his frozen stupor to turn on her heel and stalk away.
Chase. Chase! Chase! Treasure wants us to chase! His dragon begins chanting insistently in the back of his mind as it recovers faster than he does, sending a mental shove against the stone walls of his control so strong that it sends Neuvillette stumbling physically.
He reaches out a hand and braces himself, breathing in deeply as he battles for control. When he looks up, Furina is long gone.
Neuvillette takes another deep, bracing breath in and then straightens. With the pace of a predator about to catch and devour their prey, he stalks to his office to begin the paperwork that will reintroduce him to the court as a perspective suitor allowed to court their Queen.
Furina had more expectations of him than he had realized. He would correct his obliviousness and work to meet all of the desires of his Queen, just as he had always done before.