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Prince Alex walked the halls of the unfamiliar castle, having been invited to a neighbouring kingdom to celebrate…. A peace treaty? A new trade route? Alex wasn’t sure, he never paid any attention. The point is, he was there for something important, and when important things happen, Alex is shipped away to wherever, forced to eat a lot of fancy food that may or may not be poisoned, told to stick to his chambers and given a new gaggle of ‘top-notch’ guards.
(If they were really top notch, would there be so many of them??)
This time, Alex had decided (rather brashly) that he was sick of being babysat, and he could find his way to dinner on his own.
Trying to remember what the nervous little guide squeaked out about the dining hall while showing him around, Alex took a left, coming face-to-face with a tall and stoic guard, who looked down at him while his expression twisted into something not so far from disdain.
“Prince Alex. Much of the palace’s guard is looking for you, so I will now escort you to dinner.” The guard reached out to Alex, likely to grab his wrist.
Alex jerked back, out of reach of the man. He turned his nose up and tried his best to look official, and not like a rebellious teenager in the clothing of a man. “You will not speak to me in such a way that I maybe be beneath you, knight. Introduce yourself, tell me your rank, name, and why you saw fit to grab for me like a child.”
The guard looked at him, before slowly, clearly enunciating, “Captain Yassen Gregorovich of her Highness’ Guard, and I saw fit to take such measures because you have been directly disobedient of not only your father’s orders, but also her Highness’, so the whole palace guard has been set to scour the grounds for you to bring you to dinner. Does my answer appease you, prince?”
Alex raised an eyebrow before almost silently huffing and shoving his hands into the pockets of his dress pants. “So, are you going to take me to the dining room now?”
“Yes, however her Highness has not yet arrived to dinner, so it will just be you, the palace guard and the food as we await her presence.”
Alex could not fathom how boring that would be, waiting at the table in the grandiose dining hall alone with Captain Yassen until Queen Rothman decided she would grace them with her presence. Especially while staring at all the good food, forbidden to touch until the Queen showed up with her own entourage of glowering bodyguards and nervy food testers.
Just then, a light bulb went off in Alex’s head.
“Okay then, lead the way! I’ll be right behind.” Alex smiled condescendingly, gesturing down the hall.
, but turned and began to march anyway, checking over his shoulder to make sure that Alex was following.
They walked in silence, only the soft clinks of Yassen’s armour and gentle footfalls on lush carpet breaking up the quiet serenity of the castle’s halls.
Eventually, they came up to the large, glimmering room that is the dining hall. Banners of their nations decorated the room, accompanying luxurious flower arrangements in all colours, brightening up what would be an otherwise dispiritingly unfilled room.
In the middle was a long, beautiful table lovingly made from walnut wood, covered in mouth-watering meals that Alex would soon be able to consume.
His mouth watered at the thought of it, but plans must be enacted first.
Alex strode over to the seat that has his name card on the plate, two seats over from the queen’s. The name card reads in elegant cursive, Prince Alexander Rider. Ideally his father would sit in the seat on the right hand of the queen’s, left from Alex’s, but he was currently nowhere to be seen.
“Yassen, come here.” Alex gestured for the guard to come closer with a wave of the hand.
Yassen walked over warily, not breaking his stony face for even a second. “Yes, prince?”
“This dinner, it’s to celebrate a something-or-other between my kingdom, and yours. Right?”
“That would be correct.”
“So, it would be more than likely that a bad guy would want to sabotage this dinner, considering many royals would be all in the same place? I mean, that’s why there are so many guards, right? Why you’re here?”
“…yes, I suppose so.”
“Well, I’m hungry. And I don’t know about you, but I don’t feel like waiting for my father and her Highness. I feel like eating. Now. And if I want to eat now, then I have no time to wait for my regular food testers. So, would you be so kind as to test my food for me? It could be poisoned, after all?”
“Prince, I do not think-”
“Ah ah ah! I didn’t ask what you think, did I? Sit down and try this food for me. Do you want me to be poisoned?”
“…no, Prince.” Yassen pursed his lips and slid into the seat on the right to Alex’s, pushing back unpleasant memories of food tasting earlier in his life.
“Good. That’s what I thought.” Alex turned his attention away from Yassen momentarily, surveying the foods lining the table.
He picked out a delicious-smelling curry in a deep, rich, red colour, clearly made with the freshest of spices, sitting upon a bed of the fluffiest of rice. It was beautiful to look at, and divine to smell.
Yassen thought to himself, there is no way that could be poisoned.
But you could never be too sure, right?
Alex, grinning smugly, held up some meaty curry and pure white rice on a fork and pushed it towards Yassen. “Open wide, now. Don’t be shy.”
Yassen hesitated but opened his mouth with trepidation evident on his face.
Alex slid the fork gently into his mouth, pressing it down so Yassen could slide the food off with his tongue.
Pulling away the fork, Alex’s smirk held strong, waiting to see how his great plan had worked out.
However, Yassen was in heaven.
He had never been allowed food of this calibre and wondered briefly if he had been especially good in a past life to deserve such a thing. The flavours mixed and melted on his tongue, faint spice in the back of his throat lighting up his tongue. When he did swallow, he missed the flavour immediately, closing his eyes in quiet reflection.
Opening his eyes once more to look at Alex, Yassen stared at him with a resigned look, momentary pleasure gone. Then he nodded, eyes downturned.
Alex’s smirk widened, satisfied that his plan seemed to be working.
“Hm… what should you try for me next?” Alex kept looking over the table, eyes glazing over fruit piles and decadent cakes, they would come later. Instead, Alex gently stabbed his fork through delicate-looking pink meat with a strong brown exterior.
Yassen was salivating. Does Alex really think this is a punishment? A smart way to ‘get back’ at someone?
“Open wide.” Alex said, eyes glinting and smile wide while directing the fork to Yassen.
Once again, Yassen opened his mouth to receive the food, wishing for the taste to never leave his mouth as soft, juicy steak overwhelmed his senses. The red meat fell apart in his mouth, feeling almost plush on his tongue. However, the moment had to end, and he swallowed, opening his eyes and giving Alex a curt nod.
Alex nodded back, then turned to the table once more. “Okay… next, I think-”
Yassen cut him off by placing a gentle hand on his wrist, speaking firmly. “Prince Alex, should we not wait for her Highness and his majesty before we continue tasting the foods? I feel that it would be safe to conclude they are free of poison, and this… arrangement,” he gestured between the two of them with a finger, “is somewhat inappropriate, no?”.
Alex’s brow furrowed. “What’s your angle, Captain? I don’t see any way this could be unbecoming of either of us. I simply did not feel like waiting for the food testers my father would have brought, and you’re right here, are you not?”
Yassen’s expression pinched, and he sighed internally. “Prince, how could you believe that, at a high-risk banquet, a foreign taster—one with no loyalty, especially after your recent disappearance—was safer than your own trusted taster? Someone devoted to protecting you?”
Alex seemed to process this, clearly growing more and more unsure of himself and his idea.
Clearing his throat, Yassen tried again. “Prince…?”
Alex snapped his eyes back to Yassen, flushed bright red and threw the cloth napkin in his lap onto his plate before standing up. “I’m sorry, Captain Yassen, but I don’t feel too well. I would ask that you don’t follow after me, I believe I can find my way back to my just fine.”
Yassen stared after Alex, unmoving from his chair, feeling the disdain from earlier come back, turned into a sudden, distant sense of longing.
𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟
Alex stormed through the halls of the castle, embarrassed by what just transpired. How could he be so stupid?? His completely foolproof idea for making Yassen fear for his life actually just ended up with him feeding Yassen pieces of delectable food, like they were on a date! A date! The prince and the captain of the royal guard!
He smacked his burning cheeks, leaning against the wall to try and contain his thoughts. Alex did not consider himself a fool, but the display in the dining hall told him otherwise. And Yassen had tried to stop him. And Alex had just kept-
Alex sighed, hot breath lightly swaying his hair.
He stood up, smoothed his robes and continued his walk to his rooms.
Coming closer, Alex seemed to spy…. Yassen, waiting at the doors.
Alex grimaced, but turned his nose up and kept walking, trying to retain some of his dignity in front of the guard.
“Captain Yassen. I have two questions for you; how did you get to my rooms before me, and what more could you possibly have to say to me? Have you come to rub my foolishness in my face?” Alex huffed; words spat with malice.
Yassen’s eyebrow twitched, though he held his composure.
“No, Prince, I simply came to apologise for earlier. I felt that I may have been…” Yassen trailed off, looking for the words. “… a bit impolite?”
Alex sagged a bit. “No, Captain, I’m sorry. I mean, it’s good that you’re sorry too because you’re not very nice, but I also wasn’t… very nice.” He mumbled the last part, looking away.
Yassen felt something akin to laughter bubble up in his throat, but he settled for a wry smile. “So, how about a peace treaty of our own?” Yassen outstretched his hand, one metal gauntlet removed.
Alex looked down at the hand, then up at Yassen. Then, he slowly stuck out his own hand, meeting Yassen’s.
Alex blushed as their hands touched, noting the warmth of the guard’s hand.
Yassen’s face heated a bit, surprised by the softness of the prince’s hand.
Alex withdrew his hand first, uncomfortable with silence while they just held hands.
“Thanks, Captain. Please give my father and her Highness my deepest apologies for missing dinner. I don’t know, tell them I’m sick or something. I feel like I’m delicate enough for my father to believe such a lie.”
Yassen smiled a bit. “Well, then why don’t you call for dinner to be sent to your room? And if you would be so kind as to let me, we could share the dishes without any pretence of… ‘food testing’.”
Alex went red again, mumbling something about maybe he will, and what does Yassen know, before walking past Yassen into his chambers, shutting the door with a rather histrionic slam.