Chapter Text
The extravagance of the event was lost on scott as he stared into the mirror of a dressing room, one meant for a bride, not the prince standing there in a flowing floor length blue and white dress. The gold adornments set upon Scott’s clothes and wings were beautiful, yes, in fact it all was, but it was the significance of these items that brought him such grief. He was getting married and he had no say in the matter. He hadn’t even met his fiancé before and here he was, only a few short minutes away from walking down the aisle and being tied to a stranger for the rest of his life.
The wedding was about as beautiful and big as one could get, especially one thrown by a king with a seemingly unlimited supply of precious items that could be traded. One of those items being his own child. Dogwarts would be a powerful ally, especially with their famed red king, a man with a reputation of brutality in battle as well as a caring spirit towards his people. Those were just rumors though and Scott would not know the truth until he finally met the man.
Scott gazed into the mirror as he waited to be called upon to walk towards his future, gazing at the gold chains with all sorts of gems that draped his wings. This was the kind of thing that scott would normally love, and yet, at the moment these beautiful handcrafted adornments felt more like shackles than dainty decorations. Scott had already tried to remove them. He hated how they felt on his wings but they were practically impossible to remove on his own, that job was supposed to be left for his husband. The husband that Scott was about to go meet.
Scott heard the door open and took a moment to adjust himself, fixing the placement of some of his jewelry and making sure that the golden crown of antlers he had was sitting correctly on his head before he was guided out of the room by a helper. Scott was handed a bouquet that matched his dress but also had some red and black sprinkled into fit with the suit that his husband-to-be was wearing, a symbol of the two kingdoms becoming an alliance through all of this. Scott was announced with the wrong name, something he wasn’t surprised by. Most people still didn’t see him as a prince and oftentimes it was hard for them to see him that way when his parents made him portray a certain image, not letting him just be himself. It was something he had gotten used to, sweeping his emotions away in order to serve his kingdom as expected. Something that came very much in handy as he started walking down the aisle.
The Prince kept his regal stride and his head held high, like he had been taught since he was young, and yet he wasn’t as imposing as he would like to be, especially when paired with the Red King himself. The avian stood in front of the marriage altar, facing the king who seemed to be in a better mood than the prince was. Of course he was, Ren had a choice in this, Scott didn’t. Scott was simply doing his duty.
Once the wedding ceremony was underway Scott went on autopilot. He had rehearsed what he had to say. Just a few words that had been written out for him and then he had to say ‘I do’. Being able to do it all without thinking helped a lot. Scott could stay disconnected from the situation to avoid crying and yet he could also make his kingdom happy. He only ever faltered when he finally looked up to truly look at the king, just as the ruler was finishing his vows. Scott saw the concern that the man had in his eyes and it surprised him. The king seemed worried for him? Scott quickly brushed off his surprise before agreeing to the marriage. The kiss he was given was short, gentle and sweet but just enough to make the observers happy without making Scott uncomfortable and then the two were on their way, a newly married couple heading out to celebrate such a wonderful day.
There were many celebrations going on throughout the kingdom, so Scott was highly confused when instead of taking him to dance or mingle, Ren brought him to a quiet back room and simply let him take a moment away from the bustle of the crowd.
“I figured you would need a moment.” The king spoke softly as he shut the door, then turned to Scott who stood awkwardly in the middle of the room. “I suppose we should also get to know each other somewhat?”
Scott liked that suggestion. He appreciated that the king wanted to know him first before truly getting on with anything throughout the day. Scott was hesitant, debating over what he should say, but he was stuck with Ren now so the king might as well know. Scott moved to sit on a couch in the room, motioning for Ren to join him. Ren sat about as opposite of Scott as he could on the couch, giving the prince some space.
“Well.. starting off, I don’t want you going into this marriage with the wrong impression of who I am.” Scott stated. He knew this could go horribly wrong but what did he have to lose at this point? “My name is Scott, and I suppose that I am your husband.” Scott kept his tone even and made sure he showed no signs of hesitance or weakness. If he was going to be honest, he would be bold about it. He waited for a reaction, yelling, anything of the sort, but Ren was quiet for a long moment.
The king looked confused at first, then surprised. It took him a moment to realize what Scott was saying. When he did, he showed no malice or hate, just curiosity if anything. “Oh.. Oh. I see then.” He looked Scott over for a moment, giving a soft frown. “Well then, would you like some more comfortable clothes? I could also attempt to cut your hair if you like?”
That was not the reaction that Scott expected. Ren immediately accepted what he said and even offered to help, first impressions were good so far at least, though scott still didn’t want to be there. He gave a nod at the king's suggestions. The dress he was in rubbed at his wings the wrong way and he hadn’t been allowed to cut his hair in Aeor knows how long. “That would be wonderful actually. You don’t have to cut my hair too short though.. maybe to my shoulders?”
The king nodded, leaving for a moment before returning with simple clothes that would work for the moment. He gave Scott some privacy to change before coming back with a blanket and a pair of scissors that likely had been in his study. Scott sat still as ren carefully wrapped the blanket around him and did his best at cutting the prince’s semi-curly hair. It wouldn’t look the best, but it was something that scott knew he wouldn’t be able to get done anywhere else for a while and he likely wouldn’t have let anyone else do it.
Afterwards the king informed scott that he had a separate room set up for him, since the prince was unlikely to want to sleep in the same bed as someone who was practically a stranger. Ren also wasn’t going to make him go to any of the wedding events.
“I’m generally good with events and the like, I can handle it if you want to just rest and settle in. I know you have a lot to adjust to.” Ren seemed to always speak softly with Scott, at least at the moment.
Scott didn’t say much, just giving a simple nod. He was led to his own bedroom before he watched the king leave to go about the rest of the day’s activities. Scott supposed that maybe this wouldn’t be so bad. The king seemed sweet, even if Scott didn’t love him and wasn’t so sure about the massive change that had just come to his life.