Work Text:
If there was one season he despised more than summer, it was spring. The scent of flowers in bloom was enough to make him feel ill, and the increasing warmth made him feel as if he was going to melt. He had never been one for plants or nature, unlike Stolas who seemed to revel in the season as he tended to the fauna that polluted his and Stella’s home. (Just another reason he rarely visited them when they were still together.)
“Spring isn’t all that bad, you know,” Caim said, looking at her fiance rolling his cyan eyes. “When the cherry blossoms are in full bloom, it’s truly beautiful. It makes you feel as if a new beginning is upon you, and it feels as if you have been reborn anew.”
“According to your culture,” he added, the temperature dropping around them as his corvid fiancee let out a sigh.
“Perhaps if you ever went topside, I could show you. Maybe then you’ll understand.”
“Assuming we ever get there; once the marriage is finalized, we will be expected to stay here, produce an heir, and take part in every aspect of goetian life.”
“...assuming we ever get there. Right.”
It had been one of their last conversations before she left to immerse herself in the world of the living, where her mother’s people resided. It had been during spring that she broke off the engagement, and thus took a part of his heart with it. In hindsight he knew such a union would never work, for the love they had shared was platonic and not conducive to producing an heir. Furthermore, she had cared little about goetian life, much to her father’s displeasure. In the end it was better that she had broken it off, but that didn’t mean it hurt any less, or that it was yet another reminder of why he detested this season.
Yet as he moved around the gardens of some noble’s estate (he honestly couldn’t be bothered to truly remember the names of the lesser goetia that hosted or attended these parties, unless he could benefit from them in some fashion), the marquis found himself under a cherry blossom tree. Looking up, he noticed one of the blossoms had come loose and began its slow descent. The lone blossom twirled ever so slowly, not unlike the snowflakes that hell outside his abode, and for a moment he soon found himself entranced by the sight.
“Mi cariño,” a voice called out to him. It had gone unnoticed at first, for the marquis’s gaze was still directed upward. When a hand gently touched his shoulder, followed by a softer repetition of the call, Andrealphus nearly jumped. Turning his head, he noticed Vassago had come alongside him, smiling warmly as his gaze held a fondness that made Andrealphus want to turn away.
“Can I help you?” he asked, his tone cool but lacking the usual bite it normally held when addressing the prince.
The sight of the frosty royal looking so at peace in an element that was not his own was a scene that most would leave well enough alone. In fact, under most circumstances, Vassago would have been content to keep watching. Yet something about his seemingly peaceful expression bothered him; the subtle furrow of his brow, the distant gaze as he looked up at the petals, as if remembering a time long past gave him an aura of sadness that the prince simply could not ignore.
“Maybe,” he said, his tone light as he came up alongside the marquis. “I am wondering what brought you out here; I know you’re not one for nature.”
“Isn’t it obvious? I am here to observe the blossoms.”
“And yet you despise greenery of any kind.”
“Maybe I’ve had a change of mind.”
“Really?” The doubt in his tone, along with the knowing look directed his way made Andrealphus tense. He never could bullshit him.
“Or maybe it’s really none of your business.”
“Maybe it isn’t, but I’d still like to know, if you’re willing to share.”
Andrealphus fell silent, looking suspiciously at the prince before directing his gaze upward. “I was…simply reflecting. I do not understand why creatures are fond of these things, or this season. What is it about the blossoms and greenery coming to life that ensnares so many?”
“Well, many see it as a new beginning. With spring comes rebirth, especially after the cold and dark of winter which kept such life shut away. Feeling the gentle warmth renews such life, making them feel alive. This feeling in turn leads many to believe that it’s a fresh start for them to do something new, or perhaps try again.”
“You sound just like her.”
The prince paused as he spoke, his brow furrowing before realization dawned on him. “Ah, you mean your ex-fiance?”
“She said the exact same thing to me, and I didn’t understand it then, nor do I now. How can a season possibly make you believe that all things are new and fresh? That you can simply start over? I can…agree that the sight is beautiful, but that is about it.”
“Mm, maybe you’re right. Then again, feelings are illogical, but many cannot help but feel some sort of sentiment for the season. Besides, do you truly need to understand in order to enjoy the beauty of flora in bloom?”
“You would know about that, wouldn’t you?”
The prince let out a hum, directing his gaze upward. “You didn’t answer my question.”
“You already know my answer.”
“Do I?” He couldn’t help but smile at the irate sigh.
“No, I do not need to understand, but I want to.”
“Then what’s stopping you?”
“The whole concept..! It is absurd to think that you need something like a season to start anew. Why wait until spring when, if you wanted a new beginning, you could start right away?”
“That is true,” Vassago began, pausing before directing his gaze back to the peacock. “Though now I wonder: Why are you so concerned about this concept of new beginnings?”
“Who said I was?”
“You have brought it up several times now, and I’m curious if it has anything to do with your reminiscing.”
“...you are too nosy for your own good,” he muttered, shooting the parrot a glare. The concept of a new beginning was a sore spot for him; not only did he believe that such things were not possible, for there were just some things you could not start over nor go back to, but the mere sentiment reminded him of the relationship he had lost. It wasn’t long after their last meeting that he found out Caim went to the human world, marrying another in the process and starting a new life that he himself was incapable of. She got to marry the one she loved while he was left to swallow the disgrace and failure of a broken engagement while also losing someone he thought of as a friend. There had been no other engagements after hers, and his parents soon gave up on trying to wed him off in favour of keeping tabs on his sister’s more respectable marriage. To be wed to a prince was better than being wed to a bastard president, after all.
Seeing him slip into his thoughts, Vassago reached out to gently touch his shoulder. “It’s alright if you don’t wish to speak of it,” he said quietly, his concerned gaze not wavering even as Andrealphus shrugged him off. “Just know that beginnings are not something to detest, but are something that is very much possible and real.”
“Oh? And how do you know that?” he asked, his look one of distrust as the parrot smiled.
“Well I could tell you, or I could show you. If you’d let me, that is.” He held out his hand. “You know of my gifts, yes? While I cannot change the past, I can see into the future. I can see the many paths a person can take, and new beginnings are among the many possibilities. While I cannot change the fact that she left you to start anew, I can show you a new beginning of your own. All I ask is that you trust me.”
“...and you expect me to believe you?”
“Have I ever lied to you? In all the years we’ve known each other?”
“...no, you have not.”
“And have we not been friends since we were but fledglings?”
“Yes, we have, but…”
“But?”
“What you are proposing goes against the foundations of the flock. Such a union would never be tolerated and would be more of a disgrace than the one I have lost.”
“And since when have I ever cared about what our ‘betters’ might think, or of our traditions?”
“Not once, and that will get you in trouble one day.”
“Then let it. However, if it makes you feel better, we need not go that far. We can simply take things slow, and deal with such unions as they arise. Would that not be agreeable?”
Andrealphus fell silent. The objection, which had been on the tip of his tongue, left him as he realized he could not refute this logic. While a more permanent union might be out of their grasp, they could still have a relationship of sorts. And while it would be no replacement for what he lost, it would be something to ease the ache he had for all these years. And even though he had lost a friend, he always had another at his side, and one who wished to remain so.
As he thought it all over, it dawned on him that everything he longed and mourned for had always been here; he was simply too foolish to have seen it. Now that he had come to his senses, he didn’t hesitate to take Vassago’s outstretched hand. He would trust the parrot and take him at his word.
He would have his own new beginning.