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       Far to the North East of Roan, a noble family holds vast amounts of quarries and mines, even a small mountain or two, not to mention some land for vineyards and growing mountain crops and raising livestock. This noble family is not especially high-ranking (though they could be, if they wished, but they do not wish so they're content) but they are the wealthiest not just in the North East of Roan, but in the entirety of Roan. The Henituse Family is a picture of neutrality, never doing enough to bring attention to themselves, but also never doing anything to regarded as a weak family that could be taken advantage of. Skilled in politics so they can avoid being involved in such matters, well informed so they know who and what to not get involved with, they know much so they can avoid much. They're a family that likes not being thought of so as to avoid trouble, because trouble is an interference on their peace and happiness and even potential dangers to their family, which is more important than even the kingdom itself, but sometimes, something happens to catch the attention they strive so hard to avoid.

       The Sunset Opal is an extremely rare gem, and it's so rare it's nearly a myth. If it weren't for the existence of a singular Sunset Opal that the Roan royal family holds in their possession, then it'd be dismissed as mere story. It's a gem that grows only in the conditions available in the Roan Kingdom, making it all the more coveted. But the Sunset Opal is not a gem that can be harvested so easily, nor can it be found in great quantities. At least, that is how it's meant to be.

       On a regular inspection of the quarry, the territory lord, Count Deruth Henituse catches his eye upon a certain glittering stone. It looks as though it is both a living, burning flame and a blackened smoldering coal, shining with iridescence even in the dark. It does not strike him at first that this is a Sunset Opal. Nobody would immediately assume something so grand. Rather, he just instructs the workers to keep an eye out for similar stones and takes the one he finds back with him. He feels as though he's seen it before.

        Within the next few weeks, enormous veins of Sunset Opals are found not just in that quarry, but various quarries and mines in the Henituse territory (though much to the frustrions of the Tolz, who are only a mountain's separation from them, there are no such precious gemstones to be found in their lands). That raw chunk of Sunset Opal that Deruth had originally picked up was just a mere drop in the vast sea. Even though the count paid the workers enough for them to keep quiet about such a miraculous (and extremely bothersome in his opinion, since this could mean that even the Crown might bother them about their new supply of rare gems) find, the word still escapes and spreads like rats in a mismanaged storehouse. It's not long before even those in the capital, Huiss, know: the Henituse territory is bursting with Sunset Opals.

"What a headache," Deruth mutters to himself as he stares at the summons to Huiss by the Crown.

       He does not yet know of the coming days and how truly disruptive they will be.

       The royal court is tense as they wait in trepidation. Will King Zed demand that Count Henituse hand over all of the rights to the Sunset Opals? Will he form a trade with the Henituse County for their gems in exchange for something? A raise in rank perhaps? The nobles who reside in the capital do not know, and they can't bear not knowing what the verdict will be.

"How many Sunset Opals can you harvest per year," the king asks, smiling pleasantly.

      How many are you willing to give up, you money hungry bastard?

      Count Henituse's smile is equally pleasant. "For the safety of the workers who spend their hours working in such difficult, dangerous conditions, only ten per year, so as to not destabilize the structures of the mines. We must always keep in mind not to dig too deep, otherwise our greed will punish us."

Go bleed someone else dry, you mosquito, I'm not giving you shit.

"The workers of the Henistuse territory are treasured," the king chuckles.

      You son of a bitch, you're really putting up a front.

"The blood of our land is our people, Your Highness," Count Henituse replies, "The County would be nothing without our people. They make us flourish."

      Don't fuck with me, I will cut ties with this kingdom and you won't do shit about it.

"Have you yet harvested the ten opals for the year," Zed asks, his fingers filding together.

     What have you done with those damn opals?

"Yes," Count Henituse confirms, "They've also already found their owners."

     The opals won't be in your greedy hands. Eat shit and die.

"Oh? And who might those owners be?" Zed leans forward as casual as a king can manage.

      You really piss me off, Deruth, who the fuck did you give them to?

"Two each were gifted to the members of my family, of which they can decide what to do with on their own terms, and two were exchanged for the benefit of the people of the territory," Count Deruth replies.

      I gave them the people I actually like and not people who will bother me, like you, you damn old leech.

"I see." King Zed straightens once more and nods. "Blessings upon your territory and the greatness it will bring to the Roan Kingdom."

      I hate you.

"Blessings upon the Crown and the Royal Family, and may they keep the kingdom prosperous for many years," Count Henituse replies respectfully.

     The feeling is mutual.

      Unfortunately, the summons to Huiss is not the end of it. The whispers of who holds the Sunset Opals leap among the ears of nobles, slipping between gossiped conversations. It becomes clear very quickly: to get to the Sunset Opals, you must also obtain the Henituse children. The easiest method? Marriage.

       Basen wants to go home. He doesn't want to be here. He wants to be in the study, or the gardens, or even being manhandled into sword practice with sticks by Lily (even if it does mean he gets thoroughly whacked by his seven year old sister), he just wants to be at home and not anywhere near where he is right now. Can he go home early?

"Basen, old friend," the Langsley heir, Martin, laughs uproariously in his ear as he slaps Basen's back hard enough to make him stumble, "It must be great fun knowing you can have any pick of the ladies! That Sunset Opal has made you a prime candidate!"

      Martin Langsley might just make Basen's ear drums explode. Did nobody teach him volume control? Then again, Viscount Langsley is infamous for being a loud old goat so it's probably inherited…

"So it seems," Basen replies neutrally.

      He hasn't given much thought to the two Sunset Opals in his possession. He'd given them to his mother to put them in the vaults to figure out what to do with at a later date, most likely once he's an adult. Lily had done something similar, after keeping them for a few days to marvel over but inevitably grew bored with once she realized they weren't good for much else besides being pretty bookends. He's not sure why Martin Langsley is eyeing him like he's expecting Basen to pull the opals out of his pockets at any moment.

"The young miss of the Delaney county seems to be quite keen on you," Martin snickers in his ear, only strengthening Basen's headache, "She's pretty, isn't she?"

      Lady Blaire Delaney is indeed pretty, but she's also known to be extremely fickle and not very decisive. She's not someone Basen can imagine being a partner with. In fact, he can't imagine being married yet at all! Someday, yes, he would like it, but quite frankly, right now he just wants to go home and hide in his study with his books and papers and journals. Why did he come again?

"You need to socialize," his mother had told him sternly before banning him from the study for three whole days.

      Ah. Right. He needs to actually coooperate with people. He can do that! He communicates just fine with heads of businesses and contractors and people in the territory! If this were about business and economics and politics, he could maneuver that with all the confidence he has. Basen knows where his strengths lie. Administrative duties are what he's capable at. But this? Nope. That's it. He's had enough.

      Basen eyes the green thrush berry tea that's being served. He's a bit allergic to it, not enough to really harm him, but he does get momentarily ill if he ingests it. Usually he wouldn't be so willing to inflict a vomiting spell upon himself but exceptions must be made in emergencies. With a single, unhurried, casual sip, he feels his stomach turn. Who cares if this is humiliating, he needs to get out of here.

      Basen is quickly sent home, the Therese family hosting the gathering apologizing profusely for his abrupt illness. He does feel a bit sorry for them but not enough to stick around any longer than he has to. He momentarily envies his hyung as he goes limp against the seat in the carriage, not caring about how inelegant he looks right now. His hyung has not received any invitations to anywhere beyond those of his neutral faction friends- the Wheelsmans, Ubarrs, and Chetters, that is. Nobody wants to deal with his mercurial hyung at their nice, peaceful noble gatherings after all. Basen briefly considers pulling a Cale and then shakes his head; no, only his hyung can do what he does and Basen feels embarrassed just briefly imagining it.

"You're back early," his mother says as she greets him outside.

"They served green thrush berry tea," Basen explains.

      She hums in understanding with a slightly dour expression; Basen didn't get his allergy from nowhere after all. He's quick to get inside and bathe, changing into clothes more comfortable than the more formal clothing he wears to gatherings. How hyung can stand wearing such fancy clothes everyday, he doesn't know. He can't go to his study just yet, the ban still instituted, but he has plenty of books in his room, or the estate's library, or he could even borrow some from his father. He starts to wander off towards his father's study, though he's technically not supposed to go in there either. He's only borrowing a couple of books, though, so it should be fine.

     He tries to be quiet as he enters the study, not wanting to cause any disturbance. His father looks up briefly, smiling faintly.

"You're back early," his father comments.

"There was an incident with some green thrush berry tea," Basen explains, which is technically true even if he won't say that he drank it on purpose.

      His father grimaces sympathetically. "You should rest and have water."

       Basen is about to agree, grab a book, and leave when he notices a large pile of letters, many of which seem to be the kind that would be addressed to him and not his father for business purposes. A feeling of dread besets Basen, pooling in his stomach and spreading up to his chest much like the feeling of vomiting.

"Are those for me," he asks, eyeing the letters.

"…Not all of them," his father replies with a wince, "A number of them are for Lily and Cale."

"Are the Sunset Opals truly worth that much," Basen asks, utterly astounded.

"I suppose so," his father sighs in exhasperation, "You don't have to worry about these. I can respond to them in place of you three."

"I can handle mine," Basen tells him, "But it's probably best to handle Lily's…and hyung's as well."

        They both eye the large pile of letters that Basen assumes is Cale's. Cale would just throw the letters into the fire at best, leaving the senders in a permanent state of suspense for an answer. Of course, anybody bold enough to send the infamously tempermental eldest Henituse son a marriage proposal should be expecting something like that but it's just more polite to send a very placid 'no thank you'. The Henituses are very good at polite declines of offers.

"You don't have to," his father reminds him, "You should go rest or play with Lily."

"I'm bored anyways," Basen admits, "I need busywork. It's good practice at diplomacy anyways."

"Don't push yourself," his father says, patting Basen on the shoulder.

       Basen nods, gathering all of the letters. He has to admit, he's sort of curious about what could possibly be in the letters. It's not yet official but Basen's essentially the heir, Cale refusing to do any of the duties necessary to take up the succession, even though Basen feels a bit weird about it. He doesn't know how to ask his hyung why he is refusing to do any of the duties he should as the rightful successor, the firstborn, the one who is a Henituse by blood. But it's hard to talk to his hyung, no matter how much he wants to. Maybe Basen is just a coward. He eyes the letters in his arms. Maybe if he can brave through responding to these letters, he can work up the courage to actually talk to his older brother.

Nope. Basen can't do it. He's not even brave enough to get through a fourth of the letters. They're so- so-

"Who is so blatant and rude like this," he mutters to himself, trying to scribble out a polite-enough response to the second daughter of the Clover family of the North Western barons.

      He's moved from his room to a spot in the library, nestling himself away in a chair in the furthest corner. It's of course not dusty, but it's got a certain feeling of forgotteness about it. His hand is starting to cramp and he still has plenty of letters to get through.

      Footsteps quietly approach him, Basen holding in a breath as he waits for whoever it is to come into view. Hair the color of a newly bloomed red hollyhock is always the most eye-catching thing each time Basen sees his hyung, but this time, it's the quietness and softness with which Cale-hyung walks, fingers running along the spines of the books, that Basen notices. Seemingly unobserved, Basen's hyung has a soft, distant expression and a contemplative gaze. He looks…normal. Not so fierce and unapproachable as Basen's known him to be for so long now (even though Cale had not been like that at first, Basen has so many memories of being small and Cale-hyung being so gentle and calm with him, with everyone, and Basen wonders if it's his fault that his hyung is so different now). Basen shifts, the papers in his hand rustling, and those sharp eyes land on him.

      It's shocking to see how hyung looks like a mouse caught in a trap, as if he's been backed into a corner by Basen's mere presence in the library.

"What's all that," Cale-hyung demands to know after a tense, awkward beat of silence.

"Marriage proposals," Basen replies quickly, waving a letter around.

      Cale-hyung clicks his tongue in disgust, his nose wrinkling. Normally, Basen would be shrinking back, thinking his hyung should be left alone but…like this…his hyung just looks like the disgruntled 18 year old he really is.

"Greedy bastards," his hyung scoffs, "None of them want anything to do with you. They just want a better chance of getting the stupid opals."

       His hyung seems to be bothered not with Basen but with the senders of all these letters. It's…sweet. It reminds him of how his hyung pushed his own cousins (second cousins, really, and Basen hasn't seen them since his first year of being in the Henituse household, his adoption still fresh and his mother and father's marriage to each other still brand new) into a pond while he yelled at them so furiously he lost his voice. It's been quite a while since he's thought about that, Basen realizes. He can't really fight the urge to smile, even if it's a small smile.

"All this over some opals," Basen agrees with a grumble, "There's even things sent for Lily."

      Cale-hyung's eyes narrow. He doesn't look pleased at all, judging by the displeased purse of his lips.

"She's seven," Cale-hyung huffs, "That's completely stupid. Kids that age are more worried about what bugs they can find."

"Lily actually prefers rock collecting," Basen absentmindedly corrects.

      His older brother nods, not really paying much attention to the correction. He's too focused on mumbling to himself about how stupid this all is, and how the opals aren't even that much to get excited about. Privately, Basen agrees.

      Basen wonders if he should inform his older brother about the existence of his own stack of letters sitting on the desk of their father in his study, awaiting replies of no acceptance. He decides that he maybe shouldn't for right now. Of course, if his hyung finds out on his own, Basen will just have to let his oldest brother react however he will.

"Do you really have to reply to all of these assholes," his hyung huffs, "Just throw this crap in the fire."

"I can't-," Basen starts, and blinks as his hyung snatches up every single letter as quick as a cat and sprints off.

"Throw this crap in a fire," he hollers, storming down the hallways, sounding absolutely furious, "Annoying trash letters should just be gotten rid of!"

       Various maids duck out of the way, eyeing each other curiously. What could have possibly set off the tempermental redhead this time? Basen jogs after his brother, not sure of how he should get the letters back. He's not quick enough to stop his older brother from burning everything in a conveniently lit fire place, the old butler Ron standing by it, smiling cheerfully.

"My, Young Master, have mere scraps of paper angered you so much," he chuckles.

      Basen's pretty sure that his older brother is thoroughly fond of this old butler, since he doesn't explode like he otherwise would have.

"What's the point of sending marriage proposals to a 15 year old," Cale-hyung complains, "It's so obviously ambitious that it just makes me cringe. It seriously pisses me off."

"Ah, we can't have that," Ron agrees, "Shall I prepare a drink to soothe you, Young Master?"

"Of course," Cale-hyung replies, brushing by Basen as he flounces off, no longer angered like he had been just a minute ago.

       All Basen can do is stare at the smoldering remains of his letters, both answered and unanswered. Well…at least he won't have to worry about them anymore? He feels more relieved than is probably proper.

(The rumor quickly spreads that the oldest Henituse child burnt every single proposal letter sent, including his siblings'. This, naturally, took all of the blame off the other members of the Henituse family for not properly replying. How could the other families feel upset when the Henituse family's trashy wild child had done what trashy wild children do? Certainly, marrying off the eldest as fast as possible must take priority. Naturally the family- save for the perpetrator of the trouble himself- was not aware of that part of the rumors…at least not yet.)

       Basen assumes that the whole Sunset Opal craze will blow over soon and things will settle down. Basen's not someone who is especially interesting, attractive, or extremely skilled in any field beyond his administrative and political duties. He's luckily inherited some amount of his mother's grace, and even though they aren't blood related, he's about as even-tempered as his father, and his family is so incredibly rich that they could probably buy a part of the royal palace if they desired, so he's aware he's not a terrible catch at all but really, there's probably about a thousand other young men his age who come to mind when one thinks of the greatest catches of the Roan Kingdom Nobility. He's not someone desirable. He still isn't, honestly. What is desirable, though, are those stupid opals that he's considering just selling and using the money for further improving the infrastructure in Rain City's slums like his father had done with the money from the two Sunset Opals he'd sold.

     That is to say, things absolutely do not settle down. They become worse, honestly. Their parents depart for the capital, briefly, to attend a party for the major territory lords hosted by the king, and his parents debut the jewelry crafted from the Sunset Opals that his mother had received as a gift from his father. His mother had turned the two Sunset Opals into a set of couple's jewelry. This is quite romantic in Basen's opinion, and he likes seeing his parents happy, but he does have to admit that this causes some issues for him, since the flood of letters, meeting offers, and even the appearance of bribes increases with the finely crafted jewelry being shown off. He catches Deputy Butler Hans weeping in a laundry room one day over a set of offered silks that came from the Norstop count family from the Eastern Nobles and decides to never mention it to anybody.

      They get all kinds of bizarre offers in the short few weeks that the siblings' parents are in the capital. Luckily (in Basen's opinion at least, since he can't imagine having the boldness Cale-hyung has), Cale-hyung knows exactly how to handle the greedy nobles' bribes and offers.

"I am Trinity, of the Tristan Boutique. The Londres Family of the Southern Nobles has sent me to make a dress especially Young Lady Lily, and their oldest son, Young Master Nathan Londres, sends his special regards," a young lady says, bowing before them.

"Isn't that the boutique that was recently revealed as a front for laundering money," Cale-hyung drawls, lazily draped across a chair, drinking from a wine glass balanced elegantly in his hand, "Just this month? So soon, and you're trying to pull all this? That's pathetic."

       Basen and Lily peer into the room from a crack in the door, trying to not be noticed. They shouldn't really be spying, but Lily made a very convincing case.

"We have to see what's going on," she insisted.

       What was Basen meant to do, argue with her? No chance. They elbow each other out of the way to get a better view for themselves. Hyung looks a bit like one of those famous paintings of elegant, listless beauties that Marquess Floristine from the South Eastern nobles is so fond of. Of course, he's a lot more drunk than those paintings usually depict but then again, she supposedly has a secret collection that are a lot less visually conservative than her public collection. But that's hardly what matters, since their hyung is busy making this seamstress/supposed swindler verge on tears as he begins a scathing review of her whole outfit and her poor needlework that appears on her handkerchief's embroidery patterns. Honestly, Basen himself feels embarrasment over how he's dressed and he's not even supposed to be hearing all of this.

"-besides, the seamstresses and tailors in our territory are clearly more skilled, so why would we outsource and lower ourselves to poorer quality than what we deserve. If the Londres family really sent you, go tell them they've dealt an insult to us. Alright, get out of my faces and never try and speak of my siblings and bullshit special regards again," Cale-hyung finishes, flicking his graceful hand dismissively and taking a long sip of his drink.

       Ron quickly escorts the shaking seamstress out of the door and out of the estate, smiling the whole time. Basen's never noticed how unnerving the elderly man is until now. The permanent smile really gives him goosebumps, though his hyung doesn't seem to notice or really even care. Cale-hyung's eyes dart over to the doorway, Lily and Basen quickly throwing themselves away from the crack into the room they were peering through. A faint clinking echoes before Cale-hyung calls, "I saw you two, get in here."

     They both shuffle into the room, Basen staring sheepishly at the floor while Lily bounces excitedly on her toes.

"You kicked her out," she says cheerfully, "That was cool!"

      Cale-hyung's face is flushed, but his glass of wine has disappeared. Ron returns, this time holding a glass of water. There's a wedge of lemon decorating the side of the cup. Hyung's face twitches at the sight of the lemon. Ah, that's right, Basen's hyung hates anything and everything sour. He picks off the lemon wedge and takes a long drink of water, his red flush clearing up easily.

"Don't speak to anyone who spouts cra- nonsense like that," Cale-hyung commands, frowning faintly, not really looking at either of them but still refraining from swearing nastily around Lily.

"Was it really okay to speak like that to someone who might serve a ducal family," Basen worries.

      His hyung shrugs. "They only have rank over us. We're still better than them in any other regard."

       Basen would say that's arrogant if it weren't thoroughly true. Even if the Londres family were to sever ties with the Henituse family, they have much more prosperous connections in the south for trading anyways. It'd be more of a loss for the Londres family than the Henituses in the end.

"This is going to get out of hand very quick," hyung complains, "They're like flies sticking to honey."

"I don't want to get married," Lily pouts, "Boys stink."

"You're not getting married, you're 7," Basen points out.

"Exactly," Lily agrees, "I'm not getting married. Because I'm 7 and boys stink."

       She startles suddenly, smiling at their oldest brother.

"You don't stink," she reassures him, "You're fine!"

"Wait, what about me," Basen interjects.

      Lily wrinkles her nose at him. "No, you definitely stink, oppa."

       From the corner of his eye, Basen can see Cale hiding his face, turning from the two of them. Is- is he laughing at them? Hyung can laugh?! In a non-mocking, non-derisive manner? Basen feels utterly confounded. Today is definitely going to be very bizarre indeed.

"Right," hyung coughs, trying to school his face into a much more stern expression, "Well, this is certainly going to be a problem. Basen?"

      He straightens up, hands clasped behind his back. "Yes?"

"Do you want to get married?"

"No," Basen replies quickly, so quickly that he actually has to wince at his own rude tone, "Not yet. Someday, I believe I'll want to but currently, that is of no interest to me."

      Hyung gives him a long, sharp look.

"It scares the absolute shi- er, pants off of you, doesn't it?"

"Yes," Basen admits.

       Hyung shrugs. "Fine. And Lily, you absolutely won't get engaged yet, not for another 10 years at least."

"Ten lifetimes," Lily corrects stubbornly, all previous shyness of Cale from before this day completely evaporated.

"Ten lifetimes," Cale agrees easily, "And I'm sure not going to get married at all."

        They all furrow their eyebrows.

"So who's going to deal with all these suitors," Lily wonders.

"None of us, as long as we're smart about it," Basen decides, "For Lily, the biggest thing would to be avoid getting an early engagement pressured onto her."

"I can beat up anyone my age if they try and make me," Lily says proudly.

"We can't go around beating people up, Lily," Basen reminds her, "That's not knightly."

       She frowns contemplatively. "If I'm a knight and a lady, wouldn't it count as honoring the knight's code of chivalry to protect a lady from unwanted advances?"

"I- I don't know," Basen stammers since she kind of makes sense, but he also doesn't know much about about knight codes.

"Tell that to whoever you punch in the face," Cale encourages her.

"Don't punch people in the face," Basen pleads (though she seems more inclined to listen to their oldest brother than him and despairs at the thought of explaining to some noble why his younger sister decided to enact random violence).

"For hyung, you're already old enough to marry, technically," Basen continues.

       Their hyung shrugs. "Most ladies my age just start crying without me even doing anything if they're near me for long enough."

       Ah. That's right. Lily and Basen give eachother a sidelong glance; hyung has the permanent side effect of causing many young ladies to cry once they've looked at him long enough and start to feel insecure about their own appearance. Their hyung isn't aware of why it happens and neither of them are going to tell him.

"And oppa is the heir so lots of people want to get their sticky fingers on him," Lily mutters, frowning deeply.

"Their sticky, nasty fingers," Cale hyung agrees.

      The three of them ponder privately to themselves, wondering how they all ended up in such a disastrous situation. Why is their peace being disturbed, huh? Their precious peace that all Henituses value so much more than anything.

"These opals are definitely the problem," they all conclude together after a long, heavy silence.

"Can't we start the rumor that there were only a little bit of opals and they're all gone," Lily asks.

"No, that will let people start doubting our family and land," Basen sighs tiredly, "And it's already known that there's many opals here, it'll just be troublesome to lie like that."

"We don't go out of Rain City often," hyung mumbles to himself, "But when we do…"

"We'll be accosted, we most certainly will be," Basen says.

"Then I'll just start throwing a fit," Lily declares, "And we'll have to leave."

"I can cause plenty of problems just by being present," hyung smirks, "And that will get us out of there."

"I- I can make myself sick," Basen says, "Like I did at the gathering the Therese family was hosting."

"Don't do that, it's bad for your health, oppa," Lily lectures sternly, "Making yourself sick won't do you any good."

"Just behave as you normally do, I can do it on my own, so just get me if anyone causes you trouble," hyung insists.

"Mhm, oppa is the good kid so just let oraboni and me handle it," Lily says, "I can get away with lots because I'm young! Just be the good kid and let us take care of it!

       Why is Basen the designated good kid? He can misbehave! He…he can…er…no, maybe he can't. But should he really let his siblings handle it on their own? Of course not!

"I can help to, so just get me too when you're being bothered," Basen tells them, "I can be good at talking so let me get things done peacefully so you two don't get hurt by being called unruly."

       He wants to be brave for his siblings. He can do it, he can protect them too. Until all of this Sunset Opal craze blows over and their family can settle into peace again, he can stand up to protect his siblings. He's a turtle too, after all.

"Then we should have a signal to let each other know to come and help," Lily decides.

       They spend the afternoon trying to make up such a signal, debating if a whistle is too obvious or if a hand signal wouldn't be good enough. Can they use code words? What about multiple signals? Should they write it all down. It's the most time the three of them had ever spent together, though anyone would be hard pressed to believe that they weren't always close if they were to witness the three of them right now. Their talks last long into the night, and when Lily inevitably drifts off soon after dinner, hyung carries her to bed. It looks like such a gentle hold that Basen can't help the jealousy he feels. It doesn't last long when he feels himself being half lifted by cool, gentle hands that settle his arm around unfamiliar shoulders and the slow rocking of a slow wander up the stairs.

"I would carry you all the way like Lily but I'm not strong enough for that," hyung whispers softly, "Don't worry, I'll keep making sure you two are safe. I always will."

      Basen is certain that his hyung only sounds so tender because he believes he's asleep and entirely unaware of how gentle his hyung is. He bites his tongue as he feels the faint press of soft lips againt his forehead, slender fingers brushing the hair off of his forehead as he's laid down on his bed carefully.

       Basen feels like he understands nothing about his hyung. He wants to. He wants to know his older brother and be close siblings with him. He wants his older brother to be able to show how gentle and affectionate he can be without having to wait for his siblings to sleep to express these feelings. Maybe by the end of this all, Basen and Lily will be able to climb over the walls hyung's raised around his heart that he lowers only in secret. He falls asleep with hope gleaming as brightly as a Sunset Opal in his heart.

      Lily feels out of place and she wants to go play. It's not that she hates pretty dresses and skirts and ribbons and gems. She loves pretty things. But she prefers to look at pretty stuff rather than wear it on her own. She's always been more comfortable in the pants and shorts that young squires often wear, the sort of clothes she sports at home. But it's not polite for a girl to come to a playdate among other noble children wearing her at-home clothes, so she allows her maids to drown her in the party dress that matches her eyes and for a silky black ribbon to be tied up into her hair in a big bow. She feels silly, dressed up with shiny black shoes like the sort that belong on dolls and pristine white socks that wouldn't last a minute in Lily's regular going-ons after the playdate.

"Where are your opals, Lily," Chrystalline asks, peering at her outfit to try and find the gemstones that are not at all anywhere near the playdate Chrystalline's mother set up.

"At home." Lily nearly shrugs but remembers that it's not really polite to shrug at people. "They're just shiny rocks so I didn't bring them since they're not very fun. I brought the dolls you like!"

      As pretty as the opals are, they're not very fun. Certainly not as cool as the monster-shaped rocks she collects and displays proudly in her room. She swears she even found a two-headed wyvern shaped rock! Isn't that so much cooler than some shiny rocks? But she's scared of losing her special rocks so she brought some dolls she doesn't really play with instead. She knows that the other kids like the dolls and nobody besides the boys are really encouraged to play with the wooden swords, even though that's what Lily would really like to play with. She doesn't like playing with the boys; they try and make her play the princess when she wants to be a knight who saves a princess (or a prince if none of them are fine with being the princess, she's fine to switch things up as long as she can be a knight).

"They'd be super fun," Sophia-Marie interjects, frowning and planting her hands on her hips, "They're Sunset Opals!"

"They're just rocks though," Lily insists, "Can we play tag?"

"I just got this dress," Chrystalline protests, "Not everyone has Sunset Opals growing in their vineyards and can get a new dress everyday, Lily."

      She flinches. She didn't mean it like that, she just doesn't really want to talk about the opals. Opals, opals, opals! Everything's about those silly stones now! She came to play with her friends, running around and skipping rope and things like that. Even if her friends don't want to play with wooden swords, they still let Lily be the evil wyvern that kidnaps princesses when they play dolls. She hates the stupid opals, she wants to throw them in the lake.

      Lily shuffles off, feeling Chrystalline and Sophia-Marie's glares on the back of her neck. She picks up a big stick, one the length of her leg, and marches over to where the boys are playing. Chrystalline's brother, Quincey, is wrestling with Sophia-Marie's older brother Arnold and her two cousins, Maxwell and Wilhelm, while Emma's younger brother Thomas throws dirt back and forth with Angeline's cousin, Elmar. She doesn't want to give any regard to her neat white socks or patent leather doll-like shoes. These things can be cleaned, and if they are children, then they should play like children! And Lily wants to play.

"Let's play swordfights," she says, trying for cheerfulness, holding up her large stick, "We can go find sticks together!"

"We can't fight a princess," Wilhelm teases, "Your Royal Opal-ness should go play with her gems."

       He mimcs stringing a necklace around his neck, fluttering his hands around and batting his eyelashes mockingly. She bites back the flare of irritation and straightens her posture.

"I'm a knight," Lily argues, "And I want to play swordfights."

"Go play dolls with the other girls," Arnold huffs, "We want to do our own thing."

"Be nice to her," Quincey interrupts, "I'll play knights with you, Lily."

      Lily beams; she's never gotten any of them to agree to her so quickly before! Maybe they'll finally understand that she really means it when she says she wants to do swordfights and practice being a knight!

"Oooh, Quincey wants to marry Her Royal Opal-ness," Maxwell taunts loudly, "Quincey's going to become His Royal Opal-ness now!"

"He doesn't," Lily huffs, "He just isn't mean like you!"

"It's okay, Lily," Quincey says, "Let's go and find another sword."

"He's just going to go easy on you," Thomas sneers.

"Quincey, just beat her up for real so she stops bugging us," Elmar shouts.

"Come do it yourself if you think you can and stop hiding behind others who are stronger than you," Lily snaps, brandishing her stick at them.

       Elmar darts forward to shove her and Lily dodges to the side, wacking the back of his thighs and his rear with the stick. She's never held a real sword, but she's been practicing with a wooden one since she was 6, which is practically the same thing as a stick. Elmar yelps, holding his stinging backside. Maxwell sneaks up behind her and yanks on her ribbon, pulling it off her head. She whips around and jabs his shoulder, knocking him back with a sharp push. He stumbles back into the mud. Arnold staggers back, not confident in approaching her.

"Ah, um, Lily…," Quincey mumbles, eyeing her uncomfortably, "You…you don't have to do that to them."

       She ignores him, keeping her eyes on Wilhelm and Thomas who are circling around her like hunting cats. They rush at her, arms outstretched. She smacks them in the chest with opposite ends of the stick, then knocks the two of them down beside Maxwell. Arnold takes off, shouting for Chrystalline and Quincey's mother. Lily glares at the boys on the ground, still clutching her stick.

"You're a bully," Thomas yells, rubbing his bruised shoulder.

"I just wanted to play," Lily cries, "That's all I wanted to do!"

      She stomps off further into the garden, not bothering to wait for Chrystalline and Quincey's mother to show up and ask what happened. She needs to cool down. She hunches behind a rose bush and stares at her feet. Her shoes are dirty. So are her socks. She bets her dress is dirty as well, and she's certain that her hair looks like a mess, the black ribbon steeped in mud. Lily wants to go home. She should go tell Chrystalline's mother that she's going home early.

       Lily leaves her hiding spot and begins to search for Chrystalline's mother. She catches sight of Lady Yvette's golden curls and almost steps forward when she catches a sharp, berating tone being directed at someone.

"I know that it's hard but try and get along with Lily, Quincey. If you can't get her to agree to become your fiance, your future won't be as bright as you deserve it to be," Lady Yvette lectures.

"I'm trying," she hears Quincey complain, "But she's so weird! She's not like a girl at all! She's scary and mean!"

"Mom, she's such a priss," Chrystalline pipes up, "All she does is show off her fancy dolls and dresses and everything and then she calls it boring! She looks down on everyone! I hate it!"

"I know, I know," Lady Yvette soothes, "Just put up with her, alright?"

Oh. Oh, Lily really wants to go home now. She doesn't want to come here ever again, it makes her stomach hurt. Instead of going to Lady Yvette, Lily seeks out the head maid and tells her that her stomach hurts and she has to go home. Lily manages to leave without seeing Chrystalline and Quincey or their mother. Lily kicks off her shoes in the carriage and bunches her knees against her chest; she can't get home soon enough.

      When Lily gets home, she doesn't greet anyone. She runs straight to her room and starts to undress herself without anyone else's help. She gets her dress stuck on her head, her hair tangling in buttons and one of her socks still stuck on her. Frustrated tears well up in her eyes as she yanks the dress off, taking a few strands of hair with the buttons it'd been tangled on. She puts on her morning training clothes and runs out to the courtyard. The wind bites harshly at her cheeks as she runs, and runs, and runs.

      She runs right into her oldest brother, who is wandering the gardens. She had seen him just a split second before she collided into his back, his face turned to the side. His eyes had been closed, face calm and serene. She hears a lot, since she's 7 and nobody thinks a 7 year old can understand anything, and she knows that almost everyone says that her oraboni is no good, and he's always angry. She knows that's not true, and when she runs right into him, she wraps her arms around him, even though she's soaked with sweat. If what she believes is true, then her oraboni won't reject her or push her away. He's just what she needs right now.

"Weren't you visiting your friends," he asks, gently peeling her off of him (he's wheezing a bit from Lily having collided right into him and staggering a bit, trying to regain his balance).

      Lily fidgets, shrugging and rocking back and forth on her heels. "I wanted to come home."

      He tilts his head to the side, the light catching on his hair. So pretty…Lily might think boys are stinky, but oraboni isn't. He's too pretty to look at to be stinky. Lily likes looking at him. She likes looking at pretty things, and that includes her oldest brother.

"Something happened," he says, "Did Countess Olivere say anything to you?"

"No," Lily mumbles, "I…I really don't think Chrystalline was my friend. I don't think Lady Yvette- um, Countess Olivere or Quincey like me either."

       Her brother's touch is soft when he brushes his fingers through her hair. He's not the harsh, scowling person she's always heard him described as at all. She's known that since he chased off that tailor last month and they spent that wonderful day devising plans. Her oraboni is cool, and more than that, he cares. She leans into his smooth, soft palm, letting the teary frown she'd been fighting back to overtake her expression.

"I wasn't trying to be prissy or a bully," she sniffles, "I wanted to play. Even if it was dolls or tag, I just wanted to play with my friends."

       Lily's lower lip trembles as she quietly sobs, "They're not my friends, they were just putting up with me!"

"Lily," her oraboni whispers as his distantly observant gaze crumples into something warm and gentle and he picks her up and holds her close despite the fact that she's completely covered in sweat from running for nearly an hour, "I'm so sorry, Lily."

       He smells nice, Lily thinks as she buries her face into his shoulder, like sugared blackberries. That's it, she's completely made up her mind; she'll only ever marry someone who smells as good as oraboni, is as pretty as oraboni, is nice to her like oraboni, and is just as nice as her oraboni! That's the only way she'll ever marry someone, none of this other nonsense! She rests against her oldest brother, clinging to him. Even if he wants her to let go, she won't. He doesn't pull her off even as she begins to feel the fatigue of running while only stopping a short few times to catch her breath creep up on her. As she drifts off, she feels like she is being rocked on a boat, the warm arms of her oraboni like the sea as he walks while holding her. She wakes up in bed, her mom by her side.

"You came home early," she says, brows pinched together.

       Lily nods, bunching her blanket up in between her hands.

"I wasn't feeling well," she says quietly.

"Hmm," her mom hums, "You don't have to go back if you don't feel well when you're there."

       Lily looks up at her mom. "I don't?"

"Never."

"Then I don't want to see any of them again," Lily declares, tightening her grip on her blankets as she remembers how upset and betrayed she felt.

"I see." Her mom frowns at something outside the window. "Were you running?"

"Yes. It makes me feel better," Lily explains, "Training makes me feel good. Especially, um, knight training. That's what I want to do. I want to train to be a knight."

       Though she trained with her dad every morning, Lily gad never directly expressed her wish to become a swordswoman and a knight to protect their lands and her family. But after all of this, if she never declares her intentions as loudly and clearly as she must, then she will never be taken seriously. All of her efforts and dreams will wilt into childish fantasies, and that is not what Lily wants. She will fight to protect herself, not just from the fuss kicked up by the opals, but from anything else that doesn't wish her well. She will protect her family from those same bad intentions, from anyone who wants to take advantage of them. This is Lily's purpose.

"When I was a child, my greatest dream was to build up my own merchant guild and business, and to have a successful career," her mom tells her, the crease between her brows fading as her expression gentles, "I wanted nothing more than to be a respected merchant whom nobody could look down on."

"Were you," Lily asks, leaning forward.

"I still am," her mom replies, "Becoming a merchant and a business woman was how I met your father. But it was difficult, and I wasn't respected for a very long time. Do you know why I'm telling you this?"

"So I know I'll have a hard time trying to become a knight," Lily guesses.

"Indeed. But also so you know that despite the trials, you will overcome the hardship so long as you persist and remember why you aim so high," her mom answers, "Shall we find you a serious instructor so you may begin your training?"

       Lily beams, jumping up on her bed. "Yes! Yes, please! I'll study extra hard and eat every single one of my vegetables everyday for the rest of my life! And I'll grow big and strong as a knight and protect everyone!"

      Her mom doesn't laugh often, but she does now, watching Lily excitably jump up and down on her bed.

"I'll tell your father right away," her mother says.

"I'll tell him," Lily insists, already dashing off out of the room.

       She can hear her mom laugh behind her, the sound trailing off softly behind her. Lily spots her dad with Basen, inspecting a handful of papers together. Not wanting to run right into her dad, she aims for Basen and crashes right into him. Basen yelps loudly as Lily knocks him off his feet and tackles him onto the ground. She perches right on top of his chest, a bit shocked that her oppa went down so easily. Maybe she should make him do morning training with her and their dad? He's always holed up in his study room so that's probably why he flew away so easily.

"Basen, are you alright," her dad asks, picking Lily up and setting her on her feet before helping Basen up.

"Fine," Basen coughs weakly, "Lily, why are you so strong?"

        She shrugs, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "I exercise and train a lot? That's actually what I wanted to find Dad for! I want to be a knight! And Mom said I could so can I please train to be a knight?"

"Do you really want to?"

"Yes!"

"Then you can."

       Lily squeals and hugs him quickly. She's going to go tell oraboni! She takes off again, quickly calling over her shoulder, "Sorry for knocking you down, oppa! Please become stronger!"

      She finds oraboni in the library, creeping up on him from behind. She's going to surprise him! She peers over his shoulder, listening to him mumble angrily as he rips up a handful of letters.

"-she's 7, you crazy bastard, how fucking dare you send this letter? I'm going to light your ugly little mansion on fire and let rats into your fields and take all of your townspeople and let them into our territory and-"

"What are you doing," Lily asks, and stifles her laugh when he jumps in his seat.

"Nothing, nothing! When did you sneak up on me," he stammers, unusually nervous.

"Just now! Guess what? Mom and Dad say I can officially train to be knight! I'm going to grow up strong and become a sword master and protect you," she tells him.

"Don't rush," he says, smiling sweetly at her, "Or you'll hurt yourself. Take your time to train slowly and carefully."

       Lily doesn't want anyone to take her oraboni away by marrying him. She's going to have to work very hard to become a knight (slowly and carefully, so she doesn't worry oraboni) so she can fight off anyone who wants to marry him.

"I will," she promises, "…Can you not marry anyone until I can become a proper knight and fight for you?"

"Lily," Cale laughs warmly, "You can't marry me even if you become a knight."

"That's not what I mean. I mean I want to fight for you so you can stay with us forever," Lily explains.

"Oh. Do you really want that?"

"Mhm!"

        Cale stands and turns to face her, lowering himself to kneel so he can hug her. He smells so nice still, and his hair is soft. His skin is soft too, his cheek pressed against hers. She's not going to let anyone take her oldest brother away!

        Training is not easy, and it takes hours out of her day nearly every day, but Lily loves it. It's everything she's ever wanted! She doesn't care about the constant stream of letters from Chrystalline and Quincey that come once every week, heaping up in a pile remains ignored until there are so many that they must be disposed of without being opened once. Calls for Lily to come for a playdate are denied as politely as Henituses manage to do, with the excuse of Lily being focused on basic knight training. It's many months before Lily sees any of her old friends again, at a gathering her family hosts, though she can't really remember what it's for. She's more focused on the fact that her oraboni secretly gifted her a tailored set of clothes for the gathering, a fine knight-like uniform with comfortable, elegant boots that fit her perfectly.

"Do I look dashing," she asks him.

"Naturally," he replies.

       She, Basen, and oraboni share a look before they enter the gathering hall together; today is a battle field and they must be prepared.

"Stand up straight," Cale lectures Basen, "Wear this."

       He pins something to Basen's front: collar pins that shine gold, thin little chains dangling between each of the fine little buttons decorating Basen's collar.

"They're turtles," Lily giggles as she realizes what the shapes are.

"Of course," oraboni smirks before flouncing out.

      Lily's outfit garners many strange looks, but she stands proudly. She's a future knight of the Henituse County.

"Lily," she hears Chrystalline gasp behind her, "Are you feeling well?"

       Lily turns, furrowing her brow in confusion. "What do you mean, Young Miss Olivere?"

"Lily, I haven't seen you in so long! I thought you were sick," Chrystalline cries, "Your mother and father said that you were in knight training, but that- that's absurd! You were sick, weren't you?"

"No, I was in knight training," Lily says, "I've been very busy with basic training but my instructor says I'm progressing very well and I should be able to join the rest of the knight trainees very soon."

       Lily's taller than her, she realizes. She's always been quite tall for her age, but she must've had a growth spurt recently. Her legs and arms are both long and strong, and her hands have sprouted calluses. Will she keep changing like this the more she trains?

"Lily," Quincey appears beside Chrystalline, gasping her name, "You're not sick anymore!"

"I never was," Lily replies, "Thank you for your concern, Young Master Olivere."

       He frowns at her. "Why are you being formal?"

"It is not polite to address those you are not close with in a personal manner," Lily responds carefully, bowing her head at him.

      She's taller than him too. She hadn't been before, but now she is. It's likely that she will be very tall for a girl the older she gets. The thought makes a smile come to her face.

"Lily, you're acting strange," Quincey frets, "Are you feeling alright? Do you need a doctor?"

       Actually, according to her regular health report, Lily is a 'very robust, healthy girl with excellent growth and promising physical capabilities', so neither of them have anything to worry about.

"I am in no need of a doctor, Young Master Olivere," Lily assures him coolly, "I believe I should go greet some guests with my mother."

      Lily, of course, has absolutely no intention of doing that but she doesn't want to stick around the Olivere siblings any longer than she has to. She moves to leave, but Quincey grabs her hand and tries to pull her back. Reflexively, without really meaning to, she twists his hand off of her wrist and pins it behind his back. Oops! She didn't mean to do that, but he shouldn't go around grabbing people, it's so rude!

"Young Master Quincey, putting your hands on anyone is rude," she scolds, "Please review your etiquette lessons thoroughly."

"Ow, ow, ow," Quincey yelps, "Lily, why'd you do that? I thought we were friends! I played knights with you!"

"Thank you for accomodating me but you no longer have to do that," Lily says as she releases him and dusts her gloves off, "Just as you'll no longer have to put up with me and my presence. We're past that point now."

       Lily wonders if she looks cool. She kind of hopes she does.

"I'm aware of your circumstances with your parents encouraging your relationship with me but we don't have to force that anymore," she continues, "I must focus on my training. And if your mother asks, tell her this: I won't marry anyone who isn't at least as pretty as my oldest brother!"

      She turns on her heel and marches off, leaving the squawking, confused siblings behind her. She handled them all on her own! Wasn't that super cool?! She should go find Basen and tell him about this. Lily patrols the edges of the gathering, weaving between people carefully. She finally spots her oppa being surrounded by a large crowd of kids his age. His eyes catch her's and he subtly waves his hand at her. Oh, the signal! He wants her help!

      Lily nudges her way between ribbon-ccovered skirts and silk pants and trips her way to Basen's side, tugging on his hand.

"Oppa, um, uh, oraboni is, um, going to do..er…something! We have to go find him," she lies, dragging him by the hand.

"I have to go," Oppa quickly excuses himself, following her.

      He quickly follows, shoulders slumping a little as soon as they've freed themselves of the crowd.

"Is he really going to do something," Basen asks, trying to find the bright red head of their older brother among the crowd.

"No, I don't-," Lily starts and then a loud crashing immediately echoes out throughout the hall.

       Everyone's head turns towards the origin of the sound: oraboni, surrounded by shattered glass and a lot of spilled wine, and an older nobleman whose cheek has a bright red handprint painted across it and is covered in dark wine stains.

"Count Rothe, do you want to tell everyone what you said," oraboni loudly shouts, looking utterly furious.

"No, I- this was a misunderstanding-," the man stammers, "We should discuss this privately, right-"

"This man wants to form a marriage contract with my sister," oraboni hollers, "Did everyone hear that! My 7 year old sister! Is this a good marriage? Come on now, raise your hands if you think this is fine! Be honest!"

"No, no, this is a misunderstanding," the man stutters, "Please don't misinterpret my intentions-"

        Lily watches in fascination as her oldest brother picks up an unbroken glass and smashes it against a pillar next to the man's head, the glass shattering and flying everywhere. Woah…he looks so cool! And pretty! Ah, Lily loves pretty things so much! The man squeals like a piglet as a dozen people start shrieking. Woah, why are they screaming? Is it because her oldest brother looks so cool? The man starts shouting and spitting in oraboni's face, who grabs another glass and raises it to maybe smash it over the man's head.

      Of course, that's when their parents intervene. Their mom steps in and escorts the man out, though she doesn't look very happy at all. Oraboni starts to follow but their dad steps in and beings to speak to him, though Lily's not really sure what he's saying. Oraboni looks a bit grumpy but doesn't argue back, crossing his arms over his chest and frowning. She should go cheer him up!

      Lily quickly runs over and latches onto his side, smiling up at him.

"You yelled at him for me! Thank you," she giggles, smiling.

"He's gross," Cale huffs, "And way too old."

"And he's not pretty like you," Lily agrees, "I only want to marry someone who's as pretty as you."

     Her brother's mouth twitches up into a faint smile as their dad coughs into the back of his hand, trying to hide a laugh at her stubborn declaration. Her oldest brother's so pretty when he smiles. How could anyone ever be as pretty as her oldest brother. She'll probably never marry, and will just stay with her family her whole life. Isn't that such a nice thought?

(Of course, the matter of Count Rothe is taken care of without any involvement of the Henituse children, though Cale protested this.

"We shall handle it," Countess Violan tells him, her lip curling behind her fan at the thought of the vile creature currently being hosted in the guest parlor, "I believe Lily wants to see you."

"…Fine," Cale relents, "Will I at least be told of what happens to that…thing?"

"Just know it'll be taken care of," Count Deruth replies with an ever so calm smile, "Don't worry."

Count Rothe goes home, and that's as much of the matter Cale knows. Of course, neither the Count or Countess tell any of their children that the man soon…disappears. The sounds of the Dark Forest are always loud and if there's the strange sound of something like a human screaming…well..the beasts beyond the walls are always making strange noises.)

       Cale didn't mean to become so close to his siblings. He really just meant to keep acting out until everything was settled with Basen becoming the heir. But those stupid opals had to be discovered! Ughh, what a major pain! Why can't his plans just go as he wants them to? He can't drink around them, especially not Lily since she's still so little, and he really can't curse around them either, he feels much too bad to do so, so he hasn't been half so trashy as he usually means to be in weeks! His plans are being foiled by the very same two cute kids he enacted them for. But…he's not really mad. Spending time with Lily and Basen has been the best thing ever. He never knew that Lily was so mischievous and fun, or that Basen got so shy about being the good kid among the three of them. They're cute siblings. Cale didn't plan to become close to them but he's happy.

      What he isn't happy about has been a recent plague set upon him. An irritating rash that manifests many times a week, right below his bedroom window. Carrying an out of tune violin that has clearly been ill learned and not often rehearsed, a plague with dark hair and an obnoxiously smiley face.

"My beautiful rose, my lovely sunrise, I play for your heart," the plague shouts, far too early in the morning for Cale to be happy.

"How the fuck do you keep getting in here," Cale snarls, leaning out of his window.

"My love is magic and a blessing that lets me fly over these walls that contain you," the plague calls, then starts sawing away at his violin.

       It sounds like a violin trying to kill itself. He feels sorry for the instrument for being abused in such a manner. He's sure that if the violin were alive, it'd launch the bow right into this fellow's forehead. Cale imagines such a thing happening to soothe himself. It doesn't work that well, since this bastard is still hacking away at the violin strings.

"Go away," Cale screams, searching his room for something to throw.

       The chairs and table are too heavy and expensive to chuck. He's already thrown every vase he could find. A picture frame might work, but it'd take some time to remove the painting so he doesn't damage it. Is there a painting that he doesn't like somewhere around here?

"Ahem," Ron coughs behind him, "Young Master, it seems as though I have accidentally brought you the wrong tea set. Instead of your preferred set, this one is a gift from the Randall viscount family's Young Master who would like to meet you."

"Tell him to go fuck off," Cale says, picks up the tea set, and chucks it out of the window.

       It shatters quite satisfyingly around the annoying guy's feet against the frosted over grass, the lukewarm tea splashing on expensive looking shoes.

"Your aim was off," Ron sighs mournfully, "You were aiming for his head, were you not?"

       Cale's aim was perfectly accurate, he wasn't aiming for this guy's head, but it seems that Ron really wanted him to do that. Yes, Ron must be irritated with such a ruckus so early in the morning as well, no wonder he wants this guy's head bashed in.

"Ron, can you go fetch a knight to go chase this guy out of here," Cale huffs, "He's pissing me off."

"Right away, Young Master," Ron agrees, and disappears quickly, leaving behind breakfast and the ever so loathesome glass of lemon tea.

"Ew." Cale curls his lip at the sour, nasty drink he'll never, ever, ever like, picks it up, and tosses it out of the window too.

       Cale turns his back to the sound of surprised shouting and glass shattering and picks at his breakfast, nibbling on a piece of toast. He eats half of the toast and all of the fruit and pushes away the rest, and by the time he pokes his head out of the window again, the man is gone. Only broken glass and porcelain remain, along with a lone lemon slice upon the ground.

"Maybe I should get a dog," Cale muses to himself, "One that'll chase people off for me."

         Raising a puppy sounds fun, though he's not sure if he could bring himself to raise a cute puppy into a vicious hunting dog. Maybe just getting one that looks scary enough would be good enough even if it never did any actual hunting. He should look into getting a cute dog later. Right now, he wants to go check on the little project the jewelry maker was assigned by him. The New Years Banquet in the Capital is fast approaching, which usually wouldn't mean much to their family, but by virtue of the Crown wishing to get their greedy little royal paws on his family's opals, the Henituse family has been…personally invited to attend. As in their attendance is required if they don't want more trouble.

"Troublesome old fucking bastard," he heard his father mutter when they'd first received the letter from the King.

       That had really shocked him honestly, he's never heard his father cuss like that. If Basen hadn't been equally surprised, Cale would've thought he'd really gotten drunk and hallucinated it. But since attendance was required, Cale would do his best to make sure none of his siblings were bothered while they were in Huiss and if he had to show off a bit, well, he'd suffer through it. He'd just hide in his room for a month afterwards to recover.

"Young Master, you have a letter," Hans says, poking his head into the room, "It's from the jewelry maker Celine."

"Give," Cale demands, holding out his hand.

       He can't help but smile when he reads the contents of the letter; it seems that everything is complete. He should go visit the tailor's next. After all, he has to look as extravagant as he can manage. Real trash like himself doesn't think anything of spending crazy like this. He should go to Marybell's this time. She always does the best job with his clothes.

"Shall I go pick up your order from Celine," Hans asks.

"No, this is something I have to fetch myself," Cale hums, feeling as satisfied as a cat that caught a canary, "Tell Ron to come choose something warm for me, this weather is awful."

       Cale quickly picks up his small parcel from Celine's, tucking it away in his cloak. He doesn't return to the carriage and chooses to wander off instead. Marybell's isn't located in the best part of Rain City, so he prefers to go there quietly. Two kittens huddle in a crate, covered in snow. He'd been planning on a cute puppy, but cute kittens are good as well. One looks up at him with huge golden eyes, its grey fur trembling in the wind.

"You're so little," he murmurs, "Come here."

      He ends up with kittens in his pockets. They're little! They're so little! They felt freezing even through his gloves. He has to take him home. He's got cats now, that's it. What else is he supposed to do? They meow and squeak in the depths of his wide cloak pockets, batting at the folds of fabric that swallow them up. They're so cute! He probably can't have a rambunctious puppy if he keeps them, but it's fine. Plans change all the time.

"What's a little twig like you doing outside where you can get carried off by a strong breeze," Marybell greets him when he steps into her small, warm shop.

"Don't call me a twig, you know I worked hard for this figure," Cale huffs.

"The gents at the dance hall sure do miss their Cerise," Marybell teases, "Don't know what for, since all they can do is look without touching."

"Just looking is a blessing," Cale retorts playfully, "Cerise will go dancing soon, but right now, I need your magic hands. Make me look pretty."

"I can give you a mirror and be done then," Marybell jokes, "Be specific, what do you want from me? Can't read your mind, and I wouldn't want to with the headache I'd give myself trying to make sense of your mind."

"It wouldn't be that bad," Cale sighs dramatically, "But fine, fine. I have this that I want to wear with it."

      He nudges aside the cute little red kitten in the cloak pocket so he can get to the wrapped package that holds what he just picked up from Celine's that day. He unwraps it and opens the box, the overhead light catching on the bright iridescence of the gemstones.

"I could put you in a rucksack and you'd look like you'd belong in the royal treasury," Marybell jokes, "But I know what to do now. I'll have you looking so fine you could make that scandal-free Crown Prince of ours plead for your hand."

"Don't curse me like that," Cale laughs, "I just don't want any of my siblings to be bothered, honestly. I'm never wearing this thing again unless I absolutely have to otherwise."

       He shakes the little box to emphasize his point before he closes it back up and re-wraps the packaging. He lets the kittens play with it, watching as they bat at the twine tightly binding it and gnaw on the thick parchment wrapping. They're so silly, they look like they're trying to drag it off out the door. He drags the box back over and laughs again as they meow discontentedly at having to start their game all over again.

"Take a look at this," Marybell beckons, showing him a thick leather sketchbook full of scribbled down designs, "It's a touch sheer, though, the fabric for this, so you'll have to be careful not to freeze your bones but it'll be fine as long as you stay inside and wear something heavy over it for outside."

"It's a bit scandalous," Cale admits, "But it suits me, doesn't it? Let's do this one. You've still got my measurements from a bit ago, right?"

"Naturally, and they should still be just fine to use. Let's just hope that family of yours doesn't throw you in a tower after this."

       Cale shakes his head as he collects the kittens and gives Marybell the commission payment.

"Don't be silly, why would they ever do that?"

       There's something about Marybell's laugh that follows him out that makes him feel like he's missing a joke somewhere. Oh well. He shakes his head, stops by the bar to get some unsalted chicken to feed the kittens once they get back home until more food can be prepared for them, and begins his slow wander back. It's chilly today, which he isn't exactly fond of, but the snow is a bit pretty. He wonders if Lily and Basen are playing in the snow right now. Maybe Lily, since she always seems to run warm, but Basen might get cold a bit easily. Cale holds back a bark of laughter at imagining his younger brother bundled up so much that all he can do is waddle around in his layers.

"My dear, I've come for you~," a horribly annoying voice that's far too reminiscent of the one from this morning calls out, ruining the otherwise pleasant experience of his walk around.

"Hold on in there," he warns the kittens before breaking into a dead sprint.

He's not doing this! He won't! He doesn't want to deal with this awful rash that's been bothering him! No, no, no, no, NO! He won't! He didn't cultivate a horrid reputation all for some crazy bastard to ignore it and come try and chase his tail, all for what? Some money? Cale will chuck a gold bar at his head if he wants some money so badly!

       Cale winds his way through the streets, keeping his eyes ahead of him so that he won't get slowed down by bumping into anyone. He's certain that the carriage is still waiting for him, so if he gets to it, he should be alright. Abruptly, the shouting behind him stops. Cale nearly stops to look behind him but he isn't curious enough for that. Maybe this crazy bastard just realized shouting and running is stupid and takes up too much air and decided to shut up so he could catch up to Cale? Nope, nope, he hopes that son of a bitch just tripped and face planted into the snow really hard.

       His nerves only calm once he's past the gates of his home. Even if that irritating rash can somehow get on the grounds, he at least can't get inside. Or maybe he can and then they can have a proper excuse for Cale to hit him with a chair.

"Hans," he shouts.

      Hans skids in nervously as he's summoned, tripping into the room. Cale scoops the kittens out of his pockets and holds them out.

"They're mine now. Bathe them and have Vicross prepare meals for them."

"K-kittens! Yes, I'll gladly bathe them," Hans near-squeals, scooping up the fuzzy little creatures gently.

       Good! That's exactly how Cale's new kittens should be treated! Hans is very smart. Cale busies himself with making a spot for the two of them on his bed while Hans whisks the kittens off for a bath. As soon as he's done, he retrieves his package from his discarded cloak and tucks it away safely. He's not concerned about it being stolen, but he just doesn't want anyone to know about what he's done with the Sunset Opals.

       He dozes off at some point, awakening to a hushed sort of argument going on at the foot of his bed. Cale stirs, blinking and looking around in confusion. Ron is smiling at the kittens, who were returned to him at some point and are currently hissing and yowling at Ron.

"Those are my cats," Cale yawns, "Why are you fighting with them?"

"Ah. I see. Forgive this Ron for thinking two intruders had snuck in. I didn't know they were the personal guests of this Young Master." Ron's smile is tight around the edges. "Are you certain you wish to take them in?"

"Of course I am," Cale huffs, "They're mine now."

"Even if they turn out to be…not quite as you thought they were," Ron asks, his smile thinning further.

"I said they're mine, so they're mine," Cale insists, tryimg very hard to sound irritable, "I want them."

       The kittens abandon hissing at Ron to scamper over to rest upon Cale's lap, snuggling up to his chest and rubbing their fluffy faces against him. So, so cute! They remind him of his younger siblings with how cute they are.

"I see," Ron sighs, "If that is your wish, then so be it. You've become quite responsible as of late."

"No I haven't," Cale argues, "I'm very irresponsible. Is the kittens' dinner done yet?"

"It's here," Hans says as he pushes his way through the door with two bowls balanced on a tray, "The meat is very soft since they're such little kittens."

"Vicross did a good job then," Cale says as he sets the kittens down on the ground so they can eat, "They'll be coming with me to the Capital for the New Years Banquet."

"I shall pack their supplies," Hans volunteers, "Shall I go make all of the necessary preparations?"

"Yes. You can help take care of them," Cale decides.

       He does intend to come off as demanding and disruptive, without care for Hans's other duties, but it seems he underestimated exactly how much Hans likes cats. The deputy butler seems delighted. Well, he guesses it's fine since Hans seems to be so happy to take care of Cale's new kittens and since they're his, obviously they deserve the best care.

      It's been so difficult to keep up his trashiness lately. All of his energy has been absolutely drained as of late by chasing off all the suitors for his siblings while also trying to avoid a couple of the absolutely out-of-their-minds people who decided someone with such a poor reputation would be a suitable marriage partner. Really, what sort of drugs did these idiots take to make them think that Cale was someone who was good to marry? He's been incredibly exhausted by expending all of his energy on these things.

      Once he and the kittens are alone, Cale lets out an exhausted sigh as he flops on his back.

"I'm tired," he complains to them, "Come here and I'll brush your fur. I'm sure Hans already tried but he's too excited, right? I can do it, I need to calm down."

       The silver kitten hesitates, but the little red one scampers over, curling up in Cale's lap as he reaches for a comb he keeps on his bedside table.

"I hate going to the captital," Cale huffs as he runs the comb through the red kittens fur, "The nobles who stay there all the time are so rude and snooty. Do you know what they call us? Backwater nobles. They're always so nasty when they're jealous, and they're so mean to Basen. Who cares if we're only related by marriage, he's my brother! But no, in their oh-so-mighty opinions, he's- ugh! I can't even start making fun of them, they make me so mad that I start getting dizzy. Haven't you ever been so mad for your brother?"

       The silver kitten almost seems to nod in agreement, scooting over closer so she can lick at the little red kitten's head.

"Oh, he's your brother, then? Are you a big brother," Cale asks fondly.

       The silver kitten turns its head into the air disdainfully as though he'd offended, well, her, he supposes.

"Oh, the big sister then," Cale snorts.

      The look in her shiny golden eyes is clearly a confirmation of 'duh, obviously', which is quite amusing he supposes. The red kitten fusses at his older sister's attention, trying to wiggle away but keeps in place because he's too pleased with Cale's combing. He's not sure what he can call them, so he settles on Silver and Red. They're not the most…creative names, yes, but they're to the point! So they're good names!

"I'm sure you're a very good big sister, very good job," he praises, "Would you two like a ribbon to wear? Just so when we go the capital, nobody thinks you're random strays. I'll let you pick the colors."

       He's certain that Silver and Red understand him to some degree, especially silver, who seems to be a bit older than Red and very intelligent about people. She nudges Red out of the way and purrs on top of Cale's leg, which most likely means she would like a ribbon.

"I like ribbons too," Cale laughs, "Would you two like to see my little secret weapon that's going to keep people from bothering my two little siblings?"

       Two pairs of curious golden eyes set upon him as he goes and retrieves his little box. He opens the lid in front of them and watches as their eyes go round with shock.

"I know, it's awfully flashy," Cale says, shutting the lid once again, "Normally I'd wear more jewelry but with this piece, I hardly need anything else. Being gaudy and flashy is a very good distraction and it's very useful for letting people start thinking all sorts of misconceptions without you having to lift a finger."

       Silver nods again, and Cale's very certain that she's taking to mind everything he's saying. These kittens sure aren't normal, not in the slightest, but despite that possibility, he really doesn't mind. They're still cute little kittens to him, and they're his until they decide to stay no longer.

         The preparations for their family's departure to the capital go along smoothly and much too quickly for Cale's taste; and this is something that seems to be similarly felt among his family members. On the upside, Cale's most irritating suitor hasn't been seen since his trip to the city. When Cale mentions it offhandedly, he swears that he sees Vicross give Ron a very sharp, quick glance. He's not at all certain what it could mean or if he even saw it properly.

"This is gonna be so boring," Lily groans as she wanders in fresh from her midday training, leaning against her large practice sword that Cale swears has gotten sizably larger since she first started training, "Am I really going to have to wear a dress?"

"Just until you're officially knighted," Basen replies, "Then you can attend all parties in uniform."

"I can't be knighted until I'm at least 16," Lily grumbles as she drops her sword to the ground with a wooden 'clunk', "That's years away!"

"Well, after this, we can make excuses to not go anywhere with a few mentions about the coming spring and harvests and surveys," Basen points out.

"Come here, Lily, he's trying too hard to cheer you up," Cale beckons teasingly, draped across a chair with his legs hanging off of the side, "Let's complain together about how awful this is going to be."

       Lily quickly attaches herself to Cale, collapsing on top of him. Red and Silver circle between the sofas, chasing after a small wicker ball.

"Oraboni, do we really have to go," she sighs against his collar as he brushes her sweat-damp hair with his fingers, "Can't one of us fake being sick or something?"

"Unfortunately, unless one of us really gets so sick that we can't even move, then the Crown will come bother us until the end of our days," Cale replies.

"They're such a bother," Basen, to Cale's surprise, mutters.

       Such a Henituse phrase! Cale's very proud of him.

"Should we act crazy and make it so we don't ever have to go back," Lily suggests.

"No, it wouldn't be good for us to be too crazy," Basen says a bit morosely, "We simply have to put up with it."

        Cale decidedly doesn't mention that he is already prepared to keep the attention off of them for the night because he has some small little inkling that they might not like what he is going to do.

"Well, at least the kittens will be coming along," Cale mentions.

       Lily turns to him with bright eyes and a wide smile.

"Really? Are we allowed to?"

"If they aren't coming along, then I'm not going," Cale insists.

       That's of course a lie but it's a believable enough lie. This is proven to be true enough when his and his siblings' carriage has extra cushions by Basen's side, just for the kittens. Hans doesn't look the least bit guilty for caring more for the kittens' seats than anyone else's.

"I'll get to ride horseback like the other knights someday, right," Lily asks, staring wistfully out of the window at the procession of knighs following alongside them.

        She climbs over Cale's lap to get a better look outside, watching vineyards and farm fields roll past once they're outside the limits of Rain City. It's been quite a while since she's left the estate due to training, nevermind Rain City. Cale lolls his head to the side as he thinks, spacing out completely as his mind churns like a water wheel. She's never gone to the Capital before, and it's been a while since Cale's done something outrageous, so wouldn't it be appropriate to buy her a gift? Basen, too, naturally, though he suspects it'll be much more difficult to gift Basen anything. He's so shy about asking for things. Cale will have to shake an answer out of him somehow.

        It's a generally boring journey, with only a quick stop at a small village that borders the Henituse and Tolz territories. Their arrival is quiet, since not a single one of them wants to have to deal with the Tolz family head catching wind of their wealthy neighbors passing through the land. Neo is an obnoxious little bastard and Cale hates having to deal with him if Eric-hyung isn't around to handle the idiot for him. He notices there's some strange milling about going around the mountain at night, but they depart early the next morning in order to get to Puzzle City as quickly as possible.

        The arrival in Huiss is quick, and much to Cale's approval, his reputation that has slowly depleted in Rain City still remains quite sternly trashy among the servants in the Capital estate of their family. Very good, exactly what Cale wants. His father summons him to the study later that night, a small, ornate box sitting on the desk.

"I know it's going to be very annoying to put up with making an appearance at the banquet," his father starts sympathetically, "I'd rather not be here myself, to tell you the truth, but the king-"

"-Is annoying," Cale supplies with a put upon grumble, though he does truthfully think the king is annoying.

"Let's hope the next one is less so," his father says, "But, since we're dealing with the current one, I do have to ask you for a bit of a favor."

       Cale eyes the little box his father has sitting on the desk. His personal curiosity is nibbling at his mind like a mouse with cheese, wanting to know about the contents of that box.

"When we're home, you can act however you wish since that is our territory, and there are very few people who can interfere with what we do in our territory. But we're in the capital, and I cannot give you as much freedom. Just for the short while we're in the capital, I would like if you could be a bit…toned down. In exchange, I want to give this to you," his father says, standing up to circle around the desk to Cale, scooping up the box and opening it.

       There's a little silver necklace sitting in the box on a small cushion, with a milky moonstone teardrop dangling from the delicate chain. It's…familiar, somehow.

"It was your mother's," his father explains quietly, "She would always give it to you to play with when you were small. It was lost for a time but it was recovered recently. I was planning on saving it for your birthday but that just seemed so far away."

       His father picks up the necklace from the box and carefully clips it around Cale's neck.

"Your siblings have been extremely happy to have you around. And you seem…happier. It's been nice to see you smile, Cale."

       Cale touches the pendant gently, the smooth coolness pressing against his fingertips. If it weren't for the fact that he's intending to cover for his siblings and ensure that they do not receive any troublesome attention, Cale would be so well-behaved during the banquet that nobody would even know he'd attended.

"I'll do my best," is all he can manage to promise.

       He feels a bitter regret well up in his chest underneath where his mother's pendant lays against his clothes as he turns swiftly on his heel, fleeing from the touch of warmth his father had left when he had gifted Cale the necklace.

      Cale refuses to take off his cloak of deep blue velvet until they've arrived at the banquet hall of the palace, earning strange looks from Basen and Lily both. It seems they've come to know him well enough to understand he's scheming something. The hair pin, the most eye-catching part of his ensemble, is not something he can hide, but given both his mother and father are wearing their matching sets of Sunset Opal jewelry, neither can comment on what he's done with his opals.

       Cale knows that he's likely going to have an awful night when he finally must hand over his cloak and the cold breeze of the winter night bites into his back along his spine and shoulder blades, the chill nipping a blush acoss his pale skin.

"Hyung-nim," Basen whispers in what might be horror, "What are you wearing?"

       Given that Roan tends a bit more towards the 'cover up sufficiently' side of the fashion spectrum, the wide window of back that is exposed by his blouse is quite scandalous. The translucent midnight blue ribbon that secures the high collar of his blouse around the middle of his throat hangs between his shoulder blades, framed between the red flush along his skin and the ends tickling the small of his back. Though the majority of his blouse is solid , his long sleeves that flow out before cuffing tightly at his wrists and the collar of his blouse are made of tulle so thin it looks as though it would melt away with a touch. A tiny cut out from nearly the top of his collar to the top of his breastbone flashes a bare hint of more skin. His black pants are very well fitted, and match his shoes, though his outfit is only so dark to highlight his truly extravagant hair piece.

       It sits on the right side of his head, a painstakingly carved many-petaled camellia blossoming just above his ear, drawing attention to the light, captivating makeup he sports. If it were any other red jewel, it'd fade and pale in comparison to Cale's rich red hair that typically outshines garnets, rubies, or red coral. With the iridescent shimmer and smoldering coal-like veins that purst through the Sunset Opals that form his hair piece, the red glimmers underneath the lights and against Cale's silky hair. He wears no other jewelry besides the hair piece, but he does not need to. A Sunset Opal would burn too brightly in its extravagance for any other piece to shine properly.

"I had to do something with those damn opals," Cale whispers to him, then flounces off once all proper introductions are made.

        As he expected, nobody bothers to gravitate toward his other family members. They cluster around him like admirers of a fine statue, a statue being an apt description given how little attention he pays any of them. He would like to drink, even just a bit, but he's at least trying to not be too misbehaved since he came to the banquet in this outfit.

"Do- er, um, do you wish to dance," some random noble son he's never seen before in his life manages squeak out.

      Hm. He's brave, the first one to ask.

"Not at all," Cale replies.

       The first for Cale to shoot down. He doesn't particularly recognize any of them, but he can mostly estimate their rank based on their clothes and/or accessories. None of them are significant enough that turning down the offers would be troublesome for him and his family. He feels like someone holding a piece of bread and leading around a flock of hungry birds with the way he's followed by such a crowd no matter where he goes. When he casts a glance across the crowd to catch a look of how his family's faring, they're mingling with only each other. Lily looks a bit unhappy but he can't guess why, and Basen looks moderately horrified. He really isn't sure why. Maybe Basen is jist worried about him being cold?

       The whole royal family is annoying. Not just the king, though Cale immediately doesn't like the way he looks, all smarmy and old. He gathers alongside his family as they're summoned to greet King Zed.

"We welcome the Henituse family," the king greets, "And pray for blessings of great wealth upon the lands."

        His parents' smiles look a bit tight at the corners, clearly forced expressions sketched as pleasanlty as possible onto their faces. Cale can feel derisive pale-eyed glances needling him, then greedy gazes burn themselves on the shimmer of his jewel-carved flower. He keeps his head bowed, trying to tune out the political drivel that worms its way into his ears until a smooth voice asks, "May I ask for one dance from Young Master Cale?"

      The Crown Prince is just as much of a nuisance as his father, though he's considerably more pleasant to look at. He's not especially Cale's type though and if he were a regular noble, he'd easily turn down the offer. Unfortunately, this obnoxious Crown Prince is the one man Cale can't deny.

"Since you asked," Cale bites out between gritted teeth.

        Cale accepts the Crown Prince's hand, barely bothering to keep a semi-pleasant expression on his face. The music swells loud enough that they can converse privately, which Cale starts as soon as they begin to sway together.

"So, I'm going to assume you want something, Your Highness," Cale says, voice dripping with contempt.

"A dance with you," the Crown Prince replies charmingly.

       Cale rolls his eyes. "And what else? I'm going to assume that it has something to do with the fact you keep eyeing this flower of mine like you're going to pluck it right from my hair."

"I'm merely thinking about how the Sunset Opal pales in comparison to your enchanting appearance," the Crown Prince tells him, twirling him elegantly in time with the music.

"Your Highnes, I'm not nearly drunk enough for you to fool me, and I won't be drunk enough for that in a hundred years," Cale laughs coldly, "You want opals, or something related to these opals. Everyone does, you're not special in that regard. Just be honest with me and I might consider you for a second or two."

       The Crown Prince's smile turns, less charming and fake and now more cool and sharp. It's a much more real expression than his gilded Prince Charming mask. Prince Charmings are only in story books from childhood.

"You've got quite the attitude," the Crown Prince observes, "Your face is lovely but your tone is horrid."

"Your Highness, I'm the trashiest noble- no, person- you'll ever have the misfortune to encounter," Cale smirks, "Speak truth to me now or I'll leave you right here."

"Then, Young Master Cale, I'll cut to the bones of the matter." The Crown Prince glides across the floor, still clasping Cale's hand with one of his own and hovering his other hand at the small of Cale's bare back. "I believe we could make an exchange. A share of sunset opals and political backing for something you wish for."

"I have nothing I wish for that either I can't procure on my own or that my father and mother wouldn't give me if I asked," Cale snorts inelegantly.

"Even if I could guarantee your return to status as heir of your household," the Crown Prince says.

      Cale nearly physically recoils. He can't imagine anything he wants less! He worked so hard to get kicked out of heir position! Years of alcoholism and refusing to study (at least when people were looking, he's sat in his dusty personal study for hours just reading and studying on his own in the nights when nobody was awake) and wild demonstrations of poor leadership that would prevent him from being considered a responsible choice for the next Count. The Crown Prince is practically threatening him here! What rudeness, what a jerk, what a complete bastard!

"Don't suggest something so repulsive," Cale hisses, "I can't imagine anything I want less. You, sir, have nothing I want."

"Oh?" The Crown Prince looks intrigued. "How curious. You really don't want to return to the seat of heir, then?"

"No."

        The dance ends, the music petering off gently. He moves to leave, but the previously polite hand grips onto his hand with surprisingly strength. He's stronger than he looks, this bastard of a Crown Prince.

"I'd like to ask you for 10 minutes of your time, Young Master Cale," the Crown Prince insists.

      Cale bares his teeth at him in the approximation of a polite smile.

"Oh? For what?"

"For more pleasant conversation, of course."

"Who am I to refuse?"

        Cale casts one last glance over his shoulder at his family. They don't look very happy. Cale can only reflect the sentiment as the Crown Prince leads him out of the banquet hall by the hand.

       Ten minutes of his time become 20, then 30, then 2 hours, 4 hours, the sky darkening past midnight as Cale and Prince Alberu waste hours verbally dancing around each other in a twisted waltz. Cale has nothing he wants and is unwilling to give anything. Prince Alberu, however, is as pushy son of a bitch who's so thoroughly charming that Cale feels as though he's contantly walking on needles so as to not fall into the pit-trap of his words.

"You are extremely difficult to talk to," Prince Alberu informs him as he helps Cale into a private carriage to return him back to the Henituse estate at the early hours of the morning.

"I only return what I receive, Your Highness," Cale snipes back, flinching away from the warmth that burns through Prince's Alberu's gloves to Cale's bare hand.

"Rude man," Cale grumbles to himself as he collapses alone in his bedroom, having slinked back as quietly as possible so as to not disturb any of the inhabitants here or his family, "Not even letting me sleep the whole night."

        He's awfully tired, and Prince Alberu dragged him off so he couldn't even spend the night fulfilling his intended purpose of being so distracting that nobody would even bother thinking of his family members. Were Lily and Basen bothered? Did they stay by their parent's side? He worries that Basen might've been harrassed but won't speak on it, since he's such a close-mouthed kid. He might be able to get some information out of Lily, but he'll also have to throughly check to make sure that Lily wasn't accosted by any brat, or worse, some disgusting fuck like Rothe. He doubts their parents let anyone approach Lily, but Cale can't help but worry.

       Red and Silver dart over to him and curl up against him, meowing and squeaking in his ears.

"Never let a man ask for just 10 minutes of your time," Cale mutters tiredly, "Or he'll keep you all night bothering you with this and that and all sorts of nonsense. 'Just 10 minutes' my damn foot, it's past midnight."

       Silver gives him a pitying look while Red gnaws on his elbow. Cale can only pass out face down on his bed, thoroughly exhausted. He sleeps right through breakfast and past lunch, and awakens to something truly, utterly horrible.

      There's too many letters. Invitations to parlor parties, evening dinners, outings on the Main Road for the day, asks for private meetings. There's also a few bold individuals who turn up without invitation even though their family is all recovering from the amount of time they all spent socializing to the point of exhaustion last night. And they still have another several days before they're prepared to make the journey back home.

"I'm not doing this," Cale seethes, shoving away piles of letters, "I don't even know any of these crazy bastards!"

       There's a commotion outside as Hilsman enthusiatically chases a young man off the property.

"Hyung-nim…I don't think you have a choice," Basen says.

        They both turn as they hear Lily let out a loud cry as she chases after someone else with a practice sword outside. She seems enthusiastic about her unconventional training practice at least.

        Cale decides that, no, he doesn't actually have to do this when he pushes someone out of the window as he gets ready for bed that night. They seem fine since they get up and hobble off, but he really can't put up with this. He puts some much plainer clothes on, stuffs a bag full of a few essentials, picks up his kittens, and takes a horse. He leaves a short note for his family letting them know that he unfortunately couldn't remain in the capital with them, but he'd rather flee from the city before either the Crown Prince summoned him (unlikely in his opinion, but not impossible) or someone accosted him in the bath.

        Cale decides against traveling with the hairpin, leaving it in a small box where either Ron or Hans could find. He's certain neither of them are interested in stealing the hairpin. He takes his mother's necklace though, tucked underneath his shirt. The kittens don't seem to be very amused with their sudden travel plans, but neither attempt to remain behind. He'll have to come back to the capital someday to get Lily and Basen their gifts. But right now, he just wants to get home.

(Count Deruth sighs as he stares at the note, penned in his eldest son's hand. The stress must be quite a lot for Cale, but he really hadn't expected a spontaneous journey back home alone.

"Ron," he says.

"Yes, sir?"

"Please catch up to Cale and make sure that he's safe while traveling. I'll make sure a bonus is prepared for you."

"I won't ask for a bonus, sir, just the chance for a very, very, very long, relaxing drink afterwards."

"I'll include that in the bonus."

"Thank you, sir. I shall leave Vicross with you for the return trip to the territory."

"That is much appreciated, Ron."

"Sir, before I leave, may I ask a question?"

"Of course."

"Will you be allowing our Young Master Cale to leave the estate afterwards anytime soon?"

      Deruth lets out a stressed laugh.

"I don't think he'll want to leave his room on his own after this."

"But if he were to want to?"

"Ron, I will be fully honest with you, the only reason I haven't just let him live in a tower like he asked to when he was 12 is because I'm afraid that someone will just kidnap him from there in some bizarre rescue attempt."

"I completley understand the sentiment, sir.")

       By the time Cale's family has made it home, Cale's returned. He has his two kittens, which are newly named Ohn and Hong, and a young man by his side dressed in black with a sword at his hip.

"Who's that," Basen asks, eyeing the man suspiciously.

"Choi Han."

"Why's he here," Lily asks, doubly suspicious.

"He's my knight now," Cale half-explains.

      No matter how many times he's asked, Cale won't explain how he met Choi Han, why he renamed his kittens, or why he's taken up the odd habit of talking to the air. But Choi Han, admittedly, is excellent at chasing off all sorts of people. So he stays.

(Cale, of course, has an explanation for every strange new change, but he's not going to tell his beloved family the story of how he met Choi Han slightly injured- though the sea of bandits that lay around him looked far more worse for wear- and deeply exhausted on the road to the capital and patched him up with one of the healing potions. Or about telling Choi Han that being a capital knight paid terribly, and that being a Henituse knight was the superior option, leading to Choi Han following him.

"Like a puppy," Cale joked as he watched the fire crackle and the kittens bat at Choi Han's face, "Don't beat him up kittens, you'll torture him to death."

      They stayed at the small village that bordered the Henituse and Tolz territory, only for the kittens to awaken them both in the middle of the night and find a strange lair in the mountain.

"We found a little brother here," the red kitten (apparently named Hong and a runaway member of the Cat tribe) explained, "Please help us save him. We did a lot of preparing for this."

"He needs help," Ohn insisted, "They're doing terrible things to him."

      Cale hadn't been able to deny their requests, and Choi Han seemed to have a soft spot for children. Neither had been prepared for the little brother to be a toddler aged dragon.

"Crazy fucking bastards," Cale hissed as he carefully picked up the black baby dragon.

"They're disgusting," Choi Han agreed darkly.

       They healed the baby dragon in the room they stayed in that night, bathing him in healing potions and pouring some down his throat. The baby dragon had fled immediately, but it's not long before they're joined once more by the baby dragon.

"What name would you give him if he were to be with us," Cale asks on the last day of the journey before they reach home.

"Raon," Choi Han answers simply.

"Why that name," Cale asks, curious since he'd never heard it before.

"It would mean happiness for him," Choi Han explains, "That's what it means from where I'm from."

       Cale leans forward, staring quizzically. "Where are you from? I've never seen someone like you before."

"I'm originally from somewhere very, very far away," Choi Han responds softly, sadly, "Somewhere I can't return to."

"Ah."

       Cale watches the flames dance.

"Do you miss it a lot," he can't help but wonder.

       Choi Han taps his fingers against the scabbard of his sword. "I…do. But it's distant. It's been a very long time since I have been home. I don't know what it's like anymore."

       Hong clambers his way into Choi Han's lap, kneading his pants.

"I have a different home now," Choi Han starts after a long silence only punctuated by the creaks and whispers of the forest, "And it is a good one."

       When Cale wakes the next morning, there is a black baby dragon sleeping on his chest. His little scaly face looks faintly shiny with tears. He touches the baby's head softly and can't fight the smile that makes its way onto his face.

"Hello, Raon," he greets quietly, "Are you in want of a home?")

      In the Roan Kingdom, there are many boulders, stones, and rocks. There are also many precious gems, and the family with the greatest amount of precious gems is a family that lays to the far North East. The Henituse family is a quiet family of a count ranking that does not want conflict or political power. They'd much prefer to be unbothered, keeping to their own precious family that they all cherish in their own special way.

      Still, as much as they wish for peace, they receive droves of deals and partnership suggestions that are either politely dismissed or chucked in the trash. But peace will come for them again, since they're a strange family.

      The youngest and only daughter is a knight-in-training who grows stronger and faster by the day, a wild fierceness in her eyes and a deep devotion to her loved ones in her heart. The future dashing knight loudly proclaims that she will only marry someone as lovely as her oldest brother. She's so odd that most young nobles her age don't play with her, which suits her fine since she's so busy training.

      The heir, the second son, is a studious child who focuses only on his studies. He's so oblivious (or at least very good at playing oblivious) that most people just get embarrassed and give up. He has no urge to look for someone and quietly prepares to inherit the County in a responsible and timely fashion. He's almost too boring to really keep in mind (don't let either of his siblings hear anything about that, though).

     The eldest child, the oldest son, is not quite the trashy young man he once was. It must be the influence of his siblings, some people say, but either way, he's much quieter than he used to be, especially upon the confirmation of the second child as the heir. But even without his trashy repuation, he's still strange in the head, talking to the air, proclaiming that two formerly stray kittens are his children and that he would only ever marry someone his kids liked, and with an equally strange knight following his every step. Even without that, it seems that the Crown Prince is particularly interested in the oldest child and nobody's really sure of what to make of it.

"Let them do whatever makes them happy," the Count and Countess declare when asked about their children's decisions and motivations, both of them quite busy with fending off the sticky fingers of the current Crown from the Sunset Opals.

        They'll always be a little troubled by the little troublesome interludes of life, but even with the botherings of the Crown, nobles, marriage proposals, and other such things, the Henituse family carefully defend their peaceful lives.