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The National Founding Day is fast approaching in the kingdom of Gotham, and with it, the visitation of dignitaries and diplomats from many important countries from all around the continent. They come bearing gifts, words of praise, wishes for the peace of the kingdom, hidden agendas and intrigue, and many other expectations that Dick does not care to fulfill. Expectations, such as his hand in fucking marriage, apparently.
The indignation of the Royal court, especially his family's, at such an uncouth and rude letter, such as 'We hope Prince Richard proves worthy of the hand of Princess Amelie' from the Kingdom of Arkadia, no less, is beyond measure. As if 1) Gotham should rejoice at the opportunity of uniting bloodlines with Arkadia, 2) Dick knew fuck-all about who the hell Princess Amelie even was, and 3) He didn't already have a perfectly good Little Wing that he planned to marry as soon as their father accepted that it was the best choice for all of them. Jason was incredibly beautiful and sought after, but also, most of his prospects were men older than him who did not deserve him. It is Dick's duty to care and protect his perfect Little Brother and his Maiden heart, after all. He wasn't about to bring some random foreign princess to the Royal court and have her get in his way of protecting what was rightfully his, much less enjoy what was rightfully Jason's. Bruce was still healthy and strong; there would be no passing of the crown just yet, and when there was, it would be to Damian. Neither Dick, nor Jason, nor Tim, nor Duke was much interested in reigning. Maybe Cass, though she seems to like her position as the Captain of the Kingsguard more than she would like to be the King herself. Speaking of Damian, maybe he should begin interference before the baby of the family decides to wage war.
"It is completely and utterly unacceptable!" Damian slams his fist on the big mahogany table. "How dare they even imply to be worthy of consideration for Richard's hand in marriage!" The problem with all of this utter nonsense is that the letter came bearing the seal of the Kingdom of Arkadia; therefore, one could assume that the King himself had approved of the letter, which made them unable to simply toss it into the fire, as Jason had so graciously offered to do. "And to a wench with nothing to offer! No accolades, no beauty, no strength! She is not even their Margrave or a Paladin! Absolutely unworthy!" And while Dick does not like to hear Damian disparage a woman simply because she is not beautiful, he can't help but smile at Damian bringing up all of Jason's accomplishments as the standard. If Damian weren't so young, Dick would be afraid he would try to take Jason for himself. Not that he would let him. "Say something, Akhi!" He turns to look at Jason, who is busy inspecting his kris knife on the table, as if none of this encumbered him. Hurtful.
"Enough, Damian," Bruce says. He is the one who called this small family meeting, incredibly unusual for him since he usually just tells them as little as he can and just what he expects them to do. "Dick is free to choose who he will marry, as are all of you. I have no interest in dictating who you date as long as you do not endanger yourselves." Sure. But God forbid Dick tries to date Jason, then he does have something to say on the matter. Or God forbid Tim tries to date both Prince Kon-El and Baron Bowd, then he also has something to say on the matter. He won't be a hypocrite and say he hasn't agreed with Bruce shooting down each and every single prospect for Jason, if he hadn't— well, Dick would simply have picked up the sword. No biggie. "However, we are in a difficult position, which I believe was their intention, as we cannot simply and without good reason decline their offer. Dick is beyond the age of marriage and the eldest. He is expected to marry soon." Jason snorts and mumbles something about Dick being an old bachelor, which they all ignore. "It is no laughing matter, Jason. As you all know, Dick remaining a bachelor is primarily what has kept you free from unwanted advances for political gain. I fear once Dick is off the market, soon more of such offers will follow, even your younger brothers." It's not that Dick has remained single just to protect his little siblings; he hadn't. He has dated many ladies and lords from both the Court and from Outside, and he even almost stepped into the altar twice. However, he doesn't feel he has ever been as serious about his intentions to marry as he is now towards Jason. He hasn't done more than hold his hand and kiss his lips, yet he wants him forever.
"It's not like Dick being unmarried has stopped Slade Wilson from asking for Jason's hand in marriage." Ugh. Fucking Slade. Dick is not even entirely sure he didn't do it just to fuck with him, the stupid old man. But Tim is right, at this point, people are starting to not care that Dick is unmarried, and are instead targeting the second oldest, which is exactly why he wants to marry Jason as soon as he can. "But also, just declaring you will marry Jason will not save us in this situation, Dick. It might actually just make things worse." Tim's tired stare feels way too judgmental for his liking. "If after receiving such a letter you simply say 'Sorry guys, I'm marrying my little brother instead,' it will not only be taken as an insult to their crown, but also open the doors for a political conflict between the two kingdoms, and while we have nothing to lose—"
"Fuck you mean we have nothing to lose?! What about the people of your kingdom, fighting stupid wars, suffering starvation as their crops burn?!" Jason finally looks up from his knife, upset and agitated at the prospect of a useless war. As the Margrave of their Northern border, which is under frequent attack, the prospect of a war on top of it all might as well mean the death of his subjects.
"That's not what I meant, and you know it! I just mean we have to be more diplomatic towards our answer—"
"They are trying to encroach on our sovereignty by declaring themselves on par with Richard; they have already declared war!" Dick drags Damian's chair closer to his, then picks the kid up and sits him on his lap, lest he keeps running his mouth about war and Jason actually loses it on him.
"You know nothing about war, Damian!" Jason still loses it on him.
"Yes, I do! Grandfather has trained me in stra—"
"Strategy and battle prowess mean shit when you are on a battlefield surrounded by the rotting corpses of your friends and neighbors! When you are the last one standing before the enemy reaches the village and kills the injured and the sick, the young and the old, the weak and the forgotten, all the while the crops of your fief burn down, taking away with them any chance to survive the winter! Do not talk to me about war!" When Jason was little, before Bruce knew he had a son, he did not know with a woman he did not remember. He used to live in the Northern parts of Gotham, in a margraviate commonly known as Crime Alley, which was also the first line of defense against the beasts from Arkham forest. While not a war against another kingdom, the truth is that the then-abandoned margraviate was in a constant state of war, and children like Jason, who were orphaned, had to join the soldiers' efforts against the beasts or die in the cold, dirty streets from starvation. Jason, who has now become the Margrave of Crime Alley and protects her and her people zealously, has lived war in a way that neither of them, except Bruce perhaps, has lived. Damian, wisely, chooses to drop the subject of war, his head hanging low in shame.
"There is no need for war. There will be no war in my kingdom if I can help it." Bruce puts his large hand on Jason's shoulder, and he seems to deflate a little under the comfort and warmth of their father.
"So. If we are not waging stupid wars, and we are not telling them to fuck off via letter either... then are we selling Dick off, or what?" Steph's grin is wide and joyful, and Dick is glad she is trying hard to improve the very dark mood that has taken over the table.
"Maybe we should just dress Dick as a pauper and convince the Princess that she can do so much better than him." Duke starts, and honestly, it's a little insulting that Duke believes a little grime and dirt would be enough to hide his beauty. Cass's giggles are an insult added to injury.
"No, but is no one going to ask for my opinion—?" The short answer is no, because immediately he is interrupted by Tim, who loudly exclaims 'Aha!' as if that says anything.
"That's it! We do not need to decline the offer; we just need her to reconsider and take it away." He takes a deep breath and continues, "It's obvious that this must have been the princess's idea, and with Arkadia owning a good chunk of the continent's magical ore, they may plan to use that as their bargaining chip and think they have the advantage. But we are neither in search nor need of magical ore, since our close ties with the kingdom of Metropolis supply us with something much better, so they actually have nothing that we want. It is simply not beneficial for us. So we should do this on two fronts. First, we must subtly remind their diplomats that Gotham is independent and has no need or want for magic ore, so that they realize they have nothing we want, while also insidiously mentioning how they are making such a big inconvenience for Bruce with their insistence, which puts pressure on the relationship between both kingdoms. Hinting that Gotham might take offense if they continue with such stupid expectations. Then on the other side, we must show contempt towards the Princess in a DIPLOMATIC WAY—" At this, he glares around the entire table, as if all of them were unruly animals "— to make her understand that she is not welcome and she cannot even hope to keep up with Gotham's Royal Court." He finally pauses to drink a big gulp of water, at least he hopes it's water, and to take a deep breath. Bruce hums, considering it.
"Let us plan then. We will need to be in sync." Says Bruce. And honestly, in times of dire need, when are they not?
This week, pompous dignitaries and diplomats will arrive at the inner walls of the Ancient Wayne Castle with their gilded dresses and their ostentatious gifts, and so, Jason must finish his preparations on the margraviate for what he assumes will be a week of hell, and begin the long way home. Since taking the title of Margrave Todd, many things have changed, including the strengthening of their defenses by repairing their castle's walls, the betterment of their granaries to survive the Northern Winter, and the strict and rigorous training of the Knights to prepare for the inevitable clashes against the beasts from Arkham Forest. He knows his people are ready to take charge to protect the margraviate in his absence, but with Roy accompanying him, he fears he is leaving it too unprotected.
"Cheer up, Jaybird, Artemis, and Biz are still here; they won't let your precious walls fall." Roy is finishing packing his horse and seems as carefree as always, which does help relieve the anxiety he feels on leaving his territory behind. "Or are you that nervous about meeting Dick's betrothed?" He scowls. That selfish Princess doesn't even know the real Dick, yet she believes she should marry him just because she wants it so. "Haha, that expression right now would make Dick very happy indeed. You should have just accepted his marriage offer when he first gave it, and neither of you would be in this predicament." Jason glares at the back of Roy's head, not that the redhead even notices. It's not that Jason doesn't want to marry Dick; it's that he doesn't want to leave his people behind to their luck, and he also knows that Dick has all the intentions to return to the Archduchy of Bludhaven, where he has been for the past eleven years as Archduke Grayson. How could they marry and still both retain the roles they worked so hard to get? It seems impossible. And yet, Jason is a selfish man, in that he does not want his older brother to marry anyone else. Maybe he is a hypocrite for calling Princess Amelie out, but so what? "C'mon, turn that frown upside down and let's go! We have a ways to go." He hops onto his own warhorse and starts heading towards Gotham's Capital.
Since they are traveling alone, don't tell Bruce, they make it to the capital in a whopping day and a half, contrary to the five days it would have taken them had they taken the carriage and the knights. Roy does complain of butt pain, and sleeping in the forest, but Jason pays him no mind. They have both slept in worse conditions and gone longer without rest. He's just whining for the sake of whining.
At the Castle gates, he is received by the Royal Knights, led by Cass, and offered a carriage that he declines. He doesn't need to ask Cass to know that Barbara must have, somehow, gotten wind of his departure from Parks Row and calculated his arrival time and set things up to receive him. People call Tim a strategist, but Babs is the truly terrifying one, because he is incredibly sure he doesn't have a mole in his castle, and yet she figured it out. "How are things?" He asks Cass, her white warhorse, unnecessary in the peaceful streets of Gotham proper, but the only steed she has had since childhood.
"Last fortnight, we finished the reinforcement of the Eastern wall. With that, the defenses of the city have strengthened significantly. We followed your suggestion regarding the relief brigades in the slums, too. As per your suggestion, little libraries have been placed where kids congregate more often, including titles that explain their rights and obligations as both citizens and children. Duchess Gordon has also started to weed out corruption amongst the knightages, particularly the ones that do not follow our code of conduct and present a danger to our subjects. Everything is going well, Jason. How about you?" There is no better opportunity to hear Cass's soft and calm voice than when you ask her about the state of the city. Jason believes that she would make a great King, or Queen, whichever title she chose, if she so desired it. He wonders if she does, but has chosen not to ask.
"Much of the same. Strengthened the walls, water, and fireproofed the granaries to the best of my abilities, and found an expert to care for them too. Had some storage issues, but thankfully the loss was minimal and will not affect us come winter. Decided to raise the salaries of the knights placed at the walls with Arkham Forest, and should they fall, promised that their families would be taken care of. That raised our list of volunteers, so to prevent weak and desperate soldiers from filling our gaps in manpower, only to create more gaps in our strength, Artemis decided to start training them. Soon they will become even better than your own knights, or die trying." He smirks at her, the provocation simple and obvious, but fun.
"Can't wait." She says. Come the next Knights Tournament, Artemis will have a chance to prove she can make a worthy knight out of a village boy. She will like the challenge.
They finally reach the castle's doors and are welcomed by Damian, who stands all prim and proper, in all his regal glory, in front of the doors. "You are late." That Jason even deigns to show up today should be applauded, yet the littlest brat of the family believes him to be late. Go figure. He messes with his hair just for that and pushes his head away with his hand to prevent his swatting little hands from hitting him on the chest. Jason does not miss being his size. "Stop that, Akhi!" He laughs and picks him up regardless to hug him, the brat can fight it all that he wants, but he is obviously not that against it, judging by his little fists holding tightly to the back of his clothes. He loves his family dearly, and he misses them terribly; he just wishes the situation weren't proving to be so annoying. Not even difficult, just annoying.
As they walk through the halls of the castle, towards the Second Prince's Wing, where no doubt the rest of his siblings await him, Jason notices the servants briskly walking here and there carrying things and cleaning corners. The festivities are set to begin any day now, and everyone is busy trying to get things perfect, without even knowing the chaos that their beloved Princes are about to unleash. Once upon a time, these halls were filled with nothing but disdain and malicious rumors about the Illegitimate Princes and Princesses of Gotham; nowadays, the servants show respect towards each and every one of them. As they should, lest Dick lose his mind and heads start rolling.
The First Prince of Gotham, Dick, was born to an exotic performer that Bruce met at some event or another in far away Kingdom, and that was later raised in a traveling caravan with gypsies and pagans. Years later, when the caravan came to Gotham, Bruce recognized him as his son, and after many tragedies unfolded soon after, he officially adopted him. With a charming and charismatic demeanor, Dick quickly became the apple of everyone's eyes, blinding them to the truth of his ruthlessness and mean streak once he felt offended. Jason's mere existence had once offended him so, though nowadays, the man continues to profess his undying love to his little brother. The pervert.
The Second Prince of Gotham, Jason himself, was born to a maid with whom Bruce had a one-night stand. At this point, Dick was already six years old, and there had been multiple attempts against his life. The throne was not as stable as it was now. Terrified that her child would die or worse, be used as fodder in the war for the throne, she fled without telling anyone. She fell from illness a few years later in the margravine of Crime Alley, leaving Jason orphaned and destitute in a land ravaged by war. At twelve years old, he was already fighting on the front lines against the beasts of Arkham Forest, and it was then, during a visit from the Crown, that Bruce met him. How he recognized him is beyond Jason; though many people speak often of how alike Jason's appearance is to Dick's and Dick's to Bruce's. Perhaps it was as easy as that. To say that the appearance of Bruce's illegitimate child shocked the Royal Court to its core would be an understatement. Dick was none too pleased to have a sibling he did not ask for at eighteen, and that he did not recognize. It took them three years to even begin to establish a cordial relationship, at which point, Jason had simply decided to study abroad in Nanda Parbat and would not come back for many years.
The Third Prince of Gotham, Tim, shocked the Court just as much, for he had been born from their very own Duchess Drake, who was already married and well established. Neither the Duke nor the Duchess tried to hide Timmy's parentage and declared that he would be raised as the heir to the Duchy. But whether or not they had bigger ambitions, we would never know, for they passed soon after. And if they did harbor such ambitions, Tim did not inherit them. He chose to keep his title as Duke Drake, and the Third Prince of Gotham all but abdicated his right to the throne, but not before, of course, weeding out the people incredibly interested in his bloodline. A cult called themselves the Court of Owls. Shrewd little Timmy. Stalking little Timmy. Sweet little Timmy. Once Jason had come back and found that Dick's relationship with Tim was better than their own, he was filled with irrational jealousy. Jason hated Tim to his core when they met. Tried to kill the guy, even. But bygones, be bygones.
The First Princess of Gotham, Cass, appeared as a competitor during a Knights Tournament that accepted commoners and traveling knights. After absolutely decimating all other candidates, and even some Royal Knights that participated in the event, she demanded that the King acknowledge her as his daughter. After a proper investigation, it was revealed that she was, in fact, his daughter, with an assassin no less, and so quiet as a mouse after such a strong demand, she came to live at the castle. Cassandra would not be trifled with, however, and soon took charge of the First Knightage of the Royal Knights, and then as Knight Commander of the Kingsguard, easily establishing herself as a woman with power, strength, and honor.
The Fourth Prince of Gotham, Duke, arrived hand in hand with a foreign diplomat from the Principality of Helios, who seemed to want to get rid of the Duke as quickly as possible. Duke, a child Bruce had sired with a different diplomat from the same kingdom, had ended up basically an orphan after his parents had fallen terribly ill and comatose. Since he was deemed useless, he was brought to Gotham, the secret of his birth exploited for some measly gold coins. Bruce brought both Duke and his parents into the Castle, and made a whole medical wing dedicated to caring for them, who raised Duke since birth with love and care.
For a few years after that, everything was calm, and it seemed that the era of Bruce's illegitimate children was over. Which is why it was such a surprise to Jason that he arrived at Nanda Parbat only to find a carbon copy of the King in a foreign land.
The Fifth Prince of Gotham, Damian, had been born to Talia Al Ghul, the Crown Princess of the Kingdom of Nanda Parbat, an assassin and the woman who would be Jason's master for a few years. Apparently, she had once been not only engaged, but married! to King Bruce Wayne of Gotham, and had given birth to Damian in secret on this faraway land. It was far too much for Jason, who decided to ignore it all and just live his life as he pleased, studying, training, and playing with the little guy. Jason spent a few good years raising the brat in Nanda Parbat and establishing himself as his favorite older brother, and even rising to the rank of Knight Commander in the Military Ranks of the Kingdom, before they both inevitably had to run away, once the political situation in Nanda Parbat had worsened. Above all, Jason does love Talia as a mother, even if he insists she can do so much better than Bruce.
Stephanie Brown, born a commoner, had worked hard in her childhood and had earned the title of Viscountess all on her own merits, and was regarded socially and intimately as an important part of the Royal Family.
All these illustrious beings of great importance and lineage and power were all crammed on top of each other on Jason's bed, leaving him no place to rest after having ridden his horse for almost two full days without much rest. "All of you have your own rooms, no scratch that, all of you have your own Wings in the castle, what are you doing on my bed? Leave." Dick was quick to get a hold of his arm and start dragging Jason onto the bed, while Cass and Damian climbed on their own.
The bed is huge, and yet there is precious little space in between them all. "Aww, c'mon, Little Wing, don't be like that! Lie down with us!" Dick's limbs were like those of an octopus, wrapping themselves quickly around Jason, and then peppering kisses all over his face, to the groans of their siblings. How or why does Dick not feel any shame at all in expressing such type of affection to his own blood is beyond him, but how can Jason reproach him, when he loves it so.
The morning and most of the evening are spent thus, with all siblings gossiping and planning mischievous pranks to play on a certain unwelcomed Princess from the Kingdom of Arkadia.
That morning, the dignitaries from Arkadia, including Princess Amelie, arrived at the inner gates of Gotham's Castle. It was soon decided that they would have dinner together. Well, they requested, can you believe their gall, to have dinner with their Crown Prince, by which they meant Dick. The outrage that was felt on the inner Court from the brazen demand was nothing compared to Bruce's and Dick's anger at the thrown title of Crown Prince, a title that Dick did not want and that Bruce had not bestowed upon anyone yet. Their intentions were clear, Tim decided that they should all start the game sooner.
The morning passed quickly, and finally, dinner came. Tim, along with Barbara, had deduced that the intelligence of Arkadia on the inner matters of Gotham was almost non-existent, and therefore, the information that they had regarding the youngest and Jason would be almost null. Damian and Duke are not yet in the spotlight, and Jason, as Steph so kindly put it, lives mostly as a recluse in the margravine. All Arkadia has are the rumors of infatuated lords and ladies and admiring knights, by which Tim means, the public personas that they put on, and not at all their real personalities. Barbara, who had been too busy to come early and would only be arriving tomorrow, had sent by raven her impressions on Princess Amelie: Selfish, arrogant, entitled, and cruel. Not at all refined as they are painting her to be, more like prey than predator. Easy pickings, yes, but that only made it even more insulting that they thought they could mess with the Crown of Gotham.
The tables at the grand hall were overflowing with food and drink, an ostentatious display of wealth and prosperity for only four people, which is sure to be misinterpreted as the King wanting to please their guests and not as the hostile display of power it really is. It's sad, but against simple opponents, there is no use in such discreet power plays. Jason takes his assigned seat to the right of Dick and in front of Princess Amelie, a small lady of auburn hair and big doe green eyes with frilly gilded clothes more similar to what one would expect on a doll than on a princess, on her right is her lady in waiting, a sharp looking long haired blonde with cold blue eyes that looks more like a princess than the real princess. She must be someone important to have earned a place at this table. There was something about her, an air of importance that marked her immediately as someone to watch out for. A quick look at Dick told him immediately that he had caught on, too. And so the meal begins. The rest of the kids will not show up; this play is entirely theirs.
The feast might have seemed pleasant and peaceful, but in reality, it was a battleground. Jason's part was that of a black sheep or an exiled prince, so he was thankfully not expected to be polite or even adhere to the rigorous etiquette that was instructed on him by Alfred since childhood. He decided to play his part properly and forgoes dining etiquette altogether, holding bread with his bare hands and biting into it. From the corner of his eye, he can see Dick hiding his smile behind his wine glass. Whatever. "Well, that is an interesting dining etiquette." The lady in waiting remarks, Jason thinks she introduced herself as Lady Aria from the Duchy of Lowell, but at the moment, he was a little preoccupied with other things, like memories of the make-out session with Dick he had just come out of. Her politician smile was sharp, and her figure was elegant beyond reproach. "I've never seen such a thing before. Tell me, is that how animals eat in the Northern parts of Gotham?" Yes. She was the picture-perfect idea of what a proper lady should look like; were her words not so poisonous, Jason might have even believed her. Dick clenches his jaw. Oh, dear.
"I've never heard of such a thing as animals eating bread, my Lady." Jason replies, "How interesting! Is that commonplace in Arkadia?" Right back at'cha, you bitch. Even if she does believe that Jason is an unwanted leech —to be so brazen as a lady in waiting, to comment on him like this in front of the 'Crown Prince' is unbelievable. Says much of what they think of the Royal Family of Gotham, that's for sure. It's pissing him off.
"It doesn't matter what you eat. You're no different from wild animals if you don't eat like a human, don't you agree?" Lady Aria seems to have taken much offense to Jason eating a piece of bread, but no matter what she says, there is little left that would make Jason feel self-conscious. "Princess Amelie's dog, Minnie, also loves to have the bread you drop on the floor." Jason briefly imagines pulling out his sword and chopping her head right off, for the crime of being an insufferable bitch.
For the first time since they sat at the table, Princess Amelie graces us with her voice. "Yes, even Minnie knows her table manners." She puts down her fork, "Seeing you eat like that, sir, makes me lose my appetite." Her plate is almost empty now, she has been stuffing her face, yet says she lost her appetite, ha!
"Shall we call the dinner off, then?" Dick puts down his silverware and prepares to leave. Immediately, Lady Arias' face hardens, and Princess Amelie panics. She apologizes and babbles on and on until finally, she manages to make Dick stay. Probably because he is not satisfied with the level of damage they have made so far.
"I just meant that, if you are not using your tableware, you might as well just pick up and eat breadcrumbs on the road." Her voice is tiny and trembling, but still she stubbornly continues on the same subject, throwing glances here and there to her lady in waiting.
"We need to be more understanding, Princess Amelie." Lady Aria has decided to take on the reins again, it would seem. "The northern parts are full of great nature and wild animals." Her smile is as polite and poisonous as Lady Ivy's. Jason would find her an interesting politician if she wasn't shit-talking Jason himself. "Think of it as a wonderful experience we'll never get to have elsewhere. Since the Crown Prince loves animals, let's be positive and open-minded." Oh? Barbara sent information regarding Princess Amelie, but perhaps they should have looked more into Lady Aria, as well. If she is implying what he thinks she is, then she has better information than the frilly-dressed princess. Both the Princess and Lady Aria are openly working against him, while Dick gets pushed to the side of the conversation, having to remain in his role and be polite. They are just typical rich, noble brats who don't even know who they are messing with.
"Lady Aria, I can tell you don't have much knowledge regarding wild animals." Jason puts down his own knife, "If I were one of them, I wouldn't eat such tiny things, such as breadcrumbs on the road." Roy has told him before that Jason has a certain smile that makes him look like a feral wolf, so he channels that, unsheathes his kris knife, and uses it to stab the ham in the middle of the table, and messily drags it onto his own plate. The juices of the meat are a reddish color that makes it seem like blood, falling freely onto the mantle. The expression on Lady Aria's face is one of horror and disbelief: "I'd rather eat your flesh." Princess Amelie gasps and trembles a bit; she is such a naive girl. "Oh, please, don't worry, Princess Amelie. I wouldn't eat you, anyway. I don't like bony things." Her eyes quickly fall to her hands, and she continues to tremble. Pathetic. Whether or not Jason is an exiled Prince, he still is a Prince, and on this table, she cannot admonish him for such comments, after she was the one to start the conversation. Dick continues drinking his glass of wine. He thought he would be laughing, but he seems to be more serious than not.
"Oh my, you are really not that different from Minnie, sir. Messing up the dining table like this." The question here is, who is Lady Aria really, that she believes she will be safe from making such remarks against foreign royalty? "I guess when you act like animals, you see from their point of view." She gently wipes her mouth with a serviette, then smiles brightly at Jason, as if she weren't openly insulting him.
"Perhaps that is why his highness the Crown Prince— " He smirks here, he can't help it, "—why he likes me so." Dick as the Crown Prince, how ridiculous. "Princess Amelie, why don't you try it yourself? Perhaps if you bark a bit, you might attract a tiny bit of attention from him." Dick snorts, and Jason has to kick him under the table to help him regain his composure.
"I understand that his highness the Crown Prince has unique, interesting tastes, but that would be too challenging for someone of her highness measure. As you know, she is of pure Royal blood, and not a waif, unlike others." This pretentious, stuck-up blond snob—
"I must say, the Arkadian Royal Family is quite superior." Oh, no. That is Dick's tone of voice when he is incredibly angry. A lion ready to pounce. "After all, from among all of us siblings, there is only one full-blooded Royal. I guess, in your eyes, we are nothing more than waifs and orphans." Fuck. Jason is so used to being referred to as nothing more than a street urchin that he somehow forgot that Dick really hates it when people talk down on them due to their mothers' bloodlines. He is, after all, incredibly proud of his heritage. "I still remember how upset the King of Arkadia was, during my childhood, when we approached the Arkadian Kingdom for a small educational exchange. If I remember correctly, he couldn't believe the nerve we had to ask for such a thing, having nothing he deemed worthy to exchange for it." That is a piece of information that was not shared with Jason. Now it makes sense how Bruce approved of their plan to terrorize the Princess. Arkadia had already shunned Dick once before as a dignitary, and now they came almost demanding Dick's hand in marriage. The Princess is sweating a lot, and her eyes seem unfocused and wide. If Jason didn't know better, he would believe that Tim had poisoned her tea.
"Forgive me, your highness. It was a mistake that I never should've made in the first place." Lady Aria seems pale as well and folds quickly. "But please do understand it was because the King at the time was much too blinded by greed." Huh. She threw her King under right in front of the Princess. Interesting.
"Well, now that I think about it, I'm glad it went the way it did." Dick reclines on his seat, his cold stare gives the Princess a once-over, then looks away, as if finding her lacking. Her cheeks redden deep, and her eyes seem moist. "Unfortunately, I do not fit into your class. As you well know, I'm from pagan blood— " At this, Dick smirks and looks directly at Lady Aria's eyes. "So I prefer to sleep on the ground, surrounded by nature and animals." Lady Aria is quick to try to apologize, but Jason interrupts her to agree with Dick, and even goes as far as to say that they are a match made in heaven; Dick's eyes sparkle in mischief, and Jason knows he will not sleep alone tonight. "As you can see, Gotham's bloodline is so polluted. So I'm not sure how we could make this work." He turns his gaze to the Princess and delivers the final blow, "I've heard much from your lady in waiting, Princess Amelie. What are your thoughts?" The prey Princess remains quiet for a while, then quietly she says,
"I wouldn't dare say anything about your Royal blood." Despite speaking to Dick, her gaze does not lift from her hands on her lap.
"Ah, so Lady Aria's words are not yours, is that what you mean? Then, should she be punished according to Gotham's Law?" Gotham's Law is old and antiquated, and still demands the culprit be beheaded in a public square. It's old and barbaric, and Barbara and Tim are working hard to rewrite all of it piece by piece. Either way, Bruce does not use such methods, no matter what, but they don't need to know that. Both ladies pale and start sweating.
"N-no! I think the mood has spoiled and we are all tired from such long travels, l-let us all take a break and r-rest, yes?" Poor Princess Amelie, she and Lady Aria tried to play with hunters and predators, and ended up cornered like prey. Dick chooses to let it go; they were never meant to end the game here either way.
They all rise from the table, politely bow to each other, and while some knights escort the Princess and the Lady to their accommodations, Dick offers Jason his arm as if he were a delicate lady, and as expected, walks him towards his bedroom. Dick does not return to his bedroom that night.
Before this week, Jason had spent a whole two weeks in the margravine, so Dick had not had any chance to have him in his arms lately. To hold his precious Little Wing, kiss him everywhere he was permitted, and still not be able to have him more than this, was torture. To sleep alone, however, when Jason was so close to him and willing, would be worse than death. So Dick enjoyed a steamy make-out session with his beloved little brother, while nudging him here and there towards the idea of marriage. He understands his apprehensions; he truly does. Jason does not want to leave the Margravine and Dick does not want to leave the Archduchy, but he believes that they can find a way to have both at the same time, if they simply apply the new magic technology here that was used for the Zeta tubes— But enough of Dick's desperate attempts of gaining his little brother's hand in marriage; it is regrettably time to leave the warmth silky bedsheets, and regroup with the rest of their siblings.
He walks hand in hand with Jason down the hallways of the second wing, towards the open Royal Gardens of the King, which basically belong to his children either way, and where they will have breakfast today. No knights nor maids that see them on the way, find it strange or unsightly that they are together, flirting, giggling, and smiling at each other; they are an open secret that even the commoners might know, which makes it all the more interesting that Princess Amelie does not seem to know it; that Dick and Jason are madly in love and that Dick has all the intentions in the world to marry him, and that is only a matter of time before it happens. It is legal, if not practiced much anymore, to marry between siblings of the Royal bloodline, after all. Uncommon, but not unheard of. The church may not like the idea much, but they fear the Crown more, so no one will oppose him.
If only that annoying princess and the stuck-up lady in waiting would just get the hint. "Stop that. You are grinding your teeth." Jason squeezes his hand, and Dick relaxes his jaw. Just remembering last nights diner and all the hurtful, hostile comments Jason had to put up with makes his blood boil. They finally reach the gardens and find all his siblings already there. "What's going on?" They took their seats quickly, but from afar they could already tell that the atmosphere was weird. "Did something happen yesterday?" Cass was supposed to antagonize their knights, while Tim and Steph would walk circles around their diplomats; there shouldn't have been any issues, and no one informed them of any untoward thing happening to them; though truth be told, the servants do know not to approach the bedroom doors when Dick and Jason are inside together.
"No, nothing bad. Everything went well, lots of pale faces and flustered diplomats. The Arkadian knights got the shit kicked out of them by the lowliest squire from Cass's team. And as far as I can tell, your dinner also went well, right?" Tim says, to which Jason just hums and Dick nods his head. "That's just it, though, the Princess and his lady in waiting requested a private meeting with Bruce first thing in the morning and are with him right now." Isn't that good though? "It's suspicious, we hadn't even started to get mean yet, they folded too quickly!" Tim seemed agitated, "Do you think they had an ace card we did not know about? No, no. Barbara herself was involved in the intelligence recollection. She wouldn't—" A servant from Tim's Wing comes running towards them and offers him a letter, he opens it quickly and then stands up suddenly. "Fuck. This changes everything—!" He is about to speak again when Bruce comes walking towards their table, hidden deep in the garden.
"I see you have just received new information—" He is quickly interrupted by Tim, who asks him if it's true. Everyone at the table is already on edge when Bruce raises his hand and says, "It is true. Princess Roseline from the Kingdom of Bellaire came to our kingdom disguised as Princess Amelie's lady in waiting." Ah. That explains her personality and why she had the balls to antagonize both Dick and Jason in a private diner. "She came seeking asylum from her Kingdom, as she claims the Empress is persecuting her and sending assassins to kill her." The question on everyone's minds is clear: was the offer fake then? "The offer for an arranged marriage between Gotham and Arkadia was not a lie; it just so happened that Princess Roseline and Princess Amelie are friends, so she offered to hide her." Dammit. "However, she seemed deeply shocked and scared. Both of them did." Bruce turns to look at Dick and Jason, "Just what did you do? They seemed more unsettled by the diner than the persecution." Jason barks a laugh, holding his stomach. "She retracted her offer and offered multiple apologies to me and my sons and daughters." Bruce smiles, then. Warm and open. "There is nothing in your way now, Dick. You may freely marry your brother now".
Dick's smile was wide and bright, and his laughter was as clear as a bell, so much so that Jason's protest that he hadn't accepted yet were easily drowned by his laugh and the cheers from the rest of their siblings.
All's good that ends well, he supposes.