Chapter Text
Two, the ‘prince’ (although they didn’t prefer the term) and next heir of The Equation Playground.
They didn’t prefer being a prince.. but they supposed it was better than being “the prince of algebra”.
And Gaty. The Lady-In-Waiting hired by the royal family through “connections” that Two fell in love with after one sight of eye contact.
Here they were now.. dating, in secret, as opposed to an area already surrounded by rumors about their affair, but they were dating.
However, speaking of over princes, the castles advisors had arranged for Two to marry One, the princess of the Gloomstone portion past the hill containing a yoylelite, where the kingdoms first emerged and formed to one.
~
Two looked out their chamber window, turning off the lights in their room before slowly climbing out and onto the outside wall.
“There you are!” Gaty exclaimed quietly when she saw them.
Two ran up and hugged her when they got off the wall. “How’ve you been?”
Gaty smiled. “I’ve been good, you?”
Two pecked her on the top of the head. “Same here.”
The both of them stared at one another in silence for a few minutes, holding hands as they did so.
“Would you want to.. walk around for a moment?” Gaty broke the silence between the two first.
“Please.”
Gaty smiled. “Alright then.”
Two smiled back as they began walking away from the castle walls and towards the empty village, neither of them in a hurry to go anywhere.
The night felt silent, most of the lights throughout the area were already turned off, only leaving a few slightly lit windows in the distance, their footsteps soft against the gravel, occasionally interrupted by the wind.
They stopped at a tree far from the village and close to a hill, sitting down and leaning against one another.
“You know..” Two began. “I missed this.”
Gaty glanced at them. “Walking through the village in the middle of the night?”
“Walking through the village in the middle of the night with you.”
Gaty smiled at them. “You could’ve just said that.”
“I did.” Two kissed her on the hand.
“You made it sound like you missed walking in the village in general.” Gaty laughed.
“Maybe I missed both.”
Gaty leaned a little closer. “I missed it too.”
Neither of them said anything for a while. They didn’t need to, really.
Two looked over at Gaty on occasion, catching the same, small smile they fell in love with before looking away again. To them, there was something comforting about sitting next to her like this. No court meetings, no royal ceremonies, no advisors relying on them for decision making because they were the only heir next in line to a throne they didn’t want to be on.
Just them.
Two put their head against hers lightly. “Pretty, right?”
“Yeah.”
They kept their hands held onto one another, simply watching the stars above the clouds.
Gaty put her arm around Two’s, shutting her eyes.
Two froze for a moment before relaxing.
“I wish we could do this more often..” Gaty looked at them, intertwining their hands.
Two looked down at their intertwined hands, smiling at her. “Me too.”
The silence returned to them both, Gaty lifted her head and opened her eyes. “You’ve been quiet all night. Is.. something wrong?”
“Sorry.” Two looked away.
“You don’t have to apologize.” Gaty kissed them on the cheek
Two squeezed her hand, shutting their eyes.
Gaty squeezed theirs back. “Can I ask you something?..”
“Sure.”
“Do you.. like being royalty?”
Two laughed. “Not really.. I’ve told you that before, no?”
“Well.. yes, but you seem distant. More than when we met.”
“Sorry..”
“Don’t be.” Gaty smiled, kissing them on the cheek again.
“I’m glad we can do this..” Two hugged her lightly, putting their head against her neck.
“I am too.”
Two stayed silent for the next few minutes.
“Hey.. Gaty?”
“Hm?”
“Where do you think we’d go?.. if you and I could run away together.”
“Why would we?”
“If I was arranged into a marriage with another kingdom, or.. something.”
“Is that your way of telling me that you were arranged to marry another kingdom?”
“Well, I-“ Two paused, biting their lip. “Yeah..”
“Two!” Gaty cut in, trying to be quiet. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
“I didn’t want you to worry, I didn’t think of it because I just wanted to spend more time with you and-“
“Two.”
“I didn’t think of telling you then because I don’t want to lose-“
“Two.” Gaty grabbed their other hand, squeezing them both. “I’d be worried even if you told me the night after you were told about it.”
“I know you would.” Two paused. “But I just wanted to spend as much time as I could with you.”
“When is it?”
“3 weeks from now..”
Gaty quietly sighed in a mix of relief and sadness “We still have time together.”
“I- I know we do, but..” Two cut themself off quickly
Gaty’s expression softened. “Is that why you asked where we’d go if we ran away?”
Two sighed. “It’s.. part of the reason.”
“What the other reason?”
Two glanced down at and squeezed Gaty’s hands. “I want to stay with you. Leave everything behind, move to Goiky, make new friends, get married, forget about societal problems in the village, let it just be us two.”
“Two..” Gaty stepped closer to them. “You’d give up everything? Your family, your friends, even your-“
“Yes. Yes I absolutely would.” Two squeezed her hands in an attempt to show sincerity, but it just made Gaty blush at the statement.
Gaty kissed them gently on the forehead. “You’re ridiculous.”
“Ridiculously yours.” Two smiled at her.
Gaty smiled back, kissing them.
Two put their head on her legs like a cat, trying to keep their eyes open and not have the castle set to lockdown for sneaking out.
Gaty ran a hand through their hair, smiling at them.
The both of them sat in complete silence for a majority of the evening, holding each other.
… until a bell rang.
Two immediately moved their head away from Gaty in panic, standing up.
Gaty stood up as well, kissing them. “Love you.”
Two smiled, putting a hand on the girls hip for a moment. “Love you too.”
~
Gaty and Two spent the next week sitting by the tree for much longer than they usually did. Not for any particular reason, the two of them were sure that they could convince the council to let Gaty come along if they had to go past the hill, but just.. to be there.
Together.
Savoring the amount of time they had.
Sometimes they’d talk, lie on the grass and look at the stars, holding each other and giving small kisses, sometimes they’d hold each other like a girl and her cat for the entire night, the only thing breaking their silence was each others breathing.
~
Two started the conversation during one of these moments, cuddling with Gaty under a blanket they tugged along with them.
“Hey.. Gaty?”
“Hm?”
“You know the hill?”
“The kingdom past it?”
“No, the hill itself.”
“Oh, what about it?”
“Imagine how beautiful the view is..”
“That.. does sound nice.” Gaty squeezed their hand, pausing.
Two noticed her pause, confused. “Is.. something wrong?”
“No.” Gaty looked away for a moment before turning back to and hugging them lightly as she shut her eyes.
Two smiled, running a hand through her hair gently before shutting their eyes as well.
Neither of them spoke for a while after that, the blanket shifting slightly in the wind. Gaty moved closer to them to keep warm, practically using them as a pillow.
“Would.. you actually want to go?” She eventually asked, nuzzling her head against their chest.
Two smiled, opening their eyes as they moved the blanket back into place. “To the hill?”
“Yeah.” Gaty nodded.
“I’ve wanted to go up there for years.”
“Then.. why haven’t you?”
Two quietly laughed. “Because.. apparently climbing hills isn’t a very ‘royal activity’”
“That’s stupid.” Gaty raised an eyebrow.
“I know.”
They both laughed quietly together.
“Besides..” Two looked towards the hill. “I’ve always wondered what it’s like up there.”
Gaty followed their gaze. “You know the other kingdom is on the other side.”
“I know.”
“And you still want to go?”
Two shrugged. “I want to see the view.”
Gaty looked up at them. “Just the view?”
Two smiled. “Maybe I want to see it with you.”
Gaty’s cheeks warmed as she laughed quietly. “You always have to make things sound romantic.”
“I don’t?”
“No.”
Two snickered, settling back against the tree, their hands remained intertwined.
Gaty spoke again after a moment. “Maybe we should go tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?”
“Yeah.”
“To the hill?..”
“Unless you’re scared all of a sudden.”
“I’m not scared.”
Gaty smiled, kissing them on the cheek. “Good.”
Two smiled after a moment, resting their head against Gaty’s, laughing softly. “Then it’s a date.”
“It’s always a date.”
~
The next evening came quicker than the previous, Two and Gaty were walking towards the hill, trying to be quiet.
~
One sat on the hill, lighting up the area with her magic from the yoylite passed down to each heir.
She glanced down at the kingdom past the hill, assuming it was the equation playground.
She turned her attention away from the kingdom however and towards the stars, zoning out as she tried to look through constellations.
The night was quiet, perhaps too quiet. One preferred it that way.
Nobody was asking her what she planned to do or change when she became queen, nobody being a constant, eternal reminder that she has to meet and marry her ‘husband’ next week.
It was just the wind, the stars, and her.
Until she heard footsteps, causing her head to lift.
The steps were faint, coming from the other side of the hill. At first, she thought it was a knight coming in attempt to look for her.
Then she heard voices.
“Do you think we’re almost there?”
“Possibly.”
“That wasn’t very convincing.” One of the two laughed.
“I’ve never been up here before either!” The other joined the first one.
One blinked, immediately standing up.
~
Gaty and Two continued walking on the other side of the hill, Two looking towards the top.
“I think we’re close.”
“You said that five minutes ago.”
“I’m optimistic.”
Gaty snickered.
Two smiled at her before looking ahead again.
Then they stopped, a strange, blue glow was coming from the top of the hill.
Two’s expression changed for a moment, causing them to grab onto Gaty.
Gaty looked up. “Maybe we should go back.”
“We came all this way.” Two hesitated.
“Two.” Gaty glared at them playfully.
“I’ll just.. check.”
They slowly, cautiously walked toward the light.
One watched them approach, she’s met Two before, when they were both around the age of five, and she’s heard their name an infinite number of times, but none of that prepared her for how they looked.
They seemed.. tired. Not frightening, or arrogant. Just, tired.
Two noticed the same about her, causing them both to freeze up, all three of them standing there in silence.
Two looked at One, One looked at Two, and Gaty quietly glanced between them.
“You’re.. Two?” One finally spoke.
Two swallowed, clearing their throat. “And you’re One.”
One gave a small curtsy. “Yep.”
The three fell silent again, Two looked at Gaty, Gaty gave them a smile.
Two looked back at One. “I.. suppose this is where we say something formal?”
One laughed. “I don’t know. I’ve never done this before.”
“Neither have I.”
“That makes the both of us then.”
One sat back down, spinning the ‘magical light’ in her hand.
“That’s it?” Two stared at her.
“What.. else am I supposed to do?”
“I’m apparently supposed to marry you.”
One sighed. “Un..fortunately.”
Two blinked before laughing unexpectedly.
“I don’t want to marry you, if that helps.” One smiled, lying her back on the rock.
Two’s laughter was put on pause. “You don’t?”
“No.”
They stared at each other for a moment, Two sighing with relief as they sat down on the grass. “Oh thank math.”
“Two!” Gaty laughed.
“Sorry.” Two held back a snicker.
One sat up, “So.. we’re both forced into this?”
“Seems like it.”
Gaty sat down next to Two, running her thumb against their hand.
One turned towards her. “And you’re..”
“Gaty.” She looked up at One.
One smiled, “Nice to meet you.”
They fell silent again, One looking between the two of them before back towards the stars.
“You both came up here for the view, right?”
“Yeah.”
A smile crossed One’s face. “Aww, so like a date spot!”
Gaty snickered, Two’s face a bright red.
One laughed at her future spouses bright red face. “I won’t say a word about it. I promise.” She paused, taking a deep breath. “You both seem really good for each other anyway.”
Gaty smiled at One. “Thank you.”
One smiled back at her before looking back up at the stars, the spark still in her hands to give off light.
Two leaned against Gaty, looking at her. “Do.. you think we’ll still be able to, y’know?”
Gaty paused for a moment. “Right now?”
“No. But.. at some point.”
“Maybe.”
“Hm.”
They fell quiet for a moment. One being the first to break the silence again.
“You know.” She began, turning to them, “If you’re seriously considering running away, don’t just run.”
“What?..” Two looked at her.
“You’d get caught before you reached a forest, let alone past the village.”
“What would we do then?” Gaty tilted her head.
One smiled again. “Let me help.”
Crickets arose, Gaty and Two waiting for One to continue.
“How-“
“Two.” She began. “Did the king and queen ever tell you about the yoylelite?”
Two paused, trying to figure out what One meant. “What?”
“The yoylelite. The rock. The one that can take you back in time and give you magic if you hold it in a specific way.”
“Uhh.. I might’ve heard about it in a book once?..”
“That’ll work.” One sighed. “It’s not too far of a walk past this hill. I can take you both there if-“
One was quickly cut off by a loud bell coming from the playground.
Two and Gaty looked at each other.
“We have to go.” Two squeezed Gaty’s hand, both of them standing up.
“Oh.” One paused. “Tomorrow then?”
“We’ll try.” Gaty commented before she and Two ran off.
~
They stopped at the tree the two were usually at, catching their breath.
Gaty cleared her throat. “Do.. you think we can trust her?”
“I don’t know. What do you think?”
“Well.. she seemed nice, but trusting her is more than just a friendship.”
“Right..” Two paused. “But she didn’t have to offer her help.”
“What if it’s a trap?”
“How would we know if it is?”
Gaty sighed. “I’m.. not too sure of that portion yet, but I’m sure the pieces will put itself together as time goes on.”
“Maybe.” Two looked away for a moment.
“We could be overthinking it though.”
“We?” Two laughed.
Gaty joined them. “Yes, yes ‘we’”
“I guess we both are overthinking the situation then. Maybe she was just being nice.”
“That.. could be true.” Gaty began. “But we still can’t be sure. I just don’t want either of us to get hurt or have our relationship caught because of a blueberry haired woman.”
Two held back laughter from the comment about One’s hair.
Gaty smiled, slowly letting go of their hand. “I.. suppose I should get going.”
“Yeah.. just stay safe.” Two smiled back at her before kissing Gaty’s hand gently. “I love you.”
“I will.” Gaty kissed them on the cheek. “love you too hun.”
~
Six days. Six days until the engagement. Six days until they’d have to pretend to like One romantically when in front of a crowd. Probably even less until the actual wedding.
~
Two jumped down from the castle wall and towards Gaty, who was sitting by the tree waiting for them.
“Are we..”
“Are we what?”
“Going up to the hill?” Two fidgeted with their hands.
Gaty sighed. “Would you like to? I still don’t trust her.”
Two paused. “We don’t.. have to, we could just say that we forgot about it.”
“Let’s do that then.” Gaty smiled at them.
Two smiled back before digging through their pockets and handing her a letter.
Gaty read the letter before letting out a quiet laugh. “Your family’s been hosting a lot of balls lately.”
“I think it’s because of the marriage.”
“Probably, but at least we can go together.”
Two smiled, holding their hand out. “May I have this dance then?”
Gaty smiled, grabbing their hand. “Of course.”
Two stood flushed for a moment, not because they wanted to back out, but because it felt as if they were meeting all over again, meeting, and dancing because the both of them were awkwardly walking around the ballroom and falling in love and talking more often. Two smiled again at the thought before slowly spinning Gaty around and grabbing her other hand.
The two of them began swaying back and forth, leaving a smaller space between them each time, Gaty leaning her head against their shoulder once they got close enough.
“I’m glad you’re in my life.” Gaty commented, nuzzling her head against their neck.
Two kissed her head gently. “I’m glad you’re in mine as well.”
The two of them continued swaying beneath the stars, even if they didn’t particularly care about no music playing.
Two vaguely hummed something similar to a song, Gaty following their lead and occasionally stepping on their feet whenever they got too close or stepped on hers.
“You’re horrible at this.” Gaty teased.
“No I’m not!” Two pretended to be offended.
Gaty laughed. “You absolutely are.”
“I think you’re just jealous of my awesome dancing skills.”
Gaty laughed again.
Two spun her around and lightly throwing her into the air, causing her to laugh even harder when they pulled her back towards them, nearly losing their own balance in the process.
“See?” Two said, gently holding her waist. “Perfect.”
“Sure.”
The two started swaying again, both of them smiling.
Two moved one of their hands to Gaty’s cheek, leaning in closer to kiss her.
Gaty leaned in closer to do the same, neither her or Two noticing the footsteps approaching the them.
Both of them shut their eyes, their lips moving closer and closer to one another.
“Aww, how sweet!” The person said when they were about to kiss.
Both Gaty and Two froze within an instant, opening their eyes and holding each other in a hug, assuming that it was a guard before they looked at the figure.
One stood a few feet away, not a small smile on her face and her hands clasped together next to her face in adoration.
Two rubbed their eyes. “Hm?..”
“There you both are!” She exclaimed, seemingly not mad that they didn’t show up. “How come you didn’t show up to the hill?”
“We forgot about it..” Gaty was the first to reply. “Sorry.”
One brushed it off. “No, no! Don’t apologize. If you two wouldn’t mind, then I can tell you both after the engagement announcement.”
Gaty looked at Two, who looked back at Gaty.
“Should we?..” Gaty whispered.
Two shook their head. “I think I’m starting to see why you originally didn’t trust her.. but she still offered to help.”
Gaty thought for a moment, “How about this.” She began, “We let her tell us about the yoylelite, see what she’ll do with our plan to run off, but if either of us get suspicious of anything then we’ll back out.”
Two nodded, putting their hand on her cheek again. “Okay.”
Gaty kissed them on the cheek before turning back towards One.
“So?..”
“Sure.”
“Great!” One smiled before snapping her fingers and teleporting away.
Two leaned in closer to Gaty again, Gaty doing the same as both of them shut their eyes, their lips moving closer and closer to one another again as they kissed. It was nothing deep, or something they’d do while alone in the ‘feared-by-people-in-the-village’ forest, but it lasted as long as one similar to that would.
Once the bell went off, they finally let go of one another.
“I love you.” Two ran a hand through her hair, smiling.
“I love you too.” Gaty smiled back.
The both of them stayed there for another moment, neither of them wanting to leave first.
Two eventually sighed. “I should.. probably go.”
Gaty nodded. “Probably.”
Two took a few steps back towards the castle before turning back around. “Gaty?..”
“Hm?”
“Tomorrow?” Two smiled.
“Tomorrow.” Gaty smiled back
Two turned towards Gaty again, who had waved them goodbye and disappeared into the darkness before they climbed back over the castle wall.
Everything was quiet for a moment again.
Until-
“Two?”
Shit. They froze before rushing to sit down on their bed and make it seem like they got up for the bathroom and were just sitting down, their hands tightening around the edge of the sheets.
They turned towards the door, a figure standing near the end of the corridor. Their mother.
Seeing this caused them to swallow. “Yes?..”
“Where have you been?”
Two shifted slightly. “I couldn’t sleep.”
The queen stared at them for a moment. “You couldn’t sleep. At midnight?”
Two nodded, their mother walked closer while sighing. “You really need to stop sneaking out. You’re getting married soon. What do you think it will do to your reputation?”
Two looked down, tracing circles onto the blanket with their nail. “I know.”
“I mean it.”
“I know you do.”
Their mother stopped in front of their bed, sitting next to them and studying their expression before her face softened slightly. “Tomorrow is going to be very important.”
Two could feel their stomach drop and twist at the same time. They already knew exactly what she was going to say.
“The engagement announcement.” Their mother began, Two remained silent. “The council already finalized everything.”
“I.. thought.” Two paused and cleared their throat. “I thought it was still being discussed.
“It was.” She replied. “Not anymore.”
Two looked away as their mother continued.
“The entire court will gather in the main hall tomorrow morning. The kingdom we need an alliance with will have representatives there to announce the marriage as well.”
“And One?”
“She’ll be there. You’ll stand beside her, greet the guests, speak to the representatives,” She paused, smiling. “And when the announcement is made.. you will look happy.” She nudged them on the shoulder to get them to look at her. “I know you haven’t talked to her since you were young, but you need to be a decent example for the kingdom.”
“Do.. I have to?”
This caused their mother’s expression to change. “What?”
“Do I have to look happy?”
“Two.”
“I don’t want to pretend.”
“You aren’t being asked to ‘pretend.’ You’re being told to. The kingdoms reputation is at stake you know. It’s important to both kingdoms.”
Two didn’t comment, even though they wanted to. They glanced towards the window, outside, beyond the castle walls, the village almost completely dark. The tree was somewhere beyond that point, and somewhere beyond that was Gaty.
“You have responsibilities.” Their mother continued talking. “And soon, you’ll have even more.” She pat them on the back. “One isn’t a bad person.” She continued, “she’ll make a wonderful queen, and you’ll make a wonderful king.”
“I don’t want to be king.”
“Two. We’ve talked about this.”
“I know.”
“Then please, quit bringing it up.”
Two fidgeted with their hands. “I don’t want the throne, or the ceremonies, or the constant dances that just lead to speeches that lasted until midnight. I don’t want people to watch everything I do.” Their voice became quieter as they fidgeted with an old love letter that they wrote for Gaty and scrapped, not taking it out. “I just want to be happy. Genuinely happy. I don’t want to put on an act anymore.”
“Two..”
“Is that really too much to ask?”
Their mother opened their mouth before shutting it, standing up. “Get some sleep.”
Two waited until she left the room to even move. The room was quiet and dark, exactly how it was before they left to see Gaty.
They stayed on the edge of the bed, staring at the floor as their mind kept returning to Gaty. Her smile, her soft hands in theirs, the way she’d laugh when they tried to dance, the way she’d look at them beneath the stars when they sat under the tree while both were trying to stay awake with their eyes open.
They quickly covered their face with their hands. Tomorrow. They’d have to stand beside One, smile, pretend, and Gaty would be somewhere in the crowd, watching.
They lowered their hands and grabbed a pillow and squealed into it, banging their hand against it multiple times.
Two hated the thought of hurting her, despised the thought of losing her even more.
Their eyes drifted towards the window. They wished that tomorrow would come slowly and pass by quickly.
They grabbed the paper from their pocket and opened it, reading it over and over again until they fell asleep.