Princess Prince (Silverwyn x Pigeon)

[Kotorichan]

Seo let out a soft huff of disapproval, trying to his how offended he was. "I understand that you have your own customs and ideas of beauty. However I would greatly prefer if you did not force those ideas upon my son."

 

"" Haru snapped. ""

 

Haru turned back to Garret. "If you think that is best, I have no experience with such things so I will be following your lead."

[Silverwyn]

"Lord Seo it is not my intention to force anything on him. However it does not escape my attention that he is no fan of the way you dress him. I must also take into consideration how my own people will perceive him as my consort. He certainly won't be as well received and adored looking the way he does now. He doesn't look human, he looks like a doll. You may not have realized this, but I have based many of my comments about him on my first run in with him in the halls."

He glanced at Haru with a smile.

"Without makeup, and his feet covered in mud. I found him beautiful and quite endearing." he informed them.

[Kotorichan]

Haru felt his cheeks flush softly and for once was glad that the makeup hid his skin. "You flatter me too much..." He murmured, looking away to focus on his meal.

 

"Fine," Seo let out a soft huff of frustration. "If Haru does not object then I suppose I have no choice. I simply cannot stand the idea of my son moving away and forgetting his homeland." There was a tinge of sadness in his voice. "Perhaps this is just what most fathers feel when their child leaves." He said quietly.

[Silverwyn]

"I don't think heritages are so easily forgotten as that Lord Seo." Garret tried to assure the man, but really it ultimately came down to how much of his heritage Haru chose to hang on to. And given some of the animosity he had noticed Haru had for his family, he really could not say that Haru wouldn't choose to cast it all aside.

Pushing his empty plate aside, Garret reclined a little, letting the others finish as he waited for Seo to be ready to start discussing the marriage contracts.

[Kotorichan]

Haru finished his food and watched as Garret leaned back. "Do you like the food here..?" He asked softly, so that the others wouldn't hear the question. He had never tried anything else so he had nothing to compare it to.

 

Seo also finished eating before speaking again. "Soluvius-jeonha, would you care to join me in my study so that we can discuss the marriage contract? It is more comfortable than sitting here, and I do not think that my sons will have much to contribute."

 

Haru let out a soft huff of annoyance. He knew that it was probably best for him to be left out, since he might just start arguing with his father. But it was still frustrating that he had no say in his future.

[Silverwyn]

Garret nodded imperceptibly. "I do like the food here. Shall we bring a chef with us?" He responded quietly, His apparent attention on Haru's father.

 

Garret stood when Seo spoke of moving to his study. "That sounds like an excellent idea."

Turning to Haru, he offered his hand to help him from his seat, and indicated that he should go before him. An obvious invitation for the youngest prince to join them.

"Indeed, Haru's brother's don't have much bearing on this marriage." He said, as though Seo's words hadn't been meant to include Haru.

[Kotorichan]

"Ah... Of course..." Seo frowned slightly as he stood. He couldn't think of a good reason not to include Haru in the conversation. It was simply because he didn't want to deal with Haru's attitude.

 

"Mm... Thank you" Haru took the man's hand and stood gracefully. "You really do have a way with words." He said, much quieter.

 

Seo led the two to his study. A room lined with bookshelves filled with books in various languages. In the center was a low table and two large couches. "Please, make yourself comfortable." The king said.

[Silverwyn]

Garret leaned in to speak quietly as they followed Seo. "My father taught me war, but I had a secret love for books that gave me a fascination for the power of words. Sit beside me, if you don't like something, tap my leg. You're lack of outburst will baffle your father I'm sure." he smirked mischievously.

Garret's mischievous nature was a fairly well kept secret. That he was already letting a bit of it show was a testament to the trust he was developing for Haru.

 

Garret took a seat where Haru could sit beside him and not be too obvious when tapping him.

"Shall we start by discussing the peace clause? My proposal is that as long you are king here Lord Seo, this kingdom remains yours and yours alone. Neither I nor my men or any men in my employ will attack you with my knowledge, and you will be under my protection. You need only request my aid if you face a threat beyond your means. In the eventuality that one of your other sons becomes king, all matters regarding the relation with this country will fall to Haru. In short, if my army is sent here to seize or protect is up to Haru. If he feels his brother's reign is a detriment to this country and wants to appoint a new governing power..." He left the sentence unfinished. "Of course he could just as well choose to have nothing to do with it. In which case we would leave this country alone unless your sons made the first move and attacked us."

[Kotorichan]

"I like that idea." Haru smiled up at the man. He sat down next to Garret and put on a pretty smile, moving so that he could use his foot to tap the king.

 

Seo's brow furrowed slightly. "Ah... Perhaps we could plan to arrange a meeting between you and the next king when the time comes? For now we can simply leave it as you suggest. I would like for my sons to have some responsibility... Although I find it a bit odd that you would have Haru decide such a thing, he did not go through any sort of training so I do not know if it is best for him to have that sort of power. Of course once you are married I will have no say on how much influence he has on you."

[Silverwyn]

"Haru grew up here. He knows this country far better than I do, and they are his brothers. In anycase, that is an eventuality that I don't expect to come into fruition for well over a decade. As my consort, Haru will of course have many things to learn. But I believe he'll learn it quickly if he just chooses to set his mind to it. I think he's better suited to the role than you think. As his father you think you know him and and the limits of what he's capable of. But i find that it's only once we leave our fathers' protective wings that we can really stretch our own wings and find they are larger than anyone thought they could be. You would do well not to underestimate him. Because he will be the son to make you proudest if given half the chance."

 

He glanced at Haru. "I don't see Haru being content to live his life as nothing more than a pretty face at my side. As such, he'll have free reign to learn anything about running and protecting an empire that he wishes to. It will of course ultimately be up to him how much effort he chooses to put into actually being more than a pretty face in my empire. The harder he works, the more he'll be my equal. With the right initiative, I could see him being fully capable of running the empire without me within ten years. Not that I expect him to have to."

[Kotorichan]

"If that is what you wish to do..." Seo sighed softly. "Well, what else would you like to go over? I was hoping that we could decide come to an agreement on trade policies, for both goods and intelligence."

 

"As you may know, our country is very small, so our resources are limited. Because of this we rely greatly on trade, but we cannot spend too many resources on shipping our goods. Because of this I thought..." Seo paused as he noticed Haru's cold gaze. "Well, Haru thought of the basic idea but I created the proper proposal..." The king cleared his throat. "A-anyway, I thought that perhaps we could pay for space on your trade ships. When your ships come to trade with us we will pay you extra so that they can take a few of our men and goods to your next destination."

[Silverwyn]

Garret thought it over and nodded slowly. "Yes.. I think we can certainly make that work... But perhaps it would be better to..."

 

As the discussion carried on and the contract details were worked out bit by bit, Garret was feeling rather pleased with the results. There hadn't been much contention over most of the subjects. There was only one thing they'd had trouble coming to an agreement on, but once it was settled, he felt confident that they were both content with the outcome.

 

It was approaching dinner by the time they finished and they finally went their separate ways to freshen up before the meal.

[Kotorichan]

Haru did his best to hide his excitement as the meeting came to an end. Who would've thought that his husband would fight to give him power?

 

The prince spent the evening packing and deciding which servant he would bring with him. He continued packing the next morning until breakfast. By the time breakfast was over Haru could barely contain his excitement. He could finally see Garret beat up his brothers,

 

As as soon breakfast ended he made his way to the training courtyard, doing his best to contain himself as his brothers entered the area.

[Silverwyn]

Garret surveyed the Princes as they arrived for the spar.

Eyeing their swords, he chose one similar and turned to address them.

"Well then. How comfortable are you in your skills? You don't have to fight me one at a time. How about two or three at a time?"

He offered them the handicap, simply because the beating he was about to give them would look less like bullying the more he fought all at once.

The king's eyes twinkled with the mischief of his agenda as his gaze met Haru's and he shared a secretive smile.

Of course, no who didn't know his mischievous side well would recognize that twinkle for what it truly was.

[Kotorichan]

Haru returned the smile as he took a seat on the sidelines. He had been able to get out of wearing his heavy makeup since Garret had talked to his father, so there was nothing hiding the slight blush that flushed his cheeks as he met the king's gaze.

 

"Are you trying to insult us?" Suk huffed crossing his arms over his chest. "I would beat you for that comment but I want to give my brothers a chance, since you will no doubt give up as soon as you face me."

 

Bora and Chul, the 3rd and 4th oldest, stepped forward together. "Erm, we are not the most talented. So perhaps we shall go first?" Bora said cautiously.

[Silverwyn]

Garret grinned at Suk's words. He was particularly looking forward to sparring that one.

He turned his attention to Bora and Chul.

 

"Alright, both of you together then." He said, taking up position. He waited patiently while everyone else cleared away and the two brothers prepared.

 

Once they started, he wasted no time. By the end of three minutes, he'd struck both brothers so many times with the flat of his blade the spectators had lost count. And there were probably several strikes they hadn't even noticed. Garret was quite confident that both brothers were well and thoroughly bruised and he knew neither one wanted to continue. They were trying to nurse their rear ends without being obvious about it.

 

"I must apologize, I'm afraid I might have gone a bit overboard." The apology was more for the benefit of the spectators than the brothers themselves.

"Who next?"

[Kotorichan]

Haru couldn't help but grin as he watched Garret fight

He could see Suk's face paling out of the corner of his eye. He clapped for Garret as the fight ended.

 

The youngest of Haru's brothers, Kwan, stood up. He shot Haru a glare before stepping forward. He didn't say a word as he got into his starting position. Kwan was far more skilled than the previous two. But most of his strength was just in speed in agility. His actual style was clearly lacking.

[Silverwyn]

Although this one had good speed and agility, it didn't really faze Garret. He looked almost bored as he let Kwan do most of the work and took advantage of the openings. Garret's dodges we conservative and precise, he moved only as much as he needed to, but by the end Kwan was yet another bruised and beaten spectacle trying not to let on just how much his backside stung.

Garret gave an open handed shrug and waited to see who would step up next.

[Kotorichan]

Kwan threw his sword on the ground as he walked away, cursing Garret under his breath.

 

"Why don't you go next Suk?" Haru asked, turning to his brother.

 

"Ah, er..." Suk stared at Garret for a moment. "I think my breakfast is disagreeing with me... I will, er, I will have to go lay down. I will spar once I have recovered."

 

"What are you talking about? Aren't you the most powerful warrior in our country~" Haru smirked as he teased the other male. "Even if you are ill you should be able to hold your own against Soluvius-jeonha. Unless you are not as great as you always claim?"

 

"Do not be rude Suk." The eldest, Jae, had barely said a word since Garret arrived at the palace. He had simply watched with a cold air of authority.

 

"F-fine, but know that I am not at my best." Suk huffed and picked up his sword. He was even worse than the first two. His movements were easy to read and slow.

[Silverwyn]

Garret matched Suk's slower pace, trying not to look too obviously disappointed that the man didn't measure to even a portion of his boasting. Each strike he made on the prince was obvious and exaggerated, though not any less numerous or bruising than the previous two. It was definitely the most humiliating however.

He didn't even spare Suk a second glance when they finished. Turning instead to Jae. The most he had against this brother was his failure to even try to hold the others in check. "Would you care to spar with me for real? Or will you be sitting this out?"

He had hoped that at least one of Haru's brothers would have some modicum of skill. As it was he felt like Haru would probably able to hold his own against any of them within just a few months if they continued his training at the same rate as the previous day.

[Kotorichan]

"I would not waste my time simply spectating, although it may be a waste to even spar with you..." Jae rose to his feet, picking up his sword. "You seem to be holding yourself back. I cannot imagine that someone who has survived on the battlefield would find any challenge in sparring with sheltered princes."

 

"Since you are taking my youngest brother, perhaps you can humor me by taking this seriously. I would like to see what kind of skill will be protecting Haru." Jae took up his starting position.

 

Haru lightly chewed his lip, his previous excitement fading slightly.

 

Jae was far more skilled than any of brothers, and could probably hold his own in a serious fight with a solider. But was skill lacking experience.

[Silverwyn]

Garret nodded. "I know less about you than any of the others, but I respect you enough to take you on seriously."

 

Garret took up position and waited till Jae was ready.

His first few moves were obviously made with the intention of testing the water and getting a sense of Jae's skill level.

He settled into a rhythm that pushed the oldest prince to his limits without overpowering him, letting it build over a few minutes and increased the pressure until they reached the point where Jae just couldn't keep up anymore and Garret finally struck the ending blow.

 

Garret stepped back and gave him a small bow. "Thank you for being my opponent. You have some real skill."

[Kotorichan]

Jae was able to keep himself dignified even as he was overwhelmed, never appearing desperate or frustrated. "I am the one who should thank you, it was interesting to see your strength." He bowed to the other man. "It seems that Haru will be safe if he is by your side."

 

Haru hopped to his feet and half skipped over to Garret. "A prize for the champion." He leaned up and pressed a light kiss to the corner of the king's lips.

[Silverwyn]

"Thank you. My own skill and the skill of my guards aside however, I intend to make sure Haru is also able to defend himself. The protection of others is not always foolproof. It's important to be prepared for any situation."

 

Garret glanced up as he spotted Haru coming towards them, and smiled in appreciation of the sweet gesture. "How are you're preparations to leave tomorrow coming along?" He asked, returning the sword he'd borrowed.

"How about a training lesson if you can spare some time?"

[Kotorichan]

"Ah, preparations are not going to well..." Haru sighed. "I am not having any difficulties, but my servants have been in a panic. They keep coming to me and trying to convince me to to bring half my wardrobe. I keep re-packing my things because I find them putting my things in a bigger suitcase so they can fit more into it." He smiled slightly. "Of course I know they're just worried about me. My usual servants have been with me for so long that I think they see me as something close to family."

 

He casually took Garret's arm, moving closer. "I would like to go train... Preferably somewhere private." He lowered his voice, glancing up at the king. "I need to speak with you about something."